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Sunny War, also known as Sydney Ward, found inspiration for her latest album Armageddon In A Summer Dress while living in her late father's 100-year-old house in Chattanooga, TN. She initially thought the house was haunted. Eerie sounds and visions led her to write the song "Ghosts." However, she later discovered that hallucinations were caused by gas leaks, shifting her understanding of those experiences but not her artistic focus. Armageddon In A Summer Dress explores themes of memory, loss, and the ghosts of past selves. After the success of her 2022 album, Anarchist Gospel, Sunny spent more time touring with artists like Bonnie Raitt and Mitski. To avoid falling back into past struggles with alcohol, she channeled her energy into music, crafting intricate demos and experimenting with sound. This process involved shifting from acoustic to electric guitar, aiming for a fuller band sound. Tracks like "One Way Train" and "No One Calls Me Baby" highlight her blend of punk and roots influences, emphasizing the rebellious spirit shared by both genres. A notable collaboration on the album is with Steve Ignorant from Crass, whose participation in "Walking Contradiction" reflects Sunny's admiration for the band and its critique of modern society. Armageddon in a Summer Dress serves as a reflection on identity and choices, balancing heavy themes with empowerment. Sunny War encourages listeners to live authentically and resist societal pressures. Committed to continual growth, she sees every performance and song as an opportunity for exploration. Through her music, Sunny War captures the complexities of life, loss, and the transformative power of creativity.

Anxious’ second album Bambi arrives this winter on Run For Cover Records. It’s been a whirlwind few years for the Fairfield, Connecticut five-piece – since the release of their debut album Little Green House, there’s been little time for anything other than consistent touring with bands like Hot Mulligan, One Step Closer and The Wonder Years. Somewhere during that endless grind, vocalist Grady Allen was sitting in a hotel room and stumbled upon a name typed into a long-forgotten memo on his phone: Bambi. “We should have named the band Bambi,” he recalls admitting to his bandmates. Bambi stuck with the band after that night and eventually it evolved from a “what-if” into the name of Anxious’ second full-length album.

Bambi is a record of remarkable growth, depth, ambition, and energy. It takes all the unsolvable and unavoidable problems of exiting adolescence and makes them resonate in urgent and authentic new ways. The album has deep roots in the storied lineage of Northeast tri-state hardcore and emo, but it also fully embraces the widescreen alternative rock songwriting at which Anxious have previously only hinted. It’s a statement of purpose, the kind of album that comes from a band reconciling where they’ve been with where they want to go. Bambi is the sound of Anxious putting everything on the line–and coming out on the other side better than ever.

Inspired by “big swing” records like Blink-182’s self-titled or Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity, Anxious set out to redefine the band without losing sight of what made them work in the first place. Tracks like “Head & Spine,” “Sunder,” and “Tell Me Why” showcase the scope of Anxious’ evolution, tapping crunchy ‘90s rock guitarwork, layered ‘60s-esque harmonies, and crisp, modern production that captures the unrivaled energy of seeing the band play live.

This heavy roots reggae cut comes courtesy of The Viceroys, legendary harmony group from the stables of the world renowned studio 1. First recording for the venerable Mr Dodd in 1967 The Viceroys were instrumental in moving the sound from rocksteady to reggae with early hits like “Ya Ho” and “Love & Unity” .

The A side of this weighty 45 is a revisited vocal from the early days of the group, a haunting, smokey rendition of Maga Down. Drawing musical influence from Ethiopian and Cuban music as well as its obvious early reggae basis this record sounds fresh whilst simultaneously transporting you back to the golden era with its warm nostalgic themes.

The flip side is an ethereal dub mix from the Bristol based Yakka, an almost psychedelic journey into the mixing board bringing out the best of the vintage sound pellet.

This is the third release from Bristol label Poor Man's Friend Records, produced in the Poor Man's Friend studio and voiced in Jamaica only 300 copies of this smoked out ode to the golden era are available for purchase.

Linea Aspera is the London duo of Ryan Ambridge (Synths/Programming) and Alison Lewis (Vocals/Synths). They began the project in November 2011, technically drawing inspiration from electronic music from the early 1980s. Within the duo, Alison writes and performs all vocal elements, while Ryan is responsible for the writing and performing of the electronics, as well as recording and mixing of the final recordings. For their debut album they utilized small, simple analog synthesizer set up: Roland SH-09, Roland Juno 6, Vermona DRM MKiii, Korg Poly 800 and Analogue Solutions Semblance. Linea Aspera's sound includes clear influences from early electronic body music, classic synth-pop and, in some instances, industrial and noise. Lyrically the band incorporates the sciences of osteology, neuroscience, and anthropology weaving a new medical language around themes of desire, despair and renewal. Linea Aspera serve up an icebox of dark doom riding on Alison's powerful vocals with a soft but sharp touch.

"Girl Missing" ist das zweite Album von Albertine Sarges, der einzigartigen Berliner Künstlerin, die bereits mit Holly Herndon, Colin Self, Kat Frankie und B O D I E S zusammengearbeitet hat und Teil des italienischen Synthwave-Duos Ostia ist, und folgt auf Albertines gefeiertes Debüt von 2021, "The Sticky Fingers". "Girl Missing" lädt die Zuhörer zu einer intimen Erkundung der Schwesternschaft, der Widerstandsfähigkeit und der Überwindung von Trauer ein und geht dabei mit einer großen Portion Positivität und Ermutigung für das hervor, was vor uns liegt. Die Entstehung des Albums fand in einer Zeit persönlichen Verlusts statt. Als eine enge Freundin vermisst wurde, schrieb Albertine unveröffentlichte Skizzen, überarbeitete sie und baute langsam ein musikalisches Mosaik auf, das ihr Verständnis von Abwesenheit zum Ausdruck brachte. "Ich habe eine klingende Biografie der Liebe geschaffen", überlegt sie und verwebt dabei die Themen weiblicher Freundschaft. "Girl Missing" entstand zwischen ihrem Aufnahmestudio in Ostberlin und Margate und ist sowohl nachdenklich als auch verspielt, geprägt von Sarges' flinker Stimmakrobatik. Mit ihrem langjährigen Partner Lo Selbo beschäftigte sich Albertine mit komplizierten Klanglandschaften, arrangierte luftige Flötenstimmen und Chöre, "um Platz für Verletzlichkeit zu schaffen", und nahm dann Vintage-Orgeln und E-Pianos auf, um Wärme und Seelenfülle zu erzeugen, "um den Schmerz zu lindern". Albertines Arbeit wird von einem anhaltenden Gefühl der Sehnsucht angetrieben, einer Kraft, die ihrer Musik poetische Lebendigkeit und eine ansteckende Anziehungskraft verleiht. "Girl Missing" oszilliert zwischen dem Philosophischen und dem zutiefst Emotionalen und vermischt Launen mit Schatten. Das Album endet mit einer verspielten Note ("Wie nennt man einen Fisch ohne i? A fsh."), doch im Kern erzählt es eine lebendige, zutiefst menschliche Geschichte über monumentalen Verlust und die Hoffnung auf Erneuerung. Durch das Nebeneinander scheinbar widersprüchlicher Gefühle entsteht ein Hörerlebnis, das noch lange nachklingt, nachdem die Musik verklungen ist.

"You Are Stronger Than You Think" belegt eine Intensivierung und Reife des Bradford-Sounds und ihrer Präsenz. Starke Themen tauchen in gefühlvoller Musik auf und sorgen für ein reichhaltiges und lohnendes Hörerlebnis. Es ist das vierte Album der britischen Indie-Pop-Band aus Blackburn, Lancashire.

Two records came out in 1988 that forever changed the perception of "experimental" or "serious" music produced in Portugal. These were "Plux Quba" by Nuno Canavarro and "Música de Baixa Fidelidade" by Tózé (António) Ferreira. Both were released by the same label - Ama Romanta -, an influential independent imprint closely linked to avantgarde pop band Pop Dell'Arte. Because those records appeared in what could be perceived as an "alternative pop" framework, they rescued this difficult music from Academia. It helps that Canavarro played in a successful new wave pop band (Street Kids) during the period 1980-83. By association, being a friend since 1976, António was in close contact with many of the musicians and bands that were part of the equally celebrated and detested Portuguese Rock Boom (roughly 79-82).

He was not a musician then but through his friendship with Canavarro, who had the means to acquire electronic equipment, António became involved with that equipment and shared Canavarro's passion for experimentation and curiosity for knowledge. They tried to get hold of as many technical magazines as possible and learn while testing ideas. In 1983, Street Kids were about to break up, young lives drafted into the Army and maybe, in Canavarro's case, a whole new passion for challenging music similar to his bandmate Nuno Rebelo, by then in the process of discovering a wide range of "other" music mainly through Jorge Lima Barreto. Barreto, who had started Telectu with Vítor Rua, possessed a huge book and record collection and, like Rua before them, Canavarro, Rebelo and Ferreira became fascinated by the pool of knowledge they now had access to by frequenting Barreto's house in Lisbon. He was roughly a decade older, had published several books and other writings throughout the 1970s, cultivated an anarchic stance and a penchant for cultural indoctrination. Rebelo was the first to be introduced via his contact with Rua (who had invited him to play in his other band GNR).

Overwhelmed, he felt the need to share his enthusiasm with friends and eventually took a few to the house in true pilgrimage fashion. To see the Light. Among the few he led there was even João Peste, founder of Ama Romanta. Canavarro and Ferreira preceded him.

Ferreira recalls an exciting learning process added to his experiments with Canavarro's array of synths such as the Korg Ms 20, Korg polysix, ARP Axxe, Roland SH-01, the Ensoniq Mirage sampler... He read in a magazine article about someone who had studied at the Institute of Sonology (then in Utrecht, Netherlands) and went there during a vacation trip in the Summer of 1983. He became excited by the prospect of studying at the Institute but money was a problem. Canavarro, on the other hand, was admitted there in the following year. Back in Portugal, Ferreira eventually abandoned his Chemical Engineering studies in Lisbon's Technical Institute in favour of a more focused music practice. He collaborated with Telectu during 1984 and 85 as a sort of technical engineer, implementing some recording solutions and background tapes and went to work at a thermoelectric power plant in Sines, hoping to make enough money to fund his musical studies. He did and proceeded with the paperwork for admission at the Institute of Sonology, now based in The Hague. António studied there in 1986-87 and the present album includes two compositions developed at the Institute: "More Adult Music" and "This Is Music, As It Was Expected", both featuring the voice of Rodney Waschka II. Among other activities and talents, Rodney is an expert in computer music and to António his voice sounded similar to Robert Ashley's, whose work he admired.

What happened at the Institute was a systematization of António's self-taught practice. Computer software, Musique Concrète, noise and silence, organisation of abstract ideas and sounds. The original notes on the back sleeve of the LP give some indication of process and thinking, but a more detailed account was given by António in the liner notes of the CD reissue in 2002, which are also included in this 2025 LP reissue.

The music sounds deep and detailed, despite the fact of António calling it low-fi ("Baixa Fidelidade"). It flows like an improvised performance where several musicians might be responding to each other, respectful of their mutual space. Drama occurs, as a natural emotional connection is sought by the listener. Piano, bells, drone, processed voices, even the clear narrative of Rodney Waschka II, contribute to create a sort of alternative perceptual reality. The sounds are almost tangible, more a part of the physical world than ethereal manifestations and thus it would not be correct to invoke "ambient music" as a selling point. But although "physical" and distinct, this music is still alien, more so in Portugal's 1988 environment. In March, helped by Canavarro, António set up a home studio and there he recorded the remaining material for this album: "Algumas Pessoas Olharam O Sul E Viram Deserto", "Um Som, Seguido De Uma Cena Negra E Malva" and "O Verão Nasceu Da Paixão De 1921".

"Música de Baixa Fidelidade" stands not only as a proof of great resilience but as one of those magnificent works of art coming from someone who balanced technical inclination and emotional sensibility. Because of that, Tózé Ferreira is able to decode the phantom world of sound for anyone who cares to experience the sensation of inhabiting a version of the Future. First ever vinyl reissue, reproduction of the original artwork with an additional insert. Made in collaboration with the artist and the support of Paulo Menezes (Plancton Music), who provided valuable assistance. Remastered by Taylor Deupree.

Deutschlands Dark Metal Vorreiter NACHTBLUT veröffentlichen ihr siebtes Studioalbum Todschick am 21. Februar 2025 via Napalm Records. Nach
ihrem Erfolgsalbum Vanitas (2020), das Platz 19 der offiziellen deutschen Albumcharts erreichte und als das erfolgreichste Werk der Band gilt, bringen
sie nun zehn Songs, die blutdurstige Fans begeistern werden. Mit Todschick erweitert die Band ihr Repertoire mit verschiedenen Stilelementen und
Synthesizer Sounds, die beispielsweise den 80er Jahren Tribut zollen. Diese Variabilität, die schon immer den Stil der Band prägt, verbindet sich dabei
mit den einschlägigen Dark Metal-Elementen sowie Askeroths markantem Gesang.
Mit Todschick erweitert NACHTBLUT nicht nur den düsteren Dark Metal mit mitreißenden, genreübergreifenden Sounds, die in dieser Kombination
neue Akzente setzen, sondern trifft auch mit aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Themen den Nerv der Zeit! Das neue Meisterwerk ist eine Einladung, die
dunkle Schönheit des Lebens und die Herausforderungen in einem neuen Licht zu betrachten und dies gemeinsam mit der Band auf ihrer Headline
Tour 2025 zu tun!

Here we have Roto, an artist making the audio trips straight out of Spain and has already proven himself on the scene to be one of the most dedicated hardworking men from a recent wave of artists. Already landing a few releases on the respectable modern labels this musician is proving with his actions that hard work and dedication pays off. Being a multi-instrumentalist as well as a DJ, Roto delivering a message of “Dear Suburbia” with four deep and dark cuts which are oozing through with obscure vocals ready to be played loud on any type of chosen sound systems around the world. With the soundtrack which is pressed on this vinyl is the exactly the type of suburbia one can imagine itself living where every door of each neighbour can hold some dark secrets that once you find out about them there might be no way of returning back to the way the things were once before.

