quête:the loft

Originally released in 1990, Same Place The Fly Got Smashed was Guided By Voices’ fourth album in as many years. Roughly a concept album about an alcoholic named Joker Bob who goes on a bender, someone dies, and Bob gets the chair (“the electrifying conclusion”). From the moment the needle drops, the listener is served notice that this isn’t going to be an easy listen, as an argument taped off of a TV cuts to a basement recording of a lone, blaring electric guitar with someone yelling over the top. But for those brave enough to pass the opening hazards, there are wonders within. This particular album has come to be held in higher and higher regard by fans, and they are correct to consider it a top-tier release. The story and sequence have a flow, and consideration for approachability is optional. Many of the crudest tracks reveal themselves as necessary stitches in the album’s tapestry. Yet it also contains all time greats like “Drinker’s Peace,” “Mammoth Cave,” the epic “Local Mix-Up/ Murder Charge,” and of course “Pendulum” with its immortal opening line: “Come on over tonight, we’ll put on some Cat Butt and do it up right!”—a rare break in the clouds on one of the band’s darkest albums. This reissue, like the previous ones in this series, is a mostly faithful reproduction of the original pressing of 500 on the band’s own Rocket #9 label. And like the others, the virgin RTI vinyl is housed in a thick tip-on jacket, and includes Robert Pollard’s original handwritten lyric insert.

"...too G to take a knee, still I gave you all of me.”

A pivotal force in the early ‘10s NYC rap revival, now LA-based rapper and producer Chuck Strangers steps into the limelight on new solo LP A Forsaken Lover’s Plea.

The album sounds markedly lush, candid rhymes bolstered by a slew of guest producers—including The Alchemist, Animoss and Strangers himself. Chuck’s own production feels current without ditching its previous homeliness, a seamless compliment to his honest, lived-in raps.

A Forsaken Lover’s Plea is laced with guest verses from a collection of fellow New York rap torchbearers, from Pro Era comrade Joey Bada$$ & Flatbush Zombies' Erick the Architect to Queens’ own Remy Banks.

Strangers’ tangled romance with hip-hop is the crux of the project—the culmination of a decade’s unwavering dedication to his craft, with its lofty highs, inevitable lows, and rough lessons of humility, patience, and process.

It’s Chuck’s most comprehensive solo project since Consumers Park, his 2018 debut, and follows The Boys & Girls EP, released May 2023.

A Forsaken Lover’s Plea is available on heavyweight green vinyl, silver tape and CD.

Fate is a funny old thing. One day in 2011, DJ/producer Tom Trago found himself sharing a train journey with Steven Van Lummel, a DIY musician, artist and co-founder of PIP, an underground nightclub and cultural hub in The Hague. Over the course of a rambling, open-ended conversation, the idea of making music together came up; a few weeks later, Trago travelled to van Lummel’s place – a former industrial unit that was now home to a rotating cast of artists and musicians – and didn’t leave for a month.

Cossetted away from the outside world in van Lummel’s loft, with multi-instrumentalists Janneke Nijhuijs and Wieger Hoogendorp joining them to create a musical four-piece, MEGA WEGA was born. Over the course of four weeks, the quartet embarked on an almost continuous creative session punctuated only by impromptu parties and mixing sessions. Life-long bonds were made and over 70 tracks recorded before the mundanity of day-to-day life came calling.

For one reason or another, the project never saw the light of day, with tracks sat gathering dust on hard drives for the best part of a decade. During the madness and loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trago rediscovered the tracks. Delighted by what he heard, a collective decision was made to add finishing touches and release the resultant album on van Lummel’s PIP Records imprint. Further instruments and vocals were added over two days at Hoogendorp’s studio, before mutual friend Tom Ruig got on board to mix the album.

So, what can you expect from Haunted, Mega Wega’s debut album? First and foremost, it’s the sound of pure creative expression – the distillation of a freewheeling, no-holds-barred, spontaneous musical journey variously inspired by the do-it-yourself ethos of musical counterculture, shared inspirations and influences, epic jam sessions, distant stars (Wega, sometimes known as Fidis or ‘the harp star’, is one of the brightest in the night sky), imaginary journeys across dusty deserts, and the comradeship of four new friends.

Enchanting and alluring, it’s an album that gleefully denies lazy categorization and ploughs its own eclectic, atmospheric musical furrow in vivid sonic detail. It’s a collective exploration of heady musical eclecticism unified by saucer-eyed vocals, low-slung bass, loose-limbed beats, sweaty percussion workouts and hazy electric piano motifs.

Haunted begins with the woozy and hallucinatory slow-burn soundscape of ‘Get Things Done’ – an effects laden shuffle akin to lying flat on your back tripping under an intense desert sun – and ends with the creepy, mind-mangling post-punk funk of ‘Brain Carpaccio’; in between, you’ll find spaced-out, low-tempo lo-fi soul (‘Move Around’, ‘Haunted’), tactile synth-powered boogie revivalism (‘Make Me Work’), deep and off-kilter opioid jazz (‘Copenhagen’), intoxicating psychedelia (‘Last Night on Earth’), piano-laden dream-pop epics (‘Shake Or Fall’), and Latin-infused, percussion-powered hedonism (‘Chopping Heads’).

Born out of spontaneous collaboration and immersive, almost endless recording sessions, Haunted is an album shot through with imagination and boundless energy, captured for posterity by four friends and collaborators at the top of their game.

Italian producer NND returns after release on Exarde with different vibes:

A1 elegance track produced during the pandemic has nostalgic vibes, a touch of acid, and techno beats. A2 influenced by the 80s of the italo disco mixed with house rhythms, a journey to be enjoyed from start to finish. Side B is the most dancefloor part of the record characterized by darker sounds, techno and electro sounds mark the time of this side.

In the words of Bill Brewster - DJ History

‘At the turn of the 1990s, there were few more successful New York house producers than Victor Simonelli. Under a dizzying array of aliases – Solution, NY’s Finest, Groove Committee, Critical Rhythm and Cloud 9 being amongst the better-known – the Brooklyn-born DJ/producer delivered a string of underground club hits during the city’s early ’90s house boom.’

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release - 2 X 12’s in each Vol

Launching the first Behind The Groove collectors edition vinyl series is New York’s finest Victor Simonelli with ‘The Early Years Vol 1 & 2’ double Vinyl releases. Featuring seminal house tracks such as Cloud 9’s ‘Do You Want Me’, Solution’s ‘Feel So Right’, Instant Exposure’s ‘Wanna Be With You’ and rare mixes of Raiana Page and EZ-AL, this collection brings together classic and rare Victor Simonelli cuts that reflect the early raw energy and buzz of the New York House scene. With ‘Vol 2” scheduled to follow shortly after, this is the most comprehensive collection of rare Simonelli cuts that firmly establishes his esteemed role in 90s House Music as well as introducing new fans to his inimitable sound.

Victor Simonelli is one of the early kings of NYC sampling In house music. The real deal - Victor danced at the legendary David Mancuso’s Loft sessions and developed a serious appreciation for good music. He interned for Arthur Baker at his renown Shakedown Studios (where Arthur worked with the iconic Afrika Bambatta on the seminal dance floor ’Planet Rock’ track) and went on to release hugely influential releases on seminal NYC labels 4th Floor and Nu Groove. Victor’s music was championed by the hugely celebrated iconic House Music DJ pioneers, Larry Levan and Tony Humphries at Paradise Garage & Zanzibar/WBLS/Kiss FM respectively.

