quête:rhythm is rhythm

Desde los oídos de un sapo

We are very excited to announce a new chapter in our journey. Here we are blazing a new trail, making our way to document and leave a first-class record of sound design, Field Recording and cutting-edge electronic music made in South America. We present our first album, 'Desde los oídos de un sapo', by our favourite amphibian, a man ahead of his time, the Uruguayan Lechuga Zafiro.

"How could I call it my sound if I had not found it myself?"___

States the artist, who finished forging his outstanding musical identity based on field recordings. Metal, wood, plastic, glass, rock, toads, birds, sea lions, pigs and water (in its various forms) captured in Uruguay, El Salvador, Chile, China, Argentina and Portugal, coexist and exchange harmonic and dynamic properties. By altering, editing, or simply letting the sounds manifest themselves, Lechuga generates a wide and complex rhythmic-timbral universe. These are 7 tracks that never cease to have consistency and a fierce character.

Lechuga's debut album is a milestone in Latin electronic music. This document opens a new territory, one so genuine and challenging, so real and fertile, that we are confident it will be a must-have anywhere on the planet. This collaboration is our new contribution to the mission of contemplation, so please stop, come to this frog's ear, to feel with both Pablo and us.

Von mitreißenden Partyhymnen bis hin zu tiefgründigen Balladen und energiegeladen Punkrock-Tracks - 'Coming Home" ist ein Album, das Geschichten erzählt - von Heimat, von Zusammenhalt und von der Freiheit, seinen eigenen Weg zu gehen. Es ist eine Einladung und ein Versprechen: Kommt mit den Paddyhats auf eine Reise und ihr spürt den Rhythmus des Irish Folk Punk in jeder grünen Ader!"

Von mitreißenden Partyhymnen bis hin zu tiefgründigen Balladen und energiegeladen Punkrock-Tracks - 'Coming Home" ist ein Album, das Geschichten erzählt - von Heimat, von Zusammenhalt und von der Freiheit, seinen eigenen Weg zu gehen. Es ist eine Einladung und ein Versprechen: Kommt mit den Paddyhats auf eine Reise und ihr spürt den Rhythmus des Irish Folk Punk in jeder grünen Ader!"

Von mitreißenden Partyhymnen bis hin zu tiefgründigen Balladen und energiegeladen Punkrock-Tracks - 'Coming Home" ist ein Album, das Geschichten erzählt - von Heimat, von Zusammenhalt und von der Freiheit, seinen eigenen Weg zu gehen. Es ist eine Einladung und ein Versprechen: Kommt mit den Paddyhats auf eine Reise und ihr spürt den Rhythmus des Irish Folk Punk in jeder grünen Ader!"

2025 Repress

Tazz is back on wax after a short break with three high quality grooves produced over the last few years. The local DJ/Producer and dear friend of the shop took some time out to start a family after a serious stretch of releases on labels Underground Quality, Tsuba, New Kanada and his own Infected Rhythms.

We are overjoyed to present ‘Razmattaz’, a serious 12” for your crate & the return to form of a top notch music maker :-)

T1000 kicks it off, taking up the whole A side for an 11-minute ride that could just keep on thumping. Deep & dubby Techno to lock the movers and shakers in an extended moment of gentle intensity.

TWA, short for Techno With Attitude, has Tazz going at you with an anthem for bringing down the walls! May we recommend it for high volume play, working the kick bins and getting the tweeters singing.

Underground 5 is the House jam to tip the scales. A collaboration with long time friend Bacanito. You can feel the chemistry was right on the day they laid it down. Play it out, and let us know how it goes?

Mixed by Christian Pronovost (B1) & Marcelo Cruz (A, B2).

Mastered by Miguel Graça.

Laserdance Album „Fire On Earth“ endlich wieder als LP erhältlich. Laserdance, eine der bekanntesten und einflussreichsten Bands im Bereich des Spacesynth, die maßgeblich zur Entstehung des Genres beitrug, hat mit diesem Werk die Dance- und Synthwave-Szene der 90er Jahre geprägt – und auch heute noch ist ihre Musik eine feste Größe im elektronischen Musikuniversum. Nun ist das Kultalbum „Fire On Earth“ endlich wieder als LP erhältlich. Es enthält eine perfekte Mischung aus futuristischen Klängen, treibenden Rhythmen und atmosphärischen Melodien, die den einzigartigen LaserdanceSound ausmachen.

