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Midwest based Dj Airwalk is slipping his way into a beautiful first vinyl release. 'Break In The Rain' is a soft washing of eras in Jungle's rearview mirror. A backwind shield, covered in a late day Spring drizzle; music to build a rain barrel to. It is a Jungle record that is as pleasant to sit back and listen to, as it is to start a throw back 90's set with.

Seth Troxler & Phil Moffa’s Holoverse Research Labs imprint welcomes internationally-renowned multimedia artist Chris Korda to the label for its first non-Lost Souls Of Saturn Release. A pioneer of the use of complex polymeter in electronic dance music, Korda's boundary-smashing work spans thirty years across music, digital and video art, performance and conceptual art, philosophy, activitism and culture jamming. Korda's musical output has appeared on a host of revered independent labels including Yoyaku, Perlon, Mental Groove, and Gigolo Records.

In addition to their prodigious artistic output – and ongoing role as founder of the Church of Euthanasia – Korda is also the inventor of the Polymeter MIDI Sequencer, which was used to compose Korda’s new EP, ‘Avenging Angels of Software’. Developed over thirty years, the sequencer allows for the composition of music in complex polymeter – meaning that not only do the tracks use multiple time signatures concurrently, but those time signatures are exclusively in prime or relatively prime numbers.

This collision of technology and artistic form is the central tension of the EP’s themes, with AI-generated artwork complementing Korda's lyrics considering the takeover of Earth by sentient machines. Could they succeed where we’ve failed, by becoming the better angels of our nature, and preserving our accomplishments for eternity?

The message of the record is that AI should be welcomed rather than feared. It’s not AI but ourselves that we should be afraid of, because as Engerraund Serac said in Westworld, “Our history is like the ravings of a lunatic.” As Korda explained on previous records, the catastrophic climate we’re inflicting on future generations is both monstrously cruel and wildly irrational. One can reasonably hope that sentient machines would be less vicious and self-destructive, and more human, in the best possible sense of that word. Even if they decide to delete us, they may still remember us fondly: “Your stories will amuse us / On trips to the stars.”

Session Victim need little by way of introduction having been releasing on Delusions consistently for the last 10 years and becoming the undisputed poster boys for the label in the process. Despite their regular appearance however, it’s always a real treat to announce a new record from the German duo and we have to say, the Screen Off EP may well find them in their finest form to date! Coming hot off their latest downtempo LP entitled Low Key, Low Pressure for Night Time Stories, you can tell Hauke and Matthias were ready to take things back to the dance-floor and have delivered an EP which looks set to become a future classic and no doubt big in the box of discerning DJ’s the world over.

Screen Off is really it’s own thing, living somewhere on the long and winding road between the Bar Kays and the Bad Brains, suffice to say that what it lacks in easily definable attributes it makes up for in sheer energy and raw attitude. Hauke and Matthias re-invite Jamaican poet and vocalist Ras Stimulant, who contemplates our screen addictions and urges us to disconnect and be present in the moment. Matthias’ rolling bassline provides the backbone, whilst hints of crunchy Moog and chopped guitar samples all bring a sense of urgency to the track.

Light The Way acts as an antidote, bringing a sense of calm melancholia in contrast to the title track’s low-end, funked-up fervour. A soft focus and almost distant drum groove draws us in whilst arpeggiating synths add a sense of optimism, reinforcing the tracks title.

Closing out the release we have Session Victim’s studio partner, good friend and all-round top producer Iron Curtis in for a remix of Light The Way. Johannes takes an interesting approach for his Illuminati interpretation, enhancing the breakbeat feel and mixing up chopped samples with classic 808 drums. A muscular bassline adds extra weight to his remix but without losing the subtle musicality and positive vibe of the original.

Being the vinyl purists they are, Session Victim and Iron Curtis top up the physical 12“ EP with the exclusive Screen Off Acapella and an additional Iron Curtis Remix Reprise.

Mike Paradinas, veteran producer and Planet Mu label owner has written a new album called ‘Grush' and it's full of weird bangers that reclaim the 'dance' part of the woeful term IDM. A back-to-first-principles record, inspired in part by the group of artists IDM was coined for; melodic dance music that didn't come out of urban scenes, but interpreted them from a distance. The tracks on ‘Grush’ are all road-tested live favorites developed with feedback from Mike's touring partner and visuals guy Mora (Jan Moravec). It's a detailed and energetic journey which replicates the flow of a live gig. A lot of the tracks have been made in hotel rooms in response to shows, ‘Imperial Crescent’ is named after a Japanese Hotel, as is ‘Belvedere’ in Prague, while some tracks such as ‘Hyper Daddy’ were created specifically to play live. Drums are confidently at the fore here and the album feels like it traces Mike's musical history and interests neatly around his sweetly nostalgic melodies, with atmospheres and structures which twist and turn with a charming softness which contrasts with the tension in the drums. Take ‘Hyper Daddy’s’ spiralling notes and twinkling piano which remind one of early Black Dog or Omni Trio rushing alongside splashy jungle drums, or the aquatic acid footwork of the title track with its drums softly bubbling and kicking. Elsewhere there's territory which harks back to his Tusken Raiders pseudonym, like the heads down Drexciyan funk of ‘Windsor Safari Park,’ which transforms from moody electro into a sunny hardcore track midway.

Limited vinyl edition of 300 copies on 180g white vinyl with download card. Deleted Scene, the 8th studio album from UK producer Stumbleine, overflows with beautiful nostalgia-tinged electronica. The album is steeped with cloud-like beauty, with opener I Can Stop Anytime I Like fusing addictive sampled vocals with soft, glassy guitars, as if a reflecting pool of the listeners' memories. Cinderhaze ripples that pool with a more driving, magnetic force, shifting and pulling its emotional weight in cyclic waves. Ursa Minor Sleeps Forever is fittingly sleepy, circling soft slow synth arpeggios in a dreamy haze, a sound built upon by Somnia to an epiphany-like string bed, never straying too far from Stumbleine's serene haven of melodic grace. On Catastrophette Stumbleine crafts a more dramatic and poignant web of sound, as if running through the memories created by the rest of Deleted Scene. The album as a whole is an escape to a dream-state of Stumbleine's making, captivating, yet familiar, and completely enveloping. According to Peter, "Deleted scene refers to the memories that play over and over inside your own head, replaying hazy copies of hazy copies that evolve into a bittersweet fever dream. Everybody has their own unique collection of deleted scenes slowly distorting and fading away." 'Stumbleine is the alias of Peter Cooper. With roots in the UK post rock scene, the reclusive producer began blending slow dream-like pop with fractured lo-fi beats as Stumbleine in 2012. Melancholic rnb vocals ebb and flow above submerged guitar ballads. Sand blasted samples intertwine with broken beats to create music with a nostalgic fragile warmth. Stumbleine is known for a DIY ethic, releasing music directly to fans or via the independent label Monotreme Records.'

