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2025 Repress


First released in 2011 on Winding Road Records, Lovebirds Feat. Stee Downes – “Want You In My Soul” hit No. 1 in the dance charts for 6 weeks and has since become a deep house classic with nearly 30M Spotify streams.

Still championed by legends like Gilles Peterson (closing track at Worldwide Festival multiple times), Groove Armada (Glastonbury 2025), and praised in a recent post by Kevin McKay (Glasgow Underground) as “the song of any summer,” demand has kept original vinyl copies selling for up to £250 on Discogs.

Now, for the first time since its 2011 release, this timeless classic is back. Winding Road have re pressed from the original lacquers with the same artwork, mixes, and etching—identical to the 2011 issue.

A-side: iconic vocal mix on the B-Side: rare bonus track Give Me A Dubf*ck + Hot Toddy’s Detroit-inspired remix

Limited stocks – grab it while you can - before you have to resort to the Discogs mafia again!

Renowned producer, dj, artist and author Justin Robertson fresh from the success of his Five Green Moons project joins forces with composer and Stone Club co-founder Matthew Shaw on their tribute to mythical band MineralTail. An 11 track cosmic trip through krautrock, weird ambience and loose-limbed grooves that accompanies the story contained in Justin's new novel of the same name. Expect hypnotic electronics and ritualistic rhythms, swirling melodies and glorious riffs.

'Critics agree that the greatest album ever recorded is the self-titled debut by the MineralTail. Recorded after the extinction of humanity by the combination of a Megalithic stone and two dogs, the record remains peerless in its ingenuity, passion and inventiveness. An album that consistently remains at the top of all rankings and charts. Though all such accolades are meaningless, nonetheless its enduring appeal is obvious. Here, at last is the first reliable account of how that record was made. The recording techniques, the creative disputes, the true source of the sound. It is a story of sublime inspiration, skulduggery, time travel, beauty and conflict. But most importantly it is the story of music itself. Because held within the grooves of the MineralTail's breathtaking debut is the voice of God's most dazzling accident. Music.'

Detroit original, Terrence Dixon, returns to Tresor Records to kick off 2026 with ‘When Stars Remember’. Despite his thirty-year career, Terrence has always managed to keep a lower profile than his peers; he has given few interviews, preferring instead to speak through his music, with cryptic song titles hinting at the thoughts swirling around their creation.
However, ‘When Stars Remember’ finds him stepping forward. “I wanted to get closer to the dancefloor. I consciously made this one feel louder…made with Tresor specifically in mind.” And the EP does just that: whilst many of the hall marks of a Terrence Dixon production are present, the drums are more forward; the synth arpeggios so bold that ‘monumental’ seems a better descriptor than ‘minimal’.
“I put three or four sounds together on the same track, layering to make something bigger”, he says of opening track ‘Mono Collapse’, though the statement could apply to any of the music appearing on the release as all four pieces fold in sonics to create something hypnotic; more than the individual parts: “If you stick with the same layered tones, and repeat it over, after a while your brain changes it on its own; you hear a lot of things: things that you didn’t notice at first, things that maybe aren’t even there.”
The absence of things is another main theme of the EP, especially what Dixon sees as ‘The Forgotten’, a group of fundamental principles like common sense, trust, loyalty, honesty and respect that are missing from modern life. “This world is different…the love is gone. But I love everybody, man. I think, secretly, everybody love everybody, but they just don’t know it.”

The breakout underground star of the past year, the deservedly hyped Thought Leadership returns with another X ideas: the deck this time chooses the suit of Cups. This new collection is closer to the Post-Punk tonality of Pentacles, than the breezy Balearic Jazz of Swords. Gone are the brushed drum samples and airy synths and in their place are BIG guitars, 808 thumps and a decidedly more prominent use of bass as a melodic device.

As the suit of Cups reflects the emotional heart of the Tarot, presented within are a further X pieces, this time displaying the full range and fervour of Thought Leadership.

You know the drill by now. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.

Side A explores the emotional levels of consciousness; angst, joy, love, sorrow, relief, regret – they are all represented across the first seven tracks, and often within the same piece. XXI kicks us off with a huge tumbling D minor passage, layers and layers of guitar front and centre, whilst the drums pound away in the distance. Release is provided with a gorgeous G Dorian section, where we hear the bass take flight with a high melodic line.

We’re still in familiar Durutti Column meets Dif Juz territory here, but things switch up with XXII. This piece showcases a darker, more angular palette of guitars; think Alan Rankine (The Associates), or Deb Demure (Drab Majesty) in the unexpected harmonic shifts, knotty arpeggiated patterns and heavy, goth-adjacent modulation. A real love letter to 45+ years of darkly inclined guitar heritage.

XXIII enters the fray with tight, thumping 808s and Marr-esque guitar figures; and again, the bass providing heavy melodic counterpoint to the guitars. Enter chiming, lyrical lead phrasing, reminiscent of the eternal opening to "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Another accidental perfect pop moment from the Thought Leader. Whilst on the topic of Tears For Fears, XXIV comes swinging out of the gate with some serious Sophisti-chug; we’re reminded of "Shout" in the A section, before being beautifully juxtaposed in the B section with more Vini-eqsue patterns, reminiscent of his timeless classic, Another Setting.

XXV gives us welcome pause to take stock midway through the A side. No drums this time, but instead a heartbreaking conversation between two guitars; think Kevin McCormick and David Horridge’s masterful Light Patterns, or perhaps even the early solo-Bill Connors mid-70s cuts for ECM. The moment of quiet reflection passes, and is quickly shattered by the thudding march of XXVI – this piece comes across like The Associates playing "Wicked Game"; heavy, moody, and utterly compelling. XXVII ends our journey across Side A with more Marr-inspired playing; one for the heads and already featured on mixes, this one is real testament to the vision of Thought Leadership.

Side B again takes us on a trip through three long-form semi-improvised pieces. XXVIII is like those classic Jonny Nash, early Melody As Truth releases, slowly unfurling, additional details introduced deliberately piece by piece, this idea builds across 7+ minutes culminating in some utterly joyous ebow fireworks at the end – well Balearic.

XXIX again, like XXV before it, dispatches the drums with a focus purely on melody and mood. The piece feels like a lost Save Room Theme from the Resident Evil series, pure golden age Capcom Sound Team vibes. Unadulterated aural nostalgia for hours spent with a PS1 in haze of hash.

XXX completes this majestic voyage with another Modal exercise; this time the Thought Leader has opted for the Lydian Mode. Beautifully dreamy, undeniably Soundtrack-y, and arguably the most concise distillation so far of everything this project stands for; drum machines, guitars, pedals, one-take improvised solos – XXX has the lot, and is surely destined for greatness.