First vinyl reissue since its original release in 1980! Track A2 - Cloudy is featured in WAMONO A to Z Vol. I - Japanese Jazz Funk & Rare Groove 1968-1980 (Selected by DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite & Chintam) compilation. A rich groove crafted by a rhythm section featuring Harvey Mason on drums and eight trombones. This Jazz Funk/Fusion album is a mix of original compositions by Chikara Ueda and covers of Boz Scaggs' tracks.

Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron and Wine’s fourth full-length record, was originally released in 2011 and came three years after his biggest selling record up to that point, The Shepherd’s Dog. The bands two earlier albums had been sparse, intimate solo affairs that offered no hint of the direction he would take with records three and four. Like The Shepherd’s Dog, Kiss Each Other Clean is layered with textures, poly-rhythmic sounds and a more is more approach.

The album's 10 tracks were recorded in Chicago and Beam's hometown of Austin and produced by Brian Deck and sounds like the music people heard in their parent's car growing up. clarinet and saxophone on the album comes courtesy of Dave Sitek collaborator Stuart Bogie. Beam has also experimented with other genres on the record as well as classic AOR. There are straight-up jazz, blues, and african elements.

Dark Industrial Techno/doomcore.
Stickered Black sleeve.

This is a very Fifth Era feeling, with a lod of creative rhythm for an ultimate battlefield of Goddodin.

Splendid Dark nerves.

Following his recent EP, The Circle of Life, on Pushmaster Discs, Milan's rising techno star Maike Depas returns with a brand-new release on his renowned The Innovation Studio Records. Titled “Sexy Devil Horse”, it is a powerful 10-track collection, featuring many iconic international artists from the Hard Techno space such as Etruria Beat’s headmaster Luca Agnelli, Dutch-based sensation OGUZ and the “Demon of hard techno” also known as Michael Katana, as well as Southern Italian talents CHRS and Gianni Di Bernardo.
This release marks a pivotal moment in Maike Depas’ journey to become one of the highest rated talents in the Hard Techno scene. It will also be followed by a key paradigm shift his label’s business model in 2025. For this occasion, Maike has lined up an amazing group of artists to celebrate those who have shared his musical vision along the way.

The title is meant to be provocative and captivating, just like its content: catchy and fresh enough to attract ravers and clubbers from around the world. Its artwork was created by the master Luden Works. It features a plastic female figure with an undefined appearance, yet with sensual curves and a powerful surge of energy, like a wave enclosed in a sphere, representing Maike’s and The Innovation Studio Records’ logos.
From the galloping rhythm of “Sexy Devil Horse” and “Hear The Sound” to the groovy and elegant “Ce Soir” there is an immediate feel about the artist’s singular touch and eclecticism. Same goes for the tangible contrasts which make a key element of this release, where the minimalistic mood of “StarKiller” and its maximalist counterpart “Dark Serenade” carry the listener through a full-spectrum emotional rollercoaster.
Hard Techno and Psy Trance vibes go hand in hand with ‘90s Trance and Rave echoes, creating a blend of recognisable and innovative samples that can resonate with many different types of audience and like-minded artists. This aspect is fundamental in the direction Maike and his team have decided to take.

It all comes from afar: starting with a classical musical background – playing the piano at Conservatory level for many years, including Berlin’s own Funkhaus. This theoretical and practical knowledge, mixed with a long-time passion for electronic music, made it easier for Maike to shape and cultivate his authentic sound since a very young age.

As part of its evolution, The Innovation Studio Records will officially open its doors to new talent and renowned artists starting in 2025. The team’s vision is to create an international reference point for quality and innovation, shaping a brand-new artistic movement based on combining the modern vision of our generation with our cultural heritage from the past, thanks to the team that we put together, both in terms of approach and technique.
It'll be a structure built from the ground up, combining the best of analogue technology in a modern workflow with the highest level of music hardware, audio monitoring and studio design. In their view, there are two types of productions: those that stay ‘inside the box’ and those that get into your heart.

The desire to unite instead of dividing, to join forces instead of competing, is the key to Maike’s success and a real drive to turn the studio lights on every single day. Despite playing a lot with dystopic, cyberpunk-like atmospheres throughout his artistic journey, music doesn’t feel like a means to escape reality for Maike. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

The definition Maike uses the most to describe what The Innovation Studio Records wants to become is “a mysterious display cabinet”: a place where an artists will never know what emotion will arise or what direction will be taken next. Although hard work, professionalism and common inspiration will ultimately still be its main fuel, a true sense of community and empathy will be crucial to shape the future Maike and his team have in mind for it.
In a very romantic way, the idea is to re-create the same atmosphere from the Italian Renaissance masters’ workshops. Places where different artists - with opposite backgrounds and styles - could all mingle and inspire each other, in order to foster the creation of something unique. A collective effort for a greater good.

