DJ Support: Harvey, Balearic Mike, K Andrews, Apiento, Joe Morris, Idjuts, Piers Harrision, Flo Dill, James Holroyd, Andy Wilson, Kenneth Bager, Phil Mison, Colleen Murphy.
Following the success of the Lovehandles ‘Reworks’ EP, Oswego Music returns with a second volume of reinterpretations via the mysterious ‘Love from the Archipelago’ the alter ego of a renowned European digger, dj and producer.
First up here ‘Endless Ocean’ sees our island hopping hero reimagining an underrated antipodean 80’s track. Its pulsing synths and wistful vocal working as equally on a dancefloor as at the after party, or indeed the morning after the night before.
Track Two on side A ‘Carica’ takes us to South America recalling to some extent the west coast fusion of mid eighties artists like Pat Metheny. Brilliant percussion, vocals and synths combining into a heady, hazy workout- permed hair and tiny shorts optional.
First on the flip ‘En Route’ continues our journey (via the local library) with a gritty, synth heavy piece of post disco experimentalism extended here for your listening pleasure
Lastly, ‘A Grain of Sand’ reinterprets a folky aor number- long overdue in making it to vinyl- remaining (until now) a favourite digital secret weapon for the more ‘horizontally inclined’ dj.
Rounding out the EP, 1900-Isla provides a brief meditation on what it is to be free. A beautiful island in the middle of nowhere, with friends, as the sun sets…
‘Unfindable Ring', out October 23 on Bayonet Records, is an adventurer’s epic. The arc of the journey, like any good Spirited Away or Neverending Story, lands its wide-traveled protagonist right back at home before bedtime. Grumpy, like many great hero tricksters before him, has always been a project of juxtaposition: upbeat radio-ready hits whose buoyant, goofy hooks belie the dark thoughts they describe. Much of this, Schmitt acknowledges, owes its due to the matter-of-fact morbidity of the trans experience in America. It’s from these experiences—personal, romantic, political, and existential—that the tale of ‘Unfindable Ring’ unfolds.
Ambition and play have always defined the Grumpy sound. Late last year, the Fader praised their “demented, hooky” EP, “Piebald,” whose innovative fuzz-pop confections earned them coverage in NPR and the New York Times. Stereogum heralded them as “wonderfully weird,” and Paste designated them “the best of what’s next.”” Through boisterous collaborations with the likes of Sidney Gish and Claire Rousay, they’ve effortlessly ingratiated themselves with the titans of DIY, and, more recently, Schmitt has become an unlikely favored collaborator of chart-topping country giant Zach Bryan, who named his new record––which prominently features Schmitt’s harmonies–– conspicuously, ‘With Heaven On Top.’
In Grumpy, Heaven Schmitt is joined by Anya Good, Ellie Long (Kid Lake), Austin Arnold, Diego Clare (D.A. Crimson), and Lane Rodgers, who each contribute to every step of the process—engineering and recording, mixing, drafting artwork, producing, and making music videos. A kind of interdisciplinary thieves’ guild, the project, while once Schmitt’s solo eponym, is a labor of communal love.
“We are living these happy lives, and there are people we come across who don’t know us at all who want us to die,” Schmitt, explains. Often the visibility of the joy itself is what prompts the vitriol––“I’m so happy I could die,” Schmitt belts over and over on the chorus (a familiar figure of speech, sure, but one which, upon any scrutiny, shows Schmitt’s hand in the macabre.) A middle finger to fate, Good started asking, “What are you going to do with your One Beautiful Life?” Grumpy is going to keep playing, touring, searching, finding.
Layne & Chang might not be household names to everyone, but in the underground they’re long-established fixtures. Chang—who’s released music under a string of aliases over the years—was tipped by Urb magazine as one to watch back in the mid-’90s and has been embedded in dancefloor culture ever since. Alongside him, Layne Fox (formerly San Francisco, now back in Florida) brings deep disco credentials, having helmed the cult-loved Disco Dimensions label and recording as 40 Thieves—best known for the underground anthem Don’t Turn It Off. In short, the boogie lineage on this record runs deep.
And that’s before you even get to Dan Tyler. As one half of the Idjut Boys and co-founder of Noid Recordings, Tyler helped lay the groundwork for London’s edit culture long before it became a global phenomenon. His involvement here only strengthens the package.
“Shake Your Body” opens the release with a locked-in, funk-driven groove—swirling melodic lines, subtly acidic textures, warm vocoder touches, and tight, punchy drums all dialed for peak-time movement. On the A2, “In The Desert” shifts the mood into something more transportive: a hazy, late-night burner equally suited to open-air parties, after-hours sessions, or home listening with the lights low.
Flip to the B-side and Dan Tyler delivers two cosmic reworks that push things further out. Psychedelic, elastic, and built for serious systems, both cuts hit that sweet spot between heady and physical—already circulating among a handful of tastemaker DJs and primed for heavy rotation as festival season ramps up.
A strong, floor-ready release that sits comfortably in the Whiskey Disco catalogue—rooted in disco, but reaching well beyond it.
End Of Dayz returns to the fray, this time with a deeper release than usual, presenting tracks by Granada-based Canarian producer Mesh Convergence, teaming up with the mysterious Afa Ttura. The record is completed by a remix from Australian artist Fergus Sweetland.
In the realm of past-life regression hypnotherapy, there is a concept known as “Life Between Lives,” wherein a sacred exchange of energy occurs between two souls in the spirt world, helping a spirit fully understand and forgive a being who hurt them in a past life. This exchange – called “passing the cup of sorrows” – became the unexpected inspiration for William Basinski’s first new album in six years.
While sinking deeper into the daily abyss of our collective negativity bias, William Basinski stumbled upon a video describing the spiritual hypnotherapy exercise known as “passing the cup of sorrows.” Fixed on the glow of a screen that projected mounting anxiety and cynicism at a seemingly interminable pace, Basinski found the testimonials of this fascinating therapeutic practice to be profoundly moving. He sat at his piano, translating the transformation of those traumatic memories of past lives into cathartic tears of the present day.
Channeling the quiet curiosity and asymmetrical patterns of pioneering 20th Century composer, Morton Feldman, Passing the Cup of Sorrows is a single 40-minute piece that employs a solitary piano and subtle electronics to truly haunting effect. It recalls fragments of traumatic memories and projects them as fractals in a slow-moving soft focus that’s as eerie as it is enlightened.
In the realm of past-life regression hypnotherapy, there is a concept known as “Life Between Lives,” wherein a sacred exchange of energy occurs between two souls in the spirt world, helping a spirit fully understand and forgive a being who hurt them in a past life. This exchange – called “passing the cup of sorrows” – became the unexpected inspiration for William Basinski’s first new album in six years.
While sinking deeper into the daily abyss of our collective negativity bias, William Basinski stumbled upon a video describing the spiritual hypnotherapy exercise known as “passing the cup of sorrows.” Fixed on the glow of a screen that projected mounting anxiety and cynicism at a seemingly interminable pace, Basinski found the testimonials of this fascinating therapeutic practice to be profoundly moving. He sat at his piano, translating the transformation of those traumatic memories of past lives into cathartic tears of the present day.
Channeling the quiet curiosity and asymmetrical patterns of pioneering 20th Century composer, Morton Feldman, Passing the Cup of Sorrows is a single 40-minute piece that employs a solitary piano and subtle electronics to truly haunting effect. It recalls fragments of traumatic memories and projects them as fractals in a slow-moving soft focus that’s as eerie as it is enlightened.
By the time Michael Nau completed Popfly, the songs felt less like compositions than companions. Arriving in fragments, notebook lines, and fleeting observations, these pieces kept company for years until taking their final form. The result is one of Nau's most openhearted, expansive records, both homespun and otherworldly at once. Radiant folk melodies, tape-warped textures, and flashes of everyday wonder coexist in perfect balance on Popfly. Nau has never been a songwriter who forces songs into existence. Instead, he follows them, trusting intuition over agenda and allowing songs to gradually reveal themselves. Writing and recording often blur together, with melodies evolving before lyrics are finished and stray recordings forming the basis for new songs. Popfly showcases these creative detours: thoughtful folk songs, sonic experiments, and accidental beauty transformed into fully realized compositions. Many songs began at home, growing in meaning. Since he entered the Vermont studio, Little Jamaica, with longtime friend and collaborator Benny Yurco, many of them had already lived several lives. "Studio recording feels like covering my own songs," Nau says. This idea flows throughout: performances are lived-in, feeling effortless, as if assembling itself. The title track carries a flicker of wonder in its simple observations. "New Slack" moves with the loose confidence of a song content to follow its own path. On "Lost Station Hideaway," soft static and fading signals become something strangely comforting, as if the song itself is being broadcast from somewhere just beyond reach. Family and friendship are deeply woven throughout the record. Nau's children contribute vocals, bringing warmth and spontaneity to the album's communal spirit, with longtime collaborator and wife Whitney McGraw lending her serene voice. The harmonies that drift from them extend the album's central impulse of people gathering to make something beautiful. Across Popfly, loose-limbed folk songs mingle with homespun psych-pop, porchside country-folk, dreamlike atmospherics, and quietly profound observations. The record moves with the ease of conversation among old friends, finding beauty in tiny revelations, strange coincidences, and everyday mysteries. The record is full of transmissions from different moments in Nau's life, stitched together by instinct, affection, and time. Taken together, they form a portrait of a life spent paying close attention to the world and its small miracles.
Following the Home Listening Acid and House Compilation releases, Mark Churcher aka A-Eno-
Acid returns with his debut LP.
A raw transmission from the underground — deep, hypnotic and unapologetically acid. Rooted in the late-1980s sound of warehouse parties, pirate radio and underground dancefloors, this is an album built for DJs, dancers and heads who know. 808s, squelching 303s and hypnotic grooves — pure acid house energy.
It was in the year 2008 when Too Much came out: a 15-track debut that turned Berlin's underground upside down and made excess into a musical principle.
The album sounds like a party that has already gone off the rails - and is getting better because of it. Tobias Jundt's deadpan, heavily accented delivery collides with jagged guitars, rattling bass, vintage synths and restless dance grooves. Rock'n'roll, electroclash and dance-punk blur into something that never quite sits comfortably in any genre.
The songs are deliberately ridiculous, catchy and hedonistic. Too Much is full of party anthems, absurd one-liners and hooks that get stuck in your head whether you want them to or not. The title track itself became one of Bonaparte's signature songs - one of the early Myspace-era tracks that helped turn the band into a genuine underground sensation.
But Too Much was never just a record. Bonaparte's world extended into circus costumes, provocative performances, striptease, queer aesthetics and wildly excessive live shows. What began with illegal gigs under Alexanderplatz quickly moved to the Montreux Jazz Festival, international tours and legendary parties - with the band becoming one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from Berlin in the late 2000s.
Now Too Much returns on vinyl. A document of a particular Berlin moment - chaotic, funny, sweaty and impossible to ignore.
15 songs. Zero restraint. Still too much.
“The Hollowing of Godflesh is the most complete representation of Crown Magnetar we've ever put together. We pushed every aspect of our songwriting further without losing the intensity and rawness that defines the band. We wanted to take what people expect from us and push it further by adding more atmosphere, bigger moments, and even more aggression without sacrificing anything. You’ll hear it in the insane riffing of new guitarist Rob Maramonte, who has spent time as a member of Fallujah and The Zenith Passage, as well as performed live with Thy Art Is Murder and All Shall Perish.” “The Hollowing of Godflesh is a highly sharpened version of Crown Magnetar. It delivers unrelenting brutality and is sure to please old and new fans alike.”
Für manche zu gewagt, für andere unwiderstehlich - Twin Temple haben sich zu kulturellen Provokateuren und zu einer der meistdiskutierten Crossover-Bands der Musikszene entwickelt. Entstanden in einer der dunkelsten Phasen im persönlichen Leben der Bandmitglieder, ist ,DOOMED LOVERS" ihr bisher intimstes und emotional offenstes Werk. Das Album erweitert die filmische Bandbreite ihres unverwechselbaren Sounds und bleibt dabei doch verwurzelt in den zeitlosen Traditionen des frühen Rock 'n' Roll; es gilt als das bislang ambitionierteste und am besten umgesetzte künstlerische Statement der Band. ,DOOMED LOVERS" markiert das bisher kühnste Kapitel von Twin Temple. Produziert vom GRAMMY-preisgekrönten Produzenten Shooter Jennings im legendären Studio 3 bei Sunset Sound in Hollywood, setzt das Album das Bekenntnis der Band zur klassischen analogen Aufnahme fort und erweitert gleichzeitig ihre Klangpalette durch üppige Orchesterarrangements, die von einem 37-köpfigen Orchester eingespielt wurden.
Für manche zu gewagt, für andere unwiderstehlich - Twin Temple haben sich zu kulturellen Provokateuren und zu einer der meistdiskutierten Crossover-Bands der Musikszene entwickelt. Entstanden in einer der dunkelsten Phasen im persönlichen Leben der Bandmitglieder, ist ,DOOMED LOVERS" ihr bisher intimstes und emotional offenstes Werk. Das Album erweitert die filmische Bandbreite ihres unverwechselbaren Sounds und bleibt dabei doch verwurzelt in den zeitlosen Traditionen des frühen Rock 'n' Roll; es gilt als das bislang ambitionierteste und am besten umgesetzte künstlerische Statement der Band. ,DOOMED LOVERS" markiert das bisher kühnste Kapitel von Twin Temple. Produziert vom GRAMMY-preisgekrönten Produzenten Shooter Jennings im legendären Studio 3 bei Sunset Sound in Hollywood, setzt das Album das Bekenntnis der Band zur klassischen analogen Aufnahme fort und erweitert gleichzeitig ihre Klangpalette durch üppige Orchesterarrangements, die von einem 37-köpfigen Orchester eingespielt wurden.
