Since its original release, Aging has taken on an interesting wider significance. OCA’s music came to the attention of Kelela, who featured the duo in her Aquaphoria mix before later working with Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig in their Berlin studio. Those sessions would go on to play an important role in shaping the sound of her acclaimed 2023 album Raven, on which both artists are credited.
2019 Press Release:
Berlin based duo OCA present Aging, their sophomore album and first for Métron Records. Following up last year's Preset Music (recently featured in Kelela's Aquaphoria mix) Aging is an album that focuses on memory, experience and the passing of time.
A collaboration between producers Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig, OCA formed after the pair met and became friends while studying in Berlin. Originally from small towns in Bavaria, the duo now live and work in the German capital.
Through a series of 10 vignettes, Aging transports the listener on a trip across a series of life events that retain a special personal importance to both of the artists. These emotional touchstones range from the profound to the prosaic - the discovery of something new, the relief from annoyance or the familiarity found in an old companion - and have been fully explored with playful sonic introspection.
Whilst the concept retains a certain ambiguity, it is the sound palette, created solely on an Alesis QS6 synthesiser - that brings these experiences to life. OCA blend and weave classic dance music motifs with shimmering synths, Japanese wet ambient, and even anthemic 80s rock to create a soundscape rich with texture and sensation.
The bass notes and tentative lead of ‘Baby’s First Blade of Grass’ reference the memory of first consciously or subconsciously experiencing something new, whilst the decaying ripples of ‘Stretching in Water’ paired with sounds of flowing streams conjure up images of tranquil pools. Their most developed work to date, Aging showcases OCA as rising stars of progressive pop and modern ambient.
For over 30 years the Midwest machine menace that is Paul Birken has been developing and exploring his love for the limitless potential that exists when you chain together synths, sequencers, samplers and beat makers, he is a true audio explorer communicating his own unique sonic exploration through his machines + odd dreams. Starting out back in the day merely with a Commodore 64 computer and a few synths, his studio gear arsenal has constantly evolved over the years into a myriad of unfathomable boxes, cables and bangin’ in his attic allowing him to freely manipulate his random audio creations into the most serious and fun grooves anywhere in the techno realms. Along-with his own imprint Tonewrecker Recordings, Paul’s appeared on a huge stack of the most impressive labels including Don’t Recordings, Fun In The Murky, Earwiggle, Mord and of course a plethora of remixes and tracks on our very own RIOT Radio Records.
From within a tomb in ancient lands comes this 'Bandage Boogie.' A hallowed homage to all things that are non-stop breakin' n' stompin' n' boppin' to the RIOT beats that have now manifested themselves on a 'Mummificated' dance floor near you. This aint street life, this is tomb life, and you'll need as many sacred tanna leaves to keep you movin’ as your fiendish high priest will bestow upon you. This brewed techno fluid that we're administering will ultimately invoke 'The Curse of RIOT’ and you’ll be doomed to eternal bouncin' aboot to its 'Pyramid Pongo' beats that go mysteriously THUMP in the night. Each track on here, and especially in his infamously legendary live sets, are unique in that they get erased from his machines after their creation and won’t ever be spawned again, but ssssssssssssssh, Mummy's the word.
The full digital release also features two bonus immortal tracks delving you deeper into the life-giving sounds of this ‘Mummy Wrapsody.’
WARNING: THESE UNWRAPPED TECHNO BEATS CREATE A WONK-A-THON YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE FROM
Nearly two years after "Superpaesaggio," Futureslowdubdisco rematerializes with a new album rooted in deconstructed rhythms, suspended atmospheres, minimalism, emotional tension, and ethnic echoes. Simone Ticconi and Francesco Colagrande, true explorers of sound, first delve into dark and shadowy ravines ("Shaman"), then descend into ocean depths ("Wendigo"), and make their way through impenetrable forests ("Natureconnection"), finally reaching the slopes of an active volcano ("Manitou").
The adventurous journey is rounded out with two more danceable remixes by Virtual Reality and Adelmo.
The crowning achievement is the artwork created by Awer, which pairs with the previous work by Flavia Mastrella.
Postmodern library music of great pathos. Giosue' Impellizzeri.
FUTURESLOWDUBDISCO is a project born from the meeting of producers Simone Ticconi and Francesco Colagrande. The duo explores sonic territories that combine downtempo, minimal techno, and dub. A blend of deep and hypnotic atmospheres, capable of moving between the contemplative dimension of listening and the pulsating energy of club culture, for an unforgettable rhythmic, ethereal, and psychedelic journey.
"Memory Remains" A Vinyl Cover Painted by 20 Children Who Believed They Could
A new album where the artwork is as personal as the music, created entirely by first-graders from Croatia.
When it came time to design the cover for Memory Remains, there was only one group of artists who felt right for the job: the first-grade class 1A of Osnovna škola Luka in Sesvete, Croatia.
Every single child in the class took part. Each student was given the chance to draw whatever came to mind: memories, dreams, imaginary worlds, the people and animals they love, and every one of those drawings made it onto the final cover. Nothing was left out, nothing was "corrected." The front and back panels of the vinyl are a patchwork of more than two dozen individual visions, side by side, unfiltered and unmistakably their own.
The idea grew directly out of the album's centrepiece track, "World Child", a song about the simple, often-overlooked truth that every child carries a talent that belongs only to them, and that no two ways of seeing the world are the same. Rather than illustrate that idea with a single artist's interpretation, it felt right to hand the canvas to an entire classroom of six- and seven-year-olds and let them prove the point themselves.
The result is a cover that doesn't try to look polished or professional, because that was never the goal. It looks like a classroom wall covered in a year's worth of drawings, each one different, each one someone's best effort, each one worth keeping. Which is exactly what "World Child" is about.
Memory Remains is out on vinyl.
Track of note: "World Child"
Artwork by: The students of 1A, Osnovna škola Luka, Sesvete, Croatia 2026
Charlotte de Witte now unleashes her slamming three-track EP ‘The Resistance’, featuring Theo Nasa and XSALT, out on KNTXT. It follows the astonishing summer tour of her new audiovisual show ‘The Resistance’, including a spectacular ‘XXL’ version at Belgium’s Rock Werchter in July, for a 40,000 audience watching from inside and outside the tent.
World #1 techno artist Charlotte de Witte’s new show continues a standout year of experimental ventures and celebrations, global pop-up shows, monster street parties, incredible new music (EPs and Deluxe LP)… and most recently ‘The Resistance’ AV show world premier at UNVRS Ibiza and the EU tour. The new ‘The Resistance’ EP is hard, fast, and uncompromising. It features Theo Nasa, whose raw, deep techno EP ‘Lifeline’ was released on her KNTXT label; vocal artist / longtime collaborator XSALT, (previously on ‘No Division’, ‘Overdrive’, ‘Roar’, ‘How You Move’); and Charlotte’s own vocals on a personal track ten years in the making.
‘The Resistance’ EP title track feat. Theo Nasa is urgent, demanding, unapologetic. Juddering main theme, rattling hyperspeed beat, spacey hoover swoops form a matrix for the deep, amused authoritative voice of Nasa – ‘we are unity, we are techno’. The brief ‘The Resistance (Intro Version)’ opens with futuristic FX and Nasa’s voice to the fore introducing the techno credo.
‘Never have I ever teased a track this much as I teased ‘The Resistance’. From the moment the track was being made in the studio, I knew this was going to be a special one. Theo Nasa captures the spirit of the underground and guides you through the essence of club culture like no one did before. An entire A/V show grew out of this feeling, this philosophy. It’s one of the biggest tracks I’ve ever made.’ Charlotte de Witte
‘See Through The Lies’ feat. XSALT: futuristic FX, fast stabby synth theme, and XSALT intoning ‘see through the lies. It’s time to take control’. A message of defiance. ‘XSALT delivers again on ‘See Through The Lies’, offering his own take on the EP's theme. Open your eyes. Break the illusion, see through the lies. Release the pressure. It’s time to take control!’ de Witte says.
‘Another Place’ has relentless pace, twanging pizzicato synth, and de Witte’s whispered phrases becoming full voice. ‘’Another Place’ has been in the making for over a decade. It saw the light of day in Brussels, where the lyrics took shape together with my friend One Track Brain. The track was forgotten and resurfaced years later, leading to an entirely new track created around that magical vocal from all those years ago. This is an EP very close to my heart.’
At the heart of ‘The Resistance’ EP and AV show is a message central to de Witte’s work: Protect Club Culture and the communities that sustain it. That’s why de Witte is donating all proceeds from The Resistance EP to The Nighttime Foundation, a global nonprofit dedicated to safeguarding and shaping the future of nightlife, empowering grassroots communities and promoting nightlife as a vital form of culture worldwide.
The fifteenth release of Barro comes with an exclusive: behind the Transylvanian mask of Orlok 101 lies Nöle himself, the boss of the label.
Remember that he used this vampiric AKA to kick off Barro—his The End Of The Beginning being the first release, published in late 2018. That same year, his techno-industrial sound—packed with references from the famous work of Bram Stoker and nightmare atmospheres—helped launch another label: Soil, the Valencia-based imprint, with a project that included a suitably fitting remix of The Horrorist. The following year, he released an EP with five original tracks, titled Runaway, while also “spreading blood” on Antikhrist Visions Vol I alongside his Industrias Mekanikas comrades.
His dark influence has been felt across Barro’s catalogue, whether through his own tracks or remixes—sinking his teeth into artists like The Hacker (under his real name, Amato) or Nebula Circuit. In 2025, Orlok made his debut on Aspecto Humano with a powerful EP, equally gritty and dark. In Barro, we’ve recently had Nöle—the most techno side of Imanol Pagola—with the EPs Electro Bloody Music and Demencial Chico Aceleradom, two great showcases of his ability to keep us dancing nonstop, following the popular Mendekua, released by Xtraperlo.
For Barro 15, the two sides of the producer and DJ come together on this EP, titled Sex With a Cop—four tracks released on vinyl and digitally, plus an alternate version of the final composition as a bonus track.
Nöle's knowledge of the dancefloor and Orlok 101's ability to create atmospheres that will give you goosebumps come together on this EP to create an explosive mix.
Sex With a Cop starts with Hilerri, a techno EBM track where Orlok provides repetitive, screeching sounds and a ghostly melody, while Nöle adds incisive synths and a catchy, addictive vocal sample that warns you of the danger of the material you’re listening to. Orlok then takes over with his industrial and metallic sonorities on the next track, Amets Fabrika, although Nöle’s influence still comes through with his powerful bass and addictive synth lines. A stifled scream and a production packed with a thousand details create an unsettling atmosphere that will surprise you on the dancefloor.
The flip side begins with No Voy A Quedar Con Nadie, a track closer to Nöle’s technooid world. Even with its unsettling opening, it doesn’t take long to turn into a danceable bomb, with that dark touch typical of the Navarro producer.
Surprisingly, he saves the best for last: Harina de Huesos Humanos is one of the most interesting tracks created by Imanol Pagoda, and we can hear it in two versions, one as a bonus track. Thanks to complex production full of details and sounds that come and go, a punchy, hard as granite kick drum, and a carefully crafted industrial atmosphere, it all ends up being the perfect union between the two sonic worlds. A spectacular finale for the label’s fifteenth release.
Driveline Records presents its first solo EP, welcoming Maltese producer Patient to the label. Across four tracks, Patient showcases his signature blend of deep low-end grooves, hypnotic atmospheres and driving rhythms, staying true to the label's vision of timeless, dancefloor-focused techno. The title track, "Genetic Mutation", opens the record with a powerful and atmospheric journey, combining hypnotic textures with a driving groove built for peak-time moments. On "Sphynx", rolling hi-hats, evolving percussion and subtle tension create a hypnotic, constantly moving groove that keeps the dancefloor locked from start to finish. Flipping to the B-side, "Drift" shifts the focus towards deep low-end frequencies. Rolling basslines, immersive atmospheres and subtle movement give the track a dynamic yet restrained energy. Closing the EP, "Not A Replica" delivers a classic syncopated groove, full of tension, punch and infectious swing. A functional dancefloor weapon that provides the perfect finale to the record. With DLR002, Patient delivers four distinctive cuts that balance atmosphere, groove and functionality, reinforcing Driveline Records' commitment to timeless, vinyl-focused techno.
With her fifth solo studio album, Half An Owl And A Full Moon Rising, landing on Dekmantel Records, Steffi harnesses the energy of the dancefloor for a powerful, uplifting ride into the core of what makes this culture so transformative. From her years as a dedicated raver in the late 80s, through to her global tours, prolific production and ceaseless love for music in its many forms, Steffi's innate understanding of the dancefloor informs this new body of work. Key to all of this is the joy of the club experience: the high energy and the vibrational field that's created when the DJ, their musical selections and the dancers align on the same wavelength. The "Feel Factor" as she calls it. Even the title is a reference: half an owl meaning half a pill.
Each track is imbued with pure, unfiltered club energy. Steffi's approach with her albums is to start from scratch, working up and out from a core idea rather than compiling music from an existing collection, and Half An Owl And A Full Moon Rising is comprised of eight cuts, whittled down from over 40. Opening with 'The Rolling Wave', the album immediately transports the listener into a world of emotionally and physically moving soundscapes. Across all eight tracks Steffi weaves together potent drum programming with ethereal pads, strings, heartrending melodies and straight up grooves: honest, no fluff productions that are designed for a very specific purpose. Listening to cuts like 'Sweeping Leaps', you can hear echoes of the huge variety of house and techno Steffi has absorbed. The title track wraps you up in its scintillating rhythms and heady strings, while, midway through, 'Acoustics Of Space' fires on all cylinders with its dynamic tempo, relentless drums and euphoric pad work.
Van Ghost is the sinister collision of fine art and grimy underground Hip Hop. Released in 2018, the album pairs Washington, D.C. MC ANKHLEJOHN with producer Big Ghost Ltd. for an 11-track journey inspired entirely by the paintings and troubled world of Vincent van Gogh.
Each song takes its name from a Van Gogh work, from The Night Café and The Yellow House to The Starry Night, The Red Vineyard, and The Potato Eaters. But rather than simply paying tribute to the painter, ANKHLEJOHN and Big Ghost translate that imagery into something darker, rawer, and distinctly their own. Big Ghost's ominous, cinematic production creates a bleak and atmospheric backdrop for ANKHLEJOHN's abrasive, unpredictable delivery and vividly street-centered lyricism.
Reissue of Rudimentary Peni’s stunning debut 12-song 7”. Recorded in 1981 at Street Level Studios and originally released on their own Outer Himalayan label. From the first track Rudimentary Peni pull you in and aurally assault your ears. It’s abrasive, sharp with supreme musicianship. They created a perfect, demented universe of twisted, poetic and needle in the red punk that has never been bettered. This reissue comes with a fold out replica sleeve with the iconic Blinko foetus artwork and booklet.
Yuvi Havkin aka Rejoicer returns with an exceptional collaborative album, California Space Craft. On this aptly titled record, he joins forces with seasoned LA bass polymath Sam Wilkes — known for his inspired studio work with Sam Gendel and his dynamic live performances alongside Louis Cole and KNOWER — and drummer Tamir Barzilay, completing the LA-connected trifecta alongside a select handful of key featured guests. The idea for California Space Craft was born out of a series of inspired live sessions in Los Angeles between 2019 and 2022, notably at Listen to Music Outside in the Daylight Under a Tree, where the trio’s natural chemistry first began to bloom. The resulting recordings encompass a wide variety of inspired sound stylings, as one would expect from any of these accomplished artists on their own; however, the sum is truly greater than the parts here, with the fluidity of their freeform improvisations over a dedicated three-day recording session feeling remarkably focused as a cohesive whole. Opening track “Traveling Light” sets the LP’s tone with equal parts Sly & Robbie-style, space echo– drenched rhythms and the cozy kosmische, guitar-led feel of early-2000s genre-fluid explorers like Tortoise. As we continue on to “Ritual in G#,” we are reminded that this is indeed a unique and timeless sonic space the trio has created, as Havkin’s crisp Rhodes chords anchor an ever-evolving psychedelic sound bed. The soaring trumpet of Avishai Cohen adorns the Afrobeat-indebted “Lion Water,” with Barzilay laying down a proper Allen-esque groove, while “Further (with you),” featuring Nitai Hershkovits on keys, offers a defining look at the titular concept of the album — with pure Cali feels coalescing effortlessly into sciNew Release Information fi narrative modes and a proper dose of Rejoicer futurism. Elsewhere, “Her Hair in the Air” shines with fresh polyrhythmic intention, illustrating the balanced bond between the three collaborators at their conversational peak, and the brisk synth strokes of “Early Porpoises,” alongside LP closer “Oceanic Friends” — again ideally named — double as a grand, in-stereo ride into the blissful Pacific sunset horizon. California Space Craft embodies the power of open, collective intention and musical kinship, offering memorable, uplifting moments and an aural glimpse of hope, warmth, and loving melodious calm in an otherwise quite chaotic time for humanity.
Six years after their last full-length release, Satoshi & Makoto return with Mirage Café, the highly anticipated new album on 8mm Records, in collaboration with Standart Magazine.
A carefully crafted and long-awaited work, Mirage Café is more than an album — it is a fully immersive sensory experience. The Japanese duo expand their signature sound into deeper and more cinematic territory, blending refined electronica, ambient textures, subtle jazz inflections and understated groove with remarkable elegance and control.
The title evokes an imaginary café — a space of contemplation, connection and inspiration. The partnership with Standart Magazine reinforces this conceptual layer, bridging music and coffee culture into a cohesive narrative that feels both intimate and international. The result is an album that unfolds like a slow ritual: warm, enveloping and meticulously detailed.
Throughout the record, Satoshi & Makoto demonstrate a mature and confident songwriting approach. The production is rich yet restrained, atmospheric yet rhythmically engaging — balancing introspection with forward motion. Lush harmonies, delicate arrangements and immersive sound design create a listening experience that rewards both focused attention and late-night drifting.
With Mirage Café , the duo not only meet expectations after a six-year silence — they surpass them. This is a masterwork of nuance and vision, poised to become a defining chapter in their discography and a standout release in the contemporary electronic landscape.
The Soft Chaos captures the essence of music “in the moment “ - the interaction of three musicians within the improvisation. It embodies the true spirit and essence of “jazz” - music created spontaneously, yet within the boundaries of an art form that has influenced the sound of modern music and many genres for nearly a century.
A collaborative, improvisational, and free-form trio project led, produced, and mixed by Nathan Haines with Joe Kaptein (keyboards) and Elijah Whyte (drums), recorded in just one day at Auckland Lab Studios.
The Soft Chaos showcases live, in-the-moment, top-quality musicianship with a vintage vibe reminiscent of classic 1970s experimental jazz rock, but with a modern jazz-house aesthetic, featuring live human lead drums and synthesisers rather than programmed beats.
SECOND REISSUE ON THIS HEAT’s OWN NEW IMPRINT FOLLOWING ‘THIS HEAT’ (TH01LP) WHICH WAS UNCUT ‘REISSUE OF THE MONTH’ RECENTLY WITH 9/10 REVIEW + 4-PAGE FEATURE WITH Q+A.
*24 bit/96 kHz re-master from original analog tapes.
*Heavyweight 180gm vinyl and heavyweight sleeve with pantone printing to match original 1979 release.
Simon Reynolds on Health and Efficiency:
“For some fans, Health and Efficiency is This Heat’s peak achievement – their most concentrated blast of visceral intensity and wayward experimentalism….Lead track “Health & Efficiency” combines fierce angular rock that fully lives up to Cunningham’s belief that This Heat could become a postpunk King Crimson, with a multi-part babble of vocals, clattering percussive timbres, and found sounds.’’
Flipside “Graphic/Varispeed” is more subdued and hypnotic: a wavering tonescape whose duration depends on whether you play it at 45 rpm or 33 rpm. This reissue reproduces the original release’s striking cover image of a human figure painted in blue by Pete Cobb, along with the cryptic flipside of text in many different languages.
Although widely considered to be Post-Punk’s finest, This Heat actually began performing and recording their music in 1976, the early days of London’s punk era. Within their two albums and an EP they perfected a strange and volatile new strain of avant-garde rock that time has proved to be massively influential, a blueprint for much that would follow: post-rock, math rock, homemade musique concrète, experimental electronica. Numerous critics have recognised the band's influence on the music of Sonic Youth, Glenn Branca, Steven Wilson, Public Image Ltd., Radiohead, Swans, Shellac, Young Knives, Black Dice, Lightning Bolt and numerous other experimental and post-rock bands.
Disbanding in 1982 they have left an undeniable legacy that has only continued to grow in stature and relevance.Having recently passed the 50 year anniversary of their first gig, and the recording of material that appears on their debut album, the group’s surviving members Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward, true to their DIY roots, have set up an imprint to release their recordings for their growing fan base that is increasingly recognising their influential place in music history.
‘They went beyond punk before punk had properly started…the entire album is a controlled explosion of ideas. Nearly fifty years on, This Heat’s debut is something the world has still not completely caught up with.’ - Simon Reynolds
‘Over the years, there have been bands to play as aggressively, or even as strangely, but very few have been able to rise from their collective influences and histories to create music so singularly distinctive and inspiring.’ – Pitchfork 9/10
‘This Heat sounded like the future then ... and still do now.’ - Dan Snaith (Caribou)
‘This Heat had a certain kind of force the post-punk bands were unable to adequately control without falling foul of rawk excess, and which the punk bands—albeit blitzing and rowdy—were too basic in form to build.’ – John Calvert , The Quietus
Special poster on 250gram paper. Postcard with photo taken by Sandrien. Hand-numbered sticker. Shrinwrap
After more than a decade without releasing new music, Amsterdam DJ and producer Sandrien returns with her debut album Compass, released on her own new label, inspi. Created during a stay in Spain, where she finally found the space to create freely again, the album marks a new chapter: no genres, no expectations, just music made purely on feeling. Compass is an album about finding your own path, personally and musically, a cycle of searching and finding, letting go and beginning again. Lead single 'Life' laid the foundation for it all. The visual world of the album is just as personal: photographs Sandrien took around her house formed the basis for its artwork and imagery. With 27 years of experience behind her, Compass proves that mastery doesn't lead to routine, but to exploration. This double LP includes a beautiful double-sided poster featuring two original artworks of ‘Compass’ by Dutch artist Pieter Jan Boterkoek. Releases October 9, 2026 Written and produced by Sandrien Mixed by Julien Chaptal Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at Enisslab Artwork by Studio Pieter Jan Boterhoek This album is made with love in Spain, Volkshotel Amsterdam and Groenekan.
American DJ, producer, and Ovum label boss Josh Wink remixes Chris Liebing's 'Eye C' via CLR on 25th September 2026, one of the standout tracks from Liebing's first fully solo-produced LP, 'Evolver', which landed in March. The album featured collaborations with the likes of Luke Slater, Charlotte de Witte, and Daniel Miller, with Josh Wink the latest to rework material from the project. The Philadelphian is an electronic music veteran who has shaped countless releases on his own Ovum, while also remixing the likes of Depeche Mode, Moby, and Radiohead.
Josh Wink showcases his production skills once again with a blistering take on Chris Liebing's 'Eye C', rewriting it with fizzing synth modulations and prickly acid lines. The track grows in intensity as rumbling drums march on, and the synths become ever wilder before pulling back into a deep, atmospheric groove, rebuilding beneath the menacing vocals and icy, incendiary hi-hats.
The original version of Chris Liebing's 'Eye C' is a deep, rolling techno masterclass with pulsing synths and deft percussion peeling away from the groove. It's linear and heady, perfect for the small hours, with unsettling vocal fragments refracted around the mix and subtle hypnotism floating overhead as the drums grow ever harder.
The premise of this compilation is simple: music we’d like to hear at the airport.
The idea came after learning that Honolulu’s international airport has been playing AI-generated music over its speakers since November 2025. First reported by Civil Beat, the news has caused frustration and disappointment among residents and visitors, as well as within the local music community.
Everyone knows Hawaii is one of the most musically rich regions in the world — why then is the airport using AI music? 'Music For The Airport' is our response.
Located in the middle of the Pacific at the outskirts of one the most remote cities on the planet, Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) is for most people the first place they encounter when they arrive in Hawaii. Warm sun, tropical tradewinds, playful palm trees and majestic mountains welcome every traveler, as do the sounds of birds, familiar music from Hawaiian artists like Aunty Genoa Keawe and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, and—at least for now—seventeen “island-themed” AI-generated songs.
In late 1977, while sitting in Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport on a Sunday morning, Brian Eno noticed how terribly uncomfortable he felt hearing the airport’s “muzak” overhead. For a harried, hurried place like the airport where travelers scramble to their gates, stand in long border control lines, and wait impatiently for their luggage at the carousels, music can create more anxiety than calm. Asking himself, "What should we be hearing here?", Eno soon created ‘Ambient 1: Music For Airports’, a sonic remedy aimed at reducing nervousness in public spaces.
When we heard the news that HNL airport is playing AI-generated “muzak”, we were immediately reminded of Eno’s genre-defying 1978 album. And we were similarly inspired to react. But how? Recreating an ambient masterpiece wasn’t in our wheelhouse. We started digging through our catalog of licensed music which we haven’t yet re-released. We quickly realized this was our chance to highlight some of favorite songs from the so-called CD era: the 1990s and 2000s (with a few exceptions). In less than 20 minutes, we pulled 17 original songs recorded by local artists between 1984 and 2017.
The speed at which this project came together surprised us; reactionary gut instinct often produces swift and lasting results. Ironically, our new compilation likely took less time than it did for the state Department of Transportation to commission its AI songs in question. But even though ‘Music for the Airport’ came together in less than one week, the truth is that this collection of 17 songs is the result of years of hard work, trust, sacrifice, patience, and understanding. Building relationships with and licensing music from artists doesn’t happen overnight, but more importantly: these songs are the result of people pouring their hearts and souls into something they believe in. This music wouldn’t exist today without the artists and their loved ones who supported them along the way.
As of this writing, the DOT states its intention in creating AI-generated songs is to “highlight different aspects of the islands, aviation and the airport” and that “no state funds were used to produce them”. Okay, but at what cost? Technology disrupting the music industry isn’t news to anyone. AI music in public spaces are cost-saving measures, since its users (airports, for example) don’t have to pay the licensing fees typically required, which can be a worthwhile source of revenue for artists. But what happens when a place like HNL airport, which hosts more than 21 million passengers annually, uses music created by machines instead of people to represent Hawaii? The identity of a place beings to erode, diluted by a language learning model’s conceptual summary of what a people and its culture sounds like. To echo Brian Eno: what should we be hearing here? In other words: what should the music of Hawaii sound like?
We believe in the power of music, especially when it comes from the soul. We believe in supporting artists, especially as AI disrupts our lives. We believe that Hawaii must be represented authentically, especially when it comes to song. And of course we believe in vinyl, especially since it was a record from 1978 (Mackey Feary Band’s debut LP) that inspired Aloha Got Soul’s origins in 2010.
We hope you find as much joy in this compilation as we have. Perhaps it’ll soundtrack your next journey to Hawaii. At the very least, we hope some people take a moment to hear these sounds: in your headphones for now‚ maybe someday overhead at the airport in Honolulu.
The duo Jolie Gentiane come to us straight from a wild and unpredictable mountain peak, a perched place far from civilization, where the beauty and cruelty of mother nature reign but harmonize the elements. They walk the high, steep paths, looking down on the chaotic and industrial world. This increasingly smoky world, which, from the top of the mountains, looks metamorphosing dangeroulsy, but would only need a few changes to make it less crazy. Or perhaps infinitely more so. Jolie Gentiane is a skilful concoction of sound and daring. Unclassifiable, impalpable, the contemporary embracing the tradition and the acoustic swinging with the electronics. Autotuned/vocoderized vocals, 4th world, kitsch sax, psychedelic arpeggios, acoustic guitar, techno, it's all there: the story told by Jolie Gentiane on this album is rich and complete. Nature, love, celebration, struggle, work. Yes, even work. Because the energy deployed to create this album was surreal, patient, extremely methodical, and the abnegation of the protagonists has been vertiginous: the cliff of the highest peak is finally climbed. This album is like an ode to the earth, to the respect we owe it, an ode also to music in its purest essence, that which does not confine itself to borders, but shout for federation, dance and uprising.
After 10 years of Andy Shauf"s The Party... it"s time for the afterparty. The Party (10th Anniversary Edition) adds nine never-before-released tracks to the original studio version of this essential indie album of the last decade, including two brand new songs plus alternate cuts and demo recordings. With The Party, Shauf masterfully creates a cast of memorable and unique characters. They show up "Early to the Party," reveal secrets ("To You") or try to reveal nothing ("The Magician"). In "a city the size of a dinner plate," everyone knew the guy who keeled over after smoking what he promised would be his last pack of cigarettes ("Alexander All Alone"). There"s the girl dancing by herself in the middle of the room, with the "Eyes of Them All" upon her. One moment you"re dancing with someone who bears an uncanny resemblance to your ex ("Martha Sways") and later slagging your best friend as way of endearing yourself to his recently dumped ex ("Quite Like You"). All of this is set to ornate arrangements of fuzzed-out guitars, string sections, clarinets and dreamy synths, all draped over delicate piano, acoustic guitars and rainy-day drums.
The Rio-based project Pra Gira Girar presents a new interpretation of the song Atabaque Chora, originally made famous by the trio Os Tincoãs. Written by Dadinho and Mateus Aleluia, the piece opens the group’s iconic 1977 album Os Tincoãs —and has now been chosen to mark the beginning of Pra Gira Girar’s own recording journey.
Formed by Alvaro Lancellotti, Michele Leal, and Alan de Deus on vocals, Pedro Costa on guitar, Kassin on bass, Zé Manoel on piano and vocals, Zero Telles (in memoriam) and Anna Magalhães on percussion, and Diogo Gomes on trumpet, the project was born from Alvaro Lancellotti’s long-standing admiration for the work of Os Tincoãs and his wish to create a live show celebrating the legendary trio.
For a year, Alvaro, Michele, Alan, and Pedro made up the core of the group, meeting weekly for rehearsals that became a deep dive into Os Tincoãs’ intricate vocal arrangements. These sessions were essential to recreating the grandeur and complexity of the Bahian trio’s music. Pedro Costa transcribed the vocal lines and, together with Michele Leal — a singer-songwriter with a background in choral singing — adapted the arrangements for a formation that, unlike Os Tincoãs, features a female voice.
Asphalt DJ lands with his second outing on Sentiment.
Following a more Detroit house & techno oriented first release, this EP fi nds itself in four club-focused, yet deeper house tracks. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sentiment is a label born from admiration for those who came long before us, who were driven by curiosity and experimented with early-day machinery. We want to create a home for music that carries that same spirit. A home founded on the bricks of house and techno and built together with artists who inspire us. Feel free to join building.