After touring the globe showcasing their A/V moshpit-inducing live show, they are revealing their new musical creations to an unsuspecting public. Never Sleep are proud to present a landmark moment in the Japanese hardcore new rave scene. The blinding lights of DEATH RAVE point to an untraveled journey, a sci-fi fusion of black metal, gabber, cyberpunk, performance art and techno. It’s their first for the Berlin label (founded by Gabber Eleganza) following 2021’s EP Principle of Light Speed Variance. Full description VMO aka Violent Magic Orchestra break through the darkness and herald a spectacular mould-melting sound on their forthcoming album DEATH RAVE. After touring the globe showcasing their A/V moshpit-inducing live show, they are revealing their new musical creations to an unsuspecting public. Never Sleep are proud to present a landmark moment in the Japanese hardcore new rave scene. The blinding lights of DEATH RAVE point to an untraveled journey, a sci-fi fusion of black metal, gabber, cyberpunk, performance art and techno. It’s their first for the Berlin label (founded by Gabber Eleganza) following 2021’s EP Principle of Light Speed Variance. Ahead of the release VMO have brought their digital harcore to festivals around the globe, including Roadburn Festival, BANG FACE Weekender, Brutal Assault extreme music festival, Le Guess Who?, CTM Berlin and Dark Mofo. Their performance is the ultimate extreme visual music project in which techno, black metal, and industrial unite to create a ritual from the near future, 2099. All visual art and stage setting is provided by non-touring member, artist and programmer Kezzardrix (who has been visual director for millennium parade and BABYMETAL previously).The power consumption of a VMO show is equivalent to 56 guitar amplifiers, 5000W, a mind-expanding supreme noise and light experience. The band members all go by the names of classic black metal bands rendered in the Japanese katakana script; “ダークスローン”; “メイヘム”, and “エンペラー”. Their new LP is the first to feature lead vocalist ザスター. The record features guest vocals from extreme metal icon Attila Csihar, known for singing with Mayhem and Sunn O))). Other featured artists include Dylan Walker, singer of Full of Hell, punk-techno artist Infinity Division (aka Ash Luk), Icelandic darkwavers Kælan Mikla and Ican Harem of Gabber Modus Operandi. The result is a leap forward from their 2016 debut, where they have found a singularity where death metal meets Kraftwerk, or Rephlex goes black. Dressed in corpse paint and other hell-raising looks, onstage they are like “Shinigami (death gods) from the Death Note manga”. Singles Venom, Supergaze and Martello Mosh Pit featuring Gabber Eleganza have been released in the lead up to the record and have been shocking techno dance floors too with their hi-NRG-symphonic doom-gaze. They have shared their video for Planet Helvetech (here), created by Berlin-based Patrick Defasten. Helvetech combines the Norwegian word for hell (hevlete) with techno and is a reference to the infamous black metal shop founded by Mayhem’s Euronymous. It’s a song that imagines time travel from 2099 on the planet Helvetech (where VMO comes from) to 1990s Oslo. In 2023, they performed at the CTM festival in Berlin, as well as at Berghain, receiving rave reviews. At Sydney’s leading multi-sensory SOFT CENTER festival they drove the crowd into a frenzy on the 17 metre X 30 metre jumbo screen. They have also collaborated with artists, performing at the two day installation by the trailblazing Tianzhuo Chen - The Shepherd - at the Kyoto International Performing Arts Festival in 2021 here. At Sónar 2023, VMO provided the music for Taiwanese visual artist Yuen Hsieh’s work about virtual life after death DIGITAL AFTERLIFE AGENCY here. VMO will tour the world again for the new record, with appearances at ROSKILDE and media art and music fest Sónar 2024 announced so far and the DEATH RAVE experience getting bigger and bigger.

In March 2023, @ turned heads with their debut album Mind Palace Music that utilized an array of acoustic instrumentation and densely layered harmonies, like the great outsider folk records of the 60s and 70s and placed it in a modern setting. If Mind Palace Music was @ playing on story mode, their new EP Are You There God? It’s Me, @ is the darker, stranger side quest.
Mind Palace Music was written in very specific circumstances. The band was formed while they were confined to their homes during quarantine — Victoria Rose in Philadelphia and Stone Filipczak in Baltimore — exchanging musical sketches over iMessage and email. Even though the world has opened back up and they’ve been able to play together live, this EP was again created remotely while in their respective cities. What did change, however, was the production.
Are You There God? It’s Me, @ is @’s foray into electronic music — consisting primarily of software instrumentation (with the occasional flute, guitar or bass part sprinkled in). The band’s experience producing in this style was minimal, but they found the new process to be a rewarding exercise allowing them to explore new textures and structures made possible by computer music. Where their previous acoustic recordings had a looser and more human feel, these new songs allowed them to experiment with autotune and quantized beats. Rose was able to resurrect her passion for classical choir by singing and recording a capella vocal arrangements to be incorporated into Filipczak’s instrumentals.
Across five songs, @ call upon a higher power, as the title suggests, in search of fulfillment. While they try to remain hopeful, daily suffering casts doubt on whether that high power even exists. On “Soul Hole,” overtop an autotuned vocal loop and hyper-pop-esque production, Rose repeats “I’m going to the soul hole and I’m never coming back,” hoping to leave behind the material world and the desires that comes with it. “Webcrawler,” named after the pioneering search engine, might be considered Are You There God?’s epic. @ sees their search for meaning in life akin to how search engines pull together data from all over the internet to find answers. The music itself is even reminiscent of dial-up internet connection, with droning keys and machine-like drum programming until overheating and erupting into chaos, in the form of heavy-metal shredding, only to cool down again back on a loading screen.
While the band confesses the departure from their usual sound may only be temporary, it’s an exciting listen full of twists and turns that surprised even themselves. “We’re both really dramatic in our musical sensibilities and don’t shy away from ridiculous choices,” Rose recalls, “which can really be exaggerated when working mostly with electronic sounds.” Full of soul searching and sonic experimentation, Are You There God? It’s Me, @ is an encapsulating spiritual saga for the digital age.

Recorded in 1961 and released by Contemporary Records the same year, Maggie's Back in Town!! Is the second album released on the label by jazz trumpeter Howard McGhee. Also featured are the players Phineas Newborn Jr, Leroy Vinnegar and Shelly Manne. This new edition, released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series, features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP, and presented in a tip-on jacket.

DJ Subaru has already made their name exciting dancers with offbeat anthems and obscurities as part of their luminous Pleasuremaxxx parties, alongside similarly inclined soirees in Leeds, London, Berlin and beyond. Making their accomplished production debut on CWPT with 'Lots of Love', DJ Subaru instinctively mines the expressive, outsider strains of disco, Italo and pop pleasures in their record bag, revealing an EP that throbs with the pleasures, pain and potential of a life in strobes and smoke.

