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Dear friends, What’s left of a genre when you drop the posturing and keep nothing but feeling, space and rhythm? Freudenthaler answers that question straight up with a stripped-back, no-nonsense take on UK garage. With a sharp ear for space, swing and restraint, he boils the sound down to its core — nodding to the golden age of sound system culture while lacing it with the jazz-tinged touches that run through his productions. The result is a record that feels both timeless and personal. Freudenthaler plays with expectations, flips them neatly, and leaves just enough room between the beats for the atmosphere to breathe and the dancefloor to lock in. One for lovers of vinyl, heavy sub and subtle moves. Sincerly yours, Brombért P.S.: The physical release comes with handcrafted, screen-printed artwork by the fabulous graphic artist Zatina Kessl

ULURU is a large sandstone rock formation in Australia. It's sacred to the Anangu, the local Indigenous of the area. For many years it had been deprived of its spiritual significance, due to mass tourism, capitalism, as well as greedy and selfishness of people who just want to make money out of it. However, as a result of the Anangu’s resilience, care and staunchness, huge changes took place in the national park around Uluru as well as in the broader public's consciousness, giving again to the Uluru the sacred identity that had been lost.

You might be reading and thinking now: so what's the point? Actually, there's no real point. I would rather say, there’s hope. The hope of seeing humans all around the world following the example of the Anangu. The hope of seeing humans finally stopping to treat the earth and all what’s part of it, what’s on and what’s in it, as a slave without soul. The hope of changing today, and if not today at latest by tomorrow. This system is failing. It's no longer sustainable, and there's no much time left.

So everybody, don't sleep, be critical.

ULURU is a large sandstone rock formation in Australia. It's sacred to the Anangu, the local Indigenous of the area. For many years it had been deprived of its spiritual significance, due to mass tourism, capitalism, as well as greedy and selfishness of people who just want to make money out of it. However, as a result of the Anangu’s resilience, care and staunchness, huge changes took place in the national park around Uluru as well as in the broader public's consciousness, giving again to the Uluru the sacred identity that had been lost.

You might be reading and thinking now: so what's the point? Actually, there's no real point. I would rather say, there’s hope. The hope of seeing humans all around the world following the example of the Anangu. The hope of seeing humans finally stopping to treat the earth and all what’s part of it, what’s on and what’s in it, as a slave without soul. The hope of changing today, and if not today at latest by tomorrow. This system is failing. It's no longer sustainable, and there's no much time left.

So everybody, don't sleep, be critical.

Squares have been throwing intimate parties through the London underground for the last several years. For their first record, they’ve curated a VA with close affiliates to capture dark sounds that have left a mark. On the A1 is Squares co-founder Guzman with “Tangent”, which is stripped back, ethereal and electro-tinged.

A2 welcomes Terraflow with “Clip”, showcasing his excellent take on proggy trance influences and infectious rhythms. The flipside starts with Oho’s “Wicked”, a pumping, dubby techno roller. Finally, on the B2 is Roto with “Stormrider” which has hard hitting drums and a bassline full of attitude.

Strut proudly presents the debut album from producer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist, Momoko Gill. Fresh from her critically acclaimed collaboration Clay recorded with cult electronic artist Matthew Herbert, Momoko steps forward in her own right for the first time with her remarkable debut solo album. Momoko has long been one of the UK electronic and jazz scene’s best-kept secrets.

A self-taught drummer, producer, songwriter, and vocalist, she has brought her unique touch to collaborations with Alabaster DePlume, Matthew Herbert, Coby Sey, Tirzah, and Nadeem Din-Gabisi (her musical foil in An Alien Called Harmony). Extensive touring behind the drum kit, at the keys and in front of the mic have honed her compositional and production instincts. With Momoko, Gill emerges into the spotlight with an album that is entirely her own. Throughout, you can hear the stylistic flavours of jazz musicians as much as singer-songwriters, experimental artists and electronic producers. Though Gill rejects imitation, sculpting her sound through feel and expression rather than tradition. Based in London and having grown up in Japan and the US, Gill channels her breadth of perspective through her musical ideas and storytelling, with a unique voice developed through instinct, collaboration and solitary study.

The album’s eleven tracks take in a wide spectrum with the jazz-infused groove of ‘No Others’ and harmony-drenched, reflective ‘Heavy’ contrasting with the dark, confrontational sound of 'Shadowboxing' leading into an eerie left-field instrumental beat, ‘Test A Small Area' and the impressive 50-person choir on ‘When Palestine Is Free’ (which includes heavyweights Shabaka Hutchings, Soweto Kinch, Alabaster DePlume, Coby Sey, Marysia Osu and more). It is a deeply personal and poetic recording and showcases the full uncompromising range of Momoko’s vison, presented in her own voice. Momoko was produced by Momoko Gill, recorded at Total Refreshment Centre, mixed by Matthew Herbert and mastered by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios.

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

Haf is the third album from Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 in little over a year, no mean feat in and of itself but especially considering Carwyn’s work with other artists (including Edwyn Collins and the North Mississippi Allstars) this year too.

The album picks up where their last (Fontana Rosa) left off, with around half the album being recorded analog to tape at Gizzard Studios in London, with one last tune remaining from their sessions at the legendary (but now closed) Toerag Studios.

There are echoes here of their first album, Joia! - the recordings were once again instigated by the great Brazilian producer and multi-instrumentalist who happened to be visiting London earlier in the year. He suggested doing something.... so they did. And there is a return to more definite Brazilian influences too - Tonnau Ar Tonnau is an homage to ‘Onda’ by Cassiano, Keep On Smiling has a distinct samba / chorro feel. Gwenyn y Gwanwyn (about helping a bee out if you see it struggling) is very much a nod to the psychedelic samba funk of Antonio Carlos e Jocafi. But other Latin styles still loom large: on the sultry salsa of Bella Estrella or the melancholic Andean ballad, Lagrimas Frias.

Anglo-Brazilian singer Nina Miranda features on the Lalo Schifrin goes samba Shades of Red, while new addition to the Rio 18 family (at least on record), Miriam Isaac adds a real RnB edge to the record, along with some beautiful duets: the Salsoul banger Como Te Amo and the gorgeous Whistling Sands (about a beach in North Wales) are standouts.

