Dead Bird is AK-Industry's very first EP for Industrial Propaganda's sub-label: Totentanz Recordings. This new EP explores the limits of the hard techno and techno hardcore genres.
AK-Industry, the founder of Nekrolog1k Recordings, has been a driving force in the Industrial Crossbreed and Hardcore Techno scene since 2008.
His signature sound blends breakbeats with hardcore and techno, resulting in a unique and powerful style that has garnered attention from major labels such as The Third Movement (NL), Industrial Strength (USA), Dark Descent (NL) Industrial Propaganda (CH) and Ad Noiseam (DE).
Having performed at some of the biggest hardcore events in Europe, including Dominator, Q-Base, Defqon, Army of Hardcore Festivals, Club r_AW, and PRSPCT XL, AK-Industry has cemented his place as a top-tier artist in the genre.
He has also collaborated with heavyweight artists such as Mindustries, I:gor, N-Vitral, Ophidian, The Teknoist, Bryan Fury, Switch Technique, Igneon System, Delta9 and Fiend.
With brand new releases on the horizon, AK-Industry shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push the boundaries of the Industrial Crossbreed & Hardcore Techno genres.
Cerca:signs
- Failure
- Goodbye
- Stories
- Follow
- Presence
- Cuts
- Signs
- Promise
TWINS from Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin present their second album in a particularly antiquated format: the LP in the truest sense of the word. Eight songs that are actually one. Without noticeable boundaries. Musically fragmentary, yet consistent and coherent. An album from which no song can be easily extracted; at least not without partially losing its actual effect in the process of separation. All components of the album need each other in a certain way, and it is precisely this peculiarity that gives rise to its musically emancipated strength. "it"s_complicated" is an album like a strange, brittle radio play amidst idiosyncratic post-hardcore, math rock, screamo, noise, and indie elements. A journey of musical possibilities.
- 1: Smile (What Kind Of Love Is This)
- 2: Down Here On Earth
- 3: Autumn In The Neighbourhood
- 4: Because My Heart
- 5: Bernard
- 6: Tell Tale Signs
- 7: Everyone You Know
- 8: Joy And The Spark
- 9: Being In Love
- 10: Fool
- 11: My Sweet Delight
- 12: Wonderful New World
- My Former Self
- Your Aura
- The Animal In You
- Black Heart
- Narcissus
- Gloomy Sunday
- Vision
- In My Room
- The Bulls
- Près Des Ramparts De Sévill
- Catch A Fallen Star
- Your Love Is A Lesion
- Torment
- Empty Eyes
- Untitled
- Angels
- Caroline Says
- First Time
- Jacky
The complete recordings of the legendary Marc And The Mambas run of three live performances given at The Duke Of York's Theatre in London's West End in 1983. Restored from the original VHS tape recordings made by the late Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (Throbbing Gristle, Coil), these remain the only recordings that exist of Marc And The Mambas performing live. Originally released in 2012 on Marc Almond's (Soft Cell) own Strike Force Entertainment label as a CD/DVD set (long sold out), this edition, presented on vinyl for the first time, contains the 17 tracks from the SFE CD release, expanded to include the two bonus DVD-only tracks: 'Près Des Ramparts De Séville' and 'Jacky'. Completely remastered for vinyl by Martin Bowes (The Cage Studios). A combination of the chanson and torch songs which he still sings today, over piano, strings and woodwind-accompanied compositions. "It's quite a spectacle, especially when Almond hits his sweet spot of sinister lyrics, declared pompously over a droned string arrangement... Early signs of the full-on showtune and classical rearrangements that make up Almond's current albums are evident"(Record Collector). Presented on heavyweight double vinyl in a deluxe glossy gatefold sleeve featuring the extensive reminiscence by Marc Almond himself from the 2012 release. Also included is a reproduction of the 16-page programme printed for the three concerts in 1983. The stunning cover painting by Val Denham is exclusive to this release.
