Fides Records pushes further into its 10-year anniversary journey with X3, the third chapter of the series. Staying true to the label’s decade-long commitment to forward-minded underground techno, this new instalment sharpens the focus with five cuts that move between peak-time impact, melancholic tension, and dubwise pressure—each one a different angle on the Fides aesthetic.
Side A opens with Dustin Zahn’s “Madness”, a no-nonsense peak-time weapon built on stomping momentum, immersive pressure, and relentless drive—proof of why the US veteran remains a constant reference point. Marco Bruno follows with “Aura”, where melancholic leads and detuned synths shape an introspective yet heavy-hitting groove, capturing the Italian producer’s emotional weight and versatility. Closing the side, JANEIN (co-founder of Seelen Records) delivers “Polaris”, a spatial, bleepy roller that leans into darkness while keeping the propulsion locked forward.
Flipping to Side B, Yant’s “Fractured” shifts the palette: playful yet precise, kinetic in motion, with textures that keep mutating as the rhythm snaps into place. DHÆÜR “Sealand” captures the mood of a young Italian artist carving a new lane in minimal, elegant, unapologetic techno—energized and raw, yet defined by clean design, confident restraint, and a sharp personal signature. The record concludes with Hadone’s “No Longer Observed”, a dub-tinged stomper rich in detail and low-end depth; club-weight with an emotional undercurrent, balancing elegance and power in a way that feels unmistakably Fides.
Fantastisches Album mit 12 Liedern der Begena-Musiker Tafese Tesfaye, Admassu Fikre, Seyoum Mengistu und Alemu Aga. ""Die Begena ist eines jener seltenen Musikinstrumente, das seit über 5800 Jahren existiert. Faszinierend an ihr ist nicht nur ihr Alter, sondern auch die Tatsache, dass sich ihre Herstellung und ihr Verwendungszweck über all die Jahre hinweg nicht verändert haben. ... Während des Derg-Regimes, nach dem Sturz von Kaiser Haile Selassie, wurde sie nicht mehr als wichtig erachtet. ... Aber besonders in den letzten 15-16 Jahren hat es eine Renaissance erlebt. Es gibt viele, meist junge Begena-Spieler, von denen ich über 500 Schüler unterrichtet habe. Es gibt auch Begena-Bauer, die das Instrument für neue Schüler bauen. Das Interessante an diesem Instrument ist, dass die Musik, der Klang, der aus diesem Instrument kommt, die besondere Kraft hat, Menschen zur Konzentration, zur Ruhe und zum Nachdenken zu bewegen. Das ist eine besondere Qualität. Man muss kein Äthiopier sein, jeder kann es hören, es wird ihn automatisch zur Ruhe und Konzentration anregen."" – Alemu Aga (aus einem Interview mit Pit Budde für den WDR, Köln, 2008)
Another DINTE tape curated by cult WFMU show and blogger Bodega Pop; Gary Sullivan's long-running project rooted in a passion for digging for music in bodegas and cell-phone stores across NYC's boroughs. This edition focuses in on late 1990s and early 00s hip-hop & rnb from across Southeastern Asia.
"While on a work trip to Chicago in the mid-2000s, I was craving a bowl of pho. A bit of sleuthing led me to hop on the red line "L" up to Argyle Street, ground zero of Chicago's Little Saigon. In the 1960s, Chicago restaurateur Jimmy Wong invested in property on Argyle Street with a vision to build the city's new Chinatown, a kind of mall with pagodas, trees, and reflecting pools. In 1971, the Hip Sing Association, a labor/criminal organization, established itself in the area, and along with Wong, they bought up 80% of the buildings on a three-block stretch of the street. Wong reportedly broke both hips in an accident, leaving his dream to wither; in 1979, Charlie Soo of the Asian American Small Business Association brought it back to life.
Soo expanded the area into a vibrant mix of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian businesses, pushing for renovations, including an Argyle station facelift and the Taste of Argyle festival. At the time I exited the station and crossed the street to get a better look at a shop with a poster for A Vertical Ray of the Sun in the window, the area was home to some 37,000 Vietnamese residents.
Opening the door, I was gobsmacked by a cavernous Southeast Asian media store, bigger than any I'd been to in Dallas, Montreal, New York, or Seattle. I spent some time at the bins, pulling out collections by some of my then-favorite singers — Giao Linh, Khánh Ly, Phương Dung — before approaching the register to ask the young woman behind the counter if the they carried any Vietnamese rap. It was a longshot, I knew, but if such a thing existed on physical media and anyone carried it, it would be this place.
'Have you heard Vietnamese rap?' she replied, her tone of voice and facial expression betraying a comically exaggerated level of distaste. I admitted my ignorance but assured her that I had long cultivated a high threshold for cheesy pop music of all kinds and genuinely tended to like hip hop from around the world.
She rolled her eyes and pointed to an area I had missed. I walked toward a far corner of the store and knelt over a small box on the floor sparsely populated with CDs, VCDs, and cassettes. I pulled out half a dozen Vietnamese hip hop compilations and a strange-looking CD with a cavalcade of odd typefaces in a queasy multitude of colors: THAILAND RAP HIT, it boasted, with 泰國 "燒香" 勁歌金曲 below it. The information on the back provided an address in Kuala Lumpur and the titles in Thai and English translation. The first track included three simplified Chinese characters after the English-language version of the title, "The Chinese Association": 自己人.
WTF was going on here? Walking back to the register, I waved the CD, asking "What's up with this one?" She gave me a look. I placed it on the counter so she could bask in the cover's full glory. She shrugged. "I'm guessing it's Thai rap?" She looked disappointed in me when I said I'd take it.
It turned out to be a Malaysian pressing of half-Chinese Thai hip hop artist Joey Boy's third album, Fun Fun Fun from 1996, and it completely changed my sense what the genre could sound like. The rapper's self-assured, effortless, silly-but-cool rapid-fire delivery weaved in and out of the most bizarre, antic beats I'd ever heard. The six Vietnamese hip hop CDs were a mixed bag, mostly "serious" sounding mimicry of US rapping over predictable production, but the highs were very high. When I got home and listened to it all, I made a point to find as much hip hop from this part of the world as I could.
The tracks collected here provide a limited but potent reflection of the two-decade ascendency
and ultimate world-takeover of hip hop, as it displaced rock and its endless variants for millions of listeners. This not a fair and balanced overview of regional production: I've only included tracks from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Nor is this a biggest or most important artists collection; instead, I've tried to recapture the pure visceral thrill of that first time I heard Joey Boy, choosing bangers that sound like nothing else, from nowhere else."
For the first time on Little Beat More, Sweden’s Cumbiasound deliver a vibrant 7” that expands their ever-evolving exploration of tropical soundscapes. Led by Daniel Fridell, the band has long been pushing the boundaries of cumbia while keeping its analogue heart beating strong, blending classic Colombian and Peruvian sounds with Afrobeat, reggae, jazz, funk, and beyond.
