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After more than 30 years Early Sounds and Halfway Ritmo are finally releasing unpublished recordings (1982-1989) from former Tangerine Dream and Iggy Pop's drummer Klaus Krüger.
Advanced Dance combines a sweeping mix of Krüger's handcrafted acoustic drums and distinctive electronic sounds of the late Berlin-School years, creating a unique blend of advanced polyrhythms.
Krüger achieved a balance between creativity and classic drum patterns giving birth to an unconventional and avant-garde type of music that could be easily defined as a precursor of techno.
His progressive mentality led him to delve further into the tape collage technique and unique ways of triggering his drums. It was a whole new world of music - sustained by his artistic surroundings, which included collaborations as well as friendships with other influential artists such as David Bowie, Martin Kippenberger and Helmut Newton.
In the time of German division, the pulsating West Berlin became a melting pot of creativity and international encounters. Advanced Dance is the result of the blazing heat feeding the unstoppable thirst of discovery which characterized that generation, creating tunes that transform the listener's experience into one blissful moment amidst beautiful confusion.

Following the massive buzz a round the label's last release (voted THE record of 2017 by some 400+ international DJs and tastemakers on Bill Brewster's DJ History Podcast/poll (2017 Furtive 50) , Hobbes Music kicks off 2018 with a heavy slice of warehouse techno backed with deeper electro flavours, a second double-A-side 12" outing by the anonymous DALI.

You may remember DALI (NB all caps in the spelling) released a debut 12" around this time last year. Support came from Ben UFO, Laurent Garnier, Domenic Cappello (Sub Club), John Heckle, Chris Duckenfield, The Revenge, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Sean Johnston and XDB (among others) and a repress happened swiftly, with Laurent Garnier and Avalon Emersonalso supporting most recently (on WWFM and at Berghain, respectively).

DALI has a passion for analogue synths, abstract, hypnotic dance music and all things psychedelic. Don't bother looking her up on the net, social media etc. DALI is eschewing all that, to let the music do the talking for now.

This iconic LP was originally released by Incus in 1974. Recorded at a private house in West London, the side-long title track is a masterwork: a twenty-two-minute, starkly personal, freely expressive, itchily searching re-casting of orders of rhythm and sound into a new, quicksilver kind of affective and musical polyphony. Never mind the guitarist's championing of 'non-idiomatic improvisation', the poet Peter Riley gets the ball rolling in his identification of the various hauntings of Bailey's playing at this time: 'mandolins & balalaikas strumming in the distance, George Forby's banjo, Leadbelly's steel 12-string, koto, lute, classical guitar... and others quite outside the field of the plucked string.'The five pieces on side two were recorded back home in Hackney around the same time — with the exception of Improvisation 104(b), from the year before (and issued by Incus in its TAPS series of mini reel-to-reel tapes) — opening with ventriloquised guitar feedback, and taking in some cod banter about colleagues like Mervyn Parker, Siegfried Brotzmann and Harry Bentink. Crucial.

Dekmantel regular Matrixxman returns with the third, and final instalment in the Sector series, Part III: Polyphony. In this triptych, the producer from San Fransisco sets out to highlight the key components behind the sounds and style of techno, exploring the range within the confines of a particular limitation. Following Parts I and II, which looked at Rhythm, and Acid, Charles McCloud Duff charters the realm of Polyphony with four, meticulously produced techno tracks, expanding his repertoire of cult, dancefloor music.Polyphony refers to the simultaneous combining of many notes in a musical sequence. In electronic music, this specifically refers to the role of the synthesiser - such as the Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, which can produce different pitches simultaneously. Polyphony has been an integral characteristic of the genre's sound for over a quarter of a century, and can be heard in many key records, living a the sonic forefront of these four tracks. 'Sector Series: III Polyphony' provides an exercise in melody and polyphony. Throughout the EP, swaggering rhythms are inter-washed with a sea of multi-melodious, reverberated notation. 'Initiation' resonates with the grandiosity, and harsh claustrophobia of early Underground Resistance. 'Access Granted', drives hard with pulsing effects, with a dystopic, rhythmic cacophony of euphony. 'Desert Planet' plays around with a differing tempo, imagining a more fantastical vision of music, echoing back to earlier Plastikman productions, using a vast sonic spectrum to conjure up a colour palette of alien imagery. 'Horizon' rounds things off; a track that builds on minimalism with a progressive composition, allowing the polyphonics to drive the track, harnessing the adept production qualities that Matrixxman has come to be recognised for.