The new recording of The Book of Sounds is an intimate exploration of the piano by pianist Carlos Cipa - a way of looking into the sound, of listening into the moment when Cipa's fingers press down on the piano keys. The Book of Sounds, composed between 1979 and 1982 by composer and pianist Hans Otte, is a musical pendulum movement of one hour in twelve 'pieces', as the composer himself describes them. Chords and melodies repeat themselves, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly; they follow each other in harmonic cadences and yet never dissolve - a timeless back and forth.
The Book of Sounds is the European-German answer to the concert music of American minimalism. But it is also the essence of many questions about society and the human condition at that time. Inspired by Zen Buddhism, Otte was convinced that a return to simplicity, to the unagitated - a piano, harmonic cadences, a middle register - frees the listener to focus on what is really important in art: the human being. Introspection begins with listening. Seldom have simple chords and melodies been so selectively staged. It is a process of endless reduction - no wild sound dramaturgies, no climaxes, hardly any beginning or end. The interpreting pianist simply prepares a tableaux of perception for the listener. Cipa naturally sets accents; he recorded the 12 pieces on three different pianos - a Steinway grand piano, a Yamaha piano, and a Yamaha CP-70, an early electric piano - to help shape the tonal characteristics.
Carlos Cipa hits the nerve of the times with this new recording. What music can be as art is still up for debate today. The Book of Sounds is not 'art-proof' and in this it is still a provocation today; absolutely unspectacular and practising relaxation. It is a wonderful invitation to feel, experience, and perhaps even find oneself in the confrontation with the work - and for a moment not to fuel the discourse. Cipa, who otherwise appears as a composer himself, here carries out Otte's intended gesture of withdrawal in a double sense and steps into the background as creator but also interpreter, in order to bequeath The Book of Sounds to the loudspeakers and headphones at home in one step forward.

Our debut single with Senpolya was born out of desire to create some modern Russian pop infused with references to the 80s dance music. While making 80s-inspired tunes is popular nowadays, this decade means different things to different people: be it A-ha and Modern Talking or African boogie and Chicago house. But we ended up making neither one nor the other.

The crowd who contributed to this release is absolutely legendary. Each time I listen to it and think of them, a new dimension opens up in my mind, adding up some deeper layers of context Ive immersed myself in over the past few years.

An italian producer and bass player Marco Boccamazzo created the first remix. By adding bass guitar and strings, he took the track back by another ten years.

DJ Popinjay, an alter ego of a tropical disco master who wishes to remain anonymous, provided the second rework.

The third remix or more like an essentially an entirely new track, comes from Sonestrose, a duo consisting of Andrey Algorithmic, an art director of Moscow Powerhouse, and Alexander Basian, the studio's sound engineer.

Ignat Akimov, also known as DJ Pecan and an art director of Esthetic Joys Embassy, crafted the fourth hallucinogenic remix, which spans from acid house with Indian drums to cool jazz sound.

Lipelis and Scruscru help me in making some key decisions about the tracks structure, arrangement, and mixing.

Ilya Varankin made a photo of us (on film!) and Nikita Demin designed the cover picture inspired by Daptone Records.

At last, I want to thank my wife, Masha Dostoewskaya, without whose love and patience I wouldn't have been able to see this project to an end.

Auf der Basis von Drone, Doom, Sludge, Noise und Postrock erschafft die Band um Markus E. Lipka (EISENVATER, ROSSBURGER REPORT), Johann Victor Wientjes (MELTING PALMS) und Teresa Matilda Curtens (MELTING PALMS) monolithische und hypnotisierende Tracks, die 2023 komplett in Eigenregie aufgenommen wurden und es tatsächlich schaffen, eigentlich so unversöhnliche Stile wie Sludge Doom und DreamPop zusammenzubringen. Vielleicht liegt es an der familiären Konstellation: Markus und Johann sind Vater und Sohn, Teresa Ehefrau von Johann und damit Schwiegertochter von Markus. Die Beats und Riffs tonnenschwer, der Gesang glockenhell, fragil und eindringlich. KARLA KVLTs Musik ist dicht, immersiv aber auch schön - wie eine Pflanze, die sich selbst durch eine Betondecke kämpft, wie die Gezeiten, die präzise und unaufhaltbar dem immer gleichen Rhythmus folgen und dabei ebenso zerstörerisch sein können, wie sie im nächsten Moment Schönheit offenbaren und den Blick auf Neues freigeben. Während EISENVATER in den Neunziger Jahren ähnlich wie MELVINS, SWANS, LIVE SKULL oder UNSANE und lange vor z.B. BORIS, SUNN0))) oder MONOLORD die Grenzen von Hörgewohnheiten hinterfragten, sind MELTING PALMS die Antithese zur musikalischen Zerrissenheit, thematisch aber artverwandter als es auf den ersten Blick scheinen mag. Beide Entwürfe fügen sich bei KARLA KVLT in brutaler Schönheit zusammen. Exile On Mainstream ist überglücklich mit Thunderhunter das erste Album der neuen Band zu veröffentlichen.

Mit Blinder Passagier zeigte Rio Reiser einmal mehr seine Fähigkeit, Geschichten zu erzählen, die unter die Haut gehen. Das Album verband tiefgründige Lyrics mit melodischen Kompositionen, die sowohl leise als auch kraftvolle Momente boten. Blinder Passagier spiegelte Reisers Gespür für emotionale Themen wider und bewies seine ungebrochene Relevanz als Künstler.

Canada’s answer to Metallica? The Eddie Van Halen of thrash metal? Both these terms could have easily applied to Annihilator and its mastermind, lead guitarist and songwriter Jeff Waters. A fan of both speed metal and classic rock, the Canadian emphasized a flair for both. The fresh invention of Waters’ guitar work was a major reason why Annihilator got off to a promising start and have survived to the present, with a dozen or more albums under their belts.

THE BEST OF ANNIHILATOR compiles cuts from the band’s first three studio albums, a rarities collection, and a live disc, all of which emerged on Roadrunner between 1989 and 1996.

There have been many records in the years since, as Annihilator has continued to be one of the few bands to fly the flag for the classic thrash metal sound, earning themselves a devoted following and a regular spot on the European concert and festival circuit. THE BEST OF ANNIHILATOR takes the listener back to the early days of that sound, which stands up to anything else of it’s time - and even most metal today.

Two albums filled with the best that this band has to offer and for the first time available on vinyl.
Best Of Annihilator is available as limited numbered edition of 1500 copies on silver coloured vinyl

Montreal-based rock band Le Nombre, active from 2002 to 2009, released three albums filled with raw poetry and relentless riffs and rhythms. Scénario Catastrophe was produced by Ian Blurton (Tricky Woo, The Weakerthans) and recorded in Toronto. Released in 2004, it marked the band’s peak both musically and lyrically. This record enabled them to tour Europe, the United States, and Canada, where they opened for The New York Dolls at Festival d’été de Québec. Praised by the press both here and abroad, the album, now offered with a remastered sound, will be available on vinyl for the first time in February 2025, twenty years after its original release.

Montreal-based rock band Le Nombre, active from 2002 to 2009, released three albums filled with raw poetry and relentless riffs and rhythms. Scénario Catastrophe was produced by Ian Blurton (Tricky Woo, The Weakerthans) and recorded in Toronto. Released in 2004, it marked the band’s peak both musically and lyrically. This record enabled them to tour Europe, the United States, and Canada, where they opened for The New York Dolls at Festival d’été de Québec. Praised by the press both here and abroad, the album, now offered with a remastered sound, will be available on vinyl for the first time in February 2025, twenty years after its original release.

Rising indie soul artist Sevens announces the release of his highly anticipated debut album, Sincerely, Sevens, on February 21, 2025. At just 24 years old, Sevens emerges as a compelling voice in the contemporary soul scene, blending indie soul, neo-soul, and jazz into a collection of sincere, heartfelt songs.

With a distinct baritone voice and a gift for storytelling, Sevens explores themes of love, growth, and introspection throughout the 9-track record. His philosophy is simple: less is more. Crafted over a span of three years, much of the album was created in Sevens' bedroom, showcasing his skills not only as a songwriter and vocalist but also as a multi-instrumentalist and producer.

Sincerely, Sevens captures the artist in his purest form—a deeply personal work that touches the soul. From sparse, intimate arrangements to warm, groove-infused instrumentation, the record embraces vulnerability while exuding timeless charm.

The album features contributions from trusted collaborators: Boris Van Overschee (co-producer / Delv!s, Portland) Willem Ardui (additional production / Blackwave.) and David Poltrock (additional keys)

Tobie Speleman expertly handled the final mix, ensuring every note resonated with clarity and purpose.

Reflecting on the album, Sevens shares: “I wanted to feel more with less. I wanted to evoke, I wanted to touch. Parts of me I’ve never gone. It is honest, it is true. It is me.”

With Sincerely, Sevens, the young artist solidifies his position as one to watch—an emerging voice with both depth and authenticity.

Maud the moth, the solo project of Spanish-born and Scotland-based pianist, singer and songwriter Amaya Lopez-Carromero announces her new album, The Distaff, to be released via The Larvarium (digital +CD) and La Rubia Producciones (vinyl) Amaya has long used the mantle of Maud the moth as an alter-ego, a séance-like conduit to explore themes of rootlessness, identity and trauma. The Distaff in particular refers to the stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning, and an object which has historically been used across multiple cultures as a symbol wielded by the “virtuous woman”, an authoritarian ideal around which much of the trauma surrounding the feminine coalesces. The album takes the form of a sort of self reflective and surreal autobiography. It was in part inspired by the poem of the same name written by the Greek poet Erinna, as she mourns her friend's loss of individuality and agency in exchange for marriage - and therefore safety and acceptance in the eyes of society. The album exists in an ethereal but violent world of aesthetic overlaps where time stands still and fictional and reimagined folk sits at the table with Maud the moth’s usual sonic menagerie. It is the result of a lifetime of obsession with sound and music, where glimpses of musical genre offer insight into Amaya’s artistic interests and her participation in the underground European scene for many years, in bands such as healthyliving. Heavier, darker, and more exposed than any of her previous works it features some highly accomplished artists, such as Seb Rochford (Patti Smith, Polar Bear, Sons of Kemet, Pulled by magnets, etc.) on drums, Alison Chesley (Helen Money) on cello, Fay Guiffo on violin and Scott McLean (Ashenspire, healthyliving, Falloch) on guitar, saxophone and synthesiser. Maud the moth shares the video for "Siphonophores". About the track, Maud the moth says; I wrote "Siphonophores" on guitar, during the first lockdown, a period where I was kind of trapped between an almost empty flat in Edinburgh and Dresden. It was an incredibly harrowing time, but also one of hope and where important new things were being birthed. I felt incredibly sensitive to everything, almost like life was happening in slow motion. I´m not a confident guitarist since I am completely self-taught, but, probably because of this, I feel that this instrument allows me to focus on aspects of the songwriting that I normally overlook when writing on piano, and I think it was a necessary step for this song to exist. Something else which I've been really exploiting lately and features strongly in the album is the percussive capabilities of the piano, and in particular, of the sustain pedal when mic'd up. This can be heard very clearly at the beginning of "Siphonophores". Written and arranged by Amaya, with some contributions in the later role from the aforementioned collaborators, the album presents nine tracks originally written entirely on acoustic piano as accompanied voice pieces, in pure singer-songwriter fashion. The album was co-produced and recorded by Scott and Amaya in different studios across the UK between January and July of 2024, in a process that started shortly after the 2020 pandemic and finished alongside the album recordings in a detailed, organic and at times obsessive process aimed primarily at capturing the natural dynamics and expression of free performance. The Distaff was mixed in its entirety by Scott and mastered at Abbey Road by Alex Wharton (Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, Aurora, Kathryn Joseph etc.) Despite being born of a very personal point of view, the album lacks a specific narrator and was conceived almost as a sonic trousseau, where the needle point, silks and other family heirlooms have been swapped for out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye memories of rural Spain by the vineyards, family disputes, old tales of wartime pains, generational breaches and finally the conflict of migration and estrangement. The songs paint dystopian pastoral scenes which evolve throughout the span of one fictional day outside of time and coherent locations and where imagination (often the only account surviving from traumatic events and gaslighting) has become indistinguishable from fact. The Distaff attempts to acknowledge past trauma, comprehend and process some of the more difficult aspects which have contributed to our darker self and offer closure and solace through creative catharsis.

Maud the moth, the solo project of Spanish-born and Scotland-based pianist, singer and songwriter Amaya Lopez-Carromero announces her new album, The Distaff, to be released via The Larvarium (digital +CD) and La Rubia Producciones (vinyl) Amaya has long used the mantle of Maud the moth as an alter-ego, a séance-like conduit to explore themes of rootlessness, identity and trauma. The Distaff in particular refers to the stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning, and an object which has historically been used across multiple cultures as a symbol wielded by the “virtuous woman”, an authoritarian ideal around which much of the trauma surrounding the feminine coalesces. The album takes the form of a sort of self reflective and surreal autobiography. It was in part inspired by the poem of the same name written by the Greek poet Erinna, as she mourns her friend's loss of individuality and agency in exchange for marriage - and therefore safety and acceptance in the eyes of society. The album exists in an ethereal but violent world of aesthetic overlaps where time stands still and fictional and reimagined folk sits at the table with Maud the moth’s usual sonic menagerie. It is the result of a lifetime of obsession with sound and music, where glimpses of musical genre offer insight into Amaya’s artistic interests and her participation in the underground European scene for many years, in bands such as healthyliving. Heavier, darker, and more exposed than any of her previous works it features some highly accomplished artists, such as Seb Rochford (Patti Smith, Polar Bear, Sons of Kemet, Pulled by magnets, etc.) on drums, Alison Chesley (Helen Money) on cello, Fay Guiffo on violin and Scott McLean (Ashenspire, healthyliving, Falloch) on guitar, saxophone and synthesiser. Maud the moth shares the video for "Siphonophores". About the track, Maud the moth says; I wrote "Siphonophores" on guitar, during the first lockdown, a period where I was kind of trapped between an almost empty flat in Edinburgh and Dresden. It was an incredibly harrowing time, but also one of hope and where important new things were being birthed. I felt incredibly sensitive to everything, almost like life was happening in slow motion. I´m not a confident guitarist since I am completely self-taught, but, probably because of this, I feel that this instrument allows me to focus on aspects of the songwriting that I normally overlook when writing on piano, and I think it was a necessary step for this song to exist. Something else which I've been really exploiting lately and features strongly in the album is the percussive capabilities of the piano, and in particular, of the sustain pedal when mic'd up. This can be heard very clearly at the beginning of "Siphonophores". Written and arranged by Amaya, with some contributions in the later role from the aforementioned collaborators, the album presents nine tracks originally written entirely on acoustic piano as accompanied voice pieces, in pure singer-songwriter fashion. The album was co-produced and recorded by Scott and Amaya in different studios across the UK between January and July of 2024, in a process that started shortly after the 2020 pandemic and finished alongside the album recordings in a detailed, organic and at times obsessive process aimed primarily at capturing the natural dynamics and expression of free performance. The Distaff was mixed in its entirety by Scott and mastered at Abbey Road by Alex Wharton (Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, Aurora, Kathryn Joseph etc.) Despite being born of a very personal point of view, the album lacks a specific narrator and was conceived almost as a sonic trousseau, where the needle point, silks and other family heirlooms have been swapped for out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye memories of rural Spain by the vineyards, family disputes, old tales of wartime pains, generational breaches and finally the conflict of migration and estrangement. The songs paint dystopian pastoral scenes which evolve throughout the span of one fictional day outside of time and coherent locations and where imagination (often the only account surviving from traumatic events and gaslighting) has become indistinguishable from fact. The Distaff attempts to acknowledge past trauma, comprehend and process some of the more difficult aspects which have contributed to our darker self and offer closure and solace through creative catharsis.