The A-side Mas Paz (Rework) breathes new life into one of Cumbiasound’s most beloved tracks, originally featured on their album Cosas del Universo. Vocalist Lis Flores Varela brings her unmistakable smoothness, while Chilean rapper Boogie Castillo lays down thoughtful verses with his signature flow in a track that captures the essence of the band: rooted, soulful, and globally connected. And to top it off, this new version has a fresh new vocal feature by Congolese singer José Pereelanga.
On the flip side, Jinsei, is a collaboration with Japanese cumbia band Mumbia y Sus Candelosos, led by composer and percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi. With its breezy guitars, soft tropical groove, and the warm vocals of José Pereelanga, the track drifts like a slow river, effortlessly bridging continents and traditions.
With this 7”, Cumbiasound once again affirms its place among the most interesting projects in today’s nu-cumbia landscape with a vision that crosses borders with ease.
Made with Love by Little Beat More 2025 “We Dance We Think”
Originally released in 1986, Life Is Hard Then You Die was the debut
album from Liverpudlian indie-pop band It's Immaterial - Now reissued
and repackaged by Last Night From Glasgow, available October 2023
Simon Braithwaite of Smash Hits wrote that Life's Hard and Then You Die shows
that It's Immaterial "write jolly good pop songs - In fact everything else here is just
as inspired and original as their recent hit."
In a retrospective review, Michael Sutton of All Music wrote, "Musically, the LP is
all over the place - new wave country, blues, folk, and synth pop - Somehow the
smorgasbord of styles works, because the band members aren't being eclectic
just for the sake of it; they simply have a wide canvas, keeping the album fresh
from beginning to end."
For the fifth release on Silum Records, the in-house production collective Wavetest teams up with longtime friend Lexx for two tracks and completes the 12” with a new creation of their own. “Last Dance at Zukunft” and “Alpine State” were both inspired by the iconic Zurich venue Zukunft which closed its doors in the spring of 2025. Club Zukunft was a cornerstone of Zurich’s underground club culture for nearly two decades. Everyone involved in the making of this record spent countless nights there, whether behind the decks, on stage or dancing in the crowd. This release is both a celebration and a heartfelt farewell to a place whose impact on Zurich’s music scene remains unmatched.
This holiday season, global hip-hop icon Ice Cube makes a powerful return with Man Up — a brand-new album from a cultural trailblazer whose influence spans music, film, and activism. With over 10 million albums sold and six Platinum plaques, Cube’s legacy is undisputed, from his revolutionary work with N.W.A. to timeless solo anthems like “It Was a Good Day.” Now, sharper and more unapologetic than ever, he’s back to deliver a project that fuses his raw lyrical power with a message rooted in resilience and authenticity.
To mark the release, Man Up will be available exclusively as an ultra-limited vinyl drop this holiday season. Each record features a one-of-a-kind hand-crafted cover — a unique blend of artisanal design and proprietary technology (created without A.I.) — alongside city- and country-specific sleeves that pay homage to Cube’s global impact in places like LA, Tokyo, London, and France. The campaign will be amplified through a global social media rollout, city-focused influencer activations, and Ice Cube’s upcoming North American tour. Major press coverage and podcast appearances will further elevate the conversation, making Man Up not just an album, but a collector’s piece and cultural moment fans won’t want to miss.
To mark Grid's second anniversary back in 2023, the label brought together 13 tracks from the bass scene's most forward-thinking artists, all of which sank you into deep sonic chambers. Now, six of those tracks are available on wax for the first time in what is an essential sampler featuring boundary-pushing contributions from forward-thinking artists. Sister Zo opens with the percussive pressure of 'EMP,' Ronan lays down a lithe rhythm that befits its 'Shadowbox' title and Seekersinternational drill down into warped low-end chaos. There is a deftness to Jonny From Space's tumbling perc and E-Unity brings clean lines and a futuristic sheen to his deep dub workout 'Of All The Places I Could Be'. Tammo Hesselink brings ambient soundscaping with his floating delight, 'Paint Reduce Trick.' This is high-quality, original music that moves both mind and body.
Flanked by a team of collaborators - including Nick León, more eaze, Ultrafog and Kissen - Ben Bondy captures the Kwia-pop zeitgeist on 'XO Salt Lif3', sluicing down dappled emo and downtempo grooves with log drum thwacks, tempered field recordings and sandblasted shoegaze guitars.
Forget what you think you know about Ben Bondy; like Naemi's fuzzy 'Breathless Shorn', ‘XO Salt Lif3’ is a decisive shift away from the ambient world and towards contemporary underground pop. Last year's amapiano-tinted loosie 'Bend' serves as the album's opener and is the best taster, its slick DSP squelches, granulated drones and sub rumbles immediately swapped out for breezy acoustic guitar riffs, tuned log drum hits and Bondy's own Autotuned vocals. When Bondy turns down the temperature a little, letting the orchestral synth arrangements slip into fuller view on 'Halfmoon', a collaboration with Nick León and Aussie producer Lovefear, it's tempered by low slung emo riffs and mumbled sweet nothings.
By the time we hit 'Dreamseed', Bondy's in full swing, offsetting slow breaks and multi-tracked vocal harmonies with full-spectrum shoegaze power chords that cut into the mix like a chainsaw, with crunchy amp crackle foreshadowing the Bark Psychosis-like drop. Bondy hits a cruise when More Eaze helps out on 'There Is A Place'. Maurice's unmistakable pedal steel draws us in, used by Bondy to add an Americana accent to his euphoric fusion of amapiano and indie pop. It's music that'll make perfect sense if you've caught one of Bondy's notorious DJ sets, where you might hear anything from American Football and Jessica Pratt next to Gwen Stefani, Skinny Puppy or Sneaker Pimps. It’s this chaotic, open-hearted approach - which also plays a part in the Shineteac material - that makes 'XO Salt Lif3' so effortlessly enjoyable.
The Éthiopiques series returns! Essential archive recordings from an extremely fruitful period in Ethiopian music.
Before “Swinging Addis” took over the world, there was Moussié Nerses Nalbandian — the Armenian-born composer who shaped modern Ethiopian music. Mentor, arranger, and pioneer, he laid the foundations of Ethio-jazz.
This Éthiopiques volume revives his forgotten legacy, recorded live by Either/ Orchestra First issue ever with new exclusive photos and in depth liner 8-page insert.
“Ethiopian jazzmen are the best musicians that we have seen so far in Africa.
They really are promising handlers of jazz instruments.”
Wilbur De Paris
(1959, after a concert in Addis Ababa)
አዲስ፡ዘመን። *Addis zèmèn* **A new era.**
The time is the mid-1950s and early 1960s, just before "Swinging Addis" bloomed – or rather boomed – onto the scene. Brass instruments are still dominant, but the advent of the electric guitar, and the very first electronic organs, are just around the corner. Rock’n'Roll, R’n’B, Soul and the Twist have not yet barged their way in. Addis Ababa is steeped in the big band atmosphere of the post-war era, with Glenn Miller's *In the* *Mood* as its world-wide theme song, neck and neck with the Latin craze that was in vogue at the same period. Life has become enjoyable once again, with the return of peace after the terrible Italian Fascist invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1941). The redeployment of modern music is part and parcel of the postwar reconstruction. *Addis zèmèn* – a new era – is the watchword of the postwar period, just as it was all across war-torn Europe.
