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Jason Dungan (aka Blue Lake) and Johan Carøe find beauty in the rhythms
and repetitions of domestic life for collaborative album, 'Routine' - out September 25

Copenhagen-based multi-instrumentalists Jason Dungan and Johan Carøe didn't set out to make an album. Instead, as the title 'Routine' suggests, they found their way there through a process of habitual making and listening, developing an intuitive musical language to reflect the dreamlike meanderings and creative play of life's quiet moments. 'Routine' blends pop orientated sounds, Avant-garde minimalism, folk and new age with the emotive depth of film-score.

Their meeting was not entirely coincidental. Previously in bands such as Squares and Triangles, Jason Dungan has since recorded multiple albums under the moniker Blue Lake, including the lauded 'Sun Arcs', pursuing his passion for self-built percussion and multi-string instruments. Johan Carøe meanwhile is a composer whose film soundtrack work has seen him collaborate with Angelo Badalamenti, Arp, and Sofie Birch, at whose Andersabo residency (curated by Dungan) the pair first met, resulting in the highly praised album 'Repair Techniques' written by Birch and Carøe.

'Routine' emerged organically over many years against the backdrop of great personal change. As Carøe said goodbye to his father and welcomed his first child, the pair sent each other fragments of melodies and patterns, working up responses when time allowed to assemble a sonic palette that combined acoustic instrumentation of zither, clarinet, cello, saxophone (among others) with the textures of tape, drum machine and Yamaha DX7 synth. Inspired by the vulnerability and DIY ethos of Arthur Russell's home recordings, the vision of labels like Disques de Crepescule, and the art pop, experimentation inherent to late '70s and early '80s recordings from NYC and Japan alike, Dungan and Carøe conjured new forms for their folk, leftfield pop and avant garde influences from the low-lit living rooms of Copenhagen and rural Sweden. "I'm very interested in the ways in which music and art emerge from our wider experiences as people, workers, parents and in the daydreaming activity of making music," Dungan explains of a process which allowed the duo's individual styles to drift apart and merge together seamlessly. "I think the process was definitely capturing moments in time, but over a long time," Carøe adds. "It was a bit like improvisation, but with time stretched."

The music floats with grace and humility, remaining sophisticated yet acutely introverted.
Whether on 'Clouds', where soft layers of zither and clarinet are moved along by a featherlight bass riff and the hypnotic clip-clop of the primitive groovebox, or the gentle grandeur of cello rising and falling through 'Routine 1', the album reveals itself over 10 instrumental tracks, evoking the ineffable calm that descends when the light changes and the world turns inwards. The act of time passing became a key creative ingredient to the evolution of the album, enriched with the exciting challenge to transform their passing rounds of home recordings via a slow release musical dialogue. Jason found creative moments in the twilight hours to lay down zither, melodica, acoustic guitar to name but few, while Johan utilising "line-in and headphones" would manipulate, stretch and pitch Jason's melodic pathways during newly born naptimes.

Carøe rhythmically plucks and slides the stringed cello instrument, leaving palpable foundations on 'Hymn' and 'Chords', in a treated, stylistic approach akin to Mabe Fratti, while 'Silence' draws to a close with a gospel touch. Dungan's harp-motion zither flourishes reveal more classical connotations on 'Reunion' with inspiration of Bedroom Community's Nico Muhly as organs rise with Moogs, culminating with a climatic choral outro from friend, mezzo-soprano Anna Caroline Olesen.

'Routine' then is their first collaboration, an album of deep and sincere reflection with inviting overtones that gesture with unrushed authenticity. A document of a new-found friendship that opens a window into the most personal of spaces, where the daily practices of music and life exist side-by-side to wondrous effect.

The Yummy Fur’s first album of new material in over 25 years is seductive and ambiguous; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. The band’s original incarnation – fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist John McKeown from 1992 to 1999 – morphed from making quick-hit cartoon-art songs to Eno and Cale-influenced creepers, populated by characters from McKeown’s life in Glasgow and the films, books and poetry that he lived a parallel life through. Everybody Talks About The Weather delights in using every past iteration of the band as potent collage material: a melee of sounds and ideas existing at once, revealing themselves then dipping back into hiding.
Recorded by the original core trio of McKeown, Brian MacDougall (guitar) and Paul Thomson (drums), Everybody Talks About The Weather comes 17 years after the band reformed for sporadic live shows, and seven years after the release of their sorta-greatest hits compilation Piggy Wings (Rock Action). Ten tracks long with nothing to spare, it is as condensed and vital as their best songs, with a new clarity of sound that allows their ambiguities to come into the light.
The album begins with “Cogs”, a taunting inquisition from within. As McKeown stages a fight between his id and ego, the tension heats up between conversational guitar lines and minimalist repetition; threatening sing-song melody and real, palpable menace. The band members are forced in tandem only to break apart, sustaining a genuine sense of just-hidden danger throughout the whole record – except, arguably, “Headphones”, a looser moment which sees McKeown make an existential something out of nothing while waiting for someone in the car (“I should have brought a book.../My ears are bleeding from the compression on your album”)
The songs are riots of reference: “Unity Over Europe” is a slyly complex two act play about the Mitford sisters – Diana, Unity, and Nancy, in a wink to the YF canon – smashing tragic biographical detail together with allusions to Thomas Pynchon and Francis Bacon. Pynchon is also lifted to serve “Blue Sunshine”, a collision of school shooters, serial killers and fictional fuck-ups (“Fast forward to Compton/Fast forward to Pynchon/Fast forward to Columbine'”) whose buzzy guitar lines are taunting and confrontational like a smarmy teenager. The innocuous title of “My Lasagne” belies a song that exists in several time periods at once: a visit to see Guernica, 50 people with their backs to the portrait of Dora Maar; the time that Picasso painted from; the Reina Sofia and the dirty streets of the Malasaña; myth-making musicians and the myths they’re riffing off overlapping and leering at each other.
All this could be laboured in lesser hands, but cultural verbosity is second nature to The Yummy Fur, who transform all this source material into songs that are weird, sexy, funny and absurd. Meaning is not happily understood or flattened. Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation accompanied McKeown as he wrote this album, and she’s paraphrased in “Semolina Ballerina”, the album’s justification of artistic ambiguity. Thomson’s motorik beat leads a gathering of back-and-forth instrumental phrases – including a wiry contribution on saxophone – embodying the futility of trying to parse something definitive from repeated action. “Listen to the very first thing that’s in your head,” Sontag-via-McKeown commands directly, then slinks sideways: “Interpretation is a conversation in an unmade bed”
The album features two more focused portraits, or at least The Yummy Fur’s version of such a thing. “Wanda” merges the life of filmmaker Barbara Loden and the title character of her semi-autobiographical 1970 feature film, with Loden’s then-husband Elia Kazan joining the fray of no-good men in her film. It’s a mix of adaptation and avant-criticism, with McKeown’s wordplay and mannered pronunciation mirroring the way that non-fiction and fiction twist around each other in the song. The title track is a series of vignettes and impressions from the lives of the band’s ‘90s inner circle, positing painter Mac McNaughton as a kind of Falstaffian ringleader. As with Piggy Wings and the recent single “New T-Shirt”, McNaughton painted the cover of Everybody Talks About The Weather – like the album’s music, the image of a coy girl in a white dress is an uncanny amalgamation of styles, suggestions and references just out of reach, as though seen in an art museum in a dream.
The album ends with two reads of the same frustration. “King of Nothing” is the closest The Yummy Fur will ever get to sludge-rock: the band melts together into a dusty, dreary haze as McKeown drowns in a drudgery of personal struggle (“Two jumpers on in Babylon/And only cats to talk to”) and the rhythmic toppling of heroes (Rowlands, Duvall, Munro). The majority of visible dirt is cleaned off for “Say Hello”, an uncharacteristic depiction of throwing the windows open after a dark night of the soul. Here, the situation is still cold and hard (“When the sun burns gold, but the heat never reaches your fingertips”) but it feels surmountable. Everybody Talks About The Weather is an unpredictable album from an unpredictable group, but ending on a moment of almost uncomplicated light is maybe its biggest surprise. - Claire Biddles (2026)