About MAIKE DEPAS
Young hard techno DJ-producer Maike Depas (born Michelangelo De Pasquale) has seen the future of music and it’s called metaverse: “In the future it will blow up,” he predicts. “And it’s going to revolutionize the way we experience music.” Bowled over by Skrillex and Martin Garrix by the age of eight, and DJing at smaller Milan clubs by the time he was eleven, Depas went on to study composition and piano at the prestigious

Milan Conservatory before learning ‘life- changing” lessons from the best in the business at Catalyst’s 4-week Advanced Sound Design course in Berlin’s Funkhaus . His production gets inspired by huge 90s trance synths as much as pounding hard techno from artists such as Kobosil, In Verruf and Amelie Lens.
2024 marked the launch of MAIKE DEPAS 2.0, a tectonic audio-visual shift that entails a wide array of content from DJ sets livestreamed from Berlin’s Teufelsberg and other dystopic locations around Europe to cyberpunk-inspired outfits designed by Demobaza, a cyberpunk-inspired casual couture brand best known for their sustainable Dune X Demobaza collection. Over the course of a developing metamorphosis from a flesh-and-bone individual to a mysterious CGI character, Depas is another step closer to revolutionize the dance music scene through the metaverse.

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to NDR/WDR in Germany, GRM/IRCAM in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Sonanze (Sonatas) is Cacciapaglia's debut album, a monumental work that was recorded over a two-year period and released in 1975 via seminal German label Die Kosmischen Kuriere (Ohr). While a "sonata" is traditionally performed by easily distinguishable instrumentalists (often soloist and accompaniment) and with repeated structural themes, Cacciapaglia flips this hierarchical form on its head – blending harpsichord, strings, brass and analog synths to create ambient mini-soundtracks.

As the composer writes in the original sleeve notes, "I am aware, unfortunately, that I am a few millennia late in how I would like music to be understood, which today I find diluted in its primary powers, in an era that is destructive of essential values. Precisely for this reason, I want to search for it in depth and not on the surface, perhaps alternating the knob of a synthesizer with a marranzano (mouth harp)."

Mixed in quadrophonic surround-sound under the auspices of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (celebrated producer of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel), Sonanze remains on the fringe of Kosmische realms. Each movement explores hypnotic rhythms, intuitive arrangements, musique concrète techniques and a pure psychedelic awakening.

Denizens of the Oyster Cult, rejoice. Elusive dancefloor operator S.O.N.S has followed last year’s compilation cameo up with the deadliest of full debuts.

Booting off with some rough ‘n ready gear, “Drive” is the latest chapter as S.O.N.S undergoes his metamorphosis into a more brooding entity. The esteemed Junction Records and Junction Forest proprietor oscillates between tunnelling acid techno and a darkwave-indebted workout somewhat reminiscent of Dutch pioneer Das Ding. Three night-stalking club trax rooted in ominous portent.

Trading the gentler touch and sound sensitivity of releases past for something tougher, and meaner, but there aren’t any diminishing returns. Quite a departure from the introspection of that aforementioned compilation appearance while retaining the transcendent qualities that always typified his work.

Big Crown Records ist stolz darauf, das Debütalbum von Dave Guy zu präsentieren. Nachdem er seine Talente sowohl auf der Bühne als auch im Studio für Künstler*innen wie Amy Winehouse, Lizzo, Pharrell und Sharon Jones zur Verfügung gestellt hat und derzeit als Mitglied von The Roots jeden Abend in der Tonight Show auftritt, macht sich Dave Guy mit einem sowohl einzigartigen als auch modernen Jazz-Album selbstständig.