The generation who were the young parents of baby boomers** were the first to enjoy this musical renaissance, before the baby boomers themselves took over and forever super-charged the soundtrack of the final days of imperial reign. Music is Ethiopia's most popular art form, and very often serves as the best barometer for the upsurge of energy that is critical for reconstruction. Whether it be jazz in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the *zazous* who revolutionised both jazz and French *chanson* after the *Libération*, be it Madrid's post-Franco Movida, or Dada, the Surrealists and *les années folles* that followed World War I, the periods just after mourning and hardship always give rise to brighter and more tuneful tomorrows. Addis Ababa, as the country's capital, and the epicentre of change, was no exception to this vital rule.
**Two generations of Nalbandian musicians**
Nersès Nalbandian belonged to a family of Armenian exiles, who had moved to Ethiopia in the mid-1920s. The uncle Kevork arrived along with the fabled "*Arba Lidjotch*", the** "*40 Kids*", young Armenian orphans and musicians that the Ras Tafari had recruited when he visited Jerusalem in 1924, intending to turn their brass band into the official imperial band. If Kevork Nalbandian was the one who first opened the way of modernism, pushing innovation so far as to invent musical theatre, it was his nephew Nersès who would go on to become, from the 1940s and until his death in 1977, a pivotal figure of modern Ethiopian music and of the heights it. Going all the way back to the 1950s. Nothing less. And it is Nersès who is largely to thank for the brassy colours that so greatly contributed to the international renown of Ethiopian groove. While the younger generations today venture timidly into the genealogy of their country's modern music, often losing their way amidst a distinctly xenophobic historiographical complacency, many survivors of the imperial period are still around to bear witness and pay tribute to the essential role that "Moussié Nersès" played in the rise of Abyssinia's musical modernity.
Given the year of his birth (15 March 1915), no one knows for sure if Nersès Nalbandian was born in Aintab, today Gaziantep (Turkiye/former Ottoman Empire) or on the other side of the border in Alep, Syria... What is certain is that his family, like the entire Armenian community, was amongst the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Turks. Alep, the place of safety – today in ruins.
Before Nersès then, there was uncle Kevork (1887-1963). For a quarter of a century, he was a whirlwind of activity in music teaching and theatrical innovation. *Guèbrè Mariam le Gondaré* (የጎንደሬ ገብረ ማርያም አጥቶ ማግኘት, 1926 EC=1934) is his most famous creation. This play included "ten Ethiopian songs" — a totally innovative approach. According to his autobiographical notes, preserved by the Nalbandian family, Kevork indicates that he composed some 50 such pieces over the course of his career. This shows just how much he understood, very early on, the critical importance of song as Ethiopia's crowning artistic form. Indeed, for Ethiopian listeners, the most important thing is the lyrics, with all their multifarious mischief, far more than a strong melody, sophisticated arrangements or even an exceptional voice. (This is also why Ethiopians by and large, and beginning with the artists and producers themselves, believed for a long time — and wrongly — that their music could not possibly be exported, and could never win over audiences abroad, who did not speak the country's languages).
Last but not least, one of Kevork's major contributions remains composing Ethiopia's first national anthem – with lyrics by Yoftahé Negussié.
Nersès Nalbandian moved to Ethiopia at the end of the 1930s, at the behest of his ground-breaking uncle. Proficient in many instruments (pretty much everything but the drums), conductor, choir director, composer, arranger, adapter, creator, piano tuner, purveyor of rented pianos,... he was above all an energetic and influential teacher. From 1946 onwards, thanks to Kevork's connexion, Nersès was appointed musical director of the Addis Ababa Municipality Band. In just a few years, Nersès transformed it into the first truly modern ensemble, thanks to the quality of his teaching, his choice of repertoire, and the sophistication of his arrangements. It was this group that would go on to become the orchestra of the Haile Selassie Theatre shortly after its inauguration in 1955, which was a major celebration of the Emperor's jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his on-again-off-again reign.
At some point or other in his long career, Nersès Nalbandian had a hand in the creation of just about every institutional band (Municipality Band, Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, Army Band, Yared Music School…), but it was with the Haile Selassie Theatre – today the National Theatre – that his abilities were most on display, up until his death in 1977. To this must be added the development of choral singing in Ethiopia, hitherto unknown, and a sort of secret garden dedicated to the memory of Armenian sacred music, and brought together in two thick, unpublished volumes. Shortly before his death (November 13, 1977), he was appointed to lead the impressive Ethiopian delegation at Festac in Lagos, Nigeria (January-February 1977).
His status as a stateless foreigner regularly excluded him from the most senior positions, in spite of the respect he commanded (and commands to this day) from the musicians of his era. Naturally gifted and largely self-taught, Nerses was tirelessly curious about new musical developments, drawing inspiration from the very first imported records, and especially from listening intensely to the musical programmes broadcast over short-wave radio – BBC *First*. A prolific composer and arranger, he was constantly mindful of formalising and integrating Ethiopian parameters (specific “musical modes”, pentatonic scale, and the dominance of ternary rhythms) into his “modernisation” of the musical culture, rather than trying to over-westernise it. It even seems very probable that *Moussié* Nerses made a decisive contribution to the development of tighter music-teaching methods, in order to revitalise musical education during this period of prodigious cultural ferment. Flying in the face of all the historiographical and musicological evidence, it is taken as sacrosanct dogma that the four musical modes or chords officially recognised today, the *qǝñǝt* or *qiñit* (ቅኝት), are every bit as millennial as Ethiopia itself. It would appear however that some streamlining of these chords actually took place in around 1960. It was only from this time onward that music teaching was structured around these four fundamental musical modes and chords: *Ambassel*, *Bati*, *Tezeta* and *Antchi Hoyé*. A historical and musical “details” that is, apparently, difficult to swallow, especially if that should honour a *foreigner*. Modern Ethiopian music has Nersès to thank for many of its standards and, to this day, it is not unusual for the National Radio to broadcast thunderous oldies that bear unmistakable traces of his outrageously groovy touch.
lim. 150 blue transparent 180 Gr LP + 7" + Poster / incl. Silent Servant Remix
A cross-cutting label exploring the boundaries between different disciplines based on deep listening and music research, Modern Obscure Music is set to release 'INRI' (INDUSTRIA NACIONAL DEL RUIDO INFINITO) on the 1st December, the new album from Dellarge.
Inspired by the scenic beauty of his studio's surroundings at Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacan, Mexico, Alejandro Barba, aka Dellarge, delves deep into the depths of his artistic consciousness to craft a spiritual album that encapsulates the essence of the place. 'INRI' stands for Industria Nacional del Ruido Infinito (National Industry of Infinite Noise) and serves as a vessel for Dellarge's innermost self-expression and reflections on the potential of humanity.
