STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL: WE WRITE TO YOU WITH ALARMING NEWS ABOUT THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL SPECIMEN DISCOVERED IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST IN JULY 2017. THIS LIFEFORM, CODE-NAME “DARLING”, ESCAPED FROM THE TOP-SECRET SAFE TRIP ORGANISATION HOLDING FACILITY LATE LAST NIGHT.
ALL THAT WAS LEFT INSIDE THE SUBJECT’S ENCLOSURE WAS A PRESSED POLYVINYL DISC CONTAINING TWO PIECES OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC. THE FIRST, WHICH WE HAVE TITLED “WHEN SHE HATES ME”, SOUNDS LIKE A CALL TO A DISTANT MATE OR PARTNER, COMPOSED AT SUNRISE AND SHOT THROUGH WITH BLISSFUL POSITIVITY. THE OTHER, NOW KNOWN AS “ISLE OF RED”, COMBINES SURGING DRUMS WITH POIGNANT AND MELANCHOLIC SOUNDS THAT ARE CLEARLY UNEARTHLY IN ORIGIN.
With Shades of post-punk, trip-hop and film score dynamics, The Lucid Dreams LP is an immersive multi-genre listening experience that travels through murky underworlds and dream-like hazes.
Jason Wilkins aka Cammile welcomes Lello Di Franco to his long-running Adeen imprint. As usual the Italian veteran has an eye-catching selection of collaborators in tow. Chief amongst these is Javontte, who not only guests on opener 'Do It Right' - a nostalgic chunk of classic house/boogie/jazz-funk fusion - but also flipside cut 'Elements', a hybrid deep house/Afro-house/disco house bouncer topped off with poetic spoken word vocals courtesy of Yvette Garrett. Alongside the duo's original vocal mix, we also get a jacking, stripped-back Toddsonic33 take and a propulsive, percussion-rich 'Vocal Dub'. Elesewhere, Orlando Voorn lends a hand on the appropriately titled 'The Deep', and Di Franco offers up the languid, organ-rich mid-tempo house shuffle of 'Lely The SBT'.
Mutual Dreaming label head and New York favourite Aurora Halal is back on her own imprint for the first time in some seven years. This new EP finds her in a cosmic mood and exploring new frontiers, starting with the journeying 'Red Alert' which is encircled by clean sci-fi melodies as slinky drums power onwards and upwards. 'The Spell' is less mobile, instead hunkering down in a deeper, slower, more inert groove, but one no less detailed by intergalactic melody. 'Airtrain To Jamaica Station' takes flight on liquid and linear deep techno grooves with a psychedelic synth wash and 'Mist' and 'PF Tek' bring anxious moods to restless grooves.
Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.
Chilean label Soundrive hits double figures with an EP that is as tasteful for house heads as all the other have been. Four serious names step up for this one, starting with Nottingham's DIY man Nail. His 'In The Sky' has all his usual hallmarks - heft to the groove and rawness to the drums, but also an emotional pull that cuts through from the woozy sax notes. Sakro stacks up his kicks into driving, nicely pressured loops on 'Deep In The Street' and runs them through with some thoughtful pad work and Texan Brett Johnson brings his usual off-beat tech house trippiness to 'Beautiful Smurf'. Gari Romalis shuts down with a warm, enveloping dub classic in the form of 'I'm Ya Dancer' complete with smoky vocals and wispy pads that are primed for dead of the night sessions.
Shadowy Detroit duo The Fantasy continue to offer up "secret mixes fixes" - high-grade, sonically spectacular re-rubs inspired by the original reel-to-reel re-edit era and the now iconic DJs behind the movement (Ron Hardy, Danny Krivit and Larry Levan included). The Motor City twosome kick off volume 5 in their ongoing series with 'Working Girl', a throbbing, San Francisco style electro disco workout peppered with spacey synth riffs, before turning a Bay Area drum machine workout into a breathless peak-time percussion-fest. Over on the reverse, 'On Fire Warp' is another percussion-laden revision of what sounds like a post-punk era industrial funk gem, while 'Lovefingers' is a break-driven translation of an ancient psychedelic rock workout.
A Safe Place To Be Wild is the seventh LP from Jordan Rakei, arriving after more than a decade of pushing the boundaries of soul, jazz and alternative R&B. Fearless, intimate and emotionally direct, the album finds Jordan embracing uninhibited self-expression and placing vulnerability at the centre of his songwriting. Stripping everything back to raw feeling and unfiltered moments, A Safe Place To Be Wild captures an artist fully stepping into himself, confronting the fear of exposing his inner world and finding power in doing so.
Mit Autobigophonie schuf Françoise Cactus, die unvergessene Sängerin von Stereo Total, einen der charmantesten Klassiker der deutsch-französischen Popliteratur. In diesem autobiografisch inspirierten Roman erzählt sie mit lakonischem Humor, Melancholie und feiner Ironie vom Aufwachsen in der französischen Provinz, von Jugend, Rebellion und dem Aufbruch ins Berlin der Hausbesetzer- und Punkära. Zwischen Schloss, Mädchenpensionat, Revolutionsgeist und Underground-Musikszene entsteht das Porträt einer jungen Frau, die sich gegen Konventionen und Erwartungen behauptet. Fast 30 Jahre nach der Erstveröffentlichung erscheint dieses literarische Juwel nun in einer überarbeiteten Neuausgabe. Ein kluger, witziger und zeitloser Roman über Selbstfindung, Popkultur und die Sehnsucht nach einem anderen Leben.
