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UK drummer and sound artist Cameron Graham dances between EDM, joyous calypso colour, cellular Glassian minimalism, and hyperrealist AI on debut album Becoming a Beach Angel, evoking a SNES world of blissful vibrancy.

Creating his dizzying, dayglo MIDI explorations with drumkit triggers, UK musician Cameron Graham conjures a multitude of soundworlds from dense compositional structures. The music of debut album Becoming a Beach Angel touches on neon, videogame digitisation, the finessed, mechanical precision of IDM, even the rhythmic intensity of gamelan, whilst retaining a thrilling and wholly singular energy. The record is an electrifying experience, full of colour.

Becoming a Beach Angel flips and trips through headspinning, hyperspeed effervescence, like an entire rave condensed into a moment. Instantly joyful, its textures - formed in wavetable synthesis triggered by live-performed percussion pads - thread and bob through hyperreal abstract space, millisecond snippets of organ chords and steel pans zooming like stars in a galaxy rocketed past at

lightspeed. “It’s about grabbing and holding a close person going through depression or self-doubt, taking them out the door,” Cameron explains. “Dance music for that moment you need only to find a way to move forward.”

Limited rerelease. Unavailable for years. The legendary album from 1984. Fully remastered by David Cunningham. These recordings were originally released on cassette by Touch in 1984 with the exception of 'Parts Of My Body', released on a single by Canal Records in 1979. Performed by: Steve Beresford: bass, piano, farfisa organ, prophet 5, trumpet, flugelhorn, euphonium, percussion, glockenspiel, voice, toy piano, melodica, noises, rhythm tracks, drumkit. David Toop: guitar, prepared guitar, bass, percussion, flute, alto flute, glockenspiel, voice, tapes, noises, rhythm tracks David Cunningham: tape treatments with guests: Lol Coxhill, Dawn Roberts and Maartje ten Hoorn 'The atmosphere which General Strike conjure together suits an old fashioned, cold war-ish scenario of technology. Their 'Interplanetary Music' is the space pop of George Pal and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still', of computers built like Blackpool Tower in order to struggle through simple trigonometry, of 'The Jetsons' and I.G.Y. They go no further than Expo 67, the world's last gasp of optimism. And although there are dark and disquieting moods set in this mosaic which their listeners have pieced together, it is made with a humour which is true to the spirit of adventure which those references apply. The sanitation merchants who make up most of the world's record-makers today would forbid our ears from hearing these strangely electric keyboards, earthworked textures, bizarre chattering of percussion, and voices that seem like puzzled robots. Cataloguing the sound in that way makes it all seem a bit of a joke, but it isn't: laughter is encouraged, but it's serious music, made with a great deal more serious spirit than the great and disheartening mountain of music which today implores you to hear and not listen.' (Richard Cook).

Here's a brand-new record of straight-ahead hairy, lairy surf, punk, garage, rock n roll party music from Sir Bald/Hipbone Slim and pals! Fun all the way!!! But beware these guys just ESCAPED FROM THE ZOO!!!! Well, it certainly sounds like it! Los Hairies are led by Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald Diddley (more info below). In Los Hairies he is joined Galicia's foremost coffee liquor and pork fuelled rock n roll rhythm section, Jorge and Martin, the infamous Lorre brothers, of Wavy Gravies, Bo Dereks, Limboos and All Night Workers infamy! Fourteen dancing party hits to rattle your braincells and blow away the proverbial cobwebs! Everyone, a hairy dance hit! From the beach party 'Twist In The Sand' through to the 'Rock n Roll' death finale, you are invited to 'Shake Your Bacon', do the 'Diddley Conga' and 'Shake It Off' with the delectable but somewhat elusive 'Ramona'. Get down with the 'Little Green Man' and his rock n roll band! Go 'Bananas with Tarzan, duel with the 'Ratfink' and the 'Hairy Surfer! Los Hairies currently remain on the run from police, animal welfare services and a growing number of angry bar owners. Beware! They are dangerous! European tour planned for Oct/Nov 2023. Recorded on tape at Bronca Studio, Porto, Portugal by Nuno Riviera (T.T. Syndicate) More Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald Diddley info: Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald has released over 40 albums with his various bands including Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers, Sir Bald Diddley, The Snags and Nine Ton Peanut Smugglers. He has worked and recorded with members of Milkshakes, 5678s, Mummies, Phantom Surfers, Big Boss Man, Holly Golightly, Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm and Supergrass! Shared a stage/played shows with Dick Dale, Skatalites, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Edwin Starr, The Trashmen, PJ Harvey, US Bonds and Richard 'Louie Louie' Berry. Championed by the likes of John Peel, Mark Lamar, Mark Radcliffe and many others he has played a number of BBC radio sessions

The influential Detroit pianist’s sole 1970s album. Remastered and lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the denitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, Spiritual Jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America’s 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Century Black American experience, one that expanded outwards towards the cosmos. In the words of the collective themselves, “Music is the healing force of the universe.” Included in an extensive, oversized booklet, Larry Gabriel and Jeff “Chairman” Mao take us through the history of the Tribe, in a compelling story that delves not just into the history of the label and its principals, but into the story of Black American empowerment in the latter half of the 20th Century. The booklet features never-before-seen archival photos and rare ephemera from Tribe’s mid-1970s heyday.

Following the acclaimed 2022 album releases, 'On The
Grove' and its dub counterpart 'Grove Dub', Soul Revivers
return with a new 7" single 'Shouting Dub' / 'Furthest Dub'.
Shouting Dub' is a rebuild of a classic, vintage rhythm that
was recorded at Studio One, and features Henry Matic
Horns Tenyue on trombone, Dougal Caston on sax, and
Adrian McKenzie on drums. 'Furthest Dub' is a fresh dub to
'Look No Further' (from the 'On The Grove' LP), which
features featuring Ms. Maurice, bandleader of London-based
Afro-jazz collective Kokoroko. Both tracks were mixed live on
the board, old school style, at Yard Studios by Soul Revivers’
Nick Manasseh.

There are as many flavours of Jazz as there are pebbles on a
beach, but the majority combine rhythmic invention with
instrumental virtuosity to create a sound that can transport the
listener to a different plane. Our compilation features duos,
trios, bands and orchestras playing music inspired by Africa,
Brazil and all points in-between. Film themes, standards, charttoppers and relative obscurities have been carefully assembled
to provide a wide-ranging picture of the Jazz instrumental.

Imprint is the 1st V/A on MBMUSIC LTD. and features tracks from artists that inspired the concept of the label and comes in both digital and vinyl format. 5 Tracks to reflect the inner voice of the artists involved and their musical imprints, expressing themselves thru sound. A1.

Track "Contemplate" is signed by DanielI very well know for his great production skills with dub/ambient texture and deep groovy rhythms. A2. "Crystalline" by label head MBM showcase his musical taste for harmonies and slow-deep beats, a track that suits perfectly for club and listening environments.

