quête:rea

Helena Casella is a Belgian-Brazilian vocalist with a multicultural background who vocalizes her thoughts in her own passionate, soulful, and tasteful manner. She grew up in an incredibly musical family with strong ties to the broader artistic world. This rich background is clearly audible in her musical approach, where she blends genres such as R&B, soul, hip-hop, and modern jazz without breaking the connection to the vibrant sounds of Brazil, where part of her roots lie. The depth of her soft, warm voice pulls you into her story, floating between the realms of the intimate and the ethereal.

With her debut album 'Pit Of Impressions,' Helena shows that she is an artist from whom we have yet to hear the best.

File under: neo soul, nu jazz, R&B

Sounds like: The Internet, Hiatus Kaiyote, Michi, Solange, Erykah Badu, Charlotte Dos Santos, ...

For Nottingham quartet Divorce, home is a feeling. Initially meeting as teenagers through the city’s close-knit DIY scene, the band – completed by members Tiger Cohen-Towell (vocals / bass), Felix Mackenzie-Barrow (vocals / guitar), Adam Peter Smith (guitar / synth) and Kasper Sandstrøm (drums) - came together as Divorce in mid-2021, releasing a slew of genre-defiant singles that quickly caught the attention of tastemakers the world over. Sonically rich and lyrically open-hearted, 'Drive to Goldenhammer' sees Divorce assemble a shelter for themselves amid the chaos and leave the front door open to everyone. This album pays homage to seeking place and home; one of the great human levellers. Much of life feels at odds with this particular need. And to Goldenhammer; you are a reason to keep driving. We will find you again and again! Gatefold vinyl includes 12” lyric booklet including photos, thank yous and lyrics

Metaphon is thrilled to present this collection of 14 phenomenal electronic and electro-acoustic works by French composer Fernand Vandenbogaerde, realized between 1967 and 1984.

After his science studies Fernand Vandenbogaerde (1946) studied at the Conservatoire de Roubaix and did various classes and courses with a.o. Jean-Etienne Marie, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Schaeffer, György Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Bruno Maderna. He wrote analytical essays on mathematic music, in particular the work of Iannis Xenakis. Vandenbogaerde taught electro-acoustic music at various institutions and was director at the National School of Music and Dance in Blanc-Mesnil, near Paris. As a composer he wrote works for orchestra, instrumental and chamber ensembles, sometimes in hybrid form including tape and electro-acoustic configurations. He also recorded numerous tape compositions in Bourges, Paris, Ghent and at his home studio. His works have been presented worldwide on various leading festivals and events.

The compositions included in this edition are primarily tape works, meticulously recorded and produced, radical and most of all timbre oriented which makes his compositions focus mainly on sound while other parameters hardly change. In Vandenbogaerde’s own words: “What determines my pieces, at least all the ones in this collection, is that it’s the material that dictates me, that will predetermine the form”. This particular approach distinguishes him quite a bit from many of his contemporaries within the field of electro-acoustic music.

Another interesting aspect in Vandenbogaerde’s work is the integration of micro tonal scales (conceived by Mexican composer Julian Carrillo), on the compositions 'Modifications III' and the intriguing trilogy 'Drei Nachdenken über Hymnen an die Nacht'. All tracks are previously unreleased except the proto power electronics piece 'Anschlag' which was self-released in 1971 on his own Point Radiant label, as a compilation LP which also included a track by Tristan Murail.

Brian Ellis is Egyptian Lover’s keyboard player, and is ½ of the band “Campus Christi” with Peanut Butter Wolf
Art & Photography: Alaia Pareja

Baby Rose makes healing music for the aimless and heartbroken. The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and producer's uniquely rich voice naturally lends itself to her powerful, smoke-filled ballads lamenting lost loves and broken futures. "I make music to help myself get through things," she says. The piercing honesty and vulnerability she brings to her lyrics in turn helps others process their feelings and find a place of healing. For Rose, it's a journey that's still ongoing. "If I'm going to leave anything behind, it's going to be getting people back to themselves," she says. "As I get back to myself, it's a constant reset: Remember who you are, remember who you want to be." You can hear the impact of this approach in Baby Rose's upcoming second album, Through and Through. Take the hypnotic "Fight Club." Over the track's simmering baseline and crashing cymbals, she declares, "I don't need no one else to show me the way." She describes the song as a "breaking of the shell. It encourages me to just go for it and not care about what anyone else thinks." Therein lies Baby Rose's strength: a determination to live, love, and create on her own terms. "I'm not just a singer with a unique voice," she says. "I'm somebody that has something to say." In the years since releasing her last album, To Myself, Rose has been painstakingly piecing together its sequel. Started almost immediately after its release, her new body of work finds her in a state of musical and personal transition. It's a subtle merging of new sounds_stirring rock, upbeat r&b, psychedelic funk, pop, and soulful ballads_, all mastered through analog tape to make the music feel warmer and all-encompassing. It's also a journey inward as she battles past fear and self-doubt to finally discover_and love_who she is, where she is. Finishing an album with such peace and firm resolution is a first for Rose, but she makes it clear: She's nowhere near done writing her story. "I think as long as I'm being raw and trying to push past my comfort zone, it will feel rewarding," she says. "I don't want to be the type that doesn't take risks because I'm afraid. I have to trust that as long as the music is honest and innovative, it'll be timeless."