- 1: The Greatest Gift Of All
- 2: Go Tell It On The Mountain
- 3: Heaven Came (On Christmas Day)
- 4: Little Drummer Boy
- 5: Still The Light
- 6: Silent Night
- 7: On This Holy Night
- 8: Joy To The World
- 9: Reason For The Season
- 10: Winter Wonderland
Legendary Metal Band STRYPER Announces Long-Awaited Christmas Album 'The Greatest Gift Of All' out November 21 via Frontiers Music Srl Iconic and long-running Christian metal band STRYPER is set to release their long-anticipated Christmas album, The Greatest Gift Of All, on November 21st via Frontiers Music Srl. Fans have been requesting a holiday record for years—and now, the wait is finally over. The celebration begins this July with the release of the first single, "Still the Light". STRYPER's current lineup features original members Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, and Oz Fox, alongside bassist Perry Richardson. Together, they continue to craft what they believe is some of the most powerful and inspiring music of their career. The band recently wrapped up a successful world tour in support of their latest studio album, When We Were Kings. The tour spanned the USA, Europe, and South America, and marked the band’s 40th anniversary—a milestone celebrated with a dynamic setlist featuring classic hits, fan favorites from the newer era, outfit changes, and an upgraded stage production. As STRYPER continues to evolve, they remain a cornerstone of Christian rock and metal, blending faith and heavy music for four decades. Looking ahead, the band is also working on a Kickstarter-funded documentary directed by Chris Atkins, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their remarkable journey. With over 10 million albums sold worldwide and several Billboard Top 40 hits, STRYPER shows no signs of slowing down as they continue to write, record, and perform for their global fanbase.
- Rust
- Vengeance My Brother
- Deceiver
- Sinister Warfare
- He Who Never Sleeps
- Flammenland
- King Of Slaves
- From Ruins I Rise
- When The Abyss Opens
- Our Legion, Our Pride
The new album “Rust and Bones” of the german Death Metal institution MY DARKEST HATE will be released on November 7, 2025. It sounds like a perfect cross-section of the band‘s previous work and contains 10 new songs. The album was produced by the band and Andy Classen (Legion of the Damned, Krisiun, ...), who was also responsible for mixing and mastering! The ingenious cover artwork was created by Remy Cooper from Headsplit Design (Napalm Death, Kreator, ...). There are also guest vocals by Dave Ingram (Benediction, ex-Bolt Thrower) and TZ (Pessimist and Muggeseggel)! With “Flammenland”, a German-language song is also represented for the first time. A video was shot for the song “When the Abyss opens” and there are also lyric videos for the songs “King of Slaves” and “Vengeance my Brother”! The first festival shows have already been played in 2025, including the Skullcrusher Fest in Freiburg. The signs are pointing to a storm!
„What Separates Me From You”, das erfolgreiche vierte Studioalbum von A Day to Remember, kehrt als
limitierte 15-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe auf Vinyl zurück.
Mit Klassikern wie „All I Want” und „All Signs Point to Lauderdale” markierte dieses genreübergreifende
Album eine bedeutende klangliche und inhaltliche Weiterentwicklung der Band aus Ocala, Florida. Während
sie ihre charakteristische Mischung aus Metalcore und Pop-Punk beibehielten, wurden auf dem Album dunklere und ernstere Themen als auf ihren früheren Werken behandelt. Nach seiner Erstveröffentlichung im
Jahr 2010 erreichte „What Separates Me From You“ Platz 11 der Billboard 200 und führte unter anderem
die Top-Hardrock-Albumcharts an. 2016 wurde es von der RIAA mit Gold ausgezeichnet.
Diese besondere Edition von „What Separates Me From You“ wurde auf Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl gepresst und enthält ein einzigartiges Jubiläums-Artwork sowie eine Akustikversion von „All I Want“.
