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B2 Recordings keeps it classy with another new deep house offering from label head Bengoa. It comes hot on the heels of his last outing here in December but this time all three tracks are straight-up solo cuts with no featured guests. 'Hustler's Convention' is an emotionally intense humid, steamy cut even though the grooves are warm and hypnotic.

'Apollo' has more raw percussion and scratchy drum textures overlaid with trippy vocals and last of all is 'Fanatic,' which pairs leggy bass and drums with more swirling vocal samples and interesting broken beat patterns. Another fine outing from Bengoa then.

Randy Wiper is only known for this highly sought-after 100% pure Italo-Disco song from 1984, but the reason why he hasn't published anything else is that the artist embarked on a career as a film actor immediately after. The beginning of the song "I'd Like To Know" could be divided into three, the pattern of which is repeated in the subsequent instrumental parts, the piece possesses the sidereal energy of space disco. When it seems that we will leave the planet on board a shuttle, the soloist's voice enters, full of personality, it is that of Marcello Arcangeli and has the gift of inflections that sometimes recall that of Roy Orbison, at other times that of David Bowie. What remains most imprinted on the listener is the romantic part of the ballad, highlighted by the piano and passion. Finally there is the chorus which sounds exclamatory, imploring, but at the same time casual and danceable. Through a unique theme, that of a rare piece like "I'd Like To Know", we explore space, the heart, the disco.

Four years and one pandemic after his latest Dreams Of A Dark Building EP, the herald of dungeon synth pop is finally back from his shallow grave.

Life has not been gentle with Seattle-based solo producer Parker Lautenschlager over the past few years, imposing its unpredictability and forcing him to channel all the feelings that come with it into Profit Prison’s music.

It’s no surprise that his first full-length album Gilt marks one futher step towards the dark corners of italo / hi-nrg body music. Typical Profit Prison’s vocals and melodies, reminiscent of OG synth masters Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, are still here, buried in the mix and waiting to haunt the listeners and drag them down in one sulfurous dancing spiral.

Lead single Sophia juxtaposes some weirdly camouflaged vocals with one heavenly chorus that seems willing to revive your fortunes while instead it literally sings “But I lost it all”. A Matter Of Tact displays pop escapism over some throbbing minimal synth tension, Seven Words sounds like a throwback to 70’s italo filtered through the eyes of a 21st century punk rocker. Katalina has a rampant synth à la Carpenter climbing over a story of loss and Katalina, An Ascetic is a solo ramble reaching for the inner light on a carpet of cold keys.

What’s more, tracks got longer in Parker’s recent songwriting, with most of the songs being now five minute long and reaching peaks of seven minutes with the closing, almost progressive disco jam of A.R.P. (Amphetamine Research Project), nothing short of a lucid dream on the floor of Studio 54.

Last but not least, the artwork by French artist Robin Roche delivers medieval-yet-punk graphic vibes to match just perfectly the sounds on this record.

Available for the first time from Cargo. This album, Ward’s eighth solo affair, finds the artist picking up the tempo and volume a bit from his previous release, 2012’s A Wasteland Companion. Where that record introspectively looked in from the outside, More Rain finds Ward on the inside, gazing out. Imagined initially as a DIY doo-wop album that would feature Ward experimenting with layering his own voice, it soon branched out in different directions, a move that he credits largely to his collaborators here who include R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Neko Case, k.d. lang, The Secret Sisters, and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ. The result is a collection of upbeat, sonically ambitious yet canonically familiar songs that both propel Ward’s reach and satisfy longtime fans.

Four years and one pandemic after his latest Dreams Of A Dark Building EP, the herald of dungeon synth pop is finally back from his shallow grave.

Life has not been gentle with Seattle-based solo producer Parker Lautenschlager over the past few years, imposing its unpredictability and forcing him to channel all the feelings that come with it into Profit Prison’s music.

It’s no surprise that his first full-length album Gilt marks one futher step towards the dark corners of italo / hi-nrg body music. Typical Profit Prison’s vocals and melodies, reminiscent of OG synth masters Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, are still here, buried in the mix and waiting to haunt the listeners and drag them down in one sulfurous dancing spiral.

Lead single Sophia juxtaposes some weirdly camouflaged vocals with one heavenly chorus that seems willing to revive your fortunes while instead it literally sings “But I lost it all”. A Matter Of Tact displays pop escapism over some throbbing minimal synth tension, Seven Words sounds like a throwback to 70’s italo filtered through the eyes of a 21st century punk rocker. Katalina has a rampant synth à la Carpenter climbing over a story of loss and Katalina, An Ascetic is a solo ramble reaching for the inner light on a carpet of cold keys.

What’s more, tracks got longer in Parker’s recent songwriting, with most of the songs being now five minute long and reaching peaks of seven minutes with the closing, almost progressive disco jam of A.R.P. (Amphetamine Research Project), nothing short of a lucid dream on the floor of Studio 54.

Last but not least, the artwork by French artist Robin Roche delivers medieval-yet-punk graphic vibes to match just perfectly the sounds on this record.

Complex, emotive, and straddling several genres, Sketches Of Spain is one of Miles Davis’ masterpieces, a landmark of orchestrated jazz. The third of his collaborations with Gil Evans, Sketches was inspired by the classical ‘Concierto de Aranjuez,’ which sparked the suite that makes up the LP. Drummers Jimmy Cobb and Elvin Jones and bassist Paul Chambers reconfigured their approaches to blend with the orchestra under Evans’ command and Davis uses a muted flugelhorn for the epic opener; his solo on ‘Saeta’ is blinding and the adapted Andalusian folk song ‘Solea’ draws on flamenco. This absolute stunner is a must-have!

GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter Jess Glynne announces her long-awaited third studio album JESS, set for release on 26th April via EMI Records. With her most personal work to date, this new collection of music adds to Jess' repertoire of over ten billion global streams and gracefully follows her success of becoming the only British female solo artist to score seven number ones on the UK Singles Chart.

2023 sees the return of multi-talented Norwegian producer Espen Horne to Wah Wah 45s, after a 24 year hiatus. The man behind the label's very first release, the now seminal Magnetica, never lost his connection with the imprint and has remained very much part of the Wah Wah family, making a comeback this year with his first solo material under his own name since that club classic from 1999.

Back in the spring, the first single from the project, the gorgeous soul-jazz beauty Bakeren, featuring the stunning vocals of Resonators' Faye Houston, quickly found a home on Gilles Peterson's internationally renowned BBC Radio 6 show as well as that of Jazz FM legend Robbie Vincent, Bandcamp Weekly and the Fresh Finds Jazz Spotify playlist.

Following that, Bergen Sunrays, became a weekly fixture on the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music, with the limited 7-inch of both singles selling out within hours of release.

Next up was the wistful Den Franske Gitaren, a lugubrious soul-jazz piece with drum & bass leanings featuring Bergen based MC and vocalist Aich, which found favour with legends Laurent Garnier and Jazzanova as well as hot Japanese production outfit Dazzle Drums.

This was closely followed by the final single to be taken from the album, the stunning and outspoken vocal jazz waltzer Nada Pode Me Calar (which roughly translates to Nothing Can Shut Me Up!) featuring the sublime talent of Olav Wöllo on vocals and Juno - anotherr big one with Gilles Peterson on Worldwide FM and Deb Grant on BBC 6 Music.