The Yummy Fur’s first album of new material in over 25 years is seductive and ambiguous; a fast-paced flip through scenes from art, myth, life and fantasy; a witty whole made from glittering scraps. The band’s original incarnation – fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist John McKeown from 1992 to 1999 – morphed from making quick-hit cartoon-art songs to Eno and Cale-influenced creepers, populated by characters from McKeown’s life in Glasgow and the films, books and poetry that he lived a parallel life through. Everybody Talks About The Weather delights in using every past iteration of the band as potent collage material: a melee of sounds and ideas existing at once, revealing themselves then dipping back into hiding.
Recorded by the original core trio of McKeown, Brian MacDougall (guitar) and Paul Thomson (drums), Everybody Talks About The Weather comes 17 years after the band reformed for sporadic live shows, and seven years after the release of their sorta-greatest hits compilation Piggy Wings (Rock Action). Ten tracks long with nothing to spare, it is as condensed and vital as their best songs, with a new clarity of sound that allows their ambiguities to come into the light.
The album begins with “Cogs”, a taunting inquisition from within. As McKeown stages a fight between his id and ego, the tension heats up between conversational guitar lines and minimalist repetition; threatening sing-song melody and real, palpable menace. The band members are forced in tandem only to break apart, sustaining a genuine sense of just-hidden danger throughout the whole record – except, arguably, “Headphones”, a looser moment which sees McKeown make an existential something out of nothing while waiting for someone in the car (“I should have brought a book.../My ears are bleeding from the compression on your album”)
The songs are riots of reference: “Unity Over Europe” is a slyly complex two act play about the Mitford sisters – Diana, Unity, and Nancy, in a wink to the YF canon – smashing tragic biographical detail together with allusions to Thomas Pynchon and Francis Bacon. Pynchon is also lifted to serve “Blue Sunshine”, a collision of school shooters, serial killers and fictional fuck-ups (“Fast forward to Compton/Fast forward to Pynchon/Fast forward to Columbine'”) whose buzzy guitar lines are taunting and confrontational like a smarmy teenager. The innocuous title of “My Lasagne” belies a song that exists in several time periods at once: a visit to see Guernica, 50 people with their backs to the portrait of Dora Maar; the time that Picasso painted from; the Reina Sofia and the dirty streets of the Malasaña; myth-making musicians and the myths they’re riffing off overlapping and leering at each other.
All this could be laboured in lesser hands, but cultural verbosity is second nature to The Yummy Fur, who transform all this source material into songs that are weird, sexy, funny and absurd. Meaning is not happily understood or flattened. Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation accompanied McKeown as he wrote this album, and she’s paraphrased in “Semolina Ballerina”, the album’s justification of artistic ambiguity. Thomson’s motorik beat leads a gathering of back-and-forth instrumental phrases – including a wiry contribution on saxophone – embodying the futility of trying to parse something definitive from repeated action. “Listen to the very first thing that’s in your head,” Sontag-via-McKeown commands directly, then slinks sideways: “Interpretation is a conversation in an unmade bed”
The album features two more focused portraits, or at least The Yummy Fur’s version of such a thing. “Wanda” merges the life of filmmaker Barbara Loden and the title character of her semi-autobiographical 1970 feature film, with Loden’s then-husband Elia Kazan joining the fray of no-good men in her film. It’s a mix of adaptation and avant-criticism, with McKeown’s wordplay and mannered pronunciation mirroring the way that non-fiction and fiction twist around each other in the song. The title track is a series of vignettes and impressions from the lives of the band’s ‘90s inner circle, positing painter Mac McNaughton as a kind of Falstaffian ringleader. As with Piggy Wings and the recent single “New T-Shirt”, McNaughton painted the cover of Everybody Talks About The Weather – like the album’s music, the image of a coy girl in a white dress is an uncanny amalgamation of styles, suggestions and references just out of reach, as though seen in an art museum in a dream.
The album ends with two reads of the same frustration. “King of Nothing” is the closest The Yummy Fur will ever get to sludge-rock: the band melts together into a dusty, dreary haze as McKeown drowns in a drudgery of personal struggle (“Two jumpers on in Babylon/And only cats to talk to”) and the rhythmic toppling of heroes (Rowlands, Duvall, Munro). The majority of visible dirt is cleaned off for “Say Hello”, an uncharacteristic depiction of throwing the windows open after a dark night of the soul. Here, the situation is still cold and hard (“When the sun burns gold, but the heat never reaches your fingertips”) but it feels surmountable. Everybody Talks About The Weather is an unpredictable album from an unpredictable group, but ending on a moment of almost uncomplicated light is maybe its biggest surprise. - Claire Biddles (2026)

Across a glitching, glimmering constellation of 10 tracks, the record redraws the boundaries of her own subconscious through daring harmonic modulations, glitchy electronica, and frenetic orchestral sequencing. Deeply informed by Nordic folklore, it moves through a journey confronting body dysmorphia, control, and a staccatoing sense of self - reaching toward creative and emotional liberation through ethereal, amorphous avant-pop.

Within the work, the artist made the deliberate choice to take the focus away from her physical self - a protest, but also a tribute to the countless versions that form one person. "It's not about disappearing or being anonymous," she says, "more about loosening the grip of appearance, and letting the work exist without being defined by it."

Named for Bach's Inventions - played on piano growing up - Inventio carries a Baroque sensibility: trilling polyphonic textures and lush vocal harmonies rising above it all. Sonic touchstones include Björk, Elizabeth Fraser, and the kulning-style singing of Lena Willemark. Made across three years in Sweden, the album was built without Murex knowing it would become one. Collaborators including Pelle Westlin, Isak Hedtjärn, and Elvira Anderfjärd gave the work what Murex calls "extra arms." All music videos are directed by Murex herself.


"Making this album gave me back authority and power. I hope it's just as freeing to listen to."

After releasing two EP, Charles Dollé reveals an ambitious and cinematographic album with his label Tricatel. He reinvents his musical language, undulating across ethereal sound landscapes in a style bordering film music. The self-titled "singing composer" lets his dreamy lyricism lead his creations: at the crossroads between indie pop, soft rock, electronic music, and ambient, Charles bends music genres with subtlety and contrast.

Bonding over a shared love of soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop, rapper Essa and producer / multi-instrumentalist J-Felix assembled a dream-team of top notch vocalists and players for this collective effort.



The result? Driving beats, poignant bars, soulful hooks and stirring brass.



The collective includes vocalists Avijè, Vanya Lyma, Marshall Mandiangu and Jerry Clavier, with Jack Kendon on horns and a guest appearance from your favourite drummer’s favourite drummer, Richard Spaven.



With his customary wit and masterful flow, Essa speaks on finding truth, confronting ego, eloping to the tropics and breaking generational curses. The esteemed lyricist was a key figure in UK Hip-Hop’s heralded “golden era”, alongside contemporaries and collaborators Jehst, Klashnekoff and TY, performing and recording with such luminaries as De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch, winning praise from Nas and Mark Ronson.



J-Felix’s rich production takes in neo-soul, UK Jazz, boogie and hip-hop. His signature “J-Funk” style evokes classic samples but with all-original playing from the versatile multi- instrumentalist, who has worked with Swindle, Kojey Radical, Mahalia and Alice Russell.



The Fifth Foundation’s explosive live experience ranges from a versatile MC/DJ set-up to a full live band, with horns and multiple vocalists, mixing originals from this bold debut with inspiration from timeless soul, jazz, funk and rap classics.

Montréal-based sound artist Steve Bates expands his strategies and stylistic influences on An Infinite Antenna, his second solo album for Constellation, giving freer reign to melodic components and textural dynamics: leftfield synth work, deconstructed drum machine, pointillist electric guitar, and radiostatic blur are all part of the new brew swirling around his bruitist signal-bending and field-recording sensibility. Arguably a more ambient album than his acclaimed 2022 Constellation debut, An Infinite Antenna is at the same time more densely packed with ideas, dynamics, evocations and earworms. Coming out of the anarcho-punk scene of the Canadian Prairies in the 1990s, Bates founded Winnipeg’s experimental sound festival Send + Receive in 1998 before moving to Montréal to become Sound Coordinator at Hexagram (Concordia University), delving further into sonic research and theory, tape-based composition, and installation work. Alongside the curatorial arc of his own sound art label The Dim Coast, Bates released several solo and collaborative albums on ORAL_records leading up to All The Things That Happen, the 2022 Constellation debut praised by Boomkat for its “grittily iridescent ambient billow rendering maximalist panoramas” and by Backseat Mafia as “extraordinary soundscapes of unstable, destructive cacophony and tender calm, echoes of the threat of power.” Where that album was noisier and single-minded, made with the self-imposed limit of a Casio SK-1, Bates plays more widely with instrumentation and atmospheres on An Infinite Antenna, also drawing on his post-hardcore roots in seeking a sort of track-by-track concision nonetheless driven by the album’s coherence as a seamless work. “I was trying to set durations I associate with punk rather than the longer, sprawling music coming from more ambient styles (that I very much love), and while I wasn’t able to quite pare it down to Minutemen durations, I had that reduction to essential elements as a sort of whisper over my shoulder.” Incorporating source recordings made throughout 2023-2025, including at artist residencies and site-specific sound installation visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the album’s cover photo was taken in Sarajevo), Austria, Greece, and Saskatchewan, An Infinite Antenna combines Bates’ “idea of slowly scanning a radio dial” with a soundworld of recurring timbral and textural touchstones that forge an integrated whole.

The album’s 12 tracks work effectively as stand-alone pieces, replete with shifting undercurrents, buried melody, and stuttering kinetics, and as a sequential flow where the brief interstitial silences between them are like short pauses to flip the next page in a sketchbook of perspectival studies of a wide but singular tableau. The glistening atonal synth expressionism of opener “Pink pink pink pink…pink pink” drifts gently toward submerged ambience, darkened by the noised rumble and static interference of “Green as a ghost”, which introduces broken beats and piano chords in its denouement. Tracks like “Battles and sieges and street trees” and “Easier sad than done” work the foundations of low-end field-recording resonance, but dappled with lovely melodic droplets of treated guitar and synth. “Waste, songs of the world” and “Disaster loans” are among the album’s most explicit stylistic references to posthardcore, with distorted ambient bass and gently abrasive drum sampling. Closing track “Swamps and factories”, the album’s longest piece, is perhaps most reminiscent of Bates’ previous record with its sustained dissonant glimmer-drone, but the journey An Infinite Antenna traces to get there is Bates at his most dynamic, diverse, distinctive, and engaging. Thanks for listening.