Office Recordings continues to surprise us. After Baaz' Techno-/Ambient-hybrid on Office 011 the label from Berlin comes up with a stunning new and anonymous project called 'One Day' featuring four also unnamed tracks. The A-side of the record starts off with a with a superb Deep Techno track which tempts us with very emotional pads and a strong kick and bass fundament - an irresistible combination. A2 goes in the same direction but feels like the slightly mellower and softer brother of its predecessor - a little bit moody but still straightforward at the same time. The flip side is dedicated to two freestyle electronic tracks standing in the tradition of the best Warp offerings from their heyday in the 90s. We're talking charming melodies and sparse but elaborate rhythmic patterns. The record comes in a hand stamped and with a lovely artwork also hand made by Office art director Super Quiet. All tracks have been mastered and cut by sound engineering proficient Pole at Scape Mastering.

Gidge is a production duo consisting of Jonatan Nilsson and Ludvig Stolterman. Based in the northern parts of Sweden, Gidge quickly built a solid fan base with releases of their albums Autumn Bells, LNLNN and Lulin. The music of Gidge seems to affect their audience in an emotional way, which eventually resulted in the duo taking the top spot as Best New Artist at XLR8R's readers poll, as well as having the 3LPs ending up on numerous end of year lists. Their main source of inspiration is the vast, snow-covered woodlands of the North. Gidge have for instance recorded all of their percussions in the forest, using only the sticks and rocks that can be found there. 'For Seoul' though came about after the duo went on a trip through Asia, and spent a number of days in the South Korean capital. They fell in love with Seoul, and later on created this two-part hymn for the giant city. Applescal created a remix for the track, which you can listen on the b side.

Parasole's music fits the bill for cutting-edge electronic music. Infrared Vision is a display of his love for polyrhythmic drum patterns, post-club sketches, twisted dance floor gems and classy, big room-ready tunes.
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Few words of the artist:

''When I started to conceptualize my album I had a few end goals'', explains Parasole. ''I wanted to string my own style through Infrared Vision, so it would be familiar to the people who like my music. In tandem, I strived to produce a fresh voice sonically and experimented with a few new production techniques. I also grabbed ideas outside of techno and house, because I didn't want to be influenced by anything new. I was listening to a lot of jazz, hip-hop, Nine Inch Nails and Prince for example.''

Parasole took his time to write, produce and record Infrared Vision, dividing the process into three steps. ''First I wrote the album in words, pinning down ideas and track concepts on a notepad. Subsequently I transferred my ideas to my gear. Due to a heavy tour schedule I sometimes brought gear with me on the road, to continue my sketch process on the hardware. I then recorded it at home and at Phil Moffa's studio in New York. When the music was fully finished the album morphed to its final version. Phil Moffa laid down the final mixdown at Butcha Sound Studios, while Marco Spaventi handled the mastering.''

Rhythm Section look to Poland once more for two of the most uplifting tracks of the year. Earth Trax (known for his productions as The Phantom & one half of Ptaki) and newcomer Newborn Junior pull two absolute classics out of the bag here that do what they say on the tin. Both Sax Track and Flute Track centre around ecstatic MIDI melodies on (you guessed it) Saxophone and Flute! Falling somewhere between the late night deep house excursions of Ron Trent (circa Morning Factory era) and more recent retro-leaning breakbeat driven output from the Pender Street Steppers et al, the Sax & Flute EP is a masterclass in sustain-release. Euphoria Guaranteed - or your money back!

The grand opening of the new label serie Obscura Europa Sampled Artists', a various artists 12' EP serie to present darkwave bands that escapes a little from the usual electronic sound of the label. On this volume 1 we will find a 90's ultra classic darkwave hymn of the dissolved german band Behind The Scenes, uncomprehensively never pressed on vinyl to date. On the other hand, the Polish solo act Undertheskin shows with 2 cold but extremely rhythmic tracks why his acclaimed debut mini album is one of the most exciting and interesting proposals of 2015. All tracks have been analogically remastered specially for this vinyl version. Only 200 copies are available for distribution. Including Fate' of Behind The Scenes and Cold' and tRain' of Undertheskin.

repressed !

RFBCOLOURS 002 bring L'Atelier on board. This pair from Amsterdam bring you a 4 track EP with a digi only bonus. It starts off with Again, which hits that great sample hard and gets the party started on a disco vibe with a house twist. Then theres XTC which carries on where the A1 left off. On the flip we see a serious piano workout on top of a a grooving drum arragement. To finish off the vinyl package we see Times Are Ruff take the remix on a deeper tip with some seriously crunchy basslines and rolling groove. Then if that wasnt enough theres a digital bonus that will warm up any willing club room.

Feedback:

Telonius (Gomma)
'thanks nice one'

Laurin Fedora (Sleazy McQueen (Morris Audio / Paper Recordings))
'I'm looking forward to this vinyl. Nice return to late 90s filter disco!'

kostas tassopoulos (Ekkohaus (2020 vision, morris audio, cargo edition, liebe detail))
'Solid house record, loving it, thanks....'

Harri (Sub Club)
'liking afew of these'

Gameboyz (Clouded Vision / Relish)
'we dont usually play this kind of house music, but this is very nice! will try! thanks!'

