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Off World presents the final album in its trilogy of surreal and spacious leftfield electronics. "A stellar project headed by Sandro Perri, one of the most singular producers in contemporary music" (Boomkat), this third volume is another distinctive collection of tracks constructed from semi-improvised ensemble recordings made over the past decade with a varied cast of coconspirators. Drew Brown, Matthew Cooper, Susumu Mukai and Andrew Zukerman join Perri again on a variety of synths and machines, along with violinist Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Fond Of Tigers). Perri also continues to add organ and piano to the mix, while Volume 3 notably features first-time Off World contributors Nicole Rampersaud on trumpet and Martin Arnold on guitar, both mainstays of Toronto's vibrant improv and out-music scenes. The Quietus calls Off World "genuinely explorative_the musical equivalent of a Dali-esque landscape" which through all sorts of genre-defying twists and turns, at times evokes "offkilter, late Miles Davis ambience". Off World 3 doubles down on that jazz-adjacent trope in certain respects, while holding fast to Pitchfork's dictum that Perri "cultivates his own genreless brand of futurism." Marked by longer tracks than previous collections, three of the album's five songs clock in around the 10-minute mark, where overtly improvised instrumental playing wends its way across alternately bubbling and woozy electronic beds. "Impulse Controller" is a languidly skewed rhumba where ambling melodic undercurrents and dubby electronic pointillism provide a dulcet promenade for Rampersaud's Miles-esque trumpet excursions. "Ludic Loop" see-saws along in a slow synthy two-step, punctuated by Perri's restrained piano chords and Arnold's fried electric guitar. "Empasse" is perhaps most reminiscent of earlier Off World collections, though again slowed and stretched, with oozing synth bass ostinatos counterposed by ambient layers of viola and violin filigree from Zubot. These three centerpiece longform tracks each highlight one of the album's instrumental improvisers, and taken together, make for the most scintillating sedate and ruminant album in the trilogy. Off World 3 sounds as sui generis as ever, but in wrapping up the series, Perri sprinkles the project's emblematic alien surrealism with decidedly anthropic elements and temporalities. This final volume in the trilogy could also be seen as a re-statement of Perri's politico-aesthetic mission, as aptly celebrated by Pitchfork and its glowing 8.0+ reviews of Perri's 2018/2019 solo albums In Another Life and Soft Landing (released between Off World 2 and the present volume): a uniquely purposeful, subtly detailed cannon of songs "busy, vibrant, and bursting with life, but that aren't ever in a rush to get anywhere."

Dagerlöff & Galner is a French duo that seeks to create its own vision of modern music, including elements of futuristic synths, Japanese video games, progressive jazz or epic and textured soundtracks. Their sound has a progressive touch that can recall the works of Aphex Twin or Oneohtrix Point Never. To be given the opportunity to set this masterpiece to music, the first cinematic venture into the occult, was a real treat for them. Presented in the style of a lecture, Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages is a Swedish silent documentary - horror film directed by Benjamin Christensen which was originally released in 1922 (in Sweden) and deals with witchcraft from antiquity to the film's contemporary period. The movie was released in the US in 1968. Witchcraft is carefully portrayed through illustrations from medieval books and audio-visual reconstructions. From the witches' sabbath to the interrogations of the Inquisition, the classical images come to life in disturbing spectral visions using all the special effects available at the time: overprints, models, jump cuts, stop motion, make-up and prosthetics. The film's soundtrack is divided in three parts, including the one by Dagerlöff & Galner. The duo enhances the heretical character of the work through dark pieces with constant intensity. This work of digital synthesis (choirs, orchestra, organ, analog modulars and tapes) allowed them to draw lines between tradition and modernity, like a film whose purpose remains as strong and relevant almost a century later. The film was re-released in a restored Blu-ray version by Potemkine in 2021, in a limited edition of 1666copies(sold out).

Run-D.M.C. leaves no doubt about its intent on King of Rock. The New York trio's hard-hitting sophomore album begins with a statement of purpose ("Rock the House") that serves as a stereophonic primer for the title track, a hybrid warning-anthem-theme song that swarms with justified boasts, heavy metal riffs, booming beats, cowbell accents, and dance-worthy grooves. The back-to-back tunes set the tone for a 1985 record that largely established the blueprint for the hip-hop that would follow for the next two decades – and which helped make rap a mainstream currency via the previously off-limits channels of radio, TV, and the national stage. "It's not Michael Jackson/And this is not Thriller," the group broadcasts early on in the record. Truer words – and music recorded with such honesty, pride, rawness, and integrity – have seldom been committed to tape.

This third release from Rubi Records sees Ashley Tindall—aka Skeptical—stepping out of his usual drum and bass territory and slowing things down with three seriously deep dub-infused bass tracks in the 140-150bpm realm. While not the first time Skeptical has dipped his toes in such waters, these are easily among the finest, most musically mature examples to date. For those drum & bass fans out there unsure about Skeptical branching out into other genres, this EP shows that an open mind and listening without prejudice will reward your ears.

First up is the utterly dub-soaked 75/150bpm track 'Tell Me'. This solid stoner groove takes clear elements of Skeptical's more dub-orientated D&B and adds mesmeric pads and soulful vocal hooks, making it one of the deepest head-nodders in his overall catalogue. This is more a refined track for the 'listener' than for the dance floor, and while you can still easily throw some shapes to it, it's great to just immerse yourself in as a purely audio experience.

Next is the 140bpm 'Tapestry', which is somewhat the darker twin of 'Tell Me'. Again, we have a slow dub-infused head-nodder, but this time more menacing in tone thanks to the finely-judged use of some moody sound modules that Skeptical has tweaked and twisted in his inimitable fashion. This one's the audio equivalent of a restless mind in the depth of night.

The final offering is another 140bpm track – the unsettling beast 'Atomic v1'. It begins with a slow-burn build up of an off-kilter metronomic beat, subtly growling bass and haunting strings. This, in turn, gives way to a distorted rendering of Oppenheimer's famous use of 'Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds' from the Bhagavad Gita, before becoming a sinister slow-motion dubstep rumbler. With its dragging beat and the purposefully off-point main sonic hook running over the top, this is a disorientating and unsettling weapon for the discerning DJ.

This EP continues the fresh direction of Rubi Records, showcasing exceptional, forward-thinking music without borders.

Support: Ben UFO, Joy Orbison, Gilles Pererson, dBridge, Break, DLR, Doc Scott, Mefjus, Kasra, Kings of the Rollers, Alix Perez, Jubei, Dub Phizix, Flight, Tasha, Loxy, Randall, Lens.

Radio Support: BBC Radio 6 Music, Rinse FM, Kool FM

Living on such a chaotic planet, tossing and turning is inevitable. It’s hard to sleep in the midst of uncertainty. That’s why Sundressed was born. Lead vocalist and songwriter Trevor Hedges began his project in 2012, with the initial purpose of maintaining his sobriety. Now, 10 years later, Hedges has refocused the project’s mission, writing songs that tackle mental health issues for others to take solace in. His confessional lyrics and punk-infused melodies inspire hope in listeners to continue moving forward, determined to make a positive impact, one lyric at a time.

