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Hip-Hop history comes full circle with the reunion of Chip Fu, lyrical powerhouse of the Fu-Schnickens, and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, famously known in music as Shaq Fu. The duo first made waves in the 90s with the multi-platinum single “What’s Up Doc? (Can We Rock),” a cultural crossover moment that cemented their place in Hip-Hop history.
Now, they return with “Warning” - pressed for the first time ever on limited edition 7-inch vinyl. The record captures the raw, high-energy chemistry between Chip Fu’s rapid-fire delivery and Shaq Fu’s commanding presence, proving that their dynamic still hits just as hard today.
More than a single, this release is a celebration of two icons reunited, bridging the worlds of Hip-Hop and basketball once again. A must-have for collectors, DJs, and fans who lived the moment — or are ready to experience it for the first time

The inimitable Richard Youngs returns to Black Truffle with this third full-length for the label, Hidden. Like CXXI and Modern Sorrow, Hidden unfolds across two side-long pieces at once eminently listenable and possessed of the ‘bloody-minded’ dedication to ‘having an idea and sticking with it’ that Youngs himself has identified as one of the key qualities of his work.

At the core of both pieces are rapid, randomised arpeggios generated with a Moog Grandmother, hypnotic patterns that wouldn’t be out of place on a Berlin School classic. Alongside these arpeggios, across the seventeen minutes of the first side-long piece Youngs builds an airy structure of shakers, synthetic handclaps and a brief, repeated sample, impossible to identify but sounding like a glitched foghorn. Over the top we hear his unmistakable voice, repeating single syllables—Ha, Ho—with a slow delay, something like a lonely one-man-band take on Anthony Moore’s Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom or a more musical elaboration of the hypnotically overlapping delayed phonemes of Anton Bruhin’s Rotomotor. Like much of Youngs' work, the arrangement of sounds is sparse, each layer punctuated by spaces that allow others to shine through, in a way that seems to have more to do with dub or early hip-hop than high-brow models of musical reductionism.

On the flipside, the arpeggios return, now accompanied by ringing, filtered guitar chords and long flute tones. The use of a similar ground layer across the two pieces with strikingly different overdubs calls up Youngs' first solo record, the classic Advent, reminding us of how consistent ‘theme and variations’ is as an approach in his enormous body of work. Joined by handclaps and a chiming sound, the piece almost feels like it is about to achieve dance-floor lift-off at times, only for the percussion to disappear and leave the listener once again floating among the guitar and flute, now joined by occasional cut-off vocal snippets, like a radio turned quickly on and off. The suspension of these disparate elements over the steady foundation of the Moog arpeggios might remind some listeners of the free-form studio explorations of Moebius & Plank and Holger Czukay or even give a nod to Youngs’ formative encounter with Cabaret Voltaire.

Like some of Youngs’ much-loved work with Simon Wickham-Smith, Hidden approaches relatively familiar sounds and instruments from skewed angles, delighting in loose structures of interaction that border on gleeful incoherence while remaining outwardly beautiful. Coming up to almost four decades of persistent activity, like little else in contemporary music Youngs’ work beams with the simple joys of exploration and experiment.



Based on a Motown classic that also served as the debut song for a world-famous kids group, the long-awaited ending theme is finally getting a single release!

From the soundtrack of director Shinichiro Ueda's One Cut of the Dead, the indie film that became a social phenomenon upon its 2018 release, grossing over 3.1 billion yen, this gem of a track is now available on vinyl. While retaining the melody of the original song written by Berry Gordy Jr., Kensun Lovers (Nobuhiro Suzuki and Shoma Ito) added Japanese lyrics and a new arrangement, with actress Mayumi Yamamoto on vocals. The theme song "Keep Rolling" quickly won the support of discerning international listeners, reaching No. 1 on Spotify's "Japan Viral Chart" the week after the film's release.

On the B-side, two versions of the film's main theme "zombeat" are included, featuring hard-hitting guitar work brimming with respect for the original Zombie series.

DA-Dee-MiX, the hip-hop band that's a fixture on the MC battle scene, offers a bold cover of "Today," the source material for a shining classic in the history
of sampling! The B-side features "INCENSE," a collaboration with rapper Jun Ku, which has garnered much buzz, released for the first time on 7-inch,
making this an incredibly powerful double-sided album!

DA-Dee-MiX, the instrumental hip-hop band that continues to support the MC battle and live music scenes, releases their long-awaited new 7-inch, their first
in seven years. This two-track 7-inch single blends hip-hop's roots with a hands-on spirit.
Side A features guest appearances from 45trio SWING-O, who delivers a bold cover of Tom Scott's "Today" the source material for a shining classic in the
history of hip-hop. DA-Dee-MiX's signature groove, which intertwines jazz, soul, and hip-hop, reconstructs the track, offering more than just a cover; it
offers a new interpretation for today's listeners. SWING-O's electric piano and the ensemble of live performances beautifully elevate the warmth and power
of the original.
Side-B features the long-awaited vinyl release of "INCENSE," a collaboration with Yokohama-based rapper Kujun!
Released in 2020, this track captivated many listeners with its melodic flow and unique musical sense, leading to endless calls for it to be released on vinyl.
DA-Dee-MiX's soft yet powerful track is complemented by Kujun's fragrant words, creating a track that truly lives up to the title: a track that permeates the ears!
This double-sided album is a must-listen for DA-Dee-MiX's "performative hip hop"!

ROTTEN, FOUL, DERANGED!

Around the end of the 1980s and the first years of the 1990s bands like PUNGENT STENCH, DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, DISASTROUS MURMUR or MIASMA made a name for themselves by putting out some classic albums. "Been Caught Buttering", "Changes" or "Expositionsprophylaxe" were records spawned by Austrian hordes which were globally hailed by devotees of Death Metal. As fertile a soil Austria once seemed to be, throughout the last 30 years not one single Death Metal album was put out that would match the quality of the pioneers.

Apparently, it took Brenton, an Australian settling in Vienna, to eventually put Austria on the map again. After having founded FESSUS with 3 other members in 2023, the quartet put out their first demo "Pilgrims of Morbidity" in the same year.

Now, two years after the very promising demo, FESSUS return with their first full-length. Cryptically entitled "Subcutaneous Tomb" the album's six lengthy songs stylistically continue where the demo left off. Whereas other bands focus on hyper-speed, over-technicality and brutality, FESSUS' brand of Death Metal is mostly played in moderate tempi with outbursts of speed and aggression scattered throughout the album. The songs are foremost characterized by memorable compositions and groove. Every song literally oozes with morbidity and conjures a dense macabre atmosphere. Brenton's vocals which are partly reminiscent of NECROPHAGIA's Killjoy are one of the highlights of the album. With his performance being equal parts versatile and deranged, Brenton spews vile bile and brimstone like not many lunatics before him. Although there are hints of other bands like AUTOPSY or PURTENANCE found on the album, FESSUS actually managed to come up with a sound that’s distinctly their own.

"Subcutaneous Tomb" is a perfectly produced album that those worshipping at the altar of morbid, rotten Death Metal can't afford to miss out on.

Recording, mixing, mastering: Thomas Taube (Five Lakes Studio)

The first single from the forthcoming Skinshape x Horus dub album, "Act Like You Know" is a soulful reggae reworking of Fat Larry's Band's 1982 classic, featuring smooth vocals from Andy Platts (also Mama's Gun, Young Gun Silver Fox). Produced using fully analogue techniques and recorded in the spirit of vintage Jamaican dub, this 7" is a perfect blend of oldschool authenticity and modern production finesse. Skinshape (Will Dorey) and Ben Bell (Horus Records / Lion Vibes) bring over two decades of collaboration and deep roots to this project. Known for their love of rare roots reggae and dub, the pair are now crafting original material with the same dedication to sound and detail that defined the golden era of Jamaican music. Released as white label 7" vinyl in plain white sleeve with dub version of Act Like You Know on the flipside.

Swimming Paul’s music has always lived in the push-and-pull between euphoria and melancholy; the rare kind of electronic music that can make you cry while your body keeps moving.



