Search:so late

Eno Williams, frontwoman of Ibibio Sound Machine, uses both English and the Nigerian language from which her band's name is derived for the dazzling new album Doko Mien. Long lauded for jubilant, explosive live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine fully capture that energy on Doko Mien, the followup to their Merge debut Uyai.
In a glowing piece in the New York Times, those songs were praised for following 'in the tradition of much African music, [making] themselves the conscience of a community.' By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams' lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future. That propensity for duality and paradox seems common in people whose lives span continents.

Williams was born in the UK, but grew up in Nigeria, always steeped in her family heritage. She obsessed over West African electronic music, highlife, and the like, but was equally empowered by Western genres such as post-punk, disco, and funk. The London octet have enveloped themselves in that maximalist quilt proudly since their 2013 formation. Though it can often bring with it news of stress and uncertainty, the modern world further brings all these disparate traditions into connection.
'Everyone has everything now,' says multi-instrumentalist Max Grunhard. 'Everyone has immediate access to every genre, picking things up from everywhere—like magpies.' And while they haven't suddenly left their African roots behind, Doko Mien does find increased representation of English lyrics in the ratio. By sharing more directly with more universal lyrics, the record feels more anthemic, reaching for grander heights.
'We wanted to give people a reason to sing along, to find their soundtrack every day,' Williams says. 'We wanted everyone to feel as if they're part of the music as well.'

Late album highlight 'Guess We Found a Way' addresses the change with a coy smile. 'Guess we found a way to speak to you/ Guess we found a way to say what's true/ To say what's real,' Williams coos over glistening chains of reverberant synth and diamond dust percussion, before returning to Ibibio in the chorus. Perhaps the best example of the group's ability to convey meaning across language and tradition, to blend past and future into a singular present comes on 'She Work Very Hard'. The traditional Ibibio folk tale bobs over the waves of tuned percussion, chunky synth, and pinprick highlife-esque guitar, while Jose Joyette's drums and Derrick McIntyre's bass funk groove bring everyone to the dance floor. 'These stories won't be forgotten. Feel the music: it speaks to everybody,' Williams says. 'We can travel back in time together, while convening on a futuristic, present tense. We hope that we can give people that reason to wake up, that one song to sing and dance and be happy.'

Doko Mien: Tell me everything. On their new album, Ibibio Sound Machine provide the perfect companion, ready to digest as much as possible and then further unfurl beauty and hope. They remember and honor the past and charge forward toward the future, all while intensely expanding the present.

Bobby Sparks II ist vielen ein Begriff. Sei es als Keyboarder bei Snarky Puppy, Marcus Miller, Prince oder Liz Wright, Bobby hat überall markante musikalische Spuren hinterlassen. Und nun ist es endlich soweit: Mit "Schizophrenia - The Yang Project" steht Bobby Sparks Debutalbum (2CD Set) zur Veröffentlichung bei LEOPARD an. Es hat gedauert, um diese außergewöhnliche Sammlung unterschiedlichster Songs zu produziern. Aber es hat sich mehr als gelohnt: zeigt sich darin doch das breite musikalische Vokabular und der schier unerschöpfliche Schaffensdrang des Keyboarders. Vom slammenden Funk bis zu langsamen, groovigen Soul-Balladen und Streifzügen in die Genres Straight-ahead-Jazz, Fusion, Orchester- und Weltmusik: das sehr passend betitelte Album "Schizophrenia - The Yang Project" vereinigt eine Vielzahl verschiedener Musikstile in sich, ohne dabei das Gesamtbild aus den Augen zu lassen. Mit an Bord auf dieser außergewöhnlichen musikalischen Reise sind eine Reihe seiner alten Freunde aus Dallas, sowie viele Stars des Genres - etwa die Bassisten Marcus Miller, Pino Palladino, MonoNeon und Hadrien Feraud, der Trompeter Roy Hargrove, die Sänger Frank McComb und James - J. Rob' Robinson, Snarky Puppys Michael League und Jason - JT' Thomas, die Gitarristen Lucky Peterson und Eric Gales sowie die Drummer Mark Simmons, Brannen Temple und John - Li'l John' Roberts.