For 14 years Throat have been the sonic equivalent of forcing a square peg into a round hole; often abrasive, causing utmost irritation at times and on a rare occasion a feverishly pleasant dose of brooding darkness in one's otherwise dull existence. The peg now fits. We Must Leave You sees Throat dropping pegs of all shape and size through the same hole. The last confines of musical genres are behind them, resulting in an album which can be regarded as the easiest listening Throat has ever presented or simultaneously their most difficult and puzzling work to date. Thematically what we have here is a breakup album. Never ones for thinking small, Throat breaks up with the world. Enough is enough. Bring back lockdown. No need for petty social commentary on how the world is burning. Let it burn. Throat is already walking away and it remains to be seen where they end up next. If anywhere. Breakups always require dramatic music and We Must Leave You more than fits the purpose. Throat have already hinted at new directions and new sounds on their previous two albums, but here it all breaks loose. Rooted in the same heavy, dark rock sound as always, but a touch of gothic drama from the 80s has been injected to the band's sonic palette which obviously means a few deeper shades of black. The noise and dissonance remains, but this time it all has been dipped in honey and black grease paint. We Must Leave You was written over a few years time and finally recorded in 2023 at Tonehaven Recording Studio with Tom Brooke and the band's own Amplified Human Audio. Once again, Andrew Schneider mixed the album at Acre Audio and Carl Saff handled mastering duties at Saff Mastering. Photography by Dorota Brzezicka and design by Stefan Alt of Ant-Zen.

DJ K-1's (Keith Tucker - AUX88) re-release for modern electro heads Direct Beat Classics label.
1) "K-1 Intro" -Fine metallic percussion and Jeep beats define the groove of this EP's introduction from the year of 1996 featuring Anthony 'Blaktony' Horton (vocals) on this legendary Keith Tucker production. K-1's hauntingly dark strings emerge as you are informed by its mission statement. Mental.

2) "K-1 Agenda" (Instrumental) - Purposely added to enhance variety and balance, this instrumental holds its own. Highlighting his production skill, 'DJ K-1' cuts loose in the minimal groove with traditional Detroit escapism that makes the EP the fine concept it is. Made to dream & jam.

3) "K-1 Agenda" (Vocal Mix) -Written and executed by longtime cohort, 'Blaktony' (AUX88, Alien FM) on vocals. The tune transforms into a classic global jam with android-like vocals planted between the hand-crafted Detroit electronic backdrops. A mainstay in electro bass crates since its release, this track is the description of a man on a mission to jam this world and beyond. Rubbery 'K-1' signature bass lines and strings ride the perfect beat.

4) "The Future I Can See" - K-1's laid back robotic lyrics describe a look into the future paired with thunderous beats and electro bounce. Visionary rocking, Tucker provides the weight to the project that would bare his signature flavor. Hot.

5) "The Future I Can See" (Instrumental) - Focused on an atmosphere of eerie and moody Detroit dark electro, the energetic bass line weaves amongst jamming drums. Imaginative and compelling material made for global dance floors. 100% Electro.

6) "Unreleased track" - A short newly added bonus cut from the original sessions, laced with experimentation in the Motor City Electro sound.

Polish jazz rebels sneaky jesus are back with their second studio album For Chaching Taphed.The highly imaginative quartet out of Wroclaw comprising Maciej Forreiter (Guitar), Matylda Gerber (Saxophones), Ben Łasiewick i(Bass) and Filip Baczyński (Drums) have won fans around the world for their restless, quirky brand of jazz which takes in breakbeats, twisting chord progressions and improvisation as well as a wealth of musical influences.

The band have been touring their asses off ever since they surprised the world with their debut album For Joseph Riddle in 2021. From out of nowhere their debut LP of 500 copies sold out in a month and they quickly went on to sell close to 1,000 CDs of the album. Fast-forward to 2023 and the band are sharing stages with artists such as Ill Considered and Theon Cross.

For Chaching Taphed was created in complete isolation. The group locked itself in a barn at the Museum of Agricultural Technology in Piotrowice Świdnickie. It worked on its sophomore output surrounded by machinery, trucks and carriages. These new compositions mirror the abstract conversations which the group frequently has just for fun. Contrary to For Joseph Riddle, this album is simple and does not rely on ongoing grooves. This enabled the group to be much more experimental. The band was joined by friends Flautist Mariya Mavko on Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) and her playing is sampled in Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace). Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) closes the album featuring EABS' Jakub Kurek on trumpet. His fiery solo is one of the most intense moments of the album.

Spacer Po Nadodrzu (A walk around Nadodrze) opens the album and is inspired by one of the districts of Wrocław. It is a sonic story depicting a walk through Nadodrze late at night. A steady bass rhythm imitates a careful pace and the responding sax line is a spooky theme that might pop to oneʼs head in a moment of uncertainty.

The album's first single Krztusiec (Whooping Cough) finds the group diving head first into their most recent influences. The trackstarts with drum improvisation, rolling into a solid hip-hop backbeat provided by Ben Łasiewicki on Bass and Drummer Filip Baczyński. Sax and Guitar weave steady but dissonant lines, written by Maciej Forreiter after many hours spent listening to the Ethiopian jazz greats. The track takes off right after that. Matylda Gerber delivers a fiery Sax solo, while the group picks up the tempo and quickens the groove. The essence is the middle section, a dubby collective improvisation. Forreiter, Gerber and Baczyński take turns playing both classic dub phrases and fierce avant grade lines. Łasiewicki keeps everybody in check with a steady bassline. The energy slows down until Baczyński's drum solo, which explores phrasing detached from the rest of the tune.

Second single Chiński Sprzedawca Smażonych Kasztanów (Chinese roasted chestnut seller) is a fusion of breakbeats, energized songo rhythms and motifs inspired by South African melodies. Presenting the group with spacious and rhythmic horn lines, guitarist Maciej Forreiter wrote a chord progression while Beniamin Łasiewicki and Filip Baczyński took care of the rhythm section. This first part of the track suddenly drops out and explodes into the dramatic main motif which includes double sax and fierce guitar playing in harmony, plus the rhythm section playing more and more jungle-esque. Powerful guitar and sax solos feature before we return to the main theme with a completely different rhythmic backdrop.

W Klatce z Bykiem (In a cage with a Bull), starts like a race. The music plays with an incredible nerve and when the theme is right on edge it suddenly stops. It is followed by an animalistic growl on the saxophone and a doom metal-esque bash of downtuned, distorted guitars and heavy drums. In this heavy fashion it slowly approaches the finishing line hitting one final metallic clang.

Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) features wonderful flute playing of Mariya Mavko (Kadabra Dyskety Kusaje). Her work in the opening motif evokes sounds of Polish and Ukrainian folklore. This brief mellow moment serves as a contrast to the usual frantic sounds of sneaky jesus. It is an appreciation of thepolish jazz music of the past, intrinsically-linked to folklore. The band took this idea and reworked it into their own unique style.

Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace) is built on top of a lengthy vamp in an unusual 7/8 time-signature. The bass anchors the quartet in a simple line, while the rest of the quartet share an emotional conversation. This track is the most open of the whole project and it ends accordingly. The final burst is a call back to the basics ofspiritual jazzand the whole band shows every emotion simultaneously and gracefully fades out.

Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) is For Chaching Taphed's conclusion and is a non stop assault of heavy horn lines, punk rhythms and noise. The band is joined by the extraordinary trumpeter Jakub Kurek from EABS, who blends in perfectly with sax and guitar. His exchange of solos with Maciej Forreiter is a combination of classic jazz phrasing and discordant clatter. In the same fierce manner the whole group works within the motif, switching up accents and breaks.

In the short space of two years, sneaky jesus has gone from ambitious upstart looking to break out from its home city playing spit and sawdust venues, to touring Europe as well as prestigious Jazz clubs such as Jassmine in Warsaw. In the process, it has delivered two full-length albums that don't stay in lane or pander to established jazz sub-genres as so many groups do. Some artists make the same record twice or even more than that, but not sneaky jesus. For Chaching Taphed shows the band as restless, experimental, fun, irreverent but purposeful as never before.

