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Kalita presents the fourth and final instalment of their groundbreaking ‘Borga Revolution!’ series, uncovering another selection of essential recordings from the rich and far-reaching world of Ghanaian highlife. Spanning deep, hypnotic highlife through to the vibrant electronic productions of 1980s Burger Highlife, Volume 4 captures a period of extraordinary musical change, as Ghanaian artists absorbed influences from funk, disco, boogie, and new synthesizer technology. With previous volumes championed by tastemakers including Gilles Peterson, Antal, Tom Ravenscroft, and Hunee, this final chapter turns its attention once again to the music of the Ghanaian diaspora.

Volume 4 brings together rare recordings from artists such as Rex Omar, Nat Fredua, and CST Amankwah, alongside the elusive, deeply hypnotic and beautiful sounds of the Abibifo Dance Band of Ghana (led by the legendary bassist Ralph Karikari) and Baffour Kyei. Unearthing recordings that have languished in obscurity for over forty years, the compilation moves between deep highlife, rhythmic dancefloor cuts, and pioneering digital productions, revealing yet more musical ingenuity of Ghanaian artists both home and abroad. The final instalment in the ‘Borga Revolution!’ series, it offers another vital collection of forgotten favourites and hidden treasures for DJs, collectors, and anyone drawn to the endlessly inventive sounds of Ghanaian music.

The 1970s and 80s saw Ghanaian musicians begin to incorporate Western sounds like funk and disco into their music, reflecting the changing global musical landscape. However, the country's political instability and economic hardships, marked by military regimes and curfews, forced many artists to leave Ghana in search of better opportunities abroad. In Europe and the U.S., these musicians fused their traditional highlife roots with emerging digital sounds, using cutting-edge technology like the DX7 synthesizer and drum machines to create the genre now known as Burger Highlife.

With ‘Borga Revolution!’ Kalita offers a vivid exposition of this musical transformation, using rare interviews, archival photos, and detailed liner notes to bring to life the pioneering spirit of both well-known icons and unsung innovators of Ghanaian Highlife, one of West Africa’s most exciting musical movements.

· The final installment in Kalita's 'Borga Revolution!' series, examining the development of Ghanaian dance music in the 1970/80s, and focussing on the phenomenon of Burger highlife (a blend of Ghanaian highlife with disco, boogie and synths).

· 2xLP in gatefold sleeve, with printed inner sleeves examining the stories of the artists featured on the volume.

· Includes 10 highly sought-after and under-the-radar recordings, including those by the phenomenal Rex Omar, Nat Fredua, CST Amankwah, Baffour Kyei, Chief Kofi Sammy, and the Abibifo Dance Band of Ghana.

Synth driven perpetual punk rock, darkened by atmospheric touches in its production and songwriting, yet uplifted by its intention to distill that darkness into light. Pop music from France on either side of the punk explosion has never shy’d away from electronic elements and on Nuits Blanche’s Helás LP there is plenty to remind us of that legacy. The sounds we are given rub against neither pop or dance, but instead absorbs the impact of quite tough sounding street punk. Four on the floor drums, like Disco’s ghost stamped across the face by the weight of the electric guitar run with songs not out of place if “A Country Fit For Heroes” got shoved inside the sleeve of “Wanna Buy A Bridge” and the two became one. Helás has the heft and the violence of boots treading across concrete en masse but within that is the lightness and the style of a dark smokey room filled with people wearing dark glasses and considering the inevitability of the pointlessness of existence…off the dance floor anyway. (Jonah Falco)

What happens when bassweight electronic beats meet the abstract world of one of the most uncompromising MCs on this planet?

Get ready for a special listening experience as Abu Ama and Sensational take you deep into a world of heavy bass, fractured rhythms, strange frequencies and completely unpredictable flows.

Abu Ama is known for his unique production style, combining Dub, Ambient and Industrial soundscapes with Middle Eastern sound structures. His productions create vast, atmospheric spaces where bass pressure and subtle details constantly collide. Over the years, he has developed his signature sound through releases on forward-thinking labels such as Bokeh Versions and Accidental Meetings. With Ringing In Your Ear, Abu Ama presents some of his most adventurous and forward-thinking productions to date.

On the microphone, we are proud to present a true underground legend straight outta NYC: Sensational.

Born Colin Julius Bobb in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, Sensational became one of the most distinctive and unpredictable voices to emerge from New York’s experimental hip-hop underground. Originally performing under the name Torture, he was already connected to the Jungle Brothers in the early 1990s before developing the completely unique style that would become synonymous with Sensational.

In 1997, he released his debut album Loaded With Power on the influential Word Sound label. Built from dusty beats, unusual samples and lo-fi textures, the record established Sensational as an artist who seemed to operate completely outside the established rules of Hip Hop.

Over the following decades, he continued to explore the space between underground rap, experimental electronics, noise and abstract music. His long list of collaborators included artists such as Spectre, Kouhei Matsunaga, Kid 606, Cardopusher, Handsome Boy Modeling School and many others. His work with Kouhei Matsunaga was even remixed by Autechre.

Sensational was never interested in fitting into a particular scene. His rhymes were surreal, his flows unpredictable and his approach completely his own. For more than three decades, he remained a true outsider — a cult figure whose music connected underground Hip Hop with some of the strangest and most adventurous corners of experimental music.

After Abu Ama and Sensational’s heavy 2023 single International Rokkaz left us wanting more, the two decided to take things much further. What started as a single collaboration evolved into a full length soundclash.

We were already incredibly hyped about this collaboration from the moment we heard it. But while we were preparing for the release of the single MOZZ, the terrible news reached us: Sensational had passed away.

The news hit hard. It is still difficult to believe that we will never hear a new Sensational verse again.

What makes Ringing In Your Ear even more special is that it captures Sensational doing what he did best — completely free, completely unpredictable and completely himself.

We dedicate this record to Colin Julius Bobb aka Sensational, in loving memory of an extraordinary artist, MC and true underground original.

Rest in power, Sensational.

,Yaphet" ist das neue Album des Rappers Curly Castro - auch bekannt als eine Hälfte des dynamischen Duos Shrapknel - das am 18. September 2026 bei Backwoodz Studioz erscheint. Auf ,Yaphet" lässt sich Castro vom Blaxploitation-Filmgenre der 1970er Jahre inspirieren; die schwarzen Helden und Antihelden jener Zeit dient ihm als Sprungbrett für seine filmische Lyrik. Die Flows wechseln so mühelos wie Kamerawinkel, die Strophen sind gespickt mit Anspielungen und Zweideutigkeiten - eine Rap-Meisterklasse, die man endlos wiederholen kann. Aber ,Yaphet" ist auch Castros erstes Soloalbum seit ,Little Robert Hutton" aus dem Jahr 2021, und hinter dem Feuerwerk spiegelt dieses Album die Tiefe seiner Erfahrungen in den dazwischenliegenden Jahren wider. ,Ich hatte nicht vor, so ehrlich über mein Leben zu sein, aber genau das ist dabei herausgekommen, und das Album ist dadurch besser geworden", erklärt Castro, ,vom Tod meiner kleinen Tochter über den Tod meines Vaters bis hin zur Konfrontation mit meiner eigenen bevorstehenden Sterblichkeit - das sind meine verwundbarsten Klingen, die meine tiefsten Wunden aufreißen." Genau wie Castro marschiert auch diese Platte im Takt ihrer eigenen Trommel, und täuscht euch nicht: Es gibt jede Menge Trommeln, mit denen sich der erfahrene MC messen kann, wie nur er es kann. Komplett produziert vom Milwaukeeer Beatmaker Locust, ist ,Yaphet" ein schwungvolles, vielseitiges Hörerlebnis, das seinen Einflüssen zunickt, ohne jemals zurückzuschauen. Castro wird von einem Wirbelwind der Besten des Genres begleitet: billy woods, PremRock, Fatboi Sharif, Brian Ennals, SKECH185, Blueprint, AJ Suede, shemar, ALASKA, Sunmundi, blackchai und Margel the Sophant.

a 1.1BLACK DON'T CRACK [FT. FATBOI SHARIF, BLUEPRINT, BRIAN ENNALS, SKECH185, ...]


[d] 1.4ENEMY-MINDED [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]

[f] 1.6RAILROAD SPIKES [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]
[g] 1.7BLOOD IN THE GARDEN [FT. PREMROCK]

[i] 1.9THE DELECTABLE NEGRO [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]
[j] 1.10RINZLER WRECK [FT. ALASKA]

[l] 1.12NEW MUTANTS [FT. SHEMAR, BLACKCHAI, & SUNMUNDI]

[a] 1.1BLACK DON'T CRACK [FT. FATBOI SHARIF, BLUEPRINT, BRIAN ENNALS, SKECH185, ...]