Montréal-based sound artist Steve Bates expands his strategies and stylistic influences on An Infinite Antenna, his second solo album for Constellation, giving freer reign to melodic components and textural dynamics: leftfield synth work, deconstructed drum machine, pointillist electric guitar, and radiostatic blur are all part of the new brew swirling around his bruitist signal-bending and field-recording sensibility. Arguably a more ambient album than his acclaimed 2022 Constellation debut, An Infinite Antenna is at the same time more densely packed with ideas, dynamics, evocations and earworms. Coming out of the anarcho-punk scene of the Canadian Prairies in the 1990s, Bates founded Winnipeg's experimental sound festival Send + Receive in 1998 before moving to Montréal to become Sound Coordinator at Hexagram (Concordia University), delving further into sonic research and theory, tape-based composition, and installation work. Alongside the curatorial arc of his own sound art label The Dim Coast, Bates released several solo and collaborative albums on ORAL_records leading up to All The Things That Happen, the 2022 Constellation debut praised by Boomkat for its "grittily iridescent ambient billow rendering maximalist panoramas" and by Backseat Mafia as "extraordinary soundscapes of unstable, destructive cacophony and tender calm, echoes of the threat of power." Where that album was noisier and single-minded, made with the self-imposed limit of a Casio SK-1, Bates plays more widely with instrumentation and atmospheres on An Infinite Antenna, also drawing on his post-hardcore roots in seeking a sort of track-by-track concision nonetheless driven by the album's coherence as a seamless work. "I was trying to set durations I associate with punk rather than the longer, sprawling music coming from more ambient styles (that I very much love), and while I wasn't able to quite pare it down to Minutemen durations, I had that reduction to essential elements as a sort of whisper over my shoulder." Incorporating source recordings made throughout 2023-2025, including at artist residencies and site-specific sound installation visits in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the album's cover photo was taken in Sarajevo), Austria, Greece, and Saskatchewan, An Infinite Antenna combines Bates' "idea of slowly scanning a radio dial" with a soundworld of recurring timbral and textural touchstones that forge an integrated whole. The album's 12 tracks work effectively as stand-alone pieces, replete with shifting undercurrents, buried melody, and stuttering kinetics, and as a sequential flow where the brief interstitial silences between them are like short pauses to flip the next page in a sketchbook of perspectival studies of a wide but singular tableau. The glistening atonal synth expressionism of opener 'Pink pink pink pink_pink pink' drifts gently toward submerged ambience, darkened by the noised rumble and static interference of 'Green as a ghost', which introduces broken beats and piano chords in its denouement. Tracks like 'Battles and sieges and street trees' and 'Easier sad than done' work the foundations of low-end field-recording resonance, but dappled with lovely melodic droplets of treated guitar and synth. 'Waste, songs of the world' and 'Disaster loans' are among the album's most explicit stylistic references to posthardcore, with distorted ambient bass and gently abrasive drum sampling. Closing track 'Swamps and factories,' the album's longest piece, is perhaps most reminiscent of Bates' previous record with its sustained dissonant glimmer-drone, but the journey An Infinite Antenna traces to get there is Bates at his most dynamic, diverse, distinctive, and engaging. Thanks for listening

2026 RE-Release
Beat machine freak duo Bill Converse and Patricia (Max Ravitz) present 380/750, a new EP on Acid Test that blends the two producers’ singular styles to form an emotive “introspection on the dance floor” experience over the course of 4 tracks.

Recorded at Ravitz’s Brooklyn studio over the course of two days, 380/750 features raw, no-multitrack, no-edit live recordings that showcase the duo’s intuition for expressive rhythm tracks. Considering Converse’s roots in the 90’s Michigan rave scene, and Ravitz’s Chicago upbringing, the midwestern strains really shine through. With rhythm-composer mutations, acid dripping over atmospheric synth textures, and the ever-present jack throughout, 380/750 offers a deep sound to get lost in that feels both new and classic at the same time.

The legendary Christian metal pioneers Stryper return with a commanding new chapter in their storied career: Throne Of Thorns, set for release this September via Frontiers Records. Decades into their journey, Stryper continue to reaffirm their status as one of the most influential and enduring bands in classic metal, seamlessly blending their signature message with a sound that remains as powerful and relevant as ever. Throne Of Thorns showcases the band at the height of their creative powers, delivering a masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. The album is packed with grand, meticulously crafted arrangements, where thunderous rhythms, soaring guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses come together in a style that is unmistakably Stryper. Each track is infused with both intensity and melody, capturing the essence of classic metal while pushing their sound forward with renewed energy and purpose. At the forefront stands the unmistakable voice of Michael Sweet, whose passionate, powerful, and instantly recognizable delivery continues to define the band’s identity. His vocal performance on Throne Of Thorns is nothing short of extraordinary, effortlessly moving between soaring highs and emotive depth, adding a timeless quality to every song. With Throne Of Thorns, Stryper not only honor their legacy but expand upon it, offering an album that will resonate with longtime fans and newcomers alike. It’s a bold, inspired statement from a band that refuses to stand still—proof that true metal greatness only grows stronger with time.

The legendary Christian metal pioneers Stryper return with a commanding new chapter in their storied career: Throne Of Thorns, set for release this September via Frontiers Records. Decades into their journey, Stryper continue to reaffirm their status as one of the most influential and enduring bands in classic metal, seamlessly blending their signature message with a sound that remains as powerful and relevant as ever. Throne Of Thorns showcases the band at the height of their creative powers, delivering a masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. The album is packed with grand, meticulously crafted arrangements, where thunderous rhythms, soaring guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses come together in a style that is unmistakably Stryper. Each track is infused with both intensity and melody, capturing the essence of classic metal while pushing their sound forward with renewed energy and purpose. At the forefront stands the unmistakable voice of Michael Sweet, whose passionate, powerful, and instantly recognizable delivery continues to define the band’s identity. His vocal performance on Throne Of Thorns is nothing short of extraordinary, effortlessly moving between soaring highs and emotive depth, adding a timeless quality to every song. With Throne Of Thorns, Stryper not only honor their legacy but expand upon it, offering an album that will resonate with longtime fans and newcomers alike. It’s a bold, inspired statement from a band that refuses to stand still—proof that true metal greatness only grows stronger with time.

Picture the scene - October 2025, while staying at a friend’s apartment in Chennai, Gavsborg created umpteen ideas and contacted his good friend and bassist from back home, Delroy Pele Fyah Hamilton to collaborate. Hamilton, now based in Singapore performs and records regularly with F.Y .A.H. (successor band from Raging Fyah).

Both Blair and Hamilton share a love for Caribbean music. With this foundation the two set out to create something a bit different that sits between Bouyon, Dancehall & Dennery. The amalgamation resulted in this unique four-track instrumental EP . While the track titles are packed with broader Caribbean references, the project name and title track is an ode to the 90s dancehall pioneers, “Black Roses Crew” , who were based in Arnett Gardens (aka Jungle), Kingston, Jamaica, one of the important homes of 90s dancehall. Roses helped shape dancehall culture through dance, style, crew affiliation, and performance, largely soundtracked by Computer Paul’s Corduroy Riddim with Gerald Levy aka Bogle being the poster human.

Arnett Gardens (Jungle) is one of the key engines that produced the version of dancehall both Gavsborg and Pele draw here from. Think tight, bubbling, bouncing riddims, rolling basslines unlike anything you’ve heard before. Jamaican Dance Music for the movers and shakers

Tropical East Asian folk fused with psychedelic electronic rock and noise driven by a winding and jagged Sanshin guitar, shape forming vocals, odd percussion and spacey sounds. A Sgt. Peppers tour through the folklore of Okinawa. Amamikyu is the creation Goddess of the colourful Island of sound visited by Phil MFU ( formerly Vanishing Twin ) on his journeys through expanding his scope of experimental electronic music effortlessly locking style in with master Sanshin player and vocalist Yuko Tsubame to create a psychedelic trippy island of sound, revisiting classic folk songs in a new far out funky light. Amamikyu are a London based band of Phil MFU ( ex Vanishing Twin ) and Okinawan electric Sanshin player and singer Yuko Tsubame, with an expanding group of live musicians.

Originally released in 1978. A Classic Reggae album re-released on 180 gram vinyl and produced by Linval Thompson with extensive sleeve notes.
Recorded at Channel One Recording Studio & Harry J's Recording Studio.
Cornell Campbell is one of an elite group of Jamaican reggae singers who has weathered the changes throughout the music's development - in his case, from the ska era to right up to date - whilst retaining their relevance. Witness his recent alliance with UK Afrobeat/reggae band The Soothsayers or Jazmine Sullivan's R & B hit Need U Bad, which sampled his classic 'Queen Of The Minstrel' -a song that still sounds fresh more than thirty years later.
Sweet Baby was pressed on bright red vinyl, which only added to the excitement when you saw the selector position it carefully on the deck.
On the LP cover was a painting of Cornell wearing an emerald green shirt and framed by a lurid sky, which might have left some people wondering if it was a soul album. It wasn't, although there is certainly soul in the grooves, and especially on R&B covers like Gonna Take A Miracle - first recorded by the Royalettes -and Darling You Send Me, which Sam Cooke had introduced to the US Billboard charts some twenty years earlier.
Both are among the highlights but then the whole album is good in truth, and a heartfelt I Need Somebody and My Sweet Baby, plus the two-step favourite Just Enough were regularly played on sound system. Blinded By Love, I Didn't Know and Can't Hide My Love are tinged with melancholy and like the seductive Whenever You Need Me, display all the hallmarks of a classic Cornell Campbell side -swooping vocals, a driving rhythm and seductive lyrics included.