And now the full album, entitled The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence is available for your aural delectation. Recorded largely during lockdown, the LP is a sophisticated and composed piece of work that sees the Norwegian producer make connections with musicians from across Europe, and some closer to home, to collaborate on this sedate and peaceful collection of songs.

The aforementioned Faye Houston also appears on the soulful, dub flavoured Don't Fall Asleep, a piece of music that explores the feeling of being isolated whilst sharing a mutual love and drive to explore new sonic possibilities.

Elsewhere, Olav Wöllo pops up again too, this time on O Mar E A Lua and once again singing in Portuguese to give this track a certain Tropicalia feel, as Espen explains:

"Olav Wöllo is a close friend, an excellent musician and vocalist, and a capoeira professor here in Bergen. He has spent much of his life living in Brazil and speaks Portuguese fluently. He wrote the lyrics for this tune years ago and had just been waiting for the right collaboration to come along.

We went to his lovely studio out on this remote island, made a massive gyoza meal, had some serious good wine and stayed the whole night to record his vocal harmonies and outspoken lyrics."

The single Bergen Sunrays also appears on the album in instrumental form with featured keys courtesy of London based player Rory More - here entitled Rory's Sunrays. His Lowrey organ adds a more melancholic feel to the track, as it does on the stunning Belle Époque, alongside the ivory work of Eirik Blåsternes - an emotional, contemplative and atmospheric track that was tested and shaped in the eclipse of Covid.

As with Belle Époque, La Psychosomnie is a playful yet explorative cut that examines insomnia, paralysis and hypnosis courtesy of some enigmatic French spoken word spinning around a framework of drums, bass and swirling keys.

And finally, the album offers up an alternative version of the single Den Franske Gitaren, this time featuring Martin Halla, a vocalist out of the Bergen Grieg Jazz Academy and winner of the Norwegian version of The Voice back in 2012! The perfect flip to Aich's more mournful interpretation of this bass and drum future classic.

After dark country trio Lost Dog Street Band released its 2022 album Glory, bandleader Benjamin Tod decided it was time to retire the project. Tod, alongside his wife Ashley Mae (fiddle), had been working together as a band since 2011. “I came to terms with letting go of Lost Dog completely, which is how I evaluate a lot of things in general,” explains Tod. “Oftentimes when I'm trying to make a really hard decision, I go ahead and go through the process of mourning its death and accepting that I am going to lose it.” But just a month after recording a solo project in January of 2023, Tod felt an urge to revisit the project one more time. “I thought I was done with Lost Dog, but after recording my solo album, I looked over all the songs that I had ready for a new record. These were songs for my band. I had to admit to myself that I wasn't done with Lost Dog.” Though there was heartbreak at the prospect of the project coming to an end, its resurrection has meant all the more in this new context. “Benjamin and I, both individually and together, have been through some professionally grinding and demoralizing personal times over the past five years,” Ashley Mae explains. “To take a step back from that over the past year and realize, ‘Wow, we held it down and withstood that, and we survived that,’ was a really good, bright, shining moment. It was the high point during a demoralizing time.” As such, Survived is a saving grace, a phoenix rising from the ashes. “This record means everything,” adds Tod. “It just feels like salvation.”

About 20 years ago, Carlos Giffoni quickly made a name for himself both as a noise guitarist and a laptop noisician upon arriving in New York (via Florida and Venezuela). His expertly curated annual No Fun Festival, as well as his No Fun label, further solidified him as a key figure in the international noise scene. The festival's success proved the formula for experimental and improvised music fests could work with the noise underground as well, but it also capitalized on the faster rate of connections being made between geographically disparate artists as a result of the (still relatively nascent) internet. Back then Carlos would play his laptop like a pinball machine, in contrast to the static stage presence of most laptop performers, and his solo music, like many others' at that time, expressed a less dark and dour vision of the implications of harsh noise. By the close of the 2000s, he had stopped doing the festival, switched gears musically to playing the lighter No Fun Acid sets, and moved to LA. Now he has re-emerged in a big way with Dream Walker, his first full-length since 2018's Vain (and only his second since 2010). Inspired by the masterful performances and diffusions he heard at the February 2023 GRM electronic music festival in Paris, particularly sets by old friends Lasse Marhaug, Jim O'Rourke, and Eiko Ishibashi, he began conceptualizing new music of his own in response, turning to synthesizers and other hardware to produce a work more firmly in the tradition of European electronic music than anything else he's done. Intended as a late night listen that evokes the edge of consciousness, with Carlos getting as close as possible to a trance state during the actual recording and mixing, each of the eleven tracks transition into one another rather than being standalone discrete pieces, forming two side-long suites that proceed like stages of a dream. Unabashedly tonal and repetitive, the glistening opener "Now Dream," the droning "Sleep Walker," and the closing triptych of "Lost in Descanso," "Sunrise," and "The Hidden Path" occupy a power electronics-ambient nexus that feels spiritually close to the Mego label. Elsewhere, "Ticking Clock" is reminiscent of Stereolab's non-easy listening vintage electronic side, while the two-part arpeggiated "Euphoria" recalls early Oneohtrix Point Never (which Carlos released on No Fun). The contrast between "One Breath"'s crackling opening and its remarkably fluid and soaring sustained synthesized chords is a distillation of the album's lingering tension between electronics' ability to project mechanical rupture as well as the organic and the infinite _or "walking between dreams," as Carlos himself puts it. Produced by Lasse Marhaug (who also mastered Carlos' first solo album, Welcome Home, back in 2005), released by Stephen O'Malley (who I remember DJing at the No Fun fest), with cover art and photos by personal friends, Carlos considers the album a family affair. But Dream Walker most of all heralds a maturation of the artist, and stands as a record that exists out of pure desire, rather than obligation or force of habit; a statement of reconnecting with music not by merely revisiting it, but by building on what's come before, both in his own work and in the music he loves. -Alan Licht, New York, December 2023

2024 repress

Melody As Truth founder Jonny Nash returns to action with his first solo album in four years.

Over the course of eleven mesmerising tracks, Nash points the compass gently inwards, casting aside any conceptual frameworks in favour of exploring an imaginative and idealised “personal folk music” that combines elements of traditional acoustic music with the producer’s richly immersive interpretation of ambient, a sound he has been developing for well over a decade.

From the smudged acid-folk bliss of ‘Theories’ and ‘Eternal Life’, to the layered acoustic guitars of ‘All I Ever Needed’ and the delay-soaked, Durutti Column-esque ‘Light From Three Sides’, a wide variety of musical textures weave their way throughout the album.

Point of Entry is much more than a mere ‘guitar album’ – it draws on a rich and diverse palette to achieve its purpose. The delicate saxophone work of ambient-jazz contemporary Joseph Shabason swells on ‘Ditto’ and ‘Light From Three Sides’. Cascading piano lines ripple through the crystal clear sonic waters of ‘Face of Another’, whilst echoes of Nash’s work with Gigi Masin and Young Marco as Gaussian Curve appear in the dancing synth sequences of ‘Ditto’ and ‘Golden Hour’. Nash’s reverb-laden voice also appears for the first time since 2016’s critically acclaimed Exit Strategies, used delicately throughout the album to conjure up a world of dusk and golden light.

