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Paddan's Sigtryggur Baldursson and Birgir Mogensen are lifelong friends from Kópavogur, Iceland, who started as mates on the local football team, then graduated to making music together as teenagers, and even later as young men doing time in the experimental punk collective KUKL, from 1983 - 1986.
KUKL was populated by survivors of the post-punk scene in Iceland in the early 80s, which is well documented in the film Rock in Reykjavik from 1982. The band was released by the Crass collective in London and featured members, apart from Birgir and Sigtryggur, like Guðlaugur Óttarsson, Einar Melax, Björk and Einar Örn, some of whom would become better known later in outfits like the Sugarcubes and their respective solo work and other collaborations.
Sigtryggur has a long career in music, having worked with among others, Emiliana Torrini, Howie B, Les Negresses Vertes, Tomas R. Einarsson, Petur Ben, KK, Kaktus Einarsson, and many many others. He also produces an award-winning documentary music show for RUV called Hljómskálinn.
Birgir Mogensen is a classically trained classical guitarist and bass player who has worked through the years with artists ranging from KUKL to Killing Joke to Spilafifl and Inferno5.
Birgir and Sigtryggur formed Paddan during the 2010s, and are now preparing to release their EP Fluid Time, which has been inspired by their perception of time and space. Birgir Mogensen says, "As a duo, we trusted our musical intuition and were guided by allowing the first idea to remain unchanged during the recording process"Recorded, produced, and arranged by the pair, Sigtryggur and Birgir play basses and drums along with various other instruments.
All recordings are played on live instruments except a modular synth which is programmed in the background of two tracks The duo is joined by the great harmonica and lap steel player Gaukur Davidsson on "Vaguely" and "Bug," and trumpet player Eirikur Orri Ólafsson on "Splash," not to mention the mixing expertise of Vaccines bassist Arni Hjörvar Árnason on "Bug," "Splash," and "Kokka," and sound-mixer Albert Finnbogason on "Vaguely."

Occasionally an album comes along that seems to capture the mood of the time. "The K&D Sessions" was one. In the late 1990s no afterparty, smoking session or languid Sunday afternoon was complete without Kruder & Dorfmeister blasting from the Bang & Olufsen. Now approaching it"s 25th anniversary the lore around this iconic release, steeped in a silvery cloud of smoke, retains a star quality which only shines brighter as time hurtles on. With the original having sold well over a million copies by this point in time, it"s hard to imagine a mix or remix compilation being able to inform a movement like "The K&D Sessions" has. To celebrate this monumental milestone, we"ve created a limited boxset in 6LP and 3CD of "The K&D Sessions", mastered and cut by LA luminary Bernie Grundman for a luxurious listening experience, with newly designed inner sleeves using unseen photos from the original photo shoot. Inserted in the box is a forty-page booklet containing multitudes more never before seen photos from the same shoot and notes which recount humorous tales surrounding the duo and the people who spent time with them in this epoch. Included on the 6th LP is their legendary 11 minute shimmering remix of Madonna"s "Nothing Really Matters". The 6th LP also contains Peter Kruder"s Powercut Mix of Roni Size"s "Heroes" and K&D"s remix of U.F.O, "L.O.V.E.". In addition there are two cerebral alternate remixes of Lewis Taylor, one being completely dubbed and the other the using the vocal line for this beautiful gem, "Lucky" and a special remix of "Speechless" by Count Basic. These have been staples in K&D"s sets and now take their rightful place collected in the canon of "The Sessions".

Small Great Things proudly presents its latest release, SGT009—a meticulously curated selection of deep house grooves featuring a lineup of exceptional talent. Available on both vinyl and digital platforms, this release showcases a diverse range of deep, soulful, and groove-driven tracks designed to captivate any dance floor.

Opening the release on A1 is Luca Olivotto with "Let Me Go," a track that sets the tone with its rich, melodic layers and piano chords.
Olivotto’s masterful production effortlessly blends emotion and groove, making it an essential opener for this compilation.

Following up on A2 is Quadrakey's "Do It Right," a track that encapsulates the essence of deep house. With tight percussion, smooth basslines, and an irresistible groove, this track demands attention and will undoubtedly resonate with both DJs and listeners alike.

The B-side kicks off with a deep vocal cut from resident duo Nephews titled "Between Your Soul." This track takes listeners on a soulful journey, combining warm pads, driving basslines, and emotive vocals to create an immersive listening experience.

On B2, Peter LC delivers "We Were Alright," a deep, vocal-driven track that stands out with its smooth chords and heartfelt lyrics. The subtle groove and deep melodies make it a standout moment on the release. Rounding off the release on B3 is HAbibi Groove with "Groove Box Grooves." As the name suggests, this track is all about the groove.

With its infectious rhythm and intricate sound design, it provides the perfect closing note to this diverse and captivating compilation—a dancefloor-ready tune.

SGT009 is a must-have for any deep house enthusiast, offering a rich blend of styles and moods that showcase the depth and versatility of the genre. Available now on vinyl and digital platforms, this release is a testament to Small Great Things' commitment to quality and innovation in electronic music.

Walker & Royce have released their highly-anticipated sophomore album No Big Deal out now via Dirtybird Records.

Embarking on a four-part mission to bring the party back to dance music, Walker & Royce have embraced the boisterous, unruly nature of their over-the-top signature to deliver 10 non-stop anthems. A highly collaborative body of work, No Big Deal features a colorful collection of characters including comedian/ musician Reggie Watts, Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum selling artist James Patterson (and 1/2 of the electronic duo The Knocks), peak-time queen VNSSA, Grammy-nominated vocalist Barney Bones, and more.

From the tongue-in-cheek lyricism of ‘I Don’t Remember’ and ‘Might Just’ to the overzealous charisma imparted on tracks like ‘Motivashun’ and ‘Fatalistic Groove’, No Big Deal boasts the sense of humor and lightheartedness that Walker & Royce have brought to countless dance floors throughout their career. The album is hallmarked by the kaleidoscopic elements of their dance music roots: catchy vocals, playful melodies, thumping basslines, and relentless four-on-the-floor percussion.

No Big Deal is a wondrous homage to the weird and wacky tropes that have distinguished Walker & Royce’s no-holds-barred style for more than a decade. An auditory yearbook cataloging Walker & Royce’s sonic inspirations from their early days in New York City’s 90s underground raves to the Dirtybird BBQs and Campouts where they found their home, No Big Deal is a victory lap for Walker & Royce as they cement their status as headliners and hitmakers.

No Big Deal is a reminder to enjoy the ‘Cheap Thrills’ that life presents, to ‘Get Down Down’ and adopt a motto like ‘Let’s Live It Up’.

2xLP, Gatefold Jacket, Picture Disc, cut at 45rpm. First pressing limited to 500 copies.

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

DJ Support: Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche


Kicking things off on our next 4-track vinyl sampler series is Toolroom's very own Martin Ikin who returns to the label with ‘Make U Sweat’! He was the Best-selling Tech House artist on Beatport in 2020 and 2021 and has over 1m monthly listeners across streaming platforms. Recent studio collabs have included Noizu and Joshwa and tours have seen him travel far and wide to the US, Brazil, Bali, Ibiza, Italy, Croatia and of course, his hometown of London. This new record is the follow up to 'Oscill8' that dropped in March 2023 and sits in a similar lane, in that it's pure, unadulterated club weaponry! Next up is Italian house legend Flashmob with the frenetic, high-energy club vibe of new cut ‘My Body’. Flashmob's sound, production and go-for-broke DJ sets have changed with the game, embracing the vitality of new house music rather than hankering after sentimental sunsets. His ethic and aesthetic move relentlessly forward, using the old and new to craft unique sonic alchemy from big festivals like Tomorrowland to the intimacy of small clubs on the international circuit. ‘My Body’ is typical of Flashmob's current sound, combining solid drums and some insane synths and fx, alongside an earworm vocal sample that results in yet another memorable club cut from an established master. Canadian Tech House maestro Nathan Barato debuts on Toolroom kicking off the B-side to the vinyl alongside studio partner, Matheo Velez with 'Weapon'. A record that has already caught the attention of the underground elite with Michael Bibi premiering the track at his first appearance back at DC-10 in Ibiza last Summer. Both artists are enjoying great success across key labels such as Viva, Circus, Snatch and RAWthentic. This is an addictive, bumpy club track

that packs a huge punch on the dance floor and actually features Nathan's very own 'Move me… Rock me' vocals! Rounding things off is UK DJ/producer duo, Jenn Getz & Alfie who are residents at Dubai's #1 nightlife destination, Soho Garden, where they warm up for legends such as Sonny Fodera, MK, Claptone, Solardo & Fisher on a weekly basis. In their relatively short 3 year career they have already released on Solotoko, Abode and Toolroom Trax and now debut on Toolroom with 'Vibration'. Both girls are incredibly passionate about house music and are also big advocates for a life centered around well-being and meditation, and the idea of this record was to combine their 2 passions in life, so they proceeded to co-write these original lyrics to accompany the track, which in itself is very inspiring! This is a super cool club record that will excite fans and DJ's alike, welcome to the Toolroom Family, Jenn Getz & Alfie!