Record Kicks Celebrates 15 Years In The Business With A Collection Full Of Exclusive New Singles. Available In Ltd Edition Double Clear Vinyl Lp, Cd And Digital Download. Side By Side With Similar Outfits Like Daptone, Truth And Soul, Freestyle Or Timmion, Under Its Motto "the Explosive Sound From Today's Scene" Milan-based Independent Label Record Kicks Has Been Pitching The Contemporary Funk & Soul Scene Since Day One.

With Over 200 Releases Under The Belt, Rk Has Released Bands From All Over The Globe And Earnedthe Support Of Vip Fans Such As Kenny Dope, Jamie Cullum, Craig Charles And Not Least Jay-z, Thanks To Which The Label Has Recently Received A Grammy Nomination For Hov's Use Of Hannah Williams' "late Nights And Heartbreak" As Backdrop For His "4:44". The New Instalment "record Kicks 15th" Coming Out Next May 18th On Double Clear Lp, Cd And Digital Download, Celebrates 15 Years In The Business With A Collection Full Of Exclusive New Tracks And The Very Best Of It's Roster.

The Album Kicks Off With Rk's Latest And Youngest Signing:
From Chicago, Heavily Inspired By The Impressions And Leroy Hutson, We Are Proud To Present You "the Devonns" With Their Super Soulful Debut Single "come Back", An Appetizer Of Their Debut Full Length Expected To Land On Rk Next Autumn. Another New Signing To The Label Is Men Of North Country's (acid Jazz Records) Side Project "the Faithful Brothers", Here With Their New Single "one More Time".

Other Exclusive Tracks Of The Comp Are "this Strange Effect", A Coverup Of The Hooverphonic's Single From 1998 Brought To You By Dutch Northern Soul Disciples The Tibbs, "love You Back" From Detroit Deep Funk Outfit Third Coast Kings, "the Sort" By The Buenos Aires Mod Reggae Kings The Crabs Corporation, "top Dog" By British Funk Combo The Hook & Slingers And Straight From Down Under "you Don't Know Me" By The Always Great Dojo Cuts.

Along With These New Exclusive Cuts, Dig On Some Label's News Singles And Heavyweight Classics Such As Dj Shadow's "this Time" Taken From Baby Charles Debut Lp, "don't Throw Your Love In The Garbage Can" By James Brown's Original Funk Diva Martha High Feat Japanese Funk Ambassadors Osaka Monaurail, "psycheground" The Brand New Afro-funk Single By Calibro 35 And Then Portuguese Tnt Dynamite Marta Ren & The Groovelvets, Toronto Soul Queen Tanika Charles, Uk Funk Ambassadors The New Mastersounds, The Diplomats Of Solid Sound And The Already Mentioned "late Nights & Heartbreak" By Hannah Williams & The Affirmations.

Rick Wade’s Late Night Basix returns in a fresh repress, keeping that raw Detroit deep house spirit alive. Heavy on groove, soulful in feel, and made for late-night sessions.
A must for heads who know the value of a true floor weapon.

Tiger Stripes unveils part one of ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ on Rekids. The series will culminate in the Swedish artist’s sophomore album later this year.

Sweden’s Tiger Stripes, aka Mikael Nordgren, drops the first part of the ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ EP series on Rekids. The EP previews his upcoming sophomore album, his first in two decades, due out later this year, and follows three recent releases and a remix for Dino Lenny on Matt Edwards’ Rekids label.

Tiger Stripes kicks off the ‘A Tiger Never Loses Its Stripes’ EP with ‘Slow’, a snappy groove driven by weighty bass and vocals that are as playful as they are drenched in soul. ‘Twelve’ picks up the pace with irresistible low-end and funky, jazz-inflected key riffs, before ‘Stay Hypnotic’ takes things somewhere more dream-like, pairing shimmering synth sequences with glitched-out percussion and fragmented vocal snippets on the flip. ‘Shape The Future’ closes the first instalment with a squelchy bassline, slightly off-key strings and gorgeous dubbed-out chord progressions, bringing a classy, club-ready finish to this preview of Tiger Stripes’ next album.

