Silvana Rossi emerges from the new wave of Italo revivalists with a sound that feels both timeless and sharply contemporary, where vintage drum machines, analog synth lines and nocturnal romance collide with a modern club sensibility. Rooted in classic Italo disco but filtered through today’s underground circuitry, her music speaks directly to selectors navigating the space between wave, electro and slow-burning techno. The tracks carry a distinctly personal edge—melancholy, desire, and late-night introspection wrapped in icy melodies and hypnotic grooves. This is music made for dimly lit booths, smoke-filled basements, and DJs who still believe in storytelling through vinyl.
A seductive opener “Elixir Of Love” built on cascading arps and a steady pulse, romantic but restrained, like a whispered confession over a rolling bassline. Perfect for setting the tone early set. Tension-driven and emotionally charged, italo anthem “Breakdown” balances crisp electro rhythms with a sense of inner collapse. A cold wave-leaning cut that hits hardest when the lights stay low and the energy turns inward. Shades Of The Night – a cinematic slow-burner drenched in shadow and atmosphere. This one is all about texture and space. Walk In The Night, another italo classic on the EP, stripped-back and hypnotic, with a confident groove that nods to classic Italo while staying firmly rooted in modern club aesthetics. “Bad Girl” brings a sharper, more playful edge, driving, stylish, and slightly dangerous. A weapon with crossover appeal for electro and wave crowds alike. A versatile tool for both warm-ups and deeper moments. Emotionally direct yet sonically controlled lush pads and restrained vocals create a sense of distance that pulls you in “Don’t Leave Me”. A melancholic highlight for DJs who know how to play with tension.
Internationally acclaimed producer and DJ Tripmastaz is proud to announce the launch of his sublabel, Respect The Craft.Legacy, a heartfelt tribute to his early creative roots. Marking a significant milestone in his career, the first release on the new sublabel revisits and completes his unreleased projects from the early 2000s.
This series encapsulates an era of raw creativity and innovation, showcasing tracks that were originally started between 2000 and 2004. Until now, these works have remained unfinished and unheard—hidden gems from Tripmastaz’s studio archives. Through the new label, the producer has brought these ideas to life, meticulously completing each track while staying true to the essence of the time they were created.
The series bridges the past and present, blending the raw energy of the early 2000s with today’s refined production techniques. The debut release drops soon, promising a timeless tech & deep underground sound.
“This is a closure for me—an opportunity to honor my creative journey and give these tracks the life they deserve,” Tripmastaz explains. “The early 2000s were a formative period for me as an artist, and these records embody the passion and ideas that shaped my path. Completing and releasing them now feels like a full-circle moment.”
black.round.twelve returns with Dancing Tiger EP, a new vinyl release from Tagir exploring the deeper edges of Minimal House and Tech House. Rooted in the label’s vinyl-only ethos and focused curation, the record leans into long-form grooves, subtle detail and controlled movement.
The title track “Dancing Tiger” is a slow-burning minimal piece stretching across twelve minutes. Oboe-like tones and modular textures sit alongside processed vocal fragments and acoustic percussion, anchored by a steady low-end that develops with patience.
“Break It Love” moves into a more direct framework, combining vocal loops with an elastic bassline and a steady 4/4 pulse, while modular elements add texture and forward motion.
On “Off Smoke”, the structure becomes more abstract, with a repeated vocal phrase stretched, pitched and fragmented across a pumping groove. Subtle variations and underlying swing create a controlled but fluid sense of movement.
With Dancing Tiger EP, Tagir delivers a groove-led record that aligns closely with black.round.twelve’s approach, balancing functionality with detail and maintaining a clear focus on the dancefloor.
An’archives presents 'sensitive', a new album, and the first solo vinyl release, by Japanese keyboardist and synth player, Mitsuhisa Sakaguchi. A deftly assembled suite of glistening electronic tonalities, 'sensitive' is the latest in a lengthy run of excellent, idiosyncratic albums by Sakaguchi. A low-key yet productive artist, Sakaguchi has released banks of solo titles via his own Bandcamp page, and is also an in-demand improvisor for electronics: see, for example, recent collaborations with Yoshiki Ichihara ('TO(R)RI INFRANTA', 'Ftarri', 2025), Tatsuhisa Yamamoto ('non equal mad', self-released, 2020), and the - trio with Yamamoto and Uchihashi Kazuhisa ('self-titled', Modern Obscure, 2023).
'sensitive' is a startling album for many reasons, not least its rich attention to detail. Sakaguchi’s ear is sensitized to the complexity of electronic sonority, something he’s developed through decades of performance and improvisation, though he’s not limited to that language. “I mainly use multiple synthesizers and process the sounds with effects,” he clarifies, detailing his approach to his music. “I also use a lot of acoustic sounds such as field recordings and percussion; sometimes I also use sounds such as prepared piano.”
Indeed, you can hear this see-sawing balance between the electronic and acoustic written across 'sensitive' – see the activated cymbals that twist and stutter through the first half of “metatoxic”, which are soon replaced by a similar stream of burbling synth-flow. The opening “sensitive rot” folds field recordings into Sakaguchi’s electronic kit to such a degree that the differing forms dissolve into each other; on “green shrine”, the field recordings are more present, yet still poetically framed, taken as they are “from the mountains of my hometown, Yawata City, Kyoto,” Sakaguchi explains.
The tender balance achieved by Sakaguchi as he moves between practices, tonalities and temporalities helps manifest the guiding conceptual force behind 'sensitive', where Sakaguchi explores a cleansing reverie. “What I wanted to portray with this album was to create an album of sounds that shattered and reassembled my current ‘sense’ and ‘toxins’,” he nods, “along with the ‘nature’ around me. Electronic sounds, our bodies, the environment around us, and nature all blend.”
From there, Sakaguchi attempts a transformation, or transmutation – an alchemical process of exchange. “I am attempting to explore whether it might be possible for the sounds to come closer to each other,” he concludes, “or perhaps even to interchange places.” On the five pieces that comprise 'sensitive', you can hear this fusing and exchange. Inhabiting similar spaces as the music of Nuno Canavarro, Asmus Tietchens, Omit, and other like-minded visionaries, 'sensitive' traverses curious, quixotic terrain between electronic composition, electro-acoustics, and improvisation.
On a remote gravel-covered spit of land on the east coast lie the abandoned buildings of a government facility for weapons testing and experiments with radar.
In the mid 1960s this site witnessed the construction of an over-the-horizon radar, a technological marvel bouncing signals off the ionosphere, built to covertly monitor the activities of other nations.
The reflectivity of the ionosphere is a function of frequency, time of day, time of year and of the solar cycle. In essence, a sympathy for the celestial was required to fully exploit this man made construction.
Plagued by noise that created false returns on the monitors, the intended performance was never achieved, and despite several investigations the system was shut down and eventually dismantled in the early 1970s.
The long dormant Cobra is now a nature reserve.
As humankind strives to create artificial intelligence what will faith, love, or morality look like to a nascent consciousness?
Will it be capable of understanding its creators who often hold logic and superstition within themselves?
In return how will humans comprehend its hallucinations?
And the Sun, a ball of hot plasma oblivious to our existence continually burns hydrogen until it runs out and swallows its three closest neighbours.
The Bluebeaters enjoyed a revival with their 2025 album Everybody Knows, released by Record Kicks. In 2023, to be included in a compilation created by Freedom Sounds Festival in Cologne (Germany), we reworked an extra track entitled TRINITY that had been left off the album. In addition to being included in the compilation, it became the first single on 7-inch vinyl released by the newly formed Caribb Roots.
Although we played it live, the recording of the song had been left half-finished, so we picked it up again, recorded the horns and vocals, and finished mixing it.
The song is linked to the very Italian tradition of Western film soundtracks, and Trinity is a seminal song in this sense.
The long-awaited reissue of Toba makes it clear, once and for all, to fans and industry insiders that disco music produced in Italy between the late 70s and early 80s had no chance of success. What was disparagingly called "spaghetti disco", considered a poor imitation of real American disco music, only good for Japanese cartoons. This was the main reason that prompted Italians to record their songs abroad, as Fratelli La Bionda with their pseudonym D.D.Sound in Munich. Luigi Figini, with "Supercool" and "Percussion Sundance" by Edo Martin and Pino Santapaga (the same as "Step By Step" by Koxo), claimed that Kash was a one-off Swedish disco project, a lie that came to light when an Italian test pressing from the previous year, made by GDB, was posted !!! Amin-Peck followed the trend of passing off their songs as foreign music on the intuition of their Roman producers. So ''Love Disgrace'' was released on 7'' by a label called Connection, which never really existed, created for the purpose by Giancarlo Meo, confident that this would bring success to the Bolognese duo who were already creating 'proto Italo-Disco tracks' with a new-wave trend. To make the whole operation seem real, the London agency Ellie Jay Ltd. was involved, contacting Andy Fernbach of Jacobs Studios Ltd. The vinyl was also produced in the UK, otherwise the deception would have been discovered, then imported to Italy by Best Record. Italo-Disco was officially born after this, in 1982, not before! Everything makes sense now ! Real events that actually happened and purely invented names and anecdotes. Just think, even the image of Tony Balch used for the cover of Toba was taken from Grand Theft's 1978 album "Have You Seen This Band?" and reproduced on the new redesigned cover, as were the heads of the other musicians. The idea of a real band called Toba had finally come to fruition and would lead to a second sensational success the following year. Now it all makes sense! Facts and anecdotes that really happened and names and circumstances that are purely fictional. Finally, everything adds up! Real things and invented names of musicians and collaborators. It's important to clarify what we've said above, but we haven't talked about "Make Your Mind Up" and "Don't Take It" and the two masterful remixes performed by Dave Mathmos. In short: with the original versions we'll make Italo-Disco purists happy, with the remix versions we'll please new younger followers with more modern sounds and versions more in line with today's tastes and trends.
Guests is the home recording project of Jessica Higgins and Matthew Walkerdine. Vaguely named as such to avoid any problems with the poster if they pull out of a gig (which has only happened once, about a year and half before any songs were actually written to be fair) but also to capture a sense of reverse hospitality. That is, arriving at your door with a bottle of good wine (can’t turn up empty handed) or a fist full of savoury or sweet snacks (time of day dependant); oversharing at the afters (and then passing out on your couch); reading to your toddler while you make their lunch or put everything back where it was meant to go (only to get torn apart again). So, something about what happens when private worlds meet each other, making or having been made a space for. But at times, it’s a different kind of intimacy, a temporal or material one, like the feeling of crisp fresh sheets, and abundant and soft, body-part appropriate towels in a hotel in a city you’ve been to before and love to go back to.
Their debut record, “I wish I was special”, was variously described as “a collage of concrète experiments and outerzone pop gestures, music that sounds as if it’s been written from the depths of a dream”; “music for people who love music but also hate it too”; “something like chasing ghosts or befriending a wild animal”; “pulling apart nervous sensations with haphazard ease and requisite humour”; and “a melody of refusal, of being all-in (…) finding the exact right WRONG sound to express the discontent”. Common Domestic Bird continues in this vein, layering synthesiser, keyboards and samples over rudimentary drum rhythms and field recordings, which are in turn sung or spoken with to create nine new songs.
Written and recorded between autumn 2024 and summer 2025 in Reading, Berkshire, the music has matured since its last outing, in a way, leaning less into collage and more toward structured composition and melodic depth, yet retains a healthy dose of indeterminacy and off-kilter rhythms for the forever-amateur. The songs on Common Domestic Bird hint at some “about”-ness through a series of discrete vignettes which sound a bit like architecture or end of year lists, gossip or over-thinking subjectivity, like disappearances and impressions, the support structure of the spine, letters and signs offs, things you could really do without and where they should go, hoping you’ll see something that isn’t there, pretences and performance. At times they feel kind of funny, others kind of sad or a bit angry and annoyed, a bit like you really.
RAPRAVE is an exciting collective born out of New York City, specialising in creating music teetering on the cusp of hip-hop and dance music. Consistently great releases like 'Heaven Plus', which is the ninth on the label, perfectly showcase how successful they are at executing this vision. The two tracker, headed by Dallas export Stonie Blue, is a fine display in a mixture of Chicago House, deep house and hip-hop, akin to a Galcher Lustwerk, or from the other side of the pond, Isaac Carter. On 'HEAVEN', smooth, sexy chords and choppy percussion prop up Blue's lyrics: "I found heaven, Heaven in the club". Then, as if in an attempt to make a club ready two-tracker even more club ready, Blue recruits London-based producer tom huna to inject some 2-step flavour into the B-side with 'FWM (S+H MIX)'. On this track, glitchy drum workouts and slick electric piano stabs meld with sensual vocals to create an intimate, late night banger.
Swedish producer Robert Leiner’s landmark 1994 album ‘Visions Of The Past’ finally gets a vinyl LP reissue on Apollo, the ‘ambient division’ of R&S Records. Long regarded as one of the pivotal ambient/electronic long players, the album has stood the test of time and serves as a reminder on how potent the early ambient techno releases were.
Leiner was a central figure in the early European techno and ambient landscape, carving out a distinctive sound that bridged atmospheric depth and rhythmic intensity. Known for his releases as The Source Experience and contributions to the R&S/Apollo catalogue, as a producer and engineer, Leiner’s work resonated across the underground, earning him a reputation for visionary, emotionally charged productions that stood apart from his contemporaries.
'Visions Of The Past’ captures this duality perfectly with expansive ambient passages that drift into hypnotic techno, while layers of intricate sound design and pulsating low end create a timeless and immersive listening experience. Tracks unfold with patience and precision, like the 12-minute-long marine epic ‘Aqua Viva’, balancing introspection with kinetic dance energy, and the new age ambience of ‘Dream Or Reality’ and ‘Northern Dark’ embodying the forward-thinking ethos that defined Apollo’s golden era.
Three decades on, this long out of print album finally returns on vinyl format, freshly remastered and restored, reaffirming its status as an essential document of electronic music’s evolution and Robert Leiner’s enduring influence.
‘Visions Of The Past’ by Robert Leiner is available on Apollo Records from 7th November 2025.
“duo,” a collaboration between norwegian jazz heavyweight bugge wesseltoft and german house visionary henrik schwarz, is finally being reissued. it stands as one of the finest albums in the history of club music to so beautifully fuse jazz and electronic music. deep and experimental yet irresistibly melodic, this gem of a record possesses a captivating sensibility that draws in listeners of every kind. newly remastered by kuniyuki, this long-awaited reissue comes pressed on 180g vinyl. the refreshed artwork has been created by emerging japanese artist joji nakamura
happy 15th anniversary!