So, another X epic statements for guitar, homespun with the humblest of means, for all the dreamers out there. The first ever vinyl release of IV Of Cups has been carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francis to ensure it sounds better than ever after its initial tape release. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut at Abbey Road Studios whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry, in Holland. The original tape cover artwork, so crucial to Thought Leadership's striking visual aesthetic, has been rejigged for vinyl issue here at Be With.

The last 2 LPs flew. You have been warned.

With »News from Planet Zombie«, The Notwist return to view after years of exploration and experiment with an album rich in both melancholy and positivity, sketched across a suite of thrilling, fiercely committed pop songs. It’s an album reflecting a chaotic world, but responding with warmth and generosity, to achieve creative and spiritual consolidation. Recorded in their home base of Munich, it reconnects with the security of the local to explore the troubles of the global: a guiding impulse writ large across this album’s eleven songs. It’s also the first studio album since 1995’s »12« that the entire band recorded together in the studio in its expanded live formation.

A new album by The Notwist is always a curious endeavour; their musical language is as consistent and resilient as the contexts for creativity are unpredictable and ever shifting. For »News from Planet Zombie«, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck embraced the plural possibilities of writing together, bringing songs to the collective and then arranging, rehearsing and recording that material live, in the studio.

The result is an album that’s energised, fully in ›the now‹, with spectacular moments where you can hear the magic bubbling up in the dynamic between the Achers, Beck, and fellow members Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl. If »Teeth« begins »News from Planet Zombie« quietly and reflectively, by »X-Ray« everyone’s supercharged, blasting out future anthems with the collective energy cranked up high. The chiming keys of »Propeller« skim the instrumental’s surface like stones across burbling water; »The Turning« clangs its way into one of the album’s most heartwarming melodies.

»News from Planet Zombie« was recorded over one week at Import Export, a non-profit space for arts and music. You can tell, too; there are some pleasingly rough edges here, as though The Notwist’s striving for hazy perfection means they’re also confident enough to let the songs breathe and mutate between our ears. That openness to chance also takes in guest turns from friends both local and international, reflective of a cosmopolitan Munich: Enid Valu joins in on vocals, while Haruka Yoshizawa guests on taishōgoto and harmonium, Tianping Christoph Xiao on clarinet, and Mathias Götz on trombone.

The Notwist aren’t best known for cover versions, but »News from Planet Zombie« features two: a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s »Red Sun« (from 2000’s »Silver & Gold«), which the group originally developed for a theatre play directed by Jette Steckel, and a take on Athens, Georgia folk-pop gang Lovers’ »How the Story Ends«. They slot into the album’s narrative perfectly, nestling in like old friends, revealing The Notwist as poetic interpreters. Played well, the cover version is both acknowledgement of fellow travellers and act of generosity, and The Notwist nail both aspects here.

And that narrative, the way the album plays out? »News from Planet Zombie« acknowledges the distress of our current geopolitical impasse, while reminding us there are collective ways forward. Fed through the figure of the zombie, Markus Acher explores our anxieties: »In the title and some lyrics I reference B- and horror-movies, which is a reference to the crazy world at the moment, which seems to be like a really bad and unrealistic B-movie.« But there’s a reminder here not to lose the thread entirely, that these things, too, will pass.

»The river here in Munich I often go to has been there forever and will be there long after us,« Acher reflects, pinpointing an important source of succour for him, »always the same but always changing. Very calming, but also always reminding me that like this river time only flows into one direction and you can’t go back. Every moment is very precious.«

Artwork by Marie Vermont

The Notwist:
Markus Acher: vocals, guitar
Micha Acher: bass, sousaphone, euphonium, trumpet
Cico Beck: electronics, keyboards, guitar, recorder, percussion
Theresa Loibl: bassclarinet, clarinet, piano, harmonium, organ
Max Punktezahl: guitar
Karl Ivar Refseth: marimbaphone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, percussion
Andi Haberl: drums, dulcimer
+
Enid Valu: vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Haruka Yoshizawa: taishōgoto on 6, harmonium on 9, 10, 11
Tianping Christoph Xiao: clarinet on 4, 10, 11
Mathias Götz: trombone on 4, 10, 11

Especial welcomes the return of Akio Nagase, Osaka's own 303 specialist, with a second EP of acid infused world music. After the success of his Asia orientated EP, here his ethno-inspired dance comes to and from Africa, the mother.

With a history of making reggae influenced electronics under the Makedub alias, his development to acid master continues to showcase a skill at fusing samples, effects and found sound in a dub-desk mix that is body moving and catchy at the same time.

With a mission to bring the music of the world closer, Acid Maasai Collecthiv sets the scene with TB 303 weaving around dub heavy bass, crossing the Athi river, seeking spirits to bind. Countries and continents are tribes and with a reopening world, the dance can encompass all; open minds to bring unity.

This is exemplified on the ethereal Morisyen Acid. Sound design, Mauritian samples and creole vibrate perfectly with Akio's acid work and simple but effective "predominately" repetitive beats to uplift like the Tamarind sunrise.

Acid mantra as mind-gateway continues with Serengeti Summer. An heir to Whoktish, this is Not Reggae, the 808 and 303 in harmony; a jam of man, machine and samples to bring today's ethno-blue storytelling through consciousness.

Closing is Jua, interweaving the fabric of life, passing down from generations the primal with the psychedelic beat to communal gathering, Akio presents the music with love and respect.

Focus 21 is back with a second sizzling disco drop, this time in the form of 'Boogie Magic Vol 1', which has its feet firmly rooted in the 80s and the iconic machine sounds of that era. All four cuts are super tight and super funky from Gateway Jones, starting with 'Transmission', which is turbocharged with razzle-dazzle. 'Contact Zone' is slightly deeper and more sensuous with its playful synths and wriggling baseline. 'Non - Physical Boogie' is a taught stepper with loose claps and funky licks, then 'Midnight Call' closes with more of the same - feel good, uplifting but classy and sophisticated disco-boogie brilliance. A vital EP full of craft.

ZHERAV unleashes hypnotic Middle Eastern grooves on NAJA / BAZAAR 45 for Batov’s highly collectable 45 series.

New Zealand-based producer ZHERAV announces his debut release, NAJA / BAZAAR, a double single and 45 on Batov’s Middle Eastern Grooves series. The record fuses psychedelic rock, hypnotic rhythms, and electronic production influences, creating a sound that moves between swung grooves and cinematic, reverb-soaked textures.

ZHERAV draws from his background in house and techno, layering live guitar, bass, and synths over programmed drums. “I had a production template for house music on Ableton” he explains, “and I thought about how to switch to this Middle Eastern sound using the same format”. Most of ZHERAV’s tracks developed through improvisation - starting with programmed drums, then experimenting around scales on instruments until something works. ZHERAV has already received support from independent radio in Australia and New Zealand, and encouragement from international artists like Ko Shin Moon.