Founder of the Strange Idols label, Tiger Stripes has spent over two decades forging his own path with standout releases on Hot Creations, Kaoz Theory, Kwench Records, and more. After stepping back to focus on his indie-rock project Little Lies, he made a full return in 2024 and quickly recaptured the form that’s made him an international favourite, returning three times to Rekids since.

Mukatsuku's endless thirst for archival gold and knack for killer reissues burns strong with this latest third in the series hand-numbered 12" , which digs deep into classic ambient techno from Japan. The man behind the music is Virgo, a solo project by Yasutaka Sato that was active from 1996 to 2004 and then reappeared in 2024. This EP revisit some of his best moments from more than two decades ago, starting with the soothing, pulse-slowing beauty of 'Mellow In My Mind' before cosmic charm defines 'Genetic Force' and 'Ruined Tower' has a more melancholic, sombre feel. 'Cloud Sea' lifts the mood with a gently hopeful closer with soft new age chords and oh-so gentle rhythms that break like waves on a distant island paradise.

2026 Repress

(remastered classic incl DL card) Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition. In the late nineties, the budding producers Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani bonded over their shared love of slower tempos and '70s and '80s NYC club culture. Obsessed with record digging and the sounds they heard on late-night "club classics" radio shows—and turned off by current releases they saw as artlessly "updating" sublime disco by sampling, filtering and subjugating them with huge kick drums —the duo set out to discover how their favorite old 12" records were made. They naturally gravitated towards extended dubs of songs—full of strange mistakes and echoing backing tracks—instead of the better-known vocal versions. Lacking the big budgets and gear that made so many of their favorite classic records come together, they were forced to take a guerrilla approach. They reprogrammed their techno-oriented arsenal of secondhand synths and samplers, using novel digital recording technology to capture live instrumentation and prioritizing mood over hooks, and the resulting music was just wrong enough to sound unlike anything else being released at the time.After just four underground 12" releases, the duo—now well-known as Metro Area—released their first and only album, Metro Area, in the fall of 2002. Fifteen years later, it's time to celebrate the culmination of their shared history and inspiration once again. Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The 12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition.

Two decades after its original release, Herbert Boese’s “Charger“ / „Hypnotoad” returns to vinyl.

Originally released as the second record on Jaktronik, the label Herbert Boese ran together with Marc Romboy, the two-tracker captures a very particular moment in German electronic music: stripped back, physical and functional, yet deeply rooted in the sound of Detroit.

At the time Boese was a resident DJ at Düsseldorf’s legendary Harpune club and one of the people shaping the city’s underground electronic music scene. His Jaktronik productions became an extension of that world, music made by a DJ, for the dancefloor.

“Charger” was an immediate standout. Marc Romboy selected the record for his chart at the time, describing its combination of heavy bass and Detroit-influenced strings as a track that made dancefloors scream.

On the flip, “Hypnotoad” goes deeper and more hypnotic: reduced, trippy and relentlessly effective, built around repetition, tension and groove.

Twenty years later, neither track sounds like a museum piece. Quite the opposite. In a time when a new generation is rediscovering the raw, minimal and machine-driven sound of the mid-2000s, “Charger“ / „Hypnotoad” feels remarkably current again.

The original tracks, remastered and finally back on vinyl.

TORRE return to Musiq Voyage with Phocaea Vol. 2, a new chapter in their ongoing Mediterranean journey. The Aix-en-Provence duo, Jean-Marc and Patrick Torre, deliver two original tracks, Sormiou and Les Sirènes du Frioul, inspired by Marseille, its coastline and the deep connection between the city and the sea. Blending disco, house, boogie and Balearic influences, TORRE once again shape a warm, hypnotic and distinctly Mediterranean sound.