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

The first bunch of remixes for Kito Jempere's Green Monster. The album itself was a versatile journey thought all music styles and patterns you can imagine, remixes are keeping the same direction.

EP opens with a remix from multi-talented and prolific studio genius Ewan Pearson, the man behind hundreds of remixes, production and studio engineering duties for artists like Tracey Thorn, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, The Chemical Brothers and many many more. And Mr Pearson is taking Kabwato on a journey! Originally recorded as two and half minutes as some say mid-album filler, this boat (kabwato in chewa language) is going deep down the tropical river and through breezy morning rainforest valleys. A perfect trip for your midday staying home alone errands or for your early morning ray of light at the bar with a beautiful panorama.

Same track is getting treatment from the mighty Cable Toy! Unmistakable peak time euphoria manifest - going back to my roots-esque piano meets 90s cable tv dance show house party!

On the flip is the remix by The Dawless. The Dawless are Ramil' Goddeem from LAUD and Sergey Gol'd, producer and owner of GoldxFish Music studio. They recently released their debut album "Broken Aux" on System 108, got remixed by DMX Crew and became residents of LOUD BOYZ label. The project has simple ethics: computers not allowed, only real gear and vibes. The duo has created a true rage rave anthem for Kito Jempere now. Having already been played in a lot of DJ-sets blasting through packed warehouses, now it became available to everyone.

EP closing opus is by Kito's frequent collaborator - UK born and Japan based producer Max Essa. Every Kito's album was accompanied by Max's remixes and this time he's delivering pure beauty again. Creating some Golden-era "8 1/2 weeks" vibes, Max transforms the track into a post-summer voyage anthem.

Aarset and Bang have collaborated since the early 1990s in constellations with, among others, Nils Petter Molvaer, Bugge Wesseltoft, Sly & Robbie and Jon Hassell. 'Snow Catches on her Eyelashes' (2020) was their first recording as a duo, an album that was widely praised, inspiring John Eyles of All About Jazz to write: "Aarset, Bang and company go from strength to strength, as does the Norwegian scene. Onward and upward."

'Last Two Inches of Sky' further expands this sonic universe - onward and upward. Like its predecessor, the new recording is an amalgam of styles, linked together by Jan Bang's hallmark sampling technique and Eivind Aarset's continuous exploration of the guitar. Now, the rhythm section of Audun Erlien (bass) and Anders Engen (drums) are prominent on most tracks, and the arrangements are enhanced by guests like Gianluca Petrella (trombone), Adam Rudolph (percussion), Emanuel Birkeland- Bang (drum programming) and Erik Honore (samples, lyrics on "Legion").

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is 4 killer cuts from our latest repertoire.

Kicking off with another straight up, dance floor weapon, Essel lands back on the label with brand-new single, ‘Sweat’. Her toughest sounding record to date that captures the post-rave moment, cementing herself as one of the hottest new talents to emerge in the electronic music scene.

Next up, Parisian born and US based tech house producer Shiba San debuts on Toolroom with a seriously wonky affair alongside studio buddy, Ayarez, aptly titled ‘Twist It’.

Up next on the sampler, is the return of longstanding label favourite Friend Within with his rolling tech house banger ‘Pilka’. Having landed 2 of the hottest tracks on Toolroom last year with ‘Monkey Bars’ and ‘Bring It Down’ which saw sweeping support flood in from across the scene, including Paul Woolford (Special Request) Salute, LF System, Dom Dolla and many more, friend within is officially back for 2023!

Completing the EP, we welcome sola regulars and one of the freshest, most exciting dance music duos to come out of the UK in recent years, Maur who lock horns with chart topping US based Westend, for a label debut set to become 2023’s festival anthem - ‘Over’.


DJ support from Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, Gw Harrison, Dj Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, Kc Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, Tcts, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unhuman & Petra Flurr is the collaborative synthpunk-technoid project of BITE label stalwart, Berlin-based Greek artist Unhuman and legendary queer wave figure Petra Flurr. 'Mala Vida' is their debut album on BITE that further evolves their sound beyond genre borders. The duo deliver an 8-track LP consisting of punk body music exhibiting the team's mastery on production, their androgynous vision and diverse influences. Petra Flurr's staggered, often effected, vocals cruise over pounding beats, bold iconic hooks and psychedelic atmospheres. His lyrics reference the seedy underbelly of Berlin's sex underground. Meanwhile, Unhuman's productions broadly range from the post-punk references of 'Labyrinth' to the new beat grooves of 'Short Life' featuring Ukrainian duo Garden Krist to the melodic orchestrations of 'Rush'. All this is reinterpreted by techno duo New Frames on a digital remix of 'Unzivilisiert'. 'Mala Vida' is a direct inspiration from their debut performance at Berghain for last year's BITE label night. After which, they swiftly retreated to the studio to compose, still in their platform heels. The two paint a coat of neon red over their preexisting batcave of sound. While the artwork by Liam Noonan compliments the gender fluidness of the album, distorting and digitally manipulating images of the creators themselves. Using heavy rhythmics, wavy mandates, an androgynous stare and unavoidable sexuality, Unhuman & Petra Flurr introduce us to their culled brand of queer death techno. Always with a wink.

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is another tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight with legendary House DJ and producer Todd Terry and the Darryl James & David Anthony Project. Diving straight back into that classic 90’s House sound, Mark Knight delivers a taste of his finest production to date after unearthing Todd Terry’s edit of ‘Buddah’ by Darryl James & David Anthony Project, shaping up a seriously killer reworking of this gem fresh for the dance floor in 2023.

Next up, renowned German selector Eddie Thoneick makes a label debut with his club orientated big room weapon ‘Take It Back’. Taking it back straight through to the dance floor, Eddie Thoneick has become a name synonymous with high quality productions, providing remixes for Armand Van Helden, Steve Angello, Bob Sinclar and David Guetta. Eddie’s chunky production style shines through on ‘Take It Back’, offering up a slice of raw Tech House with deep, rumbling bass lines, metallic percussive elements and a resonating hook which will cause uproar in any club its played in.

Up next is another heater from DJ, producer and Toolroom Academy tutor Pete Griffiths who drops what can only be described as a House anthem in the making, with his brand-new track ‘Get Together’. A peak time record that sees Pete Griffiths dive deep into the sound of 90’s nostalgia, dropping a seriously well-produced and classy House banger. Also featuring on the record is American R&B, Gospel vocalist Ann Nesby, formerly the lead vocalist of the Sounds of Blackness ensemble who brings her powerful vocals to the forefront, elevating this release to anthemic status.

Last but not least, Hungarian duo Muzzaik return to the label with StadiumX on their collab track ‘Echoes’. Together, Muzzaik and StadiumX bring their signature sound to Toolroom with ‘Echoes’, a record that’ll command any dance floor it’s dropped on. Featuring a toughened-up groove, rolling bass line, and chopped vocal cuts mixed with just the right amount of edge.

The debut work by Hekura, the duo formed by Ernest Pipó and Edu Pons, both from Barcelona's impro music scene.

