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By popular demand, Big Crown Records is proud to present Holy Hive's Harping EP on vinyl for the first time. For their debut EP on Big Crown Records, they decided to start things off with an extended reunion enlisting all of their favorite players from the Big Crown Family and beyond. The backbone for all these songs is the accomplished Harpist Mary Lattimore, who gives her learned heartfelt accompaniment to every song. There are guest vocals from one of their favorite songwriters Sasami on two tracks and a cast of lively characters assemble to add their lines - Dave Guy on Trumpet, Nick Movshon on bass, Katie Jacoby and Kristine Kruta on Strings, Leon Michels on Vibes, and nally Jens Jungkurth, Chris Connors, and Alex Deturk as sound sculptors.

HOLY TURQUOISE COLOUR VINYL

By popular demand, Big Crown Records is proud to present Holy Hive's Harping EP on vinyl for the first time. For their debut EP on Big Crown Records, they decided to start things off with an extended reunion enlisting all of their favorite players from the Big Crown Family and beyond. The backbone for all these songs is the accomplished Harpist Mary Lattimore, who gives her learned heartfelt accompaniment to every song. There are guest vocals from one of their favorite songwriters Sasami on two tracks and a cast of lively characters assemble to add their lines - Dave Guy on Trumpet, Nick Movshon on bass, Katie Jacoby and Kristine Kruta on Strings, Leon Michels on Vibes, and nally Jens Jungkurth, Chris Connors, and Alex Deturk as sound sculptors.

Clear Vinyl

OMEGA INFINITY: Die Geschichte des endlosen Kreislaufs von Geburt und Tod, erzählt auf kosmischer Ebene, betrachtet aus der Leere, die die gesamte Existenz durchdringt.

Das Debütalbum "Solar Spectre" (erschienen 2020 bei Season Of Mist) bot einen düsteren und verstörenden Soundtrack für die Reise durch unser eigenes Sonnensystem, indem es wütenden Black Metal der 90er Jahre, harsche und bedrohliche Ambient- und Elektronikklänge mit kraftvollen Growls und Schreien kombinierte und bei seiner Veröffentlichung überwältigend positive Presse- und Fanreaktionen erhielt.

Nicht zufrieden mit nur einem einzigem Statement und einer größeren Vision für ihre Sicht der Leere folgend, hatten Tentakel P. (TODTGELICHTER) und Xen (NE OBLIVISCARIS/ ANTIQVA) zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits ihr zweites Album fertiggestellt - nur die Pandemie verhinderte die Gesangsaufnahmen und somit eine frühere Veröffentlichung.

"The Anticurrent" eröffnete dem Hörer nun einen ganz anderen Blick auf Die Leere. Statt der Schwärze des Raums erforscht das Folgewerk die Zeit: Vom Urknall und der chaotischen Geburt des Universums geht es über den Aufstieg und Niedergang der menschlichen Zivilisation bis hin zum unausweichlichen Ende des Universums in dem bedrohlichen Finale des Albums.

Kein OMEGA INFINITY-Album wäre vollständig ohne Coverversionen (SEAR BLISS und EMPEROR) und die Beteiligung von Freunden mit Gastbeiträgen: Zusammen mit der Band kündigen (in der Reihenfolge ihres Erscheinens) Adrienne Cowan (SEVEN SPIRES/ AVANTASIA), Lindsay Schoolcraft (ANTIQVA/ ex-CRADLE OF FILTH), Andras Nagy (SEAR BLISS) und Marta J. Braun (TODTGELICHTER/ VYRE) den Untergang an

Wer schon immer mal wissen wollte, wie sich eine Unzahl von Schwarzen Löchern, die sich selbst in einer Zeitverzerrung verschlingen, anhört, sollte sich OMEGA INFINITYs zweites Album "The Anticurrent" nicht entgehen lassen!


Für Fans von: DARKSPACE, KHONSU, VALBORG, BLUT AUS NORD

ADN Ckrystall is the pseudonym of French synth experimentalist Érick Moncollin. Armed with a Crumar, Multiman 52 with brass pedal and sustain/volume pedal, two Kawai Synthi 100-F, Roland CR-65, Korg PS-3200, Roland Jupiter-4, a Boss flanger, MXR phasing and a TEAC 8-track recorder he produced his first LP, Jazz'Mad, with the help of synth expert sound engineer benoit Hutin. The LP was self-released in 1982 to critic aclaim and generated a fan base that has turned it into a timeless classic, having been reissued four times since then.



But what most people don't know is that Moncollin produced a second album with songs written 1982/1983 that has remained unreleased ever since. Only recently he found the tapes in his parents' house and transfered them for it's first ever vinyl release.

Clitorium is the newest inbreed of Zolex and Woktrax! We're not sure if this song is about flowers or defloration. It's definitely about machines and techno. The track has a special scratchy sound that rolls over. Pounding and stomping without stopping.

We gave the track to 3 techno producers. They gave us their interpretation. And so this release became a beast. An all black vinyl, with black sleeve, black innersleeve and black labels. On the innersleeve, you can find a download sticker with all 4 tracks included, and 2 extra tracks, all mastered for digital use in a high end club-inviroment. This will fit any techno set and any techno venue. Play it and play it LOUD!

First release from Ten Lovers Music in 2023 is from Stefano De Santis with a superb 7″ featuring two tracks Barra Nova and Partido#2, Barra Nova is an up-tempo Brazilian Broken Beat Fusion piece carrying on from where his last tack on Ten Lovers Music “Song For George D.” TLM030 left off. The AA side drops a few gears for some slow Broken Beat action with the track Partido#2 but still retaining his unmistakable sound, keeping it jazzy. Stefano is a multi instrumentalist, playing the Rhodes Piano, Moog, Prophet 5, Solina Strings Ensemble, Juno 6, Upright Piano and Percussion on both tracks. This 7″ is release 40 number on Ten Lovers Music, so this a very proud time for us to be able to put out such amazing music.

Red Vinyl

Die 6 Musiker der Band Maerzfeld sind nach der langen Corona-Zwangspause zurück. Während der Pandemie hatte die Gruppe um Sänger Heli Reißenweber ihrer deutschsprachigen Rockmusik ein neues akustisches Gewand verpasst und war - wie der Franke sagt - "Anblaggd" auf Tour. Nun werden die Akustikinstrumente wieder gegen ihre elektrifizierten Pendants getauscht - allerdings nicht ohne etwas aus den Erfahrungen der vergangenen anderthalb Jahre mitzunehmen: Der intime Kontakt zu unserem Publikum und der pure Sound hat bei den zurückliegenden Shows eine ganz besondere Energie erzeugt, die wir beibehalten wollen", so die Band.

Alles anders, so der bewusst plakativ gewählte Titel des neuen Maerzfeld Albums.
Die Welt ist nicht mehr die gleiche wie vor 3 Jahren und auch für die Musiker gab es prägende Erlebnisse und damit verbundene Veränderungen, die in den neuen Songs verarbeitet werden und einen oft sehr persönlichen Einblick in das Gefühlsleben der einzelnen Künstler erlauben.
So hört und spürt man eine Mischung aus Depression, Hoffnung, Wut, Verzweiflung, Freude und Mut. Dabei macht Maerzfeld gleich zu Beginn des Albums mit dem Titelsong klar, dass die Band neugierig auf die Zukunft blickt und Veränderung als Chance versteht mit Gewohnheiten zu brechen. Daher ist nun im positiven Sinne "Alles anders".

V.I.V.E.K announces his second release on the self-named VIVEK label. Known for his cult label, SYSTEM MUSIC, this label focuses more on eclectic 140 bpm outside the realm of the dance floor.

The 4 track EP explores broken beat, ambience, melody and rhythm at 140, something that has been missing over the last few years within the genre. Colours is not only the EP title, but a reflection of the diversity of the tracks. Musicality sits at the heart of this with a nod to easy listening.