Revered as a New York house heavyweight and prolific producer since the turn of the 1990s, Victor Simonelli grew up in Brooklyn, NYC, nurtured by a music loving family, with an avid record collecting father who also worked as a local party DJ. He took music lessons in piano, drums, guitar and bass, before discovering his first love, tuning into NY’s Radio Mix Shows on WBLS, WKTU and WRKS,98.7 Kiss FM) where he discovered the art of mixing and in his own words, ’I just simply got lost in the music’.

Graduating from NYC’s Centre For Media Arts, Victor got an internship in the legendary producer, Arthur Baker’s Shakedown Studios. Soon graduating to editing, mixing and then producing he worked for artists David Bowie, Quincy Jones, Debbie Harry, Sinead O’Connor and Talking Heads. Teaming up with fellow NYC producer Lenny Dee to become the Brooklyn Funk Essentials, they released records ‘Critical Rhythm’ and ‘Subliminal Aurra’ on 4th Floor before Victor went solo as Groove Committee releasing the classic ‘I Want You To Know’ on the legendary Nu Groove Records. Paradise Garage legend, Larry Levan broke ‘I Want You To Know’ rocking 2 copies on his last tour of Japan whilst King of NY House Music,Tony Humphries broke Victor’s new ‘Feels So Right’ across New York on his WBLS/Kiss FM Mastermix show and at his legendary Zanzibar club sessions. It was only a matter of time before Victor’s name became synonymous with quality House music ensuring a worldwide platform for his productions.

In the early 90s alongside his own productions, Victor Simonelli worked on high profile projects, including James Brown’s album, “Love Overdue” BeBe and CeCe Winans single featuring Mavis Staples “I’ll Take You There” and Quincy Jones’ “I’ll Be Good To You” featuring Chaka Khan and the legendary Ray Charles. Never straying too far from his clubland roots, Victor worked with Danny Tenaglia on his classic “The Harmonica Track”.

DJ gigs across the world started flooding in and Victor found himself recording for a dizzying array of labels including Tribal America, Sub-Urban, Bassline, King Street Sounds and Vibe, under a wide range of aliases. He also produced, wrote and remixed for artists such Nile Rodgers (Chic), Afrika Baambata, Hall & Oates, Frankie Knuckles, Kerri Chandler, Madonna and Michael Jackson. Famed for his own productions “It’s So Good” by Creative Force, “I Know A Place” as Sound Of One - the first release on Roger Sanchez One Records -, “Dirty Games” as well as the “Street Players Vol 1 EP”, Victor went on to set up Suburban Records with Tommy Musto and Bassline Records with two other partners. Notable releases on this label include “Do You Feel Me”, Connie Harvey’s gospel inspired, “Thank You Lord”, Urban Blues Project’s “Deliver Me”, Colonel Abrams “Not Gonna Let”, and Mone’s “Better Way”. Never ceasing to produce, DJ, run his own label and host radio shows like Groove Lift, Victor has worked with virtually every NYC producer and has nurtured a next generation talents including Angel Moraes, Jazz ‘N’ Groove, Urban Blues Project, Harlem Hustlers, Jay Jay and Julius Papp. Victor’s releases have also been used on M&S’s “Salsoul Nuggett” hit and Eddie Amador’s underground smash ‘House Music’.

In the late 90’s Victor launched his new Westside Productions, notable for the “Latin Impressions 1 & 2” releases, opened up a studio in Italy as he found himself increasingly working in Europe and now divides his time between New York and Italy. Suffice to say his unique sound of uplifting and spiritual music has kept him at the forefront of House Music and he is credited as one of its leading exponents with his string of classic releases and remixes.

Behind the Groove, branches out from its digital platform to embark on a programme of releases from the iconic pioneer producers of House Music. Esteemed for their high quality features and mixes that continue to explore, celebrate and venerate the contributions of highly respected, scene-shaping Labels, Artists, DJs and Special Events, BTG seeks to bring these talents and tales to the attention of the wider community. Unlocking the stories surrounding the pivotal roles they played and continue to play today in shaping the underground music scene we have come to know and love.

BTG presents “Victor Simonelli: The Early Years Vol 1” a collectors edition double Vinyl release, released on May 12th 2023. ‘Vol 2” follows on May 26th 2023 . These releases are the most comprehensive collection of rare Victor Simonelli cuts that firmly establish his esteemed role in 90s House Music and introduces new fans to his carefree sound.

Sidney Charles welcomes M-High to his leading Heavy House Society imprint and the Dutchman drops a classy four track EP of exceptional high quality laden with groove style and panache.

M-High is known to many within the Minimal and Deep scene through his releases on prominent labels such as Locus, META, Rutilance, Politics of Dancing PIV and more. These releases have been supported by a who’s who including Archie Hamilton, Chris Stussy, Phil Weeks, Jamie Jones, Sam Divine and many others. This support coupled with always fire releases and his highly impressive record selection in his sets has seen him being booked at in demand venues and festivals including Fabric London, BPM Costa Rica, Mint Warehouse Leeds, Thuishaven Amsterdam, Defected Croatia and more, and now Sidney Charles welcomes him to his Heavy House Society imprint and once again the young talented Dutchman does not disappoint.

His ‘Up The Attic EP’ is a luxurious blend of house ranging from the more jackin’ warehouse style of ‘Jackstion’, to the sensuous bassline roller ‘Let J Say’. He then takes you on a powerful deeper journey with ‘That Reminds Me’ and he rounds off the EP with the lofty and effervescent title track ‘Up The Attic’, making this an essential must have for those who like their music, intelligent, understated yet highly danceable and chic.

Zurich’s Elvis Cassetta delivers a dazzling four-track debut EP to his brand-new WhyNot imprint. Complete with a refined deep house sound, this is an expertly crafted body of silky smooth grooves to get floors shaking.

'Down With Us' instantly displays Cassetta’s effortless ability to create a hot house swing using just a handful of elements – subtle groove, skittish percussion and a sultry vocal sample. The whole track is thrown out wide in the breakdown, but then as the bassline is brought back in, Cassetta draws it all back in close for an intimate dancefloor moment. Definitely one of those hands-in-the-air peak-time scenes.

Dreamy synth pads steadily build under a thunderous kick drum pattern on the EP’s second track, 'Focals Finest', which takes the tempo up a notch for a real sweat inducer.

Finally, it’s all about a raw bassline on the metallic and techy 'Jupiter Groove'. Contorted slices of spoken word dip in and out throughout to create another level of leftfield, danceable percussion. While the low end is the main focus on the original, in Silat Beksi’s remix, we hear a brighter take on the deep groove. There’s a swirling sample, more prominent key stabs, eerie vocals and a teasing smattering of melody. Percussive elements are thrown from all angles, and they pulsate up into the rafters of the lofty house track, leading you further into a state of hypnosis.

Overall, these are house tracks made right – a classy release fit for warming in crowds in style.