Nearly forty years later, it is gratifying to know there is still no mistaking him when his records are played in a dance. That relaxed vocal style draws you in but it's his falsetto, quivering with understated emotion that hooks you and turns you into a lifelong fan.

*comes with Download Code.

Simplicity floods itself in textured imperfection and anointed noise on the debut oracular folk guitar album released under the UK’s 5 Gate Temple.

A roughly recorded stack of improvisations on a classical-style guitar, God Spill embodies the broken, all while un-doing the expectations around traditional guitar folk. Mingot's fingerpicked tones meld with unsteady pedal loops and hissed drones rotating through flawed circuitry. A slow to becoming repair that is translucent, cryptic and oblique.

Mingot's misty glitched landscape paints the polarity of both presence and disappearance, all cyclically mirroring the unseen. Honesty, discordance, impatience, and certainty all find home alongside blurred vocal drones.

Since 2022, the EU-based, Queens NY native has released music elusively as hardcore high priestess St Agnis and now swims waters of the acoustic - with soft rage and pursuit.

As always at U JAZZ ME Records we have limited edition (100 numbered copies) of 180g black vinyl with insert.

Astrocyrk (Astrocircus) is the next chapter in a story that began in 2123, when Captain Harrison Focus, after an emergency landing, finds himself on the mysterious planet Carmin. Following the events described in the previous album, the main character – Triceradiplodocus – leaves the planet's surface, following Ropuch’s instructions. However, the light on the horizon turns out to be the beginning of a new nightmare, and the dinosaur is trapped in the Astrocyrk. Under Klown’s guidance, he begins exploring this dark place. Only the finale reveals the true history of the Astrocyrk and
surprisingly intertwines Triceradiplodocus's fate with events from years past and the character of Captain Harrison Focus.

Musically, the album develops Twoosty Mayonez's distinctive style – one that focuses on improvisation and cinematic storytelling. Each composition represents a new chapter in the story, creating a cohesive musical journey through the world of Astrocyrk. Subsequent tracks lead the listener through the ship's dark attractions.

The new album is a natural continuation of the story from planet Carmin, while also opening a completely new chapter in the Twoosty Mayonnaise universe – one that is bigger, darker, and even more unpredictable.
The album features guest appearances by Szymon Białorucki (oud), Marek Konarski (sax), and Bartłomiej “Eskaubei” Skubisz (rap). The recordings were made at the Twoosty Room studio in Warsaw by the band's drummer.

Founded in 2019 by Nick Whaley and Luca Tantari, Piss Drunk Records was born in Northern California from a shared passion for underground electronic music and the DIY ethos that has always driven independent scenes.

Rather than waiting for opportunities, the label was created with a simple philosophy: if nobody releases the music you believe in, do it yourself. Every release represents that independent spirit, putting artistic freedom before commercial expectations.

Nick Whaley has been an active figure in the Northern California underground electronic scene for many years, continuously releasing music, cutting lathe records, and performing live sets while keeping the local DIY spirit alive. Luca Tantari, originally from Italy, lived in California where the idea for Piss Drunk Records was born. After returning to Italy, he continued developing the label, expanding its international reach while preserving its original vision and underground identity.

Although founded in California, Piss Drunk Records has always maintained strong roots in both the United States and Italy, creating a bridge between two underground communities.

The label embraces a broad spectrum of electronic music, from raw industrial techno, experimental electronics and noise to old-school hardcore, gabber and more dancefloor-oriented productions. Style is never the priority—authenticity is.

The first five releases were issued as hand-cut lathe records and a limited cassette, reflecting the label's commitment to small-run, handcrafted formats. PDR006 marks Piss Drunk Records' first professionally pressed vinyl release, representing a new milestone while remaining true to the DIY philosophy that inspired the project from day one.

Piss Drunk Records exists for one reason only: to release music that deserves to exist—without compromise, without trends, and without waiting for permission.

After regular appearances at Berghain since his debut two years ago, Altinbas now presents his contribution to Ostgut Ton, tying together five tracks that outline an expedition through celestial bodies in ‘Beyond the Veil’. Deepening his research on intricately crafted ambiance, the EP strikes a balance between commanding rhythm and blossoming synth work that reaffirm his inimitable style. ‘Beyond the Veil’ is a conceptual collaboration between an artist and a room; describing the dancefloor as an organism and the architecture of its surroundings.

Over the years, harmony has become synonymous with the Belgian artist’s sound. Deeply tuned and cohesive, Altinbas’s productions walk the boundary between insistent anticipation and unparalleled warmth. Although dancefloor effect remains a central theme for him, ‘Beyond the Veil’ is the latest chapter in a long study of obscurity in music that qualifies almost as ritualistic. Tracks like ‘Beyond the Veil’ and ‘Charming the Cosmic Snake’create tension in the keys that resonates like an expedition into new soundscapes. With weight and stability in the percussion, airy textures and hypnotic synth lines roll off the rhythm to mesmerize the listener. Sculpting his arrangements around the development of rich, dubby and atmospheric tones, Altinbas capitalises on the natural flow of his elements to provide an organic touch to tracks that are tuned especially for high pressure sound systems. ‘Entanglement’ and ‘Winter’ are both examples of this : soulful techno that ebbs and flows with each transition. Dimension is pushed dramatically into each of the five pieces of the EP as a direct response to the current climate of tool oriented techno. Keeping a safe distance from this approach, Altinbas invites listeners to explore the shape of his sound in an embrace rather than submit to its abrasion. The project concludes with ‘Antichamber’ - the fifth track of the EP that announces a departure from strict club codes. Dampening the rhythm from a pulse to a sway, a dreamlike landscape rises from deep within the record, smoothing over any of the rougher residuals from the preceding tracks. The descent that is ‘Antichamber’ is the result of an accumulated euphoria, gently guiding the listener back to consciousness.

‘Beyond the Veil’ represents a checkpoint for Altinbas in his research of moving a dancefloor not only physically, but emotionally. Carving out his own space in dancefloor-oriented music, he offers highly expressive compositions in defiance of the status quo. Altinbas offers this EP as a personal statement of where he stands; five tracks of carefully tended tone and harmonic glow create an emotional urgency for the collective experience.

Some recordings herald the future in ways that are impossible to see in real time. Teodros Makonnen With His Organ (ቴዎድሮስ መኮንን ከኦርጋኑ ጋር), by the artist Teodros Makonnen, also known as Teddy Mak, is one of those. Today, electronic sounds, synthesizers, and digital production are taken for granted in Ethiopian music, but in the early 1980s, they were novelties that polarized opinion. Even to this day, the story of Teodros Makonnen’s legacy has never been properly told. He played a decisive role in defining the sound of the digital era of Ethiopian music that emerged in the 1980s and beyond, both as a keyboard player and as a producer, songwriter, performer, and sound designer.

Ethiopian music was at a crossroads in the early 1980s. Much like music in the rest of the world, technology and automation heralded either a quantum leap in musical development or the annihilation of musicianship, depending on who you’d ask. The changes were incremental nonetheless, but with the benefit of hindsight one can clearly see that the changes meant different things in different contexts. Drum machines and electric organs came to replace many hotel bands because, all of a sudden, one musician could control drums, melody, and accompaniment. Teodros was one of the first musicians in Ethiopia to explore the possibilities this opened up.

Teodros’ father, Captain Makonnen Beri, was a chief pilot at Ethiopian Airlines and a music enthusiast at that. This would prove important to his development, as Makonnen brought back a piano from Germany, which would lead to the first steps in Teodros’ long musical career. Captain Makonnen’s work as Head of Flight Operations and as a pilot exposed him to the wider world that was far from commonplace for most Ethiopians. In a house where music captivated the whole family, the piano gave Teodros’ talent an outlet. Not only was a piano at home rare in Ethiopian households, his father also brought an Indian teacher to their home to teach Teodros and his brother, Captain Samuel Makonnen, music theory (solfeggio or ear training) and piano. Teodros and his youngest brother, the late great Dereje, a member of both the legendary Ibex Band and the Ethiopian reggae group Dallol, took up music from that point onward, with Teodros beginning to develop his proficiency at the age of eight. His father encouraged him to practice tirelessly at home, and Teodros later received musical schooling at the German School in Addis Ababa.

His obvious talent led to studies and formal education at the Yared School of Music, followed by continued studies in American jazz at Northern Virginia Community College in Virginia. Teodros cut his teeth professionally in his mid-teens, not only as a keyboardist, but also as an arranger for the Wabi Shebelle and Dahlak bands in the 1970s. He mastered electronic sequencing early, rising to prominence through the midnight recording sessions held during the military curfew. The pressures imposed by the curfew required precise and disciplined recordings, and Teodros delivered just that. This, in turn, led to collaborations with iconic artists such as Mulatu Astatke, Aster Aweke, Menelik Wossenachew, Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed, and Alemayehu Eshete.