On Smiling Through the Pain 2 (out October 24 via Headroom Records), the French-born, London-based producer doubles down on that emotional duality, delivering an album that feels as much like a diary as it does a DJ set.

Over the course of 15 tracks, Paul stitches together late-night catharsis, suburban nostalgia, and the jagged tenderness of early adulthood. The record is sequenced like an unbroken night out: the giddy anticipation, the sudden moments of reflection, the quiet comedown as the sun edges in. It’s an album that refuses to treat joy and sadness as opposites, they coexist here, often in the same chord progression.



“I don’t want to escape the feelings, I want to bring them with me” Paul says. “If you can’t stop thinking about something, you might as well dance with it.”

That philosophy runs through the singles: the emotional release of Holly (with Junior Simba), the aching nostalgia of Different Time, the hypnotic haze of Hard 2 Sleep, and the house-driven Drinking to Get Drunk, a bittersweet ode to nights spent outrunning your own thoughts. Elsewhere, Liza M1 folds heartbreak into an almost triumphant piano hook, while Shine a Light urges listeners to take risks and live without hesitation—as if youth’s boldness could be bottled.



Since debuting in 2023, Swimming Paul has quietly built an empire on emotional resonance: 150 million streams across platforms, 1.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 50 editorial placements (including Dance Party, Crying on the Dancefloor, Electronic Rising….), 10,000+ radio spins worldwide, and sold-out tours across Europe and North America. His sound has earned co-signs from BBC Radio 1, Triple J, KCRW, Sirius XM and a wave of DJs who value melody as much as momentum.

But Smiling Through the Pain 2 isn’t chasing charts, it’s chasing connections. Paul’s global fanbase, nurtured through a lively Discord community and nights on the road, has become a two-way conversation, with fans’ stories feeding back into the music’s emotional core.
This autumn, Paul takes the album to stages that match its ambition, from London to a string of US club dates, festivals and intimate pop ups designed for shared release.



Smiling Through the Pain 2 is an invitation to feel everything at once. To sweat through the sadness. To let your guard down under strobe lights. To realise that the best nights out don’t make you forget; they help you remember.

First Word Records are proud to bring you 'Penny Ballads', a 5-track EP from Royce Wood Junior.

Royce Wood Junior is a Grammy & Mercury Award-nominated musician, songwriter and record producer from London, currently based in Brighton. As a multi-instrumentalist, he's collaborated with a litany of brilliant artists over the years, such as Jamie Woon, Nao, Disclosure, Jessie Ware, Olivia Dean, Joy Crookes, Jamie Lidell and Jordan Rakei, additionally to touring with the likes of the legendary Thomas Dolby. He's released two acclaimed solo albums to date ('The Ashen Tang' in 2015, and 'No Two Blue Ticks' in 2021).

'Penny Ballads' demonstrates RWJ's varied talents, with a collection of alternative soul compositions, each one as unique as the next. It includes the first two singles, the Poplife-Prince era flavoured 'Go Get Your Money', and the double-time future funk adrenaline shot, 'Clean Up', along with three previously-unreleased tracks. 'Beretta' is low-slung soul funk, beginning with quirky squelchy synths, before the soulful lead vocal of feature artist Lucey Way breezes in to melt everyone's hearts. 'Things' sweeps in next, an infectiously soulful midtempo heavy soul bop, with an instant earwork of a hook, like a modern-day Steely Dan / Doobie Brothers, complete with a head-nodding string section to end the track. The collection concludes on a more melancholy downtempo tip with 'Rolling'; an almost-folktronic anthem, with a key refrain that wouldn't be out of place on a 70's Stevie piece.

RWJ (aka Jim Wood) says of this project… "Back in the 17 and 1800's Troubadours and minstrels would go from Tavern to Tavern selling Penny Ballads, single sheets of music and lyrics written quickly and frivolously to make a quick buck.. It strikes me that we're in a similar phase in the way we value music in 2025. An old Penny Ballad was cheap and dog-eared, ink-smudged, sung aloud by firelight, Now songs live in the digital ether, dissolved in the air, a ghostly breath paid in micro cents. The new era of Penny Balladry is here, and weird.

This EP is a snapshot of my writing over a two year period. Focussed on minimal recording styles, one mic on the drums, generally first or second takes on parts and vocals, I wanted the music to feel like small moments with lyrics that talk about the weird nuances of being alive as a latter stage human on the cusp of the Ai revolution. Culturally so evolved, but physiologically still just a bunch of mammals walking about with primitive fears and needs. Just trying to reconcile it all moment to moment…"

Previous support for Royce's music has included Radio 1's Future Sounds, BBC 6 Music's New Music Fix, Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Jo Whiley (BBC Radio 2), Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Tom Robinson, Huw Stephens (BBC 6 Music), Zane Lowe and MistaJam. There have been sessions previously for the likes of Red Bull and press from Huck, Line of Best Fit, Clash, Aesthetica & DIY magazine.

Entirely self-written and self-produced, this EP gives a solid taste of RWJ's talents. A deeply funky diverse set of music from an immensely talented individual.

'Penny Ballads' is due to be released on vinyl & digital, 24th October 2025.

The vinyl version also includes an exclusive additional mix of the first single 'Go Get Your Money'.

AOKI takamasa and Tujiko Noriko’s 2005 album »28« has become a cornerstone in the artists’ respective discographies. 20 years after its initial release, Keplar issues it on vinyl for the very first time. Three years in the making, »28« saw the sound artist and the avant-pop singer-songwriter combine their distinct aesthetics for an album that defied categorisation. Their combination of advanced electronic experimentation and pop appeal paved the way for a new generation of artists and turned »28« into an enduring fan favourite. Remastered by Stephan Mathieu, the reissue comes with a brand-new artwork by Joji Koyama and a changed track listing—authorised by Takamasa and Tujiko—for the vinyl version to fit it on a single LP, while the digital version remains identical to the original release.

Tujiko and Takamasa first shared the stage together after the turn of the millennium. Both were emerging solo artists, with Takamasa a mainstay on the Progressive Form label and Tujiko forging a connection with Mego in Vienna, Austria. »I simply liked Noriko’s voice and music, and since we often performed at the same events, it felt like a natural progression for us to start working together,« remembers Takamasa. They first collaborated in 2002 for two shows at the Fondation Cartier in Paris and at SonarLab in Barcelona, respectively. The first joint piece was a rework of Tujiko’s »Fly« from »Hard Ni Sasete (Make Me Hard)« by Takamasa, appearing as the album opener »Fly2« on »28.«

After that, the Paris-based Tujiko and Takamasa, still based in Osaka, worked sporadically and remotely on new material. For the first two years of their collaboration, the two met in the context of live events or Takamasa’s visits to the French capital to discuss their process and exchange hard drives while also occasionally sending each other CDrs in the mail. »Aoki made beats and sounds that complemented my music perfectly, building the foundation on which my voice could float,« Tujiko says today. Takamasa used hardware such as the Nord Modular, the Korg Z1, and the Korg ER-1, while also working with different kinds of software and plug-ins as well as Logic. Tujiko was using Cubase, her preferred piece of gear at the time being an AKAI MPC.

After Takamasa moved to Paris in 2004, this enabled the duo to finish the album together in person. Starting with its subtle use of glitches to the almost-anarchic way in which it deals with the structures of a song, »28« came to be an incomparably intricate album. 20 years on, it remains timeless because of its flawless synthesis of the cutting-edge avant-garde ideas of early 2000s electronica with an idiosyncratic but accessible pop sentiment. Both artists look back fondly—though not uncritically, with Takamasa noting a certain »youthfulness« in his contributions—to the album that was titled after their respective age at that time. »Maybe we should make ›51‹ now?,« quips Tujiko. See you in three years, perhaps.

Originally released in 2005, Supernature was Goldfrapp’s era-defining masterpiece, a multi-layered sonic-pop thriller that shattered the electronic rulebook, replacing it with a radical, high-gloss vision of pop music at its most seductive and strange.