„Duo“, eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem norwegischen Jazz-Schwergewicht Bugge Wesseltoft und dem deutschen House-Visionär Henrik Schwarz, wird endlich neu aufgelegt. Es gilt als eines der besten Alben in der Geschichte der Clubmusik, das Jazz und elektronische Musik so wunderschön miteinander verbindet. Tiefgründig und experimentell, aber dennoch unwiderstehlich melodisch, besitzt dieses Juwel von einem Album eine fesselnde Sensibilität, die Zuhörer aller Art in ihren Bann zieht. Neu gemastert von Kuniyuki, erscheint diese lang erwartete Neuauflage auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl. Das überarbeitete Artwork stammt vom aufstrebenden japanischen Künstler Joji Nakamura.
Gaudi’s Jazz Gone Dub is a masterclass in genre fusion, seamlessly blending the improvisational essence of jazz with the heavy atmospheric grooves of dub. Known for his eclectic approach to music production, Gaudi pushes the boundaries yet again, creating a sonic landscape that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly innovative.
Four years in the making, from the opening track it’s clear that Jazz Gone Dub is more than just a mashup of styles—it's a thoughtful exploration of the intersections between two rich musical traditions.
Gaudi’s multi-instrumental talents are on full display, and the presence of reggae royalty is palpable, courtesy of rootsy melodies from David Hinds (Steel Pulse), Jah Wobble’s iconic bass grooves, Ernest Ranglin’s intricate guitar lines and Sly & Robbie’s rhythmic genius. Add Sardinia’s Train to Roots band, Manu Chao collaborator Roy Paci, veteran guitarist Marcus Upbeat, Mr Woodnote and Tim Hutton’s brass work, Gavin Tate-Lovery’s sultry sax and flute, Horseman’s percussive flair plus Colin Edwin and Vlastur’s serious basslines, and the
result is a rhythmic foundation that’s both solid and fluid, allowing the jazz elements to float freely above the dub undercurrents.
Despite this star-studded line-up, Gaudi remains the glue that holds this gem together: his production is meticulous yet organic, allowing each track to breathe and evolve naturally. The use of space, delays and reverb—a hallmark of dub music—is expertly handled, giving the album a dreamy, immersive quality. Tracks like Susceptible and Alabaster Moon showcase Gaudi’s ability to create mood and atmosphere without sacrificing melodic and rhythmic complexity.
In Jazz Gone Dub Gaudi has crafted an album that feels both timeless and forward-thinking, a celebration of musical synergy where the free-spirit of jazz meets the deep resonance of dub. Whether you’re a fan of either genre or simply appreciate masterful musicianship and innovative production, this album is a must-listen.
Skull Snaps 1973 album on GSF is iconic because of the huge number of times tracks on it have been sampled by the Hip-Hop community.
The album, produced by genius George Kerr, and featuring the talented Ervan Walters and Sam Culley, was released with a flourish and in a classic gatefold sleeve but GSF floundered and the album flopped. It’s discovery by Rap music makers has been well documented but before that happened it was discovered by UK Soul detectives in the 70s.
As the Northern Soul scene shapeshifted on from 60’s Motown sound alikes into contemporary black music a whole new music rosta took over the dancefloors. And just as Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson’s “The Bottle” got its debut British spins in the North, so did a whole slew of other acts - includung the Skull Snaps.
“My Hang Up Is You” became a single from the album and an underground anthem. One venue that became synonymous with the track was the Ritz in Manchester where the legendary Soul and Jazz -Funk All-Dayers helped shape UK dance music culture. Paul Mooney has created two 2026 remixes - one vocal and one instrumental - that pay homage to that 1970s golden era when Soul and Disco gelled into an unstoppable force. Fittingly both remixes have been dedicated to those Ritz All-Dayers.
With Neolithic Neon, Appleblim creates a kaleidoscopic reflection of the spirituality inherent within electronic music — the ineffable frequencies and communal traditions that spring from exploratory synthesis, deep-rooted rhythms and myriad other sonic codes.
Throughout his third album for Sneaker Social Club, Laurie Osborne continues to express a fascination with the ancient resonance held within modern rave as he guides his own studio practice towards more purposefully analogue processes. It's reflective of his desire to let go and trust his instincts within the more chaotic realm of voltages and signals, not to mention turning to a wider spread of instrumentation and opening up to noisier avenues. This direction defines the character of Neolithic Neon, which bristles with the living imperfections of the gear in the context of incisive and wide-ranging cuts touching on jungle, dubstep, techno, electro, acid and experimental electronic music of all stripes.
Across Osborne's solo output from 2018's Life In A Laser to 2021 tape Infinite Hieroglyphics, a strong melodic sensibility spills out of the richly layered production. It's equally audible in his Wrecked Lightship collaboration with Adam Winchester, and it charges Neolithic Neon with its star-gazing, contemplative streak. From the knotty plucks and licks weaving through opener 'Moorland' to the vaporous synths darting across the top of hardcore conductor 'Thunderstorm', a dreamlike evocation takes the sound off terra firma, musing on cosmic events and our connection to the enormity of the universe.
Eternally in thrall to the maverick vocabulary of pioneering beat scientists and fuelled by the inspiration of great thinkers dwelling on our purpose and place, Neolithic Neon unfurls big ideas without heavy-handed messaging. Instead, it trusts in the universal and time-honoured language of experimentation and rhythm to present its ideas, true to Appleblim's legacy to date while opening a new chapter in his ongoing sonic quest.
Drawing from traditions of musique concrète and ambient synthesis, The Vertical Luminous creates a world of textural depth and microscopic wonder. Across its tracks, bubbling tones, processed field recordings, and shifting electronic layers intertwine, evoking the sensation of listening in on the hidden rhythms of atoms, molecules, and micro-organisms.
'While grounded in experimental technique, The Vertical Luminous avoids the academic or austere, instead embracing a mischievous sense of melody and curiosity - a reminder that exploration and joy can coexist in sound.
'The result is a record that is both meditative and playful, equally suited to deep listening or casual drift.'
Laurie Torres is a Canadian musician and composer raised in Montréal, Québec by Haitian parents. Since 2008, she has been a trusted stage and studio performer for Julia Jacklin, Pomme, and Land of Talk, as well as being a founding member of Folly & The Hunter, with whom she recorded four studio albums and toured Canada, Europe and the UK.
In 2023, Laurie shifted focus to work on her own creations, a process of making time - the will and the need becoming omnipresent. Drawing creative inspiration from contemporary artists like Tirzah, Gia Margaret, Valentina Magaletti, Tara Clerkin Trio and ML Buch, 'Après coup' finds Torres intersecting at a pivotal moment where artists whose marginalized identities are at the forefront in creating a beautiful array of "other options".
"Being othered and tokenized as a woman who plays music, as well as a queer and black person, takes a toll, while also positively feeding a strong urge to push and be seen."
Centering around piano, drums and synthesizer with interweaving field recordings, 'Après coup' follows the precursor ep 'Correspondances' in the form of a sprawling 11-track album. Translating directly from French - afterwards, after the event - its title subliminally points at something deeper between the lines. Recorded in 2023 between tours in a small window of time where 'normal' life hadn't quite recommenced, Torres meticulously crafted her debut solo material in view of surrounding nature, all providing the perfect nourishment for long streams of improvisation. Built right up to the edge of a lake, Studio Wild in St-Zénon, Québec offered an unparalleled location and set up for her freeform creativity.
Instrumental music seemed like a natural response and evolution for Torres who had long basked in the world of "pop music" as she elaborates: "I had an urge to use creativity as a sort of resting place, a place where things can unfold slowly and take time to reveal themselves. In other worlds words, I felt the need to make something slower, more elusive"
The immediacy of Torres' recorded takes doubled with minimal overdubs create a fiercely direct, intimate and unpolished lo-fi beauty. 'Après coup' then is self-reflective, open and inclusive with Torres allowing herself to be fully seen. An album to be felt at close distance with unrivalled authenticity. This album stands as a testament to Laurie's artistic evolution and serves as a beacon, inspiring her to continue nurturing her own creative pursuits and finding exhilarating freedom.
Fresh off an EP on Semantica and an album on MORD, Uun returns to his imprint Ego Death with the Panopticon EP. Uun showcases his range on these 6 tracks, running the gamut from dissonance to chord driven grooves.
The A side focuses on intensity. “Aesthetic Descent” features dual synth lines, slipping between melody and atonality. The straightforward percussion allows the listener to focus on the everchanging dynamics in the leads. “Structural Obedience” begins with a chugging groove, out of which a buzzsaw synth emerges. This track is a display of Uun’s ability to walk the line between minimalism and maximalism.
The B side focuses on the interplay between melody and groove. “Ralph’s Track” channels the dub chords of Basic Channel while applying a modern edge. “The Hidden System” features the lone vocal on the EP, sampled from the work of the late great David Lynch. The interplay between the 7⁄8 lead synth and 4/4 percussion creates a feeling of anticipation, where the patterns develop in unpredictable ways.
The digital exclusive tracks go into more experimental territory. “Queen’s Chamber” is a broken beat dirge, consisting of reverb drenched percussion and synths reminiscent of Dead Can Dance. The final track, “Shokunin”, is the counterpoint to Aesthetic Descent, closing out the release on a crushing yet hopeful note.
Pressed onto a unique custom turquoise and black hand poured color mix record inside a full printed jacket. The evocative artwork was created by Minneapolis based graphic designer Ryote.
British electronic music pioneers Graham Massey (founding member of Manchester legends 808 State) and Brian Dougans (the mind behind acid house milestone Humanoid and one half of The Future Sound Of London) join forces for their debut collaboration In Place Of Language, released on Belgian label De:tuned.
Both 808 State and Humanoid helped shape the UK's early rave and acid house movement. Here, Massey and Dougans channel that legacy into a beautifully balanced four-track EP that radiates warmth and energy, drawing on more than three decades of experience in electronic music. Inspired by key elements of the '89-91 era while embracing a contemporary edge, the duo merge their distinct sonic identities into a sound that feels both timeless and forward-looking.
In Place Of Language is not a nostalgia trip, but a natural evolution: a meeting point between foundation and future, and a blueprint for a new wave of electronic experimentation!
Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!
We are extremely excited to share with you this wonderful piece of old skool hardcore. Created in Bristol in 1993 and released on a limited white label back then, this record has become a holy grail over the past 30 years. Very rare, very sought after and 100% original West Country vibes.
Written by Rich Williams, who emigrated to LA many years ago and James Towler – producer for John Lydon these days! These guys were on some next level vibes when they wrote this ultimate slice of darkcore rave!
Pressed by the mighty Phil ‘The Vinylman’ East on 180g heavyweight vinyl. This release is a bespoke product as no one record is the same. Designed to look like the planet Jupiter and part of a 4 vinyl Cosmik series.
In the spring of 1977, Millie Jackson was in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, laying down tracks for what became “Feelin’ Bitchy” with co-producer Brad Shapiro. Released in August 1977, the album reached #4 and #34 in America’s Billboard’s R&B and Hot 100, going gold with over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson’s cover of ‘If You’re Not Back In Love By Monday’ – already a hit for Merle Haggard in March 1977 – also reached #5 R&B and #43 in the Hot 100 in August. Although the album did not chart in the UK, “Feelin’ Bitchy” sold strongly to a dedicated fanbase who had voted her the #1 female singer in the Blues & Soul magazine annual poll. Jackson also performed much of the material on her sold-out UK dates in early 1978.
“Feelin’ Bitchy” was not only a commercial success, cementing Jackson’s no-nonsense reputation, but is now considered an all-time classic. Her rap on Benny Latimore’s ‘All The Way Lover’ stretched the original out like chewing gum to 10 minutes. “’Back In Love By Monday’ is a great song an’ that,” she told Black Echoes, “but it didn’t sell the album. ‘All The Way Lover’ sold the album.” Indeed it did, but other tracks like ‘A Little Taste Of Outside Love’ ‘Lovin’ Your Good Thing Away’, ‘Cheatin’ Is’ and ‘Feelin’ Like A Woman’ show that while Jackson’s tongue – front and centre on the LP cover – was always ready to hand out a lashing, it also helped her sing beautifully.
Ace are delighted to reissue “Feelin’ Bitchy’ on vinyl and Millie Jackson spoke to Ian Shirley about the recording of the album. This interview runs on an inner sleeve along with classic photographs of Jackson from this period.
GARDEN OF EDEN becane an instant sensation via white label promotion copy plays,
It instantly picked up support from radio stations Mi-Soul (instant playlist), Panacea, Solar and Starpoint, became Terry Jones breakout record at the recent Southport Soul Weekender and had Modern Soul DJs begging for a copy,
A special reaction to a very special record. Produced by veteran House Heads Phil Hooton and Mark Gamble, the duo have created a monster track that straddles Soul, Jazz and House. Commentator Yogi Haughton highlighted the “ambiguous nature” of GARDEN OF EDEN as it merges Soul and Jazzy House.
The bedrock of the track is a newly recorded (with ace musos lured into the recording studio) version of Mezzoforte’s Iceland jazz-funk classic GARDEN PARTY.
Phil and Mark then composed a brand new composition to go over the top of the track,and to regally complete their new concoction got UK Soulful House royalty vocalist extraordinaire Pete Simpson to sing it. And what a performance Pete delivers!
There’s two equally beguiling mixes - on the a side the 4.37 Vocal Edit V.3 With Horns edit and flip it over for the 4.34 Vocal Trombone Mix - on this 7” single.
Following Parnell March’s Back Bar Grooves EP in February and November’s release of the Dust Tears (lead song from Sarah/Shaun’s debut) remixes, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label returns with a second EP of dream pop from husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), alias Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced McLochlun), who wooed hearts and wowed critics with debut EP ‘It’s True What They Say?’ last year.
‘It’s True What They Say?’ attracted fans across the board: Artist Of The Week in The Scotsman, rapturous reviews from The Skinny and Tokyo's Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, BBC 6Music airplay courtesy of Nemone (Mary Anne Hobbs' Morning Show), more radio play from Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart & Vic Galloway, plus Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) via their respective Soho Radio shows, not forgetting ringing endorsements from the likes of David Holmes, Youth, Kevin Bales (Spiritualized), Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks) and Julian Corrie (Franz Ferdinand).
They played gigs supporting Glasgow's huge Glasvegas, at festivals (Kendall Calling, Dunbar Music, Hidden Door), plus a slew of venues across the Scottish capital, ending the year with a trio of shows supporting Glaswegian 80s pop legends The Bluebells at Aberdeen’s Tunnels, Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys and Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, while The List magazine tipped them among their Ones To Watch For 2025, with journalist Fiona Shepherd suggesting they were “blending the starry-eyed pop of Sonny & Cher with the electronic experimentation of Chris & Cosey.”