Sebastian Wilck (Sebastian Wilck, Watergate)
'times are ruff remix is strong! support'

Jonny Cade (2020 Vision / Leftroom)
'great house ep'

Tensnake
'wow, that's quite a killer, downloading thanks!'

Lauhaus Lanting (Polder / Intacto)
'nice ep guys, also diging the times are ruff mix. thanx!'

Julien Barthe (Plaisir de France, Pro-Zak Trax)
'yeah remmeber 2000'years'

Julien Sandre (Morris Audio)
'nice music'

Doc Martin (none)
'XTC for Me!!!!'

Tom Findlay (Groove Armada)
'great EP, a little bit of everything and in all the right places....'

Andrew Claristidge (Acid Washed (Records makers))
'good stuff...'

Mihai Popoviciu (Highgrade, Fear Of Flying, Hudd Traxx)
'again is cool for me!'

Dorian Paic (Raum Musik)
'xtc times are ruff remix is the one for me ! cheers Dorian.'

Hector Couto (Tribal Sessions)
'full support for this release! good music!!!'

Gianluca Pandullo (I-Robots)
'LAtelier - XTC (Times Are Ruff Remix) ! I-Robots approved!'

Pressed to Olive-Green vinyl colour for its 30th anniversary! Released 30 years ago in 1996, Propagandhi's Less Talk, More Rock is the defining masterpiece of political punk. By injecting radical activism into fast-paced skate punk, the album boldly confronted the era's apolitical scene. With unapologetic anthems on veganism, anti-fascism, and gay rights, it endures as a foundational text for activist punk. 30th anniversary of the iconic sophomore album from Canadian band, Propagandhi Produced by Ryan Greene of Motor Studios (NOFX, Bad Religion, Nerf Herder) pro-feminist/animal-friendly/anti-fascist/gay-positive Ranked as one of the best political punk albums in history (Phoenix New Times) Features hit singles "The Only Good Fascist Is A Very Dead Fascist" and "And We Thought Nation-States Were A Good Idea"

The year 1956 when Tenor Conclave was recorded represented a transitional period in the musical career of John Coltrane . He had first joined the Miles Davis Quintet in 1955 and would form his own celebrated quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones in 1960. What we have here with Tenor Conclave is Coltrane in equal collaboration with four other giants of the tenor saxophone, Hank Mobly, Al Cohn, and Zoot Sims. Presenting the four players together under the group name of Tenor Conclave was an imaginative A&R idea by Prestige, but because of Coltrane's growing fame and the obvious marketing opportunities it presented, later pressing had Coltrane as the headline name on the cover, and Tenor Conclave as the album title. Includes the bonus track 'Polka Dots & Moonbeams'.

Twenty-five years after his debut album I’m Serious permanently altered the DNA of Southern hip-hop, Tip "T.I." Harris is officially closing this chapter with KILL THE KING, his twelfth and final studio album. For a man who has spent over two decades as the self proclaimed “King," the project’s title speaks volumes. This is not a surrender of the crown to a rival, but rather a symbolic death of the ego. T.I. is choosing to dismantle the moniker on his own terms, trading the battlefield for peace, legacy, and the freedom to step out of the booth and into the next phase of his life as an actor and family man.

Rather than leaning on pure nostalgia, KILL THE KING proves T.I. is walking away while his pen is still razor-sharp. The project is anchored by the certified gold lead single "LET 'EM KNOW," produced by long-time collaborator Pharrell Williams, which sets an immediate tone of veteran-level precision and polished bravado. Across the 18-track album, T.I. pulls together a masterclass of multi-generational talent that bridges the gap between his trap origins and modern dominance. The album boasts heavy-hitting Southern anthems like "DOPE BOYS ACADEMY” featuring 2 Chainz, Jeezy, and T-Pain, alongside soulful reflections from the Dr. Dre produced track "WHERE I’M FROM" with Anderson .Paak, Atlanta eloquence with Usher on "GORGEOUS," and moody, atmospheric cuts featuring Summer Walker and YoungBoy Never Broke Again.

Ultimately, KILL THE KING is designed to leave nothing unsaid, directly addressing the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and the undeniable imprint he’s left on global hip-hop culture. To mark the end of this historic era, T.I. isn't just letting the music speak for itself; he will be taking his final bow on the road with The King Succession Tour, bringing his sons Domani and King along to officially pass the musical torch. With this final statement, T.I. ensures that the trap music foundation he helped lay the framework for what will endure long after he sets down the mic. The King is dead; long live the legacy.

Kukangendai are the innovative three-piece Kyoto based experimental rock band formed in 2006 with Junya Noguchi on guitar and vocals, Keisuke Koyano on bass, and Hideaki Yamada on drums. Since 2016 the band have set up shop in their studio and venue space, Soto, which houses an incredibly well tuned and powerful sound system that has become a well known destination for touring musicians. In March of 2025, Marionette was celebrating a belated 10 years of activity with label showcases across Japan in collaboration with Dotei Records, and Soto was inevitably one of the stops as many label alumni have set foot in the venue over the years. This is where I got to experience Kukangendai perform for the very first time and knew right then we were destined to work together.

