Portugal's Dextro returns for second EP of stylish deep techno on Mutual Rytm with ‘Planets And Stars’. Dextro’s tunes have long been a staple of Mutual Rytm label head SHDW's sets, with the esteemed veteran previously landing on the label with his ‘Covil Dos Abutres’ EP last year. His return with ‘Planets And Stars’ features a selection of his most requested IDs from recent times, with the Portuguese DJ/producers featuring as a longstanding favourite within the European underground since the 90s through his stripped-back, economical sound that is rooted in masterful design and intuitive grooves. He is a true studio craftsman, whether going deep or more destructive, and that range is on show here as he makes a splash for his sophomore outing. SHDW notes, “‘Planets And Stars’ feels like his most refined and focused work to date. It also further strengthens our relationship, rooted in a shared vision and values around music and how it should be presented.” The EP kicks off with the heavyweight ‘1000 Places’, a track that will rattle walls as eerie synth whispers and sonar blips snake through the mix. ‘Industria Acéfala’ is just as hypnotic with a deep blend of rolling bass and rooted kicks, while unsettling tension comes in the one-note synth loops and scratchy texture. ‘Planets and Stars’ provides an intergalactic trip with cosmic dust, conscious spoken words and an infinite horizon that has you gazing off into the distance. The all-consuming ‘Perpendicular’ is shadowy with impish motifs darting about the mix as watery droplets fall into cavernous kicks. ‘Winter Letter’ is the final 12”cut and is perfectly deep, linear techno with gorgeous ambient details that turn your thoughts inwards. Three digital bonuses expand the trip: ‘Torresmos com Pão’ is unsettling and sparse, ‘Historia da Vida’ ramps up the tension with oversized hi-hats and rising synth turbulence and finally ‘Ghost Particles’ has shimmering bell sounds evoking a spooky moon-lit church in the dead of night.
This is Acid – for the deep, driving, uplifting after-hours. It's also a pure Acid remedy, sorely needed to elevate today's Techno dancefloors. With absolutely hands-in-the-air stabs, the Moon Creator EP nods to the best of the '90s Dutch club scene, while always staying true to the Acid game with its continuous double-303 sequencing. Swedish trio The Sysop – aka Pascal Mayet, Jonas Månsson, and Erik Jäähalli (of Börft Records) – present a beautifully melodic EP. In the right hands, this will impress dancers with their eyes closed.
A DJ, producer and significant figure in contemporary electronic music, Marcel Dettmann steps forward to contribute to Running Back’s ongoing Mastermix series. Whereas previous editions of Mastermix have taken an ear to the sound of lapsed, legendary clubs such as Wild Pitch and Front, Dettmann’s curation deftly captures the man himself in ongoing perpetual motion, raiding the vault for his own precision-tooled edits, long-employed on dancefloors to devastating effect. Alongside a continuous mix, this release arrives as a 3LP gatefold, and as a limited edition cassette.
Closely associated with Berlin’s techno landscape, Dettmann was born and raised in the former GDR, then later immersed in the bleary-eyed counter cultural landscape of post-unification Berlin. Initially oriented by post-punk, industrial and new-wave music, Dettmann has been DJing since 1993, always expanding and perfecting his repertoire. He later began working behind the counter at the city’s tastemaking rave boutique Hard Wax, and a decade after he first dropped a needle, became (and remains) resident at notable local nightspot Berghain/Panorama Bar, where his instincts have helped sculpt the signature sound of both main dancefloors.
Of course, you’re probably not asking, “Who is Marcel Dettmann?” More importantly, you might want to know; just what treats has he gifted us here? The trip begins with a simple pitch-shift skywards, transforming Identified Patient’s creeping ‘The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania’ into a peak-time freakout, before an alternate take on Toctronic’s ‘Bis uns das Licht vertreibt’ emerges from the vaults for the first time. Dating from 1995, and one of Dettmann’s all-time favourites, Cristian Vogel’s ‘Untitled’ clambers back into the box with respectable cuts, while John Bender’s ‘Victims of A Victimless Crime’ kicks off the flip sporting a new arrangement, transporting us back to the foundations of a confident, stripped-back sound.
A few subtle edits to Clark’s perilously funky ‘Dirty Pixie’ takes us to Dettmann’s remix of Junior Boys. Produced in 2010, it transposes the Canadian duo’s sophisticated pop with our curator in his minimal prime, and has since become an irresistible prize for high-minded diggers. The same can be said for Experimental Products’ explosive proto-electro anthem ‘Who Is Kip Jones?’, empowered from pricey Discogs purgatory with just the slightest of tweaks. It’s deservedly sandwiched between the guiding influences of Chicago and Detroit in the form of Mutant Beat Dance’s raw ‘The Human Factor’ and a shimmering new version of previous solo production ‘Water’, featuring close friend and Ostgut Ton ally, Ryan Elliot.
The second half of the Mastermix seamlessly connects the mechanical past and digital present of EBM and industrial in the dance, with Dettmann’s instincts as a guiding hand. Severed Heads’ iconic ‘We Have Come To Bless This House’ emerges with mere nips and tucks, while Nitzer Ebb’s ‘Shame’ is significantly reimagined as a highwire act of rhythm and tension, setting up a sensual second take on a 2017 remix of ‘Limbo’ from Swiss synth heroes, Yello.
Core musical memories are shaken and stirred with a context-shifting take on Frank Duval’s emotional classic ‘Ogon’, while Ian North’s ‘Sex Lust You’ and Ford Proco’s notable Coil collaboration ‘Expansion Naranja’ effectively throb with only minor adjustments, respectfully imagined as “shadow versions”. Meanwhile, a simple breakbeat lifts Albert Kuningas’s ‘Astraalprojektio’ in the direction of wide-eyed dancefloors, while a fresh take on K-Alexi Shelby’s ‘Season of The Real’ inexplicably emerges somehow even funkier than before.
The conclusion of the compilation leads back to Das Tier from the prolific experimentalist Conrad Schnitzler, whose swirling synths and hypnotic vocals are duly tightened by Dettmann, but only as he puts it, “in conversation with the original.” Concluding three discs and thirty years of commitment to the dancefloor, this Mastermix not only offers us the opportunity to eavesdrop on this endless exchange, but to gain some sought-after material for our own record collections.
Macedonia's own Stojche is Fuse's next guest for the club's freshly made imprint. The long standing DJ and producer has been known to keep Detroit's playfully hybrid style as the focus of his work and 'Metaphor' is the case in point. His four tracks bounce through a nostalgic balance of techno, house, and more with a modern crisp. A refreshing take on club music, Stojche keeps techno's sometimes nonchalant attitude at arms length with a charismatic record that hits its mark with every measure.
The record's first track 'Counterpunch' features heavily lined percussion but still brews up a storm far and wide with resonant dub stabs and open hi hats. The drum machine boasts a full spectrum, rolling through a light show of melodic flashes, perfect for a room compressing soundsystem. The maximalist, vintage detail that Stojche brings to his compositions blurs the lines between classic genres in a time of hasty hybridization, which gives it a sort of authenticity that can't be taken for granted. 'Chordal Tribe', on the other hand, raises the general euphoria of the EP. Luring in the listener with bright pads and full-on drums, Stochje's work is reliable main slot material that adds color to any mix while providing a persuasive low end. Shimmering hi hats give it an ethereal quality making it an appropriate interlude for almost any context. Moving on to the B side, the producer sharpens up his rhythm and emphasizes the hardgroove influence in 'Signal Drive'. Softening the pace of his drums with free use of melodic chord stabs, Stojche opens up his dance floor for a crowd bonding record once again, complete with filter transitions and pummeling toms. As the final contribution, his title track 'Metaphor' begins with a more obscure opening to conclude his EP for Fuse. Leaning more to a techno cut, the record remains flamboyant as ever with open hats and rides shuffling through his arrangement. A muted main synth becomes apparent to focus the energy of the track while allowing for liveset-like drum flickering to take shape beneath, claiming the immortality of old club records with the technical precision of a seasoned modern producer.
The wait is over, Return To The 37th Chamber is El Michels Affair's highly anticipated follow up to 2009's underground cult classic Enter the 37th Chamber. Churning out classic records since then for the likes of Lee Fields, The Arcs, The Shacks, and tons more, it is clear that EMA's signature sound is stronger & sharper than ever. This time, in addition to re-interpreting the Wu compositions for a live band, EMA pays homage to the production and sonic fog that makes a RZA beat so recognizable. Producer and bandleader Leon Michels recorded the album completely analog, sometimes hitting 6 generations of tape before it was ready for mixing, giving the Return to The 37th Chamber it's own hazy sound. Adding to the unique fidelity, the record is laced with psychedelic flourishes, John Carpenter' synths, heavy metal guitars, triumpha0nt horns, and traditional Chinese instruments that make up for the lack of the Wu's superlative vocals. From start to finish it's a dark trip that walks the line between RZA's timeless hip-hop aesthetic and the cinematic soul EMA has become known for. El Michels Affair tackles some classics like 4th Chamber and Wu Tang Aint Nuthin to Fuck Wit, as well as some deeper cuts like Ol Dirty Bastard's Snakes, Raekwon's Verbal Intercourse, and Shaolin Brew, Wu-Tang's contribution to the St. Ide's Hip Hop endorsement campaign from 1994. This time El Michels brings some of the Big Crown family along for the ride. Lee Fields handles vocal duties on Snakes and is joined by Shannon Wise of The Shacks for their version of Tearz, which pays as much homage to the Wendy Rene sample as it does to the Wu-Tang Clan. Lady Wray makes an appearance on the cover of Method Man's hit, All I Need, lending her vocal prowess to what gave the Wu one of their biggest hits of all time. Interspersed throughout the record are some original interludes that are like the rug that ties the room together,' giving Return To The 37th Chamber a cinematic narrative that makes it a proper El Michels Affair record and not just a collection of covers. From the music to the presentation, this album is a perfect example of what can only be achieved through diversity. The end result is as much a kaleidoscope of influences and multiculturalism as the city it was recorded in. El Michels Affair is once again, sounding out the city' that raised them, pulling elements of art and culture from across the country and around the globe to create an album truly unique in it's own right.
Over 10 years ago, Leon Michels released his first full length record, Sounding Out The City. It was Michels' first full length record under the moniker El Michels Affair. At the time, the budding retro soul scene consisted of mostly organ quartets a la The Meters and of course, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings were in the early days of their ascent to world domination. Leon Michels, who was 18 when recording Sounding Out The City began, had just released Thunder Chicken, the first record by his high school band The Mighty Imperials. At the time of SOTC, Michels was just discovering early rocksteady, afrobeat, and 60's garage rock, which inevitably crept its way into the songwriting. He purchased a Tascam 388, an 80's 1/4" reel to reel 8 track intended for home recordings, and began recording music in a 10x10 box with no windows that also doubled as his childhood bedroom. Along with fellow Mighty Imperials Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, and Sean Solomon, and Michael Leonhart, Thomas Brenneck, and some of the musicians from The Dap Kings, Michels recorded the LP over a two year period. Upon it's release, it received some rave reviews and the small deep funk community ate it up, but due to the lack luster promotion and distribution the rest of the world was slow to catch on to the instrumental gems featured on SOTC, which Michels appropriately labelled as "cinematic soul". However, in 2005 it found it's way into the hands of the people who were organizing a series of concerts for Scion that paired bands with MC's. El Michels Affair was contacted about playing one show with Raekwon The Chef of Wu Tang Clan fame. The show was such a success it led to a tour, and then to another set of concerts that featured multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan. This eventually led to the release of El Michels Affair's second record, "Enter the 37th Chamber" which introduced them to a much larger audience and has been their most successful release to date. Michels has since gone on to produce and co-produce numerous records for powerhouse soul artists like Lee Fields. He shares songwriting credits with Adele, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Aloe Blacc, and has played on records by Ray LaMontagne, Lana Del Rey, The Black Keys and Dr. John.
To close out the year, Life In Patterns presents Spektrum II, the second installment in the compilation series curated by Ferdinger. This 16-track VA, scheduled to release in early December 2024, comes as a double vinyl with four digital bonus tracks and download codes.
Spektrum II ventures into the depths of dynamic techno, combining driving beats with intricate, groove-rich patterns. The compilation seamlessly shifts from deep, dubby tones to bright, euphoric moments, embodying the labels signature sound. Its a bold exploration of diverse sonic textures, blending harmonic and dissonant elements for an immersive listening experience.
Manoeuvres drags you in with stunning percussion that runs throughout the track, but takes you on a Spacey journey with its synthy chords and solos that land you on a far away planet. Now you have landed on Planet ‘Nonna’ the tribe welcome you with a tracky Deep House track that lifts.
Up in the second half with the addition of some shakers and high hats, keeping you locked in. Patience – Feat Margomool. This track is nothing but stunning! An amalgamation of Nonna Fabs Deep musical vibes, production, and Margomools haunting vocal that laces everything up together. Perfect combination in force. If things couldn’t get any deeper, Nonna Fab’s ‘Found The Keys’ sounds like something that’s come straight out of Detroit, you can definitely see Theo Parish getting down to this!
Peter 'Baby' Ford's legendary Trelik Records taps up Martinez for some gently persuasive minimal and tech on this new Dream Scheme EP. First out of the blocks is 'Outta Da Sky' (Ethereal mix), which marries honours bell sounds and gently cascading synth with a weighty deep house groove and spoken words that bring things to life. 'Laughter Land' has more intent but is still a shimmering sound with soft edges and plenty of late-night warmth. 'Gravy Disputes' sounds like the problem to have but in fact plays out like a serene, playful groove that gives a little nod and a wink across the dance floor as it persuades you to start moving more seriously.
A timeless classic - coming up on nearly 20 years since the original 12's were released and the very first time this LP has collectively been available on wax. (over 15 years since last in circulation)
This edition was remastered to analog perfection from the Grammy award winning ears @Stardelta Mastering. paying close attention to every finite detail - this album has never sounded so alive!
A multidimensional sound experience; it's like taking a swim in an analogue ocean and being immersed into the deepest end of the Mariana's Trench. Sonic Submersion of the Highest Order!
Credits:
Written & Produced by Steven Hitchell.
Vocal & Rhodes Performance by Paul St. Hilaire (Tikiman), courtesy of false tuned. Published by Basic Channel Publishing. (BCP)
Additional Mastering, Mixing and Engineering by Mark Richardson @ PrairieCat/Metropolis Mastering, Chicago, USA. (2007-2009)
Remastering and Lacquer cutting by Stardelta, UK. (2024)
Be chosen is back! After 8 years of creative absence, the label is ready for new adventures!
The upcoming release comes from Cesare vs. Disorder who teamed up on various tracks with Matheiu and Andre Buljat.
Highly recommeded!
East London's Rupert Ellis looks out into the stars on this astral-leaning tech house outing for the fledgling Ebullience label. There is plenty of bounce to the circular drums of 'The Beams', with fizzing rush of crystalline synth and sugar chords all getting you up on your toes. 'Deeper Blue' is a silky sound with a subtly optimistic feel in the chords and dreamy melodies, complemented by a spoken word that adds to the escapism. Lewis Taylor remixes 'The Beams' with a little more drive but still keeps things decidedly warm and soft-edged. Classy cruisers all round.
Following the success of Under Tangled Silence last year which peaked at number one in the Dance Albums charts and peaked at 9 on the Albums Chart staying in for 21 weeks, DjRUM returns to Houndstooth with a 15 minute continuous EP pressed to side A and a custom etched picture disk on Side B.
Felix (DjRUM) was a child prodigy as an instrumentalist and his advanced musicality has always been prominent in his music, but here he has put himself front and centre as a composer. And this sense of exposure as a performer interweaves with an unflinching emotional openness too. Where sometimes electronic production as advanced as this can use intellect and techniques as shields from soul-baring, this is the sound of someone who can boldly say “I feel things, I cry all the time, and I'm not afraid to say it or show it in the music.” But this doesn’t mean there’s a move away from the soundsystems and dancefloors where Felix made his name as a uniquely innovative vinyl DJ, this EP encapsulates his musical upbringing weaving in percussive elements across the stereo field to create a truly mesmerising listening experience.
Hazy chords linger over Conoley's signature bounce, characterizing this whole record of humid grooves. Cruisin' Summer Heat sounds more like sunset, while Sound Drips takes us to somewhat darker terrain. The talking percussion on the latter reveals its own compelling atmosphere even before a scant melody sneaks in at the seams.
Underappreciated deep house stalwart Nico Lahs makes a welcome appearance with an unsurprisingly compelling rework on the B side. His remix warms us back up again with a beachside bonfire toasty bassline & shimmying backbeat.
From the co-writer of the iconic Hardcore Uproar, Suddi Raval arrives on Hello World Records with his debut EP — a five-track electronic journey that moves effortlessly between disco, electro, experimental electronics and analogue-fuelled psychedelia.
At the heart of the release is “Laser Beams and Mirror Balls”, the EP's titular track, reimagined by superstar DJ and producer Justin Robertson, who takes the neon-charged original and pushes it into new disco dimensions with his unmistakable production touch.
The journey begins with Robertson's remix before moving into the original French-vocalled version of “Laser Beams and Mirror Balls” — a hypnotic, pulsating slice of electronic disco that sets the tone for what follows.
On the flip side, “Oni Strangler” takes a darker, more hypnotic and exotic turn, drawing the listener deeper into Raval's richly textured electronic world. “Robot Computer” follows with a growling bass machine of electronic stabs, warped drones and relentless low-end energy.
Closing the EP is “Zub Sierra”, a spaced-out voyage through a dubbed-out otherworld before descending into deep, resonating electro synths — the kind of beautifully unpredictable analogue textures that only an analogue Odyssey can deliver.
Across all five tracks, Raval combines electro-flavoured rhythms with a kaleidoscope of electronic textures, forging pulsing basslines, hypnotic melodies and richly layered soundscapes. It's an EP that feels both rooted in the electronic music traditions that have influenced him and entirely of its own time.
Five tracks. One electronic journey. From laser beams and mirror balls to analogue odysseys and robot computers.
The first new material from Krash Slaughta since last autumn finds our man dropping a tuff 45 featuring two dope ATCQ remixes. And what else to call that but ATCK a.k.a. ‘A Tribe Called Krash’! First up is Scenario which gets a gritty guitar-led new beat making it sound closer to something by Gravediggaz at their noisiest (or even DMX) than the Afro-centric jazz-hope vibes of Native Tongues. Over on the flip, a co-production with, and tribute to, the now sadly departed Del the Soul Condor, takes Low End Theory’s Buggin’ Out and sticks with the jazzy vibes but swaps Buggin’s minimal double-bass dominated shenanigans for something rather more Latinate and Bonita Applebum-esque. Naturally these are as cheeky as they come so it’s a strickly limited affair. Don’t sleep…
We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.