Very much the companion piece to the debut EP but arriving a full twelve months later, Someone’s Ghost is emblematic of the duo’s desire not to rush things or release anything half-baked.
“I’ve always wanted to create the perfect pop record and I do really feel that we’ve achieved that with this one,” says Shaun. And he’s clearly not the only person who thinks so.
REVIEWS, FEEDBACK ETC:
"I LOVE that! Dreamy dreamy pop." ROY MOLLOY (Marvellous Crane/Alex Cameron) on BLAST RADIO, Sydney
“the Scottish music scene’s cream of the cool... buzzy drum beats, high, distant chimes, and heavenly electronics…. very ethereal.” THE SKINNY
"Listening to Sarah/Shaun is like eavesdropping on a noir dreampop, long-distance phone call between them both, across two separate sonic locations. On this stunning 4-song EP, Sarah’s voice, effortlessly mesmerising, draws you into these big beautiful and haunting passages of perfect dream-pop. All beautifully produced in a multi-layered-scape of low-fi analogue textures, epic cinematic crescendos, intense electro-pulse grooves and warped psycho-pop guitar riffs. Within the songs lurk a sense of unresolved emotions, longing and pathos. There are shades of classic Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra but also Post-Punk Electronica and Beach House. But what a unique sound they’ve created of their own. I love it" DAVID MCCLUSKEY (The Bluebells)
"Absolutely beautiful" SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"Lovely stuff here! Total quality." MARTYN 'MASH' HENDERSON
"Ooooh. Everything the last record promised is here. Well done" GEORGE T aka George Demure (Accident Machine)
"Vince clark Era Depeche Mode in places" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized)
"Sounds cool. Well done" PETE KEMBER (Sonic Boom, Spacemen 3)
"Glorious, it (Debbie Harry) grabs hold of you and doesn't let go." IAIN DAWSON aka RAVECHILD (Everyone Wants To Play The Hits Podcast)
SOMEONE’S GHOST
Born out of an incredibly anxious, stressful time, the songwriting process for these recordings has been something of a personal tonic for Shaun…
“There was a period when I was having nightmares,” he reveals. “Apparently I was saying there was someone in the room, I was talking to that person and Sarah was seeing all this while I was still asleep.
So, I was thinking that this was my ghost. I started writing songs because I was going through something and I was dealing with something and writing songs was a comfort. My ghost was a comfort, whether it was real or not. The idea of it was a comfort.”
“I firmly believe that everyone has someone who watches over them but all of the songs are essentially about being there for someone,” he says. “Everybody needs someone but also everyone needs to stay real and keep what you have, keep it close, never let it go. If you don’t have it, continue to tell people you’re there for them. It’s about loving and hoping people will be good to you in return.”
While Shaun took the songwriting lead on Filter Of Love and EP closer The Sound Which Stresses The Sound Of My Ears, Debbie Harry was originally instrumentally conceived by producer Jaguar Eyes, alias Ali Chisholm, later lyrically completed by Shaun, and the EP’s lead track, Anhedonia, and one of its stand-outs (much like Starbed on the debut) was conceived by Sarah, as a result of experiencing a bit of a spiritual epiphany of her own.
“When I first heard the word Anhedonia, I didn't know what it meant but when I found out I thought about it quite a bit. How sad it would be to have no enjoyment in anything,” she explains. “This song is really about my own personal beliefs. When I have been down, that's one of the things that helps me the most. It talks about trying to make amends but realising, for some things, you can't. But I think with any kind of faith comes hope… which is always a good thing.”
A record about hope, truth, honesty, a belief in something bigger than oneself… and all set to a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Lynch or Eighties feature film. What more could anyone ask for, really?
There’s equally a desire to offer something universal and positive to anyone who tunes in. The labels for the 12” edition reveal the dual mantras “Who just wants to survive?” and “It’s about time to live a little”, with both messages also engraved in each record’s run-out grooves. T-shirts accompanying debut EP It’s True What They Say? bore the slogan “Kill Them With Kindness” - leading caps intentional. Shaun carries the acronym KTWK everywhere he plays, as a reminder: it’s stitched into his guitar strap. And this particular wee pebble has already caused a few ripples: people have been approaching him at gigs to acknowledge their appreciation and respect for it.
"We feel we have made an honest, open, colourful, body of work,” say the duo. “We hope to go out and play the songs with the guys (our band) and then potentially make more records. We are taking things as they come. Everything has been organic so far, after all. We are looking forward to whatever this brings."
In 1998, Carsten Nicolai, also known as Alva Noto, visited a sound installation created by Robert Lippok for a group exhibition in Weimar, Germany. Soon after, he invited Lippok to release music on his label raster-noton. »Open Close Open« was released in 2001 and marked the beginning of Lippok's solo career. Before, Lippok had already played in Ornament und Verbrechen (with his brother Ronald Lippok) and To Rococo Rot (with Ronald Lippok and Stefan Schneider).
The title of the EP is a linguistic reference to the instructions found on everyday objects. In fact, the sound of birds or a closing door can be heard. Besides field recordings, cultural fragments were used – including the sample of the famous Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Symphony. No. 5. – and integrated into three loop-based pieces, that have been praised by Fact Magazine as »a masterclass in collage, looping and tactile processing.«
The source material for »Open Close Open« initially served as a soundtrack for a video by Takehito Koganezawa, a visual artist from Japan. For this remastered vinyl reissue, Lippok revisited the original sound material and produced a new track called »Licht.«
The beautifully crafted twelve-track opus is out now via Stil vor Talent.
Berlin-based artist, DJ, producer and Stil vor Talent co-founder Oliver Koletzki today releases his twelfth studio album, “12” — a deeply considered, emotionally rich long-player that marks the next chapter in a career spanning more than two decades at the forefront of electronic music. The album is out now on Stil vor Talent in digital formats and as a 2x12” gatefold vinyl.
Serving as both a milestone and a manifesto, “12” distils Koletzki’s evolving sound into its most refined form yet. Across twelve tracks, the album explores atmosphere, restraint and emotional clarity, balancing slow-burning club energy with introspective storytelling. It’s a record shaped by experience, patience and an unwavering attention to detail; qualities that have long defined Koletzki’s output as both an artist and a label curator.
The journey begins with album opener “Petrichor”, a quietly powerful introduction built around wistful organ chords that gradually unfold into a warm, hypnotic groove. Acting as the album’s emotional threshold, the track sets the tone for what follows: music that rewards immersion, thrives on nuance and unfolds with deliberate pace. From there, 12 moves seamlessly between introspective moments and more direct dance floor statements, always guided by Koletzki’s unmistakable melodic sensibility.
Singles released in the lead-up to the album offered carefully sequenced glimpses into its breadth. December’s “Trip With Me”, a collaboration with Frida Darko, brought playful energy and sharp modern club dynamics, while January’s “I Don’t Need Your Love” delivered a confident, emotionally charged statement rooted in Koletzki’s introspective yet club-ready DNA. February’s “Petrichor” revealed the album’s cinematic depth, followed by “Schnapsidee” in March — a track that leans into groove, character and subtle eccentricity.
Elsewhere on the album, tracks like “Logic”, “It’s All Gone” and “Tick Tick” showcase Koletzki’s ability to create tension and release through finely balanced arrangements, while “La Hora de Mosquitos” and “Calle Sur” hint at the global influences that continue to shape his sound. The closing stretch — from “About the Fox and a Tiger” through “What Remains” to “Voice or Noise” (with Frida Darko) — brings the album to a reflective, yet characteristically playful conclusion.
As a whole, “12” feels purposeful and cohesive, guided by a clear narrative arc rather than fleeting trends. It reflects the maturity of an artist with nothing left to prove, yet still driven by curiosity and a desire to evolve. Much like Koletzki’s previous albums, “12” stands as a self-contained world, inviting listeners to step inside and stay.
Released on Stil vor Talent, the album also reinforces the label’s ethos of artistic freedom, quality and long-term vision. Now over 20 years strong, the imprint continues to shape contemporary electronic music while remaining deeply rooted in underground culture: a balance Koletzki himself has embodied throughout his career.
Xerrox Vol. 1 is the third studio album by German electronic artist Alva Noto. It was released in 2007 as part of the ongoing Xerrox pentalogy, based on the concept of digital replication of source material.
Using the process of copying as a basis, the Xerrox series deals with the manipulation of data through endless reproduction. Due to the inherent fallacy of making copies from other copies, everyday sounds become so altered that they are hardly associated with their source material. As a result, entirely new sounds are created: copies of originals become originals themselves.
Together with Christoph Brünggel, Nicolai designed a "sample transformer" that takes audio fragments and manipulates them beyond recognition. In this process of taking something familiar and defamiliarizing it, samples from obvious sources-advertising jingles, airport tones, telephone hold music, and film soundtracks-were used and altered, resulting in sounds totally unlike their original source. The result is a series of haunting, intricately realised pieces that recontextualise Nicolai's "glitches and bass" sound into extended, cinematic, organic, and almost orchestral works.
Xerrox Vol. 1 was followed by Xerrox Vol. 2 (2009), Xerrox Vol. 3 (2015), Xerrox Vol. 4 (2020), Xerrox Vol. 5 (2024). This remastered version will be reissued on NOTON in 2026
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Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto
Title: 10-22-38 Astoria
Playtime: 00:00:19
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: DE1N62500001
(P):
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Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto
Title: Haloid Xerrox Copy 4
Playtime: 00:03:53
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: DE1N62500002
(P):
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Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto
Title: 03-10-06 Astoria
Playtime: 00:00:38
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: DE1N62500003
(P): 2007 2007
Country: Germany
Nicaraguan-American artist Dagmar Zuniga makes music that feels both intimate and expansive: songs drift like disrupted signals, carried by harmony, tape hiss, and a strong sense of touch. Her debut solo album in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow music — written and recorded in New York, Norway, and Athens, Georgia over a period of five years on her longtime companion, the Tascam 424 — was uploaded to Bandcamp and YouTube in January 2025, quickly garnering over two hundred thousand views and the attention of artists such as Mount Eerie, who invited her to tour with them that summer. This year, what was once a jewel of tapped-in algorithms and message boards will meet the world at large, with in filth arriving digitally on March 4, and physically on April 10, via AD 93.
in filth is an atmospheric, devotional collage where one voice multiplies into a chorus of selves, sometimes delicate, sometimes severe; an effect created by Zuniga’s masterful layering of texture and complex harmonies. Synths glitter out like spears of sunlight from beneath clouds of moody, time-distorted guitars, and songs spin about themselves like tightly-wound music boxes, making use of a kind of hypnotic repetition, before melting apart into their components or slipping into the following track.
Zuniga began recording to tape as a teenager, drawn to the physicality of the medium — how a tape recording is fragile, mutable, and alive. Though her ethereal sound may draw easy comparisons to other female pioneers of psychedelic folk, she is influenced just as much by the darker sounds of Syd Barrett and The Fall. Like Barrett, Zuniga is a painter, and she is interested not only in recording music but in creating a full, self-contained artistic universe: she creates her own artwork, merchandise, music videos, and bootleg tapes of new and unfinished music that she exclusively sells at live shows (“If something is not material, it does not exist,” she insists). Her world has not gone unvisited, garnering her a monthly show on NTS Radio ‘World of Pain’, as well as a forthcoming appearance at Rewire Festival in April 2026.
Though Zuniga’s work explores themes of solitude and suffering, the suffering in her songs is not borrowed or displayed; it is held, then opened outward through empathy — an exacting practice of attention that insists on shared ground. Solitude, in her work, is not withdrawal but a starting point for connection. Likewise, over time, her recording process has become increasingly communal, with in filth featuring musicians Hayes Hoey, Austyn Wohlers (Tomato Flower), and Zach Phillips (Fievel Is Glauque). Newer recordings widen the circle even more. For Zuniga, collaboration is a way to “find a place between worlds,” echoing Badiou’s idea of love as a vision refracted through the prism of difference. Meaning emerges there — in the space between voices, between artist and listener. “I hope my music helps people work through difficult experiences,” she says. “The same way it helps me.”
Future Tones is back... this time with Fdez, label co founder. Four dancefloor killer tracks, and starts with Dr Blowfin, Dark and driving techno house tool. Rolling sub-heavy bassline, tight percussive groove and raw analog synth stabs.
The A2 is for Techcontrol, Stripped and hypnotic. Minimal drum programming layered with evolving analog textures and shadowy vocal fragments.
The other side starts with Sarcofago, Heavy low-end pressure with a punchy groove. Italo-tinged atmospheres and dusty analog sequences create a moody peak-time cut with steady progression.
And B2 is for Zigurat, Killer closer. Deep pulsating bass, restrained percussion and haunting vocal elements floating over warm analog pads. Perfect for late-night transitions and controlled energy shifts.
Loud Ambient 2 picks up directly from where Loud Ambient left off. After picking the drum machines back up, we returned to the colourfield ideas that shaped the first record. Rothko remained a key reference, along- side a strong recommendation to spend time with the work of Josef Albers. We did exactly that, and it paid off.
Alongside the music, we created 50 new pieces of artwork for Loud Ambient 2. These became tools rather than decorations. Working this way felt open and rewarding, and brought a real sense of play back into the process. We already understood what a Loud Ambient track could be, so slipping back into that headspace felt natural. The tracks came together quickly, full of energy, movement and that familiar noodle quality.
The creative side landed easily this time. There is some- thing about working with colourfields that frees you up and pushes you further into abstraction. It removes hesitation and keeps the focus on instinct and response.
With the drum machines and synths loaded, we kept our heads down and made the kind of music we want to hear on a dance floor. Loud Ambient 2 is the result.
Münchenbuchsee, a suburb of Bern, Switzerland. Stephan Eicher is the youngest of three children. His father, a radio and TV repairman, is also a jazz violinist and a sound tinkerer in his spare time. In the family home's converted fallout shelter turned studio, Mr. Eicher experiments with homemade sequencers, tortures handcrafted drum machines, and abuses reel-to-reel tape recorders—all under the fascinated gaze of young Stephan.
The boy quickly develops a musical curiosity, exploring sound through various experiments and wanderings. Alongside his younger brother Martin, Stephan crafts audio plays on a homemade multi-track recorder (essentially several cassette decks hooked together!), which they write, record, add sound effects to, and perform for family and friends. Just a couple of nice kids, really...
