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In a year which marks the 40th anniversary since the initial formation - under the moniker of Black Death - of what would subsequently grow into influential genre legends, 2026 marks the return of the imperishable Norwegian duo of Fenriz & Nocturno Culto for their new opus of high calibre old metal, under the banner of 'PreHistoric Metal'. As Fenriz himself proclaims of the title's symbolic origin, "Prehistoric is a loose term.

I just figure it's our VIBE, our take on things & it's more a statement that we use old style to create something new". 'Pre- Historic Metal' contains eight tracks of primal epics & gargantuan riffs with organic sound & the ever- present permeating spirit of the 70s & 80s, for a new continuation of the mastery witnessed on 2024's 'It Beckons Us All'. This next chapter in Darkthrone's extensive & ongoing catalogue presents a vast odyssey through the sonic landscapes of Thrash, Black, Heavy & Doom Metal &, adorned with a punishing & "in your face" guitar presence, Darkthrone stirs the cauldron of savage creativity with a nod to the writing methods which were indicative of their earlier works of the late 80s, but with a more refined craft.

Fij makes a vibrant return with his new single "Don't Bring Me Sunshine," a bittersweet, high-speed ode to independence and renewal. Described by Fij as an "anti-love song," "Don't Bring Me Sunshine" flips the script on romance. Its sardonic, bah-humbug lyrics are set against a rush of euphoric energy - inspired by the simple thrill of driving fast with the windows down, music blaring, and summer stretching endlessly ahead. As Fij puts it: "Who needs love when you've got a full tank of petrol... and the whole of Summer lying ahead on the heat-hazed open road?" The track is the latest preview of his long- awaited debut solo album, due this September via Tip Top Records. It signals a clear shift in tone and tempo. After years marked by introspection - shaped by personal upheaval, frontline work during the pandemic, and his role as a funeral celebrant - Fij has hit reset.

Re- embracing the electric guitar, raising the BPMs, and rediscovering joy, his new material blends the fuzzed edges of dream-pop with elements of pop and electronica, all delivered with his signature wit and melodic finesse. Fij first emerged in the early 90s with Adorable, whose debut album Against Perfection (Creation Records) became a cult favourite, earning multiple NME accolades and topping the Indie charts. The band's legacy continues to resonate, with artists citing their influence and figures like Noel Gallagher famously calling their label's decision to drop them a major mistake. Following Adorable, Fij explored new sonic territory with Polak and later collaborated with Terry Bickers of The House of Love, producing critically acclaimed releases that reaffirmed his reputation as one of Britain's most distinctive voices. His baritone - often compared to Lee Hazlewood, Lou Reed, and Richard Hawley - remains as rich and compelling as ever, now carrying a renewed urgency.

To compliment the run of EPs - Scene 65 covers the rest of the best with R&B pounders (David John & The Mood, The Betterdays), Soulful movers (Jimmy Royal & The Hawks, Ronnie Jones) bluesy soul from The Moody Blues, The Artwoods and out and out craziness from The Syndicats plus more

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

As We Once Were is the third studio album from twice Welsh Music Prize nominated artist and producer The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) - This new record is the long-awaited follow-up to the UK Top 40 album The Art Of Losing and features an all-star cast of guest vocalist, including Mercury Music Prize nominees Hannah Peel and Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno, long-time collaborator James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers also contributes vocals and electric guitar on 'Throw Over Your Man' - a song inspired by the love letters between literary legends Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West - and newcomer Eaves Wilder (Secretly Canadian) duets on 'Damsels' The Art Of Losing received wall-to-wall critical plaudits upon its release in 2021 and scooped up a raft of Album of The Year nods from The Sunday Times, to Prog, to the Mail on Sunday. With Sir Elton John naming it "one of my favourite records of the year" and Caitlin Moran calling it "the inadvertent, beautiful and truthful soundtrack to this moment", it went on to sell over 10,000 physical copies via the power of word of mouth.