In late 2023, Tokyo-based musician, Daigo Sakuragi, temporarily relocated to London, where he revisited material recorded with fellow Japanese musicians in Tokyo, drawing inspiration from the city’s energy, music, and atmosphere. This new perspective culminated in Togenkyo, a 28-minute work blending early 2000s folktronica and contemporary ambient styles. Sakuragi crafts immersive sonic textures with synthesisers and spatial production, while the organic groove of drums and bass anchors the piece, subtly inviting physical movement. Floating above this foundation, the saxophone weaves through the soundscape, leading the music with an elegant yet exploratory presence.

The session took place at aLive recording studio in Tokyo, with the following personnel:

Daigo Sakuragi: synthesiser, guitar, post-production
Jinya Ichikawa: bass
Shoei Ikeda: saxophone
Kazuya Ooi: drums

The lineup reflects a network of notable Japanese artists: Ichikawa, Sakuragi’s longtime collaborator in D.A.N.; Ikeda, known for his work with Maya Ongaku; and Ooi, a drummer for yahyel.

Sakuragi is best known for his band project D.A.N., where he contributes vocals, guitar, and production alongside bassist Jinya Ichikawa and drummer Teru Kawakami. Since its formation in 2014, D.A.N. has gained recognition for their unique fusion of indie rock/pop, dub, and electronic music. Under his solo moniker Daigos, Sakuragi explores electronic dance music through DJing and production, experimenting with Eurorack modules and samples in a refined, microscopic aesthetic. Recently, his creative output has expanded into diverse fields, including advertisements, artist collaborations, and films.

The term Togenkyo resonates with the concept of utopia, yet it diverges—it does not symbolise a flawless paradise but rather an attainable state of peace within oneself. Sakuragi reflects on finding his own Togenkyo in London, far from his hometown of Tokyo. The EP brings a sense of comfort and calm, reminding listeners that such a space exists not far from reach.

180G vinyl pressing

After releasing their well-received 7” and 12” singles ‘Night Time’ and ‘Feel It / So Hot’, Isle of Jura is pleased to present Exotic Illusions, the debut album from D.D. Mirage, the Sydney-based duo of Josh Dives and Disky Dee.

Having first played music together during the mid-2010s in the indie-psyche and punky-shoegaze bands King Colour and SCK CHX, the two Australian musicians/DJs came up in the warehouse party scene that fermented in the wake of the Sydney lockout laws. While organising mixed media events under the Yeah Nah Yeah brand, they discovered the joys of disco, dance-punk and the Balearic beat through Pender St Steppers’ DJ mixes and reissue releases and found themselves changing direction in response.

Written and recorded with a range of vintage keyboards and preamps, instruments and digital studio software, Exotic Illusions is a cosmopolitan love letter to the immaculate blend of Italo disco, Neopolitan funk, Nigerian boogie, cosmic house, synth-pop, UK street soul and lovers rock sounds that have inspired D.D. Mirage since they began this iteration of their ever-evolving musical relationship.

“The name Exotic Illusions refers to our fascination with all of this music made in other parts of the world,” they explain. “During lockdown and thereafter, we indulged in these exotic sounds as an antidote to our lack of travel. This fascination continued as the world opened up again, and we started working on tunes together. It’s also a way of acknowledging that we feel like tourists partaking in these styles and established sounds. They aren’t ours and weren’t born out of the place we’re from, but we hope we’ve been able to add something unique to them.”

