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A guitar stands alone in Wedding, that metropolitan biotope in the western center of Berlin, caught in constant transformation between idyll and abyss. It lets its gaze wander, unsettled, almost shy, until it encounters a trumpet, with which it begins a cautious, then ever more intimate pas de deux.
Welcome to the second studio album by the Berlin-based band Conic Rose.
The album title Wedding is no coincidence. The story of Conic Rose is closely intertwined with the Berlin neighborhood that gives the record its name. The band's studio is located here, and both studio albums were created in the immediate vicinity of the small river Panke. This place settles over the music like a warming patina. The album feels as though the musicians and the neighborhood have invited one another to get to know each other. Not least because Wedding also means marriage. These marriages between a band and an urban landscape, a fading past and an emerging future, fear and hope - unfold in every single song on Wedding.
For their second album, Conic Rose repositioned themselves completely. Not in terms of personnel, but in the question of how to move forward. Conic Rose still sound like Conic Rose; their distinctive blend of cinematic jazz, ambient textures and guitar-led contemporary music remains untouched. And yet Wedding is, in many ways, the conceptual counterpart to their debut album Heller Tag. Where the debut documented movement within an urban setting, Wedding describes a state of being. Behind every piece seems to hover a large question mark.The group opens up its palette, allowing more influences, becoming at once more subtle, more profound, more filigree. It is less about definition than about the spaces in between. The most immediately striking difference from the previous album is the strong presence of the guitar. In Bertram Burkert's playing, many voices seem to converge. His yearning openness forms an equal counterpoint to Döben's trumpet and flugelhorn. Blurred and layered sounds occasionally make the ground seem to slip away beneath one's feet, while Döben's gliding lines create both closeness and distance. Together, the band express in a deeply subtle way a sense of life that corresponds precisely to our time. Something lurks in the background, omnipresent yet still unnameable. Conic Rose need no words to convey this feeling of uncertainty with remarkable eloquence. Perhaps this has something to do with Wedding being a place of confrontational introspection, but Conic Rose confront the escape from escape itself. With the recording and release of Wedding, this process is far from complete. The seed only begins to grow in the listener's ear. With every listen and the echo it leaves behind in memory, the studio bud continues to bloom. The album is merely the point of departure. What ultimately matters is what it sets in motion within those who encounter it.

Fresh from the critically embraced full-length LP/CD, Downward Staircase now arrives in a special remix release - answering the persistent calls from supporters of Joaquin "Joe" Claussell who have been demanding a 12" single. The wait is over.

Downward Staircase is an Afro-Jazz House composition crafted in a way only Joaquin himself can manifest. Layered with masterful percussion from a host of renowned players, the groove is both infectious and deeply rooted. The rhythm section drives with purpose, creating the perfect foundation for the stunning piano work of Joaquin's longtime production partner and favored pianist. The result is a powerful Afro-dance journey - spiritual, percussive, and built to ignite dance floors wherever it's played.

But that's not all.

Also featured on this EP is another Joaquin Joe Claussell remix titled Kwelo, featuring Afro-dance originator Mr. Jephte Guillaume. A collaboration rich in heritage and forward motion, it further expands the sonic landscape of this release.

This project has been over a year in the making - a true labor of dedication and persistence. We're incredibly excited for its release, and we know our loyal following shares that excitement. In many ways, it was your continued support that helped bring this record into existence.

Don't sleep.
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Enjoy the Journey

Still Music are proud to present the reissue of “A Message For The DJ” by one of Detroit’s finest, Delano Smith featuring the distinct vocals of Diamondancer. Featuring the now legendary remix by Jimpster, that has constantly been played since it’s initial release in 2005 by DJ’s across all scenes within the House spectrum.

Original copies of this Deep House classic are hard to come by on the second-hand market, regularly changing hands for close to £70, if you’re lucky enough to find one! Here’s your chance to get one over on those pesky Discogs sharks. Don’t delay!

Since debuting in the mid-1990s, Kurt Spichiger aka Shaka has released rather a lot of high-quality deep house, in the process notching up appearances on the likes of Local Talk, Traxx Underground, Yore, Housewax and, most recently, Mate. Here he evokes the atmosphere of a 'smoky' basement club via a three-track Seasons Limited label debut. Title track 'Smoky Club' is undeniably classy and carefully crafted, with starry electronic motifs, dreamy pads and jammed-out Wurlitzer organ motifs rising above a languid, leisurely deep house groove. Spichiger's love of jazz comes to the fore on the even warmer and more seductive 'City Park' - all sampled disco drums, smooth jazz-funk bass and extended electric piano solos - while 'The World Goes Oriental' sounds like vintage Larry Heard mixed with the afterglow of late night lovin'.

An EP of the darker side of electronic dance music is always a welcome addition to Especial. Up and coming producer / DJ Miles J Paralysis steps away from releasing on his own Crying Outcast label to explore left of centre, new wave and cosmic sounds; songs woven from his own vocals and samples.

A love of Dub, Hip Hop and Electro-Funk led into electronic music. Sampling TV shows, making beats, jamming. Exposed to Leeds and Manchester club cultures, seeking the more experimental. African Head Charge, Muslimgauze, The Rootsman and Weatherall were early influences in forming a no rules philosophy.

Born and raised around West Yorkshire, the beauty and bleakness of the moors have a strong bond on Miles Henry aka Miles J Paralysis and his music. Folklore and the occult link and connect an interest in Northern Hauntology. Unresolved histories, stuck between past glory and phantoms of possible futures.

The EP starts with It’s Only Shadows Talking. A play on the Paralysis persona, the spectral dub house groove meets industrial overtures, encasing his own eerie and unsettling vocals to begin the narrative.

Don’t Forget The Ritual takes a direct link from British folk traditions. Sacred and ceremonial; the laid-back breakbeat, samples and delays are the transition to the evocative embrace of melancholia.

Come On Fleet, the hypnotic Latin (vocal) sample creates a lurking murmuration, rimshot percussion meets gothic sound design for the EPs’ most straight forward and direct club cut.

Surreal and dreamlike soundscape, closing track The Delicate Fairytale is the perfect platform for Miles own phantasm. Inspired by the stories of Dorothy K Haynes and Robert Hickman, the pervading sense of a David Lynch aesthetic, exploring the nostalgic nature of memory.

Space Ghost returns with Dance Planet – Be Free Edition, a remastered, recut and expanded edition of his beloved 2022 album. Featuring refreshed artwork, newly remastered audio, and a brand-new digital remix package from not even noticed, RAMZi, Crystalline Reality, and Space Ghost himself, this is the definitive version of a modern house classic.

Rooted in uplifting, soulful 4/4 traditions inspired by forebears like Larry Heard and Blaze, Dance Planet flows effortlessly between ambient reflection and warm, driving club cuts. The remaster brings added depth and clarity — from the lush swells of “Afterglow” and the tripped-out breaks of “Dream Weaver” to the R&B-tinged groove of “UFO. ” Dancefloor staples like “Back To The Source” and “Soul Shower” retain their warmth and punch, while “Emotional Healer” and “Be Yourself (Motivational Mix)” continue to deliver Space Ghost’s signature affirmation: don’t be afraid to be yourself, don’t be afraid to let go.

Pressed on 140g black vinyl with new artwork and including a download code for the full extended album + remixes. A timeless, feel-good house LP — restored and expanded for collectors and selectors alike

LP Transparent Purple Vinyl in Picture Sleeve

The essential debut album from Chicago’s disco-funk pioneers, featuring the timeless “Free Man,” returns fully remastered from the tapes of Tom Moulton for RSD 2026. Produced by Philly soul legends Bunny Sigler and Bruce Hawes, this record bridges Chicago’s raw energy with Philly’s orchestral elegance. Essential for any collector serious about the roots of disco and dancefloor culture — an all-killer, no-filler LP that sounds fresher than ever today. Remastered and Redesigned labels and sleeve, Transparent Purple Vinyl.

Nonesuch Records releases Let X=X, by Laurie Anderson with Sexmob. This triple-LP/double-CD set was recorded live during a 2023 tour by Anderson and the jazz band Sexmob – Steven Bernstein and Briggan Krauss on brass, Kenny Wollesen on percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. Its cover and interior packaging feature paintings by Anderson. The album features 23 songs, including many favourites from throughout Anderson’s career, performed in new arrangements – plus one by Lou Reed and Metallica, ‘Junior Dad’. Anderson and Sexmob play more US and international dates this spring and summer (details below).

The New York Times said Anderson and Sexmob’s concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) ‘wasn’t a historical recreation of past recordings; Sexmob’s sound is a beefier one than on Anderson’s albums. With musicians who can double on electric guitar and bass clarinet, its members offered a rich range of textural variation throughout the evening.’

Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned – and daring – creative pioneers. Her work, which encompasses music, visual art, poetry, film, and photography, has challenged and delighted audiences around the world for more than 40 years. In a recent 60 Minutes profile, Anderson Cooper said she ‘is a pioneer of the avant-garde, but... that doesn’t begin to describe what she creates... It’s experienced by audiences who come to see her perform: singing, telling stories, and playing strange violins of her own invention... she blends the beautiful and the bizarre, challenging audiences with homilies and humor. She blurs boundaries across music, theater, dance, and film.’ The Washington Post has said she ‘doesn’t just tell stories; she draws out every word with a kind of physical pleasure, tasting its flavor as she probes the everyday mysteries of life.’

Anderson released her first album with Nonesuch Records, the critically lauded Life on a String, in 2001. Her subsequent releases on the label include Live in New York (2002); Homeland (2010); the soundtrack to her acclaimed film Heart of a Dog (2015); and her Grammy-winning collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Landfall (2018). Nonesuch released a re-mastered edition of Big Science in 2007 for its 25th anniversary, followed by a vinyl LP re-issue in 2021; the album includes Anderson’s beloved, surprise hit, song, ‘O Superman’, which also is featured on Let X=X. Her recent Nonesuch release was 2024’s Amelia, about renowned female aviator Amelia Earhart’s tragic last flight.

Anderson’s virtual-reality film La Camera Insabbiata, with Hsin-Chien Huang, won the 2017 Venice Film Festival Award for Best VR Experience, and, in 2018, Skira Rizzoli published her book All the Things I Lost in the Flood: Essays on Pictures, Language and Code, the most comprehensive collection of her artwork to date. Recent exhibitions and installations of Anderson’s work include Habeas Corpus at New York’s Park Avenue Armory; her largest exhibition to date, The Weather, at Washington, DC’s Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art; and Looking into a Mirror Sideways at Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, which was her largest European exhibition to date.

Laurie Anderson was awarded the 2024 Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication, along with Christopher Nolan and David Attenborough, and the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet in her honour: Asteroid 270588, Laurieanderson. That same year, she was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Redux, an ambient-folk album from Portland, Oregon musician, poet, and multimedia artist Dao Strom, is a collection of nine resurrected pieces. Reimagining songs she initially composed as a member of the Austin, Texas alt-country and singer-songwriter scenes of the early 2000s, Strom reworks these lost songs into ambient-folk mini-epics—part grounded and earthly, part ethereal and otherworldly. Drawing on an intimate yet spacious palette of folk, ambient, and experimental textures, woven through with a poetics of vulnerability and quiet emotion, Redux explores song as gently reverberant fields of layered vocals over finger-picked guitars with touches of electronics and sampling. Strom’s musical journey initially began in a roots and acoustic vein, simultaneously with her career as a fiction writer. In the years since, she has moved from Austin, Texas to Juneau, Alaska to Portland, Oregon; her work too has expanded across genres into more experimental formats of poetry, music, and multidisciplinary art. In returning to these earlier songs, Strom reclaims and revives them, exploring her relationships to time, voice, and the continuances of emotion and memory. The word redux means “brought back; revived”; a sense of something restored—earlier renditions of some of the Redux songs were recorded with Austin-based collaborators and producers; some songs were written in that time period but never recorded. Produced, performed, and recorded by Strom alone in her home studio, Redux is a return and reemergence of the artist to her own most personal, intuitive structures and atmospheres of voice, sound, and song. Released on cassette by Antiquated Future Records, and reissued on vinyl in 2026 by Disasters By Choice.

Dao Strom is an artist who works with three “voices”—written, sung, visual—to explore hybridity and contemplate the intersection of personal and collective histories. Her music releases move between “song-poem” cycles and ambient-folk albums. She is the author/composer of several hybrid projects that blend poetry, music, and visual art into unique multimodal experiences, including Tender Revolutions/Yellow Songs, a song-cycle with set of four chapbooks, jointly released by Beacon Sound, Antiquated Future Records, and The 3rd Thing Press (2025), and Instrument/Traveler’s Ode, a poetry-art collection and song-cycle released by Fonograf Editions and Antiquated Future Records (2020). Born in Vietnam and based in Portland, Oregon, Strom began her musical journey in the early 2000s, when she first began infusing into the context of “Americana” folk/roots music her own diasporic Vietnamese experience and stories. Her music has since moved in more experimental directions, resisting easy categorization, yet still maintaining tendrils of folk ethos. She also writes songs about the ineffable nuances of emotion, memory, and connection, as captured on the album, Redux, which gathers songs from across her songwriting years into an ambient-folk setting, self-produced and recorded by Strom, released on cassette in 2022 by Antiquated Future Records, and reissued on vinyl in 2026 by Disasters By Choice. As a multidisciplinary artist, Strom has presented performance and installations at venues such as the Time Based Art Festival (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art) and Moving Poets Novilla in Berlin, Germany, and has received awards from the Creative Capital Foundation, Spark Artist Award, and others. Strom is also a founding member of She Who Has No Master(s), a collective of Vietnamese women writers and artists making polyvocal poetry-art works as a means of reaching across borders.