From the mists of 1989 comes The Landlord with this monolithic slab of rave history - 'I Like It'. Instantly recognisable, those widely sampled piano stabs, that bassline.... it's all there. Produced by Canadian super-producer and Big Shot Records label owner Nick Fiorucci this much sought after rave anthem was highly prized and coveted by those in the know back in the day, no-one had any idea as to how huge the record would become as it soundtracked every dancefloor, warehouse, field and loft from '89 onwards, this is it, the real deal! Enter: The Maghreban. One of R&S Records contemporary artists and an unashamed Hardcore / Jungle / Breakbeat enthusiast, he seemed like the perfect remixer. Maghreban's mix is respective of the roots and the legacy of 'I Like It', referencing some of it's later sampled incarnations in a clever and knowing way, a true DJ tool that has been road-tested and checked in clubs across Europe and beyond, his epic 'Revenge Remix' shows a deep understanding of the history of these particular records and how they work on the dancefloor. This one will have people crying for more! Also featured on this special RSD 2019 release is the OG 'Blow-Out Dub', the one that started it all. Classic material from end to end right here. Essential business from Above Board distribution and Nick Fiorucci / Big Shot Records.

Electronic tastemaker Reznik makes his Defected debut with a remix of Chasing Kurt's 2014 club favourite, "From The Inside." Following his critically acclaimed "Cloudy Eyes" featuring Jesse Boykins III, Reznik continues to build momentum across the global club circuit with 2026 appearances at The Loft Amsterdam, Scorpios Mykonos, Gate Club Paris, Hï Ibiza, Extrema Belgium, KOKO, and more. Championed by Keinemusik, Tripolism, DESIREE and more, the remix has become a sought-after ID among underground selectors.

The ultimate Limited Edition double LP repress of "Morning Coffee" is finally here! ☕

Treat yourself to this ultra-exclusive double LP featuring an incredible liquid-filled vinyl. It's the perfect opportunity to acquire an exceptional collector's piece that is as hypnotic to watch as it is to listen to.


✨ Vinyl Features

Ultra-Rare Liquid-Filled Disc 1: much more than just a vinyl record, it's a technical marvel. This first disc contains a moving, coffee-colored liquid that comes alive to the rhythm of your turntable, offering a hypnotic and extremely rare visual experience.


Stunning Coffee-Marbled Disc 2: to perfectly pair with the liquid disc, enjoy a beautiful brown marbled vinyl that captures the warm aesthetic of a freshly brewed cup of coffee.


22 Remastered Tracks: 54 minutes of carefully selected, soothing melodies, remastered to bring a gentle warmth to your morning coffee routines.

Specially designed for fans who couldn't secure the original first pressing due to its instant sell-out, this limited reissue is the missing centerpiece your collection deserves.

Brighton’s Moon Attendant team up with Go! Team's leader and drummer Ian Parton for new LP ‘Dum Evol’. Following their debut ‘One Last Summer’ with this incendiary, heart-pounding, drum-led masterwork full of untutored surf-guitar, Scarlet Rivera style fiddle, psychedelic orchestration and sharp-playful lyrics, all within just over 30 thrilling minutes.Since their debut, Paul Blewett and Nick Holton had been knee-deep in experimental music and needed something or someone to smash the shit out of the new songs. Instead of making heavier music, the result left lofty but wobbly structures teetering on fractured Giacometti-like frames, exposed, more arresting. Paring back the Musical palette from previous wash of synths and reverb to surf guitars, Moog, and violin, leaving Blewett's vocal (often compared to Colin Bunstone) leaning into an unvarnished, direct sound like Jimmy Campbell. Thematically, Dum Evol turns inward. Where their debut asked questions, this record sits with the answers, exploring love, conflict, and growth as experiences that must be lived first hand - “It’s such dumb evolution, you still have to learn the hard way”. Their lyrics get under the skin and under The Establishment in a wistful worm like way. Nudging at the truths. Smiling but always ready to bare some fangs.The fantastic instinctive violinist, Roger Proctor, joined as fourth member, bringing raw fragile beauty to ‘Look The Other Way’ & ‘Difficult Ifficult’, blending swooping string lines with the monster-surfing-Sonic Youth racket elsewhere. They explain - “We kept to a first take policy generally as it keeps everything just fresh and daisy like.” Dum Evol’s restraint allows the band’s more experimental instincts to land with greater weight. Musically, the record occupies a space somewhere between the slacker-rock nonchalance of Pavement and the gypsy swagger of Dylan - 'Desire' through a lens that is consciously, almost defiantly, English. It’s a sound that channels the 60's pastoral folk tradition alongside the sharp-edge of The Auteurs, an honest version of England, one to be proud of, existing in stark contrast to the hollow jingoistic nationalism of flag-shaggers climbing lamp posts. Jagged, lived-in, and entirely vital, Dum Evol is a record that feels fully realised, yet remains dangerously built to unravel in a hair's breadth.“Psychelelic grungy synth-pop - Moon Attendant marry analogue electronics to a lovely burbling pop sound, like Felt exploring the recesses of krautrock. Trippy, ramshackle and a cult in waiting.” Shindig!

Brighton’s Moon Attendant team up with Go! Team's leader and drummer Ian Parton for new LP ‘Dum Evol’. Following their debut ‘One Last Summer’ with this incendiary, heart-pounding, drum-led masterwork full of untutored surf-guitar, Scarlet Rivera style fiddle, psychedelic orchestration and sharp-playful lyrics, all within just over 30 thrilling minutes.Since their debut, Paul Blewett and Nick Holton had been knee-deep in experimental music and needed something or someone to smash the shit out of the new songs. Instead of making heavier music, the result left lofty but wobbly structures teetering on fractured Giacometti-like frames, exposed, more arresting. Paring back the Musical palette from previous wash of synths and reverb to surf guitars, Moog, and violin, leaving Blewett's vocal (often compared to Colin Bunstone) leaning into an unvarnished, direct sound like Jimmy Campbell. Thematically, Dum Evol turns inward. Where their debut asked questions, this record sits with the answers, exploring love, conflict, and growth as experiences that must be lived first hand - “It’s such dumb evolution, you still have to learn the hard way”. Their lyrics get under the skin and under The Establishment in a wistful worm like way. Nudging at the truths. Smiling but always ready to bare some fangs.The fantastic instinctive violinist, Roger Proctor, joined as fourth member, bringing raw fragile beauty to ‘Look The Other Way’ & ‘Difficult Ifficult’, blending swooping string lines with the monster-surfing-Sonic Youth racket elsewhere. They explain - “We kept to a first take policy generally as it keeps everything just fresh and daisy like.” Dum Evol’s restraint allows the band’s more experimental instincts to land with greater weight. Musically, the record occupies a space somewhere between the slacker-rock nonchalance of Pavement and the gypsy swagger of Dylan - 'Desire' through a lens that is consciously, almost defiantly, English. It’s a sound that channels the 60's pastoral folk tradition alongside the sharp-edge of The Auteurs, an honest version of England, one to be proud of, existing in stark contrast to the hollow jingoistic nationalism of flag-shaggers climbing lamp posts. Jagged, lived-in, and entirely vital, Dum Evol is a record that feels fully realised, yet remains dangerously built to unravel in a hair's breadth.“Psychelelic grungy synth-pop - Moon Attendant marry analogue electronics to a lovely burbling pop sound, like Felt exploring the recesses of krautrock. Trippy, ramshackle and a cult in waiting.” Shindig!

