Search:the disco

Brand-new Legwork from Lance Desardi ft. Jesse Rennix. Dubbed out floor-fillers and deep introspection amalgamate for this special release. Lance and Jesse have done multiple releases together over the years, as great friends and comrades in sound. This one is four variations on a theme that will be familiar for a lot of folks.

Berlin (Germany) resident DELFONIC hits us with six Disco Edits/Remixes. Markus Lindner (Delfonic) has previously released music on label BBE. Here for the first time on HOT BISCUIT RECORDINGS

Mink & Shoes' is a gooey drip of murky low slung slinky disco, falling somewhere in between smokey retro-futurism and hazy desolation.

It's a seductively squiggling romp through the outer reaches of the cosmos — sky-crawlingly atmospheric, slow-motion dance floor abstraction for acid heads and space cadets. With Navid Izadi's intoxicating vocals it's quite something, and comes in three flavours: dub, radio and original.

Phonogramme drops Analog Stories Vol. 3 , 4 new exclusive deep house gems by Abacus – raw, stripped-back grooves straight from the analog underground. A deep dive into gritty, hypnotic house for those who know. Limited coloured edition

With Golden Crown and his interpretation of Prefab Sprout’s Enchanted, Forest Law brings together two songs that reflect both his songwriting and his musical influences. One is an original composition from 2018, rediscovered years later and revived almost unchanged, pairing bright pop melodies with a sharp meditation on power.

The other pays tribute to a song that became a personal obsession after his long-overdue discovery of Prefab Sprout. Together, these recordings highlight Forest Law’s gift for understated arrangements, memorable melodies and lyrics whose depth unfolds with every listen.

Drop the needle on this latest dispatch from the tape vaults, and we are back in Chicago at The Curtom Studios in 1977. For instalment number five in the "Hutson Sevens" series, Home of The Good Groove Records are so very honoured to deliver this previously unreleased cut from Leroy Hutson—a true titan of soul music and an absolute master of his craft.
"Betting On My Love" carries that signature smooth orchestration we have come to expect from Hutson’s finest hours. It moves with a wonderful, breezy optimism. Hutson’s joyful, velvet lead tones skip effortlessly across the groove, wrapped in lush backing harmonies that instantly evoke the feel of the Hutson II
classic, "I Think I’m Falling in Love".

Now, a brief confession of pure, crate-digging indulgence: if tailored strictly for the dancefloor, the track arguably hits its logical peak and fade just past the three-minute mark. But to cut it there would strip away the raw human magic of the session. If you let the wax ride to the very end, the arrangement dissolves into a wonderful, lingering instrumental outro, culminating in the studio players purposely "clattering" their instruments in a moment of pure creative release. It is a brilliant, candid studio artifact that was fortunately preserved on the original master recording. Essential listening for the global soul family—do not sleep on this debut pressing.

For the flip we present Leroy Hutson’s 1979 cut “ So Nice”, a masterclass in late-70s soul music. A stand out track from the “Unforgettable” album and a vital reminder of Hutson’s unmatched ability to inject sophisticated romanticism into the bleeding edge of that disco era.

Slightly edited for the 7-inch pressing, up steps our remastering and editing maestro Mr Phil Ward. Phil always has the utmost respect when remastering and editing original content, ensuring that every second of the groove is fully respected and preserved. His stellar work here includes the studio recording of the three-count drum intro, never heard before now, leading into that meditative smooth groove layout.
It is an exquisite arrangement of simmering electric keys, nimble basslines courtesy of the legendary Keni Burke, and subtle bongo accents that collectively deliver a timeless masterpiece. Now available on 7-inch vinyl for the first time.

Rod Bartlett
Home of The Good Groove Records

“When the flesh gets cut off the soul, it’s not the end.”

More than forty years after hardCORPS emerged from a Brixton basement, ‘Metal & Flesh’ returns in a new expanded edition on double vinyl and CD, newly remastered with the full involvement of surviving members Rob Doran and Clive Pierce. Born from the collision of punk, analogue synthesisers, sequencers, disco, reggae and experimental studio techniques, hardCORPS created electronic music that was as physical and emotional as it was mechanical. The arrival of French vocalist Regine Fetet gave the group its defining identity, placing her raw, uncompromising voice against the dense machinery of Hugh Ashton, Clive Pierce and Rob Doran. Working mainly with a Roland System 100, several Roland MC4 sequencers and later an additional MC500 and Atari ST 1040 computers, etc. pp., hardCORPS always transformed limitations, accidents, distortion and human imperfection into part of the music itself. Although rooted in the early 1980s, ‘Metal & Flesh’ refuses easy nostalgia, retaining the tension, space and character that made hardCORPS unlike their contemporaries. Yet, shall we eventually mention Kraftwerk, maybe let’s quote Ian Shirley from Record Collector magazine: „’Je Suis Passée‘ was not only a love letter to Kraftwerk but penned with such verve, passion and precision that Ralf and Florian probably would have accepted a blind date at a Düsseldorf cocktail bar (…).“ And as Martin Rushent famously said in 1990: “Hard Corps were ignored in their time. Perhaps it is the burden of the adventurous and the innovative to be ignored in their time, which is sad. Don’t ignore them now.”

This new edition has been carefully remastered to preserve that character and dynamics rather than simply making the recordings louder or more ‘modern’, while the artwork has likewise been developed to reflect the band’s original identity. Metal & Flesh’ is not merely an artefact of the 1980s, but a rare and fiercely individual document of four people discovering what happens when human instinct and machines collide.

Remastered by Martin Bowes. Graphic design by hard CORPS and Steve Lippert.

Gatefold sleeve gloss lamination, printed inner sleeves with lyrics, two double-sided hand-numbered.

The third release on Uprising pairs a sax-driven rockabilly thumper with one of the coolest dance craze records of the mid-60s. ‘Red Hot Car’ was Bobby Verne’s only recording and came out on the tiny Californian Doc Holiday label in 1962. Judging by the current price and collector demand for an original copy only a small quantity were pressed. This is a powerhouse of a tune that has been filling dancefloors across the globe for some time now.
As for the flip, in 1965, Buddy Wayne added self-penned lyrics to Gary Paxton’s rendition of the James Bond theme. Released on the Big Ben label – that only put out four records − it sat unwanted for decades. Then the rockabilly scene picked up on it in a big way when they discovered that it was the perfect stroller. This was closely followed by the northern soul and mod scenes. Today, it is at last crossing over to a more mainstream audience.