In those days, he sat in as a keyboardist with the Dahlak Band when Dawit Yifru took a hiatus to study in Russia, and also with the Ethiostar Band. He secured a residency at the Wabi Shebelle Hotel with the Shebele Band, together with Zelalem Tadese (drums), later succeeded by Elias Bekele, Mulugeta Hailu (bass), Teferi ‘Bibisha’ Mengesha (guitar), Kumelachew G/Selassie (trumpet), and Teshome Deneke (saxophone). A friendly competition developed between the bands associated with the Ras Hotel (the Ibex Band), Ghion Hotel (the Dahlak Band), and Wabi Shebelle Hotel (the Shebele Band). The music scene at Wabi Shebelle saw teenagers commanding the spotlight in an industry otherwise dominated by musicians of an older generation.

At the Wabi Shebelle Hotel, Teodros met a diplomat from Saudi Arabia and later visited him at his home in Addis Ababa, a meeting that had unexpected musical consequences. The man owned a Yamaha double-deck keyboard. That evening, they recorded Teodros Makonnen With His Organ (ቴዎድሮስ መኮንን ከኦርጋኑ ጋር) in one take. This recording, a cornerstone in the early digital sound of Ethiopian music, came about almost by chance, simply because Teodros got the opportunity. Traditional Ethiopian songs were cast in a wholly electronic style.

Once freed from backing duties, Teodros’ keyboards could explore dreamlike soundscapes that took Ethiopian music in new directions. Even though the cassette contained well-known Ethiopian songs, they were given highly original arrangements, performed on an electric organ with drum machine backing and rhythm patterns that left the listener with suggestive, lingering sounds. “Libesh Kabashen” (also known as “Anchi Bale Game”) and “Odu Gol Golesa” wrap you in the very stuff that dreams are made of.

Originally released on cassette only, this recording exudes a mystique that surpasses even some of the most obscure Ethiopian recordings of the day. It remained more or less unknown outside of Ethiopia until now. Some of the tracks, like “Addis Fikir,” are permeated with an almost naive buoyancy, free-floating sounds that lost contact with the ground the moment they were conceived. Others, like “Meche New Hageren Yemayew” and “Lelitu Alnega Alegn,” carry a moodier, quirkier timbre, with pulsating rhythms in the background. Yet even the darker pieces contain an unmistakable wave, something essentially Ethiopian. If most recordings of Teodros’s contemporaries at the time were teeming with atmosphere, his songs seem instead at home in the stratosphere, almost ethereal. Some of the music here could be filed under “lullabies,” were it not for the recurring, almost brooding feeling that engulfs the listener on the aforementioned tracks. You could easily be forgiven for drifting into a blissful haze as the music washes over you.

Up to the advent of electronic music production, Ethiopia was totally dominated by big bands on the one hand, and small groups on the other. The former were tied to large institutions such as the military, the latter emerged from the entertainment industry, in hotel bars and nightclubs. These groups were commercially driven, and bands ultimately had to foster a mercenary approach to employment, albeit not to the passion for music. In the light of this, Teodros’ musical legacy can be seen in two ways. On the one hand, he is a key player in Ethiopian music from the 1970s onwards, leaving an indelible mark through hundreds of compositions and arrangements, including soundtracks for numerous documentary films and advertisements for different companies. On the other hand, the way he and others employed electronics brought Ethiopian music onto a fork in the road.

The replacement of traditional instruments with electronic equipment was seen as impending doom by some. Others, like Teodros, saw new avenues for performance, production, and creativity. Just as later producers like Abegasu Shiota of Admas, Teodros was a trailblazer who opened paths that it took Ethiopian music as a whole more than a decade to rush into. The hotel scene had already been pushed toward electronic music by financial necessity and cost-cutting. Today’s revived global interest in Ethiopian music from the seventies and eighties, alongside a broader resurgence, has changed the reasons for using digital means of music production. They have become tools for musical dreaming. This is where the dreaming began.

Death Is Not The End present the first volume in a survey of a form of Brazilian country music known as música caipira ("hillbilly music") - a stripped-back forerunner to música sertaneja, the Brazilian equivalent to US country & western which in it's contemporary form has come to dominate the domestic music industry in recent decades. This collection covers some of the earliest recordings made by the pioneering folklorist Cornélio Pires at the end of the 1920s, through to records from the 30s, 40s & 50s and the beginning of the 60s.

Somewhat rooted in Portuguese troubadour folk traditions, música caipira is typically performed by a duo singing in parallel thirds and sixths, drawing upon a Portuguese-Brazilian style known as moda de viola - with the viola being the viola caipira, a Brazilian-style ten-string guitar that is the core instrument of the music. Born out of the "outback"-style region in north-eastern Brazil, these songs tell stories of pain, love, loss & betrayal - often backed by homemade guitars using invented tunings. Away from the polished pop country & western-stylings of the sertaneja, these recordings could be viewed as the Brazilian equivalent to the roots music of the American dustbowl or Appalachia.

Japanese acid pop outfit Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin channel the globe-trotting spirit of Haruomi Hosono’s 1970s tropical boogie on their debut album, Tradition.

Named after one of the basic rhythms of Cuban folk music and drawing on influences from across the globe, Cho Co Pa Co Cho Co Quin Quin are quite simply a world unto itself.

Comprised of three childhood friends, Daido, Yuta and So, who reconnected during the coronavirus pandemic, Cho Co Pa initially emerged as a playful way for the three 23-year-olds to pass the time. Tapping into their youthful connection, they created a sound that exudes confidence and curiosity, a homage to the masterful world of YMO’s and Happy End’s Haruomi Hosono, rooted in the trio’s own idiosyncratic experience of the present.

Recorded at home and promoted on hugely popular DIY TikTok videos, their debut album Tradition is a technicolour exercise in armchair travelling – a kind of lockdown exotica for the housebound whose nostalgic flights of fancy are laced with a sense of whimsical melancholy for the lost freedoms of youth.

Referencing everything from Afro-Cuban percussion to lo-fi beats, Buddhist spirituality to trap, each member of the band brings different musical inspirations to the table. Latin American and Middle Eastern styles sit adjacent to a fascination for the electronic music of Aphex Twin, Dorian Concept, Underworld and Daft Punk. At times, the music verges on acid pop bliss, at others, it grooves with the instrumental funk sensibility of BADBADNOTGOOD.

“In the first place, when I create a song, my goal is to transport the listener to a mysterious place,” vocalist Daido explained in a recent magazine interview. Using lyrics as another sonic texture in the composition of ideas, Cho Co Pa paint beguiling sonic postcards of far-flung moods across 12 highly original tracks.

Marrying the organic and the electronic on rhythmically sophisticated compositions like ‘Chichibu’ and ‘Watatsumi’, it is on the album’s standout track ‘Gandhara’ that the experimental sound of Cho Co Pa comes to the fore. Referencing the ancient city of Gandhara through which Buddhism made its way from India to China, the track is a vocoder-trap-inspired, Udu drum-driven pop jam that lilts with unmistakable Balearic flair. If that’s difficult to imagine, then know simply that ‘Gandhara’ sounds like nothing else on this side of Saturn. Even Daido seemed surprised by the outcome: “I feel like we were able to create something that exceeded our abilities. That was huge!”

Hugely popular in Japan, with festival appearances lined up alongside BADBADNOTGOOD at Asagiri Jam in October, it's safe to say the success of Tradition has taken Cho Co Pa by surprise. You won’t have heard anything like it."

Hot Digits main guy Fingerman - a veritable of the UK nu-disco and disco re-edit scenes - is the man at the controls on the latest missive from the imprint's vinyl-focused Wax Digits offshoot. He's in prime form from the off, offering a deliciously chunky, effects-laden, dub disco style rework of a New York no-wave era 'downtown' disco classic. He doffs a cap to pal Chewy Rubs and their joint love of heavy, looped bass guitar lines on the stretched-out funk-goes-deep disco wonder that is 'Bestest Beat', before cunningly rearranging a more string-laden slab of disco-funk grandiosity on closing cut 'We Love It'. We certainly do, and there's a fair chance you will too.

San Francisco’s 21 st century take on disco has long tended towards the cosmic and
psychedelic, a reflection of the Bay Area’s long association with trippy, mind-altering music.
Over the years, Leng Records has periodically dived into these fertile waters, delivering
inspired slabs of cosmic-minded and dub-flecked excellence from 40 Thieves and, more
recently, Marshall Watson and Cole Odin.


It’s to Watson, a long-serving producer and sound designer whose work has previously
appeared on labels including Sprechen, Shades of Sound, Seven Villas, Italians Do It Better, Highpoint Lowlife and NuNorthern Soul, that Leng has turned this time around. It marks his first solo appearance on the imprint and lands two years on from his inspired Odin collaboration, Voyager. ‘Little Monster’ is Watson at his most potent, club-focused best. Built around rock-solid
disco drums and a deliciously dubby, low-slung bassline, the track slowly builds via waves of intergalactic electronics, spaced-out and echoing vocal samples, audible nods to cosmic rock and bursts of starry synth melodies. Thickening and increasing in effects-laden intoxication as it progresses, ‘Little Monster’ not only lives up to its name but also cements Watson’s growing reputation as one of 21st century cosmic disco’s most distinctive talents.


Fittingly, the accompanying remix comes from Leng regulars and fellow San Francisco
residents 40 Thieves. Delivering a genuinely epic, near nine-minute excursion, the veteran
collective drag Watson’s inspired original mix further towards Daniele Baldelli style dub
disco-meets-Afro-cosmic territory. Expect bolder, funkier bass, echoing synth motifs, eyes-
closed electric guitar solos, echoing synth snippets and wild, sustained organ chords. It’s
cosmic disco in dub… and the perfect accompaniment to Watson’s future cosmic disco
classic.