B side opens with track "Peal Of Nian" by Polygonia, an artists that very well respected in the scene for her specific sound inspired by nature and plants giving us a pure gem for the record. B2. "Toki Fuko - 9128" goes deeper into the abyss with a more hypnotic approach perfectly reflecting the style of the artist. The release closes with B3. track from emerging Vyria: "Dome" track combines tribal rhythms and sounds with drive and subtle distortion to open new perspective on label sound.

Dreams are made and displaced on Mark Fell & Rian Treanor’s oneiric electro-acoustic inception 'Last Exit', borne from long days in the family garden, and assembled into a mesmerising masterpiece of minimalist modal rhythm and atmospheric exploration, into rapt smallsound detailing in breathtaking form. It’s a bit like listening to Virginia Astley’s ‘From Gardens Where We Feel Secure’, with washes of Autechre seeping into the mix from outside.

‘Last Exit…’ originally appeared in a different form as a cassette release for our Documenting Sound series in 2021, and was edited this year by Mark and Rian for this new expanded and altered edition, mastered by Rashad Becker. It renders a painterly,psychedelic, and diaristic depiction of sublime atmospheric tension, occasionally ruptured by their typical, asymmetric rhythm impulses in a form that rudely transcends their respective aesthetics. Across four parts, they kern, juxtapose and diffract synthesised percussion and field recordings into polymetric arrangements riddled with timbral nuance of a highly unpredictable nature.

While patently inflected with nods to Indonesian gamelan, Ugandan folk, Indian Carnatic classical, Morton Feldman-esque minimalism, free jazz improvisation and a sort of rhythmic cubism that speaks to their mutual, voracious listening habits and tastes, the results are arguably without direct compare. Attentive listeners will recognise, however, that ‘Last Exit’ effortlessly transcends their respective styles, achieving a new high watermark of imaginary future-hyperfolk expressed in a sort of personalised but highly relatable meta-musical language.

Seriously, they’re working beyond known conventions here; opening to a sublime frisson of Feldman-esque keys, birdsong and distant car engines, and closing to a combo of just-intoned drone and wafts of distant ballroom music. The 80 minutes in between feel like returning to a dream, with flashes of FM strings dabbed to sloshing rhythms and domestic detritus, tilting into a nervously tentative tension ruptured with abstract dance dynamism and angular free jazz ballistics.

The rejigged recordings also reflect the fidelity of memory recall, expressing an altered perspective on their time spent in the multigenerational family’s Rotherham garden during spring/summer 2020, replete with their mum/grandmother on piano and overheard singing and in convo, but now fraught with a more melancholic, distempered quality that makes for a genuinely unforgettable listening experience. A long-form isolationist fantasy, consider it crucial listening if yr into Robert Ashley's 'Automatic Writing', Graham Lambkin, Autechre or Nuno Canavarro.

Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners, the keepers of secrets, the path-finders. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.

New on Strut, the first ever reissue of Vambe’s privately pressed original albums from 1982, Drumland Dreamland and Drumgita Solo. A self-taught drummer, inventor, and sonic experimentalist, Lori Vambe is a unique figure in British music. Creator of his own instrument, the drumgita (pronounced ‘drum-guitar’) or string-drum, Vambe intended to create a kind of music that had never been made in order to pursue access to the fourth dimension.

Vambe was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and his father, Lawrence Vambe, was a noted Zimbabwean journalist and author. Moving to London in 1959, Vambe immersed himself in the Brixton squat movement of the early 1970s, teaching himself to drum and creating a short-lived performance group, The Healing Drums of Brixton (Vambe, the sculptor Alexander Sokolov and outsider musician Michael O’Shea). Vambe later had a dream-vision involving a feeling of ecstasy while playing an unknown instrument that extended from his own umbilical cord; the instrument would manifest itself as the drumgita. In 1982, he privately produced a pair of home recordings, the diptych set Drumgita Solo and Drumland Dreamland, releasing them on his own label Drumony. On these records, he rejected any commercial aesthetic and employed tape effects, temporal shifts, reversed sound and overdubbing to investigate space-time and access the fourth dimension. Combining layered drums with the rhythmic throb of the drumgita and, on Drumland Dreamland, an improvised piano performance by Brazilian concert pianist Rafael Dos Santos, the albums are both hypnotic and perturbing.



Both albums were cut at Portland Studios by Chas Chandler and stand as a concealed monument of Black British experimental music. 500 copies of each record were originally pressed, and both were released together. The albums were never performed live.



For this first ever reissue of Drumland Drumland and Drumgita Solo, Strut presents the two albums in their original artwork, housed in a deluxe slipcase including an additional 8-page 12”-sized booklet featuring unseen photos, liner notes and an interview with Lori Vambe by The Wire magazine writer Francis Gooding. Both albums are fully remastered by The Carvery.

The Colombian band Frente Cumbiero from Bogota has been successfully mixing traditional cumbia rhythms with more contemporary music trends for a number of years, creating an unusual end product. At the Javeriana Universidad of Bogota, in 2010, there was a productive meeting between the four-piece band and some local musicians with Mad Professor. After three work-intensive days, the recordings were in the can.

Out on a limited sold out double Lp, and a sold out 7” inches box set, we're so honored to repress 2 songs from this masterpiece on a single 45 vinyl.


Made with Love and cut it loud for your ear pleasure.

Edition of 600 copies, coming in a black paper sleeve with sticker.

Pressed on high quality Black and Yellow vinyl wax (40 gr.).

Impii Hora ist das Debütalbum des dänischen Musikers Michael Schøn Poulsen (geboren am 1. April 1975). Er ist der Leadsänger, Rhythmusgitarrist und Hauptsongschreiber der Rockband Volbeat. Asinhell ist eine Band, kein Nebenprojekt. Vor Volbeat hieß Michaels Metalband Dominus, mit Morten Toft Hansen, ebenfalls aus Ringsted, am Schlagzeug. Michael war Dominus' Leadsänger, Booker, Manager und Buchhalter. Als Poulsen Songs für das Volbeat-Album 2021, Servant of the Mind, zusammenstellte, schrieb er eine Reihe von Death-Metal-Riffs. Als er mit dem Volbeat-Album fertig war, begann er, Songs für seine neue Death-Metal-Band Asinhell zu schreiben, deren Debütalbum Impii Hora (lateinisch für Ungodly Hour) eine Hommage an Poulsens Lieblingsgruppen der alten Schule ist. Die Songs basieren auf krachenden Riffs, sind jedoch mit starken Gitarrenhooks und Shout-Along-Refrains versehen. "Bands wie Death, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Dismember, Grave, Mercyful Fate, Possessed und andere Bands der alten Schule sind der Grund, warum wir das überhaupt machen können", sagt Poulsen. Obwohl er stolz darauf ist, seine Einflüsse auf seinen Ärmeln zu tragen, hat Asinhell seine eigene Identität entwickelt. "Bei Asinhell habe ich versucht, Songs ohne Regeln zu schreiben, aber weil ich so sehr daran gewöhnt war, mit Volbeat zu schreiben, konnte ich nicht wirklich verhindern, dass ich Bridges, Hooks oder eine bestimmte Art von Refrains schrieb", sagt er. "Ich denke, die Kombination aus Old-School-Death-Metal-Riffs mit ein wenig Struktur macht die Songs wirklich stark."

