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Atmosphärischer Post-Rock aus dem Chicago der Jahrhundertwende. Das Debütalbum von 90 Day Men für Southern Records erkundet die kantigen Küstenlinien des No Wave mit acht hypnotisierenden Tracks. Diese erweiterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe enthält ein unveröffentlichtes Album, das in Steve Albini's Electrical Audio aufgenommen wurde, mit Anmerkungen des Toningenieurs Greg Norman und einem neuen Master von Heba Kadry. Wir treffen uns im Jinx.

Beta Wave Vinyl. Atmosphärischer Post-Rock aus dem Chicago der Jahrhundertwende. Das Debütalbum von 90 Day Men für Southern Records erkundet die kantigen Küstenlinien des No Wave mit acht hypnotisierenden Tracks. Diese erweiterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe enthält ein unveröffentlichtes Album, das in Steve Albini's Electrical Audio aufgenommen wurde, mit Anmerkungen des Toningenieurs Greg Norman und einem neuen Master von Heba Kadry. Wir treffen uns im Jinx.

Sometimes, the most beautiful stories begin simply between friends, over laughter, late nights and shared music. That’s how the collaboration between Oscar and the Wolf and Roméo Elvis was born. What started as an unexpected jam session after dinner soon evolved into something much greater: a modern-day Romeo and Juliet where two distinct worlds, North and South, pop and rap, light and shadow, meet and merge effortlessly.

Their first collaboration, “Ceiling”, captures that magic: the perfect balance between intimacy and grandeur, where contrast becomes harmony. Premiered live before 100,000 people during Belgium’s National Day celebrations, the single immediately resonated, becoming a radio hit and surpassing one million streams within weeks.

Now, the duo present JARDIN, an eight-track EP arriving this December. Here, Oscar and the Wolf and Roméo Elvis push each other beyond their comfort zones, exploring new sonic landscapes and blending their unique identities into one sound. From the pulsating energy of “Crocodila” and “Je M’en Balec”, to the tender alternative rock ballad “Lose My Baby”, and the groove-driven “Chargé (Monet)” or the club-ready “Bon Sense”, JARDIN unfolds like a living garden, a vibrant space where every track blossoms into something new.

To celebrate the release, the duo will perform together for the first time on December 15 and 16 at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. Both shows sold out within hours, a testament to the excitement surrounding this groundbreaking collaboration.

With JARDIN, Oscar and the Wolf and Roméo Elvis don’t just unite genres and languages; they build a bridge between regions, emotions and artistic worlds, a celebration of sound, connection and friendship.

Ston Elaióna is John Also Bennett’s first album for Shelter Press since his 2019 solo debut Erg Herbe. The American born, Athens, Greece, based flautist, synthesist, and composer weaves a strikingly singular electroacoustic excursion for bass flute and Yamaha DX7ii, largely recorded in the golden haze of the early morning hours - bending time at the otherworldly juncture of consciousness and place. Translating from Greek as “in the olive grove”, Ston Elaióna is permeated with the ambiences of the ancient and present world, guided into form by a playfully rigorous approach to sound.
Initially emerging during the mid 2000s as part of Columbus, Ohio’s noise scene, before relocating to NYC around 2010, Bennett’s diverse activities picked up an increasing sense of pace over the following decade - performing and recording as a solo artist (JAB), with the trio Forma and with CV &JAB, his prolific duo with his partner Christina Vantzou, as well as playing in Jon Gibson’s ensemble among many other multifaceted collaborations. However, since 2020 the flautist and electroacoustic composer has existed in a semi nomadic state: drifting between Brooklyn, Brussels, extensive tours, and Greece, where he finally came to rest in Athens last year.

Drawing upon a carefully honed attentiveness to the environments and experiences of everyday life, Ston Elaióna is a suite of nine pieces (with an additional track exclusive to physical formats), many of them composed and played live as the early morning sun touched the Parthenon, in full view from Bennett’s studio window in Athens. Bennett’s refinement and restraint, honed over his years adrift, led him to adopt a limited palette focused on his primary instrument, the bass flute, and a Yamaha DX7ii synthesizer tuned to just intonation scales. Alongside a handful of other keyboards, digital oscillators triggered by his flute, and occasional field recordings, this simple palette is reflected by the deeply emotive sense of minimalism that permeates the album’s two sides. Following two solo albums defined by outward facing temperaments - 2022’s Out there in the middle of nowhere (Poole Music), which used a lap steel guitar and generative oscillators to evoke the surreal landscapes of the South Dakota badlands, and the largely synthetic atmospheres of the 2024 anthology Music For Save Rooms 1 & 2 (Editions Basilic) - the shift in Bennett’s worldly circumstances offered an intuitive return to the calm, inward states of creative exploration that have historically defined JAB’s sound. In parallel, context provided clear sources of inspiration for many of the album’s themes, as well as sources for some of its sounds. The aura of Greece, from the ancient to the present, from its stones and olive groves to its traffic, figures heavily across Ston Elaióna’s two sides. John Also Bennett’s Ston Elaióna forms an elegantly rigorous world of electroacoustic sonority, bridging the expanse of time with the immediacies of environment and happening in the here and now: a profound sonic mediation on the countless dimensions unlocked by life in Greece.

Geckos is the collective spirit of acclaimed songwriter M. Ward, Giant Sand visionary Howe Gelb, and Irish multi-instrumentalist McKowski. Born out of an impromptu recording session that was sparked by an encounter at the wedding of a mutual friend, the project blends the rich flavors of the Southwest with indie folk, Spanish influences, and a touch of Irish mysticism. While initial recordings took place in Tucson, it became a true transatlantic project when the members returned to their hometowns and continued trading ideas. The trio eventually regrouped in studios across Ireland, London, and Bristol, where renowned English producer John Parish mixed multiple tracks. Geckos' self-titled debut is steeped in story, spontaneity, and surreal charm, channeling the spirit of three singular voices discovering a new, shared musical language.