The deluxe 10th anniversary edition of case/lang/veirs features the new track "Accidental Tattoo" and twelve never-before-released live recordings alongside the original studio album from supergroup of singer-songwriters Neko Case, kd lang and Laura Veirs. Released in 2016, case/lang/veirs is a true collaboration between three phenomenal, self-driven artists: "the strongest voices in their field - lang the full-voiced seductress, Case the hurricane, and Veirs the wry storyteller" (Pitchfork). The women wrote all 14 songs and shared lead vocals equally, sometimes even within the same track. Full of stunning harmonies and spellbinding rhythms, case/lang/veirs travels through aches and eras, torch songs and tributes to the undersung. "There"s a generosity of spirit to case/lang/veirs," NPR praised upon the album"s release, "a worthy extension of three tremendous catalogs, in which three great singer-songwriters sound enhanced and invigorated by the challenge of living up to each other"s legacies." They worked over two and a half years in Portland, Oregon, where lang and Veirs both live, sometimes in lang"s loft with a view of Mount St. Helens, others in Veirs" dining room or backyard studio. The album was written from the ground up without any real plan beyond a desire to make music together and a faith that it would reveal itself. They produced the album with Tucker Martine, at his Portland studio in November 2015.

The deluxe 10th anniversary edition of case/lang/veirs features the new track "Accidental Tattoo" and twelve never-before-released live recordings alongside the original studio album from supergroup of singer-songwriters Neko Case, kd lang and Laura Veirs. Released in 2016, case/lang/veirs is a true collaboration between three phenomenal, self-driven artists: "the strongest voices in their field - lang the full-voiced seductress, Case the hurricane, and Veirs the wry storyteller" (Pitchfork). The women wrote all 14 songs and shared lead vocals equally, sometimes even within the same track. Full of stunning harmonies and spellbinding rhythms, case/lang/veirs travels through aches and eras, torch songs and tributes to the undersung. "There"s a generosity of spirit to case/lang/veirs," NPR praised upon the album"s release, "a worthy extension of three tremendous catalogs, in which three great singer-songwriters sound enhanced and invigorated by the challenge of living up to each other"s legacies." They worked over two and a half years in Portland, Oregon, where lang and Veirs both live, sometimes in lang"s loft with a view of Mount St. Helens, others in Veirs" dining room or backyard studio. The album was written from the ground up without any real plan beyond a desire to make music together and a faith that it would reveal itself. They produced the album with Tucker Martine, at his Portland studio in November 2015.

'I live in a gentrified part of Brooklyn, I eat out several times a week, I travel the world sampling the best that cities across the globe have to offer. Do I live in a penthouse loft Am I dinning in five stars restaurants Can you only find me in the most exclusive areas Do I own a jet The answer to all the above is most certainly no. I'm just a regular man from Prince George's county, Maryland that figured shit out. I discovered that I can make a career in an arena dominated by artists that sell false dreams. I realized that although the masses may not know of my body of work, it doesn't take the whole world to have the world I want. Tangible Dream is a mix-tape dedicated to the deconstruction of our traditional ideas of success & shedding light on the possibility of a sustainable rap life. These rhymes were written in economy class seats, these beats were produced on long bus trips & these songs were recorded in airbnb apartments. All I want to do is make music for a living so that I can live to make music. The only dreams I'm interested in are the ones I can grasp. It just so happens that anything you want bad enough can be obtained. Perhaps the world may never know of my accomplishments but accomplishments they are nonetheless.

Vacation. A backpack trip through Australia, a campfire in the Schrebergarten. Cruising in the car with friends through the Lüneburger Heide or just a short holiday in the mind, during a rainy lunch break or with a glass of Sprizz on the balcony. And this all includes music, music, music! Grooves which roll like an intercity train into the horizon, Rhodes chords as soft as sand on the beach and synthesizers that sparkle like the reflections on the ocean. Music as colourful as a Hawaiian shirt and as warm as the morning sun.


Welcome to Erobique’s second album “Erobique No. 2”. Here even the song titles are in a holiday mood: “Ahoj!” greets the young “Springinsfeld”. The “Mantas” glide elegantly around the “Acquamarina”. “Salut Les Copines!” we shout to the yacht next to us. “Come on the ‘Ravedave!’” they echo cheerfully. “Riding Low” is the motto while the “Arpeggiator” beautifully condenses the “Synaesthesia” of our dazed senses. The “Italotape” in the cassette deck plays the “Hitsong Von uns Beiden”. It’s all so beautiful “Verkackt”, it sounds like “Zukunftsmusik”!


Carsten Meyer released his debut album “Erosound” in 1998 under the name “Erobique”. Exactly 25 years later, the now 50-year-old releases his second Erobique album on his own label A-sexy. Thirteen diverse tracks ranging from holiday disco to rhythm box rave, recorded and produced with many of his friends and companions. Twenty-five years, that's pretty much the time it took disco to evolve from the legendary loft parties of pioneer David Mancuso to the impressive mass spectacles of Daft Punk's performances, or from Meyer's birth to his first full-length record. So why only now a second album as “Erobique”?

Over a decade has passed since this 12" was released, and it has truly aged like fine wine. This release features 2 timeless cuts from the mind and soul of cv313 mixed and recorded near the heart of Detroit. This was beautifully remastered by dub innovator and pioneer, Stefan Betke POLE @ scape mastering in Berlin, DE. The recordings were pulled from the session masters conducted by Bazza @ Alchemy Mastering in London to ensure a perfectly balanced mix and preserving the soul and spirit of the original tape masters while focusing on enriching every finite detail. While listening to these remasters you can feel the analog warmth of the original tape recordings, with a low end rumble in a way only POLE could pull off! On the A side we have cv313's classic "Lost Sequence" culled from the celebrated Japan exclusive "live" double CD album released back in 2009. On the B side there's a rare live version performed by intrusion at a loft event put on by the good folks over @ Little White Earbuds. This rare recording was reduced and stripped down, core traces of the original swim inside oceanic bass and modulated high end frequencies creating an atmosphere all of its own. This is one for the heads and a true lesson in space and bass!

A1 – Natural Calamity – Vibeka
A2 – Jimetta Rose – Ebb & Flow
A3 – Dea Barandana – Licik (Tribute) (Love Injection Edit)

B1 – We Are Echo People – Bird Brain
B2 – Ensemble Entendu – Wasp Jam
B3 – Fatback – Is This The Future? (Disco Version)

C1 – Mind Fair – Hiding From My Shadow
C2 – Gigi Testa – Oriental Express

D1 – Gayance, Dal Bò – Liberation Lullaby
D2 – Kaoru Inoue presents Chari Chari – Tidal Wave
D3 – ICAN – Pa' Mi Gente

E1 – Angela Johnson – Inclusion (The Soul Feast Cosmic Arts Dub)
E2 – Jimi Tenor – The Duel

F1 – Antonio Ocasio – Love For The Loft
F2 – Ken Ishii ft. Metropolitan Harmonic Formulas – Can You Feel It

(*Previously unreleased)

Telling a tale of house music’s early days or roots without mentioning Tony Humphries as a club DJ, remixer and radio disc jockey would make it an incomplete, forged and most of all a bit of a yawn.
Born in Brooklyn in 1957, Humphries’ musical journey is synonymous with New York City’s dance music history and the evolution from uptempo soul music to house: from being a dancer at David Mancuso’s infamous Loft parties to becoming a mobile DJ and getting the call from Shep Pettibone to become his right hand at
the then new Kiss FM radio station, followed by countless remix offers and a legendary residency at Newark’s Club Zanzibar. Next to that one, is was especially his work as a radio disc jockey for said station during most of the 1980s until 1994 that gave him majestic clout. Breaking new records week in, week out,
putting New Jersey acts like Adeva and Jomanda or countless up-and-coming producers from there on the musical map, while simultaneously playing the hottest imports from Europe, trax from Chicago, dance classics and all things straight from New York’s music factory that never seemed to stop.
Going to his vast and almost complete archive of radio shows from way back when he graced those airwaves, we at Running Back Records have pickedNew Release Information original recordings that symbolize his importance as an industry giant and ambassador of this style of music.
„But one thing I would like to point out is that, as a DJ, the music I play is not my music. I want to make it perfectly clear that it is music that is released, and it’s everyone’s music. I do not take any other credit than being the middle person exposing this music.“
(Tony Humphries in: What Kind of House Party Is This?, Jonathan Fleming, 1996)

Dive into the latest groove-packed installment from Luv Shack Records - where Disco, House, and Indie Dance collide in a timeless celebration of dancefloor magic.