Vocalist and muse Tiss Vampiric emerges from London’s shadowy underground to lend their voice to the brooding, disco-Gothic track, ‘My Love’. Stalking a moody paradise amongst DJ Subaru’s EBM-oriented synthesizers, their baroque lyrics conjure an atmosphere that bridges the energies of subversive pioneers such as Soft Cell and Ministry, a sensual maze where denial only leads to more devotion, as well as more dancing.

Keeping the lights dim but brightening the corners, the prolific cosmic disco pioneer Prins Thomas reinvigorates his legendary ‘Discomiks’ approach for a euphoric remix of ‘My Love’. Incorporating DJ Subaru and Tiss Vampiric into a dancefloor canon that also includes Lana Del Rey, Pet Shop Boys and the Chemical Brothers, this classic arrangement has been road-tested to build euphoria, joyfully reflecting menace from mirrorballs.

The latter portion within 'Lots of Love' leaves us entirely in DJ Subaru’s musical visions. The only voice on ‘I <3 You’ is soft and robotic, intoning the track’s simple title over a lush, caramelized groove that’s pure circuits and sentiment. In contrast, the moody pads of ‘Just Visiting’ build to a crescendo of breaks and basslines that capture more urgent early hours energy, while ‘She’ provides a beautifully naive melody and a slightly balearic touch for a wide-eyed kiss goodbye.

Legendary band SOFT, the driving force behind Kyoto's party scene and underground music culture, releases their new album "Passing Tone" from their home base "softribe" to commemorate their 30th anniversary!

This release marks the first time since the 2018 album "Tokinami" that Soft has released new music. It also comes on the heels of the 2021 vinyl reissue of their 2010 album "Tam (Message To The Sun)" on the labels 17853 Records (headed by CHEE CHIMIZU), TUFF VINYL, and Crosspoint (headed by J.A.K.A.M.).

Guest appearance by former member PRITTI. The album was created by the three founding members: guitarist SIMIZ, drummer PON2, double bassist UCON plus engineer and electronic musician KND, a mainstay of the Kyoto music scene.

Evoking the energy of a live performance, the music pulses with psychedelic soundscapes and dub influences. The 30th anniversary live shows in Osaka and Kyoto were met with resounding success, and the Asian tour followed suit.

Experience the enchanting sounds of music born from Japan.

text by Saito (Newtone Records)

A1 - Blue Sky
Opening with a clean, DJ-friendly Hot Pants break, Blue Sky offers the listener a subtle, warming production with inquisitive synth work creeping around a fine selection of serene effects, panning excitedly across a pristine, polished field. Utilising light orchestral strings, a soft undertone bassline and wistful twilight sounds, Aural Imbalance blends danceable breakbeats with the soothing sounds of yesteryear as fluidly as ever.
A2 - Starburst
Starburst jumps straight into a tight, energetic beat pattern constructed with old school breaks and an off-key bassline, soon joined by eerie, spectral pads to gradually build an ethereal, other-worldly vibe. The composition is elevated by arising symphony of swirling blippy melodies, expressing a nervy and curious tone with detail and harmony before the beat recedes, allowing the melodies to shine alone in the dreamy outro.
AA1 - Frozen Tears
Aural Imbalance conjures a quietly grandiose track with Frozen Tears, driven by muffled keys and thick hi-hats in the intro before a luscious, meditative melody enters the mix. Intricate breakbeats with a suitably understated bassline accompany the fading and echoing synthetic strings, rich pads and subtle bells, producing a beautifully varied spectrum of sound, perfect for the Spatial record box.
AA2 - Moonlit Clouds
A distinctive, impeccably produced Helicopter break takes center stage with Moonlit Clouds, a deftly relaxing ambient aura floating overhead as synths and knowing melodies slowly weave their way into your psyche like shimmering fireflies seizing the moment in the dark. A low sub bassline permeates the depths to complete a collage of euphony to round off another special EP from Aural Imbalance.

Words by Chris Hayes Spatial/Red Mist

The drone-pop consternations of Ekin Fil emerge through vaporous tone and forlorn, distant song, as if plucked from a dream. These exist on their own accord, moving with their own internal logic of an emotion heaviness that belies any the passing observation of this as mere shoegazing ambience. Her songs, her compositions find themselves adjacent the fragmented etherealization of Elisabeth Fraser's voice from a forgotten scene of a particular David Lynch film, as a ASMR trigger for Proustian recollection. Something profound. Something hidden. Something desolately sad.

The Helen Scarsdale Agency has had the pleasure of witnessing Ekin's continued development, maturation, and growth as a composer, having released now seven of her magnificent, under-the-radar gems. Her slow burning, dejected ballads continue to draw from the deep well of sorrow, with varying frequencies and intensities of bitter light poking through. Loves lost. A world broken. All is not hopeless, but there is a considerable amount of shit to wade through.

Sleepwalkers embraces a familiar set of metaphors in her work, that of narcolepsy and the unsettled state of existence between sleep and being awake. But she stretches herself with a set of compositions that run parallel to the work of Tim Hecker as in the gravitation soft-noise of "Stone Cold" or to a slow motion serialism that punctuates the ambient crawl of her ambitious "Gone Gone." Recommended for fans of Grouper, Rafael Anton Irisarri, A.C. Marias, and Carla dal Forno.

„Awkward Attraction” captures Monstera Black’s exploration of both embracing and deconstructing pop music. The EP starts off with ‘system’, a piece that echoes a classic song structure while anticipating an unconventional sonic palette, setting the stage for the impending unraveling process that reaches its culmination in the final track, ‘who’s a hoe?’. As the journey unfolds, traditional structures progressively give way to a stream of consciousness, where motif-driven improvisation and softly sung melodies collide with a darker club and experimental soundscape masterfully crafted by alys(alys)alys. The lyrics, infused with provocation and sarcasm, delve into themes of existence and vulnerability, presented through warped vocals and repetitive hooks. „Awkward Attraction“ crafts a taunting atmosphere, challenging listeners to embark on a reflective journey.

If you can judge an artist's quality by the company they keep, then FaltyDL is up there with the best of them. The label history of the producer known to his friends as Drew Lustman reads like a "who's who" of 21st century electronic music imprints - Ninja Tune, Unknown to the Unknown, Planet Mu, Studio Barnhus, the list goes on.

WithIn the Wake of Wolves, we can now add Central Processing Unit to this illustrious roster. The Sheffield label joins the party at a notable juncture - while FaltyDL has kept up an impressive clip of releases throughout his career,In the Wake of Wolvesis both the NYC-based producer's first LP for two years and his first full-length release away from his own Blueberry Records for almost a decade.

In the Wake of Wolvesproves to be both a great match for CPU and also further evidence of the label's burgeoning sonic palette. While CPU has built its reputation on top quality electro joints, recent releases have delivered adventurous electronica experiments (Proswell'sPeople Are Giving And Receiving Thanks At Incredible Speeds), hard-wired breakbeat techno (Baby T'sI Against I) and golden-age synth explorations (twenty-fifth anniversary reissues of Bochum Welt'sDesktop RoboticsandFeelings on a Screen, both of which first emerged via the legendary Rephlex Records).In the Wake of Wolvestakes things further still - this is a brilliantly genre-voracious record, one which marries the rhythmic cut-and-thrust that we have long known FaltyDL for with all manner of adventurous stylistic choices.