“A lot of over-hyped improv / jazz projects out there at the moment and Sneaky Jesus are genuinely excellent and out on their own. Drawing on the expansive atmospherics of a barn as the recording's setting, the album immediately pulls you in with the unsettling 'Spacer Po Nadodrzu' and lifts off on 'Krztusiec', effortlessly moving from angular, abrasive jazz to trippy dub and cinematic intrigue. Tempos shift and intensities shift naturally. The whole set warrants a deep listen from start to finish and watch out for two great guest features from flautist Mariya Mavko and Jakub Kurek bringing some mad fuzz licks to the boisterous closer. Brilliant album.”
Quinton Scott — Strut Records

The lush psych-pop sound of Copenhagen's Halasan Bazar returns with their ambitious third album, "Burns". After numerous shows, recording sessions, a powerful collaboration LP and tours, "Burns" finds the band even more seasoned and impressive, giving the record a breezy naturalism from these gurus of their psychedelic craft.

Recorded in the French mountains, armed with a magical unending bag of weed, Halasan Bazar laid down these tunes mostly live - all vocals, acoustic guitars, drums and piano. This immediacy emphasizes their blissed out sonics, buoyant melodies and kaleidoscopic composition, each moment purposefully placed creating their rich sonic tapestry. Inspired by the greats of Greenwich Village's '60s folk, the lavish production of Lee Hazlewood, vocal harmonies of yesteryear and hallucinogenic day tripping. Some surf-y guitar vibes and plenty of driving piano jams too.

Tunes like "Freak" wave that Halasan flag proudly atop infectious guitar melodies and layered vocal harmonies creating a sing-a-long anthem for the misfits and the weirdos out there. "Get Sick and Die" incorporates swelling strings for an unexpectedly dreamy passage alongside sophisticated rock 'n' roll. One of many highlights, "Burns My Mind" has a driving, catchy groove and the entire band firing on all cylinders crafting a bombastic party atmosphere.

A beautiful and vivid album from an unapologetic band of freaks and dreamers, Halasan Bazar effortlessly leave their mark with "Burns".

Steve Rosborough, Moon Glyph Records

Since 2011, Mike"s been a Drag City stalwart, first with Sic Alps, then as a solo and with The Peacers - but Mike "The Mighty Flashlight" Fellows has been a behind-the-scenes figure at Drag City since the early early days, playing live and on record with Royal Trux, Silver Jews and Will Oldham. Mike D"s music, in all phases, takes the form of a next-phase roots-pop: soaked in the traditional waters of rock and roll and passed through a variety of after-punk sonic sieves, highlighted with DIY and lo-fi values, and making a jolly hallucinatory racket, at that! He prefers a particular density of obtuse angles colliding sweet and hot noise, an arrangement he has perfected over all his Sic Alps/solo/The Peacers years; his innate understanding of the mechanics of a pop song wends purposefully through the junk-strewn landscape, sharing secrets with cipher in hand. Playing in this cracked kingdom of sound/garden of verse, Mighty Flashlight alternately accents and balances Mike"s eccentricities with his playing and knob-spinning - and with the Flashlight shining bright upon him, Donovan"s serpentine path becomes ever so much more elastic, heightened from line to line, change to change, its motility creating different shapes in our ears. Mighty"s own kind of stereo imagining informs Donovan"s smoky subterranea with additional depth of field, while still allowing all the wayward details within the arrangement to diverge as one. Mike and Mighty wind it all together: art punk utterance and top 40 radio junk of yore, the primitivity that formed recorded music in its youth, honkytonk romanticism, liminal chamber-folk and ever-present disassociated psychedelia, transformed via self-medication into a gleeful, extramusical ennui while giving the listener impetus to sing along with Mike"s patented unlikely combos of melody and lyric.

More complex and purposeful than the fragile post- punk of 2019 debut Essentials, the album reflects transition, conceived to flow from "day" (contemplative opener "The Sun") to "night" (dub- inspired closer "Inheritance"). New sonic influences like disco (Donna Summer, The Bee Gees) and 2000s New York indie (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol) evoke freedom and euphoric joy -- maintaining the band's signature minimalism, When the members of Patio contemplated the inspirations for their long-awaited second album, Collection, they came up with an eclectic mood board comprising videos and images.

A 1977 David Bowie performance of "Heroes" on Top of the Pops.

Laura Branigan belting "Gloria" beneath a sea of disco balls. Masterpieces in marble by Michelangelo and Bernini. Jude Law in The Young Pope. Portraits of iconic superstars: A dapper Bryan Ferry, a melancholy Carmela Soprano, Bianca Jagger serving side-eye, and Andy Warhol eating a cheeseburger. "Collection" is out in September on Fire Talk.

"I worked on this album over 3 years while juggling a lot of life transitions" says Adrian. "It was an intense period of time, but I found meaning and purpose in the music".

A balance of isolation and collaboration mark the new Adrian's new album with delightful tension- the synth infused, moody tracks express an untethered longing while upbeat numbers "Where To Begin" and "Me and You" transform anxiety into courage and a sense of grounded acceptance. A sparkle of pop influences - think Rex Orange County and Vampire Weekend - combine with Adrian's vulnerability on "After This" to speak to the disorienting personal growth that comes with major upheaval. "After This" sees Adrian moving through challenging and unexpected scenarios to discover hope and belonging.

It stands as a beacon of hope for those among us that have temporarily lost our footing.

"The long-awaited LP, featuring 10 intensely vulnerable and absorbing new tracks (all written and recorded by the group) is delivered with fresh ambition and newfound purpose. Deeply inspired by the long layoff and the cloud of uncertainty that blanketed the world (and music industry) these past few years, 152 stands among the most genuinely reflective and emotionally pure efforts of Taking Back Sunday’s illustrious career.
From the heavy, intricate riffs and anthemic vocals to the elegantly warm synths and economical string arrangements, the quartet has never sounded better. That grand scope, from send-up to seriousness, is evident on the soaring album opener, “Amphetamine Smiles,” a powerful tale of reconnection that could be as much about the band members themselves as it is anything or anyone else. Whether it’s the grudging acceptance of maturity (“S’old), clutching the moment, (“The One”), eyes wide-open betrayal (“Keep Going”) or ‘can’t run from who you are’ awareness (“Quit Trying), the thread running through 152 is one of generosity, gratitude and ultimately, hope."" "

Acclaimed NY-based singer songwriter Jordan Lee aka Mutual
Benefit announces ‘Growing At The Edges’, on Transgressive
Records, his first record since 2019.
 ‘Growing at the Edges’ is sonically expansive, artfully blending
genres from country to classical with the help of multifaceted
co-producer Gabriel Birnbaum (Wilder Maker) and critically
acclaimed string arranger Concetta Abbate. The band,
alongside Lee and Birnbaum, was made up of Wilder Maker
members Sean Mullins (Andy Shauf) and Nick Jost (Baroness)
and features help from Jonnie Baker of Florist and Eva
Goodman of Nighttime among others.
 “I approached ‘Growing at the Edges’ as an act of worldbuilding. It was a place we visited often over the past 5 years
collaging and sonically redecorating until it reflected the joy and
the pain of being human in a universe that will always be
changing. I wanted to make music that could simultaneously
mourn versions of the past but still find hope in the seedlings
which could, perhaps, bloom into better futures” - Jordan Lee
 The album cover is a purposefully ‘unfinished’ weaving by fibre
artist Natalie Phillips.
 “I had this theme for ‘Growing at the Edges’ where I was
thinking about the first little life forms that pop up after
something natural like winter or less natural like a disaster and
kind of channeling their spirit for the art and music. That got me
imagining one of Natalie’s beautiful weavings but in-process
with stray yarn and loom still visible. Incomplete yet still
beautiful. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”
 Mutual Benefit’s live shows are known for their rotating cast of
wide-ranging musicians leading to inspired interpretations of the
extensive catalogue on notable stages like MoMA’s sculpture
garden or UK’s Green Man Festival as well as the occasional
surprise park or basement show at home in Brooklyn.
 Throughout the years Mutual Benefit has been in Album Of The
Year lists among Pitchfork and Stereogum, as well as Folk
Musician Of The Year by New York’s Village Voice.