A multifaceted artist and veteran of the music industry for over two decades, his latest musical creation is an intimate and personal album and a departure from previous Techno/EBM-orientated Dellarge releases. 'INRI' (INDUSTRIA NACIONAL DEL RUIDO INFINITO) offers a mesmerizing blend of ambient, futuristic, and industrial sounds that transport listeners into a realm of mysticism, futurism, and duality and stands as a testament to Dellarge's artistic growth and his ability to transcend boundaries, offering listeners an immersive experience that connects them to his world.
Drawing inspiration from numerous sources, Dellarge found creative fuel in books such as 'El Arte de los Ruidos' by Luigi Russolo, 'Manifiestos y Textos Futuristas' by F.T. Marinetti, and science fiction classics including 'Congreso de Futurología' by Stanislaw Lem, 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson, and 'Dune' by Frank Herbert. Musically, he delved into the works of Coil, Michael Bundt, The Threshold Houseboys Choir, krautrock legends CAN and Popol Vuh, early Kraftwerk, Arthur Brown, Yello, Esquivel, The Residents, and Hector Lavoe for inspiration.
When asked about the creative process behind the album, Dellarge revealed a disciplined routine that involved immersing himself in the sounds, focusing on minute details that connected with the vivid world he envisioned. Ethereal tracks such as 'Viento Androide' and 'Viaje al Sol' offer a glimpse of a hopeful future, while darker compositions such as 'Corpus de Sangre' and 'Toro de Falaris', explore the wickedness and compassion within humanity. Each piece in the album represents a unique sonic journey.
'Viaje al Sol', the first single to be taken from the album, is set for release on the 27th October, and is also available as an EP which includes a remix from Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant. The remix is also included on the digital version of the album and available on 7" vinyl alongside an exclusive reworking of 'Cascabel' by the founder of Modern Obscure Music, Pedro Vian.
Welcoming London-based artist House on the Strand to the Eastern Nurseries fold following his impressive 2024 debut, "Heroine", Ruben Elbrond-Palmer channels a sombre, cinematic sense of sound with "Unrest".
Interpolating the visual sensibilities of some of his favourite artists, filmmakers, and photographers into the sonic field, Elbrond-Palmer’s palette cuts loose from the percussive elements of his previous work, blending analogue synthesis with repurposed guitars, haunting melodies, and field recordings that call to mind the hazy delirium of a dusty summer’s day. Sitting at its core, "Unrest" places harmony front and centre, with each sombre movement rising and falling as electric fences hum, helicopters hover overhead, and unknown events are set in motion.
Deceptively simple, the resultant album is gestalt—an elegy of melancholic moments, lost to the world.
Mastered by Ike Zwanniken of Hysterical Love Project - mainstay mastering engineer behind majority of INDEX, Co:Clear & Theory Therapy Releases
Established in 2019, Eastern Nurseries is a platform for deeply emotional contemporary electronic music based between Porto and Newcastle upon Tyne. Curated by Rui P. Andrade (aka Canadian Rifles) and Christopher Macarthur Owen (aka Burning Pyre).
The label has released a steady yet considered magna of records from Hasfeldt, Emma Acs, innerinnerlife and VAs encompassing the likes of Conna Harraway, Severin Black & Slowfoam.
Seeking out the inspirational intersection between free improvisation, rave and ancient mysticism, Plants Heal deliver an album of kaleidoscopic, organic beatdowns to Quindi.
Plants Heal is a collaborative project between Dan Nicholls on synths, Dave De Rose on drums and Lou Zon (aka Louise Boer) on visuals. The roots of the project are entwined with Dan and Lou's London-based event Free Movements, which began in 2018 to explore how instrumental music could merge with live electronics and DJ sets. Dave and Dan found themselves playing together frequently at the event and as part of Dave's free improv project Agile Experiments, with their accomplished track records as multi-instrumentalists reaching across many layers of music culture. The particular synergy of their partnership taps into the subliminal, surreal and transcendental soundscapes, but they're reliably anchored by instinctive rhythms and driven by a natural flow-state.
From the tentative steps of their first collaborations, Dan and Dave coalesced Plants Heal as a more pronounced project with Lou's live visuals, culminating in a first self-released album in 2021 and since organically fed and watered through continued performances across adventurous festivals and intimate club spaces. Every incremental step along the path of the project yielded new surprises and the deepening sense of a unique, powerful energy. The trio opted to pour this energy into two days of studio sessions at Sonic Playground Studios in Athens, maintaining their unplanned approach and letting the music and visuals unfold in the moment. The end result is Forest Dwellers, a sincere document of truly free music that uses the rhythmic structure of dance and trance music as a springboard into heightened consciousness.
Throughout the album you can hear hints of the familiar - dub techno shimmers, trip hop boom-bap, kosmische momentum, snarling bass modulation, new age ambience and even the odd sizzle of disco. But none of these references are explicit, and they weave in and out of less placeable expressions deeply bedded into Dan and Dave's sonic practices. The end result is a swirling tapestry of unspooling groove, wide open and agile enough to shift gears mid-flow - just as comfortable letting the propulsion melt away as locking into a four-to-the-floor throwdown. From the slippery syncopation of 'Avena Moon' to the angular bait-and-switch of 'Alien Hardware', 'Yarrow's starry-eyed reverie and the rolling, warm-hearted funk of 'Space Ballad', the Plants Heal sound world is expansive and equally enthusiastic for immediate musical motifs as much as wild abstraction.
Lou's visual practice is an intrinsic part of the project. During performances she improvises with analogue footage from her library run through video mixers and synthesisers, focused on medicinal plants such as yarrow, hawthorn, nettle and thistle. All those plants feature in processed form on the cover of the record, which was designed in collaboration with Lou's brother Arthur Boer. Meanwhile, Lou recorded additional footage in Athens during the recording sessions to feed into the continued cycle of the project's live evolution.
Forest Dwellers' meaning honours this cycle and its reflection of the eternal undulations of the natural world. It's also a sincere tribute to the spiritual importance and radical potential of the dancefloor, drawn from the freedom taught by jazz and dedicated to reclaiming lost ideas about community, agency, bodies and the enduring allure of the unknown.
(Grey & Black Splatter effect 12’’ vinyl) Supported by leading artists such as Charlotte de Witte, Mha Iri, Amelie Lens, Klaudia Gawlas, Thomas Schumacher and more. Vibes Addikt, the label of N.O.B.A proudly unveils its latest vinyl release: a full-power EP from French producer Sta’an.
After previously appearing on the imprint, Sta’an returns with his first complete EP on Vibes Addikt, this time delivering a fully immersive project pressed on a grey splattered vinyl, echoing the aesthetic of the label’s previous collectors’ editions.
With five striking tracks oscillating between techno and hard trance, Sta’an showcases his signature intensity: driving kicks, razor-sharp synths, hypnotic atmospheres and high-voltage energy built for peak-time moments. Each track channels a raw yet modern rave spirit, perfectly aligned with the identity of Vibes Addikt.
With this explosive release, the label continues to push its techno-trance hybrid forward, cementing its place among the most impactful underground platforms for DJs seeking pure, cutting-edge dancefloor power.
Arguably one of the most memorable house music moments, born out of the black LGBT scene in Chicago at the legendary Warehouse and known as one of Frankie Knuckles earliest productions; ‘Your Love’ is a stone cold classic. A record that is up there with the greats, instantly recognisable and a song that only get better with time.