Iconic Dutch techno pioneer Stefan Robbers returns to De:tuned with Nodes, a mesmerizing new 8-track album under his legendary Terrace alias. Serving as the sixth Terrace LP and the highly anticipated follow-up to 2025's Branches, Nodes further refines Stefan's signature blend of Detroit-inspired futurism and warm, dub-infused textures. Drawing on decades of studio experience, he delivers another finely balanced collection of expertly produced techno, enriched with warmth, groove and precision. Stefan's relationship with De:tuned spans many years and reflects a shared passion for timeless electronic music. From his acclaimed Phosphenes EP (2017) and his memorable remix of LA Synthesis - Agraphobia, to standout appearances on label compilations such as 10 Years of De:tuned with Estrings, Terrace has remained an integral part of the label's catalogue. Nodes is the latest chapter in that enduring collaboration. Rich in detail, depth and emotion, Nodes once again demonstrates why Terrace remains one of the most respected and enduring names in Dutch techno. The creative heartbeat of Eindhoven is still beating stronger than ever. Artwork has once again been created by Al White and Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune), while mastering duties were handled by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital edition will also be available through all major digital platforms.
Iconic Dutch techno pioneer Stefan Robbers returns to De:tuned with Nodes, a mesmerizing new 8-track album under his legendary Terrace alias. Serving as the sixth Terrace LP and the highly anticipated follow-up to 2025's Branches, Nodes further refines Stefan's signature blend of Detroit-inspired futurism and warm, dub-infused textures. Drawing on decades of studio experience, he delivers another finely balanced collection of expertly produced techno, enriched with warmth, groove and precision. Stefan's relationship with De:tuned spans many years and reflects a shared passion for timeless electronic music. From his acclaimed Phosphenes EP (2017) and his memorable remix of LA Synthesis - Agraphobia, to standout appearances on label compilations such as 10 Years of De:tuned with Estrings, Terrace has remained an integral part of the label's catalogue. Nodes is the latest chapter in that enduring collaboration. Rich in detail, depth and emotion, Nodes once again demonstrates why Terrace remains one of the most respected and enduring names in Dutch techno. The creative heartbeat of Eindhoven is still beating stronger than ever. Artwork has once again been created by Al White and Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune), while mastering duties were handled by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital edition will also be available through all major digital platforms.
For the label's latest, Oath is proud to present 'Honey Tangerine', the newest mini-album from producer extortionaire Olsvangèr, who serves up his signature blend of hyper-kinetic, ever-shifting dance music.
Olsvangèr's sound and musical journey are forever rooted in the liminal spaces that make up the broad-reaching and ever-shifting electronic music landscape, with his records consistently channeling that in-betweenness that imprints lasting impressions. A classically trained musician with a profound passion for house and techno, Olsvangèr's sonic palette is one of both broad and delicate brush strokes, applying an array of compelling motifs within amorphous arrangements that blend and blur perspectives. His records seek out the faraway fringes as much as focusing on the intensity found in the detail, creating cavernous soundscapes that are impeccably tuned and effortlessly free-flowing. Seemingly genreless, his records are anchored in all that is known and loved, yet due to the music's perspective situated at the intersectionality of electronica, a beautiful anticipation resides within every stanza of his tracks at what may come next. His musical language has found him releasing on the likes of Kalahari Oyster Cult, Hooj Choons and Craigie Knowes, and follows through within his imprint Tofistock, which has been pushing some of the most forward-thinking dance music of recent times.
'Honey Tangerine' touches upon the classic motifs of Olsvangèr's sound, and as always, the room for growth within the record's parameters remains truly endless. Over six tracks, Olsvangèr lays bare the directions of travel, with paths unravelling that feel well trodden yet with some that branch out towards new horizons. 'Source of Thought' opens up proceedings with a captivating ambience, where twinkling hues and lively tones paint the parameters of sound. The chuggy breaks that land deep within the mix drop in and out of view, allowing a deft balance between pure ambiance and rhythm to exchange dialogue between one another. 'In a Nutshell' shifts gears in atmosphere and energy, with all eyes placed upon the club. The shifting rhythm section lifts the acidic melodic features up above, with driving bass notes and a euphoric vocal like lead linking the depths to the heavens. 'Tulpa Nine' swings into heads-down territory, where the drums swing slow and the throbbing bass hits heavy. The auto-tune vocal line up above creates an atmosphere of hazy, smoke-filled rooms, where the party yearns for downtime in anticipation of the next shift in energy.
'Sunrise on the Lips' gives over further chill out room vibrations, where the lights remain low, and smiles reside all around. The enriching drums provide the basis for sitars and glossy keys to glide across the top ends, with the mind invited to dip deep within this enthralling ensemble. 'Zoom It Out' provides the release into the room, with the ante upped. A breaky house leaning number, this cut grooves through its chiming melodic section and groove-laden bass line, with the polyrhythmic drumming pattern doing much to keep the energy residing very high indeed. The record is wrapped up with 'Some Air', which gives over one final jaunt through the airy, slowed-down slipstreams. A wondrous beat is complemented by melodic elements that chime, absorb and quiver, glowing through the night with such charm and feel. An engrossing composition that demonstrates what Olsvangèr is all about - a crafter of sound, where adventure is sought and found, never wavering but curating new connections, feelings, and tones, with an eye on what might come next.
Whether softly undulating or boundlessly expressive, Olsvangèr's music remains a beautiful enigma that serves up both the glorious knowns and the captivating unknowns - 'Honey Tangerine' is yet another chapter in his glorious discography.
Corps Perdu emerges from Lamin Fofana’s ongoing practice of creating immersive and multisensory sound environments, informed and inspired by the historically rich texts of scholars and poets working in the tradition of Black Studies. The words of W.E.B. Du Bois, Sylvia Wynter, Dionne Brand, Fred Moten, Édouard Glissant, Suzanne Césaire and Aimé Césaire are transmuted and circulated as sound, offered to listeners through radio, live events, albums and installations. Fofana honours his sources with an audible historical awareness, yet his sounds always simultaneously open out into the turbulent uncertainties of the present.
The music we hear on the album Corps Perdu was previewed within a series of collective reading and listening sessions carried out in Paris, Barcelona, Tunis and New York City, where voices from the audience read aloud fragments from a body of texts Fofana had selected. The spontaneous unfolding of close reading and listening, mixed live by Fofana in these collective listening experiences, speaks to the open-ended quality of Corps Perdu. The album, now published, is but one iteration of this ongoing inquiry into the relationship between sound and text.
Corps Perdu presents an introspective journey with no return, and as such is full of omens of all kinds. Across ten tracks Lamin Fofana creates a sibling or companion to the transformation he initiated in his previous album Works in Metal, building a narrative that takes us into Krakatoa prior to its eruption, and lets us listen to Césaire’s ‘flying seed dreaming very loudly’. The album’s track titles and narrative arc hum in and out and alongside Césaire’s poetry, mainly Césaire’s 1950 collection Corps Perdu, in which the ten poems are accompanied by engravings by Picasso merging fragments of bodies and plants—a collaboration that emerged from their first encounter two years earlier, at the Communist-led World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace, in Wroclaw, Poland.
The music on Corps Perdu labours intuitive hand-held melodies through dense processing. There are many rhythms throughout, though these never surrender to the density of the dancefloor grooves we’ve heard Fofana craft on previous albums (think of the ‘Obscure Light’ pair from Works in Metal for example). Instead, Fofana gently releases the clenched hands Césaire’s Corps Perdu begins with: ‘Among me, from myself, to myself, outside any constellation, clenched in my hands only, the rare hiccup of an ultimate raving spasm, keep vibrating word’. The album carries through sound the scattering and liquid fragmentation that shape the desperate metamorphosis of a ‘lost body’.
Detroit techno visionary Keith Tucker returns through his acclaimed alter ego Optic Nerve with AUGMENTATIONS EP, a forward-thinking exploration of minimalist machine funk, futuristic sound design, and deep electronic movement.
Crafted with precision and unmistakable Detroit character, AUGMENTATIONS merges hypnotic analog sequences, mechanical rhythm structures, atmospheric synth textures, and driving electronic beats into a powerful sonic statement rooted in the city’s enduring techno legacy. Sparse yet immersive, the EP balances raw underground energy with cinematic futurism — designed equally for dark warehouse floors and deep headphone listening.
Pressed as a Limited Collector’s Edition Clear Vinyl 12-inch, PBX-38 captures the sleek, transparent aesthetic of the music itself: pure signal, machine emotion, and uncompromising Detroit innovation.
A1 — Augmented 1 (Optic Nerve Original Mix)
A deep, stripped down Detroit techno workout driven by pulsing drum programming, evolving synth modulation, and hypnotic minimalist sequencing. Functional futurism engineered for late-night motion.
B1 — Augmented 2 (Infinite Worlds Mix)
Built around a rolling funky bass line and eerie flowing string textures, this expansive composition moves through layers of atmospheric electronics and mechanical groove architecture. The track creates an immersive sense of drifting through endless digital landscapes while maintaining a sharp rhythmic intensity designed for the underground dance floor.
B2 — Augmented 3 (Visual Shapes Mix)
Abstract melodic fragments, and precision electronic rhythms collide to form a futuristic minimalist soundscape filled with movement, tension, and cinematic pulsed chords.
Legendary Gabber/Hardcore dj & producer Rob GEE is famous in New York as “the hardest DJ to ever play the Limelight.” In the early 90’s, GEE kept delirious audiences going – spinning at Limelight’s “Future Shock” dance/techno nights and performing with his live band and spinning at the club’s “Rock And Roll Church” metal/rock/industrial nights.
Rob GEE is the only artist of his kind to collaborate and create with members of respected rock, metal, hardcore and hip-hop acts such as Slipknot, Hatebreed, Biohazard, Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, & System Of A Down, creating a unification of electronic, metal, hardcore, hip-hop, and any other style for that matter known as gabber music. GEE is writing history launching gabber onto the world scene.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Rob GEE's legendary 1996 hardcore masterpiece Punk, Funk & Live is now officially available on vinyl again. For several years, this EP has become a highly sought-after holy grail, for both old-school gabbers and new harddance, hardtechno and hardstyle collectors.
Punk, Funk & Live features the classic anthems "Ecstasy, You Got What I Need", "Gabberslam", "Son Of Rob GEE" and exclusive bonustrack "Rob GEE Megamix", mixed by Bass-D & King Matthew.
This limited 30th anniversary edition of Punk, Funk & Live is available on purple vinyl.
By the end of 1986, with Miles Davis’ career in resurgence, he was approached by the producers of the movie Siesta, based on the book by Patrice Chaplin and starring Ellen Barkin, Gabriel Byrne and Martin Sheen. Miles agreed to create the music for the movie and immediately asked Marcus Miller to help compose and produce.
As had taken place with Tutu, Miles looked to bassist Marcus Miller—working with keyboardist/programmer Jason Miles—to compose and construct the various tracks, over which he blew his trumpet parts. Matching the music to the mood and tempo of the film’s scenes lay on Miller’s shoulders. The soundtrack came together in early 1987 in Los Angeles, Miller and Jason Miles working in North Hollywood, and Miles driving in from Malibu to play his parts. Miller brought in a number of players to add solos and texture: guitarists John Scofield and Earl Klugh; flautist James Walker, and drummer Omar Hakim.
Dedicated to arranger Gil Evans, the music is greatly influenced by his style with Miller creating an electrified but very warm orchestra to accompany Davis' melodic solos. This was the first of several instances in which Miles Davis, in the twilight of his life, returned to his roots.
Siësta is available as a numbered limited edition of 1000 copies on gold vinyl.
Trumpeter, rapper and sonic wanderer Pan Amsterdam has carved out one of the most distinctive voices operating at the intersection of jazz and hip-hop today.
Pan Amsterdam is a musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle. His creator is a jazz musician from Houston who’s found fame working with Detroit punk rock God, Iggy Pop, and British indie royalty, Metronomy, and now makes shapeshifting, adventurous hip hop out of the music’s spiritual home, New York.
He’s an irreverent character born out of frustration and named after a misunderstanding, yet one who’s on the verge of releasing his fifth album of truth-slaying, genre-crossing rhymes and beats. The result is a catalogue that feels both deeply rooted in Black American musical tradition and completely untethered by convention.
Pan Amsterdam returns with ‘Panarama’, his fourth full length album and a bold reassertion of his hip hop identity, released via Def Pressé. Created by Houston-born, New York-based musician and composer Leron Thomas, the record finds Pan Amsterdam embracing the harder edges of his sound while continuing to blur the lines between jazz improvisation, abstract rap, punk attitude, and experimental production
Written as a response to contemporary life and the endless cycle of information, conflict and distraction that defines modern culture, ‘Panarama’ unfolds as a stream of consciousness journey through hyper-normalised realities. Across sixteen tracks, Thomas navigates social commentary, personal reflection, absurdist humour, and cultural critique, delivering his observations with the same spontaneity and freedom that have become central to the Pan Amsterdam project
Lead single ‘Szechuan Beef’, produced by acclaimed collaborator 1FS, serves as one of the album’s defining statements. Built around Thomas’ signature free-flowing delivery, the track explores the overwhelming nature of contemporary life, where domestic conflict, social division, entertainment scandals and political discourse become flattened into a constant stream of content.
In Thomas’ own words: “My stream of consciousness style comes quite naturally to me due to the conditioning of scroll down culture where everything, no matter how minor or extreme, is hyper normalised.”
Elsewhere, the track ‘Vanilla Ice’ was written in response to widely publicised ICE killings and the speed at which tragedy is absorbed and forgotten within online culture. Thomas channels the anxiety and emotional disorientation of endlessly consuming information, allowing his thoughts to unfold in real time as social commentary collides with everyday digital noise. The result is both deeply personal and sharply observational, reflecting the fragmented reality of modern life. Other album highlights include the cinematic, Interpol-esque opener - ‘Old Friend’ complete with shimmering guitar lines and an far-reaching introspective, no-filter vocal as Thomas teams up with Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Brad Truax (Interpol) across multiple tracks, often the production traverses left-field indie territory, but always maintaining Pan Amsterdam’s unique musical identity throughout. For the hip hop purists and beats lovers there are plenty of riches to discover from the clever nostalgic sample flips of ‘Cutlery’, the sleepy lofi of ‘Shuriken’ and the wonky LA beat scene / early Flying Lotus era beats of ‘Drunken Noodles’ - all boasting quick witted lyricism. ‘Deep Fried Shiney Things’ explores early electro and industrial sonics while album finisher is an upbeat new wave / indie band cut which sees Thomas take a break from rapping, but of course never letting up on the sharp observations nonetheless
While his previous record explored more alternative territory, ‘Panarama’ marks a deliberate return to rap, as Pan Amsterdam explains:
“I just wanted to do a rap album again.I enjoyed making my last album, but I felt like rapping again. I like to have the freedom to move in between musical worlds that suit the current state I’m in. Frequency accommodating frequency.”
This philosophy runs throughout the album. Tracks move effortlessly between jazz-inflected arrangements, experimental beats, punk energy and underground hip hop aesthetics, allowing ideas to evolve organically rather than conforming to traditional structures. Thomas describes himself as an improviser first and foremost: “I think like an improvisor. That’s how my albums pretty much move. It’s improvisation.”
Featuring additional contributions from Spice Programmers, AnOtter and Mr. Shn, ‘Panarama’ presents a wide-ranging cast of collaborators while remaining firmly rooted in Thomas’ singular creative vision. The record embraces contradiction, humour and unpredictability, capturing fleeting thoughts and observations with the same freedom and spontaneity that define jazz improvisation itself.
A musical enigma wrapped in an enduring riddle, Pan Amsterdam has built a reputation as one of contemporary music’s true outsiders. The project emerged from frustration, experimentation and artistic freedom, with Thomas drawing equally from his background as a jazz musician and his collaborations with artists including Iggy Pop and Metronomy. Operating from New York while carrying the spirit of Houston’s musical heritage, Pan Amsterdam has developed a distinctive voice that sits comfortably between avant-garde jazz, underground hip hop and experimental music.
Reuniting with Def Pressé for ‘Panarama’, Thomas explores what he describes as the more hardcore side of his artistic identity:
“They let me do anything and everything I wanna do so long as it’s on audio, and I need that freedom. What may verbally be perceived as vulgar to one group of people may be very thoughtful and a poignant description of the times that we’re presently in, so I’m glad that I’m part of a label home that understands that.”
"Things are looking better than ever for GENERATION STEEL! The quintet from Wetzlar/Germany, has reinvented itself on all fronts and is set to take the music world by storm with its upcoming third studio album, Steelmachine.
With the addition of guitar wizard and songwriter Thilo Herrmann - who made his debut in 1985 on the FAITHFUL BREATH classic “Skol” and has written heavy metal history throughout his career with RISK (including “Ratman”), RUNNING WILD (including “Black Hand Inn”, “Masquerade”), and GRAVE DIGGER (including “Ballads of a Hangman”) - bandleader and guitarist Jack the Riffer now has a living legend by his side.
There has also been a change behind the mic: from now on, Swedish vocalist Mike Stark - who currently sings for the Argentinian band FEANOR and the Swedish group STORMBURNER - is setting the tone. His powerful, high-pitched yet dynamic voice gives the new tracks an absolute seal of quality.
GENERATION STEEL stands for authentic, traditional, '80s-influenced heavy metal, combining the styles of ACCEPT and JUDAS PRIEST.
The ten neck-breaking tracks on the band's third full-length album were produced by Piet Sielck (IRON SAVIOR), who has previously refined classics by GAMMA RAY, GRAVE DIGGER, HEADHUNTER, STORMWARRIOR and BLIND GUARDIAN.
The cover artwork, designed by Gyula Havancsak (who has also created artworks for POWERWOLF, ACCEPT and BLIND GUARDIAN, among others), is equally eye-catching.
Anyone who loves honest, traditional German metal will quickly embrace “Steelmachine”, because the quintet not only takes us back to the '80s, but also shows just how timeless true metal is. Ten home runs, including the four singles “Steelmachine”, “Witches Cross”, “Wings of Fire” and “Fields of Pain”.
Stay Metal – Stay Steel!"
SIGNUM REGIS was founded in 2007 and stands for finest melodic Power Metal with both progressive and symphonic elements. Their upcoming new and eighth studio album „Beyond Spacetime“ will be released on October 9th through Fireflash Records and will feature different vocalists. Among them their current singer Mayo Petranen, who just returned to the band, his successor Jota Fortinho as well as top class names, such as Ripper Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST), Matt Smith (THEOCRACY), Ralf Scheepers (PRIMAL FEAR), Johnny Gioeli (HARDLINE, AXEL RUDI PELL), Tasos Lazaris (STEEL ARCTUS, WHITE WIZZARD), David Åkesson (SYMPHONITY; QUANTICE), but also Victor Smolski (ALMANAC, ex-RAGE), with a guitar solo on the first single-release „Throne Of Gold“.
„We are so satisfied and proud of it! Even though the last 3 years were not easy for the band, this is definitely not just a ""next"" Signum Regis"" album, we are a band, we are always aiming to create something special - for us and for fans“, comments guitarist Filip Koluš, who also mixed and produced the album.
„Beyond Spacetime“ is rounded up by an excellent artwork from Uwe Jarling, known for his work for acts like HEAVEN’S GATE, GRAVE DIGGER or recently FRONT ROW WARRIORS. „The result is awesome! We are definitely a band that considers the artwork a very important part of our artistic vision. Over the years this approach has only grown stronger, so having a real cover artist has become an absolute must for us“, comments Tommy.
SIGNUM REGIS will celebrate their 20th anniversary next year. „Beyond Spacetime“ already feels like kind of a best-of journey through their past, present and future. „We grew up on the values of traditional melodic metal - this focus will most probably never change“, says Filip Koluš and explains: „At the same time, we are also a group of great friends, who have a common goal - to make the best quality metal music together.“
Citric Dub EP is a collaborative release from Law and RUNDR, released via R-WHITES, Repertoire's jungle-focused sister label for releases from the core Repertoire crew.
Following the first five R-WHITES compilation volumes, Citric Dub EP marks the imprint's first dedicated artist EP, exploring the intersection of jungle, dub techno and ambient music.
Deep sub bass, tape-inspired textures and hypnotic, progressive arrangements combine with classic breakbeats to create a sound that is both immersive and firmly rooted in the foundations of jungle.
Music on heavy rotation while making the record included... Basic Channel, Deepchord, Terekke, Biosphere, Wax Doctor, Aphex Twin, Burial, Nala Sinephro, Scientist and Jah Shaka.
Tenuous Links welcomes Torino’s very own VIOLA to the label with his new ‘Wrinkles’ EP. As the label owner of Reflue Records, VIOLA first caught my attention with his debut full-length release, a body of work that showcased a deep, rugged sound and a clear technical prowess shaped by his surroundings rugged coastlines and industrial landscapes of Torino in northern Italy. After speaking with Cristiano for over a year, it felt like a natural progression to bring his music to Tenuous Links. “The music I write almost always functions as a visceral soundtrack to whatever environment surrounds and infects me while I'm creating. Deeply rooted in the architectural contrasts of the places I’ve inhabited.”
‘Wrinkles’ is VIOLA’s second full-length body of work, yet the years of graft and dedication behind it are immediately apparent. Across three original tracks and a remix from London’s Jay Duncan, the EP delivers pure grit and crunch, inhabiting large, cavernous atmospheres grounded by pummelling bass, dynamic drums and intricate rhythmic detail.
The title track ‘Wrinkles’ is an ode to club spaces and the scene that revolves around them. Its broken rhythm channels the dancefloors of Cristiano’s formative years, spent partying in abandoned bunkers and warehouses in and around Torino. VIOLA explains: “Crafting such a raw, gritty bassline felt like an absolute necessity during the writing process, retracing memories of long nights spent dancing in silence.” The track’s cavernous atmosphere mirrors those pitch-black, unlit spaces, drawing us deeper and deeper into the abyss, with only brief glimmers of light offering reprieve from its relentless, all-enveloping bassline.
‘Mon Tom’ draws heavily from VIOLA’s hometown and his complicated relationship with Torino ,a city where tranquillity and beauty sit alongside heavy industry. The calm of the coastline is violently interrupted by vast steelworks and plumes of black smoke, leaving an imposing industrial mark on both the landscape and its people. The track reflects these contrasts. Metallic yet fluid, it moves at a faster pace, built around a driving 4/4 rhythm designed to suspend the listener while skittering percussion creates an increasingly uneasy sense of movement. It’s a meeting point between the beauty and brutality of the environment that inspired it.
‘P Maggiore’ was written between 2019 and 2020 while VIOLA was living in Rome’s chaotic Porta Maggiore district. Surrounded day and night by the grinding noise of trains, screeching tram brakes and beaten metal, he translated those raw auditory memories directly into high-pressure sound design. Yet, in contrast to the intensity of his surroundings, VIOLA deliberately pulls back the tempo.
Rounding off the EP is a skeletal remix of ‘Wrinkles’ from London’s Jay Duncan. She strips the original back into a techy, rolling cut, retaining its atmosphere and darkness while introducing a lighter touch of minimal-esque sound design. The result is a subtly transformed take on the title track that provides a fitting conclusion to the EP.
‘Wrinkles’ EP is a record shaped by place, by architecture, industry, memory and the physical spaces that leave their mark on us. From Torino’s industrial coastline to the chaos of Rome and the darkness of abandoned club spaces, VIOLA turns his surroundings into sound. Coming to vinyl and digital October 16th of October.
With over 26 years, 8 full-length albums and performances in 40+ countries, GOTHMINISTER is regarded as “one of the most iconic gothic/industrial acts” (Terra Relicta). For the first time, the entire album is fully recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Bjørn Alexander Brem himself – delivering the raw and uncompromising sound he always envisioned. Gothminister, an acclaimed icon in the gothic industrial metal scene, delivers a monumental masterpiece with “We are all Demons.” This 11-track album plunges into the depths of our inner darkness, revealing that we all carry demons beneath the surface. Through its bold thematic arc, the album urges listeners to confront their darkness, embrace strength within it, and emerge fearless. Musically, it’s a powerful fusion of gothic industrial metal and modern EDM elements. Expect ferocious synths, thunderous drums, and industrial guitars that cut like steel. Screaming vocals intertwine with female duets, soaring operatic moments, and grand choral sections. All of this creates a dark yet beautiful atmosphere—one that culminates in unity and completion. This is not just an album; it’s a legendary sonic journey, cementing Gothminister’s iconic status.
Folksongs and Ballads by Tia Blake & Her Folk-Group, is more than just a “lost classic”. As clear and honest as can be, Folksongs and Ballads is a magnetic record, a refuge like only Nick Drake, Nico, and a few others have been able to create. A graceful, delicately minimalist approach to classic Appalachian and British folk songs.The perfect balance between melancholy and daydream. Originally released only in France in 1971, Ici Bientôt is very pleased to present the first-ever reissue on vinyl.
When she recorded her only album, Tia Blake was nineteen years old and had just arrived in Paris a year and a half beforehand. She spent most of her time at Disco’Thé, a record shop in the Latin Quarter, a free space, peaceful and inspiring, a hub for students as well as the local artistic community.
There, Tia would occasionally sing—when she managed to overcome her shyness. Two young guitarists who were passionate fans of folk music and regulars at the shop began to accompany her, forming “Her Folk Group.” One year later, they cut 11 tracks at Pierre Barouh’s Studios Saravah.
Folksongs and Ballads is composed of traditional tunes that have been covered many times, but they’re not the best-known folk standards. A collection of stories ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1960s, bringing together sublimely doleful ballads, lamentations for a lost lover, and an unexpected, brilliant version of the road anthem “Plastic Jesus.”
Tia Blake's haunting, unaffected voice captivates and comforts us, wrapping us in its cool embrace. Meanwhile, the tasteful, stripped-down, mellow acoustic arrangements provided by the guitarists, reminiscent of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, occasionally supported by a kena flute, have created the space Tia Blake needed to reinvent these traditional songs.
Folksongs and Ballads is a timeless record, deep and unique, a longtime companion for repeated listening, in the vein of works by Sibylle Baier, Bridget St. John and Vashti Bunyan.
This album was born from a long-held, quiet ambition. I always wanted to navigate the entire journey of a record – from the first written note to the final mix. Winterglare is the result of finally stepping into that journey. Recorded in my home, the process was inextricably linked to the life happening just outside the door. Being surrounded by the daily routine and family created a unique tension; time felt precious, limited, and often fleeting. At first, finding mental stillness felt impossible. Yet as the winter deepened, a shift occurred. I found a place of unexpected calmness, where the music began to float, and the domestic noises around me became an accompaniment rather than an interruption. What began as an idea for a piano album expanded to include the Wurlitzer electric piano and the Gigster vibraphone. Some pieces evolved into experiments with percussion, accordion, and finally, the Roland tape echo and field recordings. Throughout this growth, the vision remained: to preserve a sense of space and time, allowing the true ambience of the moment to breathe. My hope is that these compositions find a place in your own quiet moments. I hope they offer your mind and soul the same sense of peace they eventually granted me during those cold months.— Volodja Brodsky
A new producer-led project from musician and composer Nitzan Dana, Islands on Tape arrives with Dust Conspiracy, a cinematic and deeply textured three-track EP balancing vintage exotica, library music, psychedelic groove and modern beat culture.
Previously known for his work with psychedelic post-rock outfit Meuban, Dana created Islands on Tape as a separate artistic identity, a space to explore instrumental composition and studio experimentation through a more personal lens. Across the EP, he draws on a wide palette of influences, from Sven Wunder and Maston to exotica pioneer Les Baxter, alongside the sample-driven worlds of Madlib and MF DOOM. The result is a record that feels loose and organic in spirit while remaining intricately arranged and carefully constructed throughout.
Recorded across just three sessions with a close circle of collaborators, Dust Conspiracy draws together live drums, flute, percussion, surf guitars, Farfisa organs and atmospheric textures into a sound equally indebted to 1960s soundtrack music, dusty hip-hop production and classic exotica records.
Opening track “Dust Conspiracy” began with a bassline inspired by late-night listening sessions and crate-dug hip-hop production. Initially built around sampled drums, the piece evolved into a fully live recording featuring drummer Lotan Yaish (El Khat, Şatellites) and percussionist Ron Avidan. Swirling organs, creeping rhythms and heavy cymbal work give the track the feel of a lost 1970s espionage soundtrack, smoky, hypnotic and cinematic.
Blending cinematic soul, psychedelic groove, exotica and rhythm-heavy instrumental production, Dust Conspiracy introduces Islands on Tape as a richly detailed new studio project, equally suited to late-night headphone listening, imagined film sequences and dusty, atmospheric dancefloors.
Orphx makes a striking comeback with a six-track EP on KR3, celebrating Rich & Christie's three-decade career in the industrial music scene.
Theikos EP - spans multiple eras and moods, merging raw, ancient production methods with modern interpretations. The result is a sonic landscape that bridges pulsing club rhythms with the intense energy of extreme electronics and death industrial. The title track, "Theikos," began in 1998 and was only finalized in 2024, years of evolution shaping it into a truly formidable piece.
This 12" release stands out as a deep and fully realized body of work, filled with personal insight and resonant echoes of a primordial world.
The standard edition comes in a sleek single-pocket gatefold sleeve, featuring a 1997 photograph taken in Toronto by Michael Nine, capturing the duo in their early years and visually anchoring the album to the roots of their sound. Limited and special editions include an exclusive booklet with archival photos of Orphx and a poster, along with a promotional videos featuring remastered and reimagined archival footage created especially for this release.
You've never played a game like Blippo+ before, and you've never heard a video game soundtrack quite like Greatest Hits from Planet Blip.
Composed by Rob Kieswetter and Jona Bechtolt from the LA-based trio YACHT, the soundtrack collects 71 tracks from the cult classic video game Blippo+, reworked and sequenced into a continuous listen for this special release —a TV static-speckled gatefold double LP, out Oct. 16 via Hologram Opera, marking the soundtrack’s physical debut.
Taking the form of a cable TV simulator, Blippo+ captures the magical feeling of seizing a mysterious signal from outer space and discovering the television programming of an alien culture. Soundtracking the game’s pastiche of programs is Rob and Jona’s genre-spanning score—synth-heavy, eccentrically electronic, with a skewed sensibility that pays homage to cable access, library music, video art, and the late-night margins of the 80s and 90s underground.
TV obsessives will find plenty to love in Greatest Hits from Planet Blip: with surreal theme songs, jangly jingles, zippystings, catchy kitsch, period-accurate menu music and even pop hits from the alien airwaves, this propulsively playful soundtrack will have channel-flippers tingling with nostalgia.
“Planet Blip is an alien planet where art and music are the only currency and ‘consciousness particles’ form the basis of all media. To capture the spirit of this world, we drew inspiration
from all the music we felt best embodied this ethos and ran it through our own utopian blender,” say Bechtolt and Kieswetter.
Blippo+ is an award-winning, experimental, live-action video game created by YACHT and Telefantasy Studios, along with developers Noble Robot and Dustin Mierau, and published by Panic Games. It was released for Steam, Playdate and Nintendo Switch in 2025 to widespread
critical acclaim and has earned a devoted fandom. A Mac version followed earlier this year, and was nominated for an Apple Design Award.
"Simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic, otherworldly yet
welcoming, Blippo+ is an absolute artistic triumph.
" —Deven McClure, Screen Rant
"Blippo+’s presentation might ape old traditions, but the collective impact of its content is richer, deeper, and more entertaining than any mere remembrance.