Then comes 1972, and Lou Reed's Transformer album changes everything for the Eicher kids. For 13-year-old Stephan, it's a revelation—especially "Vicious", the opening track, which he plays on repeat for months. He convinces his father to buy him an electric guitar. Not stopping there, his father also builds him a tube amp using an old radio.
Then comes adolescence. A rough one. Stephan leaves home at 16 and moves to Zurich. With obvious artistic talent, he persuades his art teacher to help him get into F+F, a radical, alternative art school—despite his young age. Accepted, he starts learning video techniques, determined to become a filmmaker.
At F+F, Stephan organizes Dada-style happenings and concerts with a group of friends known as the Noise Boys. Among them: one of his teachers on bass, Veit Stauffer on drums (who would later found ReR/Recommended Records), his girlfriend Sacha on vocals, and Stephan on guitar. In one of their early performances, they release a remote-controlled mouse covered in dull razor blades into the audience to create panic and chaos. Keeping with this aggressive, confrontational spirit, they once played a concert while wearing headphones blasting Tristan and Isolde, trying to perform their own songs simultaneously—to maximize the cacophony. The goal was always the same: clear the room.
Their “songs,” if you can call them that, followed suit. Take "Hungeriges Afrika", for instance—performed entirely with power drills and some drum feedback.
To make ends meet, Stephan returns to Bern on weekends to work as a waiter at the Spex Club, the city’s main punk venue. On September 16, 1980, during a show by proto-electro group Starter, the police raid the club and arrest everyone. Stephan, who manages to avoid arrest, seizes the opportunity to “borrow” Starter’s gear left behind. He suddenly finds himself in possession of a Roland Promars synth, a Korg MS20, and a gorgeous CR78 drum machine, which he runs through a Big Muff distortion pedal to get that perfect gritty sound.
He then sets out to reinterpret some Noise Boys tracks, reworking them during impromptu sessions recorded on a dictaphone (yes, a dictaphone—now the lo-fi sound makes more sense, doesn’t it?). He ironically titles the resulting cassette "Stephan Eicher spielt Noise Boys" ("Stephan Eicher plays Noise Boys"). This gem features seven tracks, which are the ones reissued here.
Back in Zurich, he visits his friends Andrew Moore and Robert Vogel, who have a DIY cassette duplication setup. They make 25 copies of Stephan Eicher spielt Noise Boys for Stephan and his friends. Robert encourages him to visit Urs Steiger of Off Course Records and play him the tape.
Without much hope, Stephan shows up at Urs’s office. But Urs is instantly hooked and suggests releasing a 7” single. Due to space constraints, they reluctantly drop two of the seven tracks ("Hungeriges Afrika" and "One Second"). As for the musical score featured on the cover—it was randomly chosen and remains a mystery to this day. Calling all music theory nerds!
The 7-inch is pressed in 750 copies and released in the first week of December 1980—a date Stephan remembers well, as it’s the same week John Lennon was killed. Smartly, Urs sends a promo copy to François Murner, Switzerland’s answer to John Peel, who hosts a show on alternative station Sounds. Murner falls in love with the record and starts giving it airtime. To Stephan’s surprise, sales follow—and people actually seem interested in his music.
Even this modest underground success scares Stephan a bit. He stops making music for a year and moves to Bologna, where he works as a programmer at Radio Città, a feminist radio station.
Meanwhile, Stephan’s younger brother Martin, who’s also involved in the punk scene, joins the band Glueams as a singer and guitarist. Glueams, named after the fanzine run by two of its members (drummer Marco Repetto and bassist GT), eventually rebrands as Grauzone. Stephan is invited to their shows to project hacked Super 8 visuals live on stage.
Urs Steiger, now working on a compilation titled Swiss Wave – The Album, asks Grauzone to contribute alongside bands like Liliput, Jack and the Rippers, The Sick, and Ladyshave (Fall 1980).
For the album, Martin tasks Stephan with producing their recording sessions. Under Stephan's artistic direction, two tracks emerge: "Raum" and "Eisbär". During "Eisbär", Martin plays a minimalist bass line borrowed from post-punk band The Feelies (just an open string). Drummer Marco Repetto struggles to keep time. Later that evening, unhappy with the takes, Stephan builds a four-bar drum loop from a ¼-inch tape and uses it instead of the flawed original. He then adds bleepy synths and wind sounds to complete the track’s icy vibe before handing it over to Urs.
The Swiss Wave – The Album compilation is released quietly at first, but things snowball thanks to "Eisbär", which eventually becomes a smash hit—selling over 600,000 singles.
Meanwhile, Stephan plays in a rockabilly band called SMUV (named after Switzerland’s social security agency) and begins producing artists, including the debut album of Starter (1981), which includes a more pop-oriented version of "Minijupe".
By early 1982, Stephan starts spending time with the post-punk girl band Liliput (formerly Kleenex). They’re older than him, and he happily drives them around in his Renault Major, acting as their roadie.
By 1983, Grauzone—signed to the major label EMI, which turned out to be a misstep—is falling apart. Stephan begins to pivot toward a more mainstream pop sound with his debut solo album Les Chansons Bleues.
Colophon creates electronic music using synthesizers and drum machines from the '80s and '90s that are no longer in production. Everything beeps and crackles, shaping atmospheric soundscapes layered with deep basslines and melancholic pads full of character.
'Dimension Six EP' delivers a six-track journey, moving through techno, acid, slow burners, and ambient. Imperfections are left intact, giving the music a raw, human feel rather than something overly clean, clinical, or artificial. It's the meeting point between old and new technology that makes the process so fascinating and inspiring - the endless places you can go, discovering new sounds within sounds.
Alongside producing music, Colophon also runs 'Loop of Life', a record label where music, fine art, and graphic design converge, releasing limited-edition vinyl with handmade artwork covers.
Reviews
'The excellent, excellent sounds of Colophon' Ben Sims on NTS Radio, London
'My favourite tracks of the moment' ASOK on Rinse FM, London
The fifth release on SAMMLER is shaped by an intense year and a period of transformation. Created as a way of processing lived experiences, the EP pushes the sonic boundaries of the project further while staying rooted in its hypnotic foundation.
On the A-side, ""Obion"" is stripped down and direct. A weighty beat meets a sharp, distinctive lead, building tension through reduction. ""Seno"" unfolds through a constant interplay of elements. Shimmering percussion and spacious textures create a glistening, almost cosmic atmosphere.
The B-side dives deeper into mood and movement. ""Riba"" revolves around a looping chord sequence that evokes an underwater sensation while maintaining steady drive. ""Dana"" closes the record with depth and presence, combining atmospheric pads with a stomping beat designed for full dancefloor impact.
SAMMLER 05 captures a refined yet uncompromising sound - immersive, focused and forward-moving.
Marking twenty years since South African producer and DJ Esa Williams left Cape Town, Dala What We Must is a deeply personal and expansive debut LP, an exploration of movement, memory, and sound shaped by two decades of creative evolution.
Co-created with collaborator and multi-instrumentalist Robin G. Breeze, the album deftly combines field recordings, layered instrumentation, and emotionally resonant compositions into a nuanced, globally influenced body of work. It also stands as Esa’s most collaborative release to date, featuring contributions from musicians across London, Oaxaca, Nairobi, and Cape Town, each adding their own creative energy to a project built on openness, trust, and shared experience.
The album draws inspiration from Esa’s recent ventures into documentary scoring and soundtracking, with projects like Cursed (Audible) and The Invisible Hand teaching him to listen differently, to honour space, to serve the story. That sensibility permeates the album, resulting in music that breathes, lingers, and listens as much as it speaks.
The title, Dala What We Must, is a South African call to action: a reminder to do what’s necessary, even in uncertainty. Finalised in the months leading up to Esa’s transition into fatherhood, the record carries a sense of grounding, care, and quiet transformation.
Dala What We Must is a sonic reflection of journey and community, a deeply collaborative project rooted in connection and guided by intention.
The duo Sławek Pezda & Witek Ryć is a project by Krakow-based musicians, a hybrid of ambient, noise, experimental music, jazz, trance, electronica, and ethnic music. The two musicians' musical paths were united by the practice of meditation, which also significantly translates into their musical language and the need to share the peace that flows to the listener through sound.
In their recordings and live performances, the musicians utilize tenor saxophone, modular synthesizers, electronics, drums, flutes, drum pads, Tibetan bowls, gongs, and a wide array of percussion instruments. They have played together in improvised concerts, relaxation concerts, chamber sessions, and even spiritual jazz.
"Kardamon" is the result of one of the live sessions, where the rhythm, based on a simple pulse flowing from a frame drum, accompanied by Ankle Bells (Indian janissary bells played with the foot), is enriched by Sławek's tenor saxophone. In addition to the aforementioned instruments, a synthesizer and a Roland HPD 20 drum machine were also used, accompanied by various percussion instruments (shaker, chimes, bells, etc.), as well as a fragment of Witek's own field recordings from the Polesie National Park.
The remix on the B-side was created by DJ PLASH, who gave the duo's original sounds a completely new dimension. Plash (Marcin Przeplasko) is arguably one of the most sought-after DJs playing for b-girls and b-boys worldwide, a feat culminating in his official performance behind the turntables at the last Summer Olympics. PLASH is Witek's neighbor from Krakow's Nowa Huta district.
The front cover artwork is a painting by Witek Ryć, and the entire album was assembled and framed by Animisiewasz. Mastering was handled by Eprom. The single is limited to 150 copies and is being released by Funky Mamas and Papas Recordings, a label specializing in seven-inch singles since 2008.
We are excited to continue our work with Art P / Art Programming by finally offering the first full-length work from this Bremen-based electronic group. Originally released only on cassette in 1983, the self-titled album has now been fully restored and remastered, complete with bonus tracks and unreleased mixes unearthed from a rare demo.
The LP opens with "Wesen vom anderen Stern" ("Beings from Another Planet"), a downtempo, 808-driven electro synth wave track with German lyrics telling a story of aliens capturing earth, becoming the new "Herren" (lords), while humans are reduced to mere "objects." Art Programming founding member Jens-Markus Wegener notes that this track has always been a favorite during live performances, and it's easy to imagine how the futuristic sounds would have blown people away at the time.
Next is the electro/proto-techno title track "Art Programming," which we previously issued on a limited 12" in its full-length form. With its straightforward Roland 808 rhythms, catchy synth lines, and vocoder vocals, it's a classic example of German electro, and one of the earliest proto-techno tracks - long before Cybotron claimed the techno mantle. Its extensive break and electronic twist make it an early precursor to the genre. Wegener recalls that this track was created exclusively by him and Grotelüschen, with Grotelüschen contributing most of the melodic elements, while Wegener focused on drum machine programming and vocoder vocals.
On "That's Me," the album welcomes back singer Claudia Roebke. Although it's an electronic composition, Roebke adds a rock-infused, almost psychedelic vibe to the song. The lyrics, written by Wegener, depict a person obsessed with their appearance, using irony to critique societal beauty norms, questioning the obsession with perfection and attraction.
The album continues with a series of uptempo electro tracks: "Videoscreen," "La Gare," and "Genscher Pull 'N' Push." The first two feature slightly different mixes from an earlier demo that we personally prefered over the versions that were available on the final cassette release. "Videoscreen" expands on the theme of social isolation, with lyrics reflecting on a world obsessed with watching video all day - a topic that resonates strongly with today's culture of doom scrolling and social media addiction.
Next up, "Genscher Pull 'N' Push" is an incredible electro/wave/proto-techno track recorded in October 1982 with a political edge. Originally omitted from the album, it was only available on the demo cassette we mentioned earlier. The song takes aim at German politics, with lyrics that shout "bitte geh nach links / bitte geh nach rechts" ("please go to the left" and "please go to the right"), referencing the shifting political allegiances during the 1982 coalition change, when Genscher's party, the FDP, left the Helmut Schmidt cabinet to join the CDU/CSU opposition. The track was never released as the political topic had become outdated just a few months later.
The album closes with "Light and Fire," which originally served as the album's opening track. Its quirky, upbeat vibe now makes for a fitting outro.
The gear used on this album reads like a dream list for early 80s electronic music production: Roland Jupiter 4, TR 808, TB 303, System 100, SVC 350, Korg Mono/Poly, Moog Prodigy, FRICKE-Sequenzer, Roland CSQ-100 Sequenzer, Coron DS-8, MM 12/2, Sony TC 399, TEAC-244 Portastudio, Ibanez DM 1000, EH-Electric Mistress, EV-Micro. This unique lineup of equipment sets the album apart from NDW releases of the era, lending it a distinct sound with heavy proto-techno leanings and that straightforward electro vibe we all love.
The album is being released as a very limited edition of 300 copies on transparent red vinyl, complete with a full picture sleeve and lyrics inlay. This is yet another rediscovered and restored 80s gem on our label that you definitely don't want to miss!
After delivering a killer track on our Diffraction EP compilation and a series of highlighted projects on Hiver Discs, Iro Aka returns to Polychrome Audio with club-ready 4-tracker Dimensions. We are really proud to release the music of friends who create such quality electronic music. On the A side, Dimensions and Direction 0 original mixes bring a driving and bleepy techno sound shaped by the duo’s characteristic psychedelic design. The B side is a strictly remix affair: Human Space Machine turns Dimensions into deeper techno territory while French duo Atomic Moog presents a slow-burning downtempo take on Direction 0 for early or late into the night. We hope you enjoy this record as much as we do!
In September 2024, Nacho Piek, Rapha Mundi, Odd Signals and Ibai Machín gathered for four days in a beautiful house in Etxeberri, a small village in Navarre with barely 50 inhabitants. Isolated from everyday rhythm and surrounded by nature, the goal was clear: to create a production camp dedicated exclusively to club music.
The result is Etxeberri EP, the debut of Buenobueno Soundsystem — a work that captures that coexistence in the form of direct and timeless music, designed for the dancefloor. An organic crossing of influences ranging from House, Techno and late-90s Minimal Trance to contemporary UK Bass.
Etxeberri EP will be released on March 13 exclusively on vinyl, in a limited edition of 200 copies. Each record includes an inlay with photographs of the creative process and private access to an audiovisual piece shot by Jesús Iriarte documenting the experience and the spirit behind the project
London Based Deadbeat is a techno label founded in 2000 as an outlet for the more eclectic, risk taking and aggressive elements of the genre. Dedicated to unveiling forward thinking new talent, championing cult underground producers and celebrating established global acts the label has created a loyal fan base and now after more than two decades presents its first vinyl release, a massive six track EP that covers a lot of creative ground and features three artists well known for pushing boundaries while delivering face melting, dancefloor destroying beats.