The songs in this LP serve as a voyage that evokes daydreams inspired by the everyday. Daydreams that change in surprising ways, as if they were old slides reflecting long-forgotten objects that once carried significance.

Everything begins with "the single petal of a rose" by D. Ellington in a choral rendition that emulates a dialogue between wind instruments, from which fantasy and memories flourish, starting with the ethereal "vane" and the dampness of "frogs". The first stage comes to an intense climax with a gripping gathering in the desert in "runes".

"Mound" takes us on a beautiful descent into the darkest depths of "calf", from which we emerge with life, but tinged with nostalgia in "wine". The book's cover is sealed with a guitar epilogue, where once again, "the single petal of a rose" brings the journey full circle.
This work was recorded by Uriel Ireland at Can Donzella (Sils, Girona) and mixed and mastered by Ferrán Conangle.

Emotional Rescue dives back in the world of post punk experiments and early synthesised electronics to present another of the labels iconoclastic 7" 'collectors specials', with a look at Stockholm's Staalfagel.

Born in 1977, Erik Fritjofsson and Petter Brundell merged and formed Staalfagel out of the suburbs of Jakobsberg. Like so many at the time, the duo was tired of Prog, Jazz and Symphonic Rock and formulated something new and against at the same moment; a time where drummers were jettisoned in place of drum machines and the inspirations of artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Devo and Pere Ubu were thrown in the mix to fervent results.

With Micke Kjell soon joining on bass, they toured Sweden constantly, the manic machine beat, beating guitars and strange synth sounds defeated the throng and led to a considerable following. Recorded live to tape with no overdubs or mixing, the faithful CR 78 drum machine, the results radiate energy.

Release just 4 records in 2 years (1980 - 1982), Utan Rymddrakt Pa Uranus appeared as their last ever release. Jettisoning the punky-funk vocals of previous releases, the single is a pure electronic groove. Funk bass and guitar atop, its short form simplicity is perfection distilled in 2 parts of less than 3 minutes, conjoined like some reggae dream, with 'Uranus II' acting the dub 'version' counterpoint.

Discovered and shared by long-time friend, DJ and collector, Gary The Tall steps out from behind the decks and microphone of his long running NTS show to present an exemplary "Reversion". Teaming up with master producer and label affiliate, Timothy J Fairplay on engineering duties, they keep the originals' straightforward charm, deceptively editing, looping and reversing with aplomb, for a killer flip side.

For this uniquely personal retrospective spread over twelve vinyl discs, Sven Väth takes us back to the early days of his DJ career. On What I Used To Play we meet great pioneers of electronic music, gifted percussionists, obscure wave bands, and innovative producers of a bygone 'new electronic' era. Rough beats and irresistible grooves from the identification stage of house, techno, and acid remind us not just how far electronic music has evolved over the past four decades, but how great it was to dance to EBM, techno, and house for the very first time.

If there is one protagonist of the electronic music scene who has remained curious, innovative and at the very cutting edge of music for over four decades, it's Sven Väth. His multi-layered artist albums and Sound of the Season mix compilations have been defining the genre for over two decades, and even today, he is constantly on the lookout for the next top tune to add to the highlights of his next set. At least, that's the case when he's not producing them himself as an artist or remixer. "Actually, it's always been part of my DNA to think ahead," and nothing had been further from his mind than looking back at his past, but when in spring of 2020 the international DJ circuit had to be scaled down to virtually zero, the 'restless traveler' suddenly had time. Time to stop and reflect on "how it actually was back then, at the very beginning of my career..."

"It was a great trip and with every track, beautiful memories came flooding back".
In the London apartment, he had just moved into, Sven has set up a "little music room", where he cocooned himself for several days, "to look way back for the first time and review my musical journey through the eighties, so to speak."

The interim result was six thematically oriented playlists with a grand total of 120 tracks from 'early 80s' to 'Balearic late 80s', together with excursions into afrobeat, European new wave, and EBM sounds and a few epochal techno/house tracks from the USA in between. From these 'Best of Sven Väth's favorites', the project What I Used To Play crystallized. Sven remembers how the Cocoon team reacted to his proposal: "They found the idea of making a compilation out of it MEGA from the beginning and everyone said 'Sven, go for it', but then, of course, the work really started, namely, to clear the rights and to get clean sounding masters of the up to 40-year-old tracks. There was also disappointment, of course. We couldn't clear certain titles because the rights holders in the USA had fallen out with each other or simply disappeared from the scene. In short, it wasn't easy, but now I can safely say we got the most important tracks."

Finally, after two years of research, curation, design, and administrative fine-tuning, the "little retrospective" from 1981 to 1990 is available. The exquisitely packaged, and three-kilo heavy box set is not only physically impressive, WIUTP is also the definitive record of Sven Väth's musical development. On each of the twenty-four sides of vinyl, you can trace track by track, what influenced him during which phase, and how he took off as a DJ from his parents' Queen's Pub straight into the spotlight at Dorian Gray. There and at Vogue (later OMEN), Sven became the style-defining player in the DJ booth that he still is today.




1981 - 1990: Future Sounds of Now

In the early eighties, the crowd in clubs like Vogue and Dorian Gray danced to what nowadays we call 'dance classics' - mainly disco, funk, soul, and chart pop. It was up to a new generation of DJs, including Sven Väth, the youngest protagonist in the Rhine-Main area at the time, to create their own club-ready music mix. Good new tracks and potential floor-fillers were rarities that had to be sought out and found, in order to prove oneself worthy.
Without MP3s, internet streaming, or other digital download possibilities, music didn't just gravitate to the DJ, instead, it had to be tracked down. In well-stocked record stores in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden or even in Amsterdam, London, or New York, Sven and friends sourced the material for countless magical nights. On WIUTP we can follow Sven's very personal journey through this wild, innovative era in which synth-pop, funk, hip-hop, and disco were successively replaced as 'club music' by house, techno, acid, and breakbeat. By the end of the decade, it was clear to see that these once exotic 'fringe' phenomena would soon become 'mass' phenomena.



Early 80s

Dirty Talk by the Italian-American duo Klein & M.B.O. represents the most innovative phase of the Italo-disco genre in the early eighties like no other track. Mario Boncaldo (I) and Tony Carrasco relied entirely on the original synthetic drum and percussion sounds of the Roland TR-808, coupled with the raunchy vocals of Rossana Casale and guitar accents of Davide Piatto. Of course, other tracks from this period were also influential in style, most notably Unit by Logic System, which worked as the perfect soundtrack to the laser lighting system at the legendary Dorian Gray club. With stomping beats and robotic rap interludes, Bostich by Yello also belongs on Sven's eternal playlist - after all, it caught the attention of Afrikaa Bambaataa, who invited the Swiss duo to perform at the Roxy in New York in 1983.



EBM Wave - Mid 80s

From today's point of view, the almost ten-minute-long, downtempo track Giant by Matt Johnson's band project The The, would probably not be considered an obvious club classic. However, a closer (re)listen reveals the rhythmic intricacies of the percussion overdubs by JG Thirlwell (aka Foetus) on Johnson's composition, and it becomes clear why this exceptional piece of music is one of Sven's absolute favorites. Other classics from this phase include Kaw-Liga by the mysterious The Residents, the hypnotic-synthetic Our Darkness by Anne Clark (and David Harrow), and last but not least, the somber, monotonous anthem Where Are You? by 16Bit, one of Sven Väth's projects together with Michael Münzing, Luca Anzilotti from 1986.



US House - Late 80s

You certainly can't talk about Chicago house without mentioning Frankie Knuckles. The resident DJ at the Warehouse not only gave the name to an entire genre, but also produced epochal floor fillers on the Trax label like the timeless Your Love, sung (and moaned) by Jamie Principle. Acid house protagonists Phuture also hail from Chicago, and on We Are Phuture (also released on Trax) we hear the chirping acid sounds of the legendary Roland TB-303 in full effect. Another featured classic is No UFO's by Detroit's Model 500 aka Juan Atkins, who is rightly considered the 'Godfather of Techno' even if the genre-defining track from 1985 still breathes with the spirit of hip-hop and electro from the first breakdance era.





