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Carly Simon’s No. 1 smash “You’re So Vain” lingers as one of the most clever and famous songs ever recorded. The subject of mass speculation ever since its release, soon after which it occupied the top spot on multiple Billboard charts for weeks, the anthem kept a captive public guessing at the identity of its smug subject for decades. The question surrounding the protagonist’s identity remained perhaps the only mystery on the otherwise sexually open and autobiographically daring No Secrets, Simon’s commercial breakthrough and ‘70s singer-songwriter staple.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set affords the platinum-certified 1972 effort the finest sonic treatment it’s received on vinyl. Helmed by Richard Perry and recorded at London’s Trident Studios — where Beatles, David Bowie, and Elton John captured landmark LPs — No Secrets touts exceptional production qualities highlighted by this restorative reissue.

Audiophiles and record collectors, take note: This is the first time No Secrets has been available on 45RPM. The wider grooves and dead-quiet surfaces pay instant dividends. Simple, elegant, and disarming, songs seemingly float amid wide, deep soundstages. Simon’s voice takes on a confident, assertive tenor that emerges with accurate imaging, balanced tonality, and palpable presence. String arrangements and backing vocals come through with similar realism.

Enhanced by an all-star cast — Simon’s then-husband James Taylor, Paul and Linda McCartney, Mick Jagger, Lowell George, Klaus Voorman, Bobby Keys, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins, and Bonnie Bramlett are among the renowned musicians who lend a hand — No Secrets advances Simon’s themes of personal introspectiveness, no-holds-barred reflectiveness, and feminist-inspired boldness. She makes every moment of No Secrets worth savoring. Simon invests her all in the songs, handling beautiful ballads, sassy folk-rock numbers, and bluesy fare with calm, composure, and candor.

While acknowledging her own regrets (“You’re So Vain”) and loss (“The Carter Family”), Simon champions the highs (“The Right Thing to Do”) and pains (“His Friends Are More Than Fond of Robin”) of love in a sincere manner indicative of her maturity as both an artist and singer. The New York native distinguishes “When You Close Your Eyes” with deep-rooted spirituality, recalls childhood joys via charming sentimentality on “It Was So Easy,” and and takes ownership of her persona on a cover of Taylor’s “Night Owl.”

“We have no secrets
/We tell each other everything,” Simon sings at the record’s midpoint, encapsulating both the themes and bravura of an effort that was nominated for four Grammy Awards and saw her write or co-write every song but one. Combined with Perry’s savvy instrumental arrangements, her self-assured performances and forthright lyrics grant No Secrets an edginess and relevance immune to the ravages of time.

2026 Repress

For their debut EP on Tectonic, Beatrice M. drops four deep, dubby cuts bringing weighted bass energy together with techno sensibilities and advanced percussive manoeuvres. Elegant but powerful tracks built for sound systems and curious ears!

Midnight Swim is an ode to the “softer” club sounds, repetitive aquatic grooves that remind Beatrice of their go-to sport: swimming. No phones, just back and forth in the cold water, settling into a mechanical groove. The opening track, Oval, carries its title from the appreciation of soft edges, little distortion, minimal rhythmic pattern.

Upon hearing Pinch’s tune 136 Trek, (itself a nod to Zinc’s 138 Trek), Beatrice decided to name a tune 132 Trek, to continue the lineage of their musical heritage. The tune was already called Trek because it was made after moving from France and spending their first months in London, and realising “everything is a bloody trek”!! 

The EP’s title track is about warm-up music and enjoying the earlier hours of the party - a quick immersion and then time for bed, rather than banging club tracks all night long. Beatrice likes to show up early at the club, watch it fill and then leave as it packs out. Midnight Swim is a dip into a roller. 

The last tune of the EP features Sub Basics, the first artist to have a vinyl release on Beatrice’s own label, Bait, and one of their biggest musical inspirations. Sub Basics’ immersive progressive sounds fit simultaneously in the deep techno world and the dubstep world. A beautiful in-between.

Ben Sims and Truncate return under their ASSAILANTS guise and drop the long awaited follow up to 2018's 'Chase Sequences' EP on the jointly run 'Obscurity is Infinite' imprint. Original Hardgroove flavours blended with tough Machine Funk, showcasing the sounds they're both individually celebrated for and delivering some unique fusions on this all thriller, no filler EP

The moment the instantly recognizable intertwined guitar passage on the title track to the Eagles' Hotel California begins, the record's genius becomes obvious all over again. Ranked the 118th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, certified by RIAA as the third best-selling LP in history, and considered the foundation on which the Golden State's mid-‘70s music scene was built, the 1976 landmark is a music staple immune to shifts in trends, eras, and styles. Fearlessly addressing the chaos and consequences of American life, its songs remain strikingly prescient and gain creedence with each passing day.

Mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and limited to 17,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP vinyl box set ensures you will want to permanently check into and never leave this particular Hotel California. Up to the herculean task of standing head and shoulders above all prior reissues, this collectible edition plays with extreme clarity, organic richness, tube-like warmth, massive dynamics, and microscopic levels of detail. You'll be able to practically smell the colitas and feel the breeze in your hair. Songs come across with an epic sweep and feature immersive, front-to-back soundstages that allow the music unprecedented air, roominess, and separation. As for the noise floor? It's basically as invisible as the spirits that waft in the corridors of the unforgettable title song.

Aesthetically, the premium packaging and presentation of the UD1S Hotel California pressing befit its esteemed status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features gorgeous foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the renowned cover art to the meticulous finishes.

Indeed, the opportunity to zero in on all the particulars of the 26-million-selling Eagles record dubbed "a legitimate rock masterpiece" by vaunted Los Angeles Times scribe Robert Hilburn has never been better. A global phenomenon that marked the band debut of guitarist-singer Joe Walsh, Hotel California continues to resonate and connect with listeners of all generations taken by its narrative depth, stark directness, picturesque melodies, daring majesty, and ardent emotionalism. Adorned with a breathtaking exterior photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel that serves as the simultaneously haunting and alluring cover art, and rounded out by a rear-cover shot of the Lido Hotel lobby that reinforces a notion that teeters between permanence and transience, Hotel California is brilliantly tied to a specific place that functions as a universally understood metaphor for the American Dream.

Confronting the darker undercurrents and oft-ignored constructs attached to that romantic notion, the record's songs revolve around a host of shared themes: excess, mobility, stability, illusion, fame, destruction, and idealism included. Notably, Hotel California appeared at a crucial junction in American history: During the country's bicentennial and amid escalating controversies related to the Vietnam War, energy crisis, and governmental corruption. That the Eagles manage to channel such cultural, social, and economical matters into a cohesive, stately, big-picture statement is alone a stupendous feat. That the album's reach, boldness, vitality, accessibility, and understated intensity have never waned make it a marvel.

Reflecting on Hotel California 40 years after its original release, and indirectly explaining its enduring appeal and increasing relevance, singer-songwriter Don Henley confirmed the record pertains to the "loss of innocence, the cost of naiveté...the difficulties of balancing loving relationships and work, trying to square the conflicting relationship between business and art; the corruption in politics, the fading away of the Sixties dream of ‘peace, love and understanding.'"

It can be argued that Henley and company squarely hit on and drove home those ideas in the surreal title track, chart-topping "Life in the Fast Lane," and grand "The Last Resort" alone. But that would miss the forest for the trees. Experienced as an unbroken whole, complete with the pristinely shot imagery and physical grooves, Hotel California unfolds like a geography-conscious saga by James Michener and plays like colour-saturated movie shot on 70mm film by Martin Scorsese. It's about our collective and individual decisions – and the shape of our past, present, and future. And, just like that conjured by our imaginations, Hotel California continues to take on a life of its own.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

Looking back on her career in the early 90s, Stevie Nicks described the first track of Rock a Little as “the most exciting song that I had ever heard.” This coming from a superstar who was already closely affiliated with several bajillion-selling Fleetwood Mac albums — to say nothing of her own benchmark solo debut. Her remarks attest to the enthusiasm and effort she invested in her third record, a 1985 work that quickly furthered Nicks’ profile and cemented itself as a piece of 80s pop lore.

Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing in California, strictly limited to 4,000 numbered copies, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents Rock a Little in audiophile sound for its 40th anniversary. Helmed by a cadre of producers and engineers, and recorded for a reported one million dollars, the platinum-certified album teems with a head-spinning array of colors, tones, dreamscapes, and accents. This reference-grade reissue marks the first time they are all brought to light and conveyed with proper balance, dimensionality, and positioning.