Written by Jamie Principle and originally released in 1986, ‘Your Love’ has become a seminal recording over the past 34 years. Originally an underground club anthem, famously borrowed on the crossover hit ‘You’ve Got The Love’ (The Source feat. Candi Staton), and most recently re-produced by as part of the Director’s Cut project which aimed to update a number of classic cuts for the modern dancefloor, this is a record that endures the test of time. Working alongside The Frankie Knuckles Foundation and Eric Kupper, SoSure Music now releases two new remixes for 2020 from Darrius Syrossian and Alan Dixon.
First up, House music aficionado and legendary Sankey’s resident Darius Syrossian offers his unique blend of beats to the remix package. With releases on the likes of Get Physical, Viva Music and Hot Creations, Darius’ production is heavily influenced by some of the greats – think of the finest spinners from Detroit, New York and Chicago – and is well placed to approach this huge task. Darius introduces a rolling house beat and some old skool breakbeats into his mix, keeping the energy high throughout; bringing a feeling of a euphoria and hitting the peak time moment.
Charting a rapid rise through the ranks in a relatively short time Alan Dixon is already building a name for himself in House and Nu Disco scene and has recently released on labels including Glitterbox, Permanent Vacation, Running Back and True Romance. Alan’s remix aims directly at the centre of the disco dancefloor. A strong beat dominates a unique energy through the mix along with a slightly nostalgic vibe. With a beautiful floaty interlude and a raw emotion this remix updates a classic with respect while also giving a fresh new twist.
This holiday season, global hip-hop icon Ice Cube makes a powerful return with Man Up — a brand-new album from a cultural trailblazer whose influence spans music, film, and activism. With over 10 million albums sold and six Platinum plaques, Cube’s legacy is undisputed, from his revolutionary work with N.W.A. to timeless solo anthems like “It Was a Good Day.” Now, sharper and more unapologetic than ever, he’s back to deliver a project that fuses his raw lyrical power with a message rooted in resilience and authenticity.
To mark the release, Man Up will be available exclusively as an ultra-limited vinyl drop this holiday season. Each record features a one-of-a-kind hand-crafted cover — a unique blend of artisanal design and proprietary technology (created without A.I.) — alongside city- and country-specific sleeves that pay homage to Cube’s global impact in places like LA, Tokyo, London, and France. The campaign will be amplified through a global social media rollout, city-focused influencer activations, and Ice Cube’s upcoming North American tour. Major press coverage and podcast appearances will further elevate the conversation, making Man Up not just an album, but a collector’s piece and cultural moment fans won’t want to miss.
Metalheadz and Quartz present Interloper, a body of work years in the making that captures the evolution and persistence of a truly singular producer. Sparked by an invitation from Goldie in 2018, the project developed organically into a statement piece, shaped by shifting environments and a relentless drive to refine his craft. Quartz, also known as Elliot Garvey, has long stood apart from the noise. A Welsh producer with little interest in visibility or self-promotion, he has built a reputation on substance alone. Interloper reflects that focus: textured, brooding, and meticulously detailed, balancing grit and clarity while maintaining the looming tension that defines his sound. The album’s title hints at Garvey’s place within the culture - present but never fully belonging - and the music carries that same sense of quiet defiance. Intense without theatrics and deeply personal without pretence, Interloper is a record that doesn’t ask to be seen, only to be felt.
"Analogue proudly welcomes UFO95 & Hadone - two of the finest talents in the new wave of techno. Their split EP features a combination of four blistering, space-infused, deep and high-energy cuts. A standout release that deserves a place in every serious collection."
Tastemaker and cult figure among some, noise vendor among others… lurking somewhere in the shadows between London and Paris, the man known as Sheet Noise emerges out of the blue with his debut LP, Shostakovich's 5th Played Backwards in a Concrete Silo.
A direct shock to the system: equally beautiful and evil, abrasive yet uncomfortably calming. The feeling that something is about to happen at any minute—impending love or hatred blaring from the speakers at breakneck speeds. Heavy-duty, reactor-melted junglism; twisted samples buried under layers of dust and static; familiar voices in unfamiliar places.
This eight-track album is as intense as it can get. Don’t call it ambient. Don’t call it jungle. Don’t call it noise. Just strap yourself into the electric chair and get ready for the end.
ULURU is a large sandstone rock formation in Australia. It's sacred to the Anangu, the local Indigenous of the area. For many years it had been deprived of its spiritual significance, due to mass tourism, capitalism, as well as greedy and selfishness of people who just want to make money out of it. However, as a result of the Anangu’s resilience, care and staunchness, huge changes took place in the national park around Uluru as well as in the broader public's consciousness, giving again to the Uluru the sacred identity that had been lost.
You might be reading and thinking now: so what's the point? Actually, there's no real point. I would rather say, there’s hope. The hope of seeing humans all around the world following the example of the Anangu. The hope of seeing humans finally stopping to treat the earth and all what’s part of it, what’s on and what’s in it, as a slave without soul. The hope of changing today, and if not today at latest by tomorrow. This system is failing. It's no longer sustainable, and there's no much time left.
Alice Deejay was the Eurodance project founded and produced by Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen, Sebatiaan Molijn,
Eelke Kalberg and vocals by female singer Judy. Their 1999 single "Better Off Alone" reached charts worldwide, hitting #2 in the UK,
cracking the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA and dominated dance floors across Europe. Follow-ups "Back In My Life", " Will I Ever",
"Celebrate Our Love" cemented their place as one of the Netherlands' successful dance acts of the early 2000s.
Their debut albumWho Needs Guitars Anyway? was released in 2000 and also made strong impact across international charts, including the United Kingdom where it peaked at #8. Celebrating it's 25th Anniversary, the album is now available on vinyl for the first time, featuring their chart toppers
"Better Off Alone", "Back In My Life" amongst others. Who Needs Guitars Anyway? is available as a limited edition on purple coloured vinyl, and includes an insert.
Continuing his refraction of the rave continuum into pointedly dislocated, delicately bruising sound system meditations, Low End Activist returns to Peak Oil with a second instalment in his Airdrop series. This time around, he channels the ghosts of foundational tech-step and the quantum leaps of late-90s D&B to provide the inspirational fuel for his skeletal, astral constructions. A strong stylistic thread continues to weave through the LEA output from his earlier self-released EPs and Sneaker Social Club albums, where haunted atmospherics, blown out subs and snatches of breaks dart around each other in empty dancehalls, but the finer point of the sound design and synthesis makes very specific references to landmark moments in hardcore's evolution.
By weaving his own autobiography into the music, the Activist maintains a fundamental theme of his work to date. 'Colin's Golf', 'Smithy's Porsche,' 'Merv's Lazy Eye' and 'Brillo's Teeth' are all personal codes harking back to the formative Oxford rave scene. With the framework in place, he uses textures, timbres and studio tricks from scene-leading pioneers and local heroes of the era as ingredients in thoroughly modernist concoctions. None of the reference points are deployed as literal callbacks — they're waymarkers for the creative process and faint triggers bedded deep into Airdrop II's strange formations. Fleeting sonics might trigger latent memories for those who were there. For everyone else, Airdrop II is another step further along rave's eternally unspooling odyssey, guided by decades of precedents on a path into the future.
