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Introducing Luka Lickshot aka Luke Palmer aka the Wolverhampton Wolverine, prolific reggae DJ and genre warping producer of all things low end inclined.

In previous incarnations Luke has released hypnagogic house for labels such as Workshop and Third Ear, but with his debut LP release ‘Shots Fired’ he takes a sharp turn into the leftfield.

Sonically triangulating early 80s Manc post punk existentialism, 90s darkside trip hop and UK (On-U) sound system culture, the result is something like a more ruffneck Massive Attack jamming with Dome in the Black Ark.

‘Shots Fired’ was forged in an underground Peckham hideout, under strict parameters of time and space, fusing conventional instrumentation with digi know-how, improvised vocals, one take licks and dub fx. Pretty much impossible to pigeonhole the ten tracks but adjacent to / resonant with Giulio Erasmus, DJ Marcelle, Tricky, ‘Hex’….

Diagonal welcomes Scott Gordon to the fold. Scott has previously released on Editions Mego as one half of Oto Hiax, a collaborative project with Mark Clifford of Seefeel (Warp Records). He's also released a series of EPs and one album under his Loops Haunt alias via the Black Acre imprint. For his Diagonal debut, Scott offers up "Metals", a double EP of sorts: two sides of wax with two separate titles, "And Away" on side one backed with "Tilts" on side two. Each set is a study in using mechanical means to seek tone, rhythm and texture via unexpected objects and instruments. Both sides feature Scott's custom made Spinning Plate Instrument SPI. The SPI is a large, motorised vertical frame that spins a series of metal plates. These can be struck via midi - mechanical 'beaters'. These recordings also feature Scott playing the SPI manually. The results are both gripping and provocative. Mastered by Russell Haswell. Direct Metal Mastering (DMM) to vinyl.

Black Vinyl

Das Album enthält Material aus allen Songwriting-Phasen der Band, einiges davon stammt aus den Zeiten von „Deprived“ und „Bringer of Drought“ sowie natürlich aus „Foreordained“, erklärt Gitarrist Samuel Dufour.

„Gateway“ wurde von dem langjährigen Mitarbeiter Xavier Berthiaume (Gevurah, Sanctvs) während derselben Session wie „Foreordained“ aufgenommen, gemischt und gemastert, wodurch die beiden Alben einen einheitlichen Klang erhalten und „Gateway“ die etablierten Erzählungen abschließen kann. „Wir betrachten es als das Ende eines Kapitels für die Band“, fährt Dufour fort. „Das heißt nicht, dass unser zukünftiges Material sich komplett von unserem bisherigen unterscheiden wird, ganz im Gegenteil, aber wir haben beschlossen, es beim nächsten Mal ein wenig anders anzugehen, indem wir neue Elemente hinzufügen, die bisher in unserer Musik noch nicht vorkamen, verschiedene Dynamiken ausprobieren und mit einer neuen Stimmung experimentieren.

Thematisch baut „Gateway“ auf Ideen auf, die erstmals auf „Foreordained“ untersucht wurden: „Der Song ‚Revival‘ aus ‚Foreordained‘ inspirierte das Thema des Albums, nämlich die Tatsache, dass Menschen seit Anbeginn der Zeit versuchen, ewig zu leben – oder ihr Leben auf unnatürliche Weise zu verlängern –, oft aus Gründen, die noch absurder sind als das Streben nach ewigem Leben selbst“, erläutert Dufour.

„Wir haben dies als Hauptthema verwendet und das Konzept weiterentwickelt, indem wir die abstoßendsten Formen der Grausamkeit untersucht haben, zu denen Menschen fähig sind – selbst wenn sie die Wissenschaft als Mittel einsetzen, um die Barbarei gegenüber ihren Feinden zu verlängern.“ Visuell setzt das Album die Zusammenarbeit von Phobocosm mit Lauri Laaksonen (Desolate Shrine, Convocation, Pestilent Hex) fort. „Auf den ersten Blick sieht man, dass es sich um ein Tor zu etwas Unheilvollem handelt, aber was dahinter liegt, bleibt dem Hörer überlassen.“ Phobocosm wird „Gateway“ mit ausgewählten Auftritten in Nordamerika unterstützen, gefolgt von Terminen in Europa im Jahr 2026.