A remarkable mixture of echo, reverb, smoke, and resourcefulness, MERCILESS DUB lives on the edge of danger and adventure. This one's a real DUBWISE SITUATION! Remastered & Pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

ON THE SCENE 1965 (part one) features four bands at the beginning with raucous releases that would cost over GBP1k to get on original collectively. The blueswailing harmonica on The In Crowd and Muleskinners tracks are followed by pounding R&B from The Boys Blue and The Betterdays:

ionnalee | iamamiwhoami – BLUE IN CONCERT (live versions) is a limited edition double LP documenting the 2026 anniversary tour celebrating ten years of the audiovisual album BLUE. The release presents newly produced live studio versions of the complete concert set, capturing the atmosphere and emotional intensity of the performances while reinterpreting the original material in a more immediate and organic form.

Originally released in 2014 as the third audiovisual chapter in the iamamiwhoami series, BLUE became one of the project’s most defining works — merging electronic pop, Nordic melancholy, and immersive visual storytelling into a singular world. A decade later, BLUE IN CONCERT revisits the album through expanded arrangements, live instrumentation, and the raw energy developed on stage throughout the anniversary tour.

The BLUE IN CONCERT tour was performed in:
Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, New York, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Berlin, Warsaw, and Stockholm.

Pressed as a deluxe double LP in a strictly limited edition of 500 copies, BLUE IN CONCERT (live versions) stands as both a commemorative release and a reimagining of one of ionnalee and iamamiwhoami’s most celebrated works, bridging past and present through performance, reinvention, and physical format.

Spirit Tamer’ is the debut album from Mia Joy available on limited edition Bright Pink and Classic Black vinyl and compact disc on Fire Talk. A member of the Chicago Children’s Choir at a young age, the record sees Joy's dual backgrounds in music and poetry evolve into a juxtaposition between soaring emotional synthpop and introspective devotional harmonies. Past press has referred to Mia’s music as “warm, ethereal, endlessly layered, and beautifully expanding”. Filled with heady atmospherics and vulnerability that abounds through the shapeshifting sonic palette, fans of Ana Roxanne or Hand Habits will find much to love in this painstakingly crafted, endearingly intimate universe.

A heartfelt band from Small Town, Texas, with a penchant for pop melodies and medieval harmonies, Tele Novella write songs the old-fashioned way and perform them in a minimal style filled with delicate arrangements. Influences include Connie Converse, Lee Hazlewood, Pentangle, Marty Robbins, The Magnetic Fields, and PRAM. Merlyn Belle is a homespun creative bricolage that pulls from influences as diverse as cowboy troubadours and folk baroque to tell stories that are at once cinematic and deeply personal. Painstakingly assembled using a blend of hi-fi and lo-fi recording gear, Tele Novella have crafted a cohesive pop record that feels equal parts mysterious, evocative, heartfelt, and sincere.

Beefheart & McQuinn is the new project from UK artist Moby Beefheart aka William Murray (formerly of UK outfit Fur) and Melbourne / Naarm musician Winter McQuinn (Sunfruits, jade imagine). Coming together after a chanced coffee meetup, the musical connection between the two artists is palpable. Sharing a love for the folk and rock sounds of yesteryear without pastiche obsession, Beefheart & McQuinn make contemporary psychedelic folk / soft rock, a rich sonic tapestry of vocal harmony blends and deft musicianship / production.

Midtown Downtime is a debut album which explores the tensions of time and productivity in late-stage capitalism. The album is a collection of 10 songs that explore the genres of contemporary psychedelic folk / soft rock, with stacked harmonies over syncopated guitars and occasional synth / drum outbursts.

The album has a sound that is familiar yet unique, harkening to both Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and Luke Temple/Carol King. Lyrically the album covers a lot of ground with songs about the squeeze of capitalism coupled with the feeling of isolation and anxiety that the modern world’s political landscape can engender, alongside songs of love, friendship and nostalgia.

There’s a high energy feeling that runs through the 27-minute album's core, an energy that goes hand in hand with the modern era's ever-changing focus & diminishing attention spans, the record asks you to sit down and listen to it all in one go.