Afrobeat

Le Serpent, by Algerian-born Abdelmadjid Guemguem, is a track that sounds completely different from everything else on WIUTP. Made in 1978, it's a monumental, rousing groove created without bass or synths, just with five congas! Even though Guem sadly passed away in 2021, his immortal, acoustic beats are understood all over the world and will continue to enrich many thousands of DJ sets for years to come. Another classic that not only Sven appreciates beyond measure is Hugh Masekela's Don't Go Lose it, Baby. In addition to being one of the most important jazz pioneers, the trumpeter and freedom fighter from Johannesburg was very experimental, integrating electronic sounds into his music in later years, in a similar vein to Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock. Dutch jazz pianist Jasper van't Hof's afrobeat project Pili Pili has also aged well. The trance-like, almost sixteen-minute-long track of the same name, manages to fill a whole side on the seventh of twelve vinyl discs in the WIUTP box.



UK-US-Euro - Late 80s

Time for a change of scene, in the truest sense of the word, and from a musical perspective, this section is like landing on another planet. First up is Andrew Weatherall's classic remix of Primal Scream's Loaded, featuring the iconic Peter Fonda sample (lifted from the 1966 biker film Wild Angels) that came to personify the mood triggered by the British Second Summer of Love in the late eighties: "We wanna be free to do what we wanna do, and we wanna get loaded...". This period also saw the emergence of M/A/R/R/S whose only single, 1987's Pump Up The Volume, became a club classic with support from DJ legend CJ Mackintosh. In this most eclectic of sections, we also encounter New York house and reggae producer Bobby Konders and his seminal Nervous Acid.



Balearic - Late 80s

Those who know him, know that Sven had already lost his heart to the 'magic island' of Ibiza as a teenager, so with that in mind, the WIUTP project couldn't end without a Balearic chapter. Inspired by Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4, the immortal, eponymously titled Sueño Latino belongs in there without question. Equally popular on the island was, and still is Break 4 Love by Raze, which thinking about it, would also fit perfectly into the house chapter. Last, but not least, there's an overdue reunion with Sven Väth himself, in his role as frontman of the successful Frankfurt trio OFF. Together with Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti (later of Snap!) this 'Organization For Fun' created the off-the-wall club hit Electric Salsa in 1986 which incidentally turned into an international chart smash, putting Sven in the enviable position of having to decide between pop stardom and a DJ career. Well, we all know how that decision turned out and the rest, as they say, is history. A not insignificant part of his story is What I Used To Play. Enjoy!

'A Winged Victory For The Sullen' is the first installment of the new collaboration between Stars Of The Lid member Adam Wiltzie and L.A. composer Dustin O'Halloran. The duo agreed to leave the comfort zone of their home studios and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, hunting down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end.

Other traditional instrumentation was used including string quartet, French horn, and bassoon, but always juxtaposed is the sound of drifting guitar washed melodies. The recordings began with one late night session in the famed Grunewald Church in Berlin on a 1950's imperial B?sendorfer piano and strings were added in the historic East Berlin DDR radio studios along the River Spree. One last session on a handmade Fazioli piano in a private studio on the Northern cusp of Italy, before the final mixes took place in a 17th century villa near Ferrara with the assistance of Francesco Donadello. All songs were then processed completely analogue straight to magnetic tape.

Their secret to harvesting new melodic structures from the thin air of existence was for the duo to push themselves to dangerous territory, realising that clear thinking at the wrong moment could stifle the compositions. The final result is seven landscapes of harmonic ingemination. In 'Requiem For The Static King Part One' ? created in memory of the untimely passing of Mark Linkous ? they have taken the age-old idea of a string quartet and then shot it out of a cannon to reveal exquisite new levels of sonic bliss.

Of the 13 minute track 'Symphony Path?tique', Wiltzie says 'after almost 20 years of struggling to create interesting ambient drone music, I feel like I have finally figured out what I am doing'. Notable guest musicians include Icelandic cellist Hildur Gudnadottir, as well as Erased Tapes label comrade Peter Broderick on violin. A Winged Victory For The Sullen is not a side project ? it is the future of the late night record you have always dreamed of. A Major release for Forte, Non exportable.

Originally released on Studio !K7 Records in 1998, Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister's groundbreaking release, 'The K&D Sessions' reset the bar for what could be achieved in a compilation. Across an array of original tracks, dubs and infamous 'K&D Session' remixes, the DJ and producer duo took the listener on a smoke-filled blunted journey that flowed flawlessly.
Often compared to DJ Shadow's 'Endtroducing' for it's similarly deft craft of rhythm and quoted by Allmusic as "the most blissfully blunted music the world has ever heard", the album has sold over 1,000,000 copies to date and was included in Spin's 'Top 20 albums of 1999'.The album has long since been deleted on Vinyl with original 4LP sets changing hands for €300+ on the collectors market and even a bootleg vinyl copy will set a buyer back over €100. Sixteen years later, this legendary album will be available as a long overdue 5LP reissue remastered by Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood.

Series-A was the duo of Sam Anderson aka DJ Maestro and Dave Webb aka Kid Fresh. Sam and Dave both grew up listening to the sounds of the Electrifying Mojo on WJLB in Detroit. They met in 1983 at a DJ gig that they were both hired to play. In 1986, they collaborated on the Nu-Sound II Crew project. After developing a friendship with Juan Atkins, they became hip to the emerging new club sounds that were to become electro and techno.Their subsequent project, Series-A, was named after different car model numbers, but also hints at the evolution of humankind into a new species.

In 1987, Series-A recorded the single Evolution 5 Technology' at Spectrum Sounds Studio in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Their set up was a vocoder, E-mu Emulator III, Roland 909 drum machine, and an Otari 24-Track recorder. They landed a record deal with Satellite Records in Burbank, California, which had been founded by Pete Moore of The Miracles. After pressing 50 promotional copies, the label ran into financial problems, and the record never reached a full release. Taking cues Kraftwerk, Grand Master DST, Grandmaster Flash & Jam Master Jay, Series-A created dark electro beats in an era when sampling appeared to be the future of music. Lyrically the song addresses our species' entry into the technological age. For this EP reissue, the 7' Mix and Dub Mix are included on the A-side. On the flip is a new remix by prolific Ann Arbor producer JTC, an alias of Tadd Mullinix (aka Dabrye, SK-1, & Charles Manier). JTC speeds up and expands the song to seven minutes. Drawing on influences from Ron Hardy to Jeff Mills, he drives around suburban techno landscapes while simultaneously launching the listener into deep space.

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is specially designed by Eloise Leigh and features a cyborg fossil motif with RGB color band and gradients. Each copy includes a post card with with notes.

South Asian super-producers Lapgan and Baalti – the former a Madlib-disciple spinning hip-hop grooves out of dusty desi samples, the latter duo purveyors of intricately tapestried dance music – holed up in the California desert in early 2024 for a songwriting session to blend their complimentary styles. They ended up with several albums worth of club material built upon decades of Indian music history – floor fillers that move like early Four Tet meets The Avalanches. They’ve been teasing this material around the world during live sets – from Paris Fashion Week to Glastonbury, London Clubs to BK Warehouse parties, sessions at Lot Radio and Karachi Community Radio, and anywhere else they find an aux. The result has been endless ID requests for unreleased gems like “Ipa Ma” and “Lime Tikka”, calls which should finally be answered with the release of Threads.

