quête:tes 2

Gnod's now twenty year journey through spiritual and audial exploration has been driven by relentless curiosity, magpie irreverence and a fierce countercultural imperative, their project has always refused to acknowledge all or any rules and boundaries, internal or external. The latest adventure of this band may never have been intended to celebrate their two-decade anniversary, but in true Gnod fashion by, what began as a trip into a residential studio setup in Hellfire Studios with producer John `Spud' Murphy (Lankum, Black MIDI, Caroline) for six days, resulted in more potent material than anyone bargained for. The end result has been three studio albums to be released over the next year. "This trilogy revealed itself to us in the studio" says Paddy. "We were hoping to get a good album out of the session and lo and behold we got three of the fuckers. It's interesting that we did pretty much capture the full spectrum of the Gnod sound across all three". In fact, this intrepid first instalment of the `Chronicles Of Gnowt' trilogy covers an alarming amount of sonic territory all on its own. Driven as always by the power of repetition as well as Gnod's alchemical marriage of the maximal and the minimal, this album is imbued with a vivid focus that's testimony to the chemistry of the sessions, coupled with a detailed and spacious production from Murphy that brings out the psychedelic sound worlds of the band in vivid colour. This is a travelogue which delves into pastoral tranquillity (as on `Three Trees Parts 1&2') just as adeptly as expansive Earth-tinged riff monoliths (`All Tunnel No Light') and just as formidably as the closing epic `Ekstasis' - a hallucinatory vista where kraut-tinged experimentalism meets Swans-style intensity. Yet all the while, truly sounding like no one but Gnod.

Mr Bongo proudly presents, ‘AFIM’, the second solo album by one of Brazil’s most exciting new talents, Zé Ibarra. You may be familiar with the hypnotic, entrancing tones of Ibarra’s vocals through his work with the Latin Grammy award-winning, four-piece, Bala Desejo and the band Dônica. He has also toured with the musical titan, Milton Nascimento, performing guitar and vocals, which is quite the honour and a testament to Ibarra's craft. As a solo artist, he has performed headline solo shows in Japan, Portugal and the US, as well as recently completing a support tour with the great, Seu Jorge.

‘AFIM’ is comprised of eight tracks, featuring Zé’s own compositions as well as cover versions of tracks by contemporaries and friends, Sophia Chablau, Tom Veloso, and Dora Morelenbaum. It combines elements of MPB, jazz, pop and progressive rock in a bold, authoritative style. The album represents the intersection between different facets of the artist, from the stripped-down, intimate, guitar singer-songwriter, to dense arrangements with sweeping strings sections. Writing this album allowed Ibarra "to explore sides of myself that had not yet been organized in an album: a certain darkness, a more cinematic musicality, a desire for new soundscapes.

The album features the single, 'Transe', a song with an instantly comforting tone reminiscent of classic Brazilian songs of the past (think Caetano Veloso). It is built on a rhythmic guitar that supports dynamic sound layers, opening space for Ibarra's intense interpretation. Cinematic atmospheres that lend an air of mystery come courtesy of string arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum.

His unique cover version of Sophia Chablau's 'Segredo' is equally compelling, taking Sophia's punky-indie original in a different direction and making it feel like his own. 'Essa Confusão', a song celebrating the intensity of love and co-written by Dora Morelenbaum, is steered into epic, 70's AOR, singer-songwriter territory with wind arrangements by Ibarra, Jorge Continentino and strings by Jaques Morelenbaum.

The album is the result of the collaboration of experienced musicians and long-time partners of Ibarra. Fellow Bala Desejo and Dônica member Lucas Nunes co-produced the album. The core band featured on the record consists of Lucas Nunes on organs, Alberto Continentino on bass, Daniel Conceição and Thomas Harres on drums and percussion, Rodrigo Pacato on additional percussion, Chico Lira on Fender Rhodes and Guilherme Lírio on guitar.

The overall feel of the record is archetypically quintessential without slipping into retro mode. It is a stunning album from one of the finest musicians of his generation. A true star of Brazil’s blooming contemporary scene.