Mit Clouds of Glory - The Story of Martin Rev widmet der renommierte Musikjournalist Kris Needs erstmals einem der großen visionären Außenseiter der Popgeschichte eine umfassende Biografie. Als Mitgründer des legendären Duos Suicide prägte Martin Rev die Entwicklung von Punk, Synth-Pop, New Wave, Techno und Industrial entscheidend mit - lange bevor diese Genres den Mainstream erreichten. Basierend auf jahrzehntelangen Gesprächen und persönlichen Einblicken zeichnet Needs nicht nur den außergewöhnlichen Lebensweg von Martin Rev nach, sondern erzählt zugleich die Geschichte des revolutionären Duos Suicide und des kreativen New Yorks der 1950er bis 1970er Jahre. Das Ergebnis ist ein fesselndes Porträt eines kompromisslosen Künstlers und einer Ära, deren Einfluss bis heute in der modernen Popmusik nachhallt.
Simon Reynolds erzählt von der letzten großen Blütezeit der analogen Musikkultur und schließt damit direkt an sein Standardwerk zum Post-Punk, 'Rip It Up and Start Again', an. In einer Zeit, in der Musik noch greifbar war - als Schallplatte, als Zeitschrift, als Objekt -, war jeder neue Tonträger ein Ereignis, jede Ausgabe eines Magazins ein Ritual. Zwischen den späten Achtzigern und den frühen Neunzigern entfaltete sich ausgehend von diesen Objekten und Ereignissen eine musikalische Revolution, in der die Underground-Szene die Gitarrenmusik neu erfand und langsam in den Mainstream einsickerte, während sich politisch statt Utopien und Zukunftsentwürfen der Konservatismus festgesetzt hatte.
Reynolds erzählt von der Explosion des Noisepop, von Shoegaze, Slackern und Grunge - von My Bloody Valentine und Sonic Youth, die mit atemberaubenden Sounds eine zweite Psychedelic-Welle entfachten, den Cocteau Twins und Slowdive, die in Traumwelten entführten. Außerdem treten auf: Dinosaur Jr., Björk, Pixies, PJ Harvey, Nirvana, Felt, R. E.M., Hüsker Dü, Talulah Gosh, Big Black, Butthole Surfers, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Galaxie 500, Mercury Rev, Pavement, Stereolab, Stone Roses, Pussy Galore und viele mehr.
'Still in a Dream' ist der sehr persönliche Blick eines Journalisten, der damals als Autor diverser Musikmagazine dabei war, diese musikalischen Entwicklungen zu begleiten und ihnen Namen zu geben. Simon Reynolds beschwört die Magie der analogen Welt, bevor das Internet, Streaming und soziale Medien die Spielregeln der Musik für immer verändert haben. Ein Buch für alle, die sich fragen, was verloren ging - und was vielleicht nie ganz verschwunden ist.
Punk Rock in Großbritannien: In John Robbs ultimativer Oral History erzählen die prägenden Protagonisten der ersten Stunde, wie es wirklich war. Robb, Autor mehrerer Bestseller und selbst von Beginn an mit seiner Band The Membranes Teil der Szene, hat sie alle vors Mikrofon geholt: John Lydon, Lemmy, Ari Up, Mark E. Smith, Poly Styrene, Malcolm McLaren, Siouxsie Sioux ... you name it. Sie erzählen, was sie zum Punk brachte und welche Musik sie inspirierte, lassen legendäre Gigs Revue passieren, sprechen über bahnbrechende Platten und die obskursten Ereignisse hinter den Kulissen.
Das Buch ergründet die viel diskutierten Wurzeln des Punk, vermittelt die ganze Intensität der Anfangstage und widmet sich der Post-Punk-Periode ebenso wie dem anhaltenden Einfluss auf heutige Bands. 'Punk Rock - Die ganze Geschichte' ist ein pulsierendes Stück Zeitgeschichte, das die Bewegung in ihrer ganzen Breite beleuchtet: von Mode über Politik bis zur Musik!
Zum 50. Punk-Jubiläum erscheint Robbs lange vergriffener Klassiker der Punk-Geschichtsschreibung, übersetzt von Martin Büsser und Chris Wilpert, endlich in einer überarbeiteten Neuauflage mit einem Vorwort von Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols).
Die ikonische Band Dead Moon war ein von 1987 bis 2006 aktives Garage-Rock-Trio aus Portland, Oregon, das in den 20 Jahren seines Bestehens weltweit über tausend Konzerte gespielt hat. Und fast jedes Konzert von Dead Moon wurde mit einem eigenen Plakat und eigenen Flyern beworben, die dank ihrer originellen Mixtur aus DIY-, Sixties- und Trash-Ästhetik im Rockbiz bis heute stilprägend sind. Originalausgabe in englischer Sprache. Mit einer Einleitung von Steve Turner von Mudhoney.
In January 2016, a 21-year-old Jacquees confidently stepped into the spotlight and officially shifted the climate of modern R&B. Released as a mixtape hosted by DJ Spinz, Mood wasn't just a collection of songs—it was a bold sonic manifesto. Merging classic, unbridled Southern R&B vocals with the heavy, localized bounce of Atlanta’s dominant trap scene, the project gave a generation of fans their definitive late-night soundtrack. Now, a decade after its initial release, the foundational classic is finally making its official debut on all major streaming services, as well as arriving on CD and vinyl for the very first time.
Produced primarily by Nash B, Mood captured an artist on the precipice of superstardom. Backed by executive support from Birdman and the Cash Money Records family, the project features a powerhouse lineup of mid-2010s royalty, including standout guest verses from Kevin Gates, DeJ Loaf, Rich Homie Quan, Kirko Bangz, and Young Scooter.