“The main focus of this release was to take me out of my musical comfort zone. I wanted to work with other musicians as well as push myself to inhabit new creative ideas.” - V.I.V.E.K

Whether it’s as an artist, label owner, a deep-drawing world-touring selector or system-building soundman behind some of London’s most important dances, V.I.V.E.K has an inherent drive to push things forward and contribute to the craft of music with serious attention to detail. A life-long frequency student dedicated to soundsystem culture, he has total respect for the heritage, value and rich variety of true music, an ability to totally arrest your full attention and imagination with his music... And has done so since he emerged in the early 2000s.

Musically pressed and blessed on key imprints such as his own System Music, Deep Medi, Tectonic and iconic reggae imprint Greensleeves, V.I.V.E.K’s creations are a crucial brew of bass styles encompassing everything from heavyweight bass hypnosis to flighty, steppy garage hybrids via sweet dub soul and all-out low-end pressure. His self-built custom soundsystem, SYSTEM, meanwhile, is a unique force of nature in UK bass music culture; the most prominent modern system to be established this decade, it’s a whole new chapter in the UK’s longstanding and illustrious history of barrier-breaking soundsystem communities. As such, it attracts committed fans from around the globe and selectors from across the system spectrum.

His label System Music has the same treasured, trusted status; not only as a source of legit never-to-be-repressed artefacts that prize the real value of music, but also as a key platform for encouraging forward-thinking, powerful system music from across the OG – freshmen continuum. Karma to Kromestar, Sleeper to SP:MC, LAS to Egoless: System Music’s celebration of bass music’s sonic scope and nurturing of talent and craft ensures its consistent buy-on-sight ranking.

Most importantly it’s as a selector that V.I.V.E.K’s position is the most vital. The selective tailor of rich, immersive and eclectic sessions, few DJs dig as deep, join the dots or draw for dubs quite like this West London operator. Accentuating his influence as a producer, engineer, dubsmith, label curator and system builder; his creative excursions as a DJ, both on the dancefloor and the airwaves as a broadcaster on the likes of Rinse FM, galvanise his status as one of the most respected, influential and singular artists who is driven by nothing but craftsmanship, unity and the sense of culture that UK bass music needs to thrive and inspire.

Truly intrigued as a kid by the weird sounds his DIY electronica building kit could make, Mich L. (aka Mich Leemans of Paper Hats and curator of AB Salon) never stopped his quest for more beauty in hidden frequencies and harmonics of modular synths and old tape recorders.

His search into the deep mysterious sound spectrum unexpectedly made a surprising u-turn after a seizure of increasing tinnitus and enduring nausea.

The concept of listening, as stated by Pauline Oliveiros as 'the involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary, selective nature of listening' took focus in his being.

These new insights, together with a studio rearrangement and the purchase of the EMS Synthi A are the keystones which shaped the contours of his debut solo album 'air near silence'

A precious, fragile and ultra personal sonic exploration of the inner self translated in carefully constructed synth and tape compositions : a microscopic auditive dissection of time and soul.

Slow burning stripped down shifting patterns, patched and wired straight from the heart, crawling steadily under your skin, with no plans to leave.

Hushed analogue splendor for patient music lovers who dare to be surprised.

File under:
deep immersive and profound listening, (dark) ambient, electronica, analogue synths, tape compositions

Recommended if you like:
Eliane Radigue, Coil, Kali Malone, Lucy Railton, The Caretaker, Pauline Oliveiros, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Throbbing Ghristle, early electronics, DEATHPROD...

Blackploid has become one of Central Processing Unit's stalwarts in the past couple of years. Martin Matiske's project contributed a trio of EPs to the Sheffield label across 2021 and 2022, with each of them showing off the kind of electro chops and production sensibilities that made Blackploid an ideal fit for an imprint which also boasts the likes of Cygnus, Silicon Scally and Bochum Welt among its catalogue.

Now, for CPU's first release of 2023, Matiske levels things up with the debut Blackploid LPEnter Universe. Across these twelve tracks, Matiske leaves us in no doubt that he's a prime mover in the world of modern electronic music.Enter Universedoes not let up from start to finish, delivering a dozen pieces of leftfield electro that draws from the sound's greats while also showcasing an unpredictability and flair that is all of Blackploid's own.

The tone is set from the first frosty chords of opening cut 'Pulsation'. The track traverses the starscape on pitter-patter drums and chirruping synths, a lively and slightly dystopian roller with an adventurous undercurrent reminiscent of classic Rephlex drops. It's a style which Blackploid often draws for throughout the rest ofEnter Universe, albeit with elements added or subtracted at each stage.

Indeed, this album features some of the most unusual production you will hear on any record this year. While the grooves pulse away in a manner reminiscent of Drexciya or Legowelt, Blackploid layers the mixes with a whole cornucopia of synth tones. 'The Mission' boasts a bleep-bloop breakdown that sounds like malfunctioning rotary telephones; 'Silent Room' is a ghoulish jam which harks back to Warp's legendary Artificial Intelligence compilations; 'Automatik' and 'Wormhole' are defined by some brilliantly strange low-ends - you'll be thinking of Mr. Oizo's 'Flat Beat' with the wiggly former, while the gurgling, writhing anti-lead that dictates 'Wormhole' is oddly thrilling and more than befits the track's title.

This inventive approach is also apparent in some of the structural choices onEnter Universe. While the tracks here all keep a steady, dancefloor friendly pulse, several of them surprise you by switching up the approach after a minute or two. 'Pulsation', 'Automatik' and 'The Mission' all feature moments where a new element - extra hi-hats, a synth line entering from leftfield - inject fresh impetus into the tune to keep the listener on their toes.

Blackploid may push the sonic envelope onEnter Universe, but this does not mean there is no room for melody. In particular, the cuts here which most strongly channel 'Computer World'-era Kraftwerk do so by fronting some slyly tuneful work, particularly in the low end of the mix. 'Unidentified' serves up delightfully springy chords, 'Cell Mutation' leads from the bassline, and 'Space Curve' features little cells of melody and counter-melody working together to closeEnter Universeout on a high.

Blackploid's debut LP Enter Universe marries Drexciyan electro and Warp-school electronica with some brilliantly inventive production choices.

Clear Vinyl Repress

A true Balearic / Cosmic classic LP - Columbian brothers Elkin & Nelson's 1974 debut double album 'Angeles Y Demonios' is the perfect blend of traditional latin music, psychedelia, fuzz, glam, ethnic rhythms, progressive rock leanings and everything else in-between! The album had been received quite well on it's release, enabling the brothers to move to Spain and explore their ideas and melodies full-time, but it wasn't until the late 1980's Balearic explosion that the brothers unique musical vision struck a chord with those outside of Spain whose interests were rooted in the more esoteric corners of the record shop racks. Possibly the most well-known track from this LP was 'Jibaro (Enrolle)' that featured on the closing side of the set. This track was picked up and subsequently covered by Paul Oakenfold and the burgeoning wave of UK DJ's who had become enamoured with the white isle and her many sounds, thus birthing the term 'Balearic Beat'. 'Jibaro (Enrolle)' is perhaps one of the benchmarks of that particular microcosmic scene and sound but that doesn't mean the rest of this amazing LP should be ignored. A truly wondrous trip through the rock underground, not traditional by any means, if you dig the Balearic sound, psych-rock, funk and all of it's orbiting planets then this will certainly flip all the right switches for you. A very original set. This classic has been legally reissued by Above Board distribution in conjunction with the legal rights holders - Sony Music Entertainment. This high quality 2 x LP repress features original 1974 gatefold sleeve and label artwork and has been remastered from Sony's original sources by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.

