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Compiled by Bob Stanley to document the acid folk scene, “Gather In The Mushrooms” was first issued in 2004 on Sanctuary as a CD-only release; it proved popular enough for a sequel entitled “Early Morning Hush” two years later.

This new edition of “Gather In The Mushrooms” contains the cream of both long-deleted compilations with a few additions – COB, Roy Harper, Fotheringay – that weren’t available to Sanctuary at the time. Though they aren’t traditional, these songs have an authenticity of their own, an autumnal atmosphere and a naivety which proved influential in the 00s neo-folk boom (Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Alasdair Roberts, Tuung et al) but impossible to replicate. For many of these acts at the end of the 60s, folk music and the hippy world that surrounded them was a way of life, a way of opting out from the Vietnam war, Angry Brigade and three-day-week early 70s. Anne Briggs lived in a caravan in Suffolk, Shelagh McDonald lived in a tent, Vashti Bunyan eschewed electricity; they weren’t part-timers. Listening to “Gather In The Mushrooms”, we are transported to a time when no one used the term post-modernist.

It may not have resonated with dyed-in-the wool political folkies, but over five decades later this music sounds very evocative of an England of yore – not necessarily one of poachers and pedlars, but one of long-haired youths in tie-dye T-shirts, bikers and hippies, acoustic guitars played in white stone cottages. Groups such as Stone Angel, Midwinter and Oberon made primitive, privately recorded folk albums; today they sound as distant and mystical as the field recordings of Alan Lomax. The sincerity and folk knowledge of a group like Forest becomes irrelevant once you hear something as eerie and evocative as ‘Graveyard’. Home-made, homely, warm as soup or chilling as a hoar frost, this is music of innocence and rare beauty.

Placenta is the fourth collection of broadly imaginative and highly collaborative Carlos Niño & Friends music released on International Anthem since 2021. But perhaps more notably for the zeitgeist of today, it is the first new music to be released by Carlos Niño & Friends following the November 2023 release of André 3000’s New Blue Sun – an album which Carlos produced alongside André, while co-writing, performing, and co-mixing every song. The announcement of Placenta also comes while Carlos is in the middle of tours with André to support New Blue Sun, where Carlos wields an immense presence as music director, bandleader, and percussionist, and performs alongside many of the same musicians that are present on his recent & Friends albums, including this new one.

Placenta is announced on the 1st solar return of Moss Niño, of whom Carlos and his partner Annelise are Earth parents. Their experience of pregnancy, labor and delivery were all profoundly impactful for Carlos. Becoming a father again (a whole 25 years after the birth of Azul Niño, who has become a regular artistic collaborator for Carlos) he felt total Inspiration for this set of recordings, and hence it is perhaps the most conceptually-grounded Carlos Niño & Friends album we've yet to present–fully connected to the spirit of family, birth, and "how we get here."

In Niño’s words, Placenta is “dedicated to Mothers, Children, Babies, Aunties, Doulas, Midwives, Birthworkers...,” and a short list of track titles includes: "Love to all Doulas!," "Some Rest for the Midwives," "Real Vital Organs," and "Generous Pelvis." The centerpiece of the album, the sprawling "Placenta, Nourishment, New Home, The Galaxy," is an unbelievably vivid immersion in the sonic architecture of Niño's memory-scape...like being present in his energy field...or being present in a birthing room, or maybe even being born yourself. And it just might be the most powerful, unique piece of music Niño has ever created.

Featured artists on Placenta, in order of their entry on the album, include: Nate Mercereau, Jamire Williams, Sam Gendel, Jamael Dean, Dexter Story, Brandon Eugene Owens, Maia, André 3000, Jesse Peterson, Ariel Kalma, Surya Botofasina, Annelise, Haize Hawke, Aaron Shaw, Devin Daniels, Tiffany de Leon, Michael Bolger, Michael Alvidrez, Moss, Iasos, Photay, Deantoni Parks, Adam Rudolph, Andres Renteria, and Cavana Lee.

This April, Jessie Wagner releases her long awaited second solo album, “War Within”
on Little Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records. Jessie is a true multi-talent. She is a vocalist, songwriter, actor, model and dancer who possesses a unique worldview which she shares via her very personal songs.
Many of Jessie’s current fans know her best as a featured vocalist with some of the best known and most loved names in music. She launched her career within a year of moving to New York when she became a member of the world renowned disco group Chic, with Nile Rodgers. Jessie played to sold out crowds at London’s famed O2 Arena with Chic and then later on, with Kid Rock, with whom she also performed at the Grammys. Jessie then got to tour with her personal rock idol Lenny Kravitz and is featured in his tour documentary, “Just Let Go”. She performed with Stevie Nicks and Robert Plant at the Montreux Jazz Festival and sang on the platinum selling album “Rock and Roll Jesus”.

BIG|BRAVE"s preternatural instincts and depth of skill as musicians are on full display on their most naked and austere record to date, OST. The trio entered the studio with broader concepts and themes in mind, but no preconceived music. The overarching concept was to make a film score for a film that had yet to be created, to use minimal instrumentation, or more specifically not their standard band instruments, and to improvise within these parameters. OST was fully written and recorded in the studio. The band was free to enter the live room and record a take with whatever instrument was at hand. Once they had a good foundation for a song, Ball, Wattie, drummer Tasy Hudson and even engineer/producer Seth Manchester would each build on it, layering takes, from instrumental improvisations to abstract vocals, until they felt it was a completed piece. Wattie"s voice seamlessly blends with the instrumental flourishes made from "The Instrument", a Wurlitzer, prepared piano, synths and a very limited amount of electric guitar. Additionally, there is a sprinkling of flute by Melissa Guion (MJ Guider). The performances of each player are tactile and ardent, even at their most subtle and effected. Following OST"s completion, BIG|BRAVE contacted director/ visual artist Stacy Lee to visually score the record. Director Lee and BIG|BRAVE, having previously collaborated, had established an artistic understanding which allowed BIG|BRAVE to give Lee no instruction, no limitations: the creative process synthesized across film and music. Select screenings with live performances are in the works.

BIG|BRAVE"s preternatural instincts and depth of skill as musicians are on full display on their most naked and austere record to date, OST. The trio entered the studio with broader concepts and themes in mind, but no preconceived music. The overarching concept was to make a film score for a film that had yet to be created, to use minimal instrumentation, or more specifically not their standard band instruments, and to improvise within these parameters. OST was fully written and recorded in the studio. The band was free to enter the live room and record a take with whatever instrument was at hand. Once they had a good foundation for a song, Ball, Wattie, drummer Tasy Hudson and even engineer/producer Seth Manchester would each build on it, layering takes, from instrumental improvisations to abstract vocals, until they felt it was a completed piece. Wattie"s voice seamlessly blends with the instrumental flourishes made from "The Instrument", a Wurlitzer, prepared piano, synths and a very limited amount of electric guitar. Additionally, there is a sprinkling of flute by Melissa Guion (MJ Guider). The performances of each player are tactile and ardent, even at their most subtle and effected. Following OST"s completion, BIG|BRAVE contacted director/ visual artist Stacy Lee to visually score the record. Director Lee and BIG|BRAVE, having previously collaborated, had established an artistic understanding which allowed BIG|BRAVE to give Lee no instruction, no limitations: the creative process synthesized across film and music. Select screenings with live performances are in the works.

Get Heavy, released in 2002, is the debut album by Finnish hard rock and heavy metal band Lordi. Known for their theatrical personas and monstrous costumes, Lordi burst onto the scene with this high-energy, anthem-packed release. The album features fan favorites like "Would You Love a Monsterman?" and "Devil Is a Loser," blending catchy melodies, heavy guitar riffs, and powerful vocals from lead singer Mr. Lordi.

