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Sometimes I sink into the dark side of life,
Lucky me to have music to pull me back into the light” Kutiman

Following on from his critically acclaimed Open LP released in October, revered polymath Kutiman returns to Siyal Music with his Dense EP. Kutiman continues to push forward with developing his sound as we see the artist creating his first ever electric leaning release. Not the only first, as the haunting vocals layered throughout are a result of Kutiman debuting his very own voice. Kutiman pulls elements from various musical inspirations, be it moody electronica, garage and 2step, modern classical music, ambient or twisted r'n'b. The outcome is a unique, cutting edge blend of emotional pitched down vocals, melodic airy pianos and glitching sound effects.

“This EP expresses emotions from a dark period that I went through. At the time I was into dark electronics and also found inspiration from Rhythm and Sound, Burial, The Blaze, Plasticman and more. The EP all started from a little "Volca" drum machine, which I hooked up and set up a mostly analogue setup around it with some synths and drum machines that enabled me to "jam" a lot of the music without the need to stop for overdubbing or editing”. Kutiman

With an illustrious career spanning over a decade, Ophir Kutiel aka Kutiman moved to Tel Aviv as a teenager to study jazz at the prestigious Rimon music college. It was during this time that he was able to immerse himself in music, with influences cited as Massive Attack, DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin and Parliament. Fast forward to 2007 and his self-titled debut album received a 8.2 rating from Pitchfork and set the precedent for what was to come. Other tastemakers to highlight over the years include; The Guardian, Billboard, The New Yorker, The Wire, Uncut and XLR8R among others. Kutiman is forever pushing boundaries with his music, and draws on a range of world influences from spiritual jazz to psychedelic funk. ‘Dense EP’ sees Kutiman adding yet another string to his musical bow, as we enter the era of electronic inspired music.

Romano, bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark and pianist Joachim Kühn.
They hadn’t rehearsed anything, as if entering the studio to record an
album without any plan was something normal. The musicians were
obviously very used to playing with each other, as the five tracks on
Our Meanings And Our Feelings seem to flow perfectly without any
hint of improvisation. The zokra, an oriental clarinet that Michel Portal
plays on “Walking through the land” and “Dear old Morocco” brings a
singular touch to this album. This singularity is transcended by
Joachim Kühn’s ability to easily go from the piano to the saxophone
alto, from supporting to soloing, before playing the bells, then the
tambourine, opening the soundscape. Our Meanings And Our
Feelings may not be the first French free jazz record – as it was
preceded by the fantastic Free Jazz by François Tusques, released in
1965 and on which Michel Portal plays as well - but it remains one of
the most important. Its incredible outburst of sounds and melodies is
completely free yet never turns into cacophony. 44 years after its
release, it is still urgent to listen to Our Meanings And Our Feelings
and what these five talented musicians had to tell us.

On June 27th, 1969, Michel Portal pushed the door of the Pathé
Marconi studios. With him were drummers Jacques Thollot and Aldo

An explorative sonic landscape with the beautifully eclectic sounds of drum and bass at its core, Sustance’s debut album is every bit as thought-out, polished, and innovative as we’ve come to expect from one of drum and bass’ brightest prospects.

Having grown up listening to seminal Shogun albums like Spectrasoul's 'Delay No More' and Icicle's 'Under The Ice', ‘Perceived Connections’ acts as a full circle moment for the producer, who now finds himself following in the footsteps of the artists who profoundly influenced his approach to creating music.

Written between London and Berlin across a twelve-month period, 'Perceived Connections' encapsulates both of the alluring sides of Sustance's sound. In the same fashion that the album's writing process pivoted between two capital cities, Sustance's debut album presents both deep and expressive tracks such as 'I Want You' and 'Sweet Relief', as well as showcasing heavy, sound system-destroying tunes like 'Undercurrent' and 'Ten Ton’.

“The album title comes from the Zen idea that everyone perceives the world through their own perspective. Two people can listen to a record side by side and have totally different experiences. I really liked that idea as music is inherently so subjective. Sustance

Accompanying Sustance on this LP voyage is a plethora of D&B’s hottest talent, with Pola & Bryson, Visages, Flowdan, Strategy, Duskee, T-Man, Catching Cairo & Zara Kershaw all sprinkling their own flavours across the album.

Traversing an array of sounds, styles, and genres throughout, 'Perceived Connections' is nothing short of an exceptional extended body of work from a producer whose razor-tight approach to music has seen him emerge with one of the crispest and most captivating sonic palettes in drum and bass music.

Black Vinyl

"Burning Bridges" ist das dritte Studioalbum und das letzte Album mit dem ursprünglichen Sänger Johan Liiva. Das Album klingt unglaublich lebendig, strotzt nur so vor Energie und ist in vielerlei Hinsicht noch ausgefeilter als die beiden Vorgängeralben. Die acht Songs, ausgestattet mit einer unglaublich fetten Produktion, bestechen einmal mehr durch erstklassiges Songwriting, die fast schon Power Metal-artigen Gitarrenduelle zwischen Michael und seinem Bruder Christopher Amott sowie den stark verbesserten, brutalen Gesang von Johan Lilva.- Schweres 180g Vinyl als schwarze sowie farbige Version, jeweils inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, in "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und mit 16-seitigem Booklet

Green Vinyl

"Burning Bridges" ist das dritte Studioalbum und das letzte Album mit dem ursprünglichen Sänger Johan Liiva. Das Album klingt unglaublich lebendig, strotzt nur so vor Energie und ist in vielerlei Hinsicht noch ausgefeilter als die beiden Vorgängeralben. Die acht Songs, ausgestattet mit einer unglaublich fetten Produktion, bestechen einmal mehr durch erstklassiges Songwriting, die fast schon Power Metal-artigen Gitarrenduelle zwischen Michael und seinem Bruder Christopher Amott sowie den stark verbesserten, brutalen Gesang von Johan Lilva.- Schweres 180g Vinyl als schwarze sowie farbige Version, jeweils inklusive 2-seitigem Einleger- Special Edition CD, in "PocketPac" (umweltfreundliche Verpackung) und mit 16-seitigem Booklet

Nusantara Beat, the six-piece band hailing from Amsterdam, is quickly becoming a must-see act. With a deep connection to their Indonesian roots and a passion for honoring their cultural heritage, Nusantara Beat brings a fresh and modern take on traditional Indonesian music.

Nusantara Beat creates a unique sound that blends traditional Indonesian songs from the 20th century with their own style and creativity. The result is a mesmerising mix of tropical and mystical sounds that take the audience on a journey to the land of their ancestors.

But Nusantara Beat isn't just about honoring tradition. They also strive to showcase the rich diversity of Indonesian music and take it into the future. With their music, they pay tribute to traditional sounds while bringing their own innovative twists to the mix.

Brussels-based producer Sagat’s highly anticipated debut album ‘Silver Lining’ lands on Vlek Records. Sagat takes us on a deep dive into a dense sonic universe: It’s bass music viewed from multiple vantage points, an explorative zoom onto contemporary dance music’s broad ranging cadences, paradoxically viewed from a distance. Silver lining bathes in cluttering rhythms that hover over corroded thumping grooves. Poly chrome synths emerge dramatically, interlocking with oddly timed techno syncopations. Yet all tracks are held together by firm, dubbed out beat repetitions and slabs of sub bass, not without a melodic sense of drama. Sagat’s disintegrated sound-design stands in between musical dichotomies, at once spaced-out, disorienting and emotive, but also explorative, colourful and full of tension. Moving, yet statuesquely standing idle. Silver Lining is an album longing for the dancefloor, but also about disconnection from it: A highly personal presentation of this producers’ singular take on bass oriented club music. From our standing point we love to see how Sagat’s music keeps evolving, toying with contemporary club music’s specific tropes, unbound by its normativeness. Silver lining is an album rich in contrast that works for personal listening experience as well as for the adventurous DJ with one foot firmly on the dancefloor, the other somewhere way out there.

