This Record Label is connected to ZEL Events and times to release music from residents and artists around our community.
Livorno based Ducato Driver, 360° dj and producer, comes out with a solo EP, to be the 2nd release on ZEL Records. “The meaning of dé” are 4 tracks travelling across Techno, Progressive, EBM, dark and trippy vibes. Enjoy the listen.
Soul singer supreme, Jalen Ngonda and producer/veteran keyboardist, Victor
Axelrod join forces to deliver the collaboration we all needed- the impossibly soulful, reggae banger “All About Me”.
Having worked together on the sessions for Come Around and Love Me, Axelrod recalls being inspired by the similarities between Jalen’s voice and a young Bitty Mclean. He had the beds to a track already recorded, but needed the right singer. With Jalen on board, the two wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocals in one night.
Written from the perspective of an arrogant lover, the track’s party-forward swing and stellar vocal performance make for a pop-forward gem poised to be massive on both the soul and reggae scenes.
Expanding beyond the West Coast with release number three, Goodtunes invites master of the craft Rob Pearson for a dark & moody EP.
Opener “Odd Job Mischief” bends itself over dubbed out low end pressure as echoic LFOs rip through the groove. A2 “Dodgy Brass” doubles down, forcing hazy horns through truncated rhythmic cracks split from beneath its own weight.
On side B, “The Right Speed” is all gas, no breaks. A moody, stripped back weapon with detailed texture & the dark, tripped out aesthetics of Jayson Walker’s murmurs over the top. “Beautifully Mangled” wraps up the EP with a dark minimal groove & lush atmosphere that slowly builds into a warm driving force.
Third time’s certainly the charm on GT003, with Pearson pushing his productions into new territory with meaningful intention.
Farron is back on Shaw Cuts with his next EP called ãHuman LanternsÒ - a tale of social jealousy and long-standing rivalry transformed into 4 bass-heavy broken techno tracks.
The two wealthy kung-fu masters Lung and Tan are embroiled in a long lasting game of perpetual one-upmanship. Vowing to show Tan up, Lung enlists the aid of a man he defeated in a duel years ago in fashioning a masterful lantern for the upcoming festival in which both masters will compete. ãWe Are The WaveÒ and its noisy fragments and broken rhythmics led by a hefty stormy bassline, underline the tension and aversion between the two competing masters.
But the eccentric artisan is more interested in seeking revenge for his old defeat, in taking away everything Lung holds dear. The bass-driven ãSwitch OddÒ and its sharp percussions and phat kick underline the ulterior motives of the shady character.
The evil villainÕs plan of revenge contains kidnapping several beloved women of Lung, skinning them alive and using their flaps of skin to create the ordered lantern. ãGX100Ò and its fast-paced drum pattern carried by virulent synth fragments and raucous pads, epitomises the merciless act of violence.
Tan and Lung falsely accuse each other but feel constrained to eventually team up and hunt the criminal together. ãTalking To ThemÒ rings in furiously and chases the enemy with its rolling bass, chopped vocals and stomping drums, but the villain is sneaky and recalcitrant. Silence before the attackÉ
This EP marks the first release from a collaborative project between Tokyo based DJ/producer Iori Wakasa and Okayama's Keita Sano, born from a quiet resonance between their musical sensibilities.
In Japan, the academic year begins in April. Though born in 1988 and 1989, the two artists belong to the same school-year cohort under this system, yet within Japan's gengo era structure they stand at the symbolic end of one era and the beginning of another. The title 'A Shift of Eras' points to the moment when one era gives way to the next, suggesting not only the passage of time, but the subtle renewal of culture, perception, and values.
'Filtered Jewels' draws from the image of light shimmering like gemstones, or a space scattered with countless jewels, perceived through an imagined filter that gently alters the way the scene reveals itself.
'Heaven's Door' envisions the ascent of a transparent staircase floating above a sea of clouds, leading toward a quietly resting emerald-green door.
'Shocking Yellow', originally created in response to a specific request, incorporates carefully placed vocal samples while grounding the track in warm, rounded low frequencies and organic textures, shaped with DJ use in mind.
And finally, 'Time To Change' was reconstructed repeatedly with the hope of offering both solace and a quiet sense of encouragement, ultimately becoming a piece that reflects the underlying theme of the EP.