40 Thieves have been part of the Leng family since 2011 during which time they have released many quality singles and EPs as well as their sole full-length album, 2014’s epic The Sky Is Yours. Even so, double A-side ‘Love Is’/’Let Me Show You’ still marks their first release on Leng for almost three years.

In keeping with their signature sound, ‘Love Is’ is trippy, hallucinatory and gently mind-altering, with psychedelic guitar sounds, echoing percussion, and a heady lead vocal courtesy of crew member and Alona, all of which rides a chunky dub disco bassline and chugging mid-tempo beats. Richard Sen, a DJ and producer known for his love of dubbed-out sonics and pulsating grooves, delivers a typically spaced-out and otherworldly rework. Rooting his revision to the dancefloor via an undulating electronic bassline that throbs away restlessly throughout, Sen stretches out the track and emphasises its more trippy elements before introducing dreamier chords and heady vocals with a brilliant interpretation.

On ‘Let Me Show You’, 40 Thieves step things up to deep house tempo while remaining firmly rooted in 21st century San Francisco nu-disco with rich, dubby bass guitar, tactile piano chords, futurist synths and knowing nods to Patrick Cowley productions of the late 1970s and early ‘80s. The track is presented in two forms: the superb ‘Vocal Mix’, where Alona’s vocal rises above the groove and intoxicating electronics, and a genuinely radical and out-there dancefloor focused ‘Dub’. Pushing the track’s wilder and more out-there elements to the max via stripped-back arrangements and a smorgasbord of effects, 40 Thieves re-wire the cut as a heads-down psychedelic disco chugger topped off with wonderfully loved-up chords.

LAURA GREENE, from Cleveland, Ohio, has enjoyed a long and successful career in the entertainment industry. She started out as stage actress before becoming a singer in the lucrative TV and radio jingle business. She has also modelled for many press campaigns and regularly appeared on TV chat shows. In 1968 she had a role in the film For Love Of Ivy with Sidney Poitier and a year later co-starred in the satire Putney Swope directed by Robert Downey Sr. It seems fitting that her 1967 non-hit 'Moonlight Music And You' finally found commercial success in 2003 when featured on a KFC TV advert. PEGGY MARCH was born Margaret Annemarie Battavio in 1948 and, although having a prolific recording career, is rememberred mainly for her million-selling 'I Will Follow Him'. Here we feature her Northern Soul waxing for RCA in 1968 that packed the dance floor at Wigan Casino a decade later!

After standout collaborations with Christophe Honoré and Bertrand Mandico, Calypso has signed with Pop Noire for the original soundtrack of Caroline Deruas’ film Les Immortelles. She unveils her new single, L’Homme Poisson, a gem of magnetic pop. With this ultra-catchy track, she reinvents 70s synth-pop with her signature poetry—both modern and timeless.


With Les Immortelles, Calypso Valois does more than accompany the film: she becomes its sonic soul. Each track—from enchanting choruses to rich instrumentation (piano, synths, strings, brass)—immerses the listener in a dreamlike universe, where music weaves the emotional thread. A singular cinematic experience, infused with mystery and magic. Whether you’re a fan of sophisticated pop, evocative soundtracks, or simply seeking an enchanting musical journey, this album transcends the boundaries of genre and era.
The film opened the Venice Film Festival and continues to make waves at festivals before its release a on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

Sara Parkman's fourth album – the first since 2022's Eros Agape Philia – explores the mystical tradition and the work involved in living – and dealing with life.

The album marks several new steps in Sara Parkman's musical development – from the passionate and majestic flow of words to the introspective tone. A recurring theme is the idea of prayer and work, or ora et labora in Latin.

‘I want the idea of prayer and work to be a source of comfort, hope and encouragement in the challenging times we live in. We must continue to work and believe in the common good,’ says Sara Parkman.

Since her album debut in 2016, Sara Parkman has pushed the boundaries of what folk music can be. Her albums have been repeatedly praised for weaving together tradition and the future. Along the way, she has been awarded a number of prestigious awards in Sweden – from Grammis wins to Dagens Nyheter's Culture Prize – and she has sold out tour after tour.

As the figurehead of a movement larger than herself, she has also carved out a place of her own for Scandinavian folk music, not least through her involvement in her own record label, Supertraditional.

The Bay Area’s electro-pop underground gets a neon-lit revival with a limited repress of The Limousines’ cult-classic 2010 debut album, Get Sharp, on frosted pink vinyl.

The album features the single “Internet Killed the Video Star,” a blog-era anthem with an instantly recognizable synth line and a self-aware chorus that captured the anxieties and possibilities of the digital age. Heavy rotation at alternative radio juggernaut Live 105 helped transform the song into a regional hit and an indie-dance mainstay.

“Very Busy People” is a high-energy critique of hyper-productivity and modern ambition, personifying a band that synthesized sharp songwriting, glossy synth hooks, and cultural commentary. Together, these elements mark a moment when Bay Area forces aligned to launch a record that continues to resonate.

Every mother has a unique story. One thing is true for every mother, though: There’s no deadline quite like a pregnancy.

Award-winning Toronto singer-songwriter Abigail Lapell was pregnant with her first child when she booked studio time on Vancouver Island to make an album about motherhood. The nine songs on Shadow Child — one for each month of gestation — had to be ready before then, and her return flight was booked on the last day she could safely fly in her third trimester.

Working with producer Colin Stewart (Dan Mangan, Black Mountain), Lapell finished her songs in the studio and on rural walks beside the Pacific Ocean. She enlisted some of her favourite singers, all British Columbians, all mothers: Frazey Ford, Jill Barber, Pharis Romero. “They’re all people with unique, distinctive voices,” she says, “which is what I’m drawn to.”

Musically, Lapell was looking for a stark, acoustic sound, as opposed to 2024’s Juno Award-nominated Anniversary (recorded in Niagara with Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker) and 2022’s acclaimed Stolen Time (recorded in Montreal with Howard Bilerman, featuring E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons).

Lapell’s road to motherhood was fraught, involving years of IVF and a 2023 miscarriage — that she experienced on stage while on tour. (She finished her set.) Her son was born in November 2024. The song cycle of Shadow Child covers joy and loss, using metaphors from Maritime tragedy, “little cannibals,” reproductive health, acquiring language, and lives altered by the arrival of a newborn. The title track refers to ultrasound imaging of “a liminal person that doesn’t quite exist yet,” says Lapell. “Their status is ontologically blurry.”

Blanche Biau, the enigmatic solo project blending 80s wave, post-punk, and shoegaze into a dreamy yet melancholic soundscape, is set to release a remix album of her sophomore record ‘Heartcore’. The new album, titled ‘Heartcore (Remixes)’, will be released via the Zurich based label Subject To Restrictions Discs.

Following the success of ‘Heartcore’, released in July 2025, the remix album brings together a group of artists to reimagine Blanche Biau’s hauntingly beautiful tracks. The remixers include Danzinger99, Donna Haringwey, Lumpex, Lust For Youth, Spear Flower and Milan STHC.

Blanche Biau on the remix album: «Heartcore is deeply personal to me, but I also imagined it as a living, breathing entity that could evolve. Collaborating with these incredible artists has been a dream – they’ve taken my songs to places I never thought possible. This remix album is a celebration of reinterpretation and connection.»

Blanche Biau is a solo project hailing from Zurich, Switzerland. Known for her DIY approach and ability to channel influences from 80s wave, post-punk, and shoegaze into a sound that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking, Blanche Biau has quickly established herself as a rising star in the alternative music scene. Her music combines raw emotion with dreamy atmospheres, resonating deeply with audiences worldwide.

Grammy award-winning titan of dance music Purple Disco Machine joins the illustrious list of Defected House Masters with a celebratory compilation. The German producer, DJ and global household name Tino Pointek, AKA Purple Disco Machine, is the blueprint for what makes a successful dance music artist in the modern age; respected on the underground scene while achieving major crossover success with remixes for the likes of Sir Elton John, Dua Lipa and Mark Ronson. The crate digging kingpin of house and disco first landed on Defected over a decade ago, and has since delivered remixes of iconic tracks like Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ and the London label’s top tracks including Shakedown’s ‘At Night’ and ‘Coma Cat’ by Tensnake – as well as striking originals like ‘Beat Fantasy’. From edits of the classics to remixes of the modern, as well as uplifting originals, Purple Disco Machine has birthed a distinct sound that is instantly recognisable, one that is not afraid to reference or not reference and is always bursting with joy. Across Defected presents House Masters: Purple Disco Machine, the full breadth of the iconic German selector’s sound is felt from the 2019 smash hit ‘Dished (Male Stripper)’ to deep cuts like his re-work of Fallout’s ‘The Morning After’ as well as remixes of legendary tracks like ‘Lola’s Theme’ by The Shapeshifters and Spiller’s ‘Groovejet’ featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Defected presents House Masters: Purple Disco Machine is here to showcase the sound of a bona fide electronic maverick in full.

Es war eine einfache Idee: ein Festival zu schaffen, das brillante Musik und Kunst aus aller Welt vereint, entstanden außerhalb des Mainstreams entstanden – Musik, die nicht im Radio gespielt wurde und in Plattenläden noch schwerer zu finden war... Das allererste WOMAD-Festival fand am Wochenende vom 16. bis 18. Juli 1982 in Somerset, Großbritannien, statt. Mit dem Traum, „Weltmusik nicht nur als Beigabe zu einem Rockfestival zu präsentieren, sondern zu beweisen, dass diese großartigen Künstler selbst Headliner sein können”.

An den drei Tagen fand im Showering Pavilion auf dem Festivalgelände eine „Abendkonzertreihe“ statt. Am Freitagabend traten Tian Jin (eine Gesangs- und Tanzgruppe aus China), Simple Minds und Peter Gabriel mit einem „speziellen Festival-Set mit Nicht-Album-Material“ auf.
Live at WOMAD 1982 ist eine Aufnahme dieses Freitagabendkonzerts. Bei dem Nicht-Album-Material handelt es sich um sieben der acht Songs, aus denen das Album Peter Gabriel 4 (Security) bestehen würde. Ein Album, das erst zwei Monate später veröffentlicht werden sollte.

Peter Gabriels Live at WOMAD 1982 versetzt uns nicht nur zurück in die Geburtsstunde eines Festivals, das mittlerweile mehr als 160 Ausgaben in 27 Ländern veranstaltet hat, sondern auch in die Premiere eines Albums mit Songs wie "The Rhythm of the Heat", "San Jacinto" und "Shock the Monkey", die zu zentralen Werken im Schaffen Gabriels geworden sind. „Live at WOMAD 1982“ ist mehr als nur ein Live-Album, es ist ein entscheidender Moment, der zum ersten Mal auf CD und LP erhältlich ist.

„Ranjha“ ist das neue Album und die Zusammenarbeit des preisgekrönten Komponisten und RadioheadGitarristen Jonny Greenwood, des gefeierten Komponisten und Musikers Shye Ben Tzur und des indischen
Ensembles The Rajasthan Express. Das Album ist der Nachfolger ihres gefeierten Debüts „Junun“, das
gerade sein zehnjähriges Jubiläum feierte. Während „Junun“ in einem provisorischen Studio im Mehrangarh
Fort aus dem 15. Jahrhundert in Rajasthan, Indien, aufgenommen wurde, entstand „Ranjha“ in einem
intimeren Rahmen – in Jonny Greenwoods Studio in Oxford, England.
Zum 10-jährigen Jubiläum von „Junun“, das von der Kritik hochgelobt wurde – unter anderem als Album
des Jahres von der Sunday Times, die es als „eine der inspiriertesten Veröffentlichungen des Jahres“
und „faszinierend, vielschichtig und unbedingt hörenswert“ bezeichnete –, veröffentlichte BMG am 16.
Januar 2026 eine Sonderausgabe des Originalalbums. Die Entstehung von „Junun“ wurde vom gefeierten
Filmemacher Paul Thomas Anderson dokumentiert und bietet einen intimen Einblick in den kreativen
Prozess und den pulsierenden Alltag während der Albumproduktion. „Ranjha“, das am 8. Mai 2026
erscheint, wird als spezielle rote und korallenrote Splatter-Vinyl-Edition im Gatefold-Cover sowie als CD
erhältlich sein. Das Album enthält elf brandneue Tracks, die den charakteristischen interkulturellen Sound
der Band mit einem modernen Touch verbinden. Es erscheint kurz nach der vielbeachteten Radiohead-Tour,
die Ende 2025 zu Ende ging.

Double live album out by one of the most exciting live bands in earth, Mohama Saz! "Ven al fuego" captures their unstoppable stage energy in its purest form. "Ven al fuego" is the perfect compilation and representative of the powerful unstoppable force from the band on stage. Play this album, play it loud and you will be enjoying one of the most memorable live shows that explores musical horizons emancipated from British rock tradition. Mohama Saz from Madrid, Spain are one of the most exciting live bands in the world today, a mind -blowing manifestation of pure psychedelic exotica. Within minutes of taking the stage they have the audience completely under their spell, dancing in wide-eyed bliss to their uniquely intoxicating music. With an electrified Baglama Saz as their lead instrument they fuse elements of Turkish and Armenian folk music, Mediterranean psychedelia and mesmerizing Middle Eastern-flavored ragas with galvanizing go- go discotheque grooves. Mike Stax (Ugly Things Magazine / The Loons) Experiencing Mohama Saz live is a meditative ritual of excitement and pure emotion. One of the best live shows I can think of today, they are truly something special! Jake García (The Black Angels) Album Credits: Recorded live in February 2025 in Madrid (Sala Copérnico, February 22, 2025) and Reus (Lo Submarino, February 15, 2025) by Tommaso Galati. Mixed by Tommaso Galati and Mohama Saz. Mastered by Carlos Díaz. Artwork: Mario Feal

First Word Records proudly present the second single from Above The Clouds (aka kidkanevil & Magic Manfred), taking on another underground hip hop classic, 'Change'.