Impii Hora ist das Debütalbum des dänischen Musikers Michael Schøn Poulsen (geboren am 1. April 1975). Er ist der Leadsänger, Rhythmusgitarrist und Hauptsongschreiber der Rockband Volbeat. Asinhell ist eine Band, kein Nebenprojekt. Vor Volbeat hieß Michaels Metalband Dominus, mit Morten Toft Hansen, ebenfalls aus Ringsted, am Schlagzeug. Michael war Dominus' Leadsänger, Booker, Manager und Buchhalter. Als Poulsen Songs für das Volbeat-Album 2021, Servant of the Mind, zusammenstellte, schrieb er eine Reihe von Death-Metal-Riffs. Als er mit dem Volbeat-Album fertig war, begann er, Songs für seine neue Death-Metal-Band Asinhell zu schreiben, deren Debütalbum Impii Hora (lateinisch für Ungodly Hour) eine Hommage an Poulsens Lieblingsgruppen der alten Schule ist. Die Songs basieren auf krachenden Riffs, sind jedoch mit starken Gitarrenhooks und Shout-Along-Refrains versehen. "Bands wie Death, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Dismember, Grave, Mercyful Fate, Possessed und andere Bands der alten Schule sind der Grund, warum wir das überhaupt machen können", sagt Poulsen. Obwohl er stolz darauf ist, seine Einflüsse auf seinen Ärmeln zu tragen, hat Asinhell seine eigene Identität entwickelt. "Bei Asinhell habe ich versucht, Songs ohne Regeln zu schreiben, aber weil ich so sehr daran gewöhnt war, mit Volbeat zu schreiben, konnte ich nicht wirklich verhindern, dass ich Bridges, Hooks oder eine bestimmte Art von Refrains schrieb", sagt er. "Ich denke, die Kombination aus Old-School-Death-Metal-Riffs mit ein wenig Struktur macht die Songs wirklich stark."

Paolo Mosca makes intricate, multi-layered electronic music. Inspired by the early club sound pushed by the pioneers from his home region Veneto, he fuses house, trance and ambient - and moves forward. The Metaphysics EP displays the artist's passion and ingenuity, unfolding technical skill that makes clear his studio clock is set to 2023 and not 1993. On "Luciddreams" a statically charged beat and organ bass work up a groove. Accompanied by a misty pad and a slow, pensive arpeggiator, it pulses towards the break: there an acid line emerges, finds its spot in the mix, and refuels the track. "Energia" draws from a bolder, more euphoric range. Hand drums, a glittering lead and airy yet restrained chords float soaked in reverb and delay. A lean bass sequence tightly keeps the rhythm as flanged claps and subtly positioned sweeps create extra movement. The second side's opener, "Under the sea" features a formant filter lead meandering within the sweaty framework of heavily gated choir pads and a frugal bassline that eventually gets layered with an M1. Modulated vocals and strokes of additional melody ensure the stereo field again gets used to its full capacity. "Acqua" is a fitting coda. Some familiar patches are deployed over a tumbling beat that takes charge of the pace from the get-go. The palette might seem bright and blissful, but as always, the track's latticework contains enough contrast for a slight feeling of melancholy to keep simmering beneath. Mosca cited his meditation routine, how it helps him materialize ideas and thoughts, as a main drive upon finishing this record. The Metaphysics EP is a ruminative work. Comprised of four explorations in deftly manipulating energy with due attention to balance and momentum, it easily flows between genres, details darting in and out, showing the artist's understanding of composition and dance music history. It is a deep-dive selection of club-oriented cuts we are excited to release on Altered Circuits.

Alfred's visit to Viktor's hometown of Utrecht resulted in the creation of a new EP in which rhythm and color meet. The entire piece is infused with the 90s mood, including the timeless elements of that era projected through the distinctive approach of both artists. PJM is highly recommended for fans of 90s breakbeat and forward-thinking electronic music that combines nostalgia and innovation.

Once the door is opened, the listener is saluted by "Wuwuwu," a liquid breakbeat meditation with a touch of yesterday's melancholia. "Nnt," "No Tomorrow," and "Sss'' are of a different nature: mischievous and antsy. They utilize vinyl backspins and scratches, old-school drum loops and vocal exclamations in a slightly accelerated tempo, making them precarious dancefloor nukes that are sure to set the crowd ablaze.

David Eugene Edwards has always been larger than life. His music with innovative heavy droning folk band Wovenhand, and before that the haunting revivification of high lonesome sound antique Americana of 16 Horsepower breathed a near apocalyptic sense of urgency and power into musical archetypes long abandoned in the latter-20th Century. On his first-ever solo album under his own name, Hyacinth, David Eugene Edwards delivers a sound uniquely his own, with a vulnerability and introspection unheard from him before. Stripping back the heavy rock of his recent work with Wovenhand, Hyacinth puts the man's voice, and sparing instrumentation into the main focus. There's a somber beauty and world-weary tone throughout these songs. The album could've been considered a slight return to the more melodic sounds of 16 Horsepower's Secret South (2000) and the first, self-titled Wovenhand album (2002). But there's more going on here: a rhythmic, pulsating undercurrent reminiscent of the tape loops and rudimentary rhythms of 80s Industrial post-punk as well as 808 Drill Style beats. The overall effect is often as if we're hearing the clock ticking away our own mortality. "Hyacinth was a sort of vision," Edwards says. "A dream. I sought out of my old wooden banjo and nylon string guitar a hidden path. Secrets they had kept from me within themselves all these years and created a new Mythos to myself of philosophical and spiritual ideas or concepts." Once he'd harnessed the music within, he enlisted multi-instrumentalist and producer Ben Chisholm (The Armed, Chelsea Wolfe, Converge) to help him realize the album's recording and mix. "Overall, the album is a weaving of narratives ancient and modern, of humankind's search for understanding of this world we find ourselves in and of each other. In all its simplicity and complexity," Edwards continues. "Hyacinth is a reference to the Greek myth of Apollo. And, the word meaning a precious stone and blue larkspur flower of purple and pall."

Industrial Music Producer Geistform Releases New Album "Resonancia". Renowned industrial music producer Geistform has released a brand new album titled "Resonancia", featuring 11 mesmerizing tracks that explore the boundaries of industrial minimalism. The album is undoubtedly their best work to date and is reminiscent of legendary bands such as Pansonic, as well as other experimental industrial music pioneers, blending together elements of noise, electronica, and minimalism to create a sound that is uniquely Geistform. "Resonancia" is an exploration of sound and texture, and it takes listeners on a journey through haunting soundscapes and intricate rhythms that evoke feelings of both dread and fascination. Geistform's distinct style shines through in every track. From the opening track "Ciclos Por Segundo" to the haunting "Metaobjeto", Resonancia is a captivating listening experience. Geistform has been creating unique and innovative music for over the years, and "Resonancia" is a testimony to his artistic prowess. By exploring the possibilities of industrial music and raw minimalism, Geistform has created an album that challenges fearless listeners and it showcases Geistform's ability to push the boundaries of the genre while still remaining faithful to its roots.

a-Musik, the Cologne-based bastion of sonic exploration, unveils a new chapter in their quest for boundary-pushing sounds.