Emotional Rescue returns after a much-needed year hiatus, refreshed and ready, as it moves into its 15th year, to further explore the environs of oft-forgotten musical secrets and present them to new heads and minds.
To celebrate, the label looks back to one of its favourite collaborations, the music of French ‘Ethno-Industrialists’ Vox Populi! in presenting a truly unique EP of “In Dub”, inspired remixes by 4 fellow Paris based artists of today in Full Circle, Froid Dub, Krikor and Shelter.
“In Dub” takes a selection of songs from the series of albums reissued or compiled on Emotional Rescue and sister label, Platform 23, and gives the Master tapes to this talented ensemble to offer their own, unique dub reworks. The project explores the on-going advances in technology offered, mixed with pure talent and a respectful homage.
Formed by Axel Kyrou and including wife Mitra, as well as long-term music and art partners Pierre Jolivet aka Pacific 231 and Francis Lafont aka FR6 Man, they forged a path from obscure, drum and drum-based cassette releases on to fully realized albums and compilations on their now cult Vox Man Records.
Alexis Le Tan and Joakim’s Full Circle project starts, with their electronic dub remake of Soleyman Dub from the ‘Alternatif Réalisme’ compilation (ERC079). With releases on Good Morning Tapes, Offen and their own “Released” label, their plaudits as master diggers and producers of dubby tripped-out inspired electronics – releasing slowed Trance some 10 years before anyone else – is inspired. Tuning in and turning on the original dub into a mantra style slow-breaks (Digi)dub is the perfect experimental flavour.
Jube Man is next, a twisted, psychedelic dub out by rising stars Froid Dub. The stand-out from the ‘Magiques Creations’ release (ERC052), an album that explored Vox Populi’s furtive post-industrial period of 1984 to 1988, Jube Man was the perfect selection by the duo of François Marché and Stéphane Bodin.
Froid Dub have steadily developed their “cold” Digidub style to acclaim –
releasing a steady flow of dub inspired electronics on their own label Delodio, as well as recently appearing on sister label Emotional Response’s 10th year anniversary collection, ‘All Trades’. Their haunting, shuffling and murky acid / piano dub, with the drifting “Space Echoing” of Mitra’s vocals from the live desk mix, creates a ghostly version to effect.
Next, master mixer, producer and engineer Krikor serves a steppers remake with his “OverDub” of Zen-Dub. With a career that spans releases on Tigersushi, LIES and Soul Jazz, his sound has developed from Electro, House and Techno, to Acid, Bleep, Dancehall, Dub and touches of Gabba.
Taken from Vox Populi!’s master-opus Aither (ERC030), the first of our reissues dating back to 2016, Zen-Dub’s pacey, lo-fi dub experience is transformed and overdubbed into an incessant sound system throb, a true bass quaking “steppa”.
To close, Micro Climax is put through Shelter’s increasing avant dub exposition. Appearing on the likes of Growing Bin, Emotional Response and his own Protopost, as well for – and being in-house designer – on the much-missed Séance Centre, Alan Briand aka Shelter productions have developed from Balearic, Edits and House to explore Avant, Raga and live Dub productions.
Appearing on the recent ‘Ethniques Pyschedeliques’ compilation on Platform 23 (PLA032), in original form Micro Climax is a sprawling 10-minute ethno-dub of whispered vocals, drone and sub bass. Shelter strips it back, keeping background effects, adding live bass and percussion to create a wonky, slow, shuffling ska-lite excursion to complete a true “In Dub”.
2023 Backstock
New album of one of the biggest Reggae/Dub french soundsystem starring MacGyver, Rooty Step & Pupajim (who worked with Alpha Steppa, Biga Ranx, High Tone, Mungo's Hi-Fi ...).
Since their inception at start of the 2000s, Stand High Patrol have rocked sound systems to their own riddim, assimilating and re-purposing the codes of the genre in their own unique style. From tiny bars in Brittany to huge festival stages, on independent radio or across national airwaves, the crew have quietly trod their own path, never compromising their core value of independence. Connoisseurs have long recognised Stand High’s credentials both as a dub group and a leading sound system, but they stand out from the crowd because of their ability to deliver the unexpected, whether live or on record. Their ability to draw such a diverse audience is testament to this atypical approach to making music.