'Change' was originally performed by Shadez of Brooklyn, produced by Da Beatminerz and most notably appeared on DJ Premier's legendary 'New York Reality Check 101' mix compilation back in 1997.

This 7" vinyl release follows on from last Summer's MF DOOM cover 'Arrow Root', which received strong support from the likes of Japan's DJ Koco and Philadelphia's DJ Jazzy Jeff.

This new instrumental reinterpretation also features cuts by Leicester-based turntablist, Jon1st - a DMC World Online Champion, as well as being a producer & musician in his own right, collaborating on music with a number of hip hop, D&B and electronic artists.

One of the original First Word roster, UK Producer/DJ and all-round laptop music geek kidkanevil has developed a distinctive and progressive sound over the years, gleefully exploring the beats and bleeps of the electronic music universe to international recognition. Leeds born, sound system bred and raised on a (un)healthy diet of video games and anime, his solo work inhabits the curious space between bass frequencies and otaku culture. But as a devoted teenage backpack rap nerd, somewhere in the back of kid's mind was a lingering desire to reconnect with his first love, hip hop.

Not long after moving to Berlin he joined a studio space in graffiti plastered Kreuzberg, where he met multi instrumentalist wizard Magic Manfred; a disciple of all things boogie, disco, funk and soul. Born and raised in Berlin, and currently a touring musician for many an act, Manfred's musical map joins the dots from piano lessons at four, to starting a band with his teenage friends, leading him to his true calling - the bass - via the club vibrations of his hometown, which introduced him to the world of DJing and production, and a stint studying in the explosive London jazz scene to finalise his Jedi training.

Bonding over their mutual love of '90s hip hop, a friendship and musical kinship developed, coupled with a desire to honour past eras but push things forward, Above The Clouds was born; named after their joint favourite DJ Premier beat, with a touch of irony regarding their basement based studio of a windowless variety.

kidkanevil explains further "We started the project with a few covers, just as a way to get warmed up and in a certain creative headspace, of which 'Change' by Shadez Of Brooklyn was one. We both loved DJ Premier's 'New York Reality Check 101' mix when we were teenagers and this track was a favourite. The elements really lent themselves to live interpretation, and as an instrumental there was space to bring some nice movement with the bass and stuff. Hopefully we found the balance between paying tribute and finding our own pocket. For the final seasoning we hit up the homie and turntable wizard Jon1st to recreate the cuts, of which he did an immaculate job of course.

The b-side 'Urgh' is one of our favourite beats we've made so far; the title is just how it makes us feel! We actually recorded the piano with two iphones as left and right and it sounded kinda cool so we went with it..."

'Change / Urgh' is released on limited 7" vinyl & digital platforms, April 24th 2026.

Repress!

Nico Gomez, a Belgian orchestra leader of Dutch roots, has long been a favourite with Latin fans, record diggers, DJs, and collectors alike. His blend of bossanova, latin jazz, and easy listening always turns up a few choice nuggets and surprises; what is perhaps most remarkable is that it was recorded in Europe.


Back in 2013, Mr Bongo re-issued Nico Gomez's sought-after 'Ritual' album from 1971, and now we follow it up with another jewel from his catalogue his 1972 album 'Soul Of Samba'. For this re-issue, we have opted to present it with the cover art originally used on the Trio Records version released in Japan. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the album was released with different cover art under the title 'Bossa Nova’, on Omega International and International Bestseller Company records, respectively. We loved the beautiful psychedelic design of the Japanese version and wanted to use it for this re-issue.

'Soul Of Samba' features several euro-bossa-jazz favourites such as the catchy 'Rio'; which was a firm DJ choice cut at jazz dance nights, including Brighton's 'Jazz Rooms' in the 90s. It also featured in Rainer Trüby's classic ‘Glücklich' compilation series which explored European-Brazilian-inspired music. The beguiling ‘Aquarela', with its engaging latin shuffle, entices feet to the dancefloor and is not one to miss. 'Agua’ has a lazy-quirky latin-funk feel with breathy-stoned vocals floating in the background. The album additionally features numerous breezy latin, Brazilian, and easy listening joints, some of which are ripe for sampling.

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Kaidi Tatham, with a brand new 12-track album entitled 'Don't Rush The Process'.

This is Kaidi's 4th solo album under his own name, following on from 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards.

To bring you up to speed, Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Once dubbed "the UK's Herbie Hancock" by Benji B, he's a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound. Over the years his musical prowess has blessed numerous projects, recently with the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff, Andrew Ashong and with longtime accomplice, Dego. This in addition to session and remix work for artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Slum Village, Marcos Valle, Amy Winehouse, Soul II Soul, Nubya Garcia, Rosie Frater-Taylor and Leroy Burgess, along with First Word label mates Eric Lau, Children of Zeus, Allysha Joy and Darkhouse Family. Kaidi is also a revered DJ known for rocking parties globally, whilst his solo catalogue spans tons of EPs and releases for labels such as Dego's 2000 Black, Alex Nut's Eglo Records and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature.

This new album 'Don't Rush The Process' opens with an intro of sweet strings on 'Mystery Solved', ahead of lead title track, which is on a mid-tempo boom bap vibe, before switching to a more uptempo boogie vein, with the assistance of The Easy Access Orchestra, who also appear on 'We Chillin' Out', which is on a similar boogie tip. 'All I Need' is some gospel flavoured hip hop, whilst 'Knocknee Donkey' steps things up in a jazz-funk fashion. The second half of the album takes on a very Brazilian flavoured stance, with a set of delicious latin flavoured grooves on 'Any Flavour', 'Runnin' Tru', 'What A Dream' and 'Sooretama', the latter featuring the additional prowess of pianist Robert Mitchell. There's a touch more of the hip hop beats thrown in via 'Funky Fool' and the album closes out in inimitable Kaidi style with a short message: 'Mind Yourself'.

A hugely prolific artist, here he adds to an already impressive catalogue, a body of work that falls within the cracks of jazz and dance music, exemplifying modern British black brilliance; uncompromising, innovative, groundbreaking, intricately sophisticated and deeply funky. His fanbase expands on every release and it's no surprise that that fanbase includes a diverse set of peers such as Madlib ("ahead of his time"), Gilles Peterson ("a key part of an entire movement"), K15 ("a limitless source of inspiration") and Kyle Hall.

'Don't Rush The Process' is released on vinyl & digital worldwide, July 2022 via First Word Records.

Ten years ago, Anderson .Paak didn't just release an album; he staged a full-scale takeover of the soul and hip-hop landscape. Released on January 15, 2016, Malibu served as the definitive arrival of an artist who had spent years grinding in the underground before a star-making turn on Dr. Dre’s Compton. While his previous work hinted at his potential, Malibu was the moment the world met the "Cheeky Andy" persona in full—a virtuosic drummer, a raspy-voiced crooner, and a sharp-witted rapper all rolled into one. The album is a sprawling, sun-drenched journey through the Southern California coast, blending 1970s funk, church-reared gospel, and gritty boom-bap into something that feels both nostalgic and entirely futuristic. With a heavyweight production lineup including 9th Wonder, Madlib, Kaytranada, and Hi-Tek, the record maintains a warm, analog texture that was a breath of fresh air in an increasingly digital era. It’s an album that breathes, full of intentional imperfections and the kind of "in-the-pocket" groove that can only come from a seasoned live performer. Beyond the infectious, dance-floor-ready energy of tracks like "Am I Wrong" and "Come Down," the album is a deeply autobiographical masterwork. .Paak uses the 65-minute runtime to unpack his life story with startling clarity, touching on his mother’s gambling addiction, his father’s incarceration, and his own brushes with homelessness with a sense of resilience that never feels heavy-handed. He weaves these heavy themes through a lens of triumph, grounded by vintage surfing documentary samples that give the project its cinematic, coastal atmosphere. It’s a celebratory record born out of struggle, anchored by his impeccable technicality on the drums and a guest list—featuring ScHoolboy Q, Rapsody, and The Game—that feels hand-picked to complement his specific brand of West Coast swagger. A decade later, Malibu stands as a modern classic and the blueprint for the soulful revivalism that would eventually lead .Paak to global superstardom and Grammy-winning heights. It remains a testament to the idea that the most profound music often comes from the most personal places, proving ten years on that the best way to move forward is to stay rooted in the groove.

Swedish alt-pop icon Lykke Li, whose career spans the haunting intimacy of Youth Novels to the widescreen ambition of So Sad So Sexy, returns with her most uncompromising statement yet. Signed to Crush Management and already confirmed for Coachella 2026 and a run of South American festivals, her forthcoming album The Afterparty strips things back to raw truth and artist dogma. Built on a shoestring budget but led by high-fashion meets candid, meme-ready visuals, the world of The Afterparty channels early Tumblr and i-D magazine energy—real, raw, and distinctly Lykke Li.

Swedish alt-pop icon Lykke Li, whose career spans the haunting intimacy of Youth Novels to the widescreen ambition of So Sad So Sexy, returns with her most uncompromising statement yet. Signed to Crush Management and already confirmed for Coachella 2026 and a run of South American festivals, her forthcoming album The Afterparty strips things back to raw truth and artist dogma. Built on a shoestring budget but led by high-fashion meets candid, meme-ready visuals, the world of The Afterparty channels early Tumblr and i-D magazine energy—real, raw, and distinctly Lykke Li.

PISS in collaboration with The state51 Conspiracy is excited to release a limited 7” pressing of “three demos”.
In the span of two years, PISS has gone from a complete unknown in the Vancouver underground scene to an international touring act. The noise punk quartet has never released a full-length record; their reputation grew from their frenetic, intimate live show and three self-produced demos.
These demos were recorded in Paterson’s basement apartment. For the vocal tracks, Paterson and Zantingh drove an old camper van to an industrial neighborhood of Vancouver to avoid disturbing their neighbors. They were mixed by Paterson, with drums for two of three tracks engineered and tracked by Chris Bede.

2026 Repress

Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom, oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her music into new territory. The resulting work, Un American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed, slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout, however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of fighting oppression with full hearts of hope.

Originally released on Ezekiel Honig's Anticipate label in 2007, Standing on a Hummingbird is the debut album by Canadian sound artist Mark Templeton, now appearing for the first time on vinyl, newly remastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and cut by LUPO. Working at the intersection of post-glitch, electroacoustic ambient, and textural minimalism, Templeton composes through restraint and erosion, building patient and richly tactile pieces primarily from acoustic sources - fingerpicked guitar, plaintive banjo, muted accordion tones - subjected to careful processes of granulation, filtering, and environmental masking. These gestures never overwhelm the source material; instead, they wonderfully destabilize it. Melodies appear briefly, only to dissolve into dense atmospheres of field recordings: distant streets, birds, water, air. Sounds hover, vibrate, and vanish, much like the wing beating latent in the album’s title.

Tracks such as “Pattern For a Pillow” and “Amidst Things Uncontrolled” articulate this approach with particular clarity, setting languid acoustic figures against churning granular backdrops that feel at once sheltering and unstable. Elsewhere, moments of fragile clarity - fluttering guitar lines, reedy accordion tones - briefly break the surface before being absorbed back into the field.

Heard today, the record offers a clarion, almost spartan strain of textural ambient music: intricate yet unforced, shaped by human touch rather than automated excess. Its refusal of spectacle feels especially vital in a landscape saturated with maximalist digitalia - a reminder that electronic music’s most enduring gestures often occur where sound is allowed to tremble and hold itself just long enough to be felt before disappearing once again. (Alex Cobb, 2026)

Weiter geht's mit den Ipecac ISIS-Neuauflagen: "In The Absence Of Truth" ist das Album der Band aus dem Jahr 2006, neu gemastert von James Plotkin. Die 2LP 140gr Vinyl kommt in einer Tip-On-Gatefold-Hülle in zwei Varianten: Standard-Schwarzvinyl und eine Indie-Exklusivausgabe in Eco-Mix-Rot. Das Album baut auf dem vorherigen Album der Band, ,Panopticon", auf und erkundet weiter den klaren Gesang von Leadsänger Aaron Turner (obwohl seine früheren Techniken, die mehr auf Schreien und Growlen setzten, auch noch vorhanden sind). Musikalisch ist das Album dynamisch und reicht von ausgedehnten musikalischen Ambient-Klängen bis hin zu fast tribalistischen Trommelrhythmen. Isis haben ihre langen Songs beibehalten; "In the Absence of Truth" ist mit fast 65 Minuten das längste Album von Isis. Obwohl die Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr existiert, ist ihr Einfluss auf den Metal immer noch spürbar, und die Verkaufszahlen machen es weiterhin zu einem der Top-Alben von Ipecac.

Weiter geht's mit den Ipecac ISIS-Neuauflagen: "In The Absence Of Truth" ist das Album der Band aus dem Jahr 2006, neu gemastert von James Plotkin. Die 2LP 140gr Vinyl kommt in einer Tip-On-Gatefold-Hülle in zwei Varianten: Standard-Schwarzvinyl und eine Indie-Exklusivausgabe in Eco-Mix-Rot. Das Album baut auf dem vorherigen Album der Band, ,Panopticon", auf und erkundet weiter den klaren Gesang von Leadsänger Aaron Turner (obwohl seine früheren Techniken, die mehr auf Schreien und Growlen setzten, auch noch vorhanden sind). Musikalisch ist das Album dynamisch und reicht von ausgedehnten musikalischen Ambient-Klängen bis hin zu fast tribalistischen Trommelrhythmen. Isis haben ihre langen Songs beibehalten; "In the Absence of Truth" ist mit fast 65 Minuten das längste Album von Isis. Obwohl die Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt nicht mehr existiert, ist ihr Einfluss auf den Metal immer noch spürbar, und die Verkaufszahlen machen es weiterhin zu einem der Top-Alben von Ipecac.