Absurdity and punk rock go together like celery and tonic water. That is to say, they are two acquired tastes that are even better together, because they push out the squares and cater to the real freaks. That spirit has driven Chicago’s Cel Ray from the very beginning. Springing to life with their debut EP Cellular Raymond in 2023, the Chicago four-piece of vocalist Maddie Daviss, guitarist Josh Rodin, bassist Kevin Goggin, and drummer Alex Watson charted a path through twitchy, absurdist post-punk that fell somewhere between The Minneapolis Uranium Club and The B-52s. Piss Park followed later that year, and aside from the “Raw God” single in 2025, the band spent their time ripping club shows across the Midwest, playing in DIY spots, dive bars, and, one time, being hand-selected to open for Jack White.

Now, after years of waiting for a proper full-length, Cel Ray has joined the illustrious noisenicks at Exploding In Sound to release Cel Rayzer, a record that, as its name subtly implies, is sharper and more acerbic than anything Cel Ray’s done before. What makes Cel Rayzer so impactful is the inability to pin it down. Yes, it’s garage punk; yes it’s egg-punk; yes it’s post-punk, but it’s beholden to none of those things. This is what makes Cel Rayzer such a thrill; Just when you think you have the band figured out, they transform into something else so effortlessly, you’re left wondering how they even pulled it off.

In an era of excess and endless distraction, Margaret Glaspy rejects the noise in favor of something far more essential. Before setting to work on her fourth full-length album I Am Both, she stepped away from social media and soon discovered a clarity of mind she hadn't experienced in years, followed by a sustained burst of creative momentum. As she penned her lyrics in longhand and then polished them up on a typewriter, Glaspy assembled a selection of songs that span from fictional vignettes to unguarded self-revelation to empathetic observation of the troubled world around her. Produced by Joe Henry (the three-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer known for his work with luminaries like Aimee Mann and Joan Baez), I Am Both ultimately stands as a striking new statement from one of the modern music canon's most formidable songwriters.

For more than two decades, SOJA have elated audiences with their fresh yet timeless take on roots reggae, a sound born from their shared passion for making music that transports and inspires. On 'Without Surrender' -their first new album since the Grammy Award winning 'Beauty in the Silence' (2021) - the band deepens that communal spirit by collaborating with artists from all corners of the world, including The Elovaters, Brazilian Superstar Di Ferrero, Kolohe Kai, 311's Nick Hexum and more.

The world is ending, and rent is due. The empire is crumbling, and you’re late refilling your meds. War is ceaseless, pandemics go unchecked, billionaires poison the well water and cops abduct neighbors while wildfires burn… but here at the hot dog stand, relief and joy are yours for five buck ninety-nine.

This is PEASANTS REVOLT, the latest album from trans folksinger Creekbed Carter Hogan. Playing the part of court jester in the halls of a dying empire, Hogan croons, hollers, and grins in the face of despair as we feast together on one last humble supper before everything falls apart.

A rollicking medieval-Americana manuscript, Hogan’s new work anchors itself in transitions. PEASANTS REVOLT was written living and moving between the North and the South; sung by a body both pre- and post-trans affirming healthcare; and recorded during a time of genocide, federal occupation, and workers’ uprisings. Decorating its margins are influences spanning time and medium. Here, 14th century king-killer ballads sit next to Appalachian strike songs. Labor and union songs find kinship with Ethiopian jazz records. Hogan’s work echoes with historical struggle, too, from the Haitian Revolution to the struggle for trans rights to the surreal futurism of Rio Grande Valley writer Fernando A. Flores. This album takes the entwinement of the personal and the political seriously, a path often walked by everyone from Hazel Dickens and John Prine to ANOHNI. The 10 tracks of PEASANTS REVOLT are themselves endlessly transitioning, hinging on mid-song shifts and building into wildfires that crackle and sputter with the courage of momentum and catchy hooks. By centering this work so deeply in the tumult of change, Hogan illuminates all of capitalism’s attempts to isolate us — and the power that we regain when we refuse to face our lives and our selves alone.