Doppler Effect is the brainchild of singer and songwriter James Straight. Formed in Boston in 1981, the band explores what Straight describes as the “encyclopedia of electronic music”. Since its inception, the project has explored and incorporated almost every style of electronica, from Ambient and Industrial to Techno, Synth-pop, EBM, House, Darkwave, Acid and Disco, with touches of Punk and Funk around the edges. It all depends on the song, as Straight sees his work as a series of mini-films he is directing, a sort of “seeing with your ears”. Utilizing the entire palette to achieve the desired effect, his only rule is that it must work for the song.

“Genesis: Studio Recordings” compiles a selection of recordings made between 1981 and 1985, including numerous previously unreleased songs and early versions ranging from synth-punk and new wave to minimal wave and synth-pop. Limited run of 300 copies on black vinyl with insert.

Expanding on his signature cinematic canvas, the EP solidifies the immersive, spiritual space Common Saints occupies in the contemporary landscape, a distinct sound with trademark intricate studio arrangements.

Following the structural foundation laid by the project's breakout singles "Night Light" and the title track "Illusions", the full EP stands as a striking philosophical assessment of the modern human condition. Age Of Illusions serves as an artistic reflection of cultural anxieties surrounding hyper-technological advancement, guiding the listener through a deliberate sonic architecture of self- discovery, spiritual rebirth, and final enlightenment.

The final musical adventure of the unforgettable Raffaella Carrà returns in a special vinyl edition. Replay invites us to rediscover the energy, charisma and unmistakable spirit of an artist who left an indelible mark on pop music and disco culture.

An essential reissue for fans and collectors alike, available in two stunning coloured vinyl editions: red and white. Two collector’s items celebrating the legacy of a true icon!

The final musical adventure of the unforgettable Raffaella Carrà returns in a special vinyl edition. Replay invites us to rediscover the energy, charisma and unmistakable spirit of an artist who left an indelible mark on pop music and disco culture.

An essential reissue for fans and collectors alike, available in two stunning coloured vinyl editions: red and white. Two collector’s items celebrating the legacy of a true icon!

Naya Beat presents ‘Select Remixes and Reworks 2', a selection of new and exclusive dancefloor remixes featuring Thomaas Banks (Psychemagik), Dino Soccio (Pleasure of Love), Turbotito & Ragz (Naya Beat), and Woolfy vs. Projections. Putting a South Asian twist on the classic disco 12” remix format, Naya Beat have given some of dance music’s most exciting producers access to their storied back catalogue. Torchbearers of West Coast balearic, the California duo Woolfy vs Projections deliver an infectiously groovy electro funk version of Nainan Da Pyar De Gaya by Turbotito & Ragz and Say She She’s Piya Malik. Label cofounders, Turbotito & Ragz add some Naya Beat house flavour to Greek duo Boys’ Shorts Going Out Hoping To See You adding vocals by Australian Indian actress Pallavi Sharda. Thomaas Banks, one half of the celebrated UK duo Psychemagik, provides a scintillating dark wave remix of Tu Aaja by British Asian new wave pioneers Pinky Ann Rihal. And finally, Dino Soccio, head honcho of the LA-based disco edits label Pleasure of Love brings us a smooth as butter extended disco remix of Asha Puthli & Say She She’s recent classic Pawa! Cut to vinyl for the discerning DJ and listener by multi-Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt at The Carvery, the EP comes in a beautifully designed 12” disco sleeve with centre label cutout.

Since its original release, Aging has taken on an interesting wider significance. OCA’s music came to the attention of Kelela, who featured the duo in her Aquaphoria mix before later working with Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig in their Berlin studio. Those sessions would go on to play an important role in shaping the sound of her acclaimed 2023 album Raven, on which both artists are credited.



2019 Press Release:

Berlin based duo OCA present Aging, their sophomore album and first for Métron Records. Following up last year's Preset Music (recently featured in Kelela's Aquaphoria mix) Aging is an album that focuses on memory, experience and the passing of time.

A collaboration between producers Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig, OCA formed after the pair met and became friends while studying in Berlin. Originally from small towns in Bavaria, the duo now live and work in the German capital.

Through a series of 10 vignettes, Aging transports the listener on a trip across a series of life events that retain a special personal importance to both of the artists. These emotional touchstones range from the profound to the prosaic - the discovery of something new, the relief from annoyance or the familiarity found in an old companion - and have been fully explored with playful sonic introspection.

Whilst the concept retains a certain ambiguity, it is the sound palette, created solely on an Alesis QS6 synthesiser - that brings these experiences to life. OCA blend and weave classic dance music motifs with shimmering synths, Japanese wet ambient, and even anthemic 80s rock to create a soundscape rich with texture and sensation.

The bass notes and tentative lead of ‘Baby’s First Blade of Grass’ reference the memory of first consciously or subconsciously experiencing something new, whilst the decaying ripples of ‘Stretching in Water’ paired with sounds of flowing streams conjure up images of tranquil pools. Their most developed work to date, Aging showcases OCA as rising stars of progressive pop and modern ambient.

Smoove delivers another pair of exceptional reworks, breathing fresh life into two disco classics from 1978 and 1979. Staying true to the spirit of the original recordings while adding his signature production touch, both tracks feel timeless yet perfectly suited for today’s dancefloors.

On the A-side, Was That All It Was opens with crisp, punchy drums before gradually unfolding into a masterclass in arrangement. Layer by layer, Smoove rebuilds the track, allowing Jean Carne’s stunning vocal performance to shine through lush string breakdowns, soaring brass, and an irresistible groove.

The flip features Runaway Love, taking a slightly deeper, slower approach. Euphoric backing vocals, warm Fender Rhodes, sweeping strings, and impeccably tight percussion combine to create an uplifting, soulful journey. An elegant and utterly joyful rework from start to finish.

2026 Repress

It's time for no.7 in the Disco Combine vinyl only series, with two heavy hitters re-worked and re-mixed from the tapes by Dave 'Love' Lee. On the A is 'Not This Time (Baby) (Give Me Some Moore Mix)' a much loved slice of Philly Disco,Aabsolutely bursting with lush orchestral arrangements. This classic jam has been given a noticeably different refresh, with a show-stopping acapella intro and more of the less heard instrumental passages. Speaking of classic, on the B is 'Jammin' Up In Smoke (Ready Steady Eddie Mix)' a Harris Machine, gospel charged chuggerAwhich is given a more groove based mix, which builds up instrumentally before hitting some falsetto vocals half way through, leading to a big hands in the air finale. Stay still if you can!!