In reverse to how Carwyn made the first two Rio 18 albums, Haf was recorded in London
and Wales and mixed over five hectic days in Rio. Three days later, it was mastered and at
the pressing plant. Time doesn’t wait for Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18!!

Finally, the song ‘Haf’ and the album itself are dedicated to Haf Morris, Carwyn’s late music teacher - he says, “her focus, guidance and patience shaped me like no other. I hope she’s enjoyed my musical journey, from wherever she’s watching. Diolch, Haf”.

Ivan The Tolerable returns with Chromophobia, an expansive new double album and his fourth for Riot Season after ‘Water Music’ & ‘Vertigo’ (both 2024) and ‘An Orphan Form’ (2025)
Chromophobia carries with it a deep personal history. The earliest recording sessions date back to 2018 at the IDI in Middlesbrough, engineered by longtime collaborator Nigel Crooks over the course of three weekends. The material was left unfinished for years, shelved for reasons that accumulated and compounded - until the tragic passing of Crooks in 2023. His unfinished work lingered, and the desire to complete it became a mission.
“In the end, I finished this record for Nigel, above all else,” says Oli Heffernan (Ivan The Tolerable). “It always annoyed him that it never got done.”

To bring the album to completion, the original stems were passed to producer Hugh Major (formerly of Benefits) in early 2024. Across a year of meticulous experimentation - countless versions, radical reconstructions, entire songs torn down and rebuilt - the album transformed into something wholly new. The final collection spans 14 tracks, reimagined from the ground up yet still anchored to the spirit of the sessions that began it.
“It’s a very different beast from where it started,” Heffernan adds, “but I think Nigel would really like it - and be glad it was finally finished.”
Chromophobia stands as both a reinvention and a tribute: a document of persistence, creative overhaul, and the enduring impact of a lost collaborator.

Formerly one third of the much-loved trio Black Box Recorder, alongside The Auteurs’ Luke Haines and Jesus and Mary Chain guitarist John Moore, the British singer-songwriter Sarah Nixey has steadily gained acclaim as a solo artist who makes savvy, sophisticated and poised pop.

Delivering vocals with a detached elegance over opulent tracks, any perceived nonchalance in Nixey’s luxe, cut glass voice belies her empathy, where social commentary serves as protest, both explicit and implied. Like Billy Bragg deepfaked as prime Julie Andrews, this strange but effective juxtaposition radiates soft power. ‘Lies of the Land’ depicts a corrupt post-Brexit and Covid-19 world where inequality and division flourish. ‘England's On Fire’ delves into the nuanced concepts of patriotism and nationalism, and ‘Pleasure Bay’ narrates the story of a love affair with a deprived yet beautiful English seaside town, written after Nixey left London, drawn back to the Dorset coast.
More than just a political record though, Nixey was drawn to the poetic elements of living too, telling stories of life and death, love and loss, conflicts and symmetry, in an intimate and close-up way, as if whispering secrets to her listeners.

“Sea Fever explores the bittersweet beauty of human life amid a volatile world of changing seasons and brutal elements,” says Nixey. “These are songs of deep sorrow, remembrance, birth, and change, set against a backdrop of the sensuous natural world.”
‘Rolling Waves’ explores profound grief following her beloved grandmother's death, while ‘Spring Equinox’ celebrates the joy and awe of life after welcoming her first grandchild. ‘At the Edge of the Forest’ is a poignant story of someone losing their memory, and ‘On This Wide Night’ recounts the early hours return home of a teenage runaway.

Brooklyn based baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson presents his new work "Imagine Giving Up" on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 17th January of 2020 sees Parzen-Johnson move into new domains of sound as he uncovers newfound energy and pulse in his music.

In addition to the sonically rich analog synth elements that accompany his earlier solo saxophone work, Jonah has layered heavily sound designed samples of his own saxophone to create truly one of a kind percussive snaps, reverberant basses, and warbling leads. At it's core, the music remains deeply devoted to almost vocal sounding melodic lines and patiently developed compositional ideas.

A compact set of 6 originals, "Imagine Giving Up" is Jonah Parzen-Johnson's most ambitious album yet. While taking a step away from the previous world of "ambient jazz", his new music stems from the use of drone-like sounds for baritone saxophone, a style which is uniquely his own. Electronics are blended in for good measure, creating a coherent vision of abstract jazz with depth. As with all of Parzen-Johnson's releases, the music comes with a deeper narrative which he will continually explore in live performance.

The manifesto for the album reads as follows: "Only a few people can really start over. Everyone else is left to struggle down the path they were assigned. The option to give up, to choose your own path, is power, and, hopefully, a call to action: take a risk to help someone." "Imagine Giving Up" by Jonah Parzen-Johnson, will be available via 'We Jazz Records' on violet and black vinyl versions, CD and digitally.

Just as the traditions of great folk-country songwriting come around again to newfound popularity via Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell and other practitioners, Barsuk releases a 20th-anniversary pressing of Rocky Votolato’s brilliant and beloved album Makers. Featuring “White Daisy Passing,” “Portland Is Leaving,” “Tinfoil Hats,” “She Was Only In It For The Rain” and 8 more indie classics, the release is packaged in a gatefold jacket with updated artwork, a lyric insert and a beautiful multicolored black & blue with white splatter vinyl pressing. Download code features the full album and 10 bonus tracks: the 3-song End Like This EP plus 7 previously-unreleased tracks including 4 demos, 2 never-before-heard outtakes, and a heartbreaking cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should've Come Over"

Gatzara Records presents its second vinyl single.

This record is a tribute to Jackie Mittoo, a key figure in the development of reggae, ska, and rocksteady. Known for his work at Studio One and his role as keyboardist for The Skatalites, Mittoo left a profound mark on Jamaican music with his melodic style and rhythmic approach to the keyboards.

The track is built on a classic reggae foundation produced by Sergio Caño, with a restrained rhythm and simple structure. The focus is on the organ, played by Joan Sobrevals, who carries the main line with a sober, respectful sound clearly influenced by Mittoo's school. Without seeking to imitate, the performance takes characteristic elements of his style — melodic phrasing, spaced chords, marked beats — to shape a coherent piece that remains faithful to the style.