With 'Tangkoa II', Belgian producer and multi-instrumentalist Dijf Sanders invites listeners into a vibrant and immersive sonic world shaped by travel, collaboration and instinct. Released via Unday Records, the album grew out of field recordings captured during a journey through Vietnam, later transformed into rhythmic, colourful compositions that feel both intimate and expansive.

Rather than building tracks piece by piece on a screen, Sanders approaches music as something alive and unfolding. Sounds are performed and reshaped in real time, giving the album a spontaneous energy, as if the music is discovering itself while you listen. Together with drummer and producer Simon Segers, he creates a fluid dialogue between electronic sounds and human rhythm, balancing precision with freedom.

Improvisation lies at the heart of 'Tangkoa II'. Contributions from Vitja Pauwels (guitar), Viktor Perdieus (saxophone) and Louise van den Heuvel (bass) bring a subtle jazz sensibility to the music, pushing it toward hypnotic grooves and unexpected turns.

The result is an album that feels warm, physical and constantly in motion. Electronic music that breathes, pulses and draws you fully into its atmosphere.

Much like the duo’s music, the story of Rural France is both mundane and magical. Tom Brown (also of transatlantic janglepunks Teenage Tom Petties) and Rob Fawkes moved to London in their mid-twenties. Despite living under the same roof, they never picked up a guitar – except for one drunken, failed attempt at writing a Spoon song (“Big Chops” …don’t ask). It was only after both separately relocating to Wiltshire and starting families that they began assembling songs as a way of meeting up. Tom had amassed a pile of sprightly slacker jams that were calling out for Fawkes’ messily melodic guitar lines. Rural France was born.

After a debut album on their hero, ex-Lemonhead Nic Dalton’s Half-a-Cow Records, they retreated to a garage to record their next two albums: RF (2021) and Exacamondo! (2024), both released on much-respected jangle label Meritorio Records. Despite being lo-fi in the truest GbV sense, both records were warmly received by the DIY indie blogosphere, with their short, scrappy, but supremely melodic songs landing on numerous AOTY lists. RF even won Album of the Year at Janglepop Hub.

Raven Sings The Blues probably summed up the sound best: “With drunken visions of Beach Boys harmonies playing in the back of their heads and hooks that consume Teenage Fanclub cheeriness with the same beautiful brevity that drives Tony Molina, the pair have knocked out eleven rumpled classics.” Album four, SLOTHS, arrives via Meritorio Records and Safe Suburban Home Records on 08/05, and is a slightly different beast. For one, it’s been mixed by a professional – Rob Slater (Westside Cowboy, Yard Act, Thank) – giving the guitars and drums room to breathe. It’s easily their most high-fidelity record to date. It’s also their jangliest, most baroque and thoughtful album yet. But alongside added organ, horns and mellotron – and drums from Tom’s Teenage Tom Petties bandmate Jeff Hamm – it still retains the buzzes, hums and little freak-outs that stick to the duo’s original “Pavement playing Teenage Fanclub” mission statement. “Rob and I both wanted to do something a little slower and a little more melancholy,” says Tom. “We resisted our usual urge to hit the distortion pedal and made something that fitted where we are now and celebrates how we still listen to Meatloaf when we get drunk.”

SLOTHS is also the most thematically consistent Rural France record to date. While it wouldn’t be right to call it grown-up, it definitely has homeowners’ insurance. From the Silver Jews-esque Americana of “Slab” and mid-life rallying cry of “Thirty Seven Forever”, to the horn-embossed loser anthem “Lonely Heart Pyramid Scheme,” the songs celebrate (and rail against) the absurdities of getting older, forming a band in your thirties, and the strange phenomenon of time passing. Because no matter how slow you move, everything else goes fast. SLOTHS.

Kristin Diable ist ein Original aus dem Süden - ihre Stimme ist so launisch und unnachgiebig wie der Mississippi. Ihre zeitlosen Melodien und scharfsinnigen Texte fangen das Mystische im Alltäglichen ein und enthüllen den Silberstreif am Horizont ganz gewöhnlicher Momente. Das Ergebnis ist ein Sound, der sich sowohl geerdet als auch jenseitig anfühlt. Diables vorheriges Album ,Create Your Own Mythology", das in Nashville mit Produzent Dave Cobb aufgenommen wurde, wurde von NPR, American Songwriter und Southern Living als eines der besten des Jahres gelobt. Ihr kommendes Album ,Impossible Things" schreibt das nächste Kapitel. Aufgenommen in den legendären Dockside Studios im Süden Louisianas mit Produzent Ben Alleman (Dr. John, Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis, Madi Diaz), klingt es wie ein Radio, das auf zwei Zeitachsen gleichzeitig eingestellt ist: Dream-Pop-Echos, die durch ein Shotgun-Haus schweben, die Gnade eines Sonntagmorgens, an deren Stiefeln noch der Glitzer des Samstagabends klebt. Diese Songs haben es nicht eilig. Sie ziehen einen Stuhl heran, schieben einen Kaffee über den Tisch und sagen: ,Sag die Wahrheit und zuck nicht zurück." Diable zuckt nicht zurück. Sie schrieb diese Songs in Zeiten des Umbruchs und der Neuerfindung, während sie Verluste, den Tod geliebter Menschen, häusliche Gewalt, das Leben als alleinerziehende Mutter und die Abrechnung bewältigte, die damit einhergeht, ein Leben nach eigenen Vorstellungen neu aufzubauen. Was dabei entsteht, ist ein Werk, das eine Art spirituelles Jiu-Jitsu praktiziert und Last in Anmut und Schmerz in Architektur verwandelt. Dies ist ein Album, das nahelegt, dass Transzendenz nicht auf der anderen Seite der Not wartet, sondern genau hier in der Gegenwart lebt, wenn wir nur genau genug hinhören. Wenn der Song endet, sieht die Welt vielleicht noch genauso aus, aber du vielleicht nicht mehr. So fangen unmögliche Dinge meist an.

Türkisfarbenes Vinyl, Gatefold, inkl. Insert. Willy Astors Humor ist seit Jahrzehnten ein Markenzeichen: verspielt, sprachverliebt und voller Leichtigkeit und hat damit seit Dekaden ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Doch jenseits seiner Wortakrobatik ist Astor stets auch ein ernstzunehmender Musiker und Gitarrist mit ausgeprägtem Sinn für harmonische Weite. Was er nun gemeinsam mit seinen langjährigen Weggefährten Roberto di Gioia und Ferdi Kirner auf seinem Werk "The Sound Of Islands Vol. VII" vorlegt, überrascht selbst versierte Kenner seiner Musik: ein Album von bemerkenswerter Ruhe und Klarheit. "Sound Of Islands Vol. VII" ist ein instrumentaler Hörgenuss. Das neue Werk holt einen perfekt runter, ist eine wahre Wohltat für gestresste Seelen und strapazierte Ohren.

Camera Obscura feiern das 25-jährige Jubiläum ihres Debütalbums ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" mit einer Vinyl-Neuauflage bei Merge Records. Seit der ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung in Großbritannien bei Andmoresound im Jahr 2001 ist das Album in diesem Format vergriffen. Die Jubiläumsausgabe kommt als die definitivste Version von ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi", die je auf Vinyl gepresst wurde, und enthält beide B-Seiten der Single ,Eighties Fan" - ,Shine Like a New Pin" und ,Let's Go Bowling" -, die später den erweiterten CD-Neuauflagen des Albums hinzugefügt wurden. ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" wurde nach seinem Erscheinen wiederholt von John Peel in seinen BBC-Radiosendungen gespielt. Das Album ist ein bemerkenswert selbstbewusstes Debüt, ein voll ausgereifter Ausdruck eines Sounds, der die Fans der Band seit ihrem ersten Durchlauf des von Stuart Murdoch (Belle & Sebastian) produzierten ,Eighties Fan" bis zum letzten Hören des 2024 erschienenen Studio-Comebacks von Camera Obscura ,Look to the East, Look to the West" in seinen Bann gezogen hat. Diese Fans haben lautstark gefordert, dass ,Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi" die Vinyl-Neuauflage erhält, die es schon lange verdient hat. Wenn man die Nadel auf Tracks wie ,Swimming Pool", ,Pen and Notebook" und ,Happy New Year" setzt, ist leicht zu hören, warum: Jeder der 12 Songs des Albums ist ein perfekt beobachteter Ausschnitt aus dem Leben, der durch opulent detaillierte Arrangements filmisch inszeniert wird. Es ist zeitlose, grundsolide Popmusik, wie sie nur Camera Obscura machen kann, geeignet für die Hi-Fi-Anlagen von 1966 und 2026 gleichermaßen.

Primordial Mind forms the mysteries and intensity of inner life into eight mandalic instrumentals where Mas Aya and Khôra, artists who share 15 years of music making, orchestrate an inspired, prismatic palette of percussive and melodic sources. Each composition presented stages a vigorous meshwork of colours and textures, contrasting riveting polyrhythms with towering arrangements for flutes, synths, and processed acoustic instruments. Tendencies which the artists trace in their solo practices are amplified, blended, and refracted sublimely in unison, serving as energetic portals to the collective awareness.

Combining trans-ethnic scaling alongside a heady brew of rhythmic influences and advanced electronic processing, the recordings on this album operate with a tactility that vaults between free jazz, dub, raga, ambient, and ritual music. Assimilated powers of primal drum patterning and psychoactive, ceremonial melodies, invoke fourth world adjacencies with the work of Don Cherry, Jon Hassell, Popol Vuh et al. There is an alchemical, Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu inflection that guides the record’s narrative, formed through dialogue between the artists over lifelong shared interest in spiritual modalities generally and the tantric approaches of the global east in particular. The album title is derived from an unexcelled esoteric work known as the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time)Tantra and its associated commentary the Ornament of Stainless Light which detail forms of inner and outer transubstantiation within its complex cosmology and metaphysiology.

Mas Aya is the moniker of Brandon Miguel Valdivia, acclaimed Nicaraguan-Canadian composer, producer, and musician whose electronic and jazz inspired works creatively interlace Colombian, Cuban, and a wide array of traditional music. Khôra is the name of the occult entity that uses multi-instrumentalist, producer, and writer Matthew Ramolo to pronounce itself. Returning to Marionette following 2024's monumental Gestures of Perception, Primordial Mind reinforces the rigorous and magical approach to creation which defines Khôra’s two decades of sonic output. Brandon and Matthew met back in 2011 and the pair toured around eastern Europe with Toronto band Picastro in 2013, also performing as a duo with Brandon contributing drums to Khôra's opening sets. After a short spate composing and playing in the ensemble Bespoken together, they continued to discover shared inspiration in psych/art rock, jazz, experimental and electronic music, providing a fertile soil for friendship and collaboration resulting in their collaged, lo-fi album Tangled Roots in 2017. Mythic and talismanic, the duo's Marionette debut weaves a luminous tapestry of organic pulses, offering itself as a support for resonant meditation and a motor for lucid action and intuition.

Brandon Miguel Valdivia: Percussion, Flutes, Log Drum, Korg Lambda, Angklung, Tambor Alegre, Udu
Matthew Ramolo: Modular Synth, Archival Samples, Angklung, Guitar, Duduk, Bass, Percussion, Arrangements and Mix

The album is all acoustic and dedicated to John Lee Hooker with the line, "In Memory of John Lee Hooker. You are missed."

Not known for his acoustic work, Buddy Guy unplugs on Blues Singer for a rare album-length excursion into folk blues. The guitarist gets down and dirty with 12 tracks that sound like they were recorded after hours in his living room or on his back porch.

Guy’s stinging leads are still evident as is his emotive voice, but both are less flamboyant in the unplugged setting. Accompanied by spare stand-up bass and brushed drums, Guy sounds nearly supernatural on covers from Skip James ("Hard Time Killing Floor"), Johnny Shines ("Moanin’ and Groanin’"), Son House ("Louise McGhee"), and John Lee Hooker ("Sally Mae") among others. It’s a low-key, low-down affair made for late nights, rainy days, and the saddest of moods.

Buddy Guy is just as convincing here, arguably more so, as on his barnstorming electric albums, making Blues Singer one of the bravest and most poignant albums in his catalogue.

Blues Singer is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on red vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.

Ultra Clear Vinyl. ‘*FLUTTERS AWAY*’ follows last year's debut EP, ‘Handwriting Practice No. 1’, which established Operelly as one of the most exciting new voices in music. Thupcoming EP tells the story of a relationship breaking down
amidst miscommunication. Delicate electro-acoustic arrangements (dubbed "tiptoe music" by Operelly) intersperse
with the static sounds of radio interference, as if the interrupted communication recounted in the lyrics has punctured the songs
themselves. Operelly executive produced the entire record and mixed four of the five songs. Additional production work was provided by Hudson Pollock, Al Carlson, Stephen Willard, and Kali Flanagan. Cover art was designed by Leo Horton in collaboration with Operelly. The music video for "under my bed" was directed and shot by Sarah Elise Bauman

Repress

The Collaboration - Having toured together over the years, Lattimore and Barwick now join forces to co-write and record this full-length album. Their creative synergy brings together harp, voice, and analog synths in a deeply emotional, immersive sound journey. The album was recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris with co-producer Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Beach House). This album continues a unique series of collaborations between the label and the Musée de la Musique, featuring historical instruments in contemporary composition. Since 2017, InFiné and the Philharmonie de Paris have co-developed a series of albums designed to highlight the extraordinary instrument collection of the Musée de la Musique. Following the albums InBach by Arandel (2020) and Saturn 63 by Seb Martel (2022), this third release is a meeting of two iconic contemporary ambient voices: Mary Lattimore and Julianna Barwick. The project offers the artists full access to the museum’s playable instruments for recording, sound conservation, and creative reinterpretation.



