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“Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic”
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Underground (1864)

The Intermittent Signal is the sound of resistance.

In the year since The Sick Man Of Europe’s debut album was released, the world has moved on. Steady hands have slipped from the levers of power, logic has shifted underground and the message grows more urgent with every passing day.

Repetition has been relearned and the machine rhythms repurposed, this time with increased intensity. Arrangements have moved beyond the bare bones economy of the first record and there’s a newfound melodicism in places. Clarity and conviction ring true through the static and noise, while utopian ideas to remodel a broken system gain traction. This is a rejection of the attention economy and a call to reconnect through community and organisation. Those simple acts that were once commonplace have become increasingly radical as new fractures emerge.

“Through repetition the message has gained weight and become something more urgent,” The Sick Man Of Europe explains. “The vehicle for this message needed to evolve, grow to gain the strength to carry it. We’ve landed on something more expansive, immediate and immersive. Less is more. Until it isn't.”

Courant Zéro is the new moniker of Montréal multi-media installation artist and Kohlenstoff label co-founder Maxime Corbeil-Perron, signalling his return to purely recording-based electronic music production following several years focused on award-winning experimental film and audio-visual works. Solari channels his cinematic sensibility and decade-long exploration of sound art and electroacoustic counterpoint into deep cuts of maximalist ambient electronica. Drawing on his early background as a pianist and jazz drummer, Corbeil-Perron weaves a fabric of melodic and rhythmic vectors with his unique timbral palette, intersecting modern composition, IDM, ambient, glitch, and noise on a debut album brimming with sonic detail and emotive resonance. A fixture of Montréal's sound art community as both creator and curator since the early 2010s, Corbeil-Perron's work has ranged from "hypnotic A/V onslaught" (FACT Magazine) to the "richly nuanced acousmatic journey" of his 2018 EP Polychrome (Bandcamp Best Contemporary Classical Of The Month), with earlier electronic and techno-adjacent projects like Political Ritual, Dresden, and Le poisson d'argent garnering accolades from avant-music outlets A Closer Listen, Silence and Sound, and Musicworks, among others. Courant Zéro mobilizes this cumulative wealth of explorative sonic experience in the service of distinctive compositional architectures and electronic music pathways that fans of Floating Points, Jan Jelinek, Squarepusher, Tim Hecker, and Oneohtrix Point Never should find compelling. Title track "Solari" opens the album with a cavernous ambient glitch-drone soundscape that envelops ever-shifting timbres of modular arpeggiation, serving as introduction to the clarion call of "En deçà du réel", an homage to video artist Manon Labrecque, where layers of interweaving melodic counterpoint played on Buchla and other synths slowly build to widescreen immersive intensities; "I have this vision of Labreque vibrating eternally between two frames of magnetic VHS tape_ the slow pace of the piece also inspired by Tarkovsky's approach to scenography" says Corbeil-Perron. "Strange Aorta" is ectoplasmic ambient with wistful melody lines transmuting along a central filament, awash in shifting waves of low-end and ricocheting tonal glitch, the title a reference to "the thumping rhythm beating around the main melody_and the heavy remnants of grief related to my father's passing and a brutal confrontation with my own mortality a few years back." Tracks like "La peau des dents" and "Eroding Us" are more firmly rooted in electroacoustic and aleatory systems music, where colliding loops are shaped into unstable flows of deconstructed slippage and reconvergence. Those two pieces bookend the album's pivotal center: the gorgeous piano digitalia of "Horizon n'arrête" and the skittering electronica of 9-minute opus "Unyeldd", its loping broken beat and cascading melodic glitter like a cluster of wind-up music boxes in a dappled forest _ and for Corbeil- Perron also partly inspired by now fellow Constellation labelmates Do Make Say Think: "I spent a lot of time rediscovering their records after seeing them last September 2024 which definitely influenced this piece." Courant Zéro's debut is a vibrant sonic rebus at the junction of electronic, electroacoustic, noise and ambient music that resists easy categorisation. Solari strikes a compelling balance of unsettled disorientation and hospitable warmth, teeming with real feeling throughout. The album's cover art painting Cryptography I by Yen-Chao Lin represents this prevailing sensibility, its mazelike circuitry distinctly carved and crisply rendered, while filigreed with handmade detail and artisanal patina. Thanks for listening.

Modi Bardo, an alumnus of Moonshine Recordings, is another who on the surface appears to be at the nascent era of their sound experiments, but in truth is a longtime explorer of outer realms of Dub.

There is much to mention here which can be uncovered with the correct keywords, but one of the early bright points would be Spacelings and Bassheads, the Detroit-based Psych duo Modi Bardo was half of, who although seemingly limited in the realms of recorded output (with only a compilation appearance each via the Electro visionaries Interdimensional Transmissions and Booty bass / Techno orientated Intuit-Solar) where in fact not-so-limited in the era in the way of public performance, even performing at the renowned Packard Plant renegades in the 90's with UR on occasion.

Forward to now, and Modi Bardo has created something that reaches for unknown territory in Dub. With an establishing A side that is deep and primordial in tone, a' la Challenger Deep and Babe Roots releases, this proves to be merely a fantastic tone setter for the B side, which seems to find a zone where Dub Techno, Half Time, and Autonomic DnB have not quite gleaned yet. Truly a record unlike any other, while somehow being an invaluable tool for DJ's exploring the links between the aforementioned sounds and even Dancehall and Jungle in the mix.