Unforgettable moments of beauty and peace. Eternal Reality is an electronic listening experience to the inner self while it was created in a state of deep consciousness. "Be Free" has got the pulse of endless time and describes the feeling of wellbeing and balance in a temporary world. It can be seen as a listening meditation and a call to take a break.

"Behind The Scenes" describes moments of escaping from daily routines and small moments of silence between tasks and before next rush hour.

„Shape“ is a global thought about the beginning of life and existence. All material things on earth have got a shape made by man or nature.

„Kotodama“ describes the beauty of words and languages. Information interchange for progress.

This product was created using vintage synthesizers for maximum fun!

Bristol multi-instrumentalist, producer and nature freak Will Yates offers a new record from his Memotone alias, an expansive, hypothetical revue titled How Was Your Life?

Launching from terrains recognizable to fans of Will’s extensive, restless discography, How Was Your Life? packs up his penchant for baroque druid folk, homespun electronics and weightless woodwinds and explodes them into glistening, fractal star dust.

Instigated by the purchase of an antiquated Y2K era guitar synthesizer, the record was produced over the first half of 2022, in a large part a result of in-studio improvisation and carved by equipment that offered both possibilities and parameters that Will relished and explored to the nth degree. The Roland GR33 not only provided sublime guitar sounds but also empowered the guitar to convincingly mimic fretless bass, tabla and a vast percussive array, also summoning an artillery of uniquely outre atmospheres over the course of the record. The resulting concoction sounds familiar yet subtly, unshakeably otherworldly, shaping up as perhaps the most honed, energized and beatific Memotone album to date.

Paradise Drips gently lifts off with wobbly guitar, randomized sequences and unidentifiable percussive elements situating us somewhere in an unearthly realm, before Open World zaps the serotonin receptors and gushes with ecstatic warmth, it’s quietly insistent soft disco shuffle and levitational fretless driving towards a totally blissed and very soft “drop”. Forest Zone sees Memotone deep in the green, with a loose, propulsive groove and dancing flutes stumbling into a medieval ritual in the clearing halfway through, and Glow In The Dark deftly bounces between spacey ambience and an undulating no wave vamp. Carved By The Moon is a delightfully melted classical cut, while Canteen Sandwich offers the record’s most explicitly nod to modernity in the form of a nimble drum workout with samurai synths and melodic percussion that heaves towards a genuine peak. Lonehead immediately backs right off, viscerally melancholic clarinet and bubbling fx making for the records most hefty introspective moment, before Walking Backwards simmers all the way down on an wistful arpeggio, rooting back in earthly reality with charmed rhythms and jazzy tunings. Catharsis complete, Memotone is onto the next incarnation.

Will Yates has been making music as Memotone since 2010, releasing music on labels like Black Acre, Disktopia and Accidental Meetings, also releasing music as O.G. Jigg and Half Nelson. He’s worked as a producer, session musician and live performer on a broad spectrum of projects, and recently provided source sounds that made up Batu’s “Opal” on Timedance.

How Was Your Life? was written, produced and mixed by Will Yates. It was mastered by Chris Wang. Art and design by Hugo Bernier.

Zunächst nannte Gia Margaret ihr neues Album Romantic Piano, um ein wenig frech zu sein. Denn die sparsamen, sanften Klavierstücke haben mehr mit Erik Satie, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou und den "Marginalia"-Veröffentlichungen von Masakatsu Takagi gemeinsam als mit einem gemütlichen Date-Abend bei Kerzenschein. Doch in dieser Frechheit liegt eine verborgene Absicht: In dem wunderschönen Set wird "Romantik" in einem eher klassischen Sinne suggeriert, was die Deutschen als Waldeinsamkeit bezeichnen. Die Kompositionen beschwören die erhabenen Themen der romantischen Dichter herauf: Einsamkeit in der Natur, die Fähigkeit der Natur zu heilen und zu lehren, ein Gefühl von zufriedener Melancholie. "Ich wollte Musik machen, die nützlich ist", sagt Margaret und untertreibt damit gewaltig die Kraft der Platte. Romantic Piano ist neugierig, beruhigend, geduldig und unglaublich bewegend - aber es verweilt nicht länger als eine Sekunde. Margarets Debütalbum There's Always Glimmer war ein lyrisches Wunderwerk, aber als sie wegen einer Krankheit auf Tournee nicht mehr singen konnte, nahm sie ihr Ambient-Album "Mia Gargaret" (ein weiterer frecher Titel!) auf, das ein feines Gespür für Arrangement und Komposition zeigte, das bei den lyrischen Songs von There's Always Glimmer nicht voll zum Tragen kam. Auch Romantic Piano kommt fast ganz ohne Worte aus. "Das Schreiben von Instrumentalmusik ist im Allgemeinen ein viel freudigerer Prozess als das Schreiben von Lyrics und wirkt sich letztlich auf mein Songwriting aus.", sagt sie. Romantic Piano festigt sie als kompositorische Kraft. Ursprünglich hatte Margaret einen Abschluss in Komposition angestrebt, brach die Musikschule aber auf halbem Weg ab. "Ich wollte wirklich nicht in einem Orchester spielen", sagt sie über ihre Entscheidung, "ich wollte eigentlich nur Filmmusik schreiben. Dann begann ich, mich mehr und mehr darauf zu konzentrieren, eine Songschreiberin zu sein." Romantic Piano berührt in der Tat ein seltenes Gefühl in der Kunst, das oft nur dem Kino vorbehalten ist - die gleichzeitige Ehrfurcht vor dem Dasein mit der großen Linse und der intime innere Monolog nach der Sprache, wenn wir in unseren Schädeln festsitzen. Und das ist sehr romantisch!