"Ruby" mischt seine musikalischen Einflüsse mit der Energie der Stadt, in der er aufgewachsen ist, fängt verschiedene Stimmungen ein und lädt den Hörer in die Welt ein, wie Dave Guy sie sieht und fühlt. Aufgenommen in Queens in der legendären Diamond Mine, wurde das Album von Homer Steinweiss und Nick Movshon produziert und enthält musikalische Beiträge von Leon Michels, Marco Benevento, Claire Cottrill und anderen. "Ruby" reiht sich sofort in die Riege der Klassiker ein, denn es ist ein vollendetes Album und nicht nur eine Ansammlung von Songs. Die Leadsingle "7th Heaven" eröffnet das Album mit einer hymnischen Energie, in der Daves Bläsersätze über donnernden Drums, ätherischem Gesang und tanzendem Klavier schweben. Footwork" ist eine lateinamerikanisch inspirierte Nummer, die mit Sicherheit den Soundtrack zu vielen Tanzveranstaltungen von SoHo bis Harlem liefern wird. Das Synthie-Intro von "Pinky Ring" bereitet den Stimmungswechsel vor, wenn der Track losgeht. Tiefe Basstöne unterstreichen das tadellose Schlagzeugspiel und Dave vergeudet mühelos keine Noten, wenn sich die Strophen und Refrains abwechseln. Die Platte lehnt sich an spirituelle Jazz-Vibes auf "Diamond Encore" an, mit einem dunklen und tiefen, fast "Axelrod-artigen" Rhythmus-Track, um dann mit dem Stomper "Still Standing" die Energie wieder aufzunehmen. "Dave Wants You" hat einen ganz eigenen Bop mit einem unorthodoxen Schlagzeugmuster, das Dave mit seinen Trompetenschlägen verankert. Das jenseitige Arrangement von "Drony Boy" stellt die Produktion auf ein Podest. Das erste Intro wirkt fast wie eine Pause auf dem Album, während das zweite Intro den halsbrecherischen Track einleitet, der gleich folgen wird. Eine bedrohliche Gitarre signalisiert den Aufbau und das Ganze wird durch Daves wunderschöne Trompetenriffs untermalt. "Quesodillas" und "Green Door" leiten den Herbst des Albums mit ihrer sanften und intimen Energie ein und "Ruby's Rubies" ist der perfekte Abschluss der Reise.

“Get Me In the Zone EP” is Waajeed’s final release on his Detroit-based label DIRT TECH RECK for 2024. He shared some of his inspiration for this dynamic four-track offering.

"Get Me In the Zone" is a soulful, rhythmic track blending Waajeed's production with Miles Bonny's repetitious vocals and trumpet, using hypnotic rhythms to create an uplifting, jazzy banger.

"All the Way Thru" produced by Waajeed, intricately weaves samples into a seamless blend of funk, soul, and house, creating an irresistible anthem for dancers and DJs. "I sat on this track for some time, unsure if it would fit into this EP, but ultimately decided to include it because of its undeniable effect on the dance floor.”

Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in our solar system. It remains one of the least explored planets. Waajeed says, “I’m always reaching toward unknown territories in my creative adventures, so I called this one 'Neptune’s Symphony' to celebrate those exploring new sonic landscapes."

“I picked up this term from Dam Funk during a long drive in his '84 Regal. He explained "Dry Hatin" is a way of indirectly showing negativity, resentment, or jealousy towards someone or something. I wanted to address my naivety about entering the dance music scene several years ago—I thought it would be different

SML is bassist Anna Butterss (Jeff Parker, Daniel Villarreal, Makaya McCraven), synthesist Jeremiah Chiu (Ariel Kalma, Marta Sofia-Honer), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Nate Mercereau, Marquis Hill), percussionist Booker Stardrum (Amirtha Kidambi, Carl Stone, Lee Ranaldo, Patrick Shiroishi), and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann (Sam Wilkes, Meg Duffy, Perfume Genius). Their debut album Small Medium Large began as a collection of long-form improvisations recorded during two

separate two-night stands at beloved Highland Park venue ETA, a major development site for the burgeoning new LA jazz & improvised music sound, which unfortunately closed its doors permanently at the end of 2023.

The venue, perhaps best known outside of LA for Jeff Parker’s 2022 album Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, was the perfect location for the start of SML, especially given that both bassist Anna Buterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson are in the quartet featured on that record. Small Medium Large was engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales and compiled, arranged, and edited with additional production, recording, and
studio composition by SML.

While editing, chopping, and rearranging stereo mixed improvisations is hardly a new concept (for a modern and relevant example we can look to Makaya McCraven’s output on IARC) these results are a stunning expansion of the Teo Macero / Miles Davis editing concept explored on classics like Bitches Brew, On The Corner, and Get Up With It. Stylistically though, these recordings have more in common with the proto trance repetitions of Harmonia, and with Holgar Czukay’s re-assemblage technique used in his work with Can. Throw in a supremely intuitive utilization of Susumu Yokota’s floating patterns polyrhythm concept and we have a truly entrancing take on time-clocked electronic rhythms augmenting with live percussion, yet maintaining that elusive human sway.