Supernature catapulted Goldfrapp into the pop stratosphere, spawning now-classic singles like “Ooh La La”, “Number 1”, and “Ride A White Horse”. The album topped charts worldwide, earned multi-platinum sales, garnered multiple BRIT and GRAMMY nominations.

Now reissued for its 20th anniversary, the deluxe edition offers fans the classic original album alongside B-sides, classic & brand new remixes, unreleased live radio session recordings and an Audio Blu-ray 5.1 surround mix. The release is presented across 3 CDs (2CD + Audio Blu-Ray) in deluxe packaging, alongside a stunning peacock-coloured double vinyl edition (the second disc being a remix 12” single EP), with everything cut at half speed for enhanced sound quality.

The new edition includes two brand new Goldfrapp remixes by Alison Goldfrapp & Will Gregory, with exclusive reinterpretations from Richard X, Sun’s Signature (Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) & Damon Reece (Massive Attack, Spiritualized).

With the release of this deluxe edition, Goldfrapp don’t just revisit Supernature, they reaffirm its enduring influence in 2025’s musical landscape and beyond.

»Lilac« is the first Donna Regina album since 2019’s »Transient.« The world has changed considerably since then, which has also left its mark on the Berlin indie pop duo. The songs released as part of the 2021 single »Welt in einer Stadt« (»World in a City«) for Karaoke Kalk had already dealt with the pandemic-induced standstill and its effects on urban space, and also the rest of the album shows that Günther and Regina Janssen have been influenced by recent social and political developments. »In ›Lilac,‹ I imagine good ol’ Earth as a big ol’ bear shaking us off because it can’t stand us anymore,« says Regina Janssen. It has become a serious album, Günther affirms, but he is also adamant that it is not a sad one. Musically, Donna Regina have remained true to the spirit of their early work, recently re-released by Karaoke Kalk: their arrangements are as minimalist as they are emotionally rich.

»The music is always there,« says Regina Janssen about the creation of the tracks on »Lilac.« As always, the two record their music »track by track and without computers,« as Günther notes. Samples play a smaller role this time than on earlier albums, with analogue instruments such as a monophonic synthesiser and, above all, guitars coming to the fore again. This frames lyrics that are being delivered by Regina in German, English, or in both languages. They delve even further into the intricacies of urban life. »Cities are underrated! What a civilisational achievement it is to have so many people living under one sky,« says Regina. »They constantly put you in touch with the unfamiliar. Sometimes they’ll be overwhelming, and they are always alive.« This ambivalence shapes the tone of the album that ponders on the state of the world today.

Starting with the ominous sounds of »Whole World In My Town,« through the dreamscapes of »Autumn In Paris,« to the elegiac conclusion of »No More Roses,« Regina and Günther Janssen move through different timbres and styles with a few select means. Their preference for minimalist electronics becomes evident at times, while elsewhere the pieces open up to balladic arrangements in which the guitar plays a leading role. This turns »Lilac« into a city by itself, the songs forming its soundscape: every neighbourhood looks different, every street has its own character.

Anthology 4 - Triple LP. The new volume from The Beatles Anthology Collection.

Anthology 4, is newly curated by Giles Martin, including 13 previously unreleased demos, plus fascinating session and other rare recordings dating from 1963 to 1969. It also includes the band’s final single, ‘Now And Then’, released in 2023, and new mixes of The Beatles’ Anthology-associated hit singles: the GRAMMY-winning ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’, given new life by their original producer, Jeff Lynne, using de-mixed John Lennon vocals. Furthermore, Anthology 4 presents 26 tracks that have never previously been released on vinyl.

The track notes are written by Kevin Howlett with an introduction compiled from 1996 interviews recorded with The Beatles’ close friend and adviser Derek Taylor.

Pressed on 180g black vinyl, the triple LP is housed within poly-lined inner bags and a triple gatefold sleeve.

Following a string of acclaimed collaborations, including Agua Dulce with percussionist Laura Robles and Mapambazuko alongside Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta, Peruvian artist Alejandra Cárdenas (aka Ale Hop) returns with her most personal work to date yet, A Body Like a Home. Marking her first album under her birth name, the project is a sonic memoir exploring the tangled realms of trauma, recovery, and love through autobiographical soundscapes.
A Body Like a Home is the artist at her most exposed. Comprising 13 songs and 15 poems, the album sees her set aside collaborative fusions for solo catharsis, channeling years of turbulence - intergenerational scars left by colonialism, racism, domestic violence, and alcoholism - into a work that oscillates between brutality and tenderness. Cárdenas states: “I grew up under Alberto Fujimori’s dictatorship, when a veil of hopelessness seemed to settle over everything. This is the backdrop of the album. The songs and poems trace the inevitable loop between private wounds - addiction, domestic violence, fractured intimacy - and Peru’s national scars, carved by colonialism. It’s not a straight story or a resolution. Writing and composing became a ritual of digging for meaning, into what’s buried, disguised, or renamed, until the body itself became a living archive.
” At the heart of the album is Cárdenas’s own voice - part witness, part confessor - reciting over layers of electric guitars, electronic textures, the haunting violin of Mexican musician Gibrana Cervantes, and a collage of field recordings, from rainfall, muffled whispers, broken glass, to archival protest footage from Peru. The result is a work that resonates like a diary written in sound.
The first single, "Motherland", is a searing testimony where Cárdenas voice cracks under the weight of history and personal loss. Amid a storm of distorted guitars, she traces the cyclical legacies of colonialism, from state massacres branding Indigenous bodies as “terrorists” to the spiral of addiction as an unavoidable future. The lyrics draw parallels between political and domestic violence: a mother’s drunken knife pressed to her chest, and a motherland where racism is currency. She utters: “sacrifice demands a body.” Yet, amid the wreckage, a willful grip on love and faith persists. Ultimately, A Body Like a Home is a document of transformation. Tracks like "Evangelina" and the title piece "A Body Like a Home" hold space for resilience, spirituality, and love, while "Early Road" and "Going South" thread subtle nods to Peruvian folklore, opening up bright vignettes into a sense of belonging.
The poetry chapbook accompanying A Body Like a Home (five of its pieces are also recited on the album) extends the work, building a parallel architecture. Oscillating between the documentary and the mythic, the intimate and the forensic, the profane and the oniric, these poems practice a theology of the ordinary, where everyday objects - cameras, knives, moth-eaten cotton - are charged withspiritual and historical weight. Here, the body is land, house, battlefield, collective pain, geological territory; and trauma is, in contrast, archival, cellular, ritualistic, inherited. Read alongside the music, the stories refract across two mediums: songs give them breath and poems give them bone.

40 Jahre ”Welcome To The Pleasuredome”!
Diese Jubiläumsausgabe, die erstmals in Zusammenarbeit mit der Band selbst zusammengestellt wurde,
enthält 28 unveröffentlichte Titel und nimmt den Hörer mit auf eine Reise von den frühesten Demos und
BBC Radio One Sessions der Band über die Singles bis hin zum Album und darüber hinaus.
Jede CD enthält seltene und in den meisten Fällen unveröffentlichte Versionen von Songs, die den Goldstandard der Musik der 80er Jahre darstellen.
Der weltbekannte Künstler, Produzent und Remixer Steven Wilson hat einen Atmos-Mix sowie Stereound 5.1-Mixe für die Blu-Ray beigesteuert. Das Booklet wurde von Philip Marshall gestaltet und enthält
seltene Fotos und Erinnerungsstücke sowie eine Zeitleiste zum Aufstieg der Band zum Ruhm mit Beiträgen
aller Mitglieder von Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Darüber hinaus erscheint ein Deluxe-2CD-Set, welches das neu gemasterte Album sowie Versionen aus der
Session und eine Auswahl von Outtakes enthält. Die beiden CDs werden in einem 8-seitigen Digipak mit
einem 20-seitigen Booklet präsentiert.
Außerdem wird es ebenfalls das Album mit Steven Wilson Mix als Remaster auf 2LP geben.
Ab dem 31. Oktober erhältlich!