Those qualities come to the fore on Dreams & Whispers, which might be the most focused encapsulation of Kruczyński’s atmospheric sensibilities to date.. Across 14 stripped-down tracks for shimmer and pulse, Kruczyński evokes overlapping styles in ambient—warm vibraphones, taut arps, massing strings, lonesome delay chains —but always with his own twist. Fitting the album’s title, the album is loosely divided into two distinct moods: The A-side, “Dreams,” is charged with subtle movement, rhythms spreading out like rings around skipped stones, while the B-side, “Whispers,” plunges into a zone of shadows and hush. The two complementary moods flow into one another like the faces of a Moebius strip, yielding an album that’s intuitively shaped and rich in emotion.
We know there are copious amounts of PFAS in the water supply of Rotterdam, but there must be more! What else could explain the amount of talent this city provides? Foobar is yet another prime example of this phenomenon. coming of age in Burgundian Brabant and cultivated in the grimy streets of our beautiful harbour city, Foobar just has a way of looking beyond its imperfections and translating the warmer hidden sides of the city whilst still tapping into its more rugged edges in this 4 track EP, for his debut release "Shifting Phases" on WAXRDM. The title track Shifting Phases just eases you into the whole, getting you ready to face another day on the grind, that's Rotterdam baby! We work hard and we play hard, and when we play, these are the sounds we wanna play too. Proper House Music. Some serious anger management issues on Parallel Motion, hitting hard from the get go, starting off with some intimidating drums, in your face bass lines, enticing melodies & alluring vocals. All of a sudden you're 3 minutes in, and you can't even remember what got you so upset in the first place. Who said you needed to be loud to be powerful? Not us, that's for sure, and definitely not Foobar. Quiet Strength proves that point yet again, laced with the sultry vocals by ES-V, this jam just takes you even further into your own headspace, drums that keep you in motion, melodies that keep you grounded but bass lines that let you float off into the atmosphere. It's Monday again, another day at the office, cleaning apartments, trading cryptocurrencies or whatever the hell you do to make ends meet. Ahh damn, and now you remember what irritated you. Colleagues, employers, pay or the lack of it. It is a good thing you have Back on the grind to make it all sound relative, helping you forget and looking ahead at the weekend. The perfect come down track that moves forward.
We have reached the final chapter of Kontra-Musik Records' 20th-anniversary celebrations - a busy and rewarding year filled with new releases, represses, club nights, festival appearances and tours. To bring the year to a fitting close, Andreas Tilliander, aka TM404, has once again teamed up with label head Ulf Eriksson for a new limited, vinyl-only 12-inch. Entitled Tjugo (Twenty), the EP sees the duo return to their dusty, machine-driven sound. It opens with Navet, a deep techno track built around rolling stabs, a melancholic organ chord and a solid bassline. From there, it moves into Ravet, a hissing, propulsive piece of minimal techno. The B-side is given over to Sjuhundrasjuttiosjuan, a slow, acidic bonnadub, to close of the year and the record.
With their sixth studio album, ASN reveal a project in full command of its identity. “Reverie Machine” moves confidently through the many shades of post-punk, grounding its sound in analogue textures while embracing the electronic foundations of dancefloor-oriented wave.
Founded by Libero Volpe in 2007, the project now features Lorenzo Ceccarelli on bass, Alessio Rossetti on guitars and Gianpaolo Cesarini on analogue synths. Together, they carry ASN’s original fascination with kosmische music, science fiction and distant futures into a fully realised interplay of synthesizers, guitars and bass.
Across the eight tracks that make up this outstanding album, dreamlike instrumental passages meet darker songs shaped by evocative vocals, allowing atmosphere and melody to guide the journey. Rooted in the ’80s yet driven by its own imagination, “Reverie Machine” brings these influences together with the assurance and depth of a band at its most mature.
Matthew Antico is the American techno head behind the PS11 alias and he has a fine array of outboard gear in his studio, as anyone who has seen his socials can attest. Here they are all hooked up and work in overdrive from the off as supple rhythms meet dance floor clout in deep underground caverns. 'Stratos' has that anxious, pent-up energy that never resolves, while 'Mile High' hits harder and more insistently but with molten dub chords. 'Mid Point' is a serene and spacious sound with a broken beat and widescreen outlook and 'Mariana Trench' sinks you into the darkness you would associate with the world's deepest ocean. 'Timble Snake' cranks up the suspense with tight loops and inky bass.
Intriguing Siberian B-Boy roots informed Anton LTF's first solo album last year and its mix of funk, hip-hop and early turntablism influences really worked. He's back now with a tidy two-tracker on Soul Service Sabrosura that leans into Latin funk. It's raw, direct and charged up tackle for once again getting under the skin of b-boys and girls thanks to the killer breaks. 'Garra' is lit up with shuffling percussive keys and rhythms and big brass horns, while 'Aroma Sunset' is more pared back and loose. There's a celebratory vibe that's smoother and more languorous, with sunny flutes leading the way and irresistible Latin charm in the ways the keys dance.
Three decades deep and as essential as ever, Ralph Lawson's 20/20 Vision Recordings continues to mine its rich back catalogue with care. To that end, 'Full Circle Vol.3' feels both respectful and forward-facing with new mixes of enduring classics. Roman Flugel reworks 'Machine Life' into a driving club sound with fresh vocals and elastic acid lines, while MADVILLA sharpens 'Rhythm Freq' into a sleek hybrid of house, UKG and electro. Simon Baker's updated 'The Liptrick' retains its raw punch, and Formidable Force close with a warm, late-night dub of 'Reactivate'. It is a tidy reminder of the breadth and depth of sound this label has always dealt in.
Children of Zeus return with their third studio album ‘As The World Burns…’
Five years on from their highly-acclaimed sophomore album ‘Balance’, Manchester’s kings of hip hop soul, Tyler Daley and Konny Kon, bring us a brand new 16-track opus.
Sonically the duo continue their story where they left off; crafting an amalgamation of street soul, alternative r&b and boom bap hip hop, with a sprinkle of flavours taken from their original multi-genre pirate radio influences, and a dash of forward-thinking new sounds, ensuring all tracks are destined to become future classics.
The features are sparing but powerful, enlisting the talents of revered UK rapper Knucks (‘Before We Drown’), Colorado-native Young Old Soul (‘Dopamine’), MCR family K S R (‘Do You Want To Get High’, & Australian/Mauritian up & comer Anieszka (‘Water & Vibes’).
As with previous projects, this album is largely produced by the duo themselves, though there are guest productions from previous collaborators too, including Grammy Award-winner Beat Butcha, Grammy-nominated Teo, and broken beat pioneer K15, along with an assortment of new players making moves in the underground neo-soul & beats circuit.
Conceptually, this project continues on with the story to date. An eternal search for sunsets and soulfood, as a respite to the anxieties of the modern world; personally, professionally and globally. Assertive swagger is matched with brutal but sincere candidity. As ever, it encapsulates the rough with the smooth, with reflections on where they’ve been, where they’re at and where they’re headed. There’s no preaching to be found here; just an acceptance of things as they are, an embrace of the environment and people they were nurtured by, and a celebration of some of the finer things in life; slow jams, weed & rum, water & vibes. Raps for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners. All packaged together as another perfect sonic love letter to sound system culture. 50 minutes of big people music.
Since the release of their anthemic debut single ‘Still Standing’ a decade ago, to the subsequent EP ‘The Story So Far’, and their critically-lauded debut album ‘Travel Light’, the duo have received numerous accolades, including nominations for AIM Awards & Worldwide Awards both, along with tons of ‘Album of the Year’ nods care of Clash Magazine, Bandcamp, Complex, Wordplay and many more. This along with huge swathes of support from DJs, radio stations, press outlets, tastemakers, luminaries & fellow artists across the globe.
Children of Zeus have performed sessions for COLORS, Soulection (Apple Music), DJ AG, Boiler Room, BBC 6 Music and at the infamous Maida Vale studios for BBC 1Xtra as well as touring across Europe, Australia and South Africa. This is in addition to collaborating & touring with Mercury Award Winner’s Ezra Collective, including a Wembley Arena show. Other collaborations over the years have included Shy FX, Juls, Goldie, Black Milk, Kofi Stone and the late great Lenzman.
From the Broke ’n’ English / Hoodman-era, to the present day, Children of Zeus have been omnipresent in the fabric of British black music. Proud ambassadors of Manchester music, and of UK soul, it really is “Zeus to the world”.
Children of Zeus have been adorned with plenty of flowers over their career. The unbridled quality and poignance of the music and the message on display throughout this project will see the algorithmic needle move some more. It’s undoubtedly set to be a Zeus Summer. As the world burns…
Available on all digital platforms and physical formats, Friday September 4th 2026.
t 07: Do You Want To Get High? (feat. K S R ) - Children of Zeus03:26
t 07: Do You Want To Get High? (feat. K S R ) - Children of Zeus03:26
[t] 07: Do You Want To Get High? (feat. [ K S R ]) - Children of Zeus03:26
[t] 07: Do You Want To Get High? (feat. [ K S R ]) - Children of Zeus03:26
[g] B3 | Do You Want To Get High? (feat [ K S R ]) - Children of Zeus03:26
Psyché is an eclectic project rooted in the Neapolitan music scene. Conceived in 2018, the project includes Marcello Giannini (Nu Genea Live Band, Guru, Bassolino, La Famiglia), Andrea De Fazio (Nu Genea Live Band, Parbleu, The Funkin Machine), and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea Live Band, Fratelli Malibu). They were recently joined by Roberto Porzio (Parbleu, Fitness Forever, 24 Grana, The Funkin Machine).
"Hurriya (We Must Resist)" is a sonic bridge crossing the Mare Nostrum, connecting the shores of Naples and Tunisia.
At the heart of this fusion is the voice and soul of Tunisian musician Ziad Trabelsi, whose Arab roots intertwine with the psychedelic, Mediterranean sound of Psyché.
In this track, Afrobeat and Arabic sonorities meet to create a hypnotic journey, one where Ziad's oud weaves an evocative groove that gallops like horses in the desert.
The song carries the echo of the ancient dominations and cultural exchanges that have shaped Naples—a millennia-old crossroads of civilization—where traces of Arab and North African influences continue to resonate in its streets and, most notably, in its music.
"Hurriya"—the Arabic word for freedom—is an anthem of resistance and resilience, a dialogue between East and West that dissolves the rigid boundaries of geography and politics. It is a collective song for the freedom of all peoples, against oppression, abuse, and injustice everywhere in the world. As Psyché emphasize: "Even if life tests us severely, and we often feel like giving up in the face of injustice, we must resist. We must refuse to disappear."
The single is available digitally and physically, on January 23rd, as a 7" vinyl. The B-side of the physical release includes an exclusive, extended version of "Hurriya (We Must Resist)", available only in this format.
Mr Bongo proudly presents a first-time worldwide vinyl and CD issue of Rubel’s debut album Pearl. Self-released on YouTube in 2013, the album quietly became a huge hit in Brazil with the lead single and accompanying video for ‘Quando Bate Aquela Saudade’ amassing over 85 million views to date. Pearl laid the foundations for Rubel’s path to greatness - a first glimpse into the brilliance of a modern-day troubadour and ever-evolving Brazilian artist who deftly mixes classic and contemporary influences. Fusing MPB, folk, pop, and indie, it charts Rubel at his purest and most personal.
The journey of Pearl begins with Rubel in his early 20’s studying film in Austin, Texas. Immersing himself in the city’s vibrant DIY music scene and surrounded by countless musicians who he shared a large house with, he set up a home studio with an assortment of rented gear and recorded the album without any expectations. It was inspired by an environment of youth, music and experimentation Rubel found himself within. The seven songs are an attempt to record and take with him a little of what he lived and learned whilst there. He uploaded the album to YouTube, didn’t think much of it and continued to pursue a career in film in LA. Over the next few years however it became a viral hit in Brazil, with a subsequent Brazil only vinyl and CD issue, drawing him both back to Rio and a trajectory to musical stardom.
Still Music & Jerome Derradji Present - Chip E – The Architect Of House: Chicago 1984–88 (Volume 1)
Still Music, under the guidance of Jerome Derradji, proudly announces a landmark archival release celebrating one of house music’s true originators: Chip E.
Titled The Architect Of House – Chicago 1984–88, this definitive series spans three double LP volumes, documenting the raw foundations and forward-thinking vision that helped shape an entire genre.
Like a spiral, constantly moving both downward and upward.
Speaking of cycles, we find ourselves back where it all began.
In a time when authenticity and craftsmanship have become something truly powerful. We reach the starting point once again, but in another dimension - different, distinctive, yet our own.
Pryma welcomes Montei back to take charge of the label’s seventh release.
HVS is truly pleased to welcome Cash Kru and Tweeleaf to the label. Two of the hardest working kids in Jungle/Hardcore IMO. With a ton of quality releases under their belts, they just had to get pressed up, because these tunes are absolutely phat!
Cash Kru runs the Asionyta label out of Belgium along with Expo, F.T.C Project & Tweeleaf. Super wicked label putting out digital releases as well as lathe cuts, disks and cassettes. She has loads of top tunes on there, and not strictly Jungle either! She also runs the Devil Dubs label putting out very very quality Jungle. I highly recommend checking both out if you want some gritty, ruthless Drum & Bass.
Tweeleaf out of Pennsylvania (funny enough the same small town the rest of my family is from) also has releases out on both labels as well as his own, Interim Records, focusing on digi singles from him, all currently being sold at “Name Your Own Price” which is insane considering every release is excellent.
These tracks were made with a combo of DAW and emulated Amiga (more info on the center label) and all four are just Heavy as hell. I've been playing them out live a ton and every track crushes the dance floor. Someone always demands the rewind on “Militant Jazz” which is funny because the buildup is so long, but by the time it drops everyone loses it!
A1. starts off the EP on a more mellow tip with a vibey Soul Pride, Think & Amen mashup from CK. The switch up into the 2nd half phased out Amen is so seamless, it's a great way to get the EP going.
A2. goes straight into the ruffness with a relentless amen tune mixed up with some mysterious/jazzy chords/vox all summed together in PT2.
B1. is a remix of a tune of mine that never came out, but CK asked for the stems and did an amazing job with it. I love her choppage on this! Super tight and snappy and hits all the right notes for a destructive tune.
B2. ends the EP with one of the nastiest tunes to come out anywhere this year if I may say so. That Lemon D amen is just crazy, and that S950 time stretch stutter is chef's kiss. But you be the judge!!
In 2001, Shin’ichi Ogawa of Sugar Plant was working for the SAL Disc record label and came up with the idea of doing an E2-E4 tribute album with his friends. This album would come off the back of a Neil Young tribute album which might have seemed odd but these two artists, Neil Young and Ashra (Manuel Göttsching), would be played regularly as equals at after-parties that Shini’ichi would throw at his house. Longtime friend and collaborator, Taro Yoda, noted that the eclecticism of these after-parties were influenced by the variety of parties they were attending at the time, from the legendary Japanese open-air rave party Life Force to Cream at Amnesia in Ibiza. Taro was obsessed with European trance and left-field downtempo while the two members of Sugar Plant were into ’70s soul—especially Marvin Gaye and William DeVaughn and at the same time, they were listening to Phish and the Grateful Dead too. All three of them were of course inspired by the DJ’ing and selections of Larry Levan.
A- Side – Sugar Plant – “Just Be There” – Production began in my home studio. Since I was frequently attending a house party called “Life Force” (with DJ Nick the Record as the resident DJ) at the time, I thought deep house would be the perfect style for a Sugar Plant cover.
I looped a two-chord electric piano track and applied filters using plugins and outboard gear to create a “sound I could listen to forever.” I recorded the bass on guitar and converted it to an analog synth (Doepfer MS-404).
From there, I layered synths improvisationally, listening to the track over and over again to make fine adjustments. I think I worked on it for days, mostly late at night.
I recorded the guitar at the very end of the track. After playing it a few times ad lib without any set plan, I suddenly had the idea to add vocals during the bridge, so I set up a mic in my hallway and recorded them.
I think this track is packed with the emotions I felt when listening to “E2-E4” back then, as well as the vibe I experienced at that party. – Shin’ichi Ogawa
Sempra makes his debut on Up Ya Archives with tracks imbued with his signature blend of jungle and breakbeat, interpreted through his unmistakably soulful lens. Warm vocal melodies and ethereal instrumentation ride smoothly atop the rolling waves of breakbeats and warping basslines. It all culminates in a soulful take on ragga jungle sound, setting Sempra apart from his junglist peers. When asked on his process behind ‘Wicked N Ruff’,
Sempra said:
“I’m really proud of this release! I love the fusion of genres and feeling, these tracks really show my love for contrasts. You get the soft with the hard without losing any of the euphoria”.
Having released consistently across labels including Future Classic, Headroom and Hardcore Energy, Sempra continues to refine a unique sound that draws equally from soundsystem culture and contemporary soul.
UK underground heavyweight Ploy unleashes his second release on Dekmantel with a brand new four track EP. The release sees the dynamic producer continue to push the envelope with his own flavour of driving, sexy, Ploy house. Putting every ounce of his production prowess on show while proving yet again that Ploy is a force to be reckoned with both in the studio alike. Making tracks for DJs has always been the source of inspiration for Ploy and this is no different with each offering carrying its weight and then some. Straight up, no frills house music that oozes quality by doing the simple things well.
Kicking off the record is title track 'Glizzy', an arpeggiated tech house tool built for the hours that you lose yourself on the dancefloor. From the off Ploy puts his ear for percussive dynamism on show with the understated subtleties of this opener. Thematic sampling, nuanced arrangement and odd ball melodies combine to set Glizzy apart with a gentle nod to hot dog lovers worldwide.
The EP follows suit with A2 'Global Underground'. A contemporary progressive house roller, which rips through the atmosphere with melodic blasts, unrelenting groove, and a powerful bassline.
Offering an equally effective double B-side, B1 is 'Yesterday Now Tomorrow', which sees Ploy lean on his production mastery with entangled percussion and expertly dosed sampling. The result is a swinging heavy house burner that is truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Lastly on the EP is ‘SlowanDip’. A heavily swung, percussive chugger to warm up a dancefloor, paired with a bassline to test the system, this B2 closes out a stellar second showing on Dekmantel for Ploy.
The record arrives at the crest of festival season and is primed to soundtrack dancefloors around the world under the glistening Summer sun. Ploy has quickly carved out a reputation for his unmistakable, drum driven take on house music, and Glizzy only sharpens that identity further. Focused, effective and built with DJs firmly in mind, the EP captures an artist operating with total confidence, delivering four tracks that prove Ploy isn’t just part of the conversation, he’s pushing it forward.
Mexico’s premiere heavy techno don, Regal86, steps up for the first solo 12” EP on Floorspeed 007. Characteristically blending the rhythmic art of sexy with beatdown, the Monterrey techno genius himself delivers a pitch perfect 4-track for the edge of summer.
Cult Argentinian darkwave act Euroshima’s Gala sees a vinyl reissue courtesy of Dark Entries. Euroshima was formed in 1986 by Fabián Iribarne, José Wyszogrod, Ricardo Parrabere, and vocalist Wanda. Originally released in 1987 on Polygram, Gala was a success throughout South America. But to the band’s dismay, they received minimal support from the record label, which meant the album would linger in obscurity outside of the region. A CD issue via Twilight Records surfaced in 2020, but this is the album’s first reissue on vinyl.