Just a Man, Beres Hammond’s 1979 album, is a hidden gem in his illustrious career, celebrated for its heartfelt lyrics and smooth melodies, hallmarks of Hammond's signature style. This album offers a rare glimpse of Hammond before he became the lover’s rock icon we know today. Blending R&B, disco, soul reggae, and lovers rock, Just a Man showcases his soulful voice against the backdrop of disco-infused reggae rhythms, creating an irresistible vibe.
At this pivotal moment in his career, Hammond had just left the band Zap Pow to focus on his solo work, and Just a Man was a bold statement of independence. It reflects Hammond’s early musical journey, combining elements of R&B and disco with reggae, and marks a key moment in his rise as a solo artist.
Produced by Joe Gibbs, a legendary figure in reggae, and arranged by Willie Lindo, the album features some of Jamaica’s most esteemed musicians: Val Douglas & Mike Chung on bass; Mike Richards, Robert Stephenson & Calvin McKenzie on drums; Robert Lyn, Franklyn Waul& Harold Butler on electric piano; Lenox Gordon, Willie Lindo on guitar; Pam Hall, Prilly Hamilton, Sharon Forrester & Beres Hammond on backing vocals; Waul, Clive Hunt & Noel Seale on percussions; Hunt, Franklyn Waul & Harold Butler on piano; Dean Fraser on saxophone; Peter Ashbourne Group as string ensemble; Jerome Francque & Roland Robinson on trombone; David Madden, Willie Brackenridge & Clive Hunt on trumpet.
The album’s standout track, “Do This World A Favour,” became a UK soul hit, but the entire album features rare and funky gems like "Keep My Wheel Turning" that reflect Hammond's versatility and ability to transcend genres.
Our exclusive edition has been remastered, delivering superior sound quality that enhances the richness of every note.
This edition is published under the direction of Joseph Barthelet for Jamwax, under license from Gavin D.A. Gibson.
Just a Man is more than just an album; it’s a significant piece of jamaican music history.

Friendsome Records and Ams Are Very Happy to Present to You Her 4th Ep Sunrises. This Record Might Be Out in the Fall, It Is Like Its Name, Full of Sunshine, but Also Mysterious Atmospheres. Inspired by Nature Whom Ams Is Very Attached To, as Well as Influenced by Progressive House and Trippy Electronic Music, This Ep Finally Summarizes Her True Style ! After a Few Years as a Producer It Is Undoubtedly the Best Record She Produced So Far, Full of Proggy Vibes, Old School Uk Tech-House Influences and Jumping Rhythms. Get Ready to Hear It Being Spun by DJs and Radios All Over the World, and Join Us for the Release Party at Badaboum in Paris on November 23rd, With Special Guests Xxx & Xxx !...

Hot on the heels of Sukuma, Durban's Sugarman Sandy B returns to Red Motorbike with Bink Party!

This time around, he's teamed up with label boss Eddie C on production, as well as an assortment of underground artists from around the globe whom he has collaborated with during his WorldKwaitour, which he combined with the 30th anniversary of his successful underground independent debut, AmaJoviJovi.
Bink, the genre Sandy B coined, is a modern take on Kwaito's loose rhythms and the mid-tempo funk we've come to know and love from the Red Motorbike stables.

Sandy B's Zulu staccato rap and R&B stylings sound as fresh as ever as he continues to connect with his global family through his international travels, currently on tour across Asia and Australia.

Bink Party into 2025!!

"Birds Of Fire" - John McLaughlin (g); Jerry Goodman (v); Jan Hammer (keyb, synth); Rick Laird (b); Billy Cobham (dr)

Of the three 'incarnations' by the spiritually inspired Mahavishnu Orchestra, the first is the most full-bodied. The enlightened John McLaughlin and his musicians were immortalized through their début album "The Inner Mounting Flame", which was included in the list of the 100 Best Jazz Albums; a short time later they recorded their highly concentrated studio compilation "Birds Of Fire". Long before today's saleably labelled World Music, the quintet set the standards for a meaningful amalgamation of dynamic rock with complex Indian rhythms and occidental conventions. Already in the title piece, the musicians combine a sharpened Hendrix style with expansive melodies, and with smacking grooves and fine riffs draw all that is grand in jazz ("Miles Beyond") into the musical centre. With almost chamber-music-like density, "Thousand Island Park" blossoms out in soft colours, whilst as a contrast unremittingly flowing cascades in "Hope" search desperately for their destination.