As a label, we are specialists in musical diversity. With our newest installment of the annual System 108 compilation we present you two parts of hand picked creative output by our friends, residents and dearest guests. Curated by the artist Ira Bespalova, the concept of both parts is simple and deep: the good, the calm, the kind is part 1 and all anti-heroes, filthy electro-armored jams is part 2. All together - another twist of the planet, another beat of our big heart, that became shelter and home home for a whole new tribe. It pumps, it creates, unites and warms up, kicks it real hard, no matter how tough it is. Part 1 is densely populated by our new kids on the block! Isktrit, TURBOSH, BORIS REDWALL, DJ Yesyes, Dominique Mara have been releasing singles, EP's and album during 2023 and became an integral part of the collective. Here you will also find good old friends Maksimovna, Lipelis, Kito Jempere. Very special Siberian inspired trippy workout by RLGN and Sasha Kustov, Luchshiy Drug. And a super special guest appearance starring Magnus Opus and mo?se?. The running order is curated as a narrative, as an album that takes you on a journey. But separately, it all works as singles, DJ tracks and tools. Welcome to Nine Years Of Love!

Soft Cell - Marc Almond and Dave Ball - release their classic track ‘Martin’ as a single for the very first time this Hallowe’en, Friday 31st October.

Originally featured as one side of a bonus 12” released as part of the original The Art of Falling Apart album in 1983, Martin has since become one of the most popular and enduring Soft Cell deep cuts.

Limited to 500 copies and pressed on deluxe black and red vinyl, it features special Hallowe’en remixes from Dave Ball, as well as a club remix from French electroclash pioneer The Hacker. Martin will also be released download EP across all digital platforms.

‘Martin originated in the arts studio at Leeds Polytechnic, as it was then known. We wrote and recorded it at the same time as the track “The Art of Falling Apart”. After we left art school all the pop madness of Soft Cell began and those two tracks were shelved.

Suddenly, Phonogram Records were asking for a second album. We were unsure of a direction or concept then I reminded Marc of those two art school tracks. I suggested to him that “The Art of Falling Apart” would be a great album title and he agreed….

Things Gotta Change is the fourth release by Austrian soul band SLADEK, following their debut album and
two EPs. With Loveless (2024), the group redefined their sound and secured a unique place in contemporary
soul. This new ten-track album builds on that breakthrough, blending the spirit of Curtis Mayfield, Donny
Hathaway and Marvin Gaye into a style distinctly their own.
At the core of SLADEK are David Sladek (vocals, guitar), Alvis Reid (bass) and Raphael Vorraber (drums),
joined by longtime producer Mathias Garmusch. Passionate about late-’60s soul and analog recording, they
craft a warm, deep sonic palette enriched by Taineh (backing vocals, keys), Yvonne Moriel (flute) and Tobias
Meissl (vibraphone).
The opener “Weight of the World” moves from heaviness to hope over guitar riffs, Mellotron flutes and a
powerful outro. “Stranger”, the first single, turns romantic miscommunication into an uplifting groove. “Wait for
Me” reflects on tough choices before drifting into a meditative guitar and flute mantra. “What a Little Love Can
Do” delivers a calm yet urgent call for compassion. “Here to Stay”, the second single, pairs emotional
uncertainty with steadfast resolve.
Instrumental “Lotus Eater” offers a dreamlike pause, inspired by mythic forgetfulness. The title track “Things
Gotta Change” is a heartfelt plea to break harmful patterns. “Beacon”, the ballad, urges kindness in a cruel
world. “Waking Dream” brings minor-key blues and abstract introspection, while “Bye Bye” closes with highenergy farewells and fresh perspectives.
Things Gotta Change stands as a rich, analog-crafted statement—blending timeless influences, vivid
storytelling, and a deep emotional range into one cohesive, soulful journey.

Monolith 45 series I

A new chapter emerges within Organic Signs.Conceived as a vessel dedicated to a single frequency, Monolith 45 is born to trace the lineage of progressive trance — that tribal, hypnotic, and ceremonial sound that carved its path during the early 2000s, and which today we reclaim with reverence.

Each release stands as a stone marker along this continuum: timeless signals that resonate equally with memory and vision. As with the broader work of Organic Signs, this new line will follow a dual path: rescuing forgotten gems from the past while also curating new music that embodies the same spirit.

Monolith 45 becomes the place where past and present intertwine, shaping a narrative that honors tradition while opening new doors for exploration.

The first monolith in the series carries with it two totems of the genre:
On the A-side, Magnetrixx – Intraferences, originally released in the year 2000 on the legendary Tatsu Records. Behind this moniker stands Stefan Lewin, not only a key architect of the progressive trance sound but also the mind behind ACL (Audiophile Circuits League), one of the most special modular synthesizer brands..

His work bridges eras: from shaping the trancefloor at the turn of the millennium to designing instruments that define modern electronic creation.On the B-side, Ticon – Lo Mi Hi, a track that saw the light in 2001 on Digital Structures, one of the most influential labels of that era.

Ticon are nothing short of mythical within this universe — pioneers whose sound blurred borders between deep grooves, psychedelic textures, and progressive structures, leaving an indelible mark that still resonates with dancers and producers worldwide.

With Monolith 45, we seek not only to preserve these transmissions but to project them into the present: to reawaken a sound that was always more than music, a tribal pulse, a ritual language that invited bodies and minds into collective trance.
This is our homage, our offering, and our way of extending the path forward.

Less than a year after the release of his debut album Heavy Glory, Elias returns with his sophomore album. Conceived and recorded in his bedroom between tours, Speak Daggers features appearances from the legendary group The Congos, and Copenhagen artists Erika de Casier and Fine.

Following Heavy Glory came Lucre, a collaborative record with Dean Blunt In June, Elias released the stand-alone single Carry-On Bag, and earlier this August, a two-track collaboration with Jonatan Leandoer96 and Fousheé. Last week, “Tears on His Rings and Chains” was released, once again with Dean Blunt.

★A rare reissue from obscure R&B singer Oscar Boyd
★First time reissued on vinyl in more than 60 years" "Oscar Boyd made his debut in 1959 with a single on Checker Records (featuring backing vocals by The Calvaes,
a Chicago doo-wop group who released two singles on Cobra Records), but he remains a relatively obscure singer with little widely known about him. His 1962 release
on the Hermes label is also a gem, and that same year he released this single on USA Records.

The B-side, She’s My Baby, is an absolute highlight—a thrilling rockin’ R&B track with a catchy melody, Boyd’s aggressive vocal delivery, and an outstanding backing performance.

The A-side, Twist With Ossie Lee, lives up to its name as a lively and danceable tune featuring a female vocalist—likely Anita, who also recorded a single
on USA Records in 1962 under the name Oscar & Anita.

Since first bursting onto the scene with her classic Number One hit singles 'Can The Can' and 'Devil Gate Drive', Suzi Quatro has sold over 50 million records worldwide and is recognized as a true rock 'n' roll legend and feminist icon. Over her 50-year career, Suzi has inspired countless artists from Joan Jett to Debbie Harry and KT Tunstall. She is also known for her role as theLeather Tuscadero in 'Happy Days'. 'A's & B's' is a collection putting the spotlight on her classic '70s singles. Side one is packed with hits including 'The Wild One', 'Devil Gate Drive', '48 Crash' and 'Can The Can', whilst side two showcases the Quatro-penned B-sides which accompanied those iconic rock singles Available on vinyl for the first time, the compilation is remastered from the original master tapes by Phil Kinrade at AIR Mastering, and is pressed on 140g red glitter vinyl with a top-loading sleeve.

The perfect accompaniment to that deep fall feeling, Frank Maston's beloved 2025 single finally gets its long overdue vinyl release! As our friends New Commute articulated beautifully, "Foreign Affairs" drifts through London fog and Paris shimmer, its avant-lounge glow wrapping each melody in a wistful ache. On B-side "Liaison," ghostly strings and a solitary piano paint a deserted twilight shoreline, Pacôme Henry's distinct 16mm cinematography hovering nearby." We've pressed just 500 of these gorgeous records so, be quick, Maston always flies.