Lapgan Bio
Chicago-based archivist and producer Lapgan has become renowned for his signature style: unearthing rare and forgotten Indian & Pakistani sounds and recontextualizing them into hip-hop and dance beats that evoke J Dilla and Madlib. He has cultivated a reputation for quietly revolutionary sample-work across his beloved solo projects History and Duniya Kya Hai, as well as LAFANDAR, his critically acclaimed team up with Heems (of Das Racist / Swet Shop Boys). He has worked with a range of artists from both the West (Your Old Droog, Saul Williams, Cool Calm Pete, Kool Keith, Open Mike Eagle, Blue, Quelle Chris) and the East (EXCISE DEPT, Baalti, Sid Sriram, Sid Vashi, Dynoman), and has been featured in global media including Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, Passion of the Weiss, Mixmag, Homegrown, and Vinyl Me, Please. Over the past year he has headlined clubs and performed at festivals across the world from Chicago and New York to London and India, and was personally invited to soundtrack back to back Paris Fashion Week shows for the similarly norm-shifting designer Kartik Research. In 2026 he will soundtrack his third Kartik Research runway show, as well as reissue Duniya Kya Hai for its five-year anniversary alongside a companion EP featuring remixes from peers and supporters Arushi Jain, Loris, Mera Bhai, Malkfunktion, and Maral.

Baalti Bio
Baalti makes electronic music built around rhythm, pressure, and collective release – weaving through leftfield bass, dusty hip hop, tripped out dub and raw house all while maintaining a throughline rooted in South Asian culture seen through the lens of a sweaty dancefloor. In the last year they have experienced a whirlwind rise and growing global recognition: from their EP Mela vividly evoking West Bengal’s sound system culture to their Tamil-cinema-infused filter-house project with Anish Kumar Stunt Doubles, in addition to wide-ranging collabs and remixes alongside DJ ADHD, Naya Beat, and A.R. RahmanThey have also built a reputation for their frenetic live show, with appearances at international festivals like Glastonbury and MELT, headlining shows across Australia and Europe and supporting influences turned peers like Four Tet and Disclosure across North America. Their explosive, percussion-heavy sets have been platformed by Rinse FM, NTS, The Lot Radio, Beats In Space, and Refuge Worldwide, and their music has been renowned by publications including Pitchfork, Bandcamp Daily, RA, and MixMag. Their forward momentum continues into 2026 with slated headline tours in India, Australia, and Asia along with appearances at Coachella, Party in the Paddock, Fvded in the Park, and We Out Here festivals.

Italian producer Stefano Tirone aka S-Tone Inc. and Brazilian singer-songwriter Toco join forces for DONA DIVA / FUNKY GAFIEIRA, an exciting two-track project celebrating the golden era of Brazilian soul-funk from the 1970s. Released by Schema Records, the project will be available digitally and on limited 7-inch vinyl from 26th June 2026.
DONA DIVA, released as a stand-alone digital single in May, is built around Tirone’s infectious bass lines and guitar work; it pays tribute to the golden era of the late ’70s and early ’80s Brazilian funk and soul music, and to Rio de Janeiro’s vibrant spirit party scene. This record’s B-side FUNKY GAFIEIRA dives even deeper into the duo’s rich tropical groove, a lush, cinematic journey straight into the heart of Rio — evoking smoky dancefloors, tropical nights and the timeless spirit of Brazilian dance parties.
Both tracks benefit from Tirone’s warm production and feature Toco’s silky melodies, the captivating vocal colours of Priscila Ribas and special contributions from trombonist Gianluca Petrella, creating a warm groove-laden atmosphere where retro flavour blends with contemporary production, creating a sound that feels both timeless and fresh.

The re-launch of mars assault records last year brings the possibility to re-issue its back-catalog: the tunes that were released during the first run of the label (1998-2003).
here we have 4 tracks from "Arach", from the studio concept "centiped sound system", ( a duo of composers, also including Peter Pan), which were originally released on two records ( mars assault 3.65b, mars assault 3.7r1) in the years 2000/2001: very sharply produced hard-tekno, very original also (the "sound of centiped" is like no other hardtechno), and yet 100% as relevant on the dancefloor nowadays as it was at the time.
Another mars assault record equality good to play in a party as to listen to at home.
2025 cut with Hervé at dK Mastering /Paris (cut in 33/45rpm for optimum sound quality); 300 copies limited re-press, 180g pressing; a very sober object on the outside, but translucide red within.

Die Legenden der elektronischen Musik, Soft Cell, bestehend aus Sänger & Frontmann Marc Almond und Multiinstrumentalist & Produzent Dave Ball, veröffentlichen mit "Danceteria" ihr sechstes und letztes Studioalbum - zugleich ein Liebesbrief an das New York der frühen 80er Jahre, wo Soft Cell ihre ersten drei Alben aufnahmen. "Danceteria" ist ein großartiger, stilvoller und verspielter Abschied von 47 Jahren gemeinsamer Musikgeschichte von Marc & Dave als Soft Cell und präsentiert Darbietungen, die für die Karriere dieser Electro-Pop-Legenden prägend sind. Mit Anklängen an Sparks und die Pet Shop Boys sowie Texten, für die Lady Gaga töten würde, nimmt das Album den Hörer mit auf eine lebendige Reise durch einen Tag im New York der frühen 80er Jahre – eine Reise, die rund um die Uhr von der Nacht über den verschwommenen Tagesanbruch bis zum direkten Wiedereintritt in den Club führt.

"Danceteria" ist gleichermaßen eine Hommage an den verstorbenen, großartigen Dave Ball. Dieses letzte Album gehört zu den letzten Werken, an denen Ball als Co-Autor und Produzent mitwirkte, bevor er am 22. Oktober 2025 auf tragische Weise viel zu früh verstarb. Marc Almond führte die Reihe der Nachrufe an und bezeichnete Dave als "geniales musikalisches Genie". Die weltweiten Medien und Musikstars wie Neil Tennant & Chris Lowe (Pet Shop Boys), Daniel Miller (Mute Records), Cabaret Voltaire sowie Richard Norris aus Daves Techno-Duo The Grid würdigten ihn voller Anerkennung und Wehmut als Pionier der elektronischen Musik. Dave stellte "Danceteria" zwei Tage vor seinem Tod fertig, und ganz in seinem Sinne wurde die Veröffentlichung des Albums wie geplant durchgeführt. Auch aufgrund von Daves Tod muss "Danceteria" zwangsläufig das letzte Soft Cell-Album sein, wie Marc erklärt: "Ohne Dave kann es keine weiteren Aufnahmen von Soft Cell geben; das wäre schlichtweg unmöglich. Die traurige Realität ist, dass Dave Ball die eine Hälfte von Soft Cell war, und abgesehen von Live-Auftritten kann ich ohne ihn keine Soft-Cell-Songs schreiben."

For any collaborative project to succeed, the artists involved need a creative unifier – a meeting point, if you will, of their disparate interests and experiences. In the case of Mondo Love & Betrayal, the joint project of Nottingham musical mainstays Neil ‘Nail’ Tolliday and Henry Claude Scott, there were two creative unifiers: a mutual love of classic 1980s synth-pop, as well as shared admiration for each other’s work.

Even so, such shared interests and respect for prior mutual endeavours is no guarantee of success. Yet as their eponymous debut album emphatically proves, the duo’s disparate experiences, characteristics and musical strengths have not only dovetailed beautifully, but also resulted in serious sonic gold. Put simply, Mondo Love & Betrayal is a stunning debut album rich in emotive songs, colourful melodies, atmospheric chord progressions and infectious grooves. Throw in the sun-splashed warmth and saucer-eyed, loved-up tactility of late 80s dance beats, and you have a breakthrough album whose timelessness is evident from start to finish.

The project’s roots lie in Tolliday’s desire to work with Scott, a virtuoso guitarist, talented producer and secret songwriter best-known for his work alongside Huw Costin as Torn Sail, and John ‘Ming’ Thompson as Brown Fang – both projects known for prioritising organic instrumentation and sunset-ready soundscapes over dancefloor-rooted beats.

Tolliday, of course, is one of British electronic music’s true polymaths – a long-serving house producer best-known for his long-running Bent project alongside fellow Nottingham resident Simon Mills. He initially approached Scott with the idea of providing vocals on a house track he was working on, but quickly suggested something else: an exploration of a classic synth-pop sound inspired by his love of Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Depeche Mode and the producers who worked with them – the likes of Martin Hannett, Arthur Baker, Stephen Hague and John Robie.

