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Gary Arce, Pia Isaksen and Dan Joeright have created something very special and amazing with SoftSun. Spaced-out, other-worldy and soothing, the band move within a sphere it's wonderful to be.

"Surface Noise Isn’t A Crime" continues NOREPRESS’ exploration of texture, pressure, and imperfect sound as core elements of underground electronic music. Across four tracks, the release moves through Deep Tech House, Dub Techno, Electro, and Breakbeat without settling into fixed genre boundaries, balancing functionality with experimentation throughout.

A1. Tvardovsky feat. Andrey Zverev – Flute Meditation opens the record with a dense, slowly unfolding trip built on dub space, electro tension, and hypnotic Tech House movement. Organic flute phrases drift through layered percussion, evolving bass pressure, and spacious analog textures, creating a strange collision of futurism and nostalgia. The track resists obvious peak-time formulas, choosing gradual transformation over immediate impact and rewarding deeper immersion with every transition.

A2. Osman Öz – Regrets moves into softer territory without losing rhythmic weight. Warm breakbeat structures, airy melodic fragments, and fluid low-end movement give the track a calm but persistent momentum. Osman Öz keeps the arrangement restrained and precise, allowing groove and atmosphere to carry the emotional core of the composition naturally.

On the B-side, Kirill Matveev appears under his Natural Piece Of Aloe alias with two contrasting interpretations of the project’s dub-informed language.

B1. Salto Mortale is playful, unstable, and constantly mutating. Rhythms stretch and reorganize themselves around shifting tonal fragments, while the arrangement moves with the loose unpredictability of an improvisation session. Despite its complexity, the track never loses control, maintaining a strong forward pull through every unexpected turn.

Closing the record, B2. Columbo Beat, Kirill Matveev - Sundub pushes deeper into darker territory. Acid sequences slice through heavy dub atmospheres while rugged drums and saturated low-end pressure drive the track forward with raw physical energy. Distortion, space, and movement interact continuously, turning the track into a hypnotic late-night tool designed for more adventurous dancefloors.

"Surface Noise Isn’t A Crime" captures NOREPRESS at its most confident: raw textures, deep space, broken edges, and timeless club influences reconstructed into a modern dub-driven framework.

NOREPRESS is a division of MixCult Records

Nu Vision is a modern salon for visionary leaders, fighting for their art, standing by truths, defending voices, honoring progenitors, whilst pushing forwards towards a new paradigm. The band all have their own stories and extensive discographies, records released on labels you might know, gigs played in places you might have attended but none of that matters. This is a new beginning. A group. A collective.A movement. Nu Vision is a band in the classic do-you-believe-in-alchemy sense. Equal parts rhythm, damage, and deep feeling. Their friends at DFA noted that the album “sounds like Depeche Mode scoring a Michael Mann montage: brooding,motorik, and shot through with black-and-blue beauty.” this idea is taken further in the first video from the album for track one / side one “Time” that launches the project publically along with the albums announcement. The palette of ‘The Seed’ is defined and refined in the best way. It’s an album that opens up many pathways. Brisker, freakier tracks like “Shadow In The Dark,” “R U Serious?” and “Humanity” run towards a softer finish with “Somedays” and the seven-minute, eyeliner-smearing closing ballad, “Lullaby Garden.” These are proper songs made with vintage machines, with a sound that carries obvious influences. ’ The Seed’ pulses forward as the body of the beast is turned inside out, wearing a beating heart on its sleeve, honoring those who left us too soon - DAF’s Gabi Delgado, Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy, Depeche Mode’s Andrew Fletcher, and Sandwell District’s Juan Mendez. It’s important to note the emotional core of ‘The Seed’ album is the song ‘Synchronicity’ that is filled with both love and regret, the story of losing a friend without properly making amends. It is unquestionably heartbreaking, but is also delivered with a pang of hope, the feeling that with so many sunrises caught, so many additions and subtractions in life, a perspective has been gained. This is no freshman effort; but rather, a masterclass in continuing sonic education, delivering a unified experience from beginning to end. A New Vision

Belgian artist Jennifur announces MAZDA, an album inspired by long car rides, emotional transitions, and the strange beauty of existing between places, people, and versions of yourself.

Musically, MAZDA moves fluidly between genres and emotional textures, blending electronic love songs, indie rock structures, UK bass influences, cinematic electronica, and flashes of classical composition.

The project began when Jennifur's brother sent him a playlist called MAZDA, filled with songs their father used to play in the car. What started as a nostalgia gesture quickly became the emotional blueprint for the album.

While writing MAZDA, Jennifur realized he was unknowingly creating the soundtrack to a fictional romcom film that existed only in his imagination. Rather than avoiding clichés like love, heartbreak, growing older, or transition, he chose to embrace them wholeheartedly.

"In a car, you exist in a kind of in-between space," Jennifur explains. "You've left something behind, but you haven't arrived yet. That feeling became the entire record."

The album opener, From A to B, sets the emotional framework for the entire project. Its extended introduction mirrors the exact moment you pull out of your street and realisethat something new has begun.

Highlights include "I Need You To Hold On", written for Jennifur's brother as a message of encouragement. The song "I Once Had a Dream Where I Could Fly" originated from a conversation with his father about recurring dreams of flying. Meanwhile, "From The Sideline" confronts a quieter existential fear, becoming a coming-of-age anthem for anyone who suddenly realizes they have become more of a spectator than an active participant in their own life.

Tracks like "In The Sun" bring a softer, almost cinematic intimacy to the album. Written around the image of spending one final Sunday at the seaside with someone who is seriously ill, the song captures the beauty and fragility of fleeting moments. The closing track "The Dialogue Before We Left" serves as the emotional final scene of the album.

"For me, it's the moment after a long drive when you turn off the engine but stay seated for a minute," Jennifur explains. "You realise something happened. You listened to my story, and we travelled from A to B together."

For the label's latest, Oath is proud to present 'Honey Tangerine', the newest mini-album from producer extortionaire Olsvangèr, who serves up his signature blend of hyper-kinetic, ever-shifting dance music.

Olsvangèr's sound and musical journey are forever rooted in the liminal spaces that make up the broad-reaching and ever-shifting electronic music landscape, with his records consistently channeling that in-betweenness that imprints lasting impressions. A classically trained musician with a profound passion for house and techno, Olsvangèr's sonic palette is one of both broad and delicate brush strokes, applying an array of compelling motifs within amorphous arrangements that blend and blur perspectives. His records seek out the faraway fringes as much as focusing on the intensity found in the detail, creating cavernous soundscapes that are impeccably tuned and effortlessly free-flowing. Seemingly genreless, his records are anchored in all that is known and loved, yet due to the music's perspective situated at the intersectionality of electronica, a beautiful anticipation resides within every stanza of his tracks at what may come next. His musical language has found him releasing on the likes of Kalahari Oyster Cult, Hooj Choons and Craigie Knowes, and follows through within his imprint Tofistock, which has been pushing some of the most forward-thinking dance music of recent times.