RAWAX proudly presents Acid Jesus aka Roman Flügel & Jörn Elling Wuttke with her groundbreaking debut album called "Acid Jesus" from 1993
Following the title of the classic Ecstasy Club record - be it a direct influence or merely a coincidence - Acid Jesus was the first of many collaborations between Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling Wuttke.
Situated in Germany’s then blistering techno scene and especially a mirror of Frankfurt at the time, the early recordings are also a feedback loop to what was happening in the UK and the USA before and at that very time. With many definitions and interpretations of techno already in place, and while its triumphal procession slowly geared itself into exhaustion, Flügel and Wuttke succeeded with their own and unique take on it, that owned as much to Underground Resistance and the Belleville Three as it did to Sven Väth and Andrew Weatherall. Depicting the booster detonation of what was to become the holy label trinity of Playhouse, Klang and Ongaku, this is a collection of tracks and experiments in sound that won’t sound dated, yet classic, mesmerizing and eternal. Jesus loves the acid and vice versa.
Five years after the release of 'The First Circle' Neroli celebrates its 25th anniversary with a new volume.
'The Second Circle' picks up from where its predecessor left and expands its aestethic into more musical territories.
The album moves from still ambience and majestic uplifting strings to quirky electronics, it explores expansive fusion landscapes till landing into Detroit beatless territories accompanying the listener to multiple musical places and to embrace this unique spiritual journey. Featuring original unreleased compositions by: Nu Era, Lar Bartkuhn, Molinaro, Claude Young jr, Joe Claussell, EDB, Jordan GCZ, Other Lands, Stephen Lopkin, Meftah, Zopelar and Volcov.
On her fourth full-length album as Shedir, Sardinian sound artist Martina Betti offers a profound meditation on what it means to be human on the threshold of uncertainty.
We Are All Strangers is a series of ambient tapes-tries shaped by duality and introspection, where sound becomes a space to explore the tension between identity and ambiguity, presence and disappearance, connection and solitude. Inspired by the idea that we are all strangers, however, first and foremost to ourselves, Betti crafts seven fluid, slow-burn compositions that inhabit a sociological liminal zone—what she comments as an “inner elsewhere.”
These aren’t songs in the traditional sense, but evolving sonic environments that feel like emotional states made audible. Environmental textures, submerged electronics, and deep low-end pulses coalesce into a dreamlike architecture of sound: immersive, fragile, and quietly transformative.
Rather than offering answers or closure, the album invites us to live in radical openness—to stop trying to define everything we see and feel, and instead bathe in what remains unnamed. In this sense, We Are All Strangers is an invitation: to sit with uncertainty, to embrace the unfinished, and to find resonance even in our collective disconnection.
For listeners drawn to the introspective frequencies of Rafael Anton Irisarri, Félicia Atkinson, or Lawrence English, Betti’s music offers a similarly haunting and immersive experience—one where strangeness is not a flaw, but a starting point. In her hands, ambient music becomes a kind of reflective shelter: a place to brush against each other in the dark and begin to learn, as she puts it, “the difficult art of closeness.”
The Punky Rocking Christmas came over two different Xmas’s for the punk connoisseur. The first back in 1977 when the Sex Pistols took themselves up to Huddersfield to play a gig for the firemen but also as they arrived in the afternoon a gig for the local kids. After much cake throwing and high jinks and with the kids all cleared out the Pistols played the evening show for the adults. This it would turn out to be the Sex Pistols last show in England, as they went to America in January 1978 and imploded. That as they say is another story.
The second Christmas Punk bonanza took place in London’s Ladbroke Grove area when The Clash, possible inspired by the Sex Pistols previous Xmas gig, decided to play their own Xmas gig in 1979 on
Christmas Day at The Acklam Hall. The added bonus was they also played at the venue on Boxing Day. So there you have it the two biggest punk bands giving two xmas treats to their fans. To celebrate these festive treats Mal-One has written two songs to celebrate both events and dubbed up both versions for this Maxi-12” special. He has also provided two sleeves a Sex Pistols sleeve 250 copies and a Clash sleeve 250 copies plus a signed print in each. As they say what more could you want in your xmas stocking.
Ho Ho Ho and a punky rocking happy Xmas to you all.
For the first time on Little Beat More, Sweden’s Cumbiasound deliver a vibrant 7” that expands their ever-evolving exploration of tropical soundscapes. Led by Daniel Fridell, the band has long been pushing the boundaries of cumbia while keeping its analogue heart beating strong, blending classic Colombian and Peruvian sounds with Afrobeat, reggae, jazz, funk, and beyond.
The A-side Mas Paz (Rework) breathes new life into one of Cumbiasound’s most beloved tracks, originally featured on their album Cosas del Universo. Vocalist Lis Flores Varela brings her unmistakable smoothness, while Chilean rapper Boogie Castillo lays down thoughtful verses with his signature flow in a track that captures the essence of the band: rooted, soulful, and globally connected. And to top it off, this new version has a fresh new vocal feature by Congolese singer José Pereelanga.
On the flip side, Jinsei, is a collaboration with Japanese cumbia band Mumbia y Sus Candelosos, led by composer and percussionist Mutsumi Kobayashi. With its breezy guitars, soft tropical groove, and the warm vocals of José Pereelanga, the track drifts like a slow river, effortlessly bridging continents and traditions.
With this 7”, Cumbiasound once again affirms its place among the most interesting projects in today’s nu-cumbia landscape with a vision that crosses borders with ease.
Made with Love by Little Beat More 2025 “We Dance We Think”
UK-based DJ and producer Wallace debuts on Phantasy Sound with an irresistible double A-side single, ‘Cravings (ft. Love Letters) / Concourse.’ Bubbling with sensuality and euphoria, both tracks reinforce Wallace’s burgeoning reputation as one of electronic music’s most impressive new voices, a crowning moment on Erol Alkan’s long-running label following a stellar run of singles for imprints including Cooking With Palms Trax, Rhythm Section, and Moxie's much-loved On Loop.
Led by a longing, inquisitive performance from vocalist and underground house music luminary, Love Letters, ‘Cravings’ builds from a simple throbbing bass line to an eruption of lyrical and musical joy. Exploring onset desire – risk, uncertainty, and ultimately, reward – Wallace’s deep and celebratory arrangement interweaves with Love Letters’ queer perspective to deliver universal satisfaction.
While ‘Cravings’ looks inward to find release, ‘Concourse’ goes for the jugular with a darker, more epic sensibility than Wallace has previously indulged. His flawless production touch seamlessly gifts magic to a widescreen techno epic that might not sound out of place on the terrace at Circoloco or else a field near early-nineties Frankfurt, repeatedly working his acid-oriented machines into a lather and conjuring cosmic drama from eerie, choral voices beneath a powerful groove.
Synaptic marks the second album of SIT on Sushitech, the latest visionary project from Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia. A true meeting of minds, the album was born from deep friendships and inspired studio collaborations.