Zunächst nannte Gia Margaret ihr neues Album Romantic Piano, um ein wenig frech zu sein. Denn die sparsamen, sanften Klavierstücke haben mehr mit Erik Satie, Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guébrou und den "Marginalia"-Veröffentlichungen von Masakatsu Takagi gemeinsam als mit einem gemütlichen Date-Abend bei Kerzenschein. Doch in dieser Frechheit liegt eine verborgene Absicht: In dem wunderschönen Set wird "Romantik" in einem eher klassischen Sinne suggeriert, was die Deutschen als Waldeinsamkeit bezeichnen. Die Kompositionen beschwören die erhabenen Themen der romantischen Dichter herauf: Einsamkeit in der Natur, die Fähigkeit der Natur zu heilen und zu lehren, ein Gefühl von zufriedener Melancholie. "Ich wollte Musik machen, die nützlich ist", sagt Margaret und untertreibt damit gewaltig die Kraft der Platte. Romantic Piano ist neugierig, beruhigend, geduldig und unglaublich bewegend - aber es verweilt nicht länger als eine Sekunde. Margarets Debütalbum There's Always Glimmer war ein lyrisches Wunderwerk, aber als sie wegen einer Krankheit auf Tournee nicht mehr singen konnte, nahm sie ihr Ambient-Album "Mia Gargaret" (ein weiterer frecher Titel!) auf, das ein feines Gespür für Arrangement und Komposition zeigte, das bei den lyrischen Songs von There's Always Glimmer nicht voll zum Tragen kam. Auch Romantic Piano kommt fast ganz ohne Worte aus. "Das Schreiben von Instrumentalmusik ist im Allgemeinen ein viel freudigerer Prozess als das Schreiben von Lyrics und wirkt sich letztlich auf mein Songwriting aus.", sagt sie. Romantic Piano festigt sie als kompositorische Kraft. Ursprünglich hatte Margaret einen Abschluss in Komposition angestrebt, brach die Musikschule aber auf halbem Weg ab. "Ich wollte wirklich nicht in einem Orchester spielen", sagt sie über ihre Entscheidung, "ich wollte eigentlich nur Filmmusik schreiben. Dann begann ich, mich mehr und mehr darauf zu konzentrieren, eine Songschreiberin zu sein." Romantic Piano berührt in der Tat ein seltenes Gefühl in der Kunst, das oft nur dem Kino vorbehalten ist - die gleichzeitige Ehrfurcht vor dem Dasein mit der großen Linse und der intime innere Monolog nach der Sprache, wenn wir in unseren Schädeln festsitzen. Und das ist sehr romantisch!

Jimmy LaValle’s The Album Leaf has spun from solo outlet to full band and back in its nearly 25 years. His acclaimed catalog spans releases for labels such as Sub Pop, City Slang, Relapse, and others. He also composes music for film and television, scoring over 20 projects (narrative features, documentaries, and TV series) since 2009. The cinematic sensibilities of The Album Leaf were present from the beginning. His 1999 debut introduced the start of a signature sound: melodic and meditative electro-organic soundscapes constructed with guitar, percussion, Rhodes, and field recordings.

His seventh full-length LP, and first since 2016, arrives in 2023 via Vancouver’s Nettwerk Records. FUTURE FALLING finds LaValle working with an array of musicians, shaping slightly darker, more spacious, and synth-driven songs with contributions from Bat For Lashes, Kimbra, and many others.
The music registers a shade darker and more synth-driven than most moments in his acclaimed catalog, a bridge between shadowy, cerebral terrain and dreamy precision pop, where softly percussive frameworks meet shimmering sound design and emotive instrumentation.
LaValle sees the construction of FUTURE FALLING as less conventional than past work. Contributions were done remotely with a “throw everything at it” mindset, making LaValle the arranger of layers from all over: drums, synths, horns, violins, voice, and more. LaValle created a pastiche of these layers and elements; in some cases even moving vocal takes to new tracks entirely. Without the in-the-room dynamics, he had more time to experiment, adding and subtracting ad infinitum.
The album opens on “PROLOGUE,” an evocative, slow-building instrumental that rides a pattern into a symphonic sea of static. Keys and horns glide atop the rhythmic pulse of “DUST COLLECTS,” setting the contemplative scene for “AFTERGLOW,” the record’s most pop-minded performance. Here Kimbra, the Grammy-winning New Zealand singer-songwriter, renders a striking recollection of past love as percussive elements shimmer and swirl.
A plaintive piano line moves throughout “Cycles 19.9” encircled by light ambient washes, both a valley between two peaks and a powerful composition in its own right. “Future Falling” follows; with origins tracing back to 2015, the track embodies the full sonic journey LaValle has taken. All the hallmarks of The Album Leaf — melodic builds, vivid sprawl, tonal shape-shifting — assemble to a blissful finish.

For the next stretch, “Cycles” begins with a uneasy Rhodes loop that builds and erupts into a wall of texture paving its way into “Give In,” where LaValle models a movement that begins subtle and measured before curving up with skyward, percussive bursts (“Stride”) and settling back down to the album’s back-half centerpiece, “Near” featuring the acclaimed English artist Natasha Khan aka Bat For Lashes. “Do you feel me near?” she sings into a mist of widescreen synths and soothing, distant drum beats as if searching through the dark.

25 Jahre Garish - dazu haben zahlreiche Prominente und Gäste Songs (mit) der prägenden österreichischen Indie-Band neu aufgenommen.

Für das Compilation-Album 'Hände hoch ich kann dich leiden' haben Prominente und Weggefährten wie Thees Uhlmann, Amadeus-Preisträgerin Ina Regen, Schauspielerin und Filmakademie-Präsidentin Verena Altenberger u.v.a. ihre Versionen von Garish-Songs eingespielt. Die Jubiläums-LP erscheint im Mai, eingebettet in eine Jubiläums-Tournee der Band.

Österreich-Tournee (teilweise bereits ausverkauft). Garish waren mit 7 verschiedenen Alben insgesamt 8x für einen Amadeus Austrian Music Award nominiert, haben aber nie einen gewonnen - und gelten daher als 'Scorseses der österreichischen Musik'; die Band gilt als verlässlicher Top 20-Album-Act in den österreichischen Charts und als strukturelle und ideelle Wegbereiter des "österreichischen Popwunders" der 2010er-Jahre.

Sergio Fazio has been the driving force behind a string of early 90s high octane releases sitting somewhere between breaky rave indulgences and early progressive trancey sounds.

Starting with “The Factory” project which we had the pleasure of releasing last year, we continue this relationship with an unreleased EP from the same time, finally allowing it to see the day of light 30 years after it was produced. To compliment the occasion we bring Berlin's specialist Trent to cook a new remixed version in his studio - Italy at it's best.

Heavy percussive elements flowing in and out of driving bass line patterns, hearing is believing, can't go wrong. Remastered and with full cover artwork.

His remarkable journey has seen him embrace folk, jazz, rock, and worldbeat styles while earning high praise as an exceptional songwriter and a revered guitarist. He remains deeply respected for his activism and humanist song lyrics that thread throughout his career. On all his albums Cockburn has deftly captured the joy, pain, fear, and faith of human experience in song.''O Sun O Moon' is
Cockburn's latest studio album from True North Records, a collection of 12 new original songs that demonstrate the songwriting and guitar- playing skills that come from more than 55 years of artistry. Since his self-titled debut in 1970, he has won 13 Juno Awards, an induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada, among many other accolades. He has 22 gold and platinum records including a 6 times platinum record for his Christmas album.

Cockburn continues to tour internationally.

The album showcased Cornfield's knack for crafting deeply personal songs with an observational tone and witty lyric delivery. She took these heartbreakingly relatable songs on the road, playing numerous shows & festivals across North America and Europe, including opening for Pedro The Lion, Stars, Sarah Harmer and others.

On Cornfield's new album, Could Have Done Anything, she teamed up with producer and Bonny Light Horseman member, Josh Kaufman in Upstate New York, first at the stained- glass- tinted Dreamland Recording Studios, then at the nearby Isokon Studio, run by engineer D. James Goodwin (Kevin Morby, Whitney) and his assistant, Gillian Pelkonen. Kaufman and Cornfield played every instrument themselves, channeling the energy of her favorite classic records,
from Elliott Smith's Figure 8 and Jeff Buckley's Grace to Neil Young's Harvest -- albums where the listener is simply carried by the songs, and their musicians' beautiful playing. Standouts like "You And Me" highlight intimacy and absence, while "Gentle Like The Drugs" captures memories from Cornfield's spring 2022 tour with Pedro the Lion - her first time seeing sunsets in Arizona.

