Search:the sound

Duality makes his debut on Up Ya Archives with a single rooted in the foundations of 90s jungle but shaped distinctly by contemporary sound design, epitomising his unique take on modern junglism. Intricate breakbeats and classic jungle textures are anchored by weighty 808s that guide the flow of the track, while influences from footwork, hardcore and drum & bass sets the track firmly into the space of progressive junglism. When asked on the single, Duality said

“R U Mine is the lead single from my latest project, Brainstorm. It balances luscious pads and playful synth lines with relentless drum breaks and 808s. Topped with ethereal vocals, this is one to open a set with or close out the night”.

A rising star in Bristol’s underground dance scene, Duality is staking a claim within the new wave of jungle.

“‘Brainstorm’ is exactly what the name suggests. A glimpse into the ideas that occur in my brain as a producer. Each track is a different element of my jungle inspirations, from raregroove sample-based production to 4x4 rave stabs. Ready and waiting for the dancefloor!”

Aside from his own productions, he also runs Bristol-based record label and events crew Intaception, which has hosted parties across the UK with iconic figures including Source Direct, Tim Reaper, Double O, and many more. Moving fluidly across production, promotion and musical direction, Duality continues to push the sound and culture of contemporary junglism forward.

Kukangendai are the innovative three-piece Kyoto based experimental rock band formed in 2006 with Junya Noguchi on guitar and vocals, Keisuke Koyano on bass, and Hideaki Yamada on drums. Since 2016 the band have set up shop in their studio and venue space, Soto, which houses an incredibly well tuned and powerful sound system that has become a well known destination for touring musicians. In March of 2025, Marionette was celebrating a belated 10 years of activity with label showcases across Japan in collaboration with Dotei Records, and Soto was inevitably one of the stops as many label alumni have set foot in the venue over the years. This is where I got to experience Kukangendai perform for the very first time and knew right then we were destined to work together.

Kukangendai embody an undeniable sense of timing and precision through collage-like repetition of minimalist phrases that manifest as a single unified rhythm. Their latest offering for Marionette, titled Baquet Wheel, is a purely acoustic endeavor, remarkably recorded live using Taku Unami's special binaural microphone. The trio seamlessly twist polyrhythms and melodies rooted in jazz, krautrock, blues, and Tuareg producing a timeless sound that preserves the primitive and memory evoking narratives buried deep within the music. Over the course of five tracks, the visceral nature of Kukangendai’s dynamic evolves from playful riffs that are seemingly familiar yet strikingly original, making it impossible to discern exactly when this material was conceived.

Kukangendai have maintained a prolific yet relatively low profile for the last two decades, with a handful of self-released editions on their own labels (Soto and Leftbrain) as well as a collaborative album with pioneering electronic music composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2018, then venturing outside Japan in 2019 to release their first widely distributed album on Ideologic Organ, a label curated by Sunn O)))’s Stephen O'Malley. Other collaborative projects to date include an album produced with rap group Moe and ghosts, live performances with Keiji Haino and with poet Gozo Yoshimasu, productions with the Chiten theater company, and most recently a remix album of their works featuring Carl Stone and Madteo.

Better Living Through Chemistry wasn’t just Fatboy Slim’s breakthrough - it helped redefine what electronic music could be in the mainstream. Released in 1996, the album arrived at a pivotal moment in UK club culture, fusing big beat, acid house energy and sample-heavy experimentation into something irreverent, accessible and unmistakably British. Tracks like “Everybody Needs a 303,” “Going Out of My Head,” and “The Weekend Starts Here” captured the anarchic spirit of the era while laying the foundation for a sound that would dominate late-’90s pop culture.

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Norman Cook’s career as Fatboy Slim, BMG will reissue his debut album ‘Better Living Through Chemistry’, also turning 30 in September.

The 2LP will be remastered at half speed, following previous Fatboy Slim classic album remastered reissues and feature new liner notes from journalist Alexis Petridis.

The 2CD will include a bonus disc, b-sides with a brand-new remix with inclusion of the Alexis Petridis liner notes.

LUMINA marks a new chapter in C"mon Tigre"s evolution, where electronic music moves from the background to the core of the band"s sound. Across thirteen interconnected tracks, synthesizers, arpeggiators and club-inspired rhythms merge seamlessly with acoustic instruments such as oud, cello,vibraphone and percussion, creating an immersive, continuous listening experience. Rather than opposing tradition and innovation, LUMINA embraces their constant coexistence. The album explores how technology is reshaping not only the way music is created, but also how we experience sound, time and physical presence. Inspired by the rave as a space of collective ritual and temporary freedom, it treats repetition and rhythm as tools for communion rather than escapism, turning listening into a deeply physical experience. The music was first developed and tested live at Robot Festival (Bologna) and JazzMi (Milan) in late 2025. Those performances became a laboratory where the interaction between the music and the audienceultimately shaped the final record.

A Modern Revisit to a Cult Classic: A fresh "Twentysix Mix" of the 2016 underground staple In Your Body, updated for 2026 dancefloors with contemporary BPM and sharp remaster.

Ten years after defining the early sound of his own label, Berlin-based electronic explorer Cosmin TRG revisits a cornerstone of his discography. In Your Body (Twentysix Mix) sees the Romanian-born producer breathe new life into the 2016 underground anthem that helped cement the Sportiv label's reputation for high-end, functional techno.

This updated iteration retains the propulsive, hypnotic spirit of the original while sharpening the edges for a contemporary club environment. The package is rounded out by the driving, industrial-tinged cuts "Erodat" and "Iradiat," plus an exclusive digital remix by mysterious newcomers TRYL. Delivered as a classic hand-stamped white label, this release continues the Sportiv tradition of marrying stripped-back, high-impact club aesthetics with meticulous sound design.

After a sought after debut EP on their Perfumed Freedom label Foehn & Jerome return to the imprint with their versatile “Hermanngirl” release. The record spans across four original cuts, brimming with a nostalgic minimalist approach, incorporated with the distinct sound of modern times from the Berlin based duo, a reflection of the highly anticipated Perfumed Freedom parties they run. Diving into PFFD002 you will discover a refined blend of hypnotic and stripped back structures infused with distinct house grooves with an intricate and detailed energy for the floor. A producer pairing that continue to evolve their sound, developing the direction of their Perfumed Freedom set up but maintaining the direction at the core, timeless yet hypnotic.

YARN welcomes René Audiard for its tenth release with "Makes Me Feel", a four-track EP from one of underground electronic music’s most singular voices.

Across years of dub techno, minimal and leftfield electronic experimentation, René has developed an approach to stripped-down music that feels anything but limited. Where minimalism can often become an exercise in taking things away, his work finds possibility in what remains. "Makes Me Feel" is a particularly fitting example: immersive, at times strange, but always full of feeling.

‘Lovin’ opens the EP in familiar Audiard territory: murky low-end, locomotive groove, reduced rhythmic compositions and an understated framework swimming in a pool of detail. 'Possession' lets in more light. Vocal echoes, persistent rhythms and occasional string phrases give it a cinematic quality, while a groove that seems to circle endlessly takes on an almost shamanistic pull. The EP’s 11-minute behemoth, 'Flesh', fills most of the release’s B-side while making a convincing case for patience and sophistication. There are echoes of minimal’s golden age here, but Audiard never mistakes repetition for standing still. Tiny rhythmic fragments sit alongside expansive orchestral gestures, with samples working at every scale of the arrangement. Warmth and cinematic drama run through the track, but it's the playful programming underneath that keeps it moving. 'Night' closes the record on a different note, recalling Audiard’s work with Ali Çakır in Düve. Percussive samples, accordion and Middle Eastern guitar phrases bring a more acoustic character to his reduced 808-infused broken beats, making for a playful, occasionally melancholic ending with a distinctly microtonal feel.

