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Across the past decade, KAS has established herself as a unique voice in experimental electronic music, a composer and synthesist whose work dissolves the boundaries between ambient electronica, contemporary classical, composition, and immersive sound design. Her new album “Ruin: It’s Not Just Music” arrives with a distinctive gravitational pull. The record moves with greater physical force, placing rhythm and impact at the centre of its architecture, revealing a more confrontational and embodied dimension of KAS’s musical language.
The first single “Ruin” arrives May 22nd, with the full album released October 2nd via SOMEONE SPECIAL the new label co-founded by KAS.
Where much of KAS’s earlier work explored harmonic environments, the forthcoming album is built around tension and release. Inspired by the sound of drum and bass, breakbeats fracture through dense fields of synthesis, percussive patterns and her signature melodic fragments – motions that feel closer to the kinetic language of club music than the meditative spaces often associated with her past catalogue. The result is a body of work that feels both recognisably hers and newly charged, music that moves through the body as insistently as it engages the mind.
For listeners who first encountered KAS through the glowing synthesis of “Ears” (2016) or the intricate experimental pop of “The Kid” (2017), this direction may feel initially surprising, yet the shift has been quietly unfolding across the past several years. KAS’s practice has steadily expanded beyond the expectations placed upon experimental electronic artists, moving between orchestral composition, audiovisual installations, film scoring, and large-scale commissions while retaining the unmistakable sonic signature that defines her work.
The 2022 albums “I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon” (2022) and “Let’s Turn It Into Sound” (2022) explored a deeply immersive approach to composition, expanded her reputation and instinct for constructing detailed sonic ecosystems while continuing to blur the lines between experimental electronics and contemporary pop structures. KAS’s most recent output has continued to widen that field including the rhythm oriented electronic album “Gush” (2025) and her return to more orchestral roots with “Thoughts on the Future” (2025). Together these releases underscored the breadth of her practice.
Her prolific collaborators and creative partners have ranged from Patti Smith and Suzanne Ciani to Danny Elfman, Tycho, Glass Beams, RY X, Caribou, Four Tet, Reggie Watts, and Max Richter, while her compositions have appeared in projects with Apple, Chanel, Meow Wolf, the BBC Orchestra, and major film and television productions.
On “Ruin: It’s Not Just Music”, that vocabulary becomes more kinetic than ever before. The record draws energy from jungle, drum and bass, and dance-floor focused electronic music while retaining the intricate synthesis and tonal curiosity that have defined KAS’s work from the beginning. The result is a record that feels equally at home within club culture, contemporary composition, and the experimental spaces that have long championed her artistry.
On May 27th KAS will present a major performance at London’s Barbican Centre alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra, marking the ten-year anniversary of her landmark album Ears. The evening will trace the arc of her creative evolution while also introducing material from the new album.

French composer, artist and co-founder of Transversales Disques, Jonathan Fitoussi has developed a distinctive body of
work over the past two decades, blending analog synthesis, minimalism and electronic music.

Inspired by the mineral landscapes and luminous atmosphere of southeastern France, DELTAS is his fifth solo studio album.
Combining hypnotic drum patterns, flowing pulses, shimmering electronic textures and contemplative movements, it unfolds as a deeply immersive journey through space, light and motion.
A rich and evocative work from one of the most singular voices in contemporary electronic music.

"Burning Down Paradise", das sechste Studioalbum der NWOBHM-Legende Tokyo Blade, erblickte ursprünglich im Jahre 1995 über Fresh Fruit das Licht der Welt. Fresh Fruit war ein Sublabel von SPV in Hannover. High Roller Records legt »Burning Down Paradise« jetzt zum allerersten Mal als Vinyl auf.
Die Platte markierte die Wiedervereinigung von Gitarrist Andy Boulton und Sänger Alan Marsh, die das erste Mal seit dem Debütalbum von Tokyo Blade im Jahre 1983 wieder gemeinsame Sache machten. Die damalige Besetzung wurde komplettiert von John Wiggins an der zweiten Gitarre, Colin Riggs am Bass und Marc Angel hinterm Schlagzeug.
„Ich denke, alle zwölf Songs haben den Test der Zeit gut überstanden“, kommentiert Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied Andy Boulton heute. „Allerdings war es eine schwierige Zeit für Hardrock und Heavy Metal. Der musikalische Geschmack hatte sich drastisch verändert. Das Album wurde in einem kleinen Studio direkt außerhalb von Marlborough in Wiltshire aufgenommen. Zusammen mit einem Tontechniker namens Nick Beer. Ich nehme an, man könnte sagen, dass die ganze Band »Burning Down Paradise« produziert hat. Als Hauptsongwriter hatten Alan und ich am Ende aber wohl den größten Einfluss auf den Sound der Platte.“
Laut Aussage des Gitarristen erntete das Album zum Erscheinungszeitpunkt unterschiedliche Reaktionen: „Die Meinungen gingen auseinander, einige alte Fans mochten unsere neue Richtung nicht, während andere positiver eingestellt waren. Und was die Kritiker an sich betrifft, auf die höre ich eh nicht. Meine Einstellung ist: Wenn dir die Musik nicht gefällt, hör sie dir einfach nicht an.“
Nach der Veröffentlichung von "Burning Down Paradise" gingen Andy Boulton und Alan Marsh abermals getrennte Wege. Tokyo Blade lösten sich (zwischenzeitlich) auf: „Wir hatten die Schnauze voll, ohne Unterstützung von irgendwoher weiterzumachen. Es war eine schlechte Zeit für unsere Art von Musik, und wir sahen keinen Sinn darin, die Band weiterhin am Leben zu halten und unsere Kraft zu vergeuden.“
Remastered von Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY im März 2026.

Dich lieb ich, Erde! trauerst du doch mit mir! Und unsre Trauer wandelt wie Kinderschmerz In Schlummer sich und wie die Winde Flattern und flüstern im Saitenspiele

The third stanza of Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem ‘Dem sonnengott’ evokes a narrator who is tortured by Spleen until slumber makes his childlike gloom disappear with music. Although today’s readers might judge these nineteenth century musings of the Imagination as mere stylistic platitudes, they also still speak beyond the grave as universal truths. A mere two hundred years later similar anxieties and hopes are still channeled through various art forms, with changing success and reverberation. Brannten Schnüre are one of those neo-romantic music experimentalists who add to a long tradition of celebrating folk tale and exoticism. Their meticulously crafted loops, hesitant melodies and heavily nostalgic lyricism could easily be translated to what the late philosopher and music critic Mark Fisher called ‘hauntology’, a postmodern longing for a lost future. To describe the beauty of ‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’, however, the term seems somewhat dissatisfying. Romanticism is a hard nut to crack in the Anthropocene, and Brannten Schnüre’s realms of the cerebral are too deeply ingrained in a German tradition of story telling to define them within popular paradigm.

‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’ was recorded in 2014 in Würzburg and functions as the autumn part of the band’s seasonal cycle quadrilogy (the other segments being ‘Aprilnacht’ (SicSic), ‘Sommer im Pfirsichhain’ (Aguirre) and ‘Durch unser zugedecktes Tal’ (Youdonthavetocallitmusic)). It deals with the Saint Martin’s parade, a mostly European tradition to celebrate the medieval spirit of Saint Martin of Tours, friend of children and patron of the poor. Around 11 November children come out on the streets with lanterns and sing ancient songs in exchange for sweets. It’s a period of snugness and expectation, of yearning and dreaming, and therefore a consummate subject for the duo to scrutinize.

To the adult’s ear the dream of the Saint Martin’s parade isn’t all that consolatory. The dark and slow loops of Christian Schoppik rather sound like motifs for a welcome paralysis. Sometimes as a gentle backdrop for vocals by Katie Rich and Schoppik himself, the repetitive structures serve as tricksters that trade innocence for the uncanny. The dream becomes a fever dream which quickly absorbs the listener into a vacuum, an eternal post-panic attack semi-relief. Maybe that’s the amazing paradox of Brannten Schnüre. The space they occupy is never comforting – as if being locked up inside a Carl Grossberg painting – but it’s also a subliminal aural zone you do not want to leave. It’s music as being, as a stream, devoid of climax or catharsis. And because it is flux and being, and exists to be taken, it speaks in art’s purest form. ‘In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art’ Susan Sontag famously concluded her essay ‘Against Interpretation’ with. Well, look no further …

Life In Patterns welcomes Uncertain for his first appearance on the label with “Defeat”, a five-track EP bringing together five warehouse-focused techno tracks, moving between darker industrial tones and the classic rave influences that have long been part of his sound. “Defeat” will release on vinyl and digital formats on 16 October 2026. Across the EP, Uncertain explores a broad range of peak-time energy. “Anxiety” and “Dismiss” take a darker route, built around tense atmospheres, heavy percussion, and industrial textures, while the remaining tracks introduce classic rave chords and a more open, melodic character. Despite the differences in tone, the five tracks share the same directness and focus, designed with the dance floor firmly in mind. Uncertain, formerly known as Boriqua Tribez, has been active in electronic music since 1989. Over the past two decades, he has released and remixed more than 50 tracks for labels including KMS, Recycled Loops, and Ingoma, before starting a new chapter under the Uncertain name in 2018. Since then, his more frantic approach to techno has found a home on labels such as Rekids, Symbolism, Beard Man, H-Productions, WRKTRX, ANAOH, Illegal Alien, Mind Medizin, Intec, and Uncage. Alongside his productions, Uncertain is an experienced DJ known for fast, precise three-deck sets, with international performances and support from artists including Ben Sims, Radio Slave, Truncate, Mark Broom, Carl Cox, Blasha & Allatt, Chris Liebing, Richie Hawtin, Luke Slater, DJ Rush, DJ Bone, and others. With “Defeat”, Uncertain makes his Life In Patterns debut with a focused collection of five techno tracks — from dark industrial pressure to classic rave energy, all built for the warehouse.