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.
Pronounced Zero (ay ay) RIOT
Shit and Shine go fully CAN on their eleventh album release for Riot Season since their debut way back in 2004.
DEEP SOLID GROOVE REPETITION !!
Fully CAN in the sense that the rhythms are VERY CAN LIKE, but with a modern sharper edge and less flowery decoration. If CAN had a Roland TR-1000 drum machine it might sound a lot like this!
Basically all your favourite bits of krautrock, but sharpened up with modern tools, and it works perfectly! Say it again … DEEP SOLID GROOVE REPETITION !!
It’s definitely danceable, if that’s your thing, but also definitely deeply listenable. Something to put on and fill the space with infectious groove while you wash the dishes or drive your car, have your workout (I’ve heard from several sources $&$ makes excellent workout music) or whatever.
Two long songs on each side of the record. It’s an absolute beauty and actually sounds like shit and shine might be taking things a bit more seriously for a fuckin’ change! BRAVO !!!
Tresor Records announces GODSPEED, a new EP from NVST, out on October 23, 2026. From its origins in the Motor City and through to the themes of interstellar travel, techno has always been a genre focussed on forward movement, a tradition that GODSPEED continues boththrough music and title.
The EP is a collection that brings to mind the spirit of early, non-conformist releases on Tresor, full of hypnotic synth loops, spacious FX, and breakbeats, yet with a crisp and modern sonic palette. Side A embarks with two tracks that combine a low, buzzing bassline with trippy melodies and percussion that ventures close to breaks and electro, while the B-side moves intothe fast lane with driving acid and more regimented drums. Digital bonus track "Firliner" combines both approaches across its seven-and-a-half minutes, as a buzzy bassline and spluttering beat ignite into a steady trance-induction.
The EP title arrived the way the best ones do: not so much chosen as absorbed from the aether, the word kept popping up during the creative process until it became the ideal name for this collection, given its connotation with setting out on a journey.
"You remember the nights where you've been on the floor for hours without realising how much time has passed, the conversations you can't fully recall, or how unexpectedly open you've been to everything around you. The music speaks the language of substance not as a statement, but as a way of describing perception. It's about experimenting with yourself, your body, your hearing, your emotions. About reaching a point where things that once felt permanent suddenly lose their grip, even if only for a moment. These recordings come from that place. They capture moments where movement replaces thought, memories blur into feeling, and vulnerability becomes part of the process. They're documents of a very
specific time, but also of something much more familiar: trying to lose yourself just enough to find a different version of who you are." NVST
This fast-paced forward travel is implicit in the word speed, but once this word indicated power or prosperity so that godspeed is a wish for success, forming an appropriate double meaning for this first full release of NVST on Tresor.
With his last three records all landing within a calendar year (2024-25), enigmatic Swedish producer Civilistjävel! (aka Tomas Bodén) is on a hot streak of releases, his singular vision increasingly ambitious and expansive. There are few artists working at this level so consistently right now, reinventing, revising and continually developing their language. Following on from 2025’s radically re-worked ‘Versions’ (of Mayssa Jallad’s ‘Marjaa…’), Bodén returns to break further fresh ground with his new album, ‘Älvgång’. Featuring contributions from Soccer Committee, Carrier and guest (aka Jabu’s Jasmine Butt), ‘Älvgång’ foregrounds a more brittle and insistent rhythm-based sound, whilst comprising his most broad-ranging collection of material to date.
‘Älvgång’ grew out of a series of sketches made from late ‘24 and throughout the whole of ‘25 at Stockholm’s renowned EMS Studios, which gave Boden free rein to its extensive collection of vintage analogue equipment and rare modular synthesizers such as the Serge and Buchla systems. As a loose framework of tracks began to take shape, so did a reflection of sorts, on family and foundations, underpinned or influenced by sounds that drifted into Tomas consciousness around this time - ancient Swedish pastoral music, Georgian lithurgical chants, gongs, chimes. An idea settled into place, a dedication to his Grandfather, as the earlier release Fyra Platser (tr. ‘Four Places’) was to his Grandmother. Älvgång is grounded with the sense of time and place of an old family photograph, with the tracks over each side bearing one of two names that are more or less the same location - Strinne was the old name for a this loose collection of villages. These days it is more commonly known as Bjärtrå. Metaphorically speaking, the river runs through both.
Civilistjävel! conjures so many adjectives and descriptors, ‘glacial’ and ‘ambient’ frequently among them - but while not altogether untrue, such terms belie the tension and drama so often present in Tomas’ music. Listening to ‘Älvgång’ is not a passive experience. The eight tracks here feel like a patchwork of memories that bathe in the same ethereal, otherworldly glow of Tarkovsky’s polaroids’.
The machine pulses that dominate this landscape are reigned in and tempered by a human hand; lithe, untethered coils, breathing in and out. ‘Strinne Ett’ sets out with purpose, sensing awe and wonder through the murk, but as the final tone unfurls like a question mark, another chapter begins, unfolding/building like a Tarjei Vesaas novel. These lyrical, abstract miniatures combine to reveal a wider context, fragile humanity standing alone against nature.
Guest appearances on Civilistjävel! records have become a regular occurrence (including recent collaborations with Mayssa Jallad, Laila Sakini, Cucina Povera, Thomas Bush, Eldon + Withdrawn), but are used sparingly and with increasing precision. On ‘Strinne Tre’ Mariska Baars’ (Soccer Committee) voice feels like a balm, a clearing. But as her simple, three-word incantation drifts further into fog, the meaning changes, and her words seem to curdle. Carrier’s beats widen the parameters on ‘Strinne Fyra’, a skittering promise that builds tension then refuses to release it; all false starts, Photek gongs, and trinkling modulars. Jabu’s Jasmine Butt pulls all the threads together for the final track, Thomas Tallis’ ghost walking over offset machine impulses, that work against their own symmetry.
Side two begins inquisitively, scanning bleached, alien surroundings, its sparse pads recalling Aphex Twin’s ‘Selected Ambient works Vol 2’. 'Bjärtrå Två’ picks up the baton from ' Strinne Fyra’ with a ruptured Simmons SDS200 analogue drum synth set free from its shackles, the rhythm eventually slotting into the spaces that were hiding in plain sight. What follows seems like an epiphany; ‘Bjärtrå Tre’ is achingly beautiful, a euphoric, winding ascent that leads to devotional plainsong. ‘Bjärtrå Fyra‘s final unheralded shift feels both tragic and haunting.
Australian electronic icon What So Not redefined the boundaries of bass music in 2016 with the seminal Divide & Conquer EP—and now, this moment in dance music history finally gets the treatment it deserves. Celebrating 10 years, this vinyl pressing unleashes the EP’s signature mix of relentless bass and massive, soaring melodies like you’ve never heard them before.
Featuring the timeless sonic architecture of tracks like the explosive title track ‘Divide & Conquer’ and the unforgettable ‘Trust.’ Packed with iconic collaborations with Kimbra, George Maple, BURNS and GANZ, every track on this record holds up as a masterpiece. Drop the needle and re-experience the boundary-pushing energy that established What So Not as a global trailblazer.
British producer Ed Davenport lands on Studio Barnhus with four fresh ones built for long nights and well-tuned sound systems.
“Carry On” gets things rolling in suitably hazy fashion, a dopey tech-house shuffle circling around a soft, mysterious piano figure and trancetastic vocals by Tee Amara. “Green Wave” keeps the bounce going with warm chords and an easy spring in its step, before “Mezzh” puts the bass right up front and heads straight for the big room.
“Lift (Dub)” closes the record by nudging things into more acidic territory, never losing the loose, playable feel running through the EP. The digital edition includes the original “Main Pass” version of “Lift”, easing off the acid while letting the melodic side shine through a little more.
FLOOD’s “Late Night Callin’“ has been making the rounds on dance floors for quite a while now, yet it was never released as an actual record. KROF is changing this now, making the galloping tune with its cheeky vocal available on vinyl.
Alongside the original mix, the record includes an updated version of the track which takes a more straight-forward direction and adds some old-school techhouse flavor to it.
With “Gotcha“ and “U Love Me?“ on the B-side, two dace floor-ready house tunes based around groovy basslines and playful percussion complete the package.
Do you know what time it is? It’s Prime Time, the new EP on Punctuality from mischievous French duo Pureblast . Marking the label’s twelfth release, the record serves as a bold statement of intent from the Parisian pair and demonstrates why they’re quickly earning a reputation as one of France’s most exciting live acts.
Across the EP’s five tracks, Pureblast weave together a broad spectrum of influences while remaining deeply rooted in the duo’s singular vision. Every cut is fat, pumping, gritty and playful, ready to turn heads and hips on the dancefloor.
Side-stepping easy genre classifications, Prime Time is modern rolling prog at its most energetic. Tightly wound low-end, pummelling drums and restless basslines drive each track forward with purpose, while sa+ga’s vocals are manipulated and distorted to humanoid perfection. The result is something distinctly personal beneath the machine funk: robotic yet seductive, gritty yet playful.
Deep listeners will spot nods to tranced up breakbeats, Ray of Light-era big beat, Detroit electro and contemporary UK techno with psy-fluenced synth swirls and texture. Far from pastiche, these influences are absorbed into the Pureblast machine and transformed into something entirely their own.
Gritty, pumping, sexy and playful. It’s Pureblast, it’s Prime Time.
credits
DP10THEAVALANCHES Disco PogoBooks23.10.202623.OCT.26
For Autumn/Winter 2026/2027 our tenth issue is possibly our best ever with three heavyweight cover stars in the shape of Goldie, Mike D and The Avalanches. Issue 10 also features: Kevin Rowland and David Holmes - Two of the most dapper chaps in music go for a walk through London. William Orbit - We pay tribute to the producer who was simply ahead of his time. Sasha and John Digweed - The Man Like and Diggers reflect upon 30 years of their seminal ‘Northern Exposure’ mix. Larry Heard - Can you feel the genius of the man with his Mr. Fingers in many musical pies? Kraftwerk and Sheffield - How a group of German futurists turned the Steel City on its head. The Warehouse Project - The revolutionary Mancunian clubbing institution turns 20. We bring the cake. They blow out the candles. Shy One - It’s been a long and winding road for the artist also known as Mali Larrington-Nelson. Tom Sharkett - The one-man disco has a groove machine and he’s going to use it. Moxie - Moxie by name; moxie by nature. All hail the On Loop leader. KiF - Teenage friends collate an album dedicated to the life of the passion flower. Plus… loads more across 192 pages.
Chicago producer and composer Will Miller’s Resavoir has established a strong following at the intersection of jazz, electronic music, and beat-driven production, with more than 9,000 vinyl records sold and 82M+ streams across the project’s first three albums. Resavoir’s 2019 self-titled debut received an 8.2 from Pitchfork alongside broad international critical acclaim, with ongoing support from Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Anthony Valadez, Somewhere Soul, Andrew Jervis and Lovie, plus airplay on BBC 6 Music, KEXP and NPR. Recent recognition includes placements on NPR, KMHD and New Commute’s Best Albums/Songs of 2025, while Resavoir has toured extensively in the UK and Europe and opened for Khruangbin, BADBADNOTGOOD and Kassa Overall.
Above The Clouds finds Resavoir moving further into electronic territory, combining jazz improvisation with dreamy synthesizers, booming drums, smeared samples and electronic instrumentation. Recorded through loose studio sessions with longtime collaborators Lane Beckstrom and Jeremy Cunningham, with contributions from Kenneth Leftridge Jr. and Gregory Uhlmann, the album incorporates wind synthesizers, samplers, guitars, electronic drums and woodwinds into a fluid, groove-oriented sound. The album follows Resavoir’s growing presence across editorial and playlist platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL and Delicieuse Musique, with US and EU/UK touring planned for Fall 2026.
Chicago producer and composer Will Miller’s Resavoir has established a strong following at the intersection of jazz, electronic music, and beat-driven production, with more than 9,000 vinyl records sold and 82M+ streams across the project’s first three albums. Resavoir’s 2019 self-titled debut received an 8.2 from Pitchfork alongside broad international critical acclaim, with ongoing support from Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Anthony Valadez, Somewhere Soul, Andrew Jervis and Lovie, plus airplay on BBC 6 Music, KEXP and NPR. Recent recognition includes placements on NPR, KMHD and New Commute’s Best Albums/Songs of 2025, while Resavoir has toured extensively in the UK and Europe and opened for Khruangbin, BADBADNOTGOOD and Kassa Overall.
Above The Clouds finds Resavoir moving further into electronic territory, combining jazz improvisation with dreamy synthesizers, booming drums, smeared samples and electronic instrumentation. Recorded through loose studio sessions with longtime collaborators Lane Beckstrom and Jeremy Cunningham, with contributions from Kenneth Leftridge Jr. and Gregory Uhlmann, the album incorporates wind synthesizers, samplers, guitars, electronic drums and woodwinds into a fluid, groove-oriented sound. The album follows Resavoir’s growing presence across editorial and playlist platforms including Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL and Delicieuse Musique, with US and EU/UK touring planned for Fall 2026.
Tears|Ov are Terces Wale (aka D. Wale), L.E. Allen and Lottie Lou Poulet. For real money and in no particular order, they also work odd jobs as digital caterers, shrinking heads, doing laundry and looking up stuff online.