'Honey Tangerine' touches upon the classic motifs of Olsvangèr's sound, and as always, the room for growth within the record's parameters remains truly endless. Over six tracks, Olsvangèr lays bare the directions of travel, with paths unravelling that feel well trodden yet with some that branch out towards new horizons. 'Source of Thought' opens up proceedings with a captivating ambience, where twinkling hues and lively tones paint the parameters of sound. The chuggy breaks that land deep within the mix drop in and out of view, allowing a deft balance between pure ambiance and rhythm to exchange dialogue between one another. 'In a Nutshell' shifts gears in atmosphere and energy, with all eyes placed upon the club. The shifting rhythm section lifts the acidic melodic features up above, with driving bass notes and a euphoric vocal like lead linking the depths to the heavens. 'Tulpa Nine' swings into heads-down territory, where the drums swing slow and the throbbing bass hits heavy. The auto-tune vocal line up above creates an atmosphere of hazy, smoke-filled rooms, where the party yearns for downtime in anticipation of the next shift in energy.

'Sunrise on the Lips' gives over further chill out room vibrations, where the lights remain low, and smiles reside all around. The enriching drums provide the basis for sitars and glossy keys to glide across the top ends, with the mind invited to dip deep within this enthralling ensemble. 'Zoom It Out' provides the release into the room, with the ante upped. A breaky house leaning number, this cut grooves through its chiming melodic section and groove-laden bass line, with the polyrhythmic drumming pattern doing much to keep the energy residing very high indeed. The record is wrapped up with 'Some Air', which gives over one final jaunt through the airy, slowed-down slipstreams. A wondrous beat is complemented by melodic elements that chime, absorb and quiver, glowing through the night with such charm and feel. An engrossing composition that demonstrates what Olsvangèr is all about - a crafter of sound, where adventure is sought and found, never wavering but curating new connections, feelings, and tones, with an eye on what might come next.

Whether softly undulating or boundlessly expressive, Olsvangèr's music remains a beautiful enigma that serves up both the glorious knowns and the captivating unknowns - 'Honey Tangerine' is yet another chapter in his glorious discography.

On Last Night At Marienbad's latest, the imprint brings together three of the brightest souls found within the realms of Jazz, namely Mauricesax, 9ick and Milan93, with their collective talents synergising effortlessly on 'A Garden Between Us', alongside a stellar cast of remixers who add even further delight between the grooves….

As a genre, Jazz has perhaps lent itself the most to other musical universes, in that its curious heart, endlessly experimental nature, and parameter-defying spirit have wrapped itself deep within the core of countless albums, scenes, and music makers. It's a genre that welcomes reinvention, consistently defying its contents and always reaching out to find new methods of expressionism. Electronic music, in its many forms, has truly embraced Jazz perhaps like no other movement of music has, with a truly astonishing array of records surfacing in the past 40 years which have blended Jazz's unique motifs with grooves, chords, and emotive excellence. From 90s Jazz house and UR Techno, through to Future Jazz, downtempo, and Hip Hop, and around many other suns, there remains such an intrinsic and symbiotic relationship between the two musical realms that caters to those who wish to live music both within and out with themselves.

As practitioners of blending electronica and Jazz, few do it like the trio of Mauricesax, 9ick, and Milan93. All three are known for their distinctive soundscapes, yet share commonalities in terms of musical language, feel, and sense of progression. Bringing them together allows for overlaps in their sounds to emerge, and just like Jazz itself, this is where the intrinsicness of sound begins to blossom. 9ick brings his softly evolving vibe to the table, one which was so prevalent and celebrated on his 2025 album 'SMIL'; Milan93 draws from his focal point of exploring fill-laden grooves and a myriad of emotive sensibilities; and Mauricesax draws up his extensive musicality that exists at the corner of jazz, electronic, and experimental music, along with running musical workshops all over the globe.

'A Garden Between Us' represents the trio's core tenets, with this immediately obvious from the record's opener, 'Rhodora'. A gentle solo piano quickly evolves into a series of powerful rhythmic pulses, with brass lines bringing vitality and feel to proceedings. The track shifts gears with purpose, transitioning between musical vignettes of the highest order, with the synth work doing much to bind the transitions together. 'Tulip' emerges slightly differently, with glossy Rhodes tones and an unravelling rhythmic undercurrent setting an enthralling stage. The track flourishes amongst sweeping textures, coming up for air amongst a deeply hypnotic rhythmic section that holds on and never lets up. 'Honeysuckle' lands next, which sees the trio emerge with a boundless, dynamic soundscape. The drums shift within the undertones, as keys, chords, horns and hip-hop vocal samples dance around the pulse, capturing the imagination with their narrative-like placement. Wrapping up the A side comes 'Camellia'. A dazzling array of harmonic sounds converges around the transfixing rhythm section, which emerges from deep below to lavishly roll out over the midsection, with the delicateness of the instrumentation a real highlight here.

The B side features two exquisite remixes, with Pacific Coliseum's version of 'Tulip' landing first. Beginning with a signature four to the floor to get things going, his careful handling of the source material is seen in the tactful introduction of the blissful elements that made the original cut so impactful, with great focus placed on emotive fidelity. The result is a summer-bound house number that reimagines the original in all the right ways, flipping it into a euphoria-driven jazz-laden pacer that reaches for the heavens as much as it drives right into the heart. Teuteu then showcases their take on 'Honeysuckle', and at 9 minutes long, represents the longest cut on the record - and the experience is all the richer for it. Leaning heavily into dance music flavours, Teuteu shifts perspective totally into the realm of the club, with the walls beating hard to the kicks. The sax lines that drift ethereally up top keep eyes closed and souls full, as the dance shifts into the next phase.

An experience that drifts from the daydreaming, to soul-warming through to the club shaking - what else is left to experience, except for 'A Garden Between Us' and how it will brighten up life itself….

Surprises are nice. Unexpected, delightful - Vision Fortune last released music in 2015, and so odds were off that we’d hear from them again.

But against all odds, Vision Fortune III is coming out on Gringo Records, following the release of their last album ‘Country Music’ on ATP Records.

The trio first agreed to record a new album as somewhat of a dare over a marathon pasta and wine heavy luncheon in Palermo, Sicily. Waking up with sore heads, they realised in mild panic that flight tickets had been purchased, a cottage in rural Wales was booked, and it was too late to pull out.

And so it was - the Fortunes arrived in Machynlleth Wales in Spring of the following year. The rules were simple - takes were live, songs minimal and the fireplace kept roaring.

Drummer Andres Ayerbe’s strict roast lamb dinner cooking schedule resulted in an album less frenetic and agitated than previous work - instead, III explores a softer, more subdued and subtle side of Vision Fortune. Additional overdubs were recorded in New York City and Birmingham, by AC Williams and Alex Townend. III was completed - a new, leaner Vision Fortune. Like a good lamb dinner - more meat, less fat.

Press Quotes for Country Music:
"An impressively brutal record" NME 8/10

"Immersive and introspective musique concréte rippling rippling with dub rhythms, orchestral strings, tolling bells and discordant drones coming close to the alien beauty of Mica Levi's sonically extreme soundtrack work." Uncut 7/10

"Unsettling, strangely cathartic and hook-free (in a good way)." Dazed ("Twenty albums to look out for in 2015")

"Assembling whole scrapyards of sound and turning them into something better than what went before" The Guardian

"Swaddling the senses in soundwaves, Minimal ambient sketches and harsh electronics abound on this fascinating 12-song affair" The FADER

"Basically just one long, connected droney throb. But it's an awesome long droney throb." Brooklyn Vegan

2026 Repress

Ezra Feinberg's third album Soft Power sees the composer-guitarist enlist an impressive array of fellow musicians including Mary Lattimore, David Moore (Bing & Ruth), Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Robbie Lee and share the life affirming lead single 'Future Sand'.