Wild by nature, the Does of the Florian Pellissier Quintet could never be contained in a creative pen that would have forced them never to cross potential geographical limits. Travelers, spending their energy without restraint to let the hard bop of their jazz wander and export itself wherever the groove guided them, they went as far as Africa or South America, from the Cape of Good Hope to Rio. Rio, precisely where, for their last appearance, exposure to a brief electric current had carried them into outer space. A revelation.


Furious strides, exhausting gambols, the Does had done so much that they could not escape the obvious call of calm and serenity. Freed from distances, and after a stop in Colombia to mingle with the crowd at the Barranquilla carnival, it was California and its Pacific coast they reached, to rest before the peaceful immensity of the ocean.


One hundred sixty-five million square kilometers, an infinite expanse to contemplate in order to fling wide open the gates to an even vaster space. A spiritual domain conducive to the search for new sounds. That of the open sea, where measuring miles is neither relevant nor meaningful, and where the only compass becomes the musical tracks the Does follow.


Beneath their coppery hooves, to the crystalline sound of the Fender Rhodes and the sweep of electric layers, the path to take revealed itself in this meditative and abstract realm they had never before explored. Invited to join the purely organic textures, the synthetic notes distilled a few aromas of sweetness into an album of ten tracks, where the FPQ abandoned written scores on some pieces in order to be guided only by the inspiration born of a newfound freedom.


Blue when they began their journey five albums ago, their coat has now taken on the colors that illuminate the Pacific coast. That moment when, as you gaze at the horizon swallowing the sun, only glowing shades filter through—reddish, orange, violet.


Departing without haste or frenzy from one of the shores bordering the ocean, the voices of Archie Shepp, Iggy Pop, and DjeuhDjoah still resonating in their antlers, the Does may now be on the opposite shore. Carried all the way to the Japanese coast by Hokusai’s wave…

Elations Recordings presents "Tairen", an evocative cello recording marking the debut solo release of Melbourne/Naarm-based cellist LEM (Lauren Meath). This deeply personal work is an impressionistic reflection on place, memory and self at the intersection of classical technique and folk sensibility; expanding Meath's lateral, avant garde approach to sound with piano and textural percussion, resulting in a work that unintentionally falls into the post-minimalist tradition.

Conceived as a single piece across five movements and recorded between 2022 and 2024, "Tairen" reflects on memories of a formative place and period for Meath. Each movement scores part of an imagined landscape, mirroring the cliffs and expansive southern ocean of the coastal Otway ranges, remembered and reinterpreted. While tied to a place and time, ultimately "Tairen" is an exploration and expression of self.

Each piece explores this landscape, retaining its own identity while unified by recurring themes, moods and motifs. Meath emphasises restriction in her approach, creating subtly shifting layers of slowly evolving cello lines with expressive unstructured free playing bursting out. In all but one movement ("Bird"), cello is performed in a single take, utilising joined looping pedals on a semi acoustic cello from luthier Paul Davies. Equal parts meditative and expressive, uplifting and melancholic, the instrument becomes a proxy for the human voice creating a work that is intensely beautiful.

While Meath has a background in classical and pop, LEM has always been a more interior, personal project on the boundaries of minimalism and folk; in the past only as a live project featuring only herself, taking a lateral approach to sound through bow, harmonics and voice. While built on this foundation, "Tairen" expands Meath's typically minimal live approach with piano ("Sky") and additional textural percussion. Produced and engineered by James Tom and Danny Smith and with additional percussion from Dylan Lieberman. Mixed and mastered by Cam Parkin.

Selfish Machines, the second album by Pierce the Veil, explores themes of love, longing, and self-awareness through a blend of post-hardcore energy and melodic intricacy. The album features standout tracks like "Caraphernelia," which includes guest vocals by Jeremy McKinnon of A Day to Remember, and "Bulletproof Love," a fan favorite known for its dynamic instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics.Produced by Mike Green (Paramore, All Time Low), this record showcases the band’s technical skill and ability to balance intensity with softer, emotive moments. With its layered arrangements and polished sound, Selfish Machines offers a thoughtful take on the complexities of human emotion.

South London's restless pulse runs through British-Bengali musician Tara Lily's latest collaboration with the enigmatic King Krule. On 'Quiet Nights (Early Takes)', the pair craft shadowy soundscapes where hazy jazz chords and warped synths blur into something raw and hypnotic. The standout track, "Tropical Storm," described as a "lucid dream playing in our minds again and again" captures flashes of early Archy Marshall chaos, refracted through Tara's sleek and sleepy vocals, over a bed of guitar pedals, synths and DIY beats. Talking about the project Tara says: "'Quiet Nights' are some of the early sketches from a deadly quiet and beautiful period of time. For myself it was a time of stripping back, dropping down into the ground and channelling something raw and real."

Wild by nature, the Does of the Florian Pellissier Quintet could never be contained in a creative pen that would have forced them never to cross potential geographical limits. Travelers, spending their energy without restraint to let the hard bop of their jazz wander and export itself wherever the groove guided them, they went as far as Africa or South America, from the Cape of Good Hope to Rio. Rio, precisely where, for their last appearance, exposure to a brief electric current had carried them into outer space. A revelation.
Furious strides, exhausting gambols, the Does had done so much that they could not escape the obvious call of calm and serenity. Freed from distances, and after a stop in Colombia to mingle with the crowd at the Barranquilla carnival, it was California and its Pacific coast they reached, to rest before the peaceful immensity of the ocean.
One hundred sixty-five million square kilometers, an infinite expanse to contemplate in order to fling wide open the gates to an even vaster space. A spiritual domain conducive to the search for new sounds. That of the open sea, where measuring miles is neither relevant nor meaningful, and where the only compass becomes the musical tracks the Does follow.
Beneath their coppery hooves, to the crystalline sound of the Fender Rhodes and the sweep of electric layers, the path to take revealed itself in this meditative and abstract realm they had never before explored. Invited to join the purely organic textures, the synthetic notes distilled a few aromas of sweetness into an album of ten tracks, where the FPQ abandoned written scores on some pieces in order to be guided only by the inspiration born of a newfound freedom.
Blue when they began their journey five albums ago, their coat has now taken on the colors that illuminate the Pacific coast. That moment when, as you gaze at the horizon swallowing the sun, only glowing shades filter through—reddish, orange, violet.
Departing without haste or frenzy from one of the shores bordering the ocean, the voices of Archie Shepp, Iggy Pop, and DjeuhDjoah still resonating in their antlers, the Does may now be on the opposite shore. Carried all the way to the Japanese coast by Hokusai’s wave…

We’re happy to announce the “Planetary Shift” EP by our friend O-Wells with an additional remix by Bangkok’s finest Sarayu from More Rice. An EP that combines friendship and a long overdue Ozelot-cosmos release. After we heard “Planetary Shift” a while ago for the first time, we kept insisting on releasing it- Now we’re happily presenting it to you in the form of a 4 track EP.