What makes René Audiard’s music so rewarding is how readily you recognize his hand in it. There is a particular grain to the sounds, a way of placing details within a groove, and a willingness to follow an idea wherever it leads. Across “Makes Me Feel”, those instincts give four quite different tracks a shared identity. Even when working within familiar forms, Audiard makes them sound entirely his own. It’s the holy grail of music production: a personal sound signature. And a thoughtful addition to YARN’s growing repertoire of reduced, sophisticated dancefloor music.

Whisper Doll's new music comes from a time in frontwoman Fiona Tagami's life when she was actively trying to cultivate whimsy, a sense of possibility. "It's about this switch of trying to be in the world as a hopeful person," she says. The songs' dream-pop sound, with their woozy guitars and ethereal vocal melodies, evokes that feeling. Some moments feel weightless and joyous, others dense with mystery. Whisper Doll began as a solo project when Fiona was in high school in Atlanta, writing in her bedroom while she fell in love with bands like The Sundays, Mazzy Star, and The Cranberries. During the process of making her debut album, 2024's Perfume Garden, she moved to New York and became quickly wrapped up in the city's indie scene. While playing in various other bands, she met her future Whisper Doll bandmates: drummer Shawn Majeed, guitarist sophomore album Lucky Clover is Whisper Doll's first full-band record, and the first one made in full in NYC, representing a newfound sense of clarity for Fiona as well as a newly collaborative process. With their meticulously crafted sound and deeply thoughtful songwriting, Whisper Doll place us in a world that's unmistakably their own.

the iconic project returns late September with its milestone 10th studio album, ‘I Wrote You A Letter’.

Twenty-five years after his debut, M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) stands as a genuinely era-defining electronic act, renowned for pushing indie-electronic into the mainstream while maintaining absolute critical credibility. With a massive catalog compounding billions of streams—anchored by the timeless “MIDNIGHT CITY” (1.5B streams)—the iconic project returns late September with its milestone 10th studio album, I WROTE YOU A LETTER’.
Recorded between Los Angeles and Paris alongside BENOIT DE VILLENEUVE, this new record follows the highly acclaimed ‘FANTASY’ (2023) and features striking artwork by celebrated Australian photographer BILL HENSON. This release marks a historic chapter, encapsulating a quarter-century of sonic evolution.
Commercially, M83’s power lies in an unmatched ability to transcend generations. Synonymous with cinematic emotion, nostalgia, and immense scale, M83’s sound is virtually a genre of its own, heavily sought after for film, TV, and sync. Live, the act holds top-tier global status, proven by headlining slots at major festivals like Coachella, Glastonbury, and Primavera.
‘I WROTE YOU A LETTER’ delivers exactly what M83 does best: big emotional scale, breathtaking cinematic atmospheres, and sharp hooks, all pushed into a fresh, modern palette.

Fünfundzwanzig Jahre nach seinem Debüt gilt M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) als ein wahrhaft epochaler Elektro-Künstler, der dafür bekannt ist, Indie-Elektro in den Mainstream zu bringen. Mit einem riesigen Repertoire, das Milliarden von Streams umfasst – angeführt von dem zeitlosen „MIDNIGHT CITY“ (1,5 Milliarden Streams) – kehrt das ikonische Projekt Ende September mit seinem wegweisenden zehnten Studioalbum „I WROTE YOU A LETTER“ zurück.

Das neue Album, das gemeinsam mit BENOIT DE VILLENEUVE in Los Angeles und Paris aufgenommen wurde, knüpft an das hochgelobte „FANTASY“ (2023) an und besticht durch ein eindrucksvolles Cover des gefeierten australischen Fotografen BILL HENSON.
Diese Veröffentlichung markiert ein historisches Kapitel und fasst ein Vierteljahrhundert klanglicher Entwicklung zusammen.
Kommerziell liegt die Stärke von M83 in der unübertroffenen Fähigkeit, Generationen zu verbinden.
Als Synonym für filmische Emotionen, Nostalgie und immense Größe ist der Sound von M83 praktisch ein eigenes Genre, das für Film, Fernsehen und Synchronisation sehr gefragt ist.
Live genießt die Band weltweit Spitzenstatus, was durch Headliner-Auftritte bei großen Festivals wie Coachella, Glastonbury und Primavera unter Beweis gestellt wird.

„I WROTE YOU A LETTER“ liefert genau das, was M83 am besten kann: große emotionale Bandbreite, atemberaubende filmische Atmosphären und eingängige Hooks, alles verpackt in einer
frischen, modernen Klangpalette.

Second chapter in the Alkaline series. Five electro cuts and one techno excursion, crafted by two artists with decades of dedication to electronic music.

On Side A, Raakel Bloody Raakel brings decades of discipline and formal training into a sharp, uncompromising sound. Active since the late 90s and rooted in both classical education and underground culture, his work reflects precision, intensity and structural control.

On Side B, Roi delivers three focused electro pieces forged through years of experimentation and dancefloor experience. His approach blends coherence, tension and forward motion, driven by a continuous commitment to evolving the language of electronic music.

Two trajectories. One alkaline framework. Built for those who understand the craft.

Cosmic Tribe · Research & Development in Sound.

Scott Monteith makes his debut on Berlin's own Bright Sounds under his DEADBEAT alias, bringing three unreleased dub tracks steeped in the deep, cavernous low end he's known for. A pioneer of the Canadian dub techno scene, DEADBEAT has spent over two decades shaping the genre's darker, more spacious corners, and this EP marks a fitting first outing for the label. Pressed in a strictly limited deep blue vinyl edition, it's a must for collectors and dub heads alike.

DJ Support: Mochakk, Joseph Capriati, Jamie Jones, Purple Disco Machine, Groove Armada, Marco Carola ,keinemusik, Adrian Roman, Bill Brewster, Rino, Ruben Mandolini, Terry Farley, Nicolas Masseyeff, Echonomist, Robosonic, Nuno Dos Santos, diskJokke, Dan Marciano Jody Wisternoff / Way Out West, Eelke Kleijn, Henry Saiz, Digitalism, Sister Bliss / Faithless, Innellea, Adriatique, Judge Jules, Sam Divine, TSHA, Simone Vitullo, Joris Voorn, Tommie Sunshine, Fahlberg, Stijn D'hont / DJ Neon

D Stone is a rising force in Amsterdam’s electronic music scene, blending live instruments with electronic production to create his unique take on house music. His sound bridges true house to proto-disco and deeper percussive elements, as showcased in his release Total Unison. A passionate DJ and producer, D Stone crafts infectious tracks by combining samples with live instruments, driving dance floors with his grooves. Born into a musical family, D Stone was immersed in sound from an early age. His father’s influence exposed him to diverse musical styles, sparking his lifelong curiosity. He began playing piano at eight, learned guitar at twelve, and by fifteen discovered electronic music, exploring house as a DJ. A year later, he ventured into production, gaining recognition and landing his first gigs. Inspired by 70s and 80s disco, funk, garage, and 90s tech house, his music blends energy, groove, and soul. With his foundation in live instruments and his forward-thinking approach to electronic music, D Stone strives to create more than tracks—he’s shaping moments that linger in the minds of his listeners.

Envision remixed by DJ & producer Julya Karma Emerging from Brooklyn’s underground and now rooted in Berlin, her practice isn’t about fitting into a lane, it’s about finding what is alive and letting it shape the moment.