Scott accepted the invitation, seeing it as an opportunity to explore a different side of his musical personality. Their first recording session resulted in the ear-catching and memorable brilliance of ‘Correspondence’ – a tongue-in-cheek breakup song inspired by the death of landlines and the rise of mobile communications – and soon they were working on their debut album.

The resultant 10-track set is simply sublime, with Scott’s expressive delivery of his own lyrics on life, love, heartache and rejection working in perfect union with Tolliday’s kaleidoscopic and pleasingly authentic backing tracks – gorgeous and beautifully rendered instrumentals rich in memorable melodies, bittersweet chords, and subtle nods to ‘80s and early ‘90s dance-pop culture, from Shep Pettibone style remixes and Bernard Sumner guitar licks, to Beloved-esque piano parts and Chris Lowe chord progressions. Some listeners may also draw favourable comparisons with 21st century synth-pop practitioners, particularly Parcels, Private Agenda and the deeply emotive songs showcased by Junior Boys.

For proof, wrap your ears around such album highlights as opener ‘Boo Boo’, where Scott warns that “love and betrayal will haunt you” atop sparkling synths and Vince Clarke style grooves, the Behaviour-era PSB melancholy of recent single ‘Your Latest’, the mid-tempo dreaminess of ‘Beyond The Rainy City’, the early Depeche Mode chug of ‘Whatever Happened To Me’ and the tactile warmth of ‘Across The Plane’.

We could go on. In truth, the whole album is – in Scott’s words – “magical musical alchemy”. Wherever they choose to go next, Mondo Love & Betrayal is a seriously good sonic statement of intent.

Archimboldos have clawed their way out of the starcaves of their primordial past and into the tranquil light of a coral garden on their third full length album, Crusta Arcana, a gumbo stewpot of transcendent electronica suffused with tribal rhythms and liquid ambience. Across a stereo field smeared with tolling bells, post-industrial folk percussion, and tinkling keys, Archimboldos soundtrack a science fictional journey, not into the depths of space, but deep beneath the waves.

In the past the Chilean duo of Nicolás Carcavilla and Felipe Crocco have described their music as “liminal shrimp folk.” Here they continue this strange exploration when they visit the court of the prawns, producing stately electronic chamber orchestrations. Perhaps these are the frequencies used for ritual dream initiation into the mystery schools of drowned Atlantis. Weaving an ancient sacred science, Archimboldos take listeners on a mystic vovage into their singular crustacean mythology, the crusta of their hidden arcana.

Archimbolodos are masters of conjoining cyclonic and centrifugal lines of electricity into spellbinding incantations. These deep-sea transmissions envelope the listener into aquamarine forcefields that are as hallucinatory as they are hypnotic. Navigating these strange fantasias could lead one to getting lost at sea, but the work is buoyed by the somnolent melodies of lonely harpsichords and swelling synth pads whose sustained tones reach towards distant shores. Sailing across a vast expanse of oceanic harmonies and percolating percussion, these pieces are as precise as the hand of a sailor on the rudder, moving with the tide.

Casting their net wide across eight pieces, Archimboldos have made a big catch. From the emotive electronic counterpoint found on “Bursting Armor” to the blocks of seaweed tangled sonic sculpture trawled up from the ocean floor on “Aphelion IX.” Other songs are like samples of biological ambience collected from luminous tide pools: resplendent tones placed into a Petri dish of sound, swirled, cultured and fermented until it undulates with the rhythmic movement of microscopic lifeforms. Alternating between rippling minimalist sonority and pounding, progressive, synth-heavy entrancement, Crusta Arcana charts its own idiosyncratic itinerary of instrumental invention.

All the while light is down streaming from the heavens to pierce the waters, here calm, there choppy. The intrepid musical captains commanding Archimboldos have laid a course for new archipelagos of the imagination, guided by heavenly constellations.

-Justin Patrick Moore, author of The Radio Phonics Laboratory, Telecommunications, Speech Synthesis and the Birth of Electronic Music

To mark their 10th anniversary, ground-breaking, JUNO Award-nominated and SOCAN Award-winning Toronto duo cleopatrick are releasing 4 cleopatrick EPs. The aptly-named collection features four iconic EPs spanning their history as a band - "14," "the boys," "DOOM," and "SCRAP" -- available on vinyl for the first time ever. The two-disc set is pressed on Petrol Blue vinyl and is available via their own Nowhere Special Recordings/Thirty Tigers.

"Psychedelia in White", das dritte Album des ehemaligen Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-Mitglieds Mick Harvey und seiner langjährigen musikalischen Partnerin Amanda Acevedo, knüpft an ihr 2023 erschienenes Duett-Debüt Phantasmagoria in Blue an.

Das überwiegend aus Eigenkompositionen bestehende Album bewegt sich zwischen Mystik, Mythologie, Liebe und Verlust. Mit vielschichtigen Arrangements und opulenten Klangtexturen erkundet das Duo neue, experimentellere musikalische Räume. Traumartige Bilder und mythologische Motive verbinden sich mit einer persönlichen Botschaft der Hoffnung und der Sehnsucht nach einem Ausweg aus dem Chaos der Gegenwart.

Zu den Höhepunkten zählen „Perfect Storm“, entstanden in Zusammenarbeit mit dem kanadischen Komponisten Peter McNestry, „Song for Aurora“, eine Glam-Rock-Hommage an Marc Bolan und T. Rex, sowie „The Greatest Delight“, inspiriert von Acevedos Visionen von Schattenwesen und jenseitigen Liebenden.

Mit gemeinsamen Aufnahmen mit den beiden amerikanischen Jazzlegenden Lee Konitz und Charles Lloyd
hatte sich der außergewöhnliche französische Pianist Michel Petrucciani in den frühen 1980er Jahren in die
internationalen Schlagzeilen gespielt. Auf “Power of Three”, seinem zweiten Album für Blue Note Records,
präsentierte sich der 23-jährige Pianovirtuose mal im Duo, mal im Trio mit zwei weiteren amerikanischen
Jazzgrößen: dem Gitarristen Jim Hall und dem Saxofonisten Wayne Shorter. Das 1986 beim Montreux
Jazz Festival live aufgenommene Album dokumentierte einen geradezu magischen Abend, an dem drei
Ausnahmemusiker aufeinandertrafen.

Boogie Vice & N-You-Up Return to Definitive Recordings with 'Decadisco EP'

Definitive Recordings continues its run of forward-thinking house releases with DEF2603, the new four-track 'Decadisco EP' from Boogie Vice and N-You-Up. Following their 2025 collaboration 'Come On Closer', the duo returns to the label with a fresh collection of groove-driven club tools that balance modern energy with classic house foundations. Recent releases on sister label Get Physical Music further underline the duo's strong creative momentum.

Boogie Vice is a French DJ and producer known for his groove-led house sound that blends funk, soul, and percussive club energy. With releases on labels such as Get Physical, Rekids, and Definitive Recordings, he has built a reputation for warm, dancefloor-focused productions supported by tastemakers worldwide. Now based in Cape Town, Boogie Vice has expanded his creative work into film scoring and executive production, adding new depth to his already rich musical palette.

N-You-Up, Southern France native Nick, brings decades of DJ experience and a deep-rooted love for jazz, funk, and disco. Formerly known as The Beatangers, he now channels those influences into a refined house fusion under his N-You-Up alias. Alongside Boogie Vice, his collaborative releases have appeared on labels such as Nervous Records and Get Physical Music, with their joint productions receiving support from key artists including Solomun, Dennis Ferrer, Jamie Jones, Pete Tong, Laurent Garnier, Radio Slave or Mita Gami, firmly establishing the duo as a reliable source of dancefloor-ready house music.

The EP opens with 'Game Concept', a driving house cut built on percussive drums, a rolling classic house bassline, and catchy vocal samples. Dreamy, deep synth chords float above the groove, creating a hypnotic yet energetic opener. 'Wurkin Like Dat' follows with a disco-infused house vibe, stacking groove upon groove as vocal snippets and disco elements take center stage, delivering pure dancefloor momentum. Rounding out the EP are two DJ-focused versions of 'Wurkin Like Dat'. The Invasion Tool strips the track back into a flexible club weapon, while the Drumapella isolates the rhythm and percussion, offering maximum versatility for creative mixing.