Welcome to the third part of the TELE MUSIC saga, the label founded by Roger Tokarz. He deeply marked the era with his audacity and his vision of music on film. This irresistible new selection tells the story from 1968 to 1985 of a prolific label that sometimes produced ten albums a year, and which delighted many French and foreign film directors who, to 'flavour' their films, drew on this sumptuous catalogue.
In this volume 3 TELE MUSIC, we have highlighted legendary artists who have left an indelible mark on the history of the music bookshop and on the history of music in general:

• Janko Nilovic (also known as Yanko Nilovic, Anady Loore, E. Orti or Alan Blackwell),
• Jean-Jacques Debout with his irresistible “Mitsuko” released in 1967 and re-released in 1969 on “Music Bazaar”, • Bernard Lubat, the impressive percussionist, vibraphonist, multi-instrumentalist and very good “scator” (Bernard played in the Doubles Six with Quincy Jones and Eddy Louiss),
• Gabriel Yared, the man with a hundred film scores. Arranger and composer for Johnny Hallyday and Charles Aznavour, among others!
• Hervé Roy conductor and writer for Nancy Holloway,
• George Chatelain, pianist, guitarist, clarinettist, founder of the famous studio “CBE” created in 1966 with his sister Janine Bisson and his high school friend Bernard Estardy.

All these composers were renowned for their acute sense of composition, arrangement, conducting and inter- pretation, and in their own way left their mark on many sound recordings of musical illustration "made in France!
CBE, the Chatelain, Bisson and Estardy studio is located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Still in operation and run by Julie Estardy, it has been receiving major artists for over half a century. It is a place of reference. At the time: Johnny Hallyday, Claude François, Sheila, Carlos, Françoise Hardy, Nino Ferrer recorded their hits there.
Now it's the turn of Sebastien Tellier, Bertrand Burgalat, Keziah Jones, Tony Allen, Jeff Miles to name but a few. CBE and its giant Bernard Estardy put TELE MUSIC in the best conditions to produce an atypical and powerful sound.
Bernard Estardy had a custom- built mixing console built by his German friend Gunther Loof, offering the perfect tool for recording 4 and then 32-track Arp 2000, Moog, Korg, Prophet synthesizers and all acoustic instruments. The field of experi- mentation was limitless.
Until now, the titles of this collection were only available in vinyl format, via rare and expensive prints that collectors sell for a high price on dedicated websites. This volume 3 gives you access to the "crème de la crème" of the legendary repertoire made in France!

Dana Kelley, aka DKMA, is a much revered writer, producer, remixer, performer and creative force whose releases have become timeless classics and Holy Grails amongst DJs, music heads and collectors alike. A true artist and innovator, his productions possess the unique ability to engage, transport, challenge and enthral as only next level musicians can.

Grounded in the deep, soulful US House sound of the mid '90's, his earliest releases can be found on Strictly Rhythm, before moving on to produce under his DKMA alias as well as releasing music as Callisto on Guidance. Although Dana sadly passed away in 2013, he left us with a remarkable body of work that has remained both exciting and relevant throughout the last 2 decades and beyond.

Boston Boy Vol.2 is the 2nd in a series of compilations that focuses on Dana's visionary work as DKMA, during his most compelling and creative phase between 1997 and 2002. The compilations themselves are collated from an incredible & far reaching archive of over 20 of Dana's original DATs that have been generously shared with us by the Kelley Family. In the archive, some of Dana's most sought after & cherished works were uncovered, restored and meticulously assembled alongside previously unheard archival material.

The tracks themselves are bold, clever and inventive, characterised by a need for innovation. Passages of deep soulful house underpin more forward thinking electronics without ever losing dance floor appeal. Jazz solos sit imaginatively on top of gritty swinging rhythms, deep infectious b-lines, eerie textures and chord sequences are warm and effortlessly soulful yet with a sound design, sonic range, dynamism and a technical prowess that most could only dream of.

These compilations celebrate the life, vision and art of one of house music's most hallowed producers. Unique and essential, these collections pull together DKMA's most coveted works. Respectfully sourced, restored and compiled from all audio sources courtesy of the Kelley family and Above Board Projects.

Mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, London, with special artwork by Atelier Surplus featuring a special unseen image of Dana from his family's photo albums.

„One day I was on a visit sitting in his kitchen and when we decided to change to the sofa in the music room, his girlfriend proposed to listen to these old recordings, as maybe I would be weird enough to like them. „Recorded in my homestudio, low budget style with a cheap microphone, a sampler, drum machines, vinyl and a few borrowed synths. … A commitment to the funk, a raw analogue sound and also a dedication to black music and its architects.“ the artist comments on it.
I immediately dug the rather short demos a lot. As I had to swallow the information that there never were real plans to release them, I later decided on the bus home, I just had to puke out a „label“. Soon I asked him to extend some of the songs and let me do some mixing and here is the album.“ Cid Hohner

An entire long-player on hair, representing the complete Illwig catalogue. Beautifully raw electronic funk. Obscure, bouncy and atmospheric. Right. This is F.B.Illwig with the first official release on Moonwalk X Records after a singlesided promo 12“ sporting the extended version of „Why Do My Hair“.

This 40 year anniversary collection traces Brother Culture's career and includes some of his biggest hits, with remastered versions of these classics. The album includes his hits Jump Up Pon It (25 million streams), Supanova (15 million streams), My Selecta (2 million streams), and some of his most listened-to tracks ever released on vinyl.

A composition simply means things being put together. In music, we usually think of composition as a classical idea. But in recent years, the possibilities of what ‘composing’ can be, have dramatically increased. Based in Oslo, Norway, Deathprod (aka Helge Sten) has been making his own forms of music with no compromise since the early 90s. His specialty is a deeply atmospheric, grainy minimalism that slows time down and explores the very particles of sound itself. This music can sound forbidding and alien at first, but compared to his more brutal output, it’s an extraordinarily close and intimate experience. The first new Deathprod studio project since 2019’s OCCULTING DISK, Compositions is the result of an intense period at his legendary Audio Virus Lab studio in central Oslo. All tracks are released in chronological order – in other words, the order in which they were recorded. Helge used a personal, unique combination of obsolete digital audio processors and sound generators, combined with his own secret-sauce tuning system. Like gazing at the wonders revealed by an electron microscope with Helge compositional control directs your attention to a succession of ever more spellbinding details and textures. Helge adopted the Deathprod alias in 1991. A complex array of homemade electronics, samplers, sound processing and analogue effects – cumulatively known as the ‘Audio Virus’ – combined with obsolete samplers and playback devices, to distort and transform sounds into unrecognizable relatives of their former selves. On the new album Compositions, the virus has evolved into even more fascinating and kaleidoscopic new strains. Electronically generated sounds vibrate and tremble like undiscovered metals ringing and resonating together. Sonic forms attract or repel each other as if under the influence of a strange magnetism. None of the tracks are over four minutes, but no way are these ‘miniatures’. Each one contains its own fully-formed galaxy of tones and clusters, while all tracks audibly belong in the same universe. These are 17 compositions in search of a sonic ideal. His off-grid audio control centre created a parallel acoustic universe which he filled with mutated samples and electronic textures. Even the gaps between the tracks are part of that universe. Helge left the almost silent, twitching crackles of his snoozing analogue gear intact, ensuring a smoother transition between them. Helge is continually striving to find new parameters and possibilities for what music can be – what you can affect with the medium of sound. From the intricate homemade miniatures of Treetop Drive to the bonecrushing electronic barrage of Morals and Dogma and OCCULTING DISK, the different sides of Deathprod are all products of the same obsessive focus and self-discipline in pursuit of sonic exploration. His Compositions are private rather than public music: like introspective chamber or solo compositions instead of the more strident, outward-looking tones of a symphony. Helge is a founder of Norwegian improvising group Supersilent and has produced records by Motorpsycho, Susanna, Jenny Hval, Arve Henriksen and others. He recently composed music for Harry Partch’s legendary instruments, which can be heard on Sow Your Gold in the White Foliated Earth, released in 2022 on Smalltown Supersound.