A must for all those chasing the evolution of dub reflective arts, and the adventurous DJ in general.

The works of Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio, the predecessor of Radiopuhelimet, reissued on vinyl in September Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio—better known as KTMK—was a hardcore punk band from Oulu, founded in the fall of 1983 by guitarist Jarno Mällinen, drummer Jyrki Raatikainen, bassist Pekka Salonsaari, and vocalist Antti Penttilä. The band managed to only play a handful of shows before their first five songs were released in the fall of 1984 on the praised Finnish Hardcore compilation Yalta Hi-Life, released by Barabbas Records. After the 1985 debut album 666, internal conflicts within the band began to drive Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio into a dead end, which was resolved by bringing in Jukka Kangas as the second guitarist. Spurred by this renewed enthusiasm, KTMK recorded a six-song EP titled Seitsemäs pasuuna in early 1986 for Dekadenz’s Fuck label, featuring the underground hits Jeesus oli venäläinen kantoraketti and Boogie-mies. Now reissued for the first time ever, the EP includes five KTMK tracks originally released on the Yalta Hi-Life compilation as bonus material. The band’s final concert took place at Mimmiteekki in Muhos, Finland on March 1st, 1986. Just a few weeks later, Mällinen, Raatikainen, and Kangas formed Radiopuhelimet, who have also played some concerts consisting entirely of KTMK songs during their career. One of these shows took place on February 18th, 2006, at the Vastavirta club in Tampere, Finland and was later released on DVD that same year under the title Radiopuhelimet Plays Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio.

Trá Pháidín are a mutable collective of musicians who are geographically, culturally and mentally torn between Conamara Theas, Cathair Chorcaí, Ciarraí, Uíbh Fhailí, Sligeach and Port Láirge, active in one form or another since 2019. The music they make, which to date has mostly been self-released, is of an ambitious breadth, embracing traditional Irish absurdity, jazz, folk and krautrock influences, whilst remaining tantalisingly beyond any one specific understanding of either the world around them or even themselves. More defined however, is their overall conceptual approach, focusing upon original Gaelic music and what lies beyond simply “conas atá tú?”.

Cloch ‘s Claí (trans. Stone & Wall), their first record to be released by World of Echo, develops their established interests into more adventurous waters (and walls!) than ever. Based on the historical significance embedded into dry-stone walls, the album presents a satirical view of Éire’s relationship with her native tongue and the Gaeltacht (regions where Gaeilge - Irish Gaelic - remains the primary language). Constructed of ten tracks, each representative of a stone in a metaphorical stone-wall, Cloch ‘s Claí draws from styles of improvisation in Irish traditional music, exploring avenues of ornamentation and accompaniment in the tradition. As such, the arrangement changes in every performance, a new stone-wall articulated each time - the recording on this album represents just one such arrangement in one such performance. Inspired by Myles na gCopaleen’s An Béal Bocht, the wall comes to embody a variety of themes scattered across the landscape and psyche of na Gaeltachtaí - tokenism, housing, gentry politics, ribbon developments and so on. The result is a music expressive of regional styles in traditional music, krautrock, free jazz, post-rock, minimalism and drone presented in a way that feels instinctively fluid and reflective of a hushed existentialism from the west of Ireland.

On Cloch ‘s Claí, Trá Pháidín are: Conal Ó hAinmhuighe, Ultan Ó Labhradha, Peadar-Tom Mercier, Micheál Fitzgerald, Pól Ó Lionáird, Ruairí De Búrca. Cloch ‘s Claí will be released digitally and as a limited edition LP on 25th September via World of Echo. This record was created through the support of the DEIS Recording Grant & Ealaín na Gaeltachta.

The word ‘Tystnad’ – literally translated – means silence. In this case, the Silence is less that of zen buddhism or that of John Cage, rather the name of the studio where Flowers Must Die – carriers of the torch of Swedish psychedelia for now nearly 20 years – retreated to make their most head-expanding album to date. Located near the Norwegian border in the verdant rural Värmland region, Silence Studios has been a countercultural hub for decades, attaining a legendary status as a residential outpost where bands can retreat to stretch out creatively and focus their psychic powers.
From just such origins, Flowers Must Die have crafted a collection of expansive and incandescent jams that maps out a lysergic trajectory between the idealistic, anything-goes mania of early ‘70s psychedelia and the 21st century. Tystnad is the sound of a band buoyed by the afterglow of their last Rocket release, 2017’s Kompost and its attendant touring, and expanding into extrapolations that marry the wildest free improv with haunting melody.
If Tystnad, as the band claim, is to be their last recording made in one room at the same time, then it displays a formidable escape velocity. Who’s to say whether Flowers Must Die have tapped into a Swedish continuum, one including the like of Pärson Sound, Dungen or Goat. What’s clear is that Tystnad is a timeless treatise, and a potent channeling of spirits –transcending genre in search of enlightenment anew.