Tears|Ov write: ‘A life on hold! The corporate apology embedded in bad quality, insincere, trashy, patronising hold music it can have no meaning in this stage of Capitalism. There isn’t time - and humility is a waste of money. Still they joke and try to keep us calm, patient and satisfied. This was the starting point for “A Life on Hold” by Tears|Ov - Which quickly drifted into further musings on a collective life that feels forever two steps forward and x-steps back. We wait on hold and reach the top of the queue only for the line to go dead.
Tears|Ov are interested in the ready-made of mainstream media, particularly, the lies, the rub, the promises and the taken for granted. We are the blood plasma of the I in the screens embrace. We seek to find ourselves in that reflection, our real selves – if they even exist – just because it’s kinda fun. You may have seen us on TV, in the bargain basement music section, or some venue in your local area. We take the opportunities the Universe provides.” – Tears|Ov, London, 20 June 2026
UK techno lynchpin James Ruskin celebrates 30 years of Blueprint with a remastered edition of his 'Further Design' LP, releasing 4th September 2026. Founded by Ruskin and Richard Polson in 1996, the infl uential label has spent three decades documenting uncompromising techno through releases from the likes of Rommek, Kr!z, Truncate, and many more, with 'Further Design' originally landing in 1998. The anniversary celebrations have already seen Mark Broom revisit seminal Regis recordings on the 'Power Is Neutral' EP, with further releases from Kerrie, Nastia, and more to follow, alongside a merchandise run later this year.
James Ruskin has been a constant presence in techno for over three decades. He defi ned the sound of British techno through his DJ sets, productions, and the releases on his infl uential Blueprint label. His stripped-back, functional, and forward-thinking sound has remained utterly uncompromising, with performances at clubs and festivals around the world while never straying from underground ideals. Substance over trends has always been his MO, through a catalogue spanning Blueprint, Tresor, and numerous collaborations that remain timeless.
The purposeful titles of the tracks on this essential album hint at the minimalist approach to sound. This is bold, linear techno with 'Enter', 'Below', and 'Indirect World' kicking off with rolling low ends and smart sound designs that even now sound futuristic. The likes of 'The Divide' bring spangled synths and crunchy percussive textures that jerk you into motion, while 'Time And Place' is an immersive cosmic odyssey and 'Unknown Destination' melts the mind with liquid synth work that loops around hypotonic rhythms. 'Work' is another perfectly calibrated cut with meticulous percussive placement and the shimmering of bells that dissolve space and time.
It is testament to Ruskin's original vision that 'Further Design' remains as evocative today as it was upon its release, full of otherworldly imagery and grooves that continue to move dance fl oors around the world.
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.
Early in 2018 he unveiled Zoning Out, Volume 1, an album intended for chilling while deep in thought, or for getting into that crucial head-nod zone, like when the DJ drops the dopest beat. With listeners ready for more rhythmic brain-food, Emapea provides with the anticipated next installment: Zoning Out, Volume 2. Developing the theme of Volume 1, Emapea takes his jazzy sensibilities and fresh drum patterns and ups the ante, delivering 18 mandatory cuts that swerve and shimmy while exhibiting pure dopeness. Take "Last Cypher," which is an infectious funk- hip- hop hybrid that flows with more than a few surprise embellishments. There's also the low-rider spy-hop of "Big Small Talks"; "Tantra" with its smooth, old school ride; the sensual boom bap of "Blue Almonds"; and the infectious, latin-lounge-tinged "Rainy Day". These are no- nonsense beat compositions, perfect for thinking, for grooving, for dreaming, for zoning out. Emapea and Cold Busted come correct once again.
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.
Duality, the second studio album by American rock band RA, originally released in 2005, captures the group at a moment of creative expansion. Building on the heavy, melodic foundation of their debut From One, the band broadened its sound with richer arrangements, deeper emotional themes, and a more polished production approach.
With Duality, RA refined their blend of alternative rock, hard rock, and atmospheric textures. The album features several fan‑favorite tracks, including “Fallen Angels”, “Sky”, “Tell Me” and “Got Me Going”. One of the album’s standout moments is RA’s cover of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, originally by The Police and written by Sting.
Duality is available on vinyl for the first time and includes an insert with lyrics.
The first wave of British punk was overrun with smart kids from upper-class backgrounds playacting at being working-class yobs. Sham 69 was different; every bit as thick-headed and provincial as the band sounded, they took a perversely populist pride in its lack of musical or intellectual sophistication, just like The Exploited and Anti-Nowhere League.
Side one of Tell Us The Truth was recorded live, and it perfectly captured the Cockney vibe, complete with football chants and a spontaneous chorus of "Knees Up, Mother Brown." Frontman Jimmy Pursey's banter with the audience is impressive, and all the songs are brimmed with straight-ahead live energy. The studio side is a template for brash UK punk rock: snotty, in-your-face, fast and loud.
Tell Us The Truth is now available on black vinyl.
Isaac Kniveton (fka Keplrr) steps out with Daydreaming, a four track deluge of psychedelic club projections for Call Super and Parris’ can you feel the sun imprint.
Having boasted a notable reputation as Keplrr for labels like Control Freak and Midgar, Isaac Kniveton now embraces transition. On Daydreaming, his debut release under his own name, he maintains an unclassifiable sound with newer purpose; a sound that cascades in brighter colours. It’s a renewed sense of focus and subtlety that produces some of his most arresting work to date.
The ornate funk of opener Flutter angles for the wide-eyed, a cosmic stepper that pins tight drums to a weightless melodic base. Love Groove’s inebriated swing trips out further, a steady cut that binds vocals from GRACE founder Katiusha with entangled melodies. Symmetry’s wayward rhythm ups the ante with subtle rave tension, gently rising as its circular bassline swells. On closer Molecule, he locks in for an exploratory dive, offering shades of Detroit and twisted theremins.
A fascinating new era for Isaac Kniveton that finds solace in can you feel the sun’s forward-leaning club manifesto.
Budapest based concept label Blue Sun arrives with the 3rd edition of their annual VA series, showcasing a colorful taste of the local underground music scene, with some international sidenotes.
Following up on the label’s customs, the 19-track selection is not only released digitally, but also on a limited 200-piece cassette series. Curated by the label heads, the tracks follow Blue Sun's listening-oriented concept without genre restrictions with downtempo, trip-hop, jazz, dub, balearic, ambient, experimental, and electronica as highlights, with pieces that are more difficult to classify.
As before, instead of the usual A-B markings, the two sides are divided by the label's colors: “ORANGE” contains more organic and high-energy music, while “BLUE” contains more pensive and experimental tracks. Moreover, the selection has been carefully curated so that it can be listened to as an endless loop: the end of a side always resonates with the beginning of the other, wherever the listener begins.
The list of contributing artists this year are truly various and just as impressive. From uniqe debuting local artists to internationally recognised performers, it gives a taste of how the Hungarian underground scene sounds like atm. Important to note, that the release marks another debut: the label’s new visual identity by Blue Sun’s new designer, Péter Tóth.
Chapterhouse was a British band that eventually became part of the burgeoning shoegaze scene along with bands such as Lush, Ride and Slowdive. Between 1987 and 1994 they only released two albums of which Whirlpool was their debut.
Unlike their counterparts, Chapterhouse heavily employed structures borrowed from electronic music creating heavy, yet strangely uplifting grooves. The record spent three weeks in the UK Albums chart peaking at number #23 and includes the single "Pearl" featuring Rachel Goswell of Slowdive. Pitchfork in turn ranked the album at #17 on its list of the 50 best shoegaze albums of all time.
Whirlpool is available on black vinyl and includes an insert.
Pablo Volt and J.G.G. make dub-folktronica the unpolished way: guitar, horns, drums and synths, recorded loose, drenched in echoes and tape saturation. They met in Barcelona over a shared love of experimental beers and even more experimental sessions, determined to see how far their musical chemistry could take them. "Mordida", their 2023 tape, spent months on repeat at the Pingipung office. Now comes the debut LP: Aqui me quedo. It's a record built on the gap between two childhoods. Pablo Volt (aka Pope, as producer) grew up in Mendoza, Argentina; Jordi Gege aka J.G.G. in a suburb of Barcelona. What they share is a language and a curiosity about each other's memories and musical roots - the studio is where they embrace their different origins in improvisations. A ditch from Pablo's childhood becomes "Zanjon". A mountain Jordi used to roam becomes "Emisora". An ice cream shop, a Sunday market, a football club: small doors into a past the other never lived, but somehow recognises. Aqui me quedo, "I'm staying here", is also the name of the Barcelona bar where they toast after a good session. Two friends, tracing their way back through the past, decide the present is where they'd rather be. Handmade, melodic, unashamed of a smile as they greet from the LP sleeve: this is the spirit in which Pingipung was founded 24 years ago and these two guys, muy simpatico, are living proof of it.
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
Phoenix-based DJ and producer Paul West lands on eudemonia with a stellar 5-track EP, seamlessly picking up right where his impressive debut Blue Sun on Rocky Hill left off.
The record delivers a wonderful blend of breakbeats, house, electro, and Detroit techno, keeping the energy raw, warm, and deeply atmospheric throughout. The A-side builds intensity towards its third track, the spacey title track "Nebulae". Flipping over to the B-side, the journey comes to a close with the playful, melodic tones of „Stardust".
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
UK experimental multi-instrumentalist Oli Heffernan (aka Ivan The Tolerable) returns to independent label Riot Season Records on October 23rd, 2026, with The Planets, a fierce, tension-fuelled reinterpretation of Gustav Holst’s iconic orchestral suite tailored for the modern age.
Originally composed over a century ago to capture the astrological characters of the cosmos, Holst's masterpiece receives a radical, uneasy update. Where the original composition leaned on grand symphonic sweeps, Ivan The Tolerable strips away the comfort of the orchestra, replacing it with fracturing analog synthesisers, claustrophobic tape loops, and the hypnotic, nervous pulse of modern kosmische music and avant-garde noise.
The Planets is an album forged in the specific dread of 2026—a year defined by geopolitical instability, climate weariness, and pervasive societal tension. Rather than looking up at the stars in awe, Heffernan turns the telescope back toward a fractured Earth. From the staggering, industrial-tinged dread of "Mars" to a hollow, melancholic take on "Jupiter," the album transforms familiar motifs into an immersive exploration of collective psychological fatigue.
Recorded in isolation by Heffernan, the project captures the signature solo vulnerability seen on his recent landmark releases like Psychogeography. It balances moments of deep, meditative stillness with sudden, jarring eruptions of noise, offering listeners a space to both confront and process the overwhelming static of the everyday world.
Opening the release is Bonifaz ‘Encore’ a sample heavy slice of filter-house with a sprinkling of French touch,
laid out across five and a half minutes with with a chuggy bass line, dubby synth stabs and an amalgamation of
choppy vocal chants all dynamically evolving and unfolding throughout amongst a crisp, robust rhythm section
that carries the groove throughout.
On the flip side, Uit de Hoogte offers up 'Whooop!' built around a acid-tinged synth hook with envelope
fluctuations through, sweeping resonant synth flutters, heavily swung drums and intricately processed vocal
lines resulting in a high-octane workout perfectly primed for the peak time hours on the dance floor.
Strawberry Guy’s new album ‘Give Me A Dream’ unfolds as a tender, fragile and intimate record. The 14 track album arrives as the ultimate hopecore long player, in a time when we need it most. It's a guiding light, healing for the mind, exploring the tight-rope balance that is making it through life intact. Strawberry Guy evolves from the dreamy indie-pop home recordings to a perfectly formed crystalline vision, utilizing an immersive studio approach. Shifting from sparse & fluid piano parts to rich, engulfing layered strings, infectious melodies and an exquisite rumination on manhood from fraught emotional states. Give Me A Dream is a big step up, brimming with ideas, glistening production, and a tender heart.
IGNEA explores nostalgia on their upcoming album, Monumental (October 23, 2026, via Napalm Records). The Ukrainian four-piece navigates through unique facets of the past—from the grandeur and ambition of Cold War space dreams to the melancholy of urban decay and forgotten modernist structures, all the way to the emotional weight of personal and collective memory. All lyrics on Monumental were written by vocalist Helle Bohdanova. Mixing and mastering were handled by Grammy Award-nominated producer Jacob Hansen (DELAIN, Amaranthe, Volbeat, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, and more). Monumental is IGNEA’s second full-length that was written during the full-scale war in Ukraine. The recording process mostly took place in the winter of 2025-2026, during icy temperatures and long power outages in Kyiv.
“Slide in the party like three monkeys wearing a trench,” GDP says in the opening seconds of Cross Off Matthew, his first solo album in over a decade. The line is indicative of the New Jersey emcee/ producer’s relationship with music, one that’s ebbed and flowed throughout his career and eclectic discography. Entirely self-produced, Cross Off Matthew feels like a reintroduction as well as an expansion of what makes the cult rapper so beloved. GDP came up in the respective punk, hardcore, and skateboarding scenes of New Jersey, roots that inspired his DIY approach to making hip-hop. He applied a decidedly punk ethos to his brand of neo- boom bap on early releases like 2009’s Realistic Expectations and 2011’s Useless Eaters, albums that celebrated his youthful indiscretions but also signaled an old soul lying beneath the surface.