Disco Biscuits #7 delivers the heat, curated for those who live for the rhythm and the vibe.

Inner City Sound Archives returns with its second chapter — digging deeper into the forgotten vaults of New York’s underground disco culture.

This new volume brings to light another cache of mysterious acetate recordings: no titles, no credits, just cryptic handwriting, tape hiss, and the unmistakable pulse of a bygone era. Painstakingly transferred and fully remastered through analog processes, these raw and extended cuts preserve the full emotional weight of the original sessions — dusty, physical, and made to move bodies in the dark.

These are tracks that once passed hand-to-hand among a tight circle of selectors, whispered about and played just once or twice at legendary loft parties between 1978 and 1983. Then, silence. Until now. Once championed in the shadows by the likes of Larry Levan, Francis Grasso, Steve D’Acquisto, but also by more elusive selectors like Bobby Guttadaro, Michael Cappello, Roy Thode, and Mark Paul Simon — these grooves return to tell their story, the way they were meant to be heard. Each piece is a sonic time capsule — hypnotic, unpolished, and intimate. Pressed loud and with care, for those who still believe in the ritual of vinyl.

2026 Repress

Inner City Sound Archives is the work of a small crew of obsessive DJs, diggers, and archivists. For years, they hunted lost reels — digging through basements, flea markets, forgotten storage rooms — until they uncovered a batch of mysterious acetate tapes. No credits, no labels. Just cryptic handwriting and the hiss of time. What they found were raw, extended disco cuts — played once or twice at underground NYC loft parties in the late '70s, passed hand to hand among a tight circle of selectors, then lost to history. Now, after painstaking transfers and full analog remastering, these tracks are back. Unpolished, hypnotic, physical. Restored with love. Cut loud. Pressed right. For our debut release: six unreleased NYC disco bombs, presented in their original long versions across Sides A & B. Once championed behind closed doors by the likes of Larry Levan, Francis Grasso, Steve D’Acquisto, Walter Gibbons, and Richie Kaczor.

Loftsoul a.k.a. DJ Uchikawa revisits and remixes three tracks from the Loftsoul Recordings catalogue for 2026.

Dear Friend featuring Lisa Millett was the first release on the label in 2010 and instantly became a highly collectable classic. Uchikawa refreshes the track with his customary deep and soulful yet driving energy, maintaining all the musical elements that define his unique fusion of the organic with the electronic.
Wait For You featuring Carla Prather gets retouched with a deep rolling groove and riding hammond organ melody creating a smooth bed for Carla’s haunting vocal.
Uchikawa’s cover version of the Grover Washington classic Mr Magic first appeared under his Rhythm Of Elements guise in 2008. It features the great pianist Makoto Kuriya laying down a sublime solo over the infectious groove and Hideki Ikeuchi killing it on guitar. The 2026 Remix comes with a full-on laid-back jazz double-bass line as the background for the exquisite solo performances.

La Peste war Bostons erste echte Punkband und hat die Lücke zwischen der einflussreichen Proto-Punk-Szene der Stadt in den 1970er Jahren und dem College-Rock und Hardcore-Punk der 1980er und 1990er Jahre gefüllt. Diese Sammlung will die ganze Geschichte von La Peste erzählen und zeigt die unveröffentlichten Studio- und Loft-Aufnahmen der Band zusammen mit den beiden offiziell veröffentlichten Tracks. Diese Tracks stammen aus der Studio-Session, aus der die 7"-Single ,Better Off Dead" (die einzige offizielle Aufnahme der Band) hervorging, aus ihrer Session mit Ric Ocasek von The Cars aus dem Jahr 1978, aus einer Session in den Electro Acoustic Studios aus dem Jahr 1978 und aus 4-Spur-Loft-Aufnahmen, die 1977 von den Bostoner Punks Billy Dafodil und Dave Cola gemacht wurden. ,Wenn du dir ,I Don't Know Right From Wrong" anhörst, wage ich zu behaupten, dass du nicht mehr aufhören kannst, sobald du angefangen hast - stell dir vor, diese Songs wären verfügbar gewesen, als La Peste sie aufgenommen hat. Stell dir vor, die atomaren Songs dieses Trios hätten aus den Plattenläden und Autoradios in ganz Boston, an der gesamten Ostküste und in ganz Amerika gedröhnt. Ich habe kaum Zweifel, dass genau das passiert wäre, wenn diese Musik Ende der 70er Jahre auf Platte erschienen wäre. Stattdessen müssen wir uns damit begnügen, sie jetzt zu hören - und wow, was für ein Trostpreis! Alles auf diesem Album kommt aus den Lautsprechern geflogen, macht Spaß, ist intensiv und so voller kaum zu bändigender Energie, dass man sich fühlt, als hätte man sich gerade Koffein gespritzt. Johnny Angels Beschreibung von La Peste als ,Black Sabbath meets Wire" trifft jetzt voll ins Schwarze: große, fette, dreckige Riffs zu einem umwerfenden Beat. Zwischen Peter Daytons feuriger Gitarre und seinen kehligen Schreien, Mark Andreassons tiefem Bass und Roger Tripps kraftvollen Drums gibt es in ,I Don't Know Right From Wrong" so viel Klanggewalt, dass der Typ in der Maxell-Werbung dagegen wie eingeschlafen wirkt" - Marc Masters

During a job in Cologne, I stayed in a room with a loft bed that had no electrical outlets at the top. Every night, I would listen to my TB303, which runs on batteries, through headphones to help me fall asleep. I loved the sequences, it was like meditation. The TB-303 bassline is iconic in acid music, so I created the Acid Lullabies to bring these two elements together. In 2017, the label Doom Chakra Tapes released ten of the Acid Lullabies on tape. Last year, I felt the urge to rework the tracks, so I mixed them again and created some new ones. I also
asked friends to contribute their own versions.

I’m very glad that the following artists contributed the Acid Lullabies: 47IN4 (Pudel Produkte, Doom Chakra Tapes), Museum of No Art (Séance Center, Cosima Pitz), N:in and Philipp Otterbach (Music from Memory, Offen Music). Two violinists from Ensemble Resonanz performed my piece 'Afternoon Lights' for Acid Lullaby 6. Alex Solman designed the cover, which captures the essence of the project perfectly. Have fun with the Acid Lullabies!

First time reissue of JP free jazz rarity, pre-Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai group.