Unter dem dunklen Mond werden die Kerzen angezündet, und aus der Tiefe erhebt sich Ritual Arcana. Eine dreiköpfige Klangmaschine mit der Hohepriesterin SharLee LuckyFree am Bass und Gesang (ehemals Moth), dem legendären Godfather of Doom Scott WINO Weinrich an der Gitarre (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan) und dem Taktgeber Oakley Munson am Schlagzeug (The Black Lips). Die alten Tore des Schicksals öffnen sich durch Schlüssel, Schwert und Feder, als Ritual Arcana im Januar ihr Debütalbum bei Heavy Psych Sounds veröffentlichen. Durch die Kraft des übernatürlichen Hardrocks beginnt das Ritual, und wir befreien uns selbst.

Purple Vinyl, limitiert auf 350 Exemplare. Unter dem dunklen Mond werden die Kerzen angezündet, und aus der Tiefe erhebt sich Ritual Arcana. Eine dreiköpfige Klangmaschine mit der Hohepriesterin SharLee LuckyFree am Bass und Gesang (ehemals Moth), dem legendären Godfather of Doom Scott WINO Weinrich an der Gitarre (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan) und dem Taktgeber Oakley Munson am Schlagzeug (The Black Lips). Die alten Tore des Schicksals öffnen sich durch Schlüssel, Schwert und Feder, als Ritual Arcana im Januar ihr Debütalbum bei Heavy Psych Sounds veröffentlichen. Durch die Kraft des übernatürlichen Hardrocks beginnt das Ritual, und wir befreien uns selbst.

Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Endless" tauchen Ov Sulfur noch tiefer in die düsteren Klanglandschaften ein, die das Quintett aus Las Vegas schon auf ihrem 2023 erschienenen Debüt "The Burden Ov Faith" auszeichneten. Angetrieben von der Stimme von Frontmann Ricky Hoover verschieben Ov Sulfur die Grenzen ihrer Deathcore-Ursprünge, indem sie gleichzeitig Black Metal ('Vast Eternal') und ein überraschendes Maß an Melodie ('Wither') erforschen, ohne dabei ihren Genre-dezimierenden Ansatz zu verwässern. Nachdem sie sich bereits als beeindruckender Live-Act erwiesen haben und mit Bands wie Lorna Shore, Signs of the Swarm und Nekrogoblikon auf Tour waren, ist mit "Endless" klar: Ov Sulfur sind hier, um zu bleiben.

Als gäbe es noch nicht genug Drama auf dieser Welt, schickt sich die Bremer Postcore-Band Dramatist an, diesem Drama ihr ganz eigenes Kapitel an die Hand zu geben und euch auf ihren Trip mitzunehmen. Dramatist hauen uns ihr Debütalbum "Wasting Words" nur so um die berühmten Ohren und werden ihrem Namen zu 100% gerecht, denn Dramaturgie wird hier sowohl textlich als auch musikalisch mit großer Spielfreude gelebt. Dass sie dabei durchaus auch politisch daherkommen, zeigt vor allem die erste Single "Fat White Families" und auch die fast gleichnamige englische Band war sicher ebenso wenig für leichte Kost in musikalischer und textlicher Hinsicht bekannt. Produziert wurde "Wasting Words" von Kurt Ebelhäuser (Blackmail, Dontos, Pascow), sowie Gregor Hennig (Muff Potter, Bela B., Herrenmagazin).

Red transparent and black marbled version !

Pressing of the old awaited Black Widow 01 !!
Finally out !!!

Pressing of the old awaited Black Widow 01 !!
Finally out !!!

We welcome Orlando Voorn, a bonafide LEGEND of Techno with a career spanning over 3 decades for a brand new 4 track EP. Each track has that 'classic' sound that OV is so good at. Absolute class. 3 out there Techno tracks and one House masterclass, plus the vinyl is a very limited edition (only 250 copies exist) with special technology I've not seen for decades that means playback occurs 'INSIDE OUT' (Plays from the label outwards). DON'T SLEEP !!