Both tracks explore Middle Eastern scales, bringing a distinct flavour to the grooves, while maintaining ZHERAV’s signature hypnotic layered sound. ZHERAV had something in mind related to snakes and their charmers when creating the A-side, NAJA (“Indian Cobra”). An ominous bassline loops repeatedly over snapping drums and percussion, whilst ZHERAV improvises guitar riffs and effects over the top.

Re issue of the album on LP as previous versions had all sold out and were deleted.
Global Dance phenomenon Sammy Virji’s sophomore album ‘Same Day Cleaning’ sees the renowned party starter deliver UK Garage to the world like no one before. The new album is rooted in Sammy’s unmissable club ready production style and features a slew of legendary rappers & producers. The project lands after an insane year of global festival and headline touring for Sammy. ‘Same Day Cleaning’ follows Sammy’s hugely successful ‘If U Need It’ and his follow up singles including club mainstay ‘Damager’, with Interplanetary Criminal. The album also features Sammy’s massive link up with British icon Skepta, ‘Cops & Robbers’. ‘Same Day Cleaning’ is bigger, bolder and promises to propel Sammy Virji even further onto the global dance-music stage

Pariah’s cult debut re-issued! “The Kindred” brings you pure old school Thrash Metal fury! Satan changed their name to Pariah in 1988-1989. Satan’s evolution for the time being came to an end here with this band, Pariah, in 1988. What Satan were going for with “Suspended Sentence”, could definitely be seen as a hint to the direction they would take as Pariah. That raspy, ill-tempered, aggressive Michael Jackson (indeed) is still here on vocals and these guys really wanted to tear things apart with this album. The main lineup here is entirely the same from Satan and Blind Fury (vocalists aside).

Simply put, one could easily say they took “Suspended Sentence”’s interesting idea of “NWOBHM meets Thrash Metal” and basically focused on being even more aggressive this time. We might be throwing out the obvious here again, but if you are new to Pariah or perhaps Satan, familiarize yourself with the fact that guitarists Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey are truly an insane duo. For the most part with “The Kindred” their guitar work is pretty thrashy and extremely melodic. Then out of nowhere those classic NWOBHM solo’s, dual harmonies, and majestic melodies come into play all over the place and they manage to make it work incredibly well in between the thrashy antics. The production and mix seems to be an improvement over “Suspended Sentence” and here the guitars tend to have more of a sharper edge, Jackson’s vocals are constantly in the clear and never overpowered by anything else, and overall there is a tougher vibe surrounding this.

Everything here is pretty damn heavy. While Tippins and Ramsey are really out there in a realm of their own, there’s great performances again by Graeme English on bass and Sean Taylor on drums. Overall you’ve got a whole package of virtuous musicians here that really mastered the beauty of balance. All in all “The Kindred” goes all the way with every track being fast and aggressive. Satan and Pariah are all typically made up of the same core members and definitely created some timeless and unique Heavy Metal.

Cloud Management return to Altin Village & Mine for a unique collaboration with New York writer and creative polymath Vivien Goldman.

A pairing spanning generations and geography, but with a musical overlap that is quite fitting in both process and result. Cloud Management’s jammy, improvisational approach to their dubby electronics blends well with Goldman’s idiosyncratic vocal style, which has its origins in the early days of post–punk and UK dub experimentalism. Cloud Management blend many historical aspects of German electronic music into something distinctly their own, while retaining a view well beyond those borders or any particular era. This approach fits well with Goldman’s deep multidisciplinary career, not easily defined because of its eclectic abundance across disciplines, yet always orbiting around music as its foundation.

When it comes down to it, these are great tracks created in the same way they sound: loose but refined, circling and turning inwards and outwards, back onto themselves. A dub of a dub of a dub, but never falling too far from the source — the minimalism necessary to deliver a direct, steady resolve and a gripping listen.

The B–Side of the record features three remixes by artists from across the globe, all with strong connections to the front line of dancehall, dub, and electronic music experimentalism. Longtime Equiknoxx member Time Cow from Kingston (Jamaica), delivers a version of »Quick Cover Up« that represents a major overhaul of the original. This remix strips away much of the looseness of the source material and leans into a lush yet slightly darker atmosphere, created by layered synths and a masterful use of underlying percussion and melodic stabs.

Up next are Twin Cities, Minnesota–based Feel Free Hi Fi, who take on »Judge Judge.« The duo tighten things up, overlaying weighty vintage string synths and digi–flute melodies. This version feels designed for smoky, late–night dub sound system sessions, harkening back to dub’s foundations.

Last but not least is London’s Pat Orburn. Stripped way down, the remix rides an interplay between alternating minimalism and a more lo-fi but lush exuberance, somewhat reminiscent of a bossa nova–esque minimal synth sound. This version’s lo–fi pop sensibility provides a fitting contrast and completes an eclectic yet copacetic trio of remixes for the record.

2ND LP PRESSING

Cosmic Ear is a new group bringing together Christer Bothén, Mats Gustafsson, Goran Kajfeš, Kansan Zetterberg and Juan Romero. Their debut album TRACES is released by We Jazz Records on 23rd of May, 2025. Including 6 deep cuts, TRACES is an album that sees Cosmic Ear tracking down the "traces" of the legendary Don Cherry's legacy while paving their own way in contemporary creative music expression.

Christer Bothén, a collaborator with Don Cherry during his Swedish period in the 1970s, brings depth to the history of the band, while his bandmates each belong at the top of the game in Scandinavian jazz. Their music is meditative and deep, much recommended for fans of the likes of Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, and Pharoah. That being said, listeners should approach Cosmic Ear only with openness and curiosity, without set stylistic boundaries, as it's the group's natural flow and togetherness that brings their music into a fresh territory of their own.

As John Corbett writes in his liner notes:

"The Cosmic Ear. Five souls, sometimes six, on the same road. The pied piper path of Mr. Cherry. Christer Bothén, one of Cherry's main collaborators in his Swedish period and one of the most beautiful bass clarinetists on planet earth, together with next-gen saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, who has carried so many torches in Cherry's procession, and younger Swedish stars trumpeter Goran Kajfes, bassist Kansan Zetterberg, and percussionist Juan Romero. Together a tempo is set, a path is charted. There are global grooves. A berimbau, a karignan (metal scraper from Guinea), donso n'goni. There are ET grooves. Synth, live-electronics, slide flute. The globe is a glove, a hand warmer that radiates with extraterrestrial power, returning the fingers to their place at the center of the galaxy; the Cherry path is a balm that restores essential moisture to the lips that blow life back into the megacosm. Let us all praise warm fingers and moist mouths."