Produced by T.T. Oksala, Get Heavy showcases the band’s ability to combine hard rock with a horror-inspired aesthetic, making it a standout debut that immediately captured attention. The album’s infectious energy and memorable hooks laid the foundation for Lordi’s unique style, setting them apart in the heavy metal scene. For fans of theatrical rock and unforgettable anthems, Get Heavy remains a must-listen and an essential part of Lordi’s legacy. Get Heavy is available as a limited edition of 666 individually numbered copies on black & white marbled vinyl.

Selador’s Magic Black Plastic series returns with our seventh instalment and this one is all about one of our most treasured artists here at Selador, the one and only Danny Howells.

Long time friend of the label, DJ extraordinaire and one of the nicest guys in the business, Danny has been flexing his production muscle again much more frequently over the last 12 months and we’re delighted to be hosting two brand new tracks from him on this vinyl release.

The lead track ‘Powershow’ features here as a ‘vinyl only’ version, a 12+ minute extravaganza of authentic house vibes. Oozing class and quality from every groove. Just beautiful.

Following in its considerable slipstream like a season wingman, for the first time on vinyl, comes Danny’s first release for the label from 2018, one of our best selling digital releases, the classic ‘Earthlings X’, still sounding as fresh as the day it was made.

And finally, another fresh for 2025 Production, the majestic ‘Stereodrama’ picks up the pace for a driving, rumbunctious workout, that once again has Danny’s stamp written all over it.

Three absolute pearlers then from a man who can.

Get’ em down ya!

Originally released by VDSQ, all rights reverted to Chuck Johnson and this is the remaining stock from that original pressing. Elegantly pressed and transporting, perfect for every mood. Feels like one missed by many folks who were over the moon by his "Balsams" title and happy to give this one another life...

Northern soul is in the news again, as once more this most resilient of dance floor cults is discovered by a new generation. For four decades now Ace Records has been a natural home for the music and using that experience we are bringing you our first ever all classics collection of some of the scene's greatest hits. All on one LP.

The recordings featured on this release are tried and tested, often in the hot forge of the scene's earliest day, when new discoveries were coming thick and fast, and only the strong survived. These did.

So we have 14 tracks which filled floors in Wigan, Blackpool, Cleethorpes, London's 100 Club and many other legendary venues. From West Coast Mirwood and Kent/ Modern label classics by Jackie Lee, Bobby Garrett, Mary Love and Danny Monday, to the big City Chicago soul of Darrow Fletcher via the super rare recordings by Rita & The Tiaras and Little Ann, which are now accepted standards of the scene.

This is an album for the beginner, those who want to know what all the fuss is about, or those older hands who just want to relive some exceptional memories.

CITY 101 is a double dancer’s delight. The Cheques infectious ‘In The Groove’ comes with instructions over a pulsating organ-lead track. That singing Louisianian organist, Tony Nardi, would go on to form Salt & Pepper in Thailand where he recorded the funky ‘Man Of My Word’. This very 60s-style mover has crossed over from the mod scene to northern soul dancefloors and beyond.

‘Arabian Jerk’ by the Merits was a Goldwax production out of Memphis. It is a mod meets exotica gem; perfect for the belly-dancer in your life. Both of these tracks were issued at the time but now fetch very high prices – if ever available.

Robson Ponte isn't just anybody. He is the namesake of Reinhard Voigt's first Kompakt 12", one of the label's first big hits. Timeless, cool and unforgettable, the way this snotty, dry football field beat pushes you forward, over it, this constant, almost stoic, mantra-like rap repetition - Robson Ponte, Robson Ponte,...

That was a good 25 years ago. So it's high time to celebrate a bicycle kick with a fitting run to the goal. None other than FC Kompakt centre-forward Juergen Paape has been hired for the remix return match. In the first few minutes of the match, Paape scores with two straight disco-techno crosses! Team captain Reinhard Voigt himself seamlessly follows in the footsteps of the original - dressed in a new, stylish black, white and red sound jersey, he keeps the ball in play with aplomb. From the stands, guest of honour Thore Pfeiffer comments on a hymn-like, sacred ambient lament with an appropriate timbre.

Including art print of the sleeve artwork by Mareena von Cube

Robson Ponte ist ja nicht irgendwer. Und schon gar nicht nur irgendein ehemaliger Spitzenspieler von Bayer Leverkusen, sondern der Namensgeber der ersten Kompakt-Maxi von Reinhard Voigt - einer der frühen, großen Hits des Labels. Zeitlos, cool und unvergesslich, wie dieser rotzig-trockene Bolzplatz-Beat nach vorne schiebt - darüber diese stete, fast stoisch mantrahaft gerappte Wiederholung - Robson Ponte, Robson Ponte,...

Gut 25 Jahre ist das nun her. Höchste Zeit also für einen Jubiläums-Fallrückzieher mit angemessenem Zug zum Tor. Kein Geringerer als FC-Kompakt-Mittelstürmer Jürgen Paape wurde für das Remix-Rückspiel verpflichtet. Der wirft sich gleich voll rein und versenkt schon in den ersten paar Minuten zwei geradlinige Disko-Techno- und eine gedribbelte Schaffel-Flanke aus 25 Metern ins Tor. Mannschaftskapitän Reinhard Voigt selbst knüpft nahtlos an das Original an - verpackt in ein neues, schickes Sound-Trikot in schwarz-weiss-rot, hält er mit souveräner Sicherheit den Ball im Spiel. Von der Tribüne aus kommentiert Ehrengast Thore Pfeiffer mit passendem Timbre ein hymnisch-sakrales Ambient-Lamento.

In a decidedly experimental approach, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota unveil a new vision of dub, reinventing the unexpected. While the sound treatment techniques inherent to the genre remain-evolving mixes, echoes, reverbs, and bass frequencies that are almost palpable-the Anglo-Jamaican roots of the style have indeed been replaced, re-conceptualized, recomposed, and rewritten. The duo seems to engage in a musical dialogue using a novel language, tinged with Japanese spoken word, creating moments of rare intensity, as unpredictable as they are hypnotic. By allowing for controlled improvisation, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota recreate the tracks of their latest album at each performance, oscillating between introspection and exaltation. With post-dub as the pretext, they once again explore, captivate, and surprise. For fans of: Massive Attack, Björk, Lee Scratch Perry... POST-DUB. With 16 soon 17 albums and nearly 900 concerts since 1999, French dub pioneer Brain Damage collaborates with artists like Horace Andy, Big Youth, Groundation and more recently with Mad Professor and Emiko Ota. Alongside his many productions showcasing his incredible vitality and unbridled creativity, the intensity of his live performances has earned him a strong international reputation.

(10x12" box set, limited to 1000 copies, with premium finishing, uniquely numbered, incl. 10 records in individually printed sleeves, a booklet detailing the club's history & exclusive stickers) Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venueslike Paradise Garage in New York and The Hacçinda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond.



Belgian label Music Man Records presents Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, a new compilation offering a fresh perspective on the legacy of the iconic Belgian club Boccaccio - often associated with the short-lived New Beat movement. The 40-track compilation highlights the raw and futuristic early house and techno sounds that were heard in the pioneering club.

Located in rural Destelbergen (Belgium), just a stone's throw from Ghent, Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venues like Paradise Garage in New York and The Hacçinda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond. Sundays at Boccaccio were unlike anywhere else-offering sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else.

Boccaccio Life 1987-1993 is carefully curated by resident DJ Olivier Pieters and club regular Stefaan Vandenberghe, standing as the ultimate testament to a club that was more than just a venue. For those who experienced it, it was a community - a way of life. Hence the club's full name: Boccaccio Life.

This compilation stands as a testament to an innovative time in electronic music, capturing the raw, futuristic sounds of early house and techno. It sheds light on another side of Boccaccio, one that goes far beyond the short-lived New Beat scene. A carefully curated selection of 40 tracks, resonating with those who were there by offering familiar classics, while also reaching a new generation-those who never experienced it firsthand.