Crafted through extended, boundary pushing sessions, Synaptic brings together a stellar cast of like minded artists, Silverlining, O.Bee, Jay Tripwire, Jamie Leather, DeWalta, Sublee, Cezar, Joe Rolet, Lawrence, Christopher Ledger and Mischa Blanos.
A powerful and immersive listening experience, it's an intricate blend of textures, moods and rhythms that captures the collective energy of some of the scene's most innovative producers, specially released as part of the label's 20th anniversary.
Party thrower in the land of French volcanoes, BAZⱯR takes a wax turn with the release of their very first EP!
Bringing together artists and friends from across the globe, this record reflects the crew’s journey and showcases the full spectrum of their musical vision.
From peak-time tension to trippy after-hours vibes, and sunny open-air delights, this debut vinyl is crafted to find its place both on the shelf and at the heart of every dancefloor moment.
A testimony to years of shared experiences and late-night adventures, it embodies the spirit of community that fuels BAZⱯR. With this release, the crew opens a new chapter ; one that resonates far beyond the night.
Natasha Pirard returns with her most personal project yet, dedicated to her mother and late grandmother, whose care shaped her life. Fernande, Cecile is a photobook of songs, weaving voice, field recordings, synthesizer, and violin into an ode to her matrilineal line. Pirard lost her grandmother at seven, yet Fernande’s warmth stayed with her as a touchstone. Her mother, Cecile, has been a constant presence, guiding her through difficult years.
Alzheimer’s—her grandmother’s illness—and the fragility of memory permeate the work. A conversation with her mother sparked the album: over coffee, Cecile placed a hand on her heart and said, “If I ever develop this disease, don’t forget I’m still here (inside).” That moment became central to the compositions, which translate Pirard’s gratitude and love into music as tender as possible.
The music moves in fragments—notes, chords, loops—evoking gardens, sunlight, and childhood afternoons. Rhythms shift like life itself, carrying echoes of loss and the persistence of memory. Ambient textures brush against her voice and instruments, sometimes punctuated by her grandmother’s favorite bird.
The album unfolds in two parts: Fernande, capturing her grandmother’s warmth and fading recollections, and Cecile, honoring her mother’s care and resilience. Track titles trace memories while the music drifts through longing and gratitude, articulating what words cannot.
The album was written and recorded by Natasha Pirard, produced and mixed by David & Stephen Dewaele of Soulwax/2manydjs at DEEWEE.
“Everything flows – nothing remains, there is only an eternal becoming and changing” is a well-known formulation of the river theory of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, also known as panta rhei (ancient Greek: πάντα ῥεῖ, “everything flows”). This teaching states that everything in the universe is subject to constant change and that nothing stays the same forever. The metaphor of the river illustrates this: You can't step into the same river twice because both the river and you are constantly changing. The water is constantly flowing, but the river stays in one place. Thus, reality is constantly changing, even if sometimes perceived as constant.”
„Same Same but Different.“ Always different – always the same. Chill-Out DJ Heraklit
For the 26th time, the most consistent of all ambient compilations, in a constant flux of static change, is released on Kompakt. Joining good friends from the early days and reliable confidants are some new additions to the non-hierarchical charts of contemplative rapture culture.
Leading the way is Micå, a Japanese electronic musician whose finely chiseled, graceful musical style has made it onto the new collection with two pieces. Also making his debut is Richard Ojijo, a seasoned sound engineer known, among other things, for his long-standing collaboration with the artist Marcel Odenbach and the Cologne-based label Magazine. Oskø aka Max Hytrek, a multi-talented newcomer to Kompakt and the music scene, debuts with his rapturously ecstatic piece "Ar Vag." He's followed by Sebastian Mullaert, appearing for the second time—this time teamed up with Sebastian Lilja aka Hush Forever. After his surprise return last year after a 20 year hiatus, we are delighted that Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass Into Silence is back again this year with one of his distinctive sound gems. As are Dirk Leyers (Closer Musik) and Mikkel Metal. 18 tracks are featured on this CD. "Erlösung" (Redemption) is the title of Segensklang's closing track. A kind of ambient bolero into infinity. Or at least until next year...
And what would Pop Ambient be without the iconic, artistic cover design of Veronika Unland, who once again, in her unmistakable way, says through the digital flower: The eye always listens...
Various Small Whistles and a Song, the new album by Chicago-based artist Lia Kohl, incorporates notions of space, social relations, and humor. As the title suggests, the album responds to Ed Ruscha’s 1964 photographic artist book Various Small Fires and Milk, which Kohl sees as a wondrous celebration of ordinariness, one that reveals Ruscha’s trademark deadpan humor and depth. In the spirit of that publication, Kohl created her own series of sonic vignettes, with guest appearances from her close community of collaborators including claire rousay, Macie Stewart, Patrick Shiroishi, and others, reflecting the same sense of humor and mundanity.
The structure of the album—16 one-minute tracks—directly mirrors Ruscha’s book, which comprises 15 photographs of fire and one of a glass of milk. Ruscha’s “small fires” are represented here by recordings of whistles—mostly human whistling, with occasional appearances by train whistles, emergency whistles, and a woman selling penny whistles on the street in Guangzhou, China. About this choice of material, Kohl writes: “I’ve always been captivated by whistling—it’s musical but often a bit unconscious; usually solo but often done in public places. There’s something tender and human about hearing someone whistle, a socially acceptable version of hearing their mind wander.” As with Ruscha’s photographs, the whistles are not random snapshots but windows into social situations, narratives, or spaces.
The “milk” of the title — the 16th photograph in Ruscha’s book — is interpreted here as a single recording: a group of people singing together in Barcelona around 6 a.m. on New Year’s morning, captured through the floor of an Airbnb. Kohl describes this as a social, collective sound that contrasts with the solitary nature of whistling. The song functions as a counterbalance—a quiet celebration of shared experience.
Lia Kohl is a composer and sound artist based in Chicago. Her wide-ranging practice includes composition and performance, installation, improvisation, and collaboration. She tours nationally and internationally, working in theater, jazz, rock, and experimental contexts. Her work centers curiosity and patience, an exploration of the mundane and profound possibilities of sound.
‘3' saw the core Lifted duo of Max D & Matt Papich unravel their visions of excess into their most divergent and wide-eyed collection to date. Presented here by Peak Oil in a vinyl edition featuring the painting of Jordan Kasey (yes, related to Martin Kasey, saxophonist on 2019’s LP 2) and packaged for a seamless listen.
First scene ‘Chefs’ places us squarely off-center, landing in a cinematic environment that feels a bit like steadycam Luis Bunuel , wine bottle whoo-ing and horn fanfare. Its music without a hard surface, defined more by its fluidity and characters, found sounds and performed dialogue. “Cymbecko” shifts gears into blissful ambient dub, and paves the way for a Luke Stewart led excursion into the uncanny that is ‘Trip Tongue’. Stewart’s upright bass never stops seeking, while Jordan GCZs Rhodes barely touches down before lifting back up into and out of Jacob Long’s (Earthen Sea, Esau) liquid tone sheets. An outside world of percussion accompanies.