DOUBLE BLACK LP : 2 x 140 G Black Vinyl , Sleeve & 2 x Heavy Weight Printed Inner with UV Gloss Finish

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest of humanity – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.

2 x Solid White LP, 5mm spine Sleeve UV Gloss Finish, 2x Heavy Weight Printed Inner Sleeve UV Gloss finish, marketing sticker.

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest of humanity – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.

On Origins Chris Bartels takes on the role of singer-songwriter for the first time under his Elskavon moniker, unveiling a voice that wouldn't sound out of place next to vocal-forward artists like Justin Vernon, Jónsi, or Baths, who master the balance between conventional songcraft and bold, idiosyncratic experimentation. Origins is vast yet intimate, fluttering yet cohesive, tattered yet clean, a little like rainfall during sunlight. Shedding the ambient-classical confines of his previous output, the album's opener and title track, offers a swirling mosaic of acoustic textures that recall the beloved duo The Books, laced with warped vocal utterances flitting in and out of a club-friendly beat. "Origins" is followed by the equally danceable "Coastline," which drives home the smiling melodies and intricate sound-design that form the spine of Origins, keeping Bartels' voice in a largely decorative and impressionistic role up to this point. "Blossom and the Void" dissolves the introductory tension as Bartels comes out lyrically swinging, his digitized voice chanting widely over the mutated New Wave-esque anthem. Here, Bartels shows his instinct for dynamics by rising to bombast and quickly dispelling it, making steep yet grace- ful descents into skillfully delicate sound-design. Throughout Origins, the patient glacial aesthetic of his previous work is still discernible-- there are wordless, expansive panoramas that stretch out patiently for minutes at a time and smartly resist the impulse to pack each moment with a persona made even more impactful when Bartels chooses to wield it. At other times, his spokesmanship is woven discreetly into a larger tapestry, like on "See Out Loud" (and its ambient reprise) where Bartels' voice shimmers from a distance, covering the scene in diffuse splendor. "There is so much warping, mangling, re-sampling, reversing and pitching," Bartels says of his intricate vocal manipulations. "I printed a lot of the vocal recordings onto a tape machine from the `60s, first at one speed, and then I'd halve, or double the speed going back into my comput- er," he elaborates, illustrating how this kind of analog processing freed him from his habits. "Sometimes I'd do this multiple times on one recording or layer-- it gave me such a unique and unexpected sound. At this point, I threw away any inhibition on what type of vocals to have, or not have, on the album." This newfound freedom is palpable in the peaks of soaring grandeur that dot the emotional landscape of Origins. "All These Years" cathartically reaches one such summit in its second half after laying a path of gently plodding indie-IDM in its first. The cinematic vignette "Dreymur Aftur" provides pause for reflection amid its brisk procession of string plucks and rhythmic synthesizer while marching wordlessly into album-closer "This Won't Last Forever." Here at the end, Bartels' guitar playing is laid bare in the mix, skeletally framing a single ribbon of his voice as it unfurls into the atmosphere. Though the track isn't expressly lyrical, its starkness still exemplifies the new leaf of vulnerability Bartels has turned over on Origins, an album that documents his hard-won evolution from musician, to producer, to composer_ and finally_ his confident arrival in the role of songwriter.

Fly Me To The Sun is a breathtaking German library gem from the hallowed Coloursound label. Originally out in 1983 it features two Polish composers, Andrzej Marko and André Mikola. If outré synth-funk is your thing, you need this record.

Almost blindingly luminous with positive vibes and radiant optimism, Fly Me to the Sun is a collection of funky, sun-dappled compositions for synthesizer and live instruments like drums, bass and guitar. A dope blend of beatbox driven future jazz and electro pop.

The wonderfully sleaze-adjacent opener "Dhamma" includes some grandiose piano chords amid floating ambient sounds a la Steve Hillage with slick drums entering the fray at a languid pace. "Circulation" sounds like Bowie ran into Chaz Jankel during an extended stay in Los Angeles, the Thin White Duke emerging out of a studio at 6am, bleary-eyed and clutching this filthy, bleepy instrumental of sonic smut. "Magic Scenery" is as delicate and astounding as the title suggests, a deep ambient movement conjuring halcyon images of rolling fields with abundant fauna and flora; acid-tinged visions of intense colour and natural beauty. Cool, slo-mo breaks adorn the strutting melancholy of “Longing for Tomorrow” and “Nocturnal Flowers” to close out Side A.

Skip the title track, which opens up Side B, and head straight to “Birth of a Butterfly” for a slice of creeping digi-dub-soul niceness. This should've been front and centre of that Personal Space compilation a decade ago. Raising both the tempo and the temperature, “Riding on a Sunbeam” continues in the mesmerising cosmic funk style before "Osmosis", one of the clear stand-outs, presents a fine vintage synth solo over a mellow funky rubberband beat. The closing track, "Solar Heating", warms things up with slapped bass and bold drum machine beats and the synth lends Sci-Fi vibes to the dark dub-funk-reggae rhythm.

As David Hollander, in Unusual Sounds: The Hidden History of Library Music, states, Coloursound was "founded in 1979 by composer, music lawyer, and vibraphonist Gunter Greffenius. A Munich-based library with a reputation for releasing innovative and ambitious music, it catered largely to the market for experimental sounds, its first release was 1980’s Biomechanoid, an abstract synthesizer excursion by Joel Vandroogenbroeck, of the pioneering kosmische band Brainticket. The record — complete with imposing, anonymous title and unearthly H.R. Giger cover art — set the tone for the label’s progressive leanings. The label’s catalogue stands as a tribute to the unfettered creative license that libraries were able to provide to forward-thinking musicians who, frustrated by the whims and constraints of the commercial scene, found complete freedom in the world of production music."

As with all our library music re-issues, the audio for Fly Me To The Sun comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. Richard Robinson has brought the original Coloursound sleeve back to life in all its metallic silver glory.

160-gram heavyweight Vinyl LP with gatefold jacket displaying the painting series that inspired the music, and the story of Newtok. Newtok is a remote Alaska Native village situated on the Ningliq River, near the west coast of Alaska. Although a very remote and quiet place, Newtok has come face-to-face with climate change. Due to a combination of thawing permafrost, low levels of sea ice, and strong storms, the coastal land of Newtok is eroding dramatically. In 2016, Chicago visual artist Jennifer Cronin embarked on a trip to Newtok to document this changing environment. Upon returning, she spent the next several years developing a series of paintings and screen prints titled Seen and Unseen that captured this eroding landscape. In 2019, Cronin and musical Artist Patrick Mitchell (a/k/a Dusty Patches) began discussing the project after Cronin asked him to perform at the Gallery opening for the series. As a result, Mitchell created this album, Newtok - inspired by Cronin's Seen and Unseen series and the story of Newtok, Alaska. Mitchell is a multi-instrumentalist songwriter and producer from Chicago who has led numerous past projects in the Chicago DIY community including De Triomphe, New Color, and Whiskey Wise. He dove headfirst into synths in 2017 and adopted the electronic alias Dusty Patches. Dusty Patches released his debut project Filthy Four Track Machine: Volumes I & II (2018, Sooper Records), largely made with the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators and OP-1. In 2020, he released Nocturnal Emissions from the Dablatory, his first project fully realized with modular synthesis. In approaching Newtok, Mitchell composed all of the constituent musical elements of the work and then recorded and live mixed the album during a single live performance on modular synthesizer. The album draws heavily on sprawling ambient synths, electric and acoustic post-punk guitar motifs, cryptic vocal sampling, vintage drum machines, and modular patches that often sound like birds or the sea. The subject matter of the album, the complexity of its arrangement, and its execution as a single live recorded performance makes Newtok a unique musical experience. About Newtok, Mitchell says: This record was an exploration of themes. When faced with the immense canvases Jen Cronin produced upon her return from the village of Newtok, one can't help but feel awe. With the sheer size of the works towering above you, you are compelled. There is overwhelming beauty, desolation, a sense of urgency, and a sense that it is, in fact, far too late. These visual themes, and the emotions they evoke, were connected to the sounds and compositions of this record. There is a coldness to the digital soundscape, but organic sounds of nature and humans tether and steer the album through a journey of musical storytelling. Newtok is a journey of musical storytelling about the tragedy of the Anthropocene in the age of climate change. FOR FANS OF: Mother Earth's Plantasia, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Boards of Canada, Bibio