" —Garrett Martin, Paste/Endless Mode
"In the increasingly reactionary and prescriptive landscape of video games, it is remarkable to encounter something so distinctive, so hopeful, so celebratory, so devoted to expanding the possibility space of art beyond a single medium." —Sam Bodrojan
Murmuration’ is the low hum made by vast, beautifully choreographed flocks of starlings as they simultaneously flap their wings and take to the sky. Some people say that the frequency of this unique, rumbling, oscillating sound can cure diseases...
One of the most exciting live bands in the UK, British Birds combine the garage-punk energy of Billy Childish, the wry English sophistication of XTC and the witty pop inventiveness of The Lovely Eggs. Like a murmurating flock of starlings, they create a unique sound, and might even be able to cure diseases.
Based in Chorley, Lancashire, British Birds are a resolutely DIY band. Bobby records and mixes all the music; Emma creates all the artwork. Their first two albums were self-released, selling hundreds of copies at gigs and at a few chosen record stores. British Birds didn’t wait for permission to take flight. They just got on with it. Their songs are sophisticated, hard-hitting, and very skilful. It may be DIY, but it’s big and it’s ambitious.
Sessions for Marc Riley and Gideon Coe have followed, along with tours supporting The Bug Club, BC Camplight and Lovely Eggs.
‘Murmurate, Oscillate’ kicks off with Lie Down With Dogs, Stand Up With Fleas, a rousing expression of exasperation at our passivity in the face of lame authority. British Birds are acute observers of the English political scene, shrouding their observations in humour and surrealism. Polka Dot Eyes is another piece of sharp social observation: it portrays Lancashire lads – friends from school – who join the Army and return home physically and mentally damaged. The song is simultaneously disturbing, funny and catchy as hell. From the fog of disinformation and doubt that surrounds us all in 2020s Britian, British Birds embrace the darkness, but with wit and verve – no slogans, no easy answers – and with an energy that helps us escape the mundanity of a declining island. This might all sound a bit bleak, but it’s not: every single one of the songs on this album has a chorus as big as a house.
There are personal songs too: Scary Movies is a poignant description of Bobby and Emma’s grandfather, who delighted in showing them horror films when they were kids – giving them sneak previews of the darkness they’d come to embrace as adults; Just Like Them is a celebration of introversion: it might not be fun, but it’s better than being an idiot. (Paradoxically, any other introverts who hear this song will feel impelled to join in in the chorus.) Blame Game and Thunder Claps examine the darkness inherent in relationships: there is always an impending storm, if you recognise the low hum of the imminent thunder. Once again: the choruses of these songs confound the melancholy sentiment.
You’ll get the same impression if you see British Birds live: Bobby’s ferocious guitar and dark lyrics are counterpointed with Emma’s sometimes haunting, sometimes playful vocal responses and insistent rhythms. You’ll be swept away by the energy of a band who don’t know the meaning of limits. And as the songs get darker and darker the smile on your face gets wider and wider.
The core members of British Birds are siblings Bobby and Emma Townson, working from their HQ-cum-nest in Chorley. Drums are by Dominic Lawson (apart from Michael Aindley on ‘Just Like Them’). Bass is by James Robinson.
British Birds will be embarking on a headline tour of the UK in early 2027.
Following the beginning of its vinyl series, Rinascimento Elettronico returns with its second physical/digital release, a five-track journey shaped around hypnotic tension, bleep-driven patterns and deep, groove-oriented rhythms.
Manuel Di Martino delivers two dancefloor-focused compositions where driving percussion and intricate grooves meet the hypnotic and mental side of techno. Framing the release, an intro and outro create a continuous listening experience, setting the atmosphere and bringing the journey to its conclusion.
Completing the EP, Orbe reinterprets “Materia” through his distinctive hypnotic approach, pushing the sound deeper into a mental and immersive dimension.
DJ Support: Moodyman, Groove Armada, Folamour, Horsemeat Disco, DJ Deep, Art Of Tones, Sophie Lloyd, Terry Farley, Stuart Patterson and Seamus Haji
Al Kent needs no introduction when it comes to being one the most prolific kings of disco in the UK. He reimagines hidden treasure and takes inspiration from the glory days of 70’s dancefloor nuggets to create modern day classics. Come Back Home (Again) is probably his most popular track to date and here he re-works it with his Disco Love Orchestra updating this disco gem for a new generation. A Philly style musical sound-bed with hooks galore topped by one of the most rousing, soulful male vocals you’ll hear in a long time.
Pressed on a tasty 7 inch with dinked hole limited stock so act fast!
MEMORIALS jump off the waterslides and head above the clouds with their stunning second album, ‘All Clouds Bring Not Rain’. The duo of Verity Susman and Matthew Simms (formerly of Electrelane and WIRE) locked themselves away in a studio in a barn secluded deep in the woods in southwestern France and re-emerged with a beautiful, unusual record that is both melodic and unconventional. For such an ambitious album it’s striking that it was written, performed, recorded and mixed solely by the two of them. Sounding like an unearthed classic, MEMORIALS twist their influences into their own unmistakable sound. Imagine Nico singing with Can produced by David Axelrod and you’re somewhere in the right ballpark.
The record draws inspiration from a wide range of music including folk, dub, post punk, experimental tape music, 60s soul, garage rock, 70s spiritual jazz and Canterbury prog. This attention to detail in their sound meant finding several other studios to get what they needed to record with, including a harpsichord at 4AD’s studio in London and a vibraphone and vintage Leslie speaker in Stereolab drummer Andy Ramsay’s studio Press Play. Verity’s distinctive, unadorned singing is a focal point of the record, moving from tender to wild. Her vocal melodies quickly become earworms, providing the tuneful heart around which the songs’ more unorthodox elements are arranged, which is where Matthew’s unconventional approach to recording and production comes to the fore. With their adventurous arrangements, classic songwriting skills and innovative production techniques, MEMORIALS have created another mesmerising listen that’s accomplished and compelling in its unique approach yet remains dizzyingly immersive - just like their acclaimed live shows.
Acclaimed, Swedish composer, producer and live artist Sebastian Mullaert, and Georgian electronic artist Tamarma (Tamara Davitashvili), are set to release the deeply personal and genre-fluid album ‘Holds the Sky’ on the 25th September via Awesome Soundwave, the label curated by Christopher Coe and Carl Cox.
Spanning ambient, experimental and alternative electronic forms, alongside a set of dancefloor-oriented reworks that expand the project’s sonic spectrum, at its core, the album is the result of an unusual artistic convergence that traces back to 2020. Tamarma entered Mullaert’s successful In Bloom mentorship programme on a scholarship, and over a year-long deep exploration of album creation, her work revealed a rare clarity and emotional depth.
One piece in particular became the catalyst. Developed further through Mullaert’s 4 step studio process, it unfolded into a full length album collaboration. What began as a single composition has since grown into an album that documents an organic and intuitive exchange between two distinct artistic voices.
The result is less a collection of tracks than a continuous unfolding; a dialogue shaped by trust, listening and shared curiosity. Rather than aiming for a fixed genre position, the album operates as a living process: a meeting point between tradition and experimentation, between voice and synthesis, between two artists allowing something larger to emerge through their collaboration.
With compositions such as the chiming ‘Being Colours’ and hypnotic ‘Holds The Sky,’ Mullaert and Tamarma have created a body of work that resists easy categorization. The album moves through intimate, meditative passages and more rhythmically driven moments, always anchored in a sense of presence and emotional immediacy. The flickering beats of ‘Winnow’ and ambient manifestations of ‘Lost In Dimension’ and ‘Field of Us’ add a sense of tranquillity, stillness and convergence.
Tamarma’s voice carries both a personal and cultural depth throughout the album, while remaining fluid and responsive to the moment. The result is a sound that feels both intimate and spatial, where voice, texture and atmosphere are closely connected. Her Georgian musical heritage combined with Mullaert’s open-ended electronic exploration, allows something beautiful to emerge, shaped by listening, space and a sense of something larger than either artist alone.
Widely celebrated in the electronic music community, Mullaert has spent the last three decades moving beyond the boundaries of electronic music, from shaping the sound of cult duo Minilogue to creating the fully improvised global platform, Circle of Live, which has seen him perform and collaborate with artists such as Mathew Jonson, Âme, Amp Fiddler, Aurora Halal, Speedy J, Sam Barker, Dorisburg, Move D, Sleep D, Kuniyuki, Pantha du Prince, Leafar Legov, Wayne Snow, Laurence Guy, VRIL, Neel and Erika.
Initially making a name for himself in the world of techno, his performances have moved fluidly between environments, from underground spaces including Berghain’s Panorama Bar to festivals around the world, and venues including the Barbican, London, where he has appeared alongside artists including Joep Beving, Laura Misch and JakoJako. Platforms such as ARTE have featured his performances, placing his work within a broader European cultural context, while support from Resident Advisor and Boiler Room reflect his continued presence within the core of electronic music culture. He has received a Swedish Grammy and the P3 Guld award from Swedish National Radio.
His 2020 album ‘Natthall,’ developed in collaboration with Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich and performed with Subchamber Ensemble, saw Mullaert enter the world of contemporary composition, and merged electronics with chamber music and improvisation. The album was later named among the top post classical releases of the year by BBC Music Magazine.
A new documentary film by Ableton, set for release this summer, captures Mullaert’s Circle of Live project through a performance at Brighton Dome in the UK, featuring Mullaert and electronic artists Clark and Rival Consoles. The film offers a rare insight into the inner workings of collective improvisation at a high artistic level, further cementing Mullaert’s role as a leading voice in contemporary live electronic practice.
Tamara's background is rooted in the landscapes and traditions of Georgia. Raised near the Caucasus Mountains, classically trained in piano and shaped by years as a jazz vocalist, her work carries traces of Georgian polyphonic singing and a strong connection to nature and place. Her transition into electronic music is not stylistic but transformational; a recontextualisation of heritage into new sonic forms.
‘Holds The Sky’ will be available on vinyl and digitally on the 25th September via Awesome Soundwave. The digital release includes three exclusive album track reworks from Mullaert.
With Cycles, Tomos explores the different phases of a relationship through a boundless blend of jazz, disco, dub, broken beat, and deep house. Each track captures a specific moment in this cycle—from the spark of first feelings to heartbreak, seduction, and the beginnings of a new start.
Throughout the EP, trumpets, saxophones, and flutes intertwine with dub echoes, broken beat rhythms, and driving disco basslines. Tomos’s precise production ties these different elements together to create a record that moves seamlessly between the energy of the dance floor and the warmth of early evenings.
Following the success of his previous EP, Soul Feels Good, on Noire & Blanche, Cycles continues the exploration of the boundless musical universe that has become Tomos’s signature—a blend of warm instrumentation, groove-driven production, and a collage-like approach deeply rooted in his early French house influences.
Revered worldwide for their love-fueled, technically adventurous all-vinyl b2b DJ sets, Maya Bouldry-Morrison (Octo Octa) and Eris Drew conceived Alchemical Sisters as a vehicle for creating music together. Alchemical Sisters describe themselves as "psychedelic chaos, acid rollers, and big beat, channeled through hardware instruments and animated by love, touch, rhythm, and spiritual fire." Their self-titled debut double album is forthcoming on Interdimensional Transmissions this October, just in time for Samhain XXVI. Alchemical Sisters was recorded in the forests of New Hampshire by Maya and Eris and mixed by BMG in Detroit in the Interdimensional Laboratory on high end hardware for ecstatically euphonic results. In the cold winter months, Maya and Eris emptied the master bedroom of their forest cabin and sealed it as an alchemical retort--a hermetic vessel in which a higher form could emerge. For a year they slept on the studio floor while, in white nightgowns and under the spell of mushrooms, they brought dulcimers and ancestral instruments into communion with turntables, twentieth-century machines, and new technologies. Alchemical Sisters is the substance crystallized within that vessel by their secret fire. They then brought their music to BMG in Detroit to meticulously mix their vision through hardware, in a high end studio environment. For two weeks at the height of winter, we shut out the world and focused on fusing their sonic vision within the Interdimensional Laboratory. Setting up their computer and sound card, BMG processed their tracking sessions through a high end mixing console, using transformers and tubes and the special properties of many machines to create a solid visceral sound out of a dream, to create a powerful euphonic ecstatic experience from their highly personal highly evolved music, whose sources could be both carnal and celestial. It was important to have their music connect before thought, to feel both the power and the gentleness of their sound, to have the texture and presence of their myriad influences unconsciously affect you. Watching them work together, the patience, the focus, the rigorous thought and discipline, the love, the space and the dedication afforded to each other was a genuinely inspiring thing to witness. They truly are Alchemical Sisters, and we are extremely proud to share their debut album on IT, and their debut performance at IT's Samhain XXVI. It truly is a loop point in time, a full circle moment.
180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.
Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.
Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”
After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.
This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.
Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.
Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.
Scofield and Metheny. What more needs to be said? A masterpiece meeting of musical minds, these two guitar virtuosos entered the studio in December 1993 with Steve Swallow on bass guitar and Bill Stewart on drums to create one of the greatest jazz guitar albums of all time. Produced by Lee Townsend, I Can See Your House From Here is an 11-track set of Scofield and Metheny originals including Sco’s expansive title track and Pat’s rocking “The Red One” and the stunning ballad “Message To My Friend.”
Vinyl Packaging: Gatefold LP + download card. Indie Exclusive Transparent Orange vinyl in gatefold jacket Limited to 1000. CD 6 panel Digipak. Gnosis is the highly anticipated 8th full length from Russian Circles. Across the span of their previous seven studio albums, Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles traversed a diverse topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with their limited armory of drums, bass, and guitar. It’s difficult to chart an evolution in their sound when their records have always felt like well-curated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear drone-heavy meditations, dazzling prog exercises, knuckle-dragging riff-fests, haunting folk ballads, and tension-baiting noise rock all within the span of one album. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the progression from the pensive and intricate melodies of Enter (2006) to the layered distorted dirges of Blood Year (2019). It’s been a gradual sonic shift owing to the band’s rigorous tour schedule and a predilection towards playing their more authoritative material on stage. But with their latest album, Gnosis, Russian Circles eschew the varied terrain of their past work and bulldoze a path through the most tumultuous and harrowing territory of their sound. As was the case for so many artists in the age of COVID, the obstacles of geography and isolation forced Russian Circles to reevaluate their writing process. Rather than crafting songs out of fragmented ideas in the practice room, full songs were written and recorded independently before being shared with other members, so that their initial vision was retained. While these demos spanned the full breadth of the band’s varied styles, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately excised in favor of the physically cathartic pieces. Gnosis was engineered and mixed by Kurt Ballou. Drums and bass were tracked at Electrical Audio in Chicago to maximize the natural room sounds of the rhythm section. Guitar and synth overdubs were conducted at God City in Salem, MA to take advantage of Ballou’s vast inventory of amps and effects pedals. Despite the entirety of the album being written remotely, the songs were recorded with the full band playing together to retain the live feel of the material. Owing to the climate of the times and a new writing method, Russian Circles created their most fuming and focused work to date—an album that favors the exorcism of two years’ worth of tension over the melancholy and restraint that often colored their past endeavors. European Co-Headline tour with Cult of Luna slated for Marc 2023 (Dates TBA). Russian Circles have received coverage from most notable press including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, FADER, AV Club, Consequence, Decibel, Revolver and much more.
Intifaxa is the first part in a series of 4 outstanding double vinyl albums with bonus songs, previously released on CD between 1990 and 1994 on the Australian cult label Extreme Music.
Intifaxa is full of heavy percussion fire with deep tribal grooves, embedded in modulated field recordings. The album is a transcendental journey into Eastern soundscapes and a secret weapon for DJs who enjoy to tear down the borders of tribal underground house and psychedelic trance music.
The original tracks were perfectly remastered for this first time ever vinyl release and the new masters received high praise from the Extreme Music owner Roger Richards.
New sleeve designs were created by Oleg Galay, who is famous for his artworks for many Muslimgauze reissues.
All 4 album covers are made from extra heavy cardboard with deluxe spot UV finish and inside print.
Follow up to Goodge's 2023 album Echoes Of Yesterday. Previous releases found on Hip Dozer and Cascade Records. Tracks found on the popular Spotify Mellow Beats playlist. 11th in 'Jet Set' Cold Busted series. Designed and manufactured similar to the vintage 60's style rice paper sleeves. In his latest EP, Sunday Soul, Goodge takes listeners on a four-track journey through the heart of funk, masterfully blending elements of R&B, jazz, and chilled lo-fi. Released as part of Cold Busted's Jet Set series, this four-song offering follows Goodge's 2023 album Echoes Of Yesterday and showcases his dedication to crafting timeless music. "Lights Out" kicks off the EP with heavy funk and stirring breakbeats, accompanied by a scratchy guitar that summons the revolutionary spirit of the '70s. Horns serve as a call to action, while a rollicking bass line and chunky electric piano might inspire listeners to go out and fight crime. "Promised Land" follows, featuring a formidable funk bass guitar and lead guitar chords that rhythmically play off the delightfully busy drums, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the city's bustle. The title track, "Sunday Soul," is a rowdy affair with a speech-over-beats leading to crispy snare rolls and chiming electric piano. Shaker magic, staccato horn bleats, and spiral flute bits combine to create a swirling vintage-hued photograph of sound. The EP concludes with "Within Myself," a spacier sonic experience that could serve as the soundtrack for chasing someone across rooftops. It's funk spelled with a capital K. Sunday Soul is a must-listen for fans of of the heavier side of funk, solidifying Goodge's position as a master of his craft, creating a nostalgic yet fresh soundscape that keeps listeners grooving back for more.
Djrum's first release since 2019, the Meaning’s Edge EP is an introduction to a whole new world. For the artist also known as Felix Manuel, it was created in the final stretches of six rather traumatic years work. Having carefully honed his techniques and aesthetics, and learned some hard-won emotional lessons over this time, finally he began to work in a quicker, lighter fashion – and to cleanse his palate a little by bringing in a fresh ingredient: his own flute playing. For listeners, though, it will serve as an appetiser, a way into the delights and complexities of this new phase of his creativity.
It’s a serious work in its own right, mind. The use of flutes – including Bansuri, Shakuhatchi, Western Classical, and synthesised all blending and blurring into one another – gives it a coherence and a sense of airiness that unites the five tracks over half an hour, however divergent their beats get. And as in all his music, Felix’s whole life is in here. Ethnomusicology studies, untold hours of DJing everywhere from the gnarliest squat raves to the most rarefied deep house clubs, explorations of his own neurological and emotional makeup, and the technical finesse of someone who is never not creating music or art, all roll into an experience that’s dazzling, delightful and keeps on giving.
Just the opening track ‘Codex’ alone touches on OG dubstep, Aphex Twin-like braindance, post-classical exploration, movie themes and more. The gentle tones and melodies that rise up out of it perfectly conjure Felix’s running theme of a protective bubble that provides a sense of safety and tranquillity even as the beats and acid gurgles and spurts all around it conjure up the slings and arrows of life’s difficulties.
The tone set, the EP moves through ultra-rarefied glass-like percussion in an almost ambient setting, hints of grime’s counterintuitive patterns, and even more hectic patterns influenced by Tanzania’s hyperspeed singeli style of dance music – but always with that perfect balance of chaos and control, unpredictability and protection. It rewards playing and replaying endlessly, it’s a profound and often joyous experience… and it’s only just the beginning. This is the return of a master craftsperson more focused than ever on his vision and vocation and ready to blow your mind all over again.
Mastered and cut on 140g black vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London. Pressed at optimal media, Germany.
The process of making this mini-album “anaiis & Grupo Cosmo” was truly life-altering for me. It changed my approach to making music and really brought me back to the roots of what creation is about. I went to Salvador for a month-long artist residency in February 2020 and during that time, I not only fell in love with Brasil’s culture and music, but I also wrote “Toda Cor” with the wonderful Luedji Luna. A few years later, I reached out Biel who’d co-produced “Estrela Acesa” with Sessa to see if they’d be interested in re-developing “Toda Cor” with me. They were enthusiastic and we fully reproduced the record in December, remotely. The connection between us all was electric and it felt like there was a collective enthusiasm for creating more together so I flew out to Brasil in April 2023 to continue this exploration. The beauty behind this record really lies in the experience of making it. We all stayed together in Biel’s house in Ilhabela for a week with Cabral, who co-produced the record with us and plays bass. We would go to the beach, eat communally, share stories, be around the kids, but then spend most of the days creating and jamming together. Each day we would record our songs live to tape, not a computer in the room. By the end of the week we had this album. It was refreshing to make music in this way. The music and approach really held us in that moment and gave us a chance to create freely, in a big moment of transition in our lives in a way that truly embraces imperfection, spontaneity, just very human.
Tomu DJ’s debut on CST Imprint shares ten atmospheric wistful ruminations on being, living, and the spiritual undercurrents that alchemize these experiences into song. Hazy memories recalled through glitchy lush lullabies, moving through whispered skittery percussive states into warm melodic vocal confessions. Playful yet exacting productions ebb and flow between pensive indietronica pop interspersed with blissful club tracks that swing from ambient, drum and bass, breaks and house for the dancers. A sanguine daydream, to be free.
Her fourth album since 2021 but first on vinyl, Tomu’s deceptively simple compositions bely complex emotions. Minimal, every element just so, nothing unnecessary. Her ability to create ideal environments for collaboration on full display.
Since 1992, Robin Storey (founding member of the pioneering post-industrial band Zoviet*France) has been creating innovative and thought-provoking music under the Rapoon moniker. Drawing inspiration from his early days with Z*F, he continues to push the boundaries of ambient, industrial, and world music genres, earning him a dedicated following across the globe.
Originally available in 1994 as a limited-edition DAT tape through Staalplaat Records, Cidar was later included as a bonus CD in the reissue of another Rapoon classic, Fallen Gods. Now, after years of anticipation, fans can experience this mesmerizing work as a stand-alone release – remastered and expanded with three previously unreleased tracks from the original 1994 recording sessions.
Cidar showcases Robin’s signature sound – a seamless blend of Z*F-inspired drones and loops intertwined with vibrant African percussion and hauntingly beautiful Asian string instruments. This combination creates an immersive, trance-like atmosphere that transports listeners into a world of meditative sonic exploration.
With its enchanting rhythms and deeply textured layers, Cidar stands as a testament to Robin’s unparalleled ability to craft music that defies genre boundaries while remaining instantly recognizable. Fans of both Zoviet*France and Rapoon will find themselves drawn into the hypnotic sounds of this timeless masterpiece.
The standalone release of Cidar marks an important milestone in the history of experimental music, offering audiences worldwide the opportunity to rediscover or experience for the first time one of Robin Storey’s most influential works.
RANDY'S 50th ANNIVERSARY CHAPTER ONE / VARIOUS - First time on vinyl for Chapter Two second part of the acclaimed previously CD only set that was released to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Randy's Records. From Augustus Pablo's groundbreaking 'Java' to Carl Malcolm's UK pop crossover hit 'Fattie Bum Bum' Chapter Two showcase classic after classic from a all-star line up of the 70's reggae music greats including Black Uhuru, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, The Heptones & Big Youth. Beautifully packaged with inner sleeves featuring rare photos and liner notes by reggae historian, Dennis Katz.
Devotional music most often gets distilled into earthy chants and ancient folklore, it doesn't always ascend to the sky like Julinko’s ‘Naebula’ an album that from the first organ note clearly trades in terrestrial dreams for ethereal visions. A feverish quality permeates the whole record, as if a ritualistic performance was being captured from start to finish, a collection of hallucinatory doom, synthetic neo-folk hymns and ghostly art-rock.
Julinko, stage name for Giulia Parin Zecchin, has long been one of the best kept secrets of the experimental community in North-East Italy, with three records that helped define her unique blend of heavy psychedelia, slowcore and dark ambient. On ‘Naebula’ what really stands out is how powerful and soaring her voice is, a weapon of undeniable force that can transform into a vessel of raw fervour or glide effortlessly as a delicate lament. Her unconventional approach shines through on tracks like ‘Jeanne De Rien’, where a marching pulse acts as a pillar for an extended mantra, almost verging into powwow territory. ‘Peace Of The Unsaid’ uses its arrhythmical structure to create space, a crepuscular night ode that reaches the heights of Sinead O’Connor’s most intimate force-fulness while retaining a sweet composure. Whether it’s glacial murderous shrieks or gospel-esque vitality, songs like ‘Cloudmachine’ or ‘Kiss The Lion’s Tongue’ seem to draw as much from a tradition of European minimalism, the use of drones and repetition, to the tradition of folksongs as hymns, where modal harmonies make way for an apparent stasis. Another key element in Julinko’s songwriting is the seamless blend of her minimalistic approach with these dense textures borrowed from a distant outsider metal heritage, Lynchean noir on steroids or wordless exorcisms with deep undercurrents.
Joe Fujinoki centered the compositions of his latest album Glass Torso round the idea of the fragility of the human body. Fujinoki described the narrative thread of the album as that of “holding the shape of a human body as if it might shatter like glass”. The precariousness of the body, the essence of the body as defined by Fujinoki as the torso, and the object relations between the boundaries of dialectical exercises pack themselves into his creative process.
Fujinoki recorded Glass Torso exclusively with analog synthesizers, stumbling in and out of structural loops to find space for accidental discoveries. The ten pieces of recorded material feel somewhere on the edge of typified form, feeling like a vascular system pumping in and out its undulating liquidities. Maybe this is the hollowed space held together by Fujinoki’s notion of the torso where you hear a microscopic world, dubby and generative. Fujinoki is adept at organizing this realm of subtle sound sources, giving proper considerations of shared tonal space. Seemingly, this handling of the precarity of sonic material elucidates Fujinoki’s mature attention to detail.
Ambient music genre tropes often affirm the listeners vessel for escape and dissociation. It provides an intoxicating allure by respite from an overwhelming exterior reality far outside the listeners controls. Here this space becomes apolitical, or its protest vocabulary softer and subtle. Fujinoki does not aim to tackle hyperobject topics on how to course correct the world, but he does something increasingly rarer to come across. On Glass Torso an alternative space is created not as shelter, but as a meditation on negotiation and compromise. This twenty eight minutes of audio lays down a foundation for imagination, for imagining how to negotiate the fragility of the self. Zoomed out, the implications of his negotiative sonics can be a playground for broader reflections on distributive care and attention.
Fujinoki says he feels “alert” to his physicality and placement in the world amidst vast digital cultures creating impositions on him and his surroundings. On Glass Torso he creates a concretized space on a vinyl record, where the virtual and the tangible antagonize one another that create the spectacle of the listening experience. This spectacle is a soft one, a considered one, and an utmost enjoyable one. Fujinoki juggles opposing forces brilliantly, and formulates an exquisite palette of soft passing music so he can also help the listener with the exquisite burden of their own Glass Torso.”
In Gianfranco Rosi’s portrait of Naples, Sotto le Nuvole, the ground shakes periodically. Between Mount Vesuvius and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the fumaroles of the Phlegraean Fields hiss volcanic gas and steam. Below the sleeping volcano, modern day Naples emerges in black and white and fills with voices, with lives. From the traces of history and the concerns of the present, Rosi documents a city immersed in its continuous past, with Daniel Blumberg’s minimal soundscape hovering in a sonic space between liquid and air.
Tasked with creating a soundscape that would suspend space within Rosi’s film, Blumberg called upon the extended technique of saxophonists Seymour Wright and John Butcher to create a gossamer fabric of traces and sounds abstracted from their instruments. Having transitioned from theoretical physics to the saxophone, John Butcher has always deeply considered space in the context of his playing. His concerns are with flow, density and how the saxophone is situated in the living world. Zeroing in on the core sonic properties of the mechanical and acoustic components of the saxophone, Seymour Wright has integrated its every breath, reed vibration, keypad clatter and hissed microtone of his alto into his own, unique improvisational language. In his work with these two seminal players, Blumberg makes his most concentrated soundtrack to date - reinforcing the film's sense of overlapping time and space, and pushing at the limits of experimentation.
Initially recorded in Daniel’s flat in London, Butcher and Wright centre themselves around long, consistent tones, so soft that it seems breath is being gently pulled from the saxophone's bell by an invisible hand. Blumberg himself adds haunting bass harmonica, and recordings of Wright’s launeddas - a traditional and ancient triple pipe polyphonic reed instrument from Sardinia, Italy. Blumberg then travelled to the volcanic region of Baia, next to Pompeii. Once a flourishing classical Roman city loved by Nero, Baia slowly sank under hydrothermal pressure, leaving the city in a kind of geological purgatory. Using specialised geophones and hydrophones, Blumberg took those initial recordings and amplified them underwater, sending them calling out across the ruins of Baia’s mosaics, Nymphaeum statues and villas.
“It was important to me that the music was whispered in the same landscape that Gianfranco has worked for the past three years, so that you can hear the volcanic air gulping, the lapping of the waves, the steam and bubbles popping against John and Seymour’s saxophone breaths – an echo from a suspended time.”
What emerges is deeply melancholic, tender, subtle and right at the edges of audio technology. Submerged in an aquarian mausoleum, the mysterious vibrations of the saxophone and its bell become an echo of an echo, wading from the future into the past. ‘Sotto le Nuvole’ is less a soundtrack than a process of aeration - a sonic puncture in the material of the film which allows its central message to breathe, and a remarkable experiment at the limits of the saxophone’s possibility.
Luca Lozano has long been an artist whose output as both a producer and designer we've admired and after many years of seeing his records fly off the shelves here at Phonica, we're delighted to be releasing the 'Da Vinci' EP by the Klasse Wrecks boss on our main label. We'll let Lucas, the modern day renaissance man himself, take it from here:
"These four tracks were created over a few sessions while I was settling into a dank basement studio (which was new at the time and now long gone).
‘The Magnificent’ and ‘Delta Force’ were made just after I acquired an old Korg Delta synth, I spent a lot of time getting the 1970s beast to sync up with modern equipment and both tracks make use of it in various elements.
‘Eau De Dave’ is a cheeky homage to a UK producer legend, I’ve been digging into his various older productions recently and went back to a fidget sound for the fun of it.
‘Crunchy Nut’ was kind of inspired by early U.K. tech house, it was the last track confirmed on the EP and came together super quick. As usual it’s a mix of old drum machines like a modded 707 and a bunch of old samples I’ve had on my computer for a couple of decades now. I’m happy I managed to work some slap bass into a track finally…"
Often credited as the father of multi-media theatre, Alwin Nikolais (1910-1993) took complete creative control over his productions - including cutting-edge approaches to lighting and costume that transformed human bodies into shifting sculptural shapes, while also composing wildly innovative electro-acoustic and synth-based audio as accompaniment.
After initially experimenting with musique concrète and tape manipulation (as demonstrated on the 1959 LP Choreosonic Music of the New Dance Theatre of Alwin Nikolais) Nikolais became the first owner of Robert Moog's synthesizer at the Audio Engineering Society convention in New York in late 1964. Relying heavily on the Moog and later the Synclavier synth/sampler, these 21 tracks document Nikolais' highly-prescient compositions across the mid 1960s through to the late 1980s - existing not only as extensions of his other-worldly choreographic productions, but standalone pieces of foundational mid-century American electronic and experimental music.