The record orbits around O-Wells’ signature style: dub-inflected drums, slithering synth lines, and percussive patterns that never sit still. There’s a sleek futurism to these tracks, but they feel worn-in, like spacecraft that have already charted the edges of known space. Across the EP, O-Wells embraces tension and release—rolling low-end pressure that swells, only to dissolve into weightless melodic fragments.

The result is music that feels in constant flux, forever shifting through sonic terrain without losing its pulse. Anchoring the EP is a remix from Sarayu, a key voice from Southeast Asia’s flourishing electronic music scene. Known for threading traditional rhythmic sensibilities into contemporary club frameworks, Sarayu flips O-Wells’ abstract groove into something tactile and urgent. His version turns the track inside out—primal percussion and humid atmospheres pushing the original’s spacious minimalism toward a more grounded, earthy palette. It’s a vital rework that expands the release’s global reach, bridging Frankfurt and Bangkok through the shared language of rhythm and friendship – Overall, the reason why we do what we do.

No Speakers scores a major coup here by signing a Detroit legend from Underground Resistance's Galaxy 2 Galaxy. This guy's shared stages with figureheads like Jeff Mills, Carl Craig and Goldie so his creds cannot be questioned. His signature fusion of jazz and electronic fire burns bright here with A-side bangers 'Layers to This' and 'Bridgehouse' primed for future classic status as well as peak-time destruction. Flip it for South London's L.A. Synthesis remix. No stranger to dropping their own iconic techno, their take twists and turns into otherworldly soundscapes. Label boss El Prevost closes the EP with a savage twist of 'Bridgehouse' that is dark and twisted in all the right ways.

DJ Feedback

Kai Alce:
"Bridgehouse is just that, a bridge to the future."

Chris Udoh:
"Bridgehouse is an exceptional cut! "

Kosh:
"Nice release."

D'Julz:
"Best EP I heard in a long time. Lovely."

Radio Slave:
"So good to see La Synthesis here !!! and another great EP. from Jon. Full support."

ICYKOF:
"This is really fun. Love the first track."

Barbara Preisinger:
"The original tracks are sounding great to me and will go into the box. Thanks a lot!"

Orlando Voorn:
"Dopeness, all killer no filler."

Okain:
"Classy stuff."

Cristi Cons:
"Very nice, thanks."

Ryan Crosson:
"El Prevost remix is great, also enjoying the la synthesis remix."

Harri:
"Nice, will play and support."

Domenic Cappello:
"Jon is Detroit royalty, love this."

DJ Hutch:
"Love this release. Bridgehouse remix is crazy."

Harvey Sutherland:
"Bridgehouse is hot, thanks!"

Colin Dale:
"Excellent EP. All the cuts rock."

Greg Gow:
"Nice soulful tracks full support."

Laurent Garnier:
"Cool deepness."

Aleqs Notal:
"Jon Dixon, always on fire!!!"

Man Power:
"Layers to this is great."

DJ Bone:
"Smooth and funky release. Very nice."

Eddie C's Disko Universal continues its run of deep and diverse releases with 'A New Chapter' EP from Southside Chicago legend Ellery Cowles and Austin up-and-comer Open Soul...

Ellery Cowles lives House Music. He's rocked it with Lil Louis, Roy Davis Jr, Steve Poindexter and the Chicago Bad Boys.
Here we dive straight into Midwest territory - raw machine funk, smoky house grooves, and the kind of no-nonsense acid you'd expect from someone with DJAX and Cajual credentials.

Timeless, floor-ready material from true craftsmen - deep groove, no filler.
Sounds like the kind of record you'd pull from a beat-up crate in a corner of Detroit Threads and never put back.

Soft Rock to Riches announces our first original songwriting winner: Jonathan Kirby from Winston-Salem, North Carolina! “This Is Your Song” is an evocative beat ballad dedicated to seemingly endless Southern summers, late night drives, and romantic realism. In the early morning hours of August 9th, 2018, Kirby layered the drum patterns, chords, and hushed harmonies through a Tascam four track while his dad slept in the next room. Written and recorded in just three hours, “This Is Your Song” fits comfortably alongside privately pressed electronic soul ballads from home recording’s heyday.

The Devin Dare Dusk Mix introduces Vivienne on Side B, adding a graceful harmony that champions Kirby’s pining refrain. The Dusk Mix flips Kirby’s ballad over a head nodding breakbeat with a hypnotic synthesizer line and light, airy brushes of strings and delay.

Jonathan Kirby is a musician and archivist known for his ambient jazz LPs Safe to Disconnect and Safe To Disconnect II, his writings for Wax Poetics, compilations for the Numero Group and his exhaustive archival research on the music of his native North Carolina.

South London’s Jerkcurb – aka Jacob Read – is back with news that his sophomore album ‘Night Fishing On A Calm Lake’ is to be released at the end of November following 2019’s ‘Air Con Eden’.

After that album’s successful release Read had planned to expand Jerkcurb into a full band setup when his father, a painter like himself and a creative inspiration, passed away. Instead of the envisioned plan of taking his project bigger Read returned to the family home and re-examined the material for the new album and instead the album became one of reflection, grief and redemption. It’s not much of a stretch to see clear musical inspirations for the record too – Prefab Sprout, Talk Talk and The Blue Nile, records where the moments of silence are stretched out.