Though Rock a Little doubtlessly has period characteristics of a mid-80s LP, Nicks and company spare no expense when it comes to distinguishing the music with expansive sonics distinguished with lush melodies, high-tech percussion, echoing vocals, sampled keyboards, and layers of sophisticated accents. The degrees of spaciousness, headroom, and dynamics are nothing less than inspiring, while the newly enhanced detail, texture, and clarity make the songs sing like never before. As for Nicks’ voice? Wait ’til you experience the transparency and depth.

Those advantages extend, of course, to the aforementioned “I Can’t Wait,” a statement-making opener shot through with modulating synthesizers, splashy drums, metallic guitars, and serious drama. Holed up in a massive studio, Nicks required just one take to nail her part, which she called “magic and simply not able to beat.” The singer-songwriter also distilled the reverberating emotional essence of the Top 20 tune, stating “when I hear it on the radio, this incredible feeling comes over me, like something really incredible is about to happen.”

The same can be said for nearly all of Rock a Little. Crafted by the likes of Songwriters Hall of Fame multi-instrumentalist/producer Rick Nowels, Heartbreakers organist Benmont Tench, bassist Bob Glaub, jack-of-all-trades Greg Phillinganes, and session-pro guitarists Waddy Watchel, Les Dudek, and Danny Kortchmar — along with another two dozen or so participants — the record spills with diverse ideas, shapes, and moods. Everything is in the right place, as evidenced by the swirling glide and sensual undertow of the slightly funky title track to the snapping rhythmic pace and big hooks of “Imperial Hotel,” one of Nicks’ standout moments.

“What was it she wanted?” Nicks queries on “No Spoken Word,” continuing a theme of contemplation that runs through the narratives. Nicks never lands on a definite answer, but hearing her explore loneliness, love, and the secrets we keep to ourselves proves continuously rewarding. Take her passionate performance on a cover of Chas Sanford’s “Talk to Me,” a Top 5 smash furthered by tasteful saxophone lines and understated folk elements. Immersive yourself in the grand sonic corridors of “If I Were You,” laden with Nicks’ signature mysticism.

Moreover, surrender to the gravitas of the closing “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You,” a piano ballad composed about the death of Joe Walsh’s three-year-old daughter. As Nicks asserts earlier on the album, she sings for things money can’t buy.

So, rock a little, yes, but dare to feel even more.

THIS 7" IS FRESHLY RELEASED FOR THE JAPAN TOUR 2025 WHERE DJ SOTOFETT STRICTLY PLAYS ACETATE DUBPLATES!!! DJ Sotofett's new label "Resonance of Dub" follows up his Tresor born dub-club concept with the same name. "Resonance of Dub" is simply the dancefloor spectrum that's directly influenced by Dub music; Steppers, Disco-Dub, Digi-Dub, Dubstep, Lovers Rock, Dub-Techno, UK Garage and Jungle... First release features a strictly percussive dance floor stepper by LNS & DJ Sotofett with vocals by Ekowmania (aka Ekow Alabi Savage, drummer and percussionist from Ghana and collaborator with Jimi Tenor). B-side is a deep melodic and percussive piano dub, a melancholic late night stepper.

Limited, 500 copies black gatefold 2LP...

Originally released in 2013, the long-awaited second album from Lulu Rouge finally returns to vinyl in its first-ever limited repress — revived after years of growing demand.

The Song Is In The Drum captures the duo at their most fearless and immersive. Known for their deep melancholia and anti-traditional pop structures, Lulu Rouge blur the lines between dark dub, cinematic electronica, and left-field songwriting. Intense, soul-cutting vocal pieces unfold alongside towering instrumentals — brooding, beautiful, and unapologetically atmospheric.

The album features standout appearances from Danish indie pop visionary Asbjørn and Icelandic-born vocalist Fanney Osk, adding further depth to an already richly textured sonic landscape.

Across 11 meticulously crafted tracks, producers Torsten “Buda” Jacobsen and Thomas “T.O.M” Bertelsen shape a world that feels both intimate and vast. Every beat is deliberate, every space intentional. This is music that doesn’t simply play — it envelops.

Fifty-three minutes that grip you by the heart and refuse to let go.

Welcome to the brightest dark place you’ve ever been.

Look out for a much anticipated new album coming later this year from Lulu Rouge - making this re-issue a timely reminder of the power of their work.

Selekt Wax returns with its second vinyl offering, shifting the lens from introspection toward motion. Where its predecessor explored stillness and space, Varginha 96 leans into rhythm with a more fluid, tactile energy.