Out on 6 October, the music for Certainty of Tides was initially recorded with the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra with Nils Petter Molvaer as a soloist in 2020. He had asked several wonderful Norwegian composers to arrange a set of music from his back catalogue. “Have a listen to the recordings I did with the orchestra and tell me what you think” he told Norwegian composer, musician, and producer Jan Bang. Since the original recording was close mic’ed for broadcasting purposes, Bang saw an unfulfilled potential in the material due to lack of space in the initial recordings.
Bang came up with the idea of re-amping the mixes playing the music through speakers in a concert house followed by re-recording of the result through distant microphones. With 76 speakers (one per instrument) carefully placed exactly like the orchestra would have been seated onstage, Certainty of Tides was recorded from microphones strategically placed in the large hall of Kilden Concert House with phenomenal acoustics.
The re-amping and re-recording produced astonishing results. Some of the pieces needed additional color. Bang invited two of his highly talented electronic music students at the University of Agder (Kristian Isachsen and Even Sefenias Sigurdsen Frodesønn Røsstad). Both given freedoms to create their own sound based on their own personal taste.
The final mixes were put together by Øyvind Kurszus at Kilden Studios supervised by both students, Molvaer and Bang. Helge Steen has mastered the recording. Knut Sævik has re-sampled the drum track (played by Peter Baden) on “Simply so” and mixed the Song as well.

Limited Black & White Swirl Vinyl. On December 29, 2012, three songs into Chastity Belt's first KEXP in-studio, something extraordinary happened: they shared "Black Sail" with the world. That year, I'd seen Chastity Belt play countless basement, bar, and DIY shows all over Seattle, but nothing could've prepared me for how my friends turned patience and quiet observation into something so affecting and effortlessly cool. Ten years later, "Black Sail" isn't just a fan favorite - it's practically a statement of purpose for the great albums that followed. But before those records, there was No Regerts: the sound of four friends evolving from a party band into a "real" one (whatever that means) in real-time. They're above it all on "Seattle Party," "Happiness," and "Evil," but remain the sirens of Whitman College's cursed frat houses - see the explosive choruses of "James Dean," "Healthy Punk," and "Pussy Weed Beer." When No Regerts came out in the summer of 2013, Seattle - and the world at large - took notice. I still hear these songs in surprising places, and they still surprise me - just as they did a decade ago. If you missed out the first time, this is your second chance.

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The inaugural release on KMRU's own fledgling OFNOT imprint, 'Dissolution Grip' is an ambitious project that emerged from his studies at Berlin's prestigious UDK. The Kenyan composer and sound artist is best known for his field recording work, and as he traveled across Europe and the wider world for regular live performances, he made a point to snapshot each city. But the more he studied and the more he examined his practice, the more KMRU began to wonder what the purpose of these recordings were, and what bearing they might actually have on his self-expression. Simultaneously, he'd begun to dive more wholeheartedly into the world of synthesis. In a way, synthesis is the most basic form of sound, and KMRU started to wonder not just how he could harness these sounds but how he might be able to more dynamically combine them with field recordings.

Guided by Jasmine Guffond at Berlin's Universität der Künste (better known as UDK), KMRU looked at waveforms - the visual representation of sound itself - and embarked on a process where he would write scores from the shapes, gradually turning the scores into raw synth sounds. Considering the spaces he was inspired by and shuttled through, KMRU decided that instead of using environmental recordings as an aesthetic marker, he would use these captured moments to guide the waveforms. So each sound is birthed from a field recording, but none of those recordings are audible in their original form. For example, on the digital bonus track 'Along A Wall', KMRU recorded in an old shack on his family's compound in Nairobi, where wind was shaking the building to its foundations. Listening to the finished piece, we can hear subtle electronic tones that rub and vibrate against each other, slowly saturating and mimicking the erratic motion of the wind. The original recording has been removed, but the feeling remains.

The album's opening side 'Till Hurricane Bisect' is a 15-minute epic that evolves at its own glacial pace, carefully transforming blustering wind sounds into gasping drones, glassy oscillations and choked distortion. Cosmic and meditative, it's a testament to KMRU's skill as a sound engineer and patience as a composer, combining the gentle world building of his acclaimed Editions Mego album 'Peel' with the rumbling energy of 'Limen', last year's collaboration with Aho Ssan. On the title track, KMRU takes the opportunity to flex his orchestral muscle, conducting a cast of warbling synth tones into a durational symphony. Starting as quietly as a whisper, 'Dissolution Grip' expands at its own pace until it's a dense wall of harmony, powerful but never completely overwhelming. It's music embedded with a rich sense of place that informs us of KMRU's past and present, and signals where his musical philosophy might take us in the future.

Slaughter Beach, Dog’s new album ‘Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling’ finds Jacob Ewald hitting his songwriting stride. A decade into steadily releasing records through Slaughter Beach, Dog and Modern Baseball, Ewald spent hundreds of hours over the past few years to listen purposefully, diving deep into the worlds of Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Neil Young and many other “classic guys” that he hadn’t spent ample time with. Ewald also spent a similar amount of hours meticulously assembling a band fit for these new songs, and I am very happy to report that he found what he was looking for.

The result is ‘Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling’ - a timeless record, and Slaughter Beach, Dog’s finest - self produced and capturing Ewald and the band at the height of their powers. Ewald’s eye for detail is on display, ‘Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling’ is filled with gorgeous imagery and vivid worlds are built within each song. Out on longtime label home Lame-O Records, this album will bring

longtime Ewald fans, his newfound TikTok audience, and more discerning adult contemporary listeners deeper into the world of Slaughter Beach, Dog.

Bay Area technical death metal entity FABRICANT leverages any musical
tool for their riff and song fabrication
Speed, stillness, technicality, simplicity, consonance, dissonance... are all at play
for the express purpose of telling the stories of humanity's hubris, madness, and
frailty. FABRICANT glimpsed into this black vortex, extracted the raw materials of
inspiration, and refined the chaos into the ten fully actualized, death metal songs
on their debut album "Drudge to the Thicket".
This album was FABRICANT's obsession: a forbidden riddle to solve. From its
beginnings stretching as far back as their 2010 demo and to its ultimate end, this
album inhabited the deepest recesses of their minds as an omnipresent
consumer of thought. With the arrival of this debut, FABRICANT frees themselves
of this thicket. The battle was hard-won, but the next ones inexorably begin. From
new obsessions to delirium to the mundane, consciousness marches onwards,
screaming out at all of existence for answers, only to feebly fall on deaf ears.
Descend into the chaos with FABRICANT.
FABRICANT's debut album "Drudge To The Thicket" is unlike anything you'll hear
in the technical death metal genre all year, truly a unique and singular album of its
own kind. One that has been in the works for over a decade.
FABRICANT features members of celebrated technical death/ black metal outfit
Mefitis.
For fans of Necrophagist, early Pestilence, early Atheist, Defeated Sanity, and
Gorguts

Drawing inspiration from sixties psychedelia, specifically the Tropicalia movement, Melotone are a band more interested in texture and ambience than ego. The EP continues the band's exploration of Brazilian soundscapes - the native country of singer Alec Madeley - whilst reconciling their humble beginnings in the Black Country, where the band grew up and met each other. Lyrically and musically, the EP faces questions of identity and of being in the unknown, but creating purpose in this space. It represents Melotone's journey across the music of their homelands as they mould a sound entirely recognisable as their own.