Heute sind A Day to Remember – bestehend aus Sänger Jeremy McKinnon, Rhythmusgitarrist Neil Westfall, Schlagzeuger Alex Shelnutt und Leadgitarrist Kevin Skaff – weiterhin mit Tourneen und Aufnahmen
aktiv. Bis heute haben ADTR über fünf Millionen Alben verkauft, über 3,5 Milliarden Streams gesammelt,
zwei Goldalben, vier Goldsingles und eine Platin-Single erhalten. Ohne Anzeichen einer Verlangsamung
veröffentlichten sie Anfang 2025 ihr neuestes Album „Big Ole Album Vol. 1“.
- A1: The Chosen One
- A2: Taken By The Past
- A3: When The Time Has Come
- A4: Key Of Destiny
- B1: Euphoria
- B2: Stolen Memories
- B3: Signs
- B4: Lights In The Night
Black Vinyl[45,25 €]
Effortlessly picking up from their excellent demonstration cassette, it sees the band refining their sound even further. An audio amalgamation combining the profoundness of early Ulver, with the gloom of old Katatonia and exalted boldness of Fields of the Nephilim, thus adding unique elements of nostalgia and atmosphere to their own melodic interplay of guitars and excellent musical framework.
The album contains strong signs of a band that knew at a young age how to draw their canvas. Very Scandinavian in nature, and influenced by the American landscape of the Pacific Northwest, it firmly put Agalloch on the map and raised eyebrows about what a band from North America would be capable of. As a person that grew up checking out records based on their cover-artwork alone, this album is particularly notable for such an experience, considering the wooden cover with a gold emblazoned logo engraved. This is music that glorifies the night sky, envisions campfire magic, heralds nature over humans, arcane arts & poetry, and worships the beauty of a crackling fireplace. It could be the soundtrack for a lone wanderer striving through a wintry storm, only to end up knocking on a faded
wooden door to find shelter in a desolate cabin. In many ways the sound of forlorn times.
If you are looking to fill your heart with woodsmoke and the fire of
the mountain's spirit, look no further.
"Pale Folklore was a watershed moment in American heavy music, when a few young musicians with a shared love of underground death metal - and broad personal tastes beyond - turned their already virtuosic talents toward a fresh hybrid of metal and neofolk through a gothic lens." - Daniel Lake / author of USBM: A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal
Smoke Vinyl[45,25 €]
Effortlessly picking up from their excellent demonstration cassette, it sees the band refining their sound even further. An audio amalgamation combining the profoundness of early Ulver, with the gloom of old Katatonia and exalted boldness of Fields of the Nephilim, thus adding unique elements of nostalgia and atmosphere to their own melodic interplay of guitars and excellent musical framework.
The album contains strong signs of a band that knew at a young age how to draw their canvas. Very Scandinavian in nature, and influenced by the American landscape of the Pacific Northwest, it firmly put Agalloch on the map and raised eyebrows about what a band from North America would be capable of. As a person that grew up checking out records based on their cover-artwork alone, this album is particularly notable for such an experience, considering the wooden cover with a gold emblazoned logo engraved. This is music that glorifies the night sky, envisions campfire magic, heralds nature over humans, arcane arts & poetry, and worships the beauty of a crackling fireplace. It could be the soundtrack for a lone wanderer striving through a wintry storm, only to end up knocking on a faded
wooden door to find shelter in a desolate cabin. In many ways the sound of forlorn times.
If you are looking to fill your heart with woodsmoke and the fire of
the mountain's spirit, look no further.
"Pale Folklore was a watershed moment in American heavy music, when a few young musicians with a shared love of underground death metal - and broad personal tastes beyond - turned their already virtuosic talents toward a fresh hybrid of metal and neofolk through a gothic lens." - Daniel Lake / author of USBM: A Revolution of Identity in American Black Metal
Pandemic, war, inflation, apocalyptic scenarios about climate change and artificial intelligence, all connected with widespread bonkers conspiracy narratives and growing fascist sentiments – in this crisis environment we re-emerge with a new issue.