Gala’s legendary status among cognoscenti is warranted. The album’s nine tracks display all the hallmarks of the best darkwave: spiky guitars, analog synth basslines, and wailing vocals. But Euroshima make their mark on the genre with impeccable songcraft and a honed sense of the uncanny. While the band themselves rejected the label of “gothic”, it’s hard to resist busting out the black eyeliner when listening to gems like the uptempo “Como Los Otro” or the churning album-closer “Mejor Callarlo”. Highly recommended for fans of Xmal Deutschland, Lebanon Hanover, pummeling TR-707’s, and doom-laden synths.
This reissue is co-presented with Twilight Records, responsible for the 2020 CD reissue of Gala. It has been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. Also included is a double sided insert with lyrics and photos, as well as a postcard featuring a photo of the band.
Planet Trip Records presents Sydney underground heroes Hugh B & Setwun’s first album, 2020’s Yeah Definitely, and its long-awaited follow-up, 2026’s Nah Maybe, as a deluxe vinyl LP package. Underpinned by the low-end heft of dub and soundsystem culture, their albums draw deeply from an expansive array of sensibilities: tones, textures and patterns shaped by post-punk and ambient music dovetail with abstract, sampledelic hip-hop drum loops. Meanwhile, Setwun’s mysterious neo-soul/modern R&B vocals glide on the beat. Punctuated by dialogue snippets, these songs feel like exploring the multiverse with an interdimensional boombox.
Yeah Definitely began as a batch of instrumentals. Having previously worked with an MPC, drum machines, instruments and Logic Audio, Hugh used a borrowed PC and Renoise, a tracker DAW associated with 21st-century jungle/drum & bass production. Afterwards, he sent them over to Setwun, who sketched vocals on top with ease.
If Yeah Definitely came together quickly, Nah Maybe was a longer process. Still inspired, Hugh B knocked out a second folder of beats with neon-lit city-pop references, slow-jam grooves, and elegant guitar figures. This time, however, something wasn’t clicking for Setwun. The only cure here would be the passage of time.
Over the next six years, Hugh and Setwun continued to collaborate while pursuing solo projects. Hugh released jungle, ambient house, dub and post-punk records through Planet Trip Records, Not Not Fun, and his OTIS Records label, while performing live, DJ, and leading the Modern Pop Ensemble. Similarly, Setwun, also a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ, released a series of records that explore jazz, soul, house, and broken-beat electronica, forming a loose constellation for Mandarin Dreams and Extra Soul Perception. Alongside these efforts, he played shows and began performing with his backing band, The Soulstranauts.
Early in 2026, something clicked, and Setwun drafted vocals for the second batch of beats over an evening. Not long after, he invited Hugh to mix Nah Maybe, every bit as special as Yeah Definitely. By waiting for the right moment and putting themselves outside of their comfort zone, Hugh B and Setwun have bottled lightning twice. We’re very pleased to be able to share Yeah Definitely and Nah Maybe with you.
Peach Discs sends their last record of 2026 to the pressing plant in the form of G-Zip's wigg(l)ed-out, tech'd-up, but very much tuned-in "The Mystic Dog" EP.
A new house-focused alias from Stephen Howe – who you may remember from his excellent "Mimesis" EP for Joe Delon's Welt Discos, or his abso-fucking-lutely everywhere remix of Oklou – the G-Zip sound sits in the centre of the Venn diagram between London's tech-house pump and the blissed/blessed relief of deep house.
Hats from early grime instrumentals, interviews in club smoking areas, compilation skit tracks, video essays and jazz interludes – "The Mystic Dog" EP is built from a library of samples that extend far beyond house, tracing a deeply personal line through Stephen's influences and inspirations both past and present. Meticulously sequenced synth lines sit atop tightly woven Digitakt grooves, all mangled together through FX boxes and the Mackie desk that sits at the heart of his Berlin studio.
The EP sets out its stall with "Juiced (Monomania Mix)." Written after Stephen's first visit to Open Ground and inspired by a standout set from Fumiya Tanaka, it pairs stomping, techy drums and phat bass with a restless collage of mono synth patches that donk, squiggle and gurgle throughout.
"Missing Track" leans into contrast as a staccato bassline rubs up against the tighter than tight percussion, before skyscraping synths enter the picture to respond to the rhythm section's call. Flipping the record puts us back into banger territory with "Talking About Drums", as the tuned percussion and heavier-than-heavy subs nail the track to the dancefloor. Until the halfway point that is, when post-dubstep-indebted synths briefly arc across the stereo field – a glistening glow-up amidst the locked-in groove.
Closer "Mystic Dog" showcases Stephen's knack for idiosyncratic melody, as a wonky modular sequence twists and turns across the track while smack-in-the-face drums offer a bashy counterpoint. A classic B2 track if ever there was one, and wicked way to round off the EP.
(Oh, and there's a cheeky alternative mix of "Juiced" as a digi bonus for the hip-house heads).
The Tango N'Vectif: Sessions 2LP contains tracks from the original CD version, the 2001 2CD reissue, remixes and alternate versions of album tracks, music from the Phi*1700 u/v EP on R&S and other exclusives, selected by Mike, completely remastered from DATs by Beau Thomas. µ-Ziq's Tango N'Vectif was released in 1993, a classic year for auteurist electronic music that didn't always fit on the dancefloor. Written by Mike Paradinas in his late teens with some help from Frank Naughton, it still stands up really well today and its influence on electronic music in the decades since is obvious. Across an expanse of ideas, taking influences from early Aphex, Detroit Techno and UK Hardcore, Mike created this spirited, funky, jerry-rigged, lo-fi version of rave; with crunchy drums and a knack for melody that fell somewhere between John Barry and classic TV themes. Without owning a computer, Mike had been writing techno, house and industrial tracks on and off since 1990, playing live keys alongside drum machine rhythms on his 4-track recorder. µ-Ziq started when Mike linked up with Frank who was also writing dance-influenced music, and importantly owned an Atari 1040ST computer with Cubeat software. They pooled their equipment and Mike would travel up to Frank's house a couple of miles away in Wimbledon to record together. By 1992, and after a false start when a proposed EP for Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton's Evolution label got shelved, Mike had started at Kingston University where he deejayed and met like-minded people including a couple of guys who knew Aphex Twin who was also a student at Kingston too, and they passed Aphex a demo of Mike's material. A few days later Mike got a message from his mum to 'call Aphex Twin' and he gave Mike some advice, and seemed interested in releasing something. So when Frank and his family went on holiday that summer Mike borrowed his Atari and synths and wrote the majority of the Tango N'Vectif album during that 2 weeks. By the end of 1992 a release with Aphex Twin and Grant Wilson Claridge's Rephlex label had been agreed - Aphex had moved to the house in Clissold Crescent where he recorded a lot of his early classic albums and Mike went over to collect his advance, in the form of his very own Atari computer.
RADYO BOMBERO - ABOUT THE LABEL
Radyo Bombero is the record label founded by acclaimed filmmaker, author, DJ and record collector Fatih Akin. Born out of his personal passion for vinyl and film music, the label will initially focus on soundtracks from his films: previously unavailable works will be released on vinyl for the first time, while out-of-print titles will return as carefully produced reissues. Its inaugural release is the soundtrack to Akin's new film Geister, scheduled for release in November 2026. Further projects are already in development.
ABOUT THE RELEASE
MALAKOFF KOWALSKI - GEISTER
ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
Composed by Malakoff Kowalski, the soundtrack to Fatih Akin's Geister is the inaugural release on Radyo Bombero.
Born in the United States, raised in Hamburg and now based in Berlin, Kowalski is a composer, pianist and multi-instrumentalist whose work moves between film music, contemporary classical composition, theatre and pop. He composed the music for eleven films by Klaus Lemke, as well as for productions including Schweigend steht der Wald and Stasikomödie. His solo work has been released by MPS and Sony Classical, and he has collaborated with artists including 2raumwohnung, Igor Levit, Chilly Gonzales and Nils Frahm. His sound combines elegiac melodies with a warm, cinematic atmosphere and a subtle sense of unrest beneath the surface.
For Geister, this distinctive musical language meets Fatih Akin's vision of a deliberately anachronistic and romantic score: a tribute to Ennio Morricone's great love themes that plays a defining role in the film's tragic love story and atmosphere.
LP 1 contains Kowalski's complete original film score.
LP by JUGGLERZ opens up a second musical world, bringing together four productions by the internationally successful Jugglerz on a four-track 12-inch disc at 45 RPM: the film's title song Ya Mami, performed by Aya Samra; Mood by Cloudee, Milaa and Jugglerz; Tip by Jugglerz, Limitlezz, Maureen and Demarco; and Beirut Nights Riddim. The four tracks bring Arabic tarab and contemporary Levantine pop together with hip-hop, urban beats and dancehall rhythms.
FATIH AKIN ON RADYO BOMBERO
"Radyo Bombero is on the air. Don't miss a tune!
"
Music is - alongside cinema and literature - a fundamental source of inspiration for me. Having grown up in the 1980s, the way I listen to music has hardly changed: I buy records, listen to them carefully and then copy them onto a portable device. It used to be a Walkman, then an iPod - today it is my smartphone with my playlists.
I do not use Spotify or any other streaming services. Why that is, I do not know. In most other areas, I try to keep up with technological developments. Not with music. I like unpacking a record, cleaning it before listening, holding the sleeve in my hands and reading who worked in the studio, who wrote the music and where the record was made. These things interest me. And they lower my cortisol levels.
Music plays a major role in my films. It is not that, as a director, I want to impose my favourite music on the audience. The music must always serve the story. In Head-On, for example, it tells us something about the characters and their biographies. Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul is the musical portrait of a city. Its music tells us about the people who live there: where they come from, the cultures they brought with them and how those cultures have merged with local traditions. The Cut was conceived as a Western, and the music had to help reinforce that idea.
Geister tells a tragic love story. The music was meant to be gloriously anachronistic. And romantic. Just like the light and colours, it had to shape the atmosphere of the film. My films are often about cinema itself, and Geister is no exception. Its music is a tribute to Ennio Morricone's great love themes.
In Malakoff Kowalski, I found the perfect creative partner. He immediately understood my idea and realised it brilliantly. That made it all the more painful when I was told by the music industry that there could be no soundtrack release for Geister because soundtracks were too expensive to produce and would simply sit on the shelves.
It is not as though I am a spoiled child who absolutely has to have a lollipop. But this music is simply too good to withhold from the audience. The idea that there would be no soundtrack release felt like a great injustice.
Then several friends and collaborators advised me to release the record myself. No sooner said than done. But Radyo Bombero is not a one-off project. Geister is only the beginning.
Finally, I have the opportunity to gradually release all the soundtracks from my films that have remained unavailable. Soundtracks that were previously released but have since gone out of print will also return as reissues.
Hainbach's soundtrack to Amrum is already in development, as is a double album featuring the unforgettable German pop songs from The Golden Glove. And, finally, a vinyl soundtrack to Head-On.
Fatih Akin
Isaac Carter returns to his own OCHI imprint with the 'Turn Me Up' EP. Carter renews his collaborative relationship with Biyi, along with an additional three dance-floor ready cuts in his trademark style. Grab these while you can!
Following the critically acclaimed Fantômes… Futurs, praised by FIP, France Inter, Radio Nova, ARTE and International jazz press, double bassist and composer Kham Meslien returns with Vévés électriques, a deeply immersive second album where memory, landscape and improvisation merge into a singular sonic journey. Joined by Laurent Bardainne, Roger Raspail, Naïssam Jalal and David Neerman, Meslien expands the intimate language of his double bass with subtle loops and organic textures, weaving together echoes of Iceland, the Caribbean and imagined territories. Blending spiritual jazz, contemporary classical influences and ambient soundscapes, Vévés électriques is an invitation to drift beyond geography and into a profoundly personal exploration of emotion, identity and freedom.
Set upon an oil-smooth sea, an immense range of directions opens up before Kham Meslien for “Vévés Électriques”, his second album after “Fantômes… Futurs.”
With only his double bass and bow as vessel and sextant, a distant journey nevertheless begins to take shape. Vibrations and the striking of strings against wood quickly trace lines and winding paths across the surface of the water—so many routes to follow before leaving them behind, allowing the outward journey to become an inward voyage as well.
After an improvisation intended to shed light on the course ahead, isolated lands came into view: the shores of Iceland, the lands of the far north, places cut off from the rest of the world by vast expanses of water. Islands battered by a harsh climate that can only be endured by drawing warmth from deep within oneself.
Then the Caribbean arc appeared. The archipelago, a setting for joyful and unsettling experiences, takes Kham back to a childhood from which the passing years have carried him away. Rather than following the conventional channel of the music of these places, the West Indies emerge through memories whose colors are still vivid.
Through the morning mist, Roger Raspail’s percussion locks into the same frequencies of the groove. Double bass and struck skins then become companions on a road that intersects with Laurent Bardainne’s saxophone. Carrying a dreamlike message, David Neerman’s vibraphone also joins the narrative to write a few chapters of its own, while others are enchanted by the flute and voice of Naïssam Jalal, or struck by the metaphorical rhymes of rapper Rocé.
On the surface, through the themes along which the pieces navigate, landscapes slowly reveal themselves and change shape as the shore draws nearer or recedes. Straying from the marked course and allowing oneself to drift, breaking free from pure acoustic sound by adding loops first played live and then sampled, allows Kham to explore the depths. The depths of the ocean, as well as those of his soul. To enter a world of improvisation that reveals itself even as he explores it. Examined up close, feelings become shells to pick up and hold to one’s ear, so that they can be felt intensely until they take material form.
This sea, which had appeared peaceful, became the stage for a succession of stories and images, which then accumulated to give birth to a larger narrative.
A digital dancehall scorcher cooked up by Tapes and veteran singjay chef Sammy Gold, praising the benefits of steamed carrots and sweet potatoes while keeping it at a vicious bubble on the dance floor.
As a second course Tapes serves up a spiced up Dub cut on B – “They Call Me Nothing” – massaging in that bass line even deeper.
This is the first release in a new Jahtari 7” series, coming with silver pantone print on the labels.
Don’t forget to check out number two: Speng Bond x disrupt – Dead Dem A Go Dead.
What does it mean to actually experience another City, one of such historical and cultural'd'asignificance as Detroit, A city that truly expands the capacity of Human love and resilience. Just to be there…?'d'aWhat sound do the birds make?…? What colour are the buses ? …?. What sounds do we hear in the streets'd'a?…? It's like one step beyond just experiencing a place but truly absorbing it as if it becomes a little piece of'd'aus. That's the only way you really get to understand the groove, the little everyday things that make the'd'apeople tick, their daily grievances and small moments of collective joy culminating over lifetimes. That is'd'awhere you get to the essence, the secret sauce and Lord knows this City is oozing with it.'d'aIn July 2025 Ziggy undertook a 6 week residency in the motor city with no concrete plan other than getting to'd'athe roots of a deeply layered and rich musical culture. One that has been a guiding light for many of us..'d'aWhether you are coming from the generation of Motown through the 1st generation of techno to hip hop'd'arevolutionaries, the city has left an undeniable mark on the history of American Music.'d'aAfter meeting at a weeknight vinyl session at a downtown bar, Ziggy and Malik realised they already knew'd'aeach other's work and immediately made plans to hook up in the studio. Malik being a Lifelong Detroiter with'd'aa background as a Gospel keyboardist and Singer turned House dancer, producer and DJ it was no wonder'd'ahe was a perfect addition to the Label Roster. To accommodate the sessions local turntablist and producer'd'aDJ Moppy kindly offered up his home studio and we shared many great records and vegan hot dogs in his'd'aleafy backyard.The music is primarily inspired by the enduring and charismatic folks we encountered in the city, their stories'd'aand personalities live on through the continued Musical Legacy of the city.'d'aSpecial thanks to Mike Banks, Cornelius, Crystal, John '?Jammin'? Collins (R.I.P) Rick Wilhite, Wajeed and all'd'aof the Underground Resistance family who hosted us. DJ Moppy, Meftah, Badriyyah, Raj Mahal all in the'd'abuilding!'d'aGospel and jazzy infused electro-funk and deep-house, a collaboration between one of Detroit'?s'd'aunderground dons Malik Alston and Ziggy Zeitgeist of EXREC. The result of a six week pilgrimage to Detroit'd'ain 2025, Zeitgeist set up shop in DJ Moppy'?s living room and the results are deep, dark and funky'd'a'd'a.
Madlib ist der Beat Konducta - oft kopiert, doch nie erreicht. Neuauflage der essenziellen Beat-Konducta-Reihe, hier die Volumes 1 und 2 als Siren Split Edition Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2: Movie Scenes & Movie Scenes, the Sequel waren die ersten offiziellen Veröffentlichungen in Madlibs Beat-Konducta-Reihe (Vol. 1 Ende 2005, Vol. 2 im Jahr 2006). Bei beiden handelt es sich um Instrumental-Hip-Hop-Produktionen von Madlib, die im Stil von TV- und Film-Library-Platten der 70er Jahre gehalten sind und zusammen eine Stunde voller instrumentaler Klanglandschaften bilden. Nachdem sie lange vergriffen waren, erscheinen diese beiden Volumes von Madlibs legendärer Instrumental-Reihe nun erstmals als farbige Doppel-LP auf Vinyl, welches zur Hälfte rot und zur Hälfte blau gefärbt ist (50/50 Split Vinyl), und verpackt in einem aufklappbaren Gatefold-Cover.
Neuauflage der essentiellen "Beat Konducta"-Reihe, hier Vol. 5-6: "Dil Cosby & Dil Withers Suite" (Steady Metals Edition) - Madlib zollt J Dilla Tribut! Auf "Beat Konducta Vol. 5-6: Dil Cosby & Dil Withers Suite" (ursprünglich 2008 als zwei separate LPs veröffentlicht) würdigt Madlib seinen verstorbenen Freund und musikalischen Weggefährten J Dilla - unterstützt durch Features von J. Rocc. 42 soulige, atmosphärische Instrumentals bilden den Abschiedsgruß an Jay Dee. Nachdem sie lange vergriffen waren, erscheinen beide Teile von Madlibs legendärer Instrumental-Reihe nun erstmals gemeinsam als farbige Doppel-LP auf metallisch schimmerndem silbernen und goldenen Vinyl, verpackt in einem aufklappbaren Gatefold-Cover.
In the realm of Swedish melodic rock from Skövde, few bands command the attention and admiration quite like NIVA. With their signature blend of soaring melodies, powerhouse vocals, and infectious hooks, the band has established themselves as a force to be reckoned. Now, with the release of their highly anticipated 7th full-length album ""Stratospheric,"" NIVA once again proves why they are considered among the elite in the genre.
From the opening chords of the title track, it's clear that ""Stratospheric"" is an album that aims for the stars and reaches new heights of sonic excellence. Led by the Swedish powerhouse vocals of frontman Tony Niva, the album is a tour de force of melodic rock anthems that resonate with passion, energy, and raw emotion.
Throughout ""Stratospheric"" NIVA demonstrates their mastery of the melodic rock genre, effortlessly blending elements of classic rock, melodic rock, and AOR to create a Nordic sound that is uniquely their own. With its larger-than-life production and infectious energy, the album is a testament to the band's evolution and growth as artists, while also paying homage to the rich legacy of melodic rock and AOR that has inspired them along the way.