Originally written for a film Maston was scoring in 2024, he decided to keep it aside for himself. And, well, us all. The song has a vibe Maston has previously flirted with; he wanted to dive in...all the way: "The arrangement is huge, definitely the biggest I've written, and it merited live musicians playing together. Also another experiment, to do it with all live musicians playing my arrangements. I wanted to make something that you'd want to put on when you bring a date back to your place. It's on the edge of sappy but that's sort of the point. I decided to give myself an unlimited budget - just spend whatever was necessary to get the right musicians and record it the best way possible."

It's this dedication to sonic perfection which Maston is rightly lauded for. We couldn't not put this on a cute wee 7" when we heard it.

The A side, "Foreign Affairs", is a brilliant, Bacharach-esque romp with a bit of that unapologetically romantic Morricone angle. Says Frank: "I was trying to synthesize that sort of jazzy/sexy/classy/romantic mature sound, where the edginess is in these surprising chord changes and subtle arrangement cues."

A wonderful complement, the flipside "Liaison", evokes Martin Denny, but Eden's Island was in Frank's head, too. He wanted to take a deep dive into that exotica sound - a genre he'd referenced a bit but never fully committed to - so the piece is lavished with those big sighing strings and a pretty lush arrangement. Happily, it all sounds super rich. Also, "Umiliani is always a reference for this sort of thing (Il Corpo etc.), That almost mechanical arrangement of things moving together and a simple melody over it (something I nicked from Ennio)".

The two songs were recorded in Paris and London in the summer of 2024. Aside from the rhythm section and piano, there's vibraphone, a full string section, trombones and alto and concert flutes. "Liaison" boasts strings, vibraphone, a female choir and tenor sax. Maston played piano and acoustic guitar but that's it (as opposed to playing basically everything on Tulips). His friend Oscar Sholto Robertson played drums and percussion whilst Maston mainstay Elie Ghersinu (formerly of L'Eclair) played bass.

The theme for a lot of Maston's titles is that they have two meanings. So "Foreign Affairs" is both a reference to him living abroad and the idea of constant cultural diplomacy and then there's this sexy/cheeky interpretation of foreign affairs in a literal way - "an affair abroad, ooh la la!". The artwork for this 7" single has Roman campaign flags, referencing the foreign affairs in sort of a sassy way. There's a violence implied. But then if you look from a bit of a distance it looks like a bouquet of flowers. So Frank thought it went with the spirit of the title. Also, he's used a lot of roman motifs now so he kept that theme going, even with the terracotta cover.

This is a vitally important project for our Frank. He explains why, here: "For whatever reason, these songs really resonated with me. I feel like they are either the end of a stylistic era for me or the beginning of a new one. They're sonically the culmination of what I'd been working towards and trying to get better at since I started. If I heard this when I was making Tulips I would have said "YES! *This* is what I want to be doing!". So that's the essence of it. It's a statement and the intended reaction is "This is really good, but why now?". Like the edge to it is the context of someone making this sort of thing in 2025, which I think is a huge strength. The real heads will get it. My music always has like a 2-3 year latency until people really catch onto it, and these ones will have a nice payoff I think."

We couldn't put it better ourselves. So we haven't.

Sasha & Henry Saiz deliver evocative new single 'Love Is All You Need'

Henry Saiz and Sasha are two of electronic music’s most visionary figures, each renowned for blending emotional depth with cutting-edge production. Saiz is a DJ, producer, and live artist who crafts genre-defying soundscapes on his own Natura Sonoris as well as Sasha’s Last Night On Earth. His work resonates far beyond the dancefloor, much like that of Sasha, a pioneer with an enduring creative streak who continues to push boundaries, most recently through collaborations with forward-thinking producers like Artche, Jody Barr, and Joseph Ashworth. Together on this new single, the pair balance transportive grooves with meticulous synth work to perfection.

The wonderfully luminous 'Love Is All You Need' radiates breezy melodic charm while riding a light, uplifting rhythm that feels as airy and warm as the rush of a new romance. Shimmering, sun-kissed melodies evoke the glow of an outdoor Ibizan party with emotive female vocals drenched in reverb, adding a dreamy, blissful layer to round out this hazy and heartfelt electronic trip.

Kalita are proud to present a 2-year anniversary repress of Emerson’s 1988 mythical electro boogie grail ‘Sending All My Love Out’, accompanied by two remixes courtesy of the genre’s most respected innovators, Egyptian Lover and Detroit In Effect. Limited to only 500 copies, pressed on electrifying yellow 12” vinyl.

Originally privately released as an obscure 7” single on LAS Records, operated by visionary power couple Emerson and Leora Sandidge, ‘Sending All My Love Out’ has since transformed into a hallowed grail among dance music collectors, enthusiasts and DJs alike, commanding sky-high prices on the second-hand scene.

A late 80’s electro boogie anthem, featuring a heavy mix of synthesizer and drum-machine euphoria, overlaid with Emerson and Leora’s own vocals, the recording truly is in a league of its own.

And to do justice to its legendary status, Kalita has dusted off the original multi-track master tapes and enlisted two of the electro scene’s most revered figures, namely Egyptian Lover and Detroit In Effect, to remix and elevate the track in their own signature style.

A truly special release.

Léo Dupleix return to Black Truffle with Round Sky, following the enchanting Resonant Trees (BT119). The composer here performs on analogue synthesizer, harpsichord and spinet as one member of Asterales, a group that brings together four important figures in the international community of musicians working with just intonation: Dupleix, Jon Heilbron (double bass), Rebecca Lane (quarter-tone flute) and Frederik Rasten (guitars). The quartet perform three recent pieces by Dupleix, each of which is like a different view on the same landscape of unruffled calm, where the unique harmonic events made possible by just intonation flicker across melodies and harmonies like light on the surface of water.

The first side is dedicated to ‘Poème d’air’, composed while Dupleix was immersed in the music of 14thcentury ars nova composer-poet Guillaume de Machaut. A sustained study of the ‘sonic possibilities of low-pitched sounds in just intonation’, it begins with a long, rumbling pitch from Heilbron’s bass, soon joined by the organ-like tones of the composer on synthesizer. The piece is made up of cycling sequences of chords, each of which is repeated for several minutes before the music either freezes on a single harmony or silently pauses before the next episode begins. These structures are initially dominated by the bass and synthesizer, with Lane’s pure vibrato-less flute tone and Rasten picked harmonics adding flashes of colour. As the piece develops, flute and guitar become more prominent and the bass climbs to higher registers. The development culminates in a stunning episode around fifteen minutes in where the texture thins out, casting a spotlight on a melodic figure exploiting the uncanny sound of Lane’s quarter-tone flute.

On the second side we are treated to two briefer pieces, closer to the sound of Resonant Trees as they return harpsichord and spinet to the foreground. ‘Ghosts’ centres on a harpsichord melody that slowly expands as it repeats, growing from a haunting six-note cell to a flowing succession of notes whose shape become increasingly difficult to perceive. Alongside this melodic development, an increasingly lush accompaniment grows, with long tones from bass, flute, e-bowed guitar and synthesizer holding notes picked out the harpsichord melody in a swaying harmonic cloud. Dupleix notes that the concluding ‘Round Sky’ was written in the countryside in spring, a circumstance that seems far from irrelevant to the impression the piece makes when its euphonous spinet arpeggios emerge from a gentle synthesizer drone like a flower from a bud. Performed as a duo with Rasten, with both instrumentalists also singing, this title piece exemplifies what makes Dupleix’s music so unique: grounded in a rigorous application of just intonation principles yet as open as Harold Budd or Andrew Chalk to an uncomplicated, intuitive experience of beauty.

Official 12" reissue of Freex Machine's sought-after discoid-funk burner. Two underground groove-led gems recorded and released in 1979 on the New York indie-label Starbase Sounds. The Freex Machine hailed from Corona, Queens and had emerged as an extension of the group Hooker, a teenage band of musicians that started performing together in the early 70s, earning a respected reputation locally. Whilst a handful of singles were released under various monikers, including Aura and Stars, the band's distinct New York-centric live funk sound remained consistent.