The production maintains a minimalist aesthetic, without overloading, leaving space for each instrument to breathe and fulfil its function. The result is a serene, mid-tempo piece that invites you to listen carefully, without virtuosity, but with a clear intention: to pay tribute to a great musician who defined a sound, an era, a style.

Thank you, Jackie!

Last Summer, Kelly Finnigan made you a mixtape. It was an eclectic mix of ideas. Now, Colemine Records is excited to share two of those tracks on vinyl for the first time. The A-side 'Leave You Alone,' is a stone-cold classic R&B soul cut, and a certified ear worm. It tells a love story from the female perspective, inspired by the soulful sounds of Bettye Swann. This track features the Ramey Brothers (of Monophonics, The Ironsides) and highlights Kelly on all other instruments. TheB-side, 'Thom's Hartbreak' is at hank you letter to Thom Bell & William Hart, two names that are synonymous with the 60s/70s "Philly Sound". This instrumental tune is an homage to a sound thats haped American music and left an indelible mark on the future of soul.

Belia Winnewisser and Fatuma Osman have known each other since childhood, a friendship rooted in shared afternoons of music and late 90s/early 00s girl core. Their first joint debut EP Vertex, released through the Swiss label Light of Other Days, emerges as both a continuation of that bond and an exploration of process, weaving together collective memories with their present-day musical language.

Resisting polished closure, the record circles around the idea of limerence in sound: suggesting rather than declaring, outlining atmospheres that leave room for the listener’s imagination to fill out the blanks. Across its five tracks Belia and Fatuma oscillate between the personal and the universal, immediacy and nostalgia. The opening track Emerald rises like morning light; fragile, blissful, and quietly radiant. Covering Madonna’s 80s single Angel feels natural and slots seamlessly into the EP’s arc: as a defining pop presence of the last four decades, she embodies less an idol than a subtle compass. Surrender, the first track on the B-side, draws you into the club, vibrating between vulnerability and release. Each step extends their vision further, revealing a cohesive body of work.

Vertex holds opposite poles in tension, creating a space where vulnerability and intensity create dialog. What lingers is a realm of possibilities: a conversation between two friends and collaborators who understand that sound can be as much about what is left out as about what is expressed. Vertex documents their progression, marking a milestone without concluding it.

'In 2023, sound artist and composer Weston Olencki toured across the American South. Beginning in their hometown in South Carolina, they snaked a circuitous path from the mountains of West Virginia to the banks of the Mississippi River. As the miles accumulated, so did the initial seeds of new work.
'Instruments and artifacts they acquired hitched a ride in the backseat, while songs and sounds filled their portable recorder: water in its various states, the familiar insectoid buzz of those summer nights, trains cutting through the landscape, the traditional music that lived alongside the communities that kept it. Olencki took it all in, and over time, found ways that these experiences coalesced into a bramble-like perspective of time, where past, present, and future intersect in ways both barbed and beautiful.
'Broadsides, Olencki’s newest solo full-length is the multilayered result of this journey. The album follows their landmark release Old Time Music from 2022, which presented radical interpretations of traditional tunes from Appalachia and throughout the South alongside original compositions that drew significantly on archival recordings. On Broadsides, Olencki rejects delineations between the unmoored avant-garde and the rootedness of one’s cultural heritage, revealing their porous and intertwined nature. “My mother was a quilter. Her mother before that,” they write in the album’s liner notes. “Quilting, like music, is a practice of embedding knowledge and remembrance into the very core of the thing you are making. It’s not just about the materials, but how they’re reassembled, recontextualized, stitched, woven to form new patterns - the minutiae of craft holding significance to those looking to find it. Stories woven from stories, never told the same way twice.”
'Like all great road trips, Broadsides unfolds slowly and continuously, with moments of dramatic reverie punctuating the endless melt of highway in the rearview. We’re immediately confronted by the uncanniness of revisiting old haunts, as Southern storms break through the initial churn of the freight locomotives of Alabama. Olencki’s interpretation of the bluegrass standard “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” captures the euphoria of melancholy in motion. The permutational plucks of banjo are bounced around the frame by a computer, its pitches determined within algorithmic sequences and transcriptions of classic three-finger licks. The tonalities of old-time are smeared and stretched until all that’s audible is the insistence that Heaven might be real.
'In the album’s second half, “Omie Wise,” a murder ballad made famous by Doc Watson, follows an interlude recorded on the river in North Carolina in which the titular character’s body was laid. Ghostly echoes of a dozen other renditions float through the substrata as Tongue Depressor’s Henry Birdsey accompanies them on the pedal steel guitar. The album’s central composition, “all my father’s clocks,” is a profound meditation on entropy and impermanence. The sound of their father’s extensive clock collection ticks away as Olencki pulls a bow across the length of an autoharp sourced from a rural strip mall. The instrument was left as detuned as it was found, the resonance of its deep bass drone and clanging high-end the result of years of neglect and the warping effects of Southern humidity.
'Historically, broadsides were an early form of broadcasting, an often- musicalized telling of current news pasted in the public square. The name was later taken up by Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen in the 1960s, whose Broadside magazine published songs and social commentary when American folk music resurfaced as an urgent way of communicating the multifaceted politics of its time.
'Olencki borrows the phrase to recall both this old form of songmaking and that later prominent reexamination of traditional music’s role in modern life, but also to draw attention to the fragmented and machine- mediated way heritage is diffused in this very different, but no less pivotal, moment.
'As a sanitized past is used as justification for current violence and domination, we can turn to these artifacts to better understand the history of ourselves, but only if they are consciously pushed to evolve. Broadsides represents one personal, striking vision of what far-flung futurisms could be respun from = these high, lonesome sounds: a reflection of the unbridled joy and deep sorrow inherent to living together through time, and a desire to push further into the untold and unknown.'

The British guitarist and singer- songwriter -- a fixture of the European blues- rock scene for more than twenty years -- presents a record that marks both a fresh start and a natural progression, musically as much as personally. Asked whether there was an overarching theme to the songwriting, a reinvigorated Bryant answers without hesitation: "The album is about my rehabilitation and the changes I've made in my life." Nothing Left Behind is an unflinchingly personal work. Bryant speaks with striking honesty about the years when alcohol and restlessness dictated much of his existence. Yet this is far from a bleak album. "It's quite a positive, motivating record -- that was important to us," he says. "The songs reflect my new perspective.