In 2020, almost 20 years since their humble beginnings, the collective presents their fifth album, “Our Own Way”. As with their first two albums “Midnight Walkers” and “Matter Of Scale”, now considered as classics in their genre, this new opus asserts itself as the latest representation of the crew’s versatile approach to crafting sound. Their music, a blend of its own known as “Dubadub”, has always borrowed influences from multiple sources, and over the course of their career their roots in dub and reggae have intertwined with hip-hop, jazz, new wave, trip-hop and numerous other genres. The ‘Dubadub Musketeers’ have never ceased experimenting, forever seeking to increase the sonic territory they cover, day after day. Both live and recorded, they’ve made it a point of honour to never offer up the same thing twice. Any resemblance that “Our Own Way” might bear to those first two albums is a consequence of this obvious creative continuity, rather than of going “back to basics”.
In contrast to the last two Stand High Patrol records, the hip-hop inspired “The Shift”, or the Bristol indebted “Summer On Mars”, “Our Own Way” doesn’t have a unifying concept or theme. Rather than being limited to a single aesthetic, the LP pays respect to the entire canon of Jamaican music, all unified under Stand High’s inimitable production values. With the wealth of experience gained during the recording of their last two records, the collective decided to aim for a freer project, letting themselves be guided by their own music and their own instincts. The end result is a musical portrait of what Stand High Patrol is in the present moment.
The tracks that make up the new LP burst out of the studio, each born out of unbridled, impulsive creativity. Previously unheard compositions and specially re-tooled dub plates have been assembled into a tracklist that shifts and moves like a classic Dubadub Musketeer live set. Each step of the process has been refined by years of practice : composition, effects, and the final mix. Throughout “On Our Way”, the brutal dub stepper, though still a favourite for sound system sessions, is noticeable by its absence. Instead, it’s the full weight of the crew’s reggae heritage that’s expressed in the mix. It's not just the depth and weight of each tune that strikes the listener, but also the spaces heard between the notes that grab and hold their attention.. The sense of a trip, whether musical, internal or geographic, is omnipresent throughout the LP, linking each track to those before and after. “Our Own Way” finds Stand High Patrol exploring as usual, yet also narrating their journey as they’ve rarely done before.
New Stand High Patrol album, featuring Joe Yorke, Nazamba, Jah Thomas - and remixes from Mad Professor, Androo & Jeanville.
Dub and House Music. Two aesthetics born in the shadows, shaped far from the mainstream music industry. Two underground cultures where independence is often a necessity and ingenuity is essential. Two scenes rooted in the margins of society, with dance, sound systems and minorities at their heart.
From the Jamaican sound system sessions of the late sixties, through the nights at Chicago's Warehouse, to the murmurings of the New York house scene in the early eighties — history shows that house, reggae and dub share far more than many people may assume. Collective action, resistance as a driving force, music moving straight from studio to turntable, shared messages: these are the threads that bind these landmark musical movements together. It is at this crossroads, driven by the spirit of experimentation that defines them, that the members of Stand High Patrol found yet another territory worth mapping.
"Skanking & Jacking", the new Musketeerz album, reveals a side of the Dubadub sound never heard on record before. Built for the dancers and for DJs, the LP brings together the pulse of house music and the vibrant groove of reggae. Uncharted territory, never interfaced like this before. The result of a meticulous blending of styles, house, reggae and dub intertwine across 12 extended tracks. The sound is carefully crafted. Built on immersive loops and interlaced with micro-variations that give it an organic texture. Born from the interaction between being and machine. This is not about simply bringing worlds closer together; it's about mobilising influences to chart a new sonic galaxy.
Beyond it's aesthetic statement, "Skanking & Jacking" also stands out for its international cast. The most extensive Stand High Patrol have ever assembled on an album. From England, Italy, Switzerland and Jamaica, the guest vocalists, producers and MCs deepen the sense of dialogue between cultures and styles. At the mic, Joe Yorke, Marina P, Nazamba and Jah Thomas join the Dubadub Musketeerz on their explorations. Each appearance subtly reshaping the contours of the project.
Never fixed, always in motion, "Skanking & Jacking" pays tribute to the traditions that shaped it and closes, as a final nod, with remixes from Jeanville, Androo and the legendary Mad Professor. The album stands as further proof of a crew that shows no signs of stopping its reinvention. Available on stream, digital and double LP on May 29th.