In recognition of this, rather than just reinterpreting genre motifs through an antipodean lens, D.D. Mirage opened up lines of communication with some of their favourite musicians from the Neapolitan scene, bassist Daniel Monaco (Rush Hour, Periodica Records) and drummer Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu/ Nu Genea), who recorded the rhythm section for ‘So Hot’. They also wrote to the Manchester-based singer/producer Private Joy, who graced ‘Night Time’ with a smoother-than-silk street soul vocal that helped the single secure crucial plays on NTS and BBC Radio 6.

Opening with the tropical melodies, post-disco machine beats and jilted art-punk singalong chants of the title track, Exotic Illusions unfolds as a series of sturdy, internationally-minded dancefloor excursions. ‘Piranesi’ is boogie with a South American shuffle. ‘So Hot’ is Neapolitan funk with a Leichhardt strut, and ‘Antenna’ (featuring Jofi) is D.D. Mirage’s love letter to ‘80s drum machine bossa nova from Brussels.

On ‘Feel It’, the duo hit a sparking groove that reaches into an eternal sunset of the mind before throwing out a bubbly disco-not disco spoken word bounce on ‘Cat’s Cradle’, featuring psychedelic-pop singer Jermango Dreaming. From there, D.D. Mirage bring it home with a cheeky Aussie drawl on ‘Living Upside Down’ and the nocturnal excellence of ‘Night Time’, making a case for themselves as a significant new force from Australian music to the world.
full sleeve artwork from Bradley Pinkerton.

Output/Input release their debut album 'Forward Motion' on double vinyl LP, December 1st. The album is an eclectic mix of 70's-inspired soul and funk delivered in a truly 2023-style of recording, with all tracks being recorded remotely across multiple continents. The band is a truly diverse and international group featuring members from countries including the USA, UK, Germany, Hungary and South Korea. Their previous releases have been praised by DJ's and tastemakers, regularly featuring on Jazz FM, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 and a host of specialist Soul radio stations across the globe. The CD and digital album have been No.1 on multiple UK Soul Charts.

Lead vocalist Antonio McLendon (pictured) has worked and performed with James Ingram, Tata Vega, Gladys Knight and Donna Summer, and features as vocalist on seven of the ten tracks on the album. He has definitely made an impact as a world-class singer this year, with the singles 'Smilin' Faces' and 'Someone I Used To Love'. both being radio hits. Co-incidentally, Antonio's daughter, Samara Joy won two Grammy awards this year for her album 'Linger Awhile'. Here We Go Again' features the vocals of Audrey Wheeler-Downing, who worked with Unlimited Touch and Chaka Khan, and Brent Carter, the current lead singer of AWB and previous to that, Tower Of Power. 'Doin' Alright' features vocals from O'Bryan, who Davis worked with extensively on his albums for Capitol. This re-recorded version, co-written by Melvin, originally appeared on the album of the same name in 1982, and is widely tipped as a stand-out rare groove revival cut on the album and is already hotly anticipated. 'Really No Chance' features the lead vocals of Katie Holmes-Smith, a globally sought-after singer, who backed Adele on her world tour as well as currently performing with her for the duration of Adele's residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. The CD release featured a bonus track, 'Every Time You Touch Me', recorded very recently, written by Noval Smith and Mark Love and sung by Antonio McLendon, while the 2LP features another bonus cut, a fantastic cover of the Earth, Wind & Fire classic 'Can't Hide Love', penned by Skip Scarborough, with vocals by Brent Carter

Music to Watch Seeds Grow By continues its series of plant-inspired soundscapes with new work from Pittsburgh-based sound artist Davis Galvin. This composition focuses on the Delphinium Elatum, capturing the quiet drama of this striking perennial through carefully constructed ambient textures.

Where their previous work explored the complex electronic territories of the outer technoid reaches, here Galvin turns their attention to the subtle processes of plant growth. The piece unfolds gradually, much like the Delphinium's own journey from seed to flowering plant. Gentle drones and atmospheric elements mirror the plant's various growth stages, from its initial emergence to its ascent to heights of up to two metres. You heard it here first.

The music creates an environment for contemplation, designed specifically for the moments of sowing and tending to these magnificent plants. Galvin's approach, as with all things they turn their ear to, emphasises patience and attention to detail, qualities essential to both gardening and deep listening.