W/CYA are proud to introduce the first release of Amygdala. A three tracks EP entirely produced by themselves, including a special collab with the brillant Brooklyn's voice of IDA fLO aka Florence Ida Dabokemp.

The A side with the solo track "Forever Joy" is a deep dive into the classic 90's house sounds crafted with a futuristic vision on the modern techno style. The B1 and B2 tracks follow the same line of the A side, offering a more complexed and articulated image of the idea behind the
label identity. A true dancefloor burner that must be in your bag.

Mother’s Spiritual is the eighth studio album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. The album was originally released at the beginning of 1984, following a year of difficult and expensive recording sessions, and came more than five years after its well-received predecessor, 1978’s Nested. Thanks to a small buzz surrounding Nyro’s return to the spotlight after a period of semi-retirement, Mother’s Spiritual became her last US chart entry, reaching #182 on the Billboard 200.

Musically, the album stands out as the most serene and easygoing of all Nyro’s works, presenting a more maternal tone compared to the wilder and more experimental nature of albums like Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry. Thematically, the focus shifts from personal explorations of passion and love to broader societal concerns, such as environmentalism, motherhood, and feminism. Laura Nyro was Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Hereditary is a 2018 American psychological horror film written and directed by Ari Aster in his feature directorial debut.

He later went on to direct Midsommar (2019) and Beau Is Afraid (2023). The movie stars Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, and Gabriel Byrne.

When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry.

The more they discover, the more they find themselves trying to outrun the sinister fate they seem to have inherited.

The soundtrack for the movie was written, arranged, and produced by Colin Stetson. Aster tried to keep it simple for Stetson regarding the music, but he wanted one thing to be apparent: the music had to “feel evil”.

This 2LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve that includes liner notes by the director, Ari Aster.

Mit Rio 1 setzte Rio Reiser ein kraftvolles musikalisches Statement. Das Album vereinte persönliche Geschichten und gesellschaftskritische Themen mit Melodien, die zwischen Eingängigkeit und Tiefgang balancierten. Reisers markante Stimme und seine unverwechselbare Art, Emotionen in Musik zu übersetzen, machten Rio 1 zu einem eindrucksvollen Werk, das seine künstlerische Vision eindrucksvoll unterstrich.

Music is storytelling, and some of the best stories have been told through centuries-old traditional folk songs. On their new album ‘Northern Sky’, The Wellermen have given this rich traditional musical history a new sound, hoping to continue to captivate millions of fans around the world. It helps that The Wellermen’s four members all bring their respective experience and perspectives to the table. The fact that they’re from different corners of the world really adds something to the music - there’s something romantic about the way the members have to go on a voyage to see each other.

The Wellermen’s history is well-known: having been the originators of the sea shanty trend on Tiktok, they’ve since gone from strength to strength, gaining a huge following across social media with new trends linked to their music. Their versions of ‘Misty Mountains’ and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Nancy Mulligan’, along with their spine-tingling rendition of ‘Hoist The Colours’ have racked up billions of views across Tiktok and youtube and over 110m streams of their debut album, and led them to appearances on shows like Ant and Dec, LAst Week Tonight with Jon Oliver, The Colbert Show and more.

The group have now returned with their new album ‘Northern Sky’, where they have gone above and beyond to show they are indeed masters of their craft. Recorded in a cottage in the picturesque hills of Surrey, they poured their considerable knowledge and prowess into the album’s 12 tracks, all of which fit their love of storytelling. On the Scottish folk song ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’, for example, the group’s harmonies and rich vocals capture the nostalgic, wistful nature of the song, which speaks of love and nature’s beauty. The group’s tribute to Johnny Cash on the song ‘Hurt’ is set to be a fan favourite - melding the raw and uninhibited torment of the original with the dignified but heart-rending grief of Cash’s version.

Elsewhere on the record the original song and title track ‘Northern Sky’ is a perfect demonstration of the Wellermen’s gift for creating a real dynamic, steering it gently from the darker, more ominous numbers into something truly uplifting. ‘Tall Tales’, another original, is a wonderful portrayal of humorous one-upmanship - a call-and-response that is likely to get crowds’ feet stomping and hands clapping. Say the Wellermen: “It’s all about connection and storytelling, and we hope the listeners are able to find something meaningful.” One thing is absolutely certain: these talented young men are in it for the long haul.

"‘man oh man !’ is the sophomore 11 track album from indie singer-songwriter Martin Luke Brown.

Marking a significant new era in both his personal and musical life, Martin tackles a myriad of themes; self-awareness and personal growth, treasured friendships, swept-off-your-feet romance and gut wrenching heartbreak - all with a laidback, indie singer-songwriter sound that naturally shapes the album into three linear phases: the end of a relationship, new beginnings and the consequential feeling of accepting change.

Described by Martin as a ‘time capsule’, each track on the album was written and recorded in one day, making for a raw and honest snapshot of Martin’s life experiences at the time. Instrumentation is simple and recorded with producer and friend Matt Zara using almost exclusively analog technology – tape machines and vintage mics, a messiness that the duo embraced from the get go.

Martin has released over 100 songs as either a co-writer or a producer, with BTS, Dylan, Jacob Banks, Gavin James, Sam Tompkins,James Smith, Sody andJack Kane. He has also seen a wealth of success as part of pop supergroup FIZZ alongside Orla Gartland, dodie, and Greta Isaac, earning widespread praise from the likes of Rolling Stone UK, Dork, DIY, Clash & more."

"With Love" ist eine so intelligente, satirische, witzige und schräge Sammlung von Songs, wie sie der erfahrene Songwriter noch nie auf einem Album versammeln konnte. Mit wirbelnden Latin-RockGrooves, R&B, verspieltem Soul und Stones’schem Rock’n‘Roll thematisieren die Tracks Drogensucht, Selbstanalyse und die Unausweichlichkeit von Leben und Tod. Ryder: „Es ist eines der ehrlichsten Alben, die ich je gemacht habe. Diesmal konnte ich
auf Gefühle zugreifen, die mir zuvor verborgen geblieben sind.

“Love Moon” is a laid-back, lofi love song about the quiet late night magic of simple moments with your person. Its message is simplicity — good food, good company, and love that feels easy. “Love Moon” captures those moments and keeps you in them forever.

The B-side, “Can’t Catch Me In Love,” juxtaposes with its fiery story of someone running from love. However, when paired together these tracks take you on a journey from resisting love to finding peace in its embrace—starting with “Can’t Catch Me In Love” and ending with the soothing vibes of “Love Moon.” However, the journey can always be made the other way…

Hailing from the Basque Country, Spain, Big Muff Brigade is a stoner-rock powerhouse that is going to make a mark with their ambitious debut album. This full-length release is a bold effort to encapsulate the rich diversity of the stoner-rock genre, blending elements of epic doomy metal and bluesy desert rock, with the grittier edges of indie rock, into a kaleidoscope of sound. Thematically the album delivers a sharp critique of contemporary society, where fleeting attention spans and shallow digital interactions overshadow enduring values like friendship, loyalty and the pursuit of knowledge.

Through their music, Big Muff Brigade confronts this cultural decline with a heavy dose of raw emotion and authenticity. It’s also a tribute to the iconic Electro-Harmonix Big Muff PI fuzz pedal, a cornerstone of their sound and the inspiration for their name. If you’re a fan of stoner-rock in all its forms, Big Muff Brigade’s debut-album is a must-listen; a (distorted) sonic odyssey that pays homage to the genre’s roots while exploring new horizons: it’s loud, raw and alive, with heavy and dynamic grooves, a lot of fuzz and hypnotic riffs!

All the shades of green. Plants. Water. The absolute necessities of life. Music, too, is an absolute necessity. To capture both color and sound in a bottle to put atop a piano like a houseplant. A clock. A fern. Synesthesia. This music is meant for that. To close your eyes and see green. To drown in the color of piano. A melancholic covey that pulls hard on the heart strings musically and lyrically, brushed over with a plethora of improvisation in smooth watercolors.

With Tim Hill’s new trajectory, we are offered a fresh neuron sprawl, branching beyond lyrics in interrupted pieces of sound. He takes our reptilian brains and welds them to our unborn futures, placing us inside of his droplet. Here, we're forced to reflect out, something singular multiplies, nature brings her face in, something shifts, our speed changes, the Self refracts and what's left jumps on sustained lines that eventually arch into meditation milk. It becomes a karmic cleanse of the amygdala, a launch from normal feeling life. Tim takes the risk, committing to diving deeper into his own bottomless pool of art, gifting us with sensory treats that dilate our old perimeters. It's sky as theatre, handing out everything but answers to questions. And where do we go? Where starlight mingles. Where minds never land.

A seasoned musician in all forms, Tim Hill has toured the world as a keyboardist, guitarist, saxophonist, and drummer, with a long time stint with LA group the Allah Las, and well known acts such as Nick Waterhouse, Curtis Harding, PAINT, and others.

Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

Purple Tree Fog Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

The second release on Between Stations (proceeding the «rst BETWEENTAPES release by DOOM TV), sees label head Cowper kicking off the «rst in the BETWEENEDITS series. Possessing atom-splitting heft at a tectonic pace, A1 writhes around on a French Kiss theme, tantalising FX swirls and thundering bass before sensual pads slowly begin to caress the central nervous system, taking us off into hypnotic revelry.

B1 grasps onto a swirling and mesmerising, opiated version of Larry Heard. A spine-tingling concoction of elements and drifting echoes transporting us to a blissful ocean, ebbing with the sonic currents in a suspended state of glee. B2 pulls on the space cord, bringing us back from our temporary drift with a slow and steady hand. This one lets the machines do the talking whilst we concentrate on keeping stable as the «nal remnants of euphoria are squeezed from our serotonin glands.

Named after a Kate Bush deep-cut, James And The Cold Gun are dubbed "South Wales' Loudest" group from Cardiff, Wales UK. Earlier this year, Loosegroove Records (a Seattle-based label owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) discovered the band on KEXP Seattle w/Kevin Cole and immediately signed them. Their most recent single Chewing Glass was met with rave reviews from NME, Apple Music's Rockstars of 2023 Predictions, a recent sync in Rookie:Feds on ABC, and dozens of DSP playlist features across Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Deezer, and more.

Amsterdam-based keyboardist, producer, arranger and DJ Soul Supreme reached out to NYC drummer Jay Mumford in 2021 to lay the down groove on his re-imagining of Q-Tip and J-Dilla's "Let's Ride". That paved the way for future collaborations: a cover of A Tribe Called Quest's "Award Tour (We Gettin' Down)" and two tunes on Soul Supreme's Poetic Justice LP. But when the pair began doing brief covers of their favorite funk, jazz and hip-hop tunes on Instagram just for fun, followers of both musicians - and often, the covered artists themselves - began to take note. Two of those 20+ covers were particularly well-received, and the duo decided to answer the peoples' call for a 7" release with the songs pushed to their full potential. Similar to "Award Tour" and "Let's Ride", a hip-hop classic and a fan favorite are pushed to their full potential here. This installment goes coast to coast and explores Digable Planets' "9th Wonder" (the "East" side) and People Under the Stairs' (PUTS) "Crown Ones" (the "West" side).

The iconic synth intro of "9th Wonder" makes way for Jay's thunderous ode to a slowed down Clyde Stubblefield groove. Sure to be a favorite with DJs, Jay eventually detours into a syncopated New Orleans funk break, before getting back to the groove for Soul Supreme's funky wah wah clavinet work. Throughout, the arrangement expands beyond both that of the original and all of its DNA. The addition of cascading horns (featuring a trumpet solo by Lourens van der Zwaag) and a second, more aggressive break from Jay bring it back full circle, completing a modern update of a classic that manages to pay homage to '70s jazz-funk, breakbeats and '90s hip-hop - all while staying both modern and raw.

Diehard PUTS fans will recognize Soul Supreme's catchy Rhodes line as soon as the needle drops, but Jay's heavy funk groove quickly separates it from the original and takes it from hip-hop cover to heavy funk tune. Soul Supreme's Rhodes solo pushes it far beyond the confines of instrumental funk as the groove intensifies, while his chops as an arranger are on full display: his horn parts - featuring van der Zwaag, trombonist Olav Schloorlemmer and Job Chajes' Contra-Alto Clarinet that channels The Headhunters - counter his synth melodies in a discussion that completes the record as a heavy slice of uncut jazz-funk.

After two pandemically conditioned ‘reaction’ albums - Yay! (2023) and Neigh!! (2024) - a few non-album singles and a compilation album, a downsized and sleek Motorpsycho is back where we all know and love them, with an epic, sprawling double album, filled to the brim with inventive, organic and ecstatic rock-based music. Rejoyce Psychonaut! This eponymously titled, 11 song work, has exactly as much variety & diversity, accord and discord, as one expects from a band that has released a few albums before, and that these days must be regarded as an institution in European rock. From concise 3min-something pop-rockers, to 20mins plus progressive epics, via acoustic intimacies and psychedelic wig-outs, this is concentrated Motorpsychosis: commenced Rebis, countdown initiated. Ever closer. Ever sharper... Since the traditional 3 or 4 piece rock band seems to be a dying breed these days, and MP always was a band in flux anyway, a new pragmatic era has begun in the Psychoverse. The band has, in what one might call alchemical terms, been ‘dissolved and purified’, and is by now again reduced to the core two founding members HMR & BS. This is nothing new, it has happened a few times before, but these days they are also the owners and creators of the record company NFGS, which is now the hub of all recorded band activity, and Motorpsycho marks the final severance of existing ties to other labels for the first time in 35 years. If ‘freedom is free of the need to be free’, this is it. Yikes! The minimalist title of the album is then not just easy to remember, it’s also a statement: a new era has begun in the Psychoverse, a state of affairs reflected in execution and details as well as title, if not perhaps, in ambition or size: “Senex psittacus negligit ferulam” *. This is a time of new beginnings for a band that has spent two years consolidating and reseting before charging ahead anew on a new path, trumpets blaring (...and trumpets don’t come much more blaring in the Psychoverse than with this grandiloquent hyperbole. Good fun! ). New day rising indeed. The core band was adroitly helped by a gaggle of greats from all over the Scandinavian musical landscape on these recordings: drummers Ingvald Vassbø and Olaf Olsen, string arranger/violinist Mari Persen, vocalist Thea Grant, and - as usual - honorary psycho, brother Reine Fiske, were all fellow travellers on this musical journey. Motorpsycho was co-produced by the band and Deathprod, and mixed by Andrew Scheps. Motorpsycho are not the best at what they do, they’re the only ones that do what they do. NFGS2025 *: “Senex psittacus negligit ferulam,” or “An old parrot doesn’t mind the stick.”