What may appear like a ‘normal’ datacide issue – which it is indeed – is however also a part of a broader strategy. We’ve been busy expanding activities into the field of videos, documentaries and interviews. The very first signs of this are visible on our Noise & Politics YouTube channel.
There will be much more.
Datacide nineteen is now at the printers and will be available for the first time at the Hekate event at Forte Prenestino in Rome on October 6/7.
Subscribers, depending where they are based, will receive their copies soon after.
General distribution will commence later in October, our aim is to have the issue available in all the most important radical bookstores around Europe by early November. If you are interested to resell datacide in your area, please get in touch!
We will also have a table at the Radical Bookfair in London on November 4th, presenting the new magazine along with older issues.
With this issue we pick up the story where we left it with the last one. We’re unfolding a countercultural panorama, this time beginning in the mid-20th century with Howard Slater exploring the beginnings of the Electronic Disturbance Zone, multiple reflections of 1948 via the 1990s, sonic adumbrations of new social relations.
Christoph Fringeli then introduces us to a document from 1967 where situationist ideas popped up in the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition in West Berlin, in a text called Vietnam, the Third World and the Self-Deception of the Left, which contains a détournement of the Address to Revolutionaries of Algeria and of all Countries published by the Situationist International the previous year.
From 1967 we move on to 1978 with Ian Trowell, in an excerpt from his forthcoming book ‘Throbbing Gristle – An Endless Discontent’, tracking the movements of Throbbing Gristle as they play their first gig up north at the aptly named Wakefield Industrial Training College. Uncanny overlaps of the timelines of TG’s operation and The Yorkshire Ripper’s killing spree reveal themselves.
The time window from the 90s to the present day is illuminated by Nihil Fist, as we’re printing the interview previously published in video form on our YouTube channel.
This issue then moves into ficticious territory with stories and poetry by Joke Lanz, Dan Hekate, Howard Slater and Riccardo Balli. Book and record reviews follow, as do the charts and a short report of our wider activities since the last issue.
Please pre-order your copy now (6 euro incl. Shipping in Europe, 8 euro elsewhere) or, even better, take out a subscription (standard subscription for only 23 euros for 4 issues (Europe) or 3 issues (rest of the world) – or our super-subscription which includes also records, t-shirts, books and digital items.
Or just make a donation if you can’t be bothered with print, but want to support our work.
- 1: Love
- 2: Something Better
- 3: Orange Blossoms
- 4: Jasmine
- 5: Colors
- 6: Shine Through
- 7: It's Alright (Sun Shine)
- 8: The Art Of Surrender
Orange Crush Vinyl. GoldFord writes soul music rooted in truth. His raw, unvarnished songs — equal parts introspection and catharsis — grapple with heartbreak, healing, and the quiet revelations that come with growth and maturity. Raised in St. Louis and now based in L.A., he spent a decade mired in corporate America before a devastating loss cracked something open. Since then, GoldFord has built a devoted following with his emotionally charged vocals and timeless style. His breakout single “Upside Down” offered a first taste of virality, while “Orange Blossoms” — inspired by an illuminating moment of presence under a fruit tree — has surpassed 50 million streams on Spotify alone and earned co-signs from Sam Smith and SZA. Tracks like “Ride the Storm” (33M+ Spotify streams) and “Walk With Me” have found homes in major ad campaigns, film, and TV . But for GoldFord, it’s not about placement: it’s about connection. “This is how I sort through my shit,” he says. “The music reflects back who I am.” With a new record on the way and a festival debut at Austin City Limits looming, he’s stepping into the spotlight, one soul-baring song at a time.