Read produced and engineered the album himself, mostly at home with Lara Laeverenz and Gray Rimmer providing cocals. The album is mixed by Dilip Harris (King Krule, Mount Kimbie).

The enchanting cover artwork was painted at Read’s father’s studio in Camberwell, painted in oil with its dreamlike blur of blue and black . It hints at the early film noir and magical realist influences for the album.

GOSPEL GREATEST HITS - Die Seele der Musik Mit Gospel Greatest Hits präsentiert Wagram eine außergewöhnliche Sammlung der kraftvollsten Stimmen und bewegendsten Songs der Gospelgeschichte - als Doppel-CD und Doppel-Vinyl. Diese Zusammenstellung vereint emotionale Tiefe, spirituelle Kraft und musikalische Exzellenz in einem einzigartigen Hörerlebnis. Zu hören sind Legenden wie Mahalia Jackson, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong und das Golden Gate Quartet - Künstler:innen, die Gospel nicht nur geprägt, sondern weit über die Kirchenmauern hinausgetragen haben. Gospel war schon immer mehr als nur Musik: In den USA war er Stimme der Hoffnung, Ausdruck von Widerstand und Quelle spiritueller Kraft - und ist bis heute ein Fundament für Soul, R&B und Pop. Diese Sammlung bringt die Ursprünge zurück ins Rampenlicht - mit Songs, die unter die Haut gehen.

Doomcannon Announces Powerful New Album 'Somewhere In Between' Capturing The Quiet Turbulence Of Transformation. New Single 'the Truth' Out Now Is A Soulful Prelude To A Record About Healing, Growth & Self-Belief.

DoomCannon is the alter ego of South London native Dominic Canning, a musical force who cut his teeth as part of genre-pushing groups TriForce and Project Karnak. A proud graduate of Kinetika Bloco and Tomorrow's Warriors, he has shared stages with Celeste (as her musical director), and has graced platforms from the BRIT Awards to 'Later… with Jools Holland'.

His 2022 debut album 'Renaissance'on Brownswood Recordings earned critical acclaim for its expansive sound and political urgency. Now, with 'Somewhere In Between', DoomCannon turns the lens inward—exploring personal growth, emotional honesty, and the hard-earned lessons found in transition.

Known to fans simply as The Blue Album, Adolescents' self-titled debut album captured the raw pulse of Southern California's teenage rebellion at a time when hardcore was beginning to take shape yet still holding onto the infectious urgency of punk's first wave. Few records from the American punk underground have echoed as far and wide-or as enduringly-as the Adolescents' self-titled debut, first released by Frontier Records in 1981. Formed in Fullerton, California, Adolescents brought together members of earlier OC punk outfits like Social Distortion and Agent Orange, fusing their varied influences into something uniquely their own. With songs like 'Amoeba,' 'Kids of the Black Hole,' and 'No Way,' the album offered more than just speed and volume-it spoke directly to suburban alienation, youthful frustration, and the search for identity in a world that felt increasingly hostile and conformist. This new edition offers longtime listeners and new fans alike a chance to revisit-or discover-an album that helped define the West Coast punk sound. From its striking blue cover to its mix of melody, defiance, and urgency, "Adolescents" remains a vital listen, as relevant today as it was over four decades ago. It's an album that didn't just reflect its moment-it shaped what punk could be: loud, smart, emotional, and unflinchingly real. Reissued with care and respect for its original spirit, The Blue Album stands not only as a milestone in punk history, but as a testament to the enduring power of youth in revolt. This reissue includes a repro of the original insert and poster.

South Africa Amapiano powerhouse, De Mthuda, releases “world’s first major amapiano release on vinyl”.

“The Landlord – Vinyl Cuts” is a carefully curated selection of 6 of De Mthuda’s best tracks, released during ‘The Landlord’ era from 2021 – 2023.

Bringing the unique joy and spirit of Amapiano to the world - all tracks have been remastered for vinyl to present the unique bass rhythm, log drum and flow, synonymous with the genre that has taken the world by storm.

The Sufi Dub Brothers are back! Viktor Marek and Ashraf Sharif Khan combine South Asian classical music, dub and electronic beats to create a psychedelic soundtrack between dancefloor and inner space.

Mj Lenderman is the project of Asheville native, Jake Lenderman, whose 'Boat Songs' was released to wide acclaim on Dear Life Records in 2022. Now Dear Life is proud to offer a vinyl reissue of MJ's 2021 label debut, 'Ghost of Your Guitar Solo,' a collection of nine songs recorded and performed entirely by
Lenderman, and one live band track. The record was written and recorded quickly, songs often being fully constructed and recorded within frenzied single day sessions. Songs were born out of freewheeling jam sessions with his roommates, with Lenderman often freestyling lyrics that would later become the
foundations of the finished songs. Lenderman would write 20 disconnected lines a day, scrapping most of them but preserving a few to be used later. This process aided in what became an extremely prolific writing period for the artist in the spring of 2020. The record sounds like country music being played by a noisy punk band, unkempt and imperfect like the characters in his songs. Here, Lenderman broadened his lyrical scope beyond solemn introspection, adding humor to scenes larger than his own life. He points to authors Harry Crews and Larry Brown as inspirations, both of whom were southern, self-taught writers who balanced empathy, humor, and darkness. This leads to the erosion of the line that separates humor and sadness. The resulting songs are about over-
indulgence and drug/alcohol abuse, full of self-loathing and pity while celebrating the absurdity of it all.

MJ Lenderman is a songwriter born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. The anatomy of an MJ record might go something like this: warped pedal steels and skuzzed out guitar; a voice reminiscent of the high-lonesome warble of a choirboy; the keen observations and reflections of a front stoop philosopher. Songs snake their way from a lo-fi home recording to something glossier made with longtime friends at Asheville's Drop of Sun studios, but the recording setting
doesn't seem to matter much - at its core, a Lenderman song rings true.