Intentions, the debut of LA-via-Chicago beat maker, composer, and multi-instrumentalist megiapa, is a 40 minute master class in synth-heavy, jazz-informed Neo-soul.

megiapa's lush and emotionally layered album feels less like a collection of songs and more like a living archive of transformation. Across its warm synths, fluttering basslines, meditative voice notes and spiritual grooves, the Los Angeles-based producer, vocalist and composer maps the uncertain terrain between heartbreak, healing, fear, and surrender.

The album's title is genuine.

"The record is literally my intentions," she says. "It's a representation of my intentions, my dreams over the last five years or so."

Those years carried the weight of upheaval: the pandemic, the collapse of a long-term relationship, a move away from Chicago, and the disorientation that follows when the structure of your life suddenly disappears beneath you. But Intentions never sounds defeated. Instead, it radiates the quiet confidence of someone learning to trust herself in real time.

Japanese crossover and fusion are hot again now. As either an outgrowth of, or a spin-off phenomenon from, the global reappraisal of city pop,
Japanese fusion has been rapidly rising since around last year.
This was the second release on AURA, the band’s own label established under Polydor, and their 13th studio album overall.
Because they had continued recording overseas for some time, they chose not to bring in guest musicians for this album, instead settling into their
home base at STUDIO JIVE and creating it solely with the band members.
As a result, the album offers a fresh and lively sound that returns to the group’s roots.
Alongside the live staple "SUPER SONIC MOVEMENT," it is also packed with new attempts, including the Japanese-flavored "Old Times," the technodriven big band-style jazz track "SOLID SWING," and the high-speed Latin funk number "RED ZONE."
This also became the final CASIOPEA album for the duo of Tetsuo Sakurai and Akira Jimbo.

floatist

Welcome to Somewhere Else Entirely – a cinematic road trip to the sea, picking up traces of Indie Folk, Dream Pop and Neo-Soul along the way.

Floatist's debut explores finding connection in uncertain times through playful yet driving grooves, cinematic strings and hazy analogue soundscapes - embracing the unknown with curiosity, courage and joy.

Somewhere Else Entirely brings together twelve tracks that drift between worlds. Gentle, intimate voices tell stories and merge into immersive choirs, floating on airy grooves. The music invites the listener to sink in, get comfortable, roll down the imaginary window and lean their head into the warm rush of air, while sun-drenched maritime landscapes pass by and the salty breeze announces the approaching sea.

For fans of: Helena Deland, Nick Hakim, Puma Blue, Feist, Konradsen, Clairo, Alice Phoebe Lou, Lianne La Havas, Lutalo, Klangstof, Sam Evian, Hannah Cohen, Rosie Lowe

Leeds six piece, Adult DVD, announced their signing to Fat Possum this year, with standalone single ‘Real Tree Lee’, which landed the band on the BBC 6 Music A-List along with ‘Ones To Watch’ attention from the likes of The Rolling Stone, The Line Of Best Fit and more. On September 25th they release their much anticipated debut, self-titled album. Recorded and produced by the band at hometown The Nave Studios, the new album fuses Adult DVD’s love of hook laden indie, with pulsing groove, 90's acid house influence and an undeniable humour in their songwriting. Known for their electric live show, including their recent sold out London residency plus debut USA and Japan tours, Adult DVD is a festival favourite; hailed ‘Best Of SXSW’ (Rolling Stone), 'Best Of The Great Escape' (The Sunday Times, DIY and Dork). The band are continuously on the road with routing booked through to 2027, across UK/EU/US/JP.

In 2024, Audrey Powne emerged as a compelling new voice in contemporary jazz with the release of her acclaimed debut album From the Fire; a self-produced and self-composed work celebrated for its lush string arrangements, soaring trumpet performances, and emotionally rich songwriting. Now, two years later, Powne returns with Bodies of Water, a bold and deeply introspective follow-up that continues her elemental exploration: from fire to water. An exploration of what it means to exist alongside others in an increasingly unstable world, Bodies of Water reflects on vulnerability, responsibility, and human interconnectedness. The album’s title and conceptual foundation were inspired by a passage from Caleb Azumah Nelson’s novel Small Worlds: “...to make himself a body, like water, a still surface, but beneath this, a ripple, and beneath this, an ebbing tide, and beneath that, a violent, constant tow…” Throughout the record, lyrics ruminate on the idea that like all bodies of water, we are vulnerable to disruption and catastrophe. Unlike inanimate bodies of water, however, we are conscious participants in both the damage and the repair. That tension between what we are made of and what we are responsible for became a grounding and harmonious thought. This album is a meditation on that idea, both in my personal life and in a broader, collective sense. Swollen, Broken Record, and Karma, reflect on moments of cruelty and error including her own that felt unbearable. Viewing them instead as forces moving through the landscape of a life, violent but temporary to survive their immediate impact. More socially conscious tracks Stay Awake, Creeds, RYV, and Two Sides confront frustration with political polarisation and the emptiness of language unaccompanied by action. The title and final track Bodies of Water brings these ideas together, reimagining both personal and societal upheaval as events shaped by bodies of water moving through the world destructive at times, transformative at others, and always in motion. Blending traditional jazz with Afrobeat rhythms, Dilla-inspired grooves, ambient textures, and expansive arrangements, Bodies of Water reveals the breadth of Powne’s artistic vision. The record moves fluidly between spiritual jazz, warped soul and rhythm-driven experimentation, while layered interludes and meticulous production thread its disparate influences into a unified and immersive sonic world.