With tracks from Blake Baxter, Virgo, Frankie Knuckles, Tyree, and A Guy Called Gerald, the unmistakable influence of black American pioneers is clear-the originators of the firstanalog house and techno sounds. On the other hand, UK sound innovators such as The Orb and LFO bring both sharp textures and rough breakbeats to the table.

Club staple tracks include dreamy excursions from Roger Sanchez under his Egotrip moniker, the relentless basement house of Circus Bells by Robert Armani on Dance Mania, an uplifting take on a hip-house cut from The D.O.C. (Portrait of A Masterpiece in the CJ Ed-Did-It Mix), a timeless remix of UK Formation's Age of Chance from 1994, and an alternate take on The Tape by Boccaccio club regular and Belgian producer Frank De Wulf, taken from his B-Sides project.

While not always the obvious hits, these tracks have gracefully withstood the test of time, and were exclusive to Sundays at Boccaccio. Now, they are finally available to experience together in one collection, offering a timeless snapshot of a unique era.

Destiny of Illusion is a 24-track full length debut from Pretty V (aka. Voldy Moyo, v7backin2007, #Smokesito), a prolific artist from Wakefield, UK who has been frequently performing and releasing music & videos online for the past 9 years, building notoriety for his unique sound and prolific output and gaining support from artists such as MIKE & King Krule, both of which have brought Voldy out for many shows, and for collaborations.

The album will release on the 24th April 2025, along with a release show the same day at Ormside Projects.

The album is produced entirely by aloisius, a prolific artist & producer, as well as the founder of life is beautiful records). ‘Destiny of Illusion’ is a landmark album for both Pretty V & aloisius, being their first full-run vinyl release. The album will be available exclusively on Vinyl, Cassette & CD.

This album also holds additional historical significance being that it is the first official/ full-run vinyl release for life is beatiful records.

The first pressing of ‘Destiny of Illusion’ will be limited to 397 copies.

Whether Re-defining Experimental Fusion Sounds With The Hugley Acclaimed Yussef Kamaal, Or His Catalogue Of 12's For Imprints Such As Mcde, Eglo, And Rhythm Section As Henry Wu, South London's Kamaal Williams Has Been A Key Figure In His Thriving International Scene For The Past Few Years. The Return Is A Natural Evolution From The Yussef Kamaal Project, Mining The Influence Of Visionary Jazz But Blended With All Kinds Of Texture, Sounds And Signals From The Over-saturated London Streets.
At Times The Keyboard Work Evokes The Classic 70s Fusion Work Of Lonnie Liston Smith Or Roy Ayers, But Underpinned By Rhythms More Reminiscent Of Blunted Hip-hop And Arrangements Subliminally Laced With The Cut-ups Of Pirate Radio. Progressive, Funky, Cosmic, Exploratory And Effortlessly Musical, This Is The Sound Of A Musician Honing Their Craft Into Thrilling New Shapes.
In The Us The Like Of Kamasi Washington And Thundercat Have Made Great Strides In Opening A Whole New Dialogue Between Jazz And Hip-hop, Drawing In A Young, Highly Engaged New Audience In The Process. Kamaal Williams Mine A Similar Seam On The Other Side Of The Atlantic Alongside Other Exciting London Talents Such As Ezra Collective, Ruby Rushton And Shabaka Hutchings.
The Return Is Exactly That: A Return And Refinement To The Sound Yussef Kamaal Were Progenitors Of, And First Set The Scene For One Of The Most Exciting Musical Movements London Has Had In Years.
Notable Tracks For Old And New Listeners Are 'slow', 'situations', 'medina', 'london Shuffle' Which Features Mansur Brown (of Mansur's Message) And For Those Die Hard Yussef Kamaal Fans - They Should Hear The Interpolated Roots Of 'strings Of Light' In The Title Track 'the Return'. And That Signature Wu Funk Can Be Heard On Broken Theme, And High Roller.
The Return Will Be The Debut Album Released On Wu's New Label Black Focus Records.

Running Back is delighted to introduce RB Studio Sessions, a new sub-imprint of music envisioned, recorded and fully realised at Running Back’s in-house studio.
Built on the promise of unfettered creative freedom and aided by agreeable local autobahn connections in the Hesse region, the RB Studio Sessions project is christened with the work of Running Back’s founder, chief dreamer, and Geschäftsführer, Gerd Janson.
For this debut edition, he is joined for a momentous jam by the new-school hero of the house, good friend and kindred spirit, Narciss.
Just as Running Back’s earliest releases dropped a stylus to preserve timeless ideals of club culture, the four tracks on ‘No Maze Like Heaven’ further this continuum by turning back the sonic clock just a decade or so. Picture, if you will, a nascent Narciss, youthfully club
hopping and deeply inspired by the selections of Gerd himself, alongside a selection of DJs coaxing the Panorama Bar blinds open with exquisite, mid-tempo precision.
As such, new light immediately floods in for ‘Chicco’s Chips’, which captures many of those irresistible elements—Italo-tinted synths, hooky vocals, and perfect percussion— regenerated with the wide-eyed, high energy of Narciss’s own solo productions. ‘Elka,
meanwhile, is a richer, deeper dish, masterfully interlocking multiple heavenly melodies under layers of optimistic analogue fuzz.
Narciss and Gerd then look to the Netherlands for further collaboration with one of electronic music’s best-loved vocalists and another fine producer, Coloray, who fills ‘Look For You’ with a yearning performance in the vulnerable, synth-pop tradition. Finally, ‘No
Maze Like Heaven’ builds on this mood and melody for a finale that hits the sweet spot between machine power and oh-so-human emotion.
Featuring labyrinthian artwork from the mighty Gasius., via a sleeve that appears to blend M.C. Escher with MC Hammer, ‘No Maze Like Heaven’ proves to be a divine foundation of RB Studio Sessions. For Narciss, “a memory they will cherish forever.”
For Gerd, a taxdeductible working lunch. For DJs and dancers? Four ebullient hits-in-waiting, sounding great and meaning more.

Madteo is one of the great eccentric visionaries of Electronic Music and his new album Misto Atmosferico E Ad Azione Diretta on Unsure once more happens to be a mind-bending piece of art. Misto Atmosferico E Ad Azione Diretta shifts between focused gritty grooves and the long freeform associative adventures that you haven't heard before, never static, sometimes overwhelming, always on edge.
The opener Cans People is an archaic rave monster, To Know Those Who is non-linear dub techno, Nocturnal Palates expands the Filter House universe and Rave Nite Itz All Right hits you hard and strange (yet subtle, in a way). The last two tracks then let loose; Madteo manipulates time, space and sounds to create the psychedelic secrets of Luglio Ottantotto. And Emo G (Sticky Wicket) explores the outskirts not only of House or Techno or whatever but music in general, a 15-min-trip through the low frequencies, the rumble, the dark hearts and the enchantment. Breathtaking. Bring The Voodoo Down.

2025 Blue Vinyl Repress

WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone's essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band's formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.

Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein...Written by Martin Eicher after a nightmare in which he saw talking polar bears on the walls, and with music by the Grauzone crew consisting of Martin and his brother Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Christian "GT" Trüssel, and Claudine Chirac (on saxophone), "Eisbär" is the most recognizable title from the band, a sublime mix of ingredients reflecting the transitional era it comes from - the raw energy of punk music still palpable, combined with the audacity of early electronics, the warm groove of a disco gem, beautifully fragile lyrics, and one of the best basslines ever. It became a mega hit, totally unplanned, but how could you resist such a track

"FILM 2" is the ultimate b-side monster, a menacing all-instrumental pre-techno masterpiece, slowly building to a magnetizing frenzy. An instant underground favorite, it was famously heard played at both speeds depending on the scenes and DJs you were frequenting, 45rpm as it was first intended, and 33rpm for the cosmic experience (search Daniele Baldelli's Cosmic C75 1982 mixtape online for a great example of this).