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Tragic Magic brings together Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, two of contemporary ambient, experimental and electronic music’s most celebrated composers, for a unique collaboration at the Philharmonie de Paris, with extraordinary access to the Musée de la Musique’s instrument collection, in partnership with the French label InFiné. The album features seven immersive, evocative compositions guided by the human spirit – intimate, grounded in friendship, both earthly and cosmic – and part of a greater continuum, reflecting the solace and transformative power of artistry across generations.

Co-produced by Trevor Spencer (Fleet Foxes, Beach House), Tragic Magic was created in just nine days, a testament to the “musical telepathy” that has developed between Barwick and Lattimore over years of touring and friendship. Arriving in Paris from Los Angeles shortly after the 2025 wildfires, their sessions combined improvisation with the emotions and experiences they carried, in a setting both inspiring and deeply supportive. Lattimore selected harps tracing the instrument’s evolution from 1728 to 1873, while Barwick chose several iconic analog synthesizers, including the Roland JUPITER and Sequential Circuits PROPHET-5. In freeform dialogue between voice and instrument, they create a meditation on tragedy, wonder, and the restorative power of shared experience.

The duo, often joined by Spencer, also explored the city, sharing meals and visiting museums and landmarks, each encounter leaving an impression on their next session. The experience allowed them to work intimately with rare instruments, blending their personal sensibilities with centuries of history, resulting in music that honors the past while remaining a deeply authentic expression of the present.
Throughout Tragic Magic, Barwick and Lattimore find something beyond themselves: a sense that while everything may not be okay, beauty persists. Their approach – transforming life into music, observing, feeling, and creating – continues a lineage of creative expression and visionary invention, embodied in the very instruments they employed for this project.

Mit seinem neuen Studioalbum „Cinematic“ widmet sich der Multi-Platin-Vokalist Josh Groban den großen Momenten der Filmgeschichte.
Die Auswahl reicht von Oscar-prämierten Klassikern wie „Can You Feel the Love Tonight“ (Der König der Löwen) und „Skyfall“ (James Bond) bis hin zu zeitlosen Standards wie „As Time Goes By“ (Casablanca) und „Moon River“ (Frühstück bei Tiffany).
Hochkarätige Kollaborationen: Ein besonderes Augenmerk liegt auf dem Duett „Unchained Melody“ mit Jennifer Hudson sowie einer persönlichen Interpretation von „Moon River“ zusammen mit seinem Bruder Jack Groban.
Orchestrale Inszenierung: Produziert von Greg Wells (u. a. The Greatest Showman), besticht das Album durch opulente orchestrale Arrangements, die in Los Angeles und London aufgenommen wurden.

Pioneering in the 80' and 90's and an absolute spearhead in the world of post-punk, cold and new wave, EBM, electro... a series of albums and compilations from the extensive Antler Records archives are now being released again.

The first compilations 'Early Years Vol. 1, Vol 2 and Vol 3” were received with great enthusiasm and flew out the door. Now there is Vol. 4 with again carefully chosen gems from the rich Antler archives with carefully selected recordings of influential bands such as Snowy Red, Poësie Noire, Sigmund und sein Freund and Vomito Negro, a.o.

Again a great compilation of the best what the Belgian synth-wave/EBM scene had to offer in the eighties of the 20th century.

Pioneering in the 80' and 90's and an absolute spearhead in the world of post-punk, cold and new wave, EBM, electro... a series of albums and compilations from the extensive Antler Records archives are now being released again.

The first compilations 'Early Years Vol. 1, Vol 2 and Vol 3” were received with great enthusiasm and flew out the door. Now there is Vol. 4 with again carefully chosen gems from the rich Antler archives with carefully selected recordings of influential bands such as Snowy Red, Poësie Noire, Sigmund und sein Freund and Vomito Negro, a.o.

Again a great compilation of the best what the Belgian synth-wave/EBM scene had to offer in the eighties of the 20th century.

Ronnie Davis is another mighty Jamaican singer, whose talents have been greatly overlooked. His rootsy yet soulful voice have been in demand by many of Jamaica's producers, and have graced their catalogues over the decades, yet outside of the close reggae circles he has remained a closely guarded secret.

Born Ronnie Davis, in 1950 (Savannah La Mar, Jamaica). His singing career began in the 1960's and like many aspiring young singers, the Talent contests taking part around the Island, was his first introduction to the music scene. This led to him joining the vocal group, 'The Tenors'.  Who shortly after his arrival, released their debut 'The Whole World is a Stage'. This was the beginning of a run of Jamaican 7'' releases that did quite well in the domestic marketplace. But Ronnie had set his sights on a solo career,which came to fruition in the early 1970's, with two big hits for him in the guise of 'Won't You Come Home' and 'Stop Yu Loofing'. Running on through to the mid 1970's with such hits as 'Jah Jah Jehovah','Forget Me Now', 'On and On' and 'Babylon Falling'. Building up to the 1976 classic, 'It's Raining'.

Around this time Ronnie's path would cross with Keith Porter and with his childhood friend Roy Smith they would form one of Jamaica's foremost vocal groups 'The Itals'.  A group who would run until the 1990's and evolve into 'Ronnie Davis and Idren'. Ronnie's releases are very sort after among the reggae aficionados and any tune carrying his vocal talents rarely
disappoint. We have compiled some rare roots dubs to many of his finest cuts. Such gems as 'Chasing You', 'What You See is What You Get', his take on the timeless cut 'Tribal War', 'Tell You' and the a fore mentioned smash 'It's Raining'. A version of Gregory Issac's 'Love Overdue' is also present. Ronnie cut an album worth of material with Mr Issac's, testimony surely to Mr Davis's standing in the Reggae community.

Let’s hope that this release spreads the gospel according to Mr R. Davis, a little wider.  A wicked set by one of Jamaica's finest .....

Respect Jah Floyd.

Tudo is an album by world renowned Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Bebel Gilberto, originally released in 2014.

Gilberto, daughter of bossa nova immortal João Gilberto, is one of the most internationally famous and beloved of Brazilian musicians. Tudo, which means "everything" in English, showcases Bebel's ethereal vocals and wistful, dreamy song writing in each of the 12 tracks.
Bebel reunites with Mario Caldato Jr., who produced her first landmark album Tanto Tempo.

With Bebel singing in French, English, and Portuguese, Tudo is a shimmering, sweet summery collection that includes original songs along with songs by João Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Neil Young, as well as soulful duet with Seu Jorge.

The gorgeous melodies are shaped by touches of electronica and Bebel's intimate vocals hint at a fantastical Rio de Janeiro, a style that has earned her a devoted fanbase worldwide.

Tudo is available on black vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet with pictures and lyrics.

Evergreen In Your Mind, the new and third album from Norwegian singer-songwriter Juni Habel, exists in two worlds at the same time. Songs were recorded in quiet corners of her home, on the piano in the school where she works, and it uses the physical world around her to provide percussion. It also takes place, as she herself attests, within a dream; an imagined place in which her desire for oneness with each other and the world around us is finally realised.

Evergreen In Your Mind was recorded with co-producer Stian Skaaden, it’s Habel’s first album in three-years, following the breakthrough success of 2023’s Carvings LP. Formed of eleven new recordings, the songs here remain delicate, Habel’s voice playing an elegant lead role – but there are fluctuations too.

These small shifts in Habel’s sound result in a notable stride forward. More focus went into the groove of these songs. Playfulness was embraced and, perhaps most importantly, patience played a fundamental role in shaping the album with time and care given to every element of these songs. “We always aim to capture effortlessness - but the way of getting there is anything but effortless,” Habel reveals.

This extra time that was given to the project gave Juni the space to nurture her creativity. She would read and listen to music, hike into the hills, place herself within nature and seek out stillness. Not as a deviation from her work but as a fundamental part of the process. It’s a search for connection, and it’s a recurring theme across Evergreen In Your Mind; the polarity between stillness and passion, also our resistance to these desires, and the things we want to live and experience.

The album’s title-track and fist single feels indicative of this narrative. A gorgeous, delicate folk song, it finds Habel out in the woods, hiding from real life, caught in the space between the natural world and the pull of modernity. “It’s nostalgic. It’s about looking back and realizing things will be different,” Habel says. “Its about visualizing something beautiful in your head that you keep clinging onto.”

The album cover for Evergreen In Your Mind also adds shimmer. A striking photograph of Juni among the mountains, it was taken on a day trip to Rondane, a five-hour drive each way from her home. Habel explains. “It was awe-inspiring to drive all the way up into the high mountains, with its wide plains and intense colours. For an album with music that at times likes to hide itself, I think it fitted nicely with such an epic, grand, and powerful landscape.”

"Fans of Nick Drake, Karen Dalton and Neil Young will find much to enjoy in this musical equivalent of an evening spent alone by the fireside.” The Times

Following the two EPs "Epoxy Plains" and "Wipe Clean", which were released in 2024, the debut album from the Glasgow Post Punk/Rock quartet and currently the only British band on DevilDuck is finally here... "Human Poultry" is an observation of the situations, emotions and characters the band encountered during their first two years together in Glasgow. It questions how we spend our time and how that decision is influenced by external factors. Conscious Pilot are Joe Laycock (vocals & guitar), Emmy Leishman (guitar & vocals), Jack Sharp (bass & vocals) and drummer Chris McCrory, who recorded and mixed the album together with Seth Evans (Black Midi, Shame, Geordie Greep) and Adele Phillips (Fontaines DC) at Rak Studios in London - Felix Davis (Geese, The Vaccines) then put his masterful touch on it. The artwork is by Scottish painter Keiti Forbes.

On Dreams ’24 / ’25, Scottish composer Bill Wells turns his nocturnal imagination into a sequence of delicate musical miniatures. The album brings together 24 short pieces, most of them under two minutes, unfolding in just under half an hour like a quietly drifting dream diary.

The album is split into two parts. On the Dreams 2024 side, Norman Blake lends his voice to Wells’ dream-born melodies. Blake, best known as a founding member of Teenage Fanclub, recorded the songs with Wells in a single afternoon at his home, capturing their fragile immediacy in direct and unadorned performances.

For Dreams 2025, Aby Vulliamy — one of Yorkshire’s best kept musical secrets — takes over vocal duties. In mid 2025, Wells sent her a batch of demos; Vulliamy recorded them at home and sent them back to him. The result is a second chapter that feels more introspective, intimate and gently surreal.

The songs themselves are born directly from dreams. Wells wakes from the dream, records it on his mobile and later shapes it into a brief, lyrical composition. One piece, Mackenzie’s Return, was inspired by a dream in which Elvis Costello marched through the streets of a suburban town complaining that he had run out of song ideas, a detail that perfectly captures the album’s blend of humour, strangeness and quiet melancholy.

Dreams ’24 / ’25 is not a collection of fully formed pop songs, but rather a series of fleeting emotional snapshots: soft voices, simple motifs, and melodies that appear and vanish before they can fully settle. It is an album that rewards close listening, inviting the listener into a private, half-lit space somewhere between memory and imagination.

The album is accompanied by a striking cover artwork by Annabel Wright.

Oklahoma-based dream-pop duo Sports share their long-awaited self-titled album, "Sports". The 12-track project brings together a run of acclaimed singles released over the past year alongside a collection of brand-new songs that show the band sharpening and expanding their sound.

Nurtured on 90s alternative indie, lucky break's music melds the emotional directness of Fiona Apple, the wide-eyed warmth of Bedouine and the Americana-leaning alt rock of Lucinda Williams. Fans of Alvvays, Hole, Phoebe Bridgers and The Breeders will find familiar touchstones here. lucky break is a hand-drawn cartoon character and a girl with a guitar, an ever-expanding container for the feelings that come with making art. She can be very sad and very joyful, living somewhere between worlds. On her debut for Fire Records, made it!, lucky break builds a new world for her character to inhabit. made it! collects songs written between the ages of 19 and 23, documenting the uncertainty of early adulthood, the end of a first major relationship and the process of learning to stand up for yourself. Tracks like "Crush" pair sharp lyrical insight with big drums and crisp bass, while "Head Down" uses bright, dreamy guitars to explore themes of politics, consumer culture and moral complacency. Confessional, direct and emotionally precise, lucky break's songwriting is matched by a versatile and expressive vocal performance that shifts across moods and styles throughout the record. Produced with Elliott Woodbridge in Burbank, made it! is a playful, self-assured debut from a young artist who has already found her voice and is stepping confidently into a bright future. Digisleeve-CD and coloured Vinyl-LP w/ dlc available!

La Contra Ola, the cult compilation showcasing the treasures of Spain"s 1980s synth wave and post-punk scenes, is finally back in stock on Les Disques Bongo Joe. Originally released in 2018, this anthology quickly became a must-have for fans of analog sounds and avant-garde music, capturing a period of raw creativity and cultural upheaval in post-dictatorship Spain.