Sane ( Don't Recordings / Fun In The Murky ) is a Uk based producer and techno DJ who has featured multiple times on the 'Best electronic music on bandcamp' pages. Described there by music journalist Joe Muggs as 'Filthy, dirty, vile and brilliant. His techno will tear the top off your head and make soup with the contents. It screeches, it blurts, it whistles, and it roars. Above all, it crashes and clangs like a dancing mech warrior, crushing all before it. What more do you need to know?'
TSR ( Analog Records / Hörspielmusik ) are a highly regarded creative force of Swedish musical mentalists, a crazed, technologically berserk band of electronic wizards who relentlessly conjure up the most brilliant, silliest, toughest, most dance bootable funky techno on this train of existence. Known for high-energy, raw, and sometimes humorous tracks they have released to high acclaim on many notable labels and played all over the world.
DJ Ze MigL ( Djax-Up-Beats / Minimalistix ) is first and foremost a DJ, but also a producer & a Dude! Creating crazy, funky and sometimes brutal techno mayhem. Residentially from Portugal, he’s been the one of most prolific Portuguese techno producer/ DJ during the last 25 years. Producing and Spinning his own special brand of honkin’ techno, not changing a single cowbell. Never too serious or dark, always with proper party ON!
The record additionally features full sleeve artwork by Ed Twist ( of the influential 'Ugly Funk' label ) and is pressed on yellow vinyl.
Incl. Remixes by Red Axes, Roman Flügel & Abe Duque
What does it mean to exist in sound?
It does not begin with a beat, but with a choice. With the moment when someone decides not merely to inhabit the space, but to shape it – and in doing so, makes themselves visible.
Roman Flügel stands as a constant in the background. Not as an authority, but as a collective consciousness. Since the 1990s, he has moved through club music like a seeker, never content with the first answer. House, techno, experimentation – these are not genres, but states of being. His remix thinks, hesitates, opens, strikes like a surging acid wave, warping reality and demanding true presence.
New York taught him that club music is never neutral. It is body, friction, attitude. Abe Duque’s remix carries a strangely enchanting relentlessness, a resistance to smoothness – as if the dancefloor were a place where freedom is not claimed, but fought for.
Red Axes do not enter this space; they conjure it. Their sound is raw, repetitive, circular, as if deliberately refusing linearity. House, dub, and acid elements become material for a movement that is more trance than structure. Their remix does not ask where it is going; it asks why one should ever stand still.
And then there is Tim Paris. Not at the center, but as a narrator. As someone who knows that the voice is an attitude. “That Boy” is not a pose, but a mirror, ironic, direct, vulnerable. Paris moves between new wave house and club, always aware that identity is never fixed, but formed in the moment.
This remix record is not a gathering of names. It is a situation, four perspectives on the same question:
What does it mean to exist in sound?
Yet sound alone does not tell the full story: like music, the visual is a space to be shaped, felt, and deciphered. The cover of Tim Paris feat. Foremost Poets – That Boy, created by Konstantin Fürchtegott Kipfmüller, a visual artist at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach under Heiner Blum, embodies this principle. Drawing inspiration from the urban environment, Kipfmüller transforms traces of decay, weather, and time into abstract narratives that, like the music of Tim Paris, Roman Flügel, Abe Duque and Red Axes, unfold meaning layer by layer. The result is no mere adornment, but a mirror of the sonic landscape: every line, every surface an echo of the question of what it means to exist – fully, in the moment, in sound.
‘Distracted’ is Thundercat’s fifth studio album, featuring contributions from an incredible cast of friends including A$AP Rocky, WILLOW, Tame Impala, Lil Yachty, Channel Tres, and a long awaited collaboration with the dearly departed Mac Miller. The record was primarily created in close collaboration with a new creative partner – the super-producer Greg Kurstin – plus Flying Lotus, Kenny Beats (Kenneth Blume) and The Lemon Twigs. In the six years since his GRAMMY-winning album ‘It Is What It Is’, Thundercat’s star has risen: playing stadiums worldwide with Red Hot Chilli Peppers with Flea naming Thundercat “the best bass player on the planet”; performing live with A$AP Rocky, Steve Lacy, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Silk Sonic, Erykah Badu, Spinal Tap, Yo Gabba Gabba; collaborating with Haim, Smino, Kaytranada, Kamasi Washington and Justice. He also branched out into acting with a role in Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. His warm, playful presence is never too far away, and life’s all the more enlivened by it.
Chris Liebing's first full solo techno LP, 'Evolver' is released on 27th March 2026, via his own CLR imprint. The German techno don's LP features a host of collaborators across music, images, and artwork. Luke Slater, Charlotte De Witte, Speedy J, The Advent, Terence Fixmer, Pascal Gabriel, Daniel Miller contribute to the music, while long-time collaborators Studio Bergfors deliver design, and legendary photographer Anton Corbijn shot Liebing for the project.
The Evolver LP is the sum total of Chris Liebing's three decades at the beating heart of techno. It's the record only someone whose first break as a techno DJ was playing five hours at Sven Väth's infamous Omen in Frankfurt - and who has ridden out every twist and turn of life and subcultures since, while remaining rooted in the true school, dark, sweaty techno sweat pits of the world - could have made. It's the result of deep introspection, but it's about utter immediacy. It's the sound of someone previously driven along by compulsion and happenstance at last finding the confidence to be utterly intentional about their practice, allowing them to take the most classic, familiar, proven elements from the past and render them completely new.
Evolver is also Liebing's first completely solo album. There are collaborations, yes: with old friends from the OG techno generation, Luke Slater, Speedy J, and The Advent, all on uncompromising form, and with new generation figurehead Charlotte De Witte, who provides a thrilling narration of total surrender to the moment on acid clarion call "Symphonie des Seins". But unlike all Liebing's albums to date, there's no co-pilot. Every structure, every mixdown, every choice serves his singular vision of how his untold immersion in the surging currents of the world's greatest clubs should sound. The elements are all those forged in the white heat of Omen and Tresor in the mid 90s - brutal repetition, titanium kick drums, industrial atmospherics, but also dark rave euphoria, ever present surging acid lines just on the cusp of trance, and just enough human voices to remind you of bodies on the dance floor - but rendered with all the extraordinary accumulated skill and technological developments since then.
It's Chris's vision entirely, his musings on sound, technology, and life birthing tracks like "Roy Batty." Inspired by thoughts of AI becoming sentient and hungering for more life like Rutger Hauer's titular Blade Runner character, it was one of the first tracks to emerge and a foundation stone for the album. And in pursuit of that vision, it's built like a "proper album". The anticipation and menace of intro "Unfold" tip over into the glowing hot high drama psychedelia of "Symphonie…" then the breathless headlong rush of The Advent collab and on through an unfolding narrative that goes deep, goes dark, opens out into grand vistas, takes strange turns before finally landing on the alien landscape of… well… "Endtrack".
Not everything is pummelling on Evolver - the dazzling title track feels like you've been welcomed into the courtly dance of a higher dimension civilisation, and the audacious Speedy J collab "Shaping Frequencies" is a beatless flow that tests the boundaries between signal and noise. But for all its complexity, conceptualism, and stylistic branching out, every last part unmistakably powered by that dark techno-cavern energy above all else. All of it positively radiates the qualities of Liebing's greatest work and sets to date - but somehow even more so than before. Whether you're listening for aesthetic inspiration, cerebral stimulation or just that raw physical power, this album will sweep you up into its momentum and won't let go of you until it's done.
"Askew indie rock thrills, bubbling, synth-flecked and sitting at a perpendicular to the mundanity of the everyday" - Clash
London-based French chanteuse, multi-instrumentalist & composer Clémentine March shares her new single of entrancing avant-pop ‘After The Solstice’, from her upcoming new album ‘Powder Keg’.
Enriched by influences from jazz, folk and Brazilian music, ‘After The Solstice’ was initially inspired by a time spent touring the UK with acclaimed folk singer Naima Bock. For Clémentine, the song explores “the theme of memory and reminiscence” and employs an absorbing sense of cyclical repetition; a musical device used “to evoke the deja vu sensations we all experience in life”.
Out of life on the road, everyday recurrence and contemplative retrospection, Clémentine creates a profoundly hypnotic anthem on ‘After The Solstice’, both mellow and fervent. Evoking the likes of Stereolab, The Raincoats and Cate Le Bon, it’s a mesmeric singalong of graceful vocal lilts and poised musicianship, with every element moving in beautiful unison.
Recorded & arranged with Ollie Chapman (bass) & Sophie Lowe (drums), and featuring vocal contributions from Naima Bock, Sophie Jamieson, Katy J Pearson, MF Tomlinson, Marika Tyler-Clark, Robyn's Rocket and Alabaster DePlume, ‘After The Solstice’ is the first glimpse of Clémentine’s third album ‘Powder Keg’, following the rich international eclecticism of her debut album ‘Le Continent’, and the beguiling intimacies of her second LP ‘Songs of Resilience’.
Psychedelic dub, Afro-Latin rhythms and cosmic grooves come together on La Chooma’s self-titled debut for Batov Records. Drawing on Moroccan Gnawa, Colombian cumbia, Afrobeat, Jamaica dub & roots, and cosmic jazz, the six-piece ensemble create deep, hypnotic music rooted in global traditions and shaped for contemporary dancefloors.
Having already captivated local audiences with their hypnotic, organic live performances, La Chooma – now a six-piece ensemble – have been steadily building an international following. Initial singles “Magic Plant” and “Huachuma” earned support from tastemakers including BBC Radio 6 Music’s Deb Grant and Tom Ravenscroft.
“Magic Plant” distills the band’s signature blend of hypnotic grooves, lush percussion and woozy synths, like Jimi Tenor lost in the Colombian Amazon. A dreamlike, dub-infused trip driven by organic rhythm and cosmic textures. “Huachuma” picks up the thread, fusing Afrobeat percussion, swirling basslines and psychedelic flourishes into a hallucinogenic jam made for a tropical dancefloor.
Only 200 copies were produced, hand-numbered by Eprom.
In response to the overwhelming interest in Eprom's album "We Are The Biobots," we are releasing the single "Rebelzeit" as a separate product, which appeared as a bonus track on the DELUXE edition of the album.
A new cover has been created, and the 7-inch vinyl is green. The new material is a preview of DJ Eprom's next album...
Four-time GRAMMY Award-nominated global superstar RAYE, is releasing her highly anticipated sophomore album THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. The album, set in 4 “seasons” with each side of the vinyl being a different season, takes listeners on a sonic journey that begins with darkness and ends with light.
“Music is medicine. I’ve always said that, and I guess I’m in the process of making medicine for myself that I can share with the world. I want us all to say to ourselves that it’s going to be all right, and I’m going to have faith in the seeds that I’ve planted beneath the snow. I wanted to create something that is a hug or bed or soft place for that person who needs it.”
RAYE recently kicked off her massive 51-date sold-out arena tour THIS TOUR MAY CONTAIN NEW MUSIC includes arena dates across Europe and the UK — including six sold-out nights at The O2 — before heading to North America with stops at iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall (April 15 and 16th) and the Greek Theatre (May 12 and 13th). Additionally, RAYE will be a special guest on Bruno Mars’ The Romantic Tour for 27 stadium shows across the US this summer.
Bambe welcomes Low Jack — the alias of French producer Philippe Hallais — to the label with his debut single “MARKET,” backed by a remix from Bambe label head Bambounou. Following the dark ambient explorations of his recent album Lacrimosa on Stroom, Low Jack returns decisively to the dance floor, channeling his club instincts while preserving a deep-rooted connection to contemporary art.
Originally conceived as a commissioned composition for Australian visual artist Thomas Jeppe, “MARKET” was created to accompany an immersive installation exploring the hallucinatory rhythms of cosmopolitan life. The work was presented in February 2025 at Circolo UltraFiorucci, a newly launched cultural space in Milan, where sound and image converged to envelop visitors in Jeppe’s vivid, destabilized urban vision.
Recontextualized for the club, “MARKET” bridges installation and dance floor, reinforcing Low Jack’s singular ability to move fluidly between experimental art contexts and forward-leaning club music — now sharpened further by Bambounou’s remix, which pushes the track into electro territory.
RareTwo Inc. aka DJ Sneak and Tripmastaz are back together for 33 chambers EP, the next Respect The Craft release.
Words by Sneak:
"On a hot Ibizan summer the Rare Two fellas spent a period of 33 days on the island making tracks in a house garage with a couple of pieces of affordable gear and a whole lot of talent. We managed to create 33 tracks often burning them on CD to take to djs like Ricardo Villalobos at Amnesia and seeing the instant reaction of the crowd. We are a mega team of same mentality dudes who create from the heart breaking all rules and getting music done for a purpose. The Tripmastaz and Sneak Team is one to expect many great dance floor killers. As we call them Guttah Styles!
Words by Tripmastaz:
Recently I found these projects and since they were done on just a laptop and cheap small speakers, I gave them proper analog mixing and mastering.
All tracks remain exactly the same form and arrangement as they were originally done, including track Aww Lawd, that was featured on R. Villalobos BBC Radio 1 Pete Tongs mix back in 2018.
Mike Grinser at Mandmade Mastering did the lacquer cut and made it sound very crisp and loud a lot like it would've been cut in the 90s.
Through his tracks, Jumo explores nostalgia and memory, from phili to memory, blending memories of youth and fleeting sensations. Tgthr encourages living the moment, while lula unfolds like a raw, cinematic road movie. The synthetic voices of sirens create a hypnotic theme, reflecting free souls suspended between a desire to escape and the fear of falling back. Euphoria tackles the madness of man's race to innovate and his indifference to the world, mixing mechanical urgency and emerging awareness. Each track plays with contrasts; melancholy and euphoria, darkness and light; combining synthesizers, persistent bass, and saturated textures. Together, they form a sonic journey where dancing becomes an act of memory and emotional survival.
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to announce the release of Renga, the new collaborative album from Gak Sato and Tadahiko Yokogawa - available on limited edition LP (300 copies worldwide !) housed in a heavyweight sleeve with inside out print of a beautiful artwork by Aoi Huber Kono.
Renga (??, linked poem) is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ku (?), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 morae (sound units or syllables per line) are linked in succession by multiple poets.
Inspired by the traditional Japanese poetic form of linked verses, Renga unfolds as a fluid 10-track journey spanning ambient, jazz, breakbeats, electronica, environmental music, techno, cinematic, library music, and musique concrète. Much like its literary namesake, the album is built on intuition and shared momentum, each piece emerging from what came before while opening new paths forward. Beats appear, disappear, then reassemble, while textures shift between organic warmth and electronic abstraction. The result is music that resists fixed categorization, existing somewhere between known subgenres and free-form exploration.