[d] 1.4ENEMY-MINDED [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]

[f] 1.6RAILROAD SPIKES [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]
[g] 1.7BLOOD IN THE GARDEN [FT. PREMROCK]

[i] 1.9THE DELECTABLE NEGRO [FT. MARGEL THE SOPHANT]
[j] 1.10RINZLER WRECK [FT. ALASKA]

[l] 1.12NEW MUTANTS [FT. SHEMAR, BLACKCHAI, & SUNMUNDI]

Agoro is a Franco-Ghanaian hip-hop group of four rappers and four musicians. After kicking off in 2023 with a 15-date tour in France, the group’s journey took a turn when a Ghanaian rapper vanished from the airport before boarding his return flight. Their new album chronicles this emotional roller coaster and the challenges of cultural exchange between Europe and Africa, with socially conscious lyrics in French, English, and Twi set to jazzy and electronic boom bap instrumental pieces.

Step back to the mid-1960s with NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 3: 1965–1966, featuring 54 essential tracks across a 3LP set, pressed on beautiful blue vinyl.

LP1 opens with some of the decade’s most iconic vocal performances; Dusty Springfield leads with ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’, a UK No.1 hit that also reached the US Top 5, followed by The Righteous Brothers’ classic ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’, a chart-topper in both the UK and US. The Walker Brothers’ ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ was a UK Top 3 hit, while The Beach Boys follow with ‘God Only Knows’, widely regarded as one of their finest moments. Huge chart hits from The Moody Blues, Manfred Mann, Small Faces, The Kinks and The Animals with ‘We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ completes the first side…and flip the LP over for The Mamas & The Papas with ‘California Dreamin’, a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic and The Byrds and capturing the rise of folk-rock with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, another US No.1. Cher announced one of the most successful and enduring careers in music with ‘I Got You Babe’ – a #1 duet with Sonny, and is followed by the pop brilliance of Sandie Shaw with ‘Long Live Love’. Following The Mindbenders and The Fortunes, LP1 closes with a pair of soul standards: ‘My Girl’ from The Temptations was a US No.1(and eventually a UK #2 in 1992), and Percy Sledge’s ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, another US chart-topper and a UK Top 5 hit in 1987 when it featured in a TV ad campaign.

LP2 opens with the explosive sound of 60s soul and crossover pop. Ike & Tina Turner kick us off with the timeless ‘River Deep – Mountain High’, a UK Top 3 hit. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons had a huge hit with ‘Let’s Hang On’ and Motown is strongly represented with The Four Tops, whose ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ hit the US No.1 spot, alongside The Supremes, who scored another US chart-topper with ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, plus Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and a future Northern Soul Classic from Gloria Jones. Following James Brown, the side closes with the enduring soul classic ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’ from Jimmy Ruffin… while over on the other side Horst Jankowski’s instrumental smash ‘A Walk In The Black Forest’ leads in to pop classics from Tom Jones with ‘It’s Not Unusual’, a UK No.1, alongside Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames’ UK chart-topper ‘Yeh Yeh’ and Chris Montez with ‘The More I See You’. Sophisticated easy listening pop from Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra’s iconic ‘Strangers In The Night’ come ahead of Elvis Presley’s ‘Crying In The Chapel’, with LP2’s closer’s coming from Roy Orbison and Roger Miller, with the essential ‘King Of The Road’.

The Righteous Brothers’ undeniable ‘Unchained Melody’, a hit on release and a #1 in 1990 following it’s feature in the film ‘Ghost’ opens LP3 ahead of a wealth of huge pop hits from The Walker Brothers, Cilla Black and Cher – and rock oriented chart-toppers from The Troggs with ‘Wild Thing’ and The Spencer Davis Group with ‘Keep On Running’. The Everly Brothers’ ‘The Price Of Love’ leads into era-defining hits from Barry McGuire and Bob Dylan’s hugely influential ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ reflecting the growing social awareness and changing approach to songwriting…and over to the final side opened by The Supremes with ‘Stop! In The Name Of Love’ ahead of The Toys with ‘A Lover’s Concerto’ and The Shangri-Las’ legendary ‘Leader Of The Pack’. Classic singles from Marianne Faithfull, Petula Clark and Sandie Shaw feature before the collection closes with a trio of timeless tracks: The trans-Atlantic top 5 ‘Sloop John B’ from the Beach Boys is alongside The Mamas & The Papas’ ‘Monday, Monday’ (a US No.1 and UK Top 5), whilst the aptly titled ‘Homeward Bound’ from Simon & Garfunkel – their first UK hit - signs off this superb collection.

NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 3: 1965–1966 – a snapshot of a rapidly evolving pop era where pure pop, soul, rock, beat, easy listening and songwriting sophistication converged.

A little over a decade on from his debut album released on the label, Wah Wah 45s are very proud to present two brand new remixes taken from Afrobeat AmbassadorDele Sosimi’s much celebrated LPYou No Fit Touch Am. In the years that have passed since the album’s release, a number of producers and DJs have re-worked and reimagined cuts from the album, most notably the much reveredMedlarand his irresistible take on the title track.

In anticipation of Dele’s long awaited follow up album in 2027, and closing off theYNFTAera, we present to you two brand new remixes of tracks taken from this timeless LP.

Mysterious London based producer and DJbrekkyt(erstwhile known as The Breakfast Triple) is up first with a typically rhythm-focused, bruk infused and bass worrying re-work that takes Dele’s ever popular title track to a brand new audience, perfectly timed for the current broken beat revival. Brekkyt’s recent cheeky re-works for Raphael Saadiq, Mis-Teeq and most recently for Kyla Kilzer & Max Noir on Tru Thoughts Recordings have seen his music receive some serious heat.

On the flip, Portuguese producerMeithtakes album favouriteSanctuarydeep into Afro-tech territories creating an irrepressible groove tailor made for the big rooms this summer. The Lisbon based beat-maker has previously released club focussed tracks on labels like Kazukuta and Sondela Records.

This pair of dance floor destroying remixes will be available on hand-stamped, white label vinyl.

Grammy- and Academy Award-winning rapper and actor Common is widely regarded as one of the most influential Chicago rappers of all time. He is best known for his sophisticated lyrics and jazz-rap, which introduced the world to hip-hop classics such as "I Used to Love H.E.R.", "The Light" and "GO!".

He started his career with Can I Borrow a Dollar? This album immediately drew attention thanks to its top-notch production and clever, playful lyrics. Common worked with contemporary household producers like No I.D., The Twilite Tone and The Beatnuts to create this album, which put Chicago hip hop on the map.

Can I Borrow a Dollar? is available on black vinyl.

Twenty-five years after its original release, Markus Guentner's debut album In Moll returns in a special anniversary reissue on Black Knoll Editions, reaffirming its place as one of the defining ambient recordings of the early 21st century.

Released in 2001 during the formative years of Kompakt's influential Pop Ambient series, In Moll emerged from a period of rapid transformation in electronic music. New technologies, expanding digital networks, and shifting creative possibilities allowed artists to imagine entirely new sonic worlds. Amid this fertile landscape, Guentner's music stood apart. Combining delicate melodic fragments, slow-moving harmonies, and a remarkable sense of spatial depth, In Moll introduced a distinct artistic voice whose impact can still be felt a quarter-century later.

The album arrived shortly after Guentner's contributions to the inaugural Pop Ambient compilation, including the now-beloved "Regensburg 1," named after his Bavarian hometown. Those early recordings immediately captured the attention of Kompakt founders Michael Mayer and Wolfgang Voigt. Recalling his first encounter with the music, Mayer describes listening to a demo CDR with Voigt while wandering through Cologne late into the night, replaying the tracks for hours. "We knew that we had found something outrageously beautiful and we wanted the whole world to listen."

Across its running time, In Moll unfolds like a series of dreamlike landscapes, inviting the listener into a world that feels both familiar and strangely other. Bells, hisses, distant textures, and slow-moving bass tones drift through vast expanses of atmosphere while luminous synthesizer washes seem to blur the horizon in a fine digital mist. The album's transportive qualities are matched by a remarkable sense of compositional discipline. Every gesture feels deliberate, every texture carefully placed. Balancing warmth and melancholy with restraint, Guentner created a body of work that rewards both close listening and complete surrender.