It features compositions by the great Stan Tracey - The Godfather of British Jazz - inspired by Dylan Thomas' drama 'Under Milk Wood', including the timeless "Starless and Bible Black" with its acclaimed solo by tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins.

Like Thomas's characters, the themes vary greatly in tempo, in mood, in dramatic depth. The title song is a triumph, not only because it stands by itself as a beautifully conceived jazz ballad, but because it sets the scene for the rest of the writing and playing. Some of the other themes are impressionistic and highly subjective sketches of Thomas seen through the prism of jazz.

It was awarded 69th place in Jazzwise magazine's The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook the World: "Tracey is indispensable, a one-man mission statement. Here he showed how much could be achieved within the basic jazz quartet format.

Reaction at the time seems to have been along the lines of where on earth did this come from? Coherent, vital and mind-stretching."
"The haunting Starless and Bible Black remains probably the finest single recorded performance by a British jazz group." - The Observer

"As I write these notes sitting on my balcony in July 2022, it has been more than 9 years since the release of my debut album and more than 11years since it was recorded, the time since has been a personally tumultuous period of twists and turns - retreat, reflection, realization, reassessment, therapy, triumph, trial and error - entangled in a decade-long creative block that had me questioning whether
I would ever be able to compose again and though I felt there was so much I wanted and needed to say, I felt I had lost my voice, or perhaps never had one in the first place. A constant knot had grown tighter and tighter within me over time, but I did not understand what had created it or how it might be undone. In 2018, shaken awake by the collision of two transients, I suddenly saw in a new light old
patterns whose familiar presences I realized I had felt for much of my life, but had until then never seen for what they were. Following a third, I finally found the humility to surrender, and as I began re- examining and confronting myself, I slowly started to discover new answers - and new questions to ask.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, and the world stopped. Like so many of us caught in the new eerie calm, I retreated into inner spaces. I began revisiting sketches of ideas I had accumulated over the years, and finally, very, very slowly, new music started to come. " - Jussi Reijonen.

"Electrifying and deeply resonant, monumental and profoundly personal, Reijonen's five- movement suite is a beautifully crafted, remarkable journey of sound and emotion performed by a knockout nine-piece ensemble." - Monarch

"He's written one hell of a piece." - The Arts Fuse

"On this remarkable and ambitious new recording, Reijonen delivers an epic transcultural suite that feels as deeply personal as it is expansive and farreaching." - All About Jazz "a remarkable sophomore album" -The Boston Globe

"This is an album meticulously pulled together into a dense fabric of diverse musical threads. It merits repeated listening; with each fresh listen, the richness of Reijonen's intercultural vocabulary becomes more apparent." London Jazz News

"Even in our present jazz moment, when the art form is worldwide and vital, albums that come as complete surprises are relatively rare. Three seconds Kolme Toista is a stunner." Jazz Times

"Three seconds Kolme Toista is spellbinding from beginning to end, and full of virtuoso performances." All About Jazz

A lost Chantays album that's locked in and leaving a foamie! A Dawning Sun, largely recorded in '66, sees the originators of "Pipeline" riding another pearler of a platter! These 13 lost tracks come from the tape archive of Richard Delvy (Belairs, Challengers) and features the bands unique take on "Mr Moto," some new surf anthems and even a trio of vocal cuts for when you just hit out or the wave eats your lunch! It also features a killer instrumental cover of The Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles.

Lost for over 50 years, these sound waves are finally ready to ride!

*INSTOCK AND SHIPPING* The North-West’s legendary electro-prog-pop experimenalists a.P.A.t.T. are back with their first studio album in 6 years. a.P.A.t.T. are an English ensemble generally known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Redefining notions of failure and success with electronic art pop. Since their first release, (e.p.) in 2002 a.P.A.t.T. have released over 7 albums, numerous singles, 100’s of music films; received commissions from a Smörgåsbord of leading arts organisations, created a feature-length film and even starred in and composed for a BBC TV Sitcom. The last album Fun with Music (2016) saw the band more refined and focussed than ever… “Their most accessible work yet..in a freaky kinda way” said BBC’s Stuart Maconie. This album discusses the ‘I’ the ‘WE’ and the confusing notion of self. 6 years since the release of the last a.P.A.t.T. album and the world seems to have changed. “It’s different now” muses General MIDI when asked, “We were all doing something pretty similar in some respect. We changed. We struggled. We adapted. We grew. We felt more collective than ever…maybe?” ‘We’ is an adventurous collection of passing thoughts, barely laughable references, pop songs andsonic experiments. It’s a look at people. It’s a look within.

The Last Kingdom is a British historical fiction TV series based on novels called The Saxon Stories by author Bernard Cornwell (originally aired on BBC 2 & BBC America). John Lunn's music possesses a unique voice that spans a wide spectrum of musical styles. Classically trained, yet contemporary in attitude, he combines a highly intelligent and sensitive approach with a sound that always hits at the emotional heart of a piece. He is probably best known for scoring the hugely successfuldrama Downton Abbey, for which he has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as a BAFTA nomination.

Eivør often envisions the dramatic landscape of her Nordic homeland, a remote archipelago known as the Faroe Islands. “It can be very harsh and very gentle at the same time, and when I sing, I see that wildness and softness blended together”. Now based in Copenhagen, Eivør brings that stark contrast to a darkly textured, yet brightly melodic sound centred on her captivating vocals. While her origins lie in Faroese folk singing, Eivør's most recent output reveals her fascination with the infinite possibilities of electronic music. Along with earning comparisons to Kate Bush in the pages of MOJO, Eivør's otherworldly ingenuity has led to her role in co-composing the soundtrack to the BBC/Netflix flagship series The Last Kingdom.

Fresh vinyl slice of UK Dub Roots Reggae sees veteran producer Vibronics hook up once again with rising star Ashanti Selah for a 4 track outing featuring 3 vocals and one deep dub mix.
Vocals are provided by Nia Songbird, Echo Ranks & Ashanti Selah. Nia is the the young singer from Leicester creating waves right now in the sound system scene, Echo provides the listener with a rare opportunity to hear his legendary tones after a long break from releases and finally Ashanti Selah shows his versatility by dropping a vibrant 70’s style DJ cut - crucial combinations on this 10” vinyl that signed of with a furious Vibronics all-analogue dub mix from the Dub Cupboard Studio.

This release is beautifully presented in a specially printed SCOOPS Records purple label sleeve

Vibronics is one of the most established names in UK Dub/Reggae music. From their base, in the Dub Cupboard Studio in Leicester, their music has achieved millions of views on YouTube, millions of Spotify streams and many tens of thousands of vinyl record sales. Vibronics have collaborated with reggae legends Michael prophet, Macka B, Iration Steppas, Soom T, Aba-Shanti and so many more.

Ashanti Selah is a musician / Dub Producer hailing from the UK, is the eldest son of the world-renowned soundman, Aba Shanti-I. As well as working on his own productions Ashanti makes use of his musical abilities as a performer in various bands as keyboardist and has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with a number of great singers, musicians & producers in the scene- such as; Vivian Jones, Mad Professor & Alpha Steppa, to name but a few.