Kukangendai embody an undeniable sense of timing and precision through collage-like repetition of minimalist phrases that manifest as a single unified rhythm. Their latest offering for Marionette, titled Baquet Wheel, is a purely acoustic endeavor, remarkably recorded live using Taku Unami's special binaural microphone. The trio seamlessly twist polyrhythms and melodies rooted in jazz, krautrock, blues, and Tuareg producing a timeless sound that preserves the primitive and memory evoking narratives buried deep within the music. Over the course of five tracks, the visceral nature of Kukangendai’s dynamic evolves from playful riffs that are seemingly familiar yet strikingly original, making it impossible to discern exactly when this material was conceived.

Kukangendai have maintained a prolific yet relatively low profile for the last two decades, with a handful of self-released editions on their own labels (Soto and Leftbrain) as well as a collaborative album with pioneering electronic music composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2018, then venturing outside Japan in 2019 to release their first widely distributed album on Ideologic Organ, a label curated by Sunn O)))’s Stephen O'Malley. Other collaborative projects to date include an album produced with rap group Moe and ghosts, live performances with Keiji Haino and with poet Gozo Yoshimasu, productions with the Chiten theater company, and most recently a remix album of their works featuring Carl Stone and Madteo.

While composing the music for The Juniper Tree, Hirano drew on her own memories of touring Iceland, which included a stop at a waterfall featured in the film and rendered in sound on “Mother’s Path.” Folktales, like the origins of The Juniper Tree, are often attempts to contend with humans’ place in the natural world, with all its mysteries and intricacies, and both the film and Hirano’s soundtrack draw their sense of breathless wonder in part from the sensation of being engulfed by one’s environment. Margit, played by Björk, possesses a sublime sensitivity to her environment that allows her to receive messages from her mother, who was murdered for their shared inheritance of witchcraft. Hirano captures the relationship between the transcendental awe that is felt as supernatural and the private feelings of being immersed in that experience, creating a musical dialogue between the self and what lies beyond.

In the final sentences of her liner notes describing the film’s philosophical and feminist throughlines, Anna Bogutskaya says, “what we call Margit’s witchcraft is maybe just her willingness to listen.” This is the magic of music, and Hirano composes with an alchemist’s pen. Just as Keene seems to break down barriers between binary poles, Hirano uses both electronic and acoustic means to communicate the film’s emotive cues, uniting approaches she has explored under her own name and the alias MimiCof. There is an understanding that stillness can be understood as peaceful or foreboding, that dissonance and consonance are contextual, that efforts to protect one’s own kin can lead to tragic ends. At the film’s end we see Margit enthralled with birdsong, understanding it as something deeper, a connection to those she has lost. Through sound, we understand what lies beyond sight, beyond convention, and with this new soundtrack we hear the story anew.

»Baby Ghost« is the debut album by double bassist and vocalist Jordan Sand. Released through Hallow Ground, it blurs the lines between different genres and modes of expressions, improvisation and composition and showcases the unique playing style the composer has developed. Sand blends her voice with the bowed harmonics and subharmonics of her double bass. At once conceptually rigorous and musically open-ended, Sand’s wordless meditations on death and what comes after are both visceral and explorative.

Sand is a boundary-crossing instrumentalist, performer, and session musician who has worked in folk, free jazz, pop, classical and new as well as experimental music. In 2020, she took a hiatus. When she picked up the bass again, she began stripping down the relationship to her instrument to its core elements, searching for a way to melt the sounds of bow and voice together. This resulted in the appearance of ghost notes, tones emerging from the addition or subtraction of two frequencies, and harmonics that she adds with her falsetto.

On »Baby Ghost,« Sand utilises this acoustic sound and the spontaneous precision of her improvisational practice for pieces that deal with the subject of dying. They move from more polyphonic improvisations toward abstraction, touching upon harsh noise and minimalistic bow-chants before returning briefly to a melodic soliloquy, and finally landing on an extended subharmonic drone. This progression reflects the journey of the spirit after death; the experience of visions, memories, ecstasies and terrors before the dissolution of the self.

Sand performs this process physically, blending her voice with her instrument to explore how the senses might dissolve and merge when they enter a state between life and beyond-or-between-life. Born out of the moment and dedicated to a lost friend, »Baby Ghost« is quite literally an otherworldly achievement.