Across diverse stages and platforms from Coachella and Lost Village to Berghain, Cercle, Space, The Brooklyn Mirage, DGTL, Time Warp, Audio Obscura, Tomorrowland, and within the orbit of Innervisions, Julya’s performances reflect a commitment to exploration over formula, earning recognition from artists like Laurent Garnier, Dixon, Âme, Adriatique, Rüfüs Du Sol, and Sven Väth.

Dead Poet Society haben mit ihrem aufsehenerregenden Debütalbum „-!-“ (ausgesprochen „The Exclamation Album“) aus dem Jahr 2021 und ihrem ebenso gefeierten zweiten Album „FISSION“ aus dem Jahr 2024 – beide erschienen bei Spinefarm – die Aufmerksamkeit der Rockwelt auf sich gezogen (und gehalten). Die Band verzeichnet weltweit insgesamt 200 Millionen Streams, mehrere Top-10-Radio-Singles und Platzierungen in wichtigen Playlists und trat bereits auf großen Festivals rund um den Globus auf, darunter „Welcome to Rockville“, „Sonic Temple“, „Graspop“, „Reading and Leeds“ und „2000Trees“. Dead Poet Society tourten bereits mit Alt-Rock-Größen wie Badflower, Biffy Clyro und Highly Suspect sowie weiteren Künstlern. Die Band hat sich endgültig als intensiver Live-Act etabliert, den man nicht verpassen sollte, und erhielt Lob von Medien wie der „New York Post“, „Riff“, „Rock Sound“, „American Songwriter“, „New Noise“ und „Guitar World“. Mit ihrem unverwechselbaren Sound beschreiten sie ihren ganz eigenen Weg – und genau so gefällt es ihnen.

2026 Repress

Another holy grail from the catalogue of SOUNDS. in the rebound. Billy Nightmare aka Mystic Bill - Reality Check from 1996.
Recorded from original DAT, re-mastered and back on vinyl August.
Highly recommended!

r.hitect opens a new chapter with a refined vinyl release that signals both evolution and intention. Exploring subtle textures, intricate rhythms, and a deeper, more introspective sound, this record marks a shift toward a more personal sonic identity.

The release also introduces Croquis, a new label concept focused on capturing music in its purest form — raw, spontaneous, and essential. More than just a label, Croquis is a space for stripped-back expression and meaningful sound.

This vinyl sets the tone for what’s to come: minimal, emotional, and deeply authentic.

Second outing on Waffles Bxl brings Delian Sound to the label with two fresh cuts of chiming, bass-driven two-step. Secrets keeps it playful — bells, chimes, wonky charm. Sinners goes darker and moodier, then gets reworked by label regulars Waffles Kru into a bouncier, club-ready flip. For UKG/two-step sets, bass-leaning garage nights, anyone digging the current wave of chunky two-step revivalism.

On Last Night At Marienbad's latest, the imprint brings together three of the brightest souls found within the realms of Jazz, namely Mauricesax, 9ick and Milan93, with their collective talents synergising effortlessly on 'A Garden Between Us', alongside a stellar cast of remixers who add even further delight between the grooves….

As a genre, Jazz has perhaps lent itself the most to other musical universes, in that its curious heart, endlessly experimental nature, and parameter-defying spirit have wrapped itself deep within the core of countless albums, scenes, and music makers. It's a genre that welcomes reinvention, consistently defying its contents and always reaching out to find new methods of expressionism. Electronic music, in its many forms, has truly embraced Jazz perhaps like no other movement of music has, with a truly astonishing array of records surfacing in the past 40 years which have blended Jazz's unique motifs with grooves, chords, and emotive excellence. From 90s Jazz house and UR Techno, through to Future Jazz, downtempo, and Hip Hop, and around many other suns, there remains such an intrinsic and symbiotic relationship between the two musical realms that caters to those who wish to live music both within and out with themselves.

As practitioners of blending electronica and Jazz, few do it like the trio of Mauricesax, 9ick, and Milan93. All three are known for their distinctive soundscapes, yet share commonalities in terms of musical language, feel, and sense of progression. Bringing them together allows for overlaps in their sounds to emerge, and just like Jazz itself, this is where the intrinsicness of sound begins to blossom. 9ick brings his softly evolving vibe to the table, one which was so prevalent and celebrated on his 2025 album 'SMIL'; Milan93 draws from his focal point of exploring fill-laden grooves and a myriad of emotive sensibilities; and Mauricesax draws up his extensive musicality that exists at the corner of jazz, electronic, and experimental music, along with running musical workshops all over the globe.

'A Garden Between Us' represents the trio's core tenets, with this immediately obvious from the record's opener, 'Rhodora'. A gentle solo piano quickly evolves into a series of powerful rhythmic pulses, with brass lines bringing vitality and feel to proceedings. The track shifts gears with purpose, transitioning between musical vignettes of the highest order, with the synth work doing much to bind the transitions together. 'Tulip' emerges slightly differently, with glossy Rhodes tones and an unravelling rhythmic undercurrent setting an enthralling stage. The track flourishes amongst sweeping textures, coming up for air amongst a deeply hypnotic rhythmic section that holds on and never lets up. 'Honeysuckle' lands next, which sees the trio emerge with a boundless, dynamic soundscape. The drums shift within the undertones, as keys, chords, horns and hip-hop vocal samples dance around the pulse, capturing the imagination with their narrative-like placement. Wrapping up the A side comes 'Camellia'. A dazzling array of harmonic sounds converges around the transfixing rhythm section, which emerges from deep below to lavishly roll out over the midsection, with the delicateness of the instrumentation a real highlight here.

The B side features two exquisite remixes, with Pacific Coliseum's version of 'Tulip' landing first. Beginning with a signature four to the floor to get things going, his careful handling of the source material is seen in the tactful introduction of the blissful elements that made the original cut so impactful, with great focus placed on emotive fidelity. The result is a summer-bound house number that reimagines the original in all the right ways, flipping it into a euphoria-driven jazz-laden pacer that reaches for the heavens as much as it drives right into the heart. Teuteu then showcases their take on 'Honeysuckle', and at 9 minutes long, represents the longest cut on the record - and the experience is all the richer for it. Leaning heavily into dance music flavours, Teuteu shifts perspective totally into the realm of the club, with the walls beating hard to the kicks. The sax lines that drift ethereally up top keep eyes closed and souls full, as the dance shifts into the next phase.

An experience that drifts from the daydreaming, to soul-warming through to the club shaking - what else is left to experience, except for 'A Garden Between Us' and how it will brighten up life itself….