* 300 COPIES FOR UK/EU* With a friendship stretching back nearly 20 years, it strangely ended up being a couple of childhood photographs that finally brought Ben Chasny and Rick Tomlinson together as collaborators. Both have rich musical backgrounds: Chasny being a member of the psych-rock outfit Comets on Fire but probably best known for his solo project, Six Organs of Admittance, while Tomlinson has released numerous records as Voice of the Seven Woods/Thunders and under his own name. “A mutual acquaintance, Jamie Tugwell, took me to go see Rick play live around 2005,” remembers Chasny. “Jamie kept saying how Rick was sort of an ornery fellow and that I would like him a lot. He was right. I loved his guitar playing right away, which seemed so far from what a lot of players were doing. We had drinks and hit it off. We remained friends over the years.” Chasny became a regular visitor to Tomlinson when on tour in the UK and one particular stay unearthed something serendipitous that would kickstart the making of a joint album. “I was staying at Rick’s house after a show and I looked over and saw a photo of him in a Halloween costume as a box of matches,” Chasny recalls. “It cracked me up because I have a similar photo of me as a robot and I tried to explain to him how it matched his photo.” About 6 months later Chasny found it and sent it to Tomlinson to show him the uncanny likeness of their childhood outfits. “Pretty soon after that we realized we needed to do a duo record and have those photos be on the cover,” says Chasny. “The entire record comes from the photos on the cover.” Tomlinson adds: “It was a pretty odd coincidence. Even down to us both standing on flags with a conifer behind us. We obviously had no option but to use these for the sleeve.” Recorded at Tomlinson’s house in Todmorden over three days one June, initially the pair didn’t quite know where they wanted to go with their musical direction. Tomlinson kept pulling out super rare records from his vast collection for inspiration and they sat and listened to the solo piano recordings of Popol Vuh’s Florian Fricke but they knew they needed to land on something that was intrinsically them. “We knew we wanted to do a record together but we weren’t sure what direction to take,” says Chasny. “When we first sat down to work out some ideas it was pretty much just us getting down to finally having a guitar showdown where each of us tried to outdo each other with flashy moves and ridiculous riffs and playing. After we got that out of our system, we were able to settle down and concentrate on a mood for the record to focus on.” The result is 6 instrumental tracks that capture beautifully fluid and interlocking guitars played with deft grace and skill but also a subtle looseness. On the 9 minute-plus ‘Wait For Low Tide’, the sparse and spacious back and forth playing becomes utterly hypnotic, neatly capturing the kind of natural and intuitive playing that can only come from music made between friends who understand the crucialness of leaving space for one another. While acoustic guitars are the primary means of expression on the record - from the soothing and gentle ‘i’ to the intricate playing of ‘Waking of Insects’ - the pair delve into ambient drone tape loop territory on the humming 16 minute ‘Paths of Ocean Currents and Wind Belts’, which further adds to the deeply textural, spacious and immersive feel of the album. All the tracks were recorded in one take, with the titles all stemming from translations from the Chinese book, The Dream Pool Essays, and then mixed in London at Jimmy Robertson's SNAFU studio, with additional mixing and mastering from Andrew Liles. The laid back, breezy and spontaneous approach to making this record is one that was reflective of the pair’s friendship and camaraderie, with their relationship ultimately driving the tone and feel of the finished album. “We hiked around the countryside, climbed into church bell towers, drank delicious beer in the middle of sunny afternoons, and had fantastic dinners,” says Chasny of the three-day recording period. “I think all of that wound up in the music. I really had the best time in the world.

Gut drei Jahre sind seit ihrem letzten Album "Bleiben oder gehen" vergangen, da melden sich Feine Sahne Fischfilet bereits mit neuem Material aus dem Studio zurück. "Sturm & Dreck" heißt das mittlerweile fünfte Studioalbum der Mecklenburg-Vorpommern-Punks. Einen ersten Vorgeschmack auf die Platte gibt es bereits mit dem Song "Zurück In Unserer Stadt". Insgesamt haben die sechs Jungs zwölf neue Songs für "Sturm & Dreck" aufgenommen, in denen sie sich wieder einmal sowohl persönlichen als auch politischen Themen widmen. Das ist bei Feine Sahne Fischfilet allerdings meist nicht zu trennen, schließlich engagiert sich die Band bereits seit geraumer Zeit politisch, zum Beispiel gegen den Rechtsruck in der Gesellschaft.

New INDEX:Records transmission comes courtesy of Texan vibist Gi Gi. Trodding his own path of introspective, nu-age-infused ambient scapes and trip-hop-laced downtempo divagations, Gi Gi eases us in a distinctively soothing headspace. A self-driven, immersive audio bubble engineering a polychromatic mix of organic field-recording, exotic dub shades, lushly textured envelopes and smooth loungey jazz accents.

From the A1, “The Lower”, a steady-churning combo of retro-stepping UK dynamics, 90s-schooled atmospheric dub and low-slung, LA beat-style swagger, down to the verbed-out summer pop of “Sinews” featuring Hysterical Love Project, Gi Gi puts on a riveting synthesis of seemingly distant varietals.

On “Maiolica”, the mystique-imbued power of drums and shadowiness of the bass collides with the faux-organic vibrancy of singing robot birds; “Pyxis Glint” shows off an ambiguously feverish ASMR-like temper with its tightly woven web of chimey Andean melody and straight out Rephlex-fashioned escapism, whereas “Palm Slick” heads for further exhilarating heights through Hassellian brass flights a la “Blues Nile" and breaksy off-piste, all set at buckling a few knees along the way.

A full-fledged, soulful trip-hop number disguised in matching neo-vintage camo, “Lilted Song” treats us to a fulfilling blend of bleached pads and FX-laden slo-mo percussions swaying with a strong couldn’t-give-a-damn attitude. Gi Gi coming up with the mind trip.

As NuNorthern Soul eases into its second decade, the label welcomes back a familiar face: Benjamin J Smith, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and pro-ducer whose emotive, colourful and atmospheric compositions are the very definition of ‘Balearic’.

Famously, it was Smith’s The Movedrill Projects album that kicked off the NuNorthern Soul story way back in 2012, and he’s periodically returned to the imprint on numerous occasions since. It’s fitting, then, that Smith is stepping up once more, with NuNorthern Soul found-er Phil Cooper selecting to showcase two overlooked gems from his bulging back catalogue.

Both tracks are taken from Smith’s digital-only album Mojave (Vintage Californian Dreams), a set of thor-oughly gorgeous, West Coast-inspired library music compositions smothered in sumptuous strings and in-formed by the artist’s love of jazz-funk, languid jazz-rock and the kind of luscious, sunset-ready soundscapes that defy neat categorization.

Opening proceedings, and sitting on side A of the vinyl release, is the breath-taking ‘Marina Del Rey’, where layered, reverb-laden harmonic vocalisations, twin-kling electric piano improvisations, lazy guitar licks, spacey synth flourishes and sultry strings slowly rise above a toasty bassline and gentle, Latin-tinged beats. Smith cannily adds layers of sound throughout while moving the musical story forwards, leading to a mem-orable, awe-inspiring conclusion.

In contrast, ‘Big Sur’ sees Smith take an imaginary road trip through the driest, dustiest parts of the Cali-fornian countryside. Psychedelic rock style organ mo-tifs, sustained Hammond B-3 chords and glistening West Coast rock guitar solos dance atop a rubbery bassline and intoxicated, loose-limbed drums, with Smith’s eyes-closed vocalisations – drenched in reverb and delay – adding extra layers of aural loveliness. Like ‘Marina Del Rey’, ‘Big Sur’ is a vivid, widescreen con-coction tailor-made for soundtracking films that have yet to be made.