For years, Mood lived in the digital underground of mixtape websites and YouTube rips, passed around by R&B purists like a treasured secret. Whether you're streaming it on the go, spinning the rich analog grooves of the vinyl, or popping the CD into your car, this release honors the timeless body of work that cemented Jacquees as the King of R&B.
For the first time ever, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is available on red & black marble vinyl, celebrating the world’s biggest-selling album and the first album to be certified triple Diamond by the RIAA. Released in 1982, Thriller changed pop music forever, featuring seven U.S. Top 10 hits including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller,” and helped Michael win a record-setting eight Grammy Awards in one night.
* long version / previously unreleased on vinyl
** exclusive / previously unreleased
Felix Laband's highly acclaimed electronica masterpiece album "Dark Days Exit" (2005) is now available as an Extended Version 2LP vinyl. Originally planned for last year's 20th anniversary, this special edition features a new design by Felix Laband and includes a double-sided DIN A2 art print. Dark Days Exit features four exclusive tracks, alongside five vinyl-only tracks available for the first time in their original long versions. Listening to the key track, Sleeping Household, on Dark Days Exit is unsettling: like being an impostor rambling around an uncanny house, a Lynchian leitmotif in the form of a young girl divulging secrets that you probably shouldn't hear. Dark Days Exit is an album that paints an interior landscape, an invitation to transgress private thresholds. Made with old-school production tools that require hands-on application, Dark Days Exit is a sound-production tour de force. The music is as wide as the savannah and microscopic at the same time, a lesson in what can be achieved when 'music' is placed on an equal footing with sound as a phenomenon, by an artist who decides to apply themselves without reserve. The masterful manipulation of reverb and delays and hyper-detail was a generation ahead of its time, and Dark Days Exit is preferred by audiophiles for testing their systems. Dark Days Exit is intimate, demanding, and a masterclass in tension, and Laband's ability to use all sound without hierarchy to paint a detailed personal vision — one that is less overtly political and streetwise than on subsequent albums — is unsurpassed. Most discerning listeners are into music because, in the hands of a master, it can manipulate our mood and transport us. Felix Laband opens with a sonic portrait of spring happiness and gradually dismantles the atmosphere in front of our ears, as epitomised by the haunting track Black Shoes. No sooner are we afraid than the artist drops us off where we started. In many ways, the intimacy derives from the tight group of friends and believers whom Laband corralled as contributors: Mark van Niekerk (xylophone, "Miss Teardrop"), Jane Rademeyer (clarinet, "Black Shoes," "Radio Right Now"), Brendon Bussy (mandolin, "Black Shoes"), and Derek Gripper (sampled violin, used throughout) and Alex van Heerden on Minka. The difficulty in categorising Dark Days Exit is probably due to Laband listening mostly to ambient and classical music at the time, and consequently registering the album at the lush, cinematic end of the electronic spectrum. There is poise and restraint in the spare use of beats, and when they do appear, they hit hard. Forged in the optimistic post-apartheid years, Dark Days Exit is music about life and death, spanning hope, despair, terror, tension, with humour and empathy. Twenty one years on, the album's gravity endures, due to its almost perverse authenticity, its timeless themes of hope and despair, and its apex level of technical mastery. The additional, immaculately produced tracks add new rooms to the uncanny house we are invited into.
La Dispute is an American post-hardcore band formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004. The band consists of vocalist Jordan Dreyer, guitarist Chad Sterenberg, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, bassist Adam Vass, and guitarist Corey Stroffolino. Known for their intense and emotionally charged sound La Dispute has released five studio albums to critical acclaim, including “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” (2008), “Wildlife” (2011), and “Panorama” (2019). Their music often explores themes of loss, grief, and human relationships through a series of interconnencted stories. La Dispute has developed a devoted fanbase and is known for the powerful, unforgettable live performances.
Jack Hamill concludes his trilogy of space saga albums with The World Overhead landing on Tiraquon Recordings on October 30, 2026, with a special limited transparent blue edition issued exclusively via Bandcamp from October 16, 2026.
Introducing the science fiction realm of Mikrosector-50 and Mr. 8040 on breakthrough electro funk 12-inch, The Love Quadrant (2009), Hamill signed to R&S Records with the double 12-inch "prequel", The Pathway to Tiraquon6 (2011), setting the stage for debut-album proper Welcome to Mikrosector-50 (2013), where Prince-inspired funk and sleek '80s synth-pop soundtracked Mr. 8040's hazardous journey home via heartbreak and drugs. By Love Beyond the Intersect (2019), Hamill's vocoded opus turned introspective, pairing gentle krautrock influences with themes of love, redemption and self-discovery, mirroring Hamill's personal life, sobriety and creative renewal. Through lockdown Hamill retreated to the countryside around Belfast to reacquaint himself with his machines, experimenting with driving acid and trance, and playing guitar, culminating in a fuzzy shoegaze meets banging IDM sound. Relocating to Amsterdam in 2024 and setting up a new studio, Hamill wrote the third installment of Mr. 8040’s saga, bringing the storyline – and himself – back to earth.
Presenting under the new moniker, Jack Tiraquon, and releasing via his own label, Tiraquon Recordings, The World Overhead is the sound of Hamill removing the guise of Space Dimension Controller and concluding the space-themed concept to move forward as the cinematic hardware musician he's always been at the core.
Rooted in raw, minimal, dubby and emotional music, the Amsterdam-based Label Delver focuses on expressive recordings rather than polished productions, with releases that wander across genres.
The label’s first vinyl EP grew out of a shared passion for hardware jams between three friends, who regularly come together for live performances. Recorded in the afterglow of the summer of 2025, Delve Deeper Vol.1 brings together four tracks that combine from deep and hypnotic to more ambient and experimental territories.