First time reissue of JP / US free jazz rarity.

The 1970s were Marion Brown’s most searching decade, a period during which he sought to move beyond the free jazz of the previous era and find more personal approaches to structuring improvisation and composition. After leaving New York for Europe in 1967, Brown began reshaping his music into what he described as “a more deliberate kind of music that had more structure to it,” pacing it so that moods and modes could develop over time. Albums such as In Sommerhausen, Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, Geechee Recollections, and Sweet Earth Flying trace this evolution: rhythmic structures moved to the foreground, harmony receded, and composition became a matter of orchestrating interlocking rhythmic parts as one would polyphonic lines.

Released in 1976, Awofofora is an overlooked but crucial entry in that sequence. At the time, its use of funk and reggae beats, electric guitars, and grooves drawn from contemporary Black popular music led some to misread it as a jazz-rock detour. In retrospect, it is entirely consistent with Brown’s methodology. As he admired in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the stimulus comes from within the community. Here Brown filters Afro-Caribbean rhythms and funk through his own sensibility, abstracting their structural qualities rather than adopting surface style.

“La Placita,” making its first recorded appearance, layers distinct rhythmic phrases in a manner reminiscent of African drum ensembles, over which Brown and trumpeter Ambrose Jackson spin extended improvisations. The standard “Flamingo” is reshaped through diasporic rhythm and lyrical soloing, while “Pepi’s Tempo” and “Mangoes” harness crisp funk and reggae grooves to generate what Brown called a “manifestation of community” through collective improvisation. Even the overdubbed solo feature “And Then They Danced” reflects his structural thinking, ingeniously re-voicing a duet composition for two alto saxophones performed by one player.

This was the only recording by a short-lived band that briefly polarized audiences during festival appearances in 1976. Yet Brown consistently sought unity across change: different sounds, same principles — rhythm as structure, melody as architecture, collective improvisation, and above all, the primacy of tone. Awofofora stands not as a departure, but as a vivid synthesis of the elements he had been refining since the late 1960s, its grooves and golden alto lines conveying a sound drawn, in his words, “from life and from the world of experience.”

Dave Wallace is one third of Aquasky, as well as a founding member of Mad Dog and Fugitive. He also released his own EP’s on Moving Shadow and R&S in the 90’s and more recently an EP on TeeBee’s Subtitles label as well as a return to the rave with various Fugitive tracks and remixes on Vinyl Fanatiks over the past few years.

But one track has always alluded a release, there was always something that prevented it from being released. Originally written in 1995, it wasn’t until 1996 that he sent it to LTJ Bukem who went nuts for it, advising Dave to speed it up from its original 156bpm so he could play it. Upon doing so, it was also sent to Fabio and the pair of them played it on Kiss, Radio 1 and various gigs and festivals across the world. Dave was just in discussions to release it when Dillinja made a Bladerunner track using the same samples. In light of that and how the hierarchy worked in the 90’s drum and bass scene, Dave decided to pull the release and the track went back into the DAT draw… for 26 years!

This track has been requested by many to be pressed since Vinyl Fanatiks started as it had such a huge fanbase, so many people loved the track after hearing it either back in the day or on copies of mixes uploaded in recent years to the internet. An extremely desired track! But there was never a B-side to it… until Dave stepped into his Fugitive guise and brought the track up to date with one of the baddest basslines we have released on the label.

Join us as we take you on a ride from the smooth to the ruff!


Its all an expression!

How do losers dance? According to Helmut, almost weightlessly, with soft feet, warm gestures, sometimes alone, sometimes together. Content Creatures, Helmut's fourth album, evokes the pop archetype of the "beautiful loser", who had almost disappeared from view in so-called late capitalism. In a present in which even suffering is often similarly instrumentalised and tailored to clicks like a competitive sport, this album sets a counterpoint: those who listen to it suddenly want to be enchanting losers again, useless and joyfully messing up, losing something beloved, having their hearts broken, giving up a dream, sinking into beauty.
You don't sink alone. Comforting harmonies envelop you, the voices of friends appear, accompany you for a while and then disappear again. Warm grooves, floating synths and delicate guitar lines characterise an indie sound that remains open and breathes.
Self-produced for the first time in his home studio in Neukölln, 'Content Creatures' sounds thoughtful and light at the same time. The album will be released digitally and on vinyl on 10 April 2026 on Berlin-based label St.Vladimir. There are four songs on one side and four songs on the other. The cover is adorned with an exceptionally pretty guinea pig. Helmut shows the special in the seemingly ordinary: a child's pet, the most ordinary of all, is his cover star and headstrong protagonist.

Wie tanzen Verlierer? Wenn man nach Helmut geht, dann fast schwerelos, mit weichen Füßen, warmen Gesten, manchmal allein, manchmal gemeinsam. Content Creatures, Helmuts viertes Album, evoziert den Pop-Archetypus des "beautiful loser", der im sogenannten Spätkapitalismus fast aus dem Blick geraten war. In einer Gegenwart, in der sogar das Leid oft ähnlich durchinstrumentalisiert und auf Klicks getrimmt ist wie ein Leistungssport, setzt dieses Album einen Kontrapunkt: Wer es hört, möchte auf einmal gern wieder ein bezaubernder Verlierer sein, nutzlos und freudvoll abkacken, etwas Geliebtes verlieren, das Herz gebrochen bekommen, einen Traum aufgeben, in Schönheit versinken.
Man versinkt nicht allein. Tröstende Harmonien legen sich um einen, die Stimmen von Freundinnen tauchen auf, begleiten einen ein Stück weit und verschwinden wieder. Warme Grooves, schwebende Synths und feine Gitarrenlinien prägen einen Indie-Sound, der offen bleibt, atmet. Erstmals in seinem Neuköllner Homestudio selbst produziert, klingt "Content Creatures" bedacht und leicht zugleich.
Das Album erscheint digital und auf Vinyl am 10.04.2026 auf dem Berliner Label St.Vladimir. Es hat vier Songs auf der einen und vier Songs auf der anderen Seite. Das Cover ziert ein außergewöhnlich hübsches Meerschweinchen. Helmut zeigt das Besondere im scheinbar Gewöhnlichen: Ein Kinderhaustier, das normalste von allen, ist bei ihm Coverstar und eigensinnige Protagonistin.