Reflecting on the album twenty-five years later, Wolfgang Voigt describes Guentner as "one of the first, but also one of the most important ambient artists" associated with Kompakt, calling his music "an integral, timeless part of the long history of pop ambient." Music critic and former Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Mark Richardson, who reviewed In Moll upon its original release, similarly noted that the album "marked the arrival of an important new voice," and today regards it as "one of the finest ambient releases of the decade."

The album's influence continues to extend far beyond its original audience. For many listeners, In Moll served as an entry point into a new understanding of what ambient music could be. Black Knoll boss Rafael Anton Irisarri first encountered the album shortly after its release in 2001. "It immediately opened a door to a world of music I didn't know existed," he recalls. "At a time when I was still discovering my own creative voice, Markus showed me entirely new possibilities for what electronic music could communicate." Simply put, "The Sight Below would not have existed without In Moll paving the way."

Far from a historical curiosity, In Moll continues to feel strikingly contemporary. What once sounded futuristic now feels timeless, its patient pacing, attention to detail, and sense of wonder remaining entirely intact. The album's enduring power lies not only in its influence, but in the curiosity it continues to inspire, inviting listeners to step inside its world and lose themselves within it.

To mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, Black Knoll Editions presents the most complete edition of In Moll to date. Newly remastered in full analog by Rafael Anton Irisarri, this expanded release pairs the original album with a newly reworked interpretation by Markus Guentner himself, revisiting the material through the lens of twenty-five years of artistic development. The anniversary edition also features a new visual presentation designed by Guentner, offering a visual counterpart to the album's continued evolution. Together, these recordings and visuals celebrate both the enduring legacy of In Moll and its ability to reveal new dimensions twenty-five years later.

This 25th Anniversary Edition on Black Knoll Editions celebrates a recording whose quiet impact has only grown with time, preserving a work that remains as evocative, singular, and essential today as it was in 2001.

Twenty-five years after its original release, Markus Guentner's debut album In Moll returns in a special anniversary reissue on Black Knoll Editions, reaffirming its place as one of the defining ambient recordings of the early 21st century.

Released in 2001 during the formative years of Kompakt's influential Pop Ambient series, In Moll emerged from a period of rapid transformation in electronic music. New technologies, expanding digital networks, and shifting creative possibilities allowed artists to imagine entirely new sonic worlds. Amid this fertile landscape, Guentner's music stood apart. Combining delicate melodic fragments, slow-moving harmonies, and a remarkable sense of spatial depth, In Moll introduced a distinct artistic voice whose impact can still be felt a quarter-century later.

The album arrived shortly after Guentner's contributions to the inaugural Pop Ambient compilation, including the now-beloved "Regensburg 1," named after his Bavarian hometown. Those early recordings immediately captured the attention of Kompakt founders Michael Mayer and Wolfgang Voigt. Recalling his first encounter with the music, Mayer describes listening to a demo CDR with Voigt while wandering through Cologne late into the night, replaying the tracks for hours. "We knew that we had found something outrageously beautiful and we wanted the whole world to listen."

Across its running time, In Moll unfolds like a series of dreamlike landscapes, inviting the listener into a world that feels both familiar and strangely other. Bells, hisses, distant textures, and slow-moving bass tones drift through vast expanses of atmosphere while luminous synthesizer washes seem to blur the horizon in a fine digital mist. The album's transportive qualities are matched by a remarkable sense of compositional discipline. Every gesture feels deliberate, every texture carefully placed. Balancing warmth and melancholy with restraint, Guentner created a body of work that rewards both close listening and complete surrender.

Reflecting on the album twenty-five years later, Wolfgang Voigt describes Guentner as "one of the first, but also one of the most important ambient artists" associated with Kompakt, calling his music "an integral, timeless part of the long history of pop ambient." Music critic and former Pitchfork Editor-in-Chief Mark Richardson, who reviewed In Moll upon its original release, similarly noted that the album "marked the arrival of an important new voice," and today regards it as "one of the finest ambient releases of the decade."

The album's influence continues to extend far beyond its original audience. For many listeners, In Moll served as an entry point into a new understanding of what ambient music could be. Black Knoll boss Rafael Anton Irisarri first encountered the album shortly after its release in 2001. "It immediately opened a door to a world of music I didn't know existed," he recalls. "At a time when I was still discovering my own creative voice, Markus showed me entirely new possibilities for what electronic music could communicate." Simply put, "The Sight Below would not have existed without In Moll paving the way."

Far from a historical curiosity, In Moll continues to feel strikingly contemporary. What once sounded futuristic now feels timeless, its patient pacing, attention to detail, and sense of wonder remaining entirely intact. The album's enduring power lies not only in its influence, but in the curiosity it continues to inspire, inviting listeners to step inside its world and lose themselves within it.

To mark its twenty-fifth anniversary, Black Knoll Editions presents the most complete edition of In Moll to date. Newly remastered in full analog by Rafael Anton Irisarri, this expanded release pairs the original album with a newly reworked interpretation by Markus Guentner himself, revisiting the material through the lens of twenty-five years of artistic development. The anniversary edition also features a new visual presentation designed by Guentner, offering a visual counterpart to the album's continued evolution. Together, these recordings and visuals celebrate both the enduring legacy of In Moll and its ability to reveal new dimensions twenty-five years later.

This 25th Anniversary Edition on Black Knoll Editions celebrates a recording whose quiet impact has only grown with time, preserving a work that remains as evocative, singular, and essential today as it was in 2001.

Faitiche presents the debut solo album by cellist, sound artist, and composer Topu Lyo: “quiet scenes from tokyo” brings together sixteen miniatures for solo cello and tape echo that oscillate between abstracts drones and rhythmic pizzicato sketches – all recorded at Topu’s Tokyo apartment. The constant traffic noise from a nearby highway has become an accompanying soundtrack for his compositions and can be heard on the recordings. Topu’s playing is marked by a distinctive idiom oriented more towards abstract electronic studio effects than classical technique.

The artist spoke to Jan Jelinek about his work:

JJ: A solo cello album may seem like an odd fit for a label that has to date released only music that is electronic in the broadest sense. But I think “quiet scenes from tokyo” complements the Faitiche repertoire exceptionally well. Its sixteen miniatures showcase the cello in all its complexity: the bowed passages sometimes recall a tape feedback drone; the pizzicato playing conjures up the percussion recordings of Moondog; and the abstract textures might be mistaken for the product of a granular sampler rather than rapid finger work on the cello. I’m constantly surprised by just how rich and varied this album is – without ever losing the charm of its sketch-like quality. Could you say a few words about the making of your album – first of all, from a rather technical perspective: what production tools did you use, and why?

TL: My production tools were very sparse. Just a solo cello and my Roland 301 Space Echo, which I only used at the end, running everything through it during mixing, tape only. After years of working with electronics, pedals, and synthesizers, moving to Tokyo pushed me toward minimizing my setup. But my aesthetics shifted too, toward simplicity. I wanted to strip everything back to just the acoustic cello and see how far I could push it — replicating some of my favorite electronic effects through extended technique: slow portamento, LFOs, filters, detune, noise. I’d also been listening to a cassette of ocean sounds for years. When I moved to Tokyo I was horrified to find myself living directly across from a freeway. Eventually the freeway started sounding almost identical to the ocean — and that ended up playing a prominent part in the recording.

JJ: That’s super interesting: mimicking electronic production as a compositional idea for the cello! You say the sound of the freeway is crucial to the album: I, too, tend to interpret steady traffic noise as a positive soundscape – do we hear the freeway on the album? I can also hear other field recordings, for example on “a street car with announcements”. Can you say a bit about how these field recordings influence your playing?

TL: Yes, you can hear the freeway on the album! The freeway is most prominent in “old trees in lonely spring”, “yuyake koyake”, and “the moon” (you can clearly hear individual cars). When I first began recording I had my balcony door shut tightly, but after a while I began leaning into the highway sound and slowly opening the door little by little to control the amount of noise. “streetcar with announcements” was a moment I was recording and a car passed by making announcements in the background. I loved how it sounded! Same thing with “yuyake koyake”, and later I realized that every day at 5pm the same song plays to mark sunset, telling children it’s time to go home. Having this bedrock of sound puts less pressure on me to put music on top or to play more notes.

JJ: It’s astonishing how much this differs from what I’d imagined: I’d been picturing peaceful landscape recordings, but had never thought of a freeway. Which goes to show how open to interpretation traffic noises are. So the room by the freeway had a major influence on the album – how are you going to perform it live?