Vand joins the roster with a collaboration with Holotropic, adding his singular interpretation of techno to the record. Each artist brings their perspective and while dub techno is the common ground here, the record explores a variety of its expressions.
Holotropic opens with “Sabra”, a patient, raw dub techno cut with subtle traces of the deeper Vril catalogue. Sasemoi’s “Those Who Seek” heads into more ethereal territory, its rhythm gradually surrounded by layers of sound that seem to pull the track upwards. “Binary” goes further into Sasemoi’s more experimental side, with broken rhythms and a heavier dub presence. Closing the record, Vantropic’s “Rift” shifts towards ambient and IDM, built from textured sounds and open space rather than a conventional dancefloor structure.
Born from a summer of shared sessions, Delve Deeper Vol.1 carries something of that time with it: the closeness of playing together, the freedom of improvisation, and a shared love of dub techno.
The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.
Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.
Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.
The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”
Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.
More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.
The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.
Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.
Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.
The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”
Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.
More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.
Ian Pooley's 'Roller Skate Disco EP' Returns with Digital Debut and Vinyl Repress
Definitive Recordings brings back one of the label's early house gems with a remastered reissue of Ian Pooley's 'Roller Skate Disco EP'. Originally released in 1994, the EP returns for the first time as a digital release while also receiving a new vinyl repress. Alongside the original material, the reissue expands the package with the previously unreleased track 'Unity' and the Bandcamp-exclusive 'Never Give Up'.
For more than three decades, Ian Pooley has been one of house music's most respected producers and DJs. Emerging from Mainz, Germany, with a deep love for the sounds of Chicago and Detroit, he has built a career defined by subtle artistry, impeccable groove, and timeless musicality. His acclaimed albums 'Meridian' and 'Since Then', remixes for artists including Daft Punk and Jovonn, and releases on labels such as Plus 8, Innervisions, Rekids, and his own Pooledmusic have established him as one of the true masters of deep and soulful house music.
The title track, 'Roller Skate Disco', immediately captures the uplifting spirit of classic 90s house. Built around an infectious disco-inspired sample, funky guitar loops, and a warm, rolling house bassline, the track is complemented by a looping female vocal that gives it an unmistakable feel-good energy. 'Sure!' follows with a groove driven by crisp TR-909 drums, deep synth chords, and a playful TB-303 sequence, while a repeated female vocal ties the arrangement together into a hypnotic club workout.
'The Brückenkopf at 7 AM', named after the legendary club in Pooley's hometown of Mainz, moves into deeper territory. Dreamlike synth textures, a memorable deep house piano motif, and another signature 303 sequence combine to create one of the EP's most atmospheric moments. The previously unreleased 'Unity' continues this journey with a hypnotic groove, deep house aesthetics, and another beautifully woven acid line, making it a natural addition to the original release. Completing the digital edition, 'Never Give Up' arrives as a Bandcamp exclusive, pairing playful M1 organ sounds with a rolling 303 sequence and an effortlessly flowing house groove.
More than thirty years after its original release, 'Roller Skate Disco EP' remains a perfect snapshot of Ian Pooley's early sound and a testament to the timeless appeal of classic house music. This expanded edition celebrates one of Definitive Recordings' defining releases while introducing it to a new generation of listeners.
God of War is Douglas Dulgarian (They Are Gutting A Body Of Water), Scott Turner (hooky) and Sam Silbert (hooky, circle of fire).
It's 2007. You’re watching your older cousin play SSX tricky. How is he such a monster at this game. Dude for real what the fuck. Such style, such finesse. I know he smokes weed. Should I tell Aunt Vicky? No no no- that would ruin this moment. He is racking up points that were formerly unheard of, and with such grace. There’s no expression on his face. And considering that he just sat open mouthed at the dinner table staring into nothing for forty minutes, this revelation is more than remarkable. It seems as if he has always existed in this moment. As if his very essence was plucked from the ether. And perhaps he has. He was made for this moment.
God of War is Douglas Dulgarian (They Are Gutting A Body Of Water), Scott Turner (hooky) and Sam Silbert (hooky, circle of fire).
It's 2007. You’re watching your older cousin play SSX tricky. How is he such a monster at this game. Dude for real what the fuck. Such style, such finesse. I know he smokes weed. Should I tell Aunt Vicky? No no no- that would ruin this moment. He is racking up points that were formerly unheard of, and with such grace. There’s no expression on his face. And considering that he just sat open mouthed at the dinner table staring into nothing for forty minutes, this revelation is more than remarkable. It seems as if he has always existed in this moment. As if his very essence was plucked from the ether. And perhaps he has. He was made for this moment.