Combining the delicate human touch and naivety of earlier Melody As Truth releases with widened scope and vision, Point Of Entry is arguably Nash’s most complete work to date – an album that’s as much a statement of his “personal folk” vision as a future ambient classic.

Spanning more than two decades, Mike Kinsella's widely influential songwriting has steadily sharpened and evolved with each new chapter. In his solo vehicle as Owen (in addition to his roles along the way with American Football, Cap'n Jazz, the more recent LIES, and other collaborative ventures), Kinsella’s ability to seamlessly stitch jagged emotional currents into crushingly beautiful songs has remained at the forefront of his art. The Falls of Sioux, Mike Kinsella’s newest Owen full-length, represent a type of reinvention; feeling like the natural next step in Kinsella’s growth, both artistic and personal. The album perforates an established sound to explore unlikely musical ideas, while the songs document a time of moving through life-altering turmoil into brighter days. Heavy themes are turned over with a gentle hand, and Kinsella inhabits the deeper perspectives that come with hard-earned life experience. This contrast has become more distinct as Owen expanded from unassuming acoustic beginnings into more ornate production, reaching new levels of complexity and clarity by the release of 2020’s The Avalanche.

Bullion ist Nathan Jenkins, ein Produzent und Songwriter der elektronischen Musik, der Künstler, Genres und die britische Subkultur miteinander verbindet. Seine Credits reichen von Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Howard, Nilüfer Yanya und Avalon Emersons Durchbruchsalbum „& The Charm“ bis zu Platten für Westerman und Joviale. Bullions gefeierte Solo-Veröffentlichungen sind bei Young, The Trilogy Tapes, Jagjaguwar und seinem eigenen Label DEEK Recordings erschienen. Es ist ein kreativer roter Faden, den Bullion auf seinem neuen Überraschungsalbum „Affection“ verknüpft - ein warmes, gelegentlich schräges und wunderschön umgesetztes Pop-Album. Bullions Musik war schon immer schwer zu fassen, aber absolut unverwechselbar - und auf „Affection“ ist es ein großes Vergnügen zu hören, wie dieser kompromisslose Ansatz zum Teil durch Weichheit verstärkt wird. Das Album fragt laut nach der Bedeutung von Intimität in der Beziehung zu anderen und zu sich selbst. Nathan wendet auf Bullions neuestem Album an, was er seinen Künstlerkollegen schon seit Jahren im Studio ans Herz legt: offen für Abenteuer zu sein. „Affection“ betritt einen emotional präsenteren, oft verspielten Raum, mit den Kollaborateuren Carly Rae Jepsen und Charlotte Adigéry, die Songs zieren, in denen Gefühle Vorrang vor festen Bedeutungen haben. „Rare“ zum Beispiel entstand während der Sessions für Jepsens jüngstes Album in Toronto: hohe Energie, die sich schüchtern gibt, um etwas "tief im Herzen" auszudrücken. „World_train“ ist ein exzentrischer und brillant schräger Blickwinkel auf Bullions Liebe zum Pop, der mit seiner Lokomotivkraft eine verlorene Vergangenheit inmitten der Unsicherheiten des Alltags heraufbeschwört. „I can hardly understand what it takes to be a real man'", singt Bullion. „…and nobody can“, bestätigt Adigéry. Dennoch, Verbindungen - verpasste, eingebildete oder immer noch mögliche - umhüllen einen Großteil von „Affection“, mit der Panda Bear Kollaboration „A City's Never“, die entstand, nachdem Noah und Nathan zur gleichen Zeit in Lissabon lebten, sich aber nie wirklich trafen. Für Bullion geht es bei der Bereitschaft, andere in seinen Songwriting-Prozess einzubeziehen, sowohl um die Öffnung der Welt des Albums als auch um die Verbesserung des Werks und der Person. Durch die Vermischung von Beobachtung und Introspektive entzieht sich der Avant-Pop von Affection jeder Kategorisierung. Die Texte des Albums sind ebenso unaufdringlich und hingebungsvoll wie neugierig auf alternative Möglichkeiten des Seins. Nathan hat seinen Sound gemeistert, aber das Leben - mit seinen Erwartungen, Widersprüchen, Impulsen und Sehnsüchten - bleibt unkontrollierbar. „Affection“ ist ein unaufdringlich kraftvolles Streben nach einer mitfühlenderen Form des Vertrauens.

Bullion ist Nathan Jenkins, ein Produzent und Songwriter der elektronischen Musik, der Künstler, Genres und die britische Subkultur miteinander verbindet. Seine Credits reichen von Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Howard, Nilüfer Yanya und Avalon Emersons Durchbruchsalbum „& The Charm“ bis zu Platten für Westerman und Joviale. Bullions gefeierte Solo-Veröffentlichungen sind bei Young, The Trilogy Tapes, Jagjaguwar und seinem eigenen Label DEEK Recordings erschienen. Es ist ein kreativer roter Faden, den Bullion auf seinem neuen Überraschungsalbum „Affection“ verknüpft - ein warmes, gelegentlich schräges und wunderschön umgesetztes Pop-Album. Bullions Musik war schon immer schwer zu fassen, aber absolut unverwechselbar - und auf „Affection“ ist es ein großes Vergnügen zu hören, wie dieser kompromisslose Ansatz zum Teil durch Weichheit verstärkt wird. Das Album fragt laut nach der Bedeutung von Intimität in der Beziehung zu anderen und zu sich selbst. Nathan wendet auf Bullions neuestem Album an, was er seinen Künstlerkollegen schon seit Jahren im Studio ans Herz legt: offen für Abenteuer zu sein. „Affection“ betritt einen emotional präsenteren, oft verspielten Raum, mit den Kollaborateuren Carly Rae Jepsen und Charlotte Adigéry, die Songs zieren, in denen Gefühle Vorrang vor festen Bedeutungen haben. „Rare“ zum Beispiel entstand während der Sessions für Jepsens jüngstes Album in Toronto: hohe Energie, die sich schüchtern gibt, um etwas "tief im Herzen" auszudrücken. „World_train“ ist ein exzentrischer und brillant schräger Blickwinkel auf Bullions Liebe zum Pop, der mit seiner Lokomotivkraft eine verlorene Vergangenheit inmitten der Unsicherheiten des Alltags heraufbeschwört. „I can hardly understand what it takes to be a real man'", singt Bullion. „…and nobody can“, bestätigt Adigéry. Dennoch, Verbindungen - verpasste, eingebildete oder immer noch mögliche - umhüllen einen Großteil von „Affection“, mit der Panda Bear Kollaboration „A City's Never“, die entstand, nachdem Noah und Nathan zur gleichen Zeit in Lissabon lebten, sich aber nie wirklich trafen. Für Bullion geht es bei der Bereitschaft, andere in seinen Songwriting-Prozess einzubeziehen, sowohl um die Öffnung der Welt des Albums als auch um die Verbesserung des Werks und der Person. Durch die Vermischung von Beobachtung und Introspektive entzieht sich der Avant-Pop von Affection jeder Kategorisierung. Die Texte des Albums sind ebenso unaufdringlich und hingebungsvoll wie neugierig auf alternative Möglichkeiten des Seins. Nathan hat seinen Sound gemeistert, aber das Leben - mit seinen Erwartungen, Widersprüchen, Impulsen und Sehnsüchten - bleibt unkontrollierbar. „Affection“ ist ein unaufdringlich kraftvolles Streben nach einer mitfühlenderen Form des Vertrauens.