Lane Shi Otay Onii, known professionally as Otay:Onii, is one of the most inquisitive and genre-defying artists of her generation. A multifaceted creator whose work spans performance art, composition, installation, and avant-garde music practice. Otay:Onii is the first ever artist selected for the three-year Triennium Residency at Roadburn Festival. She was a contributing composer and performer in Florentina Holzinger's groundbreaking opera production `SANCTA` and has performed at festivals world-wide such as SXSW, Roadburn, CTM, Fusion, Creepy Teepy, LGW, Fekete Zaj, and Full of Lava. Otay;Onii has already been celebrated with many awards worldwide, included the Global Music Awards `Bronze Prize for Best Female Vocalist` and `Best Sound' at Audiovisual Arts Industrial Incubator Awards. Otay:Onii's new album `Love is in the Shit', is a deeply intimate album that reaches a striking balance between control and chaos. Harnessing her ability to move from serenity to madness, `Love is in the Shit' is an exploration in representing trialing conscious states. Drawing-in and challenging the listener, the songs play with comfort and discomfort, deliciously crafting the sonic arc of the story so that intention is undeniably felt. Low frequencies vibrate with a bodily presence, while sharp, high-frequency textures cut through with urgency. There is a sense of movement embedded in the sound; music that pulses, sways, and surges, never settling into static forms. Even at its most aggressive, there is an undercurrent of precision and intention. Her voice becomes increasingly elastic and versatile through the service of melody, spoken poetry and pain-ridden wails. "Many songs begin with a need to sing - I sing to summon grace at the peak of anger and tournament, I sing to summon tranquility from a 6 hour panic attack, I sing to get out of my mind which shows mercy for fear.

Lane Shi Otay Onii, known professionally as Otay:Onii, is one of the most inquisitive and genre-defying artists of her generation. A multifaceted creator whose work spans performance art, composition, installation, and avant-garde music practice. Otay:Onii is the first ever artist selected for the three-year Triennium Residency at Roadburn Festival. She was a contributing composer and performer in Florentina Holzinger's groundbreaking opera production `SANCTA` and has performed at festivals world-wide such as SXSW, Roadburn, CTM, Fusion, Creepy Teepy, LGW, Fekete Zaj, and Full of Lava. Otay;Onii has already been celebrated with many awards worldwide, included the Global Music Awards `Bronze Prize for Best Female Vocalist` and `Best Sound' at Audiovisual Arts Industrial Incubator Awards. Otay:Onii's new album `Love is in the Shit', is a deeply intimate album that reaches a striking balance between control and chaos. Harnessing her ability to move from serenity to madness, `Love is in the Shit' is an exploration in representing trialing conscious states. Drawing-in and challenging the listener, the songs play with comfort and discomfort, deliciously crafting the sonic arc of the story so that intention is undeniably felt. Low frequencies vibrate with a bodily presence, while sharp, high-frequency textures cut through with urgency. There is a sense of movement embedded in the sound; music that pulses, sways, and surges, never settling into static forms. Even at its most aggressive, there is an undercurrent of precision and intention. Her voice becomes increasingly elastic and versatile through the service of melody, spoken poetry and pain-ridden wails. "Many songs begin with a need to sing - I sing to summon grace at the peak of anger and tournament, I sing to summon tranquility from a 6 hour panic attack, I sing to get out of my mind which shows mercy for fear.

Als Blackwater Holylight vor drei Jahren ihre Heimatstadt Portland, Oregon, verließen, war es ihr Ziel, der Tristesse des pazifischen Nordwestens und dem beruhigenden Komfort des Vertrauten zu entfliehen. Mit dem Ziel, das sonnigere Klima von Los Angeles zu genießen, fand sich die Band nicht nur in einer wärmeren Umgebung wieder, sondern auch in einer völlig neuen Landschaft - einer ohne Arbeitsplätze, langjährige Freundeskreise und die bequeme Zuflucht alter Gewohnheiten. Und genau hier, unbelastet von der Zufriedenheit der Sicherheit, begann Blackwater Holylight fleißig an ihrem vierten Album ,Not Here Not Gone" zu arbeiten. Wie schon ihre früheren Werke beschäftigt sich ,Not Here Not Gone" mit der Dualität von Licht und Dunkelheit - bedrohliche Riffs bilden das Fundament für betörende Melodien, dichte Wände aus Shoegaze-Gitarren paaren sich mit luftig-leichten Synthesizern, und schwere Themen werden durch sirenenhafte Gesänge vermittelt. Im Laufe des Albums verspürt der Zuhörer mal ein Gefühl der Stärke, mal ein Gefühl der Verletzlichkeit. Wie Schlagzeugerin Eliese Dorsay es beschreibt: ,In einigen Songs sind wir die Raubtiere, in anderen die Beute." Die Gegenüberstellung von Selbstvertrauen und Unsicherheit ist nirgendwo so deutlich zu spüren wie bei einer lebensverändernden Entscheidung, was vielleicht erklärt, warum der Umzug der Band ihr Studium der Kontraste auf ,Not Here Not Gone" zu neuen Höhenflügen intensiviert hat . ,Not Here Not Gone" wurde im Sonic Ranch außerhalb von El Paso, Texas, von Sonny Diperri (Narrow Head, DIIV, Emma Ruth Rundle) aufgenommen, wodurch die Band erneut ihre Komfortzone verlassen und sich an einem Ort isolieren konnte, an dem sie sich ausschließlich auf ihre Kunst konzentrieren konnte. Das Ergebnis ist das Kronjuwel von Blackwater Holylights Diskografie - eine reichhaltige und eindringliche Studie in tonalen Hell-Dunkel-Kontrasten, in der das Licht seinen Weg aus den Schatten findet.

Nurtured on 90s alternative indie, lucky break's music melds the emotional directness of Fiona Apple, the wide-eyed warmth of Bedouine and the Americana-leaning alt rock of Lucinda Williams. Fans of Alvvays, Hole, Phoebe Bridgers and The Breeders will find familiar touchstones here. lucky break is a hand-drawn cartoon character and a girl with a guitar, an ever-expanding container for the feelings that come with making art. She can be very sad and very joyful, living somewhere between worlds. On her debut for Fire Records, made it!, lucky break builds a new world for her character to inhabit. made it! collects songs written between the ages of 19 and 23, documenting the uncertainty of early adulthood, the end of a first major relationship and the process of learning to stand up for yourself. Tracks like "Crush" pair sharp lyrical insight with big drums and crisp bass, while "Head Down" uses bright, dreamy guitars to explore themes of politics, consumer culture and moral complacency. Confessional, direct and emotionally precise, lucky break's songwriting is matched by a versatile and expressive vocal performance that shifts across moods and styles throughout the record. Produced with Elliott Woodbridge in Burbank, made it! is a playful, self-assured debut from a young artist who has already found her voice and is stepping confidently into a bright future. Digisleeve-CD and coloured Vinyl-LP w/ dlc available!

Intimacy is manifested in every moment of Radiator, the debut album from Philadelphia's Sadurn. This feeling of closeness, of being able to lend your every sense to one's confessions of internal conflict, is due in large part to the circumstances under which this album was created. Much of the world fell apart in 2020, but Sadurn tucked themselves away in a Pocono's cabin, creating and recording what would become their first full-length. Within the confines of their close quarters, passing animals as the only auditory witness to a makeshift recording studio created by moving furniture, Sadurn created an album that will break your heart and then slowly piece it back together.Sadurn started as the solo project of Genevieve ??DeGroot. Picking up guitar in 2015, DeGroot started writing songs, eventually playing DIY shows throughout the city of Philadelphia. With time, the direction, sound, and members of Sadurn changed. The beginning of 2020 was meant to serve as their debut as a four member band (Jon Cox on guitar/tenor guitar, Tabita Ahnert on bass, and Amelia Swan on drums), but the world had other plans and the group adapted.Taking influence from artists like Gillian Welch, Alex G, and Jason Molina, Sadurn's emotive indie rock explores the struggles and eventual beauty of grappling with multiple emotional realities, particularly when it comes to relationships. That conflict, the idea of being forced to choose, even when terrified, is present on singles like "Radiator" and "Golden Arm." The latter is an unhurried ballad that shows its truest colors with time, eventually blossoming with unexpected admissions of desire and uncertainty. Indecision, heartbreak, and attempting to live out your days against the actual backdrop of a gradually worsening hellscape is a shared commonality among us all, but on Radiator Sadurn breaks down walls that others so often put up. It's a fleeting, impactful glimpse at one's whole heart, and its sweeping, special nature is evident from the moment the album opens.

“Ed Spinning” is straight 90’s hip-hop beats, pressed on 7" vinyl.
This project hits like the old party mixes: heavy looping beats, vocals that stick in your head, edits made for DJs back when digital wasn’t a thing (shoutout AV8 series).

For these two new volumes, Ugly Mac Beer is on the boards. Two tracks per side: vocal on the A-side, full instrumental on the B-side, plus drum loops dropping right from the jump. Raw boom bap, lo-fi heat, the way it used to be — for the real heads.

Titles and visuals nod to the BMW E30 and spinning: endless loops, burnouts, tires smoking, just like the beats blazing on the turntables.

“The beat has to follow the movement, never the fashion.”

Aspen is very proud to introduce ‘Non Sonett’ by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. This ensemble is a pioneering Norwegian chamber group whose work on ECM and Hubro has redefined the boundaries between jazz, contemporary composition and folk music.Across seven albums, the ensemble has developed a highly distinctive l anguage built on restraint, timbral nuance and collective interplay, placing it among the most influential European ensembles of the 21st century.

Bringing together some of the finest musicians in Norway, the ensemble draws on a rare collective sensitivity, where each player contributes to a deeply integrated and texturally rich sound world.

With Non Sonett, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble opens a new chapter that grows directly out of recent years of work in more solitary and cross-disciplinary contexts. In this period, Wallumrød has developed material for solo performance as well as for dance, allowing ideas to take shape in more fluid and exploratory formats. Some of this material now finds its way into the ensemble, where it is met by the possibilities offered by instrumentation, collective playing, and the distinct voices of the musicians. At the same time, older pieces—originating in entirely different settings— re-emerge here in new forms, reshaped by the ensemble context.

A defining aspect of Non Sonett is the way many of the pieces function less as fully determined compositions and more as open frameworks: starting points, suggestions, or “springboards” for music. These structures invite response rather than prescribe outcome, relying on the ensemble’s inherent sensitivity and capacity to realize and transform the material in performance. The result is music that feels both precise and fluid, shaped in equal measure by composition and by the interpretative presence of the players.

Central to this album is a continued deepening of Wallumrød’s long-standing interest in ambiguity and in dissolving boundaries between different musical elements and expressive worlds. By placing contrasting materials and associations side by side—sometimes subtly, sometimes more overtly—the music opens up spaces where meanings remain fluid and interconnected. On Non Sonett, this approach is taken a step further, allowing these juxtapositions to play an even more active role in shaping the music’s character and flow.

This approach connects closely with the ensemble’s broader artistic trajectory. Over time, the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble has developed a language that is immediately recognizable—marked by reduction, clarity and a deep attention to sonic detail. While each release has its own character, the underlying aesthetic remains consistent: a focus on the inner life of sound itself. Rather than foregrounding gesture or virtuosity, the music draws the listener toward the smallest elements, where meaning emerges gradually through texture, spacing and timbre.

The listening experience becomes one of concentration and proximity, where each sound carries weight, and the accumulation of detail forms a larger whole. References may be sensed—to early polyphonic music, Norwegian folk traditions, or more recent experimental practices—but these are absorbed into a singular musical language that resists categorization.

As with the ensemble’s recent work, Non Sonett also continues the integration of electronics as a fundamental part of the sound world. Each musician engages with electronic elements alongside their acoustic instruments, creating a layered and dynamic sonic environment. At times, this leads into extended, exploratory passages reminiscent of analogue musique concrète; at others, electronics operate almost imperceptibly, subtly altering and extending the acoustic textures in real time.

Formed by vocalist and guitarist Andy Yorke, bassist Jason Moulster and drummer Nigel Powell, the band crafted an album that stood apart from the late-Britpop rush with a sound that was intimate, melodic and emotionally direct.Songs such as "Solved," "Higher Than Reason" and "Angel" showcase Yorke's plaintive vocal delivery and the band's gift for dynamic build-ups, moving from hushed reflection to soaring climaxes without losing their understated core. Critically noted for its cohesion and lyrical sincerity, Almost Here established Unbelievable Truth as a thoughtful counterpoint to the era's louder guitar bands. It remains a focused, atmospheric debut that rewards close listening and highlights a band confident in mood, melody and craft

Mannequin Records presents Electronic Corporation 1998–2006, a compilation bringing together rare and long unavailable recordings by the German electronic projects H.E.I.M. Elektronik and MAS 2008.

Active around the turn of the millennium, both projects share the involvement of producer Ive Müller while developing distinct collaborations and approaches to electronic music. H.E.I.M. Elektronik was founded in 1996 by Holger Erlenwein and Ive Müller (after the two artists split in 1999, Müller continued using the name), while MAS 2008 is the project of Ive Müller together with René Kirchner. Though separate entities, the two projects explored a similar sonic territory: stripped-down electro, minimal electronics and machine-driven body music shaped by analog hardware and a raw DIY production ethos.

The roots of Müller’s work go back to the final years of the DDR. As a teenager he worked as a licensed DJ — officially known as a “Schallplattenunterhalter” — operating a travelling disco across Saxony. With limited access to official Western releases, music circulated through cassette recordings taped from West German radio stations such as RIAS Berlin, NDR2 and Bayern3. Together with friends he travelled between youth clubs and discos around Leipzig with a “rolling discotheque”: a Russian Wolga pulling a trailer loaded with Electro-Voice sound systems sourced through the black market.