The follow up to her UK number 1 album This Is How Tomorrow Moves, the stark and striking fourth album by beabadoobee is named for the electricity towers that dot every major artery in the world—the strong, spindly structures that reminded Beatrice Laus of her connection to friends and family at home while she was staring down extreme disconnection and isolation on tour over the past few years.

The title can also be read as an allusion to Laus’ spiky, forceful new sound—the waves of distortion that crash and shatter across this record’s 14 songs mirroring the intense crackle you hear when walking under power lines. The pylon is also a fitting symbol for an album that reckons with the repetitive anxieties of your mid-twenties: What if I’m always going to be this way? What if life is just pylon after pylon on the road?

The album’s first single is available to stream and buy from today: “Sun Has Set” introduces Pylon as, in essence, a set of songs that began as diary entries, words that Laus thought she’d never be able to say out loud. “A lot of the songs on this record are things I wish I could have said to someone,” she says. “This song has this petty tunnel vision—it’s like, I hate you. You’re gonna stay here and listen to how much I hate you. Because I never got to say that.” The single comes accompanied by a striking first person video directed by Bea’s partner and longtime visual collaborator Jake Erland.


Ever a devotee of pure rock music—both as something to be cherished and something to be played with—Laus casts these feelings in songs that touch on classic grunge, midwest emo and ‘90s radio rock, zeroing in on a sound that is both harsher and more direct than any of her previous records. She says the music she’s loved has “always been an influence” on her music, and so for B4 she went straight to the source. A fair few of Beabadoobee’s composite influences contributed to Pylon, a fact that speaks to the goodwill and respect Laus has amassed over the course of her relatively brief career.

Hayley Williams sings on “Nothing to Prove,” a deeply anthemic indie-rock song about getting your power back from fairweather friends who just want a bit of your success. The moody “Powerlines” features a verse from Turnstile singer Brendan Yates, a master of matching vocal force with emotional nuance. Elsewhere, you’ll find contributions from Pinegrove’s Evan Stephens Hall, Deftones’ Chino Moreno, and Title Fight’s Shane Moran, as well as, on “Write Me A Letter”, production work from Laus’ longtime friends and collaborators Matty Healy and George Daniel of The 1975.

Beabadoobee will debut songs from the record on the Powerlines Tour, her first ever arena shows and biggest tour to date, taking in shows across North America, the UK and Europe this autumn-winter. The Powerlines Tour kicks off 1 October and includes stops at Madison Square Garden, The Kia Forum, The O2 and more (full routing below). Support comes from Wisp in the US, Canada and UK and Violet Grohl in France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.





Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Beatrice Laus emerged as a British alternative music icon across three acclaimed albums and five EPs. She has garnered multiple BRIT Award and BBC Sound Of nominations, and won NME’s Radar award, whilst amassing over 10 billion streams worldwide and more than 12 million followers across her social channels.

This Is How Tomorrow Moves became her first record to reach number 1 on the UK Official Album Chart in 2024, following her Top 10 albums Fake It Flowers (which reached number 8) in 2020 and 2022’s Beatopia (#4). Earlier this year, beabadoobee released the one-off single ‘‘All I Did Was Dream Of You,” teaming up with Grammy-nominated best New Artist The Marías, the result of a longtime mutual creative admiration between María Zardoya and Bea.

The Return of The Vagabond – Revisited! On The New Way
There are figures that do not belong to any single era. They traverse .me, watch the world evolve, and
con.nue their journey guided by a singular compass: music.
Born from a concept by Use Vinyl Records, The Return of The Vagabond – Revisited! On The New Way is a
compila.on that sets the "Vagabond" back in mo.on—an iconic symbol for those who live music as a
journey without boundaries of .me, genre, or genera.on.
His return takes shape through a curated selec.on of .meless interna.onal disco, funk, and rock classics,
reinterpreted with fresh soundscapes while remaining deeply faithful to the spirit of the originals. This
musical odyssey is helmed by Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi, Marco Fra=y, (Ino)2, DJ Mauri, and
Corrado Pres@, proving that great music can transcend .me, reinvent itself, and con.nue to inspire.
More than just a compila.on, The Return of The Vagabond – Revisited! On The New Way is a sonic voyage
that rediscovers legendary tracks through a modern lens. It is a project that demonstrates how authen.c
music never belongs to the past: it evolves, changes its skin, and con.nues to resonate deeply with the
present.

This LP, the second set from Soul4Real based on songs mostly associated with Jackson, MS label Malaco, is another stunning showcase of the breadth of soul music. Featuring tracks ranging from the 70s through to the new millennium and from the deepest of blues-tinged ballads to disco beats, there is something on this LP for all soul enthusiasts to relish. The biggest name here is undoubtedly Bobby “Blue” Bland. A towering presence in both soul and blues for over 50 years, his influence – and sales – were immense. Other hitmakers are here as well, such as the prodigious vocal talent of Shirley Brown, whose massive “Woman To Woman” kick-started her long and successful career, and the delightful Dorothy Moore, whose immortal “Misty Blue” saved Malaco from bankruptcy in the mid-70s. Moore’s lovely duet with star Eddie Floyd was a one-off, as was Natural High’s Malaco subsidiary Chimneyville album. Always welcome on sets like this are lesser-known artists like sometime funk band Solid Gold Revue member Ray Crumley, who released a small handful of solo 45s,New Orleans singer Richard Caiton, who has had Northern soul plays, and mystery Mississippi native J.J. Lewis. Cult southern soul heroes such as the outstanding Tommy Tate – memorably described by Malaco boss Tommy Couch as “America’s best kept secret” – and the gifted and prolific down home songwriter George Jackson, whose BMI catalogue runs to over 400 songs, are prominent here. Jackson’s effort is previously unissued, and the more obscure item from Marvin Morrow is a first time on vinyl. Like Jackson, Morrow earnt his living as a writer for such luminaries as Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan. A treat for all connoisseurs. Malaco gave themselves the byline of “The Last Soul Record Company”, and listening to their output of over 50 years and the way they outlasted every other southern independent label, it’s impossible to disagree.