Defined by its abundance of melodies, repeating figures and ecstatic improvisations, Soft Power exudes an enlightened and transformative spirit to empower the listener. Feinberg, a practising psychoanalyst and former founding member of the San Francisco psychedelic collective Citay (Dead Oceans / Important Records) resides in the artistic enclave of upstate New York's Hudson River valley. Initial recordings emerged in the late summer of 2020, before added synthesis with collaborator John Thayer (Arp, Sunwatchers) during early 2021. Soft Power follows previous albums 'Recumbent Speech' (2020) and 'Pentimento and Others' (2018).

Feinberg artfully transcends the listener to an enriched place, his compositions distinguished by the deep humanity that lies at their core, plugging the listener into a state of wide eyed being, open and alive. Soft Power then is Ezra's own mantra but also one of power giving - a colourful catharsis translated into music.

Feinberg's music always speaks to the listener, but Soft Power, in whispering, speaks loudest.

"Much like everyday life, I wanted to convey these very plain, simple, tranquil, nearly quotidian aspects, but each piece contains this arc in which that form expands, is broken out of, so what starts out like a painting of flowers in a seaside motel turns into a riot of color and sound, or you feel slipped into a dream that feels like it could go on forever"

NOW Music is proud to present the newest addition to the ‘Yearbook’ series: NOW – YEARBOOK 1982. 3 LPs of 44 defining tracks that ruled the charts in 1982.
Featuring number 1s, including ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ (Survivor), ‘Ebony And Ivory’ (Paul McCartney), ‘Town Called Malice’ (The Jam), and 1982’s biggest seller ‘Come On Eileen’ from Dexys Midnight Runners.
1982 saw the first huge hits from a wealth of new artists including Culture Club, Wham! and Tears For Fears, as well as an incredible line-up from artists who had established their chart presence in the prior 18 months and would produce some of the greatest tracks of the decade; Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC, Haircut 100, Soft Cell, The Human League, and a newly solo Adam Ant.
‘Fame’ was the TV phenomenon of the year, and Irene Cara’s theme from the original 1980 film enjoyed massive success.
As ABBA released their last singles for nearly 40 years, pure-pop from Bucks Fizz, Blondie, and Madness is celebrated alongside synth-pop gems from New Order, Simple Minds, Visage and Japan.
Leading artists from the punk scene enjoyed continued and renewed success, including The Stranglers, The Clash and Pretenders, whilst Foreigner, Meat Loaf with Cher, and Steve Miller Band provided radio-favourite rock and power ballads.
1982 saw a huge chart presence for dance music – from the hi-NRG of Boys Town Gang, to the electro-infused beats of Malcolm McLaren, and Rockers Revenge, the 1980’s disco of Shalamar, alongside soul classics from Marvin Gaye and Donna Summer… plus stellar ballads from Elton John, Lionel Richie, and Roxy Music.

From the fires and floods of the Australian bush on her debut, Soon, which Phil Elverum reissued via his label, P.W. Elverum & Sun, tiarn now takes us to the shores of the Pacific Ocean where classical and electronic arrangements move with an ever-present longing for connection and nature. Stretton has weaved a new world, set on the brink of night, when the world is soft and suspended in blue. Living in isolation near the ocean, overlooking the winter migration of whales, Stretton would regularly swim during the brief 20-minute period known as the blue hour. Ideas would come to her in the icy salt water, and walking home in the dark, she would carry melodies back to record that night. At its heart, tiarn reflects ecological grief and the search for connection in a changing world. tiarn is also inspired by a piece of home camera footage Stretton found of her family in Japan where they lived in the ‘90s before she was born.

It shows the distant mountains, and Stretton’s young family looking over the valley in the soft static of one summer evening. Decades later, using the untouched synth her parents had bought in Tokyo in 1991, Stretton began recording music directly to that footage, letting the images dictate the melody. Voices, insects, weather, movement, and the ambient sounds of the valley are woven throughout the record itself, blurring the line between documentation and composition. The result is an album that feels less created than uncovered — something remembered rather than made. Stretton’s work continues to carve a singular path in contemporary music, balancing environmental awareness, experimental composition, and deeply personal storytelling.

With Sunrise and the Life We Live, John Beltran returns to his ambient techno roots, the sound that garnered him global appeal in the 1990s.

Through ten tracks, the album journeys through lush, aerated textures and beatless expanse. Hypnotic grooves deepen and bloom in a flow of shapes and colors, creating a sound that is both meditative and full of life.

Thirty years after the release of his seminal Ten Days of Blue, Beltran's musicianship, vision and desire to produce remain at a fever pitch. With Sunrise and the Life We Live his gift of extracting emotion from the universe and turning it into
a unique musical experience puts him in a class of his own.

Turner Club are a UK house duo who met in the North East more than 20 years ago. They head up their own label and often explore melancholic sounds with cuddly grooves, and this time they land on Jason Wilkins aka Camille's Adeen label with three hugely tasteful original cuts, with a neat remix completing the package. 'All For Free' has a heavy groove that's softened by the gentle male vocals and smeared chords. 'Hard Lovin' Me' has the astral colours and swirling ambience of classic Larry Heard again, with a tender vocal. 'Find A Way' picks up the pace with more strident drums and crisp percussion as the vocal infuses the mix with sunk-spoken warmth and soul. The Glenn Davis remix is soft-focus deep house with a nice dusty edge.

2026 Repress

On Left At Sunset, Tornado Wallace taps into those fragile, glowing moments after a long night in the club, when the lights come up just enough, the bass softens, and the first hint of morning slips through the windows. Time feels suspended.
The lead track Asahi Ga Yondeiru (“the morning sun is calling”) captures that feeling perfectly. Built around Courtney Bailey’s gentle vocal, it drifts somewhere between late-night house and early morning reflection. It is not about the peak. It is about what comes after it. That quiet euphoria when you realize the night gave you something you will carry back into the real world. The rest of the EP stays in that same emotional zone: warm, slightly melancholic, but full of light. These are tracks for the very last dance, when the floor is half-empty, hearts are wide open, and every sound feels a little more meaningful. Not an ending, really. Just the beginning of whatever comes next.

Hallelujah Trial is Tom Roberts (Cranebuilders, Beatowls) and John Canning Yates (Ella Guru): two Liverpool songwriters who knew each other for twenty years before they ever played a note together. Roberts brought a folder of songs to Yates' front room. Yates answered with piano. A weekly ritual of tea and talk became a repertoire, the repertoire became a debut performance at the final La Violette Società, and a few weeks later the songs became an album, recorded in May 2026 in the Gustav Adolf Church, the Scandinavian seamen's church on the edge of Liverpool's Baltic Triangle.