And Their Power Is Alive is a collaborative record between the Vashon Island based artist Faith Coloccia and Ashville based guitarist Tashi Dorji out September on Whited Sepulchre Records. Coloccia and Dorji’s longstanding collaborative relationship and friendship bolsters this massive conceptual weight –– the music is as stirring as it is gorgeous, as exploratory as it is surefooted. And Their Power Was Alive manifests and rises up as a profound iteration of the interrelatedness of the personal and the political, poetically. Coloccia’s plaintive voice, as always, is clear and stirring, intimate, close, and notably here recorded without reverb. She is steady and her lyrics echo dream phrases which visited her during major life shifts: a drive through the arid desert, explaining the concept of private property to the next generation, intergenerational knowledge and caregiving. All of this establishes a melancholia of reflections on land, history, scale. The first words sung on this record are: “Cosmic Horror! I am nothing, I am no-one” and even here, Coloccia is steady. Dorji’s glacial layers of distorted howling guitar create a rise and crest and fall –– symphonies of noise, roaring but distant like fire in the hills, interwoven with piano, organ, and tubular bells.

What Soul Media, led by Jiro Inagaki, ultimately arrived at was a tight, cool, and ultimate groove.

As Inagaki himself has stated that he “played black funk” on this album, the explosive jazz-rock foundation he had cultivated up to that point is fused with the stickiness, elasticity, and physicality of black music—elevating his musical vision to an entirely new dimension. Combined with the masterful arrangements of Hiromasa Suzuki, the groove is polished to a high sheen, growing richer, more fluid, and subtly seductive.

Every track stands out: the vibrant, driving energy of “Painted Paradise”; the coexistence of funkiness and mellowness on “Breeze”; and the low-slung, razor-sharp cover of Kool & The Gang’s “Funky Stuff”.
Now regarded as a definitive classic, this album remains in constant demand from listeners around the world.

glass beach's debut album the first glass beach album is the first album from glass beach. That's a good place to start, but the album's plain & descriptive title does little to explain exactly what goes on in the hour-long adventure contained therein. the first glass beach album was initially self-released by the band in Spring 2019, but it's roots date back to as early as 2015 - songwriter & band leader j mclendon started demoing songs for the album when they first moved to Los Angeles & spent three years polishing those first demos into these songs with bassist Jonas Newhouse & drummer William White. On their Bandcamp page, the band describes their sound as the accumulation of jazz, new wave, synth music, and emo distorted through the lens of punk. The songs that make up the first glass beach album are ambitious, theatrical and chaotic. Abandoning genre limitations makes glass beach's talent for songwriting all the more apparent - mathy guitar leads, catchy drum grooves and the constant interplay of horns, synths, and even the intermittent theremin set the perfect scene for j's stunning vocal performance, which can shift from a charming falsetto to the lead of a sing-a-long in an instant.

Essential. A flawless and wonderful release from a true veteran. Fort Romeau has spent years sharpening his craft, and "Be With U" hits with the polish to show for it. Pulled from his own imprint Romantic Gestures, this is deep, hypnotic house at its most refined: immaculately produced, crisply mastered, and unmistakably his. Pressed on 180g black vinyl.

Three years following the critically acclaimed "A Journey told through Fire" (2023), the new album navigates a sprawling conceptual narrative, tracing the cyclical nature of the cosmos from its initial spark in the void to its inevitable dissolution. Lyrically, the album explores the terrifying scale of cosmic darkness and the fragility of existence within a primordial emptiness. Sworn investigates the philosophy of becoming and unmaking, where reality and time emerge from nothingness only to eventually collapse back into the same unfathomable origin. Musically, "Null Crowned the Infinite" pushes the boundaries of the band's established sound, balancing their signature melodic tension with newfound levels of aggression and atmospheric depth. The record features "The Starless Origin", a twelve-minute epic that stands as their longest composition to date, alongside " Fracture of Aeons ", which the band identifies as their most aggressive track ever recorded. Sworn collaborated with renowned producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios , who handled the mixing and mastering. Bogren's legendary portfolio, featuring giants such as Opeth, Arch Enemy and Behemoth, brings a polished yet devastating edge to the performances of Max Wilson, Christoffer Kjorsvik, Goran Hope and Tom Ian Klungland. The album artwork is equally striking, created by Par Olofsson, known for his iconic work with Aborted and Kreator.

Three years following the critically acclaimed "A Journey told through Fire" (2023), the new album navigates a sprawling conceptual narrative, tracing the cyclical nature of the cosmos from its initial spark in the void to its inevitable dissolution. Lyrically, the album explores the terrifying scale of cosmic darkness and the fragility of existence within a primordial emptiness. Sworn investigates the philosophy of becoming and unmaking, where reality and time emerge from nothingness only to eventually collapse back into the same unfathomable origin. Musically, "Null Crowned the Infinite" pushes the boundaries of the band's established sound, balancing their signature melodic tension with newfound levels of aggression and atmospheric depth. The record features "The Starless Origin", a twelve-minute epic that stands as their longest composition to date, alongside " Fracture of Aeons ", which the band identifies as their most aggressive track ever recorded. Sworn collaborated with renowned producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios , who handled the mixing and mastering. Bogren's legendary portfolio, featuring giants such as Opeth, Arch Enemy and Behemoth, brings a polished yet devastating edge to the performances of Max Wilson, Christoffer Kjorsvik, Goran Hope and Tom Ian Klungland. The album artwork is equally striking, created by Par Olofsson, known for his iconic work with Aborted and Kreator.