Album features and was co-produced by Joseph Shabason. String arrangements by Owen Pallett. Thom Gill has written songs for Chaka Khan, in addition to contributing to albums by The Mountain Goats, Owen Pallett, Joseph Shabason, Bernice, and many others. Way Through is a collaborative album by Toronto musicians Chris Cummings, Joseph Shabason, and Thom Gill (as Cici Arthur). Inspired by moments of discovery in familiar places, the album's title reflects the feeling of uncovering hidden paths in life. Musically, it blends mid-century influences like Jobim and Sinatra, with producer-instrumentalists Shabason and Gill crafting lush, expansive soundscapes. Featuring a 30-piece orchestra led by Owen Pallett, the album brings a grand scale to Cummings' intimate, reflective lyrics. The project began in 2020 when Cummings lost his job and turned to full-time music for the first time in his life. His collaborators tailored the arrangements to showcase his understated vocal delivery against sweeping orchestral backdrops. Songs like 'Cartwheels for Coins' and 'Prior Times' explore themes of regret and emotional complexity, contrasting the grandeur of the music with Cummings' quiet introspection. Tracks like 'Damaged Goods' provide upbeat moments with doo-wop harmonies, while the cinematic closer 'No Fight Or Flight' emphasizes the filmic quality of the album. Through its orchestral richness and deeply personal lyrics, Way Through captures the tension between ambition and realism, offering a poignant reflection on life's unpredictable journey

A special ‘Submerge” 12” EP featuring a bunch of reworks of this pivotal track from Apta's forthcoming ‘The Pool’ album on Castles in Space.

Kicking things off, Apta's own rework of the original sees the shadowy textures and droning wall-of-sound backdrop turned into a static-strewn dreamland of a piece, underpinned by a flickering guitar riff, cracked snare drums and fuzzed-out Odyssey strokes before launching into the euphoric half-time vocal refrain.

The follow-up sees Clay Pipe boss, illustrator and musician step into her Hardy Tree guise for a beautifully hypnotic waft of wistful folk-tinged electronics and shimmering ambient textures. It's warmly nostalgic, and packed full of all the feel of a lovely Clay Pipe release.

Following on from that, modular wizard Polypores takes pieces of the original and stretches them into an organic swell of texture and movement, warping the low basses and flickering modular plinks (and / or plonks) into a beautiful, undulating wall.

Flip over and It's none other than the brilliant Pye Corner Audio, providing an organically blooming suite of saturated percussion and woozy drifting oscillators, in peak PCA fashion. There are few artists that can do as much as with little as Martin Jenkins can, and hearing his audio sunshine underpinning the vocal line is breathtaking.

It's good to get the ears nice and soothed too before the aural assault and hypnotic spirit-cleansing heft of the legendary Gnod. Dubby throbbing bass and cavernous reverb tear the original into shards and piece it together as a churning, industrial powerhouse before shooting the rest into the endless reaches of space.

Closing things out on a space theme is the ideal way to do things too, with Field Lines Cartographer's remix taking things waaay into the outer reaches. Grounding bass churns and stellar synth sweeps float below the modulated vocal line, resulting in a perfectly crafted drone, rich in melody but untethered to the earth.

After appearing with Archie Shepp at the landmark Pan-African Cultural festival in Algiers in 1969, African-American trumpeter-cornetist Clifford Thornton recorded a set of his own compositions in Paris later that year. The result was Ketchaoua, an important political and spiritual as well as musical statement that reflected the inspiration that he took from Islam. Indeed, the title of the album refers to the awe-inspiring mosque in Algiers.
Clifford Thornton’s superb band comprised his compatriots, saxophonists Archie Shepp and Arthur Jones, drummer Sunny Murray, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Dave Burrell, and bassist Earl Freeman, as well as French bassist Beb Guérin. Together they brought energy and ingenuity to the leader’s compositions, which were characterized by vivid atmospheres, exploratory, mysterious sounds and haunting themes. And the song titles conveyed an important social and cultural message. Pieces such as ‘Brotherhood’ pointed to the sense of unity and kinship that African-American artists felt with the citizens they encountered on their journey to North Africa and Europe.
This newly remastered deluxe edition of Ketchaoua provides an opportunity to hear one of the major entries in Clifford Thornton’s relatively small yet nonetheless highly impressive discography. It is an album that marks him out as a figure in the avant- garde movement of the late 60s and early 70s who deserves far wider recognition.

Music is storytelling, and some of the best stories have been told through centuries-old traditional folk songs. On their new album ‘Northern Sky’, The Wellermen have given this rich traditional musical history a new sound, hoping to continue to captivate millions of fans around the world. It helps that The Wellermen’s four members all bring their respective experience and perspectives to the table. The fact that they’re from different corners of the world really adds something to the music - there’s something romantic about the way the members have to go on a voyage to see each other.

The Wellermen’s history is well-known: having been the originators of the sea shanty trend on Tiktok, they’ve since gone from strength to strength, gaining a huge following across social media with new trends linked to their music. Their versions of ‘Misty Mountains’ and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Nancy Mulligan’, along with their spine-tingling rendition of ‘Hoist The Colours’ have racked up billions of views across Tiktok and youtube and over 110m streams of their debut album, and led them to appearances on shows like Ant and Dec, LAst Week Tonight with Jon Oliver, The Colbert Show and more.

The group have now returned with their new album ‘Northern Sky’, where they have gone above and beyond to show they are indeed masters of their craft. Recorded in a cottage in the picturesque hills of Surrey, they poured their considerable knowledge and prowess into the album’s 12 tracks, all of which fit their love of storytelling. On the Scottish folk song ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’, for example, the group’s harmonies and rich vocals capture the nostalgic, wistful nature of the song, which speaks of love and nature’s beauty. The group’s tribute to Johnny Cash on the song ‘Hurt’ is set to be a fan favourite - melding the raw and uninhibited torment of the original with the dignified but heart-rending grief of Cash’s version.

Elsewhere on the record the original song and title track ‘Northern Sky’ is a perfect demonstration of the Wellermen’s gift for creating a real dynamic, steering it gently from the darker, more ominous numbers into something truly uplifting. ‘Tall Tales’, another original, is a wonderful portrayal of humorous one-upmanship - a call-and-response that is likely to get crowds’ feet stomping and hands clapping. Say the Wellermen: “It’s all about connection and storytelling, and we hope the listeners are able to find something meaningful.” One thing is absolutely certain: these talented young men are in it for the long haul.

After 10 years, WOLF HALL returned our screens in 2024 bringing Hilary Mantel's epic saga to its grim conclusion in WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT. Directed by Peter Kosminsky, the six episodes tell the continuing story of Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) and his complex relationship with Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) after the execution of Anne Boleyn,.

The new soundtrack reunites original Wolf Hall composer Debbie Wiseman with The Locrian Ensemble. Debbie Wiseman comments on her return to that world - "The distinctive sound of Wolf Hall is all about immediacy and being in the present with these characters. Drawing on elements from the original Wolf Hall score, new themes have been created for our soprano, Grace Davidson, our viola player, Philip Dukes, and our mandolin player and guitarist John Parricelli. It's been the most thrilling experience composing the score for this production."

Repress!

The word 'classic' gets thrown around a lot these days, often abused and attached to things that don't deserve the tag.
I think we can all agree that an outfit like Earth, Wind & Fire are truly deserving of such an accolade, since their first tentative steps in the early 1970's as an outfit the Chicago, IL pioneers have made themselves a force to be reckoned with and have sold over 90,000,000 units worldwide! Fusing together Jazz, Funk, Soul, African and Brazilian sounds EWF have been at the top of their game for decades, seeing them inducted into the legendary 'rock n roll hall of fame' at the turn of the millennium. Respect due. On this special, legit 12" reissue we are treated to 2 stellar reworkings by one of Disco and modern dance music's most respected names - Danny Krivit. Danny's tenure in dance music has almost been as long as EWF's themselves so it makes sense that he's on deck to breathe some dancefloor magic into their cult classics 'Brazilian Rhyme' and 'Runnin'. Both tracks are massive club anthems with them being generously sampled over the years and featuring in the playlists of too numerous to mention DJ's and selectors. Both of these amazing edits are extremely sought after and have been legally reissued by Above Board Distribution in conjunction with Danny Krivit and the legal rights holders - Sony Music Entertainment. This high quality repress features original Columbia white label Disco promo artwork and has been remastered from Sony's original sources by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK.

Tradition shapes your work. For saxophonist and bandleader Shabaka Hutchings, that's something he's long understood. After years spent in the orbit of London's jazz circuit, he examines and reimagines his influences with a dexterity that's unique. Drawing out the vision underlying his new album, he says, I see energy as being a form of wisdom to be passed down through the ages.'

Unpicking the album's title, he continues, "When we study the music, the lives, the words of our master musicians we obtain a glimpse of that artist's essential energy source. This is the core vitality of the individual which leads them to utilise the musical specifics of their chosen genre in a way that mirrors their inner source of power. This is an intuited wisdom that's handed to us from the legacies of our elders.

The album is a document of sessions combining Hutchings with a group of South African jazz musicians he's long admired. His connection to the group was Mandla Mlangeni (bandleader of the Amandla Freedom Ensemble), whom he'd flown there to play with over the past few years. Recorded across just one day, the group drew on their South African lineage - heroes like Zim Ngquwana and Bheki Mseleku - to bring their own slant to the American jazz lineage which is reconfigured in Hutchings' compositions themselves.

Going beyond the jazz greats Hutchings cites, influences are drawn from plenty of other sources: Caribbean calypso, central African song structures and Southern African Nguni music all play a part. Bringing together those ideas with the contributions of his bandmates is, he explains, crucial to what he sees in the role of an album artist. Even though I wrote all the music, for me, the leader of the project isn't the person who writes all the music but the one who has a vision for how certain musical elements will be combined."

A regular sight on stages around London and beyond, playing - and often leading - groups like The Comet Is Coming, Sons of Kemet and Melt Yourself Down, he's part of a generation whose idea of jazz is pointedly unrefined. That's to say, Wisdom of the Elders comes from an artist interested in the indefinable gaps more than fitting into boxes.

"Way Out West" is the debut studio album by the English electronic music duo Way Out West, released on 1 September 1997. The album peaked that same year at # 42 on the UK Albums Chart. It features four singles: "Ajare," "The Gift," "Domination," and "Blue." Several tracks incorporate samples from other music. Most notably, "Blue" includes a melody loosely based on the theme from the film "Withnail and I," while "The Gift" samples Joanna Law's cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (titled "First Time Ever"), and "Ajare" features a sample from "Do Your Dance" by Rose Royce.

Loyle Carner will release his highly anticipated sophomore record, 'Not Waving, But Drowning' on 19 April via AMF Records.

'Not Waving, But Drowning' follows Loyle's BRIT (Best Male, Best Newcomer) and Mercury Prize nominated, top 20 debut 'Yesterday's Gone'. The bedrock of honest and raw sentimentality that you heard on 'Yesterday's Gone' left an inextinguishable mark on music in general and UK Hip Hop in particular, standing out as an ageless, bulletproof debut.

'Not Waving, But Drowning', Loyle's new album, gives yet more evidence - as if it were needed - of his razor-sharp flow and his unique storytelling ability. Yes, he can rap, but he allies that with the sensitivity of a poet, the observational skills of a novelist, and warmth of your best friend. The album opens with 'Dear Jean', a letter to his mother in which he's telling her that he has found the love of his life, 'a woman from the skies', and he's moving out.

It goes without saying that Loyle's music is hard to categorise, but what is even more impressive is that for someone who grew up listening to Mos Def, Biggie Smalls, Roots Manuva, and Wu Tang Clan, he doesn't sound like any of them. Although he might from time to time give lyrical nods to them, he's no imitator.

Loyle loves cooking. There are two tracks on this album named after chefs. The British-Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, and the now deceased Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. 'Ottolenghi' the first single from the album was featured on the BBC Radio 1 B-list, BBC 6 Music A-list and has already been streamed over 5 million times.

Loyle refers to real life for everything, the title of 'Yesterday's Gone' came from a song of his step father, the title of his new album 'Not Waving, But Drowning' comes from a poem by his grandfather, which in turn came from a Stevie Smith poem. What you hear on the track 'Krispy' is real. He is pouring his heart out to his best friend Rebel Kleff after their relationship went downhill, he invites him on the track to say his piece but he doesn't turn up, so we get a flugel solo instead.

Loyle also has his own personal black consciousness movement. When he refers to his 'fathers' in the track 'Looking Back' he really is referring to two fathers. His biological father, a black man who he knows, but knows very little of, and his step father, a poet and musician who happens to be a white man but died a sudden unexpected death from epilepsy (SUDEP). With no real emotional ties to his biological father, but a deep connection with a deceased step-father, where does a young child turn He succinctly captures many of the great, unspoken, cultural and historical paradoxes of multicultural Britain on 'Looking Back'.

An album like this is hard to find. It is for those who like their Hip Hop to have soul, and their soul to have spirit. This is because it works on so many levels, but it is reflecting the personality of its creator. There are a host of collaborators here, Jorja Smith, Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun, Kwes, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Tom Misch and more, but none are overpowering. They blend righteously into place.
Loyle is not bitter with people who have let him down, or a society that lets so many down, but the combination of anger and love he has gives his voice the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability. This might be a coming of age album, but it's also a coming of ageless album. Loyle's 2019 Spring tour - which includes London's Roundhouse - sold out within 20 minutes of being on sale.