It is thrilling how finely weighed patterns ("One Word") escalate to techno-like violin playing and how the listener is invited to take part in an inner procession in the following "Sanctuary". After such soaring heights, we are brought back to earth with a familiar funky sound in a popular, pastoral vein ("Open Country Joy") before taking off abruptly once again: in the final piece, "Resolution" with its slowly rising carpets of sound, all that is sublime in New Music conquers over world cultures.

The Holiday Album That Turned Mariah Carey into the Queen of Christmas: Featuring the Standard “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the Singer’s Blockbuster Merry Christmas Exudes Joy, Spirituality, and Conviction
Sourced from the Original Master Tapes, Presented in Audiophile Sound for the First Time, and Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies:

Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP Set Plays with Superb Detail, Openness, and Definition
1/2" / 30 IPS / Dolby SR analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Mariah Carey didn’t become the Queen of Christmas just because of her fervent love of the holiday. Or as the result of a brilliant marketing plan. The iconic singer earned her title by way of her blockbuster Merry Christmas, a 1994 album that quickly joined the likes of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song as an all-time holiday vocal classic. Featuring a balanced mix of inspired originals and well-chosen covers, Carey’s fourth studio record has only grown in stature as new generations discover its magic. Mobile Fidelity’s 30th anniversary edition reissue of Merry Christmas makes her spellbinding performances and upper-tier register come alive like never before.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, the pioneering label’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set of Merry Christmas plays with superb detail, depth, and dimensionality. Available in audiophile quality for the first time since its original release three decades ago, and featuring the bonus track “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” the nine-times-platinum set breathes with a newfound openness and transparency that enhance the spirituality, passion, and festive tenor of Carey’s singing.

Benefitting from superb groove definition, a nearly inaudible noise floor, and dead-quiet vinyl surfaces, the music takes on a heightened energy and anticipatory emotion synonymous with the holiday season. Carey’s signature vocals explode with liveliness and dynamics, the full scope of her acrobatic range presented in clear, transparent sound that practically places her on a small stage in your listening room. This collectible version also breathes with the kind of warmth, intimacy, and coziness you want from a landmark vocal album.

Recorded when Carey helped put “diva” back into everyone’s vocabulary, Merry Christmas gave the New York native another smash right out of the box. What nobody knew at the time was the degree of the album’s staying power — and how, many years removed from its initial promotion cycle, its legend would still grow and even spark a 2010 sequel. Having re-entered the Top 200 charts every year since 2019, Merry Christmas ranks as one of the three most commercially successful holiday LPs ever made and, in due time, will likely earn the top distinction in that class. A global blockbuster, it seamlessly ties together Christian, gospel, and secular threads and speaks to a boundless audience, independent of denomination.

Most obviously, the record remains inescapably connected to “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” an uptempo anthem that towers as a holiday standard and one of the biggest-selling singles in history. Punctuated with celesta chimes, sleigh bells, springy keyboards, and joyous beats, the song echoes the simple albeit engaging melodies and doo-wop style of beloved holiday classics of yore — and blends such elements with contagious dance-pop rhythms to create an atmosphere rich in joy, wonder, and excitement. Radiant with golden soulfulness and sincere conviction, Carey’s exuberant singing and on-point phrasing put it all over the top. And how.

The song stands as the only effort in Billboard history to top the Hot 100 chart during at least three separate runs. Carey’s blockbuster has already hit No. 1 during five runs, spanning every year between 2019 and 2024. That’s just one of the many records the singer holds — and only one of the multiple highlights from Merry Christmas, which includes two other Carey-penned originals, “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” and “Jesus Born on This Day.”

Though slightly lesser known, Carey’s remarkable rendition of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” further links her album with the big, lush, Wall of Sound heritage that helped inspire its production. Carey’s heartfelt take and transformation of the traditional “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” into an animated tune that even adults can believe, as well as her clairon reading of “Joy to the World” — cleverly augmented with bits of Three Dog Night’s 1971 hit of the same name — further reinforce her status as Queen of Christmas.

At the peak of her powers, Carey finds equivalent success when tapping more spiritual veins. Witness the reverence she brings to the timeless carol “Silent Night,” the piousness she invests in “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child,” and the sacred feeling she conveys throughout “O Holy Night.” You’ll also never think of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)” the same way again after hearing Mimi pour her heart and soul into them, and pair the songs together.

Indeed, it’s Carey’s pliable voice, melismatic technique, and five-octave range — on display here in definitive fashion — coupled with her undeniable love for Christmas and understanding of the religious significance of the season that make Merry Christmas a must-have holiday staple. And on Mobile Fidelity’s LP, something you better add to your wish list.