Tooloop Records celebrates its tenth release with "Orbis EP", a four-tracker from label affiliate Stab9. The record captures a moment of evolution in both Stab9’s sound and the label’s sonic identity, reflecting a broader vision of the Tooloop universe through expanded arrangements, deeper exploration and a more immersive presentation.

Opening the EP, ‘Source’ establishes its atmosphere through a constantly evolving arrangement, moving through several distinct phases while maintaining a sense of fluid progression. Carefully shifting textures, unexpected bass changes and subtle variations in dynamics reveal new details with each turn. Title track ‘Orbis’ shifts the EP towards warmer tones, built around classic house-inspired sounds, melancholic pads and polyrhythmic bass movement. Its rolling low-end and intricate percussion subtly tilt the track towards techno territory, reflecting the circular motion suggested by the track’s title. ‘Beastro’ gradually ascends through a restrained growling bassline and fractured hi-hats, dropping into an engine-cut moment in the middle of the track - a brief suspension before the groove returns, pulling the track back into motion. ‘True Story’ unfolds through a walking bassline, intricate hi-hats and smeared percussion, creating a sense of movement through a world of morphing textures and atmospheres. Its restrained melody embraces the idea of “less is more”, closing the EP with the bittersweet beauty of mono no aware.

With "Orbis EP", Stab9 presents a deeply personal approach to electronic music, where detailed studio craftsmanship meets the physical energy of the dancefloor - the label completing one full turn, and opening the next.

The story of each re-release begins with the original. In the late 90s, Uwe Zahn (Arovane), along with Robert Henke (Monolake) and Stefan Betke (Pole), began releasing music on Torsten Pröfrock’s (Dynamo) newly launched DIN label. This was a very inconspicuous undertaking, but fans of the flourishing IDM, glitch, and constantly evolving abstract techno genres quickly picked up on the quality of sound coming out of Germany. After a few successful EPs, Zahn began working on his debut full-length, Atol Scrap. The release was a success, at least in the underground circles, where followers of the melodic harmonies, stuttering off-beat rhythms, and, most importantly, advanced sound design feverishly consumed the imprint’s output. There was only one thing missing – the album was never pressed on vinyl, and for decades remained in the digital domain. The fans, of course, inquired. There were multiple offers on the table, but Zahn retained control until he was assured that it was properly attained. “I thought of taking everything into my own hands and releasing the record myself,” says Zahn, “but at the end of last year, Matthias from Keplar asked me to re-release Atol Scrap on vinyl.” The label and its owner revolve in the Morr Music universe, and so it made sense for Zahn to trust the platform to treat the record right.

Listening to Atol Scrap over twenty years later it is inane not to admit how well it has held up. Where other genres clearly aged, becoming stale, bland, and dull, the music on eleven tasty tracks still keeps the neurons tickled with each note. More than an echo of the past, the bottled sound truly has matured. Many of the newly evolving techniques are recognizable on the album. “I created the digital artifacts with a digital multi-track recorder, the Fostex D80,” recalls Zahn. “The thing had a scrub wheel with which I could achieve wonderful glitch effects by winding through the audio data. I have sampled and further processed these artifacts.” And this approach is still embedded in Zahn’s sound design. “I still use my 24-track analog desk from Tascam to mix my audio. I love to use hardware synths and samplers. I’ve definitely built upon my studio experience in the 90s.” From this debut to the most recent output, Arovane’s sound has evolved to become more intricate, detailed, and pronounced. “My music has become much quieter and much slower. But that’s probably also due to the noise in the world.” And just as Atol Scrap reminds Zahn of the past, retaining charm preserved in a container traveling through time, it also jitters memories of long ago, when we were twenty years younger, less experienced, and bold. For me, among the many records of the time, this album held a special place in life, my heart, and many CD boxes moved across the world. And now I’m only happy to restock the vinyl space, where Atol Scrap belongs among the beloved records. Welcome home. - Mike Lazarev

Remastered and cut to vinyl by Kassian Troyer @ D&M. Cover art by Jim Kühnel based on a photograph by Uwe Zahn.

Ecstatic’s dreamiest cadets bliss out on a new album of acoustic and electric guitar, harmonium and synth tapestries, notably nestling a Romance cameo within a genteel toggle of atmospheric pressure.

Back on (side) road after releasing quietly acclaimed kosmische gem ‘I Had too Much to Dream Last Night’ back in 2021 and the lysergic lushness of ‘Listen to the Sky’ a couple of years later, Celestial suggest a more sublime return to earth with the shine-eyed wonders of ‘I Can Hear the Grass Grow’, an album that soothes to the supine in eight shimmering parts of pearlescent melodic motifs marbling harmonious backdrops intended to tenderly comb nerves straight.