American DJ, producer and Lone Romantic / Ellum Audio label boss Maceo Plex joins Radio Slave’s Rekids with the ‘Monster’ EP.

Maceo Plex opens the ‘Monster’ EP with 'Flute Jam', a muscular, progressive cut with broken beats and subtle chords lighting up the airwaves. Drifting vocals and widescreen synths add great scale to this intergalactic journey while textured bass brings the weight. The hyper-real and aptly named 'Baby Monster' then features vocals from Baby Monsta, refracted through a full-bodied Electro-Techno fusion. The chords dance over fizzing bass, all with future-facing sound design and an outer space atmosphere. Closer 'Cold Flow' is a prickly breakbeat cut with dehumanised, trap-style vocals and precision engineering in the groove. It's a cinematic sound that takes breaks, techno and electro into new realms while retaining a soulful, melancholic core.

Active since the 90s, Maceo Plex haș long been operating in his own musical world, where Electro, Techno and House all fuse into something futuristic and fresh. He's been shaping the underground for three decades as a DJ and producer but also head of the infl ential Ellum Audio and Lone Romantic labels. Already this year he has dropped the dark 2-step sounds of his 'The Plan EP' via the latter, which also features Baby Monsta, and continues his purple patch with a standout debut on Rekids that finds him exploring yet more new ground.

This is the 12" already immortalized by Gilles Peterson! Dub Souljah, with its classic Roots Reggae/Dub-styled horns and brilliant lead and backing vocals, comes in two versions when Ekowmania meets DJ Sotofett. The first version, in 1970s tradition, is a rocking dancefloor Disco Dub with extended and highlighted percussion parts. Then there's the Ultra Dub – a severely deep and reduced dub where horns and vocals surface only intermittently through constant echoed kicks, minimal hi-hats, and a two-tone bassline. The title track is from Ekowmania's Dr. Afrodub album, produced by Jimi Tenor, but this 12" also includes two non-album cuts: the psychedelic Afro twist of Afrolistic Rock & Roll, and the cosmic Latin-styled Kuusikasi Funk, featuring beautiful saxophone and flute by Jimi Tenor. THIS 12" IS CUT WITH LOUD VOLUME FOR EXCELLENT CLUB USE!

The record is largely sung in Scots language, one of Scotland’s three official languages along with Gaelic and English. “Scots gives me a way of expressing myself which is connected directly with the landscapes I love. It brings the songs alive and it is a fascinating language. The name of the record is in Scots - Forefowk means the people who came before, or ancestors. When we say ‘mind me,’ we can mean a few things- remind, remember, watch over or care for me. The record explores how tradition needs to be constantly reconnected with, built upon, looked after, and shared.”
Quinie sings with a style inspired by Scottish Traveller singers. “I began singing unaccompanied Scots Song in 2015 after hearing Scots Traveller singer Sheila Stewart on the radio. Initially I felt like I shouldn't sing these songs because I'm not a Traveller, and I saw people around me doing that in a way that made me uncomfortable. But on the other hand this music made sense to me and I felt driven to learn. Over the years I have met Traveller friends who taught me that settled people sharing these songs could contribute to raising awareness. Scottish Travellers are marginalised and discriminated against in modern Scotland, despite being custodians of so many of our important traditions. So I started to perform them and tell this story. From there I built on my repertoire and started writing my own songs”.
To develop this record, Quinie travelled across Argyll with her horse. They went on a pilgrimage of sorts through the ancient landscapes of the West of Scotland to explore the interconnected relationships between people, ancestors, animals, and place. The album’s vinyl release is accompanied by a book and film, documenting this unusual research process.
Forefowk, Mind Me was recorded in August 2024 at The Big Shed in Highland Perthshire with support from Creative Scotland. Quinie is accompanied by an ensemble of musicians: Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh (viola), Oliver Pitt (duduk, bouzouki, percussion), Harry Górski-Brown (small pipes, violin), and Stevie Jones (double bass, recording, and mixing). Each of these artists brings their own distinctive voice, bridging contemporary experimental practice with worlds of traditional and early music.

2026 repress of classic Alpha Steppa album.

Raise The Ark - The new album from Alpha Steppa, marking ten years of Steppas Records. This vocal-dub album defies convention and introduces the listener to a new world of soundsystem music. Raise The Ark evolves and expands the distinct avant-guard dub style of Alpha Steppa, exploring the realms of Hip Hop, Trap, Trad, Folk and Bass Music. True to the Steppas Records ethos, the music carries a deep and crucial message, covering current and timeless topics; from the climate crisis, sociopolitical issues, to roots, culture and spirituality. Working closely with known artists from the Steppas imprint and as we have come to expect, introducing us to new and emerging talent from across the globe. Raise The Ark features include; Pupa Jim of Stand High Patrol (France), Sista Awa (Italy/Senegal), Cian Finn (Ireland), Ras Tinny (Suriname), Nai-Jah (Nigeria), Tenor Youthman (Russia), Eva Keyes (Ireland) and Block Mameli (Italy/Ghana). The collection features 12 evocative and provocative vocal tracks and 10 thundering instrumental / dub mixes. Raise The Ark is a truly eclectic, profound and exciting album not to be missed.

In partnership with onetreeplanted.org we will plant a tree in Ethiopia for every record sold.

“One of the most prolific and inventive dub producers around” Wire

“A serious player in the soundsystem world” Mixmag

“Obliteratingly heavy bass” Q Mag

“Album of The Month” MIXMAG (March 2013 & October 2014)

The year was 1989, and Derrick May was at a creative peak as both a DJ and producer. Under his Rhythim Is Rhythim moniker, he released a string of landmark records on Transmat, while his residency at Detroit's The Music Institute showcased the distinctive DJ style that would soon take him onto the international stage. Around the same time, he hosted a weekly radio show on Detroit radio station WJLB, alongside influential programs by The Electrifying Mojo and The Wizard (Jeff Mills).

For one of these broadcasts, May assembled a 15-minute megamix in his studio during the week leading up to the show. He opened his radio set with this continuous mix, blending his own tracks and versions into a seamless introduction that reflected his approach to DJing at the time. It includes unreleased versions of classics such as ‘Nude Photo 88’ and ‘Strings Of Life’.

‘All of this is unreleased because I made it as I was playing it on the spot as a special Mayday Mix for my show on the radio station WJLB in 1989, edited together straight from the keyboards live to tape. There is no other recording of these tracks in this form, only here’.

The original WJLB master tapes have since been lost, and no official recording is known to survive. Fortunately, many listeners recorded the broadcasts at home. One such cassette, preserved by Richie Hawtin, eventually made it our way. It has been carefully restored and mastered, with the artist’s approval.

To highlight this remarkable document of techno history, the recording is now available as a limited-edition, one-sided 12-inch release. The mix has been cut as a continuous side, visually divided into eight sections, while the reverse features a custom engraving.

Eero Koivistoinen's debut album reissued in July Eero Koivistoinen is a wide-ranging composer and a talented musician – one of the all-time greats of the Finnish jazz. In 1965 Koivistoinen founded a trio that played avant-garde and fusion jazz together with Pekka Sarmanto and Edward Vesala. In 1967–68 he was a member of Blues Section – a group that is regarded as the first progressive rock band in Finland. Valtakunta (“Kingdom”) was originally released in 1968 and is Eero Koivistoinen’s first jazz LP. The songs of the album are based on the lyrics written by Finnish poets Pentti Saarikoski, Tuomas Anhava, Hannu Mäkelä and Jarkko Laine. The vocalists are Eero Raittinen, Seija Simola, Vesa-Matti Loiri and Koivistoinen himself. He also plays the tenor saxophone, piano and vibraphone, and is joined by a vast selection of legendary Finnish musicians, including Seppo "Baron" Paakkunainen, Pekka Sarmanto, Ronnie Österberg, Hasse Walli, Juhani Aaltonen, Antero Jakoila, Kaj Backlund, Esa Pethman, and Reino Laine among many others. All compositions are by Koivistoinen. The album reflects well the forthcoming compositional repertoire of Koivistoinen with its wide style spectrum. Valtakunta was reissued on vinyl in 2016 via Svart and the pressing quickly found a new home on the turntables of record collectors worldwide. After ten years, it's time to bring back this quintessential piece of Finnish psychedelia, avant-garde, free jazz, and progressive rock on wax and CD again.

Released in 1983, "En la guía, en el listín" remains a permanent anomaly in the history of Spanish pop music, with few clear predecessors and even fewer descendants. It is an imperfect yet fascinating catalog of the many faces Derribos Arias could reveal. Its sound combines odd electric rock, leftfield proto-hip-hop, and dark, immersive songs that simply defy categorization. An essential album. Includes liner notes and the artwork of the original insert. By late 1981, the San Sebastián-based group La Banda sin Futuro had already transformed into Derribos Arias. Their first two singles dazzled critics eager for new ideas capable of placing Spanish pop alongside the contemporary music increasingly arriving from abroad in real time. 'Branquias bajo el agua', the standout track from the band's debut single, topped the list of Best Songs of 1982 as voted by listeners of Diario Pop on Radio 3 (Spanish National Radio). With an expanded four-piece lineup and a larger budget than they had enjoyed for their earlier singles, the band entered the prestigious Kirios Studios to record their album, with Paco Trinidad serving as producer. The electric intensity of 'Intima decoración' and 'Crematorio' -angular, off-kilter reinterpretations of a strain of rock descended from The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, a style with virtually no precedent in Spain-are excellent examples of the band's sound. To aberrate was the key term Poch used to describe his ineffable working method: a fearless creative freedom without which songs such as 'Lo que hay' could never have existed. The track stands as a leftfield proto-hip-hop number, later reworked as 'Disco pocho,' demonstrating both his admirable lack of prejudice and his complete disregard for any commercial ambitions the album might have had.Unfortunately, this album would never have a follow-up.