TL: The contrast between the freeway and the beautiful landscape in my head couldn’t have been starker. I too was imagining a beautiful landscape in which to create the album, but somehow it still worked out. I've been going back and forth a lot on live shows and I think the most honest way is to have it the most stripped down. I was thinking of using traffic samples etc., but I think the duet really comes from the background sounds from every unique venue/environment. So as it stands, I’ll just be doing acoustic solo cello.

We don’t know much about Ariane Bonzini. Her age, perhaps. Her first name, certainly – but it’s confusing, as you’d expect. The rest, he keeps to himself, tucked away somewhere between Villeneuve-Saint-Georges and the Landes in the off-season.


What we do know is that at 16 he left everything behind to try his hand at rap. That six years later he left everything behind, again, without really saying why. That he taught himself sound engineering as one might learn a dead language.
And then came Magenta. In 2025, for three months, Bonzini set himself a challenge bordering on the absurd: to produce one track a day, write it, record it, mix it, master it, film himself doing it, and post it on social media. Without planning, without taking a step back, working until 3 am behind the screen. His monthly listeners went from 35 to 100,000.


For ‘Mec Normal’, something changed. Bonzini headed to the Rue Boyer studio – a space steeped in analogue charm, where some of the synths had once belonged to Christophe – and surrounded himself with a team for the first time: Crayon on production, Renaud Letang on mixing.


Chilly Gonzales spotted him, and from their meeting came ‘Gonzini’.


Thirteen tracks suspended between gentle melancholy and a willing detachment. Soaring synths. Recurring, obsessive ‘you’s’. A voice that whispers where others would shout.


Ariane Bonzini is unlike anything we’ve heard before. That is undoubtedly what makes her so unforgettable.

21 Bum Salute is the fifth album from Sydney experimental psych-noise-pop duo Party Dozen. The work of Kirsty Tickle (saxophone, vocals) and Jonathan Boulet (drums, loops, production), 21 Bum Salute finds the critically-acclaimed, semi-improvised duo feeling liberated - from their peers, their worries, and what the nell they're supposed to sound like now.

Emerging in 2017 from the warehouses of the Sydney experimental noise-rock scene, Party Dozen arrive at the release of their fifth album, 21 Bum Salute, in peak form. Over the course of four, increasingly perverse albums of psych-tinged rock peppered with pop noise and bursts of doom in equal measure, they've transformed from gleeful noise-makers producing DIY albums from a tiny room in Marrickville, NSW, to globe-hopping, critically-adored favourites - producing DIY albums from a tiny room in Marrickville.

As well as tours with Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tropical F*ckstorm, Algiers and more, Party Dozen had Nick Cave appear on 2022 single Macca The Mutt', collabed with New York rapper billy woods, performed an incendiary live set on KEXP, signed international deals, firstly with Temporary Residence LTD (Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky,
Along the way Party Dozen self-released their first two albums, The Living Man (2017) and Pray For Party Dozen (2020), struck a chord internationally with album The Real Work (2022), which sent them on tours of Europe, North America, Japan, China and New Zealand, while fourth LP, Crime in Australia (2024), an ode to Aussie noir that leaned beyond rock into moodier moments, repeated it.

Party Dozen recorded, mixed and mastered 21 Bum Salute completely themselves, over a three month span. Inspired by spooky "old recordings" as well as the primal impulses of acts like ESG and Bikini Kill, 21 Bum Salute - named after a peculiar, larrikin ritual in Australia's arid Northern Territory - condenses consecutive years of jam sessions, loops and improvisations into just over half an hour's worth of fizzing, strutting, striking sonics from the fringes.

21 Bum Salute is the fifth album from Sydney experimental psych-noise-pop duo Party Dozen. The work of Kirsty Tickle (saxophone, vocals) and Jonathan Boulet (drums, loops, production), 21 Bum Salute finds the critically-acclaimed, semi-improvised duo feeling liberated - from their peers, their worries, and what the nell they're supposed to sound like now.

Emerging in 2017 from the warehouses of the Sydney experimental noise-rock scene, Party Dozen arrive at the release of their fifth album, 21 Bum Salute, in peak form. Over the course of four, increasingly perverse albums of psych-tinged rock peppered with pop noise and bursts of doom in equal measure, they've transformed from gleeful noise-makers producing DIY albums from a tiny room in Marrickville, NSW, to globe-hopping, critically-adored favourites - producing DIY albums from a tiny room in Marrickville.

As well as tours with Amyl and the Sniffers, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tropical F*ckstorm, Algiers and more, Party Dozen had Nick Cave appear on 2022 single Macca The Mutt', collabed with New York rapper billy woods, performed an incendiary live set on KEXP, signed international deals, firstly with Temporary Residence LTD (Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky,
Along the way Party Dozen self-released their first two albums, The Living Man (2017) and Pray For Party Dozen (2020), struck a chord internationally with album The Real Work (2022), which sent them on tours of Europe, North America, Japan, China and New Zealand, while fourth LP, Crime in Australia (2024), an ode to Aussie noir that leaned beyond rock into moodier moments, repeated it.

Party Dozen recorded, mixed and mastered 21 Bum Salute completely themselves, over a three month span. Inspired by spooky "old recordings" as well as the primal impulses of acts like ESG and Bikini Kill, 21 Bum Salute - named after a peculiar, larrikin ritual in Australia's arid Northern Territory - condenses consecutive years of jam sessions, loops and improvisations into just over half an hour's worth of fizzing, strutting, striking sonics from the fringes.

In a cultural landscape trending toward mindless diversion, Your Old Droog has defied the odds, building a thriving career through musical depth and captivating songwriting. In pursuit of hip-hop immortality, the Brooklyn artist engages listeners with inventive metaphors, genuine reflections, and sophisticated rhyme architecture. Now, Your Old Droog is back with his tenth full length album, Bread & Butter. Recalling his humble immigrant family stretching caviar across slices of bread shortly after arriving from Ukraine, YOD has crafted a testament to making the best of any situation. This philosophy runs throughout Bread & Butter, as Droog chronicles the turbulence of rap success, ruminates on youthful memories, and dismisses unworthy challengers with clever precision. The project’s rich sonic texture is shaped by beats from Flying Lotus, Conductor Williams, Ohbliv, and more, while hip-hop luminaries Evidence, Oddisee, and Masta Ace make memorable appearances, along with South African star A-Reece and acclaimed singer Georgia Anne Muldrow. Grounded in resilience, perspective, and self-determination, Bread & Butter is an inspired statement from a truly distinct talent. Transforming personal history into universal truth, the album reaffirms Your Old Droog's place among the most thoughtful and compelling voices in modern hip hop.

Polygonia and Simon Popp present ‚Apiformes‘, the second collaborative release from the two Munich-based artists.
As with 2023‘s ‘Candid’, ‘Apiformes’ was born from pure improvisation. Originating from the stems of four concerts, additional elements were built on from a foundation of live recordings — an intuitive endeavor by the musicians with such integrated effects to give one the impression of a sole sonic organism, and mystifying which sound is coming from which performer. Rapid creative decisions create an intriguing sense of aliveness, producing a uniquely vibrant buzz of jazz and electronic influences.

The duo set an otherworldly tone in their latest release, with leanings towards acoustic and percussion-heavy instrumentation, combined with playful synthetic musings which create a sense of opening up: an intriguing and earnest exploration of the ethereal, and what is available in nature as a window to the divine. Named for the scientific name for bees, the project’s mix of warm, dynamic improvisation and sequenced synth instrumentalisation mimic the similarly complex mathematical structures of a bee colony: a visual and sonic world made up of geometric shapes, mating dances and navigation patterns, sensations perhaps most energetically available through a sense of wonder rather than logical extrication.

Devotional and visceral, patient and euphoric, a poem, a hymnal. Shygirl calls Swallow! a reintroduction. Her 2022 debut Nymph announced an artist fluent in sonic languages: slippery club structures, toothy pop hooks, juicy production—music that invites you to come closer, pay attention, keep up. That magnetism took her from the electronic underground to the foreground of contemporary pop. She’s collaborated with producers Sega Bodega and Mura Masa, Charli xcx, Arca, SOPHIE, fka twigs, and Björk, and performed on stages across the globe. Swallow! is a new kind of rapturous indie songwriting, woven through the electronica she came from, recorded with Karma Kid and Casey MQ. It is the scripture of the cult of falling in love—radiant, clear-eyed, all-encompassing, divine transformation. “I want people to remember how big the world is even when you feel so small and singular,” she says. “Swallow! is the soundtrack to that experience. “This record is my message in a bottle. Let’s see who picks it up.”