The duo take their role as seductive sandmen with a curious melodic wit that leaves something to the imagination whilst nudging it along the album’s narrative thread. A courtly flamenco lick flickers in opener ‘The Endless Stair’, one of the most restrained recordings we've heard from the childhood friends; blessed with just a little reverb and echo, as if a mic's been lowered into some dimly lit basement while Celestial puzzle out mystifying, interlocking harmonies. It hits a mid-point between John Fahey's raga-inspired Americana and Vini Reilly's rain-soaked Northern blues - the emotion throbs from every note.

Celestial's music is never too polished, giving it the fuzzy, uninhibited flair of a long-lost mail order private press and instilling it with a level of humanity that's rare to discover in the new-new age. Even when mysterious labelmate Romance turns up to ornament 'Mermaid Boulevard' with backmasked electronics, it's their low-slung Ry Cooder-esque guitar/bass that provides the narrative anchor, while the title track and spongiform analog textures of ‘Song For The rainy Season’ dial it right down to a Harmonia-via-BoC pastoral sublime. Vini Reilly and Eno’s influence is most surely felt on the swaying elegance of ‘Sweet Sleep, Angel Mild’, with a central motif that lingers on the mind long after it’s stopped playing, whilst their closing couplet perfectly resolves the cycle with a melancholic kiss-off for the ages.

Since the release of DAMAGED in 2024, Michael Fiedler aka GHOST DUBS has been surfing intensifying waves of adulation, earning praise from such diverse underground legends as Justin Broadrick (Godflesh/Jesu), Regis, Stefan Betke (Pole) and Steve Von Till (Neurosis). With second album Oblique, his mastery of sculpting sound waves results in a spellbinding set of alien soundscapes: larger in scale, richer in tone and considerably more cinematic than its predecessor. Lower, deeper and moodier, its cloudy abstractions, shadowy pulsations and submerged rhythms find Fiedler reaching further into his own sonic void, crafting blurred melodies and addictive narco loops into something simultaneously heavyweight and hypnotic. Album opener "Low Times" sets the atmospheric pressure to maximum, resembling a dream date between prime dirt-house era Andy Stott and Berlin dub-tech pioneers Basic Channel. From there, Oblique descends into a series of enchanting mood scenes: the furtive, balletic gyrations of "After All", the haunting ambience and buried heartbeat throb of "Soft Collapse", and the noirish atmospherics of "Blackout Dust", which worms its way into the mind like some forgotten David Lynch scene. The spirit of reggae is more distanced here than on DAMAGED, but the ghost of Jamaican dub still permeates these foggy soundscapes, particularly on "Bombed Suburbs", where Augustus Pablo-style melodicism is chopped, screwed and slowed into a magnetic lock groove. Superficially minimal but maximal in its minute detail, Oblique is a record of contorted reflections, mesmeric echoes and tantalising audio mirages. By the vaporous mist of closing track "Almost a Structure", obvious rhythm has been craftily filtered away, leaving a blurred and blunted residue full of mystery and implied narrative. Dense in the best possible sense and crushing when played loud yet equally potent played quiet, Oblique imagines dub techno burning its own rigid rulebook: sensual, funky and concussive rather than dry or alienating. "Second album from electronic producer Michael Fiedler's GHOST DUBS project. "Follows up from the highly-acclaimed 'Implosion' album with The Bug from 2025. "Debut album 'Damaged' sold out its three initial pressings and has just been repressed "Michael Fiedler recently scored 'Sound of Falling' which won a Cannes award in 2025 and made the shortlist for an Oscar, too.

Polarity Records returns with its eighth release. After years of experimentation with live performance, new technologies and evolving setups, Luca Piermattei returns his focus to studio production.

Natural Recording Vol.2 marks a new phase in his artistic trajectory: a more essential and distinctive sonic language, balancing emotional depth, harmonic sensitivity and a stronger focus on musicality, dynamics and performance-inspired arrangements. A refined approach where every element finds its place with intention.

Lunfardo presents Heroica, the fifth chapter in its conceptual series, inspired by the Three Defences of Paysandú, events that remain embedded in the city’s memory and the history of Uruguay.

Among them, the Heroic Defence of Paysandú (1864–1865) stands as the most enduring symbol: a weeks-long resistance led by Leandro Gómez against overwhelming forces during the Brazilian intervention and allied advance. Across generations, these events have come to embody resistance, sacrifice and permanence.

Heroica is Lunfardo’s tribute to Paysandú, the city where the label was born.

The release explores this narrative through the work of Andrew Lagowski, one of experimental electronic music’s enduring figures. Active since the early 1980s, Lagowski has released more than 60 albums and over 10 vinyl singles, leaving a lasting mark across electronic, experimental and techno music.