- A1: Intro
- A2: Hustle On
- A3: Look What The Cat Dragged In
- A4: The Way It Is
- A5: Bus Commercial
- A6: Get Your Money Up
- B1: Ner Ner
- B2: Reminiscing (Featuring Joe Grind & Gunna Dee)
- B3: The Loves Still There (Featuring Kyra)
- B4: Little Man & Me (Featuring Ml)
- B5: Life (Featuring Shereen Shabana)
- B6: What More Do They Want
- C1: Matic (Featuring Gunna Dee & Y Butch)
- C2: Signs
- C3: Up Up & Away (Featuring J-Melo)
- C4: Have It Out
- C5: All I Know (Get Your Money Up Remix) (Featuring Nathan)
- C6: Let Em Ave It
- D1: Don’t Go There (Feat. B.o.b)
- D2: Talking The Hardest
- D3: Blow Em Away (Feat. Shola Ama)
- D4: Slow Songs (Feat. Mike Skinner)
A truly unique voice, Giggs’ combination of slow flow, dark lyrics, a well-documented past and explosive street sales saw him hailed as one of the most exciting voices in British rap. He first burst onto the scene in 2008 with his debut ‘Talkin The Hardest’ a freestyle which has become one of British rap’s biggest anthems (over 12M views at YouTube). Giggs’ sold tens of thousands of copies of his mixtapes on his own SN1 (Spare No 1) label and won 2008’s BET Award for Best British Hip Hop Act before signing to XL Recordings for his iconic debut proper, ‘Let Em Ave It’ in 2010. 15 years on the album gets its first ever release on vinyl, featuring bonus tracks from the era that originally appeared as singles, including ‘Talking The Hardest’ and ‘Slow Songs’ featuring The Streets’ Mike Skinner.
[s] D1: Don’t Go There (feat. B.O.B) [Bonus]
[t] D2: Talking The Hardest [Bonus]
[u] D3: Blow Em Away (feat. Shola Ama) [Bonus]
[v] D4: Slow Songs (feat. Mike Skinner) [Bonus]
- In The Rural Pattern
- What To Look For Outside
- Birds In General: And The Rook
- Outline Of Nature
- Moths That Rally To A Soundless Call
- Rotating Seasons
- All The Animals Under A Fractal Sky
First released on August 18, 2023, "Outline of Nature" started as an experiment in building a modular synthesizer system and ended up as a voltage controlled outpouring of love for the natural world. Sylvan-born and pastoral-powered, sap-blooded and lightning-charged, this album grew out of the damp florescent corners of the woods, each note and sound, a fractal extension of their seedling sounds. It was nurtured into being at The Twilight Research Centre, a studio facility situated on the border of Somerset and Dorset. During Covid lockdown 1.0, I spent the outdoor hours we were permitted, wandering through the centre's surroundings, in the green lanes, woodlands and corridors of the wilds with their wary and flickering inhabitants, beneath the distant eyes of the soaring buzzards and the hulking red kites. I didn't expect it, but it was in the quiet, ferociously vibrant dens of nature, that I found a deeply profound connection with the natural world. It once again made sense to feel as much a part of the woods as the trees were; I felt like a natural entity in its habitat again, not something I'd properly felt since running wild through the gullies, dells and fells of the Midlands as a child. And I became afflicted with a powerful urge to build strange electronic sound systems that were organic, chaotic, fractal and in some way reflective of the awesome natural systems that surround us and surround the centre. I plugged in the modular, and went searching for signs of life. Adding to this, just before the lockdowns, I stumbled across a three volume nature encyclopedia in a local charity shop, called "Outline of Nature in the British Isles" by Sir John Hammerton. The sub-heading reads "A Comprehensive Photo-Survey of the Varied Life of Field and Hedgerow, Moor and Mountain, River, Pond and Sea", and it's a stunning collection of grainy photographs, beautiful illustrations and wondrously poetic writing, some of which inspired track titles and of course, the album title. I also rekindled my love of Ladybird nature books such as the "What to Look for in Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter" series, "Birds and How They Live" and "Butterflies, Moths and Other Insects", rebuilding a small collection I had as a child and discovering numerous volumes new to me. Between the two literary sources, I had a rich well of imagery, writing and pastoral nostalgia to draw from; and coupled with the extended sessions of blissing out in my own heavily ecstatic awe descended on me in the sheer grandness of the wilderness, I set about enticing out of the woods an album of phosphorescent electrical music, abundant with comparatively microscopic, but persistent and wild life-forces.