The single album self-released by the quartet Shūdan Sokai in 1977 is one of the most vital documents of mid-seventies Japanese free jazz, documenting Tokyo’s free scene at the precise moment when it began to shift to a handful of tiny venues on the western fringes of the city. In Free Jazz in Japan, Teruto Soejima identifies the extant venue Aketa no Mise in Nishi-Ogikubo as the pioneer of this decamping from the centre: a cramped basement beneath a rice shop, seating just 20 people. Musician-run, operated on a shoestring, these spaces offered a vital site for community, creativity, and a small measure of financial independence — “even though it was in a basement, in spirit it was a loft.”

Among the most active of the new venues was Alone in Hachiōji, nearly an hour from Shinjuku, in a district shaped by universities, lower rents, and a thriving counterculture. Originally opened in 1973 as a jazu kissa, Alone was unusually spacious and equipped with a stage, grand piano, and drum kit. Around 1974, Junji Mori and Yasuhiro Sakakibara began working there, booking free jazz players on weekends and establishing the venue as a crucial hub. Mori recalls early appearances by figures including Kazutoki Umezu, Toshinori Kondo, and others who would define the scene.

In early 1976, Umezu and pianist Yoriyuki Harada — recently returned from New York’s loft jazz environment, where they had played with musicians such as David Murray and William Parker — formed Shūdan Sokai with Mori and drummer Takashi Kikuchi. The name, meaning “mass evacuation,” pointed to their self-chosen exile in Hachiōji. With Alone as their home base, the quartet developed a music characterized by an infectious sense of enjoyment and a willingness to integrate free jazz with elements of song structure. Harada switched between piano and bass; the group experimented with rap-like vocal pieces, jabbering nursery rhymes over bass rhythms.

They returned to Alone on December 24 to record Sono zen’ya (Eve), releasing it on their own Des Chonboo Records, partially funded by advertisements from local businesses printed on the rear cover. The closing “Ballad for Seshiru,” dedicated to Harada’s newborn son, unfolds over a delicate piano melody that moves into emphatic chords as intertwining alto lines rise and spiral.

Alone closed in September 1977, and Shūdan Sokai soon dissolved, later morphing into the expanded Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai Orchestra. What remains is a recording rooted in a specific place and moment: a fiercely independent scene sustained by small rooms, close listening, and collective commitment.

White vinyl. Signed Print Edition. When Jack Tatum began work on Life of Pause, his third full-length to date, he had lofty ambitions: Don't just write another album; create another world. One with enough detail and texture and dimension that a listener could step inside, explore, and inhabit it as they see fit. "I desperately wanted for this to be the kind of record that would displace me," he says. "I'm terrified by the idea of being any one thing, or being of any one genre. And whether or not I accomplish that, I know that my only hope of getting there is to constantly reinvent. That reinvention doesn't need to be drastic, but every new record has to have its own identity, and it has to have a separate set of goals from what came before." What came before: a rightfully acclaimed, much beloved display of singular pop craftsmanship. Tatum's dreamy, unexpected 2010 debut, Gemini, was written while he was still a student at Virginia Tech University. Its equally disarming follow-up, 2012's Nocturne, marked the first time he'd been able to bring his bedroom recordings into a studio, to be performed and fully realized with the help of other musicians. There has been a set of wonderfully expansive EPs in between_each hinting at new directions and punctuating previous ideas_but with Life of Pause, Tatum delivers what he describes as his most "honest" and "mature" work yet, an exquisitely arranged and beautifully recorded collection of songs that marry the immediate with the indefinable. "I allowed myself to go down every route I could imagine even if it ended up not working for me," he says. "I owe it to myself to take as many risks as possible. Songs are songs and you have to allow yourself to be open to everything." After a prolonged period of writing and experimentation, recording took place over several weeks in both Los Angeles and Stockholm, with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Beachwood Sparks) helping Tatum in his search for a more natural and organically textured sound. In Sweden, in a studio once owned by ABBA, they enlisted Peter, Bjorn and John drummer John Ericsson and fellow Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra veteran Pelle Jacobsson, to contribute drums and marimba. In California, at Monahan's home, Tatum collaborated with Medicine guitarist Brad Laner and a crew of saxophonists. From the hypnotic polyrhythms of "Reichpop" to the sugary howl of "Japanese Alice" to the hallucinogenic R&B of "A Woman's Wisdom," the result is a complete, fully immersive listening environment. "I just kept things really simple, writing as ideas came to me," he says. "There's definitely a different kind of `self' in the picture this time around. There's no real love lost, it's much more a record of coming to terms and defining what it is that you have_your place, your relationships. I view every record as an opportunity to write better songs. At the end of the day it still sounds like me, just new."

To celebrate the legendary Young Fresh Fellows' 40th anniversary remix/re-release of their first album The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest, the band took one day off their hectic touring schedule to head to Wilco's The Loft studio in Chicago. The band got GRAMMY-Award winner Tom Schick behind the boards, cut 11 brand new songs, and later added some legendary friends across the album, including Neko Case (sings lead on "Destination"), John Stirratt of Wilco (harmony vocals), Morgan Fisher of Mott the Hoople (keyboards), Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven (violin), Jenny Conlee of The Decemberists (accordion, harmony vocals), Mark Greenberg of Eleventh Dream Day (vibraphone), Peter Buck of R.E.M. (12-string guitar), and Dave "Max" Crawford of Poi Dog Pondering (trumpet). This fully realized version, Loft, has never been released before, and the cover is a faded/fated tie-in with 40th anniversary of YFF's second LP Topsy Turvy, released November 1985.

Twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist Arlo Parks announces her new album, Ambiguous Desire, due April 3rd via Transgressive Records.



Ambiguous Desire is Parks at her most confident and experimental, supplanting live band sessions for modular synths, ableton plugins and samplers that channel the frenetic, vibrant spaces she was immersed in, all while spotlighting the acclaimed poetry and lyricism she’s beloved for.



Reflecting on the making of the record, Parks shares, "I danced more than ever as I made this record, I made more friends than ever too, found myself in the weird underbelly of New York juke nights, unleashed, laughed and laughed and laughed. This record has desire at its centre. Desire is a life force, it’s a wanting, a yearning, a momentum - we are all alive because there is something or someone we want - desire is an engine. But it is also mysterious, tangled, random, enlightening and HUMAN."



Parks crafted the album with producer Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract). Their process unfolded between NYC’s vibrant, community-rooted nightlife and long, introspective days spent in Baird’s downtown loft. The result is Parks’ most vulnerable, self-affirming, and euphoric work to date.

Die zweifach Grammy-nominierte, mit dem Mercury Prize und BRIT Award ausgezeichnete Künstlerin Arlo Parks kündigt ihr neues Album „Ambiguous Desire“ an, das am 3. April über Transgressive Records erscheinen wird.



„Ambiguous Desire“ zeigt Parks von ihrer selbstbewusstesten und experimentellsten Seite. Live-Band-Sessions wurden durch modulare Synthesizer, Ableton-Plugins und Sampler ersetzt, die die frenetischen, pulsierenden Räume widerspiegeln, in denen sie sich bewegte, während gleichzeitig ihre gefeierte Poesie und Lyrik, für die sie so geliebt wird, im Vordergrund stehen.