How do losers dance? According to Helmut, almost weightlessly, with soft feet, warm gestures, sometimes alone, sometimes together. Content Creatures, Helmut's fourth album, evokes the pop archetype of the "beautiful loser", who had almost disappeared from view in so-called late capitalism. In a present in which even suffering is often similarly instrumentalised and tailored to clicks like a competitive sport, this album sets a counterpoint: those who listen to it suddenly want to be enchanting losers again, useless and joyfully messing up, losing something beloved, having their hearts broken, giving up a dream, sinking into beauty.
You don't sink alone. Comforting harmonies envelop you, the voices of friends appear, accompany you for a while and then disappear again. Warm grooves, floating synths and delicate guitar lines characterise an indie sound that remains open and breathes.
Self-produced for the first time in his home studio in Neukölln, 'Content Creatures' sounds thoughtful and light at the same time. The album will be released digitally and on vinyl on 10 April 2026 on Berlin-based label St.Vladimir. There are four songs on one side and four songs on the other. The cover is adorned with an exceptionally pretty guinea pig. Helmut shows the special in the seemingly ordinary: a child's pet, the most ordinary of all, is his cover star and headstrong protagonist.

Wie tanzen Verlierer? Wenn man nach Helmut geht, dann fast schwerelos, mit weichen Füßen, warmen Gesten, manchmal allein, manchmal gemeinsam. Content Creatures, Helmuts viertes Album, evoziert den Pop-Archetypus des "beautiful loser", der im sogenannten Spätkapitalismus fast aus dem Blick geraten war. In einer Gegenwart, in der sogar das Leid oft ähnlich durchinstrumentalisiert und auf Klicks getrimmt ist wie ein Leistungssport, setzt dieses Album einen Kontrapunkt: Wer es hört, möchte auf einmal gern wieder ein bezaubernder Verlierer sein, nutzlos und freudvoll abkacken, etwas Geliebtes verlieren, das Herz gebrochen bekommen, einen Traum aufgeben, in Schönheit versinken.
Man versinkt nicht allein. Tröstende Harmonien legen sich um einen, die Stimmen von Freundinnen tauchen auf, begleiten einen ein Stück weit und verschwinden wieder. Warme Grooves, schwebende Synths und feine Gitarrenlinien prägen einen Indie-Sound, der offen bleibt, atmet. Erstmals in seinem Neuköllner Homestudio selbst produziert, klingt "Content Creatures" bedacht und leicht zugleich.
Das Album erscheint digital und auf Vinyl am 10.04.2026 auf dem Berliner Label St.Vladimir. Es hat vier Songs auf der einen und vier Songs auf der anderen Seite. Das Cover ziert ein außergewöhnlich hübsches Meerschweinchen. Helmut zeigt das Besondere im scheinbar Gewöhnlichen: Ein Kinderhaustier, das normalste von allen, ist bei ihm Coverstar und eigensinnige Protagonistin.

A deeply hypnotic and beautifully crafted statement from one of the true masters of subtle groove and atmosphere. Playedby‘s label boss himself, returns to his very own imprint Tripsi Records with a stunning new vinyl release. Pure hypnotic brilliance, essential for selectors, collectors, and lovers of deeply crafted electronic music.
Tripsi Records is more than just a label. It is an audio-visual world created by Cristi Klebleev, where sound and image come from the same hand. Every release features only his own music, accompanied by original artworks painted by Cristi himself on canvas, making each record a fully personal expression, both sonically and visually. A perfect example of why Tripsi Records continues to stand out in a crowded world. Finest mastering and Cut, 180g Vinyl!

2026 Black Vinyl Repress

We are extremely excited to share with you this wonderful piece of old skool hardcore. Created in Bristol in 1993 and released on a limited white label back then, this record has become a holy grail over the past 30 years. Very rare, very sought after and 100% original West Country vibes.

Written by Rich Williams, who emigrated to LA many years ago and James Towler – producer for John Lydon these days! These guys were on some next level vibes when they wrote this ultimate slice of darkcore rave!

Pressed by the mighty Phil ‘The Vinylman’ East on 180g heavyweight vinyl. This release is a bespoke product as no one record is the same. Designed to look like the planet Jupiter and part of a 4 vinyl Cosmik series.

Is it dark enough???

PARKWAY returns with three beatin’ cuts on the HOUSE BREAKIN’ Ep.
Leading the charge is TRU LOVE, where house and freestyle combine in a love that lasts forever. Infectious keys and vocal hooks over snappy drum programming - the kind of house music that united warehouse crowds.

On the flip DUM DUM and EGYPTIAN GROOVE take the same melting pot of influences, electro meets freestyle and house, it’s music to run down your beatbox batteries.

All in all, it’s unmistakable PARKWAY. Don’t miss out

Leuchtende Pop-Hymnen aus der diorama-Dunkelkammer. a substitute for light kreist um das Motiv des Lichts - als Verheißung, Orientierung und Täuschung. Es flackert in Monitoren, spiegelt sich in Oberflächen und lässt Erinnerungen im Schatten verschwimmen. Zwischen ausrangierter Liebe und digitaler Erstarrung suchen die Songs nach einem echten Funken - geboren aus Bewusstsein, nicht aus Strom. Auf ihrem elften Studioalbum zeigen diorama, dass weniger mehr sein kann: klare Arrangements, prägnante Melodien und Vocals mit ordentlich Punch. Zwischen clubtauglicher Wucht, hypnotischen Balladen und schwebender Melancholie entsteht ein Sound, der sofort zündet - und lange nachhallt. Trost in der Dunkelheit. Ein Ersatz für Licht.

Transversales Disques proudly presents the first official LP reissue of "Deserted Palace", studio album written & performed by Jean Michel Jarre in 1972, during his work experience at G.R.M. (Groupe de Recherches Musicales).

In 1971, an order was placed with producer Francis Dreyfus to provide sound for public places such as airports and libraries. He decided to pass the project on to Jean-Michel, who had recently been signed by his record company.

These fifteen tracks are made with only two synthesizers (EMS VCS3 & Farfisa organ) in an experimental and very minimal style.

"It was a crazy album, totally homemade, with rhythms that I made in my student room, with a minimum of equipment and at the same time electronic sounds that I stole from the GRM where I went at night after stealing the keys to the studios. It is a pirate record, in every sense of the word, in which we find what I did afterwards.” JMJ

Audio restored & remastered
Including cuesheet poster/ Limited edition of 500 copies

We’re very happy to share this one with you and humbly present our first release on Sentiment by head honcho Asphalt DJ. Four stripped-down, tension-building club tracks built to go deep and in the body. Sentiment is a label born from admiration for those who came long before us, who were driven by curiosity and experimented with early machinery. We want to create a home for music that carries that same spirit. A home founded on the bricks of house and techno and built together with artists who inspire us. Feel free to join building. Much Love

Billy Wooten's 'In This World' is a long-overdue gem from the golden age of soulful jazz-funk. Originally from his cult 1972 album, this P-Vine reissue makes it available on 7" wax for the first time ever, and Wooten's vibraphone magic is brought to life in full analogue warmth. Channelling that same mellow, sunlit energy as Roy Ayers, male-female vocal number 'In This World' drifts between blissed-out groove and spiritual elevation and is a track that feels like walking through light. Silky percussion, deep bass and those unmistakable Wooten vibes make this a wonderful winter escape to sunnier times and climes.