2026 Repress

December 2012 I showed up totally exhausted in Vancouver BC after touring stupidly and relentlessly for however many straight months and got a job at a call centre raising money for the Red Cross. It was a scent free office but one time this woman cooked a piece of fish in the microwave for 10 minutes on low and hot boxed the whole office - we got sent home early no pay. There was the other woman I named the Call Centre Coltrane because her pitch and routine usually involved improvised flights of fancy that went off in both directions at once somehow landing back down with a credit card number and a donation. I used to sleep under the desk. I was there a few months and at the time I reconnected with John Brennan who I had played with briefly in Montreal at the Mutek Festival. In Montreal John was running an experimental music night at a burrito shop downtown called Garbage Night. While in Vancouver I began connecting with the music scene there and would go hang out with the Shearing Pinx lads who I think lived with Sydney the bass player at the time. I knew Nic and Jer from an AIDS Wolf Tour and was so stoked to get to know them both better. I really fell in love with that era of Vancouver's music scene.
Fast Forward to today. 2024
Actually it was the dying days of 2023 but you get it and John asks if I'll sit in with Earth Ball and I keep thinking about Earth Balance, the vegan butter everyone eats here. I brought my aching bones and my ipads on the beautiful ferry named the Queen of Oak Bay and out to Nanaimo BC, home of the nanaimo bar (a dessert treat - special to this region - that seems to be more popularly found under the weird glass sneeze guards in office building deli's out east in Ontario.... anyhoops ). No one in Nanaimo wants to talk to me about the famous treat. I asked a couple of people. Silence. Nanaimo is like London, Ontario but more fried and by the sea. The town is filled with blown out old sea dawgs with tin coffee pots and loose leaf tobacco, then there's the usual streetfolk you find in this part of the Canadian Pacific Northwest and a bunch of bohemians who I guess have left Vancouver behind - that fine city having become uninhabitable for those not making over 100k a year. And then up the way are all the retirees.
Yup Nanaimo is a strange one. They mined the shit out of this region and Nanaimo is surely haunted by those buried in mining shafts or maimed by the heavy machinery or blown up by accident in the explosives store house. And when Earth Ball fire up the amps in Izzy and Jer's basement you can hear the voices of the ghosts hum through electrical lines and out the speakers, Kellen's hued feedback, Izy's sturdy basslines, Jer's paperbag guitar tone and rumble pack zaps, Liam's (aka the Kid) sheets of sound and Brennen's multidirectional drums.
You wouldn't guess Earth Ball was auto-composing and from what my rat brain can tell - the lyrics are improvised too...Improvising lyrics and singing them is the hardest thing to do in all of music.. Izzy and Jer are pros. And their attitudes are pro too.
The live show is scorched and without naming names they've been known to make headliners nervous. Lucky ones will get to see them live as they tour this beast of a record entitled ‘It’s Yours’ (out May 17th on Upset The Rhythm) and I hope I'm one of them.
But now you, fan of fun but totally fucked up music, have the opportunity to Ball with them thanks to Upset The Rhythm. Enjoy
-Alex Moskos, Montreal QC, Feb 2024

Experience the emotion of The Last of Us like never before with this stunning Blue & Grey Marble double LP.

Performed by London Music Works, Music From The Last of Us brings together the most iconic themes from the acclaimed video games and TV series, featuring the unforgettable music of Gustavo Santaolalla, along with a piece composed by Max Richter. A must-have release for fans of the franchise and soundtrack collectors alike, presented on a beautifully crafted vinyl edition that is as striking as it is immersive.




[d] a4 The Last of Us (Goodnight) [from "The Last of Us Part I"]
[e] a5 All Gone (No Escape) [from "The Last of Us Part I"]
[f] a6 The Path (A New Beginning) [from "The Last of Us Part I"]







[n] c3 It Can't Last (Sunset) [from "The Last of Us: Season 1"]

[p] c5 All Gone (Flashbacks) [from "The Last of Us: Season 1"]
[q] c6 The Last of Us (Vengeance) [from "The Last of Us: Season 1"]
[r] c7 All Gone (Ephemeral) [from "The Last of Us: Season 1"]

[t] d2 Left Behind (The Journey) [from "The Last of Us: Season 2"]

DJ DIE SOON is the apocalyptic alter-ego Daisuke Imamura, whose performances of masked malice have been a fixture in the Berlin underground for the past decade. His latest record My Brothel The Wind takes inspiration from Sun Ra at his most grotesque, conjuring a distorted phantasmagoria with an eclectic crew of compatriots like Rully Shabara, Sara Persico, and longtime collaborator Kiki Hitomi. Film director Hiroo Tanaka’s visual contributions in the album art, poster, and music video complete the album’s narrative, telling a story not of villainy but of phantom caprice in a dying world.
My Brothel The Wind shows DJ DIE SOON as an alchemist of distortion, transmuting the club-forward beats of his 2020 debut Kappa Slap and the seething horrorscapes of DIEMAJIN, his 2022 collaboration with Tokyo vocalist MA. Imamura’s obsession with noise stems from his upbringing in Tokyo, where he grew up hearing the deafening roar of trains every day. “The buildings were really tall, so the sounds reflected so much and it was so loud that you couldn’t even have a conversation on the phone. Hearing this noise every minute when living in this flat, it became a normal thing,” he says. While most would content themselves with avoiding loudness, DJ DIE SOON seeks to unpack its visceral potential.
DJ DIE SOON’s subterranean productions form a monstrous gestalt with the eclectic contributions of his network of co-conspirators. “Unfinished” and “Directions” are pulsating chimeras that highlight animalistic vocalizations from Hitomi and Shabara; Italian MC Franco Franco’s verses snake underneath the noisy onslaught. The tectonic textures of “Dandelion Crackers” are courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Laure Boer’s handmade stone synth. Sara Persico’s mangled vocables hang as fleshy reminders of human fragility on “SAQ4IME”; in the Hiroo Tanaka-directed music video, the track’s sonic uncanniness is made cinematic, with an ambient dread that references Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1964 psychological thriller Woman in the Dunes.
While Sun Ra’s intergalactic Moog reached for the stars, DJ DIE SOON plunges into the depths of hell. “Everybody, Shake Your Body, We Chill At Party” feels like the sonic equivalent of a wax museum burning to the ground, rigid smiles melting into the fire. Rather than a vision of the future, My Brothel The Wind is a laugh-cry of despair in the face of a Hadean present. DJ DIE SOON confronts the world with a new hand-made mask, reborn in the ashes.

Belgian artist Jennifur announces MAZDA, an album inspired by long car rides, emotional transitions, and the strange beauty of existing between places, people, and versions of yourself.

Musically, MAZDA moves fluidly between genres and emotional textures, blending electronic love songs, indie rock structures, UK bass influences, cinematic electronica, and flashes of classical composition.

The project began when Jennifur's brother sent him a playlist called MAZDA, filled with songs their father used to play in the car. What started as a nostalgia gesture quickly became the emotional blueprint for the album.

While writing MAZDA, Jennifur realized he was unknowingly creating the soundtrack to a fictional romcom film that existed only in his imagination. Rather than avoiding clichés like love, heartbreak, growing older, or transition, he chose to embrace them wholeheartedly.

"In a car, you exist in a kind of in-between space," Jennifur explains. "You've left something behind, but you haven't arrived yet. That feeling became the entire record."

The album opener, From A to B, sets the emotional framework for the entire project. Its extended introduction mirrors the exact moment you pull out of your street and realisethat something new has begun.

Highlights include "I Need You To Hold On", written for Jennifur's brother as a message of encouragement. The song "I Once Had a Dream Where I Could Fly" originated from a conversation with his father about recurring dreams of flying. Meanwhile, "From The Sideline" confronts a quieter existential fear, becoming a coming-of-age anthem for anyone who suddenly realizes they have become more of a spectator than an active participant in their own life.

Tracks like "In The Sun" bring a softer, almost cinematic intimacy to the album. Written around the image of spending one final Sunday at the seaside with someone who is seriously ill, the song captures the beauty and fragility of fleeting moments. The closing track "The Dialogue Before We Left" serves as the emotional final scene of the album.

"For me, it's the moment after a long drive when you turn off the engine but stay seated for a minute," Jennifur explains. "You realise something happened. You listened to my story, and we travelled from A to B together."

The latest release from Rainbow Disco Club’s label imprint, Beyond Space And Time, is the debut compilation from The Melting Hours, a live project by Wata Igarashi and Kuniyuki. WataIgarashi continues to make his mark on the history of techno, whilst Kuniyuki has long been revered as one of Sapporo’s greatest treasures. The two artists, who have long held mutual respect for one another, met whilst performing at the Draaimolen Festival 2025, and this encounter gave rise to The Melting Hours.