Audio taken from a live performance by Anar Band (Jorge Lima Barreto and Rui Reininho) with E.M. de Melo e Castro in November of 1978 at Cooperativa Árvore, Porto. The performance was filmed. A segment was included in »Obrigatório Não Ver«, a weekly programme presented by Ana Hatherly on Public Television’s Second Channel. It was not possible to determine the exact date of the event, and no documentation seems to be available in the relevant archives.

»Encontro que Tenho« and »Profissões«: these titles are specific to this release. Having failed to locate the respective poems after a thorough search in E.M. de Melo e Castro’s body of work, it was deduced both texts were created for the occasion.

Even without a full contextualisation, the sound transmits the spirit of cultural agitation proper to these sessions. When this show happened, Anar Band were Jorge Lima Barreto (ARP Odyssey synthesizer) and Rui Reininho (Ibanez double-neck guitar), with the addition of E.M. de Melo e Castro, whom we shall call a poet but whose creative intervention was far reaching. Besides poetry, also continued his efforts in linking up diverse artistic areas (painting, drawing, collage, performance, video) and his official training in textile engineering. He was one of the artists featured in Henri Chopin's »OU Revue« in 1966, establishing his natural connection to the European concrete/visual/sound-poetry avant-garde. Melo e Castro was also proficient in the agitation of minds and political awareness. A good example in »Profissões«, where initially separate professionals (an intellectual, a fisherman, a soldier, a factory worker) are gradually mixed in a show of interdependency. Symbolically, through his words one listens to a transformation of society, although the same conclusion arises twice: surplus always finds its way to the hands of the capitalists.

That was the state of affairs many were looking to change, an economic and social malaise that the 1974 Revolution in Portugal fully uncovered, when dissident voices could finally be heard in public. Each in his own way, all three participants in this recording were non-believers in the structure of society such as it was presented. Through his books and press writings, mainly concerned with Jazz, Jorge Lima Barreto pushed his way into Portuguese artistic and critical circles since the late 1960s. Consciously and unwittingly, he collected enemies and pointed them by name, people he labelled as reactionary, people who delayed progress, social and cultural mixes, the avant-garde; they even delayed the chaos from which new forms and attitudes arise.

Rui Reininho, a non-conformist by heart, experienced incomprehension from an early age. His anarchic ways, a tendency to baffle others, were revealed through the choice of clothes and accessories, public behaviour, and »real life« performances. Just as Lima Barreto, and even together with him, he enjoyed provoking the extremes: Maoists on one side, right-wing conservatives on the other. He translated leftist books and joined Anar Band precisely on the day a duck or swan or goose (one of them) was thrown on stage in Porto, 1976.

This record documents a concrete action, a snapshot of the agitation, something we have no problem calling punk activism, something which allowed two people with little to no musical training to play and record music. By then, Anar Band had managed to release their only LP in 1977. It’s this performance, however, that reveals the naked rawness of the music: improvisation, mutual listening, and choice of intervention between both musicians and Melo e Castro, clearly sensing when the synth has to change tone, the voice has to make pauses, the guitar punctuates both and finds the space to… scream. The sound was captured by the film crew, adding to the rawness: the instruments are palpable, the voice often too close to the mic. Everything was preserved. First time on disc.

Berlin-based Swiss vocalist Lucia Cadotsch returns with her celebrated Speak Low trio for their second album, released by We Jazz Records on 27 Nov. "Speak Low II" features Cadotsch on voice, Otis Sandsjö on tenor saxophone and Petter Eldh on double bass, and introduces guest artists Kit Downes on hammond organ and Lucy Railton on cello. "Speak Low II" picks up where their genre-bending and forward-looking debut album left off, introducing new shades into the band's sound and also diving even deeper into the songs they tackle. What makes Speak Low special is their approach to really get to the heart of each composition with seemingly minimal means, yet generating a sound which is both instantly recognisable and remarkably impactful.

"Speak Low II" comes almost five years after the band's lauded debut, and proves the depth of the band's approach right from the start. At the core of the trio's operation is an openness to their love of the music and to their surrounding scene(s). The album comes across as a unified collection of songs made truly theirs and found through listening to records and spending time with their musician friends, often on the road. The highly evolved band sound and the equality of the musicians shines through on the Speak Low sound, as the group uses their 100+ performances together as a vehicle for the development of their music.

"The first album was filled with pretty famous songs, but that was actually not at all intentional" explains Cadotsch. "Those were just my favourite songs of the previous 10 years and we started working on making them ours, musically. We were playing around with concepts for the second album, but soon realised that we just needed to find the right songs and adapt them organically, which comes through in how we interact with the songs and each other. This time around, we wanted to dig deeper and made finished arrangements of around 20 tracks, half of which we ditched in the process. The ones that made the cut have been through a lot and they just felt right for us."

In a way, the Speak Low approach could be described as archaeological. Three music lovers connecting with songs found at various sources, readily throwing away any ideas that don't seem natural to them, and hanging on tight to the ones that do.

Turns out there is a concept to "Speak Low II". It's the band itself, their shared musical development and their love of music.

"Speak Low II" will be available on We Jazz Records on vinyl (PURPLE and BLACK editions), CD and digitally. The vinyl versions come with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve and a printed inner sleeve. CD in digisleeve with no breaking plastic parts.