Inspired by classic post-punk bands like The Cure, Sad Lovers & Giants, The Chameleons, and The Danse Society, but includes other musical influences like new wave, dream pop, deathrock, and even 90’s emo/screamo. DECEITS has shared the stage with acts such as She Past Away, She Wants Revenge, New Order, and Xmal Deutschland. The group is also set to perform at Darker Waves Festival in November alongside Morrissey, The Smashing Pumpkins, and more.

Florian’s Morning is the musical project of Mats Lideborg. Originally from Motala and now based in Stockholm, Mats balances life as a troubadour and songwriter with driving subway trains across the city. His music carries the weight of Scandinavian melancholy, intimate storytelling, and timeless songwriting traditions.

The project grew out of a long-standing friendship between Mats and ionnalee, who first met as teenagers in Motala playing music together. More than two decades later, they reconnected in Stockholm and began revisiting a collection of songs originally written by ionnalee years earlier.
Hearing Mats interpret the material sparked a complete transformation. The songs were rewritten and newly produced, evolving into something both cinematic and deeply personal, somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Elliott Smith meeting in a small town Swedish dive bar at closing time.
Florian’s Morning’s self-titled debut album is a striking introduction to an artist with a rare voice and quietly magnetic presence.

Florian’s Morning’s - Florian’s Morning’s is written and produced by ionnalee, out April 22, 2026 on To whom it may concern.

Songwriter Kerry Alexander has fronted Bad Bad Hats with Chris Hoge for more than a decade, and the duo have known Elana Carroll (aka Party Nails) even longer. While on tour together in 2018, Carroll joined Bad Bad Hats on stage for an encore performance, and an idea for a new band was sparked. Elana on lead vocals, Kerry on guitar, Chris on drums. Songs inspired by early 2000s rock. One night after watching Josie & the Pussycats together, Megasound was officially born. Their debut album will be released by Don Giovani Records in summer 2026.

Den eminente Jah Sparring dubbar till musik från Händelser Vid Vatten av Mattias Bärjed! Hög igenkänning och trogen originalen men ändå heeeeelt omsnickrade, förlängda, "förstörda" och återkomponerade till flippad fulländning! Extra limiterad utgåva, 200 exemplar, handgjorda screentryckta omslag (alla unika sålunda), svart vinyl.

Exxûl emerges as a massive, brooding monument to the tradition of high-stakes Epic Doom. Founded by Phil Tougas (Zeicrydeus, Chthe’ilist, Atramentus), the project serves as a vital expansion of his established conceptual multiverse, carrying forward the intricate lore of his previous works into a new realm of tragedy and weight. However, Exxûl is a formidable collective in its own right, featuring a lineup of elite musicians from across the extreme metal spectrum. Their debut album, 'Sealed Into None', eschews the frantic pace of the modern world for a deliberate, regal march toward oblivion. Their debut album is a regal march, drawing inspiration from the technical majesty of early Fates Warning, the thundering conviction of Manowar, and the frost-bitten heroics of Scald and Solitude Aeturnus. It is an uncompromising work of architectural doom, serving as the definitive companion to the Zeicrydeus mythos and a new pillar in a vast, dark narrative.

For fans of: Solitude Aeturnus, Fates Warning (Early), Scald, Manowar, and Zeicrydeus.

Members of Raven (NWOBHM). Incredible old school USPM with gorgeous art from Michael Whelan. FFO: Griffin, Liege Lord, (early) Nasty Savage, Satan.

The awaited sophomore! Members of Raven (NWOBHM) and Ice Age. Incredible old school USPM. FFO: Savatage, Satan, Crimson Glory, Raven.

Nat King Cole remains one of the most iconic and cherished voices in popular music, celebrated for his warmth, sophistication, and effortlessly smooth delivery that helped define a generation. Compiled here is a stellar array of his most memorable recordings, spanning romantic ballads such as "Unforgettable," "Mona Lisa," and "When I Fall in Love," as well as lively favourites like "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," "Straighten Up and Fly Right," and "Ramblin' Rose.