Timekeepers II, a split LP featuring recordings of two duos by Marcus Schmickler with Jaki Liebezeit and with Hayden Chisholm. Side A bears the imprint of Liebezeit's rhythmic flow fusing with Schmickler's digital Shepard Tone interpretation. A studio recording taken before a performance at Moers Festival in 2014. On side B, Schmickler's electronics converge with Chisholm's bagpipe drones. The piece was composed for their show at Art's Birthday at Berghain and a-Musik's 20th anniversary at Gebäude 9.

Tim Berresheim's artwork serves as a visual backdrop. Berresheim mostly works with computer rendered images, which have been created for a solo exhibition at JUBG in Cologne in 2022.

Classic Jazz Album from 1978.
Featuring an all-star line-up.
First ever vinyl reissue since 1986.
Released for the first time in the UK & North America.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip).

Curtis Fuller (December 15, 1932 – May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist best known for being a member of several legendary jazz outfits, his impressive catalog of solo albums and a contributor to many classic jazz recordings.

Fuller was born in Detroit and lost both his parents at a very young age. He spent several years in an orphanage run by Jesuits where he developed a passion for jazz after one of the nuns there took him to see his first live performance. Curtis attended public school in his hometown (together with Donald Byrd and Milt Jackson) where he took up the trombone at the age of sixteen.

Curtis Fuller was a well-respected member of iconic outfits such as Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Art Farmer’s Tentet, The Benny Golson Quintet and Eastern Rebellion. The list of his collaborations is impressive to say the least, Mr. Fuller recorded and performed with greats such as Quincy Jones, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Roland Kirk Rashaan, Miles Davis…and many others.

Fuller was granted an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music in 1999 and eight years later he was honored as a NEA Jazz Master. Curtis Fuller’s performances were included on classic recordings released by prominent labels from the likes of Blue Note, Savoy, Prestige, Strata-East, Muse, Verve and Impulse!

On the album we are presenting you today: Four On The Outside (Recorded in 1978 at the famous New York CI Recording Studio and released on Timeless Records the same year) the listener is treated to six majestic tracks of the highest caliber and features a remarkable outing of advanced musicianship by jazz-giants in their prime, delivering an inspirational gem of an album.

The all-star line-up includes Pepper Adams (Oliver Nelson, Lalo Schifrin, Herbie Hancock) on saxophone, Dennis Irwin (The Jazz Messengers, Chet Baker) on bass and James Williams (Calvin Keys, Thelonious Monk) on piano.

Four On The Outside shows off Fuller’s mastery of the Trombone and this delightful set features him in a front line with Pepper Adams delivering a unique trombone-baritone saxophone combination (few others have followed this intriguing coupling). Curtis Fuller plays from the heart and is on top of his game. Expect sharp and elegant original compositions, machine gun-like spurts, angular boppish lines and top rhythm section work that never gets in the way of the horns spreading their wings. All of the above makes this record a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector!

David Eugene Edwards has always been larger than life. His music with innovative heavy droning folk band Wovenhand, and before that the haunting revivification of high lonesome sound antique Americana of 16 Horsepower breathed a near apocalyptic sense of urgency and power into musical archetypes long abandoned in the latter-20th Century. On his first-ever solo album under his own name, Hyacinth, David Eugene Edwards delivers a sound uniquely his own, with a vulnerability and introspection unheard from him before. Stripping back the heavy rock of his recent work with Wovenhand, Hyacinth puts the man's voice, and sparing instrumentation into the main focus. There's a somber beauty and world-weary tone throughout these songs. The album could've been considered a slight return to the more melodic sounds of 16 Horsepower's Secret South (2000) and the first, self-titled Wovenhand album (2002). But there's more going on here: a rhythmic, pulsating undercurrent reminiscent of the tape loops and rudimentary rhythms of 80s Industrial post-punk as well as 808 Drill Style beats. The overall effect is often as if we're hearing the clock ticking away our own mortality. "Hyacinth was a sort of vision," Edwards says. "A dream. I sought out of my old wooden banjo and nylon string guitar a hidden path. Secrets they had kept from me within themselves all these years and created a new Mythos to myself of philosophical and spiritual ideas or concepts." Once he'd harnessed the music within, he enlisted multi-instrumentalist and producer Ben Chisholm (The Armed, Chelsea Wolfe, Converge) to help him realize the album's recording and mix. "Overall, the album is a weaving of narratives ancient and modern, of humankind's search for understanding of this world we find ourselves in and of each other. In all its simplicity and complexity," Edwards continues. "Hyacinth is a reference to the Greek myth of Apollo. And, the word meaning a precious stone and blue larkspur flower of purple and pall."

It’s always exciting to hear collaborations from two familiar faces — especially when the results are completely unexpected. “Sinking” and “Cue The Rhythm” from VNSSA & Lenny Kiser are two of those collabs. The two artists got together to exchange some ideas, and we’re thrilled with the outcome.

Both moody and comforting, VNSSA’s vocals on the title track adds a deep undertone to keep it floating, while the other’s breakbeat sensibility gives off an air of old-school rave vibes.

After the not-quite-reissue of 'Prince of Parrot Shooters/The Aqueducts of Cannel Island', wide-eyed mystic and tireless searcher of the netherworld Spencer Clark returns to the Discrepant fold with 'Barbados Wild Horses' under his Mo-nopoly Child Star Searchers moniker. Recorded while Clark was living in the Canary Island's by Tupperware and Lagoss' Dani Tupper, 'Barbados Wild Horses' brims with insular romanticism and escapist bliss, with sunkissed synth-lines interwoven around his trademark hand percussion bouncy rhythms reflecting the scenery of the islands as a lib-erating utopia.

With track titles taking an almost self explanatory stance, the album starts with the crepuscular vibes of 'Upper Roman-tico', a poetic meditation on the lovelorn potential of the fading sunlight, setting the tone for the rest of the tour. 'Lava Tube Solos on Horseback', the first of two tracks featuring Sun Araw's Cameron Stallones, sees the latter's guitar noo-dles riding the cascading rhythms and digital choir harmonies while in 'Neopreno Antiguo' he solos freely around an hypnotic synth line. Finishing off the escapade, 'Nightcharcos Punta Brava' drifts in ethereal starlit contemplation, with the percussion taking a more backseat approach, setting into a steady pulse for Clark's gliding synth tapestries. Nightswimming as transcendence. Another piece of the fascinating puzzle Clark's been assembling for over two dec-ades now, 'Barbados Wild Horses' glimmers with a laid back sensibility that's as unhinged as enveloping. Not an easy feat by any measure. Clark succeeds again.

Legendary 2010’s indie band Crocodiles’ guitarist Charles Rowell’s new synthpop-meets-gothic rock project. Think Nick Cave crooning over Martin Rev’s minimal electronics or The Lords of the New Church-era Stiv Bators jamming with Wayne Hussey and Douglas Pearce.