‘Blue Sun’ is imbued with a freshness reminiscent of the ambient jazz masterpieces released by prestigious labels such as ECM and Windham Hill. ‘Liquid Dunes’ sees the organic tones of the flute and percussion melt into over ten minutes of abstract sound textures, whilst the breathtaking ‘Cloud Touch’ awakens amidst a swirling vortex of pulsating downbeats and arpeggios. It is said that ‘Blue Sun’ was created by reconstructing studio rehearsal recordings, whilst ‘Liquid Dunes’ and ‘Cloud Touch’ were crafted from live recordings at Draaimolen 2025. The essence of these works—and indeed of the project The Melting Hours itself—lies at the heart of their improvisational nature.

It brings to mind the Rainbow Disco Club event back in 2026, where they wove their sounds amidst fresh greenery and surrounded by listeners under a clear blue sky. It felt as though the pulsating energy was spreading across the dance floor, guided by a session from The Melting Hours that seemed almost like a living creature. The organic breath one senses in this work not only evokes precisely that scene but also allows us to feel the unique, ephemeral nature inherent in this project—and, consequently, the boundless possibilities that stem from it.

Rainbow Disco Club のレーベル・ライン'Beyond Space And Time'から放たれる最新作は、Wata IgarashiとKuniyukiによるライブ・プロジェクト、The Melting Hoursによる初の音源集だ。テクノ史に残る実績を現在進行形で刻み続けているWata Igarashi、長きに渡り札幌の至宝として尊敬を集めてきたKuniyuki。兼ねてよりリスペクトを送り合ってきた両名がDraaimolen Festival 2025への出演を契機に邂逅し、始動したプロジェクトがThe Melting Hoursである。

ECMやWindham Hillといった名門レーベルのアンビエント・ジャズ傑作群を彷彿とさせる瑞々しさを湛えた"Blue Sun"。10分以上に渡るアブストラクトなサウンド・テクスチャーの中にフルートや鳴り物のオーガニックな音色が溶ける"Liquid Dunes"と、そして鳴動するダウンビートとアルペジオの渦に覚醒する圧巻の"Cloud Touch"。"Blue Sun"はスタジオでのリハーサル音源を、"Liquid Dunes"と"Cloud Touch"はDraaimolen 2025のライヴ音源を、それぞれ再構築し楽曲化したものだという。これらの作品、ひいてはThe Melting Hoursというプロジェクト自体のエッセンスは、その即興性を核としている。

WataとKuniyukiがゼロから音を立ち上げ、お互いのエレクトロニクス/生楽器を操る技術、それぞれエレクトロニック・ミュージック以前にフリージャズやニューウェイヴ/インダストリアル等に傾倒した時期を含む、音楽家としての半生を持ち出し合う感覚。そこに、例えばDraaimolen出演時に降り出した雨や、リハーサル時にスタジオに迷い込んだ蜂のような、外的かつ偶発的な要因、感情やムードの起伏までもが絡み合う様相。互いの予想を越えるスリルの中で曲が形づくられるプロセスこそが、この作品とプロジェクトを特別なものとしているのだという。

快晴の元で新緑とリスナーに囲まれ音を紡いでいった、去る2026年のRainbow Disco Clubを思い出す。まるで、生き物のようなThe Melting Hoursによるセッションに導かれ、脈動するエネルギーがフロアに伝播していたようだった。この作品から感じられる有機的な息遣いは、まさにそんな情景を思い起こすものであると同時に...このプロジェクトが宿すその場/その時限りの唯一無二性と、それ故に広がっていく限りない可能性をも感じさせてくれる。

Three years following the critically acclaimed "A Journey told through Fire" (2023), the new album navigates a sprawling conceptual narrative, tracing the cyclical nature of the cosmos from its initial spark in the void to its inevitable dissolution. Lyrically, the album explores the terrifying scale of cosmic darkness and the fragility of existence within a primordial emptiness. Sworn investigates the philosophy of becoming and unmaking, where reality and time emerge from nothingness only to eventually collapse back into the same unfathomable origin. Musically, "Null Crowned the Infinite" pushes the boundaries of the band's established sound, balancing their signature melodic tension with newfound levels of aggression and atmospheric depth. The record features "The Starless Origin", a twelve-minute epic that stands as their longest composition to date, alongside " Fracture of Aeons ", which the band identifies as their most aggressive track ever recorded. Sworn collaborated with renowned producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios , who handled the mixing and mastering. Bogren's legendary portfolio, featuring giants such as Opeth, Arch Enemy and Behemoth, brings a polished yet devastating edge to the performances of Max Wilson, Christoffer Kjorsvik, Goran Hope and Tom Ian Klungland. The album artwork is equally striking, created by Par Olofsson, known for his iconic work with Aborted and Kreator.

Three years following the critically acclaimed "A Journey told through Fire" (2023), the new album navigates a sprawling conceptual narrative, tracing the cyclical nature of the cosmos from its initial spark in the void to its inevitable dissolution. Lyrically, the album explores the terrifying scale of cosmic darkness and the fragility of existence within a primordial emptiness. Sworn investigates the philosophy of becoming and unmaking, where reality and time emerge from nothingness only to eventually collapse back into the same unfathomable origin. Musically, "Null Crowned the Infinite" pushes the boundaries of the band's established sound, balancing their signature melodic tension with newfound levels of aggression and atmospheric depth. The record features "The Starless Origin", a twelve-minute epic that stands as their longest composition to date, alongside " Fracture of Aeons ", which the band identifies as their most aggressive track ever recorded. Sworn collaborated with renowned producer Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios , who handled the mixing and mastering. Bogren's legendary portfolio, featuring giants such as Opeth, Arch Enemy and Behemoth, brings a polished yet devastating edge to the performances of Max Wilson, Christoffer Kjorsvik, Goran Hope and Tom Ian Klungland. The album artwork is equally striking, created by Par Olofsson, known for his iconic work with Aborted and Kreator.

The final installment of the GIANT SKY trilogy, Giant Sky III, will be released on October 2nd, 2026, preceded by the single "Fleeting Glimpse", which offers the first taste of the new album. A companion postlude album, The Further We Go The Deeper It Gets, will follow on October 16th, 2026. Together, the two records complete an ambitious body of work that has seen Viken explore a broader and more introspective musical landscape than ever before. "Fleeting Glimpse" provides an evocative introduction to the final chapter of the GIANT SKY trilogy. While Viken"s band Soup has become renowned for its emotionally charged, crescendo-driven soundscapes, GIANT SKY allows him to embrace an even wider palette of influences. Drawing from alternative art rock, post-rock, electronica, ambient music, indie, folk, and progressive rock, the project balances immersive atmospheres with memorable melodies. In an era increasingly dominated by algorithms, artificial intelligence and digital perfection, Viken has consciously taken the opposite path. GIANT SKY is built around the human element of music-making, embracing imperfections and authenticity as artistic strengths. "This album has been with me for a long time. Some of the ideas on Giant Sky III go back many years, and in a way it feels like a cross section of the last 25 years of my life as a composer. We live in a time where music is increasingly shaped by algorithms, AI and endless digital possibilities. I suppose this record is my way of walking upstream a little bit - taking the slower route, trusting the human imperfections, and letting the music find its own shape. It wasn"t a quick album to make, but I"m proud of what it became: ambitious where it needed to be, modest where it should be, and above all, honest." - Erlend Viken

For ten years Spike Fuck has existed more as a messy myth than an art- ist; sporadic works forever poised on the precipice of triumph, rumours of death or insanity and so on. Spike’s mission is to distill the sacred and profane, balancing the melancholy and humour of life; “to be alive is to be traumatised.” Luckily, the devotion to his music persevered, some- what bolstered by his inconsistency and inaccessibility. This inexplicable goodwill towards his artistry is perhaps partly due to Spike’s timeless, pained and confessional lyricism, though more pointedly, the fragility of a life mired in addiction. His being or works does not question the virtue of life, but simply addresses the numb, pragmatic and far more immediate matter of surviving another day, an almost ineffable senti- ment only justified by his distinct, poetic audaciousness. Free from his arresting thoughts, evidence, the long anticipated debut album, is a bra- zen proof of life statement. Convicted by the outlandish idea of evidenc- ing a ‘you had to be there’ mentality, the record honours the presence in body, a record to be felt, never to be rationalized.