Initially recorded in 1996 and officially released February 1997, 2nd Family's Killaz from the Blackside tape is one of the most distinctive examples of unpolished, stripped-back & paranoid mid-90s Memphis rap. Recorded by King JC together with 2nd Family MCs Pistol Grip & Killa Chrome in a home-studio set up at the group's base in Southern Hills Apartments in Whitehaven, South Memphis (known locally as Blackhaven or the Blackside, a short trip from Graceland) the sparse, brooding and somewhat introspective production sets the record apart from the more raucous, overdriven precedent of the period. Pressed on vinyl for the first time via Death Is Not The End in an edition of 300 copies.

Mike Ladd. Diejenigen, die ihn kennen, sprechen diesen Namen mit einer gewissen Ehrfurcht aus. Wenn du mir eine unvollkommene Analogie gestattest: Ladd ist der Terrence Malick des Underground-Hip-Hop - ein kompromissloser Autor, dessen frühe Werke sowohl unkonventionell als auch von der Kritik gefeiert waren, bevor er sich abrupt aus der Szene zurückzog, die er mit aufgebaut hatte, und nach Paris abhob, um nie wieder von sich hören zu lassen. Natürlich ist die Realität komplexer als die Legende. Mike Ladd hat nie aufgehört, Musik zu machen; im Laufe der Jahre ist er bei allerlei unerwarteten Kollaborationen aufgetaucht - wer könnte seinen mitreißenden Auftritt auf billy woods' ,Aethiopes" vergessen -, hat den Soundtrack zu einer Netflix-Serie beigesteuert und mit bildenden Künstlern an Orten wie dem Pantheon in Paris zusammengearbeitet. Dabei sind all die Bühnen, auf denen er als Teil verschiedener Tournee-Bands und Live-Acts für Furore sorgte, noch gar nicht mitgezählt. Dennoch liegt Ladds letztes Soloalbum mehr als zehn Jahre zurück, und sein Meisterwerk ,Welcome to the Afterfuture" erschien Anfang 2000. Wenn wir der Analogie folgen wollen, ist ,Nonechosen" Mike Ladds ,The Thin Red Line. Ein unerschütterlicher Beweis dafür, dass sich der Künstler weiterentwickelt und gewachsen ist, dabei aber dieselbe Gravitas bewahrt hat, die seinen Namen zu dem gemacht hat, was er ist. Hier sind wir nun, tief in der ,Afterfuture", und es ist, als hätte Ladd schon immer auf diese Zeit gewartet und auf diesen Moment hingearbeitet. ,Jetzt weißt du, warum ich auf meinem Posten geblieben bin", rappt er auf ,Nonechosen", überzeugt davon, dass sich seine Geduld ausgezahlt hat. ,Nonechosen" ist ein Soloalbum, aber Ladd wird dir als Erster sagen, dass er es nicht allein geschafft hat; er hat schon immer mit alten Freunden zusammengearbeitet. No Surrender und Tom Degeeter haben an jeweiligen Tracks mitgewirkt. Sobald Mike das Album mit seiner eigenen Produktion zu 95 % fertiggestellt hatte, gab er es an Preservation weiter, der das Projekt mit ein paar gut platzierten Feinschliff-Maßnahmen auf ein neues Niveau hob. Backwoodz Studioz fühlt sich geehrt, Teil von Ladds kometenhaftem Comeback zu sein, und freut sich darauf, diesen wegweisenden Künstler einer neuen Generation von Hip-Hop-Fans gebührend vorzustellen, wenn wir schon dabei sind.

Mike Ladd. Diejenigen, die ihn kennen, sprechen diesen Namen mit einer gewissen Ehrfurcht aus. Wenn du mir eine unvollkommene Analogie gestattest: Ladd ist der Terrence Malick des Underground-Hip-Hop - ein kompromissloser Autor, dessen frühe Werke sowohl unkonventionell als auch von der Kritik gefeiert waren, bevor er sich abrupt aus der Szene zurückzog, die er mit aufgebaut hatte, und nach Paris abhob, um nie wieder von sich hören zu lassen. Natürlich ist die Realität komplexer als die Legende. Mike Ladd hat nie aufgehört, Musik zu machen; im Laufe der Jahre ist er bei allerlei unerwarteten Kollaborationen aufgetaucht - wer könnte seinen mitreißenden Auftritt auf billy woods' ,Aethiopes" vergessen -, hat den Soundtrack zu einer Netflix-Serie beigesteuert und mit bildenden Künstlern an Orten wie dem Pantheon in Paris zusammengearbeitet. Dabei sind all die Bühnen, auf denen er als Teil verschiedener Tournee-Bands und Live-Acts für Furore sorgte, noch gar nicht mitgezählt. Dennoch liegt Ladds letztes Soloalbum mehr als zehn Jahre zurück, und sein Meisterwerk ,Welcome to the Afterfuture" erschien Anfang 2000. Wenn wir der Analogie folgen wollen, ist ,Nonechosen" Mike Ladds ,The Thin Red Line. Ein unerschütterlicher Beweis dafür, dass sich der Künstler weiterentwickelt und gewachsen ist, dabei aber dieselbe Gravitas bewahrt hat, die seinen Namen zu dem gemacht hat, was er ist. Hier sind wir nun, tief in der ,Afterfuture", und es ist, als hätte Ladd schon immer auf diese Zeit gewartet und auf diesen Moment hingearbeitet. ,Jetzt weißt du, warum ich auf meinem Posten geblieben bin", rappt er auf ,Nonechosen", überzeugt davon, dass sich seine Geduld ausgezahlt hat. ,Nonechosen" ist ein Soloalbum, aber Ladd wird dir als Erster sagen, dass er es nicht allein geschafft hat; er hat schon immer mit alten Freunden zusammengearbeitet. No Surrender und Tom Degeeter haben an jeweiligen Tracks mitgewirkt. Sobald Mike das Album mit seiner eigenen Produktion zu 95 % fertiggestellt hatte, gab er es an Preservation weiter, der das Projekt mit ein paar gut platzierten Feinschliff-Maßnahmen auf ein neues Niveau hob. Backwoodz Studioz fühlt sich geehrt, Teil von Ladds kometenhaftem Comeback zu sein, und freut sich darauf, diesen wegweisenden Künstler einer neuen Generation von Hip-Hop-Fans gebührend vorzustellen, wenn wir schon dabei sind.

,Bread & Butter" ist das zehnte Album des Brooklyn-Rappers Your Old Droog und verbindet persönliche Erinnerungen mit scharfem Storytelling und komplexen Reimen. Inspiriert von seiner ukrainischen Einwandererfamilie, die aus einfachen Mitteln das Beste machte, reflektiert Droog über Herkunft, Erfolg und Durchhaltevermögen. Unterstützt von Produzenten wie Flying Lotus und Conductor Williams sowie Gästen wie Evidence, Oddisee und Masta Ace vereint das Album intelligente Texte mit vielseitigen Hip-Hop-Beats. Das Ergebnis ist ein selbstbewusstes und persönliches Werk, das Your Old Droogs Ruf als eine der interessantesten Stimmen des modernen Hip-Hop unterstreicht.

DJ Support: Vladimir Ivkovic, Calm, LefTo, Dawn Again, Dream Chimney, Alexis Le-Tan, Afterlife, Sofa Elsewhere, Kreggo, Froid Dub, Johan Blende, Sean Johnston, Fabio De Luca, Dr. Rob, Leo Mas, Mark Broadbent, Patch, Stefano Tucci, DJ Nova

Three years after dropping Rapido Super studio on Hell Yeah, Caramel 3000 has slowed things down even further for his new eight-track LP, Super Tempra. This playful work gets stranger but even more inviting than ever with his signature OB-6 synth and the Eurorack modular, oodles of springy reverb, delayed balafon and scattered spoken-words. Caramel 3000 splits his time between the muddy waters of the Barene, south of the Venice Lagoon, and the dim light of a studio in Anderlecht. When not cruising in his sun-bleached wooden boat, he cherishes in the little light that reaches him at his shelter in Anderlecht. Renata and Piero, the couple on the artwork, once passed through that studio. This irregular sonic fusion of this EP came out of that visit. It's a fantastical collage that dissolves the boundaries between devotion and daydream with syrupy choir voices and fragments of Nancy Fraser lectures drifting in and out like the plot of a half- remembered hallucination. Quotes from legendary Italian singer Ornella Vanoni, children’s percussion and mystic melodies are looped and modulated into slow-burning psych - outs.