For fans of NIVA and lovers of melodic rock alike, ""Stratospheric"" is a must-listen experience that promises to transport listeners to new heights of musical ecstasy. With its unforgettable hooks, powerhouse vocals, and electrifying performances, the album is a fitting tribute to the band's enduring legacy and a testament to their status as one of Sweden's most beloved rock acts. So, strap in, turn up the volume, and get ready to embark on a journey to the stars with NIVA's new upcoming release ""Stratospheric"".
- Seventh studio album by the Swedish Melodic Rock group
- Feat. members of Master Massive, Lion’s Share, Wolf, Starchaser
- Produced by Tony Niva & Jan Strandh; mixed & mastered by Thomas Plec Johansson.
For fans of: Niva, Lion’s Share, Treat, Imperium, Eclipse
Das dritte Studioalbum von Los Bitchos vereint Einflüsse der multinational besetzten Band mit Beiträgen internationaler Gastmusiker. Sie spielen vorwiegend Instrumentalmusik im Stil der Cumbia der 1970er und 1980er Jahre. Die neun Tracks verbinden unterschiedliche musikalische Hintergründe und enthalten mehrere Kollaborationen, darunter "Hang Up (Pt 2)", "Holding Cell", "Conexiones" und "El Pençe".
Sentimental Ultra marks DJ HEARTSTRING’s debut proper on Steel City Dance Discs, and their first album project, releasing November 13th 2026. Starting life as a mixtape before a happy accident or two took it down a different path, the 15-track album finds the pair chasing not just peak-time euphoria and what they can conjure in a club setting, but everything around it, too. The befores and the afters. The soft and the supercharged. What life felt like when they were young. Featuring collaborations with SWIM, Spriitzz, BAUGRUPPE90, Sam Gellaitry, Saidah, DMA’S, KennyHoopla, Monk, 3NDLES5, David Jackson and secret act, they fold formative years influences such as indie rock, rap, ambient and breakbeat into their sought-after sound, and balance them with contemporary-coded ideas.
This blend of worlds is at the crux of the album’s concept visually as well. Sentimental Ultra is an exploration blurring the lines of hard and soft, taking inspiration from subculture communities around football hooliganism and skateboarding. The cover is shot by iconic British photographer Ewen Spencer, renowned for his work around Skins, The Streets and more. The collaboration has seen DJ HEARTSTRING land features in Numero Berlin, Notion Mag and other cross-cultural editorial platforms ahead of the album announcement.
To date, the project has already received various milestones across international radio, including Arielle Free’s Big Whopper for third single ‘Another Year Alone’ and DJ HEARTSTRING landing a coveted BBC R1 Residency in November. Adding to this is the slew of digital looks and accolades for DJ HEARTSTRING’s set recordings including their closing set at Soenda Festival earlier this year which is on 115k views since being published in May 2026, their Melbourne Boiler Room published in 2025 with +1 million views and their Belfast Boiler Room published in 2023 with +1.1 million views.
Since DJ HEARTSTRING’s 2021 debut, when they rollicked through the club door with their Destiny of the Moment and Eternal Euphoria EPs, alongside a slew of self-released, pop-and-R&B-indebted edits, DJ HEARTSTRING have followed their hearts and won over legions more with an emotional dance music style that’s fast become synonymous with their name.
There’ve been big releases such as 2025’s You Are The Sun, I Am The Sky EP, and buzzy collaborations with fellow synapse-igniters like SWIM, Narciss, southstar and S.C.D.D.’s KETTAMA. The past few years have also seen remixes for Charli XCX and Sam Smith, Romy, Sugababes and Empire of the Sun, sets everywhere from Berghain to London’s 3000-capacity Roundhouse, their own Teenage Dream parties and a must-listen contribution to the BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix series, which showcased just some of the sonic inspirations behind their signature, like Eurodance and trance, plus heaps of DJ HEARTSTRING material.
And now, Sentimental Ultra arrives off the back of DJ HEARTSTRING’s busiest summer to date with landmark festival plays at Awakenings in the Netherlands, Lost Village and Maiden Voyage in the UK, We Love Green in France, Lost Paradise in Belgium, Movement Festival in Detroit and Arc Festival in Chicago. Hot off the heels of their festival run, the Berlin duo show no signs of slowing down with a 3-date Australia tour at the end of September whereby they sold a cumulative 15,500 tickets across Melbourne, Sydney and Perth shows, all on presales. In addition to some pop-up in key markets around album release including Ireland, Scotland, Berlin and London, the Sentimental Ultra official tour also encompasses a European hard ticket run including Belfast’s Telegraph Building (2,000 cap), Brussels’ Braindance (2,000 cap), Paris Phantom (3,400) and DJ HEARTSTRING’s biggest London show to date - Brixton Academy (5,000) - an apt follow-up after selling out Magazine (4,000 cap) weeks in advance in February 2026.
There’s plenty still in store, and plenty of places to catch them throughout the rest of what’s set to be a landmark year. Shows from Miami to Manchester (for the sold-out KETTAMA presents Steel City Dance Discs WHP takeover) to Dublin’s District X, a hometown Teenage Dreams event and 2 colossal ADE headlines at Dockyard and Sugar Factory - with more plans bubbling behind the scenes. DJ HEARTSTRING season is well and truly upon us.
Hier ist das definitive Beat Konducta-Box-Set: 7 LPs, die alle sechs Teile von Madlibs legendärer Instrumental-Serie vereint - erstmals gemeinsam erhältlich in einem hochwertigen, schweren Deluxe-Schuber. Zusätzlich enthalten ist Vol. 0, eine zuvor offiziell unveröffentlichte Promo-LP mit weiteren Tracks. Das 7-LP-Box-Set umfasst alle sieben Teile von Madlibs "Beat Konducta"-Reihe aus den Jahren 1994 bis 2008. Die Volumes 1-2, 3-4 und 5-6, die lange vergriffen waren, erscheinen hier erstmals als Doppel-LPs im klassischen schwarzen Vinyl und im aufklappbaren Gatefold-Cover. Exklusiv in diesem Set enthalten ist zudem Vol. 0: Earth Sounds, gepresst auf grünem "Northern Lights"-Vinyl. Die Tracks auf Vol. 0 entstanden im Zeitraum von 1994 bis 1996 und wurden dann ursprünglich 2001 als streng limitierte Promo-LP veröffentlicht. Die musikalischen Einflüsse reichen von Library-Musik aus TV und Film der 70er Jahre bis hin zu Bollywood-Soundtracks und weiteren Produktionen aus Indien (aus den 60er bis 80er Jahren) und gipfeln in einer Hommage an seinen verstorbenen, großartigen Freund und musikalischen Weggefährten J Dilla. Essentiell, keine Frage.
Metabolising 20-plus years gorging on the hardcore continuum, Luke J Murray returns to Sneaker Social Club with the first album under his Liquid DnB-Like Ambient Grime 2 alias. As the first self-titled EP in 2024 demonstrated, with this project Murray applies a hauntological supplement to his life-long diet of rave's codes and signals. These 11 tracks could be embraced as dank bangers in their own right, but the ghostly shroud that lingers is no accident. It's an evocative expression of the hinterland places that frame the pursuit of the dance as much as the energy spikes in front of the bass bins — a diaristic reflection on trudging puddle-peppered streets to find little black doors or staggering home, ears ringing, as dawn comes to chase down the street lights.
Haunted House, Garage & Grime walks the line between atmospheric scene building and straight-up beatdowns with a relaxed swagger. 'The Ginnel In SK4' paints a vivid picture of urban malaise with its bleak synth warps and punk-dub splashes, not a drum sequence in earshot. It's flanked by the Caustic Window-meets-Mark One 'The Flats On Belmont Way' on one side, and low-slung electro-creeper 'Hollywood Park' on the other. As the titles hint, this is music tangibly attached to very specific places locked in Murray's memory — unmistakably UK locations that reflect back the half-hollowed out echoes of late night soundtracks, glancing off red brick and pebble dash concrete at odd angles.
There is space on the album for full-chested amen tear-outs like 'Pete's Gone Mad With The Axe' , but for the most part the mood remains downcast and pensive. The sparse approach affords you space to tangibly hear the (not-so-silent) name-checked rain pattering in the background of 'The Crown Under The Viaduct, While Rainfalls Silently Into The River Mersey' , or imagine the crunch of litter and dead leaves underfoot that snakes its way through minimalist stepper 'Bowerfield Lane, After Dark'.
Murray's vision is sharply realised, and his stated inspirations slot logically into his shelves of ordered ideas drawn from disorderly memories. From Mark Leckey's O' Magic Power Of Bleakness to the Ghost Box records alumni, Hatcha's seminal Dubstep Allstars Vol. 1 and Laura Grace Ford's Savage Messiah book, Haunted House, Garage & Grime is the logical product of a deep thinker making tracks with decades of rave in his bones and the sense that it all means something, even if it's not always clear what.
Veronica Everheart has just announced that her new project Lighter in the Morning (3/2) will be out on November 13th via Pack. Records. The news arrives alongside her link-up with Mumbai-raised electronic artist the sound chalk makes for their new collaborative single, “2222222222222222 + Climbing”. A colorful, club-ready take on “22 & Climbing” from Everheart’s Lighter in the Morning (2/2) EP, the track is also accompanied by an animated music video for the original song, which was made with Source Filmmaker software from the gaming developer Valve using models from their game series Half-Life.
Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Veronica Everheart writes and produces all of her own music alongside her creative partner, Justin "Juni" Neugeboren, and has built a cult following for a distinct sound that pulls from indie rock, electronic, and folk. Released in May, Lighter in the Morning (2/2) was led by singles "NO LOLITA SHIT", "Unknowable Distance", and "12/21” and serves as the sister tape to Everheart’s 2024 EP, Lighter in the Morning (1/2). Now, she’s gearing up to release Lighter in the Morning (3/2) (Deluxe Edition), curating a slate of leftfield producers that includes ideasforconversations, nikki nair, atlgrandma, E_DEATH, and Oskie (alongside the sound chalk makes) to craft remixes for the project.
n resurrecting the band Krill—declared dead over 10 years ago—Jonah Furman considered the turritopsis nutricula: the “immortal jellyfish” that reverts to juvenile form instead of dying. “I was always afraid of coming home,” he says. “But home is inescapable.” Now living in the same Chicago suburb he grew up in, Furman ponders the passage of time on Secret Language, a nostalgic and cerebral exploration of family, fatherhood, and fated love.
From 2010 to 2015, Krill recorded three LPs and two EPs, growing into a cult project revered for its complex, rapturous compositions. Anxious, anthemic, mathy, propulsive, they were beloved by Frankie Cosmos, Girlpool, Horse Jumper of Love, and countless others. Personal lives took priority and brought the project to an official close, save for two reunion shows and a 2020 album under the name Knot, but that's retroactively a Krill album, “because it's easier that way.”
The project was revived “on a whim” as Furman puts it: “Theo from Ovlov asked if Krill wanted to open a Chicago show. Then I started writing new stuff.” He recruited Krill’s longtime drummer Ian Becker who, too, had just moved back to town. Both had known guitarist Andrew Clinkman (also of Spirits Having Fun and Moontype) during their collective years in Boston and growing up in Chicagoland, and soon he joined the fold. On Secret Language, the trio tap into their reclaimed city’s famed music community, drawing inspiration from current locals the same way Krill were inspired by their Boston contemporaries like Pile and Speedy Ortiz instead of Pixies or Mission of Burma.
On Secret Language, home can be anything: a place, a person, a feeling. But Krill is “very much” a Chicago band now; a new beginning where it all began.
Four solid dub house and deep house cuts from Alessandro Crimi, pressed on blue green marbled vinyl. Get Up opens on a rolling groove, hats ticking against a bassline that breathes rather than pushes. Interstate tightens the low end into something more direct, built for the peak of a set. Look At The Stars slows the tempo down into dub house territory, chords smeared and delayed until they blur into the drums. Multiverse closes the record on a dubbier note again, echoes trailing off into silence between hits. Across the four tracks the mood stays controlled, functional, made for rooms where space and repetition do the work.
Leather-jacket krautrock? Indeed. Welcome to the world of Carrboro NC's Object Hours. These generous saviors consist of three Triangle scene lifers who all worship the riff but imagine what happens if the riff fell into the middle of your favorite CAN LP. Yes, it lives up to the hype.
"Solved By Walking" was recorded in the winter of 2025 at Betty's in the Chapel Hill woods, these are mighty rock slabs ready for all seasons. Rock believers have felt the ripples and knew the day was coming. Object Hours is a band that fits right in on stage alongside acts as varied as Kim Gordon and Tropical Fuck Storm, bringing the house down in these and similar moments. These are songs that groove, peel paint, sandblast, inspire unconscious movement, make your head bob - frequently all at the same time. These are the jams inspired by the time that you heard "Fun House" coming out of that dude's car with the windows down in the middle of the summer, the ones inspired by the kids who own 3 copies of "Daydream Nation," the ones who listen to the last 1:30 of Wire's "Too Late" over and over. This is the band that has a timer on stage so they don't keep each song playing for days on end, the band whose Bandcamp bio succinctly summarizes their approach thusly: "We try to keep songs under 25 minutes for your sake." Every word here should be inspiration for you to *want* and *need* to hear this record and every word here is true. Just you wait.
Real heads know and the rest of the heads are getting ready to find out. Get ready for Object Hours' "Solved By Walking".
Das Repertoire des aus Brooklyn stammenden Komponisten, Arrangeurs und Multi-Instrumentalisten Sammy Weissberg umfasst intime Stücke für Gitarre und Holzblasinstrumente, Filmmusik für Kammerorchester und alles dazwischen. Im Mittelpunkt seiner zeitgenössischen klassischen Werke stehen liebevoll geschwungene Melodien, markante Akkordfolgen und insgesamt eine grenzenlose musikalische Fantasie. ,Music for Strings and Brass", Weissbergs neueste Veröffentlichung (und sein Debüt bei Dear Life Records), enthält zwei Werke, die den Umfang seines künstlerischen Schaffens neu definieren und Techniken einbeziehen, die er während seiner Arbeit als Arrangeur für Songwriter (The Lemon Twins, Allegra Krieger, June McDoom, Frances Chang und viele mehr) verfeinert hat. Das Album enthält sein beeindruckendes, impressionistisches Streichquartett Nr. 2 und ein Blechbläserquintett, das die ergreifende, stimmähnliche Ausdruckskraft jedes einzelnen Instruments auslotet. In beiden Fällen erweist sich Weissberg als Komponist, dessen humanistische und unmittelbare Musiksprache keinen großen dramatischen Rahmen benötigt, um tief im Herzen nachzuklingen. Inspiriert von Komponisten der Spätromantik und der Moderne spricht Weissberg eine musikalische Sprache, die manchmal so klingt, als käme sie direkt aus einer anderen Zeit. An verschiedenen Stellen greifen seine Werke die anmutigen und eingängigen Instrumentalthemen von Antonín Dvorák und Sergej Prokofjew, das atomare rhythmische Zusammenspiel von Igor Strawinsky sowie die üppigen Klangwelten von Claude Debussy und Nino Rota auf. Doch stets verwandelt er diese nostalgischen Anknüpfungspunkte in zeitgemäß klingende, zutiefst persönliche Kammermusikwerke, die man unmöglich missverstehen kann: ausgefeilt und unprätentiös, außergewöhnlich und zeitlos. Seine Werke spiegeln die grundlegendsten Instinkte und die Struktur des Alltags wider - das Gefühl, dass wir ständig von irgendwoher kommen und irgendwohin gehen, auf der Suche nach einfachen, zugrunde liegenden Mustern, die komplexen Phänomenen Sinn und Sinnzusammenhang verleihen, und voller Sehnsucht nach jenem Gefühl der Leichtigkeit, das uns über das Vertraute hinaustreibt. ,Music for Strings and Brass" ist der perfekte Einstieg in die Art und Weise, wie Sammy Weissberg das Leben in Klängen verarbeitet - ein Album, das zu den warmherzigsten und zielstrebigsten Instrumentalveröffentlichungen des Jahres zählen dürfte.
Mit TechnoBase.FM Vol. 6 geht die beliebte Compilation-Reihe auf Vinyl in die nächste Runde. Die limitierte Pressung bringt den Sound von TechnoBase.FM direkt auf den Plattenteller und verbindet aktuelle Dance-Tracks mit dem typischen HandsUp-, Dance- und Electro-Sound der Reihe.
Für Fans elektronischer Musik und Vinyl-Sammler ist auch die sechste Ausgabe ein Muss. TechnoBase.FM Vol. 6 – einfach das Beste für den Plattenteller.
Across time and beyond genre, this is an audio component test record that continues to earn universal acclaim. Drop the needle and unleash the fateful grooves etched into its tracks.
The rediscovery of this album—originally produced as a test record for high-end audio systems—stands as one of the great rewards brought about by the rare groove movement. The project was led by the visionary Katsunori Ishida, who would later become renowned as a producer, composer, and arranger for numerous television and film soundtracks. Gathering an exceptional line up of musicians including Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami, Akira Okazawa, Mikio Masuda, Kenji Ohmura, and Tantan, Ishida crafted a sound that is both tight and sophisticated.
Tracks such as “Cool Head” and “Son Of Pin Head” showcase grooves that are at times as powerful as a hammer blow, and at others as thrilling as a rushing torrent. The musicianship, precision, and dynamic energy throughout are simply outstanding. Today, thanks to its remarkable level of craftsmanship and commanding presence, this album is recognized as a true masterpiece, admired and celebrated far beyond the boundaries of any single genre.
Sol Novo is a tale of three parts, created by João Comazzi and Murrin of Púca Sounds & Jogada. In many ways a sequel—and a not-so-distant cousin—to 2022’s Cavalo, the pair return to blend their references into a new, ultra-visual language. Spinning through a sonic world mired as much in greenery as it is in the underground, Sol Novo invites you along for the ride.
The title track, "Sol Novo," whirls into a dubbed-out dawn break, collaging through samples and organic ear-catchers while sun-drenched choruses weave through the mix, reverberating as the light lingers.
On the second track, "Pindorama," Paszarinha’s call to the space-warp curls out from under dark blue bass. Fitting equal parts dreamland and dance floor, the track builds a world to get lost in through ever-orbiting breaks layered with Côco rhythms echoing in the deep.
The final track, "Brasia," arrives in full color: a story led by elements of Gagaku with Axêxê chants and a shimmer bathed in vintage synths. Landing like a call to movement that pulls you up and keeps you moving, it’s a kaleidoscopic sound caught between ancient ritual and electronic nostalgia.
Trentemøller's new untitled album explodes with the force of a supernova before dissolving into swooning vocals. Across 10 songs, maximalist guitar-noise blowouts collide with some of the most bruising shoegaze you'll hear this year. "The noisy got noisier, the dreamy got dreamier," says Trentemøller. "I was ruthless this time."