Jagged City unveils their debut instrumental EP, `There Are More of Us, Always`, a bold collection that moves between spacious, melodic guitar passages and raucous, swelling climbs. With heartfelt, melodious songwriting, a diverse range of eclectic touches buried within, and eruptions of dense, layered sound, this record delivers wonderfully balanced compositions through raw and personal production. The project began as a cross-continental art experiment between Jake Woodruff (Defeater) and Carlos Torres (former touring member of Explosions In The Sky). What started as a simple exchange of ideas quickly found real shape through collaborative composition and thoughtful arrangement. Early sessions with David Haik helped refine the songs' structures and drum frameworks, setting the groundwork for what would become Jagged City's striking debut. "We wrote with pure instinct, just tried to add something new to a genre that we love. As we traded ideas, we took some left turns and incorporated elements that may be unexpected." (Woodruff) The result feels immediate, deviously rough at the edges, and charged with a punk-minded intensity that keeps the momentum taut and the sound intimate. RIYL Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, Godspeed, Mono, Defeater, Explosions In The Sky

Jagged City unveils their debut instrumental EP, `There Are More of Us, Always`, a bold collection that moves between spacious, melodic guitar passages and raucous, swelling climbs. With heartfelt, melodious songwriting, a diverse range of eclectic touches buried within, and eruptions of dense, layered sound, this record delivers wonderfully balanced compositions through raw and personal production. The project began as a cross-continental art experiment between Jake Woodruff (Defeater) and Carlos Torres (former touring member of Explosions In The Sky). What started as a simple exchange of ideas quickly found real shape through collaborative composition and thoughtful arrangement. Early sessions with David Haik helped refine the songs' structures and drum frameworks, setting the groundwork for what would become Jagged City's striking debut. "We wrote with pure instinct, just tried to add something new to a genre that we love. As we traded ideas, we took some left turns and incorporated elements that may be unexpected." (Woodruff) The result feels immediate, deviously rough at the edges, and charged with a punk-minded intensity that keeps the momentum taut and the sound intimate. RIYL Mogwai, Do Make Say Think, Godspeed, Mono, Defeater, Explosions In The Sky

From 1986-1987, Chet traveled and worked with the photographer and filmmaker Bruce Weber on a project that would become their Oscar- nominated documentary "Let's Get Lost"1988. During this period, Chet performed at the Cannes Film Festival and recorded sessions at Studio Davout in Paris and Sage and Sound Studio in Hollywood. All remained unreleased until now. Inspired by the film - which celebrated its 35th anniversary last year - SWIMMING BY MOONLIGHT is a two-record soundtrack album curated by Bruce Weber and produced by John Leftwich that compiles music, dialogue and live concert recordings.

Epicentre was an R&B/funk group formed in Seattle, Washington by keyboardist Ric Ulsky. The band developed a loyal following, playing the extensive NW club, concert and dance venues throughout the mid-to-late 1970s. Their sound was a blend of melodic R&B and powerhouse funk that dependably filled music venues throughout the Western US. Bernadette Bascom was the lead vocalist, who captivated audiences with her powerful yet velvet-smooth voice and commanding, magnetic stage presence.

In 1978, Epicentre worked with Seattle producer Don McKinney to record their music in Seattle's now legendary Kaye-Smith studios. The result was seven strong, fully -produced R&B songs, with occasional horn and string orchestrations tastefully added to the final versions.

Their music quite literally sat on a shelf for decades until McKinney decided that all the hard work and talent should no longer remain undiscovered and it needed to find its audience. He restored and digitized his copies of the master tapes and looked for an opportunity. A chance call to the former leader of the group, Kell Houston, led to a serendipitous introduction to UK boutique/funk/R&B label founder Russell Paine. The result was an agreement to release their music, starting with two songs, "When You Were In Love With Me", and "Magic Carpet."

Footnotes: Lead singer Bernadette Bascom became a protegé of Stevie Wonder, and was the first artist to be signed to his label Black Bull , starting a period of collaboration between the two. Bermadette is the daughter of Reverend Dr. Marion C. Bascomb (1925-2012), one of Baltimore's major civil rights voices and pastor emeritus of Baltimore's Douglas Memorial Community Church. Ric Ulsky eventually left the group to play keyboards and tour extensively with The Association. You can also find Epicentre's music on the compilation album "Seattle Funk, Modern Soul & Boogie: Volume II 1972-1987." In addition to Bernadette, the musicians on the 1978 sessions are Kell Houston, keyboards, Michael Cox, bass, John Carmondy, guitar, and Ricky Lynn Johnson, drums and vocals. While their recorded material is primarily original, Stacy Christensen from Seattle's Gabriel contributed two of his compositions. Label credits: Epicentre featuring Bernadette Bascom. Recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios, Seattle, Washington, August 1978"When You Were in Love With Me" and "Magic Carpet" written by Bernadette Bascom. Produced for Epicentre by Don McKinney

The Just Joans' new album Romantic Visions of Scotland finds the Glasgow band in characteristically melancholic form, pairing shambling indie pop with sharp observations on romantic pratfalls and everyday dis-appointments, all delivered with sardonic Scottish wit, fronted by siblings David and Katie Pope, whose wry lyrics and heartfelt vocals remain at the heart of the band’s distinctive sound.
Originally inspired by a grandiose exhibition title spotted on Glasgow buses in 2019 for a show at the Nation-al Museum of Scotland called Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland, the new album arrives six years later as a collection of semi-autobiographical snapshots from the Central Belt of Scotland. Whilst some of the details have been exaggerated for comic (or tragic) effect, the songs are based on personal experience of mundane failings, bitter regrets and missed opportunities that make up an unremarkable life.
Recurring themes of nostalgia for a bygone era and the fear of being left behind by lovers, friends and peers run throughout the album. Musically and lyrically, the band channels Village Green-era Kinks, with nods to The Television Personalities, The Smiths and Dolly Mixture.
In the past they have always recorded by themselves in a variety of bedrooms, living rooms – and the occasional toilet. For the first time they have abandoned their DIY recording practices to create what songwriter David Pope calls, “a corporate behemoth in an actual studio.” The album was recorded at Chem19 in Blan-tyre with Paul Savage, who is best known as a founding member of local legends The Delgados. He has also produced and recorded the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap and Camera Obscura, and has captured a slightly more muscular version of the band while retaining their ramshackle charm.
The album artwork by vocalist and painter Katie Pope depicts Motherwell Train Station – an ordinary, boring place that speaks to the subject matter of the songs, but with a hint of potential escape. As David Pope ex-plains, “For me, the painting reminds me of the ending of Billy Liar in which Billy tries and fails to leave his hometown for the bright lights of London. Half the band also live in Motherwell, so it seemed appropriate.”
Funded by Creative Scotland, the recording allowed the band to bring in bass and cello arrangements, adding depth and a sheen of musical proficiency to their signature sound.
About The Just Joans - The Just Joans were formed in Glasgow in 2005 by songwriter David Pope. Early demos were collected together and released as a loose concept album, Last Tango in Motherwell, in 2006. Chris Elkin joined on guitar and was followed shortly after by David’s younger sister, Katie, on vocals and Fraser Ford on bass. Over the years they have released EPs and albums on WeePOP! and Fika Records and have gained a cult following as Scottish pop miserabilists.
The current line-up consists of Katie Pope (vocals), David Pope (vocals, guitar), Chris Elkin (lead guitar), Fraser Ford (bass), Arion Xenos (keyboards) and Jason Sweeney (drums).
Press Quotes:
“They fit snugly into the scratchy, low budget Scottish indie tradition of The Delgados and Arab Strap… There’s mischief in this miserabilism.” - Mojo 4*s
“Glasgow’s The Just Joans have documented the romantic pratfalls of a generation of indie kids with sardonic wit and a shambling musical style where Stephin Merrit lies down with The Vaselines.” - Uncut
“Funny and sad, it’s the kind of song that made Red House Painters, The Magnetic Fields and The Wedding Present’s early albums so easy to embrace; an unpretentious sharing of relatable gloom.” - Record Collector