After the ancient sci-fi dub of the opener, 'Corsa Nudi' pairs the occult with the primitive, 'Arena Deriva' melts to watery droplets and glacial waves, and 'Acqua Tofana' is polyrhythmic tribalism from another dimension. 'Lente Virtus' marries melodic innocence to trippy humid density and 'Soft-shell Crab' is a woozy kaleidoscope with the happy accidents left in. 'Cacciatore di Frodo' is a haunting apparition from the deep and 'Vittoria Foresta' suspends you between the earthly and the otherworldly. Super Tempra is half the speed but twice the depth and full of wonder.

Active since 2007, Toronto's Raz Fresco has built one of the most respected catalogs in underground hip-hop as both a rapper and producer. From his acclaimed Magneto Was Right series to collaborations with legendary producers including DJ Muggs (Soul Assassins), Pete Rock, Cookin Soul, Nicholas Craven, Futurewave, and many others, Raz has consistently delivered uncompromising, self-contained bodies of work that have earned him a devoted global following.

Described by Raz himself as "the album that defines everything Raz Fresco has worked towards," WHY EQUALS SELF stands as his most personal and fully realized statement to date. Blending razor-sharp lyricism with rich, self-produced soundscapes, the album reflects nearly two decades of artistic growth while reaffirming his place as one of the underground's most prolific and enduring voices.

Coming from deep within the city that brought us Master P’s legendary No Limit Dynasty and Lil Boosie comes an artist who uniquely encapsulates the crossing point between lowslung Hip Hop and forward thinking, emotive electronic music. 22-year-old New Orlean’s based Suicideyear AKA James Prudhomme brings his own Southern Gothic perspective to the table with new album ‘Color The Weather,’ set for release on July 6th via LuckyMe. Although not his debut album per se - 2015’s ‘Japan’ on OneOhTrix Point Never's Software label was a collection of previously released beats – ‘Color The Weather’ represents the first time Suicideyear has specifically sought to create a complete body of work, further developing different textures and sounds that were hinted on last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Hate Songs’ EP. Within these tracks lie the ghosts of Prudhomme’s past - a difficult childhood truncated in his teens by his family home burning down. When he left Baton Rouge for his new home in New Orleans he found himself further entrenched in the Southern Rap scene whilst he soaked up the avant-garde electronic music he found online. Balancing his tender instrumentation alongside some of the tightest drum programming in the game - these tracks twist and turn - new elements are built and destroyed constantly encompassing a huge emotional range. On the records’ two vocal features he expounds on this innovative and ambitious duality – Domino Records own Georgia filling the track with longing and hope whilst Prudhomme deconstructs the track around her. The Casey MQ featured ‘Said and Done’ goes further - the last third of the track slowing to a codeine induced haze paying a nod to the Chopped and Screwed sound of James youth. “​Color The Weather is about the ability to build or form security after trauma/betrayal & building personal coping mechanisms to get through said traumas. Doing what it takes to control your life when powers are working against it. The total resilience of the human spirit.​” James Prudhomme

Almost four decades in the making, Dave Seaman’s very first artist album ‘Mirrorball Sleaze’ has finally been completed and will arrive on Selador on November 6th. Featuring a heady mix of both new and old recordings, all created, revised and / or re-purposed especially for this project, this assemblage represents the best of Dave’s sprawling oeuvre, joining the dots between the some of his most celebrated past glories right up to the present day, where he remains on the frontline of electronic club music. A culmination of a life lived and breathed in the trenches of acid house.

This limited vinyl edition will feature all 11 tracks especially segued together, split into two flowing listening pieces across sides A and B. After a long and storied vocation in music, his own artist album was the one itch Dave has long wanted to scratch. And now, at long last, it has arrived - a sultry, shimmering beauty, by turns deep and euphoric. A career milestone.

Almost four decades in the making, Dave Seaman’s very first artist album ‘Mirrorball Sleaze’ has finally been completed and will arrive on Selador on November 6th. Featuring a heady mix of both new and old recordings, all created, revised and / or re-purposed especially for this project, this assemblage represents the best of Dave’s sprawling oeuvre, joining the dots between the some of his most celebrated past glories right up to the present day, where he remains on the frontline of electronic club music. A culmination of a life lived and breathed in the trenches of acid house.

This limited vinyl edition will feature all 11 tracks especially segued together, split into two flowing listening pieces across sides A and B. After a long and storied vocation in music, his own artist album was the one itch Dave has long wanted to scratch. And now, at long last, it has arrived - a sultry, shimmering beauty, by turns deep and euphoric. A career milestone.

The chart-topping, multi-Platinum and Ivor Novello-winning Passenger returns with a new album ‘Wild Love’. Passenger - real name Mike Rosenberg - was inspired by recently (and unexpectedly) becoming a husband and father. ‘Wild Love’ captures the whirlwind of emotions as their relationship developed - the excitement, the upheaval, the trepidation and the joy. Passenger says, “Going from a working relationship to a romantic one is scary. The older you get, the more of the spikier sides of love you’ve seen. Things go sour for all sorts of reasons and with someone so close, the stakes are so much higher. ‘Wild Love’ is the title track because it sums up the theme of the album. Do you give in to your doubts and do nothing, or do you face your fears and go for it? I wrote the song as I was realising that the choice was obvious.” While the ‘Wild Love’ album charts the couple’s personal experiences - taking the plunge, cherished early memories together, the realisation that this new love could be one that lasts - the single ‘It Was Gonna Be You’ is an outlier from a previous chapter in his life, a story of discovering that relationships can rapidly unravel. It is set to a classic Passenger sound of bright, buoyant melody coloured with flourishes of piano and Americana-tinged guitar twangs. The uplifting, energised atmosphere of the ‘Wild Love’ album opens with its most direct moment, the infectious ode-to-change of the live favourite ‘Boomerang’. The title track and centrepiece ‘Wild Love’ will also be familiar from shows, a delicate piano-based country song which taps into the elation and fear that came as the couple’s relationship took shape. There are sonic surprises too, such as the way in which the frisky ‘Caution To The Wind’ draws on both ‘70s Elton John and the insistent keys of Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s ‘The Way It Is’, or the ‘80s synth embellishments on ‘Lightning Strikes’. A rare cover is also included with his take on Taylor Swift’s ‘Willow’, the song that soundtracked the couple’s blossoming love.

The chart-topping, multi-Platinum and Ivor Novello-winning Passenger returns with a new album ‘Wild Love’. Passenger - real name Mike Rosenberg - was inspired by recently (and unexpectedly) becoming a husband and father. ‘Wild Love’ captures the whirlwind of emotions as their relationship developed - the excitement, the upheaval, the trepidation and the joy. Passenger says, “Going from a working relationship to a romantic one is scary. The older you get, the more of the spikier sides of love you’ve seen. Things go sour for all sorts of reasons and with someone so close, the stakes are so much higher. ‘Wild Love’ is the title track because it sums up the theme of the album. Do you give in to your doubts and do nothing, or do you face your fears and go for it? I wrote the song as I was realising that the choice was obvious.” While the ‘Wild Love’ album charts the couple’s personal experiences - taking the plunge, cherished early memories together, the realisation that this new love could be one that lasts - the single ‘It Was Gonna Be You’ is an outlier from a previous chapter in his life, a story of discovering that relationships can rapidly unravel. It is set to a classic Passenger sound of bright, buoyant melody coloured with flourishes of piano and Americana-tinged guitar twangs. The uplifting, energised atmosphere of the ‘Wild Love’ album opens with its most direct moment, the infectious ode-to-change of the live favourite ‘Boomerang’. The title track and centrepiece ‘Wild Love’ will also be familiar from shows, a delicate piano-based country song which taps into the elation and fear that came as the couple’s relationship took shape. There are sonic surprises too, such as the way in which the frisky ‘Caution To The Wind’ draws on both ‘70s Elton John and the insistent keys of Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s ‘The Way It Is’, or the ‘80s synth embellishments on ‘Lightning Strikes’. A rare cover is also included with his take on Taylor Swift’s ‘Willow’, the song that soundtracked the couple’s blossoming love.