He opted to release them on punk/indie labels (including Run For Cover and Ride The Fury Records) instead of more traditional hip-hop outlets, and along with an ambitious touring schedule, he carved out a dedicated fanbase throughout the early 2010’s. Cross Off Matthew is a slow-cooked labor of love, born out of taking enough time away from something to understand the journey with greater perspective and appreciation.“I’m older, arguably wiser, but that creative fire stayed with me,” he says. “I wanted to make something that felt nuanced, something that I could feel proud of.” Throughout the album, the production toggles between foreboding and facetious just as deftly as his bars. Tracks like “Island In The Sky” and “Location Therapy” make rap confetti out of caustic guitars and glaring distortion, while “Seroquel” and “Rock For Light,” (the latter a nod to NJ rap royalty, The Outsidaz) embrace GDP’s signature blend of East Coast hip-hop and punk sensibilities, with lyrics that highlight the sharp wit and heady philosophizing that he made his name on. GDP examines vices, interpersonal relationships, the collective dread of late-stage capitalism as well as the pitfalls and rewards of trying to lead a creative life throughout it all. The wiseman that peaked out from beneath the shield of debauchery on his early releases has now come to the forefront, as GDP’s trademark humor and commentary feel refined by years of life lived experience
Time to turn on and turn it up, theres a brand new Carlton Melton in the offing… its been a good couple of years since the West Coast space/sike travellers have dropped new music.
‘Phantomize beyond the window, into the portal, the panes of eternal returns, wooden spirals, roots into the realms of everything and nothing, the reason beings’
With Anthony Taibi fully ensconsed in the metaphorical Melton Dome, this four piece is ready to soar, go deeper and wider into the sike psyche than on previous recordings, now fully recording live with drums, bass, guitars and keys...recorded at 3D Light in Freshwater, CA by Anthony Tiabi in 2025, and mastered by the inimitable John Mcbain in 2026.
We have a single LP of 40+ minutes spanning 4 tracks, that have textures, and waves and patterns to lull you into some fever dream of motorik psych! Touchstones like Träd, Gräs Och Stenar / Kandodo / Guru Guru / Eno & Fripp / Birds of Maya / Parson Sound come into view.
There are moments of gentle ambience bordered by speaker shredding guitar soloing, whole passages of Krautrock inspired jams that have form and focus.. you blink and your live flashes before you, the record ends, you want more..
There are moments of gentle ambience bordered by speaker shredding guitar soloing, whole passages of Krautrock inspired jams that have form and focus.. you blink and your live flashes before you, the record ends, you want more.. Carlton Melton masterfully blend hypnotic, long-form psychedelic jams with drone and Krautrock influences.
Band:
Rich Millman
Andy Duvall
Clint Golden
Anthony Taibi
Announced to celebrate summers solstice.. released on the Autumn equinox.. with a full UK tour to boot..
Dich lieb ich, Erde! trauerst du doch mit mir! Und unsre Trauer wandelt wie Kinderschmerz In Schlummer sich und wie die Winde Flattern und flüstern im Saitenspiele
The third stanza of Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem ‘Dem sonnengott’ evokes a narrator who is tortured by Spleen until slumber makes his childlike gloom disappear with music. Although today’s readers might judge these nineteenth century musings of the Imagination as mere stylistic platitudes, they also still speak beyond the grave as universal truths. A mere two hundred years later similar anxieties and hopes are still channeled through various art forms, with changing success and reverberation. Brannten Schnüre are one of those neo-romantic music experimentalists who add to a long tradition of celebrating folk tale and exoticism. Their meticulously crafted loops, hesitant melodies and heavily nostalgic lyricism could easily be translated to what the late philosopher and music critic Mark Fisher called ‘hauntology’, a postmodern longing for a lost future. To describe the beauty of ‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’, however, the term seems somewhat dissatisfying. Romanticism is a hard nut to crack in the Anthropocene, and Brannten Schnüre’s realms of the cerebral are too deeply ingrained in a German tradition of story telling to define them within popular paradigm.
‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’ was recorded in 2014 in Würzburg and functions as the autumn part of the band’s seasonal cycle quadrilogy (the other segments being ‘Aprilnacht’ (SicSic), ‘Sommer im Pfirsichhain’ (Aguirre) and ‘Durch unser zugedecktes Tal’ (Youdonthavetocallitmusic)). It deals with the Saint Martin’s parade, a mostly European tradition to celebrate the medieval spirit of Saint Martin of Tours, friend of children and patron of the poor. Around 11 November children come out on the streets with lanterns and sing ancient songs in exchange for sweets. It’s a period of snugness and expectation, of yearning and dreaming, and therefore a consummate subject for the duo to scrutinize.
To the adult’s ear the dream of the Saint Martin’s parade isn’t all that consolatory. The dark and slow loops of Christian Schoppik rather sound like motifs for a welcome paralysis. Sometimes as a gentle backdrop for vocals by Katie Rich and Schoppik himself, the repetitive structures serve as tricksters that trade innocence for the uncanny. The dream becomes a fever dream which quickly absorbs the listener into a vacuum, an eternal post-panic attack semi-relief. Maybe that’s the amazing paradox of Brannten Schnüre. The space they occupy is never comforting – as if being locked up inside a Carl Grossberg painting – but it’s also a subliminal aural zone you do not want to leave. It’s music as being, as a stream, devoid of climax or catharsis. And because it is flux and being, and exists to be taken, it speaks in art’s purest form. ‘In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art’ Susan Sontag famously concluded her essay ‘Against Interpretation’ with. Well, look no further …
Somehow it feels fitting that 1+1 equals not only 11, but also the two slabs of vinyl carrying Henry Hodson’s music here. A small inside joke, perhaps, but also a sign of how naturally this record came together: instinctive and shaped with intention. Hodson — who first appeared on Limousine Dream and later with a subtle and beautifully controlled EP via Silky Beats — continues his trajectory between deep house warmth and minimal clarity. These six tracks are drawn with the sort of fine-grained rhythmic detail that rewards attention without ever demanding it. Light-footed percussion, elegant restraint, grooves that breathe. The double 12’’ format isn’t a gimmick; it’s a commitment. Each track gets the physical space and sonic depth it needs.
Kay Slice’s music is more than meets the ear. He channels a movement. His sound moves beyond borders, blending highlife rhythms and poetic verses into a sonic force that connects the soul of Africa with its scattered children across the globe. Slice is rooted in legacy but speaks to the now. Bold, layered, and deeply aware.
This isn’t fusion. It’s ancestral alignment with a futuristic edge.
From the electrifying grooves of West Africa to the sharp truths of hip-hop, Kay’s music isn’t merely entertainment; it’s a cultural awakening. His performances are highlights: Ghanaian drums, balafon chants, and rhythmic prophecy shaking stages to their core. His storytelling is vivid, raw, and intentional. The immigrant experience reimagined through sound and soul. And as Kay says about this new single, “Moving with purpose, driven by the will to put in the work. The time is now to raise Mother Africa.”
Following his powerful debut From Back To Back (2022), Kay is stepping into full artistic clarity. In 2026, it all comes to a head with Kay’s next album, scheduled for autumn 2026, forged across borders, driven by the spirit of his Ghanaian ensemble and a love letter to highlife, elevated with modern energy.
No longer bound by survival, Kay is moving like a general of sound. Leading with grace, grounded in legacy, but always forward-moving. His shows? Think rituals. Think liberation. Think sweat, spirit, and rhythm. Kay Slice isn’t finding his voice. He is the voice of diasporic pride, ancestral rhythm, and future Africa.
For over 25 years, David Madson (aka Odd Nosdam) has been stationed away from the light of the mainstream, diligently working the nightshift. Every so often, we awake to find another of his bleary and beautiful missives slung into the waking world – albums whose assemblages of sampled grooves, atmospheres and voices are unified by a hallucinatory sense of melody, like disparate visions strung together through ribbons of sleep-talk. From his earliest days as a member of the seminal group cLOUDDEAD, through his remixes for artists such as Boards of Canada and Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nosdam has been reporting back from his rounds upon the perimeters of culture and consciousness, forging a musical language all of his own.
On Patrol is the second Odd Nosdam LP to be released on The Notwist’s imprint Alien Transistor – following on from the 2019 album Mirrors – and continues a collaborative history that begun with a 2008 remix of The Notwist song, “Sleep”. It’s a love letter to the vinyl format, produced with the aim of optimizing for a single LP. This objective permeated every aspect of the album’s production, from the duration of each side through to the vinyl mastering (Jessica Thompson) and lacquer-cutting (Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin). As we've come to expect, the album is built almost entirely from found sounds, many of which were taken from obscure and second-hand vinyl gathered during Nosdam’s ceaseless crate-digging escapades. Other sources include field recordings made in 2022 at the Catalonia summer home of artist Salvador Dalí, which are baked into the swirling sci-fi glide of “Here to Know (Adéu Mix)”, and a sumptuous clunking bass line courtesy of Organi’s Mike Walti, which runs like an infinite highway through the fuzzy, sunbaked sprawl of “Deepsimple”.
Odd Nosdam’s work has always swept the entire atmospheric spectrum, from rhythmic vigour to levitational beauty. On Patrol is perhaps his finest assimilation of these extremes. “Sgt. Pepsi” is the perfect case in point: a formidable slow groove capsizes into vinyl crackle after a mere minute, before the song resurrects itself through sweeping strings and vocal harmonies, sliding against each other like the overlain romantic denouements to a dozen Hollywood films from the 1940s. Elsewhere, “Get You In (Belong Mix)” drapes shoegaze guitar over a trundling funk backbeat, straddling the physical world and the outer realms, while hushed voices point toward the song's implied themes of cultural cliques, critical consensus and the plight of the eternal outsider: “Sure, I can get you in... these people are my friends, I’m one of them - I belong.”
This is music that both endures and disappears. Odd Nosdam has always wielded a strange relationship with time, scrambling association with any specific era, weaving together numerous tempos simultaneously. There is no master clock. Each track could happily hold up as an infinite loop, yet Nosdam clearly favours the potency of the gone-too-soon, applying the fadeout just as hypnosis starts to crest. Indeed, the songs are both the product of meticulous long-term construction and spontaneity. While the foundations of On Patrol have come together over several years, the recording process involved channeling vibes through a vintage Roland Space Echo and bouncing song fragments back and forth from hard disk to cassette 8-track, gifting a phased permanence to creative decisions made on the fly – a hat-tip to the production processes of Nosdam's longtime hero, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Like a recurring dream, On Patrol appeals to both the plains of momentary ephemera and the long-established backchannels of the unconscious, equal parts revelation and deja vu.
Stockholm-based duo Dött ljus are back with *Sjunka*, the follow-up to their acclaimed debut *Bottna* (supported by the BBC, KEXP and Headphone Commute). Released via Fauxpas Musik, *Sjunka* delivers immersive, rhythm-driven tracks built on flickering soundscapes, reflecting themes of movement, chaos and hope. Recorded in the catacombs of Södermalm, this long-awaited release is about letting go of control and allowing yourself to sink.Available digitally and on physical vinyl, including a strictly limited run on coloured vinyl.
Vinyl Tastes Better…
Earlier this year, Blue Hour released his debut album Selva, a record steeped in the imagery of lost and forgotten worlds. Now, rather than let that world stand still, Blue Hour opens it up, inviting a handpicked crew of fresh talent to step inside and make it their own.
The result is a remix companion that reimagines Selva through fresh eyes and ears. Each remix artist brings their own sonic fingerprint to the source material, some peeling back the original's dense atmospherics to expose skeletal rhythms underneath, others pushing further into the album's dreamlike haze. What emerges isn't a simple tribute, but a genuine dialogue: new talents in conversation with an album that was already asking questions about memory, erosion, and what gets left behind when a world disappears.
It's a fitting extension of Selva's original premise: if the debut album conjured ruins and jungles swallowed by time, this remix project treats those same soundscapes as living, mutable spaces, ready to be excavated, reinterpreted, and given new life by a new generation of voices.
"From the Toolkit of Lovers" is the latest from Brian Leeds, known publicly under several monikers: Huerco S., Pendant, and Loidis - a play on his own surname. Recorded over the summer of 2025, Leeds expounds upon the sound of One Day in a 110-minute meditation on life, love and dub
Flamingo Pier, the New Zealand–born, London shaped trio of Luke Walker, Dominic Jones and Brad Craig, step confidently into a new chapter with the announcement of their second album ‘Woven Together’ arriving in October. Long celebrated as one of the southern hemisphere’s best kept dancefloor secrets, the group now move firmly into global view with a record written, produced and released entirely on their own terms. Since first emerging with their Kitsuné debut in 2015, Flamingo Pier have carved out a distinctive space in contemporary dance. Their 2019 Soundway EP earned international acclaim was played on BBC Radio 1 and KEXP, with their 2021 debut album featuring jazz icon Nathan Haines.
Further releases on Razor 'N' Tape and Soundway included collaborations with Nigerian disco legend Steve Monite.
The first glimpse of ‘Woven Together’ arrives with lead single ‘Cool Nights’, a modern, playful take on 80s Italo Disco - powerful on the dancefloor yet built for top down drives along the Italian coastline. A late night story of connection and possibility, the track sets the tone for an album that brings Flamingo Pier’s melodic warmth, rhythmic precision and global influences into sharp, confident focus.
Celebrating 50 years of dancing, Amnesia represents the heart and soul of electronic music in Ibiza. Telling a story that spans five decades, the 50th anniversary vinyl/CD compilation is a window into a legendary venue that has helped establish some of the world's biggest tracks.
From the iconic piano riff of Eric Prydz' 'Pjanoo' to the laid-back groove of 'Benediction' by Hot Natured. A club that spans eras and genres - the disco of Chic's 'Good Times', the synth-pop of New Order's 'Blue Monday', or the gritty electro of Alter Ego's 'Rocker'.