MJ Lenderman was recorded, mixed and mastered for digital in 2019 by Colin Miller in Asheville NC, and was self-released online to quiet but firm acclaim. Now available as a Double LP and remastered for vinyl by Heather Jones, it offers a glimpse into the formative steps of a style; focused and precise, yet expansive and rough around the edges, that remains consistent across MJ's catalogue to date.

Looking as firmly to the legacy of 90s slowcore as it does to the tenor of Magnolia Electric Co. and sound wall of Neil Young and Crazy Horse, these 9 songs clock in at just over an hour and offer warm, patient worlds of heavy colour that blow by breezily. These are songs that wrap mysterious and urgent feeling in layers of patience and clarity that unfold anew with each timeless listen.

Lance Roark’s debut album–Bad Reputation–is a collection of raw, unfiltered truths about life’s beauty, pain, and everything in between. Roark pulls you into a new universe with every song, from the swampy depths of Country Rock grit on “Wild Woman” to the poetry of everlasting love on the ballad “Rose Quartz Perfume.” Bad Reputation crosses boundaries to connect genres, seamlessly blending singer-songwriter lyricism to the punchy backbeats of Southern Rock ‘n’ Roll. In the last few years, Roark has had 2 co-writes on Turnpike Troubadours singles (with the main characters of ‘Ruby Ann’ re-appearing in his single ‘Colorado High’), and released 2 EPs to critical acclaim. Bad Reputation marks his official entrance onto the increasingly large stage of the Red Dirt country scene.

Moving freely through time and space via experimental DIY recordings since 2009, Joasihno return with their fourth album "Spots".

“Find your spot in the shade,” a truly laid-back and incredibly soft-spoken MC once advised, yet in a world that seems to get shadier every day, it’s probably time to finally get out and face the sun. Southern German experimental pop duo Joasihno – initial solo founder Cico Beck (The Notwist, Aloa Input, Spirit Fest) and drummer/composer Nico Sierig (Instrument, Fehler Kuti) – seem to know exactly when it’s time to shine. Idiosyncratic genre tweakers since day one, they have been operating at their own pace, mostly staying in their own shady corner. Yet, almost a decade after their most recent “Meshes” (an album that came with a whole legion of tiny music robots), it’s high time for them to take over more corners, to reclaim even more spots between lo-fi and sci-fi, retro electronica and contemporary classic. Drawing upon influences as varied as Reich, Riley, and Ryuichi, múm, Meek, and Moondog, while also nodding to other experimental twosomes (e.g. The Books), the duo’s fourth full-length “Spots” is set to arrive via Alien Transistor in late 2025.

Leaving soulless automation and all things artificial to others, Joasihno launch the latest record on “2 Squares” that feel like a peaceful, almost bucolic version of retro space age: lights blink ever so softly as easy-going bass tones point at today’s introspective flight arc. Electronic shapes align and things lift off – with a majestic 8-bit sunrise soon appearing right in front of us. Whereas playful title song “Spots” is a miniature Rube Goldberg kind of device, with quirky plucked strings and glitches setting off more and more contraption layers, “Crackleboom” is uncharted energy, an open landscape, an expanding bonfire that leads to a long-forgotten piano, all dust-covered in some kind of saloon. Space might be only noise to others, here, it’s foreboding screeches (“Dizzle Whistle”) that make room for A-side center piece “Forest Lights”: a steady beat that lures us to a clearance in the woods. Things break and shatter in the distance, but this spot right here is for hypnosis, dancing, sylvan spirits. And yeah, it’s surprisingly hot down here in the undergrowth…

Opening side B with a fun banger that takes the unhinged dancing to the playground – “Characa Orb.” feels like French kids on swings going crazy, a tipsy, tongue-in-cheek electro blow-out between Oizo and Orbis Tertius –, things get even more cinematic throughout the second half. Even the cheapest, lo-fiest gear is sufficient to make “The Slow Hour” glow like true, timeless pop royalty. In fact, the very same pop spirits roam and celebrate freely in the chirpy coves of mesmerizing “Detune Lagoon” – more hand-crafted sci-fi/lo-fi loops you’ll only find after facing the ghosts of Lynch or Sakamoto on those night-time trails under the “Deep Moon”. It’s all DIY spots, spots that leave room to dream or dangle, drape yourself over or dive into. Returning to the leafy bower on a melancholy post rock tip, we eventually learn that “Death Is Real” – and so we’re left with a laterna magica that turns and turns and turns. It’s a beautiful spot where light and shadows keep on dancing, just like they’ve always done, ever since the dawn of this madcap universe.

"Marionette presents Mélodies pour Clairons, the debut album by multidisciplinary artist Ioa
Beduneau. Based in the South of France, Ioa’s world is rooted in creation - building intricate
self-playing installations and handmade DIY electronics. His practice is driven by a desire to
connect, challenge, and open up dialogues around disability and other social constructs.
Proudly identifying as a disabled artist who is attuned to how our bodies interact with the world,
Ioa brings a fresh and inimitable perspective to electronic and electroacoustic music.
On Mélodies pour Clairons, Ioa contemplates lifeforms using modular synths, channeling
principles of physical modeling and bioacoustics. Ideas begin on paper and evolve into sound,
forming an abstract yet intentional sonic ecosystem. Clairons refers both to a musical instrument
and to a loved one with whom this music was shared, serving as a kind of sound diary during
the stillness of the pandemic. The movement of air, pressure, resonance, and the physical
properties of the clairon (a medieval trumpet) are reimagined and manipulated on this album,
resulting in impressionistic and deeply moving compositions with poetic sensibility. Organic
ASMR tones, synthesized bird calls, and pirouetting melodies of pipes and bells score an
imaginary biodome where chaos and harmony coexist. Striking and singular, these works
embody the kind of boundary-pushing music that defines Marionette."