"Disneyland After Dark" ist das neue Soloalbum von König Boris, Mitglied des aufgelösten HipHop-Trios Fettes Brot. Die musikalische Richtung weist ins Party-England der frühen 90er, frei interpretiert mit ganz modernen Einflüssen. Elektronische Rave-Sounds, mächtige Beats, melancholische Klangwände, düstere Harmonien und dicke Bretter. Darüber erzählt König Boris König Boris alltägliche Stadtgeschichten, mal von weiter weg betrachtet, mal tief in den Mikrokosmos hineingezoomt. Mal gerappt, mal gesungen, aber häufig auch stimmlich ganz wandlungsfähig in der Spoken-Word-Tradition. "Disneyland After Dark" ist eine mitfühlende Liebeserklärung an alle Menschen da draußen. Alle werden mit der gleichen Empathie behandelt, alle sind wichtig im Stadtbild. Die Worte geben ihnen eine Stimme, der Sound gibt ihnen eine Form. Das macht die Größ dieser Platte aus.

Apparel Wax's 7inches vinyl series continues with a release focused on new, exciting sounds. APLMINI003, which drops in late January 2024 is composed, as usual, of two tracks, one per side. Side A kicks off with a nu-disco track, in which the solos of a wild sax and a loopy guitar riff takes the listener by the hand until the very last second. Side B, however, shows the more experimental part of APLWAX's soul, with a beat that seems nostalgic of the 90s/00s UK sounds, a broken beat and a decidedly more pressing rhythm, which recalls D&B influences, British-style Electronica. The possibility of combining tracks with different styles on the same record represents a sonic challenge, but APLWAX has always been accustomed to combining different musical currents, keeping the fresh and happy soul of its brand clear. Everything is represented by the new, elegant graphic design of APLWAXMINI, in which even the smallest details and small changes fill the record's release with anticipation. APLWAXMINI003 is coming.

We Release JAZZ is very happy to announce an exciting new body of work by Joseph Deenmamode aka Mo Kolours. The singular musical spirit’s new 21-track album Original Flow is available as a double LP housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve with original artwork by Mo Kolours himself and the classic WRJ obi strip, as well as in digipack CD and digital formats.

A catalog of critically acclaimed records, including his self-titled debut (2014), ‘Texture Like Like Sun’ (2015), 2018 album ‘Inner Symbols’ and three companion EPs, established Deenmamode as a prodigious musician and vocalist. Pitchfork extolled his “hypnotic, tribal-infused dance grooves”, DJ Mag appreciated the “colourful celebration of soundsystem culture”, and Resident Advisor advocated that “no one sounds quite like Mo Kolours”. Musical analogies were drawn by The Guardian as “The best album Curtis Mayfield never made with A Tribe Called Quest and Lee Perry” and Mojo as “like Marvin Gaye produced by J Dilla”.

Five years ago, Deenmamode moved to the Japanese countryside. Far away from familiarity, he contemplated his place and further questioned his identity. “I had none of my ‘own’ people around. I had time to really find what makes me tick musically. Japan has helped me go back to those subconscious leanings, really go deep, and reflect the aspects that make up my story”.

The tracks on ‘Original Flow’ have been constructed from sessions, improvisations and soundbites captured around the world during this time; collecting contributions from musicians including Deenamode’s brothers Reginald Omas Mamode and Jeen Bassa plus Andrew Ashong, Charles Bullen, Dwaye Kilvington, Eddie Hick, Stefan Asanovic, Myele Manzanza, Ross Hughes, and Tom Dreissler. Deenamode says “I’m proud of this album’s creative process. Coming from a tradition of scouring through hours of records, I wanted to create my own samples, to find that perfect loop that no other producer could put their hands on. I decided to invite a group of friends and acquaintances, who also happen to be incredible musicians, to a studio in Crystal Palace to improvise based on some loose ideas I had. We spent all day, and recorded everything”.

‘Original Flow’ is an album of UK street-soul nouveau, future indigenous jazz fusion, Rasta Segga, Nyahbinghi jazz, Malagasy Hebrew hip hop. While retaining a spirit of exploration and improvisation, it sees Deenmamode grow and flex beyond beat tape brevity, expanding composition and stretching his musical muscle to play live with other musicians. Themes of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and mental liberation coexist with notes from ancient history, futurism, and science, as well as musings on family and togetherness.

‘Magik Momentum’ springs from a discussion that features at the start of the song, an inspiring mentor answering a question from Deenmamode about improvisation and what role it plays in life when planning and manifesting the future. ‘Rockets to Mars’ questions the lack of care for the billions of people with nothing, while governments plan to explore space. “This sparked a comparison in my mind to a Sonny Okuson song that I would reference when performing. Okuson’s song talked of the lack of resources in many communities in the world, while governments go to the moon”.

He says the music behind ‘The News These Days’ is “possibly my favourite on the album”. Looped like he would a late sixty jazz-fusion sample, there was nothing added and the track was complete within a matter of minutes. “It was the first and best moment from the entire Crystal Palace session”, he adds. The album’s contrasting title track with minimal instrumentation played solo by Deenamode. While frustratingly searching for gems in past recordings, he thought in a burst of ego, “I don’t need no-one else to make a dope beat!” picked up his ravanne, (the traditional frame drum of his fathers home-land of Mauritius), pressed record, and started to play. He says, “In my thoughts were the rhythms of the Nubians in Upper-Egypt and Sudan, the swing of the huge drums played by Mauritanian women, of-course the Sega beat of Mauritius, and the ever inspiring beat of James Yancey”.

Driven by UK broken beat, Cuban congas, Nigerian and Mauritian inflections, ‘Love Vibration’ follows the concept that all emotions carry a vibratory frequency and pays homage to the frequency of creation and the power of love. The two part ‘Tatamaka’ tells of the history of Deenmamode’s ancestors, the maroons of Mauritius. “We are people who managed to run from our oppressors and find refuge in a corner of the island called ‘Le Morne’ where they could not reach us. One bloody day they came in numbers to re-capture, to revenge. Many of us chose to jump to our deaths, rather than be taken back into subjugation. The poem by Creole Richard Sedley Assonne says; “there were hundreds of them, but my people, the maroons chose the kiss of death over the chains of slavery”. Tatamaka was the name of a famed maroon leader who was murdered for claiming his, and our people’s freedom. The song is the imagined journey of escape and freedom by an ancestor of the maroons of Le Morne”.

Born in the west midlands and raised on the traditional sega music of his father’s Indian Ocean homeland of Mauritius alongside records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Michael Jackson; his influences expanded with late 90s jungle and drum and bass nights in Bristol, experiments at art college in Camberwell, and the rich culture of Peckham, “at the time we called it the Afro Quarters of London” says Deenmamode, adding hip hop, dub, soul and soundsystem styles to his individual sound.