Returning to Peak Oil for a second expedition, veteran Russian producer Kirill Vasin, aka Hoavi, explores an untrodden path on 'architectonics', drawing from his lifelong appreciation of Indonesian gamelan musics to mastermind a rhythmelodic hybrid sound that's sinuous, subtle and remarkably dubby. Over the last three and a half years, Vasin has used the music's methodologies and rhythmic forms to evolve his existing processes and signatures and transform his musical philosophy. To start the exercise, he knew he needed percussion, so used his phone and a contact microphone to pick up nearby sounds, drumming on various tables, railings, empty glasses and other objects to create a library of textured, tonally complex percussive sounds. But the work wasn't done yet - in fact, it was just the beginning of a long process of trial and error: Vasin created two full versions of the album before 'architectonics' was finished.

There are still echoes of the chrome-plated sci-fi atmospheres and complex, stuttering beatscapes that underpinned 2021's 'Invariant', but 'architectonics' asks very different questions, prompting fresher, more innovative responses. Leaning on his bank of organic percussive sounds, Vasin is able to concoct a tactile aura that he fills with eerie fluctuating repetitions that shift subtly, sometimes imperceptibly. The cavernous reverb and booming bass that supported his last few albums is still present, now employed as scaffolding for different architectures: skittering sequences and ornamented overlapping phrases that owe as much to Steve Reich's hallowed minimalist compositions as they do to Indonesian traditional forms. Lulling, almost hypnotic tessellations appear like fractals on the polished surfaces, morphing from jazz to techno and dub while retaining gamelan's haunting xenharmonic resonances and Vasin's concept becomes crystal clear. 'architectonics' isn't an attempt to make a gamelan album, it's Vasin's way of developing his own artistic process by looking far beyond the traditional boundaries of electronic music.

Disco-house fusionist Risk Assessment rounds off another successful year with a third and final EP of 2025. Braithwaite deals a near perfect hand on 'Play Your Cards', where excerpts from a Loleatta Holloway/Salsoul Orchestra style maximalist disco hit rise above a chunky, bass-heavy groove, before reaching for elements from a jaunty, piano-heavy disco number on the rolling and ear-catching 'Juicy Smollett'. Elsewhere, 'Testing Testing' is a gargantuan disco-house extravaganza full of sampled horns, rubbery bass, stellar orchestration and urgent male vocals, while 'Baby Call Me' sees him re-imagine a smooth and colourful 80s soul jam as a tactile and funky house workout.

'Matsuli Music is proud to announce the first vinyl reissue of Philip Tabane’s Sangoma ("Spiritual Healer") since its 1978 release. Remastered from the original tapes with lacquers cut by Frank Merrit and pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl at Pallas in Germany, this definitive edition re-asserts the power of one of South Africa’s landmark recordings. Featuring new liner notes by cultural critic Kwanele Sosibo and artwork restoration by Siemon Allen, Sangoma returns in full force through an extended Malombo line-up, fronted by Tabane's spellbinding guitar - ancestral, timeless, and unbound.
'Philip Tabane (1934–2018), the mercurial guitar genius of South African music, forged a sound that was as rooted in the spirit world as it was in daily life. With the Malombo Jazzmen of the 1960s, Tabane disrupted Western notions of “jazz,” bringing the resonant rhythm of cowhide malombo drums into the foreground. While outsiders and the uninitiated often reached for labels like “primitive yet sophisticated,” Tabane and his collaborators named it more truthfully: “music of the spirit.”
'By the time of Sangoma, Tabane stood at a crossroads. Fresh from a period of three years’ touring in the United States where he graced the Newport Jazz Festival, and played alongside Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and others, he brushed off comparisons with characteristic self-assurance: “No, I don’t play like Miles. Miles plays like me.” Back home in South Africa, and with a newly signed international distribution deal with WEA Records, he harnessed this momentum into a larger band setting, capturing a rare intensity.
'The result was Sangoma—an album that bridges contradictions: expansive yet intimate, celebratory yet haunted by exile and return. Tracks such as “Sangoma,” “Hi Congo,” and “Keya Bereka” are not simply performances but living testaments, songs that would remain in his repertoire for decades. Unlike the moody, immersive character of much of his work, here Tabane is on the move—urgent, restless, uncontainable. As he announces on the second track, “Maskanta wa tsamaya” (“something that kicks ass”).
More than four decades on, Sangoma is both an historical document and a timeless invocation. From his home in Mamelodi to the world and back again, Tabane’s spiritual healing endures—raw, electric, and unbowed.'