One of the leading Japanese alternative rock band, GEZAN’s leader, MahitoThePeople’s director debut film, i ai was released in March 2024, and it is an atypical coming-of-age film decorated with tinge of red.

　The film takes place in Akashi and Kobe, Hyogo prefecture. This film’s main characters are Ko (Kentaro Tomita), a rookie member of a band and a brother-like figure of his, Hee (Mirai Moriyama) who Ko idolizes and the story of this movie is based on their struggles with life and death. The story is also based on Mahito's real-life experiences and while reality and fiction are duplicated, the boundary between them slowly melts away. The film co-stars Honami Satoh, Kazuki Horike, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Eita Nagayama, Kyoko Koizumi, K-BOMB, Ichi Omiya and many other unique personalities. It should also be noted that the transparent images filmed by photographer, Masafumi Sanai gives the film, a special emotional quality.

　The film is not bound by any film theory but it poses a theme common to GEZAN's recent works and Mahito's writing activities: How can we live in a crumbling society while interacting with others? We can never live alone but living with others is also never easy. How can we overcome this time of extreme division of the world?

What left quite a strong impression in this film that not only Mahito personally directed but also wrote the script and composed the soundtrack as well was the main theme song, entitled “i ai”. This new piece of GEZAN is an extension of the work that this band has continued doing over the last few years. This 12" single, contains the song, “i ai” and it will be the first time released on vinyl.

Led by soft guitar arpeggios, the song gradually builds to a fever pitch, condensing the mood of the film which encompasses both tranquillity and intensity. The chorus of ineffable, multiple voices united together sounds like a lament that has spilled out of society or a cry of joy. GEZAN's collaboration with the 15-member chorus group, Million Wish Collective has been in development of late and the cultivated sensibilities through their activities are put to use in this song.

The song can also be considered a slow, relaxed dance track that lasts 9 minutes and 8 seconds. It has something in common with organic dance tracks from South America and other regions, and it is significant that GLOCAL RECORDS which represents glocal music from around the world in Japan are releasing it as a DJ-friendly 12-inch single.

The B-side features a remix by COMPUMA who is also closely associated with GEZAN. The song starts with an African styled percussion, with a thumb piano in the middle of the song and then returns to that memorable chorus. This song feels like a 18 minutes and 18 seconds long short movie like suite, with some dizzying changes from the beginning to the end. It is remix filled with enormous drama!

The cutting and mastering of this 12” was done by TOREI who is also active as a DJ and the artwork was created by jvnpey, a visual artist and graphic designer based in Tokyo. Their loving work also makes this 12" very special.

When I asked AI to find a synonym for the word, “division,” it displayed in succession, a series of words: “integration,” “consolidation,” “unification,” “unity”, and “reconciliation". All of these phrases are somewhat whitewashed and embarrassing but the mirage-like chorus echoing in the song, “i ai” seems to be trying to find a new word, that is a synonym for the word, "division. In this film, “i ai”, the message, “Let's live together after the end roll” was thrown out but included in this 12-inch, the message, “Let's live together after the music stops”, emerges.

**2010 Grammy Award Winner: Best Traditional Folk Album **

‘Marvelous…exuberant’ - Rolling Stone

Nonesuch Records releases a fifteenth anniversary edition of Carolina Chocolate Drop’s 2010 Grammy Award-winning album Genuine Negro Jig, featuring founding band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson. The reissue includes the original album and nine bonus tracks: seven previously unreleased tracks plus a 2025 remaster of ‘City of Refuge’ and a 2025 mix of ‘Memphis Shakedown’. This release marks the album’s first time on vinyl since its original pressing in 2010.

Genuine Negro Jig was released on February 16, 2010, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Folk chart and the top of the Bluegrass chart. It won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. Produced by Joe Henry, it was the first of three releases on Nonesuch followed by The Carolina Chocolate Drops/ Luminescent Orchestrii EP (2011) and the Grammy nominated album Leaving Eden (2012), produced by Buddy Miller. Widely acclaimed as one of 2010’s best, Genuine Negro Jig appeared in year-end lists of NPR, Paste, and more, and was featured in Rolling Stone’s 25 Best Country-Soul Albums in 2024.

“Genuine Negro Jig remains fresh fifteen years later not only because of the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ influence on American popular culture but also because it’s an excellent record in itself,” says Dr. Dwandalyn Reece and Dr. Steven Lewis of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in the album’s liner notes.

Carolina Chocolate Drops formed after band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson met at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC in 2005. All three trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of Joe Thompson, who was one of the last musicians of his era and his community to carry on the southern Black string band tradition. While old-time Southern string music is often associated with Caucasian musicians from Appalachia, Giddens pointed out in an NPR interview that “it seems that two things get left out of the history books. One, that there was string band music in the Piedmont, period. And that Black folk was such a huge part of string tradition.” Carolina Chocolate Drops sought to not only correct this misunderstanding but also to keep the centuries-old string music tradition alive and developing.

The members of Carolina Chocolate Drops, who came from diverse musical backgrounds, shared singing duties and swapped instruments throughout their sets. The band recently reunited for a single show at Rhiannon Giddens’ Biscuits and Banjos festival in Durham, North Carolina in April 2025. In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering, the documentary Don’t Get Trouble In Your Mind: The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Story by Filmmaker John Whitehead was released on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and YouTube Free4all streaming platforms.