In 2016, Cliche Morph offered the aquatic textures of "Liquid Materia". "Hidden Madness" is the return and a new beginning. Four tracks of intense introspection mark a collaboration and a founding, Deep Sound Channel and Postdynamic. Atmospheric and immersive, from the needle drop the listener is immediately drawn into the subterranean chambers of this cerebral piece. A stark beat is the guide rope, a snare that echoes and ricochets into the cavernous expanse of cold currents and all too real phantoms. Feeding off that palpable paranoia, Psyk pours a thick resonating syrup over the original before pulling the switch. Darkness descends, distortion and reverb dominate with a steady kick delivering some form of solid ground. Respite? No hope. Pound and thud tell the arrival of "Exorcist". Industrial groans and a clanking larynx are cut through by haunting strings, a meagre echo of humanity in this absorbing and unsettling track. Blazej Malinowski closes. Drum patterns are amplified and concentrated in the producer's purge of "Exorcist", hi-hats hissing as the spectral refrains of the original shift in shape and form. A 12" that plumbs the physical and the psychological depths of sound.

Packed with live classics and brimming with his frenetic brand of mutated, electronic, anti-pop, this album marks the next step in Anklepants' march to world domination.

Anklepants' act gets a reaction from everyone that witness it. The hysteria surrounding him has gained momentum since the release of his 12' vinyl 'SPEEK You Little Re-facéé' on Love Love in 2013, propelled by a European tour last year with Otto Von Schirach and his sensational Boiler Room set. The 'SPEEK You Little Re-facéé' vinyl single served as a taster of what was to come with its 2 bombastic extended cuts (both also featuring here). Now, having sown the seeds of his message around the world, his debut album has arrived on Vinyl and CD.

The CD version of this album comes with a second disc containing reworkings of Anklepants' original tracks by other artists similarly carving their own paths through the modern übergründé, including Eomac, Valance Drakes, Kraig Grady, Lenkemz, Monster X, Bintus, FUKNO + more.

First things first - you don’t need me to tell you about the significance of Australia in the history of punk. I mean, what am I, Jon Savage? Google it yourself, FFS. Instead, let’s just agree that the speedy, feral racket thrown together by the likes of The Saints, Radio Birdman and The Scientists in the mid-late ‘70s is AT LEAST as deliriously entertaining as anything concocted by their UK/US counterparts, sowing the seeds for seemingly endless garage-inflected noisemakers in the land down under. No one likes using words like ‘tradition’ or ‘heritage’ here - the punk rock clusterbomb is far too messy for any of that business - but also emerging from Australian rock’s primordial soup is the addictive sneer of Stiff Richards. Like their predecessors, the band are a gleefully wracked mess of full throttle energy and barrelling power chords, with songs like ‘Kids Out On The Grass’ and ‘Point of You’ proving at least the equal of ‘(I’m) Stranded’ or ‘Aloha Steve And Danno’. Nine tracks in less than 30 minutes, all winners and all determined to leave you flipping over couches and smashing your TV set. And let’s face it, you may as well; there’s nothing good on. It all builds towards frantic closer ‘Fill In The Blanks’, which rattles around your speakers like the UK Subs trying to play Ed Kuepper riffs at the centre of an earthquake, before grinding to a halt as a voice says, “That’s the one.” Does it sound self-satisfied? Hey, it’s got good reason to - this is the best no-frills garage rock party since Gino & The Goons’ ‘Do The Get Around’, and the only appropriate response is to declare yourself betrothed to Stiff Richards because you can’t imagine your life without ‘em. Don’t believe me? Sort out your ears and get ‘State Of Mind’ in ‘em. Rock’n’roll as it’s supposed to be played.

"Equinox", Gianni Marchetti's 1977 twin album of "Solstitium", released in a handful of promo copies by RCA in their renowned "Original Cast" series, takes us on a journey through the author's groovier and wilder temperament, feeling as fresh and surprising today as the day it was made, offering immediate understanding of the reasons why it has remained one of his most sought after - and virtually impossible to find - titles over the decades.

RIYL: Piero Umiliani, Sandro Brugnolini, Stefano Torossi

The limited release as part of RCA's "Original Cast" series only increased its mystique, making it a coveted piece among collectors and connoisseurs. The album's distinctive character lies in its spontaneous, freewheeling approach, which contrasts with the more polished productions of the era. It's a perfect example of Marchetti's unique vision, where each track seems to evolve organically, offering both intricate musicianship and a sense of unrestrained creativity.

Original Wild Apache legend Junior Cat unleashes a rapid-fire lyrical assault on those who fail to respect the foundations and culture of real dancehall music. See di Bobo Dread shows the cat is still in fine form, riding the depth-charger bassline of Naram's Feline riddim with gruff finesse.

6 track EP from the great TBZ on his own private imprint. This time he brings the computer syntheses un-realness - still allowing the record to hum with the fresh low slung flavors we love him for.. . Big tip over here!!