Opener "Swerve", recorded with Vienna-based singer Sakura, crashes into searing walls of sound - a stark contrast to 2024's haunting Dreamweaver. The album's radically intuitive energy persists on the anthemic "Visceral" and the industrial fuzz of "Your Love Walks Alone", featuring Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes. "Coyote" deconstructs synths into feedback and brutal guitars, while "To Mist" and "Halved" (featuring Midwife) offer nocturnal respite - nugaze ambience reduced to fractals of fragile beauty. For the first time in Trentemøller's history, vocals appear on every track - contributors include Sakura, German-British singer Anika, Midwife, Tan Cologne, Sune Rose Wagner, Jonas Bjerre of Mew, and Danish singer-songwriter Emma Acs, among others. "I knew early on exactly who I wanted. We never met in the studio; everything was exchanged remotely. I'm pretty shy, and it gave the vocalists the privacy to really open up," he explains. Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and mixer - Trentemøller did it all himself. "I don't follow trends or think in algorithms." The reward: playing the album live, start to finish, for the very first time on the upcoming live tour.
Trentemøller's new untitled album explodes with the force of a supernova before dissolving into swooning vocals. Across 10 songs, maximalist guitar-noise blowouts collide with some of the most bruising shoegaze you'll hear this year. "The noisy got noisier, the dreamy got dreamier," says Trentemøller. "I was ruthless this time."
Opener "Swerve", recorded with Vienna-based singer Sakura, crashes into searing walls of sound - a stark contrast to 2024's haunting Dreamweaver. The album's radically intuitive energy persists on the anthemic "Visceral" and the industrial fuzz of "Your Love Walks Alone", featuring Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes. "Coyote" deconstructs synths into feedback and brutal guitars, while "To Mist" and "Halved" (featuring Midwife) offer nocturnal respite - nugaze ambience reduced to fractals of fragile beauty. For the first time in Trentemøller's history, vocals appear on every track - contributors include Sakura, German-British singer Anika, Midwife, Tan Cologne, Sune Rose Wagner, Jonas Bjerre of Mew, and Danish singer-songwriter Emma Acs, among others. "I knew early on exactly who I wanted. We never met in the studio; everything was exchanged remotely. I'm pretty shy, and it gave the vocalists the privacy to really open up," he explains. Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and mixer - Trentemøller did it all himself. "I don't follow trends or think in algorithms." The reward: playing the album live, start to finish, for the very first time on the upcoming live tour.
Tectonic Recordings presents Tectonic Sound: Vol. 2, the second instalment of the various artists series curated by label founder Pinch. Following the first Tectonic Sound collection, released in 2025 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the label, the series continues Tectonic’s forward-facing approach; bringing together artists from their wider family and connecting dots across the underground.
Longstanding figures of the UK Bass scene such as J:Kenzo and Roska sit alongside a new gen of artists including Ehua, Manami, Cimm, Denham Audio, Henry Greenleaf and SHXCXCHCXSH. Beatrice M. also returns following the release of their acclaimed debut album Sinking earlier this year, while Jay Carder and Sir Hiss make their first outings as solo artists on the label, after both appearing as collaborators on Sinking.
Pinch says: ““As Tectonic enters its third decade, the spirit and passion behind the music hold true to its roots. I love every single track on this compilation and how it shows off the various corners of the label's sound. Each artist has delivered something truly special!”
Each artist arrives with a distinct sound and history of their own, but across these twelve original tracks there’s a shared understanding of what Tectonic represents. Different strains of the UK bass continuum come together, creating a space where sounds collide, and new forms take shape.
Pinch leads the charge with ‘Hold On!’, an upfront, high-definition 4x4 propulsion tool that pairs rolling momentum with seismic bass pulses. Manami enters with ‘Turning Point’, further solidifying her newer direction, leaning into deep, dubbed-out territory with a sound that feels both vast and exploratory, while remaining heads-down and locked in. Henry Greenleaf steps in with ‘Whist’, an ominous and otherworldly offering, reminiscent of early dubstep productions that fell somewhere between the lines of dark garage, 2-step and grime.
Elsewhere, SHXCXCHCXSH’s ‘NexxxD’ and Sir Hiss’s ‘2TUFF’ form a middle climatic point of pure chaos, with Sir Hiss serving up a raw slab of gnarled grime waveforms and cascading claps. Beatrice M. & Cimm bring things back down with ‘Pad City’, a cool, meandering cut of shuffling house, while Lorem closes the compilation with ‘Console Corners’, exploring the outer rims of sound manipulation and deconstruction before tying it all together.
Since its formation in 2005, Tectonic has been a trailblazing force in electronic music, helping to define and continually redraw the boundaries of dubstep and its surrounding sounds. The compilation arrives in the middle of a serious run for the label. Earlier this year, Tectonic released Beatrice M.’s debut album Sinking, a major moment for the label that was embraced across the electronic music community. Pinch has also continued his long-running creative relationship with legendary grime MC Trim this year, following their joint 2025 EP No Caller ID, with recent single Striker.
Across Tectonic Sound Vol. 2, those different strands of Tectonic’s history and present day meet head-on. The music moves between familiar forms and stranger territory, with rhythms and frequencies refracting across the collection. It’s a record that feels cohesive without being uniform, reflecting a label whose sound has always been defined by forward movement.
Was genau ist Folk Soul? Es handelt sich nicht um den zeitgenössischen Roots-Rock oder die Country-nahen Balladen, die du wahrscheinlich kennst. Folk Soul steht direkt vor - wenn nicht sogar direkt neben - der schwarzen Musikszene der Mitte bis Ende der 60er bis in die frühen 70er Jahre. Während Spiritual Soul das Ethos der afroamerikanischen Befreiungsbewegung und den breiteren Kampf seiner Zeit verkörpert, beschäftigte sich Folk Soul mit der Analyse, Klassifizierung und regelrechten Ablehnung des Status quo - und stellte sich den komplexen, starren Machtkämpfen jener Zeit durch minimalistische, klassisch geprägte und zukunftsweisende Ansätze im Songwriting. Diese LP besiegt den Faschismus.
Maryos Syawish (b. 1993, Iraq) is a Chaldean Iraqi artist and musician based in Naarm/Melbourne working fluidly across visual art, sound and curatorial practice. His creative work spans more than 15 years and is defined by a lawless, unorthodox approach that resists traditional genre boundaries.
His Research Records debut is an introspective and meandering exploration of place, legacy and personal history. It’s a marked change of pace for the Melbourne-based producer, who has carved his name into the Australian underground as one half of Sleep D and Butter Sessions Records, but his first full length under his own name feels like an extension rather than a departure from what those attuned to his productions will already know.
Qurmami – which translates to “my roots” – functions as an audio collage that bridges the artist’s dual experiences of growing up in Australia and his heritage as a Chaldean Assyrian. Developed over the course of eight years, the record is anchored by field recordings captured during a pivotal trip to Iraq which are sewn into lush ambient electronics over two sides.
Over 42 minutes the production swells and grows; a delicate and mind-transporting beginning gives way to a more rhythmic, body-moving tail end, drawing subtle influences from dub, ambient, and traditional music from the Northern Iraq region along the way. Syawish’s contemporary, friend and fellow Research artist Khaled Kurbeh features, as does Melbourne-based cellist Abby Sundborn, while Sarah Ujmaia – Maryos’ cousin – contributed the album art and a familial through line that rounds out a cohesive, evocative exploration of identity, memory and the spaces that shape who we are.
esperanza spalding’s first label release esperanza has become a modern classic with “I Know You Know” and “Precious”. Upon release, The New York Times said: “It’s an attempt at bringing this crisscrossing of Stevie Wonder and Wayne Shorter to a new level of definition and power.” Available on vinyl for the first time ever - 2LP gatefold edition features updated artwork, pressed on eco jade green coloured vinyl. Includes two bonus tracks from the original sessions: “O Bem Do Mar” and “Sunlight”.
Die in Kalifornien beliebte Band Brainstory kehrt mit einer neuen EP zurück, die das Ende einer Ära feiert. ,Shoebox Days" ist eine Hommage an die Zeit und die Aufnahmen, die in ihrem inzwischen geschlossenen Studio in Long Beach entstanden sind, das treffend den Namen ,Shoebox" trug. Wie der Name schon andeutet, war der Raum winzig und mit Equipment vollgestopft. Das hatte zwar seinen Reiz, war jedoch mit zahlreichen Einschränkungen verbunden. Doch wie sich immer wieder gezeigt hat, entsteht großartige Kunst oft aus schwierigen Umständen, und diese neue EP mit sieben Titeln ist ein weiterer Beweis dafür. Der . Titel, ,The Watchers", beginnt mit einer eingängigen Bläsermelodie , die einen sofort in ihren Bann zieht. Die knackigen Drums und die G-Funk-Basstöne sorgen für Schwung, während sich üppige Orchestrierungen hin und her schlängeln und eine sanfte Atmosphäre schaffen. ,Blend", einer von nur zwei Gesangstiteln auf der EP, ist ein von kalifornischer Sonne durchtränktes Liebeslied , das die Grenze zwischen Psych-Rock-Ballade und B-Seite-Soul beschreitet. ,Twin Kitchen" drückt einen regelrecht in den Sitz zurück, wobei Eric Hagstroms präzises Schlagzeugspiel den Song trägt. ,Home Alone" ist Sänger Kevin Martins überaus nachvollziehbare Hommage an die Zeit, die er allein verbringt - Zeit, die nach heutigen Maßstäben als ,abgekoppelt" gilt, in Wirklichkeit aber viel verbundener ist _ Die Jungs lassen bei ,Lone Traveler" einen Teil ihres Jazz-Hintergrunds in den Vordergrund treten, beginnen mit einem wasserdichten Groove und lassen sich im Verlauf des Stücks darüber hinweg gehen. ,Gravity Hill", benannt nach der berühmten kalifornischen Kuriosität, leitet den Ausklang der EP ein, während Brainstory tief in die Materie eintaucht und uns mitnimmt. ,Necessary Loss" bildet den Abschluss dieser herrlichen Reise.
,Splendor & Misery (Anniversary X)" ist die Jubiläumsausgabe zum zehnjährigen Bestehen des für den Hugo Award nominierten Science-Fiction-Opus des experimentellen Rap-Trios Clipping. Diese Deluxe-Ausgabe enthält ein überarbeitetes Cover, das Originalalbum sowie acht bisher unveröffentlichte Songs und alternative Takes. ,Splendor & Misery" ist ein afrofuturistisches, dystopisches Konzeptalbum, das die Geschichte des einzigen Überlebenden eines Sklavenaufstands auf einem interstellaren Frachtschiff sowie des Bordcomputers erzählt, der sich in ihn verliebt. In der Annahme, allein und im Weltraum verloren zu sein, entdeckt die Figur Musik im bebenden Rumpf des Schiffes und in den zwitschernden Instrumententafeln. Die Musik von Clipping zeichnet eine imaginäre Klanglandkarte der Decks, Gänge und Quartiere des Schiffes, während Daveed Diggs' Texte auf den Rhythmen reiten, die von dessen Triebwerken und Maschinen erzeugt werden. ,Splendor & Misery" ist eine der beliebtesten Veröffentlichungen von Clipping. Es schaffte es in zahlreiche Jahresrückblicke und wurde von der ,New York Times", Bandcamp Daily, CLASH, The Line Of Best Fit, The Needle Drop, Uproxx, The Observer und Stereogum gelobt. Im Jahr 2019 stufte Pitchfork ,Splendor & Misery" als eines der 33 besten Industrial-Alben aller Zeiten ein. Clipping feierte das Album im August 2026 mit dem ,Splendor & Misery Fest" im Knockdown Center in New York City, mit den Vorgruppen SPELLLING, Shabazz Palaces, ELUCID, Fatboi Sharif, evicshen und Maria Chavez.
Early support from Rocky (X-Press 2), Lovefingers (ESP Institute) Ross Allen (NTS), Sean Johnston (ALFOS), Logan Fisher (Tryouts), Chris Sweet (Northern Soul Rave Patrol), Darren Stewart (La America), David Elders (MFSB Edinburgh), Craig Christon, Linda Boyle (1BTN), and Dave Jarvis (Faith).
Skyrager, aka Danny McLewin (Psychemagik/Ghost Vision) delivers a long awaited, genre-busting trio of edits on the legendary Moton label to light up all rooms and dancefloors this season...
Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, to a mother of Indian and Congolese heritage and a father of Slovak and Belgian descent, Siân grew up between Belgium and New York before finally letting her travelling wings come to rest in Paris. What could have become a story of fragmentation instead became a source of creative strength. Singer, songwriter, composer and photographer, Siân has always turned borders into bridges.
She first honed her voice in the jazz clubs of Paris and New York, performing alongside renowned artists such as Richard Bona, Jon Batiste and Mike Stern. Yet her path has always extended far beyond the stage. For nearly a decade, she led cultural initiatives with women and children living through exile, violence and poverty across India and Southern Africa, weaving together music, photography and artistic transmission as tools for dialogue and empowerment.
The true turning point came when she discovered the kamele ngoni, the West African harp whose ethereal sound seemed to echo something long buried within her. The instrument became her musical alter ego—the invisible thread binding together her many inheritances. Guided by Malian master Abou Diarra, Siân embarked on an inward journey towards her African roots. Yet this return to her origins was never an act of retreat into identity. Instead, it gave rise to a body of work that remains profoundly open to the world, where Africa enters into conversation with jazz, folk, soul, alternative pop and the rhythms of Brazil.
Along the way, she has crossed paths with remarkable artists including Rogê, Chico César, Fatoumata Diawara, Lokua Kanza, Flavia Coelho, Thomas de Pourquery and Philippe Baden Powell. On stage and in the studio, Siân continues to shape a musical universe that refuses labels. Like artists such as Björk, Joni Mitchell and Laura Mvula, she moves forward as an explorer, guided not by genre but by intuition.
Today, Siân stands as one of the most distinctive voices of the new Francophone music scene an artist capable of uniting musical sophistication with emotional power, introspection with collective celebration, depth with an irresistible urge to dance.
Animal — The New Album
With Animal, produced by British musician Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Africa Express...), Siân delivers her most intimate and assured work to date. Every song feels like a shedding of skin, a quiet metamorphosis, exploring self-acceptance, femininity, the freedom to be oneself, cultural heritage, and the reconciliation of one's own imperfections.
From Stereotype, a fearless manifesto against the expectations imposed on women, to the title track Animal, an anthem celebrating the beauty of imperfection ("I've turned my cracks into a crown"), the album gives a voice to everyone who refuses to fit into predefined boxes. In Terre, je danse sur toi, featuring Fatoumata Diawara, Siân pays tribute to Mother Earth and to the roots that unite us all. Oh! Congo, recorded with Lokua Kanza, reconciles her cultural heritage with an ancestral homeland that feels both distant and intimately familiar. En équilibre, with Flavia Coelho, embraces the exhilaration of risk and the courage to leap, while Put a Mask and I Could Kill confront hidden wounds and the invisible violences that quietly shape who we become.
In ADé, Siân addresses Adenomyosis as though speaking to an unwanted housemate. "My body is your battlefield," she sings, giving voice to an intimate shadow lodged deep within herself. This bittersweet lullaby transforms a pain so often left unspoken into an act of profound tenderness towards oneself.
The album also holds a rare treasure: Reste tel(le), an unpublished text by Pierre Barouh, the founder of the Saravah label. Never before set to music or performed, this elusive poem of free love finds new life through Siân's voice, becoming a dialogue across time between two artists united by the same devotion to freedom, métissage and openness to the world.
Driven by Tom Excell's vibrant Afro-pop pulse, the spiritual breath of the kamele ngoni, organic arrangements and deeply personal songwriting, Animal is an album of liberation. It invites us to lay down our masks, embrace our contradictions and reconnect with the free, instinctive and powerful animal that lies dormant within us all. More than a collection of songs, it is a radiant manifesto for the richness of identity, the passing on of memory, and reconciliation with oneself.
Animal is not simply the title of an album, it is a declaration of independence. An invitation to live fully, unapologetically, and without instructions.
A citizen of the world, travelling freely between continents, languages and memories, Siân Pottok delivers with Animal her most personal, and perhaps her most universal work to date: an album that reminds us that our fragilities, our roots and our differences are, beyond doubt, our greatest strength.
— Christophe Tison
Black Sheep is the influential hip‑hop duo from Queens, New York, formed by Andres “Dres” Vargas Titus and William “Mista Lawnge” McLean. Although both members hail from New York, they met as teenagers in Sanford, North Carolina, where their families had relocated. The duo became part of the celebrated Native Tongues Collective, alongside Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul, a movement known for its creativity, positivity, and forward‑thinking approach to hip‑hop. After joining forces in 1989, Black Sheep made an immediate impact with their 1991 acclaimed debut album A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing. The record earned widespread recognition for its inventive rhythms and sharp, witty, often humorous lyricism.
Their second album Non‑Fiction arrived in 1994, continuing their signature blend of jazzy hip-hop and clever, tongue‑in‑cheek storytelling. The album featured two singles “Without a Doubt” and “North South East West”.
Following its release, the group remained largely inactive throughout the decade, with the exception of Dres, who recorded a solo project under the moniker Dres The Black Sheep. Black Sheep eventually returned in 2006 with their long‑awaited third album 8WM / Novakane. Shortly thereafter, Mista Lawnge departed, while Dres has continued to release music under the Black Sheep name.
Three Stripe Records, the original ‘Bristol Sound’ label release their first vinyl in 30 years.
Founded in 1988 by Smith & Mighty, the label was set up to release music from local talent as well as the pair’s own recordings, and in the late eighties released a string of underground hits.
The label’s first venture in ’88, a cover of Dionne Warwick’s ‘Anyone Who Had A Heart’, featured local singer Jackie Jackson alongside rappers M.C. Kelz and Krissy Kriss and stayed at the top of the indie charts for several weeks.
Now after a long hiatus, a new three-track 12” vinyl featuring Tammy Payne performing a cover of the ’60s Mandel & Webster classic, ‘The Shadow Of Your Smile’ is due to be released on 13th November 2026.
The vinyl’s three tracks capture different variations of breakbeat, dub and soul.
The A side is a break driven, dynamic bond-esque version with orchestral drops and rises, over a tough hiphop rhythm.
AA1 is a head nodding, rolling breakbeat affair with a digi dub style bassline, while Tammy’s vocal floats in and out on a sea of echo.
AA2 is the original mello mix with sparse beat machine style patterns and 303 bass line. Tammy’s full vocal carrying the flow in contrast to the urgent backbeat, occasionally joined by keys, guitar melodies and fx.
Each version having it’s own identity while all remaining very ’Smith & Mighty’
¡NO PASARAN! is the extension to Extrawelt's DYSTORTION, from brooding tension to playful relief, the album took listeners on a six-year-crafted exploration. Their next EP picks up where this epic chapter left off and is clearly related. It's a hypnotic dive into shadow and dream, darkness and melancholy with subtle flashes of light.
The title track of the EP, already known from the album (D1 - Extrawelt - ¡No Pasaran!) carries a commanding presence, pulses with a rolling, insistent bassline that anchors shifting rhythmic currents and evolving sonic layers. Between tension and release, shadows and melody, it's a track that moves like a living entity.