Fin" is the fourth album by Spanish band Exnovios, a group that has been described as a blend of Spacemen 3 influences and the best of Spanish '60s pop. The new dozen songs that make up their fourth LP happily shifts away a bit from to the usual unbeatable formula of this Pamplona-based quartet (garage reverbcore as if sung by Spanish legends Juan y Junior) and add new and fascinating layers-at once fresh yet entirely logical in the evolution of such a unique band within the local scene. Exnovios' new collection of songs wasn't created in a rehearsal space or recorded in a single week in the studio. Rather, it was composed and rehearsed slowly in bedrooms and living rooms-songs that were later brought into the studio with the idea of finishing building them there. Over the course of nearly a year, the band approached each song one by one, in a handcrafted manner, alongside their trusted ally, producer Guillermo Mutiloa. The result is a treasure trove of songs, perhaps more psych-folk than ever, as acoustic pieces abound-full of exquisite melodies without abandoning the consciousness-expanding journeys that have made Exnovios a cult favorite: from the instant classic 'Nubes' (with its very Byrds-like harmonies and gorgeous twelve-string acoustic guitar), to the delightful Big Star-style fiction of 'El cine se queda en silencio', or even the fabulous cover of Stephin Merritt's 'Tú tú tú tú.' These are often drumless tracks, perhaps with some light percussion, always featuring detailed and exquisite arrangements of guitar, electronics, percussion, and even touches of strings. And despite the reduced presence of drums (which, along with the laid-back recording approach, makes this almost Exnovios' "White Album"), fans of the band's legendary fuzz-guitar reverbcore sound won't be disappointed: there's the psychedelic 'Viaje Alucinante', full of their classic riffs; their brutal cover of Psychic TV's 'Godstar' (drenched in echo and eccentric vocal effects); and the perfectly crafted 'Naves Misteriosas', which pulls off the impossible feat of sounding like 'Cerca de las Estrellas'-era Los Pekenikes in the verses, Phil Spector in the chorus, and the Ramones in the post-chorus. And there's much more: percussion reminiscent of the most 'baggy' Primal Scream on the brilliant 'Aún no es tarde'; love lyrics wrapped in an exquisite drum machine soaked in reverb and Suicide-style Farfisa on 'Ha venido a quedarse'; the beautiful two-chord electronic Christmas carol 'Ya es Navidad'; and that lysergic waltz that sings of the peace brought by karmic revenge, carried along by waves of fuzz and delay, titled 'El día del juicio final.' "Fin" reveals more sides and nuances of Exnovios than ever before-a festival of eclectic styles that all remain true to the musical vision that has defined them over the past decade, with their melodic powers at the peak of their talent.

For the first time ever, the only full-length album by Spanish soul and garage legends Z-66 is being reissued. Z-66's signature blend of powerful soul, psychedelia, and pop-clearly influenced by bands like The Move, Stones, Vanilla Fudge, and Blood, Sweat & Tears delivers a bold, modern sound that remains fresh and compelling. Unlike other Spanish bands of the time, Los Z-66 enjoyed unique conditions that allowed their sound to stand out as one of the most advanced on the local scene in the late 1960s. As was the case with many other groups, their repertoire for entertaining discotheques had to include the hits of the moment and was not always open to the songs of the most daring international bands, which was the sound that most stimulated the musicians. In the case of Los Z-66, being based in Mallorca meant they had privileged access to hard to-find records, imported by foreign tourists, and to a much more modern atmosphere than in other parts of the country. Songs in Italian and French soon gave way to English hits by the Animals, the Stones, and the Beatles. But it was the offer received from Mike Jeffries, manager of Jimi Hendrix, the Animals, and others, to serve as the house band at the newly opened club Sgt. Pepper's that allowed the group to raise their live performances to a level rarely seen in these parts... They even soon incorporated the distorted sound of fuzz into their guitar when they received a fuzz face pedal as a gift from Jimi Hendrix himself, who was invited to play at the club's opening! Their excellent blend of stunning soul, psychedelia, and pop became their hallmark, not only in the band's concerts but also in the handful of singles and EPs they released on the Regal label. We are now re-releasing for the first time their only full-length album, originally published in 1969, which is actually a compilation of songs previously released in 45 rpm format, complete with two bonus tracks not included on the original LP plus a booklet with liner notes and rare photos.

In May, fans were treated to the first new music from Trentemøller since 2022. A new single, "A Different Light," showcased a stunning blend of prismatic space rock and folk. For anyone wondering if it foreshadowed the release of a full-length, Dreamweaver will drop in September, on Friday the 13th.
Featuring 10 tracks that traverse Trentemøller's many musical strengths, Dreamweaver also represents an obvious artistic leap, treading new ground while retaining the overall plot. Tracks featuring vocals come courtesy of of Iceland's Disa, who has been in Trentemøller's fold since the Memoria tour.
Dreamweaver's nylon string-led opening track, and first single from the album, "A Different Light," contains many of Trentemøller's trademarks: exploring dichotomies, musical shadowplay, Nordic frigidity, and warm waves. It opens the door for the steady, hypnotic "Nightfall," with its tetherless vocal, wistful guitars, and early morning desert chill. The third track in the opening trifecta, "Dreamweavers" finds its footing with a percussive soft trot, which starts after what feels like a shortwave radio scan in search of the right chords, eventually dialing in a weightless voice. Ostensibly keeping a ruminative pace with the previous two tracks, the song and, by extension, album soon opens up as the rest of the elements drop into place with a grand, luxurious burst.
Dreamweaver is about to enter its next phase. With the hatch blown off of the portal, the noisy "I Give My Tears," driven by its glissed and fuzzy bass line, pours into the void. It's followed by its sibling, the most chaotic track on Dreamweaver, "Behind My Eyes." Arriving as a piece of noise rock pandemonium, "Behind My Eyes," can't be contained in its plush vault. A whip-crack snare and convulsing guitars smash against each other in the song's verse chamber. The tension builds, as the particles collide, pushing past the point of critical mass, kicking off the chain reaction which is the chorus. At times it harkens back to the proto-gaze tracks that gave birth to dream pop, at others it newly defines what that is. There's no time to contemplate it, though, as the song disintegrates in a microphonic feedback instant.
A respite follows with the somnambulistic pair of "Hollow" and "Empty Beaches." Then, a moment of intensity returns as the soaring textures and tribal drum bursts of "In A Storm" take control, before being taken out with the ambient slo-core of "Winter's Ghost" and "Closure." This diptych wraps up an album which certainly feels on-script for Trentemøller, but is also much more psychedelic than previous offerings.
Dreamweaver will be released on Trentemøller's own In My Room label. It is an exceedingly immersive experience, bound to release any dormant hallucinations you may be harboring.