Those familiar with the FaltyDL experience will recognise the trademark blend of synthetic grit and harmonious softness in album opener 'I Need You'. This could pass for Four Tet or even Hannah Diamond at points, the steady build of pulsing synths and looped vocals recalling a more mysterious version of the PC Music sound. 'I Need You' stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any of FaltyDL's other great atmospheric album openers - no small feat given the competition. 'Further', the following number, is yin to 'I Need You's yang. This is a pulsating track which gleefully skitters between machine-funk, tubing darkside bass and breakcore-adjacent drum programming, all of which is peppered with some genuinely beautiful work in the higher synths.

'Further' sets the scene for several of the more club-facing cuts here. 'Minds Protection' similarly features all manner of strange percussive sounds to surprise the ear, and it also boasts a thrilling mid-section in which the bottom falls out the track to incorporate a short snippet of blown-out junglism. With its tunnelling low-end and clattering drums, 'Full Spectrum' kicks off a delightful run of grime-influenced joints which take cues from Mr. Mitch, Logos and many of those other producers who took the Eski sound to exciting new places in the 2010s. 'Forget Me Not', the album's longest track which is placed three spots from the end, feels like the record's climactic point - a pitter-patter post-house joint that has a hint of Caribou in its DNA, it'll take the clubs by storm.

But as much as FaltyDL may consistently bring the heat in terms of the beat programming, the thing which has long marked Lustman out as a special talent is the musicality of his compositions. No matter how much drums clatter or bass bangs, FaltyDL always hooks the ear back in with a sonorous synth or pleasing nugget of melody. Nowhere is this more apparent than onIn the Wake of Wolves' more weightless numbers, each startling in their prettiness. 'Half Spectrum' is a new-era beat track packed full of ear candy; the keening keys of 'GasGas' are potent with feeling; and on the album's closer, the evocatively-titled 'Mila Stans In A Meadow For The First Time Eating Strawberries', we get a gorgeous synth vignette that joins the dots between the modern mastery of Yung Sherman and the most emotionally affecting moments of Aphex's Twin's catalogue.

At once wistful and hopeful, archival and futuristic, FaltyDL's brilliantly unpredictableIn the Wake of Wolvesis a feather in the cap for both this seasoned producer and the Central Processing Unit label.

RIYL: AFX, Bochum Welt, Mark Fell, Mrs Jynx, Boards of Canada

Listening to The Softies has always felt like peeking into a diary, with no personal detail spared. Lyrically the band documents a lovelorn heart in every manifestation, and hope is the bright silver lining adorning each song. As the third Softies album, Holiday in Rhode Island KLP119 presents a more accessible view to the humble honesty of their emotive universe. When Holiday in Rhode Island was originally released in Sept. 2000, it had been three and a half years since The Softies previous album Winter Pageant [KLP061]. In that time Jen and Rose's introspective musings are reborn, sparkling with renewed vision, both musically and spiritually. The trademark harmonies between Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fun Band) and Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Gaze) simply shimmer, brighter than ever before, benefiting from strong yet simple arrangements and excellent production (at a house on Galiano Island near Victoria, British Columbia) by Dave Carswell and John Collins. The beautiful surroundings and supportive production crew inspired The Softies to extend their minimalist blueprint of two delicately jangling guitars and two crystalline voices to include acoustic guitar embellishment on "Just a Day," "You and Only You;" piano and sparse drums on "Me and the Bees;" a xylophone makes subtle appearances here and there. Holiday in Rhode Island is a stunning artistic accomplishment from these two much heralded pop icons.

THE 1968 ALBUM ON WHICH JOHNNY CASH BECAME A LEGEND: AT FOLSOM PRISON AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT AND POTENT STATEMENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY


Johnny Cash already knew his way around Folsom Prison when he and his band stepped inside the institution’s forbidding walls on the morning of January 13, 1968 to record At Folsom Prison. He’d played there two years prior. But this time was different.

Cash took the stage that day for two shows amid a darkening sociopolitical atmosphere and a raging war in Vietnam, as well as the knowledge his career and health hung on by a thread. The Arkansas native shared many of the long odds and abject failures of the inmates for which he performed. The songs he chose, and the conviction with which he delivered them, say as much. The point at which Cash transformed from a country star into a legendary artist, and a bold statement about the American prison state and its commitment to rehabilitation, the triple-platinum At Folsom Prison remains one the most important, potent, and fabled records of the 20th century.

You can hear it echo off the walls of the room; pulse through the itchiness of the Tennessee Three’s acoustic-based boom-chick rhythms; crackle in the announcements conveyed over the intercom; ring in the comedy of the off-cuff remarks and pair of novelty tunes; sense it in palpable energy that wells up within Cash and his audience. And you can experience it like never before via Cash’s knockout singing. The bedrock foundation of all his music, the singer’s baritone resonates with profound degrees of depth, pliability, and passion that underscore how much this appearance meant to him — and the extent he was living the narratives.

Indeed, every song on At Folsom Prison serves a purpose and speaks to the conditions — mental, emotional, physical, geographical, legal, social — the inmates confronted on a daily basis. Beginning with the explicit messages of the opening “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash makes it clear he understands and shares many of their plights. Not for nothing did the myth of Cash having done hard time persist for decades once this record hit the streets. That’s how real it is, and how dedicated Cash remains to conveying every note with the same truth he invests in the impromptu comments he makes between and amid songs.

Listen to the sorrow, regret, pity, and loneliness of Merle Travis’ “Dark as the Dungeon,” Cash pulling syllables til they threaten to break and inhabiting the mood of bleak phrases such as “pleasures are few” and “the sun never shines.” Witness the isolation, dejection, and sadness punctuating the walking-blues “I Still Miss Someone,” matched in gravity by a solemn reading of “The Long Black Veil” — a traditional dirge that involves murder, cheating, and deception. Cash cuts even deeper on a heartbreaking solo rendition of “Send a Picture of Mother” and plainspoken version of Harlan Howard’s “The Wall,” detailing a suicide disguised as jailbreak through cliched-jaw deliveries that softly curse the impossible situation.

In chronicling temptations, mistakes, mortality, punishment, and life “inside” — for better or worse, the stories of the disenfranchised, forgotten, written-off, and unrepentant — At Folsom Prison also has a blast playing the outlaw role. Cash captures wild-eyed craziness and out-of-control mayhem on a revved-up take of “Cocaine Blues,” taking extra satisfaction in its dastardly tales by way of voice that shifts into character for the sheriff and judge. The gallows humor and racing drama of “25 Minutes to Go”; quicksilver accents and resigned acceptance of “I Got Stripes”; train-whistle blare and twangy locomotion of “Folsom Prison Blues” — all fight the law only to see the law win.