After three decades of musical escapades as both a solo artist and 1/4 of The Four Owls, Verb T returns with his most ambitious offering to date in the shape of ‘To Love A Phantom’.

Reuniting with Canadian producer Vic Grimes on the follow up to their 2023 LP ‘The Tower Where The Phantom Lives’, the duo leave the traditional ‘rapper + producer’ stereotypes at the door on an insanely adventurous LP; Vic Grimes expertly soundtracking Verb T’s low fantasy across a double album 26-tracks steeped in suspense and intrigue.

Picking up where the previous album left off, ‘To love A Phantom’ sees the duo expand upon their collective love for the language of cinema; each track expertly blurring the everyday with the supernatural; spectres and spirits swirling around our protagonist as he exits the tower and extends his arc…

A deeply emotive, visceral and visual listen, the plot thickens with the help of a supporting cast of featured artists from across the UK underground, each adding their own distinctive flair to the wider narrative.

A truly unique universe of sight and sound, ‘To Love A Phantom’ is a shining example of Verb T & Vic Grimes at the height of their collective powers

After three decades of musical escapades as both a solo artist and 1/4 of The Four Owls, Verb T returns with his most ambitious offering to date in the shape of ‘To Love A Phantom’.

Reuniting with Canadian producer Vic Grimes on the follow up to their 2023 LP ‘The Tower Where The Phantom Lives’, the duo leave the traditional ‘rapper + producer’ stereotypes at the door on an insanely adventurous LP; Vic Grimes expertly soundtracking Verb T’s low fantasy across a double album 26-tracks steeped in suspense and intrigue.

Picking up where the previous album left off, ‘To love A Phantom’ sees the duo expand upon their collective love for the language of cinema; each track expertly blurring the everyday with the supernatural; spectres and spirits swirling around our protagonist as he exits the tower and extends his arc…

A deeply emotive, visceral and visual listen, the plot thickens with the help of a supporting cast of featured artists from across the UK underground, each adding their own distinctive flair to the wider narrative.

A truly unique universe of sight and sound, ‘To Love A Phantom’ is a shining example of Verb T & Vic Grimes at the height of their collective powers

After three decades of musical escapades as both a solo artist and 1/4 of The Four Owls, Verb T returns with his most ambitious offering to date in the shape of ‘To Love A Phantom’.

Reuniting with Canadian producer Vic Grimes on the follow up to their 2023 LP ‘The Tower Where The Phantom Lives’, the duo leave the traditional ‘rapper + producer’ stereotypes at the door on an insanely adventurous LP; Vic Grimes expertly soundtracking Verb T’s low fantasy across a double album 26-tracks steeped in suspense and intrigue.

Picking up where the previous album left off, ‘To love A Phantom’ sees the duo expand upon their collective love for the language of cinema; each track expertly blurring the everyday with the supernatural; spectres and spirits swirling around our protagonist as he exits the tower and extends his arc…

A deeply emotive, visceral and visual listen, the plot thickens with the help of a supporting cast of featured artists from across the UK underground, each adding their own distinctive flair to the wider narrative.

A truly unique universe of sight and sound, ‘To Love A Phantom’ is a shining example of Verb T & Vic Grimes at the height of their collective powers

‘Clyppan’ is an Old English verb meaning “to embrace” or “to clasp.” It also referred to an ancient ritual in which people gathered in a circle, singing together around a sacred shrine. It’s a fitting title for the latest release from Newcastle’s Smote – a visceral document of the band’s electrifying live set, captured within the walls of London’s Bear Bites Horse recording studio.
Following the release of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘A Grand Stream’, Smote embarked on an intensive tour schedule, refining their live performance along the way into something transcendental – a full-spectrum psychic voyage. Anyone who caught them at Supernormal, Supersonic, or this year’s Roadburn Festival can attest: Smote are an unforgettable sonic presence, a near religious experience.
Recognising the urgency and potency of the band’s current live form, Rocket Recordings encouraged Smote’s founder and sonic architect Dan Foggin to document their live set in the studio. It was a sound too powerful to be left undocumented – it was something that needed to be clasped for future generations.
On January 22, 2025 – the day before their thunderous performance at London’s ICA alongside labelmates Teeth Of The Sea – the four members of Smote entered Bear Bites Horse studio. With producer Wayne Adams at the controls, they laid down a live set brimming with raw, elemental power.
What emerged is ‘Clyppan’ – four drone-and-repetition driven incantations, distilled from the primal essence of Smote’s sound. These tracks channel something ancient and urgent, summoning spirits and revelations in their wake. It’s music as ritual, as invocation – pure aural sorcery.
So gather together. Form a circle. Join hands. And embrace the ecstatic, untamed energy of Smote in their most untethered and primal form.

Dan O'Farrell & The Difference Engine's fourth album (recorded and produced by Andy Lewis ) arrives at the start of 2026 like a cold, sharp bucket of water in the face. Bracing and troubling - like a tongue returning to a sore tooth - these songs probe life's dark waters: loss of family, faith, community & self- confidence - but also remains empathetic and rousing, ultimately cathartic. Once you've scraped the bottom, the only way is up. Creation is always an act of joyful defiance. Based in Southampton, and formed from the ashes of John Peel-endorsed indie-band Accrington Stanley , the band bring layers of warmth and subtlety to the uncompromisingly lyrical alt-folk songs of Dan O'Farrell, English-teacher by day and angry, leftist complainer by night.

The Final Album recorded by Nikki Sudden release posthumously by friends o Now after consultation with all band members and producer John Rivers the album has been re assembled re mixed and re mastered to create the best sound it's ever been o Lavishly designed by Dave Twist includes notes by band members and photos from the sessions o The Lp comes in de luxe gatefold sleeve with printed inner bags o Contains bonus tracks and has been reordered to the last email nikki sent on the subject

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’….