20/20 Vision continues to flourish even well into its third decade. For its next trick, the Leeds label welcomes back Brett Johnson, who was last here 20+ years ago. Releases on Classic Records, DJ Heather collaborations and Derrick Carter championing his work all make him a bona fide house hero and 'Broken Machine' confirms it. 'Unstuck' opens with a mutating disco bassline that refuses to settle, while 'Juiced' dives deep into his signature boompty swing with a drop designed for pure devastation. The title track is the centrepiece - a trippy trip that stretches time entirely before 'iRemember' closes with starry-eyed ambient pads laced above a deep, slow, gorgeous groove. Sophisticated, playful and musical as always.

2026 Repress

Celebrating 50 years since the release of the iconic Cathedrals album, U.S. disco legend D.C. LaRue returns with never-before-released remixes of all four original classics—pressed on strictly limited vinyl.
Top contemporary disco producers The Reflex, Dr. Packer, and Mannix breathe new life into LaRue’s 1976 masterpiece:
The Reflex (Stevie Wonder, Cerrone) delivers dancefloor-driven edits using digitized analog multitracks.
Dr. Packer (First Choice, Loleatta Holloway) reinvents one of LaRue’s biggest hits with fresh, soulful energy.
Mannix, head of Dafia Records, adds deep, dubby textures to complete this dynamic remix package.
Each track is respectfully reimagined—maintaining the emotional depth of the originals while enhancing clarity, rhythm, and relevance with modern production.
Bonus: Includes two standout remixes from LaRue’s second LP The Tea Dance—"Overture" (The Reflex) and "O Ba Ba" (Mannix).
These remixes aren’t just nostalgic—they’re timeless. Essential for collectors, DJs, and anyone who lives for disco.
Grab your copy before it’s gone.

The third release on Sapore Italiano dives into the hypnotic and untamable power of fire.

At the heart of the release is Fuoco, a contemporary reinterpretation of Lino Rufo’s composition, reworked by Devozioni into a warm and emotionally driven club anthem.

On remix duties, a carefully selected cast pushes the record into deeper club territory, blending Italo disco, tech house and cosmic grooves with modern production aesthetics. The result is a versatile EP that moves effortlessly between peak-time moments, sunrise sets and leftfield dancefloors.

Essential for fans of: Italo, Cosmic, Indie Dance, Modern Disco and underground house music.

BerettaMusic's compilation series is mouthwatering just from reading the names of the artists involved. First up is Detroit mainstay Dez Andres, who opens with 'Ready Disco,' a warm and typically hip-hop-inflected tone that Curiel's 'Keep You That Way' and Evan Rhodes' 'We Go Low' both build on comfortably, with the latter a particularly contagious minimal house shuffler with a bassline that really pops. DJ Cent's 'Malfunction' gets more heavy and threatening with steely drums marching into darkness, before Ryan Sadorus closes with 'Cultivate,' a storming disco-house workout. It's less a scattered various-artists grab bag and more a real document of Detroit's current house scene. Unsurprisingly, then, it is superb.

Gabriella Cilmi's talents were undeniable from a young age, leading her to sign to Australia's Mushroom Records when she was just 13-years-old. Just a few years later, the breakthrough success of 'Sweet About Me' and her Gold-certified UK Top 10 debut album 'Lessons To Be Learned' took the teenager global. But she discovered that the more success she had, the more she was subjected to countless opinions on what she should do next - an awkward situation for an artist who just wanted to be herself. 'Pure Love' is a record she made having discovered the confidence and freedom to make exactly the kind of album she wants to make: a soulful organic one, on which she could sing from the heart. And it's certainly worth the wait, a triumphant return in which her warm, throaty, unmistakably expressive contralto wraps itself around the deep soul, jazz and classic rock that has always been closest to her heart.

A quick scan of the world’s favourite crowdsourced discography reveals that Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo was not a total stranger to crackling electric experimentation in the years following his songwriting turns of the 20-teens. Yet »The System«, ingeniously culled and sequenced from Ranaldo’s soundtrack work for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema’s ›eco-doc‹ of the same name, nonetheless feels like a reawakening. Quietly released in a vastly different (and much more ›filmic‹) form by Doxy Music/Riva Media Records in 2025, this LP reimagines and reconfigures the initial release, including unreleased material written and recorded for the film, to lend it new stature as both a return to drone-improv form and a reunion with introspective Downtown angst.

Given the state of the world, it’s not surprising that the film Ranaldo scores – a documentary on three climate activists bruising their fists on the black iron prison of techno-fascist deathkultur – is a study in despair and futility. But rather than wallowing in navel-gazing doom and gloom, the film documents the unstoppable spirit that has animated human resistance since the time of the Pharaohs.

As it turns out, the gorgeous scope of Lee Ranaldo’s guitar palette is a perfect manifestation of the hope and despair that animates the film. But like other high-water marks in the guitar-centric soundtrack canon – the high plains raga of Bruce Langhorne’s »Hired Hand«, Neil Young’s sparse and ghostly solo transmissions on »Dead Man«, or the monolithic mantras of Popol Vuh’s »Nosferatu« – its devotion to spectral gestures and meditative song forms launches it firmly outside of the OST orbit into a universe fully its own.

It might seem like a long journey from the Lower Manhattan rhythmic grime of the album’s opener »Tajikistan (Nice to Meet You)« (reminiscent of guitar opuses like Robert Quine and Jody Harris’s »Escape«) to the ringing cowboy chords of the final track, but the narrative logic of the LP pulls the listener along as solidly as a pack horse. As the LP unwinds, and collaborators like Jim Jarmusch, cellist Leila Boudreil, Yeah Yeah Yeahs snare shaman Brian Chase, and guitarist Yonatan Gat take their places, new vistas unfurl: the ritualistic thrum of »Berlin Blockade«, the haunted overtone palaces of »Bergelmir«, and the cavernous acoustic strumming of »Instruments of Violence«. It all winds up with the high lonesome standard »Cool Water«, each unhurried note trailing off into long-tail reverb, layers of shifting vocal harmonies pulling everything skyward – a hopeful note in an album where existential dread never lurks too deeply below the surface.

In the end, »The System« functions both as a film score and a hallucinatory (mostly) instrumental guitar record, revealing a sensibility not too often spotted in the 21st century – a liminal space where the song, the jam, and the meditation merge into a blurred whole. »The System«’s expansive fabric, emerging from a collective sound circling around Ranaldo’s signature tones, envelops and ampl amplifies the contributions of its community of creators – the perfect antidote to narcissistic despair. Much like the subjects of the film light the way towards intra-generational resistance, the music of »The System« reveals a path through gathering darkness. The world could be yours if you follow.