He explains, “I love drum music, from hand-drums to 808s. I love music from the ancient past, heritage music, indigenous music, traditional music passed down from the beginning of time. Music from the body, hand claps, grunts and foot stomps. Music with audible depth, busy, bustling, highly charged. Music from the soul, the music from beyond. I love music from the islands and the mountains. The music of the streets, hustle music, alleyway beats. Club music”.

He describes the creative process as thinking in images. “The visual world and the world of sound seem to intermingle in my thought process. When I play the drum with my eyes closed, a world of imagery dances and moves with beat. Improvised drumming feels like I am listening to what I want to hear, rather than trying to play what I want to hear. Following the rhythm and finding new pathways to walk within the patterns is what I experience. In this way I often feel I am just a listener, instead of the player”.
Original Flow is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.

Die Debüt-Solo-EP CA von Canaan Amber wurde in dem Jahrzehnt aufgenommen, nachdem Duster sich in ihre Pause verabschiedet hatten, und zeigt die Vorliebe des in Kalifornien geborenen Gitarristen für San Francisco Jangle und Santa Cruz Surf. Mit dem Tempo einer Bananenschnecke verpackt Canaan Amber die einsamsten einsaitigen Gitarrensoli um eine Ansammlung hohler Rhythmen und geisterhaften Gemurmels. Für diese Wiederveröffentlichung wurde die ursprüngliche Fünf-Song-CD von 2012 um sechs weitere Demos erweitert, die aus dem Fundus des produktiven Songwriters geplündert wurden. Mehr Wolf Moon als Black Moon, erforscht und kartographiert CA weiterhin die versteckten Galaxien, die das Duster-Universum ausmachen.

Die Debüt-Solo-EP CA von Canaan Amber wurde in dem Jahrzehnt aufgenommen, nachdem Duster sich in ihre Pause verabschiedet hatten, und zeigt die Vorliebe des in Kalifornien geborenen Gitarristen für San Francisco Jangle und Santa Cruz Surf. Mit dem Tempo einer Bananenschnecke verpackt Canaan Amber die einsamsten einsaitigen Gitarrensoli um eine Ansammlung hohler Rhythmen und geisterhaften Gemurmels. Für diese Wiederveröffentlichung wurde die ursprüngliche Fünf-Song-CD von 2012 um sechs weitere Demos erweitert, die aus dem Fundus des produktiven Songwriters geplündert wurden. Mehr Wolf Moon als Black Moon, erforscht und kartographiert CA weiterhin die versteckten Galaxien, die das Duster-Universum ausmachen.

Zoo Min Sha is the solo project of Ryo Konishi, who also performs with the jazz-pop band CRCK/LCKS. 2 songs released in 2023, featuring AAAMYYYY, Ema, and Sara Yoshida (Mononkvl), and themed on parting with people, are now available in analog!

In addition to presiding over CRCK/LCKS, Ryo Konishi has participated in works by Chara and millennium parade, produced music for Amazon Prime Video's "More Than Words", produced music for the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympics, and has a growing presence in a wide range of other areas. This is his third analog work. Side A is "Glittering," which features AAAMYYYY as a guest performer and has a magnificent and beautiful sound centered on her clear voice and string quartet. Side B is "I Hear That Song", which features the beautiful ensemble of winds and strings and the gentle, enveloping harmonies of Mononkvl member Sara Yoshida and musical actor/jazz singer Ema. This is a piece as beautiful as a clear sky and a gem of pieces by the splendid members.

The EP "Turbojazz & Friends" once again brings to light the sound and vision of Turbojazz, following the success of his debut album "Whateverism". This time collaborating with Rona Ray on the instant classic "Like You" with a remix by Sean McCabe, Broke One on the modern "Take 3" and closing the EP with the solo track "Star Chaser" which discovers the deep-tech side of Turbojazz.

Christina Kubisch’s Stromsänger finds this legendary sound artist at the top of her game mixing electromagnetic wave recordings with a score for six voices, creating powerful results. Stromsänger is based on a collaboration with the Norwegian vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices and on a special experience while researching and recording electromagnetic waves in the city of Trondheim.

“The general theme of the composition is the idea of sounds which travel. During a tram ride from the city up to the hills with an old tram I discovered not only stunning views of the surrounding landscape but as well a special soundscape. Wearing a custom made induction headphones, I could hear the normally hidden electromagnetic fields of the tram, which were so impressive and musical to me that I immediately decided to base my piece for Trondheim Voices on this discovery.

As a start, a series of pure vocal recordings were produced by Trondheim Voices while listening to a choice of electromagnetic tram sounds and following score instructions. This material was mixed in my Berlin studio and afterward was played back through a multi-loudspeaker setup into the room of the Elisabeth Church in Berlin and was instantaneously recorded. The emerged recording was played back and recorded again. The process of playing back the previous recording was repeated numerous times, generating numerous “re-recordings”, until the voices sounded aethereal and abstract. The last one of these recordings became the very beginning of the Stromsänger piece.

Part A is based on the electromagnetic sounds of the waiting tram and previously recorded voices. The singers come on stage and start to sing together with their recorded part which slowly fades out while the live singing takes over: a kind of choral for electrical tram waves and voices.

Part B is based on the actual tram ride with strong and intense electromagnetic sounds. The single recordings were treated electronically and were divided into six channels. Each singer has chosen one of these files and improvises with the magnetic sounds as a soloist or in duos or trios.

Part C is based on the itinerary of the tram ride to Lian, where a pilgrim's path starts. The names of the single stops, which have very beautiful and poetic names, are performed together as a kind of "sound poetry". The singers walk around on stage and/or can choose special positions for their performance. The recording of the word "Lian", the final stop, was recorded beforehand and played back and re-recorded several times in the open Norwegian landscape near the final tram stop. The voices slowly disappear and fade out.”

Christina Kubisch, 2024

Roy Buchanan gilt bis heute als "der beste unbekannte Gitarrist der Welt". Die Rolling Stones wollten ihn als Nachfolger für Brian Jones, Eric Clapton als Gitarrist bei Derek & The Dominos - beides Angebote, die er ablehnte. Roy Buchanan war ein Meister auf der Fender Telecaster-Gitarre, sein Spiel beeinflusste Musiker wie z.B. Gary Moore, oder Jeff Beck maßgeblich. Roy Buchanan wuchs in Kalifornien auf, wo er auch Gitarre lernte. Als Teenager zog er nach Los Angeles und spielte mit Spencer Dryden (später der Drummer von Jefferson Airplane) in der Band Heartbeats. Danach tourte er mit Dale Hawkins und spielte mit Robbie Robertson (The Band), der Buchanan später als einen seiner Haupteinflüsse bezeichnete. In den 60er Jahren heiratete Roy Buchanan, zog nach Washington DC und arbeitete als Studiomusiker an mehr als 100 Produktionen, vornehmlich für Freddy Canon und Leiber/Stoller. Erst 1971 erschien sein erstes Solo-Album, was dazu führte, dass er und sein unnachahmliches Spiel auf der Fender Telecaster von Größen wie John Lennon, Eric Clapton oder den Rolling Stones als Geheimtipp gehandelt wurde. Die ab 1985 aufgenommenen Alben "When A Guitar Plays The Blues" (1985), "Dancing On The Edge" (1986) und "Hot Wires" (1987) gehören zu den Highlights seiner Karriere. Nur drei Jahre vor seinem tragischen Selbstmord wurde dieses Rockpalast-Konzert am 24. Februar 1985 in der Markthalle in Hamburg aufgenommen. Ein Auftritt, bei dem Roy Buchanans Genie als Gitarrist in einzigartiger Weise überzeugt - nicht zuletzt durch seine kongenialen Cover-Versionen u.a. von Jimi Hendrix oder Don Gibson. Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass Roy Buchanan seine Qualitäten vor allen Dingen bei seinen Auftritten ausleben konnte, von denen nur wenige aufgezeichnet wurden. Ein beeindruckendes Vermächtnis!