The sound is spacious, stripped back and gloriously melodic: voice, guitar and piano, songs in a room, storytelling that recalls Bill Callahan, Lee Hazlewood and the late Johnny Cash records. Yates' Ella Guru drew a Peel session and 'the best debut album since Marquee Moon' from the Independent on Sunday. Roberts' Cranebuilders recorded two Peel sessions of their own. The pedigree is genuine. The songs are better.

Recorded, mixed and produced by John Canning Yates. Mastered by Jason Mitchell (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding). Sleeve by Pascal Blua, after a rose from William Turner's herbal of 1568. The closing 'Reprise' carries a hallelujah chorus of friends and family, recorded live in the ch

Amsterdam-based Moody Mehran captures the atmosphere of a soft Mediterranean sunset perfectly. Just in time for late summer, the Dutch-Iranian artist debuts on SEVEN with four trance-infused, uplifting cuts, alongside a remix by Maruwa. The EP channels a distinct Balearic-leaning, '90s trance sensibility. Melodic, sun-drenched and emotionally direct. Built for open-air floors and festival moments, these tracks are driven by shimmering synth sequences, rolling basslines, crisp percussion and psychedelic sound design. It’s a sound reminiscent of trance’s golden era reduced to its essence: simple, euphoric, and highly effective.

Amsterdam-based Moody Mehran captures the atmosphere of a soft Mediterranean sunset perfectly. Just in time for late summer, the Dutch-Iranian artist debuts on SEVEN with four trance-infused, uplifting cuts, alongside a remix by Maruwa. The EP channels a distinct Balearic-leaning, '90s trance sensibility. Melodic, sun-drenched and emotionally direct. Built for open-air floors and festival moments, these tracks are driven by shimmering synth sequences, rolling basslines, crisp percussion and psychedelic sound design. It’s a sound reminiscent of trance’s golden era reduced to its essence: simple, euphoric, and highly effective.

Diese Doppel-Vinyl-Compilation lädt ein in die warme, entspannte Welt des Lo-Fi-Sounds - eine Musik, die entschleunigt, Atmosphäre schafft und Nähe erzeugt. Versammelt sind prägende Künstler des Genres, die Lo-Fi, Downtempo, Jazz-Einflüsse und elektronische Gelassenheit miteinander verbinden. Mit Beiträgen von FKJ, Darius, Kid Loco, St Germain, The Mighty Bop, DJ Cam, DJ Spinna und weiteren wichtigen Namen entsteht ein vielschichtiges Panorama zwischen organischen Grooves, sanften Beats und subtilen Melodien. Die Auswahl richtet sich gleichermaßen an langjährige Liebhaber wie an neue Hörer, die Lo-Fi als eigenständige, zeitlose Form elektronischer Musik entdecken möchten. Ein stimmiger, sorgfältig kuratierter Sampler für entspannte Hörsituationen, stilbewusste Sets und alle, die elektronische Musik lieber fühlen als konsumieren. ENGThis double-vinyl compilation invites listeners into the warm, comforting world of lo-fi music - a sound defined by relaxed rhythms, organic textures and understated emotion. Featuring leading artists of the genre, the collection blends downtempo beats, jazz influences and laid-back electronic production. With tracks by FKJ, Darius, Kid Loco, St Germain, The Mighty Bop, DJ Cam, DJ Spinna and others, the album offers a broad yet coherent overview of lo-fi aesthetics. It appeals both to seasoned listeners and newcomers seeking a timeless, atmosphere-driven listening experience. A carefully curated selection designed for calm moments, focused listening and stylish musical environments

Modeight returns with four new cuts from label head Silat Beksi, moving across broken grooves, stripped minimal house and hazy after-hours moods. A1 "Belpaese 3000" opens on a loose summer feel, built around off-centre drums, elastic funk phrasing and a surreal vocal line that feels half-sung, half-invented. Sampled folk details and a crunchy acid twist in the breakdown give the track its own oddball tension. A2 "Alpha Style" keeps things tighter and more direct, locking into a pumping minimal house flow with clipped modular stabs, warm female vocal phrases and light atmospheric drift. It is playful, controlled and built with the floor in mind. On the flip, "For The Heads" goes deeper into late-night territory - reduced, driving and sharply focused, with a rolling pulse and enough pressure to carry a room without overstatement. "Soft Collapse" closes the record on a softer axis, layering blurred vocal tones, textured percussion and a gentle after-hours motion that stretches naturally from the first warm-up hours into the early morning.

Bristol trio Jabu return with their first release for two years. Following on from their widely acclaimed third LP ‘A Soft and Gatherable Star’, this stand-alone double A-side Disco Mix 12” features four exclusive new tracks, while signposting fresh material currently being written, recorded and mixed for their forthcoming LP, due 2027.


If 2023 LP ‘Boiling Wells’ documented Jabu learning to be a live band, leaning into writing collectively in-the-moment, ‘A Soft and Gatherable Star’ took that record’s ad-hoc/mixtape blueprint, and fleshed out their transformation from an outfit rooted in hiphop and dubstep, to a guitar-based band with a unique take on dream-pop. It saw them described by The Face as “an experiential trio blending the raw edge of industrial dub with dreamy layers of ambient pop and shoegaze", and by The Wire as “like Mazzy Star remixed by The Mad Professor“.


Jabu have continued to grow in the space between releases, touring regularly for the first time, playing festivals such as Rewire and Le Guess Who?, and supporting the likes of Maria Somerville and AR Kane. Their extended live line-up now regularly incorporates those that contributed to ‘A Soft and Gatherable Star’, with new material often further developed as it gets passed back and forth between collaborators. Cellist Josh Horsley (Powders / Nightingale Floor) and multi-instrumentalist Will Yates (aka Memotone) both feature here, under the guiding hand of Birthmark’s mixing.


Titled after the rural, estuarine landscape bordering their Bristol hometown, ‘Severn Flood Plain’ sees the band pivot towards a more jagged and up-tempo, post-punk sound. It runs on a nagging drum machine pulse that feels closer to Joy Division than Sly Stone; while the echo-laced vocals and tremolo guitar phrasing hark back to the ‘50s slapback sound of Lee Hazlewood or Duane Eddy. Written and sung by Jasmine Butt, the lyrics describe a visit to a friend near the mouth of the Severn, and hint towards a darkness that can also be felt across that tidal landscape.


Dropping the pace to a languorous, sensual sprawl, ‘Where You Run To’ is plaintive and yearning, an opiated, ethereal flipside to ‘Severn Flood Plain’s more urgent, anxiety-laced opener. Alex Rendall’s vocals glide over a stripped, metronomic backdrop, eventually entwining with Memotone’s ghostly, processed clarinet.


If the band’s musical reference points appear to have shifted, their process remains indebted to dub and still very much rooted in the multicultural cross-pollination peculiar to their home city of Bristol. Both tracks are extended, with dub versions courtesy of Birthmark. The band sat in on those sessions, completing the circle that began with J’s on-stage mixing of their live sets. The strands provided by Will and Josh provide introspective counterpoint to the sound system leanings.


Jabu’s influences are threaded together as naturally here as on their long-running NTS radio show, ‘Music For Lovers’, which now occasionally guests on the Early Bird show slot. They are due to play World of Echo’s ‘Expected Music 2.0’ at London’s Walthamstow Trades Hall on 21st November with Loopsel, Insides, Giulio Erasmus, Thomas Bush, and Raime amongst others.