Das Wiener Kollektiv TAKESHI'S CASHEW präsentiert sein neues, drittes Album "Planet Odyssey 64". Nach weltweiten Tourneen mit ihren ersten beiden Alben, gönnte sich die Band eine kreative Pause und kehrt nun mit neuem Sound zurück. Der bisherige analoge Cosmofunk der Band wurde um Electro-Einflüsse erweitert. Die sechs Musiker experimentierten mit alten Synthesizern, ließen sich von vintage Computerspielen inspirieren und schufen so ein neuartiges Klanguniversum. Ihre besondere Spielfreude brachte die Idee für eine Art Konzeptalbum namens "Planet Odyssey 64" hervor. Zahlreiche Bands kreisen nach ihrem zweiten oder dritten Album um Fragen der Standortbestimmung - auch Takeshi's Cashew mussten eine Weiche stellen bzw. wollten ein Konzept: nun treffen - back to the 90s - Mittelalterwelten auf Game Boy & Nintendo 64. Wie die loopbasierten Klangwelten der ersten Konsolen oder die höfischen Tanzmusiken, arbeiten Takeshi's Cashew auf Planet Odyssey 64 ebenfalls mit zyklischen Figuren. Nicht nur 8-Bit-Games erzeugten ihre Atmosphären mit reduzierten Mitteln - auch die Wiener Instrumentalisten haben ihre Werkzeugkiste im Vergleich zum bisherigen Ouvre komprimiert. Di verwendeten Leitmelodien und Chiptunesounds gedenken Videospielikonen wie "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" oder "Pokémon Saphir Edition". Das rhythmische Amalgam hingegen formt ein Hybrid aus synthetischen Elementen und organischen Bausteinen. Präsent im Klangraum steht ein vorwärts kippendes Krautrock-Gerüst samt E-Bass und Schlagzeug. Die zweite Säule übernimmt ein monophoner Bass-Synthesizer namens Roland SH-101. Völlig verabschiedet haben sich Takeshi's Cashew trotzdem nicht von ihrer originären Herangehensweise, dem Jam. So entstand z.B. binnen eines Tages der vibrierende "Operator" auf dem alten Moog-Synthesizer eines Familienmitgliedes. Im Kern dient diese Musik als Transzendenzapparat, die Hörer*innen kehren mit heiterer Verwandlung von dieser Odyssey zu sich selbst zurück. Möglich auf klarem Vinyl, als analoges Tape, auf CD im Digi-Sleeve oder als Album Digital.
“For Men Only” was released in America in June 1980. Jackson was shown on the front and back cover being fawned over by three attractive black male models. Musically and lyrically it was a concept album, like her previous LPs “Caught Up” (1974), Still Caught Up” (1975) and “Get It Out’cha System” (1978). The main theme was the battle of the sexes in and out of the bedroom with some tracks, especially on side one – ‘This Is Where I Came in’, ‘This Is It’, ‘If That Don’t Turn You On’ and ‘I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again’ – segueing into the next through Jackson’s spoken word segments. The album sounded like it could form the basis of stage play and was laced with wit and humour with Jackson, at one point, taking aim at out of work men “watching soap operas all day” and neglecting their chores around the house and in the bedroom. Every song was a gem, with Jackson in the finest vocal form of her career.
This album has not been available on vinyl for decades and Ace Records are delighted to rewax it, not only for Millie Jackson fans but a new generation, who are discovering that class never goes out of fashion.
The much-admired southern soul singer Eddie Giles’ final single for his local Shreveport label Murco, was a self-penned bluesy plodder called ‘Ain’t Gonna Worry No More’. Hiding on the flip was ‘Tingling’ a catchy, atmospheric song written by Murco executive Dick Martin and Jimmy Johnson whose pop group the Peermonts were label-mates. His subsequent release by the same production team appeared on the Silver Fox label so his management may have felt his time at Murco was up - the few pressings of ‘Tingling’ are now in the rare soul big price league.
Around the same time Eddie cut a version of a 40s Country song written by Fred Rose which leant itself to being an excellent mid-tempo soul number; though not released at the time. Despite its sparse instrumentation, it is a very good performance, now on vinyl for the first time.
To celebrate another year around the sun, we’re proud to present our second vinyl release: Formulation — a 4-track EP that perfectly captures the label’s output over the past year while continuing our commitment to physical formats and attention to detail.
Like its predecessor "Foundation" is a various artists release featuring some of the key names from our latest catalog. The formula goes like this:
A Side: Iron T.C. and Hor-G take control of the slower side of the record with aggressive drums, distortion and the raw energy that defines their sound. Epic atmospheres and humanoid vocals introduce a heavy breakbeat assault from two of the strongest names in the Iberian underground. A perfect blend of dirty electro and industrial breakbeat built to turn the dancefloor upside down.
B Side: Heathen, The Egg & No Rules push the BPMs higher in the other side. Dark landscapes and metallic drums twist into a spiral of tension and halftime rhythms. Three experienced explorers of the niche taking techstep sound beyond its usual limits — for those into density, introspection and long blends
Another solid step into the physical format — and a glimpse of what’s still to come...
Once again, huge thanks to everyone involved in the project and to all our supporters who make this possible.
To celebrate another year around the sun, we’re proud to present our second vinyl release: Formulation — a 4-track EP that perfectly captures the label’s output over the past year while continuing our commitment to physical formats and attention to detail.
Like its predecessor "Foundation" is a various artists release featuring some of the key names from our latest catalog. The formula goes like this:
A Side: Iron T.C. and Hor-G take control of the slower side of the record with aggressive drums, distortion and the raw energy that defines their sound. Epic atmospheres and humanoid vocals introduce a heavy breakbeat assault from two of the strongest names in the Iberian underground. A perfect blend of dirty electro and industrial breakbeat built to turn the dancefloor upside down.
B Side: Heathen, The Egg & No Rules push the BPMs higher in the other side. Dark landscapes and metallic drums twist into a spiral of tension and halftime rhythms. Three experienced explorers of the niche taking techstep sound beyond its usual limits — for those into density, introspection and long blends
Another solid step into the physical format — and a glimpse of what’s still to come...
Once again, huge thanks to everyone involved in the project and to all our supporters who make this possible.
(limited red vinyl, including poster / lyric sheet) 'The Way You Talk Reminds Me Of Home' is the second album by Belgian indie band BLUAI. Two years after their warmly received debut 'Save It For Later' and an extensive run of shows across some of Europe's biggest festivals and venues, the three-piece return with their most ambitious and immediate record yet.