Inner Balance kicks off a new series of split EPs under the rubric ‘Dialogues’, featuring two adept
producers from Italy and the UK. On the A, Emanuele Barilli brings summery house grooves on
‘Roots’ and ‘Unknown Na’, drawing on the tried and tested deep house templates of Charles
Webster and catapulting them into today’s dancefloor. Transverse Recordings founder Scott
Andrews takes care of the flip with classy jazzy house in the vein of vintage Larry Heard on
‘Willerminstral’, before the refined, loopy minimal house of ‘Renegade’ closes things out. It’s yet
another well-rounded EP in the superlative Inner Balance catalogue, ready to lift dancers to a higher
plane.

LA-based producer Real Bad Man and Detroit rapper Boldy James return with their third collaborative album, Conversational Pieces, out now via Real Bad Man Records. The project features the singles “Come Back Around” featuring DC polymath dreamcastmoe, and “It Factor” featuring El-P. Their creative chemistry has never been clearer: this new album sees the duo pushing into fresh sonic territory through an expanded production palette that Real Bad Man continues to evolve and experiment with.

Recorded immediately after their 2022 album Killing Nothing and revisited in 2023 following Boldy’s serious car accident, Conversational Pieces is a deliberate, reflective body of work. It captures two distinct periods in the artists’ lives—documenting their growth as musicians, fathers, and long-time collaborators. The album’s artwork, along with the accompanying single art, draws inspiration from Rorschach inkblot tests—abstract visuals that invite interpretation and spark conversation, mirroring the album’s introspective nature.

Acclaimed producer, DJ, and dancefloor healer Octo Octa (Maya Bouldry-Morrison) announces her fourth full-length album, Sigils For Survival. Following 2013's Between Two Selves, 2017's Where Are We Going?, and 2019's Resonant Body, the new record marks a decade since Maya publicly came out as transgender in November 2015. ''As an autobiographical artist, I set out to write an album that would be a milestone for this past decade of joy and sorrow,'' Maya explains. ''Sigils For Survival is my attempt to encapsulate the intentions and techniques that I used to move through life into a spell.'' For each of the record's eight tracks, Maya drew a sigil. Each is a personal symbol intended to ''bind magic to the song and seal its intention.'' These drawings appear throughout the physical edition's design. Maya's sister, New York artist Hope Morrison, incorporated each sigil into her original paintings, which comprise the album's vivid artwork. Hope Morrison, whose imagery translates the sigils' energy into vivid form; the layout was designed by Jo?o Ervedosa. Created entirely on hardware instruments and later mixed in Logic, Sigils For Survival captures the tactile immediacy of live performance. Maya preserved the feel of MIDI-clock drift and off-grid recording, letting her machines interact in the rhythmic pocket, rather than confirming them to a click. Alongside her signature deep, ecstatic electronics, the album features hand-played dulcimer, hand-pan, and recorder. Her voice also returns, carrying spells of love, protection, and transformation. Across Sigils For Survival, Octo Octa channels the ecstatic house lineage into an intimate ritual space. The music speaks of immediacy, play, and communion -- of magic as method, love as survival, and sound as spellcraft. Sigils For Survival is both a document of ten years lived fully and an invocation for the next chapter -- a glowing testament to music's power to protect, transform, and set the spirit free.

Brighter Discs opens with its first release from label founders Kamma & Masalo. Born out of Brighter Days, the duo’s long running party series since 2014. A colourful get together where generations mix freely, DJ legends share space with new voices, and the dancefloor is treated as common ground. Brighter Discs carries this same spirit into recorded form, a natural continuation following the Brighter Days compilation previously released on Rush Hour.

Brighter Discs starts things off with ‘Can’t Fake The Feeling’, built around the original vocal by Renee Mohannon, taken from the 1989 release produced by house music pioneer Joe Smooth. The vocal is fully cleared and officially licensed, with everything surrounding it newly written and produced, resulting in a club track that honours the emotional core of the original vocal while giving it new space to shine.

The ‘Club Mix’ unfolds with immediate lift, a classic yet upfront house energy carried by Kamma & Masalo’s elevating instrumentation moving in lockstep with Renee Mohannon’s vocal. A pure club track celebrating dance music to the fullest.

On the flip you will find K&M’s ‘Unity Dub’, a darker, percussion driven workout that strips things back and presents the track in a different light. A twilight version that highlights the duo’s versatility and deep dancefloor understanding.

Kamma & Masalo have tested both cuts extensively while touring, from sun soaked festival stages to esoteric club spaces. Each version has been shaped in real rooms and refined on the road, ensuring the tracks are heard in their best possible form.

All produced with care and free-spirited party energy, Brighter Discs 001 marks the beginning!