"Hello It’s Me" sings Signe Marie Rustad in her crystal clear, inimitable voice. And with that, she’s back, three years after the release of her successful third album, When Words Flew Freely. The above lyric is taken from a song bearing the same name, the first single off Rustad’s fourth album, Particles of Faith. Known for her poetic lyrics and vivid songwriting, and backed by a tight knit band that’s been with her for years, Rustad’s new album offers a natural transition from the already classic When Words Flew Freely (WWFF). However, Particles of Faith also brings something completely new and fresh. WWFF presented a broader, organic and piano-driven Laurel Canyon-sound, and less of the americana sound present on Rustad’s first two releases. Particles of Faith is harder to place in any genre, other than in the broader singer-songwriter tradition, helmed by pioneers such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. But Rustad also points to a host of other inspirations. Alternative pop/rock from the 80’s and 90’s have always been a big influence on Rustad, and on Particles of Faith, this is more evident than ever. R.E.M., Fiona Apple, Crowded House and Tori Amos were important components both in the artist’s record collection and on her TV screen via MTV. Seeing as this era was also the golden age of the saxophone, it was only natural to include a three-minute-long sax solo, courtesy of acclaimed Norwegian jazz musician Harald Lassen – a solo that “made me cry” says Rustad. The album is produced by Rustad along with indie pop hero Kenneth Ishak. “This is the music coursing through my veins,” says Rustad about the album. Rustad has been critically acclaimed ever since her 2012 debut, but with WWFF, things really took off. Rave reviews, inclusion on several year-end lists, live performance on Norway’s biggest talk show and a booking to Norway’s biggest festival followed the release. The album was awarded a Spellemann award (Norwegian Grammy) for lyricist of the year. After widespread touring since the fall of 2019, Rustad’s performance on Øyafestivalen’s main stage in August 2022, marked the wrap up of the WWFF project, while it simultaneously introduced the next chapter, announcing the new album with the performance of two new songs. The songs on the album are snapshots from a life, and “particles of faith” refers to keeping the faith in yourself, love, the people around you and the world in general throughout everything that you endure in life. It can be a kind of strength that you may think comes from the outside, but is actually found inside of us.

"Hello It’s Me" sings Signe Marie Rustad in her crystal clear, inimitable voice. And with that, she’s back, three years after the release of her successful third album, When Words Flew Freely. The above lyric is taken from a song bearing the same name, the first single off Rustad’s fourth album, Particles of Faith.

Known for her poetic lyrics and vivid songwriting, and backed by a tight knit band that’s been with her for years, Rustad’s new album offers a natural transition from the already classic When Words Flew Freely (WWFF). However, Particles of Faith also brings something completely new and fresh.

WWFF presented a broader, organic and piano-driven Laurel Canyon-sound, and less of the americana sound present on Rustad’s first two releases. Particles of Faith is harder to place in any genre, other than in the broader singer-songwriter tradition, helmed by pioneers such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. But Rustad also points to a host of other inspirations.

Alternative pop/rock from the 80’s and 90’s have always been a big influence on Rustad, and on Particles of Faith, this is more evident than ever. R.E.M., Fiona Apple, Crowded House and Tori Amos were important components both in the artist’s record collection and on her TV screen via MTV. Seeing as this era was also the golden age of the saxophone, it was only natural to include a three-minute-long sax solo, courtesy of acclaimed Norwegian jazz musician Harald Lassen – a solo that “made me cry” says Rustad. The album is produced by Rustad along with indie pop hero Kenneth Ishak. “This is the music coursing through my veins,” says Rustad about the album.

Rustad has been critically acclaimed ever since her 2012 debut, but with WWFF, things really took off. Rave reviews, inclusion on several year-end lists, live performance on Norway’s biggest talk show and a booking to Norway’s biggest festival followed the release. The album was awarded a Spellemann award (Norwegian Grammy) for lyricist of the year. After widespread touring since the fall of 2019, Rustad’s performance on Øyafestivalen’s main stage in August 2022, marked the wrap up of the WWFF project, while it simultaneously introduced the next chapter, announcing the new album with the performance of two new songs.

The songs on the album are snapshots from a life, and “particles of faith” refers to keeping the faith in yourself, love, the people around you and the world in general throughout everything that you endure in life. It can be a kind of strength that you may think comes from the outside, but is actually found inside of us.

Ramrock on the cutting edge

Should 'The Great Encyclopaedia of Musical Genres' be at a loss for a word to describe the music of Ghent-based Ramkot, they wouldn't have to look far. 'Ramrock'; done. It's how the solidly carefree rocking Ghent triumvirate themselves describe the music with which they have been selling clubs, concert halls and festivals spicy maws since 2018. With two EPs to their credit, 'Ramkot' (2019) and 'What Exactly Are You Looking For' (2021), and a giglist that you can only be in awe of, the laureates of De Nieuwe Lichting 2021 thought it was high time to stamp their awe-inspiring sound on a first album.

Le nouveau Ramkot est arrivé: with 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot delivers a debut full of particularly solid, yet danceable, 'ram rock' and bangs its way through the wall of sound to a - no doubt - very exciting future.

'In Between Borderlines' is the apotheosis of two years of rock hard work. Idea. Elaborating. Polishing. And there's the diamond. Ramkot is not the band to sit still and wait for the time to put their music on tape. The time is always ripe.

For 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot dove into the studio for a year - at different times - where they canned eight songs, all with the familiar Ramkot signature: hard and cutting, melodic and danceable and now and then gleefully deviating from the usual path.

The two advance singles 'Exactly What You Wanted' and 'I Can't Slow Down' already beautifully indicated the tenor of 'In Between Borderlines': the back straight and firmly in line, ready to continue on the successful and - above all - very eager momentum. And did the music hit its mark? Absolutely. Studio Brussels, Willy and KINK were immediately on board. With a spot in De Afrekening, Catch Of The Day (Studio Brussel) and Daily Drop (KINK) as a result.

It is sometimes said that three is a magic number. It is. A three-piece band reduces music to its essence and cuts harder live than a Japanese chef's knife. Whereas during the recording process Ramkot was tempted to also get to work with synths, live they invariably opt for the more pared-down versions of their songs that - just like on the album - grab the audience by the neck and show them every corner of the room. And it is this playing live that has certainly not hurt the band in recent years. On the contrary, it made Ramkot more natural, tightened the reins and gave the band an even more distinctive look. 'In Between Borderlines' is brimming with the pleasure of playing, the desire and eagerness to go flat out until 'everything is broken'.

Ramkot never gets stuck. On 'In Between Borderlines' this manifests itself in multi-layered songs with tentacles in solid riffs, occasionally borrowing from other genres. Does a song have a ragtime feel to it? Or is there a hint of 'despacito'? The band is not afraid to blend some exotic influences with abrasive guitars and sulky drums. Extra flavour makes the dish more interesting. And as for 'In Between Borderlines', the starter, main course and dessert are immediately on the table. It may be finished in one sitting.