Across eleven songs, BLUAI explore what it means to live somewhere between past and present. Conversations with family, friends, partners and people who resurface after years away become starting points for songs about childhood, love, grief, responsibility and the uncertainty of approaching thirty. Rather than a traditional coming-of-age record, 'The Way You Talk Reminds Me Of Home' is about figuring things out while you are already in the middle of them.
Produced by Isabel Gracefield (Adele, Dua Lipa, PJ Harvey, Radiohead...) and recorded at London's legendary RAK Studios, the album was made with a deliberately instinctive approach.
BLUAI much as they sound on stage: raw, direct and closely connected.
“Everybody wants the map, but the correct one is not coming. This is understood, somewhere below language, by everyone who wants a map anyway. Meanwhile the map dealers, those slick druids and wizards, goddamn sell-outs, will try to seduce you with one. Don't buy from them. Their maps only show burned black fields.
What passes instead between the ones still walking is smaller and does not require a subscription. A sign. Nailed to a fencepost, or to an unexpected streetlight surrounded by darkness. Left by someone who was thirsty on this road back when you were only a rumor. It says one thing: water, this way.
So leave signs. Just mark the water you found and move along. It is one of the oldest customs - strangers keeping each other alive and hydrated on a long road.”
Bo Harwood (1946–2022) was one of those behind-the-scenes figures of American independent cinema: a self-taught musician, composer, sound editor, sound mixer and songwriter.
Harwood started out as the lead singer and guitarist of a Southern California rock band before a chance meeting with John Cassavetes changed the course of his career. He scored his first feature, The Bach Train, in 1969, and later joined Husbands as an inexperienced assistant in the editing room. He gradually became Cassavetes’s sound editor, music supervisor, composer and sound mixer, eventually working across six of his films, from Husbands and A Woman Under the Influence through The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Opening Night and Love Streams.Harwood’s music is inseparable from the peculiar emotional universe of those films: strange, romantic, funny and often devastating.
Harwood and Cassavetes worked closely and instinctively together, developing music in the process of making the films. The surviving master tapes reveal something of this exchange: alongside finished pieces are improvisations, experiments and conversations, capturing the two of them working through ideas in real time. Harwood’s compositions were often recorded as rough “scratch tracks”, with Cassavetes preferring their immediacy and vulnerability to more polished arrangements.
This nine-track LP brings together some of that work. There is something wonderfully intimate about hearing these recordings outside the films: the songs stand on their own, while retaining the rawness and emotional charge that made Harwood’s collaboration with Cassavetes so distinctive.
A small document of a remarkable and largely overlooked body of work.
Toy Tonics Italomania Vol. 4 is a compilation dedicated to new ITALIAN DISCO. Not ITALO DISCO.
10 new tracks made by young producers from Italy, exclusively made for Toy Tonics. All songs with Italian vocals.
Made with a lot of love by
Cleeeo, Giorgio Lopez, Magnolia, Juan Soto & Sam Ruffillo, KOKO, Luca Averna, Ricardo Baez, Euro Nettuno, The Cube Guys and Paccone.
The Italomania compilation was initiated by Mathias ‚Kapote‘ Modica. Creative mind behind Toy Tonics and half italian producer himself.
The series is a manifesto to show the status of Italian disco of today.
Kapote invited the most relevant producers to show different new styles of modern Italian disco and house music.
With a wide range of influence: Live disco, indie dance, italo pop, and italo house.
Italian disco is not Italo disco. The last few years saw a big revival of the trashy pop music of the 1980s called Italo disco, mostly with English lyrics.
But this compilation is about something else. It is about this new Italian disco. Toy Tonics wants to show a new way to combine Italianity with dance culture.
The Italomania Vol. 4 Artists
Cleeeo - Come Tocchitu: A sexy and sophisticated disco house track by 22 year old newcomer DJ and producer Cleeeo. Driven by a warm, uplifting groove and strong dancefloor energy. The record is dedicated to Brazil. The vocals move between Italian and Portuguese. This creates a natural bridge between two cultures.
Giorgio Lopez - Italiani Brava Gente: Giorgio Lopez is an important player from the much talked about new music scene from Napoli.
For "Italiani Brava Gente," he teams up with Los Angeles artist Sueño. The track is a tongue-in-cheek take on the stereotypical Italian male. It pays homage to late Italodisco legend Pino D’Angiò. The story unfolds from the perspective of a foreign tourist navigating the contradictions of self-proclaimed Casanovas.
The Cube Guys - Saper Ringraziare: The legendary italo house duo shows their Italian vibes and musical taste with “Saper Ringraziare”. The track captures the warmth of summer and the infinity of urban nights. A combination of early Italo disco elements mixed with their typical groovy beats.
Magnolia - Vesuvio: Magnolia’s “Vesuvio” is a cover version of a song from the 1960s by artist E’ Zezi. While the original is more in a folk vibes, the new version is an irresistible piano house track with groovy, sun-soaked vibes. It is made for the dance floor. This track blends Mediterranean roots with the euphoric energy of modern house. Some might know the vocals already from another cover version by Nu Genea from the previous album.
Juan Soto & Sam Ruffillo - Italomexicano: What happens when a Toy Tonics artist hangs out in Mexico city and teams up with the local scene? The result is here. A blend a Toy Tonics sound and tons of vintage synthesizers and some additional production by Mexican producer talent Juan Soto.
You get "Italomexicano". A fuse of the mystique of Mexican mariachi with the magnetic pulse of Italo disco.