The material on evidence touches on elements of new wave, glam, soul and doo-wop, citing Pere Ubu, New York Dolls, The Temptations and Bettye Swan as key influences. Melodically it emits the energy of a down- and-out CBGBs band who cashes in by recording a lucrative Christmas album.

Spike frequently uses sonic and lyrical juxtapositions to perform comic twists of sincerity, a reflection of society's obsession with ‘getting a rise’. On “Bored to Death,” a scuzzy, laidback and soulful tune, paired with morbid ragebait lyrics that payoff as a stand up joke “when I look up at the sun it makes me so happy cause I know one day it’s gonna kill me, and it’ll kill you too!” Lead single “All By Myself” carries on in this fashion; with feelgood, family-friendly punk doo-wop production, Spike is misleading on if his joy comes from the pride in solitude, or from lone- liness and a ‘give me everything’ mentality in the act of shooting heroin. The vocal performances oscillate between being blasé, vulnerable and manic; “Sweet Release” meets power-ballad criteria solely due to Spike’s deteriorating cries into the void, the jittery delivery on “Getting Sober” embodies religious fanaticism while sounding like a pop song written by Suicide for a David Lynch film.

evidence is an album that lives outside the limits of discourse; its purpose is eponymous and self-evident. It is what it is, and is subject to interpretation. There is no point in interrogating attachments, virtue or value. The only rightful way to live is to be.

a 01. CAN'T GET IT UP 4:38
b 02. HAD YOUR WAY 4:04
[c] 03. SWEET RELEASE [3:27]
[d] 04. BORED TO DEATH [3:31]
[e] 05. ALL BY MYSELF [2:38]
[f] 06. GETTING SOBER [3:33]
[g] 07. BLUELIGHT[4:35]
[h] 08. HATE ME [7:44]

[a] 01. CAN'T GET IT UP [4:38]
[b] 02. HAD YOUR WAY [4:04]
[c] 03. SWEET RELEASE [3:27]
[d] 04. BORED TO DEATH [3:31]
[e] 05. ALL BY MYSELF [2:38]
[f] 06. GETTING SOBER [3:33]
[g] 07. BLUELIGHT[4:35]
[h] 08. HATE ME [7:44]

[a] 01. CAN'T GET IT UP [4:38]
[b] 02. HAD YOUR WAY [4:04]
[c] 03. SWEET RELEASE [3:27]
[d] 04. BORED TO DEATH [3:31]
[e] 05. ALL BY MYSELF [2:38]
[f] 06. GETTING SOBER [3:33]
[g] 07. BLUELIGHT[4:35]
[h] 08. HATE ME [7:44]

[a] 01. CAN'T GET IT UP [4:38]
[b] 02. HAD YOUR WAY [4:04]
[c] 03. SWEET RELEASE [3:27]
[d] 04. BORED TO DEATH [3:31]
[e] 05. ALL BY MYSELF [2:38]
[f] 06. GETTING SOBER [3:33]
[g] 07. BLUELIGHT[4:35]
[h] 08. HATE ME [7:44]

[a] 01. CAN'T GET IT UP [4:38]
[b] 02. HAD YOUR WAY [4:04]
[c] 03. SWEET RELEASE [3:27]
[d] 04. BORED TO DEATH [3:31]
[e] 05. ALL BY MYSELF [2:38]
[f] 06. GETTING SOBER [3:33]
[g] 07. BLUELIGHT[4:35]
[h] 08. HATE ME [7:44]

Garefowl is a project connected to the archipelago of St Kilda, Scotland. Ewan Macdonald and his father Murdo, relatives of one of the men who killed the last Great Auk (Garefowl), conceived the project to reflect on and mark this family history. Garefowl is an international collective of musicians combining strings and electronics: Nathan Bontrager (viola da gamba/harmonium/banjo), Stuart Graham (bouzouki/harmonica/harmonium), Chris Jones (concertina/mandolin), Ewan Macdonald (fiddle/smallpipe drone), Richard O’Flynn (island sounds/percussion/XRD drones), Jess Whelligan (cello).

Things That Vanish was recorded on Hirta, the main island of St Kilda, at night. The soundscapes of Hirta breathe across the record: a quiet rolling swell of winds, waves, birds, and the otherworldly thrum of the snipe. Taking influence from the traditional folk music of St Kilda, the tunes on the record are inspired by the threatened seabirds of the islands. The band were intrigued by the folk stories around these birds, and how they often are depicted to imbue a primal, dark and haunting nature. In such tales, the birds retain a quality akin to a sea monster: preying upon calves and sheep, and believed to be the pelagic souls of drowned sailors or the cursed spirits of cruel captains.

No synthesizers were used on the recording. Instead, the production draws entirely on sampled and processed field and hydrophone recordings collected on St Kilda. Additionally, drones were created through a process pioneered by Richard O’Flynn and Joe Gardner. Rock or bone samples are analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), which creates a spectrum with peaks corresponding to the sample’s chemical composition; this spectrum can then be mapped to sine waves, forming a drone.

Fohn conjures a dreamlike landscape of introspective beauty, loneliness and transience from analogue tape and field recordings on new album, Porcelain.

A late summer evening in southern France. The dry mistral wind billows the washing that hangs outside the windows on narrow streets, bringing with it the first whispers of autumn. In the distance children are playing in the square, their shouts caught in the dust whipped up by their feet. A bell tolls, the light dies, and a rich, compelling solitude descends.

Violinist and multi-instrumentalist Fohn, aka Tom Connolly, describes the act of making music as “building fictional environments that become places of solace,” and a process of translation and projection that bridges his internal and external worlds.

While musicians like John Also Bennett, Oren Ambarchi and Connolly’s own group Quade drift behind his sound, Porcelain draws its temperamental inspiration from films like Call Me My Your Name and Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Mirror, as well as the sculptures of Anthony Gormley, whose solitary figures stand isolated in expanses of water along the UK coastline.

How does Connolly describe the atmosphere he wants the music to evoke? “It's the feeling of the inevitability of something having to pass,” he answers. “It's compelling because it's fundamentally unattainable. You're searching and grasping for something that you can never fully hold.”

A moving, intimate and deeply personal album, Porcelain shimmers in the illusive light of melancholy. For Connolly it provided the release of catharsis, but it’s a feeling that will mean something different to everyone who listens.

»Baby Ghost« is the debut album by double bassist and vocalist Jordan Sand. Released through Hallow Ground, it blurs the lines between different genres and modes of expressions, improvisation and composition and showcases the unique playing style the composer has developed. Sand blends her voice with the bowed harmonics and subharmonics of her double bass. At once conceptually rigorous and musically open-ended, Sand’s wordless meditations on death and what comes after are both visceral and explorative.