Melodies International’s next record features a previously unreleased collaboration between the Ariwa camp (Mad Professor’s label and studio) and rising UK R&B artist Abel Miller — a Lovers Rock cover of the classic 1960s Philadelphia soul track “Everytime I See My Baby” by The Delfonics.

A few years ago, Mad Professor teamed up with frequent collaborator and multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Black Steel — who regularly records bass, guitar, keys, and vocals for Ariwa Studios (“he can play anything” Mad Professor tells us) — to record a series of Lovers Rock covers of songs by The Delfonics. Mad Professor’s love for 60s and 70s US soul is no secret and shines through much of his production, but he realised he had never heard this particular song, originally written by Thom Bell and William Hart. For the session, they brought in Ashanti Selah on keys and Horseman on drums, with Abel Miller delivering the lead vocals. Mad Professor and his son Joe Ariwa recorded and produced the track.

Since their first reissue project with Mad Professor a few years back (Ariwa Sounds: The Early Sessions LP), he has occasionally performed with the Melodies crew — most recently on Floating Points’ Sunflower Soundsystem this past summer. At their Osaka gig a couple of years ago, he closed the show with this track, immediately blowing everyone’s minds. When asked what it was, he told the team that Melodies could release it!

The 7” single will be available in November, featuring the original studio version on one side and the live dub version Mad Professor performed in Japan on the flip (vinyl exclusive). Mastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery, with printed sleeve artwork by Nevil Bernard.

'The World in Air Quotes' is a genre-shifting style-melting kaleidoscope of art-rock, jazz, techno, folk & industrial. The God In Hackney sound like very little else from the early 2020's and whilst 'The World In Air Quotes' innovative progenitors are manifold - Eno, Coil, The Durutti Column, 1980s ECM jazz to name a few - it sounds beholden to none of them.

The God In Hackney's first album 'Cave Moderne' was Andrew Weatherall's album of the year for NTS Radio.

The God In Hackney's second LP, 'Small Country Eclipse', was album of 2020 for critic Sukhdev Sandhu of The Colloquium for Unpopular Culture: "Mordant music: stuttering, dread, black humour. A record that felt truly independent, beholden to no genre, out of step with all centres and signposted nodes."


'The World In Air Quotes' is The God In Hackney's 3rd album and their most musically emotive and lyrically inventive to date. It's an album that resonates with feelings about climate change, isolation, extinction, the social impact of technology, the flattening of history—and illuminates the darkness with imaginative rhythm, melody, noise & poetry. Songs range from widescreen, anthemic rock, to strange intricately arranged jazz-influenced songs, to abstract, textural electronic pieces. There's a strain of dark and surreal comedy too that runs through the lyrics and some of the choices the band makes in their sounds and arrangements.

The core God in Hackney quartet of Andy Cooke, Dan Fox, Ashley Marlowe and Nathaniel Mellors has expanded to include American multi-instrumentalists and composers Eve Essex (Eve Essex & The Fabulous Truth, Das Audit, Peter Gordon & Love of Life Orchestra, Peter Zummo, Liturgy) and Kelly Pratt (Father John Misty, David Byrne/St Vincent, Beirut, and Lonnie Holley among many others), signalling a new and ambitious direction for the band.

The album cover features original artwork by Iranian-American artist Tala Madani, recently the subject of a career survey exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Advertising:

The Wire, Maggot Brain

Reviews & features:

Maggot Brain - forthcoming feature

Hi-Fi+ Magazine - album review in April 2023 issue

Dereck Higgins (You Tube review)

Sonosphere - interview / feature

Weirdo Shrine - interview

It's Psychedelic Baby - interview

Spettacolo (Italy) - feature.