Not Waving, But Drowning



A rapper that raps about family is hard to find. The boys in the 'hood' tend not to be that interested in how much a 'brother' loves his mother, or how much he misses his dad, or even how much he misses his best friend. The boys in the 'hood' tend to be obsessed with the size of their cars, girls, bank accounts, and other personal 'possessions'. Loyle Carner's Mercury and BRIT Prize nominated debut 'Yesterday's Gone' (Released 2017), made it clear that he wasn't that kind of rapper. In fact, every time I talk to him about his work we talk about the world, and we tended to confuse ourselves by calling his work rap, poems, or songs, sometimes in the same sentence. They are in truth all of these things.



Here's some poetry.



Honestly I need them.

I hate them but I grieve them

I think I've finally found the reason

Trust

Like the fire needs the air.

I won't burn unless you're there.





'Not Waving, But Drowning', Loyle's forthcoming new album, gives us yet more evidence, (if it were needed), that he still has what rappers call, flow, but he hasn't lost any of his story telling qualities. Yes, the boy can rap, but a rapper with the sensitivity of a true poet, the observational skills of a novelist, and warmth of your best friend. The album opens with 'Dear Jean', a letter to his mother in which he's telling her that he has found the love of his life, (a woman from the skies), and he's moving out. He really loves the woman from the skies, but he still loves his mum, and so he reassures her that there is no competition, and tells her that 'She's not behind me or behind you, but beside we and beside two', his words. Or to put it another way, moving out without moving out. My words.



It goes without saying that Loyle's music is hard to categorise, but what is even more impressive is that for someone who grew up listening to Mos Def, Biggie Smalls, Roots Manuva, and Wu Tang Clan, he doesn't sound like any of them. Although he might from time to time give lyrical nods to them, he's no imitator. He says finding his own voice was something he always found easy. Although young, (in terms of a musical career), he has confidence in his own words and his own voice, and has never been tempted to sound like he's been hanging out in the USA, or rolling in 'Grime' on the mean streets of East London. And so when it comes to the creative process he doesn't simply find a beat to jump on and ride. Beats are important, but they are tenderly layered with samples, keyboards, or live drums, all imaginatively assembled for the laying on of words. Some tracks start with the idea, some with poetry, and some with a verse from a singer or some other melodic inspiration, but there is no formula.



Here's some poetry.



Don't hold any memories of us

Rather hold you everyday until the memories are dust

Yo we only caught the train

Cos you know I hate the bus





A prolific reader, who has dyslexia is hard to find. Add ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to that and life should become even more difficult. To deal with your difficulties you devise coping strategies, which can differ from person to person. Loyle loves cooking. There are two tracks on this album named after chefs. The British-Israeli chef Ottolenghi, and the now deceased Italian chef Antonio Carluccio. Loyle describes himself as 'weird' because he is happy to read a cookbook as if he was reading a novel or a book of poetry. He has opened a cookery school for young adults not just because he loves food and wants to make more of it, but because it is one of the few things that can focus the ADHD mind. And when it comes to his other love, football, his approach is the same. Focus. He wanted to be a striker he says, up front scoring goals, but found his best position was in midfield because he was able to focus, check options, and see passes ahead of time, providing passes for other players just when they needed them. He says, 'You don't grow out of ADHD, you grow into it.' Loyle is also working with Levi's® on their music project where he is mentoring young musicians over a six month period, culminating at Liverpool Sound City festival.



More poetry.



When the going is tough

I wait till it falls on deaf ears

Hearsay

Without the boundaries of love



He also said, 'Ask most people and they will say that they love their mothers, but most are not going to rap about her'. On his first album Loyle's mum Jean wrote about the 'scribble of a boy' that growing up would take things apart to see how they worked. On this album she speaks with pride about a man who has found his place in the world.



Yes, poetry.



I'm still looking for the answers

Trying to find the right questions

Still waiting for my fathers

But can't break them in to sections



This poetry is serious. Loyle has his own personal black consciousness movement. He told me that he always felt safe at home, and being the darkest one in the family never meant a thing, but then when he had to face the outside world he felt hostility. It shook him up. Now he had to start asking questions, but what were the questions. This is serious. When he refers to his 'fathers' in the verse above taken from the track 'Looking Back' he really is referring to two fathers. His biological father, a black man who he knows, but knows very little of, and his step father, a poet and musician who happens to be a white man but died a sudden unexpected death from epilepsy (SUDEP). So to whom would a young black (or mixed race) kid turn He succinctly captures many of the great, unspoken, cultural and historical paradoxes of multicultural Britain when he says, 'My great grandfather could of owned my other one.' We are a people descended from enslaved people on one hand, and enslavers on the other, something we are still struggling to come to terms with, and this can be apparent in one family. A big book could have told you that, but here we get it in one line on the track, Looking Back.





Loyle refers to real life for everything. The album is peppered with captured moments that he records on his phone. These moments can range from conversations with taxi drivers, to capturing the moment when England scores a goal in the world cup. The title of 'Yesterday's Gone' came from a song of his step father, the title of his new album 'Not Waving but Drowning' comes from a poem by his grandfather, which in turn came from a Stevie Smith poem. What you hear on the track 'Krispy' is real. He is pouring his heart out to his best friend after their relationship went downhill, he invites him on the track to say his piece but he doesn't turn up, so we get a flugel solo instead. Yes people, this is real.



An album like this is hard to find. It is for those who like their Hip Hop to have soul, and their soul to have spirit, this is an album for those who have, (I'm sorry, I'm going to say it), emotional intelligence. This is because it works on so many levels, but it is reflecting the personality of its creator. There are a host of collaborators here, Jorja Smith, Rebel Kleff, Kiko Bun, Jordan Rakei, Sampha, Tom Misch and more, but none are overpowering. They blend righteously into place. Loyle is not bitter with people who have let him down, or the society that has let him down, but the combination of anger and love he has gives his voice the perfect blend of strength and vulnerability. This might be a coming of age album, but it's also a coming of ageless album. His first album worked, and this second album is a continuation of that work. Not creating a form, but being formless, as someone like Bruce Lee once said.

And here's some poetry from mum.



We talked long in to the darkest hours

Until we saw the burnished sky

And our eyes stung

As our words blurred and became thoughts

As we were silenced by the dawn

We clung to each other like sailors in a storm

A nugget of rare South African groove originally issued alongside Bra Sello on the Soweto label in Johannesburg in 1976. A self-titled offering and the group's only album, Themba delivers the quintessential blend of sophisticated jazz improvisation over hip-swinging township pop that gives South African jazz from the 1970s its timeless appeal.

Themba features a skilled ensemble led by Baba "Themba" Mokoena, who appeared on Dick Khoza's landmark Chapita album in 1975 and has gone on to earn a reputation (over the course of a career that spans into the 2020s) as one of the legendary guitarists of his generation. Reissued for the very first time on the cusp of its 50th anniversary, this edition of Themba is sourced from the original master tape under license from from As-Shams Archive.

Recorded at Satbel Recording Studios

Produced by Greg Siphi Ngcobo

Engineered by Paul Dobbe

Originally issued on the Soweto label

Under license from As-Shams Archive

Max Richter, der gefeierte Komponist, der dafür bekannt ist, traditionelle Orchestrierung nahtlos mit modernen elektronischen Elementen zu verbinden, bereitet sich darauf vor, sein mit Spannung erwartetes Album
zu veröffentlichen. Dieses Album markiert eine bedeutende Entwicklung in Richters musikalischem Werdegang, da er sich intensiver mit Themen wie Optimismus und der Polarität des Lebens und menschlicher
Emotionen auseinandersetzt, begleitet von einer tieferen Erkundung elektronischer Klänge und Feldaufnahmen.
Mit seiner jahrzehntelangen Karriere und prägenden Projekten wie SLEEP oder Vivaldi Recomposed kann
Max Richters Einfluss auf Musik und Kultur gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden. Seine unvergleichliche Fähigkeit, tiefgreifende menschliche Erfahrungen in musikalische Kompositionen zu übersetzen, hat
ihm weltweit eine treue Anhängerschaft eingebracht.
Seither begeisterte Max Richter weltweit ein Millionenpublikum und berührte damit nicht nur bewährte
Kenner, sondern auch völlig neue Generationen von Hörern, sei es in Filmen wie Ad Astra, oder Serien, wie
zuletzt in den Netflix-Erfolgsformaten Bridgerton oder The Crown.

Vinyl is 180g and contains downloadcode

Wrocław-Toruń noise rock band founded by Szymon Szwarc (swrcfx, Jesień) and Damian Kowalski (SKI). They are currently collaborating with Cezary Rosiński (Młyn) and Krzysztof Rogalski (Pchełki). The band has performed in clubs and at festivals in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. So far, two full-length albums by RZWD have been released: POMPY (Fonoradar Records 2020) and GOLD (Fonoradar Records 2022).


Album GAPS Recorded in November 2023, is the result of two years of work that merges classic POST-PUNK GUIDE with a rich electronic influence. On GAPS, RZWD aims to craft DANCE NOISE CLUB MUSIC on their own terms, pushing the limits of what a LIVE BAND can be in achieving this.
Most of the tracks evolved during RZWD's concerts in countries like Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Estonia. These experiences and ideas were shaped into the album between November 2023 and May 2024. Live recordings in Szczecin were done by Adam Sołtysiak, while additional recordings and production were handled in Toruń under the supervision of swrcfx.
The core idea behind GAPS was to use developed themes as a starting point for further variations and exploration within DANCE NOISE CLUB MUSIC. This time, the instrumentation includes bass and an ever-expanding, mutating layer of modulation. Therefore, the album features four brand new compositions alongside four remixes of tracks from previous albums.
The album also features guest appearances by: DANIELIUS PANCEROVAS from the Lithuanian band KANALIZACJIA, adding a saxophone touch to the track DIESEL, and KRZYSZTOF FREEZE OSTROWSKI - a renowned Polish electronic musician and producer, bringing a new sonic perspective to EURO TRACK from the DMO EP.
Among the multidimensional concepts blending environments, genres, styles, and techniques found on GAPS, the pursuit of synthesizing acoustic and electronic sounds stands out. RZWD creates a space where the boundaries between these domains blur and lose their significance.
The result is a groove-driven and noisy mix of dance music styles such as RAVE, TECHNO, HOUSE, and FOOTWORK, played beyond rigid tempo measurements and DAW limitations, relying on natural skills and intuition. It's a soundtrack that works best as a backdrop to movement, whether coordinated or not.
RZWD:
SKI - DRUMS, ELECTRONICS
KRZYSZTOF ROGALSKI - BASS GUITAR
CEZARY ROSIŃSKI - DUBS, SYNTH, MOD. ELECTRONICS
swrcfx - DUBS, SYNTH, GUITAR
ALBUM GUESTS:
DANIELIUS PANCEROVAS - SAXOPHONE in DIESEL V3
KRZYSZTOF FREEZE OSTROWSKI - ELECTRONICS in EURO TRACK V2

Fresh from beasting the end-of-year charts with her 'I Miss Your Love' remix project, Ghost Assembly, aka Manchester DJ and writer Abigail Ward, is back with a double A-side: RESIST! / I Keep on Making the Same Mistake.

RESIST! (Extended 12" Mix)
Laid down quickly and angrily after attending a demo in Manchester city centre, RESIST! aims to capture the galvanising spirit of protest and put it on wax.
A 111bpm acid chugger that will leave dancefloors of an ALFOS or Optimo persuasion begging for more, this is uncompromising machine funk at its crudest.
Duelling 303s twist around each other whilst a taut, snaking 707 groove underpins unexpected blasts of Arabic rhythm, almost as if DJ Pierre had remixed 'Get UR Freak On', relocating it to the Middle East.
As a stuttering Harper Hay vocal sample urges us to RESIST!, the track climaxes with an ice-cold acid house string coda banged out on a disobedient synth. Please note: the sub on this record may trouble your duodenum.

RESIST! (Utter Kunt Mix)
The Utter Kunt mix is a sparse and daring Sleng Teng-inspired avant-dub affair strictly for discerning dancefloors only. Improbably combining hints of the Mission Impossible theme, Les Negresses Vertes' 'Zobi La Mouche' and the rough-hewn sampling of 'Duck Rock', this is a radiant obstacle in the path of the obvious. Warning: collectors of On-U, EBM and New Beat could experience a spate of nocturnal emissions upon purchasing this record.

The A-side closes with a BONUS BEATS version of the Utter Kunt Mix: a must-have DJ tool.

I KEEP ON MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE
Picking up the pace to 120, 'I Keep on Making the Same Mistake' sees Ghost Assembly returning to her string-drenched sad banger comfort zone, pairing a chilly breakbeat with a bass riff reminiscent of Joey Beltram having a gut-wrenching cry wank. Keening vocals supplied by Hazel Grove are chopped up, tormented and eventually hurled down a K-hole as the strings build and the drama escalates.
When the credits roll on this cinematic masterpiece we hear a wistful French lesbian talking about 'borrowed bliss'.

A future comedown classic; also sounds good slowed down to 33rpm.

The E.P. signs off with a stunning string-a-pella that will linger long after the needle hits the run-out groove.

Our 2022 reissue of Don Julian and the Larks’ 1974 LP Super Slick made fans of rare ‘70s soul and funk very happy, and this release is gonna do the same. Bandleader Don Julian followed the lead of Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield et al. in scoring the 1973 blaxploitation film Savage!; the reasons Julian’s score didn’t hit like Superfly or Shaft are, one, the film didn’t do as well, as it was a Philippine-based B-movie funded and distributed by Roger Corman’s New World Pictures, and, two, the soundtrack came out on the lightly-distributed Money Records label. Dig the fantastic flute work from Jimmy Vinson…and the ten-plus minute title theme is just plain funkin’ filthy. Blood orange pressing limited to just 750 copies!