The album's visual counterpart, created by Aoi Huber Kono, mirrors the sensibility of the music. It's elegant, modern, and quietly expressive, extending the idea of linked forms from sound into image.
Points of interest
- For fans of ambient, experimental electronic music, jazz-inflected compositions, breakbeats, techno, cinematic soundtracks, library music, musique concrète, genre-blurring sonic exploration, linked verses, and dark blue.
- A unique collaboration between Gak Sato and Tadahiko Yokogawa, inspired by the Japanese poetic form of linked verses.
- Presented on limited edition LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve, edition of 300 copies.
- Artwork by acclaimed visual artist Aoi Huber Kono, extending the album's concept of interconnection across disciplines.
Our next 7” release welcomes young and talented key player Stefano Nardon from Vicenza, Italy.
The record features two jazz-infused broken beat compositions, performed and recorded live, capturing an intimate and organic session feel.
On the A side, “Mangrovia” unfolds as a warm, floating piece built around Fender Rhodes textures, subtle harmonies and a slow-burning groove. A deep and immersive cut, balancing between jazz lounge aesthetics and cinematic mood.
The B side, “Underwater”, was created in collaboration with drummer Stefano Cosi (Padova). His live drum contribution adds movement and depth, giving the track a more dynamic pulse while maintaining the introspective character of the release.
Black Truffle is pleased to present Radis, the first recording by the Oslo-based trio of Andrea Giordano (voice and organetto), Kalle Moberg (accordion) and Jo David Meyer Lysne (guitar and snare drum). Now based in Norway, Giordano is a native of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region in the north-west of Italy and her exploration of the Piedmontese language provides the starting point and conceptual anchor of the trio improvisations heard on Radis, which make use of the words of 20th century Piedmontese poets Nino Costa, Bianca Dorato and Oreste Gallina. As the musicians explain, the project is an attempt to preserve the beauty and singularity of a language at risk of extinction.
Fittingly, the first sound we hear on the opening piece ‘Fiorìa’ is Giordano’s unaccompanied voice. She sings a poem from Oreste Gallina as a kind of floating cadenza, the accompanying silence sensitizing the listener to the pellucid quality of Giordano’s voice and the unique sound of the Piedmontese language. The voice dies away and into the silence swells a single tone, sounded by Moberg’s accordion and—special guest on this opening piece—the alto saxophone of Mario Gabola. Extended techniques and preparations create unexpected timbres from the acoustic instruments: Gabola’s saxophone is augmented with tin cans and springs and Moberg’s unorthodox techniques allow the accordion to generate wheezing, buzzing textures and patterns of microtonal beating. Giordano’s voice returns, picking up the thread of the languorous opening melody, coexisting for a while with the shifting drone before the piece takes an unexpected yet organic left-turn into a delicate saxophone solo of sorts.
Recorded in several locations across Italy and Norway over the course of three years, Radis documents an ensemble who have developed both a distinctive sound-world and a remarkably sensitive group dynamic. Moving from folkish duets between accordion and Giordano’s organetto (the small accordion used in Italian folk music) to episodes of metallic guitar scraping from Meyer Lysne, the music is both quietly contemplative and gently chaotic. Ensemble roles shift with disarming ease. If on ‘Profij dëspers’ Meyer Lysne’s prepared guitar adds a haywire noise element to a lyrical episode of organetto and accordion, the next piece, ‘D’antorn a lor’, is grounded in chiming guitar chords of stunning beauty; once Giordano’s joins, the result calls up the most spacious moments of Maria Monti’s Il Bestiario. Throughout the seven pieces, the trio explore countless possibilities of group interaction and the margin between conventional euphony and pure abstraction: at times the voice floats against silence or seems almost disconnected from the gentle clatter of the instruments (sometimes reminiscent of Nikiforas Rotas’ haunting settings of Cavafy), while at other points the instruments touch on conventional harmonic accompaniment. What is perhaps most striking of all is the way that voice and instruments relate to each other, the extended technique reframing the voice as a kind of abstract sound object, while the melodic beauty of Giordano’s voice lends a contemplative, almost melancholic air to the wheezing and scraping of accordion and guitar.
Captured in gorgeously intimate recordings, Jim O’Rourke’s careful and beautifully spacious mix highlights the wealth of textural detail in each element. Accompanied by notes, session photos and the text of the Piedmontese poems, Radis is a work of stunning beauty that demonstrates the vitality of exploratory music in Norway today.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 is a compilation bringing together the early 2000s works of Marco Passarani under his Analog Fingerprints alias, collecting key tracks originally released on Rome’s Plasmek and Pigna labels.
For Numbers, the story starts long before the label itself. In their formative years, digging in Glasgow’s Rubadub, Passarani’s records felt like dispatches from a future city. Releases on his own Nature Records and on labels such as Generator and Interr-Ference Communications were mind blowing: rooted in Detroit techno, Chicago house and electro, yet pushing somewhere new. Much like fellow travellers Autechre, who would remix him in 2001, Passarani’s music balanced machine funk with restless experimentation.
Information was scarce, and you would hear these records first on the dancefloor or at listening stations in shops like Rubadub. Print fanzines like Ear and early web outposts such as Forcefield offered only fragments. But there was a palpable axis forming between Detroit techno and a new European wave of record labels including Skam, Rephlex, Clone, Viewlexx and Nature itself. It was the sound that defined Saturday nights at Rubadub’s ‘69’ parties in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow.
Passarani’s records, in particular, were instrumental in bringing together the future Numbers co-founders. Richard had already booked him pre-Numbers; meanwhile Calum (Spencer) and Jack (Jackmaster), then 16/17 year olds working alternate Saturdays in Rubadub, were so enamoured with the Roman sound that they travelled to Rome for the Bitz Festival in 2003 to seek out Passarani and Lory D at their source.
The first Analog Fingerprints release landed as a 12” on Plasmek in 2001, following the fractured, IDM-leaning 6 Katun material. For Passarani, the project marked a recalibration. A DJ first and foremost, he had moved into production via early computer setups, from a Commodore Amiga through primitive PC audio, Cubase and Logic, later experimenting with Ableton. The IDM scene had offered a playground for trial and error, but there was always a tension between abstraction and the dancefloor. Analog Fingerprints became the bridge: still intelligent, but with more dance than distance. After years of broken beats and complex arrangements, he wanted directness without surrendering identity.
Working closely with Francesco de Bellis and Mario Pierro in the Pigneto district, the trio formed Pigna as a vehicle for reclaiming a more accessible dance sound, deliberately steering away from the minimal wave beginning to dominate Europe. Sessions were fast, instinctive, often stretching late into the night with friends dropping by. It was a studio as social space, production as collective energy.
“In that constant search for balance, Analog Fingerprints was my way of expressing something closer to the classic dance floor. The track 'Tribute' - a tribute to my favourite early Detroit techno track of all time, 'First Bass' by Separate Minds - came after I realised I had almost lost my connection with the dance floor. The simplest step was to take inspiration from early Chicago and Detroit and twist it in our Roman ‘Pigna’ way. My goal was to create more accessible dancefloor tracks by mixing my unconscious Italo roots with my teenage love for that early US sound, ensuring the result was as far as possible from the minimal sound that was starting to dominate everywhere.” - Marco Passarani
Technically, the Analog Fingerprints tracks span a transitional era: Roland TR-909, SH-101 and Alpha Juno hardware met early software experiments. A Novation Drumstation rack stood in for the unattainable TR-808, syncing with TB-303 and TR-606. Yet the true secret weapon was Jeskola Buzz, a tracker-style modular environment that allowed step-by-step parameter control and strange melodic constructions, later exported into the audio sequencer. Even the lead on ‘Tribute’ came from an early PPG Wave-style plugin. It was hybrid thinking at a moment when digital tools still felt unstable but full of possibility for technologists like Passarani.
Behind the music sat Finalfrontier, a loose Roman collective orbiting Nature and Plasmek. Distribution and production were intertwined; importing obscure records into Italy built connections with like-minded outsiders across Europe and the US. Expensive phone bills and fax machines forged an “electronix network” that linked Rome to Clone, Viewlexx, Skam, Rephlex, Rubadub and Detroit’s Underground Resistance. There was a shared sense of survival and resistance, of operating against commercial systems.
Passarani recalls “The first time I found a sheet of paper inside an Underground Resistance 12” with info about upcoming releases... and a huge picture of Spock on the back. Imagine that: you love the music, you love Star Trek, and there’s someone on the other side of the ocean sharing those same values and sounds. It was the perfect match. We even gave our original company the suffix ‘Finalfrontier’: that says it all.”
Feedback in that era arrived physically: distributor faxes, conversations with visiting DJs, the experience of playing abroad and meeting kids who had connected with the records. Glasgow became a key node in a scattered outlier network. Passarani personally brought the first two Nature releases to Fat Cat in London, playing them in-store. Shortly after, a fax arrived from Rubadub in Glasgow requesting copies.
“I still remember that phone buzz and the fax paper slowly sliding out, with someone I didn’t know saying they wanted 75 copies of Nature 001. Or like the time we got a fax from the Rephlex crew just saying, “Hello Nature Records, Keep up the good work.” That was how we knew the message was getting through. It was a fantastic feeling; just one piece of thermal fax paper as an analog notification - the mood for the entire week would change.” - Passarani
The connection to Glasgow has since stretched across generations. As Passarani reflects, links often fracture as scenes renew themselves, but in Glasgow something different happened. New and old mixed seamlessly. There was a visible trust in what came before, and a willingness to carry it forward rather than discard it. Observed from Rome, it was deeply encouraging.
Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 captures that moment of exchange: Rome to Glasgow, Detroit to Europe, experiment to dancefloor. It documents an artist recalibrating his sound and a network of scenes discovering one another in real time, connected by vinyl, faxes and shared intent.
Ivy Lab and Alix Perez have been astounding electronic music audiences for years throughout drum & bass and further afield with their own 20/20 and Shades projects respectively.
Now in 2016 the two forces combine for a collaborative release like no other, drawing their own distinct styles to create the beautifully diverse, 'Arkestra' EP.
Written and produced by Andu Simion in Ploieşti, Romania, Crucial Sonus EP is the second release on Rotation imprint. This B-side project of Wave Makers pushes further into a sound shaped by powerful grooves and dark vibrations. The EP explores a raw, focused energy, where deep rhythms and shadowy textures converge to create an intense and immersive listening experience.
For this edition, the label meets this duo of producers, that has been created by the musical synergy between Zonker and Daniel Gorziza, who go by the name – “SameSame”. This disc has been titled “Unconditional Society” and has been crafted with a mission to be brought to the worldwide dancefloors and to be foreseen by the adepts of the sound it conveys. The A side is opening with a deep trancey burner “Suspect Zero”, with time passing this side of the record is morphing into the prime-time speaker ripping sound of “Rip the Jacker. The B side will see more mellow feel to it and sometimes even could be said that the vibe turns relatively melancholic by the time the record reaches its natural conclusion. The words that have been shared do not translate the profoundness of the subject that the artists have carried through, but then again, sometimes them letters have to be present even if they are kept to the slightest. The frequencies communicate much superior to the words and by now you can stop reading this and immerse yourself into the sound.
"Ed DMX has been part of Shipwrec since the label's inception. Under his DMX Krew moniker, this analogue wizard has released four Eps and one LP on the Nijmegen imprint. DMX Krew returns to Shipwrec for a brand new album, a collection that displays yet another side of this sculptor's sound. Brutal and cold, shadows are long and shades dark from the outset. Drum patterns twist in tempo and intent, from hard and punishing to gentle and fragile. Elements of breaks and industrial are also present in the percussion, this fragmenting allowing deep and soulful melodies to counter the battery. In fact, echoes of electronica permeate the harmonies across the LP such as deep and divergent "Interrupt." No single style is adhered to. Instead, the full palette of machine music is employed. From the squelchy Tudor electrofunk of "I Wonder Why" to the melancholic braindance of "Rephlections in Time", genre boundaries are given little credence. Instead, Ed DMX draws on his decades of experience to create sounds that are both familiar and completely one of a kind. The deep-sea dive of "Final Comedown" is juxtaposed with the ambling calypso of "Dinosaur Reaction", styles reimagined and reshaped to the creator's evolving purpose. Echoes of the halcyon days of Rephlex permeate the 2LP. The harshness and softness of the Cornwall imprint being present throughout, those more subtle tones coming to the fore in the delicate beauty of the "Phaser Level 2." A transcendent album and a certified future classic. To accompany this very special release, there will be a limited edition run with full cover art by Ruwedata. An artist very close to Shipwrec's heart, Ruwedata was responsible for the sleeve work on DMX Krew's Cosmic Awakening."
We present an EP from two house masters Artem Stan & Matpri on Analog Concept records.
This record was born like in the classic 90s from jam sessions in the studio, when musicians caught the groove and connected their deep universes, showing true love for house music. Everything is combined here - the sound of drum machines 909 and not only, atmospheric acid impulses of 303, classic pads that paint these paintings bright and filled with deep meaning, as well as much more. Amazing two sides and four compositions, each with its own story.
The Midnight Seduction track opens the telling of these stories on side A. From the first seconds, immersing in the atmosphere of synthesizer temptation, the analog bass line combined with the default drum section and elements of bright metal claps quickly gain the necessary energy and immerse in the images of a closed nightclub with long corridors and hidden dance floors. The light plume of the classic M1 organ and the accentuating Acid lead maintain balance. Secret nocturnal seduction, light ecstasy and an atmosphere of love.
French Kiss - everything is great here, as soon as you listen to the harmony of accordion-like synthesizers and deeply addictive pads, you are instantly transported to the image of Parisian streets. Elements of bells, a rhythm section filled with unpredictable percussion, acid inclusions and an unexpected immersion into a broken beat in the middle of the composition, a real deep French kiss.
Matpri is known for its sophisticated approach to music and is rightfully the guru of micro and minimal house. Having created the maximum sound quality of the rhythm section and the deep bass that was addictive from the first seconds, mixing old-school vibe, while not losing touch with his minimalistic sound image, he filled the House Template track with the smallest details and percussion, which is confidently based on the B-side.
Four certainly high-quality compositions were created in the studio of Artem Stan in the mountains of Krasnaya Polyana and one of the tracks on the B-side - "Nasha Polyana" - is dedicated to this location, it conveys a certain playful atmosphere of a mountain village with a vibe of complete freedom and daily carefree. A complete release with decent house music.