A Flower to Water, the staggering new album from Greek Progressive-Post Metal outfit Playgrounded, finds the five-piece pushing their boundaries even further; welcoming the unquantifiable depths of loss, grief and finitude into their meticulous, fractal process as friends in defiance of neglect. Hailing from Athens, Greece but predominantly based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Playgrounded have never ceased to push the envelope of Post Metal with genre-defying contemporary electronic and cinematic neo-classical elements since the band's inception almost two decades ago. A Flower to Water is Playgrounded's third full-length offering and sees the band thriving in their creative relationship with Pelagic Records. Recorded and produced by the band across multiple studios back home in Athens and Rotterdam, Playgrounded enlisted the help of longtime collaborators C. Cederberg (Leprous, Anathema) who mixed the album at Cederberg Studios in Kristiansand, Norway and George Tandero (Madrugada, Satyricon, Jaga Jazzist) who mastered it in Oslo. A profound sense of patience is keenly felt throughout the album. The deliberate spaces between each hammerblow guitar riff, pulsing bass line or hypnotic drum groove; each heavy, breathless pause and fizzing glitchy whisper all tell of unspoken loss and absence as an indelible part of A Flower to Water and indeed of Playgrounded forever more. In marking this absence however, in embracing loss head on, Playgrounded reify memory in defiance of neglect. By extracting such a colossal, breathtaking piece of work from a seemingly unassuming collection of sounds, clips and sonics; the quintet slow time to a standstill to present grief in bloom; a beautiful, perpetual flower with its roots in loved ones lost. FOR FANS OF Karnivool, Katatonia, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Moderat, The Ocean, Vola, Leprous, Skyharbor, Anathema

A Flower to Water, the staggering new album from Greek Progressive-Post Metal outfit Playgrounded, finds the five-piece pushing their boundaries even further; welcoming the unquantifiable depths of loss, grief and finitude into their meticulous, fractal process as friends in defiance of neglect. Hailing from Athens, Greece but predominantly based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Playgrounded have never ceased to push the envelope of Post Metal with genre-defying contemporary electronic and cinematic neo-classical elements since the band's inception almost two decades ago. A Flower to Water is Playgrounded's third full-length offering and sees the band thriving in their creative relationship with Pelagic Records. Recorded and produced by the band across multiple studios back home in Athens and Rotterdam, Playgrounded enlisted the help of longtime collaborators C. Cederberg (Leprous, Anathema) who mixed the album at Cederberg Studios in Kristiansand, Norway and George Tandero (Madrugada, Satyricon, Jaga Jazzist) who mastered it in Oslo. A profound sense of patience is keenly felt throughout the album. The deliberate spaces between each hammerblow guitar riff, pulsing bass line or hypnotic drum groove; each heavy, breathless pause and fizzing glitchy whisper all tell of unspoken loss and absence as an indelible part of A Flower to Water and indeed of Playgrounded forever more. In marking this absence however, in embracing loss head on, Playgrounded reify memory in defiance of neglect. By extracting such a colossal, breathtaking piece of work from a seemingly unassuming collection of sounds, clips and sonics; the quintet slow time to a standstill to present grief in bloom; a beautiful, perpetual flower with its roots in loved ones lost. FOR FANS OF Karnivool, Katatonia, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Moderat, The Ocean, Vola, Leprous, Skyharbor, Anathema

Released 50 years on from the bands' formation, the forthcoming Psycho Tornado features 10 blistering new tracks recorded in 2025. Psycho Tornado will be unleashed on coloured vinyl and CD, and will rumble into your home in September 2026. The Rezillos are a new wave/ punk band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976. Known for their colourful, retro-futuristic style and playful attitude, they stood out from the darker punk acts of the time. Their music blended fast punk rhythms with pop melodies, sci- fi themes and a sense of humor. Their debut album, Can't Stand The Rezillos (1978) is considered a classic of the era. The band initially split in 1978 and with some members going on to form The Revillos, with a similar name and sound. But The Rezillos later reunited in 2001 and continue to perform live, maintaining a cult following for their energetic performances and distinctive style.

Released 50 years on from the bands' formation, the forthcoming Psycho Tornado features 10 blistering new tracks recorded in 2025. Psycho Tornado will be unleashed on coloured vinyl and CD, and will rumble into your home in September 2026. The Rezillos are a new wave/ punk band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1976. Known for their colourful, retro-futuristic style and playful attitude, they stood out from the darker punk acts of the time. Their music blended fast punk rhythms with pop melodies, sci- fi themes and a sense of humor. Their debut album, Can't Stand The Rezillos (1978) is considered a classic of the era. The band initially split in 1978 and with some members going on to form The Revillos, with a similar name and sound. But The Rezillos later reunited in 2001 and continue to perform live, maintaining a cult following for their energetic performances and distinctive style.