With 'Decadisco EP', Boogie Vice and N-You-Up once again showcase Definitive Recordings' ability to deliver modern house weapons that honor the genre's past while pushing the sound firmly forward.

Mysticisms’ returns to the music of the Conscious Sounds label and their short-lived but highly prized Dub meets Funk project, Dub Specialists. Created by label head Dougie Waldrop and Chris Petter (Love Grocer) to explore their interest in samplers and a love of Funk and Jazz.

A hugely respected “Digital” and “Roots Reggae” label, Conscious Sounds has been a mainstay of the East London digidub sound for over 30 years. Dub Specialists released 3 albums on the Crispy Music sub label, they have recently gained considerable interest in digger circles, with rising prices to match.

As with their first Dubplate outing, the release features extended re-edits by the label and friends, this time featuring versions by Lexx, Miles J Paralysis, Chuggy and Vanity Project. Working with the simplicity and skill of his studio craft, Dougie utilised the Atari 1040, Cubase and Soundcraft mixer to effect. Petters’ chords sit atop reggae basslines, funk samples, loops and this time, a heavy dose of cut up vocals in to the mix.

While the first EP came from their debut album, Breat To Break, here the source material for the re-edits comes, in the main, from their second outing “Dub To Dub Beat To Beat”. A more expansive album that also dipped in to 4/4 rhythms and touches of House / Techno.

Opening track Dynamic Duo is a 4/4 stepper bomb – with samples from Adam West’s iconic interpretation of Batman – expertly extended by long-standing DJ, producer and edit master, Zurich’s own Alex Storrer aka Lexx, who dials things to max for a club stop. A new name on many lips, Miles J Paralysis takes it all back down with a beautifully drawn out, acid-tinged tripper. Bumpin’, the mid-tempo groove sucks you in, psychedelic and mind expanding.

The flip returns to the more traditional Dub Specialist vibes of Breaks’n’Funk’ cut ups, first with (co-)label head Chuggy’s faithful extension of Heavy Dub. Featuring the classic Ijahman Levi’s vocal, the breaks flow and piano / horns stab, a dance floor shaker for the discerning. To close, secret studio fixer to many, Matt Bruce again dons his Vanity Project moniker to perfectly tease and live dub (out) the half-stepper, Reality Dub and close this latest in the Dubplate series.

Beat The Mystery.

Much like the duo’s music, the story of Rural France is both mundane and magical. Tom Brown (also of transatlantic janglepunks Teenage Tom Petties) and Rob Fawkes moved to London in their mid-twenties. Despite living under the same roof, they never picked up a guitar – except for one drunken, failed attempt at writing a Spoon song (“Big Chops” …don’t ask). It was only after both separately relocating to Wiltshire and starting families that they began assembling songs as a way of meeting up. Tom had amassed a pile of sprightly slacker jams that were calling out for Fawkes’ messily melodic guitar lines. Rural France was born.

After a debut album on their hero, ex-Lemonhead Nic Dalton’s Half-a-Cow Records, they retreated to a garage to record their next two albums: RF (2021) and Exacamondo! (2024), both released on much-respected jangle label Meritorio Records. Despite being lo-fi in the truest GbV sense, both records were warmly received by the DIY indie blogosphere, with their short, scrappy, but supremely melodic songs landing on numerous AOTY lists. RF even won Album of the Year at Janglepop Hub.

Raven Sings The Blues probably summed up the sound best: “With drunken visions of Beach Boys harmonies playing in the back of their heads and hooks that consume Teenage Fanclub cheeriness with the same beautiful brevity that drives Tony Molina, the pair have knocked out eleven rumpled classics.” Album four, SLOTHS, arrives via Meritorio Records and Safe Suburban Home Records on 08/05, and is a slightly different beast. For one, it’s been mixed by a professional – Rob Slater (Westside Cowboy, Yard Act, Thank) – giving the guitars and drums room to breathe. It’s easily their most high-fidelity record to date. It’s also their jangliest, most baroque and thoughtful album yet. But alongside added organ, horns and mellotron – and drums from Tom’s Teenage Tom Petties bandmate Jeff Hamm – it still retains the buzzes, hums and little freak-outs that stick to the duo’s original “Pavement playing Teenage Fanclub” mission statement. “Rob and I both wanted to do something a little slower and a little more melancholy,” says Tom. “We resisted our usual urge to hit the distortion pedal and made something that fitted where we are now and celebrates how we still listen to Meatloaf when we get drunk.”

SLOTHS is also the most thematically consistent Rural France record to date. While it wouldn’t be right to call it grown-up, it definitely has homeowners’ insurance. From the Silver Jews-esque Americana of “Slab” and mid-life rallying cry of “Thirty Seven Forever”, to the horn-embossed loser anthem “Lonely Heart Pyramid Scheme,” the songs celebrate (and rail against) the absurdities of getting older, forming a band in your thirties, and the strange phenomenon of time passing. Because no matter how slow you move, everything else goes fast. SLOTHS.

For the second time, the Geneva-based duo Cyril Cyril hands the microphone to the Syndicat du Futur. Behind this small group campaigning for a better future are Jeannot and Marilou, Zoé, Marlowe and Lenaïs — the respective children of Cyril (Yeterian) and Cyril (Bondi). Two years after La Météo / Le Monde Embêtant, the crew is back. The voices have grown and changed, but the sharp perspective remains, and the adult world had better watch out.

On Le Petit Bonhomme Orange, a certain D. Trump takes a hit. Seen from a child’s point of view, the war leader and his gesticulations look less like a figure of authority than a ridiculous scarecrow ruling through fear. And when power turns grotesque, it stops being intimidating.

With Le Gros Hit, it’s time for the absurd. A song that builds itself in plain sight, stacking lines with no apparent logic and embracing its own laziness. A reminder that you can make a track with three ideas and a chorus, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

Demetrio Castellucci and Massimo Pupillo present the music of Sleep Technique, a performance by Dewey Dell inspired by the Chauvet cave and its ancient cave paintings.
The music comes to life anew on record, an immersion into the depths of sonic particles, moist electroacoustic rhythms, the repeated forms of speleothems, and the electric bass that scrapes the walls, shaping them into concave or convex surfaces. A voice that moves incredibly slowly, yet is in constant motion, like the millennia-old, unceasing erosion of water.
The album’s journey follows the geography of the cave in reverse, moving from its deepest chamber back to the entrance.

Demetrio Castellucci is a composer and sound designer who has been involved in theater productions, choreography, and film since 2004. Around the same time, he began performing as a DJ, favoring an omnitemporal approach geared toward dance that transcends musical genres. Since 2006, he has been a member of the dance company Dewey Dell, and since 2007, he has been active as Black Fanfare, a maximalist electroacoustic project. He has collaborated on performances by Andreco and Enrico Ticconi/Ginevra Panzetti, as well as on films by Ahmed Ben Nessib, Beatrice Pucci, and Ilaria di Carlo. After living in London and Berlin, he settled in Vilnius, where in 2018 he founded Unarcheology, a digital platform that publishes music and radio programs. He is also active as Airport Gad, an ambient project which, together with Unarcheology, launched its own “Airline Company”: concerts in a flight simulator built from cardboard, where the pilots are also the musicians.

Massimo Pupillo is best known as a founding member of the band Zu, with whom he has released 18 albums and performed over 2,000 live shows worldwide. He has maintained a highly open and multidisciplinary approach that has led him to work with some of the most acclaimed figures in the contemporary art world: South African photographer Roger Ballen, actors Malcolm McDowell and Marton Csokas, Romeo Castellucci and Chiara Guidi of Societas Raffaello Sanzio, American choreographer Meg Stuart, poet Anne Waldman, and Italian poet Gabriele Tinti, among others. He has collaborated live and in the studio with avant-garde musicians and composers such as Alvin Curran, piano duo Katia & Marielle Labèque, and classical virtuosos like Viktoria Mullova and Giovanni Sollima. He has also worked with some of the most influential names in the international rock scene, including Mike Patton, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth), Guy Picciotto & Joe Lally (Fugazi), Buzz Osborne (Melvins), and Damo Suzuki (CAN).