French DJ/producer Mathys Lenne's artistic vision is rooted in his deep connection to rhythm. Telling stories with his sounds while drawing inspiration from poetry and cinema and blending hypnotic textures with raw intensity, his music is widely supported across the scene via labels like Mord, Hayes and more. Across five vinyl cuts and three digital bonuses, the four-deck wizard keeps it deeply atmospheric with his label debut on SHDW's Mutual Rytm imprint, combining elements of psychedelic rock, unique voice samples and saturated synths to create a sound that feels immersive and unrestrained in contrast to the fast-paced, visceral techno he has become known for.
'Detlev' opens up with hefty kicks that demand you quicken your step, while industrial effects and creepy design brings the detail that makes the track pop. The classy 'Natural Born Killers' rides on firm kicks with loopy percussive details tightly coiled, ensuring you are forever on edge as the drums march on. 'Choose Your Pill' is a stripped-back and pulsing deep techno cut with deft synths that peel off the groove, before 'Untidy Echo' delivers a cavernous sound with sparse hits and low-end rumbles that place you in the centre of an underground cavern. 'Enfer ou Ciel' featuring D.E.S brings a sense of melancholy in the occasional string sounds and watery droplets that float over more frictionless, meditative beats - while the trio of digital bonus cuts brings moody subterranean rollers ranging
from snaking and dubby to more drum-led and eerie tones.
On this album the former "Chasing Clouds" have accumilated into the eponymous "Black Sky"; these drifting soundclouds have swallowed a bulk of Sepalot´s sunny nature; his trademark relaxed attitude gave way to instrumental melancholy and pugnacity. "Before I started recording I listened to lots of The Doors songs. I found the suicidal aspect in their music very exciting. I totally inhaled it." Sepalot reports. "The breakage, the grid, the dirt - that was my inspiration. I was thirsty for the energy of pureness." In order to capture this roughness Sepalots first production steps were drafting soundsketches - often more than 100 in a row. This is then is followed by a sorting procees with many drafts going immediately into the trashcan. The survivors create the first basic draft.
There is something waiting in the wings. Don´t fear the storm, come outside with us... "Black Sky" is here.
Clemens Brentano: "These sounds are a wonderfull living breath of darkness"
M’Bamina – African Roll (1975)
The story of an album born between Africa, Italy, and the nightclub culture of the 1970s
In the heart of 1970s Italy — a country undergoing profound social change and a music scene just beginning to open itself to distant sounds and cultures — an extraordinary, almost improbable story took shape. It is the story of a group of young African musicians who found their way to Europe, of a Turin nightclub that became a crossroads for communities and experimenters, and of an album which, released in small numbers and largely unnoticed at the time, is now considered a rare jewel of Afro-fusion.
The band called themselves M’Bamina — an ensemble of musicians from Congo, Cameroon, and Benin, who arrived in Italy in the early Seventies. Settling between northern Italy and the Pavia area, they began performing in small clubs and community events, bringing with them a vibrant rhythmic heritage: African polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, funk-infused bass lines, and Caribbean or Afro-Latin colours absorbed along their musical journeys. Their raw, contagious energy on stage quickly drew attention.
Meanwhile, in Turin, another story was unfolding. There was a venue becoming almost legendary: Voom Voom, one of the city’s liveliest nightclubs, run by Ivo Lunardi. The club attracted an eclectic crowd — students, artists, foreigners, night owls — and Lunardi quickly understood that the dancefloor wasn’t just a place for music, but a melting pot for a new kind of cultural energy. Out of this vibrant atmosphere came his idea: to turn the club’s name into a small independent record label, Voom Voom Music, capable of capturing the spirit of those years and giving voice to unconventional projects.
When Lunardi heard M’Bamina, he immediately sensed that this was the sound he had been searching for: fresh, different from anything circulating in Italy at the time, and capable of blending African tradition with funk and European sensibility. He brought them into the studio.
Production was handled by Lunardi along with Christian Carbaza Michel, while the engineering was entrusted to Danilo Pennone, a young sound technician with a sharp, intuitive ear.
The recording sessions — held in Turin in 1975 — produced a remarkably warm and direct sound. The music feels almost live: grooves rooted in African tradition, but open to funk-rock structures and modern arrangements. It is a natural fusion, never forced. Tracks move between tribal rhythms, funk basslines, light electric guitars, congas and Afro-Latin percussion, with call-and-response vocals and melodies that echo both Congolese tradition and the lineage of Latin jazz. Not by chance, one of the album’s most striking tracks, Watchiwara, reinterprets a Latin standard through M’Bamina’s own rhythmic language.
The album was titled African Roll — a name that was already a statement of intention. It is African music that “rolls,” that moves, adapts, transforms within a new geographic and cultural setting. It is not strictly Afrobeat, nor Congolese rumba, nor Western funk: it is a spontaneous, hybrid blend, shaped more by lived experience than by any calculated aesthetic program.
When African Roll was released, the world around it barely noticed. Distribution was limited, and 1970s Italy had yet to develop a cultural framework for receiving such music. The national music press rarely paid attention to African or “world” productions. The album slipped into silence — though the band’s own story did not.
M’Bamina continued performing across Europe and Africa, even sharing a stage in Cameroon with none other than Manu Dibango. By the late Seventies, they moved to Paris, signed with Fiesta/Decca, and recorded a second LP, Experimental (1978). Meanwhile, the peculiar record they had made in Turin began to resurface quietly among vinyl collectors, Afro-funk enthusiasts, and DJs hunting for forgotten grooves.
That is when the album’s fate began to shift.
Over the decades, African Roll emerged as an almost unique document: a snapshot of an intercultural Italy before the word “intercultural” even existed, a fragment of migrant history, a spontaneous experiment in musical fusion born far from major industry circuits but rich in authenticity. Original copies began commanding high prices on the collector’s market, and the album became recognized as one of the hidden classics of European Afro-fusion from the 1970s.
Today, more than fifty years later, this reissue finally restores visibility and dignity to a project that deserves to be heard, studied, and celebrated. It is not simply an album: it is the testimony of a rare cultural encounter, born in an Italy unaware of how fertile such exchanges would one day become.
It is the story of a visionary producer, an extraordinary band, and a fleeting moment in which music, migration, and nightlife came together to create something genuinely new.
African Roll is — now more than ever — the sound of a bridge: between continents, between eras, between cultures. A record that, after rolling far and wide, has finally come home.
BODJ & ROKSI in true magician style, wear their top hats & capes as they come together once more under their Adult Sonics alias, this time shuffling the deck for the inaugural vinyl release of London based record label, Stay Restless.
An original 3-track EP with the signature ADS sound - trippy and dark yet playful, created having big sound systems in mind, it’s already been in rotation from Sunwaves festival to SASH in Sydney and back.
since his first ep tips' on luciano's label cadenza in 2007 producer and dj petre inspirescu emerged into one of the key figures of the romanian electronic music scene.
so far he released music on labels such as vinyl club, lick my deck or amphia. together with his buddies rhadoo and raresh he also launched in 2007 the label (a:rpia:r) - a platform where he, his two friends and many producers from romania and abroad released detailed grooving house and techno, that stands out with delicate structures and one-of-a-kind grooves.
both of his more dance floor oriented solo albums intr-o seara organica...' and gradina onirica for (a:rpia:r) are enlarged with melodies, sounds and harmonies that go beyond the usual characteristics of a dance album.
furthermore his love for classic musicians like mily alexejewitsch balakirev, alexander porfiryevich borodin or or nicolai andrejewitsch rimsky-korsakow can be felt in the album padurea de aur (opus 2 in re major) and two more eps that he released under the alias pensemble on the romanian label yojik concon in order to unite classical spheres with analogue electronic music production.
in february 2013 he also released his highly acclaimed fabric mix cd that only features dance floor leaning music produced by himself. with talking waters' he published in late 2014 his first 12inch on mule musiq that is now followed by the full-length album vin ploile' which he produced without the intention to entertain with easy to hook up rhythms, melodies and harmonies.
even tough he established himself as a internationally playing house dj that regularly performs at all major clubs, festivals and other party destinations around the globe: as a musician petre inspirescu always tries to enter new territories to explore with a heartfelt human touch the infinite space of sound.
for his latest album the man that originally comes from the eastern romanian town braila stepped away from his former experiments of melting classical spheres with electronic music. instead the 36-years old man from bucharest only used some piano, string and wind instrument elements and analogue electronics to arrange a gracefully deep ocean of sound.
all slow grooving tracks spread the atmosphere of live improvised sessions that are edited, tweaked and mixed to perfection. in-the-moment moods of strange and unusual analogue synth sounds groove in a fluid quality with subliminal bass shapes, latinate percussions, jazz rhythms and acoustic melodies.
together they create a gaseous kinetic atmosphere full of tangible rhythm patterns, delicate chords and ghostly modular synth pads - all mixed subtle to create space for the tones between the tones.
you can call it a hypnotic after hour album for after hours that are dedicated to a deep listening experience. you can tag his arrangements as brilliantly textured and musically super-charged ambient, which goes beyond the usual definition of the genre.
all nine suspenseful compositions seduce with a deep melodic sensibility, harmonic adventures and an overall rhythmic ambiance of freshness and laidback enthusiasm. together they represent a challenging auditory experience that will resonate in your mind long after the music has finished.
One of the UK’s rising talents in recent times, J6 continues his upward trajectory with an enormous four-tracker on underground fan favourites, Locked In Dam. The party starting crew go hand in hand with the refined J6 ethos, as he delivers a dynamite selection of tracks for your record bag. His familiar low end driven sound, combined with tinges of acid and futuristic textures moving between house and modern electro, shapes the ‘Devil Baby’ EP into a cohesive and powerful statement.
The title track is built upon powerful drums and squelchy, spaced-out tones, combined with trippy vocal stabs from Martina, who features on the record. This is prime J6 territory and not to be underestimated. Next up, ‘Biohazard’ introduces mysterious synths that create a transcending atmosphere, shifting the dance floor into the next gear with further twisted acid movements. On the flip side, the Manchester based beatmaker teams up with Ben Gough for ‘Time Capsule’, delivering pacey energy that never lets up, driven by nostalgic tech house drums and icy hi-hats. Rounding off the EP, ‘Emergence’ simmers with an emotive dark energy throughout; if we weren’t dancing with the devil before, we certainly are now.
A certain tip for the tastemakers amongst us, these are four dynamic dance floor cuts to be shared deep within the dark realms of the night.
Detroit original, Terrence Dixon, returns to Tresor Records to kick off 2026 with ‘When Stars Remember’. Despite his thirty-year career, Terrence has always managed to keep a lower profile than his peers; he has given few interviews, preferring instead to speak through his music, with cryptic song titles hinting at the thoughts swirling around their creation.
However, ‘When Stars Remember’ finds him stepping forward. “I wanted to get closer to the dancefloor. I consciously made this one feel louder…made with Tresor specifically in mind.” And the EP does just that: whilst many of the hall marks of a Terrence Dixon production are present, the drums are more forward; the synth arpeggios so bold that ‘monumental’ seems a better descriptor than ‘minimal’.
“I put three or four sounds together on the same track, layering to make something bigger”, he says of opening track ‘Mono Collapse’, though the statement could apply to any of the music appearing on the release as all four pieces fold in sonics to create something hypnotic; more than the individual parts: “If you stick with the same layered tones, and repeat it over, after a while your brain changes it on its own; you hear a lot of things: things that you didn’t notice at first, things that maybe aren’t even there.”
The absence of things is another main theme of the EP, especially what Dixon sees as ‘The Forgotten’, a group of fundamental principles like common sense, trust, loyalty, honesty and respect that are missing from modern life. “This world is different…the love is gone. But I love everybody, man. I think, secretly, everybody love everybody, but they just don’t know it.”
Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, Reichel’s rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release.
Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely centre of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. As Reichel says in the charming archival interview with Markus Müller included here, he was ‘always a cuckoo’s egg at FMP’, a label that began as an outlet for roaring European free jazz. What strikes the listener right from the opening selection on Dalbergia Retusa—‘Return of the Knödler show’, from 1987’s The Dawn of Dachsman—is the extraordinary beauty of Reichel’s music, at once alien in the shimmering sonorities and unconventional pitch relationships made possible by his invented instruments, and deeply lyrical, even romantic in its harmonic content. Growing up in West Germany in the 1960s, Reichel’s formative influences were mainly British and American rock bands, a background that shines through in many of the pieces included here: ‘An old friend passes by’ is haunted by the ghost of Hendrix’s rhythm guitar, and the wild closer ‘Heimkehr der Holzböcke’, taken from a rare 1975 7” and the only piece to use overdubbing, layers errant hammer-on and slide tones over a Canned Heat boogie chug.
Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi’s own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel’s work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. On a piece from his very first LP, played on an 11-string instrument (partly strung with piano strings and using a schnapps glass a slide), we hear his intensive exploration of fret-hammering to create zither-like, chiming tone, which Reichel would hone further in later years with a double fretboard guitar specifically designed to be hammered rather than fretted and picked. On a piece from 1979’s Death of the Rare Bird Ymir, Reichel uses two steel-string acoustic guitars at once, with beautiful results: ‘some even say too beautiful’, he jokes in the interview included here. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the ‘pick behind the bridge guitar’, instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behaviour of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realised solely through Reichel’s unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel’s own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel. Rarely has music been at once so strange and so beautiful.
For more than two decades, Eamon Harkin has helped shape New York’s communal pulse. As a founder of Mister Saturday Night, Mister Sunday, Planetarium, and Nowadays, he’s created and DJed in spaces where dance, listening, and connection blur into something deeper — places where people come together to make sense of the world through sound.
On his new album, The Place Where We Live, Harkin turns that lens inward. Drawing on 25 years as a DJ and curator, he moves between house, techno, and ambient currents with a sense of stillness and searching. The result is a record that feels both physical and introspective — the sound of the dance floor seen through memory.
The title comes from psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott’s idea of “the place where we live,” the psychic space between the inner and outer world — where play, art, and culture help us build meaning. For Harkin, an Irish immigrant long settled in another land, that idea resonates both philosophically and personally. The Place Where We Live captures the tension and beauty of the pulse of the club and the quiet of reflection — an album about belonging, transition, and the quiet resonance of finding home somewhere in between.