Sand is a boundary-crossing instrumentalist, performer, and session musician who has worked in folk, free jazz, pop, classical and new as well as experimental music. In 2020, she took a hiatus. When she picked up the bass again, she began stripping down the relationship to her instrument to its core elements, searching for a way to melt the sounds of bow and voice together. This resulted in the appearance of ghost notes, tones emerging from the addition or subtraction of two frequencies, and harmonics that she adds with her falsetto.

On »Baby Ghost,« Sand utilises this acoustic sound and the spontaneous precision of her improvisational practice for pieces that deal with the subject of dying. They move from more polyphonic improvisations toward abstraction, touching upon harsh noise and minimalistic bow-chants before returning briefly to a melodic soliloquy, and finally landing on an extended subharmonic drone. This progression reflects the journey of the spirit after death; the experience of visions, memories, ecstasies and terrors before the dissolution of the self.

Sand performs this process physically, blending her voice with her instrument to explore how the senses might dissolve and merge when they enter a state between life and beyond-or-between-life. Born out of the moment and dedicated to a lost friend, »Baby Ghost« is quite literally an otherworldly achievement.

TECH043 brings A.B.E.L. and Eluna Vex together through a shared sense of rhythm and purpose.

Both authors have already developed a clear and confident approach, even if wider recognition has yet to catch up. Their music is ready to reach beyond the circles that already know their work.

Across both sides of the record, firm drums, driving percussion and deep atmosphere keep the motion steady. Each track has its own shape and detail, while the shared weight and mood allow the four tracks to be heard as one complete work. DJs get four reliable cuts that can build tension, hold the groove or move a set forward without a break in tone.

The difference between the artists is clear, but never disruptive. Eluna Vex and A.B.E.L. bring separate ideas to the record, yet their tracks feel closely related in character, depth and attitude. This balance gives TECH043 range without losing focus: two artists and one consistent physical drive.

A1. “Unsafe Road” opens the record by setting its rules: full pressure, forward drive and several lines developing at once. It tests the listener’s attention, offering a choice between following the whole structure or focusing on one thread within it.

A2. “Getting Away” works like a spell that pulls the dancefloor together. It follows one clear narrative and a direct sequence of events, building towards a climax where every element lands as one shared impulse.

B1. “Test And Run” opens a more exploratory side of the record. It moves through changing forms and gradually reveals its language, without showing the full picture at once. Structurally complete on its own, the track invites the listener into less predictable territory.

B2. “Subconscious” is built on balance, giving equal weight to every part of the sound without allowing one element to take control. It makes no loud statement, but closes the record with a complete and carefully held form.

The final installment of the GIANT SKY trilogy, Giant Sky III, will be released on October 2nd, 2026, preceded by the single "Fleeting Glimpse", which offers the first taste of the new album. A companion postlude album, The Further We Go The Deeper It Gets, will follow on October 16th, 2026. Together, the two records complete an ambitious body of work that has seen Viken explore a broader and more introspective musical landscape than ever before. "Fleeting Glimpse" provides an evocative introduction to the final chapter of the GIANT SKY trilogy. While Viken"s band Soup has become renowned for its emotionally charged, crescendo-driven soundscapes, GIANT SKY allows him to embrace an even wider palette of influences. Drawing from alternative art rock, post-rock, electronica, ambient music, indie, folk, and progressive rock, the project balances immersive atmospheres with memorable melodies. In an era increasingly dominated by algorithms, artificial intelligence and digital perfection, Viken has consciously taken the opposite path. GIANT SKY is built around the human element of music-making, embracing imperfections and authenticity as artistic strengths. "This album has been with me for a long time. Some of the ideas on Giant Sky III go back many years, and in a way it feels like a cross section of the last 25 years of my life as a composer. We live in a time where music is increasingly shaped by algorithms, AI and endless digital possibilities. I suppose this record is my way of walking upstream a little bit - taking the slower route, trusting the human imperfections, and letting the music find its own shape. It wasn"t a quick album to make, but I"m proud of what it became: ambitious where it needed to be, modest where it should be, and above all, honest." - Erlend Viken

Tooloop Records celebrates its tenth release with "Orbis EP", a four-tracker from label affiliate Stab9. The record captures a moment of evolution in both Stab9’s sound and the label’s sonic identity, reflecting a broader vision of the Tooloop universe through expanded arrangements, deeper exploration and a more immersive presentation.

Opening the EP, ‘Source’ establishes its atmosphere through a constantly evolving arrangement, moving through several distinct phases while maintaining a sense of fluid progression. Carefully shifting textures, unexpected bass changes and subtle variations in dynamics reveal new details with each turn. Title track ‘Orbis’ shifts the EP towards warmer tones, built around classic house-inspired sounds, melancholic pads and polyrhythmic bass movement. Its rolling low-end and intricate percussion subtly tilt the track towards techno territory, reflecting the circular motion suggested by the track’s title. ‘Beastro’ gradually ascends through a restrained growling bassline and fractured hi-hats, dropping into an engine-cut moment in the middle of the track - a brief suspension before the groove returns, pulling the track back into motion. ‘True Story’ unfolds through a walking bassline, intricate hi-hats and smeared percussion, creating a sense of movement through a world of morphing textures and atmospheres. Its restrained melody embraces the idea of “less is more”, closing the EP with the bittersweet beauty of mono no aware.

With "Orbis EP", Stab9 presents a deeply personal approach to electronic music, where detailed studio craftsmanship meets the physical energy of the dancefloor - the label completing one full turn, and opening the next.

Roughly two years after the release of their initial statement of intent, debut single “Toutpartout PT2” with its hypnotic ripples, Andi Haberl and Florian Zimmer aka Bella Wakame have successfully channeled the magic of a 2024 live recording (captured at Berlin’s Donau115 & Silent Green) into their first proper studio offering. You can hear inspirations ranging from Bitchin Bajas, Jeremiah Chiu to Groupshow (Jelinek, Leichtmann, Pekler), the hypnotic, intricate battle between form and freedom (the fun of momentary formlessness) continues to unfold over the course of 10 new tracks, featuring album guest Indra Dunis (Peaking Lights). Their first single "Shades of Nambei" was very much inspired by the wonderful band Spirit Fest and their song "Nambei".

You can either shorten the reins, or you can loosen them – and give things more slack. With Bella Wakame, it’s definitely the latter. Constantly challenging each other, they’re tapping a whole new energy. Tons of different energies.

Based on the impulsive, propulsive interplay between drums/sensory percussion (Andi Haberl) and modular synthesizer (Florian Zimmer), the frenzied, free-form results take listeners into completely new dimensions – sonic worlds that don’t really sound anything like their other musical outlets (The Notwist, SUN, Saroos, Driftmachine etc.).

Whereas most bands tend to notoriously overthink names/monikers, these guys obviously only care about the ecstatic push-and-pull that occurs once their instruments meet and overlap: it’s wildly explosive textures with a booming heart. Moving restlessly between motorik club, electro-acoustic jazz experiments, ambient excursions, and fast-paced instrumental anthems that seem to explode at the seams, one can immediately tell how much they enjoy the newfound freedom, the turbulent encounters born on the spur of the moment.