Loopedeville works within a minimal framework but pushes it toward something more animated. Groove takes the lead, while detail reveals itself gradually. The result is playful but controlled, built for movement while still carrying depth beneath the surface.

Inspired by the 1996 Varginha incident in Brazil, the record carries a subtle sense of the otherworldly. Not in a literal sense, but in texture. Unfamiliar tones, slightly off center moments, and elements that feel just outside of reach.

Etched on the sleeve, a poem sets the tone:

the analog moment is now
but, how? release
free form feelings finding
new places in yourself
a sort of synthesis
of interpretations
crash & collide
into the infinite groove of reality
but, is anything really real?

A1 – Varginha 96
A breakbeat driven opener centered on a looping vocal from the Varginha ‘96 incident. Off kilter synth textures circle the groove, giving it a subtle, otherworldly feel. Simple on the surface, with depth that reveals itself over time.

A2 – Varginha 96 (Ohm Hourani Remix)
Ohm takes it into a more stripped back, hypnotic space. Centered around the same vocal, the track locks into repetition and feel. Hazy, controlled, and built for late hours.

B1 – Thunders in Paradise
A driving groove built on dusty drums and a tightly controlled rhythm. It holds a steady pulse, with understated details and shifting textures giving it quiet depth.

B2 – Never Enough
A fluid, late night groove shaped by Loopedeville’s signature swing. Less driving than the previous cut, but still locked in, with warm tones and an easy bounce that carries through.

At Curated By Time, we’re dipping back into the archives once again, this time revisiting Westward, the collaborative EP from Kenneth Graham and DJ Kuya. Originally released in 1999, the record captures a moment where deep house grooves met a subtle tech edge, built firmly with the dance floor in mind. The title track leads the way with rolling rhythms, tight percussion and understated synth work, striking a balance between depth and drive. The rest of the EP follows a similarly focused path, keeping things stripped back and groove-led throughout. Now reissued on Curated By Time, Westward returns as a reminder of a sound that still fits neatly into today’s club landscape.

What does it mean to act with intention?
Sometimes it's about filling the spaces we often leave untouched, simply for the sake
of new experiences.
Baffa delivers four tracks with this in mind.
Raw textures, new sounds, old-school spirit…moving through tension and space in
search of stories that matter, somewhere in the middle.

Portuguese techno force Lewis Fautzi debuts under his own name on Mutual Rytm with ‘Beneath The Surface’. Hailing from Barcelos, Portuguese maestro Lewis Fautzi has carved out a formidable reputation through a run of uncompromising releases and a sound rooted in tension, precision and raw power - exemplified by his recent outing on the agenda-setting Hayes Collective. He has previously established his fierce, potent sound on Soma, PoleGroup, Mord, and a number of other influential labels, while also heading up Faut Section. Having previously appeared on Mutual Rytm’s Federation Of Rytm III compilation under his Non Cyclic alias, he now steps out on SHDW’s label with a six-tracker busting full of impactful techno cuts. The heavily-requested ‘Beneath The Surface’ opens the EP with menacing low-end and tightly coiled pressure that's released through simmering valves and hissing synths. ‘The Hollow Cycle’ brings a loopy, tunnelling groove with a snaking lead and snaking metallic percussion, while ‘Inner Mechanism’ keeps things dark, deep and driving with a backlit glow that pulls you in. ‘Nonlinear Form’ is streamlined deep techno that fizzes with texture, spraying chords and a rumbling sub-bass, while closer ‘Anamorph’ rides meticulously designed broken beats with an ever-present sense of bass-driven foreboding. For digital purchasers, sparse and eerie bonus ‘Surface’ slams down with industrial weight and real warehouse grit, shaping up another weighty offering for the label.

2026 Repress

ANNE and Sera J close their Symbiosis series on Mutual Rytm with third and most refined EP yet.

This final chapter reflects everything the collaboration has stood for across a trio of inventive techno releases on SHDW's imprint. Creative and life partners ANNE and Sera J have been two voices growing in parallel, evolving separately but moving with the same pulse. ANNE is well established thanks to standout EPs on the likes of Soma and Hardgroove, while Sera J has released on the likes of Life in Patterns and Renegade Methodz, and both have featured on Mutual Rytm's 'Federation Of Rytm' series before now. 'Symbiosis III' is the moment where everything comes full circle: the culmination of a journey built on respect, creativity, and the freedom to explore their own paths while lifting each other forward.