Celebrating 10 years at the top of their game, Quantize Recordings unleash a real collectors edition 12'' bringing together four of their biggest tracks to date all of which make their much anticipated debut on vinyl.

Featuring hand-picked, choice cuts from DJ Spen, Michele Chiavarini, Emmaculate, Terry Hunter, Reelsoul, Tasha LaRae & Rona Ray this is a timeless snapshot of Quantize’s undeniable impact on house music to date.

2026 Repress

Marvin Gaye at his very best! Two classics from Gaye’s esteemed catalogue, ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’ and ‘I Want You’ with alternative mixes that have never been on 12 inch before. Plucked from the Deluxe Edition of the spellbinding ‘I Want You’ album that was mixed Kevin Reeves & remastered by Ellen Fitton, these two cuts have always called out for loud and proud pressing on either side of a 12.

Up first, ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’ written by the magical pairing of Leon Ware and Arthur 'T-Boy' Ross with Ware also behind the production controls. An abbreviated cover of Michael Jackson’s hit, it sees Gaye take a brief respite from his usual steamy and sensual swooning to express his love for his family. Jackson would then return the favour, taking influence from Marvin’s 1977 hit ‘Got to Give it Up’ to make ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’.

Originally a 1:17 minute segue on the album, the Unedited version clocks in at over 6 minutes, turning it from a transitionary passage to a standalone gem. Extending those delectable grooves, building and breaking with a sun-kissed, funk channelling feeling that washes over like a warm wave. With the 7 inch release trading hands for over £75 on Discogs this ain’t one to miss.

On the flip, ‘I Want You’ written by the same duo as the A, with Leon Ware once again on the production and released as part of the same ’76 album. It was an LP that introduced a change in musical styles for Gaye, songs such as this giving him a disco audience thanks to Leon Ware. The Jam-Alternate version leaves Gaye’s vocals till the final section, letting that sweet soaring soundtrack sing to its absolute emotive peak. Sunrise or sunset, this one is not to be used lightly - tears of joy on the dancefloor guaranteed.

After a string of sought-after releases on labels like Barefoot Beats, Cocada Music, Bongo Synth and Too Slow To Disco, Bernardo Pinheiro brings his seasoned production skills to Onda Boa.

A man at home working in a myriad of styles, the third release on the label sees Pinheiro assemble The Amazon Orchestra to create a brilliant cover of the Marcos Valle / Azymuth jazz dance classic, “Virabrequim”.

Diggers of Brazilian wax andjazz-funk aficionados will know the tune from the O Fabuloso Fittipaldi OST that first united Marcos Valle and Azymuth in 1973.

Pinheiro’s updated disco version maintains the original track's swinging piano, propulsive bassline and soaring horn charts while pushing the material into the future, earning high praise from the man like Marcos Valle himself. Live bass, keys, guitar and brass bring an organic sound to Pinheiro’s stylish production, creating a euphoric take that's ready to elevate any house, disco or jazz dance set.

Voilaaa’s remix sees the French maestro pull back the reins a bit, stripping things down before reassembling the elements in a way that allows each section to shine in a supremely funky way. With the third release on the label, Onda Boa has cemented their sound, one which honors the iconic Brazilian originators while charting their own unique course to a cosmitropical future.

Hania Rani announces "On Giacometti" a tender meditation on the life and art of Alberto Giacometti and family. "On Giacometti" is a collection of beautiful recordings inspired by the renowned artist and family and features some of Rani's most profoundly delicate compositions to date. Invited by film director Susanna Fanzun, to score her forthcoming documentary on the legendary artist Alberto Giacometti, Hania Rani took herself to the Swiss mountains to compose in blissful isolation. As Rani explains eloquently below the compositions are based on improvised melodies, simple harmonies and structures and inspired by the silence of the mountains as Rani returns to her main instrument, the piano. The results are beguilingly reminiscent of her beloved debut album Esja, but with subtle extra layers of synthesiser, and on two tracks cello from friend and long-running collaborator Dobrawa Czocher.

'On Giacometti' is presented as a limited edition LP with bespoke packaging featuring Les Naturals - Chocolat (Gmund) sustainable recycled paperboard made from 100 % recovered paper with Foil Artwork by Łukasz Pałczyński. Plus Double sided printed insert and download code inside.

Hania Rani "On Giacometti":
‘When I was asked to compose a soundtrack for a movie about the family of Giacometti I didn't think twice.

Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss artist, who worked mainly as painter and sculptor has been one of my favourite artists for a long time. His individual style, aesthetics and the character of his creative process is still fascinating to me on many levels, so being able to dive even deeper into his universe, getting to know not only him but also his family was an opportunity that I couldn't miss. Little did I know how far this "yes" will take me - not only mentally and on a creative level but also physically. Thanks to the director of the documentary - Susanna Fanzun and by a stroke of luck and a couple of extra questions I decided to move for a couple of months to the Swiss mountains, not far away from the place where Giacometti was born and where the place he called home was, although he didn't live there. Susanna showed me a place close to her hometown where I could rent a studio and work on the soundtrack but also for my other projects. It was the middle of a winter, the area was full of ice and snow, just like only it can happen still in the mountains. The residency house was located in a valley surrounded by high mountains and the sun in the winter season was not coming up for too long during the day. I remember she told me about it and added "that not everyone is feeling well there, but I hope you will". I did.

Being almost separated from reality, the city and its entertainments, people rushing and everything that usually takes my attention I could fully concentrate on the music and soundtrack, spending most of the day with my own thoughts and having enough space to experiment and be free in a creative process. This soundtrack would probably be a very different thing if composed in a place that I am usually living in. I took this a chance to explore something new about myself as a composer and human being, taking the opposite direction that I would usually choose for myself.

The album "On Giacometti" includes the excerpts from the soundtrack, the most representative tracks and those which became a strong voice itself. Based a lot on improvised melodies, simple harmonies, structures and silence it reminds me of my debut album "Esja" which was partly composed and recorded in another chilly place - Iceland. All these components, both mental and physical, guided me back to my main instrument - piano, which I tried to redefine again with a language of the space that I was working in. The space is usually the key element that gives me the answer about the arrangement or character of the project. Space seems to be the first to appear and music is the invisible power which is changing its angels.’ Living surrounded by mountains makes you change the perspective and understanding of scale as Alberto Giacometti once famously wrote in a letter: It gives an impression that things that are actually far away, like mountains, are close and the other ones that are not so far away, like people, seem small, watched from a distance. You feel like touching the mountain top with your finger could be as easy as touching the tip of your nose. The snow additionally protects the whole area from the noise, each sound lands softly on the ground accompanied by echoes of immeasurable space. Each scratch or whisper is becoming an autonomic entity, opening the gate to the world of ghosts and lost spirits. It's easy to think that time stands still there, while nothing is moving and changing at the first sight. But the ubiquitous ice and snow reveal the passage of time, transforming frozen paysage into the wild stream of water - each day, hour and second. Melting and vanishing, clearing the space from white powder and noise consuming surface. Invisible process for a one night traveller, becomes painfully real for longer time settlers. Time flows with each new wave of sound coming through the river, reminding us that we are part of the cycle, which endlessly repeats itself.