Tell me something that makes a difference’ demands Gaia Weiss in Tenashee’s debut single. Something that immerses crisp melody into stodgy bass, collides warm dub with icy sound design, all the while slowly expanding like a supernova. ‘Tell me something’ takes the sounds and styles of the past and places them in a gravity-free future, while evoking an ethereal and precise atmosphere.
Gaia Weiss is an actress - not a singer by trade - and summons Charlotte Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot to deliver the spoken words as a fractured monologue, guiding us through splintered visions, and detuned chord progressions, in pursuit of the seemingly unattainable; ‘something that can make a difference’.
With this six-chapter journey on the newborn Street Cinema label, Tenashee (DJ Tennis and Ashee, Manfredi Romano and Joseph Ashworth) have crafted and refined - like two artisans from another era - a unique creation: a creature that reconnects electronic music with complexity and richness, fully aware of hyper-contemporaneity, yet capable of resisting surrender to it.
“Blink To Check It’s Real” featuring artist Campbell King - poet and beautiful soul - immediately immerses us in an electronic reality check, with 90s-inspired tweaking and glitching, all woven together with a poem from Campbell that contrasts the dizzying intensity of lust and connection with the comfort of being able to ‘loosen their grip’ and ‘make it safe.’
In ‘I Can See Now,’ Aurelia Ray (the stage name of pop-music-writing powerhouse Caitlin Stubbs) evokes a sense of serenity, pure love, and trust within a refined, spacious piece of minimalist electronica. “Blindsided” is a journey through pure, airy abstraction, a dance floor companion to the glacial trip-hop instrumental “Cold Logic”.
Finally, in “Memories,” the last track in the setlist but actually the first song the duo worked on, conceived and developed five years ago in 2020, the voice of Chinese German artist Mona Yim transports us to a place that is both emotionally introspective and intense, balancing on the edge between desire and reality.
“You should know where I go when I dream,” she states.
Over the course of five years, through exchanges, writing sessions, and fine-tuning in Paris, London, Saint Martin, and Ibiza, the world evolved, but Tenashee’s musical mission remained unchanged. The mini-album reflects the musical backgrounds of its two creators, their unique sensitivity to the present, and their desire to challenge each other with sharp, emotional, yet weightless styles and sounds. It is no longer just DJ Tennis; the successful DJ touring worldwide, organising events, and founding influential labels like Life & Death; nor only Joseph Ashworth with his scientific approach and creativity as a
producer and writer in the competitive world of pop; nor Ashee, with his releases on Circoloco and Aus Music. No, Tenashee is something more.
It is a duet searching for a thread that connects electronic music—past, present, and future—through experimentation, craft, and artistry. The moment has truly arrived for Tenashee to ‘tell us something.’

CENTRAL's new release is already here! On the B-Side, DJ KAWASAKI has edited the extra-hit “Samurai” to make it an even hotter dance track!
Both sides of the album are perfect for the field!

CENTRAL, a salsa band that has suddenly gained attention after releasing two singles and a full-length album last year, but is actually a group of seasoned salsa veterans, has already released a new single! This time around, CENTRAL has released a cover of “Brazilian Rhyme,” one of Earth, Wind & Fire's many classic songs that still remains a dance floor favorite, with a Latin arrangement that is full of CENTRAL's signature style. The groovy bass, shimmering electric piano, percussion, and outstanding horn arrangement make you want to dance and scream, “This is CENTRAL! The B-Side features DJ KAWASAKI's edit of “Samurai,” a definitive mellow salsa track that has now become a WANT-requested item from all over the world, sublimated into an even hotter dance track!

This summer, dance hard to CENTRAL's salsa!

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, South Shields, England's politically motivated punk band, The Angelic Upstarts, saw considerable chart success. Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69 produced their debut album, Teenage Warning (1979), which peaked at No. 29 on the UK Albums Chart and featured singles like "I'm An Upstart" (No. 31) and Teenage Warning (No. 29).
Their third album, 2,000,000 Voices (1981), reached No. 32, while their second, We Gotta Get Out of This Place (1980), peaked at No. 54. Angelic Upstarts Live (1981), a live album, did well as well, peaking at number 27.
Two of the Angelic Upstarts' singles made it into the Top 40, and seven of their singles made it into the UK Top 75. Their early work was marked by sociopolitical critique and unadulterated intensity.
‘Live at The Basins Nightclub’ recorded in 1987 represents a unique summary of that undertaking as well as capturing a rare snapshot of the Upstarts during one of the less well-documented periods of their history. Incl. Sleeve notes from Dick Porter.

A Place In My Memory Is All I Have To Claim is the new album by Australian atmospheric pop trio Hydroplane, the storied 'offshoot' formed by three quarters of independent pop group, The Cat's Miaow. On this, their first music after two decades plus of radio silence, Andrew Withycombe, Kerrie Bolton and Bart Cummings return to the gentle, close-quarters musical world they shared around the turn of the century.

Recorded during 2024 in Melbourne and Ballarat, A Place In My Memory… picks up the thread Hydroplane set down with its precursor, 2001's The Sound Of Changing Places, though you can hear echoes of their other releases, too, with Withycombe noting a through-line from the group's 1998 "Failed Adventure" single. There's little quite like A Place In My Memory…, then or now, though. Maybe you can draw some connections between Hydroplane and their sister group, The Cat's Miaow, while fellow travellers might include Empress, The Ah Club, and further back, Young Marble Giants, Veronique Vincent (the muffled, ticking drum machine also makes me think of Robin Gibb's Robin's Reign).

There's also an umbilical to the bedroom-crafted electronica doing the rounds in the late nineties and early noughties. Hydroplane hint at this through their approach to songwriting, which often builds creatively around loops as structural devices. Through all this, the trio achieve an effortless, organic weightlessness across these nine lovely songs. Many feature Bolton's clear singing voice, drifting along, while guitars, keyboards, drum machines and loops tickertape away. The constituent parts fit together, but they also have a curiously detached quality - think of abstract cloud formations sharing the same sky.

Hydroplane and The Cat's Miaow often dealt in emotional ambiguity and uncertainty, and the uncertainty of the nostalgic. This was always one of the most appealing facets of their music, and A Place In My Memory… is thus named perfectly. I couldn't dream up a better title for the album and its reflections on history, lived experience, and the inevitable tangle between these two phenomena. These reflections variously address such concerns as human cruelty, flight, space travel, adventurism and spiritualism. There's also "To the Lighthouse", not a direct reference to the Virginia Woolf book, but a great title, nonetheless. (They've always had excellent titles, often borrowed, for songs and albums.)

A beautiful collection of drowsy, sleepy pop, humble and quiet, but resolute in its craft, A Place In My Memory Is All I Have To Claim is dream work in practice; a lovely reintroduction. Welcome back, then.

"The Bad Seeds and Zakary Thaks were mid ‘60s Texas garage rock bands formed in the wake of the British Invasion, influenced by The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Yardbirds and others, becoming top local live attractions at a time when the 13th Floor Elevators and Moving Sidewalks were leading the way into psychedelia. In late 1966 Rod Prince on guitar and Roy Cox on bass from Bad Seeds joined up with David Fore from Zakary Thaks on drums to create a new band out of San Antonio featuring two lead guitarists. Todd Potter filled out the quartet on second guitar and they chose the name Bubble Puppy, taken from Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World. Huxley was an early advocate of LSD, appropriately. In 1969 Bubble Puppy scored a top 20 hit single with “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass” which led to their LP “A Gathering Of Promises”. International Artists, the legendary Texas label that previously had unleashed mind expanding classics by the Elevators, Red Crayola, Golden Dawn and others was a perfect fit. After the LP and additional 45s didn’t repeat the success of “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass” the band hooked up with Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf as their new manager and moved to Los Angeles. A new band name was in order, Nick St. Nicholas chose Demian, title of the 1919 novel by Herman Hesse. His books were popular with the counterculture at the time and had provided Steppenwolf with their new name after they changed it from the Sparrow and hit it big. Demian recorded the LP live in the studio at the Record Plant in one midnight to six session. They had their arrangements fully realized, allowing them to combine live show energy and economy with to-the-point delivery suitable for repeated listening. No doubt they were aiming for pop hit success, using proto hard rock skills in a radio friendly way without compromising the heavy guitar moves. The vocals have echoes of the earlier Bubble Puppy style in spots but are more melodic with vibrant harmonies reminiscent of Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, James Gang… at times flashing on Steve Stills/Richie Furay westcoast without being too sweet about it. It works terrifically when the radio friendly voices top off killer hard guitar ensemble action. Early hard rock that is too bluesy flashy can get tiresome with repeat listening, especially if overdosing on guitar solos with the band relegated to the background… Demian keep it interesting with inventive song structures allowing all four players to integrate constantly into an ever changing but focused whole. This LP is a grower, despite the basic two guitars, bass and drums lineup and no frills production you reach a lot of different places during the ride. Demian is deadly hard rock, a perfectly organized vibe straddling live energy and crafted itinerary, amongst the first obscure major label killers that commanded premium $$ with collectors even way back in the late ‘70s. It gets you there every time, even half a century later!"