The EP is completed by two remixes from leading figures of the Italian underground. *Gigi Testa, one of the most respected names in Naples’ deep house scene, brings his signature soulful, deep and groove-driven approach to the TORRE sound, while **Giovanni Damico* delivers a refined rework infused with funk, cosmic textures and dancefloor energy. Together, the four tracks offer different perspectives on the same Mediterranean landscape, moving seamlessly from sunlit afternoons to late-night club atmospheres.

With more than two decades of musical exploration behind them, TORRE have built a distinctive sound between disco, house and electronic music, earning support from artists such as Carl Craig and releasing underground favourites including Corps à Corps and Baleora. With Phocaea Vol. 2, Musiq Voyage and TORRE continue to explore their own Mediterranean mythology — from the turquoise waters of Sormiou to the mysterious shores of Frioul — with a release that feels equally at home on a Balearic beach, a Marseille terrace or a late-night dancefloor.

2026 Repress

Folksongs and Ballads by Tia Blake & Her Folk-Group, is more than just a “lost classic”. As clear and honest as can be, Folksongs and Ballads is a magnetic record, a refuge like only Nick Drake, Nico, and a few others have been able to create. A graceful, delicately minimalist approach to classic Appalachian and British folk songs.The perfect balance between melancholy and daydream. Originally released only in France in 1971, Ici Bientôt is very pleased to present the first-ever reissue on vinyl.

When she recorded her only album, Tia Blake was nineteen years old and had just arrived in Paris a year and a half beforehand. She spent most of her time at Disco’Thé, a record shop in the Latin Quarter, a free space, peaceful and inspiring, a hub for students as well as the local artistic community.

There, Tia would occasionally sing—when she managed to overcome her shyness. Two young guitarists who were passionate fans of folk music and regulars at the shop began to accompany her, forming “Her Folk Group.” One year later, they cut 11 tracks at Pierre Barouh’s Studios Saravah.

Folksongs and Ballads is composed of traditional tunes that have been covered many times, but they’re not the best-known folk standards. A collection of stories ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1960s, bringing together sublimely doleful ballads, lamentations for a lost lover, and an unexpected, brilliant version of the road anthem “Plastic Jesus.”

Tia Blake's haunting, unaffected voice captivates and comforts us, wrapping us in its cool embrace. Meanwhile, the tasteful, stripped-down, mellow acoustic arrangements provided by the guitarists, reminiscent of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, occasionally supported by a kena flute, have created the space Tia Blake needed to reinvent these traditional songs.

Folksongs and Ballads is a timeless record, deep and unique, a longtime companion for repeated listening, in the vein of works by Sibylle Baier, Bridget St. John and Vashti Bunyan.

Of course everyone knows Kurt Hauenstein aka Supermax. He was one of the few Austrians to shape the sound of late-1970s disco, performing and selling records around the world. Not many know his daughters Judy and Nicola, however, and the fact that they in 1987 wrote a song that they recorded together with their father. Well, here it is: Cracy Coconuts, “Rubberdub Dance” – a true Hauenstein family affair. We are proud to re-release this super rare 7” that proves, once and for all, that Austrians can excel at digi-dub. Timelessly tropical and beautifully bouncy, its vibe is quite different from the iconic Supermax productions. Here, Judy and Nicola’s sweet yet confident vocals replace the moustache-driven sotto voce singing that we love Supermax for. The result is oh-so-catchy and bound to be a hit.

“What Robot Says L” on What Robot Says Records is a deeply immersive Dub Techno journey crafted for demanding listeners who seek atmosphere, precision, and emotional depth beyond conventional dancefloor music. Across four carefully sculpted tracks, the release moves through shifting moods and textures, balancing raw energy with subtle elegance while exploring the deeper and more hypnotic side of techno.

A1. Nicolas Barnes – Dusted Maze opens the EP with a smooth and introspective approach, combining delicate textures, refined grooves, and floating harmonic layers that capture the timeless spirit of classic Dub Techno through a modern lens.