2026 REPRESS
New repress of the first album "Midnight Walkers". We have used the same vinyl metal works as the first 2012 pressing.
After several releases on 7 and 12inch, Stand High Patrol, the french crew of Pupajim, Rootystep and the legendary Mac gyva is back with a long awaited LP. With strictly brand new killer dubadub, digital and hip hop tracks including crazy echos, “Midnight Walkers” is totally unique! It contains all elements of a Stand High live session and offers an evolving dubadub. With the crazy voice of Pupajim and totally timeless dubs, the first album of the three “dubadub musketeerz” deals with the particular originality that made of Stand High Patrol one of the toughest dub sound system of France. Every bass addict and every dub fan should enter the Stand High experience. If you are ready, fasten your seat belt and run the track! We hope that you will enjoy the flight!
2026 Repress!
The story begins in 2000 in Britany (France). Two guys decide to create a sound system with the aim of sharing their common passion for roots reggae and early digital. Rootystep (selecta) and MacGyver (operator) begin to collect records and purchase music equipment. They are quickly joined by Pupajim who becomes the MC, the singer and the dub builder. The Stand High Patrol first toured the land of Brittany, gradually moving towards stepper dub production emanating from the English stage. Fifteen years later, the sound is more present than ever. Stand High has created a true identity and has established itself as one of the essential sound systems of the French dub scene. In 2009, Stand High Patrol creates his own label "Stand High Records". In 2012, after releasing several records, the Dubadub Musketeerz present their debut album "Midnight Walkers", 13 exclusives & wicked tracks inna pure Dubadub Style. In 2015 the dubadub experience takes on new dimensions with their second album : "A Matter Of Scale". In 2017 they are back with "The Shift" a third LP totally dedicated to Boom Bap & 90s Hip Hop. Words, blue notes, boom bap and bad news: here comes "The Shift", the third album of Stand High Patrol.
IN 2017, TRYING TO MAKE BOOM BAP FROM THE 90s, INSPIRED BY JAZZ FROM THE 60s, MIXED WITH MACHINES FROM THE 50s
Lyrics, Boom bap and bad news: Stand High Patrol present their third album 'The Shift' and confirm their attachment to 90s hiphop.
Christopher Tignors ,Bleeding Past the Edges" ist ein bewusster Kontrapunkt zur heutigen, von KI geprägten Musiklandschaft und stellt die menschliche Hand fest in den Mittelpunkt des Schaffensprozesses. In einem kleinen Studio voller Geigen, Stimmgabeln, Pedalen und maßgeschneiderter Software hat Tignor ein Performance-System entwickelt, das sich weniger wie eine Maschine, sondern eher wie ein lebendiges Instrument verhält. Anstatt sich auf Loops oder Backing-Tracks zu verlassen, generiert er jedes Stück in Echtzeit und fängt Klänge ein und formt sie um, während er spielt. Geigenstreichmelodien erweitern sich zu vielschichtigen Mustern, perkussive Schläge lösen sich entwickelnde Strukturen aus, und selbst eine einzelne Stimmgabel kann sich zu einem ganzen harmonischen Feld entfalten. Das Ergebnis ist ein immersiver, orchestraler Klang, der live von einem einzigen Interpreten erzeugt wird, der sich durch ein eng verwobenes System aus Gestik, Timing und Code bewegt. Jedes Element beginnt als physische Handlung und bleibt damit verbunden, was der Musik ein Gefühl von Unmittelbarkeit, Risiko und Präsenz verleiht, das sich durch das gesamte Album zieht. Auf dem Album bewegt sich Tignor fließend zwischen rhythmisch geprägten Kompositionen, die das Instrument als perkussiven Motor behandeln, und melodischeren Werken, die im expressiven Kern der Violine verwurzelt sind. Die Lead-Single ,Weight of Words" unterstreicht diese Balance und entfaltet sich mit einer narrativen Klarheit, die Tignors Kompositionsansatz widerspiegelt. Er beschreibt diese Stücke oft als ,Kurzgeschichten", in denen Melodien als roter Faden dienen und jedes Werk durch