– Tom Carter

A quick scan of the world’s favourite crowdsourced discography reveals that Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo was not a total stranger to crackling electric experimentation in the years following his songwriting turns of the 20-teens. Yet »The System«, ingeniously culled and sequenced from Ranaldo’s soundtrack work for Dutch filmmaker Joris Postema’s ›eco-doc‹ of the same name, nonetheless feels like a reawakening. Quietly released in a vastly different (and much more ›filmic‹) form by Doxy Music/Riva Media Records in 2025, this LP reimagines and reconfigures the initial release, including unreleased material written and recorded for the film, to lend it new stature as both a return to drone-improv form and a reunion with introspective Downtown angst.

Given the state of the world, it’s not surprising that the film Ranaldo scores – a documentary on three climate activists bruising their fists on the black iron prison of techno-fascist deathkultur – is a study in despair and futility. But rather than wallowing in navel-gazing doom and gloom, the film documents the unstoppable spirit that has animated human resistance since the time of the Pharaohs.

As it turns out, the gorgeous scope of Lee Ranaldo’s guitar palette is a perfect manifestation of the hope and despair that animates the film. But like other high-water marks in the guitar-centric soundtrack canon – the high plains raga of Bruce Langhorne’s »Hired Hand«, Neil Young’s sparse and ghostly solo transmissions on »Dead Man«, or the monolithic mantras of Popol Vuh’s »Nosferatu« – its devotion to spectral gestures and meditative song forms launches it firmly outside of the OST orbit into a universe fully its own.

It might seem like a long journey from the Lower Manhattan rhythmic grime of the album’s opener »Tajikistan (Nice to Meet You)« (reminiscent of guitar opuses like Robert Quine and Jody Harris’s »Escape«) to the ringing cowboy chords of the final track, but the narrative logic of the LP pulls the listener along as solidly as a pack horse. As the LP unwinds, and collaborators like Jim Jarmusch, cellist Leila Boudreil, Yeah Yeah Yeahs snare shaman Brian Chase, and guitarist Yonatan Gat take their places, new vistas unfurl: the ritualistic thrum of »Berlin Blockade«, the haunted overtone palaces of »Bergelmir«, and the cavernous acoustic strumming of »Instruments of Violence«. It all winds up with the high lonesome standard »Cool Water«, each unhurried note trailing off into long-tail reverb, layers of shifting vocal harmonies pulling everything skyward – a hopeful note in an album where existential dread never lurks too deeply below the surface.

In the end, »The System« functions both as a film score and a hallucinatory (mostly) instrumental guitar record, revealing a sensibility not too often spotted in the 21st century – a liminal space where the song, the jam, and the meditation merge into a blurred whole. »The System«’s expansive fabric, emerging from a collective sound circling around Ranaldo’s signature tones, envelops and ampl amplifies the contributions of its community of creators – the perfect antidote to narcissistic despair. Much like the subjects of the film light the way towards intra-generational resistance, the music of »The System« reveals a path through gathering darkness. The world could be yours if you follow.

– Tom Carter

World Of Echo are proud to announce the long-awaited reissue of the self-titled debut album by Bristol’s Movietone. Originally released in 1995 by Planet Records and reissued on CD in 2003 by The Pastels’ Geographic Music imprint, this is the first time Movietone has been reissued on vinyl. An expanded double-LP edition, it includes the extra tracks from the 2003 CD (their first two singles, and an unreleased demo of “Chance Is Her Opera”), and adds three more unearthed gems: demos of “Alkaline Eye” and “She Smiled Mandarine Like”, and an early take of “Late July”, recorded in a garden by Dave Pearce (Flying Saucer Attack) in 1993.

Taken together, this is the definitive collection of music from the first phase of one of Bristol’s most remarkable groups. Movietone was the cumulation of a series of events, explorations, and discoveries, starting at secondary school – the group’s core membership of Kate Wright, Rachel Brook, Matt Elliott and Matt Jones met at Cotham School in Bristol. As for many other groups, their early years were all about experimenting, and finding ways to ‘make do’, a DIY sensibility that would inform Movietone through their decade-long lifespan. From formative rehearsals in a shed in the garden of Brook’s family home, to recording early material to four-track in Redland Library, and on into the Whitehouse and Mr Grin’s studio sessions for their debut album, Movietone’s music fell together in a creatively unpredictable, yet conceptually rigorous manner.

By the time they released Movietone, they’d found a home with Bristol’s Planet, run by author Richard King and James Webster, who had both released their first two singles, “She Smiled Mandarine Like” and “Mono Valley”. There was other music happening around them in Bristol, too, from the Jones brothers’ avant-rock outfit Crescent (who were Movietone’s closest conspirators), through Elliott’s jungle/electronica project Third Eye Foundation, and Brook and Elliott’s membership of Flying Saucer Attack. A closely knit community, Movietone are the centre of this nestling architecture of groups. The vision in the music, mostly, belongs to Wright, but Movietone ran in democratic creative consort. Listening back to Movietone, you can hear this democracy in action through the wildness of the music, which is balanced by the poetics of Wright’s lyrics and melodies.

Full of half-captured memories and entangled abstractions, there’s an elliptical, ruminative quality to much of the writing here that shows the deep influence of the Beat Generation writers, along with a twilight environment captured in the songs that’s pure third-album Velvets, Galaxie 500, early Tindersticks, Codeine. Unpredictable interventions – the crashing glass in “Mono Valley”, the sudden explosions of “Orange Zero” point towards the noise blowouts of My Bloody Valentine, the unpredictability of Sonic Youth; Wright’s understated vocal cadence suggest a deep, embodied understanding of John Cage’s Indeterminacy.

Movietone would go on to make 3 fantastic albums for Domino: Night & Day (1997), The Blossom Filled Streets (2000) and The Sand & The Stars (2003) and their Peel Sessions were released earlier this year on Textile. Still held in high regard by artists like Steven R. Smith, and The Pastels, whose Stephen McRobbie once described them as “one of the great unknown English groups,” it’s an absolute thrill to listen to Movietone anew – still inspired, still seductive, still magic, still mysterious.