The soundtracks of 50 summers are represented across 50 tracks spanning 10 vinyl/5 CDs. A hand-picked selection that reflects the incredible breadth of Amnesia's cultural influence, featuring music from Calvin Harris, Donna Summer, Paul van Dyk, Candi Staton, Fred Again.., Robert Miles, Laurent Garnier, Binary Finary, and many more.
Classic edits that place the funk upfront. Da Breaks brings that familiar flavour with a twist of Boom-bap, these timeless reworks are built for DJs. Trimmed, tightened and ready to mix.
Quiet, from the Latin quies, evokes a state of being still. In its verb form, quiet means to clear so that something can gradually come into focus. Kind Stranger by Amedeo Cappelletti is where quiet materializes in a more transient, even foreign, way. Each track takes a step back from noise, borne out of a slow return to music, a different pace, and a familiar place left behind for years.
Kind Stranger, released on Aurora Edition on July 24th, is about the strangeness of a return. Cappelletti's melodic scores work their way between faint noise and disquiet, and sonically muse upon the familiar. That is, when given enough time and distance, the familiar can become unrecognizable, demanding stillness to resituate oneself within it.
The album began taking shape when Cappelletti performed at Aurora Edition at Silent Green, just after he had returned to music following a three-year hiatus. In one month, he wrote forty-five minutes of new material from scratch. Then Cappelletti left Berlin after eight years and returned to the Tuscan countryside where he had grown up, back into slowness.
The album develops as an atmosphere in the truest sense. Resampled voices, found sound, and years of sound design practice converge as compositions form by overlapping texture with spatial depth. Kind Stranger cultivates a quietude that envelops the listener.
Vocal recordings made with Matthew Walsh and Sarah McInerney, collaborators Cappelletti met by chance in a Berlin ice cream shop, appear throughout the album like a current, shaped during a residency at MONOM, Berlin's spatial sound institute. Thematically, the record moves through digital addiction, fragmented attention, and the grief of work done in the darkness.
Kind Stranger is an offering to whoever finds themselves here within the quiet, in this particular quality of sound between return and lingering.
Weirdos Inc. share five chuggy heaters from Glaswegian via London producer Adam Low, aka Pigeon Steve. Leave Some Trace traverses a cinematic palette across five tracks. Euphoric acid, palmy Balearic touches, prog heavy nods to Goa trance. All fused influences shape an original and unique take on club music primed for a proper basement session. Perfect material for any dancefloor moment.
Adam Low has been turning heads over the last couple of years with his DJ sets and finely dialled productions. This EP spins our heads a full 360 on itself. This marks Weirdos’ first release of the year. Hope you enjoy.
Set to expand the footprint of his recent album Make-Up Is A Lie, his 14th solo album, legendary singer and songwriter Morrissey highlights “Zoom Zoom the Little Boy” on 7" vinyl, accompanied by a previously unreleased B-side from the album sessions, "Without Music the World Dies". The single features a vintage cover shot by Tina Dehghani.
Set to expand the footprint of his recent album Make-Up Is A Lie, his 14th solo album, legendary singer and songwriter Morrissey highlights “Kerching Kerching” on 7" vinyl accompanied by a previously unreleased B-side from the album sessions, "Isle Of Dogs". The archival sleeve photograph, seen above, was taken by Jake Walters.
We're back in quick succession with release number nine, this time welcoming talented UK artist Front Bench to the label.
Following the launch of his own imprint, 199, and its debut EP earlier this year, Richard returns with his second release. Across four versatile tracks, he delivers a collection built for a range of spaces and occasions, with each cut unfolding gradually through evolving textures and finely layered arrangements.
Powerhouse vocalist Sandra St. Victor returns with Eleven, her eleventh studio album and first solo release in over a decade. From her years with The Family Stand to collaborations with Roy Ayers, Curtis Mayfield, Chaka Khan, Prince and Lalah Hathaway, Sandra has built a remarkable career that has consistently blurred the lines between soul, funk, jazz and gospel.
Executive produced by Sandra St. Victor and Patrick Gibin for Mother Tongue, Eleven brings together Sandra's longtime collaborators alongside the Mother Tongue family, bridging her rich musical legacy with a fresh, forward-looking sound rooted in soul, jazz, boogie and soulful dance music.
The album combines brand new compositions with inspired reinterpretations, from Kaidi Tatham's stunning reimagining of Captain Sky's Moonchild and his masterful reinvention of the Leon Ware/Syreeta underground gem Tiki Tiki Donga, to a beautifully understated new version of Sandra's own Dizzy, originally released on Gemini: Both Sides in 2001 featuring Questlove, Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd, here reimagined by Mark de Clive-Lowe. Along the way, the lo-fi soul of Black Ice, the timeless duet No More Water featuring Lalah Hathaway, and the straight-up funk of Makes Me Wanna Fall In Love Again and What Would Miles Do showcase an artist continuing to evolve while remaining true to her artistic voice.
Rooted in experience yet driven by curiosity, Eleven bridges Sandra's remarkable musical legacy with the creative vision of Mother Tongue, resulting in an album that feels both timeless and unmistakably
Two Thou’s Oraculu releases a full length spiritual electronics LP with tubaredefining Theon Cross, homeboy Taymour Khajah, soulful presence of D’Monk and Division81 vibe designer Sonny Daze. The sun-inspired record sets a high energy moment for Oraculu, blurring all the lines between the dancefloor, the horns, Berlin, London, Chicago, and Sardinia. This record is about change. I’ve started to be less interested in the fire of the sun, the explosion, the heat. The consistency, the orbit, the return got my full attention. Until it clicked, that repetition is a fundamental aspect of change.
Label boss Alessio Collina is finally here with his first E.P on the limited series! “Shades of me E.P” is one of the most personal work he ever made until now because it touches different styles of House, rooted always from the same school. We start from the A side where we find “Bloom in the garage” as first track: Old-school groove, fat bassline, dirty drums and some Garage stabs with the hot swing by MPC1000. The second track is “Back to the real”: a sexy, mental Deep/Tribal tune which can be fit in a warm up set or during an intimate Afterhour. In the B side we have “Spring Equinox”, a Techy roller with an absolute killer bassline, some dreamy melodies and a dynamic stab: dancefloor weapon. We close the record with “The Party” on the B2, which sounds like an old dark Chicago House record but revisited in an alternative way.
Originally released in 1989, “Synthesis” is the debut full-length album by Artefacto, a pioneering Mexican techno-pop band formed in Tijuana by Bola Modelevsky, Roberto Mendoza and Melo Ruiz. With its distinctive blend of electronic rhythms, synthesizers and futuristic pop sensibilities, the album became an important and highly sought-after release within the Mexican electronic music scene. Despite the album’s innovative sound and the interest surrounding it at the time, “Synthesis” was mysteriously held back from a wider release.
“Synthesis” has since become regarded by collectors as one of the essential releases of Mexican techno-pop, with tracks such as “Complejo de Amor” and “Mundo sin Viento” remaining enduring classics. “Mundo sin Viento” was later featured on “Back Up: Mexican Tecno Pop 1980-1989”, the influential compilation released by Dark Entries, helping introduce Artefacto’s music to a new international audience.
The story of Artefacto and its creators did not end with this chapter. Its members continued to explore new musical territories through projects such as Artefakto, Panoptica, Nortec Collective, and Klansoff, continuing their creative journey within Mexico’s evolving electronic music scene.
For this new edition, “Synthesis” has been newly remastered from the original master tapes and is presented on transparent red vinyl, limited to 350 copies and including a reproduction of the original lyrics insert.
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.
Nu Vision is a modern salon for visionary leaders, fighting for their art, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing forwards towards a new paradigm. The band all have their own stories and extensive discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in places you might have attended but none of that matters. This is a new beginning. A group. A collective.A movement. Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense. Equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Their friends at DFA noted that the album “sounds like Depeche Mode scoring a Michael Mann montage: brooding,motorik, and shot through with black-and-blue beauty.” this idea is taken further in the first video from the album for track one / side one “Time” that launches the project publically along with the albums announcement. The palette of ‘The Seed’ is defined and refined in the best way. It’s an album that opens up many pathways. Brisker, freakier tracks like “Shadow In The Dark,” “R U Serious?” and “Humanity” run towards a softer finish with “Somedays” and the seven-minute, eyeliner-smearing closing ballad, “Lullaby Garden.” These are proper songs made with vintage machines, with a sound that carries obvious influences. ’ The Seed’ pulses forward as the body of the beast is turned inside out, wearing a beating heart on its sleeve, honoring those who left us too soon - DAF’s Gabi Delgado, Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy, Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher, and Sandwell District’s Juan Mendez. It’s important to note the emotional core of ‘The Seed’ album is the song ‘Synchronicity’ that is filled with both love and regret, the story of losing a friend without properly making amends. It is unquestionably heartbreaking, but is also delivered with a pang of hope, the feeling that with so many sunrises caught, so many additions and subtractions in life, a perspective has been gained. This is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A New Vision
"John Beltran joins forces with Ireland’s Intrinsic Rhythm for a masterclass in emotional Detroit Techno with his "Roots EP" featuring a deep & soulful remix from Fireground.
Few names command the same reverence in electronic music as John Beltran. Since pioneering the more melodic, ambient-soaked textures of Detroit techno in the 1990s and 00s, the Michigan producer has spent over three decades crafting electronic music with an unmistakable human soul.
For his latest outing, Beltran links up with Irish imprint Intrinsic Rhythm for a physical and digital release after previously providing a remix for IR004 . The A1 "My Faith In You" is a perfect distillation of his signature sound: lush, cinematic chord progressions, propulsive rhythm arrangements, and that deep-running emotive warmth that makes his catalog timeless and this continues on the A2 with "Gratiot" a timeless piece of Deep Detroit Techno with a shuffling groove and precise tones and textures.
Sharpening the edge of the package is a stellar remix from dynamic Italian duo Fireground. Known for their driving, soulful and rich sound on labels like Tresor and Ilian Tape, Fireground adds a deeper more textured version of "Gratiot" and reconstructs it into a sun drenched musically rich remix. Together, the release forms a beautiful bridge between the two artists. "
Delsin is pleased to announce the second volume of their extensive compilation series combing through the catalogue of landmark Dutch techno label Djax-Up-Beats. The series, curated by Rush Hour co-founder Christiaan Macdonald, continues with a look at the label's legacy in the development of Dutch techno through the early 90s. This second volume in the Djax-Up-Beats 1990-2005 series comprises 25 tracks, presented again as a main triple-vinyl album plus three additional 12" EPs. The compilation also features again all-new illustration from Alan Oldham, design by Lost Communication and liner notes from music journalist Oli Warwick. Crucially, every track featured on the series has been carefully mastered by Johanz Westerman, bringing the best out of tracks that often had very little post-production treatment before they were originally pressed to wax. Volume 2 - The NL Connection takes a deep dive in the development of Dutch techno. Saskia Slegers didn't run her label with a specific focus on any one place, but she naturally connected with artists close to home. Emergent producers from across the Netherlands found a vital outlet in Djax-Up whether they were short-lived dabblers or dance music devotees on their way to lifelong careers. Volume 2 - The NL Connection looks at the first outings in Dutch techno by originators such as Stefan Robbers as Terrace, Dylan Hermelijn as Planet Gong and Edge Of Motion (with Gert-Jan Schonewille) and Sander Friedeman as Random XS. Whether it was sensitive, melodious machine dreaming, gnarly acid tweaking, jackhammer techno or oddball outliers, you could count on Slegers' label to point you to the best underground club music coming out of the Netherlands. With four more, equally extensive, volumes to come in this series, Djax-Up-Beats 1990-2005 is a thorough exploration of a true totem of techno culture -- a renegade label that operated on its own terms and carried surprises and slammers in equal measure.
Mark Funk and Danny Cruz's Cruise Music label continues to offer-up the best of its digital-first EPs via the popular Vinyl Jams sampler series. There's a real sun-splashed, dancing-on-the-terrace feel to much of the music contained on this 14th volume in the series. Mark Funk steps up first with the loopy, filter-rich disco-house release of 'Never Never', which rises and falls in all the right places in search of hands-aloft action, before Makito drops the vibraphone solo-laden deep house-meets-garage-house flex of 'Heavy Vibes' (think Masters at Work collaborating with Roy Ayers and you're close), Over on side B, Danny Cruz serves up 'Sugar', a tooled-up, house-style re-edit of a joyous disco gem, while Filth & Smell's 'Panama Sweet Spot' is an electric piano and sax-loop-fired slab of thickset house funkiness.
UK Garage has ridden a new wave of hype and exposure over the last few years. Artists like Sammy Virji and Interplanetary Criminal have crossed over to the mainstream, while dancefloors across the world have shaken to a switched-up version of the sound that defined the UK underground either side of the millenium.
Hidden beneath a pink balaclava, the mysterious DJ Jackum has lurked this rejuvenated scene while dropping some of the most defining bangers of the period. Often surfacing in the form of moody edits released on Soundcloud, Jackum productions inevitably demolish dancefloors whenever dropped, as they frequently are in the sets of Virji and the other big guns.
Landing on Hotflush, a storied label of UK underground music, ‘Context’ is his most substantial work to date. Six tracks covering the full spectrum of the Jackum sound, from 4/4 heaters to dubstep-adjacent eyes-down bass pressure.
And in the form of opening track ‘Floo’, Jackum spreads his wings into a place that transcends the narrow confines of genre definition. From the UKG building blocks of bass, drive, cut-up vocals, and melody, the track emerges as something both familiar and wholly unexpected - the mark of a producer at the peak of their powers.