The maxi single ends with "Ich Lieb Sie", a synth-pop meets doo-wop ballad, a true love song oozing with innocence. Simple, stylish, and just right.

At the crossroads of post-punk, new wave, pop, and electronic experimentation, the Eisbär maxi offers three songs that are technically different but hold the same spirit, the perfect embodiment of Grauzone's music - wild, unpredictable, and youthful, yet sophisticated, catchy, and ingenious. The magic recipe for the good stuff.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and John Armleder, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.

Grauzone and WRWTFWW will continue to collaborate on the band's 40th anniversary reissue campaign, with numerous projects planned for the year, including a vast selection of music, visuals, and literature never available before.

The Ibex Band, with Giovanni Rico and Selam Woldemariam at the creative helm, provided the musical backbone for legends like Aster Aweke, Girma Beyene, Tilahun Gessesse, Mulatu Astatke, and Mahmoud Ahmed, including the iconic album Ere Mela Mela, shaping modern Ethiopian music as we know it today. This 1976 album (Ge’ez Year 1968) played a pivotal role in that legacy and has now resurfaced to set the record straight.

There’s a tendency to talk about the seventies as a golden age of Ethiopian music. There are good reasons for that, and just as good reasons against it. However, the notion of a golden past privileges the role of Western explorers and suggests that the pinnacle of Ethiopia’s musical culture is something only a foreigner can appreciate and unearth. It downplays the complexities of Ethiopia’s culture and history, creating an artificial divide between then and now. And it underestimates the constantly evolving sound that has followed.

The legendary musical outfit The Ibex Band, later metamorphosed into The Roha Band, has played a central role in defining the sound of many of the greatest stars on the music scene of Ethiopia from the mid-seventies onwards–but their golden output has never really waned. The story of the origins of the band that provided the musical backbone for greats such as Aster Aweke, Girma Beyene, Tilahun Gessesse, backing the solo career of group member Mahmoud Ahmed as well as backing Mulatu Astatke and many others has yet to be properly told.

Two misconceptions plague the image of Ethiopian music, one is that the music is pure because it is, by some notion, unexploited, the other is that it is all traditional. To begin with, a combination of political changes between the late sixties and the mid-nineties created an environment where only the most dedicated and skilled musicians struggled on and pursued a musical career against fierce odds. The whole Ibex Band, with Giovanni Rico and Selam “Selamino” Seyoum Woldermarian at the creative helm, are arguably the origo of the vibrant scene in the mid-seventies, and the said pair are foremost responsible for not only navigating the band through troubled times, but also modernizing the 6/8 chickchicka rhythm to a contemporary form. Giovanni laid the rhythmic foundation with heavy looped basslines that reinvented traditional melodies as dance music, and with Selamino’s innovative guitar work they influenced scores of musicians from Abegaz Kibrework Shiota to Henock Temesgen. Even Giovanni’s Fender bass and Selamino’s Gibson guitar inspired younger musicians in their choice of instruments. Not only in choice of instruments but also in sound–even as the digital revolution hit Ethiopian music, a lot of popular music still took its cue from the masters from Ibex and Roha.

Ibex emerged out of the ashes of the sixties group the Soul Echos band, adding Giovanni and Selamino to their ranks and taking their cues from a slew of influences, such as Motown and The Beatles, fused with traditional music. A tighter-knit unit than most bands at the time – Ibex has remained six to seven members throughout their whole career, compared to many bands that were as large as fifteen or sixteen men strong when Ibex set out. Their playing has been viciously focused, economical yet heavy. Just a year before the recording sessions of the album in your hands, Giovanni and Selamino made a contribution to the popular musical lexicon of Ethiopia that was simply defining the popular sound: their arrangement and recording of bandmate Mahmoud Ahmed’s solo effort and real commercial breakthrough tune and eponymous album, Ere Mela Mela, from 1975.

Selamino has never limited himself to being an adroit lead guitarist, but has always been a scholar of history, and as such he has probably contributed as much to modern Ethiopian music with his guitar playing and compositions as with a deepened understanding of modern or contemporary – Zemenawi – Ethiopian music. Selamino’s contributions serve as a metaphor for those of the whole band, at one and the same time creating and defining a new, danceable and updated sound anchored in Giovanni’s bass, whilst also elevating the broader scene through their support for others on the scene and on top of that, increasing the understanding of the music.

There is an understandable desire to romanticize the musical heyday Ibex and Roha were at the forefront of, because so much of the output is sorrowfully hard to come by. Ibex creativity was nothing short of ridiculously fierce compared to many of their Western contemporaries. Based on their sheer recorded output alone they could have usurped the title “hardest working in show business” from James Brown, recording more than 250 albums or 2500 songs in the seventies and eighties. Some only surface as cassettes today, others were never given full LP release, and some are simply impossible to find today. In the light of that, it’s nothing short of a miracle that the recording Stereo Instrumental Music from 1976 (Ge’ez Year 1968) has resurfaced. Unearthed in perfect condition on a chrome cassette, this is musical history comes alive–to set the future straight. Stereo Instrumental Music was recorded in collaboration with Karl-Gustav Lundgren, a Swedish national working for the Radio Voice of the Gospel. It took two sessions at the Ras Hotel ballroom in Addis Ababa. The Ibex Band was the first band in Ethiopia to employ a four-track recorder for their recording (the first available in the country, lent by Karl-Gustav). Later the same week, Giovanni and Selamino realized that, lengthwise, the recorded material fell short of what they wished for, so they recorded four more tracks in one more session on a single-track recorder. The Ras Hotel and Ghion Hotel, where the Ibex Band held musical residencies were to Ethiopia in general and Addis Ababa in particular what Motown was to the USA and Detroit a few years earlier – a hotbed of musical creativity and showmanship.

The most astonishing thing about Ethiopian music of the last half century is how tradition and modernity are intertwined. Because of this feature, it’s kind of hard to tell when there ever was or when we are in a “golden age”. So much of music from the past has been criminally neglected, but because of the hardships in the past, it would be an oversimplification to say that said past was a golden age. Probably, the golden age is what we are approaching, because for the first time both the past and future are accessible, and the monumental contributions from before can lay a firm foundation for a thriving music scene today. The Ibex Band stands firmly in the past, present and the future. That, if anything, is golden.

The detailed history of Stereo Instrumental Music is in many ways unique. To begin with, it couldn’t have been recorded earlier (there were no four-track recorders available) and it really couldn’t have been recorded afterwards either, at least not in the years directly following, because of the toll the musical scene took from the unfavorable political climate that followed when the nascent Derg regime and rival groups tried to assert themselves, the musical equipment lent from The Voice of Gospel Radio simply disappeared from Ethiopia when the radio station folded in 1977. Karl-Gustav Lundgren,
the Swedish foreign national who assisted during the recording, worked with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus at the time, recalls how they only had about fifteen minutes to get the microphones in place for the recording as to not alert neither the management at Ras Hotel nor the authorities and most importantly, to complete the recording before the curfew came into effect at midnight. In leaping to the opportunity to use previously unavailable equipment to push their sound forward and improvising to meet the logistical challenges, the Ibex Band displayed the very avant-gardism and adaptability that explains their longevity as a band through the years. The recording of Stereo Instrumental Music is from a given time in history, but it sounds as beyond time.
Much of the energy that burst out of the scene that Stereo Instrumental Music came out of dissipated or got sidetracked during the societal changes Ethiopia went through in the 1970s and 80s. Whilst leaders might have professed to be revolutionary, the work ethic of the Ibex Band can truly be described as that. They never called it quits, but adapted, toured extensively abroad in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, and found ways to work even in the face of the curfew that curtailed a lot of musical life. They even played major arenas in the nineteen eighties, despite said curfew and restrictions. The whole extent of their legacy has never been told, but their music speaks louder than words, so therefore… tune in to the Ibex Band’s Stereo Instrumental Music.