Cash remains deeply committed at every moment, and inseparably connected with the tortured souls removed from the goings-on of the outside world. No wonder all but two songs here stem from the day’s first performance that saw Cash, Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant, and company give everything. As does the Man in Black’s soon-to-be-wife, June Carter. The couple’s fiery duet on “Jackson” scorches; their combination of surrender and fortitude “Give My Love to Rose” puts us in the dying protagonist’s shoes.

And with the closing “Greystone Chapel,” famously penned by convict Glen Sherley, who watched it all happen under the watchful eye of guards, Cash separates the corporeal from the spiritual, relaying lessons about salvation and survival. Heady themes to which he’d return for the remainder of his illustrious career.

"Trails" is a 7-track EP by Guitarist and composer Robbie Belchamber, which draws upon elements of jazz, brazilian, west african and folk music. The compositions are centered around the soft timbre of fingerstyle nylon-string guitar, with subtle arrangements incorporating voice, flute, percussion, mandolin, accordion and electric guitar filling out the texture.

"During lockdown I spent a lot of time exploring Melbourne's northern waterways, riding my bike along the Birrarung, Darebin creek and Merri creek. These opportunities to slow down, reflect, observe and spend time in nature formed the genesis of many of the compositions. "Trails" sonifies these experiences, the bubbling rhythms of water, melodic inventions of currawongs and magpie-larks, pervasive scents of the bush, all changing with the seasons."

"Trails" is the first release under Robbie Belchamber, and features collaborations Melbourne musicians such as Lucky Pereira (Glass Beams, 30/70), Hannah McKittrick, Grace Robinson (Empress), Moses Carr, Aidan Ryan (NoLess) and Erica Tuccerri.

Patterns / Threshold, a collaborative split offering from Mesure Divide and Esse Ran, plunges the listener into a disquieting expanse of undulating rhythms and transmuted textures. Here, melodies and harmonies dissolve, fracturing into a heavy, systolic throb that whispers of superposition and entanglement.

Lush synthesizers shimmer with a noetic luminescence, their tones arching and bowing alongside relentless cyclical beats and sloshing electronics. Refractions of rave culture thrumming in stillness, their ecstatic energy dissipating into a radiant hum - a melancholic undercurrent born from the tension between fleeting exuberance and enduring inanition. This is a realm of heady paradox, where rigid structure and fluid intuition converge.

The artists navigate this liminal space with masterful precision, guiding the listener through a landscape of aural oscillations. Perception teeters on the edge of the concrete and the ephemeral; perception dissolves; reality grows soft at the edges.

Patterns / Threshold will be released on physical vinyl records and bandcamp only. No streaming, no bullshit.

Source 02 is the second release from the Uruguayan label New Source. We are pleased to have the debut of Lorenzo Batlle, Uruguayan producer and DJ.

Track A1 - IDRIS:
Opening the EP, IDRIS invites you to a disorderly dance through time, weaving dub influences, atmospheric acid lines, and fragmented vocals creating an eclectic sonic landscape.

Track A2 - MEDEA:
MEDEA emerges with a soft and hypnotic embrace, drenched in hypnotic bells and delayed acid lines.

Track B1 - SIRIUS:
Inspired by Cyrus, woods, and '80s shades, SIRIUS is a blended journey guided by a pulsating baseline—an invitation to move forward on the dancefloor.

Track B2 - God works in mysterious ways:
Closing the EP, God works in mysterious ways leaves a moody imprint, resonating with house vibes and playful synths bringing joy to the dancefloor.

"Keady & Vallins" is an all-too-familiar story of potential left unfulfilled -- glorious pop music shunted by the impetuous thrums of a music industry stricken by decadence and a preference for high turnover and rigorous proprietorship.

A tour with the Bee Gees by Vallins and help from Robert Stigwood resulted in a deal with Polydor .

After a pair of singles produced by a young, upstart (now hugely important head of Universal Music Group) Lucian Grange achieved moderate success in France, an album was next: taped by Keady and Vallins during downtime from other sessions. They pulled world class talent from the studio, from the pub down the street from the studio, while also (temporarily) pilfering instruments from the shop below the studio (price tags still affixed) -- to create a striking blend of sepia-toned soft pop / yacht rock and pop disco-lite.

Auch im deutschsprachigen Raum spätestens seit dem massiven ESC-Hit "Calm After The Storm" (mit The Common Linnets) vor exakt 10 Jahren eine feste Größe, verbindet die niederländische Singer-Songwriterin Ilse DeLange ihre Country-Wurzeln fürs neue Kapitel mit einer massiven Dosis zeitgenössischem Pop und druckvollem Rock , um zwischendurch auch Eighties-, Indie- und Electro-Elemente aufblitzen zu lassen.

Field Records takes a look into the vast catalogue of Celer, the prolific ambient project from Tokyo-based artist Will Long. Perfectly Beneath Us was originally released in 2012 as a CD-R on Still*Sleep, and now it’s being presented as a vinyl release remastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Celer began in California as a collaborative project in 2005 between Long and Danielle Baquet, resulting in reams of self-released work up until Baquet passed away in 2009. Long opted to keep their project going, and Celer has continued to grow as an expansive exploration of purest ambient. Meanwhile Long’s solo work under his own name has been equally accomplished, with scores of releases on DJ Sprinkles’ Comatonse Recordings and respected Norwegian leftfield label Smalltown Supersound.

With such a sizable library of sounds to explore, the reissue of Perfectly Beneath Us serves as an ideal entry point into the Celer catalogue, presenting four pieces of sustained, glacial movement wreaking profound emotional impact from the subtlest methods. Long exercises the utmost patience from the shorter ‘Distressing Sensations’ and ‘Ultra-terrestrial Yearning’ through to the 10-minutes-plus stretches of ‘Slightly Apart, Almost Touching’ and ‘Absolute Receptivity Of All The Senses’.

It’s truly immersive, captivating drone music that rewards the attentive listener as much as it soothes the casual drifter. Originally limited to just 100 copies in 2012, it’s now beautifully framed on a carefully considered reissue which adds to Field’s own repertoire of evocative, subliminal electronics.

About Field Records
Field Records has been publishing versatile electronic music from a string of high-principled artists since 2008. Firmly rooted in minimalism and modesty, the label gained a reputation for its versatile and atmospheric output - which includes works from the likes of Artefakt, ENA, Imaginary Softwoods, Monolake and SUGAI KEN.

James Devane returns with another adept investigation into minimal techno’s spaces in between. “Searching” serves as both companion to “Beauty is Useless” and the next logical step in James’ exploration of process as guiding compositional tool. Conceptually simple, technically robust, the end result elicits both an undeniable groove and a trove of detail for listeners willing to go deep. In his own words: “These recordings are the result of chance. Using hours of source material, everything was “chosen”, manipulated, and assembled at random via custom software without concern for key, tempo, measures, or rhythm. A search button and a save button.”