Sometimes drifting into the realms of folk, jazz, and soul, Melotone channel instrumental pioneers Khurangbin and Kikagaku Moyu with vocals that resemble the arresting style of singers Jeff Buckley and Brittany Howard, and at times the spirit of Portuguese-English singing Caetano Veloso.

Nonesuch releases Sorry I Haven’t Called, the new album by Vagabon, the moniker of Lætitia Tamko. Co-produced by Tamko and Rostam (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Clairo), it finds Tamko reinventing herself once again and features the most playful and adventurous music of her career, as evidenced by its lead track and opening song ‘Can I Talk My Shit?’. Vagabon has also announced an autumn tour that includes a headline run in the US, as well as European dates with Weyes Blood.



“I didn’t feel like being introspective,” says Tamko of her new album. “I just wanted to have fun.” Following her intimate 2017 debut Infinite Worlds, the New York artist favoured expansive and evocative electronic textures in her breakthrough 2019 self-titled follow-up. But her latest album feels like a wholly new era for Tamko, one that’s transformational and uncompromising. Across 12 vibrant tracks she wrote and produced primarily in Germany, she channels dance music and effervescent pop through her own confident sensibilities. These conversational songs are alive and unselfconscious, a document of an artist fully embracing her vision and reclaiming her joy.



The first words she sings on the album are, “Can I talk my shit? / I got way too high for this.” It’s a statement of purpose for the rest of the album that this is an unapologetic artist. “This whole record is how I talk to my friends and how to talk to my lovers,” says Tamko. “I think honesty and conversational songwriting can become poetry. There’s beauty in plainly speaking without metaphors and without flowery imagery.”



The story of Sorry I Haven’t Called started in grief after Tamko’s best friend died in 2021. This devastating and unexpected loss unmoored Tamko but also gave her a newfound clarity. “The things that I thought I cared about, I no longer cared about,” she says. “I had a realization that I need to make sure to feel everything that comes my way.” She decided to sell her things and move to a small lakeside village a few hours north of Hamburg in northern Germany to process everything. “There's no linear path to grief, and everyone handles it differently, but uprooting my life just felt like exactly what I had to do,” says Tamko. “I needed a place to think and go through my discomfort privately but to also explore the newness and urgency I was feeling in my life.” In the village, her phone didn’t work and there were no close grocery stores or restaurants, so she spent her time alone working on music.



Despite the palpable absence in her life, her new songs were her most disarming and ebullient yet. The first one she wrote was ‘Carpenter’, a mesmerizing track anchored by a tangible bass groove, where she sings, “I wasn’t ready to move on out / but I'm more ready now.” It’s a fully-realised track and feels like the culmination of her catalogue so far. “A lot of the music that I was making there had nothing to do with my grief at all,” says Tamko. “Once I gave myself permission to make a record that's full of life and energy, I realized that’s the point of this album. In the midst of going through all of these tough things, it became a record because of the vitality that these songs had.” For Tamko, there’s power in pursuing happiness.



While writing in Germany, Tamko nurtured her love for dance music and let it seep into her new songs. “The only things that were giving me access to a feeling were dance music and going to a rave in an extremely dark club where if I wanted to cry, I could do it and be around other people,” she says.



After a few months in Germany that included marathon writing sessions and a whirlwind romance, Tamko decided to stay with friends in Los Angeles and finish her record. She enlisted co-producer Rostam to help her unify her vision.



Sorry I Haven’t Called is a warm and resilient album about embracing the ecstatic moments wherever you can by knowing how you love and how you mourn. It’s an album born of both communal dancefloor revelations and the clarifying peace from solitude, an emotional rebirth as well as an artistic one. “This record feels like what I've been working towards,” says Tamko. “When I think of this album, I think of playfulness. It's completely euphoric. It's because things were dark that this record is so full of life and energy. It’s a reaction to what I was experiencing at the time, not a document of it.”

It’s been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and—once again—reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band’s nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic. “It was a dark chapter,” he recalls. “I was going through a lot of stuff personally—there’s been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn’t participating in my story as much as I could have.” This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag’s new album, Through the Hourglass. “For me, Through the Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine/pandemic years,” Gamiño says. “But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It’s looking at time—past, present, future.” Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time’s passage. “Astra was the one contemporary band that we felt was on the same tip as us,” Gamiño says. “We saw the similarities and felt the same vibe. Conor moved to San Francisco in 2018 and heard we were looking for a bassist, so we got in touch. For us, it was like, ‘The synth player from Astra wants to play bass for us?’ We couldn’t think of anybody more perfect.” Perez, meanwhile, brings deep psych-prog knowledge and impeccable skill. “He’s an amazing drummer, and he allowed us to do what we’ve been trying to do,” Gamiño says. “Before he came along, it was like, ‘Where are the drummers who like psych and prog and can play dynamically?’ We ended up trying out metal drummers, but they couldn’t swing. Jimmy was the final piece of the puzzle.” The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years—not to mention experiences—that comprise a lifetime. Two-part opener “Burning Daylight” smolders with melancholy, offering a whirl of multi-colored and hallucinatory imagery. “It’s about the California wildfires and a feeling of helplessness,” Gamiño explains. “There’s a juxtaposition between the dark lyricism and upbeat music which is meant to imply a sort of delusional state—and choosing our own delusion to overcome the crushing despair of reality.” Eleven-minute centerpiece “Passages” is a sprawling prog-rock adventure, festooned with lofty guitar melodies, sweeping organ flourishes and a delicately finger-picked outro. But the heaviest song, thematically speaking, might be the mournful and hypnotic “Death in Spring,” which borrows its title from the like-named Catalan novel. “In the novel, people are placed inside opened trees and their mouths filled with cement before they die to prevent their souls from escaping,” Gamiño explains. “The song is about three people I knew who lost their lives to gun violence, addiction, and mental health. It’s my way of cementing their souls in song form.” Mondo Drag fans might be surprised by this blend of hard reality with literary surrealism, but it’s a perfect example of how the last several years have impacted Mondo Drag—and Gamiño in particular. “On all of our previous albums, the lyrical content is more psychedelic and out there,” he acknowledges. “This is the most personal stuff I’ve ever done, so I’m definitely feeling vulnerable on this one.” The title Through the Hourglass comes from the opening of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. It’s less inspired by a predilection for daytime TV than Gamiño’s connection with his late mother, who passed during the time since the last album. “I used to watch Days of Our Lives with her everyday growing up,” he explains. “The song is kind of a reinterpretation of the theme song, although it’s different enough that probably no one will catch it. Now that I’m getting older, I like to put these little Easter eggs in the songs for myself and for archival purposes—for memories.” Through the Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band’s rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. “We’re still here,” Gamiño says. “We’ve been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we’re re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.”

The first vinyl release from American artist Sydney Spann, Sending Up A Spiral Of well encapsulates Spann’s body of work thus far. On their music, which reacts to themes of family systems and care work, Sydney writes, “people who have done care work —nannies, sex workers, therapists, nurses— may possess their own musical knowledge, developed over time through particular modes of voicing practiced to achieve a desired outcome in their labor. Attending intimately to these ways of voicing and listening and bringing them into a sound practice could be a way to legitimize a less recognized kind of musical knowledge.”