"Cinematic Visionaries Calibro 35 and Noir Master James Ellroy Pay Homage to L.A. with a Pure Crime-Funk Original Soundtrack. Out October 9" There are collaborations that feel inevitable like they were waiting to happen in some shadowed corner of culture. The union between Italian cinematic funk visionaries Calibro 35 and internationally acclaimed master of noir fiction and New York Times bestselling author James Ellroy is undoubtedly one of them. When Calibro 35 were invited to compose the original soundtrack for Francesco Zippel's documentary Ellroy vs L.A., they didn't simply write music for film. They stepped directly into Ellroy's universe the most dangerous corners of American crime fiction and discovered, to no one's surprise, that its darkness felt strangely familiar. The result is Ellroy vs L.A., the band's new album out October 9 on Record Kicks. Twelve brand new tracks of cinematic crime funk, psychedelia, and hypnotic groove that don't accompany Ellroy's world so much as inhabit it. The soundtrack's move through Ellroy's fictional and real-world mythologies with deliberate precision. Stylistically, the album finds Calibro 35 in their most natural yet most cinematic state: crime funk, psychedelia, and hypnotic groove pushed into darker, more narrative-driven territory by the weight of Ellroy's world. From the gloomy, suspense-laden groove of the opener Black Dahlia to the evocative closing piece Moonlight Sonative, the album unfolds as a complete cinematic arc, showcasing Calibro 35 at their very best. L.A. Confidential delivers a super-suspenseful, thrilling tension that feels like a chase through neon-lit streets, while Riots erupts into explosive cinematic funk, capturing chaos and urban unrest in full force. LSD on Sunset Boulevard drifts into a hazy, instrumental soul journey psychedelic, warm, and disorienting, like a late-night hallucination of the city itself. The Big Nowhere (Part I & II) expands the narrative into a slow-burning, atmospheric descent, unfolding like a two-act crime saga. Welcome to the Land of Vacation and Probation hits with kick-ass, uptempo crime-funk madness, urgent and relentless in its propulsion, while White Jazz is a mood of suspended, noir-infused jazz tension cool, shadowy, and unresolved. Together, the tracks map Los Angeles as a fractured yet hypnotic landscape suspended between glamour and violence, beauty and decay, myth and reality Born in Milan in 2007 with the mission of excavating the golden age of Italian film music Morricone, Piccioni, Trovajoli, Calibro 35 have spent nearly two decades transforming that initial obsession into a singular artistic language. Their work bridges vintage Italian soundtracks with contemporary jazz and cinematic funk, earning them a global following rare for an Italian instrumental act. Their music has been sampled by Dr. Dre (Compton, "One Shot One Kill" feat. Snoop Dogg), Jay-Z ("Picasso Baby"), and Damon Albarn's The Child of Lov. Rolling Stone described them as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that has happened to Italy in the past few years," while Far Out Magazine called them "one of the most skilful and innovative instrumental outfits on the planet right now." The band (Enrico Gabrielli, Massimo Martellotta, Fabio Rondanini, and Tommaso Colliva) continue to evolve without losing their core identity. In 2025 they released the critically acclaimed Exploration, further expanding their sonic universe, and were invited to perform at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games at the Arena di Verona, confirming their growing international stature. With Ellroy vs L.A., Calibro 35 don't just compose a soundtrack they translate a mythology into rhythm, tension, and groove. Between fiction and reality, they find a city that never truly sleeps, only pulses in darkness. Press play, and Los Angeles begins to unfold in sound.

Environments are sticky, they stick to whatever happens within them. They can’t help it. And neither can you.

Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel is a collection of musical ‘figures’ written and recorded in 2022 and 2023 using a method Lyckle and Kim call the ‘snelkookpan’, translated as the pressure cooker. The ’snelkookpan’ in essence is trying to write and live-record as many musical figures in a given timeframe in a specific place. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ this was an afternoon and evening in an exhibition Kim had curated about collecting and memory in The Hague. For ‘Songs of St. Michel’ this was 6 days in the basement of an art institution in Maastricht where they were joined by Otto de Jong on guitar. The figures are usually worked out by ear, sometimes improvised, sometimes written down, but often they are simply remembered and soon after recording forgotten. For ‘Land of the Few and Far Between’ they recorded ten figures. For ‘Songs for St. Michel’ fifteen. Of each a selection of five ended up on this seven inch.

F. van Abeelen (one of whom’s drawings is pictured on the sleeve of this seven inch and of whom 750 drawings were part of the exhibition mentioned above) was forced as a boy to hide in a basement for years. Only a small window gave access to the outside world. That sliver was his reality. After these years in hiding he began drawing his sliver of reality obsessively. Daily series of similar drawings that he would meticulously catalogue in an organizer. We never met F. Our friend who discovered the drawings in a closet of psychiatric nursing home Dorestad never met F. We only recorded ten musical figures next to 750 drawings by F.

St. Michel is a house that stands on the outskirts of Maastricht. It is built on the floodplains of the river Maas and living there you see the river change daily. It is a river fed by rain. No rain means a low river. Rain means a river that sometimes comes frighteningly close to flooding. Which it sometimes does. Due to the ebb and flow of the Maas, stuff is deposited in the boggy areas that are its floodplains. A shoe, a CD, a drone, some wood.

Places impress themselves onto what you are doing. You become an unwitting prop in the place’s story.

The first ‘snelkookpan’ happened in 2017 in the water-basin of one of the earliest concrete structures in the Netherlands; a bunker that was part of Amsterdam’s defensive line, built around the 1890’s. Something that used to house water was now empty. For three days Kim and Lyckle recorded improvised music there, which is still alive on a hard drive somewhere. In 2020 they recorded ‘the third of May’ at an old pumping station in Den Helder; an eleven part piece of auditory historical-horror which was released by South of North in 2024. Since 2023 Lyckle and Kim have mainly recorded live shows. With a Clarinet, kawai K1, Ipad, organelle, samplers and a variety of instruments curated for their minimal size or odd sound they’ve made chains of brief and improvised mini compositions inspired by browsing environments (digital and otherwise).

Land of the Few and Far Between / Songs for St. Michel adds to this growing collection of recordings for environments that are somehow sticky.

Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she'd wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. "I'm a psychological mixer - I'm trying to think of how someone's experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way," Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band's own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars.' In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, lyricist and vocalist Ash Richter is as straightforward as she's ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track 'peaches,' a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. 'still asleep' chronicles Richter's euphoria after Total Wife's first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. "Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing," she sings, before: "Is there such a thing as too happy?" The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play - climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like 'in my head' and 'second spring,' she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. "I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism - trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery," she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do - from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they've christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they've settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry's floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell - injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.