Skepta returns with his highly-anticipated new album, The Fork and Knife. A record rooted in the sounds, energy and culture of contemporary Britain, while looking firmly beyond its borders. Shaped by decades spent immersed in sound systems, clubs and rave spaces, The Fork and Knife moves freely between grime, garage, house, jungle and electronic music. At its centre is Skepta as a rapper, writer and producer - reflecting his position at the centre of rap and his instinct to continually push the sound forward. Identity runs through the heart of the album. Skepta explores what it means to be British, the son of Nigerian immigrants, and to exist between cultures. Rather than viewing diaspora through a lens of struggle, The Fork and Knife embraces it as a source of strength, a superpower that has informed Skepta’s resilience, work ethic and creative instinct. The visual world of The Fork and Knife draws on 1980s Nigerian-British imagery, football culture and documentary realism, connecting the history of the Windrush generation with the energy and reality of modern London.

The Fork and Knife is released via Epic Records.

In the seclusion of a house in the Bavarian Forest, something unfolded that felt less like a conventional album production and more like an internal process of condensation. This house wasn’t a studio - it was a retreat. Its 1960s-inspired interiors, creaking wooden stairs, and crackling fireplace shaped the sound of Carl Gari as much as the instruments themselves. Though the house no longer exists, its atmosphere remains present in the recordings.


The music of Carl Gari - Jonas Yamer, Till Funke, and Jonas Friedlich - resists easy categorization, a trait that continues on this monumental new album. From the friction between electronic music and guitar textures, the trio forges a distinctive, idiosyncratic sound. Distorted electric guitars and pulsating basslines intertwine with analog drum machines, tape delays, and intricate effect chains, creating music that is raw, organic, and psychedelic. A new element on the album is the trio’s first use of vocals: Jonas Yamer, usually on bass, raises his voice in a punk-tinged, invented language that hints rather than narrates, unsettling more than it explains.


The guest artists do not merely decorate the sound - they alter its very structure at critical points. Polygonia contributes layered vocals that mesh seamlessly with the album’s technoid architecture. Will Brooks of Dälek delivers a dark rap feature on ‘Poison Shyness (Anti-Social)’, his words carving the sonic space with precision. Coby Sey adds introspective vocals that hover between experimentation and restraint on ‘Inner Link’. New York rap pioneer Sensational introduces a deliberately rough, individual counterpoint on ‘Disco Lights’, while the German percussionist Simon Popp drives the album forward with an uncompromising drum performance that insists rather than accompanies on ‘Zeitesser’.


The cover photographs, taken by Jonas Yamer, project images of corridors onto paintings located in the now demolished house where the album was recorded. Visually, this reflects a key motif of the album: spaces exist only as overlays and echoes - not mystical ghosts, but traces of a place that has physically vanished.

Recorded between 2016-2024 in Neunburg vorm Wald and Munich. With kind support by Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München.
Mixed by Johannes Wagner aka J.Manuel at Apollo Studio, Berlin (A1, D1 w/ Fadi Mohem). Mastered & cut by Stefan Betke at Scape Mastering.
Photography by Jonas Yamer. Packaging design by Sepehr Mokhtarzadeh.

Following acclaimed releases on Permanent Vacation and Shall Not Fade, as well as their Panorama Bar debut, Rhode & Brown return with their second album, Multitudes.
Across nine tracks, the Munich-based duo showcase their signature versatility, moving seamlessly between dubby tech groovers, bouncy house cuts, and sleek, 90s-inspired downtempo. The LP features collaborations with Italian producer Ferrari (Faith Beat) and London-based Braga Circuit (Rinse), alongside vocal appearances from UK rapper RONNI and Munich/ Mexico-based artist Sianza.

Am National Album Day (NAD), der nun schon zum sechsten Mal stattfindet, kommt die UK-Musikszene jedes Jahr zusammen, um die Albumkultur zu feiern und zu fördern. Das diesjährige Thema der 90er Jahre soll ein Licht auf ein äußerst reichhaltiges Musikjahrzehnt werfen, das sich zwischen Pop, Trip Hop und Hip Hop bewegte: NAD-Release: Nas "It Was Written" - gold & black marbled Vinyl. "It Was Written" war Nas' zweites Album, das 1996 veröffentlicht wurde. Es war ein sehr erfolgreiches, millionenfach verkauftes Album mit Beteiligung von Lauryn Hill, Dr. Dre, Foxy Brown und Mobb Deep. Seit seiner Veröffentlichung war es außerhalb der USA nicht auf Vinyl erhältlich.

2026 Repress

DJ Koze unveils a spiritual and surprising journey into rapturous spheres with Wespennest EP. The visionary artist and master of electronic sound, presents his first own release after 2018's global club hit "Pick Up".

"Candidasa" and "Wespennest" are the result of DJ Kozes inspiring stay in a secluded Benedictine monastery on the enchanting island of Sulawesi. Amidst this idyllic setting, he found the perfect environment to unleash his musical vision. He composed all of the music of "Candidasa" while lying on his stomach, in an act of deepest devotion and self-reflection. In doing so, he fed exclusively on so-called heroin kebabs to immerse himself in a trance-like state of creative flow. The result is a soundscape of unimagined depth and beauty that enchants the senses and transports listeners to another dimension by massively increasing the frequency of flicker fusion.

On "Wespennest” the wonderful Sophia Kennedy takes the stage and breathes a new dimension into the music with her impactful lyrics and vocals. With generous dedication, Sophia has provided exclusive excerpts of her yet unreleased songs, giving this track a radiant psychedelic power. The combination of DJ Kozes musical genius and Sophia Kennedy's glorious vocals creates a club track full of wonderment, opening up a mystical rapturous world for listeners. Already an instant classic of German dance music.

With "Candidasa" and "Wespennest" DJ Koze has once again pushed the boundaries of electronic sounds and created a spiritual journey that touches the soul and frees the mind. This EP is the first harbinger of his highly anticipated new album, which will be released in 2024. The time until the release can be wonderfully bridged with the magical album "Hit Parade", which DJ Koze has produced for the British legend Róisín Murphy and on which we can be carried away into the world of musical brilliance.

Black Truffle is pleased to present Even Colder Spring, the latest release from the mysterious and wildly prolific Cities Aviv (a.k.a. Wilbert Gavin Mays, who also records as African-American Sound Recordings), a rare appearance from the artist outside his own D.O.T. Audio Arts label. For over a decade, Cities Aviv has twisted hip-hop conventions into the most skewed and splayed forms, layering and lacerating twitching loops, extreme production techniques and his mercurial vocal stylings into hermetic décollage. Across 16 tracks, Even Colder Spring charts Mays’ restlessly experimental approach: what sound like fully formed productions are interrupted suddenly after seconds; interjections of field recordings cue unexpected shifts; details drown under layers of fuzz. His vocal delivery takes in rhythmically intricate rap, barely articulate murmurs and freely melodic song, the latter often with a disorientating lack of connection to the track’s harmonies. The lyrical shifts are as paratactical as the musical movements. Apocalyptic visions of social and cultural uniformity alternate with reflections on mortality, glimpses of everyday life and head-scratching one-liners: ‘Maybe Mars is bougie?’ His reference points are as surprising as ever, the Dante quotes of previous releases joined here by a track named after Henri Bergson’s idea of the élan vital. Australian listeners, in particular, might be especially taken aback to hear ‘Closing Door’ open with the phrase ‘the tyranny of distance’.

While Mays’ work can sometimes be claustrophobically bleak, the productions here are often sparkling, at times touching on the shimmer of private-issue New Age sounds and the more playful end of krautrock. The instrumental ‘Martine Drift’ could almost be a snatch of Cluster’s Zuckerzeit caught through dial-up internet. The distant echoing drums of ‘L_area’ cross Persona’s Som with lo-fi IDM, while closer ‘Final Heaven’ dissolves a cloud of loops across almost seven minutes into ecstatic, rippling distortion. The graphic design, at the artist’s request closely modelled on the format of Corwood Industries, offers as good a clue as any to what awaits the listener on Even Colder Spring: a world at once impossibly opaque and intensely personal.