DJ Support: Vladimir Ivkovic, Calm, LefTo, Dawn Again, Dream Chimney, Alexis Le-Tan, Afterlife, Sofa Elsewhere, Kreggo, Froid Dub, Johan Blende, Sean Johnston, Fabio De Luca, Dr. Rob, Leo Mas, Mark Broadbent, Patch, Stefano Tucci, DJ Nova

Three years after dropping Rapido Super studio on Hell Yeah, Caramel 3000 has slowed things down even further for his new eight-track LP, Super Tempra. This playful work gets stranger but even more inviting than ever with his signature OB-6 synth and the Eurorack modular, oodles of springy reverb, delayed balafon and scattered spoken-words. Caramel 3000 splits his time between the muddy waters of the Barene, south of the Venice Lagoon, and the dim light of a studio in Anderlecht. When not cruising in his sun-bleached wooden boat, he cherishes in the little light that reaches him at his shelter in Anderlecht. Renata and Piero, the couple on the artwork, once passed through that studio. This irregular sonic fusion of this EP came out of that visit. It's a fantastical collage that dissolves the boundaries between devotion and daydream with syrupy choir voices and fragments of Nancy Fraser lectures drifting in and out like the plot of a half- remembered hallucination. Quotes from legendary Italian singer Ornella Vanoni, children’s percussion and mystic melodies are looped and modulated into slow-burning psych - outs.

After the ancient sci-fi dub of the opener, 'Corsa Nudi' pairs the occult with the primitive, 'Arena Deriva' melts to watery droplets and glacial waves, and 'Acqua Tofana' is polyrhythmic tribalism from another dimension. 'Lente Virtus' marries melodic innocence to trippy humid density and 'Soft-shell Crab' is a woozy kaleidoscope with the happy accidents left in. 'Cacciatore di Frodo' is a haunting apparition from the deep and 'Vittoria Foresta' suspends you between the earthly and the otherworldly. Super Tempra is half the speed but twice the depth and full of wonder.

DJ Support: Chris Coco, DJ Morpheus, Alexis Le-Tan, DVS1, Afterlife, Ally Tropical, Alex Ruder (KEXP), Andy Wilson, Bill Brewster, Makossa

Dawn Again continues his masterful run on Hell Yeah with a third new album in consecutive years. The Aussie "pubwave" architect this time serves up Pints Of Ambient Nectar, an eight-track collection of new ambient works and remixes of album tracks from 2024's Every Dog's Hotel and 2025's Lost In The Front Bar.

Melbourne producer Nick Verwey has spent the last decade quietly refining a sound that's loose, lived-in, and made for real moments rather than peak-time theatrics. With releases on Houseworx, Enjoyment Division and Hell Yeah, his sun-faded, lo-fi grooves drift between breaks, downtempo and hazy house. His “pubwave” sound is music born from lockdown nostalgia, communal pints and the romance of places where time slows, conversations linger, but the jukebox keeps things moving.

The scene is set with bird calls and saw synth awakenings on 'Backyard Paradiso', 'A Day in the Life of Pond Algae' is a quiet ode to hope and revival, while 'Slow Motion Goal Celebration' smudges chords like rays of sun cooled by a breeze. 'Kneverending Knockoffs' teases acid murmurs amongst floating melodic clouds, and new cut ' A Pub With No Beer' has sugary lines piercing sustained ambient drones. 'Hard Earned Thirst' is mellow magic for horizontal afternoons, 'Hair Of The Dawg' shimmers like heat waves on the horizon and 'Vanilla Sky' is a cathartic drift bathed in soft light, unfolding in slow, weightless waves.

This sun-dazed ambient sidestep from Dawn Again stretches pubwave nostalgia into hazy, unhurried pieces made for slow afternoons where your woes dissolve and your soul warms.

'Space Between' is the debut album of The Hague based Belgian vocalist/ composer Sam Nera. This experimental indie pop album is characterized by Sam's soft repetitive vocal phrases, shifting layers, and melodic, hypnotic soundscapes that clearly echo her background in jazz.

2026 Repress

SHDW & Obscure Shape offer up their first EP on new imprint Mutual Rytm as they drop five fresh and expansive techno cuts across their 'Poetic Justice' EP.

A duo that has ascended to become leading names within today's techno landscape, SHDW & Obscure Shape continue to grow and evolve while shaping their own unique sound fusing classic influences with a modern touch. Their latest project saw the birth of Mutual Rytm - a new imprint launched in early 2022 set to showcase a deep dive into the duo's musical roots via their own productions alongside material from the label's close family of likeminded artists. Following the label's opening multi-artist VA and the first solo EP from Berlin's Lars Huismann, June welcomes the first solo instalment from the label founders themselves as they ready a killer five-tracker set to make an impact.

A1 'Turbulence' sets the pace as the duo delve into nimble rhythms which ebb and flow effortlessly to reveal a hypnotic slice of modern techno permeated with classic, old school cues, while 'Pulse' takes up a darker aesthetic, keeping the energy high as metallic drum licks guide driving sub-bass and resonant stabs. On the Bside, title cut 'Poetic Justice' balances warping vocals with swinging percs amongst a layered, drum-laden kinetic
workout, exemplifying the duo's drive for combining and contrasting various shades of techno. Next up, 'Set It Off' welcomes the introduction of expansive melodies to offer an entrancing late-night cut, before turning to the unhurried grooves, salient hats and sweeping atmospherics of 'Killing Me Softly'.

Digital bonus 'Before Sunset' once again delves into lighter, breezy territories while keeping the classic rolling
techno touches throughout, shaping up the package with a powerful yet agile closing production.

Teemon and Poomba go looking for light in the darkness on their new EP “Hopeless.” The Madrid duo have a knack for dragging nostalgic sounds into the present, and this release is no exception. With equal parts Hi-NRG euphoria and dark disco dread, the four tracks feel like a glitchy transmission beamed in from another decade, or perhaps another galaxy…

The title track, “Hopeless,” sends us hurtling down a wormhole. Powered by a cavernous bass, we are propelled through kick drums, warp effects and sparkly synths, while a distant voice calls at us through the darkness.

Iranian producer Amirali takes “Hopeless” somewhere a little lighter with his remix, easing the intensity down before letting it slowly climb again. His version foregrounds the track’s earworm synth line and builds on it, layering and expanding on the vocal line until it sounds celestial. Amirali’s skills as a classically trained pianist feel reflective here in his compositional approach.

If “Hopeless” is the wormhole down, then “Moon Connections” is what’s waiting on the other side. The track leans heavily into sharp, percussive sounds that form a grounding contrast to the high synths that glitter above. With a spoken word line that sounds like it’s being transmitted through a space-age radio and enough deep warp effects to get lost in, this B side sends us to the stars.

Closing things out, the Eagles & Butterflies remix of Moon Connections brings us down to earth. Chill, deep-house adjacent and with a hint of Daft Punk in its DNA, it wraps a heavily filtered guitar line around a softened groove built for the comedown – the sound of the sun coming up on the last people left on the floor.