wechselnde Strukturen und emotionale Bögen führen. Der Titel ,Bleeding Past the Edges" verweist auf Momente, in denen die Musik über ihr ursprüngliches Konzept hinausgeht, in denen sich die Struktur lockert und der Klang nach außen fließt. Tignor vergleicht den Prozess mit ,einem Seiltänzer", bei dem sorgfältige Vorbereitung auf die Möglichkeit einer Transformation in Echtzeit trifft. Obwohl die Systeme streng ausgearbeitet sind, behält jede Aufführung ein Element der Unvorhersehbarkeit, wodurch sich die Musik ständig weiterentwickeln kann. Im Laufe von zehn LPs, die über Western Vinyl und New Albion erschienen sind, hat sich Tignor in klassischen und experimentellen Kreisen breite Anerkennung erworben. The Guardian bezeichnete ihn als ,absurd talentiert", während Bandcamp seine ,schiere technische Meisterschaft" hervorhob und The New York Times seine seltene Fähigkeit lobte, Computer bei Live-Auftritten nahtlos mit akustischen Instrumenten zu verbinden. The Wire lobte seine Kompositionen zudem für ihre fließenden, sich entwickelnden Strukturen. Über seine Soloarbeit hinaus hat Tignor mit Künstlern wie Rachel Grimes, Helios, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, John Congleton und This Will Destroy You zusammengearbeitet. Sein Hintergrund verbindet verschiedene Disziplinen: Er hat einen Doktortitel in Komposition von der Princeton University, einen Master in Informatik vom NYU Courant Institute und einen Bachelor vom Bard College, wo er bei dem Dichter John Ashbery studierte. Mit ,Bleeding Past the Edges" führt Tignor diese Stränge zu einem Werk zusammen, das sich sowohl streng konstruiert als auch lebendig anfühlt - ein Album, das Performance, Körperlichkeit und die anhaltende Ausdruckskraft menschengemachter Klänge in den Vordergrund stellt.
The Coyote-affiliated Magic Wand wafts its mercurial charm over a series of mega-useful and equally effective edits here. Robot 84 kicks off with a slow, cyborg-infused and digitally finished dub of a Prince classic and Ali Renault brings sugary synth charm to 'Indovina Key'. Bratley himself then steps up with the whacked out piano house of 'PNO', a slow jam with oversized impact. 'Song To The Hills' gets a Secret Soul Society mix that's infused with subtle psychedelic charm and fresh disco chug.4 new heavyweight reworks from Secret Soul Society, Robot 84, Ali Renault and Craig Bratley.
DJ Support: Mousse T, Todd Terry, Young Pulse, Angelo Ferreri, Melvo Baptiste, Richard Earnshaw, Micky More & Andy Tee, Dr Packer, Hatiras, DJ Rae, Mark Picchiotti, Birdee, Shaka Loves You, Yasmin, Saison, Michael Gray, DJ Spen and Hatiras
A Touch Of Love goes from strength to strength with EP8 in the vinyl series. Label boss Seamus Haji reps the A side with his latest faves ‘Fire’ with his good friend Mike Dunn serving up the unmistakable vocals on a funk fuelled Firestarter followed by his collab with the New York diva Kathy Brown over the sexually charged disco chugger ‘Dancing’. On the AA side new kid on the block from Barcelona Osner hit big with his outing ‘It’s Good’ with a nod to the 70’s with a modern twist for peak-time dancefloors whilst Italy’s fast rising underground hero Gledd continues the theme with the blues & soul injected thumper ‘Move Me’.
WRWTFWW Records is thrilled to announce their 5th archival release taken from cult Tokyo label FORM@ RECORDS' catalogue, this time with the first-ever vinyl edition of Re-Form Ver-1.0. The remarkable, yet not widely known, 1999 remix compilation is now available as a limited edition 45rpm cut double LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve, as well as in digital format.
Originally only available on CD in extremely limited quantities, Re-Form Ver-1.0 resurfaces as a fascinating document of FORM@ RECORDS' late-1990s creative peak. Re-imagining key pieces from the label's catalogue, the remix collection offers a rare glimpse into Tokyo's electronic underground, where techno, house, ambient, and IDM breathe freely through FORM@'s soulful and exploratory vision.