Arctic Dead Run hits like a surge of raw energy. Acid lines roll relentlessly, building tension that feels alive. Then a melody sneaks in - soft, almost fragile - cutting through the intensity, until hi-hats erupt and the groove snaps into full focus. Maximal yet controlled, every element finds its place.
Clipping Me Softly dissolves the pressure with a dark, playful groove. Precise rhythms meet spacious pads, opening into a dreamlike state where night slowly gives way to warmth and light.
A focused and uncompromising continuation of Extrawelt's sonic language: Dense grooves, acid pressure, and dreamlike relief collide in a release built for deep listening and late-night floors.
Where other bands seem to be hellbent on pushing an energy of exhilaration, London’s premiere grief peddler’s SECRECY seem to be more interested in reminding us all what deep shit we are in. Their debut recorded outing captures the morbid and grandiose power of their successful string of London shows, refining the message to a promising and bewildering first release. Taking compositional cues from THE EXECUTE, SOUTHERN DEATH CULT, and THE CHAMELEONS, the room filling instrumentals carry a bleak and punishing prophecy of moral turmoil and hysteria, opting to drive the notion of post punk off a cliff through force of will alone. The sound is crisp and wide without giving up the austerity necessary to carry the prophetic sense of dire urgency in the vocals, driving and marching drums and bass lines carrying almost danceable guitar parts to climax. Soaring guitars over driving drums push the corpus to blistering movement, restrained by lyrics about fucking and dying, an Eros/Thanatos act delivered with a refreshing lack of irony or sarcasm. Lyrical influences from RIMBAUD and BAUDELAIRE abound, veering from the brink of poetry back down to primitive taunts and cries.
Was genau ist Folk Soul? Es handelt sich nicht um den zeitgenössischen Roots-Rock oder die Country-nahen Balladen, die du wahrscheinlich kennst. Folk Soul steht direkt vor - wenn nicht sogar direkt neben - der schwarzen Musikszene der Mitte bis Ende der 60er bis in die frühen 70er Jahre. Während Spiritual Soul das Ethos der afroamerikanischen Befreiungsbewegung und den breiteren Kampf seiner Zeit verkörpert, beschäftigte sich Folk Soul mit der Analyse, Klassifizierung und regelrechten Ablehnung des Status quo - und stellte sich den komplexen, starren Machtkämpfen jener Zeit durch minimalistische, klassisch geprägte und zukunftsweisende Ansätze im Songwriting. Diese LP besiegt den Faschismus.
Unfurling dank forest-floor minimalism straight out of the early-’00s Scandi prog playbook. Unhurried, groove-fwd and made of moss and mist. Deft precision and insectoid detail skitter underfoot.
Channelling the Swedish-Danish axis of Spiral Trax and Creamcrop Records like a true disciple. Pared right back and wound tight, the tension doesn’t let up for a second. Heavy on the low end and properly gloomy with it.
Disembodied vocals summon haunted spirits and divine feminine frequencies. Eerie and levitational, with plenty of late-nite throb.
Elsewhere, it evokes intrepid interstellar exploration and early synth experiments – one track sports a synth line that wouldn’t be out of place on a BBC Radiophonic Workshop retrospective. Gazing out at the infinite scale of the universe, cosmic dread melts into melancholy.
Deep under the canopy, where daylight daren’t follow.
credits
This November, Brownswood Recordings will release Mek Do & Mend, the debut album from self-taught producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and artist Wonky Logic. Although his name may not yet be familiar to everyone, Wonky Logic (AKA Dwayne Kilvington) has spent the past two decades quietly becoming one of the UK's most respected musical collaborators. His career has moved comfortably between London's jazz, electronic and contemporary music scenes, performing and recording with artists including Nala Sinephro, Yussef Dayes, Nightmares On Wax, Shabaka Hutchings and Emma-Jean Thackray. Alongside his work as a producer and composer, he's been musical director for projects with Eddie Chacon, John Carroll Kirby and I.G Culture's LCSM, scored the feature documentary Zandra With A Zed, contributed music to A24's The Smashing Machine, and continues to lead music workshops with young people, refugees and people experiencing incarceration.
Far more than a collection of compositions, Mek Do & Mend is a deeply personal reflection on the people, places and experiences that have shaped Kilvington throughout his life. It's the story of growing up on a Leeds council estate, where music became both a creative outlet and a way of understanding the world. Making music often meant working with whatever was available: a second-hand keyboard, a makeshift studio desk or ageing equipment that simply had to last a little longer. The title itself came from a conversation with his mother, capturing the resourcefulness that defined his upbringing and continued into the making of the album itself, which was written and produced to a tight deadline around touring, family life and Kilvington's work as a musician and educator.
Built from material spanning more than fifteen years, Mek Do & Mend brings together some of Wonky Logic's earliest compositions alongside brand new pieces written during the making of the record itself. Childhood ideas sit alongside music conceived only months before recording, creating an album that draws together a lifetime of writing rather than documenting a single moment. Running throughout are voice notes from family members, teachers, friends, mentors and collaborators—not simply as interludes, but as a reminder that no creative life is ever self-made. Rather than telling his own story outright, Kilvington invites listeners to discover him through the people who've shaped him: an aunt remembering him playing in church as a child, lifelong friends recalling early experiments making beats together, fellow musicians from different stages of his career and his mother describing him in her own words. Together they reveal the invisible network of relationships, philosophies, communities and experiences behind the music. "The album exists somewhere between being a biography and an autobiography," says Dwayne. "The biography is in the voice notes and how other people see me. The autobiography is in the music."
That same philosophy extends to the musicians who appear on the record. Every contributor has played a meaningful role in Wonky Logic's life beyond the studio. Long-time collaborator Luke Wynter, Steam Down drummer Benji Appiah, partner Vanessa Rani, Jonathan Enser, Joe Bristow, Brother Portrait and Nubiya Imani all feature not simply because of their musicianship, but because they form part of the album's story.
Across its fourteen tracks, Mek Do & Mend moves effortlessly between dynamic jazz arrangements, pulsating broken rhythms, delicate, twinkling piano passages, interstellar synth textures and elegant brass lines. Album opener and first single 'Strange Attractor' begins with a shimmering introduction before unfolding into an exhilarating surge of rhythm and momentum. Named after the mathematical concept of the same name, it serves as the conceptual point of origin for the album. Written when Kilvington was just seventeen, the composition reflects the idea that even the most unpredictable lives are guided by hidden patterns that often only become visible with time. Second single 'A Thousand Hands' features the unmistakable vocal tones of Brother Portrait, whose cerebral lyricism drifts over a low-slung, constantly shifting groove as woozy synth lines ebb and flow overhead. At its heart, the track celebrates the family, friends, mentors and collaborators whose often unseen influence shapes who we become, echoing the album's belief that every achievement is, in some way, a collective one. LP focus track 'BAME (Beyond All Marginalised Expectations)' is a lush, spiralling composition, brimming with both emotion and resolve. Reclaiming an acronym long imposed on racialised communities in the UK, the piece transforms it into a statement of possibility rather than limitation: a defiant rejection of stereotypes and a refusal to let identity be defined by other people's expectations.
The album itself only exists because other people believed in it. Isabel Gracefield made the RAK sessions possible, Rick David brought the record together with his characteristically thoughtful mix, and Gilles Peterson committed to releasing it on Brownswood before hearing any of the music. Away from the stage, Kilvington works with the charity Finding Rhythms, writing and producing original records with people experiencing incarceration, while also leading workshops with Arts Train and Dovetail Orchestra.
Recorded live in a single day in Studio One at RAK, Mek Do & Mend was mixed by Rick David through an analogue Cadac console before being mastered by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis. The aim wasn't nostalgia or audiophile perfection, but to create a record people could return to throughout their lives, discovering something new with each listen.
As Dwayne puts it: "I don't want this body of work to be reduced to a jazz record. It's more like a novel about life told through music."
Mercury Prize-shortlisted, MOBO Award-winning drummer, composer and producer Moses Boyd returns with his first album in six years. Since the release of his critically acclaimed album, Dark Matter, Boyd has continued to push at the boundaries of contemporary jazz. Songs For Sinners is a deeply personal body of work that explores the push and pull of faith as something profoundly human – a force capable of comforting, dividing, unsettling and restoring in equal measure. Across an ambitious, vocal-led collection that fuses gospel, jazz, soundsystem culture, Caribbean rhythms, 808s and soaring choir harmonies, Boyd expands the language of contemporary jazz into something entirely his own. It’s a record that draws from the church he grew up in, the London soundsystem culture that shaped him, and the freedom of improvisation, asking what sacred music can sound like when it’s no longer confined by convention.
Mercury Prize-shortlisted, MOBO Award-winning drummer, composer and producer Moses Boyd returns with his first album in six years. Since the release of his critically acclaimed album, Dark Matter, Boyd has continued to push at the boundaries of contemporary jazz. Songs For Sinners is a deeply personal body of work that explores the push and pull of faith as something profoundly human – a force capable of comforting, dividing, unsettling and restoring in equal measure. Across an ambitious, vocal-led collection that fuses gospel, jazz, soundsystem culture, Caribbean rhythms, 808s and soaring choir harmonies, Boyd expands the language of contemporary jazz into something entirely his own. It’s a record that draws from the church he grew up in, the London soundsystem culture that shaped him, and the freedom of improvisation, asking what sacred music can sound like when it’s no longer confined by convention.
“Interpretation”
The act of explaining, reframing, or otherwise showing your own understanding of something. This captured me. We can all look at the same thing but what we see, hear or experience may differ. This word ended up being the title of my new album. I want to share my interpretation of music with listeners and take them on a musical journey. Through my music, I hope to bring about many interpretations. Your interpretation.
With great joy and pride we announce that The Night Service Commute second album Interpretation is a fact. The release is set for November 13th. You can expect cinematic vibes driven by breakbeats, bass, rhodes, violin, poetry, trumpet and field recordings. This turned out fantastic, and gave the album the groove, feel and vibe I was looking for. During the making, It was so great to learn how to capture the sound and get it to sit well in the mix.
The cover was made by my dear friend Saša Ostoja. His illustrations resonate greatly with me and put a smile on my face. The setting of the cover artwork is urban with hints of forest. Behind the windows, you can see the characters playing music and doing studio stuff. It has loads of hidden jokes and details. I can look at it again and again and discover new things every time.
Land of Talk is still here. That wasn’t always a guarantee. Over the multi-faceted twenty year history of their project, Lizzie Powell has drifted from and back to music, always interrogating their role as an artist. In the time since 2023’s Performances, they found themselves utterly worn down by the vicissitudes of the music industry and wracked with worry around their aging parents. Yet the music didn’t stop: Powell heard songs in traffic and in birds chirping, in their downstairs neighbor’s daily prayers and in the babble of children on the street. Melodies slowly cohered over time. “Life can become so unbearable, and music is where I go to metabolize it,” they explain. “I know the music was the only thing that was going to help me.” Soon Powell reemerged with the sixth Land of Talk album, LASTS.
LASTS is full of double meanings — both resilience and finality, acting as a noun and a verb. Though LASTS is haunted by crises including climate collapse, political upheaval, and genocide, the mangitude of global turmoil led Powell towards smaller, humane depictions of suffering and grief. As both their parents became ill, Powell reflected on the last time a person might walk, might talk to a loved one. Yet watching their parents near the other side of life’s arc also made Powell consider all they had survived across their own decades on this earth, their new songs channeling both gratitude and rage. LASTS became a phrase, honoring Land of Talk’s circuitous route and all Powell’s reckoned with through the years. “I think of this record as a love letter to life,” they say.
The end result is an album both lean and winding, allowing Powell’s words and melodies to take centerstage, uncrowded in visceral, shot-no-chaser arrangements. LASTS jumps right in with “Broken Tongue,” a wiry track built on thrumming electric guitar and ghostly synths as Powell rails against the lack of justice for victims of abuse. The trio’s interplay is readily evident in “Saffron” and “4:44,” two earworm songs that also allow themselves to unspool into extended instrumental codas. Early in the record, there are seething tracks like “Dogs” — “Just your basic instinct / Even dogs know better,” Powell growls in the chorus, before the song quiets into a plaintive plea of “Leave us alone now” — and later there are more vulnerable, wandering moments. In “Projections” and “Cedars,” Powell ventures deep into their head, inviting their co-conspirators and listeners alike to follow the songs wherever they meander.
YES is a genre-blurring blend of punk, electronic and rap from South Africa, released on limited edition White Vinyl
South African alt-rap trio Internet Girl have officially announced their debut album, YES, arriving November 13 via PACK. Records. Alongside the announcement, the group has released their new single “DA BUSINESS” featuring Kenny Mason.
A high-energy party anthem, “DA BUSINESS” opens with distorted guitar before chopped vocals briefly pull things back, only for an abrupt beat drop and howling synth to send the track into overdrive. As another synth melody sweeps in, TK cuts through the chaos with an introspective opening verse before Kenny Mason crashes in with a gritty guest verse. Live drums, distorted guitars, and surging synths continue to build around them, turning their vocals into something closer to rage-filled battle chants than traditional rap verses.
Partially written on tour last year, “DA BUSINESS” is the oldest song on YES and one of the album’s few guitar-led tracks. Kenny connected with the trio over DMs months earlier before joining them on the track, bringing Atlanta and South Africa together for one of the album’s most charged moments. “DA BUSINESS” follows the trio’s recent single “ALL THE SAME,” a swagger-heavy track built around a hypnotic Spanish-language vocal sample and live drums before a heavily distorted bass synth takes over in its final stretch, drawing inspiration from South Africa’s booming taxi rave scene. Together, the two singles offer an early look at the range of YES, moving between the rock, rap, and electronic sounds Internet Girl have made entirely their own.
Written largely during a week-long trip to South Africa’s Karoo region at the beginning of 2026, YES captures Internet Girl at a turning point. What began as an ad-lib TK would throw into his verses gradually became the philosophy behind the record: saying yes to an idea and committing to it completely, even before there’s any proof it will work. Across the album, that once-delusional confidence begins to feel real as the trio reflect on coming of age, growing more comfortable with themselves, and becoming increasingly assured in the music they make.
The new release arrives on the heels of a big year for the South African trio, who have brought their high-energy live show to stages around the world, including Pitchfork Music Festival Paris and Boiler Room Soweto, while co-headlining Kiss Kiss Festival in South Africa alongside Basement Jaxx.
POD & Edward Richards return for the third and final of their series of hand stamped vinyl with a very unique outing. In contrast to the slower tempo of the the Polar Phase and Temporal Loop Trascendance EP’s, the pair up the ante with a blend of bass music meets dub techno. With the addition of drummer Miles Henry, the sound transcends basic genre descriptions into a liminal space between live music and the repetitive machine form of electronic music. Miles contributes both acoustic kit and electronic drums to the title cut and Nautilus, and in his own words he seeks to capture the impossibility of playing like a machine. On the flip side Quadratic Illumination progressively builds, with layers of hardware synths atop a foundation of deep sub-bass, broken beat drums, and hints of electro. And to cap of proceedings there is an incredible remix by Evigt Mörker that embodies a sense of serene bliss, and is a near perfect end to not only this record, but to the series as a whole.
On his sweeping sophomore solo effort, James Felice squares up against cosmic indifference with expansive orchestral production and a depth of writing that makes even visceral Biblical imagery feel effortless. Recorded in Omaha with Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) at the helm, Homeworld Blue pairs lush horns, intricate strings and pounding piano with Felice's authoritative, plainspoken voice — grand in scope, but never far from the small, everyday moments it's really about. Drawing on twenty years as keyboardist and accordionist of The Felice Brothers, and following his 2025 solo debut The Little Ones, Felice trades the intimacy of home recording for a maximalist, cinematic scope that sits comfortably alongside audacious songwriters like Joanna Newsom, Fiona Apple and Randy Newman — and closes, fittingly, back in the family kitchen.
On his sweeping sophomore solo effort, James Felice squares up against cosmic indifference with expansive orchestral production and a depth of writing that makes even visceral Biblical imagery feel effortless. Recorded in Omaha with Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) at the helm, Homeworld Blue pairs lush horns, intricate strings and pounding piano with Felice's authoritative, plainspoken voice — grand in scope, but never far from the small, everyday moments it's really about. Drawing on twenty years as keyboardist and accordionist of The Felice Brothers, and following his 2025 solo debut The Little Ones, Felice trades the intimacy of home recording for a maximalist, cinematic scope that sits comfortably alongside audacious songwriters like Joanna Newsom, Fiona Apple and Randy Newman — and closes, fittingly, back in the family kitchen.
Praised by Rolling Stone, NME and the New York Times on release — the1996 debut from the members who went on to form bright eyes & cursive. Back on vinyl for its 30th anniversary!
Blanket Warm is a genuine buried-treasure reissue: a record contemporary critics compared to the Rolling Stones, Guided by Voices, and Tindersticks, and one a new generation of listeners has rediscovered as a missing link to Neutral Milk Hotel and Sufjan Stevens’ chamber-folk.
Lullaby for the Working Class formed in Lincoln, Nebraska in the winter of 1994, when multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis and singer-guitarist Ted Stevens began writing together. Working from two home-recorded demos — and without having played a single live show — the band signed to New Jersey’s Bar/None Records in 1995. Blanket Warm was recorded and mixed by the Mogis brothers between December 1994 and April 1996 at their own Whoopass Recording Studio in Lincoln. Bar/None issued the album on CD in September 1996, while the vinyl LP went out through Lumberjack/Saddle Creek imprint in a pressing of just 1,000 copies — long out of print, and the edition this reissue restores to the format.
The result splits the difference between rustic and ornate: acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, and upright bass sit alongside a chamber ensemble of violin, cello, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. Critics at the time reached for an unusually wide range of comparisons — the Rolling Stones, Guided by Voices, Tindersticks, Van Morrison — united mainly by the sense that nothing else sounded quite like it. Ted Stevens’ plainspoken, image-driven lyrics and unhurried delivery anchor songs that unfold with more patience and more instrumental color than the alt-country and lo-fi indie rock the band got lumped in with on release.
10th anniversary, limited Edition pressing of 1000 worldwide, expanded to 2xLP w/ nine demos & live tracks, sleeve jacket art updated with foil elements! Released in 2016, Trophy Eyes' sophomore album, Chemical Miracle, is celebrated as a modern masterpiece for its seamless blend of hardcore grit and pop-punk melody. The record marked a massive evolution for the Australian band, driven by frontman John Floreani's dynamic vocal shifts between raw, gravel -throated screams and soaring clean melodies. The instrumentation perfectly matches this energy, swinging effortlessly from manic, punk-rock aggression to softer, atmospheric alt-rock moments. The album's defining characteristic is its deeply confessional and gut-wrenching lyricism, which offered a mature contrast to a genre typically dominated by simpler themes of heartbreak. Floreani tackles the darkest corners of his life with unflinching honesty, exploring survivor's guilt, suicidal ideation, addiction, and profound loneliness. This emotional weight is best exemplified in the opening track, "Chlorine," which pairs bouncy, energetic instrumentation with the devastating true story of Floreani processing the suicide of the man who saved him from drowning as a child. Culturally, Chemical Miracle elevated the mid-2010s pop-punk scene by proving that catchy music could effectively tackle heavy, complex human experiences. By addressing severe mental health struggles frankly and without glorification, the album fostered a profound connection with fans and provided a vital, relatable outlet for listeners. Furthermore, its massive critical and commercial success helped propel the thriving Australian alternative music scene onto the global stage, cementing Trophy Eyes' legacy in the genre.