Sera J kicks off with 'Ransomware', a commanding and driving techno cut lit up with flashy synths but always moving with urgency. 'Phosphate' keeps the energy levels high with stripped-back drums and bass designed to perfection, while 'Anthrax' has an anxious edge. The synths are wispy but evocative as bass kills and swiping filters bring the drama.

ANNE then ups the ante with the acid-tinged 'Dementia', which is loopy and unrelenting before 'A Taste of a Real Woman' gets more seductive with a sultry spoken word and sustained chords that bring the paranoia. 'Heart Rate' is propulsive with Detroit-style synth soul and an aching vocal, before Sera J returns with 'On the Run' - a percussive, trippy and eerie roller. His final Cut 'Similar Minds' has a searching synth surveying a desolate landscape, before ANNE then closes the EP with the punchy drum patterns and icy hi hats of 'Primal Howl Of Ego' and a blend of deep drums and evocative synth work on the 'Analog Heartbeat' - which proves potent techno can be beautiful.

Off hours, A new imprint series from Metro Beirut Records run by Nephews, focused on what happens when everything else fades out, the in-between hours, the last stretch, and the moments that aren’t meant to be documented.

The Berlin-Beirut duo delivers five unpolished cuts built for the dance floor, crackles running through and a raw edge with 90s energy throughout. Made to hold weight on a system, and simply dialed down to the essentials.

On the B-side, Nephews link with ICTV on B1, locking into a steady, rolling zone, while B2 brings in a collaboration with Emanuele Barilli, pushing things further out, stretching tension without losing grip.

2026 Repress

clear red vinyl

Djedjotronic blasts us off on an interstellar journey with The Great Red Spot EP, the ninth release on International Chrome. Named after the ancient and gigantic storm on Jupiter (bigger than the Earth), the EP is similarly massive with a swirling, constantly moving energy. Includes a huge Jensen Interceptor remix of EP highlight, Death Clock and comes on clear red vinyl with artwork by Pointless Illustrations.

One year on from his first Samurai release, Vardae returns to plunge even deeper into his mesmerising strain of hyper-mobile drum mantras and textural intrigue. Cédric Arnous' prolific run over the past few years has rapidly positioned him at the forefront of a scene between scenes where the rhythmic intrigue of drum & bass collides with modern techno's hypnotic linearity. On The Energy Of Presence he relishes the flexibility afforded by this intersection to deliver four distinct, high-impact workouts made with his ever-evolving live set in mind. 'Grounded Attachment' leads with the sonar strafe and broken beat pulse readily associated with the Vardae sound, threading twitchy percussion and steely brushstrokes around the bedrock of low-end pressure. It's the slowly emerging drone sweeps that round out the character of the track, betraying a warmth encased within the metallic overtones that deepens the emotional weight immeasurably. By contrast, 'Magnetic Flux' swerves towards a more direct thrust with its high-tempo 4/4 undercarriage and a limber, acidic lead line that helps join the dots between Vardae's modernist sheen and the roughneck days of free party tekno. This is still charged, atmospheric dance music, but it has no problem showing its teeth, too. 'Electric Feelings' is similarly sprightly in its tempo, but as ever Vardae runs a tight game with the weight of his drums, finding lightness and dexterity even at 170BPM while the transcendental wormhole opens up around the rhythmic force at the centre. Ensuring there's no space for predictability on this release, 'The Energy Of Presence' plies its own trade in sumptuous dub techno chords and angular groove designed to make you move on a different kind of downbeat. The consummate title track, it's the most roundly melodic offering on the record, served as a crescendo to the whole listening experience comfortably nestled on the B2 of the physical edition. Capitalising on the hypnotic codes etched into the dub techno sound, Vardae dials up the delay feedback for a psychedelic release at the end of a record that covers a lot of ground without losing focus.

Release #50 celebrates the digging, care & musical curiosity that’s made the GSC series essential for DJs, collectors & break seekers alike.

For years GSC has built a catalog that earns immediate “cop-on-sight” status. Thoughtful edits. Deep respect for the OG recordings. Breaks that knock w/out feeling heavy-handed. The kind of taste that reminds you these are real heads behind the decks.

Side A pulls from Jerry Butler’s “I’m Your Mechanical Man,” released in ’74 on the Sweet Sixteen LP. The track contains a raw drum break hip-hop producers recognized instantly. Most famously it powers Method Man’s “Bring The Pain,” 1 of the defining solo joints from the Wu-Tang Clan era. The break later resurfaced in Missy Elliott & Method Man’s 2002 version & Snoop Dogg’s “I Miss That Bitch.”