Highlights include two remixes of Missing Project's adored gem "Poisson D'Avril" (including its well known ethereal ambient Galaxy Dub which appeared on Music From Memory's Virtual Dreams II) as well as the otherworldly Fossil (aka the legend Virgo) Mix of Penance's "Cure & Soul". Throughout, the compilation balances dancefloor sensibility with introspective listening, embodying the warm human approach to machine music FORM@ RECORDS excels in.
Another essential time capsule from a crucial era of underground music, Re-Form Ver-1.0 echoes the spirit of Warp's Artificial Intelligence era, alongside the forward-thinking energy of Ken Ishii, Carl Craig, The Black Dog, and Ian O'Brien, while keeping its feet and individuality firmly rooted in local context - the magic recipe for creating a universal, timeless language of electronic expression.
Re-Form Ver-1.0 follows the vinyl edition of Virgo's Landform Code (1998) and Remnants (1999), as well as the FORM@ compilations Art Form I (1997) and Art Form 2 (1998), further expanding WRWTFWW's archival series dedicated to uncovering hidden gems of late '90s Japanese electronic music.
"after releasing an album in 2017 on the late lyon-based label s.k. records, and a tape on lost dogs entertainment, the duo OD Bongo — aka édouard ribouillault and amédée de murcia — have teamed up with carton records, zamzamrec, prix libre record, and basalte to present bongoville, the latest episode in their musical saga.
for nearly ten years, OD Bongo has been performing across europe, often late into the night, carrying drum machines, samplers, and synths. the duo's raw setup is designed for instinctive interaction, allowing them to shape their tones and mutant beats.
bongoville captures this energy in a story tinged with hazy techno, rusty dub and industrial trap, with juke & gqom influences. the rhythms bounce, accelerate, disintegrate, creak and eventually explode in a cloud of laughing gas.
in this frantic stop-motion race, chaos comes alive with heavy reverb: a possessed rollercoaster tracing saturated colours and playful distortions, where the loop prevails, where the delays stretch and where the bass saturates.
since 2015, édouard ribouillault and amédée de murcia blend genres such as techno, dub, noise and industrial in a wild bass music bubble."
Chins For Lefty is the debut album and first recording by Gichard, a new duo chronicling the absurdities of end-stage capitalism and mouldering social rituals from their vantage point in Glasgow, Scotland. Recorded primarily in the band’s home studio straight to tape, Chins For Lefty combines gorgeous, ramshackle melody, DIY kosmische punk, drum machine + synth and, in vocalist/lyricist Lisa Jones, an absurdist commentator on the human condition as it navigates the anxieties of the modern world. Instrumentalist Chas Lalli’s swirling music accompaniment stitches an evocative mix of musical styles, the ragged wind beneath the lyrics’ wings.
Although the duo first collaborated in their previous group Dragged Up, their disparate musical and artistic backgrounds make for an alluring mix in Gichard. Lalli has spent the last 20 years in the Glasgow underground, most notably in the noise rock group VOM, while Lisa Jones’s practice was in poetry and spoken word. Beginning as co vocalist in her previous band, in Gichard her lyrics are centre stage; the vision concocted alongside Lalli amounts to a total world-build.
Chins For Lefty scans almost like a novel, with each track elucidating a skewed universe that bears only some resemblance to the one you and I partake in. Like all works of fiction Gichard’s songs are rooted in reality and the lived experiences of its authors, but here characters are exaggerated, social mores and habits are pulled apart to reveal their inherent alienness. Universal emotions are laid bare, the bright light of anxious examination searching out every hairline fracture in our relationships. Distorted and cracked, the mirror that Gichard hold up to our world is also pretty damn funny.
Opener Cholesterol Test launches an expansive, cosmic guitar and synth intro that belies the Tascam-tape recorder it was recorded onto, like a Chromatics cut substituting anxiety for overt sexuality. Here Jones intones an apology to a non-responsive recipient, in the medium of a long voice note forensically deconstructing an interaction from the night before. Over punk guitars and shuffling, lo-fi drum machine splutters, the narrator in Asking The Apes “prefers things to people” before being taken hostage in the city zoo to confess an obsession which consumes the protagonist, ending with the immortal two liner “I sleep in a cocoon of old newspapers at the end of your street / And I think I have been fired from my job,” On album standout Posthumous Hologram, the narrator is faced with a human simulacra, in this case an undead pop star; the face of the encroaching technological singularity. Yes, it does requests, it can do My Way in 200 different language options. But what are the implications? While you’re left pondering, the alternating deadpan verse delivery and undeniably catchy chorus keep you company.