- Dimension Shifter
- Invaders On My Back
- Anxiety Reducer
- Radio Source Sagittarius
- Mutant
- No Warning
- Evolution Machine
- Triplanetary
- The Last Question
2025er Pressung in 5 Spoke Cornetto - Black and Transparent Vinyl! Die südkalifornischen Hardrock Veteranen von FU MANCHU veröffentlichen ihre neues Album ,Gigantoid" auf At The Dojo, dem eigenen Label der Band. Nach fast 25 Jahren Bandgeschichte und nach der Split 7" mit ihren Freunden von MOAB im letzten Jahr sowie ,Signs Of Infinite Power" von 2009 kehren die Mannen um Scott Hill mit ihrem ersten Album seit sage und schreibe fast fünf Jahren zurück. Aufgenommen mit Andrew Giacumakis, dem Sänger/Gitarrist der oben genannten MOAB, in seinem Studio im kalifornischen Simi Valley, ist das Album primitiver, roher und zerfuzzter als seine Vorgänger. ,Wir haben für dieses Album 17 Songs geschrieben und haben daraus final neun Songs destilliert", erklärt Hill. "Wir wollten ursprünglich etwas später dieses Jahr einen Teil 2 rauszubringen, haben dann aber angefangen, mit diesen Songs für unser 25. Bandjubiläum im Jahr 2015 zu planen."
Woo, formed in 1975 by brothers Mark and Clive Ives in London, is known for its experimental blend of folk, jazz, ambient, and electronic music. Their sound, characterised by the delicate integration of acoustic and electronic elements, has earned them recognition in ambient and healing music spheres. Over decades, the duo has produced over 1,500 tracks, evolving a unique style that evokes dream-like atmospheres and a meditative, soothing quality perfect for moments of reflection.
Dedicated to intertwining the serene beauty of music with the nurturing process of planting seeds when the first new signs of life emerge in the growing season. A carefully crafted collection of ambient & minimalist soundscapes, occasionally branching into the new age. A soundtrack for quiet moments of sowing, nurturing, & witnessing the slow reward of growth.
Each artist will release a recycled cassette and digital format. We plan to release one cassette each month from November through June, aligning our releases with the ideal growing period. Each physical release will precede its digital counterpart by a few months, allowing the music to be experienced in its intended form first, with the tangible connection of a cassette and seeds before becoming accessible to a broader audience in the online sphere. This staggered release allows listeners to engage with the music more profoundly and intentionally, akin to the patience and care required in gardening. Best get that portable cassette player on eBay!
Each release will serve as a soundtrack to quiet moments of sowing, nurturing, and witnessing the slow, rewarding growth process, both in plants and in the listeners' lives. Whether tending to a window sill garden or simply seeking a peaceful retreat in sound, "Music to Watch Seeds Grow By" is an invitation to pause, listen, and cultivate.
Early DJ support including Tom Ravenscroft, Deb Grant, Vladimir Ivkovic,Ruf Dug, Eva Geist, Domenic Cappello, Fergus Clarke & Sofie K.
For his third long-player under the Phi-Psonics banner, Ford-Young marshalled a series of live recordings at the Healing Force Of The Universe record store in Pasadena, sculpting fourteen tracks, largely composed in the moment with a fluctuating cast of players, which wonderfully transmit his ideals of community and inner peace. Called "Expanding To One", it features exquisitely calming yet searching pieces like "There"s Still Hope", where Seth"s softly undulating bassline underpins beatific explorations from core Phi-Psonics members, Sylvain Carton and Randal Fisher (both on saxophone), and Josh Collazo (drums), alongside guests Zach Tenorio (Wurlitzer piano) and Mathias Künzli (percussion). Equally sublime, "Healing Time" ripples like a mountain stream, with Ford-Young, Carton, Fisher and Tenorio joined by Minta Spencer (harp), Dylan Day (guitar) and, on drums/percussion, Jay Bellerose, a revered LA stickman most recently under the spotlight in Jeff Parker ETA IVtet.