DJ Support: Nick Warren, Andy Wilson, Bill Brewster, Max Essa, Simon Lee, Pete Herbert, Mark Broadbent, Be Lanuit, Coyote, Andy Pye, Andy Taylor, Steve KIW, Mike Bradbury, Pathaan, Steve Optix

NuNorthern Soul welcomes Lonely Deckchair, a deeply personal and nostalgic long-player shaped by memory, place and the passing of time. Rooted in a return to Aguadulce on Spain’s southern coast, the album reflects on childhood summers, family connections and the quiet beauty of life coming full circle.

Written as a dedication to the artist’s children, the record moves between reflective ambient passages, Balearic rhythms and gently propulsive grooves. Across the album, reversed guitar sequences, soft synthetic textures and field recordings create a dreamlike sense of revisiting the past—like flicking through faded photographs or Super 8 footage.

From the misty-eyed opener Rayman’s Kingdom through to the closing drift of Alhambra Space Station, the album captures moments of wonder, movement and stillness—sunlit coastlines, long drives, first experiences, and the emotional pull between leaving and returning.

Full sleeve notes from Robert Harris aka Dr Rob from BanBanTonTon

Knowsum is set to release his new album, Cherry Stone Pillow on his label Sugar Brain.
A record that keeps swinging - blurred at the edges, and gently surreal. Psychedelic rock pulses at it's core, softened by the sweet touch of soul, the sway of bossanova, and the sun-faded glow of 60s easy-listening. Each track feels like an afternoon stretched into midnight – This is music for children of the moon, where drums riot like subway prophets and guitars drip human gasoline

Mit „Golden Chart Hits Of The 80s & 90s Vol. 6“ erscheint die nächste Ausgabe der beliebten Vinyl-Serie und bringt erneut die größten Pop- und Dance-Hits zweier legendärer Jahrzehnte auf den Plattenteller. Die neue Compilation vereint internationale Chart-Klassiker und echte Kultsongs der 80er und 90er Jahre in einer hochwertigen Vinyl-Edition.

Mit dabei sind unter anderem Hits von Ace Of Base, Soft Cell, The Rainbirds, Corey Hart und Kim Wilde. Die Zusammenstellung bietet eine perfekte Mischung aus New Wave, Synth-Pop, Dance und Pop-Rock – ideal für Sammler, Vinyl-Liebhaber und Fans unvergesslicher Radiohits.

Die „Golden Chart Hits“-Reihe von ZYX Music steht seit Jahren für nostalgische Musikmomente und sorgfältig kuratierte Hit-Compilations auf Vinyl. Vol. 6 setzt diese Erfolgsgeschichte konsequent fort und liefert den perfekten Soundtrack für jede 80s- & 90s-Party.

Peach Discs celebrates peak western-hemisphere summer with the perfectly-timed-and-titled "Soft Serve Summer" EP from I. JORDAN. We were delighted when they sent us these tunes, which represent a brighter, housier and more personal side to their sound than many have seen before. Inspired by their recent tour of Australia, the EP (named after the title track that got the ball rolling on the other side of the planet) bottles a loose, sun-kissed feeling across all five tracks that's keen to be unleashed at festivals, beaches and dancefloors worldwide.

Opener "Your Love" boots things off in style, sitting somewhere between Power House and French Touch as layers of oscillating synths, percolating drums and vocal chops take turns in the spotlight – but when all's said and done it's the bassline that gets the flowers, duh.

Things turn a little more introspective on "Little Tinker", as the titular bells sprinkled throughout summon up something…else? Whatever you think that is, the muscular bassline once again keeps us grounded, as washes of dreamy synths lap at the shore and everything is in its right place, before the urgent organ stabs and diva moans of "Soft Serve Summer" pull us straight back to the middle of the floor.

The master of ambient soundscapes, intertwining authentic old school breakbeats with his inimitable style returns with a fresh album of choice cuts for the Spatial crew. A1 - Form of Defraction Opening the LP in his gloriously unique style, Aural Imbalance sets the tone with a powerfully ambient intro of padwork and delicately filtered breaks before dense, analogue old school breakbeats roar to life sending the track skyward. The sublime 808 bassline simmers beneath an ever-evolving soundscape of twinkling melodies and strings, the very essence of serenity captured in just under 7 minutes of audio bliss. A2 - Discreet Function Enveloping the listener with a warm blanket of silky ambience, Discreet Function soon jolts to life with a crunchy breakbeat that counteracts yet compliments the pads and myriad of delicious micro melodies so well, you wonder how it’s possible to take such extremes and mix them down so expertly that our ears accept it as one. After a relatively brief breakdown the track rolls out before the breaks are snatched away at the death - capping off a quite unique composition. B1 - Softlight Light cymbals and delicate textures introduce us to Softlight, a track which sees Aural Imbalance guiding the listener through the clouds to a haven of gentle serenity where your troubles simply fade away, punctuated by a stunningly programmed and memorable Hot Pants break pattern, timid classic basslines and an overall plethora of sun-baked energy - perfect for the headphones and the record box - as always. B2 - Airwave Immensely old school vibes are immediately present in Airwave, with analogue breaks and succinct female vocal samples that mingle with echoing melodies and synthwork to create a beautifully flowing and unique slice of atmospheric gold. Additional breaks are fused into the mix as the track progresses, elevating the piece to the heights we have come to expect from Aural Imbalance, yet never cease to amaze. C1 - Speed of Light Gentle cymbals and filtered breaks open Speed of Light, before a crisp barrage of amen goodness descends and dominates proceedings - just as a good amen should! Programmed to perfection with an immensely danceable rolling pattern, the amens lead us through a sea of washing synths and delicate melodies, intertwining and frolicking in the mix, completing a charming and memorable piece. C2 - Fading Star Playful strings and a luscious 808 bassline play with sumptuous padwork in the intro to Fading Star, a track which sees Aural Imbalance capture the essence of 90’s jungle and it’s symbiotic relationship with atmospheric drum & bass perfectly. Developing throughout with an array of unassuming effects and a quietly moving vibe, Fading Star is the perfect addition to sets spanning the entire history of this music. D1 - Drifting Under Bright Skies Aural Imbalance resurrects the excellent break last featured on Spatial in his sublime track Surface Area, this time chopped and sliced to a different vibe, with kickdrums at the forefront and that fantastically crunchy snare deployed more sparingly. Shimmering padwork and light melodies dance across the mix throughout to leave us with a refreshingly unique and memorable track you won’t be able to get enough of. D2 - Violet Completing this fine LP of old school ambient breakbeat mastery, Aural Imbalance deploys Violet to see us out - a climactic-feeling romp that opens with quiet intent before launching the listener through cheery melodic tones and bustling soundscapes, sprinkled liberally with airy pads and fluttering micro melodies that zip and whoosh around thick analogue breakbeats. A fitting end to a thoroughly enjoyable album. Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist) credits

Derek Kamm is the American producer behind the Kidislive project and brings more than two decades of experience.

The Long Island-raised DJ and producer has previously received support from the likes of Richie Hawtin, Marco Carola and Carl Craig, while releasing on Visionquest, but now hones his craft, combining influences from micro house, minimal and experimental. Fresh off a third outing on 8 Head Records, he is back on his own new label to explore more compelling grooves.