After relocating from New York to France, Charles Rowell began stuffing his suitcase with various synths and samplers while taking cheap bus rides to bordering countries.

While living out of a hotel in north east Paris, he played his demos for Third Coming Records who quickly released the Bad Trip EP in 2020. Concerts became more frequent after the pandemic, with the release of Spellwound and a few have become infamous with guitars smashed to pieces, broken glasses, unruly audience front flipping onto the stage.

With Paris providing the background and a scene of friends such as avant-garde drag artist Tuna Mess and industrial techno veteran Poison Point who pushed his creativity even further, Crush Of Souls constant spirit is that it remains unpredictable and thrives on collaboration.
This is even more true with his upcoming album (A)Void Love.

Written over a period of intense insomnia that coincided with a run of shows playing guitar for Australian legend Harry Howard, Crush Of Soul’s main man Charles Rowell finally found rest after writing and recording the last song entitled World of Fear. Six months prior he had quit his job as a chef, traveled east to Prague for inspiration and returned ragged and sleepless.
Rowell’s insistence on keeping the instrumentation simple and clean came from an arduous two years of literal blood, sweat and tears. Every bit of drama, eastern excursion and sleep psychosis can be found within the walls of (A)Void Love.

Acoustic guitars and dramatic synths provide a cold wilderness for the various rhythms to inhabit; touches of minimal electronics, cold wave and synth pop can be found while the song writing remains classic for lovers of Echo & the Bunnymen and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

There’s always been a thread of synth-punk, death rock and DIY noise running through all of Charles’ projects (Crocodiles, ISSUE, Flowers of Evil), however Crush Of Souls pushes harder and further into the darkness with the new album ‘(A)Void Love’.

UNOS, a Belgian artist with roots in the Philippines, has long been a part of the Darker Than Wax family, repping the label in Europe and beyond for a number of years through her parties and DJ sets. As she begins to put her unique productions out into the world, we are pleased to give her first release a home on the label.

Borrowing its title from the exuberant Filipino dining tradition - a communal, bare-handed feast among friends and families - UNOS' debut EP Boodle Fight highlights her sincere love for communities forged through club culture. The release was conceptualised during her first Asia tour through Singapore, Bangkok, and Manila in 2019, where the artist became acutely aware of the crucial role that community plays in sustaining a culture. Shortly after these foundational travels, the pandemic threatened the lifeblood of this

culture, prompting her to draw on her feelings from the tour to maintain hope. With the release of the EP, UNOS revels in the return of togetherness to club culture after the pandemic - just like a musical boodle fight.

Boodle Fight ties together this celebration of community with a number of other influences and experiences in the artist’s life. First single ‘Angermanagement’ is a ballroom-inspired roller, focusing on contemporary voguing culture’s ability to translate anger into queer empowerment. ‘Powerslide’ is a piano-driven house cut that attempts to capture the energy of a legendary Darker Than Wax block party in Singapore in 2019, while the frenetic pace of ‘Headlock’ evokes imagery of a crowded club scene that the artist sorely missed in 2020. True to the spirit of a Boodle Fight, the bright chords and bouncy rhythms on ‘Flavourtown’ imagine the best aspects of an inclusive space where diversity is celebrated like a buffet. Closing out the record, ‘Loveletter to Summer’ reflects on the tropical warmth of her roots in the Philippines. Boodle Fight manages to pack in quite a few themes and inspirations, while still maintaining a polished consistency from front to back, and announces UNOS as a producer to watch.

The only album to soundtrack both late-'70s Minneapolis lounges and a Travis Scott x Dior fashion show. Recorded in a host of living rooms with only a Fender Rhodes piano, a Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, and Senrick's wide-eyed, 20-year-old voice, the 1977 LP disappeared into the wild and joined the Wendigo in Minnesota lore. A provocative mix of marina soul, easy listening, and loner folk, Dreamin' is a sanguine sliver of the American private mind garden. Harsh winters coupled with a relative lack of interest amongst siblings allowed Chuck Senrick years of unfettered access to the family piano in their Farmington, Minnesota, home. Learning both by ear and by instruction, Senrick began gigging professionally at age 15, joining John Zimmer and the CR4 for a weekly rundown of Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, and Cream covers at the Sea Girt Inn in Lake Orchard. Tapping into James Taylor's pop-chart achievements in songwriting and enunciation, Senrick composed the bulk of the songs featured on Dreamin' before graduating from Farmington High School. At 20, Senrick migrated 30 miles north to the Twin Cities to pursue music full-time. Using borrowed equipment and borrowed living rooms, a string of informal recording sessions generated the quarter-inch tape for Dreamin'. "I didn't know how to do it," Senrick says about producing an album. "I just knew it could be done." Constructed with vocals, Fender Rhodes, and an assortment of rhythm presets on his Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, a mere 200 copies of the private-press masterpiece were stamped and sleeved and sold hand-to-hand at performances. Chuck's wife Lesli illustrated the album cover_a pen-to-paper portrait of her husband against the backdrop of the Minneapolis Skyline, she and their newborn son situated on a nearby knoll. Any plans for a re-press were quashed when producer Bruce W. Hansen lost the reels during a messy divorce. "I was a kid with big ideas and not much hope to do anything but play," Senrick said of the Dreamin' era. "It still amazes me that people are interested in it."

Limited BioVinyl 2023 repress, which provides an ecological alternative to the conventional vinyl record with strictly no sound or visual compromises.
“We all dance away our lives to the tune of the sovereign pleasure-pain axis.” – David Pearce, The Hedonistic Imperative

Pleasure-seeking and pain-avoidance as a rave metaphor fits the music of Sam Barker. The Berghain resident and Leisure System co-founder has spent the last few years exploring the euphoric potential of altering key variables in dance music formulas.

This was especially true on his 2018 Ostgut Ton debut EP Debiasing, which was flush with unconventional rhythmic chord stabs, melody and percussion but devoid of kickdrums. What seemed like an experimental exercise on paper was in reality equally geared towards the club: tracks that worked for the floor but resisted the genre categorizations that kick drums often provide. This has come to define Barker’s sound.

Now, on his debut solo LP Utility, Barker turns his focus toward melding experimentation and dancefloor pragmatism with the psychology behind the musical decision making process. In his own words: “After ‘Debiasing’ it occurred to me that my musical decisions were often unintentionally utilitarian, following an instinct to maximize pleasure in one way or another. It’s sort of unfashionable to admit, but by removing elements that have strong genre associations, this became a natural consequence.”

Accordingly, Utility is a playful but non-ironic musical approach to a whole spectrum of utilitarian and transhumanist ideas: from models for quantifying pleasure and “gradients of bliss” to abolishing suffering for sentient beings (not just people) through the ethical use of drugs and nanotechnology. Over nine tracks, Barker’s vision ebbs and flows through waves of deeply psychedelic musical vignettes; free-floating and futuristic melodies and rhythms as targeted brain stimulation. The sound draws heavily on modular synthesis, as well as self-built mechanical instruments and plate reverbs to create atmospheres that are at once alien and emotionally recognizable, functional and utopian.