Über die Entstehung des Albums sagt Parks: „Ich habe während der Arbeit an diesem Album mehr getanzt als je zuvor, ich habe mehr Freunde gefunden als je zuvor, ich habe mich in den seltsamen Untergrund der New Yorker Juke-Nächte begeben, mich gehen lassen, gelacht und gelacht und gelacht. Dieses Album dreht sich um das Thema Begehren. Sehnsucht ist eine Lebenskraft, sie ist ein Verlangen, eine Dynamik – wir alle leben, weil es etwas oder jemanden gibt, den wir wollen – Sehnsucht ist ein Motor. Aber sie ist auch geheimnisvoll, verworren, zufällig, erleuchtend und MENSCHLICH.“



Parks hat das Album zusammen mit dem Produzenten Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract) produziert. Der Entstehungsprozess fand zwischen dem pulsierenden, gemeinschaftsorientierten Nachtleben von NYC und langen, introspektiven Tagen in Bairds Loft in der Innenstadt statt. Das Ergebnis ist Parks' bisher verletzlichstes, selbstbewusstestes und euphorischstes Werk.

Twice Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award-winning artist Arlo Parks announces her new album, Ambiguous Desire, due April 3rd via Transgressive Records.



Ambiguous Desire is Parks at her most confident and experimental, supplanting live band sessions for modular synths, ableton plugins and samplers that channel the frenetic, vibrant spaces she was immersed in, all while spotlighting the acclaimed poetry and lyricism she’s beloved for.



Reflecting on the making of the record, Parks shares, "I danced more than ever as I made this record, I made more friends than ever too, found myself in the weird underbelly of New York juke nights, unleashed, laughed and laughed and laughed. This record has desire at its centre. Desire is a life force, it’s a wanting, a yearning, a momentum - we are all alive because there is something or someone we want - desire is an engine. But it is also mysterious, tangled, random, enlightening and HUMAN."



Parks crafted the album with producer Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract). Their process unfolded between NYC’s vibrant, community-rooted nightlife and long, introspective days spent in Baird’s downtown loft. The result is Parks’ most vulnerable, self-affirming, and euphoric work to date.

Die zweifach Grammy-nominierte, mit dem Mercury Prize und BRIT Award ausgezeichnete Künstlerin Arlo Parks kündigt ihr neues Album „Ambiguous Desire“ an, das am 3. April über Transgressive Records erscheinen wird.



„Ambiguous Desire“ zeigt Parks von ihrer selbstbewusstesten und experimentellsten Seite. Live-Band-Sessions wurden durch modulare Synthesizer, Ableton-Plugins und Sampler ersetzt, die die frenetischen, pulsierenden Räume widerspiegeln, in denen sie sich bewegte, während gleichzeitig ihre gefeierte Poesie und Lyrik, für die sie so geliebt wird, im Vordergrund stehen.



Über die Entstehung des Albums sagt Parks: „Ich habe während der Arbeit an diesem Album mehr getanzt als je zuvor, ich habe mehr Freunde gefunden als je zuvor, ich habe mich in den seltsamen Untergrund der New Yorker Juke-Nächte begeben, mich gehen lassen, gelacht und gelacht und gelacht. Dieses Album dreht sich um das Thema Begehren. Sehnsucht ist eine Lebenskraft, sie ist ein Verlangen, eine Dynamik – wir alle leben, weil es etwas oder jemanden gibt, den wir wollen – Sehnsucht ist ein Motor. Aber sie ist auch geheimnisvoll, verworren, zufällig, erleuchtend und MENSCHLICH.“



Parks hat das Album zusammen mit dem Produzenten Baird (Brockhampton, Kevin Abstract) produziert. Der Entstehungsprozess fand zwischen dem pulsierenden, gemeinschaftsorientierten Nachtleben von NYC und langen, introspektiven Tagen in Bairds Loft in der Innenstadt statt. Das Ergebnis ist Parks' bisher verletzlichstes, selbstbewusstestes und euphorischstes Werk.

Feel the sun, samba, and soul that define summer in Rio.



Summer in Rio blends smooth bossa grooves with mellow lofi beats, capturing the laid-back energy of Brazil’s most iconic city. Born on Rio’s beaches in the late 1950s, bossa nova fused samba rhythms with jazz harmony and soft vocals, a sound both timeless and deeply expressive. This 28-track compilation brings that spirit to life: the first 14 tracks dive into bossa lofi with guitars and syncopated rhythms, while the last 14 ease into warm, expansive summer lofi.



From beachside mornings to golden hour evenings, this is summer on loop.

Transmitter ist Max Clarkes viertes Album als Cut Worms. Produziert von Jeff Tweedy im Loft Studio von Wilco, zeigt Transmitter, wie Clarke seine Fähigkeiten weiterentwickelt hat und wie zwei Künstler zusammenkommen, die in ihrer Arbeit nach Anmut inmitten von Entwurzelung suchen. Es sind Orte, die vom Mythos der Selbstständigkeit geprägt sind, an denen Menschen, die die Idee der Verbindung durch Technologie verkauft haben, zu stillen Sendern reduziert wurden - Datenpunkte, die gekauft und verkauft, manipuliert und gemessen werden und deren Leben durch genau die Netzwerke verzerrt wird, die sie eigentlich verbinden sollten. Die ersten Anzeichen für Transmitter gab es, als Cut Worms im Sommer 2024 als Vorgruppe von Wilco unterwegs waren. Am Ende der Tour lud Tweedy die Band ein, im legendären Loft in Chicago aufzunehmen, und schon bald wurden Pläne geschmiedet, im Herbst damit zu beginnen. In der gemütlichen Unordnung aus Gitarren, Verstärkern und Büchern im Loft fanden Clarke und Tweedy schnell eine gemeinsame musikalische Basis und eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für komplexe Songs. Während Clarkes Stimme und Texte den Rahmen bildeten, skizzierten Tweedys Gitarren- und Basslinien die Räume, in denen die Songs leben. Tweedys Präsenz als Produzent zeigte sich nicht in hartnäckigen Entscheidungen, sondern darin, wie er Räume kolorierte und immer wieder neue Texturen anbot. Zwischen ihnen überbrückte ihre gleichgesinnte Sensibilität eine Generationskluft, um etwas zu schaffen, das nuancierter war, als es jeder von ihnen allein hätte schaffen können. Wenn frühere Veröffentlichungen von Cut Worms von der Dekadenz des Brill Building und verrückter Americana geprägt waren, wirkt der Sound auf Transmitter dunkler, reichhaltiger und gesättigter mit der Angst des modernen Lebens. ,Long Weekend" beschleunigt die Zeit und hat die melodische Dringlichkeit von Big Star oder Dwight Twilley. ,Evil Twin" kämpft mit bitterer Enttäuschung, seine gesprächigen Gitarren erinnern an den klirrenden Herzschmerz von The Replacements und The Go-Betweens, und ,Windows on the World" neigt sich mit einer Melancholie, die irgendwo zwischen Elliott Smith und Miracle Legion schwebt, der Sonne der Zukunft zu. Der letzte Titel ,Dream" bringt uns zurück auf eine vertraute Ebene: Clarke allein am Klavier, zart und unentschlossen, grübelt er über das Schicksal von Träumen und das Risiko, zu kurz zu kommen oder sich auf dem Weg zu verlieren. Transmitter zeigt Clarke in voller Fahrt, der mit der Überzeugung eines Menschen schreibt, der seinen Frieden mit der Ungewissheit gemacht hat. Diese Songs setzen sich mit den Kosten des Komforts auseinander und kehren zu der Idee zurück, dass Schönheit, Verbundenheit und Liebe keine Luxusgüter sind, sondern Überlebensnotwendigkeiten. Clarke fühlt sich zu Paradoxien hingezogen - der Reibung zwischen Intimität und Flucht, Glauben und Zweifel, Schatten und Licht. Seine Vergebung kommt, wie die des abgeschnittenen Wurms, durch Übertragung zustande: durch den Akt, etwas Zerbrechliches in den Lärm zu entlassen und darauf zu vertrauen, dass es noch immer spürbar ist.