A2. Continuing the journey with TM Shuffle, Monoder – Vihreesametti delivers a warmer and more fluid interpretation of the genre, blending rolling grooves, dub-driven chords, and sophisticated sound design into a deeply immersive experience.

On the B-side, B1. Denizo – Versus follows with dark dub pressure, stripped-back rhythmic architecture, and evolving ambient detail, creating a hypnotic late-night atmosphere filled with tension and movement.

B2. Closing the EP, The Open Circle – Shinkai dives into deeper and more mysterious territory, emphasizing submerged atmospheres, minimal rhythmic tension, and profound spatial depth that slowly unfolds with every listen.

WRSL1 – “What Robot Says L” is not designed for casual listening, but for those who appreciate Dub Techno as an evolving exploration of mood, space, and sonic detail — a refined and highly immersive statement from some of the genre’s most skilled contemporary artists.

but wait a minute.. Does anybody know What Robot Says?

FLOOD’s “Late Night Callin’“ has been making the rounds on dance floors for quite a while now, yet it was never released as an actual record. KROF is changing this now, making the galloping tune with its cheeky vocal available on vinyl.

Alongside the original mix, the record includes an updated version of the track which takes a more straight-forward direction and adds some old-school techhouse flavor to it.

With “Gotcha“ and “U Love Me?“ on the B-side, two dace floor-ready house tunes based around groovy basslines and playful percussion complete the package.

After almost twenty years of releasing music, Sven Tasnadi finds himself circling back to some of the sounds that first drew him into house music. Explorer was written at home following a longer break from producing and after moving out of his studio, a change of setting that coincided with a shift in priorities. "The tracks on this EP came together at home after a longer break from music and after I moved out of my studio," he explains. "Musically they are very deep and minimal, at times almost meditative. They were inspired by a new chapter in my life as well as my never-ending love and connection to artists like Lawrence from Smallville and Frank & Tony from Scissor and Thread."
That sense of returning to something runs through the whole record. For much of Tasnadi's career, producing and DJing were closely connected, with many releases naturally shaped by the club. Things have changed. "DJing is no longer my main focus, so I can dedicate myself to these deep and minimal sounds again, free from pressure or expectations," he says. "In a way, after almost twenty years of releasing music, things have come full circle for me."
"Atlas (Chapter 1)" and "Atlas (Chapter 2)" grew from the same initial idea but followed separate paths during production. Chapter 2 came first, while Chapter 1 emerged later from a variation Tasnadi discovered while the track was still essentially a loop. "I was still looking for the right theme for the original idea when another version suddenly opened up," he recalls. He saved that variation for later so he could stay focused on the first version. When he returned to it, the two had developed distinct enough identities to stand independently. Their shared DNA is still audible in the restrained rhythms, slowly shifting details and the way small changes carry much of the movement.
The title track moves further into dub techno, another longstanding passion for Tasnadi. "Explorer is almost a classic dub techno track," he says. "Subtle movements within a constantly repeating pattern create a particular atmosphere. It feels like the track could just keep going forever." It is a patient approach to repetition that he connects to artists such as Moritz von Oswald and his friend Daniel Stefanik.
"Megasektor", one of the first tracks Tasnadi made at home with a new equipment setup, brings the EP into deep house territory. "To me it's almost classic deep house, or at least how I define deep house for myself." Warm, compact and gently propulsive, it provides a natural closing point for a record that is ultimately less about changing direction than reconnecting with an instinct that has always been there.
Explorer captures Tasnadi at a point where making music has become more personal again. The four tracks come from following ideas for their own sake and from rediscovering the deeper, more minimal sounds that have stayed with him throughout his career.

For South Central’s premier singer, songwriter, and producer, success was never an overnight accident; it was a blueprint executed with meticulous precision. With his highly anticipated project, Labor of Love, Blxst delivers a masterclass in modern West Coast R&B and Hip-Hop, proving that true artistry requires both sweat and soul. The album serves as a sonic manifesto on the price of ambition, the weight of loyalty, and the delicate balance of maintaining romance while building an empire. It stands as a definitive evolution of the distinct sound Blxst pioneered, blending crisp, trunk-thumping 808s with soulful, nostalgic chords and his signature, effortlessly smooth vocal runs.