For their second album 'The Foel Tower', Quade holed up in an old stone barn in the cradle of a Welsh mountain valley.
The valley was a stark and windswept backdrop with little daylight, as the band would huddle around crackling fires each evening. “There was very much a feeling of being on the complete fringes of society,” the band says. “The last vestiges of settlement before the unrelenting barren moors that loomed over us.”
It was an environment that would shape the band – a Bristol four piece made up of Barney Matthews, Leo Fini, Matt Griffiths and Tom Connolly – and the record they have made. It’s an album that is as dreamy as it is melancholic, and as quiet and tender as it is forceful and potent – gliding across genres like winds blowing over those wide-spanning Welsh hills – to arrive at something the band half-jokingly, yet somewhat accurately, describe as “doomer sad boy, ambient-dub, folk, experimental post-rock.”

Quade is a band but it’s also a very close-knit group that have been friends since childhood who use this musical vehicle for interpersonal explorations and connections. “We’ve individually experienced a lot of difficulty over the last several years and Quade has represented a space to shelter from these,” the band says. “This means we often communicate extensively with each other about the issues affecting us individually and collectively. These conversations and concerns are central to The Foel Tower.”

In many ways, the making of this record – or any Quade record – goes way deeper than the simple writing, construction and recording of music. It is a profoundly deep and meaningful experience. “A key theme of the album relates to why we connect with specific places in the way that we do,” the group says. “We often remove ourselves to isolated valleys, sheltered from some of the painful personal struggles that we have experienced as a band. These become spaces in which we collectively purge ourselves of some of these difficulties hoping to make Quade a physical and emotional place of solace. This album celebrates these places that we’ve been able to retreat to and recuperate.”

It is a deep, dense record that is stuffed with musical, cinematic and literary influences – from Ursula La Guin and Cormac MacCarthy through to RS Thomas and Yeats – but despite the heavy, introspective and anxious nature of some of the material, it is also a record that is remarkably deft, agile and considered.

Made with producer Jack Ogborne and mixer Larry ‘Bruce’ McCarthy, there is a pleasing duality to the final sound of the record. One that feels fragile and intimate but also powerful and forceful, as introspective as it is expansive, and a record that is as detailed and textured as it is wide open and spacious.

The album title also pays homage to the place that shaped it so greatly. Within this remote Welsh valley stands the Foel Tower, a stone structure filled with valves and cylinders that can raise and lower the level of the reservoir to draw off water. Which it can then send as far as 70 miles to Birmingham. However, in the late 1800s this land was occupied by local farmers and families in the hundreds until the British Government acquired the land, cleared the valleys, and promptly displaced them in order to begin serving the vastly expanding industrial English city. The band dug into the history and politics of this and wove it into the themes they were already thinking about, using what the Foel Tower stands for as something of a contemporary metaphor. “This tension was something that we wanted to explore without the haughty judgement of our more metropolitan lifestyles,” they say. “And to explore how this specifically relates to ourselves: how can we envisage a genuinely ecological future for ourselves – one that is accessible, affordable and in harmony with endangered rural practices.”

What makes The Foel Tower such an incredible record is that it feels born of a time, place and situation that only existed in that very moment. It’s a snapshot of those 10 days spent in rural Wales and all the feelings and anxieties the band were experiencing at that specific time, magically caught on tape. “The album very much feels tied to this valley for us and the conversations and experiences we shared there,” they say. “It brings up a great deal of poignancy for us, an emblem of some fleeting respite from the strains we all have to experience. But there’s also deep sadness knowing how transient these moments are – in fact, there’s just a great deal of sadness in this album. But it’s also a record that while personal, resigned, and emotionally burdened, is ultimately hopeful.”

Blank Code is a Detroit, USA techno outfit that have released music by artists like Bas Mooy, Mike Parker, Brian Sanhaji, DJ Hyperactive, Drumcell, and many more.

The newest Blank Code release is Decoder with his 'Distant Beings' EP, a fellow American from Dallas who has gained many devoted supporters from having releases on Jeff Mills' Axis Records, Amotik Records, TWR72's Float, Edit Select Records, Molecular Recordings, and Science Cult, amongst others.

Beginning with "Missing Sector," a dystopian and airy soundscape of captivating rattlesnake hisses and muted tones of melody and suspense amidst a stuttering kick pattern.

"Strange Interaction" follows with an abstract approach overall, but using a solid, rhythmic beat as a pulsing constant. Static crackles create mesmerising textures and light tom drums are met with wandering waves of analogue whispers and skipping hats.

"Farther" introduces deep and looping modular frequencies that dance around in a sci-fi aesthetic. This sublimely hypnotic track has an ethereal quality of patience and draws influence from dubby and atmospheric styling.

Finishing with "Elevation," it instantly has an experimental vibe that seems mysterious and menacing. Cyclical mid tones create a sonic suction before phasing pulses add even more tension to this esoteric adventure.

Signs & Gestures is a various artists limited vinyl pressing which will be available digitally later this year. The vinyl version was mastered by Todd Mariana at Chicago's newest cutting studio, Deep Grooves Mastering.

The compilation features four tracks. Longtime friends Awoke (aka John Griffin) and Jack Buser write the two cuts on the A-side. These guys have known each other for many years and the complimentary nature of their tracks echo their years long relationship. Both use analog gear in their productions. In fact, that is an understatement as both are engineers by day and admitted audio gear junkies by night. Awoke's Untitled #2843 is a quirky drama builder throwing the In My House vocal over squelches and acid lines. Buser's Midi Boson is a classic exercise in simplicity. Drums from an MPC and a lead from Elektron's Monomachine are all it takes for this groove to rattle the dance floor.

Side B is also the work of two close friends. Nathan Drew Larsen remixes Little Turtles by Souls Found. Mazi edits Nathan's remix (released earlier on Fresh Meat's When Bad People Cook Good Food Volume 3) to 6 minutes, removing the atmospheric outro and reducing some of the extended sections. What remains is an energetic workout that is uncommonly melodic and emotional. As Audio Soul Project, Mazi's remix 3 of Sentimental Love combines sections from the first two of his remixes of this song released on Vizual Records back in 2011. This new version will hopefully express the care and love that went into preserving the message of Joshua Iz and Chez Damier's original.

An official retrospective (1967 to 1985) of the legendary Beninese Composer, Gentleman & Salsero Gnonnas Pedro, who recorded dozen of albums & singles from the 1960s the 2000s with mythical bands such as Los Panchos, Les Dadjes & Africando !

21 tracks covering the extremely wide musical spectrum of this mythical artist in 40 years of career : Afrobeat, Salsa, Funk, Soul, Jerk & Folk frenzied grooves that will set any dancefloor on fire !

Available in a beautiful Limited Deluxe 2xLP gatefold edition (with a digital voucher including a Bonus track) & in HQ digital format with very detailed biography & liner notes in French & English, + Exclusive pictures, never seen before.

Bonus track : "À Ma Fille" (Digital only, includes with the download voucher of the album that comes with the release)

We are thrilled to announce the Playedby020 vinyl compilation, a special edition celebrating Playedby's 10th anniversary. This exclusive collection features 20 notable tracks from renowned international producers. As we mark a decade of musical innovation and passion, the Playedby020 compilation showcases the diverse and cutting-edge sounds that have defined our journey. Join us in celebrating ten years of incredible music with this limited edition vinyl box, a must-have for any electronic music aficionado or committed collector. Thank you for being part of our journey—here's to many more years of musical excellence!

Carrying on their longstanding dedication to the seminal output of Merzbow, Urashima returns with what is unquestionably their most ambitious release to date: “Collection 001-010”, a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set limited to 299 copies, gathering together the entirety of the project’s first ten releases, originally released in 1981. Encountering the band in its early incarnation of the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, raw, exposed and bristling with energy, foreshadowing numerous trajectories they would follow over the coming years, these astounding full lengths - the majority of which have never been released on vinyl - come housed in a beautifully produced, deluxe wooden box, with each LP in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, and a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworls and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore, and Akita himself, amounting to what is unquestionably one of the most historically significant releases we’re likely to encounter in 2025.