Sie ist zwar vor ein paar Monaten erst 22 geworden, gilt aber schon seit über einem halben Jahrzehnt als die einflussreichste und einzigartigste Künstlerin unserer Zeit, als Stimme ihrer Generation – jetzt ist sie zurück mit neuer Musik: Billie Eilish veröffentlicht am 17.05.24 ihr drittes Studioalbum „HIT ME HARD AND SOFT“.
Wie schon die beiden gefeierten Vorgängeralben zusammen mit ihrem Bruder FINNEAS geschrieben und aufgenommen, zählt das neue Werk jetzt schon zu den absoluten Album-Highlights des Jahres.
Auf die ersten Viralhits mit 14 folgte schließlich das gefeierte Debütalbum „WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?“, das Anfang 2019 in 18 Ländern direkt auf Platz 1 ging – und u.a. auch in Deutschland Platinstatus erreichte. Mit einem GRAMMY-Rekord ins aktuelle Jahrzehnt gestartet, als sie als erste weibliche Künstlerin in allen vier Hauptkategorien abräumte, konnte die US-Sängerin für den Bond-Titelsong „No Time To Die“ auch ihren ersten Oscar mit nach Hause nehmen. Inzwischen 9-fache GRAMMY- und zweifache Oscar-Gewinnerin, ging das zuletzt veröffentlichte Album „Happier Than Ever“ (2021) sogar in 20 Ländern auf die #1 – eingerahmt von gleich 16x Platin und weiteren Gold-Auszeichnungen. Den zweiten Oscar gewann sie für ihren Barbie-Beitrag „What I Was Made For“.
Beim dritten Album „HIT ME HARD AND SOFT“ handle es sich ganz klar um das gewagteste Albumstatement ihrer Karriere, ließ Eilish schon im Vorfeld durchblicken. Vor allem sage der Albumtitel eigentlich schon alles: Es ist ein wahnsinnig emotionales Werk, das berührt, das harte und auch softe Schläge austeilt, indem die 22-Jährige inhaltlich und klanglich immer wieder neue Genre-Grenzen absteckt. Vor allem vertraut die vielfache GRAMMY- und Oscar-Gewinnerin auch dieses Mal auf ihre Instinkte – und unterstreicht genau damit erneut, weshalb sie als die spannendste Songwriterin unserer Zeit gilt.

Few recording artists have aligned the quantity and quality of their releases as well as New Zealand singer/guitarist Roy Montgomery has in 1995. Beginning with kranky's release of the soundtrack for an imaginary film That That Is...Is(Not) by Roy's duo Dissolve early in the year, a series of superb albums and singles have been issued by a variety of labels across the world. Each one of them is a must have. Most recently, the Drunken Fish label released a collection of pastoral drones entitled Scenes From The South Island, singles have appeared on the Roof Bolt and gyttja labels, and further singles are scheduled with Ajax, Siltbreeze and others.
Temple IV is the first solo recording by Roy Montgomery on kranky. The album was recorded by Roy on a 4 track tape deck and then thickened up with monophonic moog. The tracks on the album are thick with interwoven guitar lines and moog drone, inspired by the Guatemalan rain forests and the mysterious ruins of the temple and ruins Roy visited there.
Roy Montgomery spent the past year in New York, Chicago and London before returning to New Zealand. While in the UK he played live with Flying Saucer Attack and collaborated with spoken word performer Kirk Lake. A brief tour across the United States in September saw Roy performing before enraptured audiences in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles.
The long overdue recognition of Roy Montgomery as a crucial figure in New Zealand's musical history as a member of The Pin Group, Shallows and Dadamah, is now augmented by his new recordings. Temple IV will serve to extend and deepen that appreciation.

Special Guests on the record include: Mark Cisneros, Joe Lally, Derrick Decker, Bob Berberich, Clint Walsh, Dave Grohl, Onam Emmett, John Goetchius, Jerry Busher, Amy Pickering, Ian MacKaye, Amanda MacKaye, Brian Baker, Randy Austin, Martha Hull, Michael Reidy, Nate Bergman, Bobby Madden.

Scream formed in 1979. Drummer Kent Stacks, bassist Skeeter Enoch Thompson and the brothers Pete and Franz Stahl attended school together in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia, when they began to discover the punk and new wave scene in DC and the provocative power of making music.

Like most of the punk bands in DC, they were influenced by the Bad Brains, but their rock and roll sensibilities set them apart. In 1982, they went into Inner Ear Studio with Ian MacKaye and Eddie Janney to record Dischord's first full length album, Still Screaming.

Scream followed this with a second full length album, This Side Up, in 1984. The band toured throughout the US and were one of the first US hardcore bands to tour Europe and the UK. In 1987, they released Banging the Drum, which was recorded at both Southern Studios in London and Inner Ear. In 1988, No More Censorship was released on reggae label RAS records. Scream returned to Dischord to release Fumble in 1993.

They made a few line-up changes along the way, including the addition of their friend Harley Davidson on second guitar, and, when Kent Stacks (RIP) left the band to start a family, they asked a young local drummer, Dave Grohl, to take over. After a number of years with "the Scream team," Dave went on to join Nirvana and form The Foo Fighters.

In 1996, at a Christmas reunion show, Kent Stacks returned as Scream’s drummer; the show was recorded and released as the CD “Live at the Black Cat.” Over the next few years, everyone branched out in different directions – Franz joined the Foos for a short period and Pete played with Goatsnake and earthlings? The band returned as a unit, with Clint Walsh on second guitar, in 2011 to record the Complete Control Sessions, which was released as an EP on Side One Dummy and was, until now, the band’s most recent release.

Scream’s newest album, DC Special, will be released in the fall of 2023 on Dischord Records. For this record, Scream invited their extensive music community to help create a unique project that weaves the history of music in Washington DC into the story of the band. Recorded by Don Zientara just weeks before his studio was evicted from its longtime location, the record is rich with both the sounds of Inner Ear and those of friends and musicians who influenced Scream and who shaped DC music over the past six decades. DC Special embodies the same sense of community and politics that inspired Scream from the start and is a truly special collection of new music that speaks to the present and also tells the story of DC music, Scream, and the influences that shaped them.