Three years after their debut, the synth-pop duo HERON is back: On September 25, the Leipzig-based band’s second album will be released on the O*RS Label. With “Be Okay,” the band shows itself to be more experimental than before and strikes a critical note—without losing its signature sound. Dancefloor euphoria meets synthwave drama; big sounds meet big themes: social criticism, sexual oppression, the struggle with one’s own demons, and moments of political powerlessness. But the album is also shaped by a courage to embrace tenderness and a commitment to longing—all underscored by a melancholy that you can dance to. With a playful spirit, the duo fully explores the space between anthemic pop and darkwave moments, thereby revealing their inner selves (even more) to the outside world

'La Proyección' is the debut LP by Jose María Lluch, featuring 11 compositions developed between 2015 and 2024. Recorded and assembled in his home studio, the album combines fingerpicked guitar, field recordings, tape manipulation, and ethereal soundscapes into a deeply personal listening experience. A reflection on memory, imperfection, and the freedom to create without external expectations. 'La Proyección', the debut LP by Jose María Lluch, an architect and musician from San Sebastián, emerges as a transition-a gradual shift that unfolded over time. Intimate and innocent, disconnected and erratic at times, the 11 compositions presented here are drawn from recordings spanning nine years, between 2015 and 2024. Humbly assembled in his home studio, the music invites listeners to let their minds drift as the processes of composition, recording, and editing intertwine. Field recordings from everyday life, fingerpicked guitar, soothing harmonics, tape manipulation, and ethereal soundscapes are combined with a naïve openness. The album reveals the joy found in imperfection. Rarely do we have the chance to glimpse someone's work in its most unguarded form, without a specific context, after years spent making music simply as a way to break away-not for anyone else, but for oneself. The songs on 'La Proyección' reveal that very essence, shaped by a shared memory.

Meg Lui is a Northern California-born singer-songwriter, based in the Hudson Valley since 2015. In her songs, vivid lyrics and poignant melodies intertwine with a voice that feels both intimate and lasting. Through reflections on love, resilience, and the human experience, she offers listeners a window into her world.


A Californian by birth, Boston-educated at Berklee College of Music, musically raised in Brooklyn, and now settled in the Catskills, Meg has released music under the names M. Lui, Grover, and as part of the trio Ember Isles.
Her influences-ranging from Freddie Mercury, The
Cranberries, No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, and Bonnie Raitt-reflect her love for artists whose fearless individuality continues to shape her dynamic songwriting and performance.


Over the past two years, Meg has lent her voice to records including Sufjan Stevens' Javelin (2023), Sam Evian's Plunge, Denison Witmer's Anything At All, John Legend's My Favorite Dream, Keenan O'Meara's forthcoming record Bathe In The Everlasting Light, and Liam Kazar's Pilot Light. She performs regularly with Keenan O'Meara and Hannah Cohen and occasionally when the stars align, with the Hudson Valley country band Critter Bonus.

The legendary Christian metal pioneers Stryper return with a commanding new chapter in their storied career: Throne Of Thorns, set for release this September via Frontiers Records. Decades into their journey, Stryper continue to reaffirm their status as one of the most influential and enduring bands in classic metal, seamlessly blending their signature message with a sound that remains as powerful and relevant as ever. Throne Of Thorns showcases the band at the height of their creative powers, delivering a masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. The album is packed with grand, meticulously crafted arrangements, where thunderous rhythms, soaring guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses come together in a style that is unmistakably Stryper. Each track is infused with both intensity and melody, capturing the essence of classic metal while pushing their sound forward with renewed energy and purpose. At the forefront stands the unmistakable voice of Michael Sweet, whose passionate, powerful, and instantly recognizable delivery continues to define the band’s identity. His vocal performance on Throne Of Thorns is nothing short of extraordinary, effortlessly moving between soaring highs and emotive depth, adding a timeless quality to every song. With Throne Of Thorns, Stryper not only honor their legacy but expand upon it, offering an album that will resonate with longtime fans and newcomers alike. It’s a bold, inspired statement from a band that refuses to stand still—proof that true metal greatness only grows stronger with time.

The legendary Christian metal pioneers Stryper return with a commanding new chapter in their storied career: Throne Of Thorns, set for release this September via Frontiers Records. Decades into their journey, Stryper continue to reaffirm their status as one of the most influential and enduring bands in classic metal, seamlessly blending their signature message with a sound that remains as powerful and relevant as ever. Throne Of Thorns showcases the band at the height of their creative powers, delivering a masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. The album is packed with grand, meticulously crafted arrangements, where thunderous rhythms, soaring guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses come together in a style that is unmistakably Stryper. Each track is infused with both intensity and melody, capturing the essence of classic metal while pushing their sound forward with renewed energy and purpose. At the forefront stands the unmistakable voice of Michael Sweet, whose passionate, powerful, and instantly recognizable delivery continues to define the band’s identity. His vocal performance on Throne Of Thorns is nothing short of extraordinary, effortlessly moving between soaring highs and emotive depth, adding a timeless quality to every song. With Throne Of Thorns, Stryper not only honor their legacy but expand upon it, offering an album that will resonate with longtime fans and newcomers alike. It’s a bold, inspired statement from a band that refuses to stand still—proof that true metal greatness only grows stronger with time.