Legendary Metal Band STRYPER Announces Long-Awaited Christmas Album 'The Greatest Gift Of All' out November 21 via Frontiers Music Srl Iconic and long-running Christian metal band STRYPER is set to release their long-anticipated Christmas album, The Greatest Gift Of All, on November 21st via Frontiers Music Srl. Fans have been requesting a holiday record for years—and now, the wait is finally over. The celebration begins this July with the release of the first single, "Still the Light". STRYPER's current lineup features original members Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, and Oz Fox, alongside bassist Perry Richardson. Together, they continue to craft what they believe is some of the most powerful and inspiring music of their career. The band recently wrapped up a successful world tour in support of their latest studio album, When We Were Kings. The tour spanned the USA, Europe, and South America, and marked the band’s 40th anniversary—a milestone celebrated with a dynamic setlist featuring classic hits, fan favorites from the newer era, outfit changes, and an upgraded stage production. As STRYPER continues to evolve, they remain a cornerstone of Christian rock and metal, blending faith and heavy music for four decades. Looking ahead, the band is also working on a Kickstarter-funded documentary directed by Chris Atkins, offering a behind-the-scenes look at their remarkable journey. With over 10 million albums sold worldwide and several Billboard Top 40 hits, STRYPER shows no signs of slowing down as they continue to write, record, and perform for their global fanbase.

»La Traversée« (»The Crossing«) is Matthias Puech’s second album for Hallow Ground and follows up on 2023’s »Mt. Hadamard National Park.« Profoundly inspired by re-reading »The Odyssey,« the French composer, instrument designer, and scholar used a Eurorack modular synthesizer to create four pieces that are by far the most intuitive and emotionally charged in his ever-expanding catalogue. Puech’s masterful command of sound comes to the forefront with even more urgency on this record. A wandering meditation on the human condition, »La Traversée« is an album that is constantly in motion—complex electronic music at its most gripping and evocative.

The foundation for »La Traversée« was laid when Puech prepared a live set for a tour organised in collaboration with Hallow Ground in support of »Mt. Hadamard National Park.« Before writing the first three pieces—»Ennosigaios,« »Polyphármakos,« »Nekuia«—the 18½-minute-long »Ithâké« was composed in near-total isolation in the South of France at the end of 2023. Puech performed the material live several times before taking a step black from it for a while. He revisited the pieces when preparingthem for a release. »I was struck by how the technical process and the intention behind the music had completely vanished from my memory,« he says.

What remained intact, however, was Puech’s association of the material with one of the most influential texts of Western literature. Reading a graphic novel adaptation of »The Odyssey« with his two four-year-olds, he noticed the effect that it had on them and himself. »Its themes of longing, fear of and attraction to the unknown, unresolved quests, and the struggle for control felt topical,« he says. »I was completely taken. Every story ever told seemed contained in this ancient tale; every story I have ever tried to tell as a composer seemed inscribed in this framework.« This also extended to formal motifs such as the repetition of incidents, narrative developments, or dramatic effects that also mark »La Traversée.«

Puech says that he perceived Homer’s writing as musical, »like an old Delta blues or a Renaissance counterpoint,« which inspired his writing process. »With a couple of knobs on my Eurorack system, I could control the unfolding of a story,« he notes. »This made me pass through different emotional statesand led to moments in which everything made sudden sense—when you as an artist get a glimpse atsomething essential, can touch upon something universal.« This shines through »La Traversée,« a wildly imaginative album that is deeply personal while also telling a story far more wide-reaching than that of its creator.

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

When people think of Yacht Rock-those smooth, sun-drenched sounds that once drifted from Californian radio stations in the late '70s and early '80s-they rarely imagine it echoing through rehearsal rooms in Hamburg or Linz. Yet even far from the Pacific coastline, the appeal of shimmering chords, laid-back grooves, and polished production found fertile ground.
This compilation gathers rare and overlooked tracks from Germany and Austria. These artists embraced West Coast aesthetics with sincerity and subtle twists, resulting in music that feels both familiar and refreshingly new-smooth sounds for cloudy skies. So drop anchor, pour something cool, and enjoy this unexpected cruise through the lesser-charted waters of Euro Yacht Rock.

Our journey begins in Austria, where Reflection's Because (1981) set the tone with blue-eyed soul and analogue warmth-a sunlit blend of Doobie Brothers polish and local charm. Its creator, Dieter Heyduk, reappears with Austrian Sky, a heartfelt nod to his homeland that fuses mountain calm with oceanic longing.
From the North Sea island of Föhr, Ara Pacis dreamed of California on their 1979 self-release To the Westcoast. Inspired by Steely Dan and Lake, they turned German rock precision into breezy, melodic sophistication. Meanwhile, in Düsseldorf, Mainpoint fused funk and jazz-rock on Frisbee, their 1980 single bursting with rhythmic drive and optimism before the tide of the Neue Deutsche Welle swept such grooves aside.
Bremerhaven's Nuages offered the compilation's only instrumental gem, Strange Weekend (1985)-a gentle blend of jazz-funk and rock and largely lost to time. Its cool restraint captures the European interpretation of Californian ease.
Around the same period, British traveler Gavin James recorded River of Laughter in southern Germany, backed by the blues-rock band Black Cat Bone. His acoustic reflections on water and flow mirrored the soft, meditative pulse at Yacht Rock's core.
Berlin's Top Spin kept things playful with Bikin (1985), a funk-fusion snapshot of urban joy that showcased the city's finest session players. From the Ruhr area, the Jan Pack Band is up next. While not a typical Yacht Rock track, Cable Dance is driven by an effortless, groovy '80s vibe.
Peter Seiler's Goldfinger project reimagined Walkin' in the Sand as a relaxed reggae-tinged track, while Munich's Major Seven closed the voyage with Silverboat, a wistful soft rock ballad gliding between melancholy and light.

Across these hidden harbors of German and Austrian pop, the West Coast dream took on new forms-reflected in rivers, skies, and studio lights half a world away from L.A. Under and Above the Clouds celebrates that spirit: the enduring pull of smooth music, wherever it's made.