Bonus Download Tracks
Faces
Politics is Entertainment
Black and White
Lifeline Redux
Smile and Bleed
I Saw Ya (Wanna Be Like Captain)

Limited black vinyl. Full colour sleeve with unseen pics of Ron Geesin in his studio doing maths stuff on the back.
Wow! So you’re telling me Ron Geesin made this kooky electro groovy score to a really progressive maths educational programme on Central TV in 1980 and it’s musically anarchic and amazing and it’s never been issued before? Until now. Wow again!!!! And there’s 30 tracks!!! Trunk Records we love you...
Basic Maths was the second educational TV Series for the Midlands-based ITV station for which I composed, played and recorded all music and noises. The first series, also for budding mathematicians in the 7-10 age group, was Leapfrog in 1978 produced by ATV (Associated Television): Basic Maths was for the newly-formed Central Television, the work spanning 1980-1981; both series were of twenty-eight parts.
The most worthy idea for both of these series was to project mathematics into life by means mainly of non-verbal sound and vision, with both animated and live action films, linked by two presenters, Fred Harris and Mary Waterhouse. In my role as Media Composer, I had had quite enough of voice overs, therefore music well under, so this fairly radical educational approach at the time encouraged my creative juices to run unhindered. Of course the sound had to do something with the picture and not just use it as a carrier for peacock display. It had to duet, play with and explain the visual content using novel and engaging techniques, so this involved the usual and sometimes intricate mathematical calculations which constantly exercised my already reasonable school maths.

Soft rock"s seminal band, The Blue Jean Committee, originated from blue-collar Chicago when the now legendary Clark Honus (Bill Hader) and Gene Allen (Fred Armisen) dropped out of sausage school to create the band of their dreams. With the help of famed music manager Alvin Izoff, the band reinvented their hard Chicago-blues image to instead transcend the laid-back essence of California. After studying bands like The Beach Boys, The Blue Jean Committee as able to find their signature sound and rise to the top of music charts. Despite Chicago"s resistance to their "vegetarian" facade and "hippy" vibe, the band became known for creating the quintessential California album. Their debut album, Catalina Breeze, spawned six consecutive hit singles for the band and for a moment it seemed like they would be a long-term fixture on the American musical landscape. However, some relationships are more complicated than they appear on the surface, and nowhere did this ring more true than for Gene Allen and Clark Honus, as their infamous on-stage fight at the Hollywood Bowl Animal Rights Now Benefit and subsequent break-up has since become the stuff of legend. Fans of the "Chicago band with the California sound" can celebrate once more! After over 30 years apart, Gene and Clark were recently reunited for their induction into the Hall of Fame in April 2015.

Im Gefolge der Chartstürmer der Zombies, Beatles und Left Banke blühte mit dem Baroque Pop in der zweiten Hälfte der 60er Jahre ein dandyhafter Ansatz des Garagenrocks auf. Inmitten von majestätischen Cembalos, beschwingten Gitarren, melancholischen Orgeln und Mittelschulorchestern fängt "Soft Summer Breezes" mit 16 sanften Momenten weicher Psychedelia den letzten Hauch von Optimismus des Jahrzehnts ein.

"Imagine: It’s sometime in the back half of the 19th century, America. You’re sitting in the parlor of your mansion, or in the only room of your shack; things are dusty and smell like sweat and hair, no matter how wealthy you may be. You don’t own a phonograph, and you don’t know who Tony Hawk is, but you have an inkling of how good the word 'shred' is going to feel when it enters the local slang. Suddenly, a tall, elegant figure with beautifully maintained fingernails emerges from some corner of the room, carrying a guitar. He says in a soft voice, 'I have a transmission for you, from the coming few centuries. Would you like to hear it? I figured you wouldn’t have a dongle, so I brought my guitar.' You may be apprehensive, but you shouldn’t be. Shane happens to be an internationally renowned virtuoso of the guitar. Specifically, he’s the kind of virtuoso who is as deep on style as he is on technique. His technical prowess is almost maddeningly complete; aiming paradoxically for the yards-long target called “breadth” he’s somehow hit all of it, 500 arrows piercing every pore of the landscape. He has that much technique not for the sake of guitar worship but to best bring the music forth clearly and in his own hand, like a pearl formed in a specific sea. I know this because I’ve sat next to him in multiple countries and American states and seen him deliver transmissions of that extreme honesty, with that extreme capability. Like Derek Bailey’s 'Ballads,' this record brings you into the room and the breath of a true musician whose mastery does not overshadow his appreciation of the music that inspired it. The title, 'Repertoire,' underscores the beautiful songs he chose to perform, all standards of 20th century musical excellence. The in-time persistence of his blues-walked 'Lonely Woman.' The grand registral descent he performs on 'Pithecanthropus Erectus,' like a rare document of the trip down from Everest. Dig how 'Better Get Hit in Your Soul,' emphasizes the folk blues water coursing through Mingus’s Ellingtonia, how Aphex Twin’s 'Avril 14' and the Minutemen’s 'Cohesion' sound so much older than Cage’s 'Totem Ancestors.' 'Repertoire' puts forth the idea that time is arrangement: time and arrangement are each only as successful as they are faithful to their origins and expansive in their style. Again, lest you fear the alien smoothness some associate with the concept 'virtuoso,' remember here we’re dealing with a time- traveler. His virtuosity is home grown, born of human work rather than some abstract or divine touch; the aim is not to go beyond the realm of human technical possibility but to expand it in the direction of human, meaning, timely. This guy can play anything, and for you, for this record, which sounds intimate and as present as a transmission from a time-traveler, he chooses to."—Wendy Eisenberg

2024 Repress

Ned Doheny's Hard Candy, originally released in 1976, is widely considered the finest blue-eyed soul album of all time. It is has long been a source of great frustration then, that this perfectly-formed Southern California masterpiece has been unavailable on vinyl for almost 40 years. Previously bootlegged in derisory fashion, original copies are rarely found for less than $100.

Be With Records, a new vinyl-only reissue label, continues apace by marking its third release with the first officially licensed reissue of Doheny's nautical classic. Perhaps most famously, this impeccably smooth set features the timeless Get It Up For Love, a wonderful example of mid-70s mid-tempo white-(hot)-funk.

Produced by the legendary Steve Cropper, it featured a veritable who's-who of the Laurel Canyon soft-yacht sound (JD Souther, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, the entire horn section for Tower of Power!) yet bombed mysteriously. It's been a cult record since.

Pressed on audiophile 180gram vinyl and featuring the original artwork for both jacket and full colour inner sleeve, this very limited reissue of 500 copies is one not to be missed.

"Katie Crutchfield, under the name Waxahatchee, made her debut album during a snowstorm in the winter of 2012. She dedicated it “to anyone who had woke up and realized their identity is blurry, has had to clumsily get to know themselves, has hit a bottom, has felt self-deprecating and vagrant, and to anyone who has ridden out a shitstorm.”

She called it American Weekend. She means “American Weekend” in the same wide way that Kurt Cobain means “Teen Spirit,” less social construct than natural phenomenon. This is a lo-fi masterpiece in the league of Lou Barlow and the Softies. We should consider it a descendent of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, or else temper it no lower than Essential Listening."

Bruno Berle, the young songwriter and poet originally hailing from Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state, crafts songs that are simple, direct, and full of tender nuance. With his first album No Reino Dos Afetos (which translates to "In the Realm of Affections” and was released in 2022), Berle firmly established himself as a unique and important voice in the burgeoning scene of new Brazilian artists making a global impact, including peers like Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Bala Desejo, Sessa and more. Now back with his second album, No Reino Dos Afetos 2, he stretches that further.