"Born in Southington, Connecticut in 1910, Nikolais’s early years and early career were in acting, music and puppetry. It was not until the late 1930s that he began his work as dancer/choreographer in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was commissioned by the Avery Memorial Theatre, a part of the Wadsworth Atheneum, to create an evening-length work to the music of Ernst Krenek. Previously his work and study as a pianist-organist found him accompanying silent films. This sort of accompaniment required from the musician not only a playing skill but also a versatility in improvisation, matching movement to sound, and evoking mood to situation.
Nik was drawn initially to dance by his involvement with the percussion scores used by the illustrious early twentieth century German dancer Mary Wigman. In trying to learn more about percussion, he was lured into dance class and thus his career began. His development of music and dance occurred simultaneously. His introduction to the twelve-tone technique opened his mind to the expanding areas of atonal music, and his dealing with music as sound per se. In 1948, after being appointed director of the Henry Street Playhouse in New York, Nikolais formed the Playhouse Dance Company, later known as the Nikolais Dance Theater, and began his aesthetic orientation toward dance as a study of motion. By the 1950s, he had ceased creating literal dances and began his explorations and eventual milieu as an abstractionist.
Sound became an important part of his abstract theatre. For his first dances, which involved his new thinking of dance as both a visual and kinetic art, he used live percussion scores in which he directed his dancers to play instruments of all nature. There was a combination of children’s toy instruments as well as harsh and resonant automobile brake drums, and other pitched auto parts which he also used to accompany classes. Once he installed his own tape recording machines, he quickly used the limited range these instruments provided in a new way, slowing and increasing speed and reversing sound. He also made the sounds adhere to the choreographic structure (not the other way around), thereby giving the dance its independence from the musical phrasing. But the real need remained: the search for new sound. Nik made a sound library, recording noises and percussion and vocal sounds, which the French aptly called musique concrète. Needless to say, he became a master at splicing bits and pieces.
From 1956 to 1962 Nikolais composed eleven major scores for his theatre pieces using such techniques. In 1963, James Seawright, who at the time was assisting Nik in his productions and also working at the Columbia-Princeton Center for Electronic Music, recorded a sound bank for the production Imago (1963). With this material, Nikolais created his first synthesizer score. Imago won the Paris Grand Prix in 1968 and launched the Nikolais Dance Theatre towards its national and primarily international acclaim.
During the same period, Seawright came to Nik and told him of a young man who had invented and constructed a simplified synthesizer and insisted that Nik visit the electronic fair currently being held in New York. Nik did so and met Robert Moog. He was completely taken by the new machine and after making some suggestions to Moog, (which Moog made), Nik bought the inventor’s first machine with the aid of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Moog himself was astonished by what his machine could produce for Nik. This machine was later acquired by the Museum of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor as the first Moog synthesizer. The Synclavier was Nik’s next source of sound and since the mid-1970s remained the major instrument in the Nikolais soundroom.
Alwin Nikolais has been honored and awarded throughout the world. He has received the French Legion of Honor, the Kennedy Center Honors, National Medal of the Arts, two Guggenheim Fellowships, as well as Mellon, Ford, and Rockefeller grants. He has been a recipient of NEA grants since 1966, been awarded five honorary doctorates, all for his remarkable achievements in Dance Theater. His genius has influenced several generations of artists."
—Murray Louis
"I’m very excited to work with deep medi again. I was buzzing to be releasing topper top with them on their 10th anniversary and it’s even better to be back for their 20th". Sir Spyro
Kicking off our 20th anniversary year, and arriving 10 years after his iconic release ‘Topper Top’, grime, dubstep and UK bass pioneer Sir Spyro returns to DEEP MEDi with his new dancefloor rattling EP, 2ND SQ.
The EP opens with the unrelenting ‘2ND SQ’, the track’s stuttering hi-hats and all consuming bass cut through by an icy, industrial-sized snare. The desolate ‘Be Afraid’ creates a sense of vastness via its minimal production, resulting in an eerie and energised track designed for dark warehouse raves.‘Diagonal’ continues in the same dark vein, the track’s brooding,looping production sure to send listeners into a mystified trance. Closing the EP is ‘Patch Bae’, a glitchy joyride that calls to mind the16-bit era of gaming, leading listeners on an exhilarating, kaleidoscopic journey.
Rhythm Section International proudly presents it's 8th offering from local boys Chaos in the CBD. Born in New Zealand, but based in Peckham for the last few years (literally just around the corner from Henry Wu and Bradley Zero), these brothers have made a real mark on the scene here in London town and with their latest set of productions are set to take this message further afield.
Having already released internationally on labels such as ClekClekBoom (Paris), Hot Haus (London) and Amadeus (Montreal), the duo's approach to production has matured immeasurably in the last year, as is evident in the restrained potency and poetic subtlety on the 4 tracks across this accomplished EP, Midnight in Peckham.
Taking it's title from the locale the boys have come to know as home, the record channels a delicate late night energy - equally indebted to the hypnotic incantations of Ron Trent as it is to the hazy suburban atmospheres of Burial. These 4 classic cuts pay homage to deep house in it's truest sense - at once sublime, melancholy and meditative . Chaos in the CBD have clearly taken their cue from the mid-west masters of the genre but have not been afraid to let their own influences and environ creep in, and in doing so have created something that is unmistakablely London and infact, timeless.
The first-ever collaboration between Satoshi Tomiie and Brazilian duo Stekke, Soraré is a three-track EP born from an intimate three-person studio session in Curitiba, Brazil. Created entirely through live jams, the recordings capture the spontaneous exchange of ideas as deep, hypnotic grooves emerged from an array of electronic instruments.
Featuring Soraré, Ventoma, and Neiro, the EP preserves the energy and spontaneity of the original sessions, capturing a unique moment of collective improvisation in the studio.
Dan Kye is the mysteriously evoked moniker from multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocal sensation Jordan Rakei. The New Zealand-born artist - who now resides in London - presents his first long-player from Dan Kye, ‘Small Moments’, on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section INTL. An ode to the dancefloor, the musical project was born out of Jordan’s lockdown experience, created from the comfort of his own home. Recorded with just a laptop, extra live instruments and guest musicians, ‘Small Moments’ seamlessly transcends across electronica, jazz and funk, with each genre being effortlessly fused with Jordan’s melancholy vocals. Allowing himself to push the boundaries, Jordan’s Dan Kye moniker draws on the energetic and uplifting elements of house and techno and perfectly mixes it with the sultry vocals and emotion that come with the live elements we know and love from Jordan Rakei. The record offers listeners a journey through more floor-heavy tracks such as ‘Mogeri’ and ‘Raro’ to more groove infused offerings such as ‘Rainbow Road’ (which is named after one of the maps in Mario Kart and inspired by the energy of Prince’s iconic live concert at The Aladdin in Las Vegas), whilst tracks, like ‘Sober’, take on a more lyrical and anthemic feel.
Jordan Rakei: “Rhythm Section INTL was my entry point into dancefloor orientated music, and it was Bradley who asked me whether I could head in that direction so he could play my music out in the clubs. Dan Kye has still got melodies, but the main focus is to keep it high energy.”
After meeting Bradley Zero online whilst living in Australia, Jordan eventually moved to London in 2014. The same day he landed, he went straight to a Rhythm Section party to meet Bradley, and it was here that he first got a taste for house music. He enjoyed Rhythm Section INTL’s ability to draw on both live and electronic talent; and thus, after Bradley asked him for some productions for the parties, the idea for Dan Kye was born. ‘Small Moments’ is a musical masterpiece that can be enjoyed as much on the dancefloor as it can in the comfort of your own home and is a perfect step into Jordan’s landscape and idealism of dance orientated music.
Bradley Zero - “In around 2014 the proprietor of the famous Northside Records in Melbourne handed me a self released 12” from a new, unknown artist based in Brisbane. It was Jordan Rakei - Franklin’s Room. I’d been home almost a year before I actually got round to listening to it and I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I lay down on the sofa, put the record on and was transported! The Dan Kye project is a testament to the experimental and independent ethos Jordan lives by and is a product of an artist reaching full stride but not afraid to still try something new. This ‘Small Moments’ LP was conceived in a record store, born in a club on Rye Lane and is now flying the nest, throwing caution to the wind and making a bold statement.”
For their next release, Phase Group invites you deep into the mind of a singular artist to offer a glimpse of their prolific body of work, zooming in on music composed specifically between 2018 and 2021.
Across 16 tracks, ‘Summa 2018-2021’ by Serbian producer Andria reveals a highly unique approach to sound design and composition, spanning the realms of futuristic IDM, ritual ambient, fourth-world techno and other elusive electronic genres.
Listening to this album in its entirety feels like entering a self-contained sonic world, where animistic and ancestral traditions are refracted through unfamiliar forms of technology. It’s an album which moves effortlessly from moments of deep and contemplative abstraction, as heard in tracks like ‘Sunlessness’, with it's atmosphere of otherworldly field recordings and ancient rites, to propulsive tracks that will guide clubs through ceremonial trance states such as ‘Floating Island’, where industrial kicks underline expressive poly-rhythms, evocative synths and snarling digital glitches.
The release is a gripping and immersive listening experience filled with spellbinding and expertly conjured sounds alongside highly effective moments of dance music that will surely find their way into the sets of the most expressive and fearless DJs. This is one for fans of Coil, Shackleton, Andy Stott and Demdike Stare.
Behind the work is Andrija Čugurović the Belgrade-based artist. A graphic designer by day (and in-house designer here at Phase Group), he dedicates his nights and time away from work and production to Belgrade’s underground electronic scene, digging deep into the worlds of Bass, Techno, Industrial, Ambient, IDM, Experimental and Computer Music.
A regular attendee at spots like Drugstore and the 20/44 boat since a young age, Andrija has honed a deep connection with the music he creates and DJs and that is evidenced in this highly original collection of music. This is his second release on Phase Group, coming after his debut EP ‘o o o o o’ in 2020, the second release on the label.
'Summa 2018-2021’ is available digitally and on high-fidelity C-90 cassette, dubbed at Tapeline UK and distributed by Rubadub.
All tracks composed and produced by Andrija Čugurović.
Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.
Artwork by Andrija Čugurović.
DJ Support: Mad Matts, Jimpster, Rainer Truby, Craig Smith, Giles Smith, Shane Johnson (Fish Go Deep), Lars Berhenroth, Leo Luscher, Ricky Chong, Rafa Santos, Buti Mabutana and many more
FORMA002 sees label co-founder Glenn Davis back with a deep original production that also does real damage on the dancefloor. Flip over for a true masterpiece remix from Trinidadian deep with his trademark Caribbean rhythms and deep sonics. When you know..
Glenn's deep driving baseline, jazzy chords and synth stabs elevate you to a hypnotic house nirvana. A love for deep atmospheric and melodic house music creates an instant classic from the Dublin producer.
Trinidadian Deep takes the original Davis production, adds his Caribbean magic with layers of live percussion, vocals, organs and sub bass that needs to be heard on a proper club system. Don't sleep on this one.
This is the reissue of original 1993 Rephlex double vinyl album, completely remastered from DATs by Beau Thomas, with the original artwork, and photography by Richard James. µ-Ziq's Tango N'Vectif was released in 1993, a classic year for auteurist electronic music that didn't always fit on the dancefloor. Written by Mike Paradinas in his late teens with some help from Frank Naughton, it still stands up really well today and its influence on electronic music in the decades since is obvious. Across an expanse of ideas, taking influences from early Aphex, Detroit Techno and UK Hardcore, Mike created this spirited, funky, jerry-rigged, lo-fi version of rave; with crunchy drums and a knack for melody that fell somewhere between John Barry and classic TV themes. Without owning a computer, Mike had been writing techno, house and industrial tracks on and off since 1990, playing live keys alongside drum machine rhythms on his 4-track recorder. µ-Ziq started when Mike linked up with Frank who was also writing dance-influenced music, and importantly owned an Atari 1040ST computer with Cubeat software. They pooled their equipment and Mike would travel up to Frank's house a couple of miles away in Wimbledon to record together. By 1992, and after a false start when a proposed EP for Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton's Evolution label got shelved, Mike had started at Kingston University where he deejayed and met like-minded people including a couple of guys who knew Aphex Twin who was also a student at Kingston too, and they passed Aphex a demo of Mike's material. A few days later Mike got a message from his mum to 'call Aphex Twin' and he gave Mike some advice, and seemed interested in releasing something. So when Frank and his family went on holiday that summer Mike borrowed his Atari and synths and wrote the majority of the Tango N'Vectif album during that 2 weeks. By the end of 1992 a release with Aphex Twin and Grant Wilson Claridge's Rephlex label had been agreed - Aphex had moved to the house in Clissold Crescent where he recorded a lot of his early classic albums and Mike went over to collect his advance, in the form of his very own Atari computer.
Following the reissue of Fire & Sugar (1975), we present a special 45 focused on two standout tracks from the album.
If you’ve heard the album, you already know “Guaguanrock” had to make it to our favorite format. So here it is on 45.
Side A features “Guaguanrock (Le Spam Mix)”, a new version by Andrew “DJ Le Spam” Yeomanson, created from the original multitrack master tapes. The mix extends the intro break and brings the drums forward, enhancing the track’s raw, percussive energy for maximum dancefloor impact.
On the flip, “Bokolo” delivers a deeper, hypnotic groove, showcasing Caunedo’s unique blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz-funk textures.
A DJ-focused release, bridging rare groove authenticity with modern playability.
Season Two continues with its fifth edition - a shift south this time, from KiF's English hedgerows to the island of Lutruwita, Tasmania, and the work of Soda Lite.
A gooseberry plant took root in the sand between the bricks of Alex's back patio - nutrient-deficient leaves and all - and fruited regardless. That's most of the appeal: "I'm drawn to species that survive in the interstices of human industrialisation." The husk itself carries the same idea, shielding the berry until it's ready to be let go.
Past Soda Lite records - Earthbound, Aqua Solar Cura, Vale & Stone - built outward from field recordings first. Here that flipped: you can't field-record a plant, only the noise around it, so only two tracks (Vibrant Matter and An Sí Gaoithe) carry field sound at all. The rest came from narrowing to a single species instead of the wider non-human world, and "trying to create and replicate sound and energy on the level of the plant and its perceptive world."
Two more things worth knowing. ‘Bryn Celli Ddu’ takes its name from a Neolithic burial chamber in Wales, aligned so the summer solstice sunlight reaches its back wall - the sun turning up again as its own recurring character. And ‘An Sí Gaoithe (Return)’ is a reworking of a Vale & Stone title, old fragments reprocessed into something new - "a bit like composting."
Soda Lite is the recording project of Alex Last, a gardener and composer working from Lutruwita on unceded Palawa land. Their music moves through field recordings gathered directly from the island's own biomes - coastline, forest, alkaline lake bed - alongside slow, warbling synth work, built less as backdrop than as document: proof of a specific place, at a specific time, being listened to closely. Past records have taken their titles and themes from geology and land relationships as often as botany - Aqua Solar Cura, Earthbound, Vale & Stone - so a plant with its own mineral-adjacent etymology (soda, found in dried alkaline lakebeds; lite, from the Greek for stone) suits the pairing.
Subject Sue is an Amsterdam-based artist creating dystopian nightclub music at the intersection of darkwave and ethereal techno. Inspired by queer club culture and the fragile edge between euphoria and estrangement, her music unfolds into a cinematic nocturnal haze.
Music has always been part of her life. As a vocalist and keyboard player, she performed in various projects and studied Visual Arts, where she explored themes of alter egos, personal realities, and the tension between subjectivity and objectivity in storytelling. Over time, she shifted from being an observer of these themes to embodying them herself. What began as an alter ego gradually evolved into something more personal.
Through Subject Sue, she explores desire, identity, and the strange beauty of the night, transforming fragments of her subjective inner world into cinematic club music. Drawing inspiration from Amsterdam’s queer nightlife and fleeting moments of intimacy, she creates music that inhabits the space between desire and isolation.
Debut EP Details In The Dark explores the blurred boundaries between lust and romance, intimacy and alienation through six tracks rich with pulsating synthesizers, textured soundscapes, and haunting vocal harmonies.
Following the success of Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2023, Cosmocities returns in 2026 with two new chapters in its acclaimed compilation series dedicated to the rich heritage and continuing evolution of Japanese electronic music.
Compiled by label owner Matt Soulie, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 further explores the depth, sophistication and diversity that have long made Japan's electronic underground one of the world's most inspiring musical landscapes.
Since its inception, the Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku project has celebrated the artists and sounds that have profoundly influenced the Cosmocities vision. Across four volumes, the series has journeyed through ambient soundscapes, deep house, boogie, jazz-infused electronics and forward-thinking club music. Volume 4 shifts the focus firmly towards the deeper end of the dancefloor, bringing together timeless classics, rare gems and sought-after reinterpretations from some of Japan's most respected producers.
Opening proceedings is Kaoru Inoue's remix of Soft's "Art Farmer", a rolling percussive Afro-house excursion rich in hypnotic groove and organic rhythm. XTAL's "Heavenly Overtone" follows with a beautifully cosmic house journey, combining shimmering keys and celestial atmospheres that perfectly capture the compilation's expansive spirit.
On the B-side, Slow Didi's "Follow Me (Hidaway Mix Instrumental)" delivers a deep and hypnotic groove before Tokyo Black Star's "Fantastique Voyage" channels the soulful, sophisticated energy of classic 1990s deep house. The journey continues with Manabu Nagayama and Soichi Terada's "Low Tension", presented here in a sublime instrumental remix by Satoshi Fumi and Yoshi Horino, where warm piano melodies and elegant synth work create a timeless late-night mood.
The final stretch moves into more driving territory. Hiroshi Watanabe's "The Orionids (2025 Revised)" subtly raises the tempo, blending deep house sensibilities with sleek tech-inflected textures. Kaoru Inoue's "Ground Rhythm", reworked by The Backwoods, plunges deeper into hypnotic territory with a heads-down groove designed for intimate basement spaces and low-lit dancefloors.
Closing the compilation is Bitowa and YAMADAtheGIANT's "Forest (Mixtacy Exclusive Version)", a trippy, immersive finale that leaves listeners suspended in a dreamlike state between nature, rhythm and imagination.
A carefully curated collection of deep, cosmic and forward-thinking sounds, Denshi Ongaku No Bigaku Vol. 4 once again showcases the enduring creativity, innovation and global influence of Japanese electronic music.
There's a moment during every great dance floor experience when the music takes over and everyone becomes part of something bigger. "SHOUT!", the latest release from 2SoulFusion Presents Ascension, captures that feeling in its purest form. Featuring the powerhouse voices and ad-libs of Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, along with an all-star ensemble of master vocalists including Josh Milan, Rahsaan Patterson, Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Ramona Dunlap, and Lea Lorien, this joyful anthem is an invitation to let go, lift your spirit, and celebrate through music.
Produced, written, arranged, and mixed by 2SoulFusion—Louie Vega and Josh Milan—"SHOUT!" draws inspiration from the communal spirit of gospel while embracing the energy and freedom of house music. Driven by simple yet powerful affirmations—"Shout," "Sing," "Move," "Love," "Get Up On Your Feet," "Listen Up," and "Let This Music Take You Higher"—the song transforms into an experience where every voice becomes part of the celebration. It's a journey of anthemic hooks, soaring harmonies, infectious grooves, and unforgettable melodies designed to ignite dance floors, uplift hearts, and remind us that music has the power to unite people through rhythm, joy, and love.
The inspiration for "SHOUT!" was born from a creative exchange between Louie Vega and Charaf Tajer, founder and creative director of the internationally acclaimed fashion house Casablanca. Introduced by longtime friend Joseph Capriati, Charaf shared a bold vision—to bring together the worlds of fashion, gospel, and house music for one unforgettable Casablanca runway presentation in Paris.
Louie Vega recalls: “Charaf was introduced to me by my friend Joseph Capriati, who said Charaf was looking to meet me about an idea he had. His vision was to marry fashion, gospel, and house music within Casablanca's collection. At first, he wanted me to DJ and play gospel house music. I said, 'Instead of playing existing music, why don't I create an original song with a gospel house flavor?' I immediately got together with my 2SoulFusion partner Josh Milan, and together we came up with 'SHOUT!'”
That vision came to life during Casablanca's spectacular Paris presentation inside a breathtaking cathedral, where Louie Vega premiered the original twelve-minute and nine-second composition live. As the music echoed through the cathedral, Dames Brown joined the London House Gospel Choir in a soul-stirring performance while the models walked the aisle on Casablanca's carpet made of their signature green color and a dashing vibrating giant mirror echoing the runway visually. Renowned DJs Luciano and Chloé Caillet were among those who walked the runway, while friends of Charaf Tajer and special guests—including Jaden Thompson, Folamour, Dimitri From Paris, Kapela, and many others—were in attendance, making it an unforgettable gathering where music, spirituality, fashion, and culture merged into one extraordinary experience.
Inspired by that magical evening in Paris, Louie Vega and Josh Milan returned to the studio to expand the original composition into the powerful recording heard today. Built around rich live musicianship, Josh Milan's keyboards, organ, piano and synth bass provide the foundation alongside Axel Tosca's expressive grand piano recorded live, Sherrod Barnes' soulful guitar, and Gene Perez's unmistakable bass groove. Together they create an infectious, organic driving sound that allows the vocals to soar while delivering the unmistakable musical depth and musicianship that define 2SoulFusion.
Leading the celebration are Dames Brown and Dawn Tallman, whose commanding performances are elevated by an extraordinary choir of world-class vocalists. Dames Brown's spirited sermon and ad-libs, and Dawn Tallman’s powerful ad-lib vamping out together with the soaring harmonies of Lisa Fischer, Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Rahsaan Patterson, Ramona Dunlap, Lea Lorien, and Josh Milan, recreate the feeling of a joyful gospel congregation—not confined to four walls, but alive on dance floors around the world. Every chorus encourages listeners to get up, listen up, feel it, sing, move, love, and become part of the experience. Recorded between Honeycomb Studios in Pennsylvania, The Hub Ibiza and Manhattan Center Studios, New York City, and mixed at The Hub Ibiza, "SHOUT!" reflects the continuing vision of the Ascension project, where spirituality, musicianship, community, fashion, and dance music become one.
As part of the 20 Years of BM anniversary celebrations, Bondage-Music proudly presents Bondage Games Pt. 11 — a special five-part vinyl series. Each release is named after a constellation, together forming a unique tribute to two decades of Bondage-Music.
With Bondage Games Pt. 11, the label's iconic vinyl series returns in its most ambitious edition to date. Created to celebrate 20 years of Bondage-Music, the series unfolds across five constellation-themed releases, each featuring four exclusive productions from artists closely connected to the label.
The first chapter, Ursus, brings together four exclusive tracks from Roger Gerressen, Sascha Dive, Rhadow and Lola Palmer. From Roger Gerressen's hypnotic groove-driven Patterned Shards and Sascha Dive's unmistakable deep house craftsmanship on Dub Chronicles #10 to Rhadow's atmospheric Ripples and Lola Palmer's warm and emotional Slow Down, the record perfectly reflects the timeless musical identity that has defined Bondage-Music since day one — deep, soulful, groove-focused and made for both intimate listening and late-night dancefloors.
Pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in an individually printed sleeve, Ursus continues Bondage-Music's longstanding commitment to exceptional quality in both music and design. The artwork was created by BM's longtime Head of Artwork, Pete Bombart — a close friend and an integral part of the label since its earliest days. His unmistakable visual language has become inseparable from the Bondage-Music identity, earning a loyal following far beyond the music itself.
Whether collected as part of the complete anniversary series or enjoyed on its own, Bondage Games Pt. 11: Ursus is a celebration of the artists, the friendships and the unmistakable sound that have shaped Bondage-Music over the past twenty years.
As part of the 20 Years of BM anniversary celebrations, Bondage-Music proudly presents Bondage Games Pt. 11 — a special five-part vinyl series. Each release is named after a constellation, together forming a unique tribute to two decades of Bondage-Music.
With Bondage Games Pt. 11, the label's iconic vinyl series returns in its most ambitious edition to date. Created to celebrate 20 years of Bondage-Music, the series unfolds across five constellation-themed releases, each featuring four exclusive productions from artists closely connected to the label.
The first chapter, Ursus, brings together four exclusive tracks from Roger Gerressen, Sascha Dive, Rhadow and Lola Palmer. From Roger Gerressen's hypnotic groove-driven Patterned Shards and Sascha Dive's unmistakable deep house craftsmanship on Dub Chronicles #10 to Rhadow's atmospheric Ripples and Lola Palmer's warm and emotional Slow Down, the record perfectly reflects the timeless musical identity that has defined Bondage-Music since day one — deep, soulful, groove-focused and made for both intimate listening and late-night dancefloors.
Pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl and housed in an individually printed sleeve, Ursus continues Bondage-Music's longstanding commitment to exceptional quality in both music and design. The artwork was created by BM's longtime Head of Artwork, Pete Bombart — a close friend and an integral part of the label since its earliest days. His unmistakable visual language has become inseparable from the Bondage-Music identity, earning a loyal following far beyond the music itself.
Whether collected as part of the complete anniversary series or enjoyed on its own, Bondage Games Pt. 11: Ursus is a celebration of the artists, the friendships and the unmistakable sound that have shaped Bondage-Music over the past twenty years.
The Brussels-based collective re#encounter will release its debut album, Angels and Demons at Play, on September 18, 2026, via W.E.R.F. records. With gnawa grooves, cumbia, griot storytelling, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and ecstatic jazz improvisations, the nine-piece ensemble crafts a distinctive, spiritual, and above all, danceable jazz idiom.
At the heart of the album lies trance. Hicham Bilali's gnawa, Kaito Winse's relentless energy, Paula León's cumbia roots, and the spellbinding jazz improvisations of Lúcia Pires and Joos Vandueren intertwine with Falk Schrauwen's Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Together with Robbe Latré, Ismaïl Akharraz, Ayoub Boufous, and Anaïs Moffarts, they create a musical encounter where differences are not erased but harnessed as a creative force.
On Angels and Demons at Play, Hicham Bilali's gnawa grooves enter into dialogue with the voices of Kaito Winse and Paula León. They weave stories from the griot and cumbia traditions-tales of ancestors, cosmic journeys, and djinns. Flute, saxophone, and trumpet craft soundscapes and melodies rooted in existing traditions, while drums, percussion, and bass drive the whole forward with tight, hypnotic rhythms.
With this, re#encounter aligns itself with the spiritual jazz idiom of artists like Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, and Shabaka Hutchings, but always from a distinctly Brussels-based perspective. The result is a homegrown form of Afrofuturism: music that draws on deep cultural roots while simultaneously looking ahead.
Brutal, uncompromising Slam from Greece. Years of obsession, ignorance, and absolute contempt spent keeping slam locked in its lowest, most primitive caveman state. Through collapse, and complete disregard for ourselves, we persevere. The "Embryectomy" project clawed its way from a deranged slam duo into a fully armed three-body beatdown slam monstrosity through uncompromised fury alone. No trends. No mercy. No concern for acceptance. Anyone who stood in the wreckage with us knows what it took to get here. We are now signing with Unique Leader Records. What you will endure in our next release is not meant to inspire or connect. It was composed in a chaotic state of antipathy, and absolute emotional absence. This is the most brutal material we have ever created—not for everyone, not for growth, but for those who understand that misanthropy is the only constant. We thank Unique Leader Records, who pushed us beyond what we thought possible: brutality to its limit while stripping away anything human. No benevolence. No empathy. No relief. Only violence, executed with intent.
Ever-evolving Amsterdam duo ANOTR continue their forward momentum with the release of their highly anticipated third studio album, ‘Withness’, out via their own imprint No Art. Rooted firmly in dance music, ‘Withness’ sees the pair refine their sound into their most dance-floor focused and cohesive project to date.
Born during their global tour, ‘Withness’ was shaped in real time: written, tested and refined on dancefloors across the world. Following the expansive, genre-blurring approach of their 2025 LP ‘On A Trip’, the duo felt a pull back toward the club - not as a limitation, but as a unifying space. “We really wanted to have a wide variety of songs that we can play out and create moments,” they explain. “Every track needed to make sense wherever people come together to dance.”
That intention sits at the heart of ‘Withness’. A title that reimagines the idea of “witnessing” into something more active and collective. ‘Withness’ is an album about experiencing life with others. It’s about the moments you share, the people who shape them, and the energy that becomes real only when you’re fully present. The album captures the collective high of friendship. Whether in a packed club, at a festival, or in a living room with friends, the album is designed to soundtrack moments of connection.
“The memories you make with people, they’re the witness of those moments. Withness is about being in it together.” - ANOTR
Sonically, the album marks a clear evolution. Drawing from their early club roots while building on the songwriting confidence developed on their previous records, classic drum machines and 909 samples sit alongside warm, 80s-tinged textures, layered vocals and modern production techniques, creating a sound that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking.
A key part of the process was spontaneity. The duo embraced a free-flowing, collaborative studio environment, often working with a rotating cast of contributors. Their now-signature “open mic” approach encouraged anyone in the room to experiment with melodies, lyrics and vocal ideas. This energy translates directly into the album’s standout moments. From the euphoric pull of ‘Withness’ to the groove-led ‘Do It With Ya’, the uplifting ‘Paradise’, each track is built to live beyond a single setting.
The LP comes at a timely moment, as their single ‘Talk To You ft. 54 Ultra’ has become the biggest global breakout dance single this year. Sitting firmly in Spotify’s Global Top 200, it has surpassed 175 million streams, and is currently No. 21 in the UK Singles Chart. Spotify have tipped it in their much-coveted global ‘Sound Of The Summer 2026’ list and other highlights include peaking at No. 7 in Shazam’s Global Chart, No.1 on Beatport Top 100 and gaining over 600M UGC views so far.
‘Finally’, the forthcoming new record from Catz ’n Dogz, belongs to the latter.
There are albums you listen to, and there are albums you live with. ‘Finally’, the forthcoming new record from Catz ’n Dogz, belongs to the latter.
Across sixteen tracks, Voitek and Greg have created their most creatively ambitious and emotionally open work to date. An album about relationships, friendship and the people and places that shape us. At its heart is a simple idea: music should make you feel something, and sometimes the most meaningful moments are the quiet ones when you finally have time to yourself.
Finally is rooted in the emotional contradictions that make memories so powerful. Inspired by classic American Folk and Soul, its songs are happy and nostalgic; hopeful without pretending that the past doesn’t exist. There is melancholy inside the euphoria and warmth inside the sadness, a constant interplay between looking back and moving forward.
The album begins with the soulful breakbeat glow of 'We’re Gonna Be Alright' featuring Ajii, before moving through the smoky jazz and piano-led intimacy of 'Dance For You' with Miller Blue and the bass-driven energy of 'Sun Goes Down' featuring Charlotte Haining. Closing with the reflective 'Miss You' featuring Mateusz Krautwurst, the record takes in a rich cast of vocalists, musicians and producers, alongside a series of deeply personal Catz ’n Dogz solo productions.
Those collaborations are central to Finally. The album is, in many ways, a celebration of the creative friendships Voitek and Greg have built throughout their journey. Relationships that have allowed them to step outside their comfort zone and rethink what their music can be.
Written and recorded between Madrid, New York, Warsaw and the road, the album finds the duo placing renewed emphasis on songwriting, chord progressions and musical craft. Rather than simply chasing the next track, they took the time to learn, experiment and create something with a sense of permanence.