- A1: If I Ever Die
- A2: Hammer Of Doom
- A3: The Bleeding Baroness
- A4: Demon Of The Deep
- B1: House Of 1000 Voices
- B2: Dead Angel
- B3: Clouds Of Dementia
- B4: My Funeral Dreams
- A1: Lucifer Rising (Album Outtake)
- A2: White God
CANDLEMASS - a name forged in darkness; a legacy built on doom. Born from the cold shadows of Stockholm in 1985, this Swedish titan of epic doom metal has stood as a monolithic force for nearly four decades. In 2025, CANDLEMASS marks 40 years of sorrow-laden grandeur, a testament to their unwavering reign over the genre they helped shape. Their journey began with the seismic release of “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” (1986), a requiem that redefined heavy music, followed by the monumental “Nightfall” - both now sacred texts in the annals of doom. These albums remain cornerstones of a genre that thrives in the echoes of CANDLEMASS somber majesty. Despite doom’s reputation for slow, crushing weight, CANDLEMASS themselves show no signs of slowing down. Relentless and untamed, they continue to storm stages worldwide, bringing their towering hymns to devoted Candlemaniacs from Tokyo to Los Angeles. With Grammy win in Sweden and a U.S. Grammy nomination in 2019, the band’s fire still burns with undiminished intensity. Originally released in 2009, “Death Magic Doom” is the tenth studio album from CANDLEMASS.
Sailing beyond the boundaries of electronic music, Purelink embrace liquidity on their second album, washing live instrumentation and exposed vocals over their patented cascade of dubbed ambience and ebbing rhythmic experimentation. Since 2020, Tommy Paslaski (aka Concave Reflection), Ben Paulson (aka kindtree) and Akeem Asani (aka Millia) have channeled their most euphoric musical whims into the Purelink project. Drifting between brittle '90s drum 'n bass and dub techno on their cult debut 12" 'Bliss / Swivel' and vaporizing Windy City jazz and post-rock motifs with muggy soundscapes on 2023's critically revered first full-length 'Signs', the trio have managed to define a painterly signature sound that's reflective but not reverent. Sure, Purelink's music can be graceful and bucolic, but it's powered by their innate devotion to the dancefloor's soundsystem.
'Faith' illustrates a period of upheaval for the three friends; relocating from Chicago to New York City, they found themselves surrounded by new scenery and fresh inspirations that permeated their compositions as they adapted to the change. On their previous records, the production process was relatively simple, just three laptops jacked into an interface in Paslaski's living room. Here, they augment the intermixed electronics with acoustic and electric timbres, opening up space for vocal contributions from Hyperdub luminary Loraine James and poet Angelina Nonaj. "Always time for rest," James ponders candidly on 'Rookie', "we settle." Her voice floats like smoke over the trio's familiar pattering rhythms and light-headed synths, now enhanced by capsized guitar motifs and subtle bass plucks.
On 'First Iota' meanwhile, Nonaj's deadpan narration grounds Purelink's dissociated echoes, sub swells and delicate improvisations. "Not everything beautiful has to be real," Nonaj repeats as organic and digital sounds sublime into a lysergic haze. And the softly propulsive 4/4 thuds that steered 'Signs' haven't disappeared entirely, either. On 'Kite Scene' a heartbeat-like pulse underpins Purelink's balmy pads and acidic synths, tactfully disrupted by hollow live percussion, and 'Yoke' muffles its chugging, broken beat sequences with swaddled trance hallucinations, gesturing cautiously towards euphoria. Each element falls into place on the album's final track, 'Circle of Dust', when Paslaski, Paulson and Asani find a fertile middle ground, ornamenting the kinetic, reverberating beats with evaporating whispers, evocative instrumental scrapes and hopeful, ecstatic harmonies.




