Entirely self-produced and co-written, Labor of Love bridges the gap between the sun-drenched grit of Los Angeles street culture and the vulnerability of late-night bedroom playlists. From the bounce of celebratory anthems to introspective, late-night drive confessionals, Blxst curates a tracklist that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. It explores the sacrifices made in the pursuit of greatness, paying homage to the sonic pioneers of LA while firmly cementing his own place as the vanguard of the city's modern sound. It is a celebration of independence and the self-made mentality, reminding listeners that he remains the chief architect of his own destiny.

Ultimately, Labor of Love is a testament to the grind, capturing the sleepless nights and tested relationships that pave the road to success. Blxst puts his heart on the line to show that the work itself is where the true passion lives, creating an album for the city, for his family, and for everyone who stays dedicated to their craft. More than just a collection of radio-ready hits, this project is a cohesive, cinematic experience from one of music's most reliable hitmakers. It is a definitive reminder that Blxst isn't just riding the wave—he is directing the current.

Blume presents two pieces composed in 1970 by the American pianist and composer David Tudor (1926-1996), one of electronic music's most important pioneers, for the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion, a unique artist-designed and programmed space for Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan, created by Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.). Pepsibird and Anima Pepsi deploy electronic technology as a means to experience sound in ways that are anything but matter of fact, rendering liberated environments within and through which one might democratically express and commune. Viewed through the lens of what was, is, and might have been, they offer the tools for time travel: an unmediated encounter with radical, optimistic ideas that gave way to the complex cultural landscape of our time.

Initially trained on organ and then piano, Tudor emerged as a leading figure within New York's musical vanguard after his groundbreaking 1950 performance of Stefan Wolpe's Battle Piece and the American premiere of Pierre Boulez's Second Sonata. Within less than a year he had joined the Merce Cunningham Dance Company as its accompanist, a role he kept until his death, and began one of his most lasting creative relationships with John Cage, who would state that his entire output between 1951 and the end of the 1960s was written with Tudor in mind. Christian Wolff, Earle Brown, Morton Feldman, Sylvano Bussotti, Mauricio Kagel, and Karlheinz Stockhausen all wrote works for him during the 1950s and '60s. Through indeterminacy and chance-based methods, Tudor was noted for radically intervening with the works he played, often making them entirely his own, and it was this same singularity of vision that led him to gradually abandon the piano in favor of electronic process, through which he began working as a composer in his own right.

His engagement with electronics dates to the early 1950s and Cage's Project for Music for Magnetic Tape. By the following decade the pair had moved to live electronics, with Tudor rendering works like Cartridge Music and Variations II through contact microphones and complex systems of feedback and amplification. Before modular synthesizers existed, he designed and built his own electronics, often with engineers from Bell Laboratories, producing dozens of unique instruments and processing tools that helped lay the groundwork for the technological needs embraced by most electronic musicians ever since. A clear marker of his emergence as a composer came in 1966 with 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering, where he premiered Bandoneon! (a combine), turning the cavernous performance space into a feedback instrument and a total environment. The event led directly to the founding of E.A.T. the following year by the engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer, alongside Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Whitman.

Among the most ambitious of E.A.T.'s projects was the Pepsi-Cola Pavilion, for which Tudor composed four pieces between March and April 1970: Pepsibird, Anima Pepsi, Pepscillator, and Microphone. Together with Forrest "Frosty" Myers, Robert Whitman, the sculptor and filmmaker Robert Breer, and the architect John Pearce, he was tasked with the design and function of the building: a 120-foot diameter steel and polyvinyl dome, shrouded in mist and fog and lit in the evenings by a square of intense blue-white xenon light. Tudor worked with Gordon Mumma and Fred Waldhauer on a unique sound system capable of processing and variable distribution through 37 speakers, controlled both by automated means and by the performer, and with Lowell Cross on a sound-activated laser deflection system inside the pavilion's mirrored performance hall.