As soon as Martin Circus was born in 1969, the band laid foundations for the French "Pop Musique" genre, deliberately turning its back on both French yéyés and rock'n'roll to better embrace psychedelia and the French language. In 1971, they were a pioneering, innovative group moving as fast as a speeding train, building upon everything they found on the way. However, faced with band members changing often, management issues and music evolution, Martin Circus ended up trying to fit in every style: soul, R&B, glam rock, disco, new wave, 80s mainstream music. To follow their journey is to listen to the world shifting along music charts. Behind the scenes, since the very first days of the band, one man had been pulling all the strings. Manager and artistic director Gérard Hugé used to work for both the band and the label - this has never been good news. What he cared about the most was getting records out, no matter who played on them. In the mid-70s, he registered the Martin Circus name, granting himself full power over the band. Deciding that it no longer had either a lyricist or a composer, he made the remaining musicians embark on a series of American 60s hits adaptations. As a result, they made tons of money : "Marylène" was a huge hit and gave them a new impulse. The Martins adopted a new look by wearing shiny Courrèges-style suits and platform boots, and on stage they performed dance moves choreographed by the eccentric Amadeo. They completely fit into the disco craze which was about to take over. Still, their music blended doo-wop and rockabilly with glam rock and funk music. They eventually hit disco with a soundtrack in the mannerof French disco groups such as Space and Voyage. Effortlessly, they released the epic 14- minute "Disco Circus", a track which was to become a real underground gem. DJ and remixer François Kevorkian then released it on the American Prelude label in a self-edited version, shortened to 7 minutes while retaining all the dazzling passages of the original track. It came to be a hit in the clubs of New York and Chicago, making a lasting impression on everyone who heard it. It got sampled on at least 40 tracks over the following decades and featured in dozens of bootlegs and prestigious compilations - by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Joey Negro, The Beatnuts, The Rapture, and by Danny Krivit in the DJ culture film Maestro. As the 80s arrived, Martin Circus once again changed the way they looked and their style. Inspired by Devo and their cold dance music, by Buggles' synthpop and Plastic Bertand's postpunk. Throughout their career full of ups and downs, Martin Circus nonetheless managed to keep up with one stable element: contrary to what they seemed, the musicians never took the easy way out. Their playing and arrangements were consistently flawless and polished, they relentlessly dedicated themselves to playing quality music and this can only compel admiration. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does."

Off the back of storming the UK charts once again with latest single 'White Noise feat AlunaGeorge' - DISCLOSURE are extremely excited to announce the title, artwork and release date for their eagerly awaited details of their debut album.
'SETTLE' - the brothers' first full-length recording - will be released on June 3 via PMR records (home to Jessie Ware and Julio Bashmore among others).
Leading the charge into the album is the single 'You & Me' featuring Eliza Doolittle, and as you'd expect, Disclosure continuously prove their ability in bringing the best out of their vocal collaborators, with Eliza's lustrous vocal immersed among Disclosure's trademark 2-step garage rhythms, once again showing beyond doubt their capacity in delivering yet another anthem alongside previous singles Latch and White Noise.

Having steadily built a name for themselves as purveyors of a standard of music production way beyond their tender years, they've spent a solid couple of years honing their already prolific output into what's sure to be one of the debuts of 2013 - in any genre.
Highlights:
'You & Me' was released on Sunday 28th April
The single was the week's HIGHEST new entry in the official chart midweeks at number (J) CD 10
Single remix roll out as below:
16th May Zane Lowe exclusive Baauer
w/c 20th May online exclusive Flume
'You & Me' Remix EP and 12' Vinyl available June 24th
R1 Zane Lowe Session (May 15th), R1 Zane Lowe Album Of The Week (May 27th) and Radio 1/1Xtra Live Lounge (June 5th) all confirmed

'Latch' featuring Sam Smith and 'White Noise' featuring AlunaGeorge have now sold over 650K combined (making both Silver certified singles).

White Noise' which entered the UK singles chart at #2 on release remained a Top 15 single for the consecutive 10 weeks.

The Very Polish Cut outs are back with a new release, this time a solo outing by POLOTRONIC - who also happens to be a member of the infamous warsaw duo - Holiday80.
The EP entitled "Marzenia" (translated "Dreams") contains 4 tracks. 2 original productions, one remix and one reowrk and as with all TVPCO releases - its a very diverse affair aimed at the dancefloors. The EP kicks of with a brilliant re-imagination of a polish early 90s hip hop classic "Spalam Si?" ("I'm going down in flames") which the producer transforms into a house anthem with infectious vocal hooks, breaky percussions and lush piano stabs. This one is for sure some peak time material that will make the crowd dancing and asking themselves at the same time - where the hell did that one come from? Moving on is the title track "Marzenia" that might be the water to cool down the fire started by "Spalam Si?". It's a dreamy breakbeat house affair with lush bells and 90s inspired synths and female vocal snippets. It will for sure make you nostalgic. On the flip you will find the mesmerizing electro inspired remix for the track "Pami?tnik Manekina" by Grupa Jot, which was part of the 2022 released "Echo Wielkiej P?yty" compilation with obscure polish electronic music. This one was already available for some time in digital format only but now finally makes the jump to vinyl - as a long-time fan favourite. The EP ends with the jacking acid infused track "Jack" that is a deep mid-tempo heavy hitter for the later hours of the night. Polotronic adds here a male polish vocal sample that repeats the phrase "dyskoteka" ("disco"). The brilliant cover is as always, the work of the labels long time collaborator Bartosz Szymkiewicz.

Ltd Edition!

After several wildly popular singles out on Penrose Records, alongside labelmates Thee Sacred Souls, The Altons gear up to release their debut album on Daptone Records. With lead vocals shared between Adriana Flores and Brian Ponce the interplay between their unique timbres brings a romantic quality to the music that is absent in many of today's soul offerings. Steeped with moody ballads, soulful, tejano-kissed duets and Bond theme psychedelia-Heartache in Room 14 is poised to be the "must have" album of 2025.

Ltd Edition!

After several wildly popular singles out on Penrose Records, alongside labelmates Thee Sacred Souls, The Altons gear up to release their debut album on Daptone Records. With lead vocals shared between Adriana Flores and Brian Ponce the interplay between their unique timbres brings a romantic quality to the music that is absent in many of today's soul offerings. Steeped with moody ballads, soulful, tejano-kissed duets and Bond theme psychedelia-Heartache in Room 14 is poised to be the "must have" album of 2025.

Ltd Edition!

Mit diesem sechsten Studioalbum schließt Richard Dawson den Kreis und knüpft an seine ersten Solo-Veröffentlichungen vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt an!

War The Ruby Cord (2022) eine Studie in üppigen Arrangements und epischem, fantasievollem Songwriting, so kehrt Dawson mit End of the Middle sowohl klanglich als auch thematisch in die Heimat zurück. Der Fokus des Albums auf alltägliche häusliche Geschichten durch das Prisma eines „typischen englischen Mittelklasse-Haushalts“ spiegelt sich in der sparsamen
Instrumentierung - nur Gitarre, Schlagzeug und Gesang - und den sanften, sich windenden Melodien wider. Mit diesem Album, das an seine ersten Solo-Veröffentlichungen vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt anknüpft, hat Dawson einen Kreis geschlossen: das Ende der Mitte.

Ltd Edition!

Mit diesem sechsten Studioalbum schließt Richard Dawson den Kreis und knüpft an seine ersten Solo-Veröffentlichungen vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt an!

War The Ruby Cord (2022) eine Studie in üppigen Arrangements und epischem, fantasievollem Songwriting, so kehrt Dawson mit End of the Middle sowohl klanglich als auch thematisch in die Heimat zurück. Der Fokus des Albums auf alltägliche häusliche Geschichten durch das Prisma eines „typischen englischen Mittelklasse-Haushalts“ spiegelt sich in der sparsamen
Instrumentierung - nur Gitarre, Schlagzeug und Gesang - und den sanften, sich windenden Melodien wider. Mit diesem Album, das an seine ersten Solo-Veröffentlichungen vor mehr als einem Jahrzehnt anknüpft, hat Dawson einen Kreis geschlossen: das Ende der Mitte.

Transparent Red Vinyl

Produced by Dynazty themselves and mixed by Swedish pioneer Jens Bogren, Game of Faces takes you on a journey exploring the essence of the human mind and existence with lyrical themes such as self-discovery, spiritual death, rebirth and re-invention.
Formed in 2008, Dynazty has over the years evolved from its humble beginnings rooted in the Scandinavian Hard Rock scene into now being a powerhouse and formidable force to be reckoned with on the top shelf of the modern melodic metal scene.
Career milestones include the 2020 chart breaking album The Dark Delight, certified for gold status in the bands home country Sweden and neighbours Finland. With single tracks Heartless Madness reaching platinum status and Presence of Mind featured in DC comics and HBO’s Peacemaker series.
Tours in recent years together with bands like Sabaton, Powerwolf, Battle Beast, Pain and Kissin Dynamite has showcased and established the band on the European continent as one of the most prominent live acts of its generation. Fast forward to August 2024 where Dynazty concluded an extensive run of European summer festivals with releasing a new song, Devilry of Ecstasy as a precursor and first taste of a yet unannounced new album

"Tchenbé !" The New Therapeutic Album from Dowdelin

This deeply introspective new opus tackles the personal and emotional challenges we all face at some point in our lives. Dowdelin explores themes of depression, life’s ups and downs and resilience, served up by Caribbean sounds and lyrics in Creole, French and English, at the confluence of jazz, electronic music and even the most percussive soul.

Everything in our world is intertwined, interconnected and mixed, something not fully explored from the past still influences the present and creates the future.

The spiral of time has caught its beginning on the ancient multicultural city, breaking through the multilayered chaos of history, met us at this very segment and crystallized this artefact — Babylon is ahead of you.

A blast from the past, a fleeting moment of falling in love, an inhumane apocalyptic metropolis, an icy deathbed or an eternal lost love…? The golden coast awaits you. Its crystal doors are there for you to open them. The deep, azure saltwater is here…forever…

By alone or not.

Serenades presents the second EP from talented producer BB. angel (fka baby angel) who has traveled a huge musical path.

This is the eponymous debut studio album by the American Rock band the Modern Lovers, originally released in 1976. Six tracks (“Roadrunner”, “Astral Plane”, “Old World”, “Pablo Picasso”, “She Cracked” and “Someone I Care About”) were produced by John Cale.

The Modern Lovers were formed in 1970 by teenage singer, songwriter, guitarist Jonathan Richman, augmented with Jerry Harrison (keyboards) -later of Talking Heads-, Ernie Brooks (bass) and David Robinson (drums) -later of The Cars-, with Richman’s friend and original band member John Felice joining them occasionally.

The Modern Lovers influenced numerous aspiring punk rock musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Sex Pistols, whose early cover of “Roadrunner” was placed on The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle. The album was included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2003, the album was listed on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The Modern Lovers is available as a Limited numbered edition of 4000 copies on “Cool Blue” coloured vinyl

„Life has never been easy, so keep moving“ is the opening line of Making moves, the title song of SANTROFI‘s new album. Four years ago their celebrated debut ‚Alewa‘ introduced this 8 piece Highlife collective powerhouse from Accra to the world.

After five solid years on the road, SANTROFI is now ready to release some fresh material. co-produced and mixed by four-time Grammy Award winner Jerry Boys (REM, Ali Farka Toure, Buena Vista Social Club, Orchestra Baobab, Kronos Quartet). The band has continued an intense tour schedule, with 2024 seeing their first shows in the USA as well as a Japan tour of with 13 sold out shows 2024. where.

Making moves is both a celebration of SANTROFI’s roots and a leap into the future of Highlife. The opening track Amina is a Ghanaian childhood game turned Highlife Funk. It draws from the past, pushing it into the future. The title song Making moves sees Santrofi team up with the current booming Afrobeatscene in Ghana: It features Ghanas Newcomers Kofi Jamar and Arathejay. The song talks about trying to survive on the sometimes crazy streets of Accra without loosing your mind. Su nkwa sees Santrofi celebrating their love for typical Sikji Highlife music. And the nostalgic No money, no honey sums up yet another common truth from the streets of Accra. From the opening Highlife funk of Amina to the Ghanaian-childhood-game-turned- boogie-banger Gyae me how, this record will get you dancing.

Led by producer-bassist Kojo Ofori, SANTROFI unites 8 of Accra’s most gifted musicians with a passion for both vintage highlife grooves and a hip hop sensibility. Members of the band have played with leading Ghanaian artists including Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Ambolley, AK Yeboah and highlife pioneer AB Crentsil with whom they recorded just before he passed away - watch out for that!

SANTROFI have shared stage and studio with rising stars of Ghana’s vibrant urban music scene such as Kidi, Yaw Tog, Black Sherif, AratheJay and even Nigerian superstar Wizkid (who has made Accra his second home). The upcoming album sees the band teaming up with some of the most exciting talents in Ghana‘s such as AratheJay and Kofi Jamar.

If you think it is impossible to play a funk groove (or even drill) over a pulsing Highlife clave: SANTROFI will prove you wrong. Listen to the phrasing of SANTROFI‘s horn section, hear the Highlife clave running through every bar of their music. Santrofi are pushing Ghanas Highlifegrooves into the future without loosing its sweet soul. And don’t forget to come and see them Making moves live in your city.

Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom is the Delines most realized and strongest album to date, a record of romantic misfits and grifters who live out of suitcases and cars, who can"t seem to settle down, who hope that in the next town or city will be the score that saves them. Mr. Luck & Ms. Doom features the stalwart Delines line up: Amy Boone on vocals, Cory Gray on horns and keyboards, Sean Oldham on drums, Freddy Trujillo on bass, and Willy Vlautin on guitar. The record features Amy Boone"s lush, world worn voice, the cinematic production skills of Askew, and the horn and string arrangement of Delines keyboardist and trumpeter, Cory Gray. This is wide screen, CinemaScope, Delines at their best.

It’s written in the Agreement Terms. There’s no getting out alive in Life. And yet, mankind keeps striving for eternal life; through art, through power, through cryogenics, through singularity. In that misguided quest against the inevitable, we all fall into the category of lost travellers. No one is exempt. In that understanding, Confucius MC and producer Bastien Keb offer no misgivings about the destination on the somber “Time Will Come”: Time will come for all of us / try to take your time.

Songs For Lost Travellers is a collaborative album by Con and Bastien Keb that merges unexplored pathways between rap, folk, and jazz into a spiritual triumvirate. Each genre is a balancing force within the record. The result is an album unlike either artist have made previously, possibly unlike any record in existence. Songs For Lost Travellers opens with bedtime stories and fairytales. Both “Tell Me Lies” and “Fairytale” present the creature comforts that trick us into forgetting the truth. Con’s first words spoken are “tell me lies ‘til I swear I can’t remember” over Keb’s lo-fi plucking that feels like it was lifted from a handheld recorder capturing a nursery mobile above a crib. Third track “Time Will Come” resets the album after acknowledging on “Fairytale” there’s “no nourishment in half-truths / no sustenance in eating lies.”