At the turn of the 2000s this background in underground electronic culture resurfaced in a series of recordings rooted in electro, EBM and minimal machine music. The tracks collected on Electronic Corporation 2000–2002 capture this moment: cold sequences, driving rhythms and stark synthetic textures produced with a direct and uncompromising approach.

Compiled and remastered by Rude 66 from the original sources, Electronic Corporation 2000–2002 documents a small but fascinating chapter of German underground electronics from the early digital era.

To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of our label Jamaican Recordings and to mark the sad one year passing of the musical maestro reggae producer Bunny `Striker’ Lee, we have pulled together a brand new collection of some great Bunny Lee rhythms.

Our label started way back with initial meetings with Bunny Lee and a promise to keep his music available, out on the streets. He will be sorely missed but will live on through his extraordinary musical legacy and we hope to add to this by including this release to the stable of an unbeatable catalogue.

Legendary record producer Bunny `Striker’ Lee’s vast selection of rhythms were ever present at any Sound Clash or Dance worth talking about in the early to mid-1970’s.
Where the version found on the b-side of a single or special dub cut on acetates, would be played to win over the people and conquer the dance. Bunny Lee was the undisputed rhythm master and on this special release he is also the MC telling the crowd how it is and that any rival sound system should watch out as he has the rhythms that can reign supreme. The band cutting these timeless rhythms were a group of top Jamaican musicians Bunny had put together called The Aggrovators.

The Aggrovators were a group of reggae musicians that usually featured Carlton `Santa’ Davis on drums playing alongside Robbie Shakespeare on bass, with other musicians added like Earl `Chinna’ Smith on guitar and Tommy McCook and Vin Gordon and Lennox Brown added for horn arrangements. Keyboards and organ duties normally fell
to musicians Ansel Collins and Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey. The band was named after singer Eddie Grant had repeated the phrase to Bunny Lee on one of his many trips to England, that such and such artist was giving him `Aggro’. This was a term used in England in the 1970’s by the Skinhead followers of reggae music. A term shortened
from the word `Aggrovation’, meaning trouble, fighting or making the situation worse. Bunny Lee was so taken with this term that on returning to Jamaica, not only did he name his group of musicians the `Aggrovators’ but he also named his record shop situated at 101 Orange Street `Agro Records’.

We have compiled some great tracks recorded by this fantastic group of musicians. With the added extra magic of Mr Bunny Lee calling it out as only he can on the microphone.
Yes Run Sound Boy Run the version master is here…Respect

Mit "We Will Survive This" veröffentlichen 1816 ein Album, das seine Kraft aus Verletzlichkeit, Beharrlichkeit und leiser Zuversicht schöpft. Die Band - bestehend aus der Sängerin Wenche Losnegard, dem Bassisten und Hauptkomponisten Audun Ellingsen, Cellisten Gregor Riddell und Schlagzeuger Erik Nylander - knüpft an ihr gefeiertes Debüt an und vertieft die charakteristische Verbindung aus Kammermusik, Jazz und alternativer Pop-Sensibilität. Der Name 1816 verweist auf "das Jahr ohne Sommer" - ein historisches Sinnbild für Umbruch, Erschütterung und Überleben. Vor diesem Hintergrund erforscht das Album Themen wie Unsicherheit, Entbehrung und die fragile Hoffnung in Zeiten, in denen die Welt aus den Fugen zu geraten scheint. Die Musik reflektiert diese Stimmungen, ohne sie direkt zu kommentieren: stille Passagen treffen auf dynamische Ausbrüche, offene Formen auf dichte Klangszenen. Die Texte bewegen sich zwischen persönlicher Introspektion und alltäglicher Lebensnähe; literarische Anklänge - von Byron bis Dolly Parton - verleihen ihnen zusätzliche Tiefe. Gäste erweitern den Klangraum behutsam, ohne den unverwechselbaren Stil der Band zu überlagern. "We Will Survive This" ist ein berührendes, bewusstes Album über das Annehmen von Grenzen - und den Mut, dennoch aufzustehen.

On his fourth solo album, and debut work for Nick Klein's Psychic Liberation imprint, Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø presents »Faint Light Blackens«, a negotiation between the atomized instrumentation of the solo trombone is pushed towards a full range wall of sound over the concise sprawl of seven distinct acts on two sides of a vinyl record.

The seven acts that make up the album were developed specifically for recording within Emanuel Vigeland’s »Tomba Emmanuelle«. The fresco within the mausoleum anchors themes of existential weight, ripe with weighted imagery of love, birth, and death. The solemn space is a cavernous acoustic terrain wherein reverberant reverie makes it almost impossible to speak aloud, let alone sing through horn and electronics. This chamber's expanse is baked into the compositional directions employed on »Faint Light Blackens«.

Experientially, the record was produced in a long form performance gesture, with no overdubs. While edited to fit the record format, no additional post production coloring took place. Here Nørstebø shines as an instrumentalist, wherein the symbiosis of the site specific architecture and his sound sources are synced. At once musing and brooding, the gamut of emotive sonic landscapes is at play for a fully dynamic listening experience. The territory in Nørstebø’s vocabulary through interplay with the mausoleum is not vaulted , unlike Vigeland’s urn’ed ashes. On »Faint Light Blackens«, the spirit takes bound beyond the cavern and reanimates the listeners stereo alters for a holistic listening experience of perfectly challenging electroacoustic endeavors.

Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø – acoustic & amplified trombone, monotron, feedback, sound files.
Recorded by Espen Reinertsen October 10. and 11. 2023 in Tomba Emmanuelle, Oslo Norway.
Cover Photos and mix by Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø
Mastered by Helge Sten (Deathprod) at Audio Virus Lab

The highly anticipated collaborative album, GOLDFISH, sees two of contemporary hip-hop's most revered and distinct production minds, Hit-Boy and The Alchemist, finally join forces for a full-length statement. Far from a simple beat-swap, this project is a masterclass in sonic cohesion, blurring the lines between their signature sounds to forge a new, golden-hued identity. Beyond production, the duo step from behind the boards to behind the mic to trade verses throughout the project, adding a personal layer to their creative vision.

GOLDFISH is a deeply immersive listen, perfectly balancing the West Coast muscle and polished, anthemic quality of Hit-Boy's work with the dusty, abstract texture and cinematic suspense that defines The Alchemist's aesthetic.

The result is a sound that feels both street-tested and museum-worthy. A collaborative manifesto, showcasing the infinite possibilities when two generational talents decide to link up, creating an instant classic in the canon of producer/MC albums.

Neue 2026er-Auflage in neuer Farbe! Das neue Album der doom-meets-stoner-meets-metal Legenden! Solace entstand aus den Columbia-Künstlern Godspeed und ist eine der tragenden Säulen des Stoner Metal! Konstante musikalische Integrität und Live-Auftritte über mehr als zwei Jahrzehnte hinweg sorgen für eine treue Anhängerschaft und relvanten Szene-Status. South Jersey's SOLACE halfen mit ihrem zeitlosen Debüt "Further", die erste Welle des US Stoner Metal zu gründen, indem sie alle paar Jahre musikalisch 50 Tonnen-schwere Alben mit Next-Level-Riffage raushauten, bis hin zu ihrem gefeierten "A.D."-Album im Jahr 2010. Eine epische Rückkehr, "The Brink" ist ein glorreiches Doppelalbum - NWOBHM-zweifach-Gitarrenattacken, gewichtige Doom-Power und rifftrunkene Sea Shanties. Luxuriöses farbiges Vinyl plus wunderschönes Gatefold-Sleeve für Fans von Monolord, Haunt, War Cloud, The Obsessed, The Necromancers, The Atomic Bitchwax, Uncle Acid. Das letztes Album 'A.D.' wurde von iTunes (neben High on Fire, Monster Magnet, Unearthly Trance) zu einem der besten Metal-Alben des Jahres 2010 gekürt, "The Brink" auf Blues Funeral wird vielleicht eines der besten des Jahrzehnts.

A wild animal with a kraut pop instinct, Chaton Laveur prowls the depths of minimalism in search of light, intoxicating melodies to make his prey. Raw and authentic, the duo always opts for the shortest route, lined with repetitive rhythms, analogue sounds and soft voices in French, which also reveal a darker side. After more than 70 dates in France, Germany, Benelux, and the UK, Chaton Laveur returns in early 2026 with a second album, Labyrinthe, a record for fans of kraut/pop sounds and intense emotions.

A wild animal with a kraut pop instinct, Chaton Laveur prowls the depths of minimalism in search of light, intoxicating melodies to make his prey. Raw and authentic, the duo always opts for the shortest route, lined with repetitive rhythms, analogue sounds and soft voices in French, which also reveal a darker side. After more than 70 dates in France, Germany, Benelux, and the UK, Chaton Laveur returns in early 2026 with a second album, Labyrinthe, a record for fans of kraut/pop sounds and intense emotions.

After years out of print, we are pleased to present this much-needed vinyl reissue of an essential album in Roy Ayers’ career. Pressed on 180g vinyl.



In the early 1970s, Roy Ayers formed his own band: Roy Ayers Ubiquity. Its lineup included artists well known to funk and soul fans such as Bernard Purdie, James Mason, and Edwin Birdsong.



This 1973 album presents Roy Ayers in the midst of a creative evolution toward a sound increasingly influenced by soul and funk, moving beyond the early phase of his musical career, which was more rooted in orthodox jazz.

On “Red Black & Green”, he teams up with highly accomplished collaborators such as keyboardist Harry Whitaker, arranger and producer William S. Fischer, and Strata-East musicians Charles Tolliver and Sonny Fortune. Here, however, the latter two do not venture into the spiritual jazz sounds so characteristic of their own recordings; instead, together they embrace a sophisticated funk groove where Ayers showcases his extraordinary vibraphone talent.

The album includes outstanding versions of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ and ‘Day Dreaming,’ as well as original compositions such as ‘Cocoa Butter,’ ‘Rhythms of Your Mind,’ and the superb title track, ‘Red Black & Green.’

Pete Lambrou, the visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist behind VLMV (pronounced "Alma"), is one of the most singular voices emerging from the ambient, post-rock, and experimental scenes in the UK. With a career that spans atmospheric solo work, film and television scoring, and evocative live performance, Lambrou has carved out a distinctive sonic universe he describes as "ambient-ish post-something" (Pete Lambrou) a playful yet accurate summation of a sound that is at once genre-fluid and deeply immersive. The album takes its title from Sara Teasdale's 1918 poem and Ray Bradbury's later short story, both of which imagine a world continuing quietly after humanity's disappearance. This idea became the gravitational centre around which the record formed. Written during a period of deep engagement with climate fiction and ecological thought, `There Will Come Soft Rains` reflects on humanity's legacy, its technological ambition, and its uneasy relationship with the natural world. A century on from Teasdale's poem, the balance of power feels less certain, and Lambrou's music inhabits that tension with remarkable subtlety. "The initial ideas stem mostly from chaos, randomness or sound exploration and then get shaped as I go. Typically, and certainly for this album. It's evolved since album 1, which was more song / chord based. It's a fun process of finding the sound and then working out whether it's speaking to me - or merely just a cool noise. That's fun, but it sometimes can't evolve or progress, so then begins the long journey of shaping it into some sort of song format - which doesn't have to be a-typica,l but whatever feels right to me. The subject matter and overall theme is important too - it's got to all make sense within itself. There's no point having a slowly creeping theme and then rush the music." (Pete Lambrou) VLMV embody an emotional honesty that works with patience and nuance. Whether you're encountering his music for the first time or returning to its quiet depths, VLMV offers an aural space that resonates long after the final note fades. Lambrou's singular sonic language sits at the intersection of ambient, post-rock, modern classical, and experimental electronic music, while remaining unmistakably human at its core. "Instrumentally it's far more synth based - as soon as I had the concept, I wanted to make sure technology clash and marry with traditional instruments (at different times) in a sort of slow-moving dance I suppose. One is nature, one is human development and technology. Sometimes working together and sometimes in opposition. On my previous albums I'd say that at least half of the tracks started life as songs, whereas with `There Will Come Soft Rains` I think the majority (if not all) started as experiments in sound." (Pete Lambrou) Sonically, the album is VLMV at its most cinematic and textural. Warm, intimate piano figures and elegiac string arrangements are set against unstable modular synthesis, fractured rhythms, and evolving sound design. The organic and the artificial are locked in a slow, shifting dialogue, mirroring the album's central themes. At times the music feels tender and nostalgic, at others unpredictable and mournful, yet it never tips into despair. Instead, a quiet resilience runs throughout the record. "The album is slightly unusual in that it was mixed in Dolby Atmos before being mixed down to stereo. Most, if not all, do it the other way round. That's because I got to work with a superb mix engineer who just happens to live opposite. It was extremely random and lucky, moving to a tiny hamlet in the South of England and there being a Dolby Atmos studio opposite with a genius of an engineer. We had in mind that we would do it this way round and enjoy the mix process and give everything its own space - it still had issues when folding down to stereo, but overall a more pleasurable mix!" (Pete Lambrou) There Will Come Soft Rains has a geological sense of time: themes creep, expand, erode, and reform, resisting conventional structures in favour of something more patient and immersive. Each sound exists because it needs to; they move, recede, and emerge with a three-dimensional clarity that enhances the music's cinematic quality, giving each element room to breathe while maintaining an enveloping sense of cohesion. Lambrou's unique voice is Intimate and fragile, his vocals hover above the instrumentation, a guiding thread through the expansive soundscapes, drawing listeners closer into the emotional core of each piece. "Long time vocal collaborator Anja Madhvani did lots of harmonies on the album - I wanted to include her voice as much as possible on this album. In terms of string players - 3/4 have been long term collaborators with me. Marie Schreer actually recorded all strings on my first album ALMA, and Fraser & Clodagh have worked on every album (and occasional live shows) since Stranded Not Lost. In terms of art - Joel Cammarata designed the cover, and accompanying art - he designed Sing With Abandon and I absolutely adore his work, but also - he's so great at understanding and developing and capturing the concept." (Pete Lambrou) Layered harmonies drift through the music like distant signals or half-remembered voices. Madhvani's presence adds a human fragility to the album's vast soundscapes, reinforcing the sense of memory and longing that runs beneath the surface. The strings, performed by a close circle of trusted collaborators, further ground the record in warmth and physicality, acting as a counterweight to the synthetic elements that threaten to unravel it. "Despite the heavy subject matter, I wanted to create an album that imparts hope and optimism, marrying traditional instrumentation as nostalgia, with technological innovation through the randomness of modular synths." (Pete Lambrou) The partnership with Pelagic Records feels both organic and significant. Known for championing artists who value emotional weight, sonic ambition, and artistic integrity, the label provides a natural home for VLMV's work. Lambrou's music shares Pelagic's ethos: immersive, patient, and unafraid of scale whether intimate or vast. With There Will Come Soft Rains, Pete Lambrou has crafted a work that feels timely without being didactic, expansive without being overwhelming. It stands as a quiet, but powerful statement that lingers long after the final notes fade. FOR FANS OF Sigur Ros * Olafur Arnalds * Radiohead * Keaton Henson * This Will Destroy You