This is an album for driving without a destination. For watching the sun go down. For remembering somebody you haven’t thought about in years. For those rare stretches of time when there is nowhere else you need to be.
Industrial noise terrorists LARD, the legendary collision of Jello Biafra and Ministry masterminds Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker, return with the long-awaited repress of their 1990 full-length masterpiece, The Last Temptation of Reid.
A vicious fusion of industrial metal, punk rock, political outrage, and black humor, The Last Temptation of Reid remains as relevant, confrontational, and sonically devastating today as it was when it first detonated over three decades ago. From the opening assault of “Forkboy” (later featured on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack) to the twisted brilliance of “Pineapple Face,” “Drug Raid at 4 AM,” and their unhinged reinvention of “They’re Coming to Take Me Away,” (originally performed by Napoleon XIV), LARD created a collection of songs that still sounds unlike anything before or since.
This new edition has been worth the wait. After production setbacks and multiple rounds of test pressings, Jello Biafra personally halted the project to completely remaster the album, ensuring it finally received the sonic treatment it deserved. The result is the best-sounding vinyl edition of The Last Temptation of Reid ever released. As a special bonus, this edition now includes bonus one sided 12” vinyl of “I Am Your Clock.” Originally a UK exclusive 12”, it’s never been repressed until now.
Originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1990, The Last Temptation of Reid captured the paranoia, hypocrisy, corruption, and media madness of its era with razor-sharp wit and a patented wall of noise and sonic wizardry. The unsettling truth is that it may hit even harder today.
Industrial noise terrorists LARD, the legendary collision of Jello Biafra and Ministry masterminds Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker, return with the long-awaited repress of their 1990 full-length masterpiece, The Last Temptation of Reid.
A vicious fusion of industrial metal, punk rock, political outrage, and black humor, The Last Temptation of Reid remains as relevant, confrontational, and sonically devastating today as it was when it first detonated over three decades ago. From the opening assault of “Forkboy” (later featured on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack) to the twisted brilliance of “Pineapple Face,” “Drug Raid at 4 AM,” and their unhinged reinvention of “They’re Coming to Take Me Away,” (originally performed by Napoleon XIV), LARD created a collection of songs that still sounds unlike anything before or since.
This new edition has been worth the wait. After production setbacks and multiple rounds of test pressings, Jello Biafra personally halted the project to completely remaster the album, ensuring it finally received the sonic treatment it deserved. The result is the best-sounding vinyl edition of The Last Temptation of Reid ever released. As a special bonus, this edition now includes bonus one sided 12” vinyl of “I Am Your Clock.” Originally a UK exclusive 12”, it’s never been repressed until now.
Originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1990, The Last Temptation of Reid captured the paranoia, hypocrisy, corruption, and media madness of its era with razor-sharp wit and a patented wall of noise and sonic wizardry. The unsettling truth is that it may hit even harder today.
Put your hands together and please welcome Linda Lo to Shall Not Fade's Time is Now imprint. The LA producer/DJ's new 12" EP "Masa" drops 23rd Oct 2026 and f**k is it sick.
Linda Lo fuses* mambo, samba, and salsa with UK garage, dubstep, and club rhythms to make guaranteed rewind material that is gonna light up the dance…
* imma talk about this fuses sh*t in a minute.. First we need to get a bit philosophical. Cos rewinds and fusions aside, this EP is alive. It's part of something bigger and cyclical, without a start or an end. It is music. It was part of someone else's music before and it will be part of other people's music in the future. Right now though, it's Linda Lo's music.
Too esoteric? Let me elaborate and, let's talk about fusion. There is the fusion that is – steal a bit of genre X and culture Y, chuck it on the grid and strut about professing fusion – and then there's actual fusion: Music that is something "new" and real and genuine. Music that you end up describing excitedly as a "fusion of" things (even if it inevitably ends up doing it a disservice). Music that is simultaneously one thing and not that thing, and also something else and not that something else too. Music that is just "music" to the creator but is also part of the progression and evolution of music for others. Mala wasn't making "dubstep". Skream & Benga ended up not making Garage. Like many before and after they were making their music and Linda Lo is making her music so let's hear from her about it. Big up Linda. This is real.
Notes from Linda:
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“Like Croydon by way of Havana”
“Masa, or corn-based dough used to make tortillas and tamales, is a traditional staple food for many in Mexico and throughout LatAm. In the Maya worldview, people's flesh is made out of masa. In order to make masa, corn must be dried, nixtamalized, ground, and mixed (often by hand) to create the right textured dough. I find much of my music work is a collision and a mixing of many elements, all worked into one product. In this way, I've worked these songs, transforming raw rhythms and sub bass into hand-mixed tunes. ‘Masa - EP' presents four delicious heaters. The title track explodes with a fiery double-time dubstep groove. Mambo horn stabs bite through a bass inferno. ‘Cenote' looks down upon a subterranean pool of sound—still on the surface but impossibly deep. ‘Minifalda', pure flirt and gyration, calls in cuica and other voices from a samba bateria. Finally, claves stitch across ‘Mestiza', a fusion of blooming lush orchestration and jagged 2step rhythm.
Around 1960, my grandparents were regular dancers at the Palladium in Los Angeles: young, Mexican, and falling in love to dance music, specifically big band mambo. My mom, consequently, is a fantastic dancer, and her mambo collection along with my dad's exotica records formed the base of my own vinyl collection. When I first discovered garage and dubstep, there was something indescribably familiar to me, something mambo-like about the syncopated offbeat hits and drama. Later, as I began stitching together mambo claves and 2step drums, I assumed I was trying out something totally new. The farther I go, the more I see that I was wrong.
Dubstep, garage and jungle share a parental lineage back to dub reggae, originating from Jamaica. Mambo hails from Cuba, and sister genres of salsa to NYC & PR, and bachata and meringue to the Dominican Republic. Yet, these musical genres of the Caribbean have not developed in isolation. Reggae, mambo, dancehall, salsa, even son jarocho from Veracrúz, Mexico (where my family is from), all developed together, influencing each other fundamentally. Ultimately, all musics of the Caribbean have come from West African polyrhythmic musical heritages. Garage, mambo, dubstep, and salsa are points in time along one musical continuum.
I feel very honored to be a selector working in Los Angeles (and elsewhere!). I hope I can share some music for the next generation of young people to fall in love to. "
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I'm moved by what Linda writes here. #1 Doing what you love, and finding you are part of something bigger. Creating for yourself freely and hoping to inspire others with healthy amounts of care, humility, freedom, self awareness and enjoyment. (It is inspiring and I'm honoured we are now a part of sharing Linda's music). #2 There's something wonderful about finding connection and a sense of place. A place physical, spiritual and in time. Music can help us all find connection and be part of a place. Wheel it up wherever you are.
Revisiting the sound and spirit of Jazzy Sport, rooted in Japan and carried forward by a new generation. Compiled by Nina Yamada, featuring Cro-Magnon and Grooveman Spot, with remixes by DJ Mitsu the Beats and Idjut Boys.
Founded in 2002, Jazzy Sport emerged at a particularly fertile moment in Japanese music. Beginning as an independent label and record shop, with its first store in Morioka and Jazzy Sport Music Shop Tokyo opening in Shibuya the following year, it became a home for artists including GAGLE, DJ Mitsu the Beats, Cro-Magnon and Grooveman Spot. Its releases moved freely between hip-hop, house, jazz, broken beat and live musicianship, helping define a distinctly Japanese strain of open-minded club culture.
But the music was only the beginning. Jazzy Sport developed into a network of record shops across Japan, alongside its label and distribution work, apparel and design, dance studios, and a Morioka record shop joined to a bouldering gym. These were not unrelated side projects. They expressed the same founding idea: that music, sport and everyday life could come together to create community.
PAST FORWARD: SILVER marks the first release on the Jazzy Sport London label, distributed by Time Capsule. Established in 2022, the London project first took shape through parties, radio shows and community collaborations connecting Japan and the UK. This compilation carries the Jazzy Sport archive and its values forward through a new generation.
At the centre is Nina Yamada, the daughter of one of Jazzy Sport’s core members. She grew up within the community that shaped the collective, and her selection is not a conventional greatest-hits survey, but an inside view of the catalogue and an intergenerational handover made audible.
The music moves naturally between hip-hop and house, electronic production and live performance. That openness has always been central to Jazzy Sport, where club music, musicianship and community are part of the same conversation rather than separate scenes.
DJ Mitsu the Beats’ remix of Cro-Magnon’s “Eclipse” brings the refined, soulful depth that makes him such an important figure in Japanese beat music. Idjut Boys’ deep, dubwise Cro-Magnon rework reflects the long exchange between Japan and the UK, while Grooveman Spot’s “Do The Dance” finds a sweet spot between acid-tinged 808 groove and warm soulfulness.
Elsewhere, Nubian Lady’s “In☆Flu☆Enza” draws on Detroit techno and Chicago house but sharpens those influences into something lean and distinctive. Physical Sound Sport’s “Magical Kalimba” captures the communal energy and openness of a live session. Bottom Fly’s “Rhyme Or Reason,” rooted in Morioka, pairs rough-edged beats with mellow samples and a quiet sense of nostalgia.
What comes through is not only the strength of the individual tracks, but the sensibility that connects them. That keeps PAST FORWARD: SILVER from feeling like a nostalgic best-of. For longtime followers, it offers rediscovery; for new listeners, a way into the breadth of Jazzy Sport; and for DJs, a selection made for the record bag, not just the archive.
Nine-time GRAMMY® winner Anderson .Paak and GRAMMY®-nominated rapper Cordae have been operating on the same wavelength for years. What started as pure chemical reaction on 2019’s “RNP” slowly turned into one of hip-hop’s most natural, low-ego partnerships, fueled by back-and-forth gems like “Two Tens” and “Summer Drop” and a series of dynamic TV performances that felt more like two best friends hanging out than a polished routine. On their debut collaborative album, Heavy Is The Crown, that organic bond gets the full-length treatment it’s always deserved.
At its core, the project is a tightrope walk between serious real-life stakes and uncompromising fun. The title isn't just bravado—it speaks directly to the shared weight both artists carry as the primary providers and anchors for their families. But instead of letting that pressure crush the vibe, .Paak and Cordae lean into each other. Meeting as total equals, .Paak’s elastic, soul-drenched musicality anchors Cordae’s razor-sharp lyricism, allowing both to unpack the heavy reality of success and family responsibility without ever losing their spark.
That balance is what makes the album tick. To drive the point home, the album art pays homage to the cult comedy Step Brothers—a nod to the silly, irreverent friendship that birthed the music in the first place. Heavy Is The Crown doesn't feel like a forced corporate crossover or a calculated career move. It’s a record about brotherhood, family, and what happens when two masters of their craft step into the studio simply because nobody makes them laugh, rap, or create quite like the other.
Nine-time GRAMMY® winner Anderson .Paak and GRAMMY®-nominated rapper Cordae have been operating on the same wavelength for years. What started as pure chemical reaction on 2019’s “RNP” slowly turned into one of hip-hop’s most natural, low-ego partnerships, fueled by back-and-forth gems like “Two Tens” and “Summer Drop” and a series of dynamic TV performances that felt more like two best friends hanging out than a polished routine. On their debut collaborative album, Heavy Is The Crown, that organic bond gets the full-length treatment it’s always deserved.
At its core, the project is a tightrope walk between serious real-life stakes and uncompromising fun. The title isn't just bravado—it speaks directly to the shared weight both artists carry as the primary providers and anchors for their families. But instead of letting that pressure crush the vibe, .Paak and Cordae lean into each other. Meeting as total equals, .Paak’s elastic, soul-drenched musicality anchors Cordae’s razor-sharp lyricism, allowing both to unpack the heavy reality of success and family responsibility without ever losing their spark.
That balance is what makes the album tick. To drive the point home, the album art pays homage to the cult comedy Step Brothers—a nod to the silly, irreverent friendship that birthed the music in the first place. Heavy Is The Crown doesn't feel like a forced corporate crossover or a calculated career move. It’s a record about brotherhood, family, and what happens when two masters of their craft step into the studio simply because nobody makes them laugh, rap, or create quite like the other.
On their third album, FANGS, London collective HMLTD have created an entirely new genre: Götherdammerüng (or ÜberGöth). Predictably unpredictable, it could not be further away from their last outing, 2023 rock opera The Worm. The sixteen-piece orchestra has been traded in for Ableton, the timpani and violins replaced with side-chained four-to-the-floor and rave synths, and the gospel choir swapped for guttural gothic howling and black metal screams. The result is both unique and terrifying: a total reinvention and rehabilitation of the goth genre, through the looking glass of modern electronic and doomscroll-era dance music.
This new beginning was accompanied by a change in personnel, with Theo Spark and Andrei Martynchyk joining the fray alongside original members Henry Spychalski and Duc Peterman. Decamping to a ruined château in the Loire Valley, the quartet became obsessed with vampire lore, and the EBM and goth sound that inspired their early work: Fad Gadget, DAF, Nitzer Ebb, Suicide and Bauhaus. FANGS also points to more contemporary influences like Crystal Castles, German hardcore, 2000s blog-house a la Justice, and 2020s sleazepop.
The world crafted in FANGS is full of cosmic pessimism, glowing horror, imperceptible evil and digital dismemberment, ancient curses and ruined castles, Vampires. But it is also a thoroughly fun, and funny, record, as danceable as it is deep. Born of the club, some tracks would not sound out of place on Brat. Like a Smiths song which sounds happy and carefree until your brain tunes in to the misery of the lyrics, it can be listened to - and enjoyed - on two levels. One can get lost in the throb of bass and ludic synths, or tune into the horror of the lyrics which overlay them.
FANGS attempts to offer up a reflection to a culture that - like a Vampire - has lost its own. The result is something not only thoroughly modern, original, and inventive - but that feels genuinely dangerous and potent. FANGS delights in this ambiguity: simultaneously indicting decadence, decay, and moral rot, while luxuriating in its intoxication by it. Cacophonous sub-bass becomes a chthonic call of the void; seraphic rave synths become the screech of Valkyries; four-to-the-floor becomes a deathly funeral march. Vampire apocalypse.
The Future Bubblers compilation brings together artists from across the Academy cohort and wider applicant community, with sounds spanning jazz, soul, electronic, hip hop, folk, experimental and everything in between. It’s a snapshot of the boundary-pushing talent emerging through the Future Bubblers community. This rollout is designed to put the people who make independent music possible at the heart of the release: listeners who choose to support artists directly, record shops that nurture culture locally, and the community that has grown around Future Bubblers over the last decade.
Tokyo-based producer aus debuts on Squama with his new album Mere Meer.
Grounded in the question of how a specific environment can emerge through voice and memory, rather than through recording of an objective reality, the album stands in the tradition of modern Japanese Ambient and Kankyo Ongaku.
aus is the solo project of composer, producer, and curator Yasuhiko Fukuzono. His music is characterized by a precise combination of cinematic strings, acoustic instrumentation, and concrete sound design derived from everyday life.
In recent years, he released music on EM Records, WRWTFWW and his own flau imprint. As a remixer, he put his touch on tracks by Matthew Herbert, Tenniscoats and Craig Armstrong, among others.
His sonic research also extends beyond traditional formats into spatial sound installations and site-specific works, collaborating with experimental figures like Ulla, Li Yilei, and Hinako Omori for institutions such as the Tokyo National Museum.
Much of the album consists of sketches made with synthesizer and voice. Sampled from social media clips, field recordings or a heavily processed version of Fukuzono's own vocals, the voice became a central element of the record. "I have long been interested in the relationship between words and melody.", aus says. In his former work as a speech therapist, he witnessed patients with severe dementia or aphasia, who all of a sudden could recall lyrics when they were sung with familiar melodies. An experience that left a deep impression on him.
During the Covid years, when hearing voices of friends and family sometimes was the only way to feel connected to the outside world, aus began reflecting on the connection between voice and environment. "Every voice represents an encounter with a person, but it's also an encounter with a place."
Unable to travel as freely as before, that limitation became part of his method: rather than just recording actual field material capturing the real world, he would write and perform melodies that simulate a sense of place - an imagined room, an imagined street.
"My interest lies not in the dichotomy between artificial and environmental sounds, but in how they collectively shape a single perceptual field."
By observing and mapping our world, aus creates his own and his new record is a prime example of that process.
On their third album, FANGS, London collective HMLTD have created an entirely new genre: Götherdammerüng (or ÜberGöth). Predictably unpredictable, it could not be further away from their last outing, 2023 rock opera The Worm. The sixteen-piece orchestra has been traded in for Ableton, the timpani and violins replaced with side-chained four-to-the-floor and rave synths, and the gospel choir swapped for guttural gothic howling and black metal screams. The result is both unique and terrifying: a total reinvention and rehabilitation of the goth genre, through the looking glass of modern electronic and doomscroll-era dance music.
This new beginning was accompanied by a change in personnel, with Theo Spark and Andrei Martynchyk joining the fray alongside original members Henry Spychalski and Duc Peterman. Decamping to a ruined château in the Loire Valley, the quartet became obsessed with vampire lore, and the EBM and goth sound that inspired their early work: Fad Gadget, DAF, Nitzer Ebb, Suicide and Bauhaus. FANGS also points to more contemporary influences like Crystal Castles, German hardcore, 2000s blog-house a la Justice, and 2020s sleazepop.
The world crafted in FANGS is full of cosmic pessimism, glowing horror, imperceptible evil and digital dismemberment, ancient curses and ruined castles, Vampires. But it is also a thoroughly fun, and funny, record, as danceable as it is deep. Born of the club, some tracks would not sound out of place on Brat. Like a Smiths song which sounds happy and carefree until your brain tunes in to the misery of the lyrics, it can be listened to - and enjoyed - on two levels. One can get lost in the throb of bass and ludic synths, or tune into the horror of the lyrics which overlay them.
FANGS attempts to offer up a reflection to a culture that - like a Vampire - has lost its own. The result is something not only thoroughly modern, original, and inventive - but that feels genuinely dangerous and potent. FANGS delights in this ambiguity: simultaneously indicting decadence, decay, and moral rot, while luxuriating in its intoxication by it. Cacophonous sub-bass becomes a chthonic call of the void; seraphic rave synths become the screech of Valkyries; four-to-the-floor becomes a deathly funeral march. Vampire apocalypse.
After almost twenty years of releasing music, Sven Tasnadi finds himself circling back to some of the sounds that first drew him into house music. Explorer was written at home following a longer break from producing and after moving out of his studio, a change of setting that coincided with a shift in priorities. "The tracks on this EP came together at home after a longer break from music and after I moved out of my studio," he explains. "Musically they are very deep and minimal, at times almost meditative. They were inspired by a new chapter in my life as well as my never-ending love and connection to artists like Lawrence from Smallville and Frank & Tony from Scissor and Thread."
That sense of returning to something runs through the whole record. For much of Tasnadi's career, producing and DJing were closely connected, with many releases naturally shaped by the club. Things have changed. "DJing is no longer my main focus, so I can dedicate myself to these deep and minimal sounds again, free from pressure or expectations," he says. "In a way, after almost twenty years of releasing music, things have come full circle for me."
"Atlas (Chapter 1)" and "Atlas (Chapter 2)" grew from the same initial idea but followed separate paths during production. Chapter 2 came first, while Chapter 1 emerged later from a variation Tasnadi discovered while the track was still essentially a loop. "I was still looking for the right theme for the original idea when another version suddenly opened up," he recalls. He saved that variation for later so he could stay focused on the first version. When he returned to it, the two had developed distinct enough identities to stand independently. Their shared DNA is still audible in the restrained rhythms, slowly shifting details and the way small changes carry much of the movement.
The title track moves further into dub techno, another longstanding passion for Tasnadi. "Explorer is almost a classic dub techno track," he says. "Subtle movements within a constantly repeating pattern create a particular atmosphere. It feels like the track could just keep going forever." It is a patient approach to repetition that he connects to artists such as Moritz von Oswald and his friend Daniel Stefanik.
"Megasektor", one of the first tracks Tasnadi made at home with a new equipment setup, brings the EP into deep house territory. "To me it's almost classic deep house, or at least how I define deep house for myself." Warm, compact and gently propulsive, it provides a natural closing point for a record that is ultimately less about changing direction than reconnecting with an instinct that has always been there.
Explorer captures Tasnadi at a point where making music has become more personal again. The four tracks come from following ideas for their own sake and from rediscovering the deeper, more minimal sounds that have stayed with him throughout his career.
Melissa Weikart and her piano have proceeded through life in step, from her early classical
training to the experimental practice that defines her work today, a blending of sounds and forms that has never been so clear—and so fully realized—as on her new album, Contact. Across twelve shifting and evocative tracks that examine the connective tissue binding us to ourselves and others, the Franco-American musician’s voice and piano navigate personal and emotional terrain with clarity and nuance, forging a rich dialogue between artist and instrument, artist and self, and artist and listener.
Winner of the 2022 Nancy Jazz Pulsations emerging artist award and the instrumentalist prize at the 2023 La Défense National Jazz Competition, Weikart has released two EPs and an album as a solo artist, and one EP and an album—Surprise and Secret—with her electronic duo Beatrice Melissa. A student of jazz and ’70s folk-pop, and a keen lover of improvisation since her time at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Weikart has always conjured the confessional candor of the singer- songwriter in her music, even as she dispenses her lyrics across rich, shifting, dreamlike tableaux.
On Contact, written and arranged entirely by Weikart (aside from “New angles”), she pushes her sound further than ever before. The album is animated by a pressing need for connection, observing what brings us together and what drives us apart, and the life-saving revelations that emerge along the way. The album’s opener, “Crash,” is a dreamy telephone-hour ode, a message in a bottle, to connections new and old. On the wistful “Mesurer le vent,” Weikart conjures Debussy or Ravel, layering contrasting sounds like an Impressionist painting. The title track begins as a showcase of Weikart’s frank lyricism, a splice-reel of missed connections and wasted time, then glides into a hazy, euphoric galaxy of pleas, circling around her thesis—“I wanted to make contact”—that ushers us into “The Intersection,” a song that recalls her the beginning of her career, when it was just Weikart and her keys. “Appétit.e” is built around a sample of her down-the-hall neighbor’s drumming—another subtle, affecting gesture toward proximity and connection—while pulsating synths reminiscent of Air lend the track an unsteady atmosphere. On the Carpenters-inspired “Expectations,” Weikart muses on the relationship patterns, universal and specific, that have always been a hallmark of her songwriting.
The psychedelic “L’amour de construit” is a slow-motion fall down the rabbit hole, as Weikart
considers the way her own emotions are captured and commodified by the confining ways we think about love. The interlude—“L’amour pt. 2”—finds her near the end of that trip, shouting into the void as a last-ditch effort to rescue herself from the fall. The drums near the end of the interlude warn us that there may be no cushion for, until she is saved, again, by the power of revelation, on the confident, resilient “Not Right”—on which a show-stopping, frenetic conversation between singer and piano is gracefully interrupted by a rush of transcendent strings, lifting her back up.
On solid ground anew, “New angles,” featuring Manu Delta, creates a percussion-less groove that relies on experimental synth sounds. The 11-o’clock stunner “Catching up”—composed in a church—meets the singer in a state of ecstatic confession, bringing her to the formative memory that propels “Bicycle,” the album’s closer. Younger, more wide-eyed, she reflects on her move from Boston to Strasbourg, those early days, when Weikart had no other companion than that loyal hunk of scrap metal that took her to the shores of her own soul. She seems to suggest, on “Bicycle,” that a backward-glance is not always troublesome, not always anxiety-producing, but can be grounding: a reminder of where we come from, so that we can keep moving forward.
Fudge is Michael Kiwanuka’s most free and instinctive album to date. A vibrant, deeply human record shaped by spontaneity, emotion, and creative joy. It’s loose, soulful, and alive with the kind of magic that only happens when the process leads the way. The album was inspired by the encouraging words of the late Chick Corea, whose interview Michael stumbled upon during the pandemic lockdown, urging him to embrace what he loved without worrying about what others might think.
Each physical edition brings you into that world. The artwork, created by Michael’s friend and visual collaborator Stevie Gee, bursts with colour and character. It’s a psychedelic cartoon-inspired piece that perfectly mirrors the album’s warmth and wonder
Stoked to announce the debut record by Faulsk on Ruff Kutz!
Sometimes life can feel cyclical and having the first solo release on the label by someone other than myself had to be the right choice, it just so happened to be the producer from Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, which is where I started my lifelong obsession with Electronic music.
Shortly after playing a gig together at Whakamana in late 2024, we started exchanging tunes and I immediately wanted to put a release together with the first track he sent.. The release also features 2 collaborative tracks with myself and consists of 4 deep psychedelic grooves across the tempo ranges, built with the sound system in mind. This is an outrageous debut EP, and I am stoked to have it on Ruff Kutz!
Whilst having a low social media profile and only a few tracks released into the wild, Faulsk seems to have carved out a honed in sonic identity. Mixing Techno and Dub production techniques whilst still having swagger and depth that appeals to the bass heads. Expect expertly crafted soundscapes, interesting loopy grooves, lush evolving pads/stabs and low end wizardry. Genre - Faulsk, just how we like it.
Galvanize was the first track to build the EP with a relentless 4x4 groove, perfectly balanced low end and washy atmospherics, the track gradually evolves to show that less is more sometimes - with it's use of stripped back restraint and negative space to create energetic mood shifts.
On the A2, the first collaboration track Exhalation slows the tempo to 100 BPM for some kind of bass mutation straight from the underworld. This one taps into the tense atmospherics of Galvanize whilst cranking up the intensity with evolving drones and razor sharp percussion to sit amongst the dense soundscape.
The title track on the flip, is a 9 min roll out, reminiscent of early Forest Drive West. The subtle modulation and dubbing on musical parts draws you in and is a nice juxtaposition to the crunching percussion, militant groove and precise low end. Chugging away at 115 BPM, this is a versatile track to inject some kinetic energy into your local underwater dancehall.
Closing out on the B2 we have another collaboration. Upping the tempo to the mid 120s, Retrospect sinks deeper into hypnotism with polyrhythmic grooves and an unresolving feel which creates steady momentum, coupled with lush and evolving synth work which take the track into serenity. Regulate your sound system.
Fudge is Michael Kiwanuka’s most free and instinctive album to date. A vibrant, deeply human record shaped by spontaneity, emotion, and creative joy. It’s loose, soulful, and alive with the kind of magic that only happens when the process leads the way. The album was inspired by the encouraging words of the late Chick Corea, whose interview Michael stumbled upon during the pandemic lockdown, urging him to embrace what he loved without worrying about what others might think.
Each physical edition brings you into that world. The artwork, created by Michael’s friend and visual collaborator Stevie Gee, bursts with colour and character. It’s a psychedelic cartoon-inspired piece that perfectly mirrors the album’s warmth and wonder
Numa Crew are back with a full release at 140 bpm. A journey through the crew’s diverse range of styles, each with its own unmistakable character. It kicks off with ‘Philly Blunt’, a track conceived and created for the dancefloor, pure dubstep, with a wobble bass that cuts through a driving groove and carries with it many nuances of dub. Track number two, ‘Big Champion’, is produced by Lapo with contributions from the crew’s two MCs, XL Mad and Ninjaz MC. The riddim blends old-school jungle and grime and features vocals in both Jamaican patois and Italian. There are no boundaries of any kind within Numa Crew! Nor are there any boundaries to be seen on track 3, ‘Easton Riddim’, produced by Lapo and Ago, which seamlessly blends two styles very dear to the crew: UKG and reggae. It will be the perfect platform for many MCs to showcase their skills. To round things off, undoubtedly the craziest track on the EP, ‘Run Tune’ – produced by Ago and Leon P. A frenzied arpeggiator and dark atmospheres take us on a journey through sub-lines and distorted vocals.
The songs of Jules de Corte are condensed, folky gems with an almost effortless charm. Poised between the intimate and the universal, between lightness and darkness, they touch on religion, love, loss, and the small dramas of everyday life. Yet they resist easy translation. Packed with wordplay, de Corte’s signature alliterations, humor, and local cultural references, the songs inevitably lose something in another language. Still, when a Belgian quartet of improvisers takes them on, joined by American songwriter Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, the songs are reborn rather than merely transposed: literal fidelity gives way to interpretation, and what is lost in words is often gained in spirit.
Even without tracing every change, their overall effect is fascinating. Songs are slowed down, often doubled in length, and filled with unexpected musical intrusions. They gain fuller arrangements and are placed in an entirely new context. Replacing de Corte’s piano with guitar can create a radically different vibe, as in “Mariska.” An added solo can heighten the contrast between childlike perspective and the almost matter- of-fact brutality of “Little Anita.” In “The Stranger,” another use of contrast unsettles the everyday harmony, transforming it with a subtle, disorienting twist.
Ultimately, these performances show that interpretation is not successful simply because it is literal. With the groundwork laid by Linus, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy further liberated the songs from their original versions. Lyrics and melodies become malleable, shaped by his recognizable cadences, timbre, and personal quirks. Like his collaborators, he allows himself the freedom to bend the material to his own approach. There is no radical break between this performance and his other records. Listeners familiar with the originals may be puzzled at first; for those new to de Corte, it is a wholly different experience.
Does it really matter that the original “Little Jesus, Mighty God” is a 100-second nugget combining playful naivete with biblical fervor? In the hands of these five explorers, the song becomes an intriguing contemplation, with subtle musical shades and a recitation in which every syllable carries a maturity that offers a new perspective. Then there is “The Outsider,” which feels as genuine as any original American folk song. The musicians’ process is more than reinterpretation—it is reimagination, bringing new musical compatibility and emotional depth. Whether that depth was there from the start, waiting to be uncovered, or created in the process is beside the point. What matters is that Linus and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have made the essence of these songs their own, paying homage yet dancing to their own tune.
Linus is the Belgian duo of guitarist and banjo player Ruben Machtelinckx and reedist and synthesiser player Thomas Jillings. Across five previous albums — Onland (2014), Linus + Skarbø / Leroux (2015), Felt Like Old language at the crossroads of folk, jazz, minimalism, chamber music and free improvisation. Their music is adventurous, shaped by a particular sensitivity to texture, timbre and the subtle interaction between musicians.
What began as a duo gradually grew into a flexible musical world, bringing Linus together with musicians such as Nils Økland, Ingar Zach, Niels Van Heertum, Øyvind Skarbø and Frederik Leroux. Yet each new constellation has remained recognisably Linus: music in which carefully considered forms leave space for intuition, interaction and the unexpected.
For their sixth album, Linus takes a new step by moving into the world of song and text. Inspired by a shared love for the late Dutch songwriter Jules De Corte, the album is a reimagining of De Corte’s unique repertoire. More than simply interpreting De Corte’s songs, they absorb and reshape them, bringing them into dialogue with their own musical language. In keeping with this open approach, they are joined by celebrated vocalist Bonnie “Prince” Billy. With albums such as 1999’s I See a Darkness appearing on several greatest album lists, Bonnie “Prince” Billy is a cult figure in the alternative folk scene, and his highly intuitive way of singing seamlessly matches the subtle interplay Linus has developed over more than a decade.