Deluxe Edition of 299 copies, remastered from the original analog tapes by Masami Akita, each LP comes in its individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, also includes a LP-sized 32-page book. ** Since its founding during the late 2000s, the Italian imprint, Urashima, has become a definitive voice in the landscape of noise. Bringing forth beautiful limited edition releases, they’ve sculpted a singular vision of one of the most vibrant and revolutionary bodies of experimental sound to have graced the globe. Among the many projects that they have supported over the decades, there has been an undeniable dedication to the output of the seminal Japanese noise outfit, Merzbow, making a significant amount of the project’s out of print back catalog available across a range of formats. Now they return with what is arguably their most stunning and ambitious release dedicated to the project to date: “Collection 001-010”, gathering the entirety of Merzbow’s first ten releases, largely privately released by the band on cassette across 1981, in a deluxe, 10 LP vinyl box set. Representing what is effectively ground zero in Japanese noise and collectively amounting to some of the most sought after releases ever produced within that movement, Urashima’s truly beautiful collection comes fully remastered by Masami Akita himself from the original tapes, presenting all but a small number in their first ever vinyl pressings, with each LP housed in its own individual sleeve reproducing the original artwork, alongside a LP-sized 32-page book containing reproductions of artworks and collages by Masami Akita, an interview conducted by Jim O'Rourke, and liner notes penned by Lasse Marhaug, Thurston Moore and Akita himself. Towering with energy and groundbreaking creative vision, within the realms of noise and experimental music, releases don’t get more monumental or historically important than this!

Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979, and remains, to this day, one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking projects in experimental music. Eventually becoming the solo vehicle for the efforts of Masami Akita, in its earliest incarnation the project was the duo of Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, taking their name from German artist Kurt Schwitters' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a space of pure, unadulterated sonic onslaught that has continued, for over 40 years, to set the pace for the entire genre of noise, and has remained one of the movement’s most important, definitive voices, continuously laying the groundwork for countless artists who have followed in its wake.

When dealing with historical gestures, there’s an invertible aura surrounding original line-ups and early statements, and rightfully so. It is often within a band’s debut that we catch the purest glimpse of the raw energy and creative ferment that made them what they are. This is certainly the case when regarding the coveted early releases of Merzbow, capturing the emergence of the project in its form as the duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani as they helped set the blue print from the then emerging movement of Japanese noise. Over the course of its nearly five decades of activity, Merzbow has always been noted for how prolific and ambitious the project is. This was no less the case in the very beginning. While they were active for roughly two years prior, in 1981 alone they issued ten self-released cassettes numerically titled “Collection 001-010”, albums which have both individually and collectively become holy grails in the realms of noise, with only two - “Collection 007” and “Collection 009” - ever receiving vinyl reissues prior to now.

As Lasse Marhaug deftly articulates in the newly commissioned liner notes for “Collection 001-010”, despite having been recorded in different location across a span of time, the sum total of Merzbow’s first ten releases might be best regarded as a single release to be listened to in the same, durational sitting, with the material standing well apart from what most came to expect from Merzbow, while foreshadowing numerous trajectories the project would take over the coming years. Not only do these recordings feature a vast array of instrumentation - tapes, acoustic and electric guitar, violin, drums, voice, recorder, organ, found sounds, clarinet, homemade and prepared instruments, a vast arsenal of effects and electronics, and piano, to only begin to scratch the surface - the majority of which would disappear from the project’s active sources of sound generation over the subsequent years, but there is a slow pacing and raw sense of openness and exposure that reveals strong connections to the avant-garde improvisations of groups like AMM, Musica Elettronica Viva, and Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, the psychedelia of groups like Taj Mahal Travellers and Flower Traveling band (both of whom Akita mentions having seen in youth within his interview with Jim O’Rourke), and rock in general - albeit in fully abstracted forms - unspooling as brittle, pointillistic, textural, raw and abrasive forms, that occasionally flirts with unexpected tonal sensibilities. As Marhaug describes it in his excellent liner notes: «Sonically, “Collection” sounds more sparse and stripped. It’s dry sounding, up-front, no reverb, and there’s less heavy low-end grime and thin on the signature frequency sweeps. Viewed in a 1981 context, musically, it’s more akin to what the LAFMS (Los Angeles Free Music Society) pool of artists were doing at that time than what was happening in industrial music... There’s a strong playfulness throughout, like the sound objects are being explored for the first time, without neither restraint nor hurry. Events are allowed to be fully examined before the music moves on, or simply cuts off. To a large degree, the music on “Collection” feels acoustic in nature, although a Electro-Harmonix ring-modulator features prominently throughout.»

Easily described as a rarely encountered revelation into the original and earlier documented studio sound of Merzbow, “Collection 001-010” collectively amounts to an engrossing sonic journey in its own right, while also allowing for important, often overlooked connections drawn from numerous other creative wellsprings, notably free jazz, underground rock, the output of European and Japanese avant-garde music, as well as Dada, Fluxus, and Mail Art, much of which, beyond the illumination made possible by the sounds, Jim O’Rourke’s fantastic interview with Akita, published in the booklet, further explores, offering great insights into the origins of Merzbow and the thinking behind the project, as well as aspects of the earliest days of Japanese noise.

Kennedy Mann, indie singer-songwriter and lead singer of dream-pop band Highnoon, is a rising artist from the Philly DIY scene, in which she has become memorable for her poignant lyricism, tender vocals, and sharp melodic skill. Combining the analog sounds of dream pop, indie folk, and slowcore, Kennedy Mann's compositions strike you in the heart and linger like a bittersweet memory. Kennedy's journey as a songwriter began with the debut of Highnoon's first album Semi Sweet, a project consisting of self-written pop-rock tunes. As Kennedy continued to write, she quickly gathered a collection of demos that felt too intimate and singular for the traditional rock band format - a world of music she kept to herself like a secret. Kennedy finally launched her solo project in 2023 as a way to bring some of her most personal musical ideas to life. A prolific songwriter and creative force, she began performing her original acoustic demos on TikTok, quickly building a small devoted following around her vocals and songwriting. Through TikTok, Kennedy began to build her own music community, befriending fellow songwriters Kai Warrior, Tofusmell, and Leith Ross along the way. In recent months, Kennedy Mann embarked on the European leg of Leith Ross' first headline tour, allowing her the opportunity to bring her idiosyncratic talents to the world stage. In July of 2023, she released her debut solo single ?Crooked," a charming Kimya Dawson-inspired slowcore track that finds Kennedy pining over her partner's ?ugliest? and most undesirable traits.

past present (tone poems across time)" is Mark de Clive-Lowe's exquisite new solo album and his debut for Greg Boraman's Impressive Collective label in partnership with BBE Music. Previously the pair released the Pharoah Sanders tribute album 'Freedom', and the equally lauded 'Hotel San Claudio' in collaboration with Shigeto & Melanie Charles. A deeply personal sonic exploration by Mark, "past present" is a reflection on family, heritage, and healing which was created in tandem with retracing his late father’s journey across Japan 70 years ago. The project is a collection of ambient jazz, emotional cinematic soundscapes that weave analog synths with field recordings from Japanese sacred sites and nature locations. "past present” partially came into existence thanks to the perseverance of producer, percussionist and Mark’s friend Carlos Niño, who after experiencing Mark's multi-layered motifs in the studio and in live contexts over many years explains, "I kept hearing him make an album like this, I kept telling him that he needed to, and that it would be his best album yet. Subtle, poetic, solo, texturally rhythmic, expressive, full of rippling layers, and arrangements representing such profound thoughts, feelings, relationships, and memories". Mark also took on board Carlos' recommendation of recording the bulk of "past present" at Ken Barrientos’ analog synth studio, 'The Breath' in Pomona, California - where he utilized no less than 22 different keyboards to create the ethereal and engaging soundscapes across all 11 tracks, also intertwining his own field recordings made during a long, explorative stay in Japan. Being such an individual and personal concept, it was only correct that Mark wrote the extensive album liner notes, to fully illustrate the decades-long backstory to this stunning collection. Mark completes the album's presentation using archive images from his family's private photo collection - an entire process he likens to time travel and signs off to the listener by stating that he hopes "it takes you on your own journey of imagination and reflection, leading to unexpected places, just as it has for me