In the field of improvised music, he has collaborated with Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, and Tony Buck, among others. Within the experimental music scene, his collaborations include Oren Ambarchi, David Tibet (Current 93), Thighpaulsandra (Coil), Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))), Abul Mogard, Mick Harris (Scorn), Gordon Sharp (This Mortal Coil), FM Einheit (Einstürzende Neubauten), and many more. In cinema, he composed the score for Kirill Serebrennikov’s film LIMONOV, presented at Festival de Cannes in 2024.

2026 Repress

After the promo version flew off the sleeves, now comes the full picture sleeve, yellow vinyl version of French live trio, Oden & Fatzo’s chart topping, house smash hit, ‘Lauren’ limited to 1000 copies. A bootleg experiment that got out of hand, Oden & Fatzo’s Radio 1 A-listed single is the accidental hit that everyone is talking about.

So how do you go about making an ‘accidental hit’, by accident of course... The track came about when French DJ Fatzo tried to demonstrate the difference between an edit and a remix to his dad, “... I took a song from the band Men I Trust, sped it up and added a drum beat and violin. After playing it to Oden, they loved it, and in turn, added their secret ingredients.”

Unlike the name might suggest, Oden & Fatzo consists of three people: The Parisian underground collective are a powerful fusion of the electronic live duo Oden, and house DJ Fatzo. Back in 2020 a bootleg version of ‘Lauren’ was uploaded to the YouTube channel of the electronic label Novaj, kicking off an unforeseeable wave of enthusiasm. That video is now approaching 3 million views. Enthralled listeners begged for a commercial release, a year later Ministry of Sound/B1 cleared the sample and the track started its march across the airwaves and up the charts.

With its captivating beat and nostalgic catchiness, ‘Lauren’ makes up for the party nights lost to the pandemic lockdowns, and sees people dancing in their homes and on the streets, as concerts, parties, and live sets are finally making a return. As the trio put it: “This song was all about hope, freedom and a party atmosphere at a time when you couldn't go anywhere. We think it gave everyone who heard it a little bit of an escape, including us.”

Meanwhile in the UK, the track has seen early support, not only by names like Franky Wah, Danny Howard, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Jax Jones, Jodie Harsh, HUGEL, Bakermat, Cut Snake, Salomé Le Chat, Piem, David Gausa and many more, but also by the incredibly ecstatic party crowds.


Press:

6th week A List at Radio 1
Plays from Radio 2 and added to Hits Radio Pride playlist
Airplay up +3% week on week
#1 Cool Cuts Chart
#1 Upfront Club Chart
#1 Pop Club Chart
#5 UK Shazam Chart
Holding at #12 on Shazam – over 200k tags for the track in the UK to date
Over 8.6m+ streams WW now across all platforms
Over 200k+ views for the music video
Averaging 50k daily streams in the UK
47k+ sales across UK OCC to date
#1 on Beatports Deep House for 16 consecutive weeks

Mute welcomes German synthesizer and producer duo Felsmann + Tiley to the roster with the release of their new album Protomensch. Out February 13, 2026 on limited edition black vinyl packaged in a special gatefold sleeve featuring a mirror foil lamination on the inner panel revealing a ‘self-portrait of the protomensch.’

On Protomensch (German for “proto-human”), Felsmann + Tiley blend shimmering synthwave, pounding trance, and introspective IDM with synth-pop-infused tracks featuring guest vocalists including London’s Pet Deaths and Australian artists The Kite String Tangle, Woodes, and Laius.

This juxtaposition between sentient beings and machines permeates the whole album – right from the duo’s manifesto introducing us the highly intelligent yet irrevocably shortsighted and downright tragic character of Protomensch – the cover artwork featuring turtleneck wearing chimpanzee, futuristic music videos, and stark social media aesthetics to seated, next-level live-shows involving collaboration with dozens of visual artists.

Despite their online ubiquity, sparked in part by their viral reinterpretation of label-mate M83’s “Solitude,” which has been used over 1 million times on TikTok and high-profile syncs on shows including Young Royals (season two), the BAFTA-winning crime thriller Top Boy (season three), and Amazon’s The Better Sister, Felsmann + Tiley have lingered largely on the periphery, their origins cloaked in quiet anonymity, until now. With the release of Protomensch, Felsmann + Tiley present their fully realized artistic vision and step into the spotlight.

The dreamy harmonising of Everything But The Girl. The propulsive urgency of The Strokes. The lilting folk-pop of The Coral. The introspective songcraft of Belle and Sebastian. The bittersweet, lyrical side-eyes of The Beautiful South. Vona Vella have all these elements and so many more, all weaving together to form a contemporary sound both gossamer delicate and fiercely robust. Since their eponymous debut album in 2023 (released on Strap Originals, Pete Doherty’s label), the seed of their signature sound – wistful indie-pop harmonies, exquisitely blended male/female vocals – has not so much grown as erupted through the dream-pop meadow into a towering, flowering beanstalk.

Today, with their second album Carnival, the former indie-pop duo have spectacularly evolved into a dynamic five-piece band, with key musical contributions from the musicians they’ve so successfully toured with over the last two years, drummer Jake Bott (who they’ve known since they were 17), bassist Claud J Melton (who they found on TikTok through a search for a female bassist), and guitarist Dexter Howell (a friend of a friend). As a five-piece, their innate pop sensibilities are now newly bolstered by a confident, thrilling propulsion, izzy and Dan, still the main songwriters and vocalists, are thrilled with the sound, where the possibilities are endless. Vona Vella may be names after two flowers, but there’s nothing twee happening here.

Brooklyn duo The Still Brothers is a musical project of childhood friends Evan Heinze (The Shacks/Big Crown) and Andrew LeCoche (Ula Ruth). Heinze has toured with the likes of Khraungbin, Lee Fields and Cut Chemist, while LeCoche’s old band once opened for Paul Simon and Edie Brickell. A former student of Madlib’s uncle Jon Faddis, LeCoche has scored music for Netflix and Patagonia and sound design for Twitter, Patron, and Marvel. Signing to Lewis Recordings in 2020 the band’s first single ‘The Deep’ was instantly picked up by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music who regularly plays it to this day. ‘Wake Up’ featuring the vocals of Marina B. spent six weeks on the BBC 6 Music playlist gaining support from Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Craig Charles, Huey Morgan, Cerys Matthews, Don Letts, Tom Ravenscroft and Guy Garvey. Lockdown didn’t slow down the band’s creativity with many tracks on their self-titled debut EP recorded remotely. Two such tracks were the collaborations with London based singer/songwriter Shauna Kelly aka Shoshy. ‘It’s Not Over’ and ‘Crazy’ were released on 7” and both received BBC radio support. Marina B stepped back on the mic with the upbeat hit ‘I Wanna Be With You’, a dancefloor filler mixed by St. Frances Hotel (producer for Michael Kiwanuka). The b-side ‘Sungalz’ is a hazy dream pop number that started life as an instrumental jam

The dynamic duo of tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy and drummer Teppo Mäkynen return with a double LP of live recordings captured in 2019 and 2020. The We Jazz Records release "Live Recordings 2019-2020" follows the duo's 2019 LP which was shortlisted for "Jazz Album Of the Year" at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards. While the studio album versions were studies in improvisational brevity, the live album lets the long-time collaborators really let loose and build memorable sonic narratives around the compositions. The album is produced and edited by Teppo Mäkynen, also known as a sought-after producer with the knack for looking at the big picture.

From the subtle minimalism of "Fallow" via the ambient of "Aero" to the riff-heavy groove of "Calling James", Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen breathe their music as one unit, building it based on a mutual trust as fellow musicians. Their duo shows have quickly become celebrated examples of what a long history of playing together can enable on stage when paired with the right mindset and a shared musical goal. This live album follows the ethos of both documenting what's happening and expanding on what was captured in the studio earlier.

Double LP gatefold on WHITE or BLACK vinyl.