Japanese crossover and fusion are hot again now. As either an outgrowth of, or a spin-off phenomenon from, the global reappraisal
of city pop, Japanese fusion has been rapidly rising since around last year.
This is the 1978 debut album by Carioca, one of Japan’s leading Brazilian fusion units of the 1970s and 1980s.
The group began as the backing band for Kiyoshi Hasegawa, and on this debut release they used the name "Samba Calioca." True to that
band name, they were quite unusual at the time for presenting samba and bossa nova with a resort-flavored sound, and they also
produced specialists such as drummer Antonio Ishida and guitarist Masami Sato. This highly club-popular first album also features a
diverse lineup of guest musicians including Masayoshi Takanaka, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami, and Shigeharu Mukai.

World-famous pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto’s second East Wind release, "Life," appears in the lineup for "Spin This Now!" Vol. 9. Backed by a golden rhythm section with Sam Jones on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, Yamamoto delivers a supremely swinging performance. His delicate ballad playing on "If You Could See Me Now" is also essential listening.

East Wind was a groundbreaking jazz label established in 1974 through the full cooperation of Ai Music, as it was then known, and Nippon Phonogram, as it was then known. Over a period of about five years, the label produced albums not only by Japanese musicians such as Masabumi Kikuchi, Sadao Watanabe, and Terumasa Hino, but also by musicians who were engaged in creative activity on the global jazz scene at the time. In addition to the quality of the performances, the artwork, created with leading designers and photographers, brought a fresh new image to jazz albums and had a major influence on later record production.

2026 RE-Release
Beat machine freak duo Bill Converse and Patricia (Max Ravitz) present 380/750, a new EP on Acid Test that blends the two producers’ singular styles to form an emotive “introspection on the dance floor” experience over the course of 4 tracks.

Recorded at Ravitz’s Brooklyn studio over the course of two days, 380/750 features raw, no-multitrack, no-edit live recordings that showcase the duo’s intuition for expressive rhythm tracks. Considering Converse’s roots in the 90’s Michigan rave scene, and Ravitz’s Chicago upbringing, the midwestern strains really shine through. With rhythm-composer mutations, acid dripping over atmospheric synth textures, and the ever-present jack throughout, 380/750 offers a deep sound to get lost in that feels both new and classic at the same time.

40th Anniversary Splattered Vinyl LP EditionA milestone release in German hardcore punk. Alongside bands such as Hostages of Ayatollah, Skeezicks, and Challenger Crew, they were at the forefront of the scene at the time. Punk as fuck: fast, furious, packed with relentless energy, highly inventive, and something entirely new for Europe. The lyrics were not always overtly political, but often carried the trademark tongue-in-cheek humor of American rogue Lee Hollis. The album also features the anthem "My God Rides a Skateboard", a slogan that seemed to be spray-painted on every halfpipe back in the day.

L’Eclisse is the third studio album by Garden City Movement. Drawing from psychedelia, alternative R&B, leftfield electronic music and lo-fi indie songcraft, the album weaves together guitars, synthesizers, layered vocal arrangements and groove driven rhythms into a richly detailed collection of songs. Bringing together different facets of the band's sound into a cohesive body of work, the album reflects a decade of musical exploration while further developing Garden City Movement's distinctive musical language.

Garden City Movement are the duo of Roy Avital and Johnny Sharoni. Over the past decade, they have built an international audience through a distinctive blend of dream pop, electronic music and immersive production. Their releases have received support from Pitchfork, The FADER, Clash, Stereogum and KCRW, while their music has appeared in FIFA 22 and major television productions. Alongside extensive international touring, the band has performed at festivals including Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Pukkelpop and Lollapalooza India, and shared stages with artists such as Alt J, RÜFÜS DU SOL, SOHN and Cults.

A classic album recorded in 1976, featuring a superb lineup including Sam Jones, Kazumi Watanabe, and Fumio Karashima, with expansive cello solos. Highlights include an exhilarating duo number with the seasoned bassist Sam Jones, as well as Kazumi Watanabe’s hip guitar solos throughout.



East Wind was a groundbreaking jazz label established in 1974 through the full cooperation of Ai Music, as it was then known, and Nippon Phonogram, as it was then known. Over a period of about five years, the label produced albums not only by Japanese musicians such as Masabumi Kikuchi, Sadao Watanabe, and Terumasa Hino, but also by musicians who were engaged in creative activity on the global jazz scene at the time. In addition to the quality of the performances, the artwork, created with leading designers and photographers, brought a fresh new image to jazz albums and had a major influence on later record production.

Kosuke Mine’s electric album, with a strong rock and funk flavor, is set for reissue as part of "Spin This Now!" Vol. 9. This classic album shines with the outstanding combination of Mine’s saxophone with a wah-wah pedal and Mikio Masuda’s psychedelic keyboards.

East Wind was a groundbreaking jazz label established in 1974 through the full cooperation of Ai Music, as it was then known, and Nippon Phonogram, as it was then known. Over a period of about five years, the label produced albums not only by Japanese musicians such as Masabumi Kikuchi, Sadao Watanabe, and Terumasa Hino, but also by musicians who were engaged in creative activity on the global jazz scene at the time. In addition to the quality of the performances, the artwork, created with leading designers and photographers, brought a fresh new image to jazz albums and had a major influence on later record production.

Bonding over a shared love of soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop, rapper Essa and producer / multi-instrumentalist J-Felix assembled a dream-team of top notch vocalists and players for this collective effort.



The result? Driving beats, poignant bars, soulful hooks and stirring brass.