Born in São Paulo, Caetano Malta embodies the vibrant creative energy of one of Latin America's most dynamic cities. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has spent more than twenty years crafting a distinctive musical universe shaped by Brazil's rich and diverse traditions. Tropicalia, MPB, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, psychedelic folk, and contemporary pop blend seamlessly in his work with effortless elegance.

Over the years, he has become a highly sought-after collaborator. Since 2004, he has performed with numerous leading Brazilian artists, including Lucas Santtana, Bixiga 70, Karina Buhr, and many others. After two decades of international touring, he eventually settled in Paris, where he became the guitarist for Flavia Coelho, Luiza, Guts, among others. As a songwriter, he has also co-written with artists such as Lucas Santtana, Wado, MOMO, Rubinho Jacobina, and Arto Lindsay.

With Eterna Juventude, his long-awaited debut solo album, due for release in autumn 2026, Caetano Malta reaches a new artistic milestone. The record reveals a radiant songwriting style where harmonic sophistication, organic rhythms, and instantly memorable melodies come together naturally. Filled with joyful energy and deep tenderness, Eterna Juventude celebrates imagination, movement, and childhood's unique ability to reinvent the world. It is a remarkably accomplished debut, showcasing an artist whose singular voice and musical identity are already fully formed.

*COMES IN GATEFOLD 2LP WITH LINER NOTES*

The premise of this compilation is simple: music we’d like to hear at the airport.

The idea came after learning that Honolulu’s international airport has been playing AI-generated music over its speakers since November 2025. First reported by Civil Beat, the news has caused frustration and disappointment among residents and visitors, as well as within the local music community.

Everyone knows Hawaii is one of the most musically rich regions in the world — why then is the airport using AI music? 'Music For The Airport' is our response.

Located in the middle of the Pacific at the outskirts of one the most remote cities on the planet, Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) is for most people the first place they encounter when they arrive in Hawaii. Warm sun, tropical tradewinds, playful palm trees and majestic mountains welcome every traveler, as do the sounds of birds, familiar music from Hawaiian artists like Aunty Genoa Keawe and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and—at least for now—seventeen “island-themed” AI-generated songs.

In late 1977, while sitting in Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport on a Sunday morning, Brian Eno noticed how terribly uncomfortable he felt hearing the airport’s “muzak” overhead. For a harried, hurried place like the airport where travelers scramble to their gates, stand in long border control lines, and wait impatiently for their luggage at the carousels, music can create more anxiety than calm. Asking himself, "What should we be hearing here?", Eno soon created ‘Ambient 1: Music For Airports’, a sonic remedy aimed at reducing nervousness in public spaces.

When we heard the news that HNL airport is playing AI-generated “muzak”, we were immediately reminded of Eno’s genre-defying 1978 album. And we were similarly inspired to react. But how? Recreating an ambient masterpiece wasn’t in our wheelhouse. We started digging through our catalog of licensed music which we haven’t yet re-released. We quickly realized this was our chance to highlight some of favorite songs from the so-called CD era: the 1990s and 2000s (with a few exceptions). In less than 20 minutes, we pulled 17 original songs recorded by local artists between 1984 and 2017.

The speed at which this project came together surprised us; reactionary gut instinct often produces swift and lasting results. Ironically, our new compilation likely took less time than it did for the state Department of Transportation to commission its AI songs in question. But even though ‘Music for the Airport’ came together in less than one week, the truth is that this collection of 17 songs is the result of years of hard work, trust, sacrifice, patience, and understanding. Building relationships with and licensing music from artists doesn’t happen overnight, but more importantly: these songs are the result of people pouring their hearts and souls into something they believe in. This music wouldn’t exist today without the artists and their loved ones who supported them along the way.

As of this writing, the DOT states its intention in creating AI-generated songs is to “highlight different aspects of the islands, aviation and the airport” and that “no state funds were used to produce them”. Okay, but at what cost? Technology disrupting the music industry isn’t news to anyone. AI music in public spaces are cost-saving measures, since its users (airports, for example) don’t have to pay the licensing fees typically required, which can be a worthwhile source of revenue for artists. But what happens when a place like HNL airport, which hosts more than 21 million passengers annually, uses music created by machines instead of people to represent Hawaii? The identity of a place beings to erode, diluted by a language learning model’s conceptual summary of what a people and its culture sounds like. To echo Brian Eno: what should we be hearing here? In other words: what should the music of Hawaii sound like?

We believe in the power of music, especially when it comes from the soul. We believe in supporting artists, especially as AI disrupts our lives. We believe that Hawaii must be represented authentically, especially when it comes to song. And of course we believe in vinyl, especially since it was a record from 1978 (Mackey Feary Band’s debut LP) that inspired Aloha Got Soul’s origins in 2010.

We hope you find as much joy in this compilation as we have. Perhaps it’ll soundtrack your next journey to Hawaii. At the very least, we hope some people take a moment to hear these sounds: in your headphones for now‚ maybe someday overhead at the airport in Honolulu.

The duo Jolie Gentiane come to us straight from a wild and unpredictable mountain peak, a perched place far from civilization, where the beauty and cruelty of mother nature reign but harmonize the elements. They walk the high, steep paths, looking down on the chaotic and industrial world. This increasingly smoky world, which, from the top of the mountains, looks metamorphosing dangeroulsy, but would only need a few changes to make it less crazy. Or perhaps infinitely more so. Jolie Gentiane is a skilful concoction of sound and daring. Unclassifiable, impalpable, the contemporary embracing the tradition and the acoustic swinging with the electronics. Autotuned/vocoderized vocals, 4th world, kitsch sax, psychedelic arpeggios, acoustic guitar, techno, it's all there: the story told by Jolie Gentiane on this album is rich and complete. Nature, love, celebration, struggle, work. Yes, even work. Because the energy deployed to create this album was surreal, patient, extremely methodical, and the abnegation of the protagonists has been vertiginous: the cliff of the highest peak is finally climbed. This album is like an ode to the earth, to the respect we owe it, an ode also to music in its purest essence, that which does not confine itself to borders, but shout for federation, dance and uprising.

British electronic music pioneer Dave Angel returns to R&S Records with “A Time And Place”, his first full-length album release for the seminal Belgian label. Arriving thirty-five years after Dave first joined the R&S family, the album reunites one of UK techno's defining voices with the imprint that helped launch his career, renewing one of electronic music's most enduring creative partnerships.



That relationship began in 1991, when R&S founder Renaat Vandepapeliere discovered Angel's ‘Rolling Thunder’ project and invited the young London producer to Belgium. Personally welcoming him into the R&S family alongside a new generation of forward-thinking electronic artists, Vandepapeliere released the landmark “1st Voyage” EP, helping establish Dave Angel as one of British techno's most distinctive new voices. A succession of acclaimed releases followed, including “Stairway To Heaven”, “3rd Voyage”, appearances on the influential “In Order To Dance’” compilation series, and releases on sister imprint Apollo, charting an artistic partnership that helped shape both Angel's career and the wider evolution of UK techno.



Three and a half decades later, “A Time And Place” feels less like a return than the continuation of a conversation left unfinished. Rather than revisiting former achievements, the album reflects the perspective of an artist whose creative journey has continued to evolve. Reconnecting with the label that first championed his work, Angel delivers his most personal and musically expansive statement to date.



Across fifteen compositions, “A Time And Place” reaches beyond the conventions of techno to reveal the full breadth of Angel's musical identity. Drawing on jazz, soul, improvisation and richly textured electronic production, the album balances rhythmic precision with warmth, melody and emotional depth. Reflections on family, heritage, nature and the communities that have shaped his life sit alongside broader observations of the world around him, creating a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive.



That openness is reflected in a carefully chosen cast of collaborators. Celebrated trumpeter Steve Waterman features on both “Réflexion” and “The Yellow Butterfly”, bringing a lyrical, Miles Davis-inspired voice to the album after first catching Angel's attention through his work on Paul Hazel's “Out Of This World”. Elsewhere, legendary Chicago vocalist Robert Owens appears on “Harmony Serenade”, while guitarist Merv Carswell and vocalist Aurii Sky (Dave’s daughter, adding a poignant family connection) add further colour and texture to a record rooted in musicianship and shared expression.



While Dave Angel's influence on British electronic music has long been established, “A Time And Place” reveals another dimension of an artist whose foundations were laid long before techno. Raised in a household immersed in live music and jazz culture, Angel has spent a lifetime absorbing sounds beyond the club, allowing those influences to surface naturally throughout a career defined by curiosity rather than convention.



For R&S Records, the album renews a relationship that stretches back to the label's formative years. For Dave Angel, it reflects both the path travelled and the road ahead. Thirty-five years after “1st Voyage” first announced his arrival, “A Time And Place” reunites artist and label with the same forward-looking spirit that brought them together in 1991, proof that the strongest creative partnerships continue to evolve.

In William Blake’s Jerusalem, he argues that imagination itself is “The real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow” – it seems Antoni Maiovvi, would agree. Especially given that Ye Gods, his latest and most monolithic project to date, arrived directly from a dream. In this dream, Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke took him to task for easing off on his longtime study of hermetic ritual magick, and instructed him to atone by making a record under the name Ye Gods. Convinced this path was the correct one, he was duty bound to comply.And sure enough, the Ye Gods project began to evolve and metamorphosise, until this vehicle for ‘Occult Devotional Electronics’, became a beast capable of delivering ‘Los’ the towering and transformative new album for Rocket Recordings. Rich with texture, emotive songcraft and cinematic atmosphere across three expansive tracks, it’s a work that breaks new ground for this intrepid polymath. Somewhat akin to the creative deep-dive that Scott Walker took int

Colorize presents Echoes, the highly anticipated debut album from Massachusetts songwriter, producer and musician Jack Willard, a richly melodic body of work.

Jack Willard blends organic songwriting with modern electronic production, cinematic storytelling and immersive sound design, an emotionally driven style that has earned support from Above & Beyond, Tritonal, Yotto, Nora En Pure and Bob Moses since debut single Celsius, alongside airplay on SiriusXM Chill and BBC Radio 1 and millions of streams worldwide. The Massachusetts native made his Colorize debut in 2023 with Big Sky, an instrumental favourite still in regular SiriusXM Chill rotation, before expanding his sound on the Patterns EP with his first larger scale vocal collaborations, including fan favourites Everything All At Once and Wanna Know. Following performances across both U.S. coasts, Echoes arrives as Willard’s most ambitious project to date.