Utility is by no means a concept album. Instead, it is an honest take on music as both pleasuremaximizer and consciousness-expander.

“We all dance away our lives to the tune of the sovereign pleasure-pain axis.” – David Pearce, The Hedonistic Imperative

Vergnügungssucht und Schmerzvermeidung als Rave-Metapher – das passt zur Musik von Sam Barker. Der Berghain-Resident und Leisure System-Mitbetreiber hat im Laufe der Jahre das euphorische Potenzial der Veränderung von Variablen in der Dancefloorschablonisierung erkundet.

Das traf besonders auf sein Ostgut Ton-EP-Debüt Debiasing zu, das nur so sprudelte vor unkonventionellen rhythmischen Akkordfolgen, Melodien und Percussion – die Kickdrum aber wegließ. Was auf dem Papier wie eine experimentelle Übung wirkte, war tatsächlich gleichermaßen für den Klub gemacht: Stücke, die auf dem Dancefloor funktionieren, sich dem oft vorgegebenen Kickdrumdiktat und damit einhergehender Genrekategorisierung aber verweigerten. So hat sich Barkers Klang definiert.

Auf seinem Solodebütalbum Utility widmet Barker seine Aufmerksamkeit nun aber der Verschmelzung von Experiment und Dancefloorpragmatismus mit der Psychologie hinter dem musikalischen Entscheidungsfindungsprozess. In seinen eigenen Worten: „Nach Debiasing kam mir in den Sinn, dass meine musikalischen Entscheidungen oft unbeabsichtigt utilitaristisch sind, einem Instinkt folgen, Glück auf die eine oder andere Art zu maximalisieren. Das einzugestehen ist recht unmodisch. Aber durch die Auslassung von Elementen mit starken Genreassoziationen, wurde dies eine recht natürliche Konsequenz.“

Dementsprechend ist Utility eine spielerisch-neckische aber unironische musikalische Betrachtungsweise eines ganzen Spektrums utilitaristisch und transhumanistischer Konzepte: Von Modellen zur Quantifizierung von Wohlergehen und Verläufen von Glückseligkeit („Gradients of Bliss“) zur Abschaffung von Leid für fühlende Wesen (meint: nicht nur den Mensch) über die ethische Nutzung von Drogen und Nanotechnologie. Im Laufe von neun Stücken ebbt und schwillt Barkers Vision durch Wogen zutiefst psychedelischer Musikvignetten; freifließende und futuristische Melodien und Rhythmen als gezielte Hirnstimulation. Der Klang gründet stark auf modularer Synthese, ebenso wie selbstgebaute mechnische Klangerzeuger, Instrumente und Plate Reverbs Atmosphären schaffen, die gleichermaßen fremdartig als auch emotional vertraut wirken, funktional und utopisch.

Utility ist keinesfalls ein Konzeptalbum. Vielmehr ist es eine aufrechte Auseinandersetzung mit Musik als Freudenmaximierung und Bewusstseinserweiterung.

Adam Beyer continues his prolific year in the studio with ‘Robotic Arms’, his third release of 2023.

The boss continues to set the standard. Following ‘Legend’, one of the year’s standout techno tracks, we were treated to a supreme collaboration with Green Velvet ‘Simulator’.

Now as 2023 hits the halfway mark, he returns with a pair of aces. The title track is both expansive and immersive, as pin-sharp drums and a powerful chord melody rub shoulders with a vocal that references AI entering the creative space and the intriguing unknown consequences that will result. “I’m fascinated by this and curious to see how it develops, as it’s both a threat for artists, while also being an opportunity to utilise this technology when making art,” Beyer shares.

‘No Hate’ is the perfect sonic contrast, a raw and dirty roller propelled by rhythmic percussion and a strident vocal line. A stomping ‘Trippy Mix’ of ‘No Hate’ rounds out the release.

A month after the release of his debut album as Tambores En Benirras, 2021’s fabulous Orbe Dotodo, Graham Newby’s life changed forever. After years living with a visual impairment, his sight had deteriorated so much that he was declared “registered blind”. For a man who had spent decades dividing his time between travelling, DJing, running clubs and lengthy sessions in his own studio, it was a genuinely life-changing moment.

It was against this backdrop, and the need to alter his working methods, that Ondas Horizontales, the second Tambores En Benirras album took shape. Inspired by a mixture of daydreaming, visualisation, immersion in other people’s music (escapism that provided mood enhancement, rather than a specific set of ideas) and long periods spent soaking up the sun in Ibiza, the album is the most vividly detailed, sonically colourful, and sun-soaked collection that Newby has released to date.

Newby’s declining sight forced him to stop spending long spells staring at a screen and undoubtedly slowed down the production process. Yet it also allowed him to reconnect with his emotions, appreciate the storytelling and mood-shifting potential of music, and mine mind’s eye memories of places and spaces that have meant much to him over the years.

The results are undeniably stunning. Designed with horizontal listening in mind, the set distils a range of musical and real-life inspirations –or, as he puts it, “ambient soundtracks, cosmic journeys, Balearic rhythms and poolside sessions” – into ten mesmerising and magical tracks; an undulating, slow-motion journey that’s as breath-taking as it is beguiling.

Newby sets the tone with ‘Mi Sueno Vibe En Reverb’, a swelling, slow-burn ambient masterpiece that tiptoes between hope and melancholia, before flitting between imaginary sunset soundtracks (‘Estrellas En Mastella’, where lilting pedal steel sounds, bubbling electronics and shuffling breakbeats catch the ear), kaleidoscopic sun-up beats (the gorgeous warmth of ‘Generadora De Reyos’), enveloping beatless soundscapes (‘Templos Del Sol’, a drowsy drift in becalmed waters under the heat of the mid-afternoon sun), and dubby, loved-up lusciousness (‘Mokono’).

As the album progresses, bobbing and weaving on an ocean of vibrant chords, pulsing melodies and heart-stopping melodies, there’s no sign of Newby’s inspiration waving. ‘Alma Hablando’ channels the spirit of mid-80s ‘worldbeat’ and douses it in layers of Balearic bliss, while ‘Extrensor Entragado’ recalls the head-nodding haziness of his best Gripper productions of old while combining them with the musical equivalent of a humid summer breeze. Then there’s the mood-enhancing joy of the album’s superb title track –a mission statement of sorts – and the life-affirming post trip-hop/Balearic fusion of ‘Un Placer Celestial (Reprise)’, where the influence of his old friend Aim is clearly evident.

A serious sonic step-up from its predecessor and a future Balearic classic in its’ own right, Ondas Horizontales marks the start of a new musical and personal journey for its creator. It is, in his words, not the end of an era, but the start of a new one.

It was almost inevitable that growing up with a love for trance would eventually result in Trance Wax releasing his own interpretations of the sound. Following on from the release of his eponymous album in 2020, Trance Wax now shifts into a fresh artistic chapter with his sophomore album, ‘Open Up The Night’.