‘Clip Empty’ is another highlight of this standout EP. Showing a flair for the cinematic, a breakdown of militaristic snares gives way to a trademark rolling bassline and earworm vocals.
Away from the 4/4 bangers, ‘Take Your Body Higher’ is a guaranteed half-step rewind, while ‘Step Up’ recalls memories of smokey Plastic People sessions of the mid-2000s.
Crossing their distinctive techno practices in the spirit of mutual appreciation and experimentation, DJ Nobu invites JakoJako to Bitta. Each delivering an original track and then remixing each other's work, both artists examine where their creativity converges, and what happens when their differing qualities collide. JakoJako has forged a reputation within techno and electronica circles centred on her accomplished exploration of modular synthesis. While she comfortably embraces ambient projects, she's also firmly entrenched in the club matching a tough rhythmic sensibility with adventurous textures and subliminal emotional content. As Nobu himself describes, "Beyond standard techno functionality, I deeply respect JakoJako's approach to music making, which stems from a pure, unyielding curiosity about sound itself. Her sound aligns perfectly with Bitta's core philosophy--the coexistence of experimentation and physicality." Nobu's own 'Wax and Wane' opens up the release in a melancholic mosaic of bleeping leads and natural-sounding drum tones, patiently laid out over a dense pad and developed with the elegant but driving style he's made his own over many years. JakoJako's 'Nodus' is a more cybernetic affair--lithe layers of frequency modulation moving over the rugged kick drum thump before opening up to celestial arps and jagged flurries of percussion. For the remixes, Nobu immediately reframes 'Nodus's melodic crescendo as the core theme while steering the track towards an immersive, linear arrangement that ebbs and flows with poise. In the process, he finds his own expressive sound design language to put a unique spin on JakoJako's original sound. Meanwhile, JakoJako steers 'Wax and Wane' into a mesmerising lattice of needlepoint percussion and swooning synth strokes, creating emotive swells out of the raw ingredients of Nobu's original melodies. The end result is a record made up of four distinct pieces, all logically compatible but bringing forth different aspects of two dedicated, ceaselessly curious practitioners of contemporary techno.
Ossios makes his Yay Recordings debut with two deep cuts that capture the magic of his creative process - summer house excursions shaped by back-and-forth flights and fleeting moments of inspiration.
On one side, Deadbeat opens up his studio a fires up the studio stove with "One Night at the Ranch (Betting the Farm)," featuring vocals from his love soul Elle. Tumbling drums, understated grooves, and subtle house hypnosis unfold with effortless ease.
On the flip, "Drama Is a Game" channels a hazy afternoon in Mexico City, exploring memory and duality through shape-shifting synths and warm, drifting vocals. The result is a deeper, darker journey where emotion and atmosphere remain in constant motion.
Function has long since cemented his legacy in the underground world but it's always worth reminding yourself where an artist's story began. In David Summer's case, that's with this EP, which dropped on Damon Wild's Synewave, who now reissue it in full, 30 years on. It's an impressively fully-formed sound for a debut: 'F1' is a jacked-up techno rhythm with a fat bassline and frazzled synths that bring it to life. 'F2' is a more experimental and beatless piece with modular pulses, echoing frequencies and decaying sine waves then 'F3 rides a dreamy dub rhythm that undulates gently amid some gorgeous sustained pads that recall Thebes of Detroit. 'F4' comes with more Millsian-style minimal that fires up your brain.
Canada's Demuir makes house music with the sort of feeling and character that defined the earliest days of the sound. Gospel, funk, jazz and much more all colour his grooves next to a superb array of samples, and all of that is on display across The Intersecting Virtues Of Love & Respect, a new album packed with jams. 'TIVLR - Moment Of Clarity has neat organ chords worked into a soulful, dusty groove; there is an infectious bubble to the drums and molten chords of 'Alone In Chicago' and 'Somethin 'Bout Respect' is smooth, free-flowing analogue house with jazzy fingers dancing across the keys. Elsewhere, 'Know They Value' is deeper and more heads down and 'Speak Power To Your (Black) Man' is a freewheeling and sunny sound anchored by more trademark Demuir drums.
After the storm of their self-titled debut, Geneva duo Bound By Endogamy return to Pinkman with an album that trades brute force for precision. The rage remains, but it's sharpened, disciplined, and driven by melancholy rather than rupture. Their minimal synth and industrial instincts rise to the surface, carving out room for melody without softening their confrontational edge. Angular basslines coil beneath Kleio Thomaides' voice, at times detached and at times devastating, while Shlomo Balexert's drum programming and synth work build a taut metallic tension. The result is both intimate and mechanical: love songs for disenchanted souls, post-punk electronics stripped to the bare wire. Bound By Endogamy have always blurred the line between performance and survival, and here they do it with minimal gestures and maximum impact.
RAWAX presents the 2nd release by TIJN. This time he teamed up with Interstellar beats.
Together they delivered here a fantastic release with four dance floor cuts - not to be missed!
Highly recommended!
Matthias Tanzmann’s influential Leipzig-born label celebrates a quarter century of groove with 25 Years of Moon Harbour. The Compilation Part 1 (of 2) features tracks by Cinthie, Defex, Luna City Express, Matthias Kaden and label Boss Matthias Tanzmann himself. Highly recommended!
Ma Ze Music is just seven releases deep but is already overdelivering on expectations. This latest offering is a second from Yanuka, which is the solo project of acclaimed keyboardist, composer and producer Tomer Zuk. Here he hooks up with Elran Dekel on 'Where Is My Love' for a gently psyched-out and global soul and downtempo fusion that pairs textured guitar riffs with cartoon boings, conscious vocal musings and a blend of romantic and heart-aching moods. It's warm and intimate and then Ma Ze's regulars UV & Nenor take care of the flip with 'Where Is The Dub' which strips the original to a hazy, slow-motion dub.
Belgian duo Chasse have been exploring the more refined corners of the deep house world across EPs for solid labels like Mate, Exploited and Dailysession for the best part of a decade. Nothing changes on this outing for Selections - the grooves are smooth, and the details are musical. 'In My Mind' opens with dusty, smoky and soulful drums from the Mike Hucakby school and jazzy chords up top that are the perfect accompaniment. House Of Lords remixes with a slightly more pronounced groove and tech house edge, but it stays classy and deep. 'Day By Day' brings a groove built from roughshod drums and hits and burrowing chords that lock you in the moment rather than leading you forwards. 'Shine On Me' and 'Your Soul' are trad deep house cuts with an inescapably comfy feel.
You know the pattern: someone calls their album "Balearic," and you immediately expect chill-out terraces, pan-flute samples, and the umpteenth return of the Café del Mar sunset. Devi G. refuses this reflex almost maliciously. The title is a trick—an invitation to disappointment for those hoping for postcard exoticism. What is actually being negotiated here is erosion, but that of the body itself: the abrasion one inflicts upon oneself in the excess of the night, when partying turns into wear and tear, and a rush becomes a graze that only becomes visible in the morning. No backdrop, then, but a wound one has voluntarily acquired.
Instead of the usual Ibiza xylophones, Devi G. digs into the rift between idyll and wear. The result reads like a séance—less José Padilla, more as if Kevin Martin had re-recorded a Manuel Göttsching record on a dying four-track deck. The target area lies somewhere between the waterlogged ambient sketches of Huerco S. and the faded dub-afterglow of Actress, but Devi G. remains consistently on his own, grainier frequency.
Balearic Abrasions (title track) opens without haste, demanding almost without impatience: no motif, no rhythmic handhold, just a slowly tilting balance between warm texture and rough surface. The grain never feels forced—it is not a lo-fi costume, but an integral part of the statics themselves. Where other ambient producers strive for perfection, Devi G. consciously seeks the breaking point. Rhythm remains a tool, never an ambition. Those expecting quick resolution will be disappointed; those willing to listen will receive a depth effect that is rarely this vivid.
Exit Through Thee Gift Shop tips into harder territory: dub-techno reduction meets industrial edge, carried by a stoic kick drum that knows no mercy. Metallic textures slice through the sub-bass, while repetitive chords hypnotize like a defective loop. Central to this is a rare Terence McKenna recording, which functions less as spoken-word ornamentation and more as a disruptive spirit between memory and media archaeology. The title—Banksy reference included—turns this into a biting punchline: radical electronic abstraction positioned against the hyper-commercialized art world.
Morning Depth pushes the claustrophobia further, somewhere between post-industrial and deep-sea dub. The track refuses any peak-time logic, preferring to disintegrate into itself, subcutaneously, methodically. At the end, a casual, almost banal vocal sample (“i defiantly prefer chocolate”) breaks into the cool machinery—a small, profane fissure that makes the coldness of the rest of the piece all the more apparent.
Desiré Algorithmic is the album's most calculated moment: a stoic, repetitive bassline as a foundation, topped with fragile melody fragments that flash like glitches in faulty code. The title reads like a promise from nightlife—a figure that suggests much and delivers nothing, because behind the façade there is simply nothing, only simulation. The track carries exactly this principle: promise without substance, desire without body, just rendering. Only in the final third does a melancholic saxophone break into the sterile structure—organic, imperfect, and for that very reason more credible than everything before it. It is the moment in which the real briefly flashes through the surface of the dummy before it closes again.
All-inclusive Residue concludes the album as sedimentation rather than dramaturgy: dub-techno remnants, industrial patina, salty ambient surfaces that settle rather than compose. The refusal of consumption as a sonic principle—brittle, stubborn, with a gravity that lingers long after.
Verdict: Balearic Abrasions is not easy listening with a sea view, but an exercise in patience and friction. The restraint with which Devi G. avoids climaxes will frustrate some—for everyone else, that is exactly where the record's strength lies. No sunset. Rather, what remains on the rocks afterward.
Biz returns to his Subjekt label for it’s fourth instalment, continuing a long-standing connection with the deeper, more cerebral side of techno. With previous releases on Detroit institution Transmat, Laurent Garnier’s COD3QR, Xistence, We’re Going Deep, Acquit Records and other respected underground labels, the lineage is firmly established.
Here, Biz digs deep into the Detroit blueprint — machine rhythms, hypnotic sequences, melancholy, soul and futuristic tension — balancing introspection with raw dance floor vibes.
For the remix, Osaka techno veteran DJ Compufunk steps up with a stripped-back interpretation, locking into the groove and pushing the track further into raw machine funk territory.
Detroit spirit, Japanese precision and Australian underground techno vibes — another essential Biz release!
The label's seventh release is a five-track vinyl VA, a real coup de theatre. They've called upon a strong selection of artists behind the EP's artistic direction, including Alessio Collina , V.I.C.A.R.I. , Nicola Brusegan & Carlo Di Roma, Shacklo and the label's founder, Vito Fattore.
Black Box Records has proven once again that they are a company that produces classy, mature and dancefloor-ready house tracks, with many more to come this year.
Es gibt wohl kaum ein Projekt, das die Welt der instrumentalen Musik zuletzt so nachhaltig revolutioniert
hat wie die Hermanos Gutiérrez. Mit ihrem meditativen Signature-Sound haben sich die Brüder Alejandro
und Estevan eine treue weltweite Fangemeinde erspielt. Doch während ihre bisherigen Erfolgsalben uns
durch die Canyons des amerikanischen Westens führten, schlägt das Duo mit Los Ojos del Cóndor ein
faszinierendes neues Kapitel auf.
Diesmal lassen die Brüder die Wüstenhitze hinter sich und reisen dorthin, wo ihre familiären Wurzeln
liegen: in den geheimnisvollen Küstennebel von Lima, Peru. Für diese musikalische Weiterentwicklung
vertrauen sie erneut auf ein bewährtes Erfolgsrezept: Es ist bereits ihre dritte Zusammenarbeit mit dem
Black-Keys-Frontmann und Grammy-Gewinner Dan Auerbach, der das Album für sein Kult-Label Easy Eye
Sound produziert hat.
Unter Auerbachs Regie ist eine üppige musikalische Odyssee entstanden, die die Weite der Prärie gegen die
hypnotischen Rhythmen Südamerikas eintauscht.
Ed Nine hails from the birthplace of house and brings plenty of Windy City magic to this EP on Spanish label MATE. It's deliciously emotive tackle drenched in meaningful pads and, in the case of opener 'Feel It In Your Soul', an aching vocal sample that really sets it alight as the organic drums jack down low. 'Free Acid' is a stomping workout with prickly 303 lines defining the peak time vibe, then 'Out Of Line' cuts back into a more sunny sound with synths rising up through the mix and bringing joy. Closer 'The Drum Tool 3' is just that - a raw jam to help you get the floor locked in while moving through the gears.
Bassline brings together Russell Ruckman and Marcia Carr for a 12", which was originally part of a 2025 digital album, but now drops on wax and has been remastered for extra punch. Side A opens with the vinyl debut of Rani G & Raul Riena's 'Feels So Right' (World-Life-music Raw Teaser remix), which will soon transfix the floor while the driving groove of Hot Issue's 'Motion 96' is a cool vibe with wet clasp and dusty drums brought to life by cute little melodies and plenty of snap. Side B leans into deeper territory with Mercedes' Living For The Moment (Booker T remix)' and the uplifting dub energy of Never Gonna Give Up. If you like soulful house with a classic New York edge, this one bangs.