On Beacon Hill: at twilight we find Anthony Moore, roots winding backwards to the halcyon days of Slapp Happy and the "70s progressive art rock scene, at guitar and piano. With the atmospheres and accompaniments of AKA & Friends, he breathes infernal new life into songs from his six decades of multivarious music making. This new delivery system is unto a séance, a communal incantation, twining Anthony"s avant and pop traditions together in a darkly radiant coil of folky chamber music; a rope to lower the listener through cobwebs and murk, unveiling new life beneath Anthony"s mad old lines. AKA are Anthony Moore, Keith Rodway and Amanda Thompson. A pagan family of sound worshipers hailing from that unholiest of all places: Hastings UK, home of Crowley and Turing. Like their sinister forbears in that infamous tradition, this latest trinity shares a passion for subverting pattern and number, factoring unlikely permutations arising from sea and horizon, greensward, the southerly aspect, and the planisphere as half-world. Their equatorial shore speaks of a planet of water and earth, fire and air. AKA"s humble tools of choice for this endeavor are guitar, piano, organ, synthesizer and vocals. The Friends of AKA are Tullis Rennie, trombone and electronics; Olie Brice, double bass; Richard Moore, violin; and Haydn Ackerley, guitar. They too navigate the shoreline of the south coast, haunt the same taverns and regularly play together in whatever combinations fit the bill. Leaving the drums (and their drummer) at home to realize anew these dreamladen songs, AKA & Friends ensure that the notes fall around the beat and not on it, so as to define the pulse with absence. As such, time is liberated, prised free from the merciless clock; a rhythm of waves, passing through a steady-state universe of no beginnings and no endings. Discontinuities are dissolved, all is transition.

Amazing Things is an album about death which isn't morose, slow, or quiet. A year ago Darren lost a friend to cancer. Amazing Things is an album about death which isn't morose, slow, or quiet. Instead, it is packed with joyful, melodic guitars and some of Darren's prettiest tunes. It is sometimes very sad, but also heartfelt, loving, and rewarding. Darren recorded the album almost entirely solo and this time he has dug deep into his primary instrument, the electric guitar, creating a sound that is rich in tone and texture. Darren Hayman is a British songwriter best known for his work with late 90s band Hefner, but has since made more than 20 albums dealing with astronauts, the English Civil War, William Morris, Lidos, and Thankful Villages. He lives in South London with his dog.

First Word Records are very proud to bring you 'Ghouls', the 6th studio album from Bastien Keb.

Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, this album spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.

Part soundtrack, part beat-tape, part memoir, this is a dreamlike soundscape sewn together from half-forgotten memories & late night breakdowns.

Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.

He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection, Taxi Driver, The Warriors and La Haine. There are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.

Keb describes the sonic experience of this album simply as this… "You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm…"

For this 19-track opus, Keb is joined extensively by Malik Ameer Crumpler; a poet, composer, editor and professor based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media.

A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.

His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.

He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).

Keb concludes "this record is for anyone feeling lost in a world that seems to have lost itself without knowing it. It's for the people who know that the world is missing the beauty of the lights in the distance, whilst being distracted by new shoes and flashy phones..."

'Ghouls' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 14th 2025.

Alex Voorhies, known to dance floor connoisseurs as lil_art_hoe, is a multidisciplinary artist based in Louisiana, where they operate the boutique imprint Techno Money Records. lil_art_hoe’s signature sound is raw and unedited, with an array of grooves and melodies endlessly swirling to create truly unique tracks full of big ideas, but completely lacking in regard for normalcy.
For this Studio Barnhus debut, lil_art_hoe delivered two prime examples of their sonic practice, with elements constantly expanding and contracting, resulting in some of the most captivating yet straight-forward club music heard at Studio Barnhus HQ in recent times. A side standard living comes with a special dub mix prepared by the artist themself, while OG rave daddy and long time Studio Barnhus hero Truncate was called in to deliver a high octane techno take on flipside recall.
“standard living and recall were tracks spawned in the springtime when I was yearning for balance and reminiscing on moments that got me to the present. I was exploring a lot of live funk recordings for recall, while standard living was an emulation of going back in the work force and reestablishing a 9-to-5 schedule as a chef”, says lil_art_hoe in a rare communique straight from the swamps of south Louisiana.

Wanda Felicias beeindruckendes Debütalbum ,Now Is The Time_" bei Timmion Records bietet eine dynamische Auswahl an Soul-Songs, die sowohl zeitlos als auch erfrischend aktuell wirken. Unterstützt von den analogen Grooves von Cold Diamond & Mink präsentiert Felicia eine Reihe von Geschichten, die in Vintage-Grooves versunken sind, aber für jede Zeit genau richtig sind.Mit Wurzeln in der New Yorker House- und Acid-Jazz-Szene - und nachdem sie sich jahrzehntelang aus dem Rampenlicht zurückgezogen hatte - kehrt Wanda mit einer gereiften Stimme und einem gereiften Geist zurück, bereit, jeden mit einem schlagenden Herzen zu beeindrucken. Jeder Track auf ,Now Is The Time_" fühlt sich gelebt an: vom schlurfenden Bounce von ,Stuck On You" über den blühenden Optimismus von ,Flowers in the Garden" bis hin zur introspektiven, funkigen Poesie von ,Reflections of Love".Auf dem gesamten Album singt Felicia mühelos, unterstützt von Cold Diamond & Minks reichhaltiger, aber dicht gewebter Palette aus Rhythmusgruppe und Horn-Riffs. Zusammen schaffen sie eine rootsige Klanglandschaft, die den Soul der späten 1960er bis frühen 1970er Jahre mit einem modernen Touch verbindet. Ob Sie sich nun von der Beat-Ballade ,All in the Game" oder dem Southern Soul von ,Until You're Mine" angezogen fühlen, dieses Album schafft seinen eigenen Raum jenseits von Trends - es zelebriert Handwerkskunst, Emotionen und zeitlosen Groove.