Both pieces are an advanced form of musique concrète: libraries of tape recordings, live mixed and processed through the pavilion's sound console and distributed through 8 channels of stationary and rotating patterns designated by Tudor's instructions (small circle, great circle, large rhomboid, spiral, small triangles, small ovals). Pepsibird is focused upon a physical interiority, its source tapes being recordings of the brain wave activity of humans and animals: cat's eye, nerve firing, bats, EKG, alpha waves, a modified nightjar. Recorded in situ in 1970 and mixed down to stereo, it retains a striking sense of the space and ambience that Tudor achieved in performance. For more than eighteen minutes he merges subtle textures and pulses, at times resembling birdsong, within a blanket of vast, resonant ambience of subaquatic density, foreshadowing the relationship to the natural world of later works like Rainforest IV (1973).

Anima Pepsi is centered on the exterior: field recordings that Tudor made of animal and insect sounds (mosquitoes in a jar, a fly on flypaper, a wasp chewing, a beetle walking) and a mix of human and animal sounds that he called the "funny tape". Where Pepsibird deploys interior sounds in ways that allude to the natural world, Anima Pepsi pushes the sounds of nature and humanity toward the otherworldly through the clear presence of electronic sounds and processing, moulding detailed, pointillistic patterns of abstract sonority into gauzy blankets of ambience and space.

The collaboration did not last: less than a month after the opening, Pepsi withdrew its support, fired E.A.T., and disregarded Tudor's tapes, which according to accounts had to be smuggled out by staff, playing its own soundtrack in the pavilion for the rest of the Expo. Heard today, Pepsibird and Anima Pepsi anticipate many territories of later electroacoustic practice, from field recording to live processing, while the terms on which they were made, radically unpredictable, indeterminate, and experimental to the core, reconfigure what we've come to expect from electronic process, making one wonder if the past was ahead. Issued by Blume in a highly limited vinyl edition of 300 copies on red vinyl, with a 20-page LP-size booklet containing You Nakai's essay and newly commissioned liner notes by Bradford Bailey.

With his last three records all landing within a calendar year (2024-25), enigmatic Swedish producer Civilistjävel! (aka Tomas Bodén) is on a hot streak of releases, his singular vision increasingly ambitious and expansive. There are few artists working at this level so consistently right now, reinventing, revising and continually developing their language. Following on from 2025’s radically re-worked ‘Versions’ (of Mayssa Jallad’s ‘Marjaa…’), Bodén returns to break further fresh ground with his new album, ‘Älvgång’. Featuring contributions from Soccer Committee, Carrier and guest (aka Jabu’s Jasmine Butt), ‘Älvgång’ foregrounds a more brittle and insistent rhythm-based sound, whilst comprising his most broad-ranging collection of material to date.


‘Älvgång’ grew out of a series of sketches made from late ‘24 and throughout the whole of ‘25 at Stockholm’s renowned EMS Studios, which gave Boden free rein to its extensive collection of vintage analogue equipment and rare modular synthesizers such as the Serge and Buchla systems. As a loose framework of tracks began to take shape, so did a reflection of sorts, on family and foundations, underpinned or influenced by sounds that drifted into Tomas consciousness around this time - ancient Swedish pastoral music, Georgian lithurgical chants, gongs, chimes. An idea settled into place, a dedication to his Grandfather, as the earlier release Fyra Platser (tr. ‘Four Places’) was to his Grandmother. Älvgång is grounded with the sense of time and place of an old family photograph, with the tracks over each side bearing one of two names that are more or less the same location - Strinne was the old name for a this loose collection of villages. These days it is more commonly known as Bjärtrå. Metaphorically speaking, the river runs through both.


Civilistjävel! conjures so many adjectives and descriptors, ‘glacial’ and ‘ambient’ frequently among them - but while not altogether untrue, such terms belie the tension and drama so often present in Tomas’ music. Listening to ‘Älvgång’ is not a passive experience. The eight tracks here feel like a patchwork of memories that bathe in the same ethereal, otherworldly glow of Tarkovsky’s polaroids’.