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut album and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind', signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, synth-pop duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making music with just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

The album's opener "Kuma" (titled after the first ancient Greek colony on the Italian mainland, now an archeological site near Naples) is like a vibrant, magical wave. With its deliberately simple harmony and sharp guitar riffs, it travels across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa, first lapping gently on Greek and Turkish shores – with some compositional elements reminiscent of Italian pop legend Lucio Battisti – and then speeding up and landing on the driving, syncopated rhythms of afrobeat. While listening to it your eyes fill with images of small white houses shining in the sun, of fig trees heavy with fruit, of spice bazaars and colourful medinas, and you can almost feel the desert wind blowing in your hair.

The journey continues with two examples of Psyché's bold and elegant approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion: "Cumbia Mahàre" and "Amma". The former combines minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Next is the cinematic and mysterious ambiance of "Angizia" (a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi in ancient Italy), another fascinating mixture of different sonic traditions and cultures where hip-hop/funk drums are blended with Maghreb influences, Balkan echoes, and hypnotic, Theremin-like synths that have sort of a sci-fi movie quality to them.

The title track "Psyché", with its uptempo afro-rhythms, ethereal vocalizations and refined percussion, is almost a manifesto of the band's style and confirms the freshness of their minimalism, which is not afraid of taking in the sun of lands confined between the sea and the desert. The following "Manea" (named after the Roman-Etruscan goddess of the dead) is an afro-funk number with smooth and introspective dreamy jazz touches, and with an arrangement dominated by a guitar that, dripping notes like drops of water, creates a delicate, cinematic sound. Next, we come to "Hekate" (the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft and crossroads), a track that fuses psychedelia, spacious Latin guitars and a fast, tight groove. The album comes to a close with the exquisite melodic ballad "Kelebek", which seamlessly combines hip-hop drums and dreamy guitars, and whose warm, flowing sonorities and evocative atmospheres conjure the image of a butterfly (which is what kelebek means, in Turkish) floating over the Mediterranean and, from there, the world.

Defamator is the long-time-coming debut project of 24-year-old Chloe Gallardo. It tells a story of betrayal in love and friendship and the painful reality of overcoming love lost and former heartbreak.


Drawing influences from artists such as Broadcast, Grouper & My Bloody Valentine Gallardo adds her own haunting, folk-style vocals and hyper-specific lyrics to create a sonic unique to her. A style that she describes in her words as “dark shoegaze bedroom indie pop”.

Album opener “Bloodline” epitomises this bittersweet modus operandi. 15 seconds into its dainty acoustic strum , Gallardo adamantly sulks “I’m fucked up” - the salvo of a lyric about feeling like a family disappointment. As the track lifts up into a cascading gaze-pop rush, recalling the likes of Bachelor and Snail Mail, we’re blessed with a pristine elegance that belies the song’s raging core.
“I have always written music this way.”, she says of this fundamental contradiction. “It’s funny because I try so hard to write darker sounding songs and they always come out way too pretty. So, I’ve resorted to writing the most gut-wrenching and intense lyrics to compensate.”

Written mostly during peak-pandemic times in Gallardo’s bedroom - (“you can hear how scared and alone I was.”) - the songs that made their way onto Defamator arose from a concerted period of healing. Drawing from the teachings of therapy, the songwriting process gave her the means to channel some deeply entrenched emotional scars.
This venting of anger is implicit throughout the record. The album’s title - Gallardo’s own neologism - uses the concepts of “defamation” and “defamatory speech” to innovate a kind of pejorative accusation. As a result, it is like we are actively listening to Gallardo forcefully take command of her past. Of the title track she explains: “The song Defamator is about someone who spoke untruthful things about me in order to manipulate me and the way people perceived me and I felt that was an underlying theme in most of the album.”

Recorded at Jazzcat Studios in Long Beach California with Jonny Bell (Hanni El Khatib, Adult Books, etc.) Defamator marks Gallardo’s first time in a “legitimate recording studio”. And it shows. Bell’s production is vital moving part here. There’s more stripped back affairs - ‘There Will Be Blood”; ”The Way’ - songs which gently seethe and purr like Grouper’s spectral dream-pop; Gallardo’s fluttering folk-ish voice gloriously pushed to forefront.

In the words of Bill Brewster - DJ History

‘At the turn of the 1990s, there were few more successful New York house producers than Victor Simonelli. Under a dizzying array of aliases – Solution, NY’s Finest, Groove Committee, Critical Rhythm and Cloud 9 being amongst the better-known – the Brooklyn-born DJ/producer delivered a string of underground club hits during the city’s early ’90s house boom.’

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release - 2 X 12’s in each Vol

Launching the first Behind The Groove collectors edition vinyl series is New York’s finest Victor Simonelli with ‘The Early Years Vol 1 & 2’ double Vinyl releases. Featuring seminal house tracks such as Cloud 9’s ‘Do You Want Me’, Solution’s ‘Feel So Right’, Instant Exposure’s ‘Wanna Be With You’ and rare mixes of Raiana Page and EZ-AL, this collection brings together classic and rare Victor Simonelli cuts that reflect the early raw energy and buzz of the New York House scene. With ‘Vol 2” scheduled to follow shortly after, this is the most comprehensive collection of rare Simonelli cuts that firmly establishes his esteemed role in 90s House Music as well as introducing new fans to his inimitable sound.

Victor Simonelli is one of the early kings of NYC sampling In house music. The real deal - Victor danced at the legendary David Mancuso’s Loft sessions and developed a serious appreciation for good music. He interned for Arthur Baker at his renown Shakedown Studios (where Arthur worked with the iconic Afrika Bambatta on the seminal dance floor ’Planet Rock’ track) and went on to release hugely influential releases on seminal NYC labels 4th Floor and Nu Groove. Victor’s music was championed by the hugely celebrated iconic House Music DJ pioneers, Larry Levan and Tony Humphries at Paradise Garage & Zanzibar/WBLS/Kiss FM respectively.

Revered as a New York house heavyweight and prolific producer since the turn of the 1990s, Victor Simonelli grew up in Brooklyn, NYC, nurtured by a music loving family, with an avid record collecting father who also worked as a local party DJ. He took music lessons in piano, drums, guitar and bass, before discovering his first love, tuning into NY’s Radio Mix Shows on WBLS, WKTU and WRKS,98.7 Kiss FM) where he discovered the art of mixing and in his own words, ’I just simply got lost in the music’.

Graduating from NYC’s Centre For Media Arts, Victor got an internship in the legendary producer, Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studios. Soon graduating to editing, mixing and then producing he worked for artists David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Debbie Harry, Sinead O’Connor and Talking Heads. Teaming up with fellow NYC producer Lenny Dee to become the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, they released records ‘Critical Rhythm’ and ‘Subliminal Aurra’ on 4th Floor before Victor went solo as Groove Committee releasing the classic ‘I Want You To Know’ on the legendary Nu Groove Records. Paradise Garage legend, Larry Levan broke ‘I Want You To Know’ rocking 2 copies on his last tour of Japan whilst King of NY House Music,Tony Humphries broke Victor’s new ‘Feels So Right’ across New York on his WBLS/Kiss FM Mastermix show and at his legendary Zanzibar club sessions. It was only a matter of time before Victor’s name became synonymous with quality House music ensuring a worldwide platform for his productions.

In the early 90s alongside his own productions, Victor Simonelli worked on high profile projects, including James Brown’s album, “Love Overdue” BeBe and CeCe Winans single featuring Mavis Staples “I’ll Take You There” and Quincy Jones’ “I’ll Be Good To You” featuring Chaka Khan and the legendary Ray Charles. Never straying too far from his clubland roots, Victor worked with Danny Tenaglia on his classic “The Harmonica Track”.