By the time Break Up With Johnny Dogbirth rattles into view, the band are satirising a suburban inanity blown up to cartoon proportions, soundtracked with a drawled musicality that recalls Rowland S. Howard’s post-Birthday Party balladeering. This approach is furthered on Human Resources: over an angular guitar+bass track, Jones’s short story recalls Dry Cleaning’s erudite lyrical post punk. On Soft Face, Lalli’s guitar and drum machine are swathed in echo and delay, as Jones dissects dating rituals with a west of Scotland drollness. Hamming It Up brings a porcine perspective in a short story that begins with the line “I was breastfeeding discreetly in the service station. She didn’t mind.” What follows is a passage punctured with canned laughter and a narrative involving tribute acts, modern farming techniques.
Brilliant first single Your Private Hell closes the album, the closest the group get to earnest perhaps, filtered through a surreal central Scottishness. While Your Private Hell might seem like a sardonic take down of romance, perhaps it’s the very distillation of love in all its awkwardness, selflessness and weirdness. Here there’s a distinctive Glasgow-ness to this doomed romance: the protagonist falls for an outsider, offers them cheap jarred hot dogs and carbolic soap (the infamous, excoriating soap dished out in schools and government buildings throughout Scotland), offers to cover up a murder, stalks them in the all-night Spar. It’s a short story of intrigue, murder and the irresistible pull of self-sacrifice to share in someone else’s suffering. If that’s not love, what is it? You can see this vision mapped out in black and white on their video for 'Your Private Hell'.
A closing chapter for Iro Aka: ambient introspection and precise IDM meet in a deeply personal, memory-driven LP.
Barcelona-based duo Iro Aka present "Memories Exploration" (GLOSSY025), a record that marks the closing of a creative chapter. Set for release on May 29th via Glossy Mistakes, the LP unfolds as a personal archive-tracing ideas, influences, and emotional states shaped over time.
The A-side moves through ambient-leaning territories, building meditative landscapes where time seems to dissolve and blur. Through tracks like "Frozen Sun" and "Golden Sea", the duo showcase a refined approach to sound design, shaped by carefully distilled emotion. Meanwhile, "Gendo" and "Intervertert" lean further inward-sketching moments of deep introspection through soft textures and a minimalist sensitivity that invites contemplation.
On the B-side, the record shifts. Rhythmic structures come into focus, drawing from IDM and broken beat patterns with a precise, understated touch. "L", "Ozadene" and "Phased9" introduce movement while maintaining the album's introspective core. Closing track "We Felt in Love with a Loop" brings the album to a gentle, open-ended close.
The artwork by Jack Anderson reflects this sense of fragmented memory and process, complementing the album's emotional tone.
Rather than a definitive ending, "Memories Exploration" feels like a transition-an understated way of closing one chapter before the next begins.
"An autumn evening - without a single tear, things come to an end."
Born 2 Be Free rolls out a third call to the dance floor here and it comes from Azaad. He kicks off with the low-slung 'Automatic' which has a cool-as-you-like swinging groove, dusty hi-hats and aloof vocals piercing the mix. Wispy pads and warped bass bring touches of old school garage but the palette is distinctly contemporary. 'Swagged Out' ups the ante with some sleazy garage shufflers and a steamy vocal sound that draws in between the edgy synth stabs. Last of all is maybe the best. 'Doin' It Again' is a heady and clean sound with swirling cosmic pads and a slick, minimal rhythm that makes you throw down your best moves.
The wonderfully unrelenting Instinct label from Burnski welcomes Gabriel Munoz for a brilliant five-tracker. Munoz is an 18-year-old from the Netherlands who is fast turning heads with his well-informed and fresh style and the garage prodigy opens up here with 'Arisen', a fast-paced and silky deep garage house cruiser with starry-eyed synth work. 'Pulse Sector' is another deft cut with neat 90s stabs buried deep in dusty drum rotations and balmy pads. There is more sleaze to 'Tell Me Something', 'Ghost' is all about the throbbing bassline and 'Movement' brings some more playful early UKG motifs and fat drums and bass. Fresh tackle from a fresh talent.