Ramrock on the cutting edge

Should 'The Great Encyclopaedia of Musical Genres' be at a loss for a word to describe the music of Ghent-based Ramkot, they wouldn't have to look far. 'Ramrock'; done. It's how the solidly carefree rocking Ghent triumvirate themselves describe the music with which they have been selling clubs, concert halls and festivals spicy maws since 2018. With two EPs to their credit, 'Ramkot' (2019) and 'What Exactly Are You Looking For' (2021), and a giglist that you can only be in awe of, the laureates of De Nieuwe Lichting 2021 thought it was high time to stamp their awe-inspiring sound on a first album.

Le nouveau Ramkot est arrivé: with 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot delivers a debut full of particularly solid, yet danceable, 'ram rock' and bangs its way through the wall of sound to a - no doubt - very exciting future.

'In Between Borderlines' is the apotheosis of two years of rock hard work. Idea. Elaborating. Polishing. And there's the diamond. Ramkot is not the band to sit still and wait for the time to put their music on tape. The time is always ripe.

For 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot dove into the studio for a year - at different times - where they canned eight songs, all with the familiar Ramkot signature: hard and cutting, melodic and danceable and now and then gleefully deviating from the usual path.

The two advance singles 'Exactly What You Wanted' and 'I Can't Slow Down' already beautifully indicated the tenor of 'In Between Borderlines': the back straight and firmly in line, ready to continue on the successful and - above all - very eager momentum. And did the music hit its mark? Absolutely. Studio Brussels, Willy and KINK were immediately on board. With a spot in De Afrekening, Catch Of The Day (Studio Brussel) and Daily Drop (KINK) as a result.

It is sometimes said that three is a magic number. It is. A three-piece band reduces music to its essence and cuts harder live than a Japanese chef's knife. Whereas during the recording process Ramkot was tempted to also get to work with synths, live they invariably opt for the more pared-down versions of their songs that - just like on the album - grab the audience by the neck and show them every corner of the room. And it is this playing live that has certainly not hurt the band in recent years. On the contrary, it made Ramkot more natural, tightened the reins and gave the band an even more distinctive look. 'In Between Borderlines' is brimming with the pleasure of playing, the desire and eagerness to go flat out until 'everything is broken'.

Ramkot never gets stuck. On 'In Between Borderlines' this manifests itself in multi-layered songs with tentacles in solid riffs, occasionally borrowing from other genres. Does a song have a ragtime feel to it? Or is there a hint of 'despacito'? The band is not afraid to blend some exotic influences with abrasive guitars and sulky drums. Extra flavour makes the dish more interesting. And as for 'In Between Borderlines', the starter, main course and dessert are immediately on the table. It may be finished in one sitting.

Ramrock on the cutting edge

Should 'The Great Encyclopaedia of Musical Genres' be at a loss for a word to describe the music of Ghent-based Ramkot, they wouldn't have to look far. 'Ramrock'; done. It's how the solidly carefree rocking Ghent triumvirate themselves describe the music with which they have been selling clubs, concert halls and festivals spicy maws since 2018. With two EPs to their credit, 'Ramkot' (2019) and 'What Exactly Are You Looking For' (2021), and a giglist that you can only be in awe of, the laureates of De Nieuwe Lichting 2021 thought it was high time to stamp their awe-inspiring sound on a first album.

Le nouveau Ramkot est arrivé: with 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot delivers a debut full of particularly solid, yet danceable, 'ram rock' and bangs its way through the wall of sound to a - no doubt - very exciting future.

'In Between Borderlines' is the apotheosis of two years of rock hard work. Idea. Elaborating. Polishing. And there's the diamond. Ramkot is not the band to sit still and wait for the time to put their music on tape. The time is always ripe.

For 'In Between Borderlines', Ramkot dove into the studio for a year - at different times - where they canned eight songs, all with the familiar Ramkot signature: hard and cutting, melodic and danceable and now and then gleefully deviating from the usual path.

The two advance singles 'Exactly What You Wanted' and 'I Can't Slow Down' already beautifully indicated the tenor of 'In Between Borderlines': the back straight and firmly in line, ready to continue on the successful and - above all - very eager momentum. And did the music hit its mark? Absolutely. Studio Brussels, Willy and KINK were immediately on board. With a spot in De Afrekening, Catch Of The Day (Studio Brussel) and Daily Drop (KINK) as a result.

It is sometimes said that three is a magic number. It is. A three-piece band reduces music to its essence and cuts harder live than a Japanese chef's knife. Whereas during the recording process Ramkot was tempted to also get to work with synths, live they invariably opt for the more pared-down versions of their songs that - just like on the album - grab the audience by the neck and show them every corner of the room. And it is this playing live that has certainly not hurt the band in recent years. On the contrary, it made Ramkot more natural, tightened the reins and gave the band an even more distinctive look. 'In Between Borderlines' is brimming with the pleasure of playing, the desire and eagerness to go flat out until 'everything is broken'.

Ramkot never gets stuck. On 'In Between Borderlines' this manifests itself in multi-layered songs with tentacles in solid riffs, occasionally borrowing from other genres. Does a song have a ragtime feel to it? Or is there a hint of 'despacito'? The band is not afraid to blend some exotic influences with abrasive guitars and sulky drums. Extra flavour makes the dish more interesting. And as for 'In Between Borderlines', the starter, main course and dessert are immediately on the table. It may be finished in one sitting.

Some records just stop you in your tracks. They resonate with you and feel instantly familiar like an old friend, even on the first listen. SOYUZ's third album ‘Force of the Wind’ is one of those records. It holds all the trademarks, beauty, and eccentricities of classic Brazilian recordings, from the 60s and 70s, that we have come to love. Think artists such as Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Burnier e Cartier, Arthur Verocai et al. But this record wasn’t made in Brazil and is in fact a brand-new release.

SOYUZ (which translates as 'union') is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, led by composer, arranger, and singer, Alex Chumak, multi-instrumentalist, Mikita Arlou, and drummer, Anton Nemahai. SOYUZ's previous albums explored and reimagined the legacy of jazz-oriented, non-English-language pop music of the 20th century. For their third album, there is a stronger focus, and it is influenced by 70s Música popular Brasileira and building bridges from it to present-day Belarus. Alex notes that from the moment he first encountered Brazilian music, he found in it a kind of concentrated emotion that felt as if it were familiar to him from his childhood. This non-verbal emotion and connection between the listener and musician echoes in the music, regardless of understanding of the language the album is recorded in.

‘Force of the Wind’ includes songs sung in Russian and Portuguese as well as instrumental compositions. Its musical palette is both acoustic and electroacoustic: rich warm Rhodes piano, soaring string arrangements, and a controlled drum swagger sounding both relaxed yet super tight. Alongside Alex's sublime vocals, that grace the majority of the tracks, the album features guest performances by multi-talented musician and vocalist Kate NV and rising Brazilian star, Sessa. Alex also recently arranged a number of tracks on Sessa's highly praised 2022 album 'Estrela Acesa'.

On the album, the trio is joined by a cast of friends; NY-based musician of Turkish origin percussionist, Cem Mısırlıoğlu, classically trained composer, Simon Hanes, who aided with string arrangements and conducting the string players, Netherlands-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, Gabriel Milliet, on flutes. With the collaboration of these friends SOYUZ have created nine songs/suites that are subtle and plenitude and like the best albums, leave you aching for more.

‘Force of the Wind’ is an enigma, Brazilian yet not Brazilian, vintage yet still contemporary, out of sync with modern culture yet completely relevant and necessary.

Ugly Mac Beer, a key figure in the French breakbeat scene, founder of Beatsqueeze Records and author of the critically acclaimed albums Modonut 1 & 2 alongside Mister Modo, is back with a new solo album “The Valley of the Kings”, between lofi hip-hop, abstract hip-hop or even broken beat, which will be released on January 27, 2023.