For Heroica, Lunfardo revisits selected works from Lagowski’s 1995–2000 CD era, presented on vinyl for the first time, alongside a contemporary composition produced in September 2024.

Bridging archival electronics and contemporary vision, Heroica unfolds through themes of resistance, memory and permanence.

Artwork by @estudio.polar

For more info @Lunfardo.records

Call of the Wild and Void is the sixth studio album by Hunter Complex and arrives on the Seattle-based label SFI Recordings. It features contributions from Aquiles Navarro (trumpet), new age legend Kat Epple (flute) and many more. Call of the Wild and Void is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed albums Airports and Ports (Burning Witches, 2022), Dead Calm and Zero Degrees (Burning Witches, 2020) and Open Sea (Death Waltz, 2019). The artwork was created by Andrew Crawshaw for Broken Press.

'Museum Of No Art is the pseudonym of the artist and musician Mona Steinwidder. The pieces on the album A Serpent Called Emit document a two-year engagement with the clarinet and other woodwind instruments. In the search for simplicity, one encounters complexity. But the Museum discovers connections between the poles and lets them circle around each other. Impurities have found their place in it and hard cuts are intended to underline the volatility of the moment, to highlight and admire imperfection.'

opo’s 666ridims (2020 - 2026), compiled by J.TRIPP, brings together tracks from his 666ridims netlabel, reflecting on the singular sound worlds of some of his solo work. Like a discovery made by neutrino sensors, opo’s tracks research the transformation of rhythm, swing, and structure, aiming for a new grid. Sketchy and raw, processing emotions and experiences, regaling stories, and asking questions, opo relates in trance verse. All tracks here breathe his focus on improvisation, experimentation, and collaboration. Some of the beats featured on 666ridims (2020 - 2026) are outlines for freestyles and songwriting ideas, a practice formed during a long-distance music conversation with illustrator, printmaker, painter, designer, and maker Billy Bigwood. Other tracks are more club-oriented, like speculative genres programmed in odd meters. Japanese Barcelona-based DJ Hanakito contributes to one track, using samples and chops sourced from her vinyl imports.

Through Afroelectronic experimentation and diasporic narratives, opo encodes his soul's past and future through his music. Encoded, activated, returned. Initiate only when you receive permission from all your mental fragments. Keep transmissions in mind and dislodge and follow the command cluster's trail. Strongly influenced by sci-fi, ancestral afro musics, jazz, performance art, and food, as musical lines and shards of meaning cascade, 666ridims (2020 - 2026) is a minimalist dive into strange meters, polyrhythm, and the transcendence of ideas. Fast, slow. Exhilarating. We don’t discover physical laws; we just collaborate on them.

Hailing from the West side of St. Louis, Missouri, Mikahl Anthony’s sonic roots spread far across the global Alt-Soul / Hip-Hop scene. A highly soughtafter multidisciplinary artist (who has collaborated with the likes of Mick Jenkins, Chance The Rapper, Joey Purp, Smino and more), as well as being a founding member of Chicago’s THEMpeople collective, he now prepares to unveil his masterful full-length debut Muse via R&S Records.

Accompanied by several beautiful, self-directed film pieces, Muse is a record with storytelling at its core. Interspersed with commentary from a range of sources telling their stories to Mikhal, whilst collaboratively analysing their personal experiences, it speaks a candid and honest narrative, which reinforce the heartfelt lyrics within. With the project’s name anchored around a dual meaning acronym (1. Ms. Using sensual energy and 2. Making use of seclusion every day). The record is an audio version of docufilm, that creatively interprets the idea of self-therapy, an internal/interpersonal reflection of life experiences that serendipitously connect to Mikahl’s personal romantic relationships. Mikahl explains: ‘I wanted to use a unique style of songwriting, arrangement and filming with the intention of soundtracking my self-development/maturation process’.

On the project’s lasting impression on the listener, Mikahl elaborates ’The exploration of inner truth and vulnerability is key to the future of good music. I want this project to act as symbolism that highlights the mantra that honest approaches and authenticity still has the most value. I also want people to see how important the use of community is when you can connect them to your subject matter...I'd like my audience to observe and engage in their own self-reflections, approaches by way of listening or interacting with the story.’

Drifting to an elevated state of consciousness, Muse is a deeply intoxicating and engrossing listening experience from front to back. From the sliding, kaleidoscopic shadows of opening track ‘La Flare’, via the trepidation-laced atmosphere of ‘Polyamorous’ and the hazy, reverb drenched saxophone notes of LP closer ‘Eddie Kane’ - Mikahl channels moments of joy and pain, infused with spirit enriching instrumentation and gritty textures.

Visual stimuli play an integral role within Mikahl’s music. His songs represent transparency and openness dipped in funk. Layers of soft velvety vocals emerge from jazz harmonies, trap rhythms, and social commentary sourced from voiceovers/excerpts. His creations are the musical representation of documentary films. His art is imagery embodied.