A sixteen-track journey through nostalgia-infused modern trance, ‘Open Up The Night’ symbolizes Trance Wax’s evolution from his early days of adapting trance classics for the modern dance floor. Now homing in on his own interpretation of the genre with an increase in tempo, the Belfast-born DJ and producer created an expansive sonic palette through original productions (‘Adeya’, ‘Aslan’) as well as sample-powered productions (‘Open Up The Night’, ‘Rhythm Of The Night’) that show he means business in this increasingly popular genre.

“Listeners can expect a switch-up in BPM compared with the last album,” says Garry McCartney (Trance Wax). “It’s a reflection of what I love listening to, be it trance or other genres. There’s some drum and bass influences woven in as well as a bit of breakbeat, which adds a new dimension to the whole thing. It’s the product of a good few years of experimentation that resulted in something really fast and exciting.”

Ted Milton and Graham Lewis return as Elegiac with their second release – a four track EP inch titled “Meet My Stalker”. The pair of idiosyncratic sonic stylists, bullish outsiders with a Dadaist's ear for unexpected rhythms and ear-catching turns of phrase return showcasing a new track – the title of the EP - along with three bass heavy dubbed out no wave versions of tracks from their self titled debut LP.

Ted Milton is a prolific poet, with several volumes under his belt, as well as an avant-garde puppeteer. Yet he's probably best known as vocalist/saxophonist with psycho-funk afro punk fake no-wave pogo jazz trio Blurt. Milton's group has produced an impressive string of albums, not to mention his numerous solo recordings.

Meanwhile, Edvard Graham Lewis has a history of strong solo releases, both under his own name and as He Said. And of course, as bassist, lyricist and sometime vocalist with post punk innovators Wire, he's been responsible for numerous landmark releases, from 1977's Pink Flag, to 2003's Send, to 2020's Mind Hive.

Arranged, like the album, by electronic composer and sound artist Sam Britton whose sure touch pieces all the elements together. Kicking off with a stripped down driving shortened version of “He Folds” with its eerie honking sax and kraut like pulsating bass the perfect complement to Milton’s chorus echoing throughout. “Boat” is another album track beefed up with Milton’s chants backed by layered percussive blasts and squawking sax. “Meet My Stalker” makes its first appearance here with its infectious snarling looped bassline and Milton’s refrain “It’s a wind up”. Closing out with another album highlight an elongated version of “Vancouver Slim” all synth bleeps and ricocheting grumbling sax and hypnotic vocals. Punchy, idiosyncratic, packed with melody and groove, this second release is the fascinating sound of an evolving Elegiac.

Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. Tragically passing away in March 2023 at the too young age of 71, it still feels as if Bobby's true artistry is profoundly under-appreciated. His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Yes, it's perfect, yet it's been out of press on vinyl for years. We're deeply honoured to present the long-awaited reissue this summer.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.

String-swept opener "Special To Me" immediately sets the tone with its lush instrumentation, rich harmonies, and Caldwell's velvety-smooth vocals. Next up, a huge one. The infectious, mid-tempo bounce of "My Flame" showcases Caldwell's ability to effortlessly blend catchy pop hooks with soulful arrangements. It's an exquisite, emotive ballad that, at the same time, absolutely SLAPS. Game recognise game, and all that, so, accordingly, Notorious B.I.G. memorably ran with “My Flame” for his 1997 single “Sky’s The Limit”. The rolling, disco-very "Love Won't Wait" is a slick, uptempo track containing heartfelt lyrics intertwined with elegant strings and a horn section to die for. Aching - and achingly cool - single "Can't Say Goodbye" is a real fan favourite, and it's no surprise. It's a laconic, slow-mo jazz-funk stepper, with fantastic, very deliberate playing that closes out the A Side quite exceptionally. "Come To Me" slows proceedings down elegantly to open Side B before the universally agreed-upon masterpiece enters proceedings.

"What You Won't Do for Love," the standout hit that became a classic in its own right, perfectly captured Bobby's ability to infuse a contagious groove with introspective and relatable lyrics. With its instantly recognisable horn riff and Caldwell's soulful delivery, this timeless, chiller anthem continues to captivate audiences and define his musical legacy. He scored huge with the track, taking over the pop and R&B airways with this mellow soul stepper. It has remained a perennial favourite and has been heavily sampled, such is its unique allure; Aaliyah sang over snatches of it on "Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number" and you can hear Caldwell’s vocal sample used for the hook on Tupac’s posthumously released “Do For Love”.

Upon submitting the finished album to his label, they requested more material in hope of a big single. As Bobby remembered to Wax Poetics a few years ago: “Now at this point, I’m mentally exhausted...and bear in mind that I got so close to all the songs I’d written. I gave each song a profound amount of thought, and maybe too much. So, in haste, I went in and cut this song, "What You Won’t Do For Love". Wrote it in a day, cut the rhythm track, overdubbed the horns, I sang the song, and literally turned it in three days after. And lo and behold, the one song I gave the least thought to,” Bobby laughed, “ended up being a national anthem.”

The mysterious, magical "Kalimba Song" is a cosmic, kalimba-driven melodic-funk instrumental - short but oh, so sweet. It's followed by the supreme tear-jerker "Take Me Back To Then", Bobby's otherworldly voice deeply longing for a simpler time, "when life was mellow". I think we can all get behind this sentiment. The final cut is arguably its deepest, its low-key finest moment. For us, it is, anyway. The glorious, driving, effortlessly funky guitar-soul jam "Down For The Third Time" is a huge melancholic Be With favourite and has been played by discerning genre-hopping DJs with significant glee for years. Hypnotic, melodic, beautiful. Like the album it elegantly rounds out.

Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of his wonderful eponymous album will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.

Bobby Caldwell's second album, Cat In The Hat, from 1980, is one of his greatest moments and another masterwork of soulful sophistication. Featuring the eternal "Open Your Eyes", brilliantly sampled by J Dilla for Common's "The Light", it's about as essential as records get. Like its eponymous predecessor, it's been out of print for far too long. To finally release the hugely-anticipated reissue is one of our sincerely proudest moments.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.

Right from the off, it's easy to tell that Cat In The Hat is a deeply special record. It's fantastically produced and incredibly well-rounded, carving its own lane with deep soul, warm jazz and a stunning vocal delivery that really helped Bobby reach out to some big new audiences at the time. Goosebumps at the ready for the rolling power-piano funk of "Coming Down From Love", opening up the album with a track as good as anything Steely Dan or The Doobies ever crafted, with a vocal performance from the heavens. Pumping AOR wonder "Wrong Or Right" is up there with the slick, classy rhythms of prime Ned Doheny whilst the cool, skipping soul of guitar-drenched "To Know What You've Got" is a funky ballad par excellence, with elemental traces of "What A Fool Believes". No bad thing. Closing out Side A, the folk-funk of "You Promised Me" is a bright, soulful strut with a wonderful vocal coda that just builds. Sensational.