From Richmond, Virginia, Shy, Low have a reputation as one of the most compelling voices within the modern instrumental underground. Their music speaks to fans of post-rock's emotional grandeur and post-metal's crushing intensity alike, while simultaneously appealing to listeners drawn to experimental, atmospheric, and cinematic forms of heavy music. The band's ability to merge these seemingly disparate qualities has resulted in a body of work that is immediately recognizable and continually evolving. Luminous melodies, driving heaviness, layered textures, and carefully controlled tension allows `Purity Spiral' to move effortlessly between fragile moments of introspection and towering passages of intensity. Whether constructing intricate layers of harmony or driving songs toward explosive climaxes, there is a deep understanding of pacing, atmosphere, and the power of restraint. Momentum is at the heart of this album, through intricate rhythmic detail, and explosive bursts of energy, drums become the anchor and catalyst, supporting the band's expansive arrangements while pushing them toward moments of cathartic release. What distinguishes Shy, Low is their ability to balance enormity with restraint. Their music unfolds patiently, allowing tension to accumulate through layers of texture, melody, and dynamics. Moments of delicate clarity often coexist with overwhelming weight, creating a sense of organic motion. At the core of the band's sound lies an acute understanding of contrast. From shimmering, expansive passages to towering walls of distortion, the rhythm section provides both propulsion and atmosphere, becoming integral narrative voices that shape the emotion. There is a disciplined sense of purpose in their writing, an understanding that every note serves a larger arc. Shy, Low thrives in the space between introspection and catharsis, where subtle details become as impactful as the heaviest climaxes, and listeners are taken on a journey that is as visceral as it is profound. FOR FANS OF Caspian * Russian Circles * If These Trees Could Talk * Pelican * Toundra

From Richmond, Virginia, Shy, Low have a reputation as one of the most compelling voices within the modern instrumental underground. Their music speaks to fans of post-rock's emotional grandeur and post-metal's crushing intensity alike, while simultaneously appealing to listeners drawn to experimental, atmospheric, and cinematic forms of heavy music. The band's ability to merge these seemingly disparate qualities has resulted in a body of work that is immediately recognizable and continually evolving. Luminous melodies, driving heaviness, layered textures, and carefully controlled tension allows `Purity Spiral' to move effortlessly between fragile moments of introspection and towering passages of intensity. Whether constructing intricate layers of harmony or driving songs toward explosive climaxes, there is a deep understanding of pacing, atmosphere, and the power of restraint. Momentum is at the heart of this album, through intricate rhythmic detail, and explosive bursts of energy, drums become the anchor and catalyst, supporting the band's expansive arrangements while pushing them toward moments of cathartic release. What distinguishes Shy, Low is their ability to balance enormity with restraint. Their music unfolds patiently, allowing tension to accumulate through layers of texture, melody, and dynamics. Moments of delicate clarity often coexist with overwhelming weight, creating a sense of organic motion. At the core of the band's sound lies an acute understanding of contrast. From shimmering, expansive passages to towering walls of distortion, the rhythm section provides both propulsion and atmosphere, becoming integral narrative voices that shape the emotion. There is a disciplined sense of purpose in their writing, an understanding that every note serves a larger arc. Shy, Low thrives in the space between introspection and catharsis, where subtle details become as impactful as the heaviest climaxes, and listeners are taken on a journey that is as visceral as it is profound. FOR FANS OF Caspian * Russian Circles * If These Trees Could Talk * Pelican * Toundra

Carlos Benedetti, a Colombian house producer and live performer from Cali, has steadily become one of the standout names in today’s underground dance scene. Following multiple vinyl releases on the acclaimed German label Disco Disco, Benedetti’s productions have earned widespread praise and support from respected figures including deep house icon Cinthie.

Specialists, selectors and collectors alike have described his records with comments such as:
“fabulous 12-inch”
“This is the most wild dance record to come out this year so far”
“Cannot formulate the words to capture how this one sounds and makes me feel”
“Listen close and behold.”

With this latest EP for SUPREME STRIKER, Benedetti once again delivers a collection that feels destined to become a future underground classic.
The record opens with Nostalgia Blues, a soulful and deeply textured piece channeling the spirit of Larry Levan’s legendary dancefloor energy, somewhere between disco’s emotional golden age and modern club functionality.
On Bellavista, Benedetti dives deeper into high-energy territory, layering powerful black grooves, hypnotic rhythmic tension and rich percussive movement into something both vibrant and timeless.
Pyramid follows with soaring arpeggios and delicate melodic flourishes, recalling the euphoric sophistication of Todd Terje at his most inspired, while maintaining Benedetti’s raw dancefloor sensibility.
Closing track How High The Moon nods toward Patrick Cowley’s pioneering synth work, injecting the EP with cosmic disco pressure, futuristic funk textures and a strange late-night sensuality.

More than a simple collection of tracks, the EP unfolds as a fully coherent journey through house, disco, Italo and high-energy mutations, balancing emotional depth, machine-driven grooves and timeless dancefloor instinct with remarkable naturality.

Early DJ Support: Massimiliano Pagliara, Paranoid London, Logan Fisher, Terry Farley, James Holroyd, Rocky (X Press 2), Francois K, Marcel Vogel, Sean Johnston, Austin Ato, Ron Basejam, Richard Rogers, Oliver Dollar, Crazy P and many more

Creating an international name for itself over the past decade as a sample pack label, Samples From Mars made its inevitable venture into the music world originally as a home for founder Teddy Stuart’s work. Long before making samples, Stuart garnered credits working as a grammy-nominated recording engineer in the hip hop world, and DJing / producing with Justin Strauss as A/JUS/TED, for labels such as DFA, Domino Records and Southern Fried Records. Now the label is set to release a variety of genres - house, disco, techno, ambient, all with a vintage tinge and a focus on high quality, analog production.

Enter Salt Queen. Visual artist and musician Magali van Caloen together with Samples From Mars founder, Teddy Stuart. Based in New York, the duo combine hardware dance aesthetics with dry, salty takes on familiar club moments into music that sits somewhere between funny, raw and unpredictable.

Salt Queen’s debut ‘ARE U OK’ is an acid-laced, deadpan spoken word track with an opening line that snaps any room to attention. A disorienting club encounter unfolds over Italo-inflected 808s and a relentless 303 bassline. There are no chords and no melodies - just a skeletal groove and an intimate voice circling the dancefloor. Drifting between concern and provocation, the vocal runs through cliché club conversations before destabilizing completely into a siren-laden crash out. The ‘Freak Nasty Club Mix’ ditches the plot and lets the hardware breathe, with a thick SH-101 bassline anchoring the first half before a sudden switch into an unrelenting acid pattern that refuses to settle. Two versions of the same wild night out.

Das selbstbetitelte Debüt von South 1998 (ehemals South) ist vielleicht das, was dem alten Label Jagjaguwar jemals am nächsten kam, Musik zu veröffentlichen, die sich auch bei, sagen wir mal, ECM Records wie zu Hause anhören würde. Spitzt die Ohren, und ihr werdet es hören - Pat-Metheny-artige, klare, ausgefallene Gitarrenklänge, die geduldig zu trägen, hypnotischen, an Steve Reich erinnernden mathematischen Sackgassen geschichtet werden; ineinandergreifende Hackbretter und Vibraphone, die fallen und wogen wie an einem seltenen Tag mit starkem Schneefall in einer Stadt im Süden; die leisen und selbstbewussten Gesänge von Patrick Phelan und Nathan Lambdin, untermalt von den gleichmäßigen Rhythmen des Schlagzeugers Tod Parkhill. Bei der Erstveröffentlichung bezeichneten wir das Projekt aus Richmond, Virginia, als ,Exegese der großen Ambient-Rock-Momente des 20. Jahrhunderts". Daran halten wir fest. Doch bei näherer Betrachtung und mit dem Rückblick auf fast 30 Jahre seit der Veröffentlichung der LP sind ihre kleinen, kniffligen Schätze erst richtig zur Entfaltung gekommen. Es fällt schwer, keinen Vergleich zu einer zeitgenössischeren Künstlergeneration anzustellen, wenn man ,South 1998" wiederentdeckt, das nun aus SEO-Gründen umbenannt wurde (wer hätte das damals gedacht!?!?). Der experimentelle Slowcore-Experimentalismus von Escho Records aus Kopenhagen und ML Buch; ein bisschen von den Vorreitern der Cloudrock-Szene (und Jag-Labelkollegen) Chanel Beads; eine ganze Reihe von Veröffentlichungen des angesehenen (und unterschätzten) norwegischen Labels Hubro. Aber es verdient auch einen Platz im Regal neben seinen zeitgenössischen ,Post-irgendwas"- und ,Pre-irgendwas"-Kollegen von damals - Tortoise, Bark Psychosis, The Sea & Cake. ,South" von 1998, ein unbestrittener Jagjaguwar-Klassiker, war an sich nie verloren gegangen, aber wir haben es für euch wiederentdeckt - zum ersten Mal überhaupt auf Vinyl, als Teil unserer Feierlichkeiten zum 30-jährigen Jubiläum.