Mit ,A Constant Charade" nimmt der Künstler und Produzent Elujay aus Oakland die Maske von seinem facettenreichen, genreübergreifenden Schaffen ab. ,Einer der talentiertesten Singer-Songwriter der Bay Area" (Hypebeast) gibt sein Solo-Debüt beim kunstorientierten Indie-Label drink sum wtr mit einer risikofreudigen LP, die auf fast ein Jahrzehnt einzigartiger Arbeit in der zeitgenössischen Pop-Landschaft folgt. Er sieht seinen Stil als eine Fusion unerwarteter Einflüsse: R&B gemischt mit Rhythmen aus Yacht Rock, Sophisti-Pop, Dancehall, Al Jeel, Lovers Rock und den Klängen seiner trinidadischen Wurzeln. ,A Constant Charade" ist eine dynamische Sammlung, die von Verletzlichkeit und Ehrgeiz geprägt ist. Die Themen berühren soziale Signale, Verhaltensmuster und die Art und Weise, wie wir uns anderen gegenüber verhalten, ,einfach beobachten, wie ich mich fühle, wenn ich unter Menschen bin", sagt er. "Ob ich nun den Code wechsle oder mich anders verhalte ... wir alle tun das, es ist eine Farce." Mit seinem charakteristischen Gesang und den bisher stärksten Arrangements, zusammen mit einer Reihe von Mitwirkenden und Co-Produzenten, durchbricht Elujay die Spielchen, um echt zu sein. Aufgenommen an verschiedenen Orten über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren, krönt "A Constant Charade" ein bahnbrechendes Jahr 2025, das mit der zweiten Folge von GEMS IN THE CORNERSTORE von JEMS! begann, seinem von dsw unter Vertrag genommenen Projekt mit J. Robb. Wie GEMS lehnt sich das neue Album stärker an den Einflüssen karibischer Musik und Leftfield-Elektronik an, von Dance bis Ambient und einem Dutzend Stilrichtungen dazwischen. ,Ich denke, es ist wichtig, einfach zu erkennen, dass diese Leute, mit denen man zusammenarbeitet, den neuen Sounds, die man entdeckt, eine gewisse Glaubwürdigkeit verleihen", sagt Elujay. Er schreibt einen Großteil der nostalgischen Qualität von "A Constant Charade" Nicholas Creus zu: ,Er ist Jazzgitarrist und ein großer Fan von The Police und Yacht Rock, er ist einfach überall auf diesem Album zu finden." Ebenso wie den langjährigen Mitstreitern Martin Rodrigues, Jaden Wiggins und Ben Yasemsky, die Elujay seit seiner Kindheit kennt. ,Benji ist einfach ein stiller Killer, ein großartiger Gitarrist, Produzent und Finisher, der immer in letzter Minute alles aufräumt." Wenn es um die Zusammenarbeit mit anderen geht, ,habe ich kein Ego, es geht nur darum, dass die beste Idee gewinnt. Letztendlich geht es um die Menschen, wir wollen einfach nur die bestmögliche Musik machen."

“Innovative, hooky and full of depth” - Far Out Magazine

“Songs that lodge into your brain in the opening ten seconds” - Brooklyn Vegan

“Breezy, melodic… a clear ear for a hook” - UNCUT

“Playful and unexpected, emotional but not overstated” - CLUNK

‘Crows’ is the new single from Bristol’s Langkamer and the first to be revealed from their new album ‘No’, which is due for release on 22nd January 2026. Their fourth album in as many years, ‘No’ saw the prolific band taking to the mountains at the invitation of veteran producer Remko Schouten (Pavement, Personal Trainer, Bull). The much loved Bristol band holed up for a week in the wilds of Southern Spain at his brand new Zarzalico studio. Over a week, under the Murcian heat, they laid down the perfectly formed eleven tracks that make up ‘No’.

Since the band’s conception, Langkamer have worked out of anywhere affordable and available, whether it be the basements of renowned venues (‘West Country’, ‘Red Thread Route’, ‘Langzamer’) or secluded cottages (‘The Noon And Midnight Manual’). Over the years, their frenetic pace and quality of writing has earned them fans across the world, plaudits at UK media, and built an ever-growing musical community around them - not least via Breakfast Records - the independent label that is home to Getdown Services - formed by Langkamer’s Dan Anthony and Josh Jarman in 2006 alongside acclaimed singer-songwriter Jasmine 4.T.

To call Langkamer ‘your mid-level indie bands favourite mid-level indie band” sells them short. They have always scraped by on irregular incomes, plagued both by daily financial pressures and the occasional cash sinkhole so well known to any musician in the current impossible climate. Once Schouten offered to host them at his new studio (Zarzalico), they couldn’t refuse. A relentless recording schedule found the group only breaking for the daily long lunch and to occasionally fire an airgun across the hills. If the last half a decade had been a pressure cooker of constant touring and recording, their brief time in the remote Zarzalico could not have been more symbolic. Lead single ‘Crows’ perfectly captures this nervy balance and is a wiry slice of atmospheric proto-punk, drawing from the shadows of the late-70s UK landscapeit also defies these conventions, striking an anthemic chord from beginning to end. From the scaling chromatic guitars at the breakdown, to the final chants of ‘suffer’ and ‘struggle’, there’s a loud desperation and defiance to ‘Crows’ that lends it an unparalleled urgency. As singer/drummer Josh Jarman states:

“Crows is a song about the crazy shapes we contort ourselves into trying to create art in the era of late-stage capitalism. Working a thousand jobs. Writing songs with the left hand while writing emails with the right hand. Your day is already doomed the moment you open your eyes. Everything’s a bad omen.”.

With ‘No’ arriving early next year, ‘Crows’ is the perfect introduction to Langkamer, a band that has only taken new bold steps with each release, always hiding a keen experimentalism behind a charming hook. It is also the surest sign yet that they are ready to step up, and take on the road once again vision unclouded.

“Allergic” was born on a sweltering July afternoon in a half-empty flat in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. With the apartment mid-move and only one bare room left to work in, B.McQueen and Priori turned the stripped-back space into a studio. Mid-session, a friend sent a voice note casually mentioning she was “allergic to wasps”. A moment that felt too good not to sample, giving the track both its title and its playful edge. The result is a chugger with subtle wobbles woven throughout.

“Get Weavin’” took shape in the haze following a heavy night celebrating fabric’s 25th anniversary, an evening where Ben Klock b2b Marcel Dettmann indirectly sparked the creation of the B. McQueen alias itself. Fueled by that post-club momentum, the track later found its signature psychedelic tinge through flute samples contributed by Raphael Weikart.