Wanda Felicias beeindruckendes Debütalbum ,Now Is The Time_" bei Timmion Records bietet eine dynamische Auswahl an Soul-Songs, die sowohl zeitlos als auch erfrischend aktuell wirken. Unterstützt von den analogen Grooves von Cold Diamond & Mink präsentiert Felicia eine Reihe von Geschichten, die in Vintage-Grooves versunken sind, aber für jede Zeit genau richtig sind.Mit Wurzeln in der New Yorker House- und Acid-Jazz-Szene - und nachdem sie sich jahrzehntelang aus dem Rampenlicht zurückgezogen hatte - kehrt Wanda mit einer gereiften Stimme und einem gereiften Geist zurück, bereit, jeden mit einem schlagenden Herzen zu beeindrucken. Jeder Track auf ,Now Is The Time_" fühlt sich gelebt an: vom schlurfenden Bounce von ,Stuck On You" über den blühenden Optimismus von ,Flowers in the Garden" bis hin zur introspektiven, funkigen Poesie von ,Reflections of Love".Auf dem gesamten Album singt Felicia mühelos, unterstützt von Cold Diamond & Minks reichhaltiger, aber dicht gewebter Palette aus Rhythmusgruppe und Horn-Riffs. Zusammen schaffen sie eine rootsige Klanglandschaft, die den Soul der späten 1960er bis frühen 1970er Jahre mit einem modernen Touch verbindet. Ob Sie sich nun von der Beat-Ballade ,All in the Game" oder dem Southern Soul von ,Until You're Mine" angezogen fühlen, dieses Album schafft seinen eigenen Raum jenseits von Trends - es zelebriert Handwerkskunst, Emotionen und zeitlosen Groove.

Old-time and traditional music stay exciting for their contrasts. Exacting instrumentation honed through mentorships and late-night jams at fiddler's conventions tangles with a community-sourced inventiveness that influences variants and new sounds. Joseph Decosimo is a master of this genre for this very reason, blending deep technique with an openness and curiosity that keep his music crackling with life. A "marvelous fiddler" (No Depression) and banjo player who braids "exultation and veneration" (INDY Week) into his music, on his third solo album Fiery Gizzard Decosimo gathers a close-knit ensemble of friends from his musical career to infuse his interpretations of fiddle and banjo pieces with a contagious communal joy. As an artist working with traditional music from the South and Appalachia, Decosimo chooses songs based not only on historical significance and lineage but also his own sensory approach. For Fiery Gizzard, his ear was tuned to otherworldly tones and mystery, sourcing from field recordings such as Virginia fiddler Luther Davis' hypnotic version of "Shady Grove" while amping up the music's psychedelic potential. On the middle Tennessee banjo composition "Flowery Girls," a VHS of bluesman Abner Jay inspired Decosimo to rig up a pickup inside a fretless banjo and play it thr ough a tube amp to capture some of Jay's edge and funkiness. But to round out the sound and keep it kinetic meant galvanizing a genre-eschewing crew to jam out - and not in a "spaced-out drooly" kind of way, he laughs, but as a sort of "responsive conversation." Decosimo has always been a community-minded artist. He began playing as a seventh graderin Tennessee, fostering relationships with older players at jams and in homes, a learning mode natural to his inquisitive nature and desire for musical connection. A folklorist by intuition, he later became one by profession, studying with old-time legend Clyde Davenport, teaching in East Tennessee State University's renowned bluegrass program, and receiving his PhD at the University of North Carolina with a dissertation titled "Catching the `Wild Note': Listening, Learning, and Connoisseurship in Old-Time Music." In North Carolina, Decosimo kicked about in the verdant environment of Durham and Chapel Hill's folk and indie scenes, collaborating with artists including Alice Gerrard, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Jake Xerxes Fussell. This community has influenced his own music, including his "sublime and strangely heartening" (Bandcamp Daily) 2022 release While You Were Slumbering and Beehive Cathedral, Decosimo's 2024 "Appalachian mountain music treasury" (New Commute) trio album with Luke Richardson and Cleek Schrey for Dear Life Records. Continuing on this path, Fiery Gizzard is home base for a loose outfit of mostly Tarheel-based musicians from within and beyond traditional music. Inspired by a tour with fiddler Stephanie Coleman (Nora Brown), guitarist Jay Hammond, and synth builder and multi-instrumentalist Matthew O'Connell, Decosimo assembled studiomates based on close friendships and comfort. Coleman, O'Connell, and Hammond contribute to Fiery Gizzard, along with bassist and producer Andy Stack (Helado Negro, Wye Oak), horn player Kelly Pratt (Beirut, David Byrne), Mipso and Fust's Libby Rodenbough, Joseph O'Connell (Elephant Micah), and trad/experimental artist Cleek Schrey. Decosimo's fiddle and banjo work is virtuosic, intricate and simple simultaneously, a testament to his many years of study. On some tracks, his playing or lovely, plain-hearted singing is the centerpiece, such as on his interpretations of Texan street preacher Washington Phillips' 1929 recording "I Had a Good Father and Mother" or the Eastern Kentucky fiddle barn-burner "Glory in the Meetinghouse," famously played by Luther Strong for Alan Lomax. But there's also a trusting open-door policy, like where Southern Appalachian tune "Ida Red" relaxes into Coleman's sweet, confident fiddling and Hammond's loping guitar. As a bandleader, Decosimo's confidence and enthusiasm for the music reveal the heart of traditional music and how it can come to life through community. Fiery Gizzard is Joseph Decosimo as a powerful champion of traditional music - a sponge who soaks up as much as he squeezes out, a responsive artist who makes his genre accessible, and a magnet who can bring musicians of all sorts into his orbit with his same passion.

Hailing from the southwest of France, The Deweys is a flexible trio, evolving through encounters and invitations. Influenced by American folk, blues, and country music, the group has built its own identity and etched the names of its heroes, from Johnny Cash to Nick Cave, from Calexico to R.L. Burnside. On Windwalker, The Deweys have expanded the cinematic side of their universe by inviting a string quartet and a percussionist to form a temporary orchestra, The Black Cat Orchestra, dedicated entirely to the album"s songs. The result is a unique atmosphere, with an opening that pays homage to Ennio Morricone (El Camino Del Rey) and a conclusion that feels like something straight out of a musical (the duet The Gaslamp Memories). In between, you"ll find minimalist folk, psychedelic, Floydian blues, or a heartbreaking ballad... If you needed a soundtrack for a journey, inner or otherwise, Windwalker would be the right companion.