We’re proud to present the latest offering from Promising/Youngster & UF0, on the sublime Deep Techno / IDM imprint out of the UK, Fourier Transform
A lush 4-tracker. Uf0 and Promising/Youngster are the answer to a desire for breakbeats and perfect melodies. Radio plays to come from Damo Bs’ Outer Limits, Marcelo Tavares’ Deep Space, Richard Sens’ DoYouRadio
Uf0 and Promising/Youngster are the answer to a desire for breakbeats and perfect melodies. This is Uf0s’ (Sergio Garcia) second release on the label and when asked who he would like to be paired with, he wasted no time in suggesting fellow electronic musician and Spanish resident – Promising/Youngster (Diego Cardierno). This EP begins with P/Y’s “Random Memories” as tried and tested live by him last year and its big sound simply fills floors and gets feet moving. The second track of his is with a more subtle approach to the dancefloor but the analogue arpeggios and breaks still rock. Uf0 and his opening track “Sashita” uses vocals sparsely to create atmosphere and an epic soundscape. Ending the ep “La Musica Non Riporta De Te” opens with his trademark lush pads which drop into breaks, more well-crafted gentle melodies and of course “Bass”.
Between them both they have appeared on an impressive roster of underground labels - Wave Modulation, Analogica Force, Further Electronix, Adepta Editions, Altered Sense, Withold, Gated. Limited to 200 copies on marbled Eco vinyl, with painted sleeve, a sticker and an insert “Fun in the Sun”, giving you some interesting activities and experiments you can do using the power of the sun. Radio plays to come from Damo Bs’ Outer Limits, Marcelo Tavares’ Deep Space, Richard Sens’ DoYouRadio.
Dreamweavers II sees Mark de Clive-Lowe reunited with Italian rhythm masters Andrea Lombardini and Tommaso Cappellato for the next chapter in their electro-acoustic trio journey.
Recorded at Sotto il Mare Recording Studios in Verona, Italy in summer 2024, the album builds on the cosmic, hypnotic language established on Dreamweavers (2020) while pushing deeper into groove-driven terrain, dancefloor jazz and textural improvisation. Across eight tracks, the trio explore the elastic space between jazz tradition, beat culture, and club-influenced momentum – without samples or looping – relying purely on live interaction, feel and shared intuition.Opening with the Azymuth-inspired “Terra de Luz,” the album immediately signals its global outlook. “Kaze no Michi” follows with late-night Tokyo energy – dancefloor jazz that feels equally at home in jazz clubs or after-hours rooms. Two intentional reinterpretations bridge jazz and beat culture: J Dilla’s “Raise It Up” (from Slum Village – Fantastic Vol. 2) is reimagined with its original groove and bass line as the launch pad, while “The Bass That Don’t Stop” becomes a lush house-jazz tribute to the late Phil Asher, originally co-created by Asher and de Clive-Lowe in 2002 under the moniker musiclovelife.Bassist Andrea Lombardini’s “Pam” brings the album inward – introspective, spacious, and deeply melodic; while “Lucid Dreams” draws on the trio’s shared love of jungle, drum’n’bass and the exploratory spirit of greats like Chick Corea, amplifying the journey with forward motion and harmonic curiosity.Dreamweavers II is a concisely intentional sound narrative: a trio record rooted in jazz lineage, shaped by beat culture and guided by a collective curiosity for texture, rhythm, and movement.
Vintage Pleasure Boutique once again dives deep into the vast catalogue of super-productions by Roberto Zanetti, better known as Robyx and Savage. This time, the journey takes us back to 1984, unearthing a true gem created at the suggestion of Marco Bresciani, Italian DJ and producer, and the same creative force involved with Radiorama. Zanetti delivered flawlessly. He transformed the elegant, high-grade British synth-pop original by OMD into a first-class Italo disco weapon, infused with that unmistakable sweet, melodic touch and fat kick that blended perfectly in clubs alongside genre-defining tracks of the era. “Souvenir” by Saxophone quickly became a classic, a staple of the sound and a cornerstone in countless old-school DJ record bags.
Today, original copies are scarce, highly sought after, and often prohibitively expensive on the secondary market. This reissue is both a tribute to long-time fans of the record and a nod to devotees of Robyx’s unmistakable sound. The vinyl also features a special remix of “Souvenir”, sonically aligned with Savage classics such as “Radio,” “Fugitive,” “Only You,” and “Don’t Cry Tonight.”
A true feast for lovers of this timeless Italo disco aesthetic, equal parts nostalgia, elegance and dancefloor power.
DJ Support: Laurent Garnier, Dennis Cruz, Girls Of The Internet, Horse Meat Disco, Stacey Pullen, Elliot Schooling, Solomun,Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati, The Martinez Brothers, Dam Swindle, Soul Clap, Luke Solomon, Riva Starr, Franky Rizardo, Archie Hamilton, Silvie Loto, Fouk, Austin Ato, Salomé Le Chat, Blackchild, Jean Pierre, Black Loops, Kassian, Seamus Haji, Melvo Baptiste, Rimarkable, Sophie Lloyd
In-demand Amsterdam-based duo Makèz step into new ground with the release of their album ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’, via ANOTR’s No Art label. A kaleidoscopic project that moves between deep house, cosmic jazz, R&B, broken beat, and club-ready energy, the record is both a declaration of identity and a dissolution of boundaries - proof of the duo’s rare ability to merge worlds without diluting or compromising their true essence.
Where most albums that span electronic realms lean on functionality, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ reaches for something much more expansive. The project is a true hybrid: half shaped for the intimacy of a headphone listen, half designed for the electricity of the dancefloor. together forming a seamless continuum between reflection and release. Tracks like ‘REARRANGE YOURSELF’, ‘BE REAL’, and ‘LOOKS LIKE IT (SPACE TALK)’ are stripped to the core of house music’s driving pulse, made for bigger systems and peak-time release. In contrast, ‘Dreams’, ‘Fruits of the Universe’ (with douniah), and ‘Without The Sun’ (with Oliver Night) explore lush, textured arrangements where live instrumentation and improvisation carry equal weight to rhythm and groove.
Collaboration is at the heart of the LP, with Makèz inviting a constellation of voices who each expand the project’s palette. Ben Westbeech, Liv East, and SANITY bring soulful intensity; 30/70 and dreamcastmoe connect Amsterdam to Melbourne and DC; Cor.Ece and Oliver Night weave delicate threads of emotion; Goya Gumbani and Javonntte guide the production with their vibey, groove-led performances; while Life on Planets reprises his role as a core creative partner, appearing across the album on tracks including the standout ‘BE REAL’ and the previously released ‘ILLUSIONS’ alongside rising Amsterdam talent AVA LAVÁ. Together, these contributions shape an album that feels less like a singular statement and more like a living, breathing ecosystem.
For Makèz, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ is as much about philosophy as it is about music. The title encapsulates a tension central to their art: the feeling of belonging to multiple worlds without ever being confined to one. Jazz, house, soul, and experimental club sounds are not separate influences but parallel languages, and in merging them, the duo has created a record that mirrors the fluidity of contemporary identity and expression. And while it may speak in many voices, the LP tells one clear story - that of Makèz, arriving, again and again, home elsewhere.
Green Ink is back with the fourth EP on Altered States - a deep and driving four-tracker. All tracks were created in closely related sessions, dipping into atmospheric, techy and dubby sounds while keeping sweaty dancefloors in mind.
Garage Hermétique celebrates its tenth release with what could be described as a mini-album. Multi-talented producer Levat's electronic vision comes in different shapes and forms. Whether it's Electro, Italo, IDM, Trip Hop, Techno or Electronica, his brush paints a diverse yet cohesive collection of tracks, united by the ability to create dreamy atmospheres, emotional leads and punchy drum patterns, always bordering on the edge of pungent eeryness.
Krope is a six-part conceptual album by Belarusian sound artist and producer Anton Anishchanka. Rooted in archival folk songs recorded between the 1960s and 2000s, it transforms fragile voices of the past into living, cinematic sound worlds. Created in collaboration with ethnographer Iryna Vasilyeva, the album weaves Belarusian traditional music with field recordings, acoustic instruments, and analog synthesizers — an immersive journey where memory, landscape, and resilience converge.
Flowing as one continuous suite, Krope unfolds like a film: memory re-emerges, fragile yet persistent, shaping an emotional narrative of displacement, loss, endurance, and hope. The archival voices at its core — songs of love, exile, and mourning — resonate across decades, echoing the urgent realities of today. The album flows as a single, immersive sonic odyssey. From the tender rejection in Krope (Dill) to the grief carved in Dubrovuška (Oak Grove), it traces an arc of human experience that is both deeply personal and universally shared. By reimagining traditional music through contemporary sound art, Anishchanka preserves endangered cultural heritage while revealing its timeless relevance.
Credits:
Produced by Anton Anishchanka
Engineering by Tenzor
Mastered by Alex at Quitfish Mastering
Lacquer cut by Tim Xavier at Manmade Mastering
Cover Art by Sasha Zeliankevich
Graphic Design by Ihar Yukhnevich
Creative Direction by Nadzeya Burmistrava
Archival materials courtesy of the Institute of Art History, Ethnography and Folklore named after K. Krapiva, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Special thanks to Iryna Vasilyeva for her assistance with archival selections and ethnographic material.
James Curd and Osunlade. After years of playing back to back DJ sets and collaborating in the studio, they decided it was time to create something that could represent both the music they make together and the shows they play. Their sound is a natural meeting point between deep house grooves and soulful roots, reflecting both artists’ histories and shared love fortimeless dance music.
The first single from Nomadic’s is “Better Man”. The track was originally signed to Defected Records,but after creative differences about how the release should be presented, the contract was voided. That decision gave James and Osunlade the chance to put the music out exactly as they envisioned, and the song now finds its proper home on Pronto Records. The package includes the original alongside a set of remixes from some of the most exciting names in underground house.
Dutch producer Frits Wentink delivers a remix in his unmistakable style – raw drum programming, warm analogue textures, and the kind of off kilter groove that has made him one of the most respected names in Europe’s house scene. Mr Ho, co-founder of the cult label Klasse Wrecks, adds his own twist with a version that nods to classic rave and electro energy, while keeping things firmly locked for the dancefloor. Finally, LA based duo Too Easy bring a mysterious touch, layering live instrumentation with electronic drive, showing why they’re quickly becoming ones to watch.
With its story of creative independence, heavyweight remixers, and the credibility of two deeplyrespected artists at the helm, “Better Man” is both a club record and a statement of intent for what Nomadic’s represents.
The Pieces EP showcases Wraz's versatility across five tracks that blend dubstep with orchestral influences, techno rhythms, and psychedelic sound design.
'Pieces' opens with a cinematic, classical-inspired intro that gradually builds into a dark and evolving bass-heavy journey.
'Tech' follows with a fusion of 4x4 techno and dubstep grooves-minimal yet impactful on a sound system.
'Lurch' brings relentless analog bass pressure and Wraz's signature raw energy, already proven to do serious damage in live sets.
'The Crypt' rounds out the EP with a more introspective feel, featuring shifting synths and hypnotic arpeggios that create a deep, trippy atmosphere.
This release marks a major milestone for the Canadian producer, celebrating his debut on DEEP MEDi.
The music of Foreign Material carries an invisible veil: at first glance this is great, potent and highly functional contemporary Techno. But for those willing to see, behind the veil there's more than meets the eye. An old, wise Baba-DJ once claimed that we are merely "redefining the ancient tribal ritual for the 21st century". Titles like "Kantae Niskae" and "Drums Of Kaltjär" alludes to that specific, long forgotten past that we all still carry deep within. The blissful and etheric A-side, contrasted by the caveman mania of "Kaltjär", represent the dualistic nature of our scene, our sound and our aim as a label, and encapsulates everything we love with Foreign Material's unique approach to Dance Music.
On remix duty we have none other than Stockholm based "Deep" pioneer Evigt Mörker. Expertly withdrawn, edited and added, he's created a groovy, yet atmospheric, DJ-tool for the ages. Expect to notice it in a wide array of DJ-sets in the near future.
In the late ’90s, Trance Induction, the project of Tjeerd Verbeek, established a truly unique sound by fusing acid house, ambient, techno, world music, breakbeats, and industrial new wave. Now, three carefully selected tracks from his extensive catalog are being remastered and released on vinyl.
The A1 track, “Join The Circus Of Dr. Lao 2,” has been a long-time favorite of label owner Tomoki Tamura, frequently featured in his DJ sets over the years. A2 delivers a deep, bouncy groove laced with trippy acid sounds that take the floor on a hypnotic journey. On
the B-side, you’ll fi nd the original version of “Join The Circus Of Dr. Lao” — appearing on vinyl for the first time ever.
Step into a sound world only Verbeek can create. This is a release not to be missed.
“Echoes of the Earth – Episode 1: Central Africa” is the new EP by Railway Movement, the project of Stefano Cattivera with Ettore Vozza (keyboards) and Alessandro Gizzi (percussion). Blending ambient electronics, organic rhythms, and archival sounds from a 1980s cassette of Central African field recordings, it creates a sonic journey through nature, ritual, and memory.
Between electronic shadows and cinematic textures, this new album from QUENUM draws its influences from the likes of Massive Attack, Archive, and Burial. Started and produced in London, it reflects a change of time — both in the climate and within.
This project represents a personal and artistic turning point for QUENUM. He wanted to experiment with new ideas, not necessarily music for the club. The album was created in close collaboration with his son Zac, a talented musician who contributed both as a singer and instrumentalist on several tracks. They shared wonderful moments creating this album together.
He also worked hand in hand with his long-time friend Christophe Calpini, who played a key role in mixing and in developing the textures and atmospheres that shape the album’s sound. The result is an intimate, personal, and timeless journey, deeply rooted in the now.
Quenum elaborates: “The idea for my album was born during Covid in London, when concerts, museums, and social activities suddenly stopped. To cope, I started running daily and spending hours in the studio creating music. In our garden cabin I worked alongside my son Zac who was practicing piano, preparing for his entry into Trinity Laban Conservatoire. He listened to my tracks, and eventually contributed vocals with his ex-partner on two songs, ‘Blue Sky’ and ‘Never Like Before’. The album’s dark atmosphere reflects that period. Once it was complete, I asked my longtime friend Christophe Calpini to handle arrangements and mixing.”
A true pioneer of electronic music, QUENUM has been shaping the global techno and house scene for over two decades. One of his most celebrated tracks, “Orange Mistake”, co-produced with Luciano in 2001, became a turning point in his career. The success of this collaboration led them to launch the legendary Cadenza label, which rapidly grew into one of the most recognisable and respected imprints in the scene, known for its vital releases and unforgettable parties worldwide.
Over the years, QUENUM has continued to explore new creative paths and refine his artistic identity, constantly reinventing his sound while maintaining his unique musical signature. His insatiable curiosity and openness to new influences have kept him consistently in demand, from intimate underground venues to the world’s most respected festivals and clubs.