The delicate bounce and falsetto self-harmonising of "It's Over" offers a truly delightful introduction to Side B, and serves as a great precursor to what follows. Bobby's dynamite "Open Your Eyes" is likely the reason you're all here. As if he needed it, the eternal J Dilla further immortalised Caldwell in the hip-hop canon with his production of Common’s epochal “The Light,” which heavily samples the magical “Open Your Eyes.” On a post paying tribute to Bobby in March 2023, Questlove claimed that he "got word Brother Bobby loved it". Bobby's original has seen new life even more recently from the likes of Dwele and Kendrick Lamar and deservingly so, as its insistent drums and staccato piano created a modern-soul classic. You'd think that would be hard to follow, wouldn't you? Not so, when you're Bobby Caldwell. Indeed, the horn-drenched stepper "Mother Of Creation" is absolutely ace, and, whisper it, possibly the album's finest track, all funky piano and guitars with horn lines to die for. Exquisite ballad "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" rounds out the album beautifully.

Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of Cat In The Hat will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.

Donald Harris, James Boone, Maurice Puckett, Robert Dycus, James Brantley, Maride Williams, Dennis McNeil, The Rhythm Machine formed in Indianapolis by former members of the Highlighters. In the early days they were primarily a live act, playing locally and touring frequently. They opened for Earth, Wind and Fire and The Emotions, among others.

They released three 45’s and a full length LP during their time. Two 45’s “The Kick” and “Brenda and Me/Put A Smile On Time” were on Lulu, while “Freakish Love/Whatcha Gonna Do” was on Rodan. Their LP, released in 1976 towards the end of their run, was on Lulu. With the Indianapolis soul scene marked almost exclusively by 45’s, this LP release was one of few released locally in the 1970’s, and it is quite scarce and in demand today.

Departing from the Steve Miller Band after a two-album stint, Boz Scaggs set up shop in Muscle Shoals, recording his debut album with that legendary set of studio musicians known for their down-and-dirty backing work for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, among many other Southern soul legends. The Muscle Shoals rhythm section and guitarist Duane Allman give this music genuine grit. From the Jimmie Rodgers cover "Waiting for a Train" and the folky "Look What I Got!", to the extended 11-minute blues workout "Loan Me A Dime", this album is a thoroughly showcase for Boz Scaggs' musical vision and an enduring blue-eyed soul masterpiece.

Stark, cavernous and politically critical dub-poetry lands next on FELT in a vital sign-of-the-times fashion. Where much new music in our scene seems to act as a conduit for escapism, usually via melodic mind-balm or, if vocal at all, lyrical surrealism and ambiguity, the collaborative works of ELDON & Withdrawn take the left turn. The sound design perfectly fits into the FELT jigsaw puzzle: cold, slightly glitch-inspired, echo/reverb minimalism etc, but things are kicked up a stratosphere with the half dancehall-toasting, half scathing analysis of modern Britain coming straight from the mouth of ELDON.

Processed, enveloping kalimba notes shatter off into the distance in the opening moments of 'reGenaRation' before we're plunged into the depths. Bleeding into the title track, the A-side is all claustrophobic commentary on trickle down economics, overdrafts, killer shark metaphors and empire. Adam & Eve? Rewind and there's Shango, god of thunder and lightning. 5 rewinds later - still going. The B-side continues with equal strength, amazing wordplay and broken, industrial rhythms for a broken United Kingdom.

IYA SHILLELAGH is ELDON & Withdrawn

Recorded at Zig Zag Zig Studios

A2 co-produced by How-du

B1 co-produced by Shifting Borders

Mastered by GENG PTP

Design by Fergus Jones

In the heart of the cosmos, a tale unfolds. It begins with "My Space," where ethereal synths weave a cosmic tapestry, guiding you through distant galaxies. As you journey further, "Satan" emerges, beckoning you to dance with the darkness itself, under the canopy of sadistic beats.

Venturing deeper into the EP, "Get Stupid" takes you to an enigmatic dimension, where gravity-defying rhythms entice you to embrace your wildest instincts. In "Yallah," the atmosphere shifts, transporting you to a mystical oasis where sonic mirages shimmer in the desert of sound.

And just when you thought the adventure reached its pinnacle, "Can't Get Enough" mesmerizes with its infectious grooves, leaving you irresistibly addicted to the sonic enchantment.

Turns out Coco Bryce is more than just a hot piece of man meat. On "My Space" this enigmatic master of sound once again harnesses the forces of the universe to craft five enthralling compositions. His boundless creativity and passion for exploration shine through in every beat, taking you on a euphonic jungle expedition like no other.

ChatGPT rated this release 5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor

Multi-instrumentalist Sally Anne Morgan, known for her work as part of The Black Twig Pickers, and half of House and Land (with Sarah Louise), cultivates seeds sown by folk musics and psychedelia. Carrying tills the rich soil of Appalachian traditions and her rural North Carolina surroundings into warm, reflective songs about the weight people carry with them, as well as Morgan"s own pregnancy and the birth of her first child. Bridging the more freeform, expansive leanings of 2021"s Cups and the lucid beauty of her acclaimed 2020 debut Thread, Carrying finds Morgan imbuing her masterfully crafted songs with more subtle and intricate arrangements. The album"s exploratory nature is anchored by a full band comprised of some of the most thoughtful players in the psychedelic folk and "cosmic country" spheres, including a guest appearance by Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo), and the foundational rhythm section of fellow The Black Twig Pickers collaborators: drummer Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn Band, Pelt), guitarist Andrew Zinn, and bassist/engineer Joe Dejarnette. Morgan finds unity in the burdens and joys, tensions, and releases of modern living as a common thread that people bear in their day-to-day lives. "So much of what we accumulate and carry around with us burdens us, but we also can"t or don"t know how to let go," says Morgan. The profoundness and mundanity of that weight ran parallel for Morgan as she literally carried her child to term: the utter commonality of enduring what billions of parents before her had, and the awesome power of the human body and spirit, the complicated and unpredictable wash of emotions that come with nurturing and nourishing another life.

After already having taken forward-thinking extreme music to unprecedented heights over the course of their short but propulsive career, Richmond's INTER ARMA are back with another opus of epic proportions. Like the band's previous works, the new album Paradise Gallows is direct and foreboding while maintaining a nuanced, artful perspective. INTER ARMA's signature palette of dissonant high-end and abyssal low-end has been augmented with swathes of thick, impressionistic melody that lend Paradise Gallows a truly biblical sense of scale, both lyrically and in terms of the album's sonic content. Harsh and acoustic passages (including the band's first-ever foray into clean vocals) spar with complex rhythmic structures across nine sweeping tracks over 71 minutes of expansive, progressive heaviness. Dense, funereal, and richly evocative, Paradise Gallows is a vibrant blend of doom, post-metal, sludge, avant-garde, black and death metal, and is a singular and powerful new addition to the band's already monumental discography. Includes Digital Download

Blues rock, prog rock, proto metal, fusion - it's all masterfully represented, as brash as it is beautiful. Heaps of fuzzed vocals, waves of keyboards, boogie rhythms and sick, spiraling leads merge with focus, energy and drive to send Sacri Monti soaring to a next level, riff-filled land. Proggy space rock jams erupt as melodies segue in and out, while vocals drift over the top, seemingly lost in the instrumental sea.