Released in 1976 on ABC Records, Seed Of Memory is Terry Reid's fourth studio album and marks a significant shift in his musical direction - This 180g vinyl re-issue faithfully replicates the original UK pressing including 4- page lyric insert Produced by Graham Nash, the album was recorded in California after Reid had relocated from Britain, and reflects the influence of the West Coast singer-songwriter scene while retaining elements of rock, blues, folk and soul. All eight songs were written by Reid, whose expressive vocals and guitar work remain central throughout. The recordings are enhanced by contributions from respected musicians including David Lindley on guitar and violin, Ben Keith and Al Perkins on pedal steel, and Graham Nash on harmony vocals. Lyrically, the album explores themes of reflection, spirituality, personal growth and social awareness, with songs such as "Brave Awakening" drawing on Reid's family connections to the mining industry. The relaxed arrangements contrast with the heavier sound of some of his earlier recordings, creating a more atmospheric and melodic style.

"Emergence of Shadow" (Mint Condition Records / Self Distribuzione)—the new album by Davide
Ghidoni, produced by Gianluca Pighi—is arriving: its digital release is set for Friday, September 11,
while the vinyl will be available starting Friday, September 18.
A trumpeter with a career marked by international collaborations, Ghidoni here signs his most
personal project to date. It is a predominantly instrumental record in which the trumpet becomes a
voice, a narrative, and an emotion. The only vocal track is "Come On Closer," performed by Heidi
Vogel (The Cinematic Orchestra), creating a moment of suspension and intensity within the project.
Davide Ghidoni’s passion for music and the trumpet was born in his childhood around the age of ten,
fueled also by Western films and Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks: those melodies, where the trumpet
played a central role in the duels of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, deeply shaped the artist's
imagination and sound.
Ghidoni has always maintained an open and curious approach, letting himself be inspired by different
genres, artists, and musical cultures. His projects naturally coexist with influences ranging from rock
to soul, jazz to blues, and other languages that have left a mark on his path. Rather than identifying
with a single genre, he prefers to view music as a guiding thread capable of uniting different styles
through emotion, sensitivity, and respect for artistic identity.
"Emergence of Shadow" represents a new chapter in his journey. After numerous collaborations with
various artists, the musician felt the urge to undertake a completely his own project, giving shape to
ideas he had nurtured for a long time.
The record is inspired by the 1970s soul, rock, and blues sounds, but the goal is not to faithfully
reproduce or imitate those genres: the atmospheres, themes, and arrangements recall that sonic
world, yet are reinterpreted through a personal and original sensibility. The trumpet remains the
primary narrative element, supported by meticulous arrangements and a solid rhythm section that
enhance its character and expressive intensity.
Alongside the sounds that distinguish his path, the album also explores deeper emotional
dimensions. Some tracks are fluid and atmospheric, born from the desire to recount vibrations
without rigid schemes, letting melodies and dynamics guide the listener on an inner journey. The aim
is to offer an engaging listening experience in which music communicates directly, beyond words.
The album encapsulates everything Davide Ghidoni wanted to express and fully represents his
artistic identity: a timeless instrument to communicate emotions and engage in dialogue with different
musical traditions, always keeping the pursuit of musical quality and sharing with the public at its
core.

“An amazing new project…” Tony Minvielle, Jazz FM

“A lush, heatwave-friendly piece of dancefloor innovation…” Clash Magazine


First Word Records is delighted to bring you the debut EP from Ships of the Pharaohs.


Ships of the Pharaohs are a London-based collective led by producer Last Nubian, who’s had releases in his own right on labels like CoOp Presents, Eglo Records & Touching Bass. Blending jazz, soul, bossa nova, d&b and house-influenced grooves, the band also consists of vocalist Achanté, keys player Goldbar & bassist, Dougan.

The 7-track EP kicks off with the high-energy, vitamin D-saturated lead single ‘Sun is Rising’, featuring the guest vocals of brilliant Berlin-based singer Red Bird, who appears on three tracks on this project (‘For You’ and ‘Seasons’). ‘Can’t Quit’ follows on a smooth soulful house/bruk tempo, and invites in the thought-provoking spoken word prose of AKEEM. ‘Seasons’, ‘For You’ and recent single ‘Joys’ add another element to the band’s eclectic take on fusion, leaning heavily into the bossa side of the quartet’s influences. The latter track sees Achanté’s soulful harmonies gracefully float across a warm bed of keys, percussion, guitar picks & synth strings. We take a short jazzy breather on the ‘Interlude’ cut, featuring the resplendent sax of multi-talented Norwegian artist, Bror Havnes, who also features on the outro cut ‘One’ - this one seeing the crew ride out with a sonic salute to jungle/d&b, closing this first opus from the group with the energy levels remaining high.

Tre Wright (aka Last Nubian) explains “Our debut EP is a reflection of who we are, both individually and as a collective. Drawing inspiration from jazz, jungle, bossa nova, house, r&b and the music that's shaped us, we've explored our own interpretation of these sounds and how they come together in a way that feels true to us. It gave us the space to experiment without boundaries, trust our instincts, and create something that genuinely reflects where we are creatively right now.”


Originally conceived to perform Last Nubian material live for a Touching Bass showcase at We Out Here festival in 2023, the project soon took on a life of its own, as the group effort unleashed a unique chemistry & sound of its own merit. Thereafter followed numerous sessions in a studio-converted bedroom of a Brixton flat, developing this new sound. The finishing touches were taken care of at the infamous Total Refreshment Centre in North London, resulting in the formation of captivating new original material, which appears across this first extended release.

Ships of the Pharaohs have additionally performed live across London at Brick Lane Jazz Festival, House of KOKO, Jazz on Wick Festival, Peckham Levels, 91 Living Room & GROW in Hackney. Developing their powerful stage presence has gone hand in hand with the creation of their own material.

The initial singles from this project received praise & support from a variety of DJs, press outlets & tastemakers from the worlds of jazz, soul and clubland, including Shy One (NTS), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Rohan Rakhit (Worldwide FM), Somewhere Soul & Clash Magazine to name a few.


With sonics somewhat reminiscent of Acid Jazz legends Incognito, merged with the class of Nuyorican Soul, and the dynamic fluidity of 4Hero, the 4-piece have cooked up a set of style & flavours uniquely their own, fresh for modern dances, incorporating organic improvisation with more contemporary club sounds.

The Ships of the Pharaohs are about to set sail for what is sure to be an exciting journey ahead.

‘Part 1’ will be released on 12” vinyl & all digital platforms on September 18th 2026.

Set sail for the next leg of the journey! Diggers Factory is thrilled to present the One Piece: Into the Grand Line (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) Deluxe Vinyl Boxset.

Following the Straw Hat Crew as they finally move Into the Grand Line, the soundtrack captures the epic, high-seas energy of the hit series. Composed by the powerhouse duo Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli, the score blends orchestral scale with pirate folk-rock grit, now pressed on stunning colored wax.
Whether you're dodging Baroque Works or looking for a giant whale, this box set is the ultimate treasure for any Straw Hat at heart.
2LP Black Audiophile Vinyl: Two black vinyl representing the fiery spirit of adventure and the deep mysteries of the Grand Line.
Custom Die-Cut Jackets: Two single jackets featuring a central die-cut hole that reveals the beautiful map-work of the inner labels.
16-Page Booklet: A deep dive into the production with exclusive set stills and behind-the-scenes imagery from Season 2.
Double-Sided Poster (20" x 27"): Choose your vibe with the cinematic group shot of the crew or the iconic "Grand Adventure Awaits" sunset art.
6 Exclusive Postcards: Vintage-style travel postcards from legendary stops like Loguetown, Little Garden, and Drum Island.
Sticker Board: A collection of high-quality stickers including Laboon, the Going Merry, and Luffy's legendary $30,000,000 Wanted Poster.
Collector's Box: All contents are housed in a premium, wooden-textured outer box.
Netflix's epic high-seas pirate adventure, ONE PIECE, returns for Season 2-unleashing fiercer adversaries and the most perilous quests yet. Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail for the extraordinary Grand Line-a legendary stretch of sea where danger and wonder await at every turn. As they journey through this unpredictable realm in search of the world's greatest treasure, they'll encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies.

A very classic, auditorily both honest and skillful, techno mini-album by US producers D-Knox and Tim Xavier of Black Nation, 773 Tekno, Limited 400serie, and Sonic Mind fame. The duo's six-tracker nods to old-school US 'multitrack' underground techno EPs, but is bombastically engineered for club systems. Stunningly starting with "Soul Kraft Intro", a hymn for the Detroit techno legacy, only to slip into the tracky club rider "Stream Of Consciousness" with short stabs and alarming strings. Ripping acidic riffs and multifaceted hi-hat programming are signatures throughout, particularly highlighted by the teeth-grinding Chicago-styled (almost 'French Touch' compressed) "Dead Star Grinder", and not the least by the ultimately classic "Tomorrow Is A Rainy Day" with its broken beat and deep-standing forward-driving chordal beauty.