Richly progressive folk-informed heavy post-rock and a sick burn to boot. - The Obelisk Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa), the driving creative force behind THE KEENING returns with her second album, Devotion. The new album sees Vernon and company releasing one of the year's most evocative albums; a truly compelling mix of slow burning, ethereal post-rock, folk, goth, and soaring doom. For Vernon, the writing process for Devotion took place in two starkly different environments. It ranged from the contemplative solitude of a friend’s cabin in a deserted Idaho ski resort, to the hectic reality of a 55+ senior living community in Spokane, Washington, where she was staying with her father. This shift resulted in an explosive album with a subtle duality that resonates throughout its most poignant moments. Take the lead single, "A Little Bit of Blood," for example. Quiet, acoustic guitar strums give way for Vernon's haunting vocals, before the backing instrumentation explodes into a soaring chorus reminding the listener that sometimes the best paths taken are the most difficult. "You drew a little bit of blood to show me Just a little bit of blood to make me see It took a little bit of blood to wake me Just a little wound in the night to free me" In a 2024 interview with Decibel Magazine, Vernon discussed the drastic shift in heavy music's themes in recent years, highlighting a willingness to convey raw emotion: "Metal is beginning to share more vulnerable things, more confessional things. Metal has almost become a safe place to talk about those things. People are being open with their struggles. Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have." Devotion lays these emotional confessions bare and showcases a truly bright burn. Devotion was recorded in April 2022, again at Hallowed Halls in Portland, with Billy Anderson and Nathan Carson featured in their same roles as heard on Little Bird. Once again, Vernon showcases her writing prowess, having a heavy hand on all the instrumentation for Devotion; Vernon played drums, guitar, piano, organ, and hammered dulcimer, and provided most of the vocals on both albums, with a few guest vocalists added to the mix.

Mit Music From The Films Of Francis Ford Coppola erscheint eine sorgfaltig kuratierte Doppel-LP, die die unverwechselbare Klangwelt eines der einflussreichsten Regisseure des modernen Kinos wurdigt. Von Der Pate uber Apocalypse Now bis hin zu The Conversation und The Outsiders vereint diese Sammlung Musik aus Filmen, die das amerikanische Kino seit den 1970er Jahren nachhaltig gepragt haben. Die Zusammenstellung zeigt eindrucksvoll, wie entscheidend Musik fur die emotionale Wirkung von Coppolas Filmen war. Neben den Kompositionen von Carmine Coppola finden sich Aufnahmen von Kunstlern wie Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley oder Richard Wagner. Die Doppel-LP beleuchtet das Zusammenspiel von Bild und Ton und richtet sich gleichermaßen an Filmfans, Soundtrack-Sammler und Liebhaber klassischer Filmmusik.

Alles spaltet sich. le_mol loopen. Was bleibt? SPLIT SPLIT - ihr 6. Post-Rock-Album (Noise Appeal Records). Während manche Spaltungen unvermeidlich ("Splitsville"), erzwungen ("Splitter") oder sogar pathologisch ("Split Brain") sind, wirken viele Spaltungen vermeidbar und durch bestimmte diskursive Kräfte vorangetrieben ("Split The Rich"). Würde man Spaltungen jedoch immer weiter aufspalten, käme es dann nicht zu einer Rückkehr von Nuancen, Meinungspluralität und Gemeinschaft? SPLIT SPLIT. Da bei den Instrumentalstücken von le_mol Wort und Musik getrennt sind, dienen die Titel jedoch ohnehin bestenfalls als Interpretationshinweise. Eine Ausnahme bilden die existentialistischen Lyrics von The Zew ("Split Tongue") - einer selbsternannten Cyborg Folk Musikerin aus Wien. Das Konzept setzt sich fort in den Collagen und Monotypien der wienerischen Künstlerin Hanna Hollmann. Musikalisch bietet 'SPLIT SPLIT' eine Mischung aus melancholischem Post-Rock und Shoegaze ergänzt durch Elemente aus Post-Punk, Ambient und Industrial. Der Einsatz mehrerer Loop-Stations ermöglicht es den beiden Multiinstrumentalisten wie eine fünfköpfige Band zu klingen und sorgt für überrasche Wendungen im Songwriting, die gängige Hörgewohnheiten herausfordern. Loops stick together - they never split! FFO: Mogwai, Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Sigur Ros Marketing Hardfacts: - begleitende Konzerte 2026/27 (bestätigte Daten bis hierhin): TBA - eine Vorabsingle (splitter!)

Forbidden Dance Records returns with its 13th release to the city where the label's journey first began: Chicago.
For The Black Is The Night EP, longtime Chicago house figure Vick Lavender joins forces with multi-instrumentalist Justin Dillard for three deeply musical downtempo cuts, bringing together the language of Chicago house with jazz, soul and live instrumentation.
Born and raised on Chicago's West Side, Dillard is a pianist, Hammond organist, percussionist, composer and arranger whose musical path has crossed with figures such as Branford Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell and the late Von Freeman. His musicianship has also become an integral part of Lavender's richly organic productions over the years.
Across three tracks, Lavender and Dillard slow down the tempo without losing the pulse. Warm keys, live instrumentation and loose percussion unfolding through the kind of deep, soulful arrangements that have long defined their work together.
A return to Chicago, but from a different angle.

Powerhouse vocalist Sandra St. Victor returns with Eleven, her eleventh studio album and first solo release in over a decade. From her years with The Family Stand to collaborations with Roy Ayers, Curtis Mayfield, Chaka Khan, Prince and Lalah Hathaway, Sandra has built a remarkable career that has consistently blurred the lines between soul, funk, jazz and gospel.

Executive produced by Sandra St. Victor and Patrick Gibin for Mother Tongue, Eleven brings together Sandra's longtime collaborators alongside the Mother Tongue family, bridging her rich musical legacy with a fresh, forward-looking sound rooted in soul, jazz, boogie and soulful dance music.

The album combines brand new compositions with inspired reinterpretations, from Kaidi Tatham's stunning reimagining of Captain Sky's Moonchild and his masterful reinvention of the Leon Ware/Syreeta underground gem Tiki Tiki Donga, to a beautifully understated new version of Sandra's own Dizzy, originally released on Gemini: Both Sides in 2001 featuring Questlove, Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd, here reimagined by Mark de Clive-Lowe. Along the way, the lo-fi soul of Black Ice, the timeless duet No More Water featuring Lalah Hathaway, and the straight-up funk of Makes Me Wanna Fall In Love Again and What Would Miles Do showcase an artist continuing to evolve while remaining true to her artistic voice.

Rooted in experience yet driven by curiosity, Eleven bridges Sandra's remarkable musical legacy with the creative vision of Mother Tongue, resulting in an album that feels both timeless and unmistakably

Gradient returns to Alt Dub with Random Layers, a deeply focused EP built around his exceptional control of minimal elements.

With a restrained palette of kick, bass, chords and texture, each track evolves with patience and precision, allowing subtle shifts and carefully placed layers to create a powerful sense of depth and space

Sound layers are introduced with such control that the music evolves naturally, revealing its depth over time. Nothing feels rushed and nothing is unnecessary.

Gradient’s productions have a rare ability to make minimalism feel rich and alive. Nothing is excessive; every sound has a purpose. The result is four timeless, immersive dub techno pieces that balance classic dub techno atmosphere with a distinct sense of detail and control.

The EP also features a timeless remix from Echospace Detroits CV313, One of the most respected figures in the deeper end of dub techno, he brings his unmistakable sense of space and depth to the release, making this a particularly fitting and exciting collaboration.

Elegant, restrained and deeply atmospheric, Random Layers is another strong statement from Gradient and a perfect fit for Alt Dub.

Paraiso has been doing vital work in Portugal - documenting the underground dance scene's history and pioneers in various mediums while also showcasing equally brilliant artists from newer generations. And they've been doing it for a decade now: we all know that a label dedicated to its local scene through and through is something rare and should be celebrated. This compilation 'X - 10 Years of Underground House Music from a Paradise Called Portugal' is a manifestation of that cross-generational spirit, with ten never-before-heard pieces of music by initiators and legends like The Advent alongside more recent veterans like Roundhouse Kick and Vil or younger talent like Phoebe or Van Der. Things start off with Salbany's 'Trax 10', oozing a techno elegance and irrefutable groove that wonderfully portrays the spirit of the Lisbon sound: raw yet ethereal, disarming in its simplicity while containing rave, romance and rhythmic complexities. Label founders Maria Amor & Shcuro firmly carry on the torch with 'Intracellular', gelled by dubby washes, syncopated drums, infectious rhythmic sense and layered with a melodic vocal motif. Vil's 'Cave' brings in stone-cold tight percussion offset by rich, evocative pads and technoid know-how for days. The Advent steps in with an ode to acid-minimalism, raw and slow-burning, with curious and twisted moments peppered with the skill of an expert. Van Der storms in with a piece of hybrid qualities, impeccably blending a swing onto industrial territories for a hypnotic-yet-banging hands in the air dancefloor moment. Scam Dust (the duo of Tiago and Shcuro, from adjacent generations) picks up on the industrial flavours, adds furious jacking rhythmics and live sonic experimentation that takes us to peak-quality effect and noise manipulation. 'Subvert' follows and goes deeper, as if into the depths of the ocean, with aquatic arpeggios and sparse drums that morph into an 303-driven state of mysterious oceanfloor mania - Roundhouse Kick sending us messages from the South. Violet and her 'Dream Machine' emerge with its mutant noisy motif, delay-drenched percussion and steady beat interrupted by keys, drum variations - and a u-turn to its paranoid loopy beginnings. Phoebe enters the chat and brings sonic sun rays in 'Galaxia 2000', a wide-eyed moment lead by colourful, open synthesisers with gates and filters taking us on a beautiful ride on tense, swingy drum patterns. The tenth track comes from Lisbon's rkeat and is full of closing act ear-candy with its beautifully chiseled, groovy as hell percussion, organic sonics and metallic instruments that seem to announce that the next decade is about to be just as good, if not better than this lovely 2016-2026 stint of boundary and scene-pushing.

Melissa Weikart and her piano have proceeded through life in step, from her early classical


training to the experimental practice that defines her work today, a blending of sounds and forms that has never been so clear—and so fully realized—as on her new album, Contact. Across twelve shifting and evocative tracks that examine the connective tissue binding us to ourselves and others, the Franco-American musician’s voice and piano navigate personal and emotional terrain with clarity and nuance, forging a rich dialogue between artist and instrument, artist and self, and artist and listener.