Nicaraguan-American artist Dagmar Zuniga makes music that feels both intimate and expansive: songs drift like disrupted signals, carried by harmony, tape hiss, and a strong sense of touch. Her debut solo album in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow music — written and recorded in New York, Norway, and Athens, Georgia over a period of five years on her longtime companion, the Tascam 424 — was uploaded to Bandcamp and YouTube in January 2025, quickly garnering over two hundred thousand views and the attention of artists such as Mount Eerie, who invited her to tour with them that summer. This year, what was once a jewel of tapped-in algorithms and message boards will meet the world at large, with in filth arriving digitally on March 4, and physically on April 10, via AD 93.

in filth is an atmospheric, devotional collage where one voice multiplies into a chorus of selves, sometimes delicate, sometimes severe; an effect created by Zuniga’s masterful layering of texture and complex harmonies. Synths glitter out like spears of sunlight from beneath clouds of moody, time-distorted guitars, and songs spin about themselves like tightly-wound music boxes, making use of a kind of hypnotic repetition, before melting apart into their components or slipping into the following track.

Zuniga began recording to tape as a teenager, drawn to the physicality of the medium — how a tape recording is fragile, mutable, and alive. Though her ethereal sound may draw easy comparisons to other female pioneers of psychedelic folk, she is influenced just as much by the darker sounds of Syd Barrett and The Fall. Like Barrett, Zuniga is a painter, and she is interested not only in recording music but in creating a full, self-contained artistic universe: she creates her own artwork, merchandise, music videos, and bootleg tapes of new and unfinished music that she exclusively sells at live shows (“If something is not material, it does not exist,” she insists). Her world has not gone unvisited, garnering her a monthly show on NTS Radio ‘World of Pain’, as well as a forthcoming appearance at Rewire Festival in April 2026.

Though Zuniga’s work explores themes of solitude and suffering, the suffering in her songs is not borrowed or displayed; it is held, then opened outward through empathy — an exacting practice of attention that insists on shared ground. Solitude, in her work, is not withdrawal but a starting point for connection. Likewise, over time, her recording process has become increasingly communal, with in filth featuring musicians Hayes Hoey, Austyn Wohlers (Tomato Flower), and Zach Phillips (Fievel Is Glauque). Newer recordings widen the circle even more. For Zuniga, collaboration is a way to “find a place between worlds,” echoing Badiou’s idea of love as a vision refracted through the prism of difference. Meaning emerges there — in the space between voices, between artist and listener. “I hope my music helps people work through difficult experiences,” she says. “The same way it helps me.”

The long-awaited reissue of Toba makes it clear, once and for all, to fans and industry insiders that disco music produced in Italy between the late 70s and early 80s had no chance of success. What was disparagingly called "spaghetti disco", considered a poor imitation of real American disco music, only good for Japanese cartoons. This was the main reason that prompted Italians to record their songs abroad, as Fratelli La Bionda with their pseudonym D.D.Sound in Munich. Luigi Figini, with "Supercool" and "Percussion Sundance" by Edo Martin and Pino Santapaga (the same as "Step By Step" by Koxo), claimed that Kash was a one-off Swedish disco project, a lie that came to light when an Italian test pressing from the previous year, made by GDB, was posted !!! Amin-Peck followed the trend of passing off their songs as foreign music on the intuition of their Roman producers. So ''Love Disgrace'' was released on 7'' by a label called Connection, which never really existed, created for the purpose by Giancarlo Meo, confident that this would bring success to the Bolognese duo who were already creating 'proto Italo-Disco tracks' with a new-wave trend. To make the whole operation seem real, the London agency Ellie Jay Ltd. was involved, contacting Andy Fernbach of Jacobs Studios Ltd. The vinyl was also produced in the UK, otherwise the deception would have been discovered, then imported to Italy by Best Record. Italo-Disco was officially born after this, in 1982, not before! Everything makes sense now ! Real events that actually happened and purely invented names and anecdotes. Just think, even the image of Tony Balch used for the cover of Toba was taken from Grand Theft's 1978 album "Have You Seen This Band?" and reproduced on the new redesigned cover, as were the heads of the other musicians. The idea of a real band called Toba had finally come to fruition and would lead to a second sensational success the following year. Now it all makes sense! Facts and anecdotes that really happened and names and circumstances that are purely fictional. Finally, everything adds up! Real things and invented names of musicians and collaborators. It's important to clarify what we've said above, but we haven't talked about "Make Your Mind Up" and "Don't Take It" and the two masterful remixes performed by Dave Mathmos. In short: with the original versions we'll make Italo-Disco purists happy, with the remix versions we'll please new younger followers with more modern sounds and versions more in line with today's tastes and trends.

Vintage Pleasure Boutique once again dives deep into the vast catalogue of super-productions by Roberto Zanetti, better known as Robyx and Savage. This time, the journey takes us back to 1984, unearthing a true gem created at the suggestion of Marco Bresciani, Italian DJ and producer, and the same creative force involved with Radiorama. Zanetti delivered flawlessly. He transformed the elegant, high-grade British synth-pop original by OMD into a first-class Italo disco weapon, infused with that unmistakable sweet, melodic touch and fat kick that blended perfectly in clubs alongside genre-defining tracks of the era. “Souvenir” by Saxophone quickly became a classic, a staple of the sound and a cornerstone in countless old-school DJ record bags.

Today, original copies are scarce, highly sought after, and often prohibitively expensive on the secondary market. This reissue is both a tribute to long-time fans of the record and a nod to devotees of Robyx’s unmistakable sound. The vinyl also features a special remix of “Souvenir”, sonically aligned with Savage classics such as “Radio,” “Fugitive,” “Only You,” and “Don’t Cry Tonight.”

A true feast for lovers of this timeless Italo disco aesthetic, equal parts nostalgia, elegance and dancefloor power.

Skyjoose and Johnnie Clark set out to push the boundaries of UK Garage and 2-Step, crafting a sound that was raw, souldful, and ahead of its time. The project became known as The Stalker – a name that would quietly echo through the underground. Though countless tracks emerged from those sessions, only two saw the light of day on the original Stalker EP released in the year 2000.

Now, 25 years later, The Stalker returns from the depths of the DAT archives – remastered, reawakened, and ready to move dancefloors once again. This special repress features the two original vocal mixes from the Stalker EP, plus four additional club weapons forged in those same legendary sessions – three of which have never been released…until now.