Transmitter ist Max Clarkes viertes Album als Cut Worms. Produziert von Jeff Tweedy im Loft Studio von Wilco, zeigt Transmitter, wie Clarke seine Fähigkeiten weiterentwickelt hat und wie zwei Künstler zusammenkommen, die in ihrer Arbeit nach Anmut inmitten von Entwurzelung suchen. Es sind Orte, die vom Mythos der Selbstständigkeit geprägt sind, an denen Menschen, die die Idee der Verbindung durch Technologie verkauft haben, zu stillen Sendern reduziert wurden - Datenpunkte, die gekauft und verkauft, manipuliert und gemessen werden und deren Leben durch genau die Netzwerke verzerrt wird, die sie eigentlich verbinden sollten. Die ersten Anzeichen für Transmitter gab es, als Cut Worms im Sommer 2024 als Vorgruppe von Wilco unterwegs waren. Am Ende der Tour lud Tweedy die Band ein, im legendären Loft in Chicago aufzunehmen, und schon bald wurden Pläne geschmiedet, im Herbst damit zu beginnen. In der gemütlichen Unordnung aus Gitarren, Verstärkern und Büchern im Loft fanden Clarke und Tweedy schnell eine gemeinsame musikalische Basis und eine gemeinsame Vorliebe für komplexe Songs. Während Clarkes Stimme und Texte den Rahmen bildeten, skizzierten Tweedys Gitarren- und Basslinien die Räume, in denen die Songs leben. Tweedys Präsenz als Produzent zeigte sich nicht in hartnäckigen Entscheidungen, sondern darin, wie er Räume kolorierte und immer wieder neue Texturen anbot. Zwischen ihnen überbrückte ihre gleichgesinnte Sensibilität eine Generationskluft, um etwas zu schaffen, das nuancierter war, als es jeder von ihnen allein hätte schaffen können. Wenn frühere Veröffentlichungen von Cut Worms von der Dekadenz des Brill Building und verrückter Americana geprägt waren, wirkt der Sound auf Transmitter dunkler, reichhaltiger und gesättigter mit der Angst des modernen Lebens. ,Long Weekend" beschleunigt die Zeit und hat die melodische Dringlichkeit von Big Star oder Dwight Twilley. ,Evil Twin" kämpft mit bitterer Enttäuschung, seine gesprächigen Gitarren erinnern an den klirrenden Herzschmerz von The Replacements und The Go-Betweens, und ,Windows on the World" neigt sich mit einer Melancholie, die irgendwo zwischen Elliott Smith und Miracle Legion schwebt, der Sonne der Zukunft zu. Der letzte Titel ,Dream" bringt uns zurück auf eine vertraute Ebene: Clarke allein am Klavier, zart und unentschlossen, grübelt er über das Schicksal von Träumen und das Risiko, zu kurz zu kommen oder sich auf dem Weg zu verlieren. Transmitter zeigt Clarke in voller Fahrt, der mit der Überzeugung eines Menschen schreibt, der seinen Frieden mit der Ungewissheit gemacht hat. Diese Songs setzen sich mit den Kosten des Komforts auseinander und kehren zu der Idee zurück, dass Schönheit, Verbundenheit und Liebe keine Luxusgüter sind, sondern Überlebensnotwendigkeiten. Clarke fühlt sich zu Paradoxien hingezogen - der Reibung zwischen Intimität und Flucht, Glauben und Zweifel, Schatten und Licht. Seine Vergebung kommt, wie die des abgeschnittenen Wurms, durch Übertragung zustande: durch den Akt, etwas Zerbrechliches in den Lärm zu entlassen und darauf zu vertrauen, dass es noch immer spürbar ist.

2026 Repress

Turbotito and Ragz's electrifying Naya Beat label has curated a cultured list of remixers to add their spin to the work of legendary Indian vocalist Asha Puthli. This essential remix album features Yuksek, Maurice Fulton, Psychemagik, Kraak & Smaak, Jitwam, and Turbotito & Ragz.

Naya Beat, which translates from Hindi as 'new beat', is focused on uncovering foundational electronic sounds from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. It found quick success with its first release, 'Naya Beat Volume 1: South Asian Dance and Electronic Music 1983 - 1992', followed by a rare 1985 Hindi New Wave album by Pinky Ann Rihal and more recently a ground-breaking compilation ‘Awaaz’ uncovering Bollywood electro and leftfield 80s original soundtrack recordings.

Hot off their highly sought after EP of Dimitri From Paris’ seminal remixes of Asha Puthli’s iconic track ‘Space Talk’, the label now offers up the first of two full-length releases based around her music. Cosmic disco pioneer, Studio 54 icon and jazz improviser Asha Puthli has recorded, sung or shared the stage with the likes of Roy Ayers, Alice Coltrane, Grace Jones, Barry White, Andy Warhol and many more. From David Mancuso's The Loft, to Giorgio Moroder's early work with Donna Summer, to hip-hop where she has been sampled extensively, Asha's musical influence and impact is profound. She was the first artist of South Asian descent to successfully crossover and make a mark on dance, jazz and pop culture in the West.

For this LP, Naya Beat tracked down the long mythologised original stems and recordings of Puthli's most seminal albums, including ‘The Devil is Loose’, and working closely with Asha, they have tasked a series of producers inspired by her work to remix her music.
Yuksek opens up with a pumping disco remix of 'I Am Song (Sing Me)' awash with uplifting synths and big claps next to the original vocals, which soar to the heavens. The seminal 'Space Talk' is remixed by Maurice Fulton into super steamy and late-night territory. The live drums and jumbled percussion are lit up with soulful chords as Puthli's carefully delivered vocals seduce up top. 'Lies' (Kraak & Smaak Remix) rides on fat-bottomed drums and bass that unfold with a dub swagger beneath a nebulous eco-system of cosmic synths and dramatic vocals. Label heads Turbotito & Ragz flip 'One Night Affair' into a leggy disco celebration with sweeping synths and bright effects, and Psychemagik's 'Right Down Here' is a pulsating mix of dark, snaking bass and drums with deep space ambience and raw hits making for a turbulent and tense atmosphere. Lastly, Jitwam closes out with a smooth disco sound laced with dynamic drums and cruising chords next to another sensuous top line from Asha Puthli.

Jay-Jay Johanson returns with his new EP Where's the Cat?, a 7-track project featuring unreleased and reworked material from his latest album Backstage. Highlights include an unexpected collaboration with New York rapper LoftBlue, an extended version of Trompe L'oil featuring actor Harry Goaz (Twin Peaks), a refined remix by Alex Gopher, and two dub versions. The EP closes with Voice Memo No. 234, an intimate recording that offers a glimpse into the Swedish artist's creative process.