Sending Up A Spiral Of explores this unarticulated expression through sound and song. The titular piece traces Spann within some quixotic woodland, as if beginning inside of some urban fairy-story. Self-soothing singing quivers under dragging branches, peeling cement and other tactile grit. The work drops into a new proximity half-way through as electronic contours overtake the environment. Sine-tones smolder in a pulsating choreography, perhaps reminiscent of Richard Maxfield’s “Night Music” played at half-speed.

The second section of the record depicts a series of five smaller portraits, expressed (or disguised) as lullabies. An oceanic humming permeates them. “Possession” and “Purposeful Evening” are the most song-like lullabies, with their verse-chorus repetition and melodic simplicity. Innocuous words “baby” and “honey” are encoded with deeper, often painful connotations. Sydney’s voice and vision for this album is ambitious, cloaked in the strains and contradictions of what love means in the nuclear family.

A 16-page artist pamphlet of rubbings, photographs and sheet music accompanies the LP, along with a digital PDF of Spann’s thesis “Sending Up A Spiral Of: A Musical Epistemology Made Through Care Work.”

We're excited to offer this adorable collectors items of Metal and Hardcore Kings Hatebreed!

Honor Never Dies and Own Your World are taken from the album "The Divinity Of Purpose" an unapologetic, furious and fiercely catchy cluster of tracks that perfectly and pit-worthily marry metal with hardcore.

Issued Under Licence From Nuclear Blast!!

Minor Science—aka UK-born, Berlin-based musician Angus Finlayson—makes his Balmat debut with Absent Friends Vol. III, the third installment in a shape-shifting series across a variety of formats and platforms. And with it, he pushes forward his vision of ambient music as neither static vista or merely mood-setting atmosphere, but rather a dynamic matrix of textures, sensations, and even rhythms.

The first two Absent Friends—a 2014 set for Blowing Up the Workshop, and a 2017 cassette and web player for Whities (now AD93)—were hybrid affairs, part DJ mix and part collage, mostly featuring music made by other people. Then, in 2020-21, Finlayson developed the project into a live show of his own material. Armed with hundreds of bespoke stems created in his studio—idiosyncratic FX chains, feedback loops through cheap rack gear, heavily post-processed field recordings, found voices, etc.—he would improvise on four CDJs, mixer, FX, and live synths, extending techniques he learned as a club DJ into a live context, accompanied by visuals by Stockholm-based artist Paul Witherden.

Absent Friends Vol. III is an album of studio versions of the music developed for the live show. But in Minor Science’s world, even a category as simple as “studio versions” is slightly opaque. “Most of these tracks weren’t ‘composed’ in the studio,” Finlayson explains: “The sounds started out as stems and source material for the live show, and might not have been intended to go together—but then through performance, they settled into shapes that worked. I then recreated those performances in the studio.” That organic process of ideation and realization might help explain the unusual coherence of the album, in which sounds and textures flow seamlessly from one to the next, sometimes seeming to stand still, and sometimes looping back. There are virtually no melodies, few recognizable motifs or riffs, yet the eight-track album nevertheless moves with a distinctive logic and a determined sense of purpose, from the frozen-in-time shimmer of the opening “Introduction” through the early cuts’ studies of space and light; from the seemingly autobiographical “Summer Diary” through the rushing trance (yes, trance) arpeggios of “Contingency” and on to the dulcet denouement of the closing “Gather Your Party (Dispersed Mix).”

Dom of Dom & Roland, (Roland being a machine), has been a drum and bass visionary since the mid 90’s. He remains the only solo artist to have had award-winning albums on both Metalheadz and Moving Shadow. Dom released his ninth album on Overshadow earlier this year. His collaborations range far and wide and have included the likes of Optical, Amon Tobin, and more recently Noisia. Internationally acclaimed for both his records and performance, his epic brand of music has attracted other pioneers along the way, Art of Noise, David Bowie, Laurent Garnier, Goldie, and Clyde Stubblefield, are just a few of the many loyal fans he has collected over the last 30 years. He still travels the world, is not slowing down, and continues to evolve his music to this day.

“Individual” is his new label. Its purpose, in his own words, is “to celebrate the uniqueness and character of individuals or artists, who stand apart from others of the same”

Any questions about any of these products feel free to get in touch and we'll help you out!
albert.preston@sequence.cc

Der Soundtrack zur HBO-Serie "The Last of Us" basiert auf der beliebten Musik und Klangwelt des gleichnamigen Videospiels. Geschrieben wurde der Soundtrack vom mit einem Academy Award ausgezeichneten Komponisten Gustavo Santaolalla und von David Fleming.Die intime, gitarrenbetonte Klanglandschaft spiegelt die Emotionalität der Serie wider und nimmt die Hörer mit auf die ungewisse Reise durch die USA in einer postapokalyptischen Welt, zwanzig Jahre nach der Zerstörung der modernen Zivilisation durch eine, von einem Pilz verursachte Epidemie.

Based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation® platforms, The Last of Us is written and executive produced by co-creators Craig Mazin (Emmy® Award-winning creator of HBO’s “Chernobyl”) and Neil Druckmann (creator and writer of the award-winning “The Last of Us” franchise and Naughty Dog Co-President).


The Last of Us takes place twenty years after modern civilization
has been destroyed by a viral outbreak. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

The vinyl release to the acclaimed series contains soundtrack
highlights from the show. Featured are score tracks by composer Gustavo Santaolalla, with additional music by David Fleming as well as songs by Depeche Mode, Pearl Jam, Jessica Mazin & Nick Offerman.


The package contains 2x vinyl, standard weight at 140g, 1x green and 1x clear, a double-sided poster of the show’s key art, spot gloss and soft touch on the gatefold and an insert featuring liner notes by Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, Gustavo Santaolalla & David Fleming and images from the show.

repress !

Since ancient times tribes commanded by shamans were experimenting with rituals in order to inherit higher states of consciousness.

We as descendants from those cultures disrupted their traditions by recording those sounds and reproduce it through a speaker. Although the principle remains intact.

AIROD and P.E.A.R.L. Are two contemporary artists well aware of that culture, as you can here through the 6 tracks of this EP that in good hands can catalice the ecstasy through repetitive drums, deep vocals and grinding melodies.

Every science starts as philosophy and ends as art.
Tribal science, for disc-jockeys and collectors.

Chain Of Flowers return with their lofty and long-simmering sophomore full-length, rich with reckonings, reverb, and redemption: Never Ending Space. Despite some of the songs dating back a few years, the record first began materialising in earnest during the pandemic, by which point most of the band had relocated from Cardiff to London.

Reunited and rejuvenated, they picked up where they left off, booking two multi-day sessions at Hackney hub Total Refreshment Centre with producer Jonah Falco. In this time they successfully channelled their kinetic chemistry into 10 full-blooded anthems of torn dreams, poetic delirium, and “hope stretched too far.” Musically, Never Ending Space skews notably more maximal than the group’s previous work, fleshed out with trumpets, saxophone, synth, percussion boxes, and spoken word. (Smith jokingly calls them The Chain Of Flowers Orchestra).

Yet the songs still swing and soar with a charged heart, ripe with hooks, drama and ragged melody. Opener “Fire (In The Heart Of Hearts)” stirs to life on a tide of wiry guitar and defiant horns, facing down the embers of love that still glow in the wake of pain: “Peace came tumbling like a shower of bricks / The mind twists slowly till everything fits.”