Cindys petrochemical plant managed by her husband Norbert
He’s just half-eaten a sandwich, he’s got a little dino friend, a couple perhaps.
Surrounded by strange industrial structures and debris he’s quickly animated by inhuman images and sounds.
Fearful over a dream she had about sinking in quicksand she quickly remembered Pasolini’s words.
‘In a dense fog’ they read, no it was perhaps another instance.
She used to live on an island and swim off a beach at an isolated cove. She orders pizza often. Of all the rocks in the cove it seems that only one comes alive and sings to her.
In the voice of the core.
The factories wide consumption continues.
Twenty-two minutes per side.
Something good.

“Where is this? It looks like the grounds of a shrine. Like a deep, dark, forest. I'm wandering around. I can't get over the feeling that I've been to this place before. The temple and the tower look much bigger than usual, and I feel as if I were lost in a world of immensity. It's very dark with no sky up above, like being in the depths of the Earth. Anyway, it's a world I know.” - Leisure, the Sonorous Dream

For schuttle’s next unearthly contribution, we invite you to slip into the reassuring comforts of the simulated realm. Herein lies an open invitation to all of those tentative travellers willing to join us as we revel in four slices of post-biological optimism.

The world building begins with “Splan”. schuttle’s navigation vessel hovers steadily above a fractal landscape until a divine arp propels us skywards. We burst through the latent cloudsphere to marvel at the boundless synergy of the interlocking polygons. The sunburst gradient barely has time to load before an oscillating wriggle plunges us into a strangely familiar stomping ground. Hedonistic NPCs begin spawning at random, splurging joyful machine funk at each other before walking gleefully into walls. Finally, with a little help from a well known toad, schuttle unleashes the full might of his Mana on the nascent gathering.

We dock next in ‘Melonweed Musick’. Our vessel gently stirring the reeds as we descend into the marshland. The potent aroma of the swamp fills our nostrils, various apparitions seem to wriggle into view. What have we been inhaling? No time to consider, the loose murk of the breakbeat is starting to take effect and it’s all we can do to keep one foot squelching after the other. As we submit wholeheartedly to the sheer depth and clarity of the bassline, a kindly angel sweeps above the sphagnum, spraying a succession of cleansing chords over our slimy bodies. Refreshed with some useful navigation advice we continue.

In ‘Kitchen Sync’ our craft’s speedometer is tickled up to a cruising 120bpm. The world outside our window begins to swim with colour, prickly forms materialise then dissipate around us. The familiar shape of our old friend, the high priest 303 appears before us, steadying the ship. Its resonant flame warming our hearth, and our hearts too. Then begins a beautiful communion of the domestic and the otherworldly, through the interplay of acid under glimmering keys. Provoking within us an uncontrollable desire to open our curtains, to cast off our slippers and embrace the infinite morrow.

Our voyage concludes with ‘Inspo 2000’. Scintillating landing lights guide us toward our destination, our descent beckoned by woody and playful percussion. We tumble through the troposphere, our landing cushioned by the buoyancy of the gated chords, the kicks juicing what's left of our dwindling fuel supply. A luxurious breakdown brings the ground into focus. Perhaps this is home? The simulation is now so accurate that it seems pointless to question it, it is a world we have always known.

Watkins Group returns to Frequency Consortium for its second release, pushing further into the murky depths of dubbed-out desolation. Dubh Dubs (Dark Dubs) takes its name literally—seven tracks of cavernous low-end pressure, submerged echoes, and spectral atmospheres, drawing inspiration from the voids between worlds, the unseen corners of deep space, and the eerie stillness of unknown places.

Where Beanntan a’ Bhròin charted a course through the bleak grandeur of the Highlands, Dubh Dubs plunges headfirst into the abyss, embracing the weight of isolation and the slow decay of time. Watkins Group crafts a sound that feels at once infinite and suffocating—pulsing, restrained, and heavy with the dread of something just beyond reach. Tape-warped textures and submerged percussive mutations unfold in glacial movements, calling to mind the nocturnal dub abstractions of Porter Ricks, the blackened ambience of Thomas Köner, and the sub-heavy spirals of Rhythm & Sound at their most ghostly.

A study in tension and negative space, Dubh Dubs marks another compelling entry in the Frequency Consortium catalog—an offering for those drawn to the darker recesses of sound, where every echo leads deeper into the unknown.

In loving memory of my brother and kindred spirit - Marcus Rafferty