The upcoming debut solo album, Lee Richards And Friends, marks an ambitious milestone for American musician, songwriter, and producer Lee Richards. Best known as an original guitarist for Godsmack and a core songwriter for Dropbox and Another Animal, Richards wrote, performed, and produced the entire record himself.
Joining him on this project is a powerhouse lineup of seasoned rock veterans: late drummer Justin Pacy (Digital Summer), legendary guitarist Billy Loosigian (The Boom Boom Band, The Joneses), and bassist/vocalist Sean Corcoran (RA, Fight or Flight).
Combining decades of high-caliber hard rock heritage and exceptional craftsmanship, Lee Richards And Friends delivers a captivating fusion of hard-hitting riffs, rich melodies, and pristine production. Reflecting Richards' extensive musical journey—from touring with international legends to writing alongside rock icons—the album stands as a compelling testament to his enduring artistic vision.
Shaken & Stirred by Earl & the Agitators, the blues-rock project featuring Roger Earl, Bryan Bassett, Scott Holt, and Rodney O'Quinn (the current Foghat line-up). Originally released in 2018, explores the band's shared passion for blues, roots rock, and classic American music.
Stitched together from organic percussion, field recordings, and textures gathered from across the globe, Vikmatic’s most recent TSoNYC EP, co-produced with label head Danilo Braca, plays like a love letter to New York City, penned in the language of friends and family scattered across its boroughs. Rooted primarily in house, jazz, and Balearic sounds, but pulling just as freely from the sounds of Brazil, Africa, and India, Neighbors moves to the rhythm of a city swept up in the collective pulse of its most lively season.
Playful and minimalistic, “W4 Street” is a jazzy house track that adds a scintillatingly smooth, beachy flair to a nostalgic New York energy for a combination that leaves us unsure of what is improvised and what has been rehearsed to absolute mastery.
The EP’s second track, “Flushing”, represents a dramatic departure from the airiness of the previous one. Haunting and mysterious, with a leaden kick and a capricious synth, there is no question that we are finding ourselves in an entirely different neighborhood.
Early in the track, “Sunset Park” transforms from a deep rumbling into a catchy warm-weather groove with satiny synth layers, textured rhythm, and unhurried guitar and synth solos, evoking a sense of pure ease and beach season contentment.
Sultry and dream-like, “Harlem River Drive” is the ideal send-off for Neighbors, an album firmly situated in the living memory of an iconic urban summer. Warm and bittersweet, with woodwinds comprising the heart of its instrumentation, it’s not hard to picture a sunset in Upper Manhattan.
Nearly a decade after the acclaimed 2017 release of Hometown, Victor, the mind behind Module One is back with his highly anticipated follow-up album, dropping early November.
Now settled in Berlin, Victor's sound deeply reflects his integration into the city's vibrant cultural cosmos. Moving beyond earlier blueprints, his music has matured into a nuanced, fully developed aesthetic based on the personal reflections, artistic environment of the city, and live performances played and heard. Adding an intimate, personal dimension to the project, Soela and D'Loive lend their delicate vocal touch, weaving seamless melodic textures into Victor's refined production.
The upcoming Album HOMETOWN II stands as both a personal milestone and a captivating new chapter for Module One. Vinyl Tastes Better…
DJ Support: Kerri Chandler, Chris Stussy, Archie Hamilton, Fabe, Groovesh, Vlad Caia, Andrey P Ush Krav, Thor, Masimillano Pagliara, Dubtil, Reboot, East End Dubs, IULY.B, Josh Wink
Now repressed on Limited Edition green vinyl.
Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory welcomes Amsterdam’s Chris Stussy onto its roster with the ‘A Glimmer Of Hope’ EP.
Amsterdam based producer and DJ Chris Stussy has become one of the most eminent figures in the contemporary house scene of the Netherlands and across the globe over the past five years, racking up releases on the likes of Eastenderz, Moscow, PIV, Contstant Sound and most recently his own Up The Stuss imprint. Here though he delivers his new four-tracker for Kaoz Theory.
Leading the release is ‘Central Frenzy’, laid out across six and a half minutes with skippy percussion, a snaking bass groove, intricate synth sequences and sweeping vocal chants. ‘Riva De Biasio’ follows and tips the focus over to airy atmospherics a jazz-tinged bass groove and squelchy acid licks atop swinging drums.
‘Deviant Shadow’ opens the flip-side and merges an amalgamation of expansive dub chords and bouncy sub bass tones with a robust 4/4 rhythm. Lastly to round things out is title-cut ‘A Glimmer Of Hope’, wrapping up the release on a deeper tip courtesy of ethereal pad swells, metallic synth licks and shuffled drums.
Following up the launch of his own Dustbin Digs label, Manchester local Rossiter piles four of his own atop the stack of goodtunes97 wax.
Side A lifts off into the clouds with Feels So Good. The rhythmic shuffle, hint of UKG, and a determined bassline get to the gate as spacey chords are cleared for takeoff. Go Straight carries the trajectory, pressurizing the cabin in breezy dubbed transit. Keys vaporize on the periphery as Rossiter mitigates turbulence with careful cadence, maneuvering high-altitude with grace.
With two stops still to go, the B-Side gets off and running upon arrival. Round & Round kicks up dust as the low end stomps out the homestretch, tenaciously hitching a ride to our final destination. P45 is the long awaited return to familiar territory – nostalgic chords carrying beats so blissed they stutter. Interview samples from legendary UK producer/DJ Grooverider give the track a cultural anchor, connecting its contemporary sound to the lineage of UK dance music and the culture that shaped it.
Each side balanced with equal parts heavy and light, Rossiter’s Round & Round EP firms up the fifth release for goodtunes97.
– Forrest Camire
DJ Linus came up with the basic idea for You Are House Music while DJing. He provided the vocals himself and refined them through numerous tests during his DJ residency at Munich's Pacha club. The track is a tribute to the party people and became the secret anthem of Pacha during its six-month production period. The vocals seem to work...
A.O.D.S. - DJ Linus' self-created genre: Adults Oriented Disco Soul. He organizes parties and plays vinyl records from 1975-1985, covering everything from AOR to soul and disco.
Senium refers to DJ Linus's newfound love for the chillwave/retrowave genre, for which he has acquired a small new record collection.
DJ Linus spent a whole year working on the EP, including relentless testing and sound adjustments. DJ Linus: “I am very happy with the result—thank you!”
By the way: DJ Linus released his first records on Compose, Compost's 90s house label.
About DJ Linus
DJ Linus is one of the very first House DJs in Munich and in Germany. He started way back end of the 80s, early 90s.
Linus is said to be a great influence to many a famous Tech House DJ today.
His solo album “Fantasmagorique“ was the first german House Music long player of its kind.
Linus was owner of two record shops and the famous “exun records“ label.
Nowadays he is resident at the incredible Pacha Munich – since 18 years now – and is running his current label “Sujet Musique” with great success since 2013.
Linus is also resident at the legendary “Palais Club” and the asian, high class restaurant “Izakaya“.
He works as a mastering engineer and as a lecturer for DJing and Producing @ Musicversity. DJ Linus won twice the Munich Night Life Award for best DJ “House/ Techno“ in 2013 and 2019.
DJ Quotes:
“Loving the sound of You Are...! Just the kind of percussive, bassline-led house I love to play out!” – Jimpster
“Very nice!” - Fred Everything
“Tune(s)! Big up Linus.” - Bill Brewster
“Nice funky stuff.” – youANDme
“YOU are house music ! :-):-)” - Acid Pauli
“Enjoying the original You Are House Music track. ” - Josh Wink
“Beautiful!” – Reznik
“Mega EP” – Sandrino
“Really like all the tracks on this EP, Linus has been always special about his production work. Will play the tracks out for sure” - Kiko Navarro
“What a beauty!“ - Phuncadelica
Links:
DJ Support by Massimiliano Pagliara, Fabrizio Mammarella, Ally Tropical, Sofa Elsewhere, Alexander Back, G-ha, Secret Soul Society, Olle Abstract, Logan Fisher, Timmy Stewart, Erki
The Vendetta Suite continues to show his broad range on Hell Yeah with the Scrabo Electric EP. Youthful memories, mushroom trips, 80s electro, dub and sleazy disco all colour a nostalgic tribute to early beat street culture in his home town of Newtownards.
Gary Irwin is a label mainstay with a thirst for weird and unconventional fusions that reframe 70s and 80s references through a contemporary lens.
Drawing on memories of breakdancing, dub reggae, and teenage mischief, he channels the spirit of demolished record shops, discos, and local haunts that shaped his musical identity. From tape-swapping electro compilations and local characters to dub influences and teenage discos, each track reflects a personal chapter rooted in 1980s Northern Irish life.
The wiggy rhythms of the title cut to the echo-laden 'A Dub For Dave', the punchy 80s drums of 'Uprock At Digby's Disco' and raw, textured funk breaks of 'Lead Mines Bonus Beats' all mean this EP blends cultural memories and musical history with undeniable style.
Cécille Records revisits a standout cut from long-time label associate Christian Burkhardt, inviting Ben Sterling and Shokë to put their own stamp on “Content Creator”.
Long-time friend of the label Christian Burkhardt, hailing from Frankfurt, has been pushing his distinctive take on house and techno for more than two decades, combining complex, moving rhythms with the warmth of analogue gear. With releases across labels including Cocoon, Cuttin’ Headz, Oslo and Eastenderz, alongside his own imprint CB Sessions and Cécille, his sound has always felt naturally connected to the label.
The strength of the original opened the door for two contrasting interpretations. First up is London’s Ben Sterling, whose UK-rooted house and tech house influences and forward-thinking production style made him a natural choice to rework the track. His remix pushes “Content Creator” into a different space while retaining the character and groove at the heart of Burkhardt’s original.
Completing the package are Naples-based duo Shokë, returning to the label following their “Chiamami EP”. With the release still making its mark in the charts, the duo continue their close connection with Cécille, reshaping “Content Creator” through their own warm, groove-led house sound and unmistakable dancefloor energy.
Christian Burkhardt’s original sits firmly at the heart of the release, joined by two individual interpretations from Ben Sterling and Shokë – three cuts that each bring their own character while sharing the groove and timeless house aesthetic at the core of Cécille.
- 2026 repress - Molekul is taking its claim in the underground techno scene, teaming up with the next-gen artists on this 6 tracks compilation built for the dancefloors. Each artist delivering their own signature sound and personal energy, making this release unique.
Celestial Echo Records heads to the Cayman Islands for CER014, produced in association with Whale Rider Records and longtime friend of the label Medlar.
This release shines a light on two incredible sides from the legendary Memory Of Justice Band, one of the Caribbean's best-kept musical secrets. Formed in Grand Cayman during the 1970s, the group blended soul, reggae, funk and island influences into a sound entirely their own, becoming one of the region's most beloved bands in the process.
On the A-side is a gorgeous piece of sweet modern soul — warm, uplifting and packed with the kind of effortless musicianship that makes you wonder how it stayed under the radar for so long. It's exactly the sort of record Celestial Echo was built for: soulful, timeless and impossible not to fall for.
Flip it over and things move firmly onto the dancefloor with a reggae-boogie burner produced by the legendary duo Sly and Robbie. Built around a heavyweight groove, tight rhythm section and infectious hooks, it's the perfect counterpart to the sweetness of the A-side and a reminder of just how interconnected Caribbean music was during this period.
As always, Celestial Echo is here to put proper soul records back into circulation — respectfully cut, properly pressed, and ready to play.
The tracks on the upcoming Boysonic release are a snapshot of a period largely absent from the discussion around Romanian electronic dance music: the first half of the 1990s.
Boysonic’s music was made in the face of considerable adversity, in a Romania still reeling from the aftermath of the 1989 revolution, spiralling inflation of over 200%, and the violence of the early-1990s Mineriads. In the gatefold photos, one of the band’s members can be seen performing live wearing a miner’s safety helmet, a piece of stagewear, but also a charged symbol of the period.
The original music on Madhouse was made in Bra?ov during 1993–1994. Situated away from Bucharest’s political and cultural centre, Bra?ov gave the project its own slightly detached rhythm. Classically trained in piano and active in local radio, Mihai Barb developed Boysonic as a largely one-man act, often joined live by a changing cast of dancers and vocalists. In the absence of a developed club circuit, early performances took place in pre-1989 concert halls, seaside resorts and local entertainment circuits organised around regional radio stations.
Agnostic in genre and unusually fluid in approach, Madhouse moves through downtempo pop burners, KLF-type UK house, boomy breakbeat, new beat and acid-leaning experiments. The material reflects a short-lived moment before the Romanian mainstream/underground divide had fully taken shape, when electronic music lacked infrastructure but not imagination.
Sampling was used generously, with drum loops, vocal fragments and preset banks repurposed through software such as ProTracker and further processed outboard.
The release comes as a 2xLP gatefold.
Remixes are from Benedikt Frey, Boysonic, Cosmin TRG, Flore of Khidja, Romansoff, and Tankwart.
eloelo recordings returns with its most assured release to date: ‘FREAK’, an original cut from label head ELODIE, backed by a club-ready remix from Parisian heavyweight DJ W!LD, and rounded off with the vinyl-only bonus ‘Carla’.
Championed on BBC Radio 1, ‘FREAK’ arrives with momentum firmly behind it. This is a hypnotic, slow-burning seducer rather than a blunt-force club tool - restless, wriggling textures crawl through the mix, weird and tactile, shifting constantly around the listener, while ELODIE’s own hand-built percussion keeps everything taut and unmistakably her own. Equally immersive through headphones as it is over a club sound system, the track reveals new details with every listen without ever losing its dancefloor drive. Sultry vocal hooks thread through the groove, and in the breakdown a trippy, melodic rhythm coils and builds before the track snaps back open. Classy, controlled and seriously sexy.
On remix duty is DJ W!LD, a bona fide legend of the underground. The Paris-based artist, longtime Circoloco resident at DC-10 and founder of W Label and Spit&Die, has long been one of underground house music's most respected figures. Long a torchbearer for deep, dark, sexy house, he flips ‘FREAK’ into a pumping, peak-time cut. Built for the floor and armed with a gloriously warped breakdown, his rework has already been tearing up the dancefloor, causing serious damage wherever it's played.
A long-standing digital favourite finally committed to wax, ‘Carla’ closes the vinyl release: a cult cut long adored by those closest to the label and to ELODIE’s music. Timeless, seductive and deceptively powerful, it has always deserved its place on vinyl — and here it finally gets it.
Refined, seductive and unmistakably her own, ‘FREAK’ is another forward-thinking, groove-driven statement that pushes eloelo records' distinctive, timeless sound further still.
The legendary Charlemagne Palestine returns to Black Truffle with KKKAAARRREEENNNIIINNNAAA, capturing a 2025 performance in London alongside two close collaborators of recent years, multi-instrumentalist Daniel O’Sullivan and guitarist Oren Ambarchi. While perhaps still best known for the ecstatic piano clouds of his ‘strumming music’ performances, Palestine’s life-long search for what he calls the ‘golden sound’ has taken in an enormous variety of methods of sound production. Now stretching back an incredible six decades, his exploration of continuous sound forms has led him to mega-instruments from the carillon bells of the Saint Thomas Episcopal Church to the synthesizer armada of the Moog Sound Lab, with stops along the way at many of Europe’s grandest church organs. Just as important, though, has been Palestine’s practice as a singer, beginning with his childhood experience of sacred Jewish music and growing through his studies of Indian and Javanese musical traditions in the 1970s.
KKKAAARRREEENNNIIINNNAAA reimagines a key work showcasing Palestine’s voice, the haunting ‘magic song’ Karenina for falsetto singing and harmonium, recorded in Paris in March 1997 to honour the spirit of Palestine’s recently departed black labrador. In this trio version, which Palestine describes as the ‘karaoke’ version, O’Sullivan controls three cassette machines playing the original recording, their slow drift out of phase creating complex patterns of delays and ricochets as the recorded voice chants the syllables of Karenina’s name and other trance words. Beginning with a held organ tone that gradually expands to fill out the frequency spectrum, the piece soon grows into a dense psychedelic mass, as Palestine’s electric organs and the echoing pre-recorded voices are joined by Ambarchi’s swirling Leslie guitar tones and O’Sullivan’s viola, synthesizer and additional vocals. Atop it all sits Palestine’s live voice, in an extraordinary performance of keening, shamanic intensity, sometimes delivered in melodic unison with his keyboard playing.
Though clearly a work of Palestine’s design that sits squarely within his oeuvre, Ambarchi and O’Sullivan are far from simple accompanists on KKKAAARRREEENNNIIINNNAAA. As the elements of the teeming, emotionally charged stew writhe and twist, different elements come momentarily to the surface, O’Sullivan’s spaced-out viola taking the lead in moments that recall Kosugi’s Catch Wave, Ambarchi’s gliding chords and signature stuttering tones enriching the details of many of the quieter episodes. Throughout all its transformations, the music is buoyed up by a sacred aura, as Palestine intones his hypnotic prayer for the soul of his departed pet. Arriving emblazoned with a striking labrador painting by O’Sullivan on the cover, KKKAAARRREEENNNIIINNNAAA is an essential slice of modern ritual music.
Flashbaxx returns to Groovers Traxx with the groove-packed “Birthday Party EP”, a four-track Disco House
journey built for the dancefloor. Blending classic House roots, soulful textures and infectious rhythms, the EP
showcases his most confident and groove-driven sound to date. This is timeless Disco House for late-night
moments and sweaty dancefloors.
Birthday Party EP dives headfirst into the groove, delivering four straight-up feel-good Disco House cuts built for
the dancefloor. Rooted in classic House traditions, the EP showcases his signature blend of groove-heavy
rhythms, soulful textures and infectious energy. The result of a year spent playing live, absorbing new
influences, digging deep in the crates, and sharpening studio craft, this EP captures Flashbaxx at his most
confident and groove-driven.
Following the success of the rework releases of Trip To Your Mind by Delfonic, LTJ Xperience, and DJ Friction, the time has finally come to reissue the original mixes of this essential and still highly sought-after Disco Funk classic.
Both the original Hithouse Mix and the re-mix by Chris Hill & Robbie Vincent were released in 1979. However, newly uncovered evidence has revealed that the track was actually recorded much earlier. After extensive research, including the rediscovery of Reginald Hudson's original flight ticket dated September 7, 1976, from Los Angeles to London, proof has emerged that the recording sessions took place in late 1976.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the track remained shelved for several years and did not see release until 1979. By that time, the original backing band, Body Heat-a group of U.S. Army musicians stationed in Germany-had already disbanded. As a result, the record was released under the project name Hudson People.
Reg Hudson has since shared additional photographs and previously unknown information, which will be revealed in the coming months. To further celebrate the record's legacy, an official music video is currently in production and is scheduled for release this summer, marking the track's 50th anniversary.