Opener 'Down To The Penny' has a lively carnival feel, with an excitable mix of shimmering synths and subtle guitar riffs bursting through the mix. Sweeping filters ramp up the scale as more delicate melodies hang in the air, helping to hypnotise the dance floor. There is plenty of sunshine in the rich, multilayered instrumental 'Never Stop Reaching', which builds through rousing chords and florid flute lines. Vocals arrive with an empowering message that will bring real rapture. The fantastic 'Dipper Fox' is a rugged rhythm with chunky bass and a muscular feel that's softened by wispy, swirling synths and soaring choral vocals. Last but not least, 'Shorty Circuitry' is a study in emotional soundscaping - a warm, effervescing brew with strings and breathy vocals, long-tailed chords and a sense of joy all swarming around a subtle bass guitar that moves things onward and upwards.

Written in the wake of a relocation year that quietly rewired the Australian-Macedonian DJ/Producer’s instincts, the latest record on Aldonna’s own Re-leaf Imprint trades the melodic density of earlier work for something more intimate, immediate, and bodily. ‘Infatuate’ closes the gap between what she is making and what Aldonna is reaching for in her record bag. That shift manifests in a tighter focus on groove. Gritty, swung drum samples lifted and reshaped from vinyl, FX drenched stabs flickering through delays, and basslines that feel less composed than inhabited.

The A-side rides a continuous low-end groove. The environments that shaped these tracks are still embedded in them: the sunburnt euphoria of a Brussels day party bleeds into “Squeaky,” while “Keep Up” captures the nervous, sleepless churn of a Berlin weekend on the edge of breakthrough.

The B-side’s “My Dear” softens into something more viscous and intimate, its warmth underscored by Aldonna’s own spoken word vocal in the Macedonian language, an understated but pointed nod toward underrepresented Balkan textures in club music. The EP rounds off with a functional remix from Berlin’s ‘Revivis’, applying his signature rolling sound to ‘My Dear’.

As a whole, the record feels deliberately situational, equally at home under low red lights in a sweat-slicked club or stretched across a festival system in broad daylight, but always orbiting that same core impulse: to pull bodies closer, lock them into the groove, and let everything else dissolve.

Somewhere between the after-hours haze and the first flicker of sunrise, Nebraska re-emerges - this time with a twist in the signal. Long respected for his deep-cut sensibilities and dancefloor intuition, Ali Gibbs returns to Delusions Of Grandeur not just as Nebraska, but with a handover to his new alias: Dubl Drat. The Alter Alter Ego EP plays like a transmission from both sides of his creative psyche - one rooted in warm, groove-led house and disco mutations, the other drifting deeper into dubbed-out, heady abstraction.

The A-side opens with Alter Alter Ego in its Nebraska OG Mix form - a crunchy, funked-up mid-tempo burner. Chopped Rhodes solos flicker in and out of the mix while a rolling bassline locks into a low-slung groove - equal parts party-starter and late-night dancefloor hypnosis. Next, The Teckel Track slides the tempo down into a proper slo-mo four-on-the-floor bumpy groove. Fat stabs punch through layers of glitchy FX while a melodic bassline snakes underneath, forming a hazy, infectious earworm tailor-made for those early-night mood-setting sessions. Closing the A-side, Olive (Dubl Drat Dub) signals a shift. Here, Gibbs leans fully into his Dubl Drat persona, dissolving structure into a blissed-out dub excursion.

Chopped breaks scatter across the stereo field, chiming melodies echo into the distance, and granulated percussion parts build a dense, immersive landscape - one to get lost in rather than dance through. Flipping over we have Alter Alter Ego (Dubl Drat Remix) which reconfigures the title track into a stripped-back boogie workout. The groove is leaner but no less potent, driven by a killer bassline and punctuated with signature Rhodes licks - pure, understated club pressure. Finally, Olive (Nebraska Version) offers a gentle comedown. This alternate take softens the edges, introducing additional guitar textures that drift into Balearic territory. It’s nostalgic, introspective, and quietly expansive - a closing chapter that lingers long after the last note fades. The Alter Alter Ego EP isn’t just a new release - it’s a dual-state exploration, a conversation between rhythm and space, between Nebraska and Dubl Drat, and marks the last ever Nebraska release as Ali closes the chapter and the alias for the final time.

The album that launched a thousand heavy-hearted singer-songwriters on their not-so-merry way, Sweet Baby James was arguably the first shot in what became the soft revolution of the early '70s. Taylor struck commercial gold with Sweet Baby James by augmenting his acoustic guitar and soothing vocals with laid-back accompaniment and penning a slew of songs that drew upon folk, soul, and rock influences. Musically mellow and lyrically restive, it put Taylor in the Top 10 and set the tone for a popular school of '70s sound.

2026 Repress

Legendary is a bold title for an EP, but is fully justified in the case of this new 12" from Silver Walker, which gathers some of house music's best and most proven talents. Jon Dixon opens with the light, fluttering house stylings of 'Five 15', which have sax motifs adding a touch of classy hi-tech jazz. Dallas man JT Donaldson follows by folding jazz phrasing into a swinging, deep house framework with understated finesse. On the flip, Abacus delivers 'A Gathering Of Griots' a warm, melodic cut bathed in sunlight and label head DFRA closes with a tribute to the great Mike Huckaby that is driving but soft, reverential and with a bittersweet energy.

LP,180g, 2027 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART

The 'vivid contemporary sounds for a fresh visual image' make up the now canonised Synthesis from Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett. These two greats go deeper than usual on this collection, and the end result is a synth concept record of sorts. Released in 1974, it's an essential companion piece to
their Synthesizer and Percussion LP, released on Themes International Music in the same year.
Like most of our favourite library records, Synthesis has that gloriously funky, 'weird electronic music' vibe without ever being inaccessible. With the awesome ARP Odyssey at the fore, Hawkshaw and Bennett have created a blissed-out soundscape that, whilst laid back in all the right places, somehow remains heavy on the funk. It's a sort of throbbing, proto-G Funk sound and you can fnd it on many of these low-lit basement workouts.
Take the ice-cool 'Alto Glide'. It's a sunset-funk highlight with an electro-fute refrain that conjures those dreamier Dre / DJ Quick instrumentals from '91 to '92.
Stereolab, Koushik (again) and all those Ghost Box artists were clearly listening very closely in the years since. The equally relaxed 'Mermaid' glides efortlessly with soft, shimmering piano, understated percussion and kaleidoscopic synths.
It's a really beautiful piece.With these two soft-focus closing tracks allowing the LP to foat away over the horizon, the preceding ten tracks have a more insistent, neck-snapping rhythm
section to back the synth overload. Highlights include the head-nod funk of 'Getting It Together' and the synth break in 'The Executive', which informed classic video game soundtracks.
For once Be With really is stuck for words to describe just how good this record is.
Best just to listen. As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Synthesis comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.

2027 Repress

With Panorama, Frank Maston pays homage to the classic era of library records and Italian soundtracks of the 70s. A blissed-out, grooving collection of filmic cues, it continues the unique brilliance of Tulips and Darkland. Elegant and easy, subtle and stylish, breezy and beautiful; this is his Maston-piece. Commissioned by legendary label KPM, Panorama cements Maston as a master of modern classics and the most mesmeric of contemporary composers.