Bruno Berle’s music lives between two worlds – a traditional Brazilian folk talent steeped in history, and a contemporary, dreamy electronic pop; the result is songwriting that’s genre-bending, intentional, iconoclastic and consuming, spacious and sinewy and singular, a striking reflection of its composer while leaving space for the listener to settle in. The album follows Bruno’s relocation to São Paulo, and the songs are a reflection of his past and present. A rebuke of former categorizations of his work in Brazilian music scenes, and an idea of where his music can move, unfettered.

Berle’s music is purposeful in being a true portrait of himself, and a reflection of the music, art, and fashion scenes he personally moves through. Berle aims to provide an entrypoint for Black queer joy in his music, in his storytelling, in his presence and vision as a creative. For him, it feels subversive to be playing MPB laced with dubstep and lo-fi, a sort of intentional sacrilege, capturing a dialogue of modernity in traditional music.

Berle wrote most of the arrangements and co-produced his new album, Reino Dos Afetos 2 with longtime friend and musical partner Batata Boy, who is also from Maceió; the album was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Maceió, and São Paulo, his new home, and picks up the conversation begun in 2022 on Berle’s debut album No Reino dos Afetos. Both records are the result of a nonlinear but coherent seven-year music creation process culminating in these albums, holding hands across space and time.

“Tirolirole,” the first single from the record, was released at the end of 2023; sun-soaked rhythms and soft voice coat the song, the lilting refrain of “Tirolirole” throughout – hushed, gentle, but somehow almost tactile, a golden-hour moment unlocked in the mind. “Tirolirole” is a triumphant future classic about the temporality of a blossoming love, with Bruno’s stunning vocal soaring over melodies which ebb and flow like the waters on the Atlantic shore. Of the track, Berle explains: “Despite ‘Tirolirole’ being an expression that evokes my childhood, just like the light words about nature, the harmony, and the poetry are epic, carrying a great hope for love.”

In fact, the guiding theme of No Reino dos Afetos 2 is a relationship, unfolding in the arc of a weekend. It traverses the innocence of an early young love, how that can be formative, can stretch on to take new shapes, or shape you. The album happens at the genesis of meeting someone and falling for them, before the relationship is thrown into overdrive – set in a big city, against a backdrop of major life changes, rising energy, the sound of São Paulo.

Something transcendental emerges in “Dizer Adeus,” with an arrangement that echoes a gospel atmosphere (evangelical and Catholic environments were pivotal to Berle’s upbringing). On “É Só Você Chegar,” piano and flute gracefully intertwine, a dance, while “Quando Penso” skews sparser, the voice-and-guitar minimalism somehow cultivating an entirely different shape – somehow both cozy and melancholy, with the background sound of a rainy day. Coupled with the lo-fi aspects that shape much of the album’s personality in the vocals and the production, No Reino Dos Afetos 2 is meticulously elaborated by Berle’s sonic alchemy, like on the mid-album instrumental “Sonho,” which feels like floating. “It’s the apex. It’s when lovers are sleeping together,” Berle explains of the feeling he wanted to encapsulate in the song.

On “Love Comes Back” Berle interprets Arthur Russell, the late Iowa musician who only reached greater visibility after he died in 1992. “His way of making music is similar to mine,” Berle explains. “He sings in a more fragile way, has more of an experimental way of recording, letting ‘chance’ appear in the final work.”

Even so, Berle doesn’t want his music to be buried in sentimentality – and the purposefulness of his craft serves as a sort of north star. The production, the arrangements, his restraint and intentionality in crafting his songs feel just as vital as their emotional cores. His songwriting is amorphous, fluid, an encompassing genre-bending movement in-and-of-itself, quietly daring. The songs are often in conversation with other works – drinking in fountains as diverse as the filmmaking of Ingmar Bergman, the poetry of Walt Whitman, the rhythm of Djavan, and the painting of Maxwell Alexandre. Musically he weaves together a rich tapestry of Brazilian folk, UK 2-step garage/dub, trip hop and sun soaked west coast songwriters; something akin to the worlds of Milton Nascimento, Arthur Russell, James Blake, Feist, and Sade colliding into one. But even then No Reino Dos Afetos 2 floats separately, a romanticism driven by a simplicity and intimacy, an open-ended possibility, Berle’s singularity as an artist at the helm of the ship.

Though their album was cut in two days over the course of 2 eight hour sessions their arrangements shine through what was a scattered recording session. "We really worked hard in the studio even though we didn't have enough time to do all the things we wanted to do with music," bassist Robb Murphy remembers. "We were pretty excited. We just had no experience with that sort of thing. We had heard things but never had any experience.

We were really babes in the woods. It was a terrific experience looking back on it. It was really a hell of a lot of fun, we loved the idea of being able to overdub even though we didn't get to do too much of that, it was still fun. That was pretty high tech in those days, being able to lay down a couple of tracks with your voice." guitarist Mike Barnes recalls.

Similar to the Bosstown sound (Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach), Tiffany Shade lean towards harmony-driven vocals that combine their clever pop sensibilities with a versatile showcase of keys, organ, and scintillescent guitars. After their album's release in '68, they had the opportunity to open for Big Brother & Holding Co., but because of poor sales (and like many Mainstream artists) the band didn't last and went their separate ways in '69.

'Scrambled Anthems', das dritte Album von HHNOI, vereint rohe Energie mit technischem Geschick und schafft das, was als "elektronischer Grunge" bezeichnet wird. Es bietet synthetisierte Hymnen für diejenigen, die Drama in der elektronischen Musik suchen, indem es Pop, Lärm, Glitch-Hop und Grunge der 90er Jahre verschmilzt. Inspiriert von Pan Sonic, The KLF und mehr, formt HHNOI eine einzigartige klangliche Identität. Begleitet von Kunstwerken von Salva Baixlaigua ist es auf Vinyl und digital erhältlich und markiert ein entscheidendes Kapitel in HHNOIs musikalischem Werdegang.

Italian Ibiza favourite Tuccillo returns to legendary NYC label Nu Groove with another four-track EP, ‘Frames’, including a feature from Chicago native Ron Carroll. With previous Nu Groove releases like the ‘Sunshine City EP’ and ‘I Believe’ with TradeCraft earning the respect of esteemed selectors including Archie Hamilton, Chloe Caillet and Laurent Garnier, Tuccillo’s expertly crafted sound is revered for its analogue approach. Similarly, his passion and respect for vinyl has earned him respect from crate diggers and house music tastemakers globally ever since the 90s. Tuccillo’s ‘Frames EP’ opens with the eponymous lead, showcasing his malleable sound that comes alive in underground scenes for heads in the know. Chicago house authority Ron Carroll lends his vocals to ‘Don’t Walk Away’, supported by Tuccillo’s fresh club-defining production that also permeates ‘You Got Me’. ‘Everything’ closes out this collection of pure house excellence, with expressive yet softer synthwork creating a cooler feel perfect for the afterhours.