A tense energy ripples throughout – from the nocturnal rush of “Serving Purpose” and “Amphetamine Luck” to the bruised battle cries of “Torcalon” and “Old Human Material.” Outliers like “Praying Hands, Turtle Doves” hint at proggy possible futures, while instrumental vignette “Anomia” offers an intriguing glimpse at a lesser heard facet of the band: swaying, shadowy, subdued. The album’s title track is also its closing cut, a stomping, sparkling ode to “the wrong side of the night, where time goes to die.” Smith describes the scene: “Everyone’s talking, screaming, trauma bonding, but no one’s listening. Broken dialogue. Shouting over each other. You want to switch off, but everyone’s too fucked.” The guitars spiral and slide towards the oblivion of dawn, the chance to crash and do it all again.

Chain Of Flowers return with their lofty and long-simmering sophomore full-length, rich with reckonings, reverb, and redemption: Never Ending Space. Despite some of the songs dating back a few years, the record first began materialising in earnest during the pandemic, by which point most of the band had relocated from Cardiff to London.

Reunited and rejuvenated, they picked up where they left off, booking two multi-day sessions at Hackney hub Total Refreshment Centre with producer Jonah Falco. In this time they successfully channelled their kinetic chemistry into 10 full-blooded anthems of torn dreams, poetic delirium, and “hope stretched too far.” Musically, Never Ending Space skews notably more maximal than the group’s previous work, fleshed out with trumpets, saxophone, synth, percussion boxes, and spoken word. (Smith jokingly calls them The Chain Of Flowers Orchestra).

Yet the songs still swing and soar with a charged heart, ripe with hooks, drama and ragged melody. Opener “Fire (In The Heart Of Hearts)” stirs to life on a tide of wiry guitar and defiant horns, facing down the embers of love that still glow in the wake of pain: “Peace came tumbling like a shower of bricks / The mind twists slowly till everything fits.”

A tense energy ripples throughout – from the nocturnal rush of “Serving Purpose” and “Amphetamine Luck” to the bruised battle cries of “Torcalon” and “Old Human Material.” Outliers like “Praying Hands, Turtle Doves” hint at proggy possible futures, while instrumental vignette “Anomia” offers an intriguing glimpse at a lesser heard facet of the band: swaying, shadowy, subdued. The album’s title track is also its closing cut, a stomping, sparkling ode to “the wrong side of the night, where time goes to die.” Smith describes the scene: “Everyone’s talking, screaming, trauma bonding, but no one’s listening. Broken dialogue. Shouting over each other. You want to switch off, but everyone’s too fucked.” The guitars spiral and slide towards the oblivion of dawn, the chance to crash and do it all again.

MIZMOR, is a one-man heavy music exploration that began in 2012 as a
way of dealing with the mental and spiritual anguish mastermind A L N
feels as a person
More specifically, the content behind the project is that of the existential - primal
and innate musings about cause, purpose, self, and god. It is the search for light
and truth, or the fact that there is none. It comes from an embittered, burned,
confused, and broken heart. It is the fight for survival when reason and
foundation has turned to nothingness. It is the crashing down of towers of
falsehood and the freedom that comes through a certain kind of grief. Ultimately,
MIZMOR is the manifestation of my long-felt depression, and neither have an end
in sight.
In A.L.N.'s own words behind the new MIZMOR album "Prosaic":
"The idea behind "Prosaic" was to make an intentionally less conceptual, more
slice- of- life record. I wanted to make an album that was less precious and
obsessed-over, more honest and real; less grandiose and more human. I found it
an interesting challenge to find the line between 'you can do better' and 'you're
beating a dead horse.' I tried to make my process more efficient and even fun at
times. I simply wanted to share, but if that meant exacting all-out perfectionism, I
wasn't going to make a record. Right now I'm interested in making less selfindulgent music. The themes are the absurdity/futility/purpose/meaning of work,
mindfulness/ consciousness/ living in the present moment/ shedding illusions,
depression/ acceptance/ contentment. This is the first MIZMOR album without
any content relating to god/atheism. You also won't hear any shrieks."

Renowned Danish trumpeter Kasper Tranberg reforms his delicate chord-less trio with Nils Davidsen (bass & cello) and Frands Rifbjerg (drums) for the release of "Nobody"s Heart". Active on the jazz and improv scenes since the early 90s, Tranberg has been described as a player of great heart and purpose. Inspired by the iconic improvisers of our time, the album explores the connection between their instrument, their body and their soul. A collection of eight songs that Tranberg has deemed his favorites of the past few decades, the repertoire ranges from tin pan alley legends Rodgers and Hart, to visionaries like Ornette Coleman, to contemporary Danish singer/songwriter C.V. Jorgensen. On selecting the repertoire, Tranberg says "it was not about surface flash, technique or speed, but I followed my heart, my own footsteps and encounters in the previous 2 or 3 decades". Tranberg, Davidsen & Rifbjerg have been performin together since the early 1990"s, united by their passion for an exploratory and unpredictable playing style. With emphasis on stillness, melody, and texture, the record"s tone is melancholy, peaceful, and restorative. Tranberg"s intimate, warm trumpet sound soars above a bed of fluid bass and drum texture, slowly evolving from miniscule and sparse to dense and chaotic. Egoless, mature, and without flash, it is apparent the ensemble holds listening in high regard The trio seems to breathe as one, with each member aiming to make every note and sound mean something. Capturing the essence of each of the songs and making them undeniably their own, "Nobody"s Heart" is deeply personal, meditative and intricate. "Sometimes something else sings through the room and music - not often, but it"s a great feeling when it happens." - Kasper Tranberg

New album from West Virginia based singer-songwriter, William Matheny, set for release on Tyler Childers' Hickman Holler Records. While That Grand, Old Feeling is a document of Matheny’s own journey as a seeker, he hopes that the album can inspire anyone else out there searching for meaning in their own lives, whether they’re searching at a truck stop or in an album of old photographs.“I feel like I've just been trying to recapture that youthful excitement my entire life, trying to regain that clarity and that feeling of purpose,” he says. “And it comes and goes. I mostly seem to be looking for it at gas stations and rest areas and at gigs. But I think a lot of people are probably looking for it in a lot of places like that, too. Pilgrim to pilgrim, I hope you find it.”

There are few people across the globe, who will have not been touched by the work of Frankie Knuckles. Forever regarded as ‘The Godfather of House’ for his unrivalled contribution to the house music we know today; what started as an underground movement in Chicago has grown to international heights thanks to Frankie. His records earned him recognition on a global scale, allowing him to work with some of the globes biggest names including the likes of Diana Ross, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.

Five years ago, Frankie passed away in Chicago on 31st March 2014 leaving behind one of the greatest house music legacies spanning almost four decades. Now he is commemorated by long time writing and production partner Eric Kupper. Eric, himself a seasoned DJ producer and writer, has worked on over 116 Billboard #1 Dance Records and played a pivotal role in a many of Frankie’s productions. Having both worked together for many years they established themselves at ‘Director’s Cut’ from 2011 and set about producing original releases and remixes based on the classic ‘Def Mix’ sound while sharing equal credits for their creations.

Together they re-produced and re-purpose classic cuts for modern dancefloors, with reworks including tracks from Marshall Jefferson, Ashford & Simpson, Artful & Ridney and The Sunburst Band, alongside Frankie Knuckles originals. These releases have now been brought together by Eric to feature on special album called ‘The Directors Cut Collection’ on SoSure Music. It includes the Director’s Cut reworks of Frankie’s classic cuts such as ‘Your Love’ and ‘Take You There’ with Jamie Principle, alongside Frankie’s first #1 single - ‘The Whistle Song’ on which Eric shares writing credits.