To speak to Luca Daniel Schwarz aka LDS about his music is to be enthusiastically guided into a complex world of his own creation: clean and powerful techno which pulses with life from the textured patterns and drum sequences that have fills and accents that would make anyone who’s picked up a set of drumsticks envious. Yet this ecosystem of noise is deceptive; Schwarz’s process for making music is very different to how a live drummer would create the same subtlety of performance. Forever researching new technology, Luca got deeply interested in different programming languages, and created a series of probability-based music tools for manoeuvring sounds and sequencing.
Manipulating those probabilities takes a skilful alchemy, needing understanding of both musical structure and how the tools he devised work. To return to the drummer analogy, if the drummer is focussed and intentional in the moment of playing, then the method used in LDS tracks is almost diametrically opposed, with all of the intention coming in the assembly of the instruments, potential paths, and gateways; once play is pressed the music flows, following all the rules that were set in advance, not unlike a domino run or Rube Goldberg machine. And like a domino run, the results are fascinating and, ultimately, fun: staccato vocals pop in and out in ‘zipp prompt’; laser-like synths pulse; background noises sweep across the aural plane of the dub techno of ‘diff, blockmix’ and ‘pow’ adding texture that brings vitality all-too-easily missed out when complex mathematical
processes become entwined with music creation. The high sensitivity to texture and rhythmic detail in Stadion Progg is multiplied further on Jean Redondo's remix - whose track, Hypersonic, was the backbone of 2023’s ‘yet’ compilation on Tresor.
The balance between technology and a sense of fun might also come from the maker; it’s not easy to overstate Schwarz’s passion for what is now his favourite way to make music, “it never gets boring. There’s always a moment of anticipation to see what actually emerges.” And the true “power of 2” comes into play when the resulting music can be fed back through the system again and again, potentiating the music in exponential ways.

Joker Marble Vinyl. Romantic is Mannequin Pussy's standout 2016 album. Mannequin Pussy are a beloved rock band from Philadelphia. Their music feels like a resilient and galvanizing shout that demands to be heard; across four albums, the band has made cathartic tunes about despairing times. Romantic is the band's second full-length album, and it was widely critically acclaimed in NPR, Pitchfork, Stereogum, and many many. Stereogum named the title track, "Romantic" the #14 song of the year in 2016.

As they celebrate the 10 year anniversary of debut album 'MISERY', DISENTOMB have smashed through Australian tours with Sanguissugabog in March, Europe in August with STILLBIRTH as well as annihilating the European Festival circuit, before finally unleashing new EP 'NOTHING ABOVE', in OCTOBER 2024 with a run of headline shows across Australia, as well as a headlining appearance at Souther Death Festival. The release of NOTHING ABOVE coincides with Disentomb marking 10 years since the release of their 2014 sophomore album Misery which has become a classic in the genre of Brutal Death Metal. Fresh from laying waste to some of the biggest summer festivals in Europe, Disentomb will be bringing out slam pioneers Internal Bleeding for three exclusive shows in October in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, which will see the band performing Misery in full for the first time. Grab tickets to DISENTOMB, INTERNAL BLEEDING (US), HONEST CROOKS and DELIQUESCE The NOTHING ABOVE EP marks the first Disentomb release following their third album The Decaying Light and delving further into the sound of dissonant and bleakened Brutal Death with the writing from the band's bassist Adrian Cappelletti. NOTHING ABOVE is four tracks of the band experimenting with their sound while maintaining the guttural brutality that originally made Disentomb's mark when they exploded onto the worldwide scene in 2008. Vocalist Jord said the EP was an opportunity for fans to hear a more experimental side of Disentomb. "While we're hard at work writing Album IV, we wanted to put out some songs in between albums that show a more evolved sound that we have developed over the years. With the writing done by our bassist Adrian, you can hear the mix of brutality while also some more experimental elements."

The first ever reissue of 1994 sound poetry masterpiece »BLANKSMANSHIP«, a high point in the work of legendary avant-garde poet and artist John M. Bennett. Editions Basilic and Luna Bisonte Prods previously collaborated on »A Flattened Face Fogs Through: Selected Sound Poetry (1986-1994)«, an anthology of Bennett’s sound poetry released in 2022 to widespread acclaim.

John M. Bennett’s »BLANKSMANSHIP« is a totemic representation of something impossible: a linguistic object containing a totality. Written and recorded in the early 1990s and released as a sound poetry cassette and chapbook, »BLANKSMANSHIP« begins and ends with a ten word mantra, distilling the poem’s ten cantos that act as phases of an extended meditation. Performed by the author accompanied only by minimalist shakuhachi flute and bell, a narrative emerges from a mythic place, spoken by a single voice that eventually multiplies into a horde of selves. The author states that »BLANKSMANSHIP« refers to a state of mind, the "empty yet swarming void from which the poem’s voice arises, as if it were the voice of completeness itself".

RIYL: Robert Ashley, Akio Suzuki, William S. Burroughs, Steve Dalachinsky, Max Headroom, Japanese Shakuhachi Flute Music

Formed in the same early 2010's scenes that spawned bands such as LVL Up, Ovlov, and Speedy Ortiz, Krill found success doing something completely different. The lyrics on Krill's debut LP "Lucky Leaves" reveal Jonah Furman to be a clear-headed and thoughtful oddball, compulsively considering both sides of every coin. The lyrics are as thought-provoking and endearing as the music is complex and refined. Krill is both a band's band, and a fan's band. Earworms such as 'Theme from Krill' and 'Theme from Krill (Reprise)' get stuck in your head on first listen, and it's no surprise that 2013 showgoers were singing along to these tunes almost immediately after hearing them. Now, with Krill back playing shows as the hilariously named "Krill 2", Exploding in Sound is thrilled to announce that "Lucky Leaves" is back in print! It's a certified EIS classic, and a record close to many people's hearts. Krill forever!

Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, an album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music. Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, with the duo playing eighteen of their favourite North Carolina tunes: a mix of instrumentals and tunes with words.

Many were learned from their late mentor, the legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker, from whom they also learned by listening to recordings of her playing. Giddens and Robinson recorded the album outdoors and on location at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House. They were accompanied by the sounds of nature, including two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803, creating a true once-in-a-lifetime soundscape. The duo, along with four other string musicians including the multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, will embark on the Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue North America tour in April.

“With the assaults on reality going on in the world today, we wanted to offer another kind of record, like walking back onto a gravel or dirt road while a stampede goes the other way,” Giddens says. “With the cicada choir, this record could’ve only happened at a certain time in the last 120 years. We doubled down on place, time, realness, and old-fashioned front porch music. It’s a reminder that another way exists, with music made for your community’s enjoyment and for dancing–not solely for commercial purposes.

“What is the role of music in our society?” she wonders. “How do we de-couple it from unfettered capitalism, where music is a product and musicians are incidental? How do we use the tools and system that we have been bequeathed in a way that reminds us of other ways of being?” Robinson adds, "Recording this album felt like being back in the saddle. Just this time Joe is not here, and his fiddle is under my chin. The album is about home, the cicadas, the storms, the music, and the people who make it feel like home."