Honest and direct, Con and Keb imbue Songs For Lost Travellers with knowledge and truth from their lived experiences. There is grief hidden in the notes, an inherent sadness that is balanced with an awareness that grief is a protest against the social machinery of remaining numb. The record lingers in a meditative state, unafraid of restlessness and embracing solitude, with the expectation that peace is just as imminent as death.

The production contains a complimentary authenticity. Neither Con nor Keb bothered much with the professional studio in making Songs For Lost Travellers. Instead they opted for the raw state of their home recordings and first takes, matching the intimacy of being alone and reflective in their creative energies. Room static on “Tell Me Lies” makes it feel like you’ve entered their apartments. The immediacy continues on “Gutters,” as Keb plays guitar while watching the tele and Con hums along to the vocal melody in search of the proper pocket for his verse. Someone snaps their finger to mark a cue, but the snap never returns to the mix to keep time.

More drawn to Keb’s recent folk recordings on the Songs For Lilla EP than his funk roots circa Dinking In The Shadows of Zizou or the cinematic soul of The Killing of Eugene Peeps, Con leaned into the spacial freedom he heard in Keb’s lo-fi production cobbled from field recordings and voice notes. Both artists placed their families into the tableau. Con wrote “Little Man” for his son, hoping to add a positive contribution to the canon of parental rap songs. Later, his son appears at the end of “Paramount” to deliver a passage from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. Keb secretly recorded his mum playing saxophone and sampled his cousin playing sax as well. The result is a near-drumless album (save for “Toulouse” and light tapping on “It Would Speak”) in which Keb’s raw production (plus a few sessions with Kofi Flexxx) gave Con a liminal zone, unencumbered by beats per minute, to craft melodies that turn his philosophical rhymes into mantras.

Perhaps there’s a message in the presence of family? It would be one of many. Con and Keb’s reflective, somber approach to Songs For Lost Travellers does not wallow in the mire. Music is action and it’s taking them through a portal to the other side of grief. We are welcome to join (which is also in the fine print of the Agreement Terms), but first there’s a password in the final song, a single request to answer: Tell me what you care about.

Biography by Blake Gillespie
credits

2023 was a whirlwind year for Oracle Sisters. The trio—Julia Johansen, Chris Willatt, and Lewis Lazar—followed the release of their debut album Hydranism with a globe-spanning tour that captivated fans and critics alike. From the highways between Knoxville and Nashville to sold-out clubs in rain-soaked Seattle, and festival stages across the UK, they logged countless hours on the road. Their journey was a tapestry of exhaustion and exhilaration, falling apart, brawls and disputes, love and acceptance. By the year’s end, just two days before Christmas, they found themselves in Tokyo, reflecting on the fleeting nature of time and the fragments of inspiration gathered along the way. It was there the seeds for their next album, Divinations, began to sprout. Composing as a true trio for the first time, Oracle Sisters pieced together sketches formed during stolen moments on tour. These fragments coalesced into Divinations, an album shaped by the band’s nomadic existence. The recording sessions spanned cozy Parisian studios, a barn in northern France, and the storied Valentine Studios in Los Angeles. Their creative process embraced experimentation—swapping primary instruments, playing with toy drum machines, and crafting melodies on quirky tools like the OP-1 and a baby Casio keyboard. This spirit of discovery lent the album a sense of spontaneity and wonder. At its core, Divinations channels mysticism and timeless storytelling. The band’s songwriting draws on diverse influences, from the surrealist poetry of Baudelaire and Rimbaud to the introspective philosophies of Carl Jung. Musically, echoes of Talking Heads, Air, and Leonard Cohen resonate throughout the album and tracks like “Riverside” delve into existential questions— “How far are you going? Is it more than money can buy?” Elsewhere on the album “Marseille,” born in the city that gave the song its name, kicks off as a trance with lyrics that play between the sincere and desperate self-help affirmations, we give ourselves while trying to find a bridge between our individual lives and a universal feeling. Lead-single “Alouette” is Oracle Sisters at their most direct; propelled by a driving bassline and exuberant strings, the track summons the sound of 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s rock n roll as they sing about “getting out of dodge, finding a pirate ship and sailing home.” Inspired by the book Caliban and the Witch, “Blue Left Hand” is a lyrical tapestry weaving together history, philosophy, and cultural critique. The lyrics, “It’s in the harbor of every page / It’s in the corner of the playwright’s stage / And every player and every fake / And every witch that we burned at the stake,” reflect on the forces that shaped the capitalist society we know today. Across Divinations’ 11 tracks it’s not only geographic boundaries that were crossed but also the boundaries of time and circumstance. While their work may not consciously reflect specific worldly events, they seek to embrace the universal and offer a space for healing. “Good music would make sense to a farmer in 17th century France as it would to a pastry chef in Slovenia in the 21st century,” shares Lazar. “It’s not written for any temporal powers that be. It’s about expressing our common humanity and taking it from there.” This intuitive approach fuels Oracle Sisters creative process - whether composing in a frozen French farmhouse or performing live with an ever-expanding lineup of collaborators, the band remains committed to exploring the unknown. Through Divinations, they hope to leave listeners feeling transcendent, levitating on waves of intuition and discovery.

The third album Fort Sensible by Brisbane alt-rockers Tape/Off is a genuine labour of love, a passionate dose of opinionated heart-on-sleeve rock’n’roll representing not just a place but a time with its cache of meticulously-crafted guitars, robust rhythms and socially-conscious lyrics mining both the personal and the political.

While musically they veer seamlessly between intricacy and intensity their words cut straight to the quick, the songs caustic and catchy in equal measure, making Fort Sensible by far the most ambitious and accessible album in the band’s storied decade-plus history.

Tape/Off’s first two albums - Chipper (2014) and Broadcast Park (2018) - were both longlisted for the prestigious Australian Music Prize, yet Fort Sensible takes the tried and tested Tape/Off aesthetic to a whole new level as the band seek to both share the creative load and fully harness their innate collective chemistry.

The guitars of Nathan Pickels and Ben Green weave together like an electric tapestry, the resultant soundscapes both intricate and ambitious whilst still entirely capable of busting out massive riffs with the best of them, their inherent simpatico now built upon by years of experience playing off each other. From a rhythmic perspective Tape/Off's propulsive drummer Branko Cosic's immense power and Cameron Smith's robust, expressive basslines combine to provide the perfect rhythmic bottom-end throughout the record.

Excitingly Tape/Off's sonic palette has been broadened substantially on the new album, with Pickels' angry and angst-laden diatribes throughout Fort Sensible now augmented by Green and Smith taking vocal turns at junctures, adding a whole new dynamic and dimension to proceedings.

At a time when our leaders seem lacking and the world needs the redemptive powers of art and music more than ever, Tape/Off announce themselves as a serious force to be reckoned with the uncompromising power and beauty of Fort Sensible!

Folk musician Seth Lakeman is set to release his self-produced new album The Granite Way, in February 2025 via his own label Honour Oak Records. It’s a collection of songs that was recorded within a week alongside a group of longtime collaborators of Seth’s, staying true to his roots and referring to ancient stories that inspired early West Country storytelling. Seth’s expert grasp of using folk music to convey a multitude of emotions in mere minutes cannot be overstated as he once again explores West Country folklore. ‘I made a point at the beginning of this writing period to stick with a narrative as best I can,’ he explains. ‘Each song feels strongly connected through history to the moors and the sea. I had written the stories and songs beforehand and had the melodic tunes ready for us all to explore when we recorded in the room, and the musical interplay between this lineup really displays their appetite for sounds and subjects within the folk tradition.’ While all the tracks on The Granite Way were written and produced by Seth Lakeman himself, the album was made possible with a group of musicians he has played alongside for many years, and will also be touring with them in early 2025 on his upcoming UK headline tour. They are Benji Kirkpatrick (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica), Ben Nicholls (double bass and electric bass), Cormac Byrne (percussion and bodhrán), and Alex Hart (vocals), with additional studio contributions from Archie Churchill Moss on accordion and Dany Crimp on whistles.

Folk musician Seth Lakeman is set to release his self-produced new album The Granite Way, in February 2025 via his own label Honour Oak Records. It’s a collection of songs that was recorded within a week alongside a group of longtime collaborators of Seth’s, staying true to his roots and referring to ancient stories that inspired early West Country storytelling. Seth’s expert grasp of using folk music to convey a multitude of emotions in mere minutes cannot be overstated as he once again explores West Country folklore. ‘I made a point at the beginning of this writing period to stick with a narrative as best I can,’ he explains. ‘Each song feels strongly connected through history to the moors and the sea. I had written the stories and songs beforehand and had the melodic tunes ready for us all to explore when we recorded in the room, and the musical interplay between this lineup really displays their appetite for sounds and subjects within the folk tradition.’ While all the tracks on The Granite Way were written and produced by Seth Lakeman himself, the album was made possible with a group of musicians he has played alongside for many years, and will also be touring with them in early 2025 on his upcoming UK headline tour. They are Benji Kirkpatrick (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica), Ben Nicholls (double bass and electric bass), Cormac Byrne (percussion and bodhrán), and Alex Hart (vocals), with additional studio contributions from Archie Churchill Moss on accordion and Dany Crimp on whistles.

Berlin based label "Matasuna Records" kicks off the new year 2025 with a soulful 7inch featuring songs by Barcelona's "The Blaxound" and singer "John Vermont". Their common love for vintage soul from the 60s and 70s brought them together for this project to compose and record classic soul sung in Spanish. This 45 shows that the concept worked out wonderfully: Spanish Soul at its best, sounding authentic and contemporary at the same time!

Matasuna Records, known for its reissues of musical treasures from the past, also has an eye for exciting new discoveries in contemporary music. With "The Blaxound & John Vermont" the label has once again found an interesting project for soulful & contemporary music that fits perfectly into the label's sound spectrum and will appeal to lovers of authentic soul music.

The two songs "No Es Por Ti" and "Qué Más Te Da?" from their recently released album will be released for the first time as a 7-inch vinyl single on Matasuna Records. The instrumentation and the lovely harmonies are the ideal basis for John Vermont, who with his versatile voice, sometimes powerful, sometimes smooth - but always soulful - can fully develop his vocal spectrum and fill the songs with his presence. Instrumental and vocal arrangements are beautifully balanced and harmonious. Beatific!

Artist info


"The Blaxound" is a Barcelona-based music project with deep ties to the city's Funk and Soul sceney. The project started in 2003 under the direction of musician, songwriter and producer "Marta Roman". The Blaxound has released four studio albums between 2007 and 2024 on different labels.

Years ago, Marta focused on the idea of recording a classic soul album sung in Spanish, respecting as much as possible the original production and sound of the late 60s and early 70s. Luckily, she met singer "Ivan Espejo" aka "John Vermont", which was the turning point and led to the full vocal album "Déjalo Ir" released on "Love Soul Productions" in 2024.

All songs were composed, recorded and produced by Marta Roman in her own studio, Black Flamingo Recordings, in Barcelona, Spain.

Gary Marks ‘ Gathering’ is exactly what you would call a miracle. Self-produced in 1974 and engineered at Vitra Sonic Recording Studios in New York, the album introduced the crispy talent of the guitarist/pianist and producer. A genuine blend of folksy harmonies and jazzy arrangements, the record could have been possibly the missing link between Tim Buckley ‘Starsailor’ and some early seventies Impulse ! session. Now it’s about time to get a hold of this masterpiece

”Gathering includes guitar legend John Scofield, the amazing jazz pianist Michael Cochrane, and one the of the top vibraphonists in the world, David Samuels. But at the time none of them were known to the general public. In fact, Gathering was the recording debut for all of us.” (from Gary Marks liner notes)

But Alive ist eine der wenigen Punkbands, denen es in den 90ern gelang, nicht ins Apolitische abzurutschen. Keine Politphrasen, keine MTV-Clownerien, die Systemkritik von ...But Alive blieb knallhart und präzise. Musikalisch setzen die Hamburger auf ihrem dritten Album "Bis jetzt ging alles gut..." (1997) vorwiegend auf griffigen Melodiepunk, zu dem sie dann Textzeilen bringen wie "Schreinemakers ist eine Quotenhure"(aus der Single "Ich möchte Ilona Christen die Brille von der Nase schlagen"). ...But Alive hassen den Zustand allwissender Coolness, der jegliche Gedanken an Revolte als abgesessene Peinlichkeit begreift. Und dies tun sie nicht mit dem Zeige-, sondern mit dem Mittelfinger. Produziert wurde das Album von Christian Mevs.

Blue Valentine Vinyl. Sometime in 2005, a lone box of master tapes escaped an estate sale and made its way through a network of collectors, record dealers, and "junkers" into the hands of leading Ohio soul expert Dante Carfagna, who linked them to Columbus, Ohio's mysterious Prix label (See: Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label). A bit of research turned up Prix proprietor George Beter, who identified most of the unlabeled material. All it took was an endless series of phone calls and letters and two fields trips in Columbus. But one complete mystery wended its way onto our final Prix compilation. "You and Me," a simple but irrepressible demo credited only to Penny & the Quarters, was found tacked onto a mixed studio reel. Our survey of every willing lifer left on the Columbus soul scene, including retired DJs, producers, and important local artists, produced not so much as a glimmer of recognition at the name Penny & the Quarters. Though we loved the song from the first play, it may've ended up a bit buried on our original compilation, as #18 of 19 tracks.Four years later, Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label hadn't exactly become a huge seller, although listeners had repeatedly told us that the unfiltered studio demos that fill out the record's back half were true diamonds in the rough. But neither Penny nor her Quarters had appeared to claim credit for their efforts. Then, completely out of left field, we heard from respected screen actor and avowed Numero fan Ryan Gosling that Penny's piercing bit of stripped down doo-wop was being considered for inclusion in Derek Cianfrance's indie-weeper film Blue Valentine. What we didn't know was that "You and Me" had won a major role in what became an indie circuit hit, and that Penny & the Quarters would instantly assume the role of world's most famous unknown doo-wop group.Every week is a slow news week in Columbus, Ohio, and early January 2011 found the city recovering from the thrill of elevating Ted Williams_the formerly homeless guy with the awesome voice for radio_into a national news sensation. But both major daily newspapers in town, as well as the city's alternative weekly, also ran stories about how a lost and unknown Columbus soul group had become the musical centerpiece of a film already garnering Oscar buzz. That mainstream spotlight aimed at Blue Valentine and Penny & the Quarters did the trick: we finally made contact with the widow of Jay Robinson, lead Quarters' singer and songwriter. Robinson, it turned out, had also been the leader of Columbus doo-wop pioneers The Supremes (later known as "The Columbus Supremes," for reasons which should be obvious). Jay Robinson never did give up on the dream of writing a hit record; even so, the posthumous realization of his dream is cold comfort for his widow and daughter. With their blessings, we returned to those estate sale masters and pulled down another neglected track ("You Are Giving Me Some Other Love") from the still-unknown Penny and her now-partly-known Quarters. "You and Me" is a song that could not be suppressed: not when Prix failed to release it; not when Penny & the Quarters were forgotten; not when Numero stuck it at the bitter end of a much overlooked compilation. Its evolution from estate sale trash to silver-screen gold has finally returned it to big-hole 45, where it probably should have lived all along.