2026 Repress

Riding the Thin Line" is an EP by DJ Bone, an influential figure in the Detroit techno scene. Released in 1999, the EP showcases DJ Bone's signature style characterized by deep, driving beats and intricate rhythms. The tracks blend elements of classic Detroit techno with contemporary sounds, reflecting his ability to bridge different eras of electronic music. The EP is noted for its experimental approach while maintaining a dancefloor-friendly vibe. Each track offers a unique listening experience, highlighting DJ Bone's skills as a producer and DJ. His work often emphasizes a sense of journey, making "Riding the Thin Line" a compelling addition to any techno enthusiast's collection. Overall, the EP reinforces DJ Bone's reputation as a pioneer and an innovator within the techno genre.

Pure Devotion, benannt nach der gleichnamigen Live-Reihe von 2024, markiert einen weiteren Entwicklungsschritt für Overmono. Hinter dem Projekt stehen die Brüder Tom und Ed Russell, die bereits seit Jahren in der britischen Elektronikszene aktiv sind - sowohl gemeinsam als auch über ihre Solo-Projekte Tessela und Truss. Diese Erfahrungen aus dem UK-Underground bilden die Grundlage ihres Sounds bis heute. Das Album vereint bewusst Unschärfen, technische Imperfektion und zufällige Momente mit einer klaren künstlerischen Haltung. Über elf Tracks hinweg erweitern Overmono ihren Produktionsansatz und greifen dabei auf ungewöhnliche Mittel zurück: analoge Synthesizer aus den 70er- und 80er-Jahren, alte Lautsprechersysteme oder experimentelle Klangbearbeitung. Das Ergebnis wirkt kontrolliert, organisch und immer treibend. Auch die Vocals tragen zur Atmosphäre bei - unter anderem von John Joseph Holt, Kindora und Ruthven. Insgesamt legt Pure Devotion den Fokus stärker auf Emotionalität und Klangtiefe als auf reine Funktionalität im Clubkontext. Das Projekt entwickelte sich aus einer Neujustierung ihrer Live-Show und gewann parallel zu ihren Touraktivitäten an Form. Nach dem Erfolg ihres Debütalbums Good Lies (2023), welches ihnen größere Aufmerksamkeit und internationale Auftritte einbrachte, spielten Overmono zahlreiche Festivals und eigene Shows, darunter Glastonbury und Alexandra Palace in London. Während dieser Phase entstand neue Musik, die später in Rückzugsorten wie Spanien und Island weiter ausgearbeitet wurde. Die Single "Lockup" steht exemplarisch für die Herangehensweise des Duos: direkte, rhythmisch präsente Strukturen treffen auf zurückhaltendere, emotionale Elemente. Pure Devotion wirkt damit weniger wie ein Bruch als vielmehr wie eine konsequente Weiterentwicklung - geprägt von Erfahrung, Neugier und dem Anspruch, den eigenen Ansatz weiter auszuloten. Overmono sind eine neue Größe in der internationalen Club-Kultur.