On the flip, GSC draws the source into pure DJ tooling: a sample break edit, a full drum break edit & the “Mechanical Wu” mix — built for selectors who know the power of letting a break breathe.

Then they deliver a beautiful surprise. Instead of leaving empty wax, GSC slides in Les McCann’s “Vallarta,” from the 1977 album Music Lets Me Be. Jazz-funk heads know it instantly — the hypnotic groove behind Biggie’s “Ten Crack Commandments.”

This is why Galaxy Sound Co. matters. They’re not just pressing edits — they’re curating moments. Unearthing grooves DJs need back in rotation. Some originals now cost serious money on Discogs. Others simply faded from memory. GSC dusts them off & hands them back to the community.

50 releases in & the curiosity still runs deep.

Final chapter of the Monochrome series by Okain.
Started in his Berlin studio a few years ago and completed just before moving back to France, these tracks mark the end of a special period.

They are the last recordings made in that space, capturing a moment in time.

The Monochrome concept was simple: one track, one day, one idea.

This EP brings together four new cuts, each drawing from different influences across deep tech house, dub techno and UK garage.

The new 12" release, "Call and Response", by the enigmatic artist MD, is a masterclass in the resurgence of retro techno, bridging the gap between the raw industrialism of early 90s Detroit and a modern, high-fidelity punch. The A-side is defined by its massive, anthemic vibes, built around a thundering TR-909 kick and a soaring, crystalline synth lead that feels both nostalgic and startlingly fresh. What truly sets this record apart, however, is its intricate counterpoint structure; rather than relying on simple loops, MD weaves multiple independent melodic lines together in a rhythmic dance of tension and release. The "call" begins as a jagged, percussive stab that is immediately answered by a "response" of lush, interlocking minor-key arpeggios, creating a sense of constant movement and architectural depth. It’s a track that demands attention on a massive sound system, proving that the classic techno blueprint can still be expanded into something grand and deeply intellectual.

Limited to 250 copies

Curió Curió came to flight by chance. Two artists, Rio-born, Austria-based singer and actress Luiza Monteiro and German producer Dustin Braun, had separately reached a fork in their journeys. An opportune encounter soon blossomed into an uplifting, heartfelt Brazilian MPB-groove project shaped by psychedelic disco and studio experimentation. In their own words Curió Curió’s sonic vision “is not straight disco, not straight samba, not strictly old-school but inspired by all of them, creating something contemporary but still nostalgic”.

A modern fusion influenced as much by Gal Costa and Jorge Ben Jor as Say She She and Bala Desejo, their sound deftly plots a course all of its own. A celebration of freedom, movement, love and life, intertwined with introspective moments of reflection. Treating tradition as something alive, migratory and unresolved, the album is not simply bound by a shared love of Brazilian music, but by a deeper question that runs through every track; where does one belong when home becomes plural? As a Brazilian living in Europe, Luiza's lyrics explore themes of identity, culture, and existence. The tracks move between cities and emotional registers without settling, tracing a sense of identity that shifts rather than resolves. Songs like ‘Amor Doente’ and ‘Mar sem Dar Pé’ circle around relationships that resist clarity, while ‘Menina Passarinho’ captures the fear and necessity of committing to music as a path. For Luiza, deepening her commitment to music alongside years in theatre was both inevitable and difficult. Braun’s production follows a similar logic. Initial ideas were often built without obvious reference points, only later incorporating rhythmic and vocal elements that hint at Brazil without reproducing it. Analogue techniques, tape, ribbon microphones and live ensemble recording bring a tactile quality that reflects the duo’s interest in process as much as outcome. Highlights include ‘Bem Querer’, built on an authentic samba street vibe with a super-catchy sing-along chorus, and ‘Vem pra Casa’ with its cosmic-tinged Brazilian boogie flavour. The album closes with ‘A Cor do Meu Sonho’, a quiet act of insistence. A refusal to shrink in unfamiliar environments, and a belief in the strength of difference. It is less a conclusion than a continuation, leaving the central question open. “I started to understand that I can belong to many places at once”, Luiza reflects. “And that can be something to embrace”. Lyrics from the song ‘Raiz’ translate in English to “I value a burning sun and the cold in the air. Constant change is my companion”. With Curió Curió, that idea is lived through sound, story and collaboration. A debut that feels both searching and assured, grounded in heritage yet shaped by distance.