Second release on 13130 series,
Always the same process, featuring old-school artists and current techno finest.
This time 13130 offers: FRAZI.ER, Invexis, Elyas, SERA J, AK1 & Benkhlifa.

Here it is, finally.. something new, or is it new? A new classic jungle EP consisting of analog synthesizer, sine-wave bass, and direct-from-vinyl drums sampled on a hardware Akai sampler for a classic-style Jungle EP. The first in a series of (?) EPs direct from the source, in a limited vinyl release made for the listener of alternative environments, out-world spaces, and ether-real places, to be found only here.

BLUE & WHITE COLOUR IN COLOUR VINYL

In the culinary arts, it’s easy to overcomplicate the final product. Theme, presentation, texture…they’re important but should work to complement the raison d'etre of any food. At the end of cooking a dish, it should taste good and feed people. Some dishes, like barbeque or provoleta, resist the tendency towards hollow showmanship. One of their expressions can be more or less aesthetic, but the first purpose is to be simple and tasteful. Argentinian provoleta goes so far as to blur the line between ingredient and dish. It relies on the inherent flavor of provolone being heated at the right speed for the perfect amount of time. You can add garlic or chives or red pepper to the slice, but ultimately they serve to bring out an essence that’s already there.

Los Angeles’ Cousin Feo has developed his rapping acumen in the five years since releasing Provoleta, but returning to the project today shows that he always had the penmanship, grit and delivery that christens an emcee worthy of remembrance. Like the bubbles rising up in the appetizer that is the album’s namesake, Feo showed that true profundity is found in the simple gestures.

Since dropping the project in 2019, Cousin Feo has expanded his vision of a world where hip-hop and football, two proletarian art forms, mingle in creative and compelling ways. He has collaborated across multiple continents, chronicled football histories, aided in canonizing legends, kept the flames high in age-old rivalries and constantly forced his audience to search for the last time they heard bars this hard. In anyone else’s hands it would be too great a task.

The maturity he showed on Provoleta wasn’t nascent, it was an inherent quality forcing itself to the surface. The songs refract his experience as a working class Angeleno through the archetypes of Argentinian football legends. The kernel that unites the two worlds is hustle. When Feo was coming up, missteps had greater consequences than crashing out in the group stage and street deals had the weight of a Boca-River Plate match.

Each track uses slightly different ingredients to let Feo’s underlying talent shine. “Maradona” feels salvific, fitting for a football legend canonized from the Andes to the Alps and a Los Angeles rapper looking to inspire similar hope in the neighborhoods that raised him. On “Di Stefano” Feo massages the instrumental with the same composure of the late forward, until he pierces through the headphones like one of Di Stefano’s arrows. It’s also refreshing to hear a song celebrating Messi before his meme-ification, focusing on the universal truths contained in his footballing talent instead of using number 10 as a stand-in to make a point in a fruitless argument. And he still finds space to show deference to Batistuta, Kempes and other members of the Argentinian pantheon who’ve been erased from the popular imagination by the national team's contemporary success.

Real ones know that true players, true rappers, and true artists will always stand the attacks of time and consensus. In Provoleta’s first verse, Cousin Feo says he moves with the hand of God. Maybe one day he’ll tell the whole truth and let us know how he was able to wrestle the pen away too. Limited edition of 300 hand-numbered copies.

One of the longest standing figures amidst the Discrepant wolfpack, the unstoppable alias of sound collector Laurent Jeanneau returns to the fold 2 years after 'Tanzania II' with this 2.0 update of the celebrated 'The Lisu' sort-of-mixtape released way back in 2014.

Based on recordings of music from the Lisu communities in China and Thailand captured on site, this mix shows Gong more like a selector or dj, restricting electronic processing to a bare minimum in order to convey different histories, places and timeframes within the same mesmerising continuum. A respectful and deeply vivid evocation of all the richness and diversity found among the different strands of lisu music, from ceremonial vocal incantations through a chibeu string instrument "processed" in loco through saturated street speakers to moments of pure poetic radiance, 'The Lisu' flows gracefully with the keen sense of wonder and knowledge of one of this century's most thoughtful and insightful sonic travellers.

Isella doesn’t flinch from the horror stitched into the fabric of the feminine experience. Citing writers like Plath Margaret Atwood, and Mona Awad as germinal influences on her lyricism, Isella plunges into the underbelly of expectations of good-girlhood, of valiant womanhood. In her songs she splays out the stakes of it all, plumbing the viscera, unearthing the blood, guts, dirt, and decay lurking beneath. By the time she hit fifteen, Isella’s taste had expanded and grown darker and more mature. Artists like Nine Inch Nails and Tom Waits became a conduit for the kind of raw intensity she’d always been drawn to, and gave her permission to push herself to new depths of expression. This is evidenced on her latest EP; That freedom that Reznor et al. endowed to the songwriter are evidenced on her latest EP; Something is a shell . Isella’s vocals swing from coolly detached to emotional detonation, often in the span of the same song. She brings listeners into a world colored by feminist hyper-realism, challenging listeners to re-define ideas of femininity, and safety; to see that things are not okay.

Isella doesn’t flinch from the horror stitched into the fabric of the feminine experience. Citing writers like Plath Margaret Atwood, and Mona Awad as germinal influences on her lyricism, Isella plunges into the underbelly of expectations of good-girlhood, of valiant womanhood. In her songs she splays out the stakes of it all, plumbing the viscera, unearthing the blood, guts, dirt, and decay lurking beneath. By the time she hit fifteen, Isella’s taste had expanded and grown darker and more mature. Artists like Nine Inch Nails and Tom Waits became a conduit for the kind of raw intensity she’d always been drawn to, and gave her permission to push herself to new depths of expression. This is evidenced on her latest EP; That freedom that Reznor et al. endowed to the songwriter are evidenced on her latest EP; Something is a shell . Isella’s vocals swing from coolly detached to emotional detonation, often in the span of the same song. She brings listeners into a world colored by feminist hyper-realism, challenging listeners to re-define ideas of femininity, and safety; to see that things are not okay.

Phil Berg is back on the label, with his highly anticipated return. Four tracks that
continue to pave the way he laid in 2023 with his Raid EP.

Titled Iso, the EP is a study in reduction and discipline. Phil builds each track around a single guiding tension, rhythmic loops that breathe and shift injecting different emotions as each sound passes.

Phil Berg first appeared on SK11 in late 2023 with Raid, one of his biggest and most accomplished releases to date, an EP that made an immediate impression across techno fans worldwide. Iso's four productions here, each with their own identity, each showcasing the same commitment to craft and precision that defined his introduction to the label.