The collective includes vocalists Avijè, Vanya Lyma, Marshall Mandiangu and Jerry Clavier, with Jack Kendon on horns and a guest appearance from your favourite drummer’s favourite drummer, Richard Spaven.



With his customary wit and masterful flow, Essa speaks on finding truth, confronting ego, eloping to the tropics and breaking generational curses. The esteemed lyricist was a key figure in UK Hip-Hop’s heralded “golden era”, alongside contemporaries and collaborators Jehst, Klashnekoff and TY, performing and recording with such luminaries as De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch, winning praise from Nas and Mark Ronson.



J-Felix’s rich production takes in neo-soul, UK Jazz, boogie and hip-hop. His signature “J-Funk” style evokes classic samples but with all-original playing from the versatile multi- instrumentalist, who has worked with Swindle, Kojey Radical, Mahalia and Alice Russell.



The Fifth Foundation’s explosive live experience ranges from a versatile MC/DJ set-up to a full live band, with horns and multiple vocalists, mixing originals from this bold debut with inspiration from timeless soul, jazz, funk and rap classics.

“Music for me, is rarely complete,” says GODFLESH mastermind Justin Broadrick, “but it has to reach a point where enough is enough. Creatively, there has to be self-discipline. One has to end it.” Broadrick is primarily referring to the nebulous process of writing and arranging songs into their various potential shapes, but he could just as easily be describing GODFLESH’s imminent conclusion. Just three years after the hypnotic crunch of Purge, 25 years after an uncertain hiatus that nearly scuttled the band, and 38 years since GODFLESH’s inception, Broadrick and bassist-at-arms Ben Green set out to mercilessly crush this cold world with their tenth and penultimate album, this year’s Decay. “Decay was born from the same sessions as Purge,” Broadrick declares of the new record’s six tracks. “It was one huge pool of songs. I picked what I felt was appropriate for what I wanted to achieve with Purge, with the intention of releasing the songs that didn't fit as a new album within a year of Purge being released. Unfortunately, two years passed whilst considering external labels, so that I didn't have to self-release GODFLESH anymore, but it took an awful lot of time to establish a comfortable home for me. The recordings were done, but as usual for me, I did change a lot of stuff once I came back to it.” Now, GODFLESH is ready to unleash an even bolder, bleaker series of sounds in Decay. These songs arrive shortly after Broadrick released a public statement about major abdominal surgery he underwent earlier this year.

It was a hot day in the Polish summer, over 750,000 fans had crammed their way into the Czaplinek-Broczyno Airfield for the 2025 Pol’and’Rock Festival, a storied tradition for over 30 years. The Duke of Spook WEDNESDAY 13, hot off his smash hit album Mid Death Crisis (lauded by Metal Hammer, Loudwire, Blabbermouth, and more), took the stage and proceeded to decimate onlookers with a career spanning set of both WEDNESDAY 13 and Murderdolls hits. Thankfully, for us all, they had the soundboard tapped, and now that explosive performance will live on forever as UnAlive at Pol’and’Rock 2025, dropping September 25, 2026 via Napalm Records. A bloody good time from beginning to end, certified for high speeds and ghoulish splendor.

Reckoning is a dense, carefully nuanced, profoundly complex text, though all nine songs are presented as directly as possible: Mary's voice, her guitar, bits of harmonica. Folk music, of a kind, but not a broadside. Nothing so easy as that. Topical songs with a long view, because she's seen and lived too much of it. Mary's most celebrated songs — “I Drink,” “Mercy Now,” “Drag Queens in Limousines” — are confessional stories, closely observed, clear-eyed and compassionate. She sings with the unmistakable languor of her native Louisiana, writes with the bluntness of Boston, where she was once a successful restauranteur, and rewrites with the fierce precision of Nashville, her home for many years. Her 2018 release, Rifles & Rosary Beads, co-written with wounded Iraq war veterans, received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album, and an Americana Music Association nomination for Album of the Year. During Covid she wrote and saw published (by MacMillan) Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting, part memoir, part reflection on songwriting, through the lens of her most impactful songs. “A reckoning,” Mary Gauthier writes on the outer sleeve to her newest album, “can be personal, political, or spiritual. These songs inhabit all three realms at once.”

A queer Black musician and daughter of Nigerian immigrants, Oladokun has become a vital cultural voice, writing songs that explore identity, faith, mental health, and social justice with honesty and restraint. Since her 2020 breakthrough, she has released two critically acclaimed albums, earned a finalist nod for Americana Artist of the Year, and saw her protest anthem "iseeamerica" named a finalist for the Recording Academy's Special Merit Award for Best Song for Social Change. Praised by The New York Times and Billboard for her ability to turn quiet introspectioninto lasting impact, Joy Oladokun has brought her music to national television on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning, and Austin City Limits, while her songs have been featured across major TV series. With collaborations spanning artists like Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, and Maxo Kream, she is entering her next chapter by bringing an even broader, bolder sound to the table, continuing to prove herself as an artist who not only bends genre but bridges culture.