Ghettoblaster Magtazine (USA) - feature

Airplay:

Gilles Peterson - BBC Radio 6 Music

Steve Lamacq - BBC Radio 6 Music

Dublab - playlisted & featured in Dublab Recommends (Los Angeles)

Cian Ó Cíobháin - RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta (Ireland)

WFMU - playlisted

Resonance FM - The Wire presents Adventures In Sound & Music

Human Pleasure Radio (New Zealand)

Pete Wiggs & James Papademetie - The Seance (Repeater Radio, Sine FM & others)

Peter Hollo's Utility Fog - FBI Radio (Australia)

Jonathan Lethem & Sam Sousa on Radio Free Aftermath (KSP Claremont 88.7)

Life Elsewhere

WRPB Princeton

In Memory of John Peel

Mike Watt's Watt from Pedro Show

It's taken over two decades, but at last, the wait is over: Sevan Mater has unleashed the first- ever vinyl pressing of Live Damage , the iconic live performance by DARK TRANQUILLITY, captured during their "Damage Done" era. Pressed on Gold and Black swirl vinyl, limited to just 500 copies, and housed in a stunning gatefold cover, this reissue is nothing short of melodic death metal heaven. Originally released in 2003 as a DVD, Live Damage immortalized one of DT 's most intense and electric live shows - recorded in Krakow, Poland. Now, for the first time ever, that raw energy, that iconic Swedish aggression, and that perfectly balanced blend of melody and brutality has been etched into vinyl grooves for audiophiles and collectors alike. From the soaring leads of The Treason Wall to the punishing drive of Final Resistance, every track explodes with clarity and presence on wax.

The vinyl mastering brings new warmth and immediacy to the performance, giving fans the closest thing to being there, without the sweat and flying beer. And the packaging? Absolutely elite. Sevan Mater delivers a luxurious gatefold, featuring rare tour photos, liner notes, and an aesthetic drenched in cold, melancholic elegance. If you're a fan of At The Gates, In Flames, or if Damage Done was the soundtrack to your early 2000s fury, this release is a must-own. More than just a live album - it's a time capsule of melodic death metal at its peak.

Uluru is back with another Dibba production!
Italian dj and producer Dj Dibba open up to different sounds and surprise us with a contagious Uk Garage Remix.
On the flip, the producer from Albano Laziale (known as the italian Kingston) confirm himself as one of the reggae-hip hop raising stars with “Ego Skank”.

Pull up guaranteed!

Pressed on high quality black and transparent red vinyl (48 gr.)
Edition of 250, cut it loud and fat, highly recommended for big sound systems.

Recorded in the wake of Dr. King's assassination, this 1969 single from Mississippi-born, Chicago-raised Syl Johnson stands as one of the starkest and most soul-wrenching protest songs ever committed to tape. Built around a slow, smouldering groove and the raw ache of Johnson's vocal, 'Is It Because I'm Black' is less a call to arms than a question hung in the air-resigned, frustrated, defiant. The Pieces of Peace deliver a restrained but deeply felt arrangement: skeletal drums, moody bass, mournful horns, all circling Johnson's voice like a sermon in minor key. What could feel like despair instead pulses with something tougher-dignity, clarity, and a refusal to shut up. The record would later be sampled by Wu-Tang and reinterpreted in Jamaica, but nothing quite matches the grit and sorrow of the original. A landmark in American soul music, whispered more than shouted.

Quartet Records and MGM present the re-issue of the first official complete vinyl edition of Burt Bacharach’s timeless classic soundtrack for the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

The infectious main theme performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is just the starting point of an epic comedy ride that includes such highlights as the unforgettable “The Look of Love,” sung by Dusty Springfield, or the epic fight music at the end of the film. Produced by record industry legend Phil Ramone, the original soundtrack LP offered selected highlights, expertly edited to showcase the best parts of the entire score. Thanks to the legendary sound quality of the stereo copies, this record became one of the most highly sought-after collectibles in the industry.

This straight re-issue of our 2019 vinyl edition was produced, restored and mastered by Chris Malone, rebuilding the score from the ground up. The soundtrack album has long been considered a cornerstone of an audiophile’s collection. Lauded by The Absolute Sound, the original Colgems release continues to remain in pole position as the best sounding “popular” LP vinyl disc of all time.

Malone’s work was focused on addressing unintended technical anomalies (such as filling dropouts and covering analogue splices) rather than broadly applying a modern sound palette. He has eschewed dynamic range compression and retained the brilliance of the original recording. The first LP is a fully remastered reissue of the iconic original stereo vinyl, playing in all its splendor. The second LP contains all the unreleased material, in mono, which are still the only available source to date.