Some 15 years into the label's story, Japanese deep house minimalist Sasaki Hiroaki continues to offer up EPs rich in ultra-deep ambient chords, hushed and hypnotic beats, and the kind of beautiful musical touches that have always been a key part of Japanese deep house culture. Opener 'Geograph' sees him place echoing piano motifs and pulsing ambient electronics atop a sparse tech-house groove, while 'Projection' is a deliciously deep, dreamy and shuffling slab of ambient house excellence. Over on side B, 'Do It (repeat)' is a spaced-out chunk of minimalist dub techno goodness and title track 'The Last Bohemian' is a warming and meditative dancefloor drift.
London mainstays Half Baked push beyond a quarter of a century here with Romanian house favourite Dan Andrei debuting on the label. He offers the beautifully clean and serene ambient, minimal and tech fusion that is 'Orange Sunshine' - the sort of 5am gem that soundtracks deep immersion in an alternative world, complete with real beauty in the chords. Sticky' has a more pronounced rhythm and bubbly blend of rubbery drums and bass, while spacecraft-life synths circle the groove and neat melodic patterns unfold with a curious nature. London duo Brainsurfers aka Harry McCanna and Sam Bangura add more drive but keep things deep and crank up the cerebral details.
DJ DIE SOON is the apocalyptic alter-ego Daisuke Imamura, whose performances of masked malice have been a fixture in the Berlin underground for the past decade. His latest record My Brothel The Wind takes inspiration from Sun Ra at his most grotesque, conjuring a distorted phantasmagoria with an eclectic crew of compatriots like Rully Shabara, Sara Persico, and longtime collaborator Kiki Hitomi. Film director Hiroo Tanaka’s visual contributions in the album art, poster, and music video complete the album’s narrative, telling a story not of villainy but of phantom caprice in a dying world.
My Brothel The Wind shows DJ DIE SOON as an alchemist of distortion, transmuting the club-forward beats of his 2020 debut Kappa Slap and the seething horrorscapes of DIEMAJIN, his 2022 collaboration with Tokyo vocalist MA. Imamura’s obsession with noise stems from his upbringing in Tokyo, where he grew up hearing the deafening roar of trains every day. “The buildings were really tall, so the sounds reflected so much and it was so loud that you couldn’t even have a conversation on the phone. Hearing this noise every minute when living in this flat, it became a normal thing,” he says. While most would content themselves with avoiding loudness, DJ DIE SOON seeks to unpack its visceral potential.
DJ DIE SOON’s subterranean productions form a monstrous gestalt with the eclectic contributions of his network of co-conspirators. “Unfinished” and “Directions” are pulsating chimeras that highlight animalistic vocalizations from Hitomi and Shabara; Italian MC Franco Franco’s verses snake underneath the noisy onslaught. The tectonic textures of “Dandelion Crackers” are courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Laure Boer’s handmade stone synth. Sara Persico’s mangled vocables hang as fleshy reminders of human fragility on “SAQ4IME”; in the Hiroo Tanaka-directed music video, the track’s sonic uncanniness is made cinematic, with an ambient dread that references Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1964 psychological thriller Woman in the Dunes.
While Sun Ra’s intergalactic Moog reached for the stars, DJ DIE SOON plunges into the depths of hell. “Everybody, Shake Your Body, We Chill At Party” feels like the sonic equivalent of a wax museum burning to the ground, rigid smiles melting into the fire. Rather than a vision of the future, My Brothel The Wind is a laugh-cry of despair in the face of a Hadean present. DJ DIE SOON confronts the world with a new hand-made mask, reborn in the ashes.
Take a trip back to the golden age of popular music with Golden Oldies, a 2LP collection bringing together 40 timeless favourites from the 1950s and early ’60s. Featuring legendary artists including Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, Etta James and Bobby Darin, this hit-packed set captures an unforgettable era of rock ’n’ roll, pop, soul and rhythm & blues. Highlights include Johnny B. Goode, Heartbreak Hotel, The Wanderer, Mack The Knife, Crying and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – classic recordings that still sound as good today as they ever did.
Moving things a bit deeper AoW welcome Black Eyes for their fourth vinyl release. Alongside his own Lost Control 2097 label, Black Eyes has released records on esteemed labels such as Upstairs Asylum and Housewax contributing significantly to the underground house music scene in Berlin.
Mystic Aquazone EP features subtle smoky house grooves spread across 3 original tracks. Nico Lahs crafts a forward thinking remix to send things into the next dimension. Deeply authentic tunes for the dance floor and for the mind.
SIMPLR is a dab hand when it comes to editing, tweaking and touching up classics tracks just enough to make them bang on contemporary flors, but not so much that they lose the essence of what makes them standout in the first place. Already this month he kicked off this label with a doozy rework of a soul great and now offers two more gems - 'Downtown Soul' is steamy and hot house with big trumpets and funky bass loops and 'Those Days' gets deeper, with louche, live-feeling grooves that loop back on themselves and bring the funk.
Rapidly gaining momentum, Drumcode’s new DC4 series returns to serve up a collaborative feast for its fourth edition.
Since debuting in summer 2025, DC4 has done exactly what it says on the tin: serving up four elite tracks that deserve the spot to shine.
You know you’re going to get A+ quality when you cue up a Victor Ruiz & Alex Stein collaboration. The Brazilians have a long history of studio jaunts and they deliver the goods via ‘Core’, a brilliant brain-scrambling outing with a strong dramatic arc.
Charles D & Weska follow up last year’s ‘The Answer’ on 1001 Recordings with ‘Can’t Get Enough’ feat. Bexxie. With a foot in prog and techno alike, this is driven by low-slung grooves and Bexxie’s sexy vox, packing an exhilarating energy throughout.
Enter two Drumcode debutants – SCRIPT & OKAYVAL. The former is a fast-rising American artist who is coming off collaborating with Brazilian superstar ALOK, while the latter is a Colombian born, US-based artist whose earned gigs at EDC Vegas and Tomorrowland this year. ‘LIKE THAT’ is a high-energy jam marked by tight rolling percussion and a sharp vocal loop designed for peak-time impact.
Another pair of fresh faces land on the comp as Martin Costas & Gabriel Gil drop ‘It’s All Around’. Lock in for a pulsating slice of prog driven by hypnotic rhythms and lush melodic textures. A versatile cut fit for a variety of party situations.
Italian-Iranian DJ/producer Sciahri lays down a deeply hypnotic seven- track EP on return to Mutual Rytm. Heading up the agenda-setting Sublunar label, which is one of Mutual Rytm boss SHDW's personal favourites, Sciahri has been deep in the scene for more than a decade ever since he turned heads with a debut on Ilian Tape in 2014. Well respected for his carefully balanced love of the classic sound with new school influences, always delivering cuts with a refined and personal touch, highlighted and showcased via his widely-loved ‘Pareidolia’ release series. Returning on the label following his appearance on the ‘Federation of Rytm IV’ compilation, he lands with a freshly evolved EP that kicks off with the much hyped ID, ‘Moonwake’. That cut is built on robust, rumbling drums and layered up with flashy synths that bring stark futurism to the dance floor. ‘Liminal’ follows a similar linear path with musical drums and synths that twist and twitch, firing your synapses while your body is locked to the rhythm, before ‘Night Sentinel’ transports you to a more eerie world of anxiousness and tension - the synths are spooky, and the sonar pulses keep you on edge as immersive drums race nonstop. ‘Unmoved’ lands heavy, the bulky kick drums coming on like a storm with howling synth winds adding to the all-consuming atmosphere. ‘Too Much Time’ closes out with a wall-rattling groove and subtle synth motifs that creep in the shadows. As always with the label, digital cuts ‘Silent Frontier’ - which gets dancers on their toes with a backlit synth glow - and ‘Louisiana’ - which brings a more psychedelic energy and hard, hammering groove, rounding out a stylish, meticulously produced offering.
With a sound that draws from the energy of classic disco, touched-up for modern clubs, Kridelka, Chanda & the Passengers come with a scorching contemporary cut that is primed to light up dancefloors this summer - with staying power to become a future dance floor staple.
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
Keni Burke's signature hit 'Risin' To The Top' gets an official remastered, reissue alongside the 12 inch mix of his '81 killer jam 'You're The Best'.
'Risin' To The Top' quickly became a clear favourite of the soul crowd back in the '80s, with Keni's sensuous vocals, a timeless bassline of epic proportions and those dreamy, sunshine chords proving a winning combination. Since then countless producers, from the likes of Doug E Fresh and Slum Village, to LL Cool J and Mary J Blige, have utilised 'Risin' To The Top' as a choice sample for their own productions. A quick glance at this seemingly endless list, just goes to show how much of an impact this record ended up having.
On the flip, 'You're The Best', takes a more boogie paved path, filled with an undeniably groove laden bass synth, cosmic keys and Keni's infectiously soulful vocals. It's early eighties synth boogie at it's best, placing the electronic elements at the forefront whilst holding onto that unquestionable funk at its core.
Two Keni Burke classics for soul heads, sample spotters and anyone with a keen ear for a gem.
KR3.021 Steve Bicknell Remixes - brings together four reinterpretations of tracks from his latest double 12" - Several Streams of Thought - originally released in May 2025 as the sixteenth chapter in the KR3 catalogue. Carefully assembled, the release features reworks by Rrose, Function, Broken English Club and The Hacker. Working from Bicknell’s original material, each artist reframes its core elements through a distinct sonic approach, opening up new perspectives while maintaining a connection to the source work. The visual dimension of the project has likewise been revisited by Marco Maldarella. His artwork for the original gatefold sleeve has been reimagined for this release, extending the dialogue between sound and image and giving the project a renewed visual identity.
A1 The Reassurance Ritual Rrose Remix
A2 Reassurance Ritual Function Remix
B1 The Concept of Practopia Broken English Club Remix
B2 The Power Pyramids [The Hacker Remix]
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'.
A much loved and missed record label headed up by Jacob Kelly (J.Cub) & Leena Sharma. A label that isn’t there to follow fashion, trends or be the next big thing, but a record label that is a platform to release music from Artists they love and support.There are no boundaries with the style of music they release, after all it is an Eclectic Avenue. WE ARE EAR!
Kicking things off on the A side is "Baby I’m 4 Real" is a summertime feel Deep House groove with a beautiful Soulful vocal running throughout.
On the flip is "That Storied Word" another Deep House groove with Steve Cobby playing a beautiful bassline that takes you throughout the whole track.
Rounding off the EP is "Juvenile Delinquent" which takes a step back in time with a break beat, heavy baseline and a familiar vocal sample, one for the “Heads”.
A warm Mediterranean summer night. The day’s heat lingers on the walls as the sea breeze carries fragments of conversation into the dark. Time slows, hearts open, and a melody drifts by familiar, yet impossible to place. Minutes later, you’re humming it. This is Tonight In Tunisia... If you know, you know..
With these remixes for Re:Imagine, the now well-established pairing of Chez Damier and Ben Vedren continues to blur the lines between deep house tradition and contemporary expression.
Built around warm rhythms, sun-drenched melodies, and irresistible vocal hooks, Tonight In Tunisia balances sophistication with immediacy. Rooted in jazzy sensibilities, it offers a version for every mood: open-air dancefloors, late-night terraces, and those summer moments that seem to linger long after the music stops.
Effortlessly uplifting and deceptively simple, it’s the kind of record that slips into your mind on first listen and refuses to leave.
The 10 th release of the label is by the label owners Elad Magdasi & Mathias Weber, with their first record ever as MELATRONIX. Their productions are inspired by their childhood and sounds they grew up with, as well as 90s duos they listened to back and now. The record is diverse and combines their eclectic point of view, from piano riffs, heavy synths, dreamy atmosphere, to a more raw, tooly techno. Front Left Love.
Yore Records proudly welcomes back DJ Alone Again from NYC for a second journey into timeless House aesthetics.
Across four cuts, DJ Alone Again moves effortlessly between raw, uplifting New York energy and deeper late-night moods. From classic swinging drums, dusty stabs and peak-time pressure to warm chords and smoother hypnotic grooves, this EP captures different shades of the unmistakable 90s house spirit.
Stripped-back, soulful and driven by pure dancefloor functionality, these tracks feel both familiar and refreshingly honest — a tribute to the golden era without sounding trapped in the past. A sincere nod to classic underground House Music and another statement by yours truly YORE RECORDS.
For our Sophomore release, Solar Suite steps up with Back 2 Basics, four groove-led productions that favour restraint and subtlety. Stripping things back to the essentials with patiently crafted rhythms and basslines that could just keep on chugging. Club trax with one eye on the classics and the other fixed firmly forward.
Molekül celebrates its 50th release with "Still In The Loop", the long-awaited sequel to the label's iconic compilation "Stuck In The Loop". Three years on, Molekül returns to the concept that defined it, picking up where its predecessor left off and taking the loop-driven aesthetic further.
Wisconsin house music legends Solid Gold Playaz return with Minds Beneath Atlantis EP, a timeless deep house gem first released in 2003 on Silver Network before receiving a sought-after reissue from Still Music in 2017. Long out of print and highly coveted by collectors, copies have regularly fetched upwards of £50 on the second-hand market. Thankfully, Still Music have answered the call with a welcome repress, making this essential release available once again for DJs, collectors, and deep house enthusiasts who missed out the first time around.
Decoder arrives on Toca with "Vaanavil", his first solo outing on the label. This EP carries a more refined, emotionally driven approach from previous works while maintaining a simple, clear motif throughout the 4 tracks. Vaanavil translates to "Rainbow" in Tamil, which is reflected deeply throughout the release: colorful, explosive, and melodic moments that capture the spectrum of light, and just in time for the upcoming summer months :D
Following on from the highly anticipated Rebirth 20 anniversary project, Rebirth return with the first of two limited-edition bonus 12"s, digging deeper into the label’s catalogue with four killer remixes and previously overlooked gems.