KOKO feat. Elena Moroder - I Can't Understand: This melancholic piano house track is a serious floorfiller! Goosebumps! Italian DJ and producer KOKO teams up with Elena Moroder on "I Can’t Understand". Elena delivers a captivating vocal performance. The track explores the misunderstandings of a relationship where emotions were never fully expressed. It blends an iconic piano melody with warm, uplifting grooves.
Luca Averna - Le Luci Della Pista: Luca Averna is a DJ, producer, and resident at the iconic Pikes Hotel in Ibiza. "Le Luci Della Pista" is an energetic track designed for peak-time Ibiza moments while keeping a strong groove and a playful spirit.
Ricardo Baez - È Venerdì: Ricardo Baez is an Italian-Venezuelan DJ and producer. He is known for his distinctive blend of house, dark electro, italo disco, and leftfield electronics. Well respected in Italy's contemporary electronic scene he has been releasing on labels such as Running Bag, Permanent Vacation, Bordello a Parigi, Correspondant, Mule music, Live at Robert Johnson.
Euro Nettuno - La Notte Chiama: These guys are hot! Part of the Polyamore Crew, one of the rising italian new disco collectives their sound mixes Italo house from the 1990ies, electro and Pop in a very cool new way.
Paccone - J'Adore Napoli: Vincenzo Paccone is a DJ, producer but also very renowned graphic designer. He is co-founder of NSS. A fashion agency that is by now one of the leading italian fashion crews. He has been also working as a designer for Circoloco Ibiza for many years and organizes some of the hottest parties in Napoli currently. He makes his official debut as a producer with “J’Adore Napoli”. It is a vibrant tribute to the house music culture born in Naples. The track draws inspiration from the late 1990s and early 2000s. And is part of a NSS campaign about the ’new coolness of the city of Napoli“.
PISS ist eine laute, genreübergreifende vierköpfige Band aus Vancouver, B.C. Durch die Kombination von Punk, Poesie, Soundcollagen, Performancekunst und bildender Kunst schafft die Band ein multidisziplinäres Gesamtwerk, das die Grenze zwischen Persönlichem und Politischem verschwimmen lässt. Angetrieben von durchdachter Musikalität, energiegeladenen Live-Auftritten und einer kristallklaren künstlerischen Mission schreibt PISS Punkmusik, die darauf abzielt, die Grenzen eines etablierten Genres zu überwinden. Ihre Arbeit schöpft Inspiration aus einer Reihe unerwarteter Einflüsse: literarische Größen, Philosophen, Filmemacher, Maler, Psychoanalytiker, Aktivisten, Kinder, Mitglieder einer deutschen anarcho-feministischen militanten Gruppe und Gespräche mit Zuschauern. Diese Stimmen repräsentieren unterschiedliche ideologische Überzeugungen zum Thema geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt und ermöglichen es PISS, Kunst zu schaffen, die herausfordernde und kontroverse Themen wie sexuelle Gewalt und verinnerlichte Geschlechternormen darstellt - ohne Vereinfachung, Romantisierung, Polemik oder Dogmatismus. you made me / skin on linen ist das Debütalbum der Band. Es schildert eine Kindheit, die von struktureller, systemischer und intimer Gewalt geprägt ist. Auf dem gesamten Album dienen Motive aus der Kunst als Metaphern für die unzähligen Arten, wie wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gewalt in uns tragen: Jede Erfahrung hinterlässt einen Eindruck und formt oder verzerrt nach und nach das Selbst - ganz wie ein Stück Ton, das durch jeden Abdruck, den es erhält, geformt wird.
PISS ist eine laute, genreübergreifende vierköpfige Band aus Vancouver, B.C. Durch die Kombination von Punk, Poesie, Soundcollagen, Performancekunst und bildender Kunst schafft die Band ein multidisziplinäres Gesamtwerk, das die Grenze zwischen Persönlichem und Politischem verschwimmen lässt. Angetrieben von durchdachter Musikalität, energiegeladenen Live-Auftritten und einer kristallklaren künstlerischen Mission schreibt PISS Punkmusik, die darauf abzielt, die Grenzen eines etablierten Genres zu überwinden. Ihre Arbeit schöpft Inspiration aus einer Reihe unerwarteter Einflüsse: literarische Größen, Philosophen, Filmemacher, Maler, Psychoanalytiker, Aktivisten, Kinder, Mitglieder einer deutschen anarcho-feministischen militanten Gruppe und Gespräche mit Zuschauern. Diese Stimmen repräsentieren unterschiedliche ideologische Überzeugungen zum Thema geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt und ermöglichen es PISS, Kunst zu schaffen, die herausfordernde und kontroverse Themen wie sexuelle Gewalt und verinnerlichte Geschlechternormen darstellt - ohne Vereinfachung, Romantisierung, Polemik oder Dogmatismus. you made me / skin on linen ist das Debütalbum der Band. Es schildert eine Kindheit, die von struktureller, systemischer und intimer Gewalt geprägt ist. Auf dem gesamten Album dienen Motive aus der Kunst als Metaphern für die unzähligen Arten, wie wir die Auswirkungen dieser Gewalt in uns tragen: Jede Erfahrung hinterlässt einen Eindruck und formt oder verzerrt nach und nach das Selbst - ganz wie ein Stück Ton, das durch jeden Abdruck, den es erhält, geformt wird.