This special 2xlp is a limited edition pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, all of it housed in a gatefold jacket, retaining the iconic original cover art by Robert McGinnis

Vier Jahrzehnte nach ihrer Gründung schreiben Ian Astbury und Billy Duffy ein neues Kapitel in der Geschichte von The Cult. Gemeinsam mit John Tempesta (Bass) und Charlie Jones (Schlagzeug) ließen sie 2023 ihre legendäre Frühphase Death Cult für eine exklusive Konzertreihe wieder aufleben - eine Hommage an die Ursprünge einer der einflussreichsten britischen Rockbands der 1980er-Jahre. Das Ergebnis dieser intensiven Rückkehr erscheint am 16. Januar 2026 unter dem Titel "PARADISE LIVE" - ein 16 Songs starkes Live-Album, aufgenommen am 18. November 2023 in der ehrwürdigen Albert Hall in Duffys Heimatstadt Manchester. "PARADISE LIVE" erscheint als Doppel-LP im exklusiven "Black on White"-Splatter-Design, auf CD sowie digital. Das edle Artwork zeigt ein schwarz auf schwarz geprägtes Schmetterlingsmotiv - entworfen von Ian Astbury und kunstvoll neu interpretiert von Carter O"Sullivan (Beggars Art Department). Die Black-Splatter-Edition ist ausschließlich über den Band-Webshop erhältlich, während die White-Splatter-Edition im regulären Handel erscheint. Der Weg von The Cult begann 1981 mit Southern Death Cult, deren gleichnamiges Album posthum 1983 erschien. Noch im selben Jahr gründeten Astbury und Duffy Death Cult - der Beginn einer kreativen Partnerschaft, die seit über 40 Jahren Bestand hat. Bereits 1984 entwickelte sich daraus The Cult, die im selben Jahr ihr gefeiertes Debüt "Dreamtime" veröffentlichten. Mit "PARADISE LIVE" schließen Astbury und Duffy den Kreis - ein intensives, authentisches Live-Dokument, das Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft einer außergewöhnlichen Band miteinander verbindet.

This expansive journey blends atmospheric and post- black metal with progressive rock, folk, and ambient textures. Unlike the previous album's medium- length tracks, this work unfolds in three sprawling suites, each flowing organically across genres, anchored by Bruno Augusto Ribeiro's lyrics and Caio Lemos's evocative vocals and instrumentation. The opening track, Legado, sets a primordial, threatened landscape, combining aggressive black metal riffs, driving percussion, and melodic interludes of flute and acoustic guitar, shifting between fury and melancholy. Os Cacadores ("The Hunters") balances dreamlike atmospheres and confrontational energy, contrasting Ribeiro's harsh vocals with Lemos's melodic delivery, weaving climactic guitar passages with contemplative ambient moments.

Vinyl release of the album from 2023. Black vinyl in a standard sleeve. “out of love in the face of a shadow” is the new album from Credit Electric. Exploring the human unconscious through impressionistic pop vignettes, the album represents a significant evolution of the band’s sound that originally stemmed from limitations put in place by the global pandemic, before blossoming into something altogether new and unexpected. What started to emerge was a body of work that drew upon lo-fi jazz, dub, post-rock, ambient music, 70’s studio experimentation, and 90’s indie rock as much as the rustic folk of their past releases. The resulting album “out of love in face of a shadow” calls to mind influences as disparate as Hiroshi Yoshimura, American Football, Scientist, and Magnolia Electric Co, all the while inhabiting a world completely of their own design. Highly anticipated sophomore album from Credit Electric. Press coverage on recent releases includes reviews and features in New Commute (Albums of the Year), Various Small Flames, Raven Sings the Blues, Psychedelic Baby Magazine, and more. UK/EU Publicity handled by Chris Carr & Mal Smith. “…the band crafts American hymns that peer through fogged glass, tracing the lines of lament in hazy relief…” - Raven Sings the Blues // Albums of the Year - New Commute