A maelstrom of music and metaphysics, a crushing conduit for connection, contemplation and catharsis; ritualistic sludge-metal juggernauts Pothamus return to this plane of existence with new album `Abur', the highly anticipated spiritual successor to their colossal debut, `Raya'. The search for meaning stands central as a pillar of belief in the enigmatic world of Pothamus. Whilst blending eastern philosophy and western esotericism into a unique ontology, the band stay true to the fundamentals of music: sounds, instruments and bodies coming together just as they too drift away. To experience Pothamus is to open yourself to an immersive, out-of-body experience that transcends the ordinary and delves deep into the profound. `Abur', Pothamus' sophomore full-length is an odyssey of truly epic proportions. As well as honing their already formidable live sound in the intervening years, the band have widened their musical palette in order to explore a truly original take on heavy music that steers them ever further away from well-trodden post-metal paths. On `Abur' the Pothamus' signature ritualistic sound is elevated by the glacial sounds of the Surpeti, an drone instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent traditionally used for mantra singing, whilst drummer Van Hulle adds his voice in harmony with guitarist Coussens' to create an astounding richness and depth. Capturing Pothamus at their creative zenith was musical contemporary and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Psychonaut, Hippotraktor) who recorded, mixed and mastered `Abur'. A 44-minute pilgrimage through nature, animism and the depths of the human soul, `Abur' is Pothamus' answer to the big, existential questions that keep us all awake at night. Titanic, all-consuming heaviness is met with ethereal, airy beauty as the band contemplates the interconnectedness of all things, creating a singular sonic universe balanced perfectly between cosmic creation and absolute destruction. FOR FANS OF: Amenra, Heilung, Om, Wardruna, Briqueville, The Black Heart Rebellion 3-panel gatefold CD + 28 pages booklet, gatefold LP + 28 pages booklet

Ivory coloured vinyl! A maelstrom of music and metaphysics, a crushing conduit for connection, contemplation and catharsis; ritualistic sludge-metal juggernauts Pothamus return to this plane of existence with new album `Abur', the highly anticipated spiritual successor to their colossal debut, `Raya'. The search for meaning stands central as a pillar of belief in the enigmatic world of Pothamus. Whilst blending eastern philosophy and western esotericism into a unique ontology, the band stay true to the fundamentals of music: sounds, instruments and bodies coming together just as they too drift away. To experience Pothamus is to open yourself to an immersive, out-of-body experience that transcends the ordinary and delves deep into the profound. `Abur', Pothamus' sophomore full-length is an odyssey of truly epic proportions. As well as honing their already formidable live sound in the intervening years, the band have widened their musical palette in order to explore a truly original take on heavy music that steers them ever further away from well-trodden post-metal paths. On `Abur' the Pothamus' signature ritualistic sound is elevated by the glacial sounds of the Surpeti, an drone instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent traditionally used for mantra singing, whilst drummer Van Hulle adds his voice in harmony with guitarist Coussens' to create an astounding richness and depth. Capturing Pothamus at their creative zenith was musical contemporary and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Psychonaut, Hippotraktor) who recorded, mixed and mastered `Abur'. A 44-minute pilgrimage through nature, animism and the depths of the human soul, `Abur' is Pothamus' answer to the big, existential questions that keep us all awake at night. Titanic, all-consuming heaviness is met with ethereal, airy beauty as the band contemplates the interconnectedness of all things, creating a singular sonic universe balanced perfectly between cosmic creation and absolute destruction. FOR FANS OF: Amenra, Heilung, Om, Wardruna, Briqueville, The Black Heart Rebellion 3-panel gatefold CD + 28 pages booklet, gatefold LP + 28 pages booklet

Major-label debut by You Me At Six, Hold Me Down, was released on Virgin Records in January 2010, after the success of their debut album Take Off Your Colours - Released on vinyl for the first time, hear the album that cemented their reputation pressed on high-quality 180g vinyl. Taking their name from an abbreviation of the time they would meet, You Me At Six were formed in Weybridge, Surrey in 2004 by vocalist Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, and bassist Matt Barnes. Drummer Dan Flint joined in 2007. They first broke through at 2007's Slam Dunk Festival with their brew of heavy, melodic, emo-tinged rock, and after two self-released singles, the band signed to Slam Dunk Records. By 2010, they had signed to Virgin. Working with producers John Mitchell and Matt O'Grady, the band crafted 12 new tunes for Hold Me Down, including the singles Kiss And Tell, Underdog and Liquid Confidence which won Best Single at the 2010 Kerrang! Awards. The album reached No 5 in the UK chart, and fully established them on the vibrant UK rock scene. With a stable line up since 2007, You Me At Six have become one of Britain's most-loved bands, and announced recently that they will be splitting up after playing the Slam Dunk Festival in 2025, with Franceschi stating "Let's have the opportunity to say goodbye properly, versus slipping out the back door."

ED/MCL (pronounced Ed Michael) and IDN (Ibisazi Designers Nyabyo) have collaborated to create MOSH - both the title of the EP and its proposed genre. Mosh is music to mosh to, like dance is music to dance to. Jungle breaks are slowed down to the tempo of a metalcore breakdown. Super low 808s rumble below the beat. Sampled and recorded sounds are textured to evoke heavy metal guitars. And there are rhythmic shouted phrases, for shared chanting. This EP is being released on Interference Pattern because Tyler Pope saw ED/MCL playing on the street in Williamsburg.
IDN (Ibisazi Designers Nyabyo) is an artist collective based in Rwanda. Their vocals are shouted in a language of their own invention, yet they have crafted catchy vocal hooks designed for call and response. The vocals heard on MOSH were recorded with ED/MCL while they were visiting them in Kigali. The final track is a 10 minute long performance by IDN, from which ED/MCL remixed the preceding five mosh songs.

Original artwork / Black vinyl / 505 mcn paper / Lucid lamination / Greyscale 30 x 30 cm insert printed on 300 mcn DNS paper with condensed interview to Saheb Sarbib and exclusive pictures.

Personnel:
Daunik Lazro - Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Percussion
Saheb Sarbib - Double Bass, Reeds, Flute, Percussion
Jonathan Dickinson - Drums, Percussion
Manuel Resende - Electric Piano, Piano, Percussion


Notes:
The bass, that metronome that marks the time for musicians of every style, of every era, that secluded, silent, but essential character for a band. Without the bass, the music would be deflated, the heart notes would leave a wasteland of rowdy high frequencies without any rules. But bass players who have character can elevate those low frequencies and even make them loud at times. Who knows if free jazz, if we want to call it that, is exalted by the Arabic background, those semitones between the first and second degree that also make the bass sparkling? In his records, Saheb elevates the bass to a mother instrument, gives it life as vibrant as the spring that is coming. Solos are on par with that of the reeds and stand up to listening without waiting for another antagonist to return to take back the scene. This is one of the most playful and entertaining records we have reissued to date. Take a tour of the world of Saheb!

Franco Rosso’s epic cinematic opus of reggae social commentary, Babylon, landed in November of 1980. Moving through the film’s opening frames of grey dreary London, two spars – Blue and Ronnie – run with unrestrained anticipation to link with their Ital Lion Sound System brethren. Simultaneously the rest of the crew does what sound crews have done from time: Load them boxes up in the van and trod with vigor to the dance.

But that bassline…The soundtrack notes that carry the celluloid movements of the film’s opening scenes…That bassline…Upside down…Jazzy…Dubby…A bassline like no other reggae bassline the Ital Counselor has ever heard. The hook that got me deep into UK roots music from the band that is my number one inspiration.

If there is bassline that represents the core imperative of Ital Counselor Records, it would have to be Aswad’s Hey Jah Children. It seemed therefore only fitting to bring its absolutely resplendent glory to a new generation. Lovers of sounds and blues, it is time for the dread ital lion sound to once again rise to meet the day. So it is with the deepest of gratitude and respect to the legacy of Aswad (RIP Drummie Zeb) and Franco Rosso, that we present a deeper than deep next cut…Christened here…the Ital Lion Serenade.

In line with all IC releases, we have enlisted top tier session musicians and studio men. Long time IC collaborator, Inyaki BDF, is at the center of the action as the musical maestro. Hopping on the BDF sonic lorry are Aratz Diez on Trombone and James Zugasti on the dub mixes. This crew bring the original composition up-to-date with a heady dubwise weight. Syndrums ricochet while Inyaki’s bassline rumbles teetering as it does somewhere between a modern dubstep warble and its core roots-wise influence in Tony Gad’s original playing.

Diez’s trombone playing comes across like an x-ray of the Aswad Horn Section and keeps intact the jazzy abstraction of the original. In turn, Inyaki goes full 70s synth on the psychedelic dubwise of the B-side’s Operation Swamp 81. UK history buffs better you know the reference in that title and its thematic echoing significance from the UK depicted in Rosso’s film and carried on in remembrance on this here hotter than hot 12”.

A warning: the Zugasti dub cuts are devasting to speaker boxes.

Two sought after artists, Deft and Manni Dee, combine their uniquely eclectic sounds on collaborative EP ‘Swamp Season’ arriving on Hooversound in March 2025.

Deft, a familiar favourite within the Hooversound family having released two EP’s on the label, is no stranger to breaking boundaries when it comes to sonic stereotypes. Enter: Manni Dee. Another equally exciting name on the London circuit who is an advocate for non-conformism. Between them they have released on Exit, 1985 Music, Critical and Fabric Originals - their style has been recognised globally and continues to grow. Both creatives bring something refreshingly new to the table, whether it’s with their amalgam style of music making, their esteemed record platforms (Silk + Steel, B4 Music) or their DJ sets - it makes perfect sense for the duo to unite on their vision.

Their latest offering combines their boundaryless artistic style of forward-thinking atmospheric production on an EP named ‘Swamp Season’. The two producers play with different elements of club music and hip hop by blurring genres and throwing the rule book out of the window. The end result highlights how Deft and Manni Dee have excelled once again across five bass-fuelled tracks which will expand your perspective on electronic music.

On their single, the duo said “‘Charged’ was the last track we wrote for the EP. Rooted in the simplicity of 00's hip hop instrumentals, on steroids, adapted with the wider electronic sphere in mind. Inspired by the past and present, facing the future.”

Deft and Manni Dee also explained how they came to collaborate; “We've always shared the same taste in hip hop and electronic music, and also share a studio together underneath FOLD in Canning Town, so it just made sense for us to make a record together. Our process was creatively free with no preconceptions, having worked together remotely and together across multiple studios around the world. The result has created a new and exciting avenue for us both, opening the floodgates to eliminate boundaries. It's Swamp Season.”

Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, is thrilled to announce the release of SENSITIVE the first ever vinyl anthology to cover the indiepop scene of the 1980s. SENSITIVE features 30 songs in total by artists who defined the indiepop aesthetic, among them The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Sea Urchins, Primal Scream, The Pastels, Talulah Gosh, Orange Juice, The Field Mice, The Primitives, The Wedding Present, Miaow, Razorcuts, Dolly Mixture, The Bodines, Shop Assistants, The Soup Dragons, The Loft, The Chills, That Petrol Emotion and The Railway Children. SENSITIVE takes its name from the single released by The Field Mice, and marks the first time that The Field Mice have allowed one of their songs to be used on a compilation released by any label other than Sarah Records, who released all their records at the time. Also features on SENSITIVE is Dying Day from Orange Juice’s hugely influential debut album You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever – marking the only time that Edwyn Collins and his wife and manager Grace Maxwell have given permission for an Orange Juice song to be featured on an anthology. Many of the records featured on SENSITIVE have become highly sought-after collectors’ items since their original release. The Sea Urchins’ Pristine Christine changes hands for up to £400. Original mint copies of April Showers’ only single Abandon Ship command up to £380. If you were to try and individually buy all the records featuring the songs on SENSITIVE, you can expect to pay something around £1150. SENSITIVE features 10,000 words of extensive track-by-track notes and an essay by Pete Paphides, who was and remains an avid proponent of the indiepop scene that this collection chronicles. All the songs on SENSITIVE have been newly mastered at Abbey Road by Miles Showell. SENSITIVE will be released on double LP and double CD Needle Mythology Records.

Das neue Album von Rizzle Kicks,Competition Is For Losers, enthält eine dynamische Sammlung von 14
Titeln, darunter die Singles „Javelin“, „Gumdrops“ und „New Sport“, die den neu verfeinerten Sound des
Duos präsentieren. Auf dem ersten Album seit über einem Jahrzehnt vertiefen sie sich in Themen wie
Entwicklung, Wachstum und Reife.

For our first release of 2025, Incienso is excited to present “GNOSIS”, the debut album from San Francisco-based musician Raven. Dripping in warped synthesizer tones and flickering drum patterns, “GNOSIS” is a bold and new exploration into Raven’s timeless and immersive world

Ungod is the debut album by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward, released in 1994. The album blends aggressive guitar riffs with dark, brooding electronic elements, capturing the angst and intensity of the early 90s alternative scene. Produced by John Fryer, known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode, Ungod features standout tracks like "Violent Mood Swings" and "Nothing," showcasing Christopher Hall's raw, emotive vocals and the band's gritty, atmospheric sound. Although it didn't achieve mainstream success, Ungod gained a cult following, establishing Stabbing Westward as a significant force in the industrial rock genre. The album's dark, introspective themes and innovative production remain influential in the industrial rock landscape. Ungod is available on black vinyl and includes an insert.

Released in 1971, Get Off in Chicago captures the essence of an energetic concert featuring Harvey Mandel and key figures from the Chicago blues scene. Alongside Mandel, known for his innovative guitar playing, are renowned musicians such as John Bishop and Gregory E. Stinson, who contribute their talents on guitar. The rhythm section, with Peter Milo on drums and Nick Tountas on bass, anchors the tracks in a powerful groove. The album shows blazing solos, bold improvisations, and a collaborative spirit that transcends genres. This unique blend of blues, rock, and jazz highlights the collective genius of these talented artists.