DJ Support: Mochakk, Joseph Capriati, Jamie Jones, Purple Disco Machine, Groove Armada, Marco Carola ,keinemusik, Adrian Roman, Bill Brewster, Rino, Ruben Mandolini, Terry Farley, Nicolas Masseyeff, Echonomist, Robosonic, Nuno Dos Santos, diskJokke, Dan Marciano Jody Wisternoff / Way Out West, Eelke Kleijn, Henry Saiz, Digitalism, Sister Bliss / Faithless, Innellea, Adriatique, Judge Jules, Sam Divine, TSHA, Simone Vitullo, Joris Voorn, Tommie Sunshine, Fahlberg, Stijn D'hont / DJ Neon
D Stone is a rising force in Amsterdam’s electronic music scene, blending live instruments with electronic production to create his unique take on house music. His sound bridges true house to proto-disco and deeper percussive elements, as showcased in his release Total Unison. A passionate DJ and producer, D Stone crafts infectious tracks by combining samples with live instruments, driving dance floors with his grooves. Born into a musical family, D Stone was immersed in sound from an early age. His father’s influence exposed him to diverse musical styles, sparking his lifelong curiosity. He began playing piano at eight, learned guitar at twelve, and by fifteen discovered electronic music, exploring house as a DJ. A year later, he ventured into production, gaining recognition and landing his first gigs. Inspired by 70s and 80s disco, funk, garage, and 90s tech house, his music blends energy, groove, and soul. With his foundation in live instruments and his forward-thinking approach to electronic music, D Stone strives to create more than tracks—he’s shaping moments that linger in the minds of his listeners.
Envision remixed by DJ & producer Julya Karma Emerging from Brooklyn’s underground and now rooted in Berlin, her practice isn’t about fitting into a lane, it’s about finding what is alive and letting it shape the moment.
Across diverse stages and platforms from Coachella and Lost Village to Berghain, Cercle, Space, The Brooklyn Mirage, DGTL, Time Warp, Audio Obscura, Tomorrowland, and within the orbit of Innervisions, Julya’s performances reflect a commitment to exploration over formula, earning recognition from artists like Laurent Garnier, Dixon, Âme, Adriatique, Rüfüs Du Sol, and Sven Väth.
A time in passing, a time of note. A release created in a moment of profound fondness, within a studio front of memory. A detour delivered to and released on Entered Records via the Zodiacs way of life. Jesse You is here to create the doorway of sound via his 4 tracks of driving psycho players.
Opening the release with Violet Expander a track driven with keys of suspense and basslines for the feet. Rudolf C’s V.E mechanical overhaul remix then hits with the peak funk head melt.
On the Bs a deeper journey tact is delivered through Sorti. A similar drive and suspense yet with a delicate melodic role. Final track Planet Malfunction is exactly that, a wobbly circular loop double backing on itself for the collision of sound, ultimately that malfunction.
A release that takes you on the detour you didn’t know was coming.
It’s one thing to edit a song; extending sections, taking parts out, even adding a kick. Karizma uses his Knevrm!nd moniker to completely re-imagine tracks, producing completely new music and re-arranging vocals to create something completely different.
After building up a substantial catalogue of these in demand cuts we thought it was time to make some available on vinyl for the first time.
Knevrm!nd Vol.1 comes blasting out of the gate with four essential jams from the vault.
ATA00BS will be released in a Number Stamped Edition, with Full Cover Art made by Pepe and will be Sealed / Shrinkwrapped.
'Keep it simple' 103636;"Reissue- Tracklist A1. Unknown A2. Pain Is Full B1. Damaged Memory B2. Damaged Memory ( Iori Remix ) Shortinfo: Roberto Bosco has selected Kiny's music to better prepare his first 12, consisting of four tracks, named 'Damaged Memory'.The track Unknown (A1) leads off the dance of the release on Last Drop Records imprint. It's a proper exploration in an unknown sonic territory to most of the people, and also a difficult element to make out for those who are novice to the visonary component in the musical poetic of Kiny. The track starts with rounds of recurring sirens, almost deafening, framed by dark and ghostly noises. Something not easily identifiable, ambiguous and unknown, as the title itself says, is perceptible in its sound. All this helps to shape a bad presage that fades away into the mystery. On the same side we find Pain Is Full (A2) that, according to the producer, was born in a moment of pain which can be overcome only by fighting. In fact, the track is characterized by a more combative and insistent tone, made up by the sound of snare and tom entering since the start and determining an atmosphere of contrast able to shake the listener until the end. Shouts of encouragement suggest an initiation rite in which there is struggle for survival. The titletrack, Damaged Memory (B1) has more quiet register with less ghostly vocals, perceived at times, unlike the previous tracks. The sounds have a vanished effect, such as when you create a halo on a white sheet with the dust of a pencil just sharpened. You will hear a sort of democracy among the sounds held together by the voice, a metaphor of a damaged memory, as the title itself recite, that always makes the same process till the end: it commences by recalling but then forgets. Last, is the version of the producer Iori, Damaged Memory (B2), on the same side.
2026 Repress
Sun Electric - the legendary Berlin duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer - returns with Episodes, an enticing new album. While the pair has been active and creating over the years (remember their track 'Every Now And Then' on the 10 Years De:tuned compilation in 2019), Episodes marks their first album of original material in nearly 20 years. Now, with a renewed way of working together, they present fresh and captivating music on the Belgian De:tuned label, built from recordings made with the vintage 1960s Subharchord Synthesizer. Across 6 tracks, Sun Electric takes listeners on a strange yet wonderful journey through shifting moods and sonic textures, capturing their unmistakable sense of exploration and atmosphere. With kind support of the Studio for Electroacoustic Music of the Akademie der Kunste. Stay tuned!
The wonderful Ian Anderson at The Designers Republic created all the graphic work. Mastered by Mike Grinser at Manmade Mastering. Available on 180g vinyl and CD, with a separate digital release through all the usual online stores.
“Neither from here nor from there” is often used to describe migrant identities in territorial terms. In the case of Siete Catorce, it works better temporally: his music has always been so far ahead of its moment that it ultimately carved out a space of its own within both Latin American and global electronic music.
Born in Mexicali and shaped between the Bay Area and northern Mexico, his musical identity emerged through hip hop, dubstep, and the independent borderland scenes. After several years in Mexico City — without a clear place inside the local circuit — he created his own space through his music, developing a distinctive DJ/live set and a singular vision of contemporary Mexican electronic music, becoming a key figure within the city’s most forward-thinking underground.
In 2026, he releases El Valle, his first album in nearly three years. The record moves through different currents of electronic music — ambient, techno, cumbia, and tribal — filtered through a unique rhythmic language marked by syncopation, unpredictable breaks, and a constant tension between restraint and energy.
The album opens with “Mexicali,” alongside Andre Pereda, a tribal track stripped down to its percussive essence, evoking the genre through an ambient and synthetic approach. From there, “Aragón” and “El Rancho” progressively increase the tempo and intensity, combining cadenced phrases with minimalist tribal beats and unexpected turns.
In the second half of the album, now moving through territories of 140 BPM and beyond, tracks like “Montecarlo 1” and “Tierra Roja” drift between futuristic bass music and large-scale techno structures. This is followed by the 8-minute epic “East LA,” where Siete Catorce expands the energy of syncopated techno before releasing it into a pre-Hispanic tribal journey with flute and all the drums required for the occasion.
The closing section arrives with “Tlatelolco,” accelerating into an epic cumbia infused with trance references, and “Los Pinos,” a direct and forceful finale sustained by some of the album’s most precise sound design.
More than genres, Siete Catorce’s work is defined by meticulous sound design and an exceptional rhythmic sensibility — qualities that have established him as one of the most respected drum programmers of his generation.
UK underground legend Acerbic aka Ant, Chicago Loop and many other alias returns to Perc Trax after the huge success of this Acerbic remix of Perc's 'Imperial Leather' last year. A regular on labels such as Stay Up Forever, Cluster, Hydraulix, Maximum Minimum and his own Power Tools label, now it is time for his over overdue first full EP for Perc Trax. Across the four tracks on the Doom Circuit EP Acerbic sets out is vision of club techno. Hard driving and powerful with a constant sense of forward momentum. Opening track 'Doom Circuit' has been a key part of Perc's sets for months now. Acid techno without the acid as a succession of computer bleeps take over the role a 303 would usually play in tracks like this. Next up 'Lukla' floats echoing lead lines, looping house music stabs and just a touch of London underground acid to create a fusion of key underground sounds. B1 track 'Metroliner' is the most energetic track on the EP as a stomping kick and clap rhythm is topped off synths stabs reminiscent of Luke Slater's classic 'Forklift. Finally 'Helter-Skelter' takes things down a notch to finish the EP to focus more percussion intricacy making it the perfect mixing tool for the more creative DJ.
2026 Repress
Sun Electric - the legendary Berlin duo of Tom Thiel and Max Loderbauer - returns with Episodes, an enticing new album. While the pair has been active and creating over the years (remember their track 'Every Now And Then' on the 10 Years De:tuned compilation in 2019), Episodes marks their first album of original material in nearly 20 years. Now, with a renewed way of working together, they present fresh and captivating music on the Belgian De:tuned label, built from recordings made with the vintage 1960s Subharchord Synthesizer. Across 6 tracks, Sun Electric takes listeners on a strange yet wonderful journey through shifting moods and sonic textures, capturing their unmistakable sense of exploration and atmosphere. With kind support of the Studio for Electroacoustic Music of the Akademie der Kunste. Stay tuned!
The wonderful Ian Anderson at The Designers Republic created all the graphic work. Mastered by Mike Grinser at Manmade Mastering. Available on 180g vinyl and CD, with a separate digital release through all the usual online stores.
With The Rock, Dj Rou presents a different side of his musical vision, moving between energetic Electro and deeper territories. Across four tracks, playful riffs, raw elements and driving grooves create a diverse soundscape, shifting naturally between intense dancefloor moments and more laid-back atmospheres. The Rock explores a new dimension of Dj Rou’s sound, while maintaining his distinctive approach to electronic music.
“Simply put, it’s unlikely we’ll encounter a mix that leaves a cultural footprint and defines the sound of a generation quite like Northern Exposure again. Both mixes are absolutely 100% astoundingly brilliant”
DJ Mag
“Their best-loved mix CD is a trippy traipse through the verdant world of progressive house, a genre with one foot in the rave and the other somewhere in the great beyond” Rolling Stone - The 30 Greatest EDM
Albums Of All Time
Originally released on 27th September 1996, ‘Northern Exposure’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest mix compilations ever made. Thirty years on, it sounds as vital as ever - a testament to the fearless vision that went into its creation.
At a time when DJ culture was still writing its own rules, Sasha and John Digweed pushed against the grain. Drawing on sounds discovered during early trips to America - from Rabbit in the Moon to Future Sound of London - they built something that prioritised atmosphere over dancefloor convention. DJ Mag panned it on release. History changed their tune.
Northern Exposure Redux marks the 30th anniversary with a definitive reissue of both original mixes. The CD version also includes a newly created ambient mix. Shaped by the spirit of Bill Laswell and Mad Professor, it explores the deeper, more hypnotic DNA that always ran beneath the surface. Northern Exposure Redux North includes classic tracks by Keiichi Suzuki, The Future Sound Of London, and Banco de Gaia. Northern Exposure Redux South includes classic tracks by Dope On Plastic, Pete Lazonby, and a newly recreated version of ‘Dark And Long (Dark Train)’ by none other than Darren Emerson himself. Both vinyl versions also include a download code for both the North And South mixes, as well as the individual tracks.
“Simply put, it’s unlikely we’ll encounter a mix that leaves a cultural footprint and defines the sound of a generation quite like Northern Exposure again. Both mixes are absolutely 100% astoundingly brilliant”
DJ Mag
“Their best-loved mix CD is a trippy traipse through the verdant world of progressive house, a genre with one foot in the rave and the other somewhere in the great beyond” Rolling Stone - The 30 Greatest EDM
Albums Of All Time
Originally released on 27th September 1996, ‘Northern Exposure’ is widely regarded as one of the greatest mix compilations ever made. Thirty years on, it sounds as vital as ever - a testament to the fearless vision that went into its creation.
At a time when DJ culture was still writing its own rules, Sasha and John Digweed pushed against the grain. Drawing on sounds discovered during early trips to America - from Rabbit in the Moon to Future Sound of London - they built something that prioritised atmosphere over dancefloor convention. DJ Mag panned it on release. History changed their tune.
Northern Exposure Redux marks the 30th anniversary with a definitive reissue of both original mixes. The CD version also includes a newly created ambient mix. Shaped by the spirit of Bill Laswell and Mad Professor, it explores the deeper, more hypnotic DNA that always ran beneath the surface. Northern Exposure Redux North includes classic tracks by Keiichi Suzuki, The Future Sound Of London, and Banco de Gaia. Northern Exposure Redux South includes classic tracks by Dope On Plastic, Pete Lazonby, and a newly recreated version of ‘Dark And Long (Dark Train)’ by none other than Darren Emerson himself. Both vinyl versions also include a download code for both the North And South mixes, as well as the individual tracks.
"After a couple of years shaping her sound in the studio, Budino lands the "Signal EP", a record that grew out of the desire to make music for her own sets. Citing the journey she aims to create in the club as a key inspiration, she certainly put in the mileage, with a booking schedule tirelessly spanning all points of the compass. Although this is her first label-released original record, it's no novice effort: ALT027 shows a confident artist, fully in control, with a distinct vision and the technical expertise to bring it to life. On opener "Stay More", a trippy trance rendition, the sturdy kick and distorted sines leave ample room for mid-bass acid lines to roam freely. In its company, a myriad of risers, gated white noises and delayed fills appear - signifiers within the artist's palette, as will become apparent. "Wireless" features similar crafty sub movement, but this time the drums are infused with conga patterns and other exotic slices of battery. Because of the zest these rhythms bring, the track can keep building for several minutes until a synthesised lead emerges. When that finally happens, the affair really takes off. On the other side, "Alpha 7" rides the call-and-response dynamics between different formant and deep-vibrating leads, its shimmering arpeggios and atmospheric pads adding colour. Closer "1031" provides an organic touch with its live guitar bass pulse and enigmatic, eerie vocals. Amidst ever-evolving micro-frills, a sturdy square lead thrusts it forward. The groove, again, is endlessly seductive. This characterizes Budino's skilled approach: it's often so hypnotic it feels unclear whether the themes materialise from the surrounding, seemingly fluid compositions - or dissolve into them. In any case, these are multi-dimensional cuts you will love getting lost in on a nearby dancefloor."
After a five-year-long hiatus, CVBox is back with six tracks between techno, acid, electro and IDM that are more suited to those super dark times we're currently living through than ever before. On "Pattern Based On", the Dresden-based artist and long-running Uncanny Valley-comrade (four EPs and one album) proves that he hasn't lost his touch when it comes to creating electronic cyberspaces that might drive you mad a bit. With majestic sounds and constantly evolving arrangements, the tracks are strangely entertaining on the dancefloor while you can't help but still feel a queasy sensation in your stomach. While some describe the tunes as milky, permeated by translucent membranes, for others they are an aural embodiment of urban landscapes in the post-apocalypse. Only two things are true: No one sounds like CVBox and all his tracks sound like CVBox. The title refers to structures derived from repetitions, sequences and, indeed, patterns. Although the sounds within these patterns usually follow clear paths, they are allowed to overlap and falter. At the same time, it is music through which CVBox comes to terms with his time as a paramedic. The artwork extends this idea with a special twist. A medical-based test pattern with its clinical functionality is set against a backdrop that is clearly placed in a natural environment. A process that creates a kind of artefact and triggers immediate reflection on what will remain of us many decades from now. What role will music play in defining this?
Nu Vision is the latest project of Duke Cooper, band leader and label boss of Nation, Kode and DirtyBlends. There are three humans who make up Nu Vision, and they all have their own stories and discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in Chicago or Berlin or someone’s loft, lives lived, friends made, sleep lost - fighting for theirart, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing a new paradigm. Time is both fleeting and heavy for us all, but it is not without receipts.
Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense - equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Drenched in nostalgia and futurism, The Seed is a singularity of sound + vision; as if heavily rotated by VJ Dave Kendall on MTV’s 120 Minutes but materialized via today’s technology.
The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icons Section 25, Liaisons Dangeruses and Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with their prior successes..- this package of The Seed is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A NU VISION.
The Seed 10 inch provides additional music inspired significant icon band: Section 25 from the period of 1981-1984 with a more electronic-dance direction, process which culminated in the album ' From the Hip ' and remix single "Looking From A Hilltop", both released in 1984 as "Insecure Man is about being true to manhood with Robert Lane leading the charge with his vocabulary message of the current state of society.
Insecure Dub focuses on the period of 1981-1984 with an alternative electronic-dance direction process as an inspired blueprint from Nu Vision inspired from Adrian Sherwood having paved the way with his individual success.
Inspired from electrifying songs produced by Chrislo Haas (DAF) and Beate Bartel (Mania D. / Matador) reinforced by Krishna Goineau’s French and Spanish Speech-Attack-Lyrics Liaisons Dangereuses created a unique style anything other than a Berlin or Düsseldorf ‘thing’ – that was propelled to an international underground phenomenon of fame.
Nu VIsion was inspired to create a blueprint from the period of their productions of 1981-1982 with an electronic-dance direction paying homage with passionate craftsmanship utilizing what equipment was possible in the studio at the time of this recording featuring new members; Zoe Murphy & Fletch The Stranger on vocals and James Chazz on Saxaphone with a Ring Modulator.
The fifth edition of Meganesia’s annual vinyl release, this year featuring AWHM & Shugo Noss, two leading forces in the fast trance and psytek scenes.
Striving to imagine these two artists as creatures inhabiting the same environment and imbuing it with their sonic identity, we arrived at the idea of a tidal zone in which AWHM’s sound inhabits and defines the warmed, sunlit state of low tide, while Shugo Noss’ sound inhabits and defines the submerged, watery state of high tide.
The resulting release creates a trance-focussed environment inhabited by both the deep, multi-textured, audio-hallucinatory sound of Shugo Noss and the driving, energising force of AWHM.
This release comes out on vinyl and digital on October 27, 2026.
Mastering by Chris Scholz and Dave Miller at Audiosculpture NL
Artwork the THEAJM
Vinyl distribution by One Eye Witness
SHUGO BIO
Shugo Noss is a producer/DJ from Naarm who explores the intersection of sound and form through a blend of hypnotic rhythms, eclectic soundscapes and sonic experimentation. His work aims to exist outside genre binaries, weaving through a multitude of emotional experiences that both relate to, and contradict, one another in an attempt to formulate their own identity. There are no limits that restrain these journeys.
AWHM BIO
A dedicated consumer and creator of trance music, AWHM’s production style draws clear influence from old school goa, psytrance, jungle breaks, and tekno, most easily recognised by his ability to combine driving basslines, hypnotic rhythms, and scattered percussions to transport audiences through uncharted psychedelic realms of fast trance music.
Evolutionary by nature, he’s managed to leverage extensive experiences that led to a self-taught studio process which now stands out in one of the more niche corners of electronic music.
MEGANESIA BIO
Meganesia is an independent music label operating in the broad genres of trance and techno. Drawing its name from the continental plate beneath Australia’s landmass, Meganesia focuses distinctly on developing and platforming artists living and working in Australia.
Since the start of 2022 Meganesia has grown to a catalogue of 12 releases. Across these releases, the label has directly platformed over 40 individual artists on digital and vinyl gaining us recognition as one of Australia’s strongest and most dynamic electronic labels.
Italian sound artist Giulio Aldinucci returns with his 5th album on Karlrecords: "Materia" is unsurprisingly a truly masterfully composed and sound-designed ambient masterpiece that adds perfectly to a series of critically acclaimed albums like “Disappearing In A Mirror” (2018) or “Shards Of Distant Times” – some of which made it onto several year’s best lists.
Giulio Aldinucci is an Italian composer and sound artist from Siena, Italy. His work focuses on ambient and experimental music, blending field recordings, electronic processing, and acoustic elements. Active since the early 2000s, he has released several solo albums on international labels including Karlrecords, Home Normal, and 99chants. His compositions often explore themes of memory, perception, and the relationship between sound and place.
Aldinucci's music is characterized by immersive, multilayered textures and meticulous attention to sonic detail. He constructs expansive soundscapes by integrating processed environmental recordings, choral elements, instrumental timbres, and subtle harmonic shifts. His style draws from both the aesthetics of contemporary ambient and the techniques of electroacoustic music, resulting in works that are at once atmospheric and conceptually grounded. The interplay between organic and synthetic sound sources is central to his approach, blurring the boundaries between the natural world and the constructed sonic environment.
His works have been presented at international festivals. He has also created art installations and multidisciplinary performances. In addition to his solo output, Aldinucci has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and artists, developing projects that intersect sound art, composition, and performance.
Aldinucci about "Materia": "Materia focuses on the idea of sound as a matter, which can be shaped into complex forms by removing excess material from the sound mass.The album originates from the dichotomy between accumulation and subtraction, creating compositions out of frequency-dense audio material in order to unearth what is “hidden” inside the raw sound mass. Unlike sculpture, in music time can be matter too by shattering sounds into milliseconds andrecompose them with a different fragments order, going beyond the traditional notions of rhythm and duration.“
The Bratislava-based band 52 Hertz Whale release their new album Present Sense Impression in a collaboration of the labels Weltschmerzen and Full Moon Forum.
Three years since their album I've Met a Lot of People, the band brings forth a lot of new ideas, finding a new resonant space, and utilising the fierceness // savageness of their live shows, in an intimate stare at contemporary guitar music.
52 Hertz Whale is a band well known in the Central European music context. Their ferocious sound, mixing the intensity of post-punk, heavy guitar wails, and melancholic // stark vocals of Dominik Prok has been tearing down the fixtures of many festivals and venues, all the while being a great example of a band driving at 200mph nonstop. On Present Sense Impression, the band, composed of Dominik Prok, Dominik Fabian, Patrik Nagy, Tomáš Tabiš and Adrián Krišák, have arrived at a record full of manifold manifestations of their live sound, but at times recalling the more marginal waves of 80s pop // rock sound. Resolute drums, heavyweight guitar and bass riffs now deem closer to the lightness of early ethereal darkwave, just to indulge in the classic melancholic heaviness they are known for only seconds after.
Some of the songs have been produced by "Prague's favorite rock'n'roll enfant terrible" Lazer Viking as well as Pulp Studio's Jakub Hríbik, and one features a special guest - the cemballo virtuoso Marcel Comendant. The traditionally stunning artwork was created by the accomplished Martin Mesaroš.
Present Sense Impression is the 20th album released under the Slovak romantic // experimental label Weltschmerzen focused on emotionally hypercharged, humanely intertwined, and acutely sounding contemporary music. This time in collaboration with the czech label Full Moon Forum. It releases August 26th on limited edition baby pink, standard edition black vinyl and on all streaming platforms.
The creation and release of this record have been supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council, and SOZA. Fullmoon Forum project was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
Open Universe is a new record label founded in 2025 following an invitation to envision a series of releases for the German production music library Sonoton.
Curated by Jon Tye (Lo Recordings, Ocean Moon, Seahawks, MLO) with a remit to explore and create new worlds of sound in which to dwell and discover. Prismatic Fields is a collaboration between Ocean Moon and Silver Ley (Jon Tye & Bethany Ley), together they create metaphysical pop from another dimension where warm oscillations mingle and resonate to conjure a world alive with light and life.
An album that leans lightly into the worlds of fantasy synth and sacral medievalist electronics where silken harp glissandos, synth waves and enchanted vocal tones mix with lush fourth world textures and clusters of rhythmic invention.
Tripping into spaces modern and game-like, soundtrack moods that dip into the liminal dream states found in the work of Daniel Lopatin, Susumu Yokota and Boards Of Canada. Music that is both functional and formless, designed to stimulate and facilitate, to inspire and motivate.
Ocean Moon & Silver Ley will be performing live alongside Sonic Boom and Alexis Taylor at the Sonoton Music Label showcase @Schmidtchen, Hamburg 17th September 26.
Battlefield sees No Ice Cream Sound knock on the door of the real foundations of Roots Reggae and Dancehall culture with a heavyweight, riddim-focused multi-vocalist release.
The release perfectly balances a bold and fresh contemporary sound while retaining the spirit; energy and rawness of the classic riddims we all know and love. Battlefield creates a sturdy platform for the carefully curated selection of vocalists to showcase their respective styles and patterns.
At the heart of the release is a unique vocal link-up that reflects the ever-growing globalisation of the Reggae Sound-system culture. Each of the men behind the microphones invites us to embark on a journey; connecting the dots on the map that represent the places they call home. We start in The South West of England and track across country to Southend-on-Sea; from here we make the mission all the way down to Madrid before taking a bearing on the North Star to guide us over hills and valleys to Scotland.
Where the riddim creates a constant, the vocals provide variety. Made by design the track allows them a spacious environment for the individual styles and messages to come across with precision and clarity.
Hailing from different backgrounds; accents of different origins, insights and perspectives drawn from their own stories all come together over one sound. This could be seen as an analogy of the ethos and motivation behind Reggae music itself. Reggae music as a genre tells the same story, Reggae artists tell their version of the story. Via this timeless format we are always building on the teachings of yesteryear while simultaneously learning something new. The gift that will forever more continue to give!
Blending shimmering disco grooves, warm analog synths and soulful vocals, Luna Soul bring together the elegance of the 70s and 80s with contemporary disco pop. Formed by German singer Lisa Michèle Lietz and Spanish guitarist Jordi Arnau Rubio, the band creates music that feels equally at home on the dancefloor and during a quiet drive home after midnight.
Following the release of their debut album „First Move“ (2025), Luna Soul have established themselves as an internationally touring live act, performing more than 50 concerts each year across Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Denmark. Airplay and features on radio stations including Deutschlandradio Kultur, Radio Eins, NDR and Bayern 2 introduced the band to a growing European audience.
With their new album „Second Nature“ Luna Soul expand both sonically and emotionally. Written between tours and shaped by constant movement, the record explores themes of change, longing, resilience and the search for genuine connection. Ten new songs unfold like scenes from a midnight movie. Synthesizers, guitars and soulful melodies accompany stories of long journeys, quiet conversations, fading memories and the hope found in new beginnings. The album’s first singles, “Only Human” and “Down The Line” capture the two emotional poles of the record. „Only Human“ embraces vulnerability and acceptance with an uplifting warmth, while „Down The Line“ moves through nocturnal cityscapes, combining cinematic intimacy with the pulse of the dancefloor. Together they introduce an album that feels equally suited to solitary late-night drives and crowded dancefloors.
Live, Luna Soul perform as an multi-national four- to six-piece band, seamlessly moving between disco, sophisticated indie pop, yacht rock and atmospheric slow-burners. Their performances combine musical precision with emotional immediacy, inviting audiences into the same cinematic world that defines „Second Nature“.
„Second Nature“ defines Luna Soul‘s most mature artistic statement to date, a record less concerned with nostalgia than with preserving fleeting moments before they disappear.
Finnish-American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love join forces on their new album PING, released by We Jazz Records on 30th October on LP, CD and digital formats. Recorded in Helsinki, the album finds the seasoned duo firing on all cylinders and delivering a remarkable set of contemporary free music.
PING brings together nine excursions beyond “guitar + drums” and way beyond “free jazz”. That being said, those are still good touching points for the music that is wild, imaginative, raw, yet also at times delicate and introspective. Friends and collaborators for decades in groups such as the lauded Scorch Trio, Raoul and Paal have the history and the trust to create memorable and original improvised music that stuns and moves the curious listener.
Raoul Björkenheim (b. 1956) is a Finnish-American guitarist and composer who has been creating original music for the past four decades living in New York City and Helsinki, where he is presently based. Describing his on-going work as investigative guitarism, he is best known for an expressionistic and lyrical guitar style. Björkenheim’s eclectic discography numbers 50+ albums, ranging from ambient soundscapes to visceral free jazz, from duo to big band. His large-scale works for symphony orchestra have yet to be recorded, and he has also composed scores for over ten films and dance productions. Björkenheim has collaborated musically with Bill Laswell, Toshinori Kondo, William Parker, Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Gerald Cleaver, Henry Kaiser, Lukas Ligeti, Morgan Ågren, Paul Schütze, Edward Vesala and Juhani Aaltonen, for the labels ECM, Rune Grammofon, Cuneiform, Tum Records and Long Song records. Björkenheim has been awarded various prizes including the Emma prize for best jazz recording of the year, and been nominated three times for the Nordic Music Award.
Paal Nilssen-Love (b. 1974) is a Norwegian drummer, composer, bandleader, and producer known for his central role in Scandinavian free jazz and improvised music. Since the mid- 1990s, he has appeared on more than 280 albums, including 70 released through his label, PNL Records. He has performed with influential groups including Atomic, The Thing, Peter Brötzmann’s Chicago Tentet, Scorch Trio, and Frode Gjerstad Trio, and collaborates regularly with artists such as, Ken Vandermark, Akira Sakata, Otomo Yoshihide, David Murray, Arto Lindsay and more. Paal Nilssen-Love’s fascination with traditional and experimental music has taken him around the world. Since his first visit to Ethiopia in 2009, he has built strong connections with musicians and artists in Addis Ababa, leading to collaborations, performances, teaching, and artist exchanges with Norway. Since his first trip to Brazil in 2013, he has returned regularly, developing collaborations with artists and musicians across the country. His musical explorations have also brought him to Tsugaru and Aomori in northern Japan, where he has developed an interest in the region’s traditional music. Nilssen-Love is also an active organizer and educator. He started both Oslo’s all-Ears festival, the Blow Out festival and FRAM Kunstfest, and has led workshops internationally and in Norway.
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary the album is to be released as a 1LP Zoetrope, featuring the original album newly remastered at Half Speed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. Plus, different artwork designs on side A+B which bring to life original designer Sanna Annukka Smith’s illustrations in mesmerising motions created by expert Zoetrope graphic designer Drew Tetz. Strictly Limited Edition pressing.
Reissued on Pascal Pinkert's new label 'Phantom Sounds'. Originally release 2019, now remastered with bonus track included! TIP!
Excerpt from the original release text
"On the album, you’ll find a touch of the old and a great deal of new material. ‘Geen Genade’, ‘Wat Voel Je Nou’ and ‘Verloren’ still stand strong in pride of place, reminding us why we love De Ambassade so much in the first place. The opener and title track, ‘Duistre Kamers’ has a dark industrial vibe that is a perfect introduction of what is to come. Somehow ‘Zo Hoog Als De Bogen’ feels warm and cold simultaneously, it maintains an almost spooky tone; ‘Malefica’ in comparison sounds raw, uncut and almost upbeat. ‘Niet Van Mij’ is one of the reasons the album is so special. Its unexpected wavering synths create another contrast of the melancholic and the joyful in one, and the heavy percussion and echoing vocals tie it in with the rest. ‘Laatste Uur’ kicks you in the face, again with this industrial, moody feel and beautifully handled synths. The closing track ‘Wapengekletter’ is elegant, and a new favourite here. The dark vocals, haunting melody and cleverly tempoed percussion conclude the album wonderfully. Overall, De Ambassade has hit the nail on the head and produced this autumn’s must have Amsterdam album."