Mutant präsentiert den OST zur Roadmovie-Komödie DRIVE-AWAY DOLLS (2024), Ethan Coens erstem "Solo"-Film (ohne seinen Bruder). Mit einem exzellenten Score des EMMY-preisgekrönten Komponisten Carter Burwell und Songs von Le Tigre über Linda Ronstadt bis Lizzie Mercier Descloux passt er sehr gut in das beeindruckende Erbe der jahrzehntelangen Zusammenarbeit Burwells mit den Coen-Brüdern. Es ist das perfekte Mixtape für diesen Roadtrip, ein bisschen Country, ein bisschen Rock'n'Roll, ein bisschen Disco und ein bisschen Queer. Carter Burwell ergänzt: "Wenn Sie die übliche lesbische Roadtrip-Krimi-Sex-Comedy-Musik erwarten, werden Sie nicht enttäuscht sein."

Pocyomkin is the MC of the Japanese Hip Hop group Gaki Ranger. Single cut from the 2nd solo album released in 2022.

A-Side cover of a Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) solo project song

Happy 20th birthday to Family Album, the third recording of Faun Fables and the first one released on Drag City. These songs belong to sons and daughters, entwined and orphaned, domesticated and feral; to all the family vines unraveling from a ball of yarn. In this family album, runaways graze the wild together, a mother finds her courage playing the piano, dogs become thieves and wolves, and a son is taken too soon. Fourteen-year-old nymphs sit dangerously at the crossroads, a younger brother tries to find his place, packs of girls defeat fear with a march, and the nightly adventures of the household mouse are spied upon. Dawn McCarthy"s creative background was forged in oral tradition amidst a large musical family in Spokane, Washington; studying piano, music theater, rock bands, guitar, folklore and ethnomusicology. Dawn cut her teeth as a singer and performer with various bands and cabarets in Madison, Wisconsin and New York City, most notably as yodeler with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, whom inspired her to want a gypsy life with a kindred spirit someday. Her focus took a pivotal turn in that direction in 1997 with a solo quest through the UK and Ireland and their bardic traditions; singing songs in clubs and homes, all the while undergoing a pastoral, psychological experience with the land. Upon her return to the States, a fateful meeting with Oakland, CA born-and-raised Nils Frykdahl (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) moved McCarthy back to the West to begin a new creative collaboration in the thriving hills and art community of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1999, Faun Fables have released six albums and performed their animist, otherworldly folk music across North America and Europe, with shows in Australia, New Zealand and Israel, as well. Dawn"s writing and voice (described by The New Yorker as "one of the more compelling instruments in contemporary music") opens hearts and minds with a whisper to a rallying battle cry, further animated by Frykdahl"s adventurous musicality and vocals. Dawn has written musical theater performed by the Idyllwild Arts Academy, among others, and has lent her vocals to Bonnie "Prince" Billy on The Letting Go and What the Brothers Sang. In 2022, Faun Fables debuted their family band, joined onstage by their daughters with vocals, percussion, keyboard and dance.

Mother Twilight is the second Faun Fables album. It has since been noted by Scottish author R.J. Stewart as a work containing true artifacts of the oral underworld tradition. Dawn and Nils made a hand-assembled first pressing and peddled it to nearly every bar and rural hall across North America from 2001-2003. Drag City reissued the CD in 2004. Things are glowing outside, enough to bring any sun worshiper in for the night. But you must remain outside and begin walking. It"ll prepare you for the night, which otherwise comes as a chilling surprise. If you pay attention this time, maybe you"ll understand why you"re becoming invisible. When your memory began, it wasn"t startling, wasn"t a mistake. It came out of an old, dark and familiar thing, like a storyteller, like Twilight... so save us from fear, mother, and tell your story. Dawn McCarthy"s creative background was forged in oral tradition amidst a large musical family in Spokane, Washington; studying piano, music theater, rock bands, guitar, folklore and ethnomusicology. Dawn cut her teeth as a singer and performer with various bands and cabarets in Madison, Wisconsin and New York City, most notably as yodeler with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, who inspired her to want a gypsy life with a kindred spirit someday. Her focus took a pivotal turn in that direction in 1997 with a solo quest through the UK and Ireland and their bardic traditions; singing songs in clubs and homes, all the while undergoing a pastoral, psychological experience with the land. Upon her return to the States, a fateful meeting with Oakland, CA born-and-raised Nils Frykdahl (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) moved McCarthy back to the West to begin a new creative collaboration in the thriving hills and art community of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1999, Faun Fables have released six albums and performed their animist, otherworldly folk music across North America and Europe, with shows in Australia, New Zealand and Israel, as well. Dawn"s writing and voice (described by The New Yorker as "one of the more compelling instruments in contemporary music") opens hearts and minds with a whisper to a rallying battle cry, further animated by Frykdahl"s adventurous musicality and vocals. Dawn has written musical theater performed by the Idyllwild Arts Academy, among others, and has lent her vocals to Bonnie "Prince" Billy on The Letting Go and What the Brothers Sang. In 2022, Faun Fables debuted their family band, joined onstage by their daughters with vocals, percussion, keyboard and dance.

1998 was a fertile year defined by juggernaut projects from Black Star, Lauren Hill, Outkast, and others, all of whom synced experimentation with foundational tenets that made the 1990s ferociously groundbreaking.


Out of Oakland, California, a collective known as Hieroglyphics were positioning away from industry control, to helm their own assets in manners more suited to their own marketing self-vision. While artists have certainly went solo prior, this came at a critical juncture for the crew during a spiraling and newfound Internet world. Born out of this independent spirit was the crew’s first official studio album 3rd Eye Vision.


The album spans twenty-two songs, all featuring beats by Domino who manned the lion’s share of production. A-Plus, Opio, Del, Casual, and Phesto also contributed beats. MCs each had their own song, short interludes highlighting their individuality through short verses, a clear espirit de corps statement.


Even among standouts like “Oakland Blackouts” or “At The Helm,” perhaps the most celebrated song off the release is “You Never Knew,” a track that propelled 3rd Eye Vision to #88 on the Billboard Top 200, not an entirely easy feat as a new label competing with the late ‘90s’ abundant onslaught of classic material.


In celebration of 20 years of 3EV, Fat Beats and Hiero Imperium are proud to present this CD/Vinyl reissue in deluxe packaging, expansive liner notes and the full original album tracks and a bonus for the very first time in one package.