Originally released in Japan in the early 1990s, "Make Me Know It" offers a glimpse into a moment when reggae and lovers rock were taking root in unexpected places. The record pairs Chieko Beauty's understated vocal style with Miyazaki Izumi aka Dub Master X's production, resulting in a sound that feels equally informed by Jamaican traditions and Tokyo's rapidly expanding musical landscape. Built around a subtle interpolation of Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 – already immortalised by Sueño Latino – the record brings together musical traditions that, on paper at least, have little reason to meet. Chieko Beauty would go on to become one of the defining voices of Japanese reggae, collaborating with artists including Mad Professor, Yann Tomita and Emerson Kitamura. This 7" revisits an early chapter in that story

ORUMA is a trio formed by Ola Rzepka (drums, zither, percussion), Artur Rumiński (electric guitar) and Mat Barski (electric guitar). At its foundation is the musical dialogue previously developed by Rumiński and Barski as a guitar duo and documented on the albums “On the Margin” and “At the Junction”. Their encounter with Ola Rzepka during Kraków’s Kakofonie series opened this music to a new sense of dynamics, pulse and
collective form.
ORUMA’s music exists at the intersection of free improvisation, noise, experimental postrock and post-kraut repetition. It avoids the conventional division between soloist and accompaniment. Instead, two electric guitars and drums gradually abandon their individual roles to form a single, constantly shifting sound organism — moving from silence, open space and isolated gestures towards dense masses of sound.
The trio’s debut album consists of five pieces: “Satellites”, “Stranger”, “This Mountain Is Alive”, “A Rough Plan For Nostalgia” and “Hyperborea”. Together, they form a coherent journey: from distant signals and the first moment of contact, through friction and increasing physical intensity, to an expansive fourteen-minute finale.


Ola Rzepka
Drummer, pianist, composer and performer. She graduated from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where she studied at the Faculty of Composition, Interpretation, Education and Jazz. She was also a scholarship student at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, studying piano and percussion. She teaches piano improvisation at the Wojciech Kilar State Music School Complex in Katowice and runs her own music lessons and workshops. As a composer, she collaborates with acclaimed theatre directors in Poland, Germany and Switzerland. Her musical collaborators have included Raphael Rogiński and Antoni “Ziut” Gralak. She has performed her original music at numerous avant-garde, popular, jazz, improvised and contemporary music festivals across Poland and Europe. In Jazz Forum magazine’s 2024 Jazz Top critics’ poll, she was named among Poland’s leading drummers.

Artur Rumiński
Guitarist and member of bands including Furia, Thaw and ARRM. He also composes and improvises under his own name and performs in the experimental duo Marmur, which he co-founded with Macio Moretti. He has released several solo albums on labels including Antenna Non Grata, Gusstaff Records, Zoharum and Szara Reneta.

Mat Barski
Guitarist associated with the Kraków and Tricity music scenes. His projects include the duo Ekotonika, the Rumiński / Barski duo. He has released albums through Gusstaff Records and Antenna Non Grata. Alongside music, he works in motion design and visual postproduction. He is a member of the Kraków-based Skład Solny Association, where he coorganises concerts and exhibitions.

Ursprünglich am 9. Dezember 2024 als reine Digital-Single veröffentlicht und als Nachfolger seiner viralen Hit-Single ,Chicano Poetry" - diesmal mit dem beliebten Soul-Klassiker ,There's Nothing I Can Do About It" von Mike and The Censatios als Grundlage der Produktion. ,Nothing I Can Do" verbindet Obeds gefühlvolle, genreübergreifende Sensibilität mit John Givez' gesprächigem Hip-Hop-Stil und schafft so einen warmen, entspannten Liebes-Song, der von Nostalgie, Hingabe und lockeren West-Coast-Grooves durchdrungen ist. In seinen eigenen Worten: Es ist die gleiche Geschichte wie bei ,Chicano Poetry" - ich habe das Original gehört und konnte einfach nicht davon loskommen. Ich habe es zerhackt, meine eigene Produktion drumherum gebaut und den Refrain sowie meinen Vers ziemlich schnell geschrieben. Dann habe ich es meinem Kumpel John Givez geschickt und er kam mit einem Vers zurück, der das Ganze zusammenhielt. Wir haben es schnell auf die Beine gestellt, was für mich meistens ein Zeichen dafür ist, dass ein Song einfach da sein muss. Es ist ein Geheimtipp - die Art von Song, den die Leute erst spät entdecken und sich fragen, wie sie ihn übersehen konnten." Der mexikanisch-amerikanische Songwriter, Rapper, Produzent und Gitarrist, der in Oceanside, Kalifornien, zu Hause ist, verbindet Küstenmelodien, introspektive Texte und Einflüsse aus dem Latin-Alternative-Genre und lässt sich dabei von J. Cole, Kid Cudi, den Beach Boys und Stevie Ray Vaughan inspirieren. Als BMI Latin Spotlight-Künstler mit über 63 Millionen Aufrufen seiner TikTok-Beiträge verwischt Padillas neueste EP ,RODEO CLOWN - ACT I" weiterhin die Grenzen zwischen Glauben, Nostalgie und modernem West-Coast-Storytelling.

,Chicano Poetry" begann als viraler Instagram-Clip des mexikanisch-amerikanischen Musikers Obed Padilla und entwickelte sich anschließend zu einem vollständigen Song. Basierend auf einem Sample von Darondos Soul-Klassiker ,Didn't I" verbindet der Track lässige West-Coast-Vibes mit persönlichem Storytelling und modernen Hip-Hop-Einflüssen. Der in Kalifornien beheimatete Sänger, Rapper, Produzent und Gitarrist mischt in seiner Musik Latin-Alternative, Rap und melodische Pop-Elemente. Inspiriert von Künstlern wie J. Cole, Kid Cudi, den Beach Boys und Stevie Ray Vaughan, schafft Padilla einen Sound, der Nostalgie, Identität und zeitgenössisches West-Coast-Feeling verbindet.

,Splendor & Misery (Anniversary X)" ist die Jubiläumsausgabe zum zehnjährigen Bestehen des für den Hugo Award nominierten Science-Fiction-Opus des experimentellen Rap-Trios Clipping. Diese Deluxe-Ausgabe enthält ein überarbeitetes Cover, das Originalalbum sowie acht bisher unveröffentlichte Songs und alternative Takes. ,Splendor & Misery" ist ein afrofuturistisches, dystopisches Konzeptalbum, das die Geschichte des einzigen Überlebenden eines Sklavenaufstands auf einem interstellaren Frachtschiff sowie des Bordcomputers erzählt, der sich in ihn verliebt. In der Annahme, allein und im Weltraum verloren zu sein, entdeckt die Figur Musik im bebenden Rumpf des Schiffes und in den zwitschernden Instrumententafeln. Die Musik von Clipping zeichnet eine imaginäre Klanglandkarte der Decks, Gänge und Quartiere des Schiffes, während Daveed Diggs' Texte auf den Rhythmen reiten, die von dessen Triebwerken und Maschinen erzeugt werden. ,Splendor & Misery" ist eine der beliebtesten Veröffentlichungen von Clipping. Es schaffte es in zahlreiche Jahresrückblicke und wurde von der ,New York Times", Bandcamp Daily, CLASH, The Line Of Best Fit, The Needle Drop, Uproxx, The Observer und Stereogum gelobt. Im Jahr 2019 stufte Pitchfork ,Splendor & Misery" als eines der 33 besten Industrial-Alben aller Zeiten ein. Clipping feierte das Album im August 2026 mit dem ,Splendor & Misery Fest" im Knockdown Center in New York City, mit den Vorgruppen SPELLLING, Shabazz Palaces, ELUCID, Fatboi Sharif, evicshen und Maria Chavez.

"Atrocity Exhibition" ist der neueste Höhepunkt in einer langen Serie von Highlights: Im Verlauf der letzten Jahre hat Danny Brown mit vielen hochkarätigen Künstlern von Purity Ring bis Rustie, von ScHoolboy Q via E-40 bis hin zu Ghostaface Killah gearbeitet. Für den Posse-Track "Detroit vs. Everybody" tat er sich mit Eminem, Dej Loaf, Royce da 5'9', Big Sean und Trick Trick zusammen, und auch den legendären The Avalanches lieh er für ihr Comebackalbum dieses Jahr seine Stimme. Da er auf "Atrocity Exhibition" kein Blatt vor den Mund nimmt und gewissermaßen die hochprozentige Essenz seines kreativen Ansatzes herausdestilliert, hat Danny auch die Wahl der Gäste ganz genau darauf abgestimmt: Ihren schlangenhaften Gesang steuert Kelela im Fall des wahnsinnig finsteren "From The Ground" bei, mit B-Real von Cypress Hill ist ein alter Hanf-Fachmann für die tiefentspannte Hook von "Get Hi" verantwortlich, und mit Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar und Ab-Soul treten gleich drei junge Hochkaräter für das ominös schillernde "Really Doe" zu ihm ans Mikrofon, die er derzeit für die besten Rapper hält, die es momentan gibt.