Pete Lambrou, the visionary composer and multi-instrumentalist behind VLMV (pronounced "Alma"), is one of the most singular voices emerging from the ambient, post-rock, and experimental scenes in the UK. With a career that spans atmospheric solo work, film and television scoring, and evocative live performance, Lambrou has carved out a distinctive sonic universe he describes as "ambient-ish post-something" (Pete Lambrou) a playful yet accurate summation of a sound that is at once genre-fluid and deeply immersive. The album takes its title from Sara Teasdale's 1918 poem and Ray Bradbury's later short story, both of which imagine a world continuing quietly after humanity's disappearance. This idea became the gravitational centre around which the record formed. Written during a period of deep engagement with climate fiction and ecological thought, `There Will Come Soft Rains` reflects on humanity's legacy, its technological ambition, and its uneasy relationship with the natural world. A century on from Teasdale's poem, the balance of power feels less certain, and Lambrou's music inhabits that tension with remarkable subtlety. "The initial ideas stem mostly from chaos, randomness or sound exploration and then get shaped as I go. Typically, and certainly for this album. It's evolved since album 1, which was more song / chord based. It's a fun process of finding the sound and then working out whether it's speaking to me - or merely just a cool noise. That's fun, but it sometimes can't evolve or progress, so then begins the long journey of shaping it into some sort of song format - which doesn't have to be a-typica,l but whatever feels right to me. The subject matter and overall theme is important too - it's got to all make sense within itself. There's no point having a slowly creeping theme and then rush the music." (Pete Lambrou) VLMV embody an emotional honesty that works with patience and nuance. Whether you're encountering his music for the first time or returning to its quiet depths, VLMV offers an aural space that resonates long after the final note fades. Lambrou's singular sonic language sits at the intersection of ambient, post-rock, modern classical, and experimental electronic music, while remaining unmistakably human at its core. "Instrumentally it's far more synth based - as soon as I had the concept, I wanted to make sure technology clash and marry with traditional instruments (at different times) in a sort of slow-moving dance I suppose. One is nature, one is human development and technology. Sometimes working together and sometimes in opposition. On my previous albums I'd say that at least half of the tracks started life as songs, whereas with `There Will Come Soft Rains` I think the majority (if not all) started as experiments in sound." (Pete Lambrou) Sonically, the album is VLMV at its most cinematic and textural. Warm, intimate piano figures and elegiac string arrangements are set against unstable modular synthesis, fractured rhythms, and evolving sound design. The organic and the artificial are locked in a slow, shifting dialogue, mirroring the album's central themes. At times the music feels tender and nostalgic, at others unpredictable and mournful, yet it never tips into despair. Instead, a quiet resilience runs throughout the record. "The album is slightly unusual in that it was mixed in Dolby Atmos before being mixed down to stereo. Most, if not all, do it the other way round. That's because I got to work with a superb mix engineer who just happens to live opposite. It was extremely random and lucky, moving to a tiny hamlet in the South of England and there being a Dolby Atmos studio opposite with a genius of an engineer. We had in mind that we would do it this way round and enjoy the mix process and give everything its own space - it still had issues when folding down to stereo, but overall a more pleasurable mix!" (Pete Lambrou) There Will Come Soft Rains has a geological sense of time: themes creep, expand, erode, and reform, resisting conventional structures in favour of something more patient and immersive. Each sound exists because it needs to; they move, recede, and emerge with a three-dimensional clarity that enhances the music's cinematic quality, giving each element room to breathe while maintaining an enveloping sense of cohesion. Lambrou's unique voice is Intimate and fragile, his vocals hover above the instrumentation, a guiding thread through the expansive soundscapes, drawing listeners closer into the emotional core of each piece. "Long time vocal collaborator Anja Madhvani did lots of harmonies on the album - I wanted to include her voice as much as possible on this album. In terms of string players - 3/4 have been long term collaborators with me. Marie Schreer actually recorded all strings on my first album ALMA, and Fraser & Clodagh have worked on every album (and occasional live shows) since Stranded Not Lost. In terms of art - Joel Cammarata designed the cover, and accompanying art - he designed Sing With Abandon and I absolutely adore his work, but also - he's so great at understanding and developing and capturing the concept." (Pete Lambrou) Layered harmonies drift through the music like distant signals or half-remembered voices. Madhvani's presence adds a human fragility to the album's vast soundscapes, reinforcing the sense of memory and longing that runs beneath the surface. The strings, performed by a close circle of trusted collaborators, further ground the record in warmth and physicality, acting as a counterweight to the synthetic elements that threaten to unravel it. "Despite the heavy subject matter, I wanted to create an album that imparts hope and optimism, marrying traditional instrumentation as nostalgia, with technological innovation through the randomness of modular synths." (Pete Lambrou) The partnership with Pelagic Records feels both organic and significant. Known for championing artists who value emotional weight, sonic ambition, and artistic integrity, the label provides a natural home for VLMV's work. Lambrou's music shares Pelagic's ethos: immersive, patient, and unafraid of scale whether intimate or vast. With There Will Come Soft Rains, Pete Lambrou has crafted a work that feels timely without being didactic, expansive without being overwhelming. It stands as a quiet, but powerful statement that lingers long after the final notes fade. FOR FANS OF Sigur Ros * Olafur Arnalds * Radiohead * Keaton Henson * This Will Destroy You

USA Hardcore/Punk Geschichte! M.I.A. wurden 1980 in Las Vegas gegründet, zogen 1981 nach Orange County und begannen im berüchtigten Cuckoo's Nest zusammen mit Fear, Shattered Faith, T.S.OL. u.a. Shows zu spieln. Ende '81 gingen sie in ein lokales Tonstudio in Costa Mesa und nahmen an einem Nachmittag neun Songs auf, bis ihnen das Geld ausging - 300 Dollar gut angelegt! Eine Kassette wurde rasch kopiert und herumgereicht. Eine Kopie der Kassette wurde KevinSeconds bei einem Gig mit 7 Seconds in Reno gegeben. Kevin gab sie an Tim Yohannan von Maximum Rocknroll weiter. Schließlich gelangte sie in die Hände von Felix Alanis von Smoke Seven und Greg Shaw von Bomp. Mitte 1982 waren M.I.A. dann auf drei Vinyl-Veröffentlichungen vertreten: "Tell Me Why" auf der Compilation American Youth Report von Bomp, "New Left" auf Maximum Rocknroll Presents: Not So Quiet On the Western Front von Alternative Tentacles und acht der neun Tracks landeten auf der berüchtigten Split-LP mit Last Rites auf Smoke Seven. Alle 9 Tracks des ersten Tapes sind hier versammelt, zum ersten Mal richtig abgemischt. Der Begin von M.I.A. (US) und gleichzeitig das letzte Lapitel der Moder City Records-Reissue-Reihe zur Band. « ...In one corner is M.I.A., a band originally from Las Vegas, the champions of punk's positive side. They've managed to fuse a super tight thrash sound with enlightened attitudes_"I Hate Hippies" is obviously meant as a satire with a moral, and the results are absolutely stunning. » _Jeff Bale's 1982 review of the Last Rites for...-Split-LP in Maximum Rocknroll #2 2.Auflage, Cover Metallic Blue, Vinyl Dirty Turquoise, plus 24seitigem Booklet.

Swedish visionary Boko Yout is releasing their long-awaited debut album GUSTO, out via Hoopdiggas Recordings. GUSTO is Boko Yout's debut album - a kaleidoscopic journey through memory, trauma, humour and healing. Framed as a fictional therapy programme led by the eccentric Dr. Gusto, each track represents a confrontation with a different shadow of the self: unspoken fears, inherited burdens, or unresolved inner conflicts. But GUSTO is not just about darkness - it's also about hope, longing and the light that makes those shadows visible in the first place. Boko Yout weaves together raw emotion, spiritual symbolism and bold experimentation. Referencing vodun philosophy, Jungian archetypes and post-genre production, they draws inspiration from artists like Yves Tumor, Odd Future and LCD Soundsystem. The result is a debut that feels more like a sonic manifesto - driven by love, intention and a deep commitment to artistic freedom. Previously not available for retail outside of Sweden, 1st edition sold out, 2nd edition repress - Mixed and mastered by Gustav Brunn (ALLINAUDIO) - Genre/Style: Alternative / Rock / Afro Grunge

**LIMITED 500 UK COPIES ON BLACK VINYL** VINYL ONLY RELEASE for RSD: Rival Consoles, UK producer Ryan Lee West, shares his original score for MindsEye, the highly anticipated narrative-driven game from Build A Rocket Boy, the studio led by visionary game director Leslie Benzies. The industrial techno score doesn’t just accompany the game, it’s embedded in the code of the world they have created together. The full score sees its debut on vinyl for the first time as a limited-edition Record Store Day 2026 release.

Set in Redrock, a sprawling desert metropolis ruled by surveillance and automation, MindsEye follows Jacob Diaz, an ex-soldier haunted by fractured memories. As his personal mission escalates, he’s forced to navigate a world shaped by rogue AI, militarized tech, and a fragile grip on control, all while confronting the truth about his past. "In MindsEye, sound is a critical storytelling layer, from ambient detail to emotional drive, every element is designed to shape how players feel inside the world," said Craig Conner, audio director at Build A Rocket Boy. "Rival Consoles’ tracks brought something truly special to that vision. Ryan’s music adds a distinct emotional charge and texture that elevates key moments. It doesn’t just accompany the game, it sharpens its edge, deepens its atmosphere, and perfectly complements the world we’ve built." The score was produced over the span of three years in his London studio, and contains some of West’s most ambitious and heaviest compositions to date.

To coincide with today’s release of the game, the 10-track score is now available to stream in its entirety. MindsEye follows West’s previous scoring work, including bespoke music for 2019’s Black Mirror episode Striking Vipers, featuring ‘I Love This, I Love You’, 2022’s Netflix feature doc El Caso Figo about the legendary football player Luís Figo, and Alexander Whitley’s contemporary dance production Overflow, which was released as a studio album with the same name in 2021. The most recent Rival Consoles album, Landscape from Memory, was released in July 2025 to critical and fan acclaim. A world tour continues into mid-2026.

“Weird, rowdy and just a little bit black metal” – TWIN SERPENT’s sophomore album out in May via Svart Records Facilitating country influences and the energy of punk, Twin Serpent is a noisy but cute outsider band that manages to blur genre boundaries. Inspired by the likes of The Taxpayers and 16 Horsepower, this crust-country band applies lo-fi black metal aesthetics without having to bathe in blood. Songs about love, betrayal and defiance are delivered with acoustic to amp-wall dynamics, duelling vocal harmonies, shrieking solos and distorted banjos. The debut album Feels Like Heaven, North Of Hell (2022, Loyal Blood Records) was described by the press as genre-defying and compared to bands like GY!BE and Tom Waits. The sophomore TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACKGRASS turns the volume to twelve and the trainbeat races down the tracks at a derailing speed. Covering topics on windmill resistance, porn industry and post-Trump America accompanied by playful country punk with a twinkle in the eye, laced with cosmic and occult undertones. “We’re super happy to finally unbox our sophomore weirdo rocker! And we’re specially stoked to do so on the amazing Svart Records! This particularly hits home with Timo who was born in Finland.

There’s even a song in Finnish on the album, which came out great! The artwork is amazing and everything is there for a reason. We recorded it during the year of the serpent at Piir studio, just a 5-minute walk from our home in Svartlamon, Trondheim, NO. Vebjørn Svanberg Numme aka the wizard technician did an amazing job capturing the essence of the Twins during a hot summer week. 12 songs about love, betrayal and black holes with country licks, rock’n’roll kicks and heaps of punk attitude is the result and we’re super proud to present the first tease from it! We’ve kept things close to home as our resident artist Hanna and designer Tony did the cover art! It’s weird, rowdy and just a little bit black metal", comments the band on the new album. With a slew of sold out shows in their hometown of Trondheim, the band is delighted to spread their cosmic gospel to the people! Twin Serpent goes hard with in-your-face attitude and fits in barn dances as well as punk festivals!