Melbourne/Naarm-based musician and curator Rama Parwata, known for being the backbone drummer in bands such as Kilat, Whitehorse and Rinuwat, releases his second major solo album titled ‘Ceases’ on Cassauna/Important Records.

Parwata's gripping new electro-acoustic work is a sonic exploration within the realms of post-free-jazz and experimental electronics. At its core, ‘Ceases’ navigates the liminal spaces between rhythm and noise, structure and chaos. The album traverses a vast emotional and conceptual landscape, touching upon themes of impermanence, transformation, and the cyclical nature of existence.

At the forefront of the album is Parwata's emotive compositional and performative approach, which serves as both anchor and catalyst for the album's journey. The percussion performance is cymbal heavy accompanied by deeply meditative drones and slow moving melodies. The wash of sound touches on a spiritualism akin to Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme Part 4: Psalm”, albeit with a modern electronic vision á la Tim Hecker. With a keen sense of textural intricacy Parwata favours the emotional expression of electro-acoustic composition, weaving complex poly-textures that ebb and flow with hypnotic, prayer-like intensity. Each performative gesture creates a visceral immediacy that draws the listener deeper into the celestial, otherworldly sonic framework.

The diverse array of electronic elements, meticulously crafted and seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the album are a testament of Parwata’s capacity for acousmatic composition. From pulsating synthesizers to glitched-out samples, the electronic timbres in "Ceases" serve as both sonic embellishments and structural foundations, blurring the boundaries between organic and synthetic, acoustic and digital. Honing in on the electronics, a listener could be convinced they were hearing anything from spiritual-jazz, 90s rave, dungeon synth or doom. Through judicious composition, Parwata imbues each sound with a sense of transcendental allure and paints a soundworld that has a distinct ‘outerness’. At times the narrative is pointedly bleak but over a few passages the sonic language often bends toward rejuvenation; finding respite in cadence. The title itself suggests a sense of cessation, of endings and beginnings intertwined—a motif that reverberates throughout the album.

Legendary alto saxophonist Charles McPherson makes his Smoke Sessions debut with an inspired new album, Reverence, dedicated to his lifelong mentor and friend Barry Harris. These thrilling performances were captured in front of a live audience at Smoke Jazz Club and feature his quintet of Terell Stafford, Jeb Patton, David Wong, and Billy Drummond and represent the first of a series of live recordings scheduled for release to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Smoke Sessions Records and the 25th anniversary of Smoke Jazz Club. McPherson certainly reveals why he’s been held in such reverence for the last 60 years. The set is a showcase for McPherson’s gifts as both composer and soloist and bridges his deep and far-reaching exploration of the full jazz spectrum.

2024 Repress

"Communication", das erste, wirkliche Soloalbum des Ex-Kraftwerkers Karl Bartos, kam 2003 in die Läden und damit 13 Jahre nach Bartos" Ausstieg bei den Düsseldorfer Elektronikern. 2016, und damit wiederum 13 Jahre später, erscheint das Album, komplett remastert und mit dem Bonustrack "Camera Obscura", erneut. "Communication" ist jedoch keine bloße Wiederveröffentlichung. Es ist der Reload eines Pop-Klassikers, der heute thematisch aktueller ist denn je. ""Communication" handelt davon, wie Bilder unsere Sicht auf die Welt bestimmen und wie sich durch elektronische Medien die Inhalte unserer Kultur verändern", so Bartos anlässlich der Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2003. 2016 hat dieses Thema an Dringlichkeit und Wahrhaftigkeit nichts eingebüßt. Ganz im Gegenteil. Heute ist die Medienwelt, die das Album beschreibt, so alltäglich geworden, dass ihre Wirkmächtigkeit gar nicht mehr wahrgenommen wird. Spannend: Obwohl zehn Jahre früher erschienen, kann "Communication" energetisch nahtlos an Bartos" gefeiertes letztes Album "Off The Record" (2013) anschließen.

New album by the successful duo Steve Kilbey (The Church) and Martin Kennedy. Interest and profile of Steve Kilbey has been raised considerably over the past year due to The Church re-forming, touring and issuing 2 new albums. Steve’s solo albums are all getting a complete makeover and the fan clubs are ablaze with rumours and gossips regarding forthcoming releases. Reviews & advertising in Vive Le Rock, Record Collector, Classic Rock, R2, The Big Takeover. Embark on a mesmerising journey with the third and culminating chapter of the highly acclaimed trilogy by Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy. Building on the success of Jupiter 13 (2021) and The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus (2022), their latest epic, 'Premonition K,' unveils a sumptuous and organic sonic landscape, delving into the dark and enigmatic realms that exist between the boundaries of life and death. This album, a testament to their musical synergy, encapsulates a darkly beautiful soundscape, drawing inspiration from diverse sources, ranging from the haunting tones of Roger Waters' Final Cut to the shadowy depths explored by early 1970s Black Sabbath. Steve Kilbey, best known as frontman of legendary Aussie post-prog rockers The Church, infuses each track with an emotional resonance and sense of mystery. Martin Kennedy co-pilots this sonic odyssey with Steve Kilbey, weaving an intricate musical bed for Kilbey's lyrical dreamings. Drawing from his twenty years of soundscaping with All India Radio, Kennedy adds layers of sonic complexity, at once warmly familiar and mysteriously strange, creating an immersive experience for the listener. Together, Kilbey and Kennedy invite you to break out the Ouija board, turn off the lights, and immerse yourself in the mysteries of 'Premonition K'

Sleap-e is reclaiming herself. The Italian singer-songwriter’s second album, 8106, captures the spirit of play; the child-like instinct to pursue what you love without compromise - and here it is, that particular magic that rarely survives adulthood, remarkably intact. Each of its eleven songs are vibrant shards which build a mosaic of Asia Martina Morabito’s world: the growing pains of your early twenties, remaining faithful to your dreams despite the hostility of adulthood, places of escape both real and imagined - and the pulse of Bologna, her home and north star. As a student of old-school iconoclasts like The Fall and inspired by the outsider streak of Jimmy Whispers and Daniel Johnston, it was not any particular musical quality of theirs which Asia wanted to channel in Sleap-e, but their confidence to “explode in a raw, free and authentic way.” Though her sound has shifted from the tender bedroom pop of her 2020 EP Mellow and her 2022 debut album Pouty Lips which was bedecked with jubilant brass and Mediterranean rhythms, it’s her self-belief which endures. 8106 is Sleap-e’s most raucous, unpolished and playful offering to date, steeped in the influence of “egg-punk”, an internet-grown genre which seeks to satirise the tropes of punk with its danceable irreverence. There is joy to be found, Asia feels, in refusing to conform, and it has brought her closer to herself than ever before. But to gain her sense of self, first, she had to lose sight of it. Summer of 2023, when the outlines of the record were made, was a difficult time for her. 8106 was the number of the hotel room she felt confined to, alone and adrift from comfort when she was working away from home. Writing this album was her getaway car. “It represents an important choice I made,” she explains. “I chose happiness. I chose myself.” The title represents a kind of mental post-it note reminding herself to stay focused on what she loves; it’s a talisman to protect her from hard times. She returned home, and there she began recording the album in residency at the Bronson Club, a hive of like-minded creatives and mentors who helped it take its final form. At home, her own music was played freely and instinctively. The artwork for 8106 is by Noemi Vola, a prolific Bolognian illustrator and author who specialises in designs for children, which reflects the “funky, fairytale mood” of the record itself.