Come Back Down, the new album by Nashville experimental-pop duo Total Wife, was born from the edge of sleep. When composer and producer Luna Kupper would begin to fall asleep during late-night mixing sessions, the songs would follow her into the halfway place between dream and lucidity. Like Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, she'd wake with a new perspective on the puzzle she was piecing together. "I'm a psychological mixer - I'm trying to think of how someone's experiencing the sound, versus getting stuck in trying to make all these different tones and using all this gear to make something sound a certain way," Kupper says. And like a spiral from waking life into dream, the songs on Come Back Down are endlessly self-referential, building whole universes from a single point. Kupper sold all of her synths to make rent before she started working on the album, and so every inorganic sound is instead built from samples of the band's own work. A guitar on one song may be reprocessed and used as a synth on the next, while everywhere on the album vocal samples are taken from a single unreleased cover of Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars.' In tribute to this process, the album was almost named The Julia Set after the mathematical equation which feeds into itself again and again, creating beautiful fractal images. The intention was to create something complex but accessible; experimental, yet precise and without abstraction. In her lyrics, too, lyricist and vocalist Ash Richter is as straightforward as she's ever been. She drew on her experience of pandemic isolation to write about connection and disconnection, using her lyrics as a tool for the communication that was missing in everyday life. On the soaring, shoegazey track 'peaches,' a storm that forced the cancellation of a recording session became a metaphor for emotional distance. 'still asleep' chronicles Richter's euphoria after Total Wife's first tour, and watches it begin to curdle into paranoia. "Thank the full moon, my heart is overflowing," she sings, before: "Is there such a thing as too happy?" The experience of isolation was prompting Richter to think back to her childhood, a time marked for her by solitude and natural play - climbing trees, making mud pies, getting lost in the woods. On tracks like 'in my head' and 'second spring,' she uses the imagery of nature to recall that time and forge a connection with her lonely inner child. "I feel connected with transcendentalist writing and magical realism - trying to convey things in a concrete way, but with that element of psychology and mystery," she says. Richter and Kupper, friends from high school, formed Total Wife in 2016, relocating from Boston to Nashville in 2020. Both are visual artists as well as musicians, which they incorporate into their work with Total Wife via layered and purposeful visuals. A DIY streak underpins everything that they do - from handling their own artwork and music videos to recording their own music, releasing tapes through their label Ivy Eat Home, and hosting house shows in the basement they've christened Ryman 2. In Nashville they've settled into a weirdo scene living under the record industry's floorboards, a hive of collaborative and creative energy that has made them excited to call the city home. They also assembled a live band for the first time shortly after moving to Nashville, consisting of Ryan Bigelow, Sean Booz and Billy Campbell - injecting their creative process with a jolt of spontaneity and aliveness that has fed back into Come Back Down.

"Back in 2022, Ban Ban Ton Ton raved about George T’s then digital-only release, “Roll On, Kings Cross”. We described it as a “dynamite dose of poetry and digidub.” Likening the prose – which describes a train journey from the coast to the city – to Michael Smith and Joe Duggan, while comparing the production to Dennis Bovell’s remixes of Jarvis Cocker’s “Swanky Modes”, and The Sabres Of Paradise’s “Wilmot”. Melodica-led with a hefty post-punk flavour, its dub, which focuses on manipulating and morphing the bass-line, we called “hollowed out house.”

These tracks have now been pressed to vinyl for the second release on new imprint Noetic Rhythm, where they’re joined by Leonidas’ “Great Northern” mix. Eschewing his usual futuristic ethno techno jacking, here he drops into roots reggae. Creating something more skanking, more stepping. An extended “discomix” showered in filtered, Mutron Bi-phased percussion, ghostly horns and peppered with the odd syndrum pop. Washes of sampled surf appropriately accompanying George informing us that “to the left there’s the sea.”

The 12 also features, “Dr Doctor”, a fresh collaboration with Yas Mine, The singer / guitarist’s French vocals countering George’s Matt Johnson-esque delivery, and a John Barry / “Midnight Cowboy”-like melodica melody serenading the song’s slow, squelchy, electronic skanking. The dub, instead, showcasing Yas’ fine fretwork." BAN BAN TON TON review

-

"These tracks are massive! I love Roll On King's Cross the best" KAY SUZKI (Time Capsule)
"I played the dub (Dub On, King's Cross) at a club in Oslo alongside some Maurizio and it sounded great. Bit of an oddball." Also played on NTS Radio and in Mixmag mix. JONNIE WILKES // OPTIMO
"Really digging Mr Demure when he drops into dubwise" DR ROB // BAN BAN TON TON
"Yes. Nice" NICK THE RECORD
"Awesome" JONNY ROCK
"I really like this EP... Love the Leonidas dub!" CEDRIC WOO (Beauty & The Beat, LDN)
"Love the blend of Augustus P vibes with a post punk dub feel. Bingo!" DICKY TRISCO
"I love it and will be playing" TREVOR FUNG (Ibiza Legend)
"Yes this is dark but kinda friendly.... brilliant...It's like ghost town ...I love Leo's mix" FOR MANKIND (Pikes Ibiza)
"Love the release and LOVE LOVE LOVE Dr Doctor!!!! Psyched to play this one out all weekend." ZILLAS ON ACID // James Weissinger (Philadelphia, US)
"This is amazing. Dub on kings cross is a banger - really love this one" ARVEENE
"Loving the Leonidas dub" ATEMI (Blackbush Orchestra / Abstrack)
+
PREVIOUSLY
"Melodica heaven" JD TWITCH/OPTIMO (RIP)
"I love this" IVAN SMAGGHE
"It's hot!!" JONNY ROCK
+ plays/support from:
DON LETTS (BBC 6Music)
TOM RAVENSCROFT (BBC 6Music)
HARRI (Sub Club)






[f] Roll On, King's Cross [Leonidas' Great Northern Mix] 06:54
[g] Dr Doctor [Instrumental Mix] 03:25

“When the flesh gets cut off the soul, it’s not the end.”