Pure Devotion, benannt nach der gleichnamigen Live-Reihe von 2024, markiert einen weiteren Entwicklungsschritt für Overmono. Hinter dem Projekt stehen die Brüder Tom und Ed Russell, die bereits seit Jahren in der britischen Elektronikszene aktiv sind - sowohl gemeinsam als auch über ihre Solo-Projekte Tessela und Truss. Diese Erfahrungen aus dem UK-Underground bilden die Grundlage ihres Sounds bis heute. Das Album vereint bewusst Unschärfen, technische Imperfektion und zufällige Momente mit einer klaren künstlerischen Haltung. Über elf Tracks hinweg erweitern Overmono ihren Produktionsansatz und greifen dabei auf ungewöhnliche Mittel zurück: analoge Synthesizer aus den 70er- und 80er-Jahren, alte Lautsprechersysteme oder experimentelle Klangbearbeitung. Das Ergebnis wirkt kontrolliert, organisch und immer treibend. Auch die Vocals tragen zur Atmosphäre bei - unter anderem von John Joseph Holt, Kindora und Ruthven. Insgesamt legt Pure Devotion den Fokus stärker auf Emotionalität und Klangtiefe als auf reine Funktionalität im Clubkontext. Das Projekt entwickelte sich aus einer Neujustierung ihrer Live-Show und gewann parallel zu ihren Touraktivitäten an Form. Nach dem Erfolg ihres Debütalbums Good Lies (2023), welches ihnen größere Aufmerksamkeit und internationale Auftritte einbrachte, spielten Overmono zahlreiche Festivals und eigene Shows, darunter Glastonbury und Alexandra Palace in London. Während dieser Phase entstand neue Musik, die später in Rückzugsorten wie Spanien und Island weiter ausgearbeitet wurde. Die Single "Lockup" steht exemplarisch für die Herangehensweise des Duos: direkte, rhythmisch präsente Strukturen treffen auf zurückhaltendere, emotionale Elemente. Pure Devotion wirkt damit weniger wie ein Bruch als vielmehr wie eine konsequente Weiterentwicklung - geprägt von Erfahrung, Neugier und dem Anspruch, den eigenen Ansatz weiter auszuloten. Overmono sind eine neue Größe in der internationalen Club-Kultur.

2026 Repress

NC4K, based in Kyoto, presents the third installment of their vinyl-only series. This four-track EP features House and Breakbeats tracks exclusively produced by artists residing in the Kansai region.

Expect raw, impactful drums and skillful sample manipulation designed to deliver a jolt of energy to the dance floor.

Plåy launches with T. Jacques’ Serve Chilled; two dancefloor-focused deep cuts.

A1 Keep On drifts in with spacious percussion, warm pads and soft vocal textures that ride the groove with hypnotic ease - a warm late-night closer.

On the flip, Serve Chilled finishes on a deep-house high, with resonating pads and lush chords drifting effortlessly over tight, hardware-driven drums. A classy, hypnotic, after-hours glide.

With his distinctive touch for melody and texture, "Thunder EP" opens a portal to a new world, both vibrant and underground. Split into two parts, the A-side burns with a groovy house and breakbeat energy, while the B-side shines with deep, progressive and electronic soundscapes.

With its powerful vocals reminiscent of Bicep and a melody that brings a breath of fresh air, the opening track of the EP "Thunder" has all the makings of a future anthem. It perfectly sets the tone with its raw breakbeat energy and rolling textures

Right after, the A2 "You've Got The Feeling" offers a subtle blend of softness and groove. True to Houseum’s deep and sunny DNA, the track revolves around an effective classic piano house hook and a captivating soul vocal that instantly sticks in your head.

Closing the A-side, "Space Jam" shifts into more atmospheric territories with floating vocals and airy synth pads, moving the dancefloor toward a deeper, more mental vibe.

On the flip side, the hypnotic bassline of the B1 "Bullet Train" sets the pace immediately. The track nods to 90s progressive house through its structure while offering distinctive deep tech and dub techno sounds.

Finally, "Haag" wraps up the record with a subtle blend of IDM, ambient, and dub techno, a sound aesthetic that might remind a certain In Limbo EP released on Houseum's sub-label, Ellipse Records. It acts as the perfect closing track, inviting the listener to wind down and float away after the intensity of the previous tracks.

Giacomo was digging through Discogs when he came across a mysterious Len Lewis release — three untitled tracks, no trace of it anywhere nor audio clips, only the cat# LJL003. He ordered the only copy and got in touch with Len shortly after, who to quote said "it's like listening to someone else's music."

The distribution company folded before they could see the light, and it turned out the records had only ever reached the test pressing stage in 2002. 

Now, for the first time, these tracks are being officially released!

Skyjack — the borderless five piece band spread across South Africa and Switzerland — announce their fourth studio album, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet, out 3rd July.