Mark Reeve starts 2026 in prime form with ‘Body Drops’, a quick-fire follow-up to his recent A-Sides contribution ‘My Mind’.The veteran artist has an inimitable touch in the studio going back over 15 years and can always be relied upon to deliver high-impact techno creations. Tracks such as ‘Run Back’, ‘Distance’ and his collaboration with Adam Beyer ‘Nine of You’ make thrilling reference points.‘Body Drops’ found its way onto Drumcode via Bart Skils. “Bart and I have a very good musical understanding and we really respect eachother. So, when he said I think this would fit to Drumcode, I was like ok let me send it. Adam came back to me with a massive yes, and it went from there.”He continues: “I can see that a new peak-time sound is evolving. Very modern and groovy sounding, which is exactly what I like. I guess all the other tracks on Drumcode that have come out recently got me very inspired.”The track is a gem. Driven by an otherworldly stomping riff, it immediately strikes you with its unique sonic character. Huge without being banging, watch this fit a variety of high-impact moments.‘Feed My Fire’ is a rolling big-bodied track that sees elements of prog,techno, psy and silky chords combine for a chugging dancefloor cut.“This is a personal favourite of mine simply because it’s so groovy andfits more intimate sessions. But I also tested it in front of bigger crowds and it really does the job.

“Estonian cultural theoretic Tõnis Kahu once said that Black Metal is men seeking for masculinity while their bodies lack the capacity to catch up and are lagging behind. In the age of microplastics and low-testosterone, Tapetud Rott is asking for ancestral guidance from George Michael. Each day with the growing pains of maturity they can only dream about living somewhere so happy-go-lucky and tranquill as the city that once provided the suitable breeding ground for giving birth to such an agressive and theatrical expression that could mark its cadaverous polar opposite. The mask they now so falsely wear is one seeking for Vitamin D inside the heart of a deceased Rat.”

Limited Black 7-inch Vinyl

Music by Robert Nikolajev & Mikk Madisson
Recorded in Tallinn

Mastered By The Bastard

Repress!

Every once in a while, a record comes along which resonates in a special way, stands the test of time, and brings the same reaction to the dancefloor now as it did all those years ago. 'Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)' is one of those records, a classic in every sense of the word. Originally released in 2000, Defected are, re-releasing this club essential for new and original fans alike in a special, limited edition deluxe remix reissue.

This unique two vinyl pack comes in full colour gatefold sleeve with augmented reality cover that will come to life once you scan the mask image on your phone accompanied by a four page 12” insert written by Spiller detailing the full story of ‘Groovejet’; from original production, early reactions, chart success and new 2021/22 remixes.

The releases features the original versions plus new mixes Purple Disco Machine & Lorenz Rhode, Riva Star, Breakbot & Irfane and Harvey Sutherland. Exclusive to the vinyl are Riva Starr’s Skylight Mix and the Harvey Sutherland Instrumental version.

Giom's Supremus Records has been dropping digital heat for more than a decade and now, in collaboration with us, they are making their vinyl debut with the Giom Classics series featuring tried and tested gems that have been fully remastered. 'The Message' is first up and back in 2015 when it originally dropped quickly became a favourite of the don Bill Brewster. It's patient, low-slung and slow burning with an irresistibly hypnotic effect. 'People' then gets more party with chopped vocals and disco samples all bristling with energy and big drums carrying it onwards and upwards. 'Last Dance' closes out with more warm, soul-infused and patient house depths with musical chords and another well-chosen and expertly deployed vocal that adds just the right amount of fire to amp up the energy.

Terrestrial Funk presents a piece of Detroit history. Born and raised in Motor City, Karl Fultz knew at the age of twelve that he wanted to be the most talented and successful DJ in the world. In 1999 he released on Juan Atkins’ Metroplex under the alias People Mover and in 2000 he released as Black Electric on Puzzlebox. Inspired by British synth-pop duo Eurythmics, Fultz says Black Electric was a way to get more women involved in the techno movement. Together alongside vocalists Tiffany Elliott, Kim Glover & Talena Fultz, Black Electric brought sex appeal to the scene. Their first and only release stays in demand and has become inaccessible until now. Terrestrial Funk’s reissue provides two fresh cuts on the new 12”. ‘Purple’ a chugging Detroit acid track describing soul modification to enhance intimacy and a proper bassed out club mix of the nasty electro sex song ‘Work That’, which was only featured as an acapella on the original release. Black Electric stands as a testament to turn of the century Detroit and the city’s undying devotion to expand our connection to music.