The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.
Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.
Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.
The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”
Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.
More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.
The seminal psych-rock classic The Evil One by Roky Erickson And The Aliens is reissued by Fire Records in a deluxe 15-track edition, restoring the original front cover from San Francisco’s 415 Records release for the first time since 1981. Presented across two LPs cut at 45 rpm for maximum sonic depth and clarity, the release brings together the complete recordings from the legendary 1978 and 1979 sessions. The package includes a collector’s booklet with liner notes by acclaimed Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended a recording session for The Evil One in 1979. Alongside rare photographs and archival images from the collection of Roky’s then manager, Craig Luckin.
Following his release from Rusk State Hospital in 1974, Erickson formed The Aliens and channelled his experiences and fascination with horror and science fiction into a singular new sound. Moving beyond the psychedelic garage blues of the 13th Floor Elevators, the band created harder, more ferocious rock built around jagged guitars, strange melodies and a propulsive rhythm section.
Produced by Creedence Clearwater Revival bassist Stu Cook, The Evil One includes some of Erickson’s most celebrated recordings, including ‘Two Headed Dog’, ‘I Walked With A Zombie’ and ‘It’s A Cold Night For Alligators’. Erickson’s unmistakable voice and surreal lyrics, populated by zombies, demons, vampires and atomic monsters, gave the album a character unlike anything else in rock. Both the LP and CD editions feature rare photographs and images from the archive of Erickson’s then manager and the sessions’ executive producer, Craig Luckin.
The Evil One has since become a landmark of cult rock, with its songs covered by generations of artists and its influence extending across punk, alternative and psychedelic music. As Craig Luckin recalls, “Roky considers The Evil One to be his favourite album that he ever recorded. He really loves that album.”
Austin music journalist Joe Nick Patoski, who attended one of the album’s 1979 sessions, contributes a new essay to the LP and CD packaging, exploring Erickson’s extraordinary career, enduring influence and place in Texas rock history.
More than a standalone reissue, this deluxe edition of The Evil One opens an exciting new series honouring Roky Erickson’s extraordinary body of work, with Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me to follow in 2027.
Ian Pooley's 'Roller Skate Disco EP' Returns with Digital Debut and Vinyl Repress
Definitive Recordings brings back one of the label's early house gems with a remastered reissue of Ian Pooley's 'Roller Skate Disco EP'. Originally released in 1994, the EP returns for the first time as a digital release while also receiving a new vinyl repress. Alongside the original material, the reissue expands the package with the previously unreleased track 'Unity' and the Bandcamp-exclusive 'Never Give Up'.
For more than three decades, Ian Pooley has been one of house music's most respected producers and DJs. Emerging from Mainz, Germany, with a deep love for the sounds of Chicago and Detroit, he has built a career defined by subtle artistry, impeccable groove, and timeless musicality. His acclaimed albums 'Meridian' and 'Since Then', remixes for artists including Daft Punk and Jovonn, and releases on labels such as Plus 8, Innervisions, Rekids, and his own Pooledmusic have established him as one of the true masters of deep and soulful house music.
The title track, 'Roller Skate Disco', immediately captures the uplifting spirit of classic 90s house. Built around an infectious disco-inspired sample, funky guitar loops, and a warm, rolling house bassline, the track is complemented by a looping female vocal that gives it an unmistakable feel-good energy. 'Sure!' follows with a groove driven by crisp TR-909 drums, deep synth chords, and a playful TB-303 sequence, while a repeated female vocal ties the arrangement together into a hypnotic club workout.
'The Brückenkopf at 7 AM', named after the legendary club in Pooley's hometown of Mainz, moves into deeper territory. Dreamlike synth textures, a memorable deep house piano motif, and another signature 303 sequence combine to create one of the EP's most atmospheric moments. The previously unreleased 'Unity' continues this journey with a hypnotic groove, deep house aesthetics, and another beautifully woven acid line, making it a natural addition to the original release. Completing the digital edition, 'Never Give Up' arrives as a Bandcamp exclusive, pairing playful M1 organ sounds with a rolling 303 sequence and an effortlessly flowing house groove.
More than thirty years after its original release, 'Roller Skate Disco EP' remains a perfect snapshot of Ian Pooley's early sound and a testament to the timeless appeal of classic house music. This expanded edition celebrates one of Definitive Recordings' defining releases while introducing it to a new generation of listeners.
Toy Tonics Italomania Vol. 4 is a compilation dedicated to new ITALIAN DISCO. Not ITALO DISCO.
10 new tracks made by young producers from Italy, exclusively made for Toy Tonics. All songs with Italian vocals.
Made with a lot of love by
Cleeeo, Giorgio Lopez, Magnolia, Juan Soto & Sam Ruffillo, KOKO, Luca Averna, Ricardo Baez, Euro Nettuno, The Cube Guys and Paccone.
The Italomania compilation was initiated by Mathias ‚Kapote‘ Modica. Creative mind behind Toy Tonics and half italian producer himself.
The series is a manifesto to show the status of Italian disco of today.
Kapote invited the most relevant producers to show different new styles of modern Italian disco and house music.
With a wide range of influence: Live disco, indie dance, italo pop, and italo house.
Italian disco is not Italo disco. The last few years saw a big revival of the trashy pop music of the 1980s called Italo disco, mostly with English lyrics.
But this compilation is about something else. It is about this new Italian disco. Toy Tonics wants to show a new way to combine Italianity with dance culture.
The Italomania Vol. 4 Artists
Cleeeo - Come Tocchitu: A sexy and sophisticated disco house track by 22 year old newcomer DJ and producer Cleeeo. Driven by a warm, uplifting groove and strong dancefloor energy. The record is dedicated to Brazil. The vocals move between Italian and Portuguese. This creates a natural bridge between two cultures.
Giorgio Lopez - Italiani Brava Gente: Giorgio Lopez is an important player from the much talked about new music scene from Napoli.
For "Italiani Brava Gente," he teams up with Los Angeles artist Sueño. The track is a tongue-in-cheek take on the stereotypical Italian male. It pays homage to late Italodisco legend Pino D’Angiò. The story unfolds from the perspective of a foreign tourist navigating the contradictions of self-proclaimed Casanovas.
The Cube Guys - Saper Ringraziare: The legendary italo house duo shows their Italian vibes and musical taste with “Saper Ringraziare”. The track captures the warmth of summer and the infinity of urban nights. A combination of early Italo disco elements mixed with their typical groovy beats.
Magnolia - Vesuvio: Magnolia’s “Vesuvio” is a cover version of a song from the 1960s by artist E’ Zezi. While the original is more in a folk vibes, the new version is an irresistible piano house track with groovy, sun-soaked vibes. It is made for the dance floor. This track blends Mediterranean roots with the euphoric energy of modern house. Some might know the vocals already from another cover version by Nu Genea from the previous album.
Juan Soto & Sam Ruffillo - Italomexicano: What happens when a Toy Tonics artist hangs out in Mexico city and teams up with the local scene? The result is here. A blend a Toy Tonics sound and tons of vintage synthesizers and some additional production by Mexican producer talent Juan Soto.
You get "Italomexicano". A fuse of the mystique of Mexican mariachi with the magnetic pulse of Italo disco.
KOKO feat. Elena Moroder - I Can't Understand: This melancholic piano house track is a serious floorfiller! Goosebumps! Italian DJ and producer KOKO teams up with Elena Moroder on "I Can’t Understand". Elena delivers a captivating vocal performance. The track explores the misunderstandings of a relationship where emotions were never fully expressed. It blends an iconic piano melody with warm, uplifting grooves.
Luca Averna - Le Luci Della Pista: Luca Averna is a DJ, producer, and resident at the iconic Pikes Hotel in Ibiza. "Le Luci Della Pista" is an energetic track designed for peak-time Ibiza moments while keeping a strong groove and a playful spirit.
Ricardo Baez - È Venerdì: Ricardo Baez is an Italian-Venezuelan DJ and producer. He is known for his distinctive blend of house, dark electro, italo disco, and leftfield electronics. Well respected in Italy's contemporary electronic scene he has been releasing on labels such as Running Bag, Permanent Vacation, Bordello a Parigi, Correspondant, Mule music, Live at Robert Johnson.
Euro Nettuno - La Notte Chiama: These guys are hot! Part of the Polyamore Crew, one of the rising italian new disco collectives their sound mixes Italo house from the 1990ies, electro and Pop in a very cool new way.
Paccone - J'Adore Napoli: Vincenzo Paccone is a DJ, producer but also very renowned graphic designer. He is co-founder of NSS. A fashion agency that is by now one of the leading italian fashion crews. He has been also working as a designer for Circoloco Ibiza for many years and organizes some of the hottest parties in Napoli currently. He makes his official debut as a producer with “J’Adore Napoli”. It is a vibrant tribute to the house music culture born in Naples. The track draws inspiration from the late 1990s and early 2000s. And is part of a NSS campaign about the ’new coolness of the city of Napoli“.
Josh Ludlow - one half of MAKE A DANCE - one of London’s most beloved duos - steps out on his own for a rare solo outing on legendary London imprint Rhythm Section International.
A late contender for EP of the year - the record meanders menacingly across four tracks of mind-altering, dissociative Brain Music, precision engineered to transport a listener and hypnotise a crowd without losing any dancefloor impact.
Interestingly, Bradley Zero (RS label boss) and Mr. Ludlow have a connection dating back to the late 2000s, when they were both drummers in rock and roll bands...almost 20 years later - a shared love of experimental electronic music has brought them back together, resulting in this spellbinding EP.
Channelling a much darker, heads down, aggressive sound than the uplifting house M.A.D have become known for, the record begins with 'Brain Music’, which serves as a Detroit techno-inspired wormhole of a track, guiding us into a parallel, inner dimension.
Time Upside Down is next up and it becomes apparent we have entered another realm entirely. The introductory bars of the song feel like a long journey down a dark tunnel. The sound design and acoustic backdrop are so evocative you can almost see it. Obnoxious bass notes reverberate through the space created by the track, slowly giving way to flurries of high-pitched, resonant acid lines - the sum of which escape easy classification. It would be lazy to call it house music, misleading to call it techno - but it’s definitely not tech house. Elements of disco, electro, post-punk, balearic and Weatherall-esque chug are all in the mix but essentially, this is its own thing - this is Brain Music.
The record continues to the penultimate track “The Kettle”, which starts off in more familiar upbeat, bongo-house territory before the calm is betrayed by a hovering intensity which grows out of nowhere before making space for a humungous bass synth melody - so big in fact that it has never once failed to elicit club-wide bass-face; which for a mid-tempo track is no mean feat. We round things off with ‘Mean Mother’, the most playful of the bunch: a Chicago house-indebted workout reminiscent of Paranoid London at their most visceral. The track feels familiar and almost safe until the synth-work is cranked up to 11, creating a cacophonous SH-101 build-up into a disco-esque drop that would get even the most reluctant raver jumping up and down for more.
Besides all the theatrics and acoustic world building, the evocative sound design and the insatiable, no-nonsense grooves - the thing that makes these tracks stand out is the attention to detail. No two fills are alike, every embellishment is EQ’d and polished to perfection - yet no immediacy is lost. The tracks feel alive, intentional and constantly evolving. Hyperbole aside - we have a serious, generational talent on our hands whose mastery of the equipment, understanding of the dynamics of the dance and unabashed
playfulness is being harnessed into something that stands out head and shoulders above the crowd.
More than five decades into one of Brazilian music's most remarkable careers, Joyce Moreno returns with a new collection of songs that reflect the warmth, lyrical sophistication and innovation that have made her one of Brazil's most defining musical voices.
Produced by Joyce Moreno alongside her husband and longtime collaborator Tutty Moreno, the album finds the Rio-born singer, guitarist and composer at her most reflective. Across nine beautifully crafted songs, Joyce pairs intricate guitar work, lyrical intimacy and effortless swing with the musical curiosity that has defined her work for more than half a century.
Invited into the studio by Roberto Menescal at just sixteen years old, Joyce emerged during a transformative period for Brazilian music, releasing her self-titled debut in 1968. She soon established herself as one of Brazil's pioneering female songwriters, writing unapologetically from a woman's perspective at a time when few women were afforded that voice. Her song “Me Disseram” sparked national debate, while later works including “Feminina” cemented her reputation as an artist unafraid to challenge convention.
While some of her politically charged songs were censored during Brazil's military dictatorship, Joyce continued to write with honesty and independence. After studying journalism in the late 1960s, her gift for observation and storytelling became an even more defining feature of her songwriting. Over the following decades she released a succession of acclaimed albums, including the now-classic Feminina and Água e Luz, earning widespread recognition both in Brazil and internationally. Antônio Carlos Jobim would later describe her as "one of the greatest singers", while generations of musicians have drawn inspiration from her fearless artistry and enduring originality.
That same artistic fearlessness remains at the heart of her latest work. The album brings together an exceptional ensemble of Brazilian musicians. Tutty Moreno's expressive drumming underpins Joyce's vocals and guitar throughout, while Jorge Helder's bass, Lula Galvão's guitar and Marcos Nimrichter's warm Fender Rhodes create a sound that is both intimate and expansive. Contributions also come from the legendary Toninho Horta, alongside José Arimatéa, Teco Cardoso, Nailor Proveta, Josué dos Santos and Raphael Sampaio, whose additions add colour and texture without overshadowing Joyce's understated brilliance.
Throughout the album, Joyce balances quiet reflection with effortless rhythmic vitality. “Chovendo na Horta” serves as both a heartfelt dedication and a celebration of Joyce's enduring musical connections, featuring the unmistakable guitar of Toninho Horta. Elsewhere, “Aldeia de Ogum” receives a fresh new arrangement by Nailor Proveta, revisiting one of Joyce's most beloved compositions. Originally released in 1980, the track has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in recent years, embraced by a new generation of listeners and became an underground favourite among DJs including Floating Points, Four Tet and Danilo Plessow. Now a staple of Joyce's live performances, this reimagined version brings renewed energy to a song that continues to transcend generations.
At seventy-eight, Joyce Moreno continues to write with the same curiosity, generosity and quiet innovation that have defined her career from the very beginning. "For me, it's never too soon to try something new, either in music or in life," she reflects - a philosophy that gives both the album and its title their enduring sense of optimism. This latest album is neither a retrospective nor a reinvention, but the work of an artist who continues to refine her voice with remarkable grace, proving that her most compelling music remains firmly rooted in the present.
Following the album's release, Joyce Moreno will embark on a European tour this November, bringing her celebrated live show to audiences across the UK and Europe. A rare opportunity to experience one of Brazil's most influential and enduring artists in concert, the tour showcases a songwriter whose voice, virtuosity and musical vision remain as compelling today as ever.
A highly anticipated collaboration with Taiwan’s rising star Andr, released on vinyl for the first time with newly shot cover artwork! REJAY, a singer from Niseko, Hokkaido, joins forces with Andr, one of Taiwan’s most exciting emerging singer-songwriters in the alternative pop scene, for their first-ever collaboration, now available as a 7-inch vinyl release. REJAY, a 20-year-old singer whose voice captivated Nulbarich’s JQ, who also serves as his overall producer, released the A-side track “Hangover feat. Andr” in April 2026. The song is an ambitious work in which REJAY portrays a deep immersion into the emotions of a romantic relationship, while Andr offers a more detached and rational perspective. Their vocals and lyrics, spanning three languages, intertwine to create a unique musical experience. The B-side features “Meant to Be,” a fan-favorite track originally released in 2024, making this a must-have record for music lovers.
In August 2025, we gathered in Tindafel, a village by the sea in the north of Morocco, with a bunch of instruments our friend Abdou had lent us, along with a few things we brought ourselves.
At the core, Pablo plays gimbri, Miguel plays drums, Juan plays guitar and keyboards, sings and handles the radio transmissions, and Javier sings, plays keyboard and works with digital effects. Loops were created interchangeably by Pablo, Miguel and Javier, while Pablo would often also pick up the guitar or keyboards, with everyone moving between instruments and roles throughout the recording.
Nothing was written beforehand. All tracks were improvised and recorded in a single take using a room microphone, so no mixing was possible. To this day, as we write this, none of the tracks have been played again — yet!
The album was edited by Pablo and mastered by Tobias.
The cover photograph was taken in the kitchen of the house, the same place where Magic Pony Productions first came together.
The poem on the sleeve was written by Oscar García Sierra.
These rare unreleased tracks were a part of collection of recordings made specifically for the Jeff Mills Live At Liquid Room DJ Mix film/audio recording in 1995. Finalized and mastered only to ¼' reel to reel tapes, these recordings sat undisturbed and never heard since those infamous two nights in Tokyo.
Created along with the most notable track "i9", in this time period, Mills was also composing music for releases such as Waveform Transmission 5 (that was never released) and the initial tracks for the first release of the label Purpose Maker.
Jakob Bro, Brian Blade, Craig Taborn, Chris Cheek, Jesper Zeuthen, Anders Christensen, Larry Grenadier & Marcus Gilmore, playing compositions by Paul Motian and Jakob Bro.
The album was recorded in a single session at New York’s Power Station with engineer James Farber, following a week-long residency at the Village Vanguard.
‘Danish guitarist and composer Jakob Bro is celebrated for his pure reflective expression and penchant for celestial textures, effortlessly distilling and refining quiet sonics. At the Village Vanguard, he leads an impressive group – featuring two bassists and two drummers – for a nearly week-long residency.
‘The perfectly poised, ambient-leaning soundworld that characterizes Bro’s compositions was discomposed and distended by this octet, probing thrilling sounds and providing ample opportunity to create spontaneously. It was an exhilarating jazz night with some of the most esteemed players out there.’ ()
Shape of the Unknown’ is kind of a double LP that fully embraces the idea of exploration. It is CHLOÉ’s most expansive and immersive work to date. ‘Shape of the Unknown’ is CHLOÉ’s fourth proper studio album. Its predecessor, ‘Endless Revisions’, was released in 2017. Nine years have passed. Nine years during which CHLOÉ has continued digging for music, DJing at internationally renowned clubs and festivals including Rex Club, Robert Johnson, Panorama Bar, Nuits Sonores, Glastonbury and many more, releasing EPs and remixes, while also allowing herself the time to explore entirely new creative paths.
The challenge is to capture the unknown, make it her own, endlessly reshape its textures, and ultimately preserve its mystery.
The first single ‘Drifter’, released back in June, already offered a striking glimpse of the sonic territories the album would venture into, driven by its hypnotically contoured basslines. The album's two other singles offer different windows into her world. 'Shapeshifter' captures CHLOÉ at her most hypnotic, balancing stripped-back techno and melodic house through deep rolling grooves, expansive bass chords and subtle rhythmic shifts that constantly reshape the listener's perception without ever disrupting the flow. Later, 'Repeating The Obvious' takes a more leftfield route, pairing staggered rhythms with retro-inspired harmonics and an understated indie dance pulse that feels simultaneously familiar and unpredictable.
CHLOÉ has ventured into live performance through new formats, notably alongside percussionist Vassilena Serafimova; immersed herself in film scoring with soundtracks for Paris la Blanche, Arthur Rambo, The Mountain, Blanquita, Guru and Unsubmissives; and developed compelling collaborations, from High Season, her project with Ben Shemie of Canadian band Suuns (which resulted in the album The Call), to her own organic, experimental audiovisual performances under the name Slo/Mo AV.
Throughout Shape of the Unknown, CHLOÉ blurs the boundaries between deep house, hypnotic techno, electronica and cinematic sound design with remarkable fluidity. The album unfolds as a continuous narrative rather than a sequence of tracks, moving effortlessly between beatless ambient passages, rolling analogue grooves and emotionally charged club music. Organic percussion, sweeping bass movements, melancholic harmonies and richly textured synthesisers create a body of work that constantly evolves, where no section feels static and every transition reveals another layer of depth. There is an unmistakable warmth running through the record, with grainy analogue textures and spacious production giving even its most driving moments an intimate, almost tactile quality.
The album’s title is no coincidence. It evokes a form that has yet to be named, something language itself struggles to grasp. CHLOÉ approaches it through an organic creative process. Each piece must first be performed in the studio, almost as if it were being played live. The album will be followed by a series of live performances and DJ sets, including a show at the Olympia on March 18, 2027.
She is joined by a handful of steadfast collaborators. Jazz trumpeter David Enhco appears on two tracks, ‘Undertow’ and ‘Inner Bass’. But above all, there are the voices: Ben Shemie lends his unmistakable presence to the radiant ‘More Than Just a Feeling’. Olivia Merilahti, singer, songwriter and one half of The Dø, appears on the otherworldly ‘TWYR’. Working with Olivia’s already hypnotic voice, CHLOÉ has approached it like a sculptor, enhancing its strangeness and dreamlike quality.
And finally, impossible to miss is the instantly recognizable voice of Kittin. A longtime accomplice, she lends her distinctive phrasing to CHLOÉ’s music here for the very first time. The strongest collaborations are often those that take their time, arriving only when the moment is right. Same kind, same bass, same vibe, same pride.
The result is an enigmatic, nocturnal record, drifting between introspective listening and dancefloor functionality, revealing an artist who remains far more interested in atmosphere, movement and emotional storytelling than conventional club structures. It is an album that invites us to dream more deeply and to dance again, both within ourselves and out in the open.
MALEDICTUS is a Portuguese metal band formed in Lisbon. Bringing together experienced musicians with a shared vision, the band creates dark, powerful and atmospheric heavy music. With a foundation of aggressive riffs, haunting melodies and emotional vocals, the band blends modern heavy metal with darker, more melodic influences.
The group was formed by musicians seeking to explore a heavier and more expressive sound, combining technical musicianship with compelling songwriting and a cinematic atmosphere. Their music strikes a balance between intensity and melody, moving between crushing guitar passages, dynamic rhythms, and dramatic vocal performances. ""Our music reflects who we are and how we process life and our own emotions. Music is life manifested through an artist's soul. We all process life with a sense of dark melancholy”, comments guitarist Ben Stockwell. As history has taught us, Portuguese metal bands are known for their melancholic sound, which reflects their cultural identity.
Since their formation, MALEDICTUS has been focused on creating music that reflects the darker and more emotional aspects of the metal genre. Drawing inspiration from classic and contemporary metal acts, the band aims to create a sound that feels familiar yet distinct, appealing to fans of powerful, atmospheric metal.
Boasting a line-up of seasoned performers and a clear artistic vision, MALEDICTUS is developing new material and establishing its presence in the Portuguese metal scene and beyond. Their debut album, „Lazarvs“, is set to be released on Friday 13th of November. The album title draws heavily on the biblical story of Lazarus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus performs the great miracle of raising his deceased friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the tomb for four days.
With Rez on vocals, the band has an exceptional singer with a distinctive, powerful voice. „He is undoubtedly one of the best out there having power, soul, range and timbre. Everything fits perfectly with our sound. We couldn't have asked for a better voice or frontman"", says the guitarist. Rez’s lyrics are another perfect addition to the band's dark, epic and partly progressive sound. The lyrical themes focus on life's darkest moments. „Death brings an opportunity for renewal, as do our most difficult struggles, which require part of us to die in order to be overcome.
What happens when bassweight electronic beats meet the abstract world of one of the most uncompromising MCs on this planet?
Get ready for a special listening experience as Abu Ama and Sensational take you deep into a world of heavy bass, fractured rhythms, strange frequencies and completely unpredictable flows.
Abu Ama is known for his unique production style, combining Dub, Ambient and Industrial soundscapes with Middle Eastern sound structures. His productions create vast, atmospheric spaces where bass pressure and subtle details constantly collide. Over the years, he has developed his signature sound through releases on forward-thinking labels such as Bokeh Versions and Accidental Meetings. With Ringing In Your Ear, Abu Ama presents some of his most adventurous and forward-thinking productions to date.
On the microphone, we are proud to present a true underground legend straight outta NYC: Sensational.
Born Colin Julius Bobb in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, Sensational became one of the most distinctive and unpredictable voices to emerge from New York’s experimental hip-hop underground. Originally performing under the name Torture, he was already connected to the Jungle Brothers in the early 1990s before developing the completely unique style that would become synonymous with Sensational.
In 1997, he released his debut album Loaded With Power on the influential Word Sound label. Built from dusty beats, unusual samples and lo-fi textures, the record established Sensational as an artist who seemed to operate completely outside the established rules of Hip Hop.
Over the following decades, he continued to explore the space between underground rap, experimental electronics, noise and abstract music. His long list of collaborators included artists such as Spectre, Kouhei Matsunaga, Kid 606, Cardopusher, Handsome Boy Modeling School and many others. His work with Kouhei Matsunaga was even remixed by Autechre.
Sensational was never interested in fitting into a particular scene. His rhymes were surreal, his flows unpredictable and his approach completely his own. For more than three decades, he remained a true outsider — a cult figure whose music connected underground Hip Hop with some of the strangest and most adventurous corners of experimental music.
After Abu Ama and Sensational’s heavy 2023 single International Rokkaz left us wanting more, the two decided to take things much further. What started as a single collaboration evolved into a full length soundclash.
We were already incredibly hyped about this collaboration from the moment we heard it. But while we were preparing for the release of the single MOZZ, the terrible news reached us: Sensational had passed away.
The news hit hard. It is still difficult to believe that we will never hear a new Sensational verse again.
What makes Ringing In Your Ear even more special is that it captures Sensational doing what he did best — completely free, completely unpredictable and completely himself.
We dedicate this record to Colin Julius Bobb aka Sensational, in loving memory of an extraordinary artist, MC and true underground original.
Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go. Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Nino, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa. Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Nino, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators.
Los Angeles-based producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dexter Story returns with his sixth album, T'som (pronounced sawm), a deeply personal work inspired by the spiritual practice of fasting. Meaning "fasting" in the Afro-Semitic languages Tigrinya and Amharic, as well as in Arabic, Tsom represents a time of prayer, reflection and discipline across northeast Africa. Guided by this tradition, Story draws on the musical heritage of the Horn of Africa and musical traditions of the Middle East to create a spiritual jazz album that reflects on devotion, transformation and the power of letting go.
Working with frequent collaborators Carlos Niño, Sudan Archives, Kamasi Washington, Jimetta Rose and Kibrom Birhane, the album touches on themes of reflection, inner poise and a quest for deeper connections, bound by explorations of traditional rhythms from the Horn of Africa.
Named after jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon, Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, music director and producer Dexter Story is one of the key figures in the city's vibrant creative music scene. Renowned for his genre-defying approach, he has collaborated with an extraordinary range of artists, including Carlos Niño, Madlib, Kamasi Washington, Build An Ark and Gaslamp Killer. His acclaimed solo albums Wondem and Bahir, released by Soundway, established him as a distinctive voice at the intersection of jazz, African music and contemporary production. Most recently, Story produced Mulatu Astatke's acclaimed studio album Mulatu Plays Mulatu, further cementing his reputation as one of today's most sought-after creative producers and musical collaborators
For two decades, The Oscillation has occupied its own space within the psychedelic underground, continually reshaping a sound built as much from texture, repetition and atmosphere as it is from conventional songcraft. On 'Interference', released October 30th 2026 via Fuzz Club, Demian Castellanos pushes that approach further than ever, creating what he describes as "a painting of sound rather than music”. It’s an album where noise and melody constantly collide, dissolve and reform into something strangely beautiful: “I wanted it to be accessible but also quite extreme, a sort of beautiful noise. I did my best to push out the parameters whilst trying not to allow it to disintegrate into something with no meaning or focus.” Chasing an elusive balance between accessibility and abstraction, the result is a record that feels simultaneously immediate and disorientating: dense layers of drones, feedback and motorik rhythms give way to unexpected moments of warmth, colour and even uplifting euphoria. Across its runtime, chaos never overwhelms; instead it becomes another instrument, carefully sculpted into hypnotic, immersive compositions. Much of the album emerged through instinct rather than intention. Fragments originally conceived as intros, outros or abandoned ideas gradually eclipsed the songs they belonged to, with tracks revealing themselves organically through a process Castellanos likens to "playing Chinese whispers with musical instruments." Elsewhere, two long-forgotten compositions – ‘Stasis’ and ‘When You Close Your Eyes’ – finally found their place after lying unfinished for almost twenty years. Recorded and mixed by Castellanos at his home studio in the Czech Republic, ‘Interference’ also benefits from a key collaboration with Lorena Quintanilla of Mexican band Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, who provides a transformative presence. Her haunting vocal on ‘La Alusion’ (which she also wrote the lyrics and melody for) became the breakthrough moment that crystallised the album, turning an instrumental sketch into a dreamlike centrepiece and helping shape the final sequence. She also lends her voice to ‘Isolation Freeway’, adding another layer of mystery to an album that continually blurs the line between structure and dissolution. Perhaps most remarkably, ‘Interference’ was created during a period in which Castellanos had largely stopped listening to music altogether: “My hi-fi broke a couple of years ago so I kind of wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t listen to too much music.” Instead of consciously absorbing outside influences, he trusted instinct, memory and experimentation to guide the process. The result is one of The Oscillation's most adventurous and emotionally resonant records to date: a vivid collision of hypnotic repetition, spectral beauty and controlled sonic disruption that confirms Castellanos remains one of modern psychedelia's most singular voices.
Originally released in 2000 on Smalltown Supersound, Kim Hiorthøy’s first record Hei captures an artist who had made very little music before – yet it seemingly was the starting point of a musical career that would stay away from easy categorisation. Now, Hei (2026 Remaster) returns on blickwinkel, released digitally and on vinyl on 30 October 2026, as part of an ongoing series revisiting and reissuing Hiorthøy’s work.
Made in Copenhagen with little equipment — an Akai MPC2000, a stereo microphone and a DAT machine — Hei was assembled from samples, sequences and rhythms, with no outboard mixing or processing. Without really knowing what he was doing, the music was created intuitively while drawing inspiration from instrumental hip-hop he was listening to, the techno and drum & bass he admired but did not yet know how to make, and a broader fascination with music that felt personal, homemade and slightly uncertain of its own identity. Hei sits somewhere between those impulses. It is beat-driven without belonging entirely to beat music, experimental without announcing itself as such, but unmistakably coming from a playful series of events and decisions.
In that regard, the title of the closing track might be a fitting description of the album itself and, in hindsight, also of how we can look at Hiorthøy’s subsequent work. Taken from a story by Tove Jansson, the title evokes a state of openness and curiosity, a state where thoughts and impressions are simply given the space to unfold:
“He didn't care to get up, all day he let new images and ideas come and go as they pleased, now and then slept a little and woke up again and had no idea who he was. It was a peaceful and very exciting day.”
There is something of Hei in that state of mind: a willingness to follow an idea without knowing exactly where it might lead, a willingness to follow guts and the heart rather than ratio. Perhaps that is also what makes Hei still feel relevant today. As Hiorthøy puts it when reflecting on the music he made then and the music he makes now: “If I compare the music on Hei to music I’m making now, the general sentiment or smell or air or tree or pull of what I’m looking for and listening after when I work is, I think, for better or worse, more or less the same.”
All music by Kim Hiortøy
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu
Portraits by Kim Hiorthøy
Design by Jelle Martens
“The alarm had been sounding for so long that nobody remembered what it had been warning about. The protocol had become routine; every signal acknowledged, every command obeyed. Dreams were archived, memories rewritten, emotions reduced to corrupted fragments of data. The city continued to function with mechanical precision, while the last traces of humanity slowly dissolved into the noise.”