Thompson was one of the last musicians of his era and his community to carry on the southern Black string band tradition. He played a crucial role in the lives of Giddens and Robinson, who, along with their Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Dom Flemons, spent their formative years learning from Thompson in traditional apprentice/mentor relationships. His influence has guided all of their artistic journeys as well as their mission to keep the legacy of the Black string band tradition alive.

In further tribute to Giddens’ North Carolina roots, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow will arrive just a week before Biscuits & Banjos, the inaugural edition of her first festival, which highlights the deep roots and enduring legacy of Black music, art, and culture while fostering community and storytelling. The sold-out festival will feature a much-anticipated Carolina Chocolate Drops reunion, their first performance together in more than a decade.

Welcome to our porch

Through our many years of playing together on many stages across the globe, we have been able to share our Carolina roots with lots of people. But our tradition really doesn’t live on the stage; it lives on a back porch of Mebane, in a living room in Morganton and in countless other places wherever a musician might find themselves. We wanted to revisit the sounds, places, and textures at the beginning of our musical journey together and to share that experience with y’all. The rain, the cicadas, and thunder become part of the band, grounding us and the music firmly in the long narrative of the place we call home

By the mid-1970s, trumpeter Dennis Mpale was a consummate musician with an auspicious resume that located him at all the key turning points in the evolution of modern South African jazz. In his mid-20s, he led the trumpet section of Chris McGregor’s Castle Lager Big Band and participated in the ensemble’s landmark 1963 album Jazz/The African Sound. 1968 saw him recording I Remember Nick with The Soul Giants, which joined a wave of notable late-1960s releases, including The Mankunku Quartet’s Yakhal' Inkomo and The Chris Schilder Quintet’s Spring, that ignited the ambitions of South African jazz artists and producers in the 1970s. In 1975, Mpale co-founded the “rock jazz” ensemble Roots, inaugurating the era of jazz fusion in South Africa and opening the door for Pacific Express and Spirits Rejoice.

By 1977, Mpale had earned the right to an album of his own and, having participated in the 1975 recording of Abdullah Ibrahim’s African Herbs, turned to producer Rashid Vally of the As-Shams/The Sun label for his solo debut. Vally financed the project and seized an opportunity to license it to the local subsidiary of a major international label. As such, Our Boys Are Doing It was issued in South Africa on the Mercury label in 1977. Featuring saxophone heavyweight Kippie Moketsi, the album was a response to the global direction taken by trumpeter Hugh Masekela on The Boy's Doin' It in 1975. In contrast, seeped in the bump jive style of popular urban township music, Our Boys Are Doing It was a manifesto for an authentic, exuberant, homegrown variety of South African jazz.

Following the success of last year’s Walks - their first album of completely original compositions - Group Listening release a new 12” vinyl of Tell Everyone Everything via PRAH Recordings.

The title track and artwork are informed by decay, expiration and musical renewal.

“The title comes from a music festival that happened a few years back in Bristol. A really small DIY festival, called Tell Everyone Everything. I really liked the title - so I stole it. The name stuck in my mind as something very open and positive - a radical action. It could be taken as a proposal for progressive change, or a revolutionary art manifesto,” explains Paul Jones.

“The cover art is a photo that I took a long time ago somewhere on a beach in Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire). The colours are all weird because it was taken on a very expired roll of Kodachrome. It’s sort of eerie. The bucket and spade had just been left there. It was one of the last ever rolls of Kodachrome to be processed, I snuck it into the developers on the last month they were still open, just before the very last processing plant was shut down forever.”

The release features remixes by both Ancient Plastix (who the duo toured with in 2024) and Loggsplitter. The band were delighted with the results: “I loved watching Ancient Plastix every night and was thrilled when he agreed to remix our song. It turned out great too”, says Stephen. Of the Loggsplitter remix Paul says: “It’s like a hot blast of compressed air travelling across the downs from a ravers airhorn. Lush”

Tornamented Walls is the first result of a collaboration that began in 2022. The album is a freeze-frame of emergence: personal preparations prior and minor aside, the album was live and improvised. Rosa Anschütz sings, speaks, plays harmonium, and utilizes a looper as an instrument in itself. Her symbolic prose is at the heart of the music, emotionally direct yet haunted by a translucent potential of meaning. In lockstep with the voice, Tennota dissolve the dense rhythmic complexity of their recent work into a creeping mantra, the material interrogated until the patina of the sound is the music itself.

Tornamented Walls floats on top of a wave of slow-motion techno influences, a deepened ambient and experimental perspective, and a feel of subtle and subdued lyricism not strictly limited to its vocal parts. It is a record of darkly ambient and abstracted techno pop, listening music to be played loud. More disenchanted than dark, it is confrontational through its fearless incorporation of a widely varying set of different states of mind.

Tennota are Tom Wheatley & Grundik Kasyansky. Since 2019, they have been reimagining the relationship between physical and digital worlds through music, using gut strings, sine waves, tree sap, and feedback, and flexing them over contemporary technologies into an elemental suspension. Not futuristic, but rather an alternative present.

Rosa Anschütz is an artist and musician whose sound-based practice is framed by sculpture, installation, and scenography. Her meditative and sometimes haunting compositions combine the dark ambiance of post-punk and cold wave with ethereal polyphony, synth-driven melodies, and spoken word.

Теnnota & Rosa Anschütz will be touring in April, stopping over in Eupen on April 18th for a concert night at the Galerie vorn und oben. Further on the bill that night will be Tristwch Y Fenywod.

On ‘Cordial’, Ursula Sereghy traces the sensation of home; not as a place, but as something fleeting and deeply felt. Comfort appears in glimpses, nestled between moments of dissonance and unraveling structure. There is joy, but it carries the weight of absence, the quiet grief of realizing what was missing all along. A laughter that is both liberating and bittersweet.

Sereghy’s music moves with no fixed center, shedding hierarchies and opening itself to the unknown. Sounds unravel and reform: fragments of voices, reshaped textures, the shimmer of manipulated recordings all bending into semi-familiar contours. In this space, harmony is not a destination but an unfolding process, a web of shifting connections rather than rigid form.

Deeply drawn to natural processes, Sereghy’s music resonates with an elemental force: chemical reactions, unseen currents, the quiet logic of interconnection. Sound becomes a space where trust takes shape, where loss is acknowledged but never final, and where the act of feeling remains, above all, an act of survival. It is music in constant negotiation with itself - dismantling, reshaping, and reaching towards something vast, untethered and luminous.

"The Millennium's Begin can truly be described as a bona fide lost classic. On Begin, hard rock, breezy ballads, and psychedelia all merge into an absolutely air-tight concept album, easily on the level of other, more widely popular albums from the era such as The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The songwriting, is sterling and innovative, never straying into the type of psychedelic overindulgence which marred so many records from this era. At the time the most expensive album Columbia ever produced (and it sounds like it), Begin is an absolute necessity for any fan of late-'60s psychedelia and a wonderful rediscovery that sounds as vital today as it did the day it was released. Begin is available as a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on yellow & orange marbled vinyl and includes an insert."

As they celebrate a remarkable 20 years as a band in 2025, Mayday Parade are set to release perhaps their most aspirational sort yet: SWEET, SAD, SUGAR, a three-part album showcasing their prolific, emotionally resonant songwriting. The first entry, SWEET, arrives April 18, 2025. Across its eight songs, SWEET succinctly showcases just how far Mayday Parade has come in those years: The trademark sound that’s transformed them from genre newcomers to torchbearers for a new generation is still there, but fans will also nd the band continuing to nudge the edges of their sound outward, whether they’re stomping through reactive alt-rock, crafting wryly sardonic pop-punk, standing up shimmering arena rock, or melding muscular, grungy guitars with electro-pop sweetness. Recorded with longtime producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount, SWEET, SAD, SUGAR marks Mayday Parade’s first album since 2021’s What It Means To Fall Apart as well as the band’s first self-released collection.