. Lodge has been performing and recording with The Moody Blues for more than five decades, selling in excess of 70 million albums, and also enjoys a successful solo career, doing what he loves, performing and playing music. Lodge has been voted one of the “10 most influential bass players on the planet,” and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including ASCAP, and Ivor Novello Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Music. John was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2019 was given a star in his hometown ‘Walk of Fame’. In 2018, John and the Moody Blues were inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’, and in 2019 John was given the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Prog Awards. John’s latest release is the new studio Album ‘DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED – MY SOJOURN’. The album was recorded over the last year and has grown from John’s current live show as he, and his 10,000 Light Years Band, lovingly recreate this classic album

The third studio album from Rebecca Downes with 12 new, original blues-influenced, rock tracks all written by Steve Birkett and Rebecca. Album mixed by Bill Drescher and Chris Childs. With exciting new material that continues the evolution of the music towards rock, More Sinner Than Saint is worth the wait. At the outset, Downes consulted with producer Chris Kimsey, who has previously worked with The Rolling Stones, to select and refine the 12 tracks and to achieve what she and co-writer Steve Birkett see as the perfect expression of their current writing. With five of the fabulous tracks having been mixed by Californian based Bill Drescher, whose previous accolades include working with Rick Springfield and The Bangles, Downes showcases her trademark powerful vocals throughout. With the remainder of the tracks being mixed by Thunder’s Chris Childs, the pedigree of this album is faultless. With her superb studio band that includes Dan Clark, Lloyd Daker and Magnum’s Rick Benton, there was no shortage of artists queuing to join her on the odd track or two. The multi award winning Alan Nimmo (King King) plays guitar on If I Go To Sleep and Magnum’s Tony Clarkin delivers a fabulous guitar solo on Breathe Out. With her signature voice, style and song writing, it was little wonder that last year she was voted Female Vocalist of the Year at the FORM UKBlues Awards. The release of this jubilant new album once again gives her the chance to showcase her formidable powerhouse and gutsy vocals in tracks that have greater range and depth than anything she’s done before. Rebecca said: “We were honoured and humbled to receive Chris Kimsey’s guidance. He gave us confidence about the direction of our writing changing to a rockier sound and advice on the way the material should be recorded. Meeting Bill Drescher in LA was fantastic – such a lovely, down-to-earth guy – and his mixing took the five tracks to the next level. Chris Childs has since done an excellent job on the rest in matching Bill’s mixing style. We are very proud of this album – and the way the music has evolved towards rock. More than ever before we believe it captures the best of our song writing.”

Billy Reeves returns with new album Steve, released by Last Night From Glasgow in April 2024 - This new album follows his solo debut Nostalgia of the Future released in early 2023.

Limited edition - 180g vinyl - deluxe gatefold sleeve, remastered from the original tapes by Rinaldo Donati, Maxine Studio, Milano. Cut and pressed by German audiophile specialist, Pallas Group. 1985 was perhaps the best year of the last phase of Baker's career and his recordings with Philip Catherine and Jean-Louis Rassinfosse are clear proof of this. These, in general, are of great artistic standing and show that the trio, born almost extemporaneously, had turned into a real group, in which the musicians conversed with each other, but also had ample spaces to express themselves as soloists. A trio without piano and drums in which the lyricism of Baker's trumpet, Catherine's nervous guitar phrasing, as well as the solidity of Rassinfosse's constant rhythmic drive, ensured the music a surprising balance based on contrasts.

Here In, Absence" ("Here, In Absence" for the book) is the result of the dialogue between the Finnish photographer Mikael Siirilä and the music artists The Humble Bee & Offthesky initiated by IIKKI, between March 2023 and January 2024.

After a first release in 2019 on IIKKI ("All Other Voices Gone, Only Yours Remains"), a second one in 2020 on LAAPS ("We Were The Hum Of Dreams"), Craig Tattersall (The Humble Bee) and Jason Corder (Offthesky) come back with a third stunning out-of-time beauty, paired with the Mikael Siirilä photography works.

Craig Tattersall is a former member of The Remote Viewer and Famous Boyfriend bandmate Andrew Johnson. Tattersall's music can be found these days more often under his alias The Humble Bee; as a founder member of The Boats; and in his collaborative works with the likes of Bill Seaman in The Seaman And The Tattered Sail. He has run the wonderful label Cotton Goods from 2008 to 2015 and since 2009 he has recorded 16 solo albums on his moniker The Humble Bee and almost the same under his name on some collaborations.

Jason Corder is experimental-ambient multimedia artist based in Denver, CO. He has been producing music, video art, audio software, and the occasional interactive sound sculpture, for over 20 years. He teaches private courses on generative music and occasionally lectures on various sound design topics at Denver University. He currently is the Audio Director at the Denver based videogame studio Dire Wolf. Over the years, he has worked with labels such as Home Normal, 12k's term, Facture, LAAPS and more. Over the years he has performed at Mutek, Decibel, Communikey and other festivals, sharing the bill with likeminded artists Pole, Matmos, William Basinski, and more.

Mikael Siirilä: "I am a darkroom artist (b. 1978) based in Helsinki, Finland. My small individual photographs examine the themes of absence, presence and outsiderhood. My characters appear immersed in their inner worlds and moments of being: simultaneously absent and intensely present. The pictures also reveal the outsider’s gaze, lost in observation and reflection. My pictures are true observations captured with minimal interaction with the subjects. Their origin is in the act of looking, and they feel causally connected to the world. The craft of printmaking is inseparable from my artistic expression. I work solely with black & white film and the darkroom. The slow, contemplative process lends the pictures a calmness. I make physical pictures I want to stare at, feel and become lost in. Again and again."

Fine Art Book, Ltd. to 500 copies:
Hardcover book printed on Munken Lynx 150g/m2 // 80 pages, 18cm x 24cm, 51 photos // Logo and slot embossed // Selective UV varnish // Visible seam and cutting cover pages // Hand-numbered, hand-stamped.

Following on from his Mesh debut Jinjé returns with Escape from Luna, a four-track EP expanding further on the infinite sonic worlds of his solo production work.

Lead single and opening track ‘BBLO’ launches with a voyage into detailed textural layers, gliding through microscopic ambient-leaning compositions before dropping into a weighty electronic beat with touches of electro and dub.

As a founding member of the Leeds-based experimental band Vessels - an act acclaimed for their ability to defy categorisation - Lee Malcolm is no stranger to breaking the boundaries of genre. With his solo project, Jinjé, he delves into atypical sonic wanderings that navigate between acoustic and electronic, synthetic and organic, employing a learned ear for the fusion of seemingly disparate elements. For this latest release on Mesh, he hones in on these moments of coalescence, fusing various stylistic pieces together with an infectious sense of optimism and an open mind.

Jinjé steers his work across various genres not out of a desire to be referential, but out of a necessity to explore the peculiar spaces that sit between. Implementing this approach with a great understanding of musical production and spatial composition, ‘Escape from Luna’ stands as a crucial documentation of his craft.