Apiento and Lexx join forces on some super nice edits for Discotecas. The first one has long been a staple of Apiento’s Test Pressing show and finally hits vinyl. The others are all new edits which sit perfectly in the current climate.

Hold Jah Strength

A special Spain-based collaboration between Bukkha and Boadub Music, with rich, uplifting saxophone courtesy of Jahwind, Hold Jah Strength is a powerful, sound system-ready release built to move the dance.

Tested and approved on heavyweight systems, the tunes hit with clarity, depth and that unmistakable dub energy. Jahwind's saxophone lifts the riddim beautifully, adding warmth and soul to an already infectious production.

Active for more than a decade within the Geneva scene, DJ Laxxiste A. has established himself as one of the key figures of the local club culture. A DJ digger, musician, producer and experimenter, he moves between rave culture, dub and adventurous electronic music. As one half of Oram Modular, a project that left a mark on Geneva's house and techno landscape, and through several live projects, he has long navigated between soundsystem culture, the dancefloor and free party. This new release, composed of five original tracks and two remixes, offers a synthesis of Laxxiste's musical obsessions. Jungle, acid, breakbeat and dub collide in a dense, textured universe shaped by a distinctly dub-driven mix. The tracks were first tested in a hardware live set, where machines, FX and samples were pushed and reshaped in real time before being refined into finished pieces. The result is an organic and sometimes raw sound, combining lo-fi textures, twisted samples and deep basslines designed for adventurous dancefloors.
The record also features two collaborations. Lateena, a key voice of the Swiss dancehall scene, appears on one track, bringing a distinctive vocal presence. Another piece unfolds through a double transformation, with a remix by Bony Fly later extended into a dub version by dubmaster Androo.

The year was 1985. The reformation of Sweet was under way. I had been hanging out with Mick Tucker and we’d talked about putting together a “new” Rock line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band. I had recruited Phil Lanzon on keyboards and Mal McNulty on bass, now we needed the Voice! Paul Mario Day walked in and we looked no further. Paul was the original singer with Iron Maiden and had a stint with the band More before he joined Sweet. Our first dates were in Australia, total sell-outs which boded well for the future. Europe followed suit and 3 sold out nights at the original Marquee Club in London produced a live album, video and DVD. “Live at the Marquee” did well in various charts around the world and Paul’s vocal performance has stood the test of time. There were also tracks recorded at Pacific Studios in London which feature Paul’s incredible vocals. These recordings were meant to be the start of a new phase for Sweet but due to a management dispute only 4 tracks were released. Sadly Paul is no longer with us but the legacy is right here for everyone to appreciate.

The year was 1985. The reformation of Sweet was under way. I had been hanging out with Mick Tucker and we’d talked about putting together a “new” Rock line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band. I had recruited Phil Lanzon on keyboards and Mal McNulty on bass, now we needed the Voice! Paul Mario Day walked in and we looked no further. Paul was the original singer with Iron Maiden and had a stint with the band More before he joined Sweet. Our first dates were in Australia, total sell-outs which boded well for the future. Europe followed suit and 3 sold out nights at the original Marquee Club in London produced a live album, video and DVD. “Live at the Marquee” did well in various charts around the world and Paul’s vocal performance has stood the test of time. There were also tracks recorded at Pacific Studios in London which feature Paul’s incredible vocals. These recordings were meant to be the start of a new phase for Sweet but due to a management dispute only 4 tracks were released. Sadly Paul is no longer with us but the legacy is right here for everyone to appreciate.

The year was 1985. The reformation of Sweet was under way. I had been hanging out with Mick Tucker and we’d talked about putting together a “new” Rock line-up of Sweet after the hiatus of the original band. I had recruited Phil Lanzon on keyboards and Mal McNulty on bass, now we needed the Voice! Paul Mario Day walked in and we looked no further. Paul was the original singer with Iron Maiden and had a stint with the band More before he joined Sweet. Our first dates were in Australia, total sell-outs which boded well for the future. Europe followed suit and 3 sold out nights at the original Marquee Club in London produced a live album, video and DVD. “Live at the Marquee” did well in various charts around the world and Paul’s vocal performance has stood the test of time. There were also tracks recorded at Pacific Studios in London which feature Paul’s incredible vocals. These recordings were meant to be the start of a new phase for Sweet but due to a management dispute only 4 tracks were released. Sadly Paul is no longer with us but the legacy is right here for everyone to appreciate.