Winner of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations emerging artist award and the instrumentalist prize at the 2023 La Défense National Jazz Competition, Weikart has released two EPs and an album as a solo artist, and one EP and an album—Surprise and Secret—with her electronic duo Beatrice Melissa. A student of jazz and ’70s folk-pop, and a keen lover of improvisation since her time at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Weikart has always conjured the confessional candor of the singer- songwriter in her music, even as she dispenses her lyrics across rich, shifting, dreamlike tableaux.


On Contact, written and arranged entirely by Weikart (aside from “New angles”), she pushes her sound further than ever before. The album is animated by a pressing need for connection, observing what brings us together and what drives us apart, and the life-saving revelations that emerge along the way. The album’s opener, “Crash,” is a dreamy telephone-hour ode, a message in a bottle, to connections new and old. On the wistful “Mesurer le vent,” Weikart conjures Debussy or Ravel, layering contrasting sounds like an Impressionist painting. The title track begins as a showcase of Weikart’s frank lyricism, a splice-reel of missed connections and wasted time, then glides into a hazy, euphoric galaxy of pleas, circling around her thesis—“I wanted to make contact”—that ushers us into “The Intersection,” a song that recalls her the beginning of her career, when it was just Weikart and her keys. “Appétit.e” is built around a sample of her down-the-hall neighbor’s drumming—another subtle, affecting gesture toward proximity and connection—while pulsating synths reminiscent of Air lend the track an unsteady atmosphere. On the Carpenters-inspired “Expectations,” Weikart muses on the relationship patterns, universal and specific, that have always been a hallmark of her songwriting.

The psychedelic “L’amour de construit” is a slow-motion fall down the rabbit hole, as Weikart
considers the way her own emotions are captured and commodified by the confining ways we think about love. The interlude—“L’amour pt. 2”—finds her near the end of that trip, shouting into the void as a last-ditch effort to rescue herself from the fall. The drums near the end of the interlude warn us that there may be no cushion for, until she is saved, again, by the power of revelation, on the confident, resilient “Not Right”—on which a show-stopping, frenetic conversation between singer and piano is gracefully interrupted by a rush of transcendent strings, lifting her back up.

On solid ground anew, “New angles,” featuring Manu Delta, creates a percussion-less groove that relies on experimental synth sounds. The 11-o’clock stunner “Catching up”—composed in a church—meets the singer in a state of ecstatic confession, bringing her to the formative memory that propels “Bicycle,” the album’s closer. Younger, more wide-eyed, she reflects on her move from Boston to Strasbourg, those early days, when Weikart had no other companion than that loyal hunk of scrap metal that took her to the shores of her own soul. She seems to suggest, on “Bicycle,” that a backward-glance is not always troublesome, not always anxiety-producing, but can be grounding: a reminder of where we come from, so that we can keep moving forward.

There's a moment during every great dance floor experience when the music takes over and everyone becomes part of something bigger. "SHOUT!", the latest release from 2SoulFusion Presents Ascension, captures that feeling in its purest form. Featuring the powerhouse voices and ad-libs of Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, along with an all-star ensemble of master vocalists including Josh Milan, Rahsaan Patterson, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Ramona Dunlap, and Lea Lorien, this joyful anthem is an invitation to let go, lift your spirit, and celebrate through music.

Produced, written, arranged, and mixed by 2SoulFusion—Louie Vega and Josh Milan—"SHOUT!" draws inspiration from the communal spirit of gospel while embracing the energy and freedom of house music. Driven by simple yet powerful affirmations—"Shout," "Sing," "Move," "Love," "Get Up On Your Feet," "Listen Up," and "Let This Music Take You Higher"—the song transforms into an experience where every voice becomes part of the celebration. It's a journey of anthemic hooks, soaring harmonies, infectious grooves, and unforgettable melodies designed to ignite dance floors, uplift hearts, and remind us that music has the power to unite people through rhythm, joy, and love.

The inspiration for "SHOUT!" was born from a creative exchange between Louie Vega and Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director of the internationally acclaimed fashion house Casablanca. Introduced by longtime friend Joseph Capriati, Charaf shared a bold vision—to bring together the worlds of fashion, gospel, and house music for one unforgettable Casablanca runway presentation in Paris.

Louie Vega recalls: “Charaf was introduced to me by my friend Joseph Capriati, who said Charaf was looking to meet me about an idea he had. His vision was to marry fashion, gospel, and house music within Casablanca's collection. At first, he wanted me to DJ and play gospel house music. I said, 'Instead of playing existing music, why don't I create an original song with a gospel house flavor?' I immediately got together with my 2SoulFusion partner Josh Milan, and together we came up with 'SHOUT!'”

That vision came to life during Casablanca's spectacular Paris presentation inside a breathtaking cathedral, where Louie Vega premiered the original twelve-minute and nine-second composition live. As the music echoed through the cathedral, Dames Brown joined the London House Gospel Choir in a soul-stirring performance while the models walked the aisle on Casablanca's carpet made of their signature green color and a dashing vibrating giant mirror echoing the runway visually. Renowned DJs Luciano and Chloé Caillet were among those who walked the runway, while friends of Charaf Tajer and special guests—including Jaden Thompson, Folamour, Dimitri From Paris, Kapela, and many others—were in attendance, making it an unforgettable gathering where music, spirituality, fashion, and culture merged into one extraordinary experience.

Inspired by that magical evening in Paris, Louie Vega and Josh Milan returned to the studio to expand the original composition into the powerful recording heard today. Built around rich live musicianship, Josh Milan's keyboards, organ, piano and synth bass provide the foundation alongside Axel Tosca's expressive grand piano recorded live, Sherrod Barnes' soulful guitar, and Gene Perez's unmistakable bass groove. Together they create an infectious, organic driving sound that allows the vocals to soar while delivering the unmistakable musical depth and musicianship that define 2SoulFusion.

Leading the celebration are Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, whose commanding performances are elevated by an extraordinary choir of world-class vocalists. Dames Brown's spirited sermon and ad-libs, and Dawn Tallman’s powerful ad-lib vamping out together with the soaring harmonies of Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Rahsaan Patterson, Ramona Dunlap, Lea Lorien, and Josh Milan, recreate the feeling of a joyful gospel congregation—not confined to four walls, but alive on dance floors around the world. Every chorus encourages listeners to get up, listen up, feel it, sing, move, love, and become part of the experience. Recorded between Honeycomb Studios in Pennsylvania, The Hub Ibiza and Manhattan Center Studios, New York City, and mixed at The Hub Ibiza, "SHOUT!" reflects the continuing vision of the Ascension project, where spirituality, musicianship, community, fashion, and dance music become one.

It’s rare for a hardcore punk band to make four full-length albums, and rarer still for the fourth album to be the band’s masterpiece. Yet Paratiisi, the fourth album from Helsinki punks Kohti Tuhoa, stands as the undeniable coup de grâce of a catalog overflowing with classic hardcore punk. If you’re already a fan, it’ll comfort you to know Paratiisi leans heavily on the strengths Kohti Tuhoa has possessed since their earliest releases: a timeless sound that combines UK82 drive and hooks with dramatic metal flourishes; a captivating vocalist with the perfect balance of grit and clarity, who can both howl like a banshee and carry a tune; and a particularly Finnish way with a driving, medium-fast tempo. But for all the continuities with Kohti Tuhoa’s excellent previous records, Paratiisi almost feels like the work of a new band. The riffs and choruses that anchor the album are impossibly catchy; Paratiisi bulges with huge moments that practically force you to air guitar and sing along (even if you don’t speak a word of Finnish), the band’s peerless chops and the rich and clear recording driving these climaxes to dizzying highs. But while the hooks are memorable, there isn’t a moment on Paratiisi that feels dumbed-down or overly familiar.

In fact, the album feels notably ambitious, pulling influences from across punk’s historical and aesthetic breadth and digesting them seamlessly into Kohti Tuhoa’s distinctive sound. The lyrics (don’t worry: English translations are included!) meet the same high bar as the music. They’re direct, assertive, and punk, but they’re also subtle and insightful, whether they’re tackling huge issues like microplastics or sharing a very personal account of a sexual assault and its aftermath. And then there’s Paratiisi’s most unexpected moment, “Eliitin Psykopatia,” a free punk freakout in the tradition of “Why (Reprise)” and “L.A. Blues.” If Kohti Tuhoa’s brief foray into free jazz tries your patience, though, don’t worry, because after three minutes of building tension, they reward you with what is bound to be the best riff of 2026, a clash of chords potent enough to blow holes through walls the world over. Paratiisi is the sound of one hardcore punk’s most exciting bands at the height of their powers.

Dusky return to Anjunadeep with their forthcoming studio album ‘Signals’. The London duo first debuted on Anjunadeep in 2011 with their critically acclaimed album Stick By This. Expanding the boundaries of deep house and UK club music, the record marked the beginning of Dusky’s rise as one of the scene’s most respected acts. Their breakout track ‘Careless’, released via Aus Music, further cemented their reputation, amassing more than 14 million streams and becoming one of the defining UK house records of its generation. In 2014, the pair launched their own imprint, 17 Steps, which has since hosted releases and remixes from artists including Nathan Micay, LTJ Bukem, Interplanetary Criminal, Denham Audio and Shed. Since then, Dusky have released two further studio albums, Joy and Pressure, alongside a string of acclaimed singles. Their music has earned support from Pete Tong, Danny Howard and Sarah Story on BBC Radio 1, as well as widespread backing from leading DJs including Jamie Jones, Peggy Gou, Gorgon City, TEED and TSHA. While 'Signals' represents a natural continuation of the Dusky story, it also ventures into more reflective territory than previous releases. The album's wider range of influences and more contemplative mood offer a fresh perspective on the duo's sound, while also paying subtle homage to their acclaimed debut album ‘Stick By This’. Featuring multiple collaborations with vocalist Rromarin, alongside a contribution from Nadeem and Pritt, 'Signals' reflects a creative process that unfolded over many years. Some tracks grew from ideas first sketched long ago, while others emerged more recently, giving the album a sense of both history and momentum. Across its 13 tracks, 'Signals' balances Dusky's club-rooted instincts with downtempo offerings. Tracks such as 'Next Life', 'Kadhalan' and 'Lab' showcase the duo's signature combination of bold basslines, driving rhythms and emotional resonance. Elsewhere, 'Elm' and 'Bindweed' slow the tempo and draw on the warmth of soul, the deeper edges of disco and richly textured live instrumentation.