The mood morphs and the scene cuts in hard with “Born in the Roof”, slacker techno that grows shimmering parts, Perlon for potheads. Voiceover slacks right with it, a half-convo caught in the billowing chorus of fx. “Macarena” snaps things into focus, working almost like an open window to airing out the heady fog. Simplicity in the vignette.
After “Mecha Perfume & Variety”, “Snow Dancing” reignites the drama, with burning guitar by Jonny Nash taking a plucky and sliding lead over wildly fused drums by Max D, we get a test of new depths for Lifted with the somber and exuberant “Whipped Cream”. Crackling like a radio but with modern propulsion in the form of richly evocative pads courtesy of Motion Graphics, it sounds like a dinner, a space trip, a storyboard, a scene, threaded together in bouncing, oblique ways.
"Bobby V" drops refreshingly, timed like a credit roll and leaving an afterglow that feels more tuned-in than ever.
Players on this album include: Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements, Blacks Myths), Jeremy Hyman, Jonny Nash (Melody As Truth), Jordan GCZ, Matt Papich, Josh Levi, Mezey, Hirama, Dawit Eklund (1432 R), Motion Graphics, Max D, Jacob Long (Earthen Sea, Esau)
d 4.Born In The Roof Radio Mix
e 5.Macarena Radio Edit
Samuel Kerridge, with his signature sonic arsenal, stands alone in the worlds of rhythm and noise. A singular artist, his music is to be appreciated on its own terms. Here, he returns to James Ruskin's Blueprint Records with the eleven track album, "Memoir Of Disintegration".
The British producer has been carefully turning techno inside-out for over a decade. Taking a distinctly post-punk approach to the genre, he has become an integral part of Regis' legendary imprint Downwards. Kerridge has helped to define the label's contemporary sound: broken techno and snarling punk, informed by industrial music and metal.
Samuel Kerridge has released seven EPs and five albums (including a collaboration with Dva Damas' Taylor Burch) and his recent, "Kick To Kill", has become something of a statement of intent, blossoming into a new label and event series with a focus that broadens beyond techno tracks into full-blown song writing. Aside from his solo work, he collaborates with OAKE in what he describes as the "power metal techno" duo UF, and has recently started his own guitar band, Death Disco.
Kerridge ran the Berlin-based Contort label and party series and curated the legendary Berlin Atonal festival for three years, underlining his credentials as a stalwart figure in the world of experimental, boundary-pushing techno. He's also an accomplished live performer, most recently developing a hybrid live-DJ set that dismantles hundreds of tracks into a sampler to make new music in real time. It's an inventive process that places him in the lineage of iconic and ground-breaking techno acts, while still carrying the flag for the darkest corners of underground electronic music.
SOPHIE’s ‘OOH’ and ‘GET HIGHER’ are now available as a double A-side 12" vinyl. This release follows the single-series packaging format used for the other singles from PRODUCT: one track and slide image per side, black vinyl in a black inner sleeve, screen-printed with a white SOPHIE logo housed in a clear archive bag.
Earlier in 2025, Numbers marked 10 years since SOPHIE’s game-changing singles collection PRODUCT, with a special edition featuring 11 songs across Deluxe Vinyl and Compact Disc.
SOPHIE classics ‘BIPP’, ‘LEMONADE’ and ‘VYZEE’ were joined by two immaculate PRODUCT-era songs ‘OOH’ and ‘GET HIGHER’ recorded and produced at the time, each with colourful single artwork completing the set.
‘OOH’ is one of SOPHIE's earliest productions that has been through several revisions since 2011. It was one of three original tracks that Numbers had signed when SOPHIE uploaded the song alongside 'BIPP' and 'ELLE' to her Soundcloud, and while it had been through several iterations and speed changes, this finalised version was completed by SOPHIE in 2019.
SOPHIE once described ‘OOH’ as “hi tech club dance pop”. Musically speaking, the earworm hook is carved out by her signature portamento-infused synths and candy-coated lyrics, a firm cult classic approved by AG Cook and Charli XCX. Initially titled 'MAKE RESPECT', the track was first performed live by SOPHIE in 2011 to a handful of lucky people at a beach afterparty surrounding Sonar Festival, Barcelona and later that year at Manhattan's New Museum. The vocal was recorded as the first track in the same one-day recording session as SOPHIE's debut single 'NOTHING MORE TO SAY', released on the Huntley & Palmers label, where Sophie's songwriting was performed by the London vocalist Jaide Green.
The genesis of the ‘OOH’ and ‘NOTHING MORE TO SAY’ recording session is lore-worthy in its own right: after watching Jaide Green perform live with Olly Murs during the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009, SOPHIE reached out and invited Jaide to record in her home bedroom studio.
‘GET HIGHER’ was born during joyous sessions in 2013, when SOPHIE’s beat was introduced to the vocalists Cassie Davis and Sean Mullins. The track feels like a visionary precursor to ‘Vroom Vroom’, and doesn't sound out of place next to the sub-clang intensity of SOPHIE’s ‘HARD’ and ‘MSMSMSM’. Striking a playful balance between blissed-out hyperpop and club-ready Atlanta trap, it showcases SOPHIE’s signature, laser sharp sound design. Originally released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD edition of PRODUCT, ‘GET HIGHER’ has remained a hidden gem.
Third outing here from Benedict following two incredibly well-received debuts
His familiar sound palette is in place across these four cuts, stripped down, classic, driving House music with hooks for days...
Promises is an extraordinary, collaborative album by the electronic giant Floating Points and saxophone titan Pharoah Sanders. The album features the London Symphony Orchestra and cover art by the acclaimed American artist, Julie Mehretu. Five years in the making, it will be released on Luaka Bop, March 26, 2021. The album is composed and engineered by Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points, who's second album Crush earned Best New Music from Pitchfork and a major feature in the New York Times, and placed him on several 2019 critics lists. His debut album Elaenia, released by Luaka Bop, was another Best New Music pick and hailed as one of the best debuts of the decade. It is also the release that made Pharoah Sanders want to work with him in the first place. A restless, ever- evolving producer and composer, Shepherd has toured with the xx, and also holds a doctorate in neuroscience. For Pharoah Sanders, who recently turned 80, this is a rare outing and his first album in fifteen years. One of the last icons of his generation, Pharoah performed with John Coltrane on his late-career free jazz masterpieces, and released a string of expansive recordings under his own name for the Impulse! label which have been cited as a pivotal influence by everyone from The Stooges to Marvin Gaye. Most recently, he was featured in a 2020 Supreme campaign. The music unfurls, patiently, over nine movements, and 46 ever-undulating minutes. It's a work of pure feeling, like no other record you'll hear this or any other year.
Steering clear of his usual diet of 90s rave stabs, woolly pads and contemporary R&B vocals, Coco Bryce offers up a full album focussing on non-western sample sources. Drawing from, amongst other things, traditional Azerbaijani folk songs, Indonesian Gamelan experiments, Kenyan Taarab and ancient Sephardi hymns, it traverses half the globe across its ten tracks.