In early 2020, Be With suggested to Frank that he should make a KPM record. He wasn't aware that they were still putting out new library records - but he was super keen: "It was completely surreal and it still hasn't fully sank in that I have a record in that catalog, sitting alongside those incredible albums that were so influential to me."

Frank was visiting family in his hometown of LA in March 2020 when the world ground to a halt so the KPM project arrived at a fortuitous moment. Having fantasised about committing to a record with no distractions, with a proper budget, access to his gear and space to work in - to really dig in and try to write and arrange the best work he could possibly make - it was a real "be careful what you wish for" moment. But, as Frank explained, "it completely saved my year and sanity to have something to focus on and get excited about. It was my lifeline." He spent seven months on it, working almost every day.

Maston had already been making library-influenced music so when KPM outlined the criteria for the tracks it was exactly what he had been doing all along. He thought the best approach would be to make a follow-up to Tulips that had a parallel life as a KPM record. Enjoying complete creative freedom, “gave me the drive to power through and dig in deep. I'm not sure if I could have kept myself on such a rigorous recording schedule under my own steam, and I think the momentum I had writing and recording it is part of the strength of this record."

Maston’s sleek retro-groove instrumentals emulate the classic KPM “Greensleeve” reel-to-reel recordings that provided mood-setting music for mid-century cinema, television, and radio programs. Apparently in close conversation with the John Cameron-Keith Mansfield KPM pastoral masterclass Voices In Harmony, Maston's Panorama could be heard as that record's funky follow-up. Yes, it's *that good*. Another reference point from the hallowed library would be Francis Coppieter's wonderful Piano Viberations.

Opener "First Class" is a blissed-out groove, featuring the soothing vocals of Molly Lewis and a glistening harp over drums, a two-note bass motif (from Eli Ghersinu of L'Eclair) and an assemblage of guitars, synths, French horn and glowing vibraphone. Acid Lounge, anyone? The irresistibly funky "Easy Money" is a gorgeous cut led by more of Molly's vocals, pastoral flute and Rhodes, underpinned by drums and percussion, grooving bass, chilled guitars and synth strings. Kicking the tempo up, the percussive "Storm" is a vibin' filmic-fusion jam where psychedelic guitars (courtesy of Pedrum of Allah Las/Paint) organ, jazzy flute, Rhodes and vibes all compete for a place in the sun, over drums and walking bassline.

The heavenly "You Shouldn't Have" is a delicate, melancholic wonder; a dreamy instrumental where the melody is shared by a whistle, harpsichord and celeste, over a cyclical piano chord sequence and bass, synths, guitars, organ and distant French horn. The tempo rises again with the passionate, sticky "Fling", a summery, nostalgic groove with skipping drums and percussion, warm bass and electric guitar, yearning flute and synth strings. The brilliantly titled "Fool Moon" has that Voices In Harmony sound down pat. A romantic slow-mo dreamscape of Rhodes and harpsichord, piano, light drums and softly strummed acoustic guitar.

Side B opens with "Medusa", a hopeful, mellowed-out track with shuffling drums, feel-good flute, muted horns, glowing Rhodes and synth strings. The soft and gentle "Morning Paper" is an elegant way to start the day; a beatless blend of flute, guitar, percussion, ambient synths and vibes. The upbeat head-nod jam "Scenic" has that widescreen car-chase feel, uptempo drums and percussion, grooving bass, piano, synths and ambient electric guitar. "Adieu" is a smooth summer vibe, relaxing with brushed drums, Rhodes, flutes and horns. Molly Lewis's gorgeous vocals steal the show, alongside vibes, jamming organ and synth strings.

"Hydra" is another laid-back 70s-sounding retro cinema cue with light drums and percussion, walking bass, spacey synths, clavinet, glowing vibraphone, vintage organ and electric guitar. Closer "Jet Lag" is a laconic bow out; bass-driven drum machine soul, featuring hand percussion, Rhodes, vibes, synths and organ.

Multi-instrumentalist Frank played a bit of everything across Panorama. Yet, humble as ever, he believes the time, energy, and enthusiasm of all of the musicians invited to the sessions helped him realise his vision: "There were two Italian flautists who really understood what I was going for. Two french horn players, cor anglais, a vibraphonist and a flügel horn player. I've never involved this many people in my projects before, and yet the result is the most "me" record I've ever made."

Musically, a strong Italian theme runs through the record. Frank is fascinated by ancient Rome and both his parents are Italian (Maston was originally Mastrantonio before anglicisation). So, it felt natural to fully embrace these strands and tie everything together with the striking artwork. The Romans were influenced by Greek culture, emulating their art and architecture, which, in turn, influenced Renaissance era artists. Frank acknowledged this tradition when reflecting on his place in the lineage of library and soundtrack composers. He then asked his friend Mattea Perrotta, a painter and sculptor, for some sketches. What he received was exactly what he had in mind: "Especially the theater mask, which really captures the range of moods on the album". Frank arranged them as per the cover and it soon felt right: "I wanted to make a cover that was reminiscent of the classic KPM albums without making it too pastiche - so it has its own identity and looks at home alongside other library records, while still fitting in nicely in the KPM catalogue." The last step was for us to introduce Frank to Be With-KPM’s Rich Robinson, who helped put together the back and centre labels and align it all within the KPM standard.

Panorama is a perfect title for the album. With no opportunity to travel for tours or recording projects, Frank arranged postcards from his collection on his desk with beautiful views of the mediterranean coast, the Roman Colosseum and Cinque Terre. These also served as visual prompts: "That was part of the sonic concept - imagining myself driving down the mediterranean coast with this music on, with the top down." Additionally, the range of moods and vibes - "I tried to make each song very different from the previous one in terms of tempo and arrangement and feeling" - speaks to the idea of a Panorama of music and sounds and emotions. The last track was originally called Panorama, but KPM already had that title in their catalogue so it was changed to "Jet Lag", which, as Frank notes, "is perhaps even more fitting, since the trip is over".

A closing chapter for Iro Aka: ambient introspection and precise IDM meet in a deeply personal, memory-driven LP.
Barcelona-based duo Iro Aka present "Memories Exploration" (GLOSSY025), a record that marks the closing of a creative chapter. Set for release on May 29th via Glossy Mistakes, the LP unfolds as a personal archive-tracing ideas, influences, and emotional states shaped over time.
The A-side moves through ambient-leaning territories, building meditative landscapes where time seems to dissolve and blur. Through tracks like "Frozen Sun" and "Golden Sea", the duo showcase a refined approach to sound design, shaped by carefully distilled emotion. Meanwhile, "Gendo" and "Intervertert" lean further inward-sketching moments of deep introspection through soft textures and a minimalist sensitivity that invites contemplation.
On the B-side, the record shifts. Rhythmic structures come into focus, drawing from IDM and broken beat patterns with a precise, understated touch. "L", "Ozadene" and "Phased9" introduce movement while maintaining the album's introspective core. Closing track "We Felt in Love with a Loop" brings the album to a gentle, open-ended close.
The artwork by Jack Anderson reflects this sense of fragmented memory and process, complementing the album's emotional tone.
Rather than a definitive ending, "Memories Exploration" feels like a transition-an understated way of closing one chapter before the next begins.
"An autumn evening - without a single tear, things come to an end."

Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!