„Take Me Back / Live from the Gorge“ ist ein bahnbrechendes Live-Album, das 2025 während des jährlichen Labor-Day-Wochenendes der Band im Gorge Amphitheater in Washington aufgenommen wurde. An diesem Wochenende spielte DMB zum ersten Mal das Album „Before These Crowded Streets“ in voller Länge live. Weitere Songs sind: Dylans „All Along The Watchtower“, „You Never Know“ und „It Could Happen“. Béla Fleck (der auf „Before These Crowded Streets“ als Gastmusiker mitwirkte) begleitet die Band bei „Last Stop“ und „Don’t Drink the Water“.

Hailing from Providencia, Colombia (Old Providence Island), Henner, Derrick, Luis, Feliciano and Senen are the Black Diamonds; a band that seamlessly blends the irresistible grooves of reggae with the infectious rhythms of calypso, creating a sound that is both timeless and refreshingly original.

For years, Black Diamonds have been synonymous with the laid-back, soulful reggae sound of Old Providence Island, crafting songs that reflect the Caribbean's easy rhythms and rich cultural heritage. Their debut release, however, takes an unexpected—and thoroughly enjoyable—detour into upbeat calypso, proving that the band is more than capable of stepping outside its comfort zone.

"De Seh Seh" (gossip.. chat and talk to much about the others in Creole) also features a remix by Venezuelan producer and multi-instrumentalist Caribombo, who transforms the song into a dancefloor-ready journey, blending electronic textures with soukous-inspired Afro-house rhythms for a bold, cross-Caribbean reinterpretation.

Release description Chesster lands on Rutilance Recordings with a four-track EP rooted in classic deep house. Blending old-school influences with a modern touch, the project captures the essence of his sound: groove-led, warm, and true to its foundations. Originally from Italy and now based in Los Angeles, Chesster has been building strong momentum across the global house scene, with a run of standout releases and defining moments over the past year. This EP marks an important step in that journey - not only as his first on the label, but also as a more personal statement. After a run of highenergy, peak-time records, the project sees him step into a deeper, more refined lane. The EP also features a special contribution from Rutilance boss DJ Steaw, adding an extra layer of character and tying it closely to the label’s identity.

Iker is back with "Sinkronia". A gripping takes on Eastern and Western minimalist traditions influenced by the likes of Steve Reich, Suso Saiz or Midori Takada. Transcendental and esoteric rhythmic wonders that take time to unfold. A young percussionist and guitar player with electronic interests displaying a rich sonority and a great sense of structure and arrangements. This record shows the refinement of Iker's attributes, who initially worked in the noise/punk scene and now is part of the local Free Jazz/Improv landscape of San Sebastian, although he currently lives in New York where he has been playing several gigs including a rendition of Glenn Branca's Symphony No.13 at Lincoln center with 100 guitarists. For this new album he uses Xylophone, hand drums, electric guitar, synths and percussion instruments that guide us in an energetic way to territories somewhere between Italian avant-garde, Japanese New Age and American Minimalism. Iker Munduate Thusberg is a Basque multi-instrumentalist born and raised in San Sebastian and with strong ties to Mikkeli in Finland, where half of his family are from. A fine arts student at Bilbao's UPV (Basque university), his interest in sound, art and design has led him to combine all these different disciplines and convey them into his music and his work. "Iker Munduate is an artist and musician who brings a delicate sense of composition and design_ Inspired in part by new age music, Its rippling melodies and frictionless glide recall the futuristic utopias of Detroit Escalator Company and the interior reverie of Nobukazu Takemura (Derek Walmsley, The Wire Dec'24)"

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.

Abramelin’s self-titled 1995 debut is a landmark in the Australian Death Metal scene, featuring some of the heaviest riffs ever recorded Down Under and deranged lyrics brimming with unbridled brutality and violence! Australian Death Metal for the most part has been really solid. Abramelin does nothing to deter from that thought and “Abramelin” is known by many death metal fans as a classic. These Aussies laid forth a chunk of brutal death metal in 1995. Around that time, the established sound of the Florida scene and even in other areas such as Sweden had begun to morph into something else as bands attempted to prevent stagnation. One such new avenue of creativity was to simply get heavier, louder, and more punishing, and by those standards Abramelin’s self-titled debut delivers on every level. Now available again on CD and vinyl, this long overdue re-issue brings back a true underground classic from one of Australia’s most overlooked Death Metal bands.

A side is "Drumfetish" a ZMK 01 hit combo... The music is exactly at the inbetween Hardtek and Hardcore... And also it's a super cut-off/bring-it-in crossfader tune for actives deejays ! Eenjoy the different ways to spin it... Or with Drum & Bass or with Hardcore !

The flip is "Refuse To Believe", it brings a very mystical or nostalgic, or new wave feeling, using flangers and Transcore tricks... I always felt it was an node to the IST productions.

At a time Stefan ZMK was making lots of music for our scene, and ZMK was one of my favorite crew on vinyl. I am really proud he accepted to make a vinyl with us. Nowadays he is one of my favorite mastering studio...
So I asked him if he could re-master his own music ?

Here's the result : one track per side, playing 45 RPM (wich is cool because at 33 it's a bloody weapon too).

We all definitely hope you'll enjoy this new mastering & cut as we do !

Mastering : Stefan ZMK
Cut by : Simon Davey
Visuel : Vstee FDB
Pressing : Record Industry
Distro : Toolbox Records