Recorded in December 2025 at a secluded studio outside Stellenbosch, South Africa, the album captures the vibrant live energy of the band at its most expansive — drawing together free improvisation, South African jazz traditions, chamber music, kinetic groove, and ecstatic collective interplay into a singular body of work.

“This record is a very articulate representation of our sound, having grown deep roots into the earth with high branches reaching upward and outward”, says bassist Shane Cooper. “My desire is always to create sonic universes that can envelope the listener.”

The album’s title comes from a line in a poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, reflecting the music’s balance between groundedness and transcendence. Here, Skyjack move fluidly between meditative improvisation and lush orchestration across twelve tracks of free-spirited, cosmic journeying. Inspired both by the cultural traditions and natural environments of South Africa, Let The Sky Open Under Your Feet is a testament to the band’s intuitive connection and innate musical curiosity.

It arrives just over a year after Light Cycle (2024), a short gap that reflects the momentum built on tour. After exchanging sketches remotely across two continents, the band reunited in Johannesburg in late 2025, workshopped the new material onstage across South Africa, and then headed directly into the studio, where much of the album was recorded live in first takes — preserving the looseness and unpredictability central to Skyjack’s sound.

Comprised of Kyle Shepherd (piano), Shane Cooper (bass), Jonno Sweetman (drums), Andreas Tschopp (trombone), and Marc Stucki (saxophones), Skyjack first formed in Cape Town in 2013 during a fertile moment in South African jazz, as a new generation of musicians pushed against rigid genre definitions and opened the music outward toward broader sonic possibilities. Over the past decade, the band has built a singular sound drawing equally on South African groove traditions and European improvisation.

Individually, the members move between jazz, electronic music, film scoring, rock, hip-hop and experimental composition, with collaborations spanning artists including William Parker, Lionel Loueke, Zim Ngqawana, Ben LaMar Gay, Jorge Rossy, Shabaka Hutchings, William Kentridge, Makaya McCraven and Sylvie Courvoisier.

Since their self-titled debut in 2015, followed by The Hunter (2019) and Light Cycle (2024), the group has developed a reputation for immersive live performances and music that continuously reshapes itself in motion — rooted in what they describe as “warm menacing African grooves,” while refusing fixed stylistic borders.

Fresh from dropping a fine collection of reworks by Scruscru, Blur Records welcome back regular contributor Hotmood. He brings with him a belated sequel to his 2023 EP Disco Power. The Mexican begins in fine form via the tease-and-release, disco-funk powered disco-house slammer 'Give It To Me', before opting for a more elastic and rubbery groove on the similarly-minded peak-time bounce of 'Let Me Dance'. Hotmood decides to breathe new life into a string-laden, cowbell-sporting 1970s disco workout on 'That's What You Had', once more exploring effects-laden disco-house dynamics, while closing cut 'Summer Nights' sees him making merry with loops and samples from an old Earth, Wind and Fire favourite and some suitably powerful beats.

Frenchman Franck Roger is as consistent as any of the deep house greats we have all loved and appreciated for many years. He returns to Seasons Limited with another EP of perfectly timeless sounds to back that up. Opening up this latest gem is 'Don't Make Me Wait', which is shimmering and candlelit, with wispy pads and aching vocal cries occasionally bursting out of the mix. 'The Number Track' has a more pronounced groove with lumpy kicks and this time neon chords bubble through nicely for zoned-out late-night hypnosis. 'Fast Lane' closes with a more insular and dark feel that takes you back to the early days of Chicago house with a devastating synth conveying great loneliness

Nite Hawk is a new name to us, but one we'll be keeping an ear on, just off the back of this new EP on York-based John Deevechis's The Owl label. The opener plays with a classic rhythm and serves it up with a bleeping synth sequence that will also be familiar, while the rickety drums unfold in off-grid patterns. It's a great start before 'Shake Ya Rump' brings machine-made disco with sugary synths and playful vocals over funky basslines, then 'Be Together' closes with another cold analogue groove that ramps up the pressure and is the sort of tasteful and timeless crowd pleaser you will be playing forever.