A digger/beatmaker effort par excellence, very inspired by the 90s productions of masters of the genre such as Madlib, DJ Shadow or RZA, the concept of this instrumental album with oriental sounds is based on the search for the sample of “THE” ultimate and perfectly heady loop, which can be listen to over and over again.

The eponymous title track which opens the album sets the tone with its powerful lofi hip-hop drum on a big cinematic and orchestral sound which evokes an Egyptian peplum of the 60s taking place in the heart of the mythical valley of the kings! Another highlight of the album, the track “Les chœurs perdus” resonates like a children’s tale, with its bewitching voices and magical songs set to a catchy beat that evokes the Egyptian goddesses and the mystery of the pyramids. To compose the powerful and rather dark beat of “The New Flame”, another essential piece of the album, the beatmaker drew his inspiration from New York hip-hop from the 90s but also from “crime film” soundtracks from the 70s. The sublime interludes “Fortune & Gloire”, “Years of Despare” and “Ambitious Dream” take us from one track to another, each one more powerful than the other.

In a very cinematographic mood, Ugly Mac Beer succeeds in developing its “old film about Egypt” album concept from start to finish and thus manages to tell a real story that takes us on a journey back in pyramids time.

Ugly Mac Beer, a key figure in the French breakbeat scene, founder of Beatsqueeze Records and author of the critically acclaimed albums Modonut 1 & 2 alongside Mister Modo, is back with a new solo album “The Valley of the Kings”, between lofi hip-hop, abstract hip-hop or even broken beat, which will be released on January 27, 2023.

A digger/beatmaker effort par excellence, very inspired by the 90s productions of masters of the genre such as Madlib, DJ Shadow or RZA, the concept of this instrumental album with oriental sounds is based on the search for the sample of “THE” ultimate and perfectly heady loop, which can be listen to over and over again.

The eponymous title track which opens the album sets the tone with its powerful lofi hip-hop drum on a big cinematic and orchestral sound which evokes an Egyptian peplum of the 60s taking place in the heart of the mythical valley of the kings! Another highlight of the album, the track “Les chœurs perdus” resonates like a children’s tale, with its bewitching voices and magical songs set to a catchy beat that evokes the Egyptian goddesses and the mystery of the pyramids. To compose the powerful and rather dark beat of “The New Flame”, another essential piece of the album, the beatmaker drew his inspiration from New York hip-hop from the 90s but also from “crime film” soundtracks from the 70s. The sublime interludes “Fortune & Gloire”, “Years of Despare” and “Ambitious Dream” take us from one track to another, each one more powerful than the other.

In a very cinematographic mood, Ugly Mac Beer succeeds in developing its “old film about Egypt” album concept from start to finish and thus manages to tell a real story that takes us on a journey back in pyramids time.

Making Circles of Our Own is the new upcoming sophomore record from Northern Ireland's New Pagans. From the very beginning the Belfast’s indie rock outfit intent was clear: to fuse their collective creative experiences and emit a confidence in both their sound and aesthetic. New Pagans in essence is a movement, challenging issues surrounding relationships, equality and history all wrapped in massive riffs and soaring dynamics shaped into their own brand of alternative, post punk and indie rock — all encompassing on the bands incoming second album ‘Making Circles of Our Own’. With the dawning of 2023 on the horizon, New Pagans have been building off the success of 2020’s debut album ‘The Seed, The Vessel, The Roots and All’ - which helped secure them as winners of ‘Best Live Act’ at the NI Music Prize in 2020 - and emerge invigorated anew. Latest single ‘Better People’ is a stunning blast of positivity that celebrates their ability to pull together, create communities and look after one another. Often outspoken and not shy of protesting the dark themes that infiltrate modern Irish life, singer & lyricist Lyndsey Mcdougall implores us to endeavour to be just as the title suggests. And with this new era comes their staggering second album ‘Making Circles Of Our Own’, which sees the five-piece abandon the chaos of 2020 for a moment in search of hope in the future. Recorded and self-produced at Badlands Studios in the Glens of Antrim in Ireland (the band's HQ) by band members Cahir O'Doherty and Allan McGreevy, New Pagans continue to expand their DIY position. This time around they also invited Sam Petts Davis (Radiohead, Warpaint, Frank Ocean) to mix the songs and the result is an energetic and infectious collection of anthems.

Is Cory Okay? Opening on pads that sounds like a warm LA sunrise and bubbling with the characteristic dorky, oddball mawkishness that is Tungz 101, ‘Is Cory Okay?’ blossoms into a sugar-glass 80s pop ballad for the masculine mental health crisis. Quincy Jones guitars chip away at the soft underbelly of synth, shaping and modelling until sleek lines are established and the entire track becomes effortlessly aerodynamic. The lyric explores male anxiety disorder from the point of view of friends looking to alleviate the psychological distress of a protagonist who outwardly rejects the value of the support but internally begs for it to continue as he can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s yet another example of Tungz multi-dimensional approach to song writing, asserting theirs as an essential voice in 2023. Album: Dripping with licks so richly sophisticated they ought to have their own Beverly Hills postcode, Tungz debut album ‘A Good Dream’ mixes the emotional downer of chillwave with the rhapsody of disco and hits perfection. Across 11 tracks, Tungz access a dancefloor utopia, where a French house aesthetic lives out an opulent psych-pop fantasy; beautifully simple yet sneakily complex. Brimming with confidence, the collection not only fulfils the promise of Tungz early EPs, but asserts their multidimensional approach to song writing, confirming them as an idiosyncratic prospect within alternative music.

Music For Dreams signal the summer with the debut LP from Ibizan royalty DJ Pippi & Willie Graff, released digitally on May 27th with the physical version following on the 8th July. The latest bounty from the Danish label’s long and fruitful relationship with the White Isle, Follow Your Dreams is a twelve plate tapas packed with the assorted styles and flavours of the Balearic sound - a complex blend delivered with a warmth, feeling and tone which bring it all together as a whole.

Collaborating on and off over the past fifteen years, with resulting singles gracing the likes of Compost, Leng and Archipelago, DJ Pippi and Willie Graff posses a unique combination of Balearic heritage; one an Italian export who helped originate the sound and style of the genre through his legendary DJ sets at the likes of Pacha and KU in the eighties, the other a trailblazing talent born on the island, who started his residency at Pacha in summer 2000 at the tender age of 17. Their intergenerational entente speaks to Pippi’s unyielding passion for sonic progression and the musical maturity of Graff, as well as a shared love of the soulful side.

The Songs All Sound the Same is a singles collection by American rock and roll band Supersuckers. It was originally released in 1992 on eMpTy Records. This album led ultimately to the signing of the band with Sub Pop. Now fully remastered and with new artwork it is released in 2021 for the first time on vinyl (an earlier version was on a picture disc). Raw, loud and fast, this is the first document of an incredible career. Liner notes by Eddie Spaghetti.