The EP is a statement of intent for Phil in 2026 and one of SK11's strongest releases of the year.

lovetempo is the solo project of Mattie Safer, former member of the beloved New York electroclash band The Rapture, now channeling his club-rooted background into contemporary disco and electronic soul. The album features a strong cast of collaborators including Dougie Stu (Brijean), Toribio, Kate Mattison (79.5), and multi-instrumentalist Izaak Mills, with mixing and additional production by Carlos Truly (Ava Luna, Juan Wauters, Frankie Cosmos). The project has received tastemaker support from Gilles Peterson and Laurent Garnier, airplay on BBC 6Music, KEXP, and KCRW, and editorial placement on Spotify playlists including Pollen, Metropolis, and Jazz House.

Belgian minimalist, Dutch-language new wave/synth pop, since 1981! The historic album ‘Jonge Helden’ (1981) brought them instant eternal fame, the single ‘Lekker Westers’ (1983) a Belpop classic & the line-up changed wildly with icons such as Luc Van Acker (Revolting Cocks), Dani Klein (Vaya Con Dios), Willy Willy (The Scabs) or Andrew Chi Claes (Stuff) ...

However, MARCEL VANTHILT (lyrics & music) continues to rock the anarcho-Dadaist-electro-super-tronica scene to this day. Side note: Vanthilt often strayed into TV land (BRT, VPRO, MTV-EUROPE, BBC) and is now a DJ at Radio WILLY with the alternative ‘De M-Show’.

AA! is once again performing frequently in the best clubs (Depot, Casino, Macca) and on major stages (Pukkelpop, Villa Pace, Paulus Oostende). This will also be the case in 2026! This is due to the fresh and spicy new album ‘AA!PKPP’ in collaboration with PARKAPARAPLU.

PARKAPARAPLU: New dark wave duo from Antwerp. With ...

> EMMA ROTSAERT, singer and actress. She plays the lead role in the Ensor-nominated TV drama series ‘How To Kill Your Sister’ (2025). And comes from the same absurd planet as Vanthilt.
> GEERT VANBEVER, veteran of Wizards Of Ooze, Rudy Trouvé Septet, Dead Man Ray, Tuff Guac, among others... worked with Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers) and Budgie (The Banshees), among others. Together, Emma & Geert also have a Sisters Of Mercy tribute band: Body Electric.

Papooz & Friends ! is a collaborative album where French duo Papooz gather a constellation of kindred artists, including Molly Lewis, Erlend Øye (Kings of Convenience / Whitest Boy Alive), Arto Lindsay, Oracle Sisters, Sacha Got (La Femme), Zé Ibarra and Hugo Hamlet, to create original songs born from true artistic encounters.



Blending elegant indie pop, modern folk and sun-soaked experimentation, the project unfolds as a collective musical journey celebrating friendship and creative dialogue.

Faitiche welcomes a new artist: Christina Kubisch belongs to the first generation of sound artists. Her practice ranges from performances, concerts, to works with video and visual art, but she is best known for her sound installations and electro-acoustic compositions.

TUNING brings together three pieces by Christina Kubisch from different periods of her oeuvre. What they have in common is the way they transform sound phenomena originally considered “non-music” into compositions.

Jan Jelinek: Gaming in Silence (2024) is the most recent work on this compilation. It’s a collage of electromagnetic waves, voice, and abstract sound textures. How did this combination come about?

Christina Kubisch: Gaming was commissioned as a fixed-media composition for the Sound Dome at ZKM Karlsruhe. Since Resonances: The Electromagnetic Bodies Project (2005), I’ve been making recordings in the old and new server rooms at the ZKM and in their permanent collection of historical computer games. Computer games like Asteroids (Atari, 1979) and Poly-Play (VEB Polytechnik, 1986) have specially generated analogue electromagnetic waves that interest me in particular on account of their density, rhythms and textures. I originally studied painting and to me the work of composition often feels like painting an abstract picture. I alter my source material as little as possible, layering and overlapping until a distinctive sound space emerges. In recent pieces, I sometimes combine magnetic waves with field recordings or live instruments. In Gaming it’s my recording of a Chinese song about silence.

JJ: Two persons walking through a street in Madrid (2004) is a recording from your Electrical Walks series. Here we should give a brief explanation of one of your best known works: participants in an Electrical Walk move through public spaces wearing prepared headphones that allow them to receive electromagnetic waves from their surroundings – for example from security gates, ATMs or neon signs. They discover a situation that normally is inaudible to the human ear and they can actively shape it by choreographing their movements. I really admire this piece, not least because there’s no clear dividing line between participants and artist. What exactly do we hear in Two persons walking through a street in Madrid (2004)?

CK: With this early work, I wanted to understand what is heard by people participating in an Electrical Walk in the same place but moving in different ways. The Spanish composer Miguel Alvarez-Fernàndez and I set off from opposite ends of a major shopping street in Madrid, met briefly in the middle, and then continued to the end. We both recorded our walks and I then layered them over one another. You might call it a work of electromagnetic conceptualism.

JJ: Diapason (2009 version) is an installation that plays a composition based on sounds from fifteen tuning forks. This setting is audible in the recording: there’s no dramatic arc, no beginning or end – instead, it recalls a piece of aleatoric music focussing on the decay phase. How did you come to make this work and could you tell us something about your compositional method?

CK: Diapason is part of a series of three pieces that deal with “non-instruments” or instruments that no longer exist: electrical mine bells used to send signals to the workers underground; a historical glass harmonica originally used for medicinal purposes; and tuning forks that were used by doctors to test people’s hearing. All of these methods are no longer in use. The sound of the tuning forks, audible only if held close to the ear, was recorded at the electronic studio at Berlin’s Technical University in such a way that even their decay remained audible. The frequencies range between 64 and 2048 Hertz and they can be adjusted at micro-intervals using small movable weights. The sequence and the duration of the pauses are dictated by chance and were not defined in advance. The 2009 version was created for an installation in the historic Holy Cross Church (Korskirken) in Bergen. Visitors could enter and leave the space at any time, deciding for themselves where and for how long they wished to listen to the sounds played back over an array of small loudspeakers placed on the floor of the apse.

Credits:

Gaming in Silence: commission of the ZKM/Hertzlab, Karlsruhe 2023
elektronic sound processing: Tom Thiel
sound engineering and mixing: Eckehard Güther

Diapason: produced at Elektronisches Studio of TU Berlin
rearrangement: Eckehard Güther

Christina Kubisch, published by Edition Christina Kubisch / Random Musick Publishing

image front: Transitionen 2021 by C. Kubisch, sonagrams of electronic waves (courtesy: Galerie Mazzoli Berlin)
image back: Diapason Tuning Fork, property of Folkmar Hein, Photo: Archiv Christina Kubisch

design by Tim Tetzner
mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi
Thanks to Miguel Álvarez-Fernández, Folkmar Hein, Dominik Kautz and Mario Mazzoli