Kicking things off with Leon Feat. Corrina Joseph – I Follow You (Darryl Baalki Remix), a soulful and deeply grooving house cut with Corrina Joseph’s beautiful vocals riding over a warm, hypnotic groove. Darryl Baalki adds his signature touch, making this one a serious late-night house weapon.
Next up is Gianluca Pegoiani Feat. Ann Saunderson – Numero 5 (Rough Ride) (Nick Holder Trackheadz Remix). Nick Holder’s Trackheadz take the original into deeper territory, delivering a classy, rolling slice of deep house with that unmistakable Detroit/Chicago-inspired feel.
On the flip we have Mata Jones & Mikey V – Funky (Elado Remix), bringing a more energetic and playful edge to proceedings with a seriously infectious groove, chunky drums and plenty of dancefloor funk.
Finishing off the EP is Psycho Radio Vs LC Anderson – Bad Reputation (Red Axes Remix). Red Axes work their magic on this one, twisting it into a dark, psychedelic indie-dance workout packed with attitude and hypnotic momentum.
Another essential selection from Rebirth as they continue celebrating 20 years of the label with some seriously choice cuts.
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.
FOUNDATIONS004 heralds the Dawn of A New Era from FTL. A thematic 4 tracker evoking 1993 darkside jungle tekno flava. Lead track Braindead Badbwoy sets the scene with heavy kicks, weighty basslines, eerie pads and dark atmospheric stabs that build towards a climactic final drop. Next up, Consciousness kicks things off with uplifting hardcore vibes before dropping into classic rave stabs and a massive bassline built to make the bricks shake. Those familiar with undead lore will instantly recognise the infamous character on the sleeve, perfectly capturing the track’s title: a last brain-cell firing moment from the pattern recognition of a long lost tune. Consciousness in the new dawn. Keeping on theme, Stolen Memories drifts through dark atmospheric landscapes with haunting spoken-word vocals. Another climactic finale and we’re reminded once more of our talismanic protagonist, piecing together broken synapses at the end of an epic allnighter. What actually just happened? Rounding things off, title track Dawn of a New Era emanates with poignant nostalgia and the promise of new awakenings. A jungle tekno romper to carry you through to first light.
In Permanent Vacation 20th anniversary year, Joe Goddard returns to the label with You — a fivetrack EP that feels both timeless and deeply connected to the label's musical DNA. Blending disco, house, electronica and subtle folk influences, the release captures the optimistic spirit of the early 2000s while sounding effortlessly contemporary.
Across five beautifully crafted tracks, Goddard balances warm melodies, organic textures and dancefloor elegance with his unmistakable songwriting touch. The EP features three standout collaborations: Glynn joins on the uplifting "Cutting You Loose", fellow Hot Chip member Alexis Taylor lends his unmistakable voice to "Hide & Seek", while Absolute appears on the intimate closer "Gentle Man".
You is a fitting addition to the Permanent Vacation catalogue—music that looks back without nostalgia, embraces the present, and reminds us why timeless records never go out of style.
For his debut on Hard Times Records, Manchester's FLETCH delivers 'Lift Me Up’ - a four-track EP rooted in rolling grooves, warm musicality and a refined dancefloor energy.
The release follows a busy run for FLETCH, with releases on Circoloco, Three Six Zero, MVSON and ANOTR's No Art, where his Play House EP reached the top of the download charts. His connection with Hard Times began behind the decks at the label's sold-out Miami Winter Music Conference showcase, where a shared appreciation for the music soon developed into plans for a release.
"After playing for the Hard Times crew in Miami, I told them how I'd been a fan of the label for years and that i’d love to release something with them one day," says FLETCH. "I sent over some tracks that I felt were a natural fit and the guys signed them on the spot. The rest, as they say, is history!"
The title track sets the tone for the EP with rolling drums, elastic basslines and understated vocal hooks, while 'Stand Up’ leans into swung percussion and classic chord stabs. On the B-side, 'Touch Me' shifts into deeper territory with stripped-back, late-night groove, before '1000 Years' closes the EP with dusty scratches, crisp hats and an understated sense of drive.
Since its digital release, lead track "Lift You Up" has received strong support on BBC R1, plus heavy DJ support from the likes of TSHA, Hilit Kolet, Laurent Garnier, Jamie Jones, Groove Armada, Riva Starr, and more.
FLETCH's sound continues to evolve while remaining firmly rooted in the traditions of house, making 'Lift Me Up' the perfect debut on Hard Times.
Jazzbois Around The World - a project built around mutual musical respect, encompassing MCs from all around the globe - Some who we've had the pleasure of meeting personally, some who we connect with online. Much love to all of you for being a part of this.
Absolutely born out of an admiration of live hiphop and beats culture - a musical collage of international collaboration. So proud of all our culprits:
now available on 500pcs limited edition 12" vinyl
Artwork/Illustration: Roland Herczkó
Print master: Lobotworks
All tracks produced by the jazzbois
Track 6 co-produced by Franky Bones
Track 3 co-produced by FAKT
Track 1 co-produced by MrSlipz
Track 10 co-produced by BluntOne
All tracks mixed & mastered by Czirják Tamás / jazzbois
Jazzbois are
Bencze Molnár - keys, sampling, editing
Viktor Sági - bass, guitars, sampling, editing
Tamás Czirják - drums, editing, drum sampling
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.
New York-based Japanese jazz and electronic music polymath Takuya Nakamura presents his debut album Shape The Future - almost 35 years into his storied musical journey.
An expansive double album, the album’s first LP documents a spellbinding live performance by Nakamura recorded at fabric. A hybrid set combining DJing, live electronics, vocals, and trumpet, the set also features studio versions of special collaborations with Shigeto, Currency Audio and Tim Reaper. The second LP complements the first by assembling studio recordings of select album tracks. Altogether the two volumes make for a definitive display of Nakamura’s exceptional musicianship across jazz, DnB, jungle, broken beat, deep techno and more.
Across his career, Nakamura has played Brazilian music, merengue, salsa and straight-ahead jazz. He’s opened for Sun Ra Arkestra, performed with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Wu-Tang Clan, and Arto Lindsay, appeared on sessions with Terry Riley, ASAP Rocky, Goldie, and TV On The Radio, and remixed the likes of Quincy Jones, Sun Ra, Billie Holiday, and The Streets. He’s also played under director and playwright Robert Wilson.
Although the musical past and present of the Tokyo-born, New York-based DJ and trumpet player is undoubtedly eclectic, Nakamura is abidingly steeped in the sounds of jazz and jungle. This’ll be obvious to casual observers who may have seen any viral videos of him. But there’s more to this. The depth of Nakamura’s engagement with these kinds of music, the way they’ve made him into the person he is, the decades-long path they’ve taken him on; to now arrive at the summit of a solo album is all truly remarkable. Shape The Future resonates with every chapter in this story.
In high school, Nakamura’s friends started listening to jazz and jazz fusion, which piqued his interest, especially when they started going to clubs to see it live, where they managed to see US legends like Sonny Rollins play. Eventually he began to play jazz every day and his musical skill emerged early. He soon became obsessed with getting closer to the source of this music, which led to his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with George Russell, an influential figure who had taught Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Nakamura drank it in: not only the technical aspects but the sense of a direct connection to “a music culture where Russell and his friends changed harmony forever. I wanted to know how that was possible!”.
This was a radical experience in itself, but then another revolution happened for Nakamura. He was playing in a venue called The Western Front, near Boston and discovered that the elderly owner had his own soundsystem and was playing what was then - in 1992 - only just becoming known as jungle. This was as freeing a musical revelation as his proximity to the giants of jazz was, and in that instant the two things fused. He understood that using technology to fill a dancehall with sound and a jazz musician’s reflexes are all working to the same ends: “You’re always making decisions,” he says, “but it doesn’t have to be really difficult. It’s the truth of the frequencies, and how they’re affecting people’s minds.”
From that moment on, his life path was set. Moving to New York City, he sought out jungle and its offshoot sounds wherever he could find them, gigging and collaborating relentlessly, and gradually developing his own live and hybrid live/DJ shows. Through regular appearances at New York fixtures Zebulon and CBGBs, and continual shows elsewhere in the city, Nakamura developed his live performance and DJing and it was in these environments that he gradually weaved together his twin loves without compromising either, building an international reputation in the process.
It’s only fitting then that his first album, almost 35 years after he first found his musical direction, should be a live one: a window into this never-ending process. Even here, he had to be persuaded that he should make a record. A member of the fabric team got turned on to his music after their daughter saw him play. Of course, as a jungle lover, Nakamura knew fabric – which has a special place in the history of jungle and drum’n’bass – and “had wanted to play there since I was very young.” You can hear the club in the record: this isn’t just a live show, in keeping with his jungle roots, it’s Nakamura duetting with the soundsystem, and you can feel how the emotions in the room would have ebbed and flowed.
This dynamic translates to a transfixing record. Setting the tone with lushly textured ambient and reverberant jazz, Nakamura segues into cinematic breakbeat and stellar fusion, infusing it all with intoxicating low end and hypnotic rhythms. The LP’s midway point locks into mesmeric percussion heightened by resonant echoes of piano and trumpet. There’s an endless pull to this music. Nakamura adjusts the levels for maximum impact throughout, and the overall effect begins to evoke some harmonious hybrid between a jazz ensemble, a classic Metalheadz 12” and a Theo Parrish DJ set. His electric form continues through surreal jazz, intricate electronics and rolling sub-bass velocity, right up to the subtly devastating final cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s ‘Don’t Give Up’, with Nakamura’s fragile vocal sitting in the heart of a huge sound.
From Tokyo jazz nights to formative studies and encounters in Boston to his artistic development in New York, Nakamura reaches another milestone with his monumental debut album. It’s a release that happened just the way a Takuya Nakamura record should. In the same way his instincts led him to musical revelations, taking his own sweet time has led him to make one of the most extraordinary debut albums imaginable, all executed in his own singular style. In Nakamura’s world, the universe finds a way.
History has shown that the greatest bands–bands with that certain, ever elusive quality called lasting power–neither conform to nor buck the trends of their time, but rather force the times to catch up to them. Sheer Mag has such lasting power in droves. After almost a decade spent carving out a career that has already become the stuff of modern underground legend, the band’s new stand-alone single, “All Lined Up,” comes alongside the announcement of their signing to Third Man Records–their first partnership with a larger independent label–who will also be physically and digitally re-releasing the entirety of Sheer Mag’s back-catalogue, including their cult-beloved early EPs I (2014), II (2015), and III (2016), as well as their first two breakthrough LPs, Need To Feel Your Love (2017) and A Distant Call (2019). Sheer Mag’s sensibility, as fervently beloved by baseball-tee clad garage rockers and tattoo-less indie kids as it is by leather-and-stud-loyal punks, finds its strength in an unconventional mixture of refined complexity and straight-forward pop prowess. Seamlessly trading between head-turning guitar heroics and a charmingly timeless blend of disco, hard rock, and garage inflected hooks, Sheer Mag’s oft-referenced, never-replicated sound has played an undeniably large role in stoking the current resurgence of interest power-pop forward rock music. While quickly adopted as a fan-favorite amongst the sweat-caked crowds of the early 2010’s underground, time has attested to Sheer Mag’s singular cultural mutability: though never straying too far from their home-town Philadelphian origins
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“.
As Eerie Enterprise, upsammy and Piezo have funnelled their singular styles into a classic-feeling but ultra-modern album of elegant, angular electronica. With a strong melodic sensibility and a highly developed palette of playful sound design in their toolkit, the unexpected pairing grew spontaneous jams into a considered collaboration, and Places Remember Events is the end result.
Individually, Thessa Torsing and Luca Mucci have carved out strong identities within contemporary electronic music. As upsammy, Torsing has applied a delicate precision to ambient and uptempo approaches alike, building up a striking catalogue of releases including her 2020 LP for Dekmantel, Zoom. Meanwhile, Mucci has taken a wayward path through contemporary bass music and techno that matches edgy sound design with playful unpredictability. As Eerie Enterprise, both artists tap into their respective creative instincts while arriving at a unique sound with a nurturing quality they were both missing from modern dance music.
Having appreciated each other's work for some years, in July 2024 Torsing and Mucci seized an opportunity to carve out two days in the studio. There was no expectation of an end product, but the sketches conceived during those open-ended, hardware-oriented sessions felt worthy of a deeper exploration developed and finalised over the following year-and-a-half.
Places Remember Events has an unapologetically nostalgic streak, calling to mind the warm glow of melodically-charged, golden-era electronica. The twitchy rhythmic make-up of tracks like 'Decay + Collapse' and 'Folding Origin' speak to the duo's shared affinity for ravey energy, but even within faster frameworks they lean into half-time space to maintain a light-footed agility that allows the relatively busy arrangements to feel grounded and patient rather than frantic.
There's an appreciation for mystery in the emotional make-up of many of the tracks, not least in the slithering textural exploration and spatial tension of 'Capsule', but elsewhere fragile melancholia guides the melody direction of 'Superradiance' and 'Things Fall Upwards'. The final impression is crisp and modern while delivering an accessible experience that seeks to soothe rather than shock when so much contemporary club music tips towards uneasy intensity.
Finding malleable approaches to their chosen sonics and applying them to intentional song structures, Eerie Enterprise collectively land on a sound that promises a lasting reward for the repeat voyager — satisfying headphone gear in the grand tradition of introspective electronic music, but also with a physical immediacy that will manifest in the live set upsammy and Piezo have put together to perform later in the year.