**LTD 500 ONLY COPIES ON CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL**


Time to turn on and turn it up, theres a brand new Carlton Melton in the offing… its been a good couple of years since the West Coast space/sike travellers have dropped new music.


‘Phantomize beyond the window, into the portal, the panes of eternal returns, wooden spirals, roots into the realms of everything and nothing, the reason beings’


With Anthony Taibi fully ensconsed in the metaphorical Melton Dome, this four piece is ready to soar, go deeper and wider into the sike psyche than on previous recordings, now fully recording live with drums, bass, guitars and keys...recorded at 3D Light in Freshwater, CA by Anthony Tiabi in 2025, and mastered by the inimitable John Mcbain in 2026.


We have a single LP of 40+ minutes spanning 4 tracks, that have textures, and waves and patterns to lull you into some fever dream of motorik psych! Touchstones like Träd, Gräs Och Stenar / Kandodo / Guru Guru / Eno & Fripp / Birds of Maya / Parson Sound come into view.


There are moments of gentle ambience bordered by speaker shredding guitar soloing, whole passages of Krautrock inspired jams that have form and focus.. you blink and your live flashes before you, the record ends, you want more..


There are moments of gentle ambience bordered by speaker shredding guitar soloing, whole passages of Krautrock inspired jams that have form and focus.. you blink and your live flashes before you, the record ends, you want more.. Carlton Melton masterfully blend hypnotic, long-form psychedelic jams with drone and Krautrock influences.


Band:

Rich Millman
Andy Duvall
Clint Golden
Anthony Taibi


Announced to celebrate summers solstice.. released on the Autumn equinox.. with a full UK tour to boot..


Come fly / fry with us…

Curses' dark, romantic take on electronic music is often linked to EBM, new beat, synth-pop, and the offshoots in between - but, as the artist states, it's feelings, not genres, that motivate his music. Especially the underground and its niche sounds, brimming with collective energy, drive and passion, make for a major impetus. It's no coincidence that he's drawn to the era when man turned to the machine, as a collaborative force, and a new kind of liveliness, timelessness, emerged. In Curses' practice, this synergy translates into an enticing mix of synthesisers and voices, electronic drums and guitars. Nostalgia operates as an influence rather than a motive, though: despite its affinities with the past, his music is stridently contemporary and idiosyncratic. On the "Perfect High" EP, this approach is rendered in a resolutely dancefloor-oriented selection. It's rich in detail and constantly evolving; each time a new element appears, it's treated with such delight and care that you could imagine the track to flit off and turn it into the main theme. This doesn't happen, however, as the sense of cohesion and momentum is paramount: there's a relentless forward drive that keeps engagement tight from start to finish. The detuned, chorus-heavy leads of title track "Perfect High" and the clockwork-tinged percussion of "Weapon Of Time" jell with lustrous hooks. The ominous choirs on "Dare To Dream" and the proto rolling-and-scratching squelches of "Killer Instinct" similarly fall into place. Bravado never stands in the way of flow. Everything is kept in check by gated R-50 rhythms, and in the vocal department, Curses finds the sweet spot between his own voice and a slew of off-kilter samples. On closer "Blasted" NYC royalty Andi joins for a slab of synth-driven groove. It's shiny and sensuous, like patent leather - a perfect distillation of club music channeled through pop aesthetics, and thus a right coda for ALT028.

Like a pelican spotting its moment, Dimitri Andreas returns with a collection shaped by patience, precision and instinct.

Pelican marks a new chapter for a respected figure in underground electronic music. While recent years saw Andreas immersed in theatre productions, immersive audio experiences and multidisciplinary artistic projects, his fascination with rhythm, space, tension and emotion never left. It simply found different forms.

On Pelican, those worlds converge.

Across five original productions, Andreas distills the elements that have long defined his sound: hypnotic grooves, organic percussion, tribal influences, rich atmospheres and a deep sense of movement. The title track glides on suspense and anticipation, while Omenica and Mahu explore the groove driven territory that has become synonymous with his name. Cambolisa delivers a powerful melodic payoff, and Ember closes the journey with vintage synth warmth and restless energy.

The release is completed by three outstanding remixes from artists whose influence on contemporary electronic music is undeniable. Deetron reshapes Pelican into a deep and sophisticated techno excursion, Extrawelt transforms it into a cinematic and evolving voyage, while Petar Dundov expands Cambolisa into an emotional and atmospheric journey of his own.

Following a series of acclaimed MOVE Recordings releases supported by DJs including Sven Väth, Timo Maas, Jamie Jones and Fedele, Pelican arrives as a body of work shaped by years of exploration beyond the confines of club culture.

Rather than revisiting the past, Andreas brings those experiences back to the dance floor: music with patience, depth and perspective. Pelican is the sound of an artist returning not to where he started, but with everything he discovered along the way.

Already Supported by Laurent Garnier, Alexi Delano, Âme, Ilario Alicante, Just Her, Adriatique, Karotte, Danny Howells, Drumcomplex, Paco Osuna, Steve Parry, Marco Bailey, Alex Neri, Pole Folder, Amand, Calao, Neon, Gay Barone, ….

To close out the year, Life In Patterns presents Spektrum II, the second installment in the compilation series curated by Ferdinger. This 16-track VA, scheduled to release in early December 2024, comes as a double vinyl with four digital bonus tracks and download codes.

Spektrum II ventures into the depths of dynamic techno, combining driving beats with intricate, groove-rich patterns. The compilation seamlessly shifts from deep, dubby tones to bright, euphoric moments, embodying the labels signature sound. Its a bold exploration of diverse sonic textures, blending harmonic and dissonant elements for an immersive listening experience.

Shape of the Unknown’ is kind of a double LP that fully embraces the idea of exploration. It is CHLOÉ’s most expansive and immersive work to date. ‘Shape of the Unknown’ is CHLOÉ’s fourth proper studio album. Its predecessor, ‘Endless Revisions’, was released in 2017. Nine years have passed. Nine years during which CHLOÉ has continued digging for music, DJing at internationally renowned clubs and festivals including Rex Club, Robert Johnson, Panorama Bar, Nuits Sonores, Glastonbury and many more, releasing EPs and remixes, while also allowing herself the time to explore entirely new creative paths.


The challenge is to capture the unknown, make it her own, endlessly reshape its textures, and ultimately preserve its mystery.


The first single ‘Drifter’, released back in June, already offered a striking glimpse of the sonic territories the album would venture into, driven by its hypnotically contoured basslines. The album's two other singles offer different windows into her world. 'Shapeshifter' captures CHLOÉ at her most hypnotic, balancing stripped-back techno and melodic house through deep rolling grooves, expansive bass chords and subtle rhythmic shifts that constantly reshape the listener's perception without ever disrupting the flow. Later, 'Repeating The Obvious' takes a more leftfield route, pairing staggered rhythms with retro-inspired harmonics and an understated indie dance pulse that feels simultaneously familiar and unpredictable.
CHLOÉ has ventured into live performance through new formats, notably alongside percussionist Vassilena Serafimova; immersed herself in film scoring with soundtracks for Paris la Blanche, Arthur Rambo, The Mountain, Blanquita, Guru and Unsubmissives; and developed compelling collaborations, from High Season, her project with Ben Shemie of Canadian band Suuns (which resulted in the album The Call), to her own organic, experimental audiovisual performances under the name Slo/Mo AV.


Throughout Shape of the Unknown, CHLOÉ blurs the boundaries between deep house, hypnotic techno, electronica and cinematic sound design with remarkable fluidity. The album unfolds as a continuous narrative rather than a sequence of tracks, moving effortlessly between beatless ambient passages, rolling analogue grooves and emotionally charged club music. Organic percussion, sweeping bass movements, melancholic harmonies and richly textured synthesisers create a body of work that constantly evolves, where no section feels static and every transition reveals another layer of depth. There is an unmistakable warmth running through the record, with grainy analogue textures and spacious production giving even its most driving moments an intimate, almost tactile quality.
The album’s title is no coincidence. It evokes a form that has yet to be named, something language itself struggles to grasp. CHLOÉ approaches it through an organic creative process. Each piece must first be performed in the studio, almost as if it were being played live. The album will be followed by a series of live performances and DJ sets, including a show at the Olympia on March 18, 2027.


She is joined by a handful of steadfast collaborators. Jazz trumpeter David Enhco appears on two tracks, ‘Undertow’ and ‘Inner Bass’. But above all, there are the voices: Ben Shemie lends his unmistakable presence to the radiant ‘More Than Just a Feeling’. Olivia Merilahti, singer, songwriter and one half of The Dø, appears on the otherworldly ‘TWYR’. Working with Olivia’s already hypnotic voice, CHLOÉ has approached it like a sculptor, enhancing its strangeness and dreamlike quality.
And finally, impossible to miss is the instantly recognizable voice of Kittin. A longtime accomplice, she lends her distinctive phrasing to CHLOÉ’s music here for the very first time. The strongest collaborations are often those that take their time, arriving only when the moment is right. Same kind, same bass, same vibe, same pride.


The result is an enigmatic, nocturnal record, drifting between introspective listening and dancefloor functionality, revealing an artist who remains far more interested in atmosphere, movement and emotional storytelling than conventional club structures. It is an album that invites us to dream more deeply and to dance again, both within ourselves and out in the open.