It’s all about a quick-paced exchange of friendly blows, a chasing of tails into ever-new musical terrains. Relying on just enough form for that wildness to blossom within, their just-in-time dashes continually unfold, refold, return, grow bigger – and leave you startled.

glass beach's debut album the first glass beach album is the first album from glass beach. That's a good place to start, but the album's plain & descriptive title does little to explain exactly what goes on in the hour-long adventure contained therein. the first glass beach album was initially self-released by the band in Spring 2019, but it's roots date back to as early as 2015 - songwriter & band leader j mclendon started demoing songs for the album when they first moved to Los Angeles & spent three years polishing those first demos into these songs with bassist Jonas Newhouse & drummer William White. On their Bandcamp page, the band describes their sound as the accumulation of jazz, new wave, synth music, and emo distorted through the lens of punk. The songs that make up the first glass beach album are ambitious, theatrical and chaotic. Abandoning genre limitations makes glass beach's talent for songwriting all the more apparent - mathy guitar leads, catchy drum grooves and the constant interplay of horns, synths, and even the intermittent theremin set the perfect scene for j's stunning vocal performance, which can shift from a charming falsetto to the lead of a sing-a-long in an instant.

Phill Niblock completed BLK+LND in late November 2023. It is one of Phill Niblock's final compositions and was commissioned by bassist Robert Black (who passed away in the summer of 2023). The piece is based on recordings of acoustic bass and bass clarinet performed by Neil Leonard and Robert Black under Niblock's direction in 2021.

Phill Niblock (1933-2024) as an artist whose fifty-year career spanned minimalist and experimental music, film and photography. He has been a maverick presence on the fringes of the avant-garde. In the history books he is the forgotten Minimalist. Since 1985, he served as director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a branch in Ghent, and curator of the foundation's record label XI. Known for his thick, loud drones of music, his signature sound is filled with microtones of instrumental timbres that generate many other tones in the performance space. He said: 'What I am doing with my music is to produce something without rhythm or melody, by using many microtones that cause movements very, very slowly.' In 2013, his diverse artistic career was the subject of a retrospective realized in partnership between Circuit (Centre d'art contemporain Lausanne) and Musée de l'Elysée (Paris). The following year he was honored with the prestigious Foundation for Contemporary Arts John Cage Award. Since 1968 he also put on over 1000 concerts in his loft space in New York.

"On January 6, 2024, two days before his passing, Phill called me to discuss the premiere and tour of BLK+LND. To distract him from his rapid decline, I engaged in his touring plan, only for him to reveal that all the details were still in his head and none of the events had been confirmed. He was entrusting the project to me. Phill would have been thrilled and honored by this concert at the Donaueschinger Musiktage. The thought of one more performance with Robert Black, whom he greatly admired, presenting his new work for low-pitched instruments that he was particularly fond of, andreconnecting with old and new friends in Donaueschingen would have meant the world to him." - Neil Leonard, Berklee College of Music, Boston

If Izzy Hagerup’s new album, ‘System’, feels immediately uncompromising it’s because it was never really designed for public consumption. Released under her Prewn moniker, Hagerup describes the album as a “private journal made public”. Told across nine arresting new songs, the album chronicles a deeply personal journey through the darkness of depression, but one that’s always undercut by moments of humor, selfishness and self-reflection, a push-and-pull that feels wholly distinctive. Following on 2023’s ‘Through The Window’ LP - a collection of songs that Pitchfork hailed as a “striking example of Hagerup’s ability to sit with ugliness” - ‘System’ finds Hagerup crawling even deeper into the dense folds of the night. Written and recorded solely by Hagerup, mostly in long stretches of bedroom sessions that found her working through the small hours until she began to hear birdsong, the album reckons with a lot of the thoughts that tend to needle in at that time of night; guilt, shame, and self-absorption, as well as the societal pressures that sit at the root of such things. From a bedroom floor in the middle of the night, through a tangle of cables and complex emotions, System grew into a document of disassociation, but it comes undercut with a sense of lightness when compared to what’s come before. It doesn’t surrender to the darkness, it dives into it with a keen and exploring eye and through the gloom it finds constant realizations of the wonder and appreciation of life. That journey holds a special kind of power. There’s bravery in it, a struggle that never asks you to look away but instead to follow it down the rabbit hole. That it leads to a place of fascination is testament to the sheer force these songs hold; songs of hurt and heart, fear and fun.

Influential UK Jazz/Funk/Disco outfit THE COOL-NOTES' biggest hit 'Spend The Night', originally released in 1985, is back on Dafia Records with a set of brand new, never before released remixes by French Disco icon DIMITRI FROM PARIS.

The original, which reached #11 in the UK Top 40 in the Spring of 1985, is regarded as a mid-tempo UK classic by many since its first appearance. Known for his luxurious, groove-driven productions and remixes, Dimitri From Paris has reworked tracks for artists including Björk, Quincy Jones, Chic and New Order, while helping define the sound of modern disco and house music in a way only he can.

When he got the chance by Dafia label head Mannix to get his hands on the original multitrack tapes, he didn't hesitate to deliver two classic DFP revisions in the making. His Main version leaves all the essential elements of the timeless Original, highlights the parts that have deserved more exposure whilst adding crisp beats and nice effects to the game. The result is a greatly updated version that surely will have many fans within the Soul/Funk/Disco scene.

On his Dub Dimitri Form Paris delivers a spaced out stripped back version with great use of vocal snippets to great effect on any dancefloor.

Lone Ark and The 18th Parallel join forces again! Five years after the critically acclaimed debut ‘Showcase Vol. 1’ (2021), the two spearheads of the European roots reggae scene return with the second volume of this showcase series. Recorded on 2” tape between Geneva, Switzerland and Cueto, Spain, this new project is another masterpiece of production. It dives deep into the roots sound and playing of the 70s and 80s Jamaican reggae with heavyweight drums and bass, razor-sharp rhythm section, and sophisticated horns, flute, synth and vocals arrangements. Roberto Sánchez, the voice behind Lone Ark, sings about themes more relevant than ever such as activism through music (Ammunition), the absurdity of ongoing wars in the world justified by religious beliefs (Man Kill Man), anti-capitalism (Money) and the appreciation of life’s blessings (Morning Blessing). The six songs of this ‘Showcase Vol. 2’ are followed by their dub counterparts expertly mixed by Roberto Sánchez himself. In the age of AI, this album takes the opposite direction. It is all about the human touch and the analogue warmth. No trick here, this is 100% real organic roots music!

Max Cooper delivers the latest instalment in the acclaimed fabric presents series, marking a landmark release as the first tracks to be presented in Spatial Audio. Fusing his signature blend of emotive electronica, immersive sound design and club-focused energy, the project captures Max’s ability to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and deeply human storytelling. Featuring exclusive material alongside carefully curated selections, the mix places him alongside previous fabric presents contributors including Daniel Avery, Overmono, Helena Hauff and Mount Kimbie, while pushing the series into new sonic territory.

Leading the accompanying EP is Flecks, a collaboration with LSB that pairs fast drum & bass breaks with Max Cooper’s unmistakable immersive production. Referencing the iconic Hurt You So break, the track fuses old-school jungle influences with a modern, spatial mix, hypnotic synth lines and subtle vocal fragments draw the listener deeper into its expansive soundscape. Also featured is Bredren’s Hash (Max Cooper Remix), a tension-filled drum & bass track built around distorting basslines and constantly evolving movement.

The EP's focus track, AO, sees Max Cooper reunite with Rival Consoles for a more introspective moment. Swapping high-tempo breaks for a slower electronica and house framework, the track unfolds through beautifully detailed percussion, organic rhythmic textures and sweeping synth melodies, culminating in a soaring central passage that showcases the pair's shared gift for emotionally resonant electronic composition.

Released via fabric Records, fabric presents: Max Cooper represents another evolution of the long-running series, a release that is equally at home on immersive listening systems and the dancefloor.