With Oblivion Protocol, The Relic continues his ongoing ARK series, once again excavating hidden layers of industrial hardcore’s past while transforming them into something unmistakably his own. Across six meticulously crafted tracks, echoes of classic hardcore attitude, doom-like heaviness and early industrial brutality surface before being reshaped into a bleak, contemporary vision. Nostalgia is never the destination; it provides fragments for reconstruction. The release constantly shifts in weight and momentum. Crushing mid-tempo passages give way to relentless bursts of energy, while distorted textures, commanding vocal samples and melodic fragments create an atmosphere that is as oppressive as it is immersive.
The archaeology continues, but the discoveries become increasingly unsettling: What once promised the future now echoes through abandoned systems, corrupted memories and hostile sonic environments.
EPILOGUE is the culmination of more than four decades of music-making by Japanese composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Ken-ichiro Isoda, an album in which environmental sound, electronics, contemporary classical composition and memory converge into a deeply personal late-career statement. Isoda moved through video-game music, film composition, classical production, Okinawan music, television and collaborative projects, continually developing an approach in which acoustic instrumentation, field recordings and electronics could coexist naturally.
His collaborative album Interwoven with aus, released through WRWTFWW, further demonstrated the openness of a musical philosophy Isoda describes as being rooted in fluctuation, imperfection and organic movement.
EPILOGUE brings those threads together while refusing to function simply as a retrospective. The album consists largely of older compositions that Isoda has returned to, reconstructed and reinterpreted from the perspective of the present.
Opening track “TANEKOMA” refers to the Izu Robin, a rare bird native to Hachijō-jima, the volcanic island where Isoda lives. Its song, recorded by Isoda in the mountains, becomes part of the composition itself. Placed at the beginning of the album, “TANEKOMA” becomes both document and prayer.
Elsewhere, “Circulation 2” develops from a work created around the relationship between forest, sea and the movement of water. Flutist Dogen Kinowaki replaces Isoda’s original piano melody with a performance that gives the piece a distinctly Japanese sense of place. Kinowaki also appears on a newly reimagined version of “Beach of the Pliocene”, one of Isoda’s most recognised compositions.“STEPS”, first composed for film in 2008, looks back toward the electronica of that period. For this definitive version, Tsutomu Sonoda of maya ongaku provides vocals, bringing new emotional and lyrical depth to a piece Isoda had wanted to properly complete for more than a decade.
The title track from Isoda’s 1991 New Age album “Yume no Sazanami” is similarly reconsidered. Originally recorded with a small chamber orchestra, the new arrangement replaces elements of the harp and cello with layers of nylon-string guitar performed by Tatsuro Murakami. Perhaps the album’s clearest meeting point between past and present is “WATERWAYS.”The mysterious European ambient artist Aiko Takahashi, transforming an abandoned demo into what is simultaneously the oldest and newest work on the album.
“A Flowering Tree,” written for film in 2013, is reconstructed around multi-tracked flute performances by Dogen Kinowaki. Isoda carries that association into his own arrangement, allowing the piece to function as another quiet meditation on memory, loss and hope.
The album closes with “EPILOGUE” —less a grand conclusion than a moment of acceptance. Isoda chose it as the album’s title piece to hold what he describes as the complex emotions that accompany the twilight of a life spent making music. EPILOGUE is not simply a look back. It is the sound of older music continuing to move, change and breathe in the present: a lifetime of ideas distilled into Isoda’s own form of pure music, shaped by memory, collaboration, nature and the world immediately outside his home on Hachijō-jima.
Kalita presents the fourth and final instalment of their groundbreaking ‘Borga Revolution!’ series, uncovering another selection of essential recordings from the rich and far-reaching world of Ghanaian highlife. Spanning deep, hypnotic highlife through to the vibrant electronic productions of 1980s Burger Highlife, Volume 4 captures a period of extraordinary musical change, as Ghanaian artists absorbed influences from funk, disco, boogie, and new synthesizer technology. With previous volumes championed by tastemakers including Gilles Peterson, Antal, Tom Ravenscroft, and Hunee, this final chapter turns its attention once again to the music of the Ghanaian diaspora.
Volume 4 brings together rare recordings from artists such as Rex Omar, Nat Fredua, and CST Amankwah, alongside the elusive, deeply hypnotic and beautiful sounds of the Abibifo Dance Band of Ghana (led by the legendary bassist Ralph Karikari) and Baffour Kyei. Unearthing recordings that have languished in obscurity for over forty years, the compilation moves between deep highlife, rhythmic dancefloor cuts, and pioneering digital productions, revealing yet more musical ingenuity of Ghanaian artists both home and abroad. The final instalment in the ‘Borga Revolution!’ series, it offers another vital collection of forgotten favourites and hidden treasures for DJs, collectors, and anyone drawn to the endlessly inventive sounds of Ghanaian music.
The 1970s and 80s saw Ghanaian musicians begin to incorporate Western sounds like funk and disco into their music, reflecting the changing global musical landscape. However, the country's political instability and economic hardships, marked by military regimes and curfews, forced many artists to leave Ghana in search of better opportunities abroad. In Europe and the U.S., these musicians fused their traditional highlife roots with emerging digital sounds, using cutting-edge technology like the DX7 synthesizer and drum machines to create the genre now known as Burger Highlife.
With ‘Borga Revolution!’ Kalita offers a vivid exposition of this musical transformation, using rare interviews, archival photos, and detailed liner notes to bring to life the pioneering spirit of both well-known icons and unsung innovators of Ghanaian Highlife, one of West Africa’s most exciting musical movements.
· The final installment in Kalita's 'Borga Revolution!' series, examining the development of Ghanaian dance music in the 1970/80s, and focussing on the phenomenon of Burger highlife (a blend of Ghanaian highlife with disco, boogie and synths).
· 2xLP in gatefold sleeve, with printed inner sleeves examining the stories of the artists featured on the volume.
· Includes 10 highly sought-after and under-the-radar recordings, including those by the phenomenal Rex Omar, Nat Fredua, CST Amankwah, Baffour Kyei, Chief Kofi Sammy, and the Abibifo Dance Band of Ghana.
Phren, the first collaborative work by Marta Salogni and Stefano Pilia, emerges as a layered and articulated sound-hymn-dialogue between Stefano’s abstract guitar work and Marta’s manipulation of tape machines. Conceived alongside the imagined space created by Sarah Mazzetti for the Opale series, a project by Maple Death Records and Canicola edizioni, the album becomes a form-shifting composition where memory itself is continuously transformed through resonance, repetition and reconfiguration.
Here, sound is not preserved as an object of the past, but treated as a living material: something capable of carrying traces, absorbing new meanings and generating unfamiliar voices.
The album develops from a simple yet constantly shifting principle: a sound is set in motion and then passed through a series of interconnected systems where it is delayed, altered and returned in another form. Stefano Pilia’s guitar travels through a complex chain of modular processes, composed of different stages of preamplification and filtering, before entering a tape echo system that introduces further layers of repetition, resonance and spatial displacement. These signals are then absorbed into Marta Salogni’s Revox tape machines, where additional lines of delay, modulation and environmental transformation reshape the material once again.
The resulting music is not a dialogue between two instruments, but a shared system — a living architecture in which a single signal moves simultaneously through parallel and serial pathways, gathering traces of each passage. Sound becomes a material in constant motion: a gesture becomes an echo, the echo becomes a new gesture, and the distinction between origin and reflection gradually begins to dissolve.
Mutual Rytm's Versus sub-label returns with a dark, absorbing new EP from contemporary techno innovators Kameliia and BLANKA. Kameliia and BLANKA both previously appeared on Federation of Rytm IV and now step forward with their long-awaited debut EPs. It is another standout for Mutual Rytm's Versus series, which has already made an impact with two previous EPs from Regent and Chontane and Klint and Hemka. This third release subtly evolves the sound into more hypnotic and atmospheric worlds that bring fresh perspectives to the series. Bulgarian-born, Norway-based Kameliia’s music is rooted in cinematic, melancholic and hypnotic sounds. She translates deep emotions into immersive sonic landscapes inspired by nature, particularly the moon, the sky and their atmospheric qualities. Along with Berlin-based Spaniard BLANKA, she has released on labels such as SK_Eleven, while BLANKA also co-founded Room Trax and draws heavily on the human voice, which she considers one of the most personal and intimate instruments. She uses it to create an emotional, direct connection with the dance floor, with a clean, minimal, timeless style rich in emotion. Kameliia opens up with the weighty kicks and eerie atmospheres of 'Bird In A Cage' before 'Red Sky' layers taut kicks and icy synths into a hypnotic forward charge full of depth and darkness, then 'Lightness' has an unsettling and paranoid lead hanging in the air next to vocal fragments and haunting pads. BLANKA’s offering begins with tightly wound kicks and bass on the dubby 'Say It With Me'; 'Self Pleasure' is an immersive and rubbery rhythm with cosmic synth work, and 'Rabbit Habits' brings funky synth lines that radiate a sense of subtle light and hope amidst the darkness of the groove. Two digital bonus cuts from each artist follow: Kameliia's unsettling, dystopian soundscape 'No Longer A Desire' and the backlit suspense of 'Vivere', and BLANKA's gritty, loopy 'Dream VST' and the deep-space odyssey that is 'Gone For Good'.
For CT022, Cosmic Tribe presents the third edition of the Artist Series featuring C.C.O. (Contra Communem Opinionem), the project of Swiss artist Florian Büchel.
The original material selected here explores a more direct and linear side of his music, combining atmospheric structures, subtle acid elements and elegant melodic progression.
On Side B, both reinterpretations move the material toward more dancefloor-oriented territory. Raakel Bloody Raakel reshapes Gravitational Disturbance into a recognizable acid-electro interpretation with increased groove and syncopation, while Romphea takes Interstellar Matter into heavier and darker contemporary electro-breaks territory with increased low-end weight and a more direct club approach.
The result creates a clear contrast across both sides: progression and musical development on Side A, followed by two alternative perspectives built around movement and dancefloor energy.
Blackwater Label’s Goldenboy sub-label third chapter is an ode to the immensity and vastness of the sea, a journey across deep waters, uncertain ports and endless horizons. "Never Give Up" is dedicated to the memory of Alessio Fantozzi, a pioneer of the waters whose spirit continues to resonate through those who choose to venture beyond the shore. This four-way collaboration is our tribute to him: four artists, four visions, one voyage into the unknown. Loris Ligonzo opens the journey with "Subalpine Nocturne", a Balearic-tinged deep house excursion that invites us to dive into the sonic ocean Blackwater has been navigating for more than a decade, warm, hypnotic and submerged. With "Apparently", T/Error brings us into an unsafe and gloomy harbour. Dark electro and suspended tension create the feeling of a vessel waiting to depart, caught between the certainty of the shore and the call of new waters. Stefano Rocchi contributes "Mushy", acting as the propulsion system of our pirate vessel, the Blackwater Ship. Acid-infused electro drives the journey deeper into the abyss, with no fear for those who trust the... more credits releases September 24, 2026 Written and Performed by V/A Mastered by Stefano Rocchi at Niumen Studio,Rome Produced by Blackwater Label, 2026 Distributed by Triple Vision, Rotterdam Nvmqvam Cede // Vsqve Ad Finem
Pablo Sánchez´s new solo album “Archipiélago” is out now. The new long player, a follow-up to his “Nocturnal” album as Basic Need will be released on Sisternoise Records and is a 42 minute voyage sailing through uncharted waters.
Every archipelago is a constellation of islands, distinct yet bound by invisible tides. Archipiélago, the latest work from Pablo Sánchez, follows this same geography of sound and memory. Its islands are not of sand and rock, but of places which inspired the artist throughout his life; Buenos Aires, Caracas, Puerto Rico, New York, Madrid, Berlin, and Barcelona. Each city has left a trace, a shoreline carved into Sánchez’s musical journey and left a distinctive musical mark.
The ten songs gathered here are like sovereign entities, each with its own character, its own rhythm, its own language. Together they form a single territory, a map drawn by musical experience, longing, and imagination. They are ports of call, but also fragments of a larger voyage, where tradition and experimentation, nostalgia and discovery, coexist to create a common territory. Along the way guest magicians Animal Feelings and Salomeya add their vocal sparks to the voyage.
Archipiélago is not a destination but a map of crossings, a territory of sound where the journey itself becomes home.
Bruce Ivery returns to Stilove4music, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him back. A true master of his craft, Bruce has delivered some of the label's most celebrated releases, each one leaving a lasting mark on dancefloors around the world.
Born and raised in Chicago and a key member of the legendary Chuck Brothers collective. Bruce's reputation as both a producer and editor speaks for itself. His latest work, a release on Ryan Elliott's Faith Beat, is further proof of his talent. This new drop is no exception—it will have you questioning your own sanity.
It's disco time once again, and it's Bruce Ivery time on Stilove4music. We're beyond excited to share these tracks, designed to create mayhem on discerning dancefloors.
Every now and then, there are tracks that stand the test of time. Tracks that are more than just another DJ-tool. Tracks to remember. When „Fom Within“ was released 13 years ago. the track found its way into almost every DJ-Case that summer, and to this day, people playit out at special moments. When Gregor Tresher started to mix Celeda´s „Music Is the Answer“ Acapella over it, inofficial remixes popped up everywhere. We decided to actually never release that version, as we believe some things should be in the DJ´s hands, as there´s nothing quite magic as if a DJ-Mix creates something new. We are happy to give to you an official repress of one of the strongest tracks from our label´s history. Play it out and let it work it´s magic.
In collaborating with iconic vocalists Matthew K. Heafy (Trivium), Josh Middleton (Sylosis) and Anthony Lucero (Cult Leader), Burner take a striking step forward to claim new territory while consolidating their extreme and unique sound into the heaviest and bleakest incarnation of their craft yet. Vocalist Harry Nott elaborates on the themes behind the new album: "If It All Returns To Nothing looked outwards to the world's chaos throughout history, No One Is Coming To Save Us instead looks inwards at its proposed cause; humanity's violent, animalistic nature, begging us for change. This is an album about human behaviour: that people create endless cycles of violence by repeating the mistakes of the past, forging a brutal history that we fail to learn from. But, at the same time, the album is about questioning whether we can ever get past those sins and repetitions. This is a record that is mournful as much as it is angry and engaged. It longs to bitterly recall the moments of greatness and sacrifice in our shared history that created the better world we currently destroy. It longs to look back at these moments for inspiration and optimism, at a time where it feels like hope is running thin. The album is also a struggle for hope, not just that humanity can overcome hatred and violence, but that we can look back on our greatest moments and take courage to build a better world. No One Is Coming To Save Us reflects this duality in its title: that no one will come to save us from the violence and tragedy we create as part of our humanity. But it also proposes that it's up to us to change - to overcome a violent human nature and usher in a better tomorrow."
Space Ghost returns with Back From Reality, his first solo album since 2022. Blending ambient, downtempo and house, the LP explores themes of escapism, introspection and the search for moments of calm in an increasingly overwhelming world. Out October 9th, 2026 via Space Ghost’s own Peace World Records.
Drawing influence from late '90s and early 2000s ambient and electronic music, the record channels the nostalgic atmosphere of PS2-era video game soundtracks, console startup screens, and save menus. “I used to play games like Spyro, Crash, Ape Escape, Gran Turismo. It's fun for me to reimagine songs that could have lived in games from that era. ” The project reveals Space Ghost's interest in writing music for video games, with tracks such as "System Reset" reimagining an alternate PS2 startup screen or “VGM” visualizing a stage selection screen for an imaginary game.
Visually, the project emulates the minimalist design trends of album artwork from the same era: sparse industrial landscapes paired with minimal type. Space Ghost took the cover photo himself while driving around the quiet, empty Oakland ports at night. Tracks like “Sugar Cube” and “Back From Reality” mimic these late night environments and create a downtempo zone for listeners to get lost in. “One of my favorite things to do after writing songs, is to drive around Oakland listening to them. It's almost like the final test for the songs, to see if their emotion holds up.
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Written over the course of five years, Back From Reality reflects Space Ghost’s experience of balancing everyday life with the desire to be creative. “This album is me coming home from my day job and returning back to the place where I feel the joy and freedom in making my music. If I could, I would work on my music full time, but for now it's part time and often a form of escapism. ” Beneath its calming surface, the LP quietly wrestles with larger questions. Against the backdrop of global conflict, environmental decline, and economic uncertainty, the album searches for small moments of optimism through creativity and introspection. Back From Reality holds a moment of space away from these overwhelming times, allowing listeners to pause and recharge.
Back From Reality releases on Peace World Records October 9th, 2026
The annual Bonkers Music compilation is back with another dose of high-energy bangers. For its seventh anniversary, the series takes a fresh step forward, exploring a slightly evolved musical direction while keeping the distinctive sound that defines it. “Year VII” lands on 12” vinyl.
A1 David Meyer & Ludviq – Mandanga 2.0 (Feat Nick Hanzo)
The collaboration between Ludviq and David Meyer strikes a compelling balance between tension and movement. Drawing from underground electronic influences, Mandanga 2.0 evolves through hypnotic layers, acid-driven momentum, and a powerful groove, resulting in a distinctive cut that feels both immersive and uncompromising. Mandanga 2.0 is a dark, hypnotic electronic track built around squelching acid sequences, deep rolling grooves, and haunting vocal elements from Nick Hanzo. Atmospheric textures and a relentless rhythmic drive create a tense, immersive journey through shadowy soundscapes, blending raw energy with a refined sense of space.
A2 Neskeh – Liquid Sky
A raw trip built entirely around samples from Liquid Sky, Neskeh’s one of all-time favorite films. Crunchy saturated highs, basement-shaking low end, heroin-soaked wonky vocals, and freaky alien leads drifting through the mix. A warped tribute to an iconic soundtrack. Welcome to the space trippy club
A3 Your Reference – Afterparty
Julia Konor aka “Your Reference” one of the hidden gems of Barcelona’s underground scene, lands for the first time on the label with “Afterparty”
”Afterparty” draws inspiration from abandoned industrial spaces, empty warehouses, and nights where the only thing that mattered was the music. No rules, no expectations. Just raw energy, dusty air, concrete, and people completely immersed in the moment. The track is a personal postcard from that world.
B1 Lebollet & Mar Bravo – Aleta
“Aleta” is one of those Colombian words that somehow made its way into our shared language. We use it for raw, intense, dark tracks. Hard to translate. Makes sense when you feel it.
B2 Funboys – Skin In The Game
“Against the persistent ebb and flow of a breaking heart’s pulse, echoes of half-faded memories tease your attention… On the edge of forgetting, you can almost remember. And then it hits you – the coalescence of feeling into colour and form, warm in its familiarity, powerful in its simplicity. Uncanny, because it was right there all along. Don’t hold your breath… Listen!”
B3 Milla Campollo – Brote Psicodélico
“Brote Psicodélico” emerges from a hypnotic intersection of acid rhythms, psychedelic textures and raw downtempo energy. The track slowly unfolds through repetition and movement, creating a constantly evolving state between tension and release. Dark, trippy and physical, it is built around a groove that pulls you deeper with every layer. Distorted elements and acidic patterns weave in and out of the rhythm, giving the track an organic yet alien character. A journey designed for listening, less about following a linear narrative and more about entering a state of mind, where the boundaries between rhythm, body and psychedelia begin to blur.
Xistence Records reaches its eighth release with what may be its most important record so far, bringing together four artists whose music carries the spirit and evolution of Detroit techno. With selections reaching back three decades alongside new material, the EP connects different eras of tracks that exemplify the raw soul, machinery and futuristic thinking at the style's core. Sean Deason opens with 'Time Warp', originally appearing on his Matrix label in 1996 and finally receiving its first vinyl release. Thirty years later, its dramatic entrance and surging rhythm have aged perfectly. Energy is matched by genuine depth and soul, with its futuristic energy at the heart of it all. Label owner Arbilla follows with 'Electric Storm', harnessing the power of a great techno groove creates a blend of infections elements working in harmony. The second side reaches back to 1998 for a previously unreleased DX-9 production. A pounding Chicago warehouse beat meets the mechanical precision of Detroit, while a heavily over-arching acid line fuses the marriage these two deep-rooted cities. Legendary producer, Orlando Voorn closes proceedings under his Basic Bastard alias with 'Alone Together'. Perhaps the sickest groove of the EP. opens up a spacious atmosphere that gives the track an almost celestial quality. Inspired by Detroit techno’s evolution and its key figures, Xistence continues to show why it has become one of the rare trusted homes for proper techno.”
After fifteen years of shaping dancefloors around the world, Mele is set to release his long-awaited debut album Alive On Arrival via Defected Records Far from an introduction, the album marks the arrival of an artist operating with complete creative clarity, bringing together the sounds, collaborators and influences that have defined his journey into one cohesive body of work.
"Alive On Arrival draws inspiration from what feels like my entire life as a producer, a DJ and a music fan, bringing together everything I love about house, hip- hop, UK music, soulful R&B and wider global sounds. The name comes from Wu-Tang Clan's C.R.E.A.M., which felt fitting to where I'm at in my musical journey. It's been 15 years as Mele, but I'm still alive and feel like I've got so much more to give. I've finally arrived at this point with my debut album. The album was made in, and heavily influenced by, London, Miami and Liverpool - three places that are close to my heart. Sonically, it's inspired by some of the best: Jungle, The Neptunes, Gorillaz and Masters At Work." - Mele aka Krissy Peers Set for release on 25 September, Alive On Arrival is Mele's most expansive project to date. Across fourteen tracks, he draws together house, hip-hop, soul and R&B into a record that reflects a lifetime spent moving between genres rather than being limited by them. Created between London, Miami and his hometown of Liverpool, the album captures the energy and musical history of three cities that have shaped both his sound and perspective. At the heart of Alive On Arrival is collaboration. Rather than simply assembling a list of featured artists, Mele has curated a cast of voices whose individual perspectives deepen the emotional and cultural narrative of the album. Long-time collaborators sit alongside new creative partnerships, each contributing to a record built on shared musical language and mutual respect.
Initially released in 2016, The Divine Feminine marked one of the most stark turning points in a career punctuated by creative reinvention. After doubling down on his rap prowess on 2015's GO:OD AM, Mac Miller stunned fans with an audacious pivot to create a concept album that explored his views on the power of love and the sacred energy of women. Hailed by Pitchfork as being "easily his most intoxicating release yet," the embrace of his singing voice and genre-agnostic approach of the songwriting foreshadowed the evolution that would further materialize on his 2018 album Swimming. The 10th anniversary edition of The Divine Feminine features three previously-unreleased songs from the album's recording sessions and will be available on 3LP with printed inner sleeves in a single-pocket jacket upon its release on October 2nd.
“When the flesh gets cut off the soul, it’s not the end.”
More than forty years after hardCORPS emerged from a Brixton basement, ‘Metal & Flesh’ returns in a new expanded edition on double vinyl and CD, newly remastered with the full involvement of surviving members Rob Doran and Clive Pierce. Born from the collision of punk, analogue synthesisers, sequencers, disco, reggae and experimental studio techniques, hardCORPS created electronic music that was as physical and emotional as it was mechanical. The arrival of French vocalist Regine Fetet gave the group its defining identity, placing her raw, uncompromising voice against the dense machinery of Hugh Ashton, Clive Pierce and Rob Doran. Working mainly with a Roland System 100, several Roland MC4 sequencers and later an additional MC500 and Atari ST 1040 computers, etc. pp., hardCORPS always transformed limitations, accidents, distortion and human imperfection into part of the music itself. Although rooted in the early 1980s, ‘Metal & Flesh’ refuses easy nostalgia, retaining the tension, space and character that made hardCORPS unlike their contemporaries. Yet, shall we eventually mention Kraftwerk, maybe let’s quote Ian Shirley from Record Collector magazine: „’Je Suis Passée‘ was not only a love letter to Kraftwerk but penned with such verve, passion and precision that Ralf and Florian probably would have accepted a blind date at a Düsseldorf cocktail bar (…).“ And as Martin Rushent famously said in 1990: “Hard Corps were ignored in their time. Perhaps it is the burden of the adventurous and the innovative to be ignored in their time, which is sad. Don’t ignore them now.”
This new edition has been carefully remastered to preserve that character and dynamics rather than simply making the recordings louder or more ‘modern’, while the artwork has likewise been developed to reflect the band’s original identity. Metal & Flesh’ is not merely an artefact of the 1980s, but a rare and fiercely individual document of four people discovering what happens when human instinct and machines collide.
Remastered by Martin Bowes. Graphic design by hard CORPS and Steve Lippert.
Gatefold sleeve gloss lamination, printed inner sleeves with lyrics, two double-sided hand-numbered.
Adam Ten and Yamagucci team up on Rekids with ‘Keep Workin’’. Label head Radio Slave steps up with a remix.
Frequent collaborators Adam Ten & Yamagucci drop 'Keep Workin’' on Rekids, with a remix from label boss Radio Slave. The single is an irresistible club tool with immeasurable bass weight. Bold, rubbery drums and grinding low-end combine in bouncy fashion while a vocal fragment loops up top to create perfect dance floor tension. Brighter chords eventually rise through the mix, providing emotional release that will get hands in the air and take things to the next level.
On the remix, Radio Slave strips the original ‘Keep Workin’’ back to dusty, shuffling drums with jazzy flourishes. The track has a live, lived-in feel, complete with vulnerable piano keys that haunt the spaces above its weighty groove and transfix any crowd with eerie beauty.
Adam Ten is a long-time House innovator, Maccabi House co-founder and Upon You Records and Higher Ground artist, with over twenty Top 10 Beatport releases and millions of streams to his name. He blends the grit of Techno with escapist melodies in versatile, curious sets and productions that have earned him bookings worldwide. Yamagucci has made an equal impact on the world stage through his field recordings and organic percussion, adding a unique twist to his tracks on labels like Disco Halal, as well as Diynamic and Crosstown Rebels, labels that Adam Ten and Yamagucci have also collaborated on together.
It all started with a small party in 2006. Peter Invasion simply wanted to create a home for his band. That small party grew into something bigger, and eventually Riotvan became a record label in 2012 — a home for many different people, all brought together by a shared love for music and art. When Panthera Krause joined the journey in 2017, Riotvan evolved once again, adding a new perspective and another creative force to what it had become. The journey began 240 months ago — or, for those too lazy to do the math, 20 years. A lot has happened since then, but one thing has never changed: the passion. People have come, gone, and stayed. And here we are, celebrating 240 months of Riotvan with our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves. To mark the occasion, we're hitting the road on tour and have put together an extended edition of our Familiar Faces series. It's a colorful collection of music that brings together everything we love and everything that makes sense to us. It couldn't represent the Riotvan spirit any better. We'll definitely see each other somewhere along the way. Here's to the next 240 months.
Hot on the heels of their new UK street soul-inspired LP ‘Feel In Motion’, Leeds three-piece Galaxians enlist Steven Julien (Apron Records), Boys Shorts (Phantasy Sound), Cervo (Banana Hill) and Vanity Project (Claptrap Records) for remixes of the album's singles.
Adopting his 808 PRINCE moniker, the London DJ, producer & Apron Records label boss Steven Julien beefs up World Apart with his unique live 808 programming, imbuing it with an urgent machinefunk groove in keeping with his consistently electrifying live performances & DJ sets.
Coming straight from the release of their ambitious debut album ‘What Does It Take To Make These Men Happy?’, Greek duo Boys’ Shorts create a heady club moment with their take on Lose My Head, cutting up Sinead Campbell’s vocal while zeroing in on the original’s undeniable bassline & piano melody.
Best known for his Banana Hill label & Manchester club night, Stockport’s Cervo brings the global rhythms and balearic wistfulness of his previous output to bear on his evolution of Fantasy, while Claptrap Records boss Matt Bruce AKA Vanity Project reimagines the track as a cosmic house chugger that further highlights the exceptional vocal performance Beccy Young recalling Madonna at her most iconic.
The package is completed with Gramrcy & John Loveless’s 12” Mixes of Worlds Apart and Fantasy, expanding and reshaping the album originals into pure dancefloor bliss.
Italian duo Ivan Iacobucci & Stella Fiore, now based in Berlin, make their debut on Griffé with the captivating "Ode Al Sole" EP. Following two acclaimed releases on the legendary Perlon and their own imprint, Klopfgeist Records, the pair return after a two-year hiatus.
Inspired by the many journeys Ivan and Stella have taken across the globe over the past two years, Ode Al Sole reflects a rich fusion of influences from Latin America and Africa, seamlessly intertwined with raw, forward-thinking electronic sounds of our times.
The EP is infused with hypnotic vocal elements that create a deep, trippy atmosphere, making each track both immersive and emotionally resonant.
When Network Records originally issued “Innovator” in 1991 we knew that the music contained within was timeless. At that time, of course, we had no grasp of how well Derrick’s epic soundscapes would time travel. We christened the collection - “Soundtrack For The Tenth Planet” - because it seemed like the music (and Derrick) had indeed arrived from another world.
The release has been acclaimed as iconic because Derrick, the madcap and maverick philosopher of Detroit Techno, introduced the concept of dance music with a musical and emotional agenda way beyond anything that had come before. Beats with beauty. Literally the strings of life. Where fellow musical geniuses Chic had previously urged everybody to simply "Dance, Dance, Dance" mood alchemist Mayday merged simple yet cerebral dreamscapes with strange and urgent complex dance rhythms and invited us all to Dance And Dream. And in a strange juxtaposed way helped birth the hedonistic Acid House scene with classics “Nude Photo” and “Strings Of Life”
The energy is frenetic, but merged with a new age ambience. The gems collected on this offering were iconic in 1991, now they cause mass hysteria when Derrick turns his one time musical experiments, created in a tiny room in Detroit, and turns them into epic concerts with orchestras and musicians across the globe. “Hand In Hand” existed in 1991 and we wanted to release it then, but it’s taken until now for the complete 13 minute recording to finally meet the world.
It will be revered, because like all of Derrick May’s music it is life affirming. Emotions Electric indeed.
The original “Innovator” release was housed on one single slab of wax. This time around we have expanded it to two discs to make space for “Hand Over Hand” and also so everything elsewhere - masterpieces remastered - can be presented in a complete and superior fashion. Whatever the tweaks, changes and updates etc all these years on, this music still sounds gloriously alien and groundbreaking. But there’s still no Tenth Planet.
"Innovator" remastered by Curvepusher, London 2019. Re-presented by Network Records in conjunction with Derrick May.
or its first release, CRVSH introduces the new 6-track EP by Zaatar, co-founder of the label, entitled First Crush. Zaatar unveils a collection of new anthems that reflect her distinctive sound, standing between club music and live performance energy. Throughout the EP, she blends diverse cultural influences that echo across each track.
With First Crush, Zaatar develops a musical language of her own, where her North African roots meet the rawest forms of electronic music. Percussions borrow from rock’s intensity, while dissonant synths crackle like guitar riffs, all driven by the power of deep bass frequencies.
The voice takes a central role throughout the EP, shifting from a sensual whisper to a mechanical and robotic texture. It creates a constant tension between human and machine, between organic warmth and mechanical coldness.