Within a multitude of classic reworks, highlights include a previously unreleased version of Ashford & Simpson’s ‘Bourgie Bourgie’ and a huge Director’s Cut Retro Signature mix of Marshall Jefferson’s 'The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body)' featuring Curtis McClain.

The Director’s Cut Collection is a fitting tribute to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Frankie’s passing whilst giving Eric a platform to tell his side of the creative story. This album is to be released in collaboration with The Frankie Knuckles Foundation who work to continuing Frankie’s legacy well into the future.

Cyphon is proud to bring you brand new music from one of Europe’s pioneers of techno and IDM, Stefan Robbers aka Terrace and Florence. His early releases for Djax-Up-Beats and his own Eevo Lute Muzique in the early 90’s were hugely influential striking a sweet spot between stark minimalism, majestic analogue lushness and dance floor grooves. In more recent years his own reinterpretation of the Detroit sound can be found on the highly regarded Dutch label Delsin.

Here on his ‘Thermionic EP’ Terrace sings out with such intensity that minds are blown. Listen to the brutal, exhilarating sequences of ‘Territorial’ which leads the new EP, and you will receive that message loud and clear. While the music is as much about the consequence of soulful depth, it is also about edgy machines communicating intimately. Sweet chords fuse and then contrast with grainy acidic sonics, leaving the tempo poised at an irresistible pace like all our futures depended on it.

As you move next onto the more subtle electro pulse of ‘Thermon’, shimmering keys dance around a frame-by-frame remembrance of robotic disco in the 23rd century. The uplifting brilliance of ‘Woodward’ follows filling the void with an explosion of colour that is all about life-affirming instrumentation, hitting you fast and loose with a cascade of arpeggios, tough drums plus an incendiary surge of melodic distraction causing the airwaves to crackle with celebration.

Completing this stunning release from Terrace are the fierce, hotwired grooves forged by ‘Ritual’, conjuring up endless combinations of an analogue model rediscovered. The sheer dancefloor animation found within each of Terrace’s productions on this EP purposefully point to and enhance Cyphon Recordings own mission to explore, propelling the emphasis forever forwards.

DJ Support:

Sean Johnston, Kevin Reynolds, Vince Watson, Gareth Sommerville, Daniele Baldelli, Dj Rocca, Massimiliano Pagliara, Craig Smith, Jason Kendig, Rarish & Yoshi Horino

Melancholy, the feeling, is often associated with darkness and deep depression. For Dutch artist Stefan Vincent, within the experience of melancholy there’s beauty to be found. “Decay and loneliness can serve a purpose. Depression can teach you things.

To feel deep sadness also means the ability to feel profound emotions.” he says. For his debut on MUSAR Recordings, “Pre Melancholy” EP, Vincent channels these notions of Melancholy into three tracks that draw on darker moods but also reflect beauty in their intricacy and the atmospheres they create. This EP acts as a precursor to his forthcoming album on MUSAR, “Post Melancholy” which is due in September.


“Mono No Aware” and “Yonghegong Lama Temple Exit F” are both taken from the LP, placed side by side with “Agent of Distraction”, an exclusive track from Vincent for this EP only. We’re also pleased to have Montreal-based musician Priori on the remix of “Yonghegong...”. His rework draws further emotion from that of Vincent’s by slowing the pace and bringing delicate melodies to the forefront; it’s one for introspection.

Seminal progressive rock icons, FATES WARNING, back from a four-year recording hiatus, return to form with 2004's highly anticipated studio release "FWX". In 2003 fans of progressive rock & metal were treated to a U.S. TOUR that took almost fifteen years to come together. When DREAM THEATER, QUEENSRYCHE and FATES WARNING hit the road in the summer of 2003, both the members of Fates and the fans in attendance were in for the surprise of a lifetime. As far as Jim Matheos, Ray Alder and journeyman bassist Joey Vera were concerned, FATES WARNING would be the opening act on a national tour that would shine the spotlight squarely on co-headliners Dream Theater and Queensryche. Much to the band's delight, they were able to reach a whole new and very appreciative audience. Accolades for the band reached fever pitch during the tour with new fans embracing the band on every tour stop. This excitement has rejuvenated FATES WARNING and you can clearly hear it on "FWX", as the return of the more aggressive side of Fates has breathed new life into the recording of "FWX". Produced by guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist Ray Alder, "FWX" is the best of FATES WARNING flexing their creativity combined with a new sense of purpose and drive.

Five years after the release of their last studio album, legendary UK musical institution, Soft Machine, return with a brand new CD/LP,

Other Doors. Boasting new material and two numbers drawn from their extensive historical repertoire, Other Doors finds the band on their usual fiery form.

Featuring John Etheridge (guitars), Theo Travis, (saxes, flutes, Fender Rhodes piano, electronics), Fred Thelonious Baker (Fretless bass),

John Marshall (drums), Other Doors also features two guest appearances from long-serving bassist Roy Babbington, who retired from the band in 2021.

Other Doors was recorded at Temple Music Studios, a facility owned by the late Jon Hiseman during July and August 2022.

It’s a location of which the band is particularly fond, explains John Etheridge. “Working at Jon Hiseman’s studio was special,

especially with Ru Lemer who is a brilliant engineer. He’s fantastically quick and that’s very good as we record mainly live in the studio. It’s come out really well and I think it sounds great.”

On Other Doors they’ve revisited the very first album, originally released in 1968, to include Kevin Ayers ‘Joy Of A Toy. Fred Baker, makes his studio debut with Soft Machine.

A well-known figure on the Canterbury Scene not only is he the perfect choice for the group but he’s also is a long-term fan of the repertoire.

“The way I look at it is that this is all great music which we’re continuing to preserve and keep alive as we play it but also we’re adding to it all the time,” he explains.

The idea for revisiting the number was Theo Travis’ he says and has been part of the band’s live setlist for a while.

The album also contains Penny Hitch, a track originally heard on 1973’s Soft Machine Seven.



If the album ushers in a new member in the shape of Fred Baker, it also acts as a fond farewell to drummer John Marshall, who joined Soft Machine midway through the recording of 1972’s Fifth.

At the age of 81 Marshall has decided to retire making Other Doors his final studio album with the group. “I’ve known John since 1975 when I first joined Soft Machine and of course,

we’ve worked through the years together intermittently ever since. His drumming always meant a lot to me,” says Etheridge.

“We worked over three days in the studio and John played great. It sounds terrific.”

Indeed, Marshall is on whip-cracking form throughout the album bringing his trademark musicality and decisive presence.

With Other Doors, he brings his distinguished career to a rousing conclusion.

Intense, celebratory, and consistently impressive. Other Doors is the sound of a group determined to press forwards with an

integrity and sense of purpose that’s quintessentially and definitively Soft Machine.

Ned Milligan is a New York based elementary school teacher and occasional musician. He’s behind the great small-run label Florabelle since 2015. This is his sixth solo album.

"My work in the past five years has been grounded in recording and playing outdoors, trying to communicate the meaning of being in a particular location and finding meaning in interacting with whatever sounds or elements are equally present. I'm still excited by all of it! This sense of purpose continues with Considerable and the most I could wish for is that the specificity of what I am doing and where I'm doing it manages to evoke something in anyone listening--a connection to their own environments and spaces. None of these pieces is strictly documentary or one-take in approach or composition, but I hope that the combination of processed and "factual" sounds achieve integrity."

chimes, singing drum, autoharp, field recordings, processing: Ned Milligan
campfire recording in "Sky Smokes & Electronics": Jerome Klap
additional percussion in "Mosey With Me": Rory Milligan
singing: graciously and anonymously donated

recorded mostly outdoors, sometimes indoors in York, Maine.