Difficult as it may be to imagine, there was a time when Sun City Girls did not exist. Prior to the Bishop brothers teaming up with drummer/shaman Charlie Gocher to form SCG's classic trio lineup, there were various ad-hoc assemblages of local Phoenix-area freaks and weirdos – groups which existed only long enough to play a single gig, open mic or house party before disbanding without a trace. Hatched from this milieu was Paris 1942, a short-lived band formed by guitarist Jesse Srogoncik that included Alan Bishop, Richard Bishop and former Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker.

Paris 1942 would play only four shows in as many months, but between April and August of 1982, the band would gather several times a week in Tucker's living room, where the group feverishly wrote and rehearsed with a kind of quotidian discipline. While P42 didn't release anything during their brief tenure, a 7" EP and LP (both self-titled) surreptitiously surfaced on the Majora label in the mid to late '90s. Until now, those two titles – as well as an appearance on Placebo's Amuck comp in late '82 – would be the only documented evidence that this improbable, serendipitous and magnificent band ever existed.

While those expecting P42's music to sound like a tantalizing combination of Sun City Girls' iconoclastic hoodoo havoc and the Velvets' primal drug-chug certainly won't be disappointed, Paris 1942 more often than not transcends even these nearly impossible expectations. Srogoncik's songs, in particular, are a revelation, displaying as much in common with the exuberant raunch of The Gun Club and the chapbook punk of Peter Laughner as they do any of the more obvious touchstones.

The group's foresight to document and capture this meeting of musical minds – a meeting as unlikely as it was short-lived – provides a missing link between the Velvets and the Voidoids, between the Dead Boys and the Dead C, between ESP-Disk' and DNA. Far more than a historical curiosity, Paris 1942 provides a fresh perspective on an embryonic and sadly vanishing US underground. It is music that blinks at the past and anticipates a thousand possible futures.

– James Toth (excerpt from the liner notes)

‘Icon’ is an overused word when it comes to describing singers and musicians, but when it comes to Nina Simone there are few artists that the word describes more accurately. The ‘High Priestess Of Soul’ is surely one of the most iconic singers of the 20th century, and one whose fame and acclaim stretches far beyond conventional black American music circles. 

Nina Simone has featured on Ace and Kent CDs before but this is the first time she’s had one all to herself. “Let It All Out” is the first and only Nina Simone collection to draw repertoire from every label she recorded for between the late 1950s to the late 1970s. 

Not a traditional ‘Best Of’ or ‘Greatest Hits’ package (although the performances included here ARE among her very best, and do include most of her Greatest Hits!) it is a singles collection that presents Nina Simone’s soul and R&B-slanted 45s in chronological order. Invariably they are the definitive versions of the songs, whether she recorded the original versions or not. 

As well as almost all of her American pop and R&B chart hits from 1960 onwards, “Let It All Out” also contains all of Simone’s UK chart hits from the same period – several of which were more successful here than they were back home, including both versions of her biggest British hit ‘Ain’t Got No; I Got Life’, a UK #2 that did not chart at all in the US as was the case with the belated UK Top 5 hit ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’ which also made no chart impression on its home turf…

Carefully curated and concisely annotated, “Let It All Out” lets the listener in to two dozen of Nina Simone’s most celebrated singles. There have been many compilations of her works since she passed away 20+ years ago, but none that gets to the heart – and soul – of her catalogue in quite so direct a manner as this one does. 

After returning from Australia, Brian Baker has wasted no time in making an impact on the NZ scene with much heralded and reviewed singles and film clips, and in particular his solo show which has seen him perform at gigs and Festivals across the country. Now he"s joined two local Whanganui Musicians, Stu Duncan and pro drummer Brad MacMillan, both seasoned performers. The act is called BB and The Bullets and has a focus on the blues, doing tracks by Albert King, BB King, Muddy Waters plus some Stevie Ray Vaughan and other blues classics. They also feature some of Brian"s excellent releases and have a few of their own recorded. These tracks make up their debut LP which will soon be released on vinyl, CD and digital through Nixon Street Recordings, Whanganui"s own international record label. Yes, the guitaring that made Brian"s solo show stand out is heavily on display here, now backed by a tight, live rhythm section. Their shows have been very well received wherever they have performed, getting standing ovations at the recent Bay Of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival where they played six standout shows over three days ! They are drawing crowds wherever they appear, have been invited back to the Capital Blues Inc in Wellington after a knock em dead show there, and were a solid crowd pleaser at Snells Beach this summer for Auckland city council"s Music In Parks series. They are delighting audiences with rock solid, emotive performances of classic blues tracks underlined by undoubtedly one of the finest guitarists New Zealand has produced !

New single by Romperayo on 7-inch vinyl spinning at 45 rpm, released by the Austrian label discos
elgozo.
This record is a tribute to the sound of Cumbia Sabanera de Acordeón from Colombia, in dialogue with
Mexico’s Cumbia Sonidera. It also pays homage to the melodic line of the first generation of
Colombian accordion masters of Cumbia Sabanera such as Joaquín Betín, Emiro Caicedo, and
Policarpo Calle.

The two tracks are built on a solid rhythmic foundation of bass and percussion, accompanying a
melodic interplay between accordion and analog synthesizer.Mixed and produced by Pedro Ojeda Acosta at Romperayo Studios, both songs were recorded live, in
quartet format, at Mambo Negro Studios in Bogotá, Colombia, by Daniel Michel, featuring Iván
Medellín on accordion, Nicolás Eckardt on electric bass, Juan Manuel Toro on analog synth, and Pedro
Ojeda on percussion.
This single offers a first taste of Romperayo’s upcoming LP, set for release in early 2026 — once again
on discos elgozo.

Following up on a cracker split single in 2023, Overload Liverpool enterted into 2024 firing on all cylinders with a 5 shooter of freaked-out electro, warm house, deep dub cuts, and gorgeous ambient.

Firstly, Liverpool-based label boss Morrison highlights two of his distinct and dissociative styles. On the front end of the A-side, his The Motorist alias provides us with a freaked-out formant-filtered electro that’s bursting at the lips. On the back end, a deep yet bright house cut from his The Cyclist alias, with warm warbling synths layered over his Wurlitzer electric piano and suitably grooved and jaunty beats.

To kick off the deeper B-side of the 12”, Wax Tek, a founder of the Liverpool Soundsystem crew Polyone Audio, hits us right in the chest with his dubbed-out breakbeat wonder, Get Set, which diverges through Balearic, bass music, a delirious breakdown, and hard-hitting breakbeats.

Deeper still, the second B-side from Puncta, another Liverpool-based artist, who last year came to light with their release on Sputnik One’s N-Face, dives into the deep Arctic seas with Snow Crab, an exercise in dubbed-out electro-style bass music.

Finally, Belfast-based Aaron Thomas brings the 12” EP to a fitting closure with Concert², which, washing over the listener, dances like opulent drapes with its ethereal synths that crash to and fro.

When Soft Cell played a spectacular, sold-out show before 20,000 fans at The O2 in September 2018, the London concert was seen by all and sundry as a grand finale. It had been billed as One Night: One Final Time, leaving devotees in no doubt that a duo who had done so much to define the sound of British electronic pop in the 1980s were saying hello to wave one last, emotional goodbye. At least that had been the idea. Singer Marc Almond and instrumentalist Dave Ball had originally gone their separate ways in 1984 before reuniting for two years in the early 2000s to make a new album, Cruelty Without Beauty. The intention at The O2 had been to draw a line under a rollercoaster ride that had seen Soft Cell secure three Top Ten albums and six Top Ten singles, including 1981’s all-conquering Tainted Love, while setting a template for synth acts from the Pet Shop Boys to Years & Years.



But such was the reaction – and the sense of purpose the pair rediscovered onstage – that the big adieu ultimately turned out to be a brilliant new dawn. The reality is that Marc and Dave bring the best out of one another as performers, both onstage and in the studio, and the sense that there was still plenty of mileage left in their partnership was inescapable. The latest fruits of a bond that was first forged in the art department of Leeds Polytechnic in 1977 were in the shape of a new studio album, *Happiness Not Included, and a series of live dates in the UK and the US that saw the band treat fans to a mixture of new material, classic hits and their 1981 debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, which was played in its entirety for the first time to mark its 40th anniversary.