2023 REPRESS in Ltd Transparent Vinyl

Strut are proud to announce the first ever internationally released new studio album by one of the all-time legends of Nigerian music, Orlando Julius, in a mouth-watering new collaboration with London super-group The Heliocentrics. At his club residency in Ibadan, Orlando Julius was one of the very first to begin fusing US R&B with traditional highlife during the mid-'60s with his Modern Aces band. His 'Super Afro Soul' album from '66 set the blueprint for a whole generation of Afrobeat and Afro funk stars and, in an illustrious career, Julius met and played with Louis Armstrong, The Crusaders, Hugh Masekela and Lamont Dozier among others, famously co-composing the classic 'Going Back To My Roots' in 1979 whilst based in the USA.
or 'Jaiyede Afro', Julius takes us back to his own roots, revisiting several compositions from h s early years whi ch have never previ ousl y been recorded. The title track recal l s his experiences as a boy: 'my mother would go to group meetings with other women. They would sing together and play drums, I would play along with them and we would sing this song together.' Infectious chant 'Omo Oba Blues' is a traditional song sung at Julius' school which he re-arranged in 1965 for his Modern Aces band. The epic Afrobeat jam 'Be Counted' stems from his years in the USA: 'this was written around 1976 while I was living on the West coast. I did start recording it for the 'Sisi Sade' album around 1985 but it was never finished.'
Other tracks include 'Buje Buje' and 'Aseni', both re-worked arrangements from his rare 'Orlando Julius and The Afro Sounders' album from 1973.
Recorded at the Heliocentrics' fully analogue HQ in North London, the band follow their memorable collaborations with Mulatu Astatke and Lloyd Miller by taking Orlando's sound into new, progressive directions, retaining the raw grit of his early work and adding psychedelic touches and adventurous new arrangements. They also contribute live favourite, the James Brown cover 'In The Middle' and a series of memorable shorter interludes.

In the midst of a wave of hybridizing ambient, drone, folklore and experimental electroacoustic music, Roxane Métayer has gained a cult following with only a couple of releases to date. Following her debut album (Éclipse Des Ocelles) for Morc with a split EP and a limited cassette for Wabi-Sabi, Roxane now turns to Marionette with her intimate narrative based multi-instrumental recordings, a match made in the heavens if you ask us. With her violin, woodwind, voice and various effect pedals, Métayer takes the listener on a newfound journey into the ancient, medieval, and primordial.

Perlée de sève is Métayer’s second full length, a sophomore to the critically acclaimed Éclipse Des Ocelles, where Métayer continues to sonically realize the map of the fictional habitats that inhabit her mind. Coming from a background of studying narration and different animation mediums, it’s no surprise that her recordings evoke vivid imagery and carry a trace of the environment they were conceived in. The instruments morph as extensions of her body and ultimately become new organs, a means of communicating these bio-memetic stories and creating a dialogue between herself and her surroundings. Meandering melodies intertwine with accompanying drones, mantra-like fragments and a handfeel percussion lend themselves as living and breathing elements in Roxane’s beguiling and spellbinding anecdotes.

Roxane is an observer of the world, her projects conceived from elements that inform her reality, such as the organic imagery and sounds of nature, then transforming that into a strangely familiar parallel universe that would not exist otherwise. Whether it's active research or taking her instruments to the forest, Métayer opens up her imagination by taking this mental journey to discover locations, creatures, and time periods then channeling that into her own fairy tales. The album and track titles act as a portal into those worlds, like chapters in a book where the protagonists are animalia, plantae, and fungi. As Métayer wrote in an interview: “Stories are a privileged way to create an awareness of a specific subject.”

The past few years have found Sean McBride, the artist behind Martial Canterel, in a state of flux, ebbing back and forth between material displacement and musical aestheticism. His expert pedigree in electronic sound and arrangement bridges the gap created by an undecidability between life at home and abroad His new album, Lost At Sea, is an attempt for the artist to locate this elusive common ground.The album's introductory track, Giving Up, has all of the hallmarks that Martial Canterel has utilized in the past_melodic chorus, upbeat rhythm and classic sequential dynamism. Where the song diverges is in its core theme of nature: nature's return to a period of restoration after the failures and recklessness of humankind.The slower pace of songs like Scampia and Puszta yearn for McBride's complex love affair with far flung destinations. Re-evaluating the political strife and social unrest in these historical locations, McBride delves deeper into political and geological reference points creating symbolic representations using mechanized percussion, white noise and various sine waves.The conceptual nature of Lost at Sea reaches even deeper depths within the waveforms of Astralize, a track based upon academic Donna Haraway's pre-civilized theories of human neglect after the `azstralization'.

Death fucking Metal from Peru! A nuclear detonation of shredding and unbridled aggression! Spectral Souls was born in the beginning of 2019 in Lima, Peru, and from the beginning the idea was to work within the Old School Death Metal genre, going back and being inspired by the late 80’s and early 90’s bands and classic albums. During 2019 the band continued with the composition process and did it the first concert in mid 2019. At the beginning of 2020 and during the pandemic, the recording process of the first album “Towards Extinction” began at the Giovani Lama Studios. Because of the pandemic situation with government lockdowns and other obstacles, the recording took longer than expected, but luckily, after almost a year and a half of hard work, it was completed. The album contains 11 songs, in which different aspects within the old school Death Metal sound are explored, thus giving a sensation of interesting dynamics. The theme of the album is inspired by the humanity’s capacity for self-destruction, exploring the misery of man and his great enemies, such as religion, politics and social networks. When Hammerheart Records heard “Towards Extinction” they could not resist offering Spectral Souls a worldwide deal. “Towards Extinction” simply is a killer Death Metal album that brings to mind “Leprosy”, “From Beyond” and “Consuming Impulse”.

ART MAKE LOVE sees the return of 30/70, the mothership of the internationally acclaimed collective. Their sound expanding far beyond its previous markers of Nu-Soul and Jazz, it is inspired heavily by Broken Beat complexity and their unique coming together of truly collaborative and eccentric songwriting. Real sense of light and dark in this — exploring the very edges of emotion and life, truth and fear, the depth of spirit and emotion.

ART MAKE LOVE is breaking down the walls between the music and the listener, it is bringing art back to the centre and inviting you in. It is looking directly into the darkness while celebrating life, expressing joy at the edges of all experience.

Daddies of riff, shuffle, southern swing, with backbeat and chicken funk spiel, all very much "Sons of Memphis", these six established performers, in the pure Stax/Atlantic style, produce a profound Deep Soul, held together by a hot and groovy bass, a V8 drumbeat, a possessed trombone, a charismatic and powerful lead vocal, and a roaring Hammond Leslie united with the spring reverb guitar and its 60"s tremolo. Zoot suit, black and white Derbys, dark glasses, this Take 6 knows the song, the story and all the strings of the Soulman with that little added extra, the irresistible French touch embellished by their roots in the Bearn, in the Pyrenees. This energetic combo creates fireworks on stage and through them Deep Soul remains what it has always been, a music of hope! Of sharing! Music of the soul! The soul revelation of 2021/2022!! The SuperSoul Brothers began in 2016 as a quartet (bass, drums,guitar, vocals) working relentlessly through the year, with rehearsal after rehearsal. In 2017 came their first concert. The keyboards arrived in 2018. The final balance came in 2019 with the arrival of the trombone. Take 6 was the magical formula. In 2020 their first album, "Shadows and Lights" was written and recorded old-school style. That summer, they fronted the NEG "MARRONS at the Pau Summer Festival. In 2021 they signed with Dixiefrog Records and released their first global album, "Shadows and Lights". The newly created stage show, "Soul Revue" is ready to roll.

Cat Clyde’s 3rd album Down Rounder is a wonder of deeply felt songwriting, a record that finds the Canadian singer-songwriter marveling at what’s around her while considering her own place within it all. With ten songs on the album, Down Rounder possesses an intimate and personal feel, transporting the listener to the recording studio as Cat performs these hair-raising tunes with confidence and passion. Cat joined producer Tony Berg in Los Angeles’ famed Sound City studios to lay down the entirety of Down Rounder in six days flat. The record sounds both lively and lived-in, with Clyde’s malleable singing voice—spanning an appealing twang to a lovely, plaintive croon and anywhere in between—espousing an essential connection between our spiritual center and the natural world that surrounds us. The album is an exploration and expression of self, patterns in the natural and unnatural world, connecting to nature, the turning wheel of life, shedding old selves, embracing new selves, and the ever changing, expanding and contracting nature of love and life. After racking up millions of streams across multiple platforms with previous releases, Down Rounder sounds like the work of someone who’s found themselves artistically and holistically, while extending a hand to any listener who wants to follow Clyde on her singular and thrilling path.