At the heart of ‘Diese Fragile Praesenz’ lies a melancholic yet propulsive drone, constructed from a field recording and drenched in white noise. Around this softly glowing orb Kelovolt constructs a vast, shifting, sombre soundscape. Lush, magisterial pads, starry-eyed synth work, cold washes of tape hiss and static melt in and out of the mise-en-scène. Crumbling walls of bass and distortion collapse in slow motion even as rich, brasslike harmonies elevate the listening mind. Long keening synth notes emerge from the fog, intertwining with falling tubular figures, a journey through a wormhole of sound both monumental and fragile.
The accompanying reinterpretations approach this deeply rich source material with discerning reverence. Voltmar's version deepens the grain of the original, with sharper percussion and washes of static that blow through the mix like little gales of dust. Anthony Linell's PM and AM remixes delve into a darker emotional core, placing at the centre a low, shadowy synth pulse around which mists of tape hiss and distortion swirl. Black Merlin steers the track down the path of eerie psychedelia, echoing clicks and dubwise space around a groove often found in the deeper chasms of contemporary techno.
Elsewhere, Die Wilde Jagd stretches the original into a mesmeric landscape of drones, occasional distant percussion and heavy fog, punctuated by fleeting moments of melodic clarity and beautifully resonant bell tones. CV313's pair of reworks complete the collection by exploring two complementary dimensions of the original through his signature dub approach. The Gravitational Pull mix feels the most true to the title track, amplifying its starry-eyed, celestial qualities, with a softer, hazier version built around a deep bass groove, while the Dimensional Dub descends into vast caverns of echo, resonance and alien texture - strong dub-techno sensibilities loom large in this mix.
Endlessly contemplative, endlessly exploratory, minimood027 is a trip to its own sonic galaxy that spirals inexorably outward, carrying the mind to ever wider astral planes. But at the core is that ever-pulsing drone, the black abyss that draws consciousness powerlessly back into the great nothingness.

*Originally pressed in 2021 - this is a brand new master and cut.**

In partnership with Analogue Foundation, Oshu Records is proud to present the exclusive vinyl repress of "Laroyê" in a thick cardboard tip-on gatefold jacket on 2x 180g vinyl.

Acclaimed Hungarian, Berlin-based producer, composer and pianist Àbáse (AKA Szabolcs Bognár) returns, sharing a special, 5 anniversary remaster of his breakthrough project 'Laroyê'. Releasing on Friday 1 May via Bridge The Gap & Oshu Records, this sensitive exploration of Afro-Brazilian culture originally began as an audio diary, documenting Szabolcs’ travels and collaborations in Brazil through a collection of voice memos, fragmented beats, sketches and field recordings. As his journey progressed, and his collaborations and research deepened, the music project started to take on its own life:

"Laroyê evolved through weeks and months of research and collaborations into the album that it is now. That means that all the sessions were done in different apartments, small studios, often with borrowed equipment, which all adds to the character, but makes the creation of a coherent sound a challenge. Benjamin Tierney, Erik Breuer and Analogue Foundation did an incredible job with the mixes and with this new remaster. I truly believe that we are able to hear the tracks in a new light, with even more depth and clarity."

Coming from the West African Yoruban language, Àbáse stands for "collaboration" – a key element of the music perfectly encapsulated on 'Laroyê'. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Àbáse spent five months working with diverse artists, from young talents to veterans of the Brazilian scene including Letieres Leite, Luciane Dom, Dofono d'Omolu, Afrojazz and more. The album explores the rich heritage of afro-brasilian culture through samba, MPB and Candomblé, mixing these with broken beat, hip hop and afrobeat, creating a contemporary homage to the classic Brazilian sound. Szabolcs shares:

"Despite already leading and managing musical projects that are close to my hearth, I always felt that one day I would like to start a solo project, where I could take full responsibility for the artistic direction and the music would reflect a truly personal vision. In 2017, I decided to take five months to fulfil a childhood dream and travel to Brazil to expand my creative horizon and expose myself to new influences."

An album standout is the bass-heavy, afro-brazilian ‘Agangatolú, which Àbáse describes as "best exemplifying the story and concept of Laroye as a collaborative effort - a research project exploring the rich heritage of Afro Brazilian culture through my own lens." The track features singers and percussion players Jadson Xabla and Gabriel Santana - two artists based out of one of the oldest terreiros (houses of worship) in Bahia, whilst drummer Jorge Dubman is an integral part of one of the most famous afrobeat bands from Salvador IFA. The contributions of one of Szabolcsoldest collaborators - Hungarian flautist Fanni Zahar - also made the track a full-circle moment.

On a quest for cosmic grooves of unity, Àbáses music pulls from an eclectic blend of global reference points, including modal jazz, Hungarian folk, West African, Brazilian, hiphop and underground electronic music. His work has drawn widespread critical acclaim from the likes of MOJO, Songlines, Soulection and The Guardian, and been supported by key tastemakers including Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova and BAMBII. As a keyboard player, Szabolcs has also collaborated with the likes of Wayne Snow, Dele Sosimi, Patti Smith, Emmanuel Wilkins, Gulty Simpson and Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange.

'Laroyê' (2026 Remaster) will release on Friday 1st May via Bridge The Gap & Oshu Records.

Limen brings together two artists whose musical paths converge around a shared sensitivity to listening, resonance, and the evocative power of sound.
Recorded at Ritmo e Blu Studio during a five-day residency between spring and summer 2025, the album emerged from a series of spontaneous encounters free from predetermined structures. The pieces preserve their original form, retaining the immediacy and temporal flow of the dialogues as they first unfolded.
Subsequent interventions were conceived not as revisions, but as an exploration of the open spaces already present within the recordings—deepening what remained unspoken and extending resonances without altering the music's natural evolution.
The title, derived from the Latin word for “threshold,” reflects the nature of the project itself: a place of passage between improvisation and composition, silence and vibration, memory and imagination. Limen inhabits a suspended territory where listening becomes an experience of openness, presence, and transformation.
---
Lino Capra Vaccina
Lino Capra Vaccina is one of the most distinctive voices in Italian experimental music. A percussionist, composer, and pioneer of minimalist and meditative sound practices, he first emerged in the early 1970s as a founding member of the influential group Aktuala, whose visionary fusion of ancient traditions, improvisation, and contemporary research anticipated what would later become known as world music.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, Vaccina has cultivated a unique artistic language centred on vibration, resonance, and the transformative power of sound. His landmark 1978 album Antico Adagio remains a touchstone of European minimalism, while his collaborations have included figures such as Franco Battiato, Juri Camisasca, Markus Stockhausen, Keith Tippett, Paolo Tofani, and many others.
Whether working with percussion, piano, electronics, or voice, Vaccina's music seeks a state of suspension and contemplation. His compositions unfold as immersive sonic environments whereancient echoes and contemporary sensibilities meet, inviting listeners into an experience that is at once intimate, spiritual, and timeless.
---
Luca Formentini
Luca Formentini is an Italian composer, sound artist, and improviser whose work unfolds at the intersection of experimentation, atmosphere, and deep listening. Active since the late 1990s, he has developed a highly personal language in which guitar, voice, field recordings, and electroacoustic processes become tools for exploring memory, perception, and the expressive potential of sound itself.
His music resists easy categorization, moving freely between ambient, contemporary composition, improvisation, and sound art. Throughout his career he has released numerous solo works and collaborated with a wide range of internationally acclaimed musicians, including Holger Czukay, Robert Rich, Markus Stockhausen, Steve Jansen, Theo Travis and Steve Lawson.His recordings have appeared on labels across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.
Rooted in a practice of attentive listening and sonic exploration, Formentini creates evocative musical landscapes that invite reflection rather than certainty, opening spaces where silence, texture, and resonance become as meaningful as melody itself.

Twenty-five years after its original release, Markus Guentner's debut album In Moll returns in a special anniversary reissue on Black Knoll Editions, reaffirming its place as one of the defining ambient recordings of the early 21st century.

Released in 2001 during the formative years of Kompakt's influential Pop Ambient series, In Moll emerged from a period of rapid transformation in electronic music. New technologies, expanding digital networks, and shifting creative possibilities allowed artists to imagine entirely new sonic worlds. Amid this fertile landscape, Guentner's music stood apart. Combining delicate melodic fragments, slow-moving harmonies, and a remarkable sense of spatial depth, In Moll introduced a distinct artistic voice whose impact can still be felt a quarter-century later.

The album arrived shortly after Guentner's contributions to the inaugural Pop Ambient compilation, including the now-beloved "Regensburg 1," named after his Bavarian hometown. Those early recordings immediately captured the attention of Kompakt founders Michael Mayer and Wolfgang Voigt. Recalling his first encounter with the music, Mayer describes listening to a demo CDR with Voigt while wandering through Cologne late into the night, replaying the tracks for hours. "We knew that we had found something outrageously beautiful and we wanted the whole world to listen."

Across its running time, In Moll unfolds like a series of dreamlike landscapes, inviting the listener into a world that feels both familiar and strangely other. Bells, hisses, distant textures, and slow-moving bass tones drift through vast expanses of atmosphere while luminous synthesizer washes seem to blur the horizon in a fine digital mist. The album's transportive qualities are matched by a remarkable sense of compositional discipline. Every gesture feels deliberate, every texture carefully placed. Balancing warmth and melancholy with restraint, Guentner created a body of work that rewards both close listening and complete surrender.

Reflecting on the album twenty-five years later, Wolfgang Voigt describes Guentner as "one of the first, but also one of the most important ambient artists" associated with Kompakt, calling his music "an integral, timeless part of the long history of pop ambient." Music critic and former Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Mark Richardson, who reviewed In Moll upon its original release, similarly noted that the album "marked the arrival of an important new voice," and today regards it as "one of the finest ambient releases of the decade."

The album's influence continues to extend far beyond its original audience. For many listeners, In Moll served as an entry point into a new understanding of what ambient music could be. Black Knoll boss Rafael Anton Irisarri first encountered the album shortly after its release in 2001. "It immediately opened a door to a world of music I didn't know existed," he recalls. "At a time when I was still discovering my own creative voice, Markus showed me entirely new possibilities for what electronic music could communicate." Simply put, "The Sight Below would not have existed without In Moll paving the way."

Far from a historical curiosity, In Moll continues to feel strikingly contemporary. What once sounded futuristic now feels timeless, its patient pacing, attention to detail, and sense of wonder remaining entirely intact. The album's enduring power lies not only in its influence, but in the curiosity it continues to inspire, inviting listeners to step inside its world and lose themselves within it.

To mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, Black Knoll Editions presents the most complete edition of In Moll to date. Newly remastered in full analog by Rafael Anton Irisarri, this expanded release pairs the original album with a newly reworked interpretation by Markus Guentner himself, revisiting the material through the lens of twenty-five years of artistic development. The anniversary edition also features a new visual presentation designed by Guentner, offering a visual counterpart to the album's continued evolution. Together, these recordings and visuals celebrate both the enduring legacy of In Moll and its ability to reveal new dimensions twenty-five years later.

This 25th Anniversary Edition on Black Knoll Editions celebrates a recording whose quiet impact has only grown with time, preserving a work that remains as evocative, singular, and essential today as it was in 2001.

Twenty-five years after its original release, Markus Guentner's debut album In Moll returns in a special anniversary reissue on Black Knoll Editions, reaffirming its place as one of the defining ambient recordings of the early 21st century.

Released in 2001 during the formative years of Kompakt's influential Pop Ambient series, In Moll emerged from a period of rapid transformation in electronic music. New technologies, expanding digital networks, and shifting creative possibilities allowed artists to imagine entirely new sonic worlds. Amid this fertile landscape, Guentner's music stood apart. Combining delicate melodic fragments, slow-moving harmonies, and a remarkable sense of spatial depth, In Moll introduced a distinct artistic voice whose impact can still be felt a quarter-century later.

The album arrived shortly after Guentner's contributions to the inaugural Pop Ambient compilation, including the now-beloved "Regensburg 1," named after his Bavarian hometown. Those early recordings immediately captured the attention of Kompakt founders Michael Mayer and Wolfgang Voigt. Recalling his first encounter with the music, Mayer describes listening to a demo CDR with Voigt while wandering through Cologne late into the night, replaying the tracks for hours. "We knew that we had found something outrageously beautiful and we wanted the whole world to listen."

Across its running time, In Moll unfolds like a series of dreamlike landscapes, inviting the listener into a world that feels both familiar and strangely other. Bells, hisses, distant textures, and slow-moving bass tones drift through vast expanses of atmosphere while luminous synthesizer washes seem to blur the horizon in a fine digital mist. The album's transportive qualities are matched by a remarkable sense of compositional discipline. Every gesture feels deliberate, every texture carefully placed. Balancing warmth and melancholy with restraint, Guentner created a body of work that rewards both close listening and complete surrender.

Reflecting on the album twenty-five years later, Wolfgang Voigt describes Guentner as "one of the first, but also one of the most important ambient artists" associated with Kompakt, calling his music "an integral, timeless part of the long history of pop ambient." Music critic and former Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Mark Richardson, who reviewed In Moll upon its original release, similarly noted that the album "marked the arrival of an important new voice," and today regards it as "one of the finest ambient releases of the decade."

The album's influence continues to extend far beyond its original audience. For many listeners, In Moll served as an entry point into a new understanding of what ambient music could be. Black Knoll boss Rafael Anton Irisarri first encountered the album shortly after its release in 2001. "It immediately opened a door to a world of music I didn't know existed," he recalls. "At a time when I was still discovering my own creative voice, Markus showed me entirely new possibilities for what electronic music could communicate." Simply put, "The Sight Below would not have existed without In Moll paving the way."

Far from a historical curiosity, In Moll continues to feel strikingly contemporary. What once sounded futuristic now feels timeless, its patient pacing, attention to detail, and sense of wonder remaining entirely intact. The album's enduring power lies not only in its influence, but in the curiosity it continues to inspire, inviting listeners to step inside its world and lose themselves within it.

To mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, Black Knoll Editions presents the most complete edition of In Moll to date. Newly remastered in full analog by Rafael Anton Irisarri, this expanded release pairs the original album with a newly reworked interpretation by Markus Guentner himself, revisiting the material through the lens of twenty-five years of artistic development. The anniversary edition also features a new visual presentation designed by Guentner, offering a visual counterpart to the album's continued evolution. Together, these recordings and visuals celebrate both the enduring legacy of In Moll and its ability to reveal new dimensions twenty-five years later.

This 25th Anniversary Edition on Black Knoll Editions celebrates a recording whose quiet impact has only grown with time, preserving a work that remains as evocative, singular, and essential today as it was in 2001.

The journey continues.

For the seventh edition of the Vega Records 5 Pack Unreleased series, Louie Vega once again opens the vault to reveal a special collection of unreleased recordings, alternate versions, remixes, demos, tribute reworks and deep cuts from the Vega Records musical family.

5 Pack Unreleased VII brings together 15 tracks across five 12-inch records, showcasing the wide musical spectrum that has always been part of the Vega Records story. From soulful house and deep grooves to jazz, soul, Brazilian influences, live instrumentation, Latin influences, powerful vocals, disco-rooted rhythms and the freedom to experiment in the studio, this collection moves through many different sides of the music.

Some of these recordings have been waiting patiently in the vault. Others represent alternate versions of songs that continue to evolve through different interpretations. Together, they create another musical journey through the sounds, collaborations and ideas that have shaped the Vega Records universe.

These final recordings speak to something that has always been important to Louie’s musical journey: respecting the music that came before while finding a way to reinterpret it through his own musical language.

From Loleatta Holloway and Duane Harden to Elements Of Life, 2SoulFusion, Domo Domo, Brutha Louie & Brutha Basil, and the tribute recordings, 5 Pack Unreleased VII brings together different generations, different voices and different musical influences under one roof.

The Elements Of Life sound continues throughout the collection, with “Sunshine (I Can Fly),” “Every Step” and “Dreamer” offering special previews into the musical direction of the forthcoming 2027 Elements Of Life album.

This is the seventh chapter of the series, but the philosophy remains the same:

Open the vault.
Share the music.
Let the DJs discover it.
Let the dancers feel it.
Five records.
Fifteen tracks.

A collection of unreleased music, special versions, studio discoveries, tributes and musical experiments from the world of Vega Records — with plenty more waiting inside the vault.

Minutiae is the first full-length release form Stockholm’s Ināra Quartet, made up of brothers Kasper (guitar, banjo, mandolin) and Mauritz Agnas (bass, cello), Johan Graden (piano, harmonium, synths) and Mischa Grind (percussion). Drawing on wide performance and composition experience in free improvisation, jazz, and composed new music, the quartet have carved out a unique niche where radical approaches to rhythmic organisation and group interaction are wedded to immediately accessible, folkish melodic and harmonic material. Unfolding briskly across eight pop-song length tracks, Minutiae places these folk fragments under a microscope, expanding them into intricate patterns of group interplay by turns austere and lushly psychedelic.

The quartet’s layering of independent rhythms, pulses, and tempi suggests a range of precedents, from Ligeti’s ticking clock textures to the pulse music of John McGuire, the repeating asynchronous cycles of The Necks, and the intricate irregular crosshatching of Banda music. Rhythm, harmony and melody shade into one another within each of the instrumental layers that overlap to form the music’s rippling surface. At points guitar, bass, percussion, and keyboards can seem each to occupy their own world, each player moving independently according to their own internal tactus, but attention to the details of group interplay reveals carefully planned collective movement. On ‘Klapparen’, strummed acoustic guitar chords and clinking percussion accelerate and decelerate in unison, washed over by floating synth lines. At other points, the quartet as a whole suddenly shift direction like a This Heat tape edit. Check the opener ‘Box Pieces’, where a brief percussion tag cues an unexpected cut from frenetic layering of percussive attacks undergirded by slow moving synth and bass foundations to a rumbling, locked-in dirge.

The eight pieces span a range of tones, from plaintive abstraction to surging minimalism. Touches of whimsy relieve any threat of over-seriousness: witness the wacky electric guitar glissandi that open ‘Tilting’ or the lovely, almost Pascal Comelade-esque fairground wobbles that begin the wayward journey of ‘Cadence: not even,’ before it stumbles into a totally different zone of spacious Paul Bley balladry sprinkled with banjo plucks. Recorded across two days at Stockholm’s Atlantis studios, Minutiae’s minutiae truly sparkle thanks to the careful mixing work of Ghosted drummer extraordinaire Andreas Werliin. A wonderfully approachable document of the richness of the next generation of contemporary creative musicians from Sweden, Ināra Quartet’s debut also looks back to 70s touchstones like Archimedes Badkar in its joyful embrace of musical collectivity.

Spring Back, Ball Forward is the Soda Gong debut from Jung dj, nom de plume of shapeshifting multi-instrumentalist Randy Riback. Following a series of uniformly great self-releases and cassettes on the dearly missed Lillerne Tapes, this collection observes the spacious and angular dynamics of 1990s Midwestern post-rock through the lens of the bedroom electronic music producer.

Perhaps surprisingly, amp worship lies at the center of the album: a fascination with the grain, pressure, and emotional charge of amplification and gain, refracted through the strange remove of digital amp modeling. Tubes, speakers, sag, and in-the-red textures are a critical part of the album’s expressive vocabulary, imparting density and colorful saturation while lending even its most weightless passages a vital sense of physical presence. Over the course of twelve tracks, wistful ambience gives way to blunt heaviness and roiling catharsis, underpinned by a palpable sense of loss and grief.

The album’s auspicious cast of collaborators further complicates its emotional terrain. Spoken contributions from Natalia Panzer and Angelina Nonaj occupy strikingly different registers: Panzer’s diffuse and oblique, drifting in and out of the music’s contours; Nonaj’s a vivid travelogue, grounding the record in place and lived experience. Elsewhere, Soda Gong veteran Mister Water Wet joins a small constellation of guests whose playing folds naturally into Riback’s arrangements, blurring the boundaries between computer and ensemble music.

For all of its attention to texture, process, and the material qualities of sound, Spring Back, Ball Forward is first and foremost an emotionally potent work, possessed of a directness that can feel rare within experimental electronic music. Riback draws from a rich and idiosyncratic musical vernacular, arriving at something deeply felt and difficult to place: a singular statement whose pathos exceeds the sum of its references.