New on the "WANIA mk" series is a double A-side supersonic 12", with two tracks previously circulating as dubplate only. "Bless Up" by Salik (who co-runs Going Good, and of WANIA fame) is simply a deep and controlled Dubstep-goes-Breakbeat knockout. With a prominently loud cut, it carries classic sonics of atmospheric Jungle/D'n'B while running rhythmicallyreduced towards the mid-side Jungle-styled Breakbeat drop. L.A. 2000 & DJ Sotofett continue their collaboration from WANIA mk1 and mk2 with a Dub Techno Stepper. Here, clinically adjusted delays and short reverb support the ultra-reduced rhythm and harmonically gritty stabs, all with just enough drive to introduce the long-awaited sub-bass as a well-timed surprise. THIS 12" IS CUT WITH LOUD VOLUME FOR EXCELLENT CLUB USE!

"Psicofásicos" by The Silver Pumpkins is a unique document: an EP that is virtually impossible to find in its original edition, offering an essential glimpse into Bolivia's thrilling 1960s rock scene-raw, wild, and unlike almost anything else. Beyond the ubiquitous covers of Cream and Jimi Hendrix recorded by countless South American bands, this EP features the far less common 'Pushing Too Hard' by The Seeds and, most notably, the dark, powerful 'You're Gonna Miss Me' by the 13th Floor Elevators. Bolivia boasts an extraordinary musical legacy of raw, garage-driven '60s sounds. Alongside Peru, it was one of the South American countries where the greatest number of recordings in this style were released-captured with limited resources but overflowing with spontaneity, energy, and attitude. The difficulty of obtaining the records that were shaping the latest Anglo-American rock trends of the 1960s in many Spanish-speaking Latin American countries led to a proliferation of local bands covering their musical heroes. Well-known artists such as Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and Iron Butterfly were reinterpreted by countless groups, making these songs available to local audiences without having to rely on imported records reaching their countries. By doing so, these bands helped spread the cutting-edge rock music already making waves elsewhere in the world. What makes this release particularly unusual is that the band chose to cover second-tier cult acts rather than the obvious classics-groups that only briefly cracked the U.S. Top 50 in the late '60s, such as The Seeds and 13th Floor Elevators. Originally released on the Bolivian Psicofásico label, this exceptionally rare EP pairs The Seeds' garage anthem 'Pushing Too Hard' with the ferocious, immortal 'You're Gonna Miss Me' by Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators. The raw power of the original songs is pushed even further here by the rudimentary recording techniques and the limited instrumental skills of the very young members of The Silver Pumpkins. The result is a one-of-a-kind document-virtually impossible to find in its original pressing-that helps complete the picture of Bolivia's fascinating '60s rock scene. First-ever reissue.

In 2001, Shin’ichi Ogawa of Sugar Plant was working for the SAL Disc record label and came up with the idea of doing an E2-E4 tribute album with his friends. This album would come off the back of a Neil Young tribute album which might have seemed odd but these two artists, Neil Young and Ashra (Manuel Göttsching), would be played regularly as equals at after-parties that Shini’ichi would throw at his house. Longtime friend and collaborator, Taro Yoda, noted that the eclecticism of these after-parties were influenced by the variety of parties they were attending at the time, from the legendary Japanese open-air rave party Life Force to Cream at Amnesia in Ibiza. Taro was obsessed with European trance and left-field downtempo while the two members of Sugar Plant were into ’70s soul—especially Marvin Gaye and William DeVaughn and at the same time, they were listening to Phish and the Grateful Dead too. All three of them were of course inspired by the DJ’ing and selections of Larry Levan.

A- Side – Sugar Plant – “Just Be There” – Production began in my home studio. Since I was frequently attending a house party called “Life Force” (with DJ Nick the Record as the resident DJ) at the time, I thought deep house would be the perfect style for a Sugar Plant cover.
I looped a two-chord electric piano track and applied filters using plugins and outboard gear to create a “sound I could listen to forever.” I recorded the bass on guitar and converted it to an analog synth (Doepfer MS-404).

From there, I layered synths improvisationally, listening to the track over and over again to make fine adjustments. I think I worked on it for days, mostly late at night.
I recorded the guitar at the very end of the track. After playing it a few times ad lib without any set plan, I suddenly had the idea to add vocals during the bridge, so I set up a mic in my hallway and recorded them.

I think this track is packed with the emotions I felt when listening to “E2-E4” back then, as well as the vibe I experienced at that party. – Shin’ichi Ogawa

* Originally released on the Crispy music label in 1995, from Dun Specialists, a collaboration between Chris Petter and Dougie Wardrop out of Conscious Sounds studio, London.

* `Dub to Dub Break to Break’, the first in a series of three, is a wildly varied selection of dubs, utilising funky breakbeats, hip hop-inspired beats and samples galore.

* Out of press for 31 years.

“I like to work with a variety of instruments and set ups,” says Mark Van Hoen, sometimes known as Locust or Autocreation but here working under his own name on the excellent Plan For A Miracle, his first physical release of solo music since 2018’s Invisible Threads. ”Sometimes it’s literally in my studio, with all the hardware electronics available. Sometimes the laptop, using software instruments. Some of the tracks on this record were recorded in the desert (Joshua Tree) using a 4-track tape machine and small modular synthesiser set up. Each track was recorded in different location using different instruments, which accounts for the distinction between each piece. It’s also about my own reaction to my environment, and what’s going on in my life at the time.”

The Croydon-born Van Hoen started musical life in the early 1990s, signing for R&S records in 1993 but developing his own, myriad and distinctive style across a range of releases on Touch, Editions Mego and other labels, using a battery of instruments, including analogue synthesizers and taking a number of different approaches to recording, rather than ploughing a single sonic furrow. He has worked on a number of collaborations, including with Nick Holton and Neil Halstead of Slowdive, under the moniker of Black Hearted Brother - their Stars Are Our Home was released in 2013. “I have known Neil Halstead since 1992,” says Van Hoen. “He shared a house with me for a couple of years, and the music I was making and listening to along with clubs I was attending had an influence particularly on Pygmalion, the final Slowdive album on Creation.”

Each track on Plan For A Miracle does indeed sound like a world unto itself, a mini-environment, a weather condition, an ecosystem created for the moment. It’s a collection of tracks recorded over the past few years, released on Bandcamp - despite his apparent absence, Van Hoen works constantly. Opener “Climates”, in its exquisite limpidity, feels like a homage to Brian Eno, one of his most formative influences in his teen years, commencing with Music For Films, which he bought in 1979. “This Is For Them”, feels like a ghostlike throwback to early drum & bass or electronica, reminiscent of his own, earliest outings. “There have been a number of requests from labels to make some more music like my very early releases on R&S,” says Van Hoen. “This is part of ‘letting go’ and realising that there’s nothing less creative about going back to those styles again.”

“Pencil Of Spheres” is something else again, a magnificent, imaginary glass structure, shimmering, refracting, without visible means of suspension, a thing of impossible beauty. “Electric Lights” evokes an abandoned fairground, its lights still pulsating, its music lingering. “The Underpass”, meanwhile, insofar as it reminds of anything at all, is faintly reminiscent of Cluster or Neu’s! West German ambience, the urban mundane rendered magical, the sodium lights, the whitewashed walls. The reverberant, faintly oriental chimes of “Insight” transport us yet again, burgeoning and intensifying.

The landscapes, the skyscapes rendered on Plan For A Miracle feel unpopulated as a rule - but when he does introduce vocal elements, Van Hoen has a history of doing so to spectacular effect - think of “Real Love” from 1998’s Playing With Time, the seductive intonation of its title recurring throughout like a series of massive holograms, echoing, stuttering, breaking up, surging. Here, there are just the faintest of vocals, barely distinct, disquieting. “There’s been a bit of a game changer in recent times,” explains Van Hoen. “AI software that enables you to extract vocals and instrument parts from virtually any recording. That means sampling individual parts from existing sources is no longer limited to the original mix exposing certain parts soloed. The vocal parts I use are from multiple sources and often pitch shifted altered rhythmically and melodically.“ There’s further vocal chatter on “I Really Do”, proceeding at a faster pace as if giving chase, or being pursued - distant, enigmatic. “The Music”, meanwhile, its beat tolling, lost in its own fog of static, features a curious intonation, like the ghost of a lost Walker Brother.

Sadly, the album’s title is in reference to a personal tragedy on Van Hoen’s part - the loss of his wife. Titles such as “I Won’t Give Up”, which faintly reminds of another Eno masterpiece, Another Green World, in its nautical hurly-bury, or the pastoral strains of “Mrs Who”, heavily clouded with sadness, seem to allude to this. “In fact the record was recorded entirely before she passed away,” says Van Hoen, “most of it before she even became very ill. The title was given to the album when it started to look like she wasn’t going to make it beyond a few months. It was something Osho said - “plan for a miracle” - so it was a statement of hope. Unfortunately it was not to be.” Although the album is non-thematic, non-specific in its atmospheres, sound paintings, elegant structures it most certainly stands as a magnificent monument to Osho’s memory.

-David Stubbs.