The machine pulses that dominate this landscape are reigned in and tempered by a human hand; lithe, untethered coils, breathing in and out. ‘Strinne Ett’ sets out with purpose, sensing awe and wonder through the murk, but as the final tone unfurls like a question mark, another chapter begins, unfolding/building like a Tarjei Vesaas novel. These lyrical, abstract miniatures combine to reveal a wider context, fragile humanity standing alone against nature.


Guest appearances on Civilistjävel! records have become a regular occurrence (including recent collaborations with Mayssa Jallad, Laila Sakini, Cucina Povera, Thomas Bush, Eldon + Withdrawn), but are used sparingly and with increasing precision. On ‘Strinne Tre’ Mariska Baars’ (Soccer Committee) voice feels like a balm, a clearing. But as her simple, three-word incantation drifts further into fog, the meaning changes, and her words seem to curdle. Carrier’s beats widen the parameters on ‘Strinne Fyra’, a skittering promise that builds tension then refuses to release it; all false starts, Photek gongs, and trinkling modulars. Jabu’s Jasmine Butt pulls all the threads together for the final track, Thomas Tallis’ ghost walking over offset machine impulses, that work against their own symmetry.


Side two begins inquisitively, scanning bleached, alien surroundings, its sparse pads recalling Aphex Twin’s ‘Selected Ambient works Vol 2’. 'Bjärtrå Två’ picks up the baton from ' Strinne Fyra’ with a ruptured Simmons SDS200 analogue drum synth set free from its shackles, the rhythm eventually slotting into the spaces that were hiding in plain sight. What follows seems like an epiphany; ‘Bjärtrå Tre’ is achingly beautiful, a euphoric, winding ascent that leads to devotional plainsong. ‘Bjärtrå Fyra‘s final unheralded shift feels both tragic and haunting.

Cipo delivers 4 deep minimal cuts. Blending dubby textures with hypnotic atmospheric layers, the EP strikes a precise balance between intricate sound design and driving dancefloor energy. Anchored by immersive sub-frequencies and evolving modular rhythms, each track unfolds as a captivating microhouse journey perfectly tuned for late-night sound systems.

From a Beaumont Bar is Pug Johnson's third full-length album and his most complete collection of heartbreak songs to date. Rooted in classic country storytelling, the record draws from the bars, backroads, and late nights that shaped him, turning years of lived experience into songs full of regret, humor, longing, and hard-earned perspective. Written with the benefit of hindsight, these stories don't try to rewrite the past—they simply tell it. From barroom anthems and dancehall shuffles to slow-burning ballads, From a Beaumont Bar captures the moments after love has gone wrong, when all that's left is memory, acceptance, and another round. While Beaumont, Texas provides the backdrop, the album's themes reach far beyond one place. It's a record about heartbreak in all its forms, told with the wit, warmth, and honesty that have become Pug Johnson's calling card. Rich with pedal steel, fiddle, accordion, and timeless country grooves, From a Beaumont Bar is both a tribute to traditional country music and a reminder that the best songs don't just tell stories—they make you feel like you've lived them.

Apex militant late '70s style here, if you think you are into steppers you should have this one firmly in your sights. One of Mr. Smart's hardest records, this originally appeared only as an album track, but also had some fame as a dubplate played at the time by Jah Shaka and others. We've long had that cut in our sights, and while some nice new re-mixes of this tune appeared in the last few years, here is the real thing from '79 steel. The A-side features the raw dubplate cut vocal, no horns or other adornment, HARD to the point stepping drum and bass style. The B-side features the original Gussie Clarke dub mix aptly titled "Hot Steppers", also previously released only on album. This cut as well was run on dubplate back at the time, a killer mix with full horns but no vocal. Leroy Smart is one of our all time favorite artists and we take pride in having re-released a handful of his all time best records, this one now added to that list.