DJ gigs across the world started flooding in and Victor found himself recording for a dizzying array of labels including Tribal America, Sub-Urban, Bassline, King Street Sounds and Vibe, under a wide range of aliases. He also produced, wrote and remixed for artists such Nile Rodgers (Chic), Afrika Baambata, Hall & Oates, Frankie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Famed for his own productions “It’s So Good” by Creative Force, “I Know A Place” as Sound Of One - the first release on Roger Sanchez One Records -, “Dirty Games” as well as the “Street Players Vol 1 EP”, Victor went on to set up Suburban Records with Tommy Musto and Bassline Records with two other partners. Notable releases on this label include “Do You Feel Me”, Connie Harvey’s gospel inspired, “Thank You Lord”, Urban Blues Project’s “Deliver Me”, Colonel Abrams “Not Gonna Let”, and Mone’s “Better Way”. Never ceasing to produce, DJ, run his own label and host radio shows like Groove Lift, Victor has worked with virtually every NYC producer and has nurtured a next generation talents including Angel Moraes, Jazz ‘N’ Groove, Urban Blues Project, Harlem Hustlers, Jay Jay and Julius Papp. Victor’s releases have also been used on M&S’s “Salsoul Nuggett” hit and Eddie Amador’s underground smash ‘House Music’.

In the late 90’s Victor launched his new Westside Productions, notable for the “Latin Impressions 1 & 2” releases, opened up a studio in Italy as he found himself increasingly working in Europe and now divides his time between New York and Italy. Suffice to say his unique sound of uplifting and spiritual music has kept him at the forefront of House Music and he is credited as one of its leading exponents with his string of classic releases and remixes.

Behind the Groove, branches out from its digital platform to embark on a programme of releases from the iconic pioneer producers of House Music. Esteemed for their high quality features and mixes that continue to explore, celebrate and venerate the contributions of highly respected, scene-shaping Labels, Artists, DJs and Special Events, BTG seeks to bring these talents and tales to the attention of the wider community. Unlocking the stories surrounding the pivotal roles they played and continue to play today in shaping the underground music scene we have come to know and love.

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release, released on May 12th 2023. ‘Vol 2” follows on May 26th 2023 . These releases are the most comprehensive collection of rare Victor Simonelli cuts that firmly establish his esteemed role in 90s House Music and introduces new fans to his carefree sound.

Mysterious Belgian experimental electronics duo Suumhow returns with their third album, Years Failed Successfully.


The album opens with the duo's signature melodicism and broken glitched-up beatwork. It then ebbs into more sinewy territory with swaths of pulsing static and overarching widescreen vivid ambiance. It's new ground for the duo that displays some rather aurally fitting symbolism to the state of the pandemic era, with ambient music on the edge of hysterical hope and arrested emotions.


It's a gripping album that displays fine detail in its coarseness and somehow relief in its muted melodicism. When things seem like they might be getting too ominous, the duo boomerangs the listener back to their harmonious and glitched-up world as a means of much needed escapism.

Jamie Jones and Lee Foss welcome Brazilian newcomer Cassi to Hot Creations as he unveils his two-track EP, ‘Request’.

A new name quickly catching a lot of attention within the tech house world, Brazilian DJ/producer Cassiano Salbego, aka Cassi, only released his debut record via Amine Edge & DANCE’s CUFF Records in August of last year. However, the months since have seen the exciting South American drop a sprinkling of follow-ups and downloads to begin to showcase his sound and style, with a growing list of supporters added by the day. Next up, he gets set for his biggest release to date, making his debut appearance on James Jones and Lee Foss’ internationally renowned label Hot Creations with two new originals across ‘Request’.

Opening with rolling drums, slinking bass groove and hooky warped vocals, arpeggiated lead synths soon take hold of ‘Request’ as the track builds into a cascading surge of energy, while ‘Nervousinha’ is a stripped back yet impactful cut that sees further vox snippers paired with trippy and resonant melodies.

Repress

Stepping in with a new maxi, first after the album, can't deny it wasn't the easiest job. Inspired by several meetings with influential people in my life, this 4 tracker delivers melancholia and funk for the toughest Dancefloors in the very Oaks tradition.

"To all the paths which crossed in the dark, place where we live. Follow the light that we can see."

Program and mood recorded at various first encounters under strobing lights in Berlin by Hector Oaks.
Mastered by Joel Krozer in Copenhagen at 6BITDEEP.
2019 to eternity.

Old style, Tip-On Jacket, and 8pp heavy insert featuring a treasure trove of newly discovered photos, and a 6,000 word essay by Kris Needs.

In 1962, Karen summoned Richard Tucker to join her in Colorado, extolling the healthier lifestyle, and plentiful gigs at Boulder folk club The Attic. Upon his arrival, the pair solidified their personal and professional relationship, riding horses in the mountains, and performing as a duo at parties and venues throughout Denver and Boulder. Stories of the spell they conjured - and rumours of tapes! - have circulated among friends and musicians who witnessed them, but until now, no recorded evidence had turned up.

Shuckin' Sugar is the glorious result of three reel to reel tapes that miraculously found their way to us in November, 2018; which featured two complete shows from The Attic in January '63, and a benefit concert for The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) recorded the following February. Their gigs would often include brief solo sets from Karen and Richard, in addition to the duets, and all seven solo songs of Karen's found on the three reels are included here, as well as five duets, sequenced as close to how it all went down as humanly possible. To describe the record would take a poet, but all I can say is that unveiling a missing chapter in the Karen Dalton story - with six songs we've never heard her sing before - is cause for celebration in Delmore's world.

"From her opening, jaw-dropping lift-off with early blues standard "Trouble In Mind," the unique
otherworld Karen conjured springs into vivid life. Playing to audiences inevitably bound to the era's formalities and traditions, Karen instinctively pushed the envelope, straying into uncharted territory beyond the established borders. She must have bewildered many who came to see her in those winsome Peter, Paul and Mary times." From the liner notes by Kris Needs

Back in 2012, Thee Oh Sees made their first appearance at Austin Psych Fest, performing an electrified set at Emo's East. The first of many Levitation appearances down in Austin, this show has been mixed by John Dwyer and mastered for vinyl by JJ Golden. Now immortalized on glorious 12" colored wax. "I think this was our first time at levitation but our millionth time in the amazing and tough as nails city of Austin, Texas. Brigid Dawson, Mike Shoun, Petey D and myself had already laid the live show out in front of crowds here, so it wasn't our first rodeo and certainly not my last. Our love is obvious here as we bring forth a short but sweet set of hits and deep cuts. This is also the version of the band with Lars "Fingers" Finberg of Intelligence fame as second banana drummer. So enjoy some primal and sensual double drumming and as a side note, no one died at this show. Thanks as always to Levitation for making shit happen" - John Dwyer LEVITATION and the LIVE AT LEVITATION Vinyl Series The first Austin Psych Fest was held in March 2008, and expanded to a 3 day event the following year. The event quickly developed into an international destination for psychedelic rock fans, with lineups spanning the fringes of indie rock, from up-and-comers to vintage legends, and capped off with headline performances from co-founders The Black Angels, along with Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees (in various forms) and many more. LEVITATION helped spark a movement, inspiring the creation of similar events across the globe and a burgeoning psych scene that would soon ignite. The series captures key moments in psychedelic rock history, and live music in Austin, Texas, pressed on beautiful limited edition colorful vinyl pressings - each an eye popping visual representation of the music contained within.