Hanne Lippard and Renato Grieco's Today's Special is a suite of language works synthesising melody and diction that integrates the literary and the audible in a repertoire of songs that bask in the melody of voice and the punctuations of structured composition. Working with methods of reduction rather than opulence in both tonal composition and rhetoric, each piece pegs the poetic to the musical with compositional schematics and methods. It is important to state that there is little to none improvisation here, instead, the duo set up matrices, rules and structural links that facilitated meaningful locus of exchange between their two practices. Lippard's texts are a collection of new and previously completed works. In these, as is typical for her work, she enjoys the easy pleasure of wordplay, iterative language, and decontextualised anecdote, as in opener Portrait of a Betrayal, a piece about the loss of a phone and the way it haunted the owner who dropped it, based on a lived experience. Grieco's instrumentation works with Lippard's language art as a form of acoustic typography. "I studied graphic design and I think about how you can express typography through voice," she says. "Renato's use of the viola da gamba becomes like an underline, or a font's brushstrokes, in ways that feel typographical." In this, the classically-trained composer Grieco often finds and echoes the pitch movements of Lippard's voice, intonation mirrored and revealed, linguistic meaning doubled and shadowed by plucked, strummed or bowed strings. His main instrument is the viola da gamba, the instrument considered closest to the human voice for its tonal range and ability to mimic inflections and timbre, and here he brings it even closer to the voice, building systems by which it moves with and around Lippard. He also plays piano and Wurlitzer, and joins her in speaking on Receiver and in conversation for final track The Black Rose. "Hanne's voice is an artist's voice, embodied as the artwork itself," he says. "But where my approach is from the perspective of a composer, hers is around rhetoric and language. We worked towards each other in this sense, Hanne finding a space to welcome my voice, and me designing an acoustic space to enhance her vocal persona." In some tracks the structural connections are obvious - the matched tumbling delivery and stepped pitches of voice and piano in Aficionado sounding like two tipsy friends descending a staircase. In others, like the triptych of tracks Three Rungs Ladder, structured with rules derived from nursery rhymes, or cumulative song (akin to the 12 Days of Christmas). For the Colour 1 and Colour 2 pieces, the duo worked from palettes of colours connected to clusters of harmonies, which underlined the power of the word and its articulation. The absurd Labradorable personifies a people pleaser, A Story About Being Blue is an imagined playful monologue from the Deep Blue supercomputer - requesting in sing-song stop motion to be called Debbie, and Larry - as Grieco echoes in factual reportage. Hurtbeat unpacks and recomposes a tweeted non-apology by a Russian art collector about owning a piece of racist art, Grieco shadowing Lippard's generating a third `drop-shadow' performer from the resonances between the duo, typographic re-articulation of the source material. The Receiver includes lines from Robert Ashley's Improvement (Don Leaves Linda), Ashley existing as a spiritual parent of sorts to the practices contained on Today's Special, and here interpolated as if he is being quoted and written through within the audible world of the piece in a palimpsest of borrowed sentences. Closing track The Black Rose contains its own self-aware comedy, a lightly distorted conversation sourced from a Reddit thread about whether black roses exist, recorded as if it were an internet radio or a low budget podcast, the casual exchange stilted in the delivery of platitudes as scripted speech. Today's Special was developed in person over the course of a series of small residencies - at Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo, Rome; Fondazione Morra, Napoli; Callie's, Berlin. In these limited periods that rarely stretched beyond a week, Lippard and Grieco developed strategies for the works, keeping tightly locked to musical concepts. This, for Grieco, is about maintaining a solid, meaningful connection within the compositions, and committing to everything having a purpose for existing within the work. Each element pulls its weight; has something to say, literally and metaphorically speaking. In the same way that Lippard's work leaves nowhere for her to hide, he wants the music to exist with its own naked purpose: "It's is about exposing nudity via reduced materials," says Grieco. "This is a form of courage we want to embrace. Once we take off everything, it needs to be extremely precise to maintain a connection with the audience. We have a lot of tools to hide behind now, to protect ourselves and our identities as artists, performers, and in life more generally. It's something I don't want to do. I want extreme reduction: no hiding."
It's fitting that Mike Jefford is both a photographer and a musician, his music career having slowly evolved like a developing photo coaxes Technicolor images out of the shadows. His sonic palette began taking shape in Medway, Kent with darker, grittier strains: teenage grunge and metal turned into drum & bass and IDM, following the Brighton club scene to Berlin as Positive Centre, until he made a nest in rural Portugal where Laguna Seca’s bright, expressive range would blossom.
A longstanding friendship with Chris Clark supported Jefford’s most pivotal artistic evolution yet, jumping from a decade of techno dusk to music practically overflowing with life as Laguna Seca debuted on Throttle Records.
“O tempo” can mean “the time” or “the weather” in Portuguese, two intensely changing powers whose many different connotations Jefford reflects in a highly varied tracklist. The breadth of climatic catharsis permeates through textural production and songwriting experiments, down into the very bedrock of the album’s engineering process where Jefford traces the long signal chain of time: the amps, desks, and tapes of Motown, the vinyl mastering studio’s intricacies, the Akai samplers that gave modern hip hop its “ghostly and impressionistic” sound, the software that drives electronic music today.
Much as 2026’s O Tempo was inspired by vintage tonality, retro aesthetic, and the likes of CAN, Kraftwerk, and Jimi Hendrix, it’s not an exercise in nostalgia; this is music that could have only been made with today’s technological advancements, revelling in anachronisms and collisions between hindsight and present tense.
It’s tempting to view Jefford’s projects as opposites, but they come from the same sonic values. Positive Centre’s “bleak” and “sinister” world is also incredibly detailed, constantly updating pile-driving grooves with microscopic flourishes and vast ambient swells. The flaring psychedelia of Laguna Seca is a continuation of those textural, material, and kinetic explorations, where plate reverb splashes, blistering and crunchy beats, vocal glimmers, and guitar swagger are all glued together by recurrent themes of memory and time. As each of his projects travel to the same destination, all of Jefford’s roads have eventually led to vibrant colour.