As the original master tapes have unfortunately been lost, the audio has been transferred and restored using highest end equipment from the best available sources. In particular, the original Hithouse Mix now sounds better than ever before.
The 12-inch release will be presented in a faithful reproduction of its rare original "Disco 45" sleeve, believed to have been included only with the earliest pressings.
The Story Behind the Record
For decades, Trip To Your Mind was celebrated as a Brit Funk classic, although its true origins remained largely unknown. While the track was recorded at London's Advision Studios, Hudson People were neither a British group nor a London-based project-a fact first brought to light through the official 2022 reissue on Backatcha Records.
In interviews with label owner DJ Scientist, songwriter and producer Reg Hudson revealed that the musicians behind the recording were actually members of Body Heat, a GI band based in Germany. Like Hudson himself, most of the musicians originally came from the Chicago area.
"The band included Tony Palmer on guitar, Herva Middleton on drums and lead vocals, Charles Walker on saxophone, Harvey Perry on trumpet and trombone, and Rickey on bass-a five-man lineup," Hudson recalls.
Recorded in late 1976, the track remained unreleased for several years. By the time it finally appeared in 1979, Body Heat was already on the verge of breaking up, prompting the decision to release it under the Hudson People name.
Since the late 1990s, Trip To Your Mind has been heavily bootlegged, widely compiled, and continuously championed by DJs and collectors worldwide, cementing its reputation as one of the most enduring and in-demand Disco Funk records of its era.
50 year anniversary edition! Recorded in 1976, first released in 1979.
Well where do you go from the killer release of sde 78 Kinky Foxx "Is It Still Good To You" which sold out quicker than we could have imagined. I guess you should expect that with a group that has a cult status like Kinky Foxx.
Trawling through the guys demo sessions of the late 1970's and early1980's we always had a soft spot for "Lovely Night" but felt the audio and vocals were not quite on point for an official release. But not letting any obstacles get in our soulful way we took the demo and made it ten times better. New vocals were added by Vincent Lilly jr and with the watchful production skills of legendary Curtis Styles we are so pleased with the outcome. Its a modern day dancer but keeping in line with the 1980's boogie funk from the Kinky Foxx crew!!. Flip the 45 over and you get "Call You Up" again which has been touched up like a classic car with a respray. Keeping all the elements of 1980's synth boogie soul and taking it into 2026.
A little over a decade on from his debut album released on the label, Wah Wah 45s are very proud to present two brand new remixes taken from Afrobeat AmbassadorDele Sosimi’s much celebrated LPYou No Fit Touch Am. In the years that have passed since the album’s release, a number of producers and DJs have re-worked and reimagined cuts from the album, most notably the much reveredMedlarand his irresistible take on the title track.
In anticipation of Dele’s long awaited follow up album in 2027, and closing off theYNFTAera, we present to you two brand new remixes of tracks taken from this timeless LP.
Mysterious London based producer and DJbrekkyt(erstwhile known as The Breakfast Triple) is up first with a typically rhythm-focused, bruk infused and bass worrying re-work that takes Dele’s ever popular title track to a brand new audience, perfectly timed for the current broken beat revival. Brekkyt’s recent cheeky re-works for Raphael Saadiq, Mis-Teeq and most recently for Kyla Kilzer & Max Noir on Tru Thoughts Recordings have seen his music receive some serious heat.
On the flip, Portuguese producerMeithtakes album favouriteSanctuarydeep into Afro-tech territories creating an irrepressible groove tailor made for the big rooms this summer. The Lisbon based beat-maker has previously released club focussed tracks on labels like Kazukuta and Sondela Records.
This pair of dance floor destroying remixes will be available on hand-stamped, white label vinyl.
Label head Eoin DJ steps up for the third release on World of Worlds. Four dreamy house mutations with a lush remix from Psychedelic Rave Icon Kim Ann Foxman. Heads down, hearts open, spiralling up.
Step back to the mid-1960s with NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 3: 1965–1966, featuring 54 essential tracks across a 3LP set, pressed on beautiful blue vinyl.
LP1 opens with some of the decade’s most iconic vocal performances; Dusty Springfield leads with ‘You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me’, a UK No.1 hit that also reached the US Top 5, followed by The Righteous Brothers’ classic ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’’, a chart-topper in both the UK and US. The Walker Brothers’ ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ was a UK Top 3 hit, while The Beach Boys follow with ‘God Only Knows’, widely regarded as one of their finest moments. Huge chart hits from The Moody Blues, Manfred Mann, Small Faces, The Kinks and The Animals with ‘We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ completes the first side…and flip the LP over for The Mamas & The Papas with ‘California Dreamin’, a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic and The Byrds and capturing the rise of folk-rock with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, another US No.1. Cher announced one of the most successful and enduring careers in music with ‘I Got You Babe’ – a #1 duet with Sonny, and is followed by the pop brilliance of Sandie Shaw with ‘Long Live Love’. Following The Mindbenders and The Fortunes, LP1 closes with a pair of soul standards: ‘My Girl’ from The Temptations was a US No.1(and eventually a UK #2 in 1992), and Percy Sledge’s ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, another US chart-topper and a UK Top 5 hit in 1987 when it featured in a TV ad campaign.
LP2 opens with the explosive sound of 60s soul and crossover pop. Ike & Tina Turner kick us off with the timeless ‘River Deep – Mountain High’, a UK Top 3 hit. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons had a huge hit with ‘Let’s Hang On’ and Motown is strongly represented with The Four Tops, whose ‘Reach Out I’ll Be There’ hit the US No.1 spot, alongside The Supremes, who scored another US chart-topper with ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’, plus Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and a future Northern Soul Classic from Gloria Jones. Following James Brown, the side closes with the enduring soul classic ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’ from Jimmy Ruffin… while over on the other side Horst Jankowski’s instrumental smash ‘A Walk In The Black Forest’ leads in to pop classics from Tom Jones with ‘It’s Not Unusual’, a UK No.1, alongside Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames’ UK chart-topper ‘Yeh Yeh’ and Chris Montez with ‘The More I See You’. Sophisticated easy listening pop from Andy Williams and Frank Sinatra’s iconic ‘Strangers In The Night’ come ahead of Elvis Presley’s ‘Crying In The Chapel’, with LP2’s closer’s coming from Roy Orbison and Roger Miller, with the essential ‘King Of The Road’.
The Righteous Brothers’ undeniable ‘Unchained Melody’, a hit on release and a #1 in 1990 following it’s feature in the film ‘Ghost’ opens LP3 ahead of a wealth of huge pop hits from The Walker Brothers, Cilla Black and Cher – and rock oriented chart-toppers from The Troggs with ‘Wild Thing’ and The Spencer Davis Group with ‘Keep On Running’. The Everly Brothers’ ‘The Price Of Love’ leads into era-defining hits from Barry McGuire and Bob Dylan’s hugely influential ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ reflecting the growing social awareness and changing approach to songwriting…and over to the final side opened by The Supremes with ‘Stop! In The Name Of Love’ ahead of The Toys with ‘A Lover’s Concerto’ and The Shangri-Las’ legendary ‘Leader Of The Pack’. Classic singles from Marianne Faithfull, Petula Clark and Sandie Shaw feature before the collection closes with a trio of timeless tracks: The trans-Atlantic top 5 ‘Sloop John B’ from the Beach Boys is alongside The Mamas & The Papas’ ‘Monday, Monday’ (a US No.1 and UK Top 5), whilst the aptly titled ‘Homeward Bound’ from Simon & Garfunkel – their first UK hit - signs off this superb collection.
NOW Yearbook Presents – The 60s – Volume 3: 1965–1966 – a snapshot of a rapidly evolving pop era where pure pop, soul, rock, beat, easy listening and songwriting sophistication converged.
Scott Pilgrim EX, the newest video game from the Scott Pilgrim franchise developed by Tribute Games, is out now with an all new original soundtrack from Anamanaguchi. The sprawling soundtrack, which accompanies a brand-new storyline co-written by series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, perfectly connects the band's legendary electronic past with their fuzzed out garage rock present while maintaining their unmistakable punchy style. Known for resonant world building across past projects, the depth of emotion and the range of styles displayed on Scott Pilgrim EX are uniquely Anamanaguchi while delivering a host of melodically anthemic and new energetic hooks that are sure to pack a punch for both newcomers and old school fans of the band alike.
Anamanaguchi's collaborative relationship with the Scott Pilgrim universe goes back to the early days of the band. After cutting their teeth programming music with playable Nintendo cartridges and helping to bring a wider audience to a largely internet based 8-bit chiptune scene, the band was brought in to score the fan-favorite soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The success of this game soundtrack would help them to launch an early crowdfunding success story with their campaign for their debut album, 2013's Endless Fantasy. From there the band would go on to collaborate with virtual pop star Hatsune Miku (resulting in the perpetually viral, Fortnite featured hit, “Miku”), and later develop the intricately soundscaped compositions displayed across their second album, USA, but throughout it all the connection between the band and the Scott Pilgrim universe would remain a pivotal source of inspiration.
After being brought in to score the animated Netflix series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, in 2023, band members Peter Berkman and Luke Silas would credit the live kinetic energy they channeled when writing songs for the in-universe garage band Sex Bob-Omb with helping them get back in touch with the roots of how they learned to play music even before Anamanaguchi's earliest releases. This process would eventually lead to Peter and Luke alongside the remaining two band members — Ary Warnaar and James DeVito — flipping their typically meticulous digital writing process for the more collaborative, straight to tape, distorted angst that can be found on 2025's Anyway, marking another significant evolutionary turn for the band to come out of their relationship with Scott Pilgrim.
Now fresh off the heels of a nationwide tour in support of Anyway, Anamanaguchi have returned to the 8-bit beat em up world of Scott Pilgrim with a relentlessly high energy and genre defying original soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim EX. A return to form that comes with a depth of knowledge and innovative skills that have allowed the band to continue to evolve and grow alongside the characters in the Scott Pilgrim universe and the multi-generational fanbase that continues to follow along with them.
The new soundtrack for the latest installment in the Scott Pilgrim franchise, Scott Pilgrim EX
Four years on from the much-loved Shelter EP, Orphic return with the Mambe EP, a long-awaited follow-up that sees the duo push further into their signature world of deep, dubwise techno and hypnotic club music. The record opens with the title track, a slow-burning piece of stripped-back techno that unfolds through submerged chords, rolling percussion and finely detailed sound design. Sitting alongside it are two solo productions from each half
of the Orphic project.
Kieran Jandu’s Back To Mine veers into deep, bass-heavy electro, all cavernous sub pressure, fractured drum programming and smoked-out atmosphere, landing somewhere between the weight of Digital Mystikz and the hypnotic, off-centre psychedelia of a Craig Richards set.
DJ Space Taxi takes a different route with Dream Cycle, an introspective, dreamlike cut where shimmering textures, drifting melodies and restrained rhythm combine to quietly draw
you in.
Flipping the record over, two of the underground’s most distinctive voices reinterpret the title track. Polygonia brings her unmistakable fluid, organic touch, stretching the original into a beautifully detailed, living groove, while Konduku strips things back into a
deeply hypnotic, psychedelic excursion that feels tailor-made for the outer edges of the dancefloor.
A beautifully restrained return from Orphic that more than justifies the four-year wait. Four artists, four distinct perspectives, held together by a shared appreciation for depth, space and subtle movement.
Gyros Heroes is the latest release from Adlibitum Tum Tunes, showcasing the unmistakable synergy between label curator Kirill Matveev and trusted maestro Nicolas Barnes, a resident artist renowned for his consistently refined and emotive sound.
The EP unfolds as a sophisticated blend of deep- and tech-house aesthetics, designed to uplift, move, and connect. It balances percussive bounce with emotional subtlety, offering a graceful flow that is both club-ready and sonically rich.
A1. Kirill Matveev – Am I Happy With That and A2. Kirill Matveev – Once At Dawn deliver the opening momentum, channeling sleek grooves and playful introspection with polished restraint. These tracks glide effortlessly between warmth and drive—embracing the listener without overwhelming.
On the flip side, B1. Nicolas Barnes & Kirill Matveev – Naar Shada blends the duo’s sonic sensibilities into a mood-driven piece with elegant progression and percussive intricacy. Closing with B2. Nicolas Barnes – Qeezy, the record reaches its emotional high point: a dancefloor-oriented yet soul-touched cut that radiates both sensuality and controlled energy.
Gyros Heroes is a finely tuned experience—bright yet deep, emotive yet precise—crafted for selectors who value atmosphere as much as movement. This is an EP that invites you into its positive orbit, reminding us how expressive and graceful club music can be when shaped by masters of tone and detail.
Adlibitum Tum Tunes is a division of MixCult Records
Trick or Treat was composed like a game, made up of samples and personal musical stories, twisted in all directions, and spat out monstrously in the imaginary world of Halloween. A trip into a world where the familiar becomes strange.
Trick or Treat' is available in two versions, with two different covers.. A turquoise EP limited to 100 copies and a black EP limited to 400 copies.
Limited Edition 180g Vinyl ( 500 Only Worldwide No Repress ) Download Token Inside & Hype Sticker - More Rare & Brilliant Lost Tracks.
Another compilation of French Post-Disco sounds curated & presented by collector & compiler John K of CTR.
12 more rare deep cuts, unearthed & re-appraised hard to find original 7” 45 - quarante-cinq versions made for radio & club.
In 2025 Volume I of "Histoire" gained much love & praise, lighting up some very discerning dancefloors across the planet & well beyond La France. Featured on BBC 6 Music & on radio across Europe.
Alleviated Records is proud to present the new Mr. Fingers EP. After many years of the moniker being dormant and a long journey trying to get back into a creative mindset, we have a new offering. First up, "Outer Acid" delivers up a Minimal-Space-Acid flavor. Next, "Qwazars" continues the Space motif with a Minimal-Tech touch. "Nodyahed" moves toward a Dark Club Bounce with a dash of Tribal flavor. "Aether" offers up a more late-night Ambient-Space-House flavor. Hope you enjoy these selections at the club and at home for a long time to come. Musically Yours...
4th release by Fresh & Low on their own RAWAX Treasures Series!
This time we have the honor to re-issue the first Fresh And Low record - origially released in 1995 on Strictly 4 Groovers/ DIY Communications!
This release will be re-mastered and only available on vinyl!
Aubrey has established Solid Groove has one of the more reliable outlets in the underground and now steps up with his own offering of fresh tracks recorded this year. 'Last Transmission' is a deep techno cut with a shimmering synth line and a subtle sense of hope folded into the futuristic outlook. 'Japanese Drift' is a brilliantly original sound built on a quickly stepping groove with soft electronics and synths infused into the mix. 'The Final Act' ramps up the energy a little more but still stays warm and soft around the edges before 'Diablos Debos' broods with a darker energy, but again stays contained and heady. A tasteful EP.
Cooper Saver joins the Dream Space family for his first solo EP in 6 years, which was well worth the wait.
Born in LA and now residing in Squamish BC, Cooper ran the infamous Far Away parties in his home city through the mid-to-late 2010’s. Over the past decade, he has released exceptional music and remixes on labels such as Hivern Discs, Permanent Vacation, Internasjonal, DFA and more.
Working often as a collaborator, his recent projects alongside Chris Macintyre as Inner Flight and Night Cycle, and as part of hardcore punk band Self Arrest, all hold up to the same high quality output.
After being in contact with each other for years, it feels like a full circle moment to be working with Cooper and sharing more of his music with the world.
Across all four tracks he dives deeper into the new progression of his sound. From the peak time energy of Depths Of Reality and cosmic radiance of Be Alive, to the understated and shimmering B side of Glider / Running In Circles, this one’s an essential.
Gavin Belton's move back to the UK after years in New Zealand brought him back into the fold with old Littlemen cohort Steve Lee. They played a few gigs together then got back in the studio for the first time in 15 years. Belton's use of the Korg Opsix is what gives these deft deep house cuts their character while Lee adds the vocal lines to 'People Are You Ready' for a ghostly, shadowy, low-lit sound. LA-based DJ, producer and HAWT promoter Mikey V steps up on the flip for the lithe dub house of 'Smooth' while Giom pulls it into darker territory that echoes the old Murk sound. Lee rounds things out with a remix of the A-side that has a persuasive late night bump.
Rebolledo is back. And this time, he's bringing his own label: Rated R. What began as a party series — with chapters like Rated R and Wax Upon A Time — now mutates into a record label. Long overdue, if you ask us. Surrounded by talented friends from all corners of the globe, this is the new home for bringing everything back into focus. And yes, on wax too.
Naturally. For the first release, we're kicking things off with something equally overdue: Rub N Tug are back. The track? A certified underground wanderer. Loved, played, and passed around dance floors worldwide for well over a decade, yet somehow never properly released. Or maybe it was. Sort of. It's complicated. Now it returns with a remix of a remix, giving the whole thing a fresh coat of cosmic polish. As if that wasn't enough, Paulor takes things one step further with a particularly special jam of his own. Which means we're now dealing with a remix of a remix of a remix.
Confusing? Maybe.
Necessary? Absolutely.
Makes perfect sense to us.
Vancouver r&b lover and multi-instrumentalist Kutcorners turns his attention to two classic cuts on his The Freshest Recordings label. He kicks off with a rework of Control-era favourite 'When I Think Of You ', which he reworks as a lithe and slippery bass-first bounce that is seductive and steamy. On the flip, it's 'Got Til It's Gone' that gets pulled apart and rebuilt as a gentle bumping but decidedly late-night slow jam with silky soft chords and the original vocals slightly smudged and pitched up amid some old-school scratching and hip-hop bars. It's persuasive and tasteful and sure to get r&b heads hot under the collar.
A two-way Italian/Mexican stand-off here, as Saint Wax founder Gledd (real name Eduardo Barbi) and Kaninchenbau label chief The Funk District (Fernando Mendoza) deliver their first joint EP since 2022. The latter steps up first with two solo workouts- the Clavinet-splashed nu-disco-goes-bluesy deep house shuffle of 'The River Bends Back' and the Rhodes rich deep house disco of 'Got To Be Alright' - before the duo combine on two collaborative cuts. 'I Said' is a gospel-powered slab of ever-building disco-house hedonism, while 'Down The Middle' is deeper, more bass-heavy and topped off with classic soul vocal samples. Gledd then takes over, following the infectious piano house bounce of 'I Said' with the colourful, acid-flecked excellence of 'Blessin'.
American Joe Babylon has been steering his Roundabout Sounds label through calming deep house waters for a decade or so. He has recently focussed on assembling this ongoing All Hands series (the name may be a nod to the analogue gear the tunes are made on? Sound-wise, it checks out) and volume three features another fine quartet. First up is DJ Honesty with a fine label debut in the form of the synth-laced swirler 'Walking Down Gratiot,' then label friend Mr. Hazeltinee aka John Tejada layers comic pads into an upright house rhythm on 'Zanzmatic'. San Francisco and more specifically Bay Area man Federsen offers super lo-fi and reserved deep house cuddle 'Sequential' while Babylon himself drops the slow burn shuffle of 'Play It By Ear'.