More than forty years after hardCORPS emerged from a Brixton basement, ‘Metal & Flesh’ returns in a new expanded edition on double vinyl and CD, newly remastered with the full involvement of surviving members Rob Doran and Clive Pierce. Born from the collision of punk, analogue synthesisers, sequencers, disco, reggae and experimental studio techniques, hardCORPS created electronic music that was as physical and emotional as it was mechanical. The arrival of French vocalist Regine Fetet gave the group its defining identity, placing her raw, uncompromising voice against the dense machinery of Hugh Ashton, Clive Pierce and Rob Doran. Working mainly with a Roland System 100, several Roland MC4 sequencers and later an additional MC500 and Atari ST 1040 computers, etc. pp., hardCORPS always transformed limitations, accidents, distortion and human imperfection into part of the music itself. Although rooted in the early 1980s, ‘Metal & Flesh’ refuses easy nostalgia, retaining the tension, space and character that made hardCORPS unlike their contemporaries. Yet, shall we eventually mention Kraftwerk, maybe let’s quote Ian Shirley from Record Collector magazine: „’Je Suis Passée‘ was not only a love letter to Kraftwerk but penned with such verve, passion and precision that Ralf and Florian probably would have accepted a blind date at a Düsseldorf cocktail bar (…).“ And as Martin Rushent famously said in 1990: “Hard Corps were ignored in their time. Perhaps it is the burden of the adventurous and the innovative to be ignored in their time, which is sad. Don’t ignore them now.”

This new edition has been carefully remastered to preserve that character and dynamics rather than simply making the recordings louder or more ‘modern’, while the artwork has likewise been developed to reflect the band’s original identity. Metal & Flesh’ is not merely an artefact of the 1980s, but a rare and fiercely individual document of four people discovering what happens when human instinct and machines collide.

Remastered by Martin Bowes. Graphic design by hard CORPS and Steve Lippert.

Gatefold sleeve gloss lamination, printed inner sleeves with lyrics, two double-sided hand-numbered.

His discography has long been heard through the lens of the American folk tradition. But Just Beyond Endless Mountain, out October 9th on Anti- Records, quietly turns that perspective on its head. After returning to his native Dalarna in central Sweden, Matsson found himself listening to the music he had spent years trying to leave behind: the polskas, the old field recordings and the sounds of the local traditions that had surrounded him since childhood. The result is not a return to the past, but a step into new musical territory. Swedish folk music has reshaped his melodies, his voice, and the way he writes songs. The Tallest Man On Earth is back with his most deeply rooted album to date. Just Beyond Endless Mountain opens an unexpected new chapter in a career that has never settled for familiar ground

For nearly twenty years, Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson has played his way around the world as The Tallest Man on Earth, carving out a singular place in contemporary folk music. His discography has long been heard through the lens of the American folk tradition. But Just Beyond Endless Mountain, out October 9th on Anti- Records, quietly turns that perspective on its head. After returning to his native Dalarna in central Sweden, Matsson found himself listening to the music he had spent years trying to leave behind: the polskas, the old field recordings and the sounds of the local traditions that had surrounded him since childhood. The result is not a return to the past, but a step into new musical territory. Swedish folk music has reshaped his melodies, his voice, and the way he writes songs. The Tallest Man on Earth is back with his most deeply rooted album to date. Just Beyond Endless Mountain opens an unexpected new chapter in a career that has never settled for familiar ground.

For nearly twenty years, Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson has played his way around the world as The Tallest Man on Earth, carving out a singular place in contemporary folk music. His discography has long been heard through the lens of the American folk tradition. But Just Beyond Endless Mountain, out October 9th on Anti- Records, quietly turns that perspective on its head. After returning to his native Dalarna in central Sweden, Matsson found himself listening to the music he had spent years trying to leave behind: the polskas, the old field recordings and the sounds of the local traditions that had surrounded him since childhood. The result is not a return to the past, but a step into new musical territory. Swedish folk music has reshaped his melodies, his voice, and the way he writes songs. The Tallest Man on Earth is back with his most deeply rooted album to date. Just Beyond Endless Mountain opens an unexpected new chapter in a career that has never settled for familiar ground.

The pairing of two fiddles is a familiar sound in many folk traditions, but it has been heard less frequently in English traditional music. Morning of May, a new album from Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, sets out to discover what happens when two fiddlers meet with this repertoire: taking turns carrying the melody, as the other takes a "seconding" role, weaving harmony and rhythm around the tune, elevating it and subtly reshaping the ground beneath it. Sweeney and Smith immersed themselves in a wide range of manuscripts and tune collections, delving into some of the more obscure sources. Within these archives, they found tunes that felt unexplored and rich with possibility. Some tunes arrived as complete hidden gems. Others required some restoration, their rough edges gently smoothed through the process of playing. Others were tiny fragments, inspiring almost total reimaginings. Alongside these old tunes sit a few original compositions by Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, written in the same spirit of curiosity and continuity that informs their approach to archive material.

The pairing of two fiddles is a familiar sound in many folk traditions, but it has been heard less frequently in English traditional music. Morning of May, a new album from Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, sets out to discover what happens when two fiddlers meet with this repertoire: taking turns carrying the melody, as the other takes a "seconding" role, weaving harmony and rhythm around the tune, elevating it and subtly reshaping the ground beneath it. Sweeney and Smith immersed themselves in a wide range of manuscripts and tune collections, delving into some of the more obscure sources. Within these archives, they found tunes that felt unexplored and rich with possibility. Some tunes arrived as complete hidden gems. Others required some restoration, their rough edges gently smoothed through the process of playing. Others were tiny fragments, inspiring almost total reimaginings. Alongside these old tunes sit a few original compositions by Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, written in the same spirit of curiosity and continuity that informs their approach to archive material.

John Coffey built a reputation as one of the most explosive live bands in Europe - even becoming an internet sensation with the legendary “beer catch”. From Graspop to Sziget, Wacken to Pinkpop, Vainstream to Jera On Air, 2000trees and Hurricane/Southside - the Dutch group has played several of the biggest festivals, sold out the Melkweg in Amsterdam and even launched their own punk rock festival - Coffey Fest - to celebrate community and uncompromising music. Never shying away from the world around them, John Coffey actively uses their platform to speak out on social justice and political urgency. The new studio album "Not Alone" is about the power of connection. About discovering that there are other people who feel what you feel. Whether you find that connection through a partner, a friend, a helpline, or a room full of people feeling the same music. Talking helps. Singing helps. Screaming along helps. Armed with new music, a fierce activist ethos, and upcoming European tour dates, the band proves that engagement and heavy rock ’n roll are a perfect match.