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The Sorcerers' latest long player lands in perfect time for the summer, offering a further progression into their unique take on Ethio-inspired jazz. Other Worlds and Habitats is, of course, released on ATA Records and is blessed with the analogue recording and painstakingly loving production we have come to expect from this boutique studio. This, The Sorcerers eagerly anticipated fourth LP, follows on from the success of I Too Am A Stranger, a record which garnered praise from BBC Radio 2’s Jamie Cullum, “I love this, this is so good!”, Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, “I like the grooves, and it is good to see The Sorcerers interpret Ethio jazz in their own unique way”, and Nightmares on Wax, “This sounds great! Love the way it's recorded”.

Never ones to stop moving forward, and ever vigilant to avoid the realm of pastiche, The Sorcerers see the Ethiopique sound as a building block for their natural progression as a group, but a block that sits at the base of a much larger, ever expanding, structure, The addition of keyboardist Johnny Richards, whose use of the Jen 73 piano, Mellotron and Farfisa Compact Duo, alongside the core members of the group, has opened some exciting doors for The Sorcerers, fusing the future looking optimism of the late 60s and 70s (when artists began to experiment with the new electronic technology and synthesisers becoming more readily available) and more traditional sounds. Taking inspiration from Ethiopian keyboardist Hailu Mergia and Nigerian musician William Onyeabor, Other Worlds and Habitats, as the name suggests, showcases The Sorcerers' shift to a new, and deeply exciting, musical landscape.

The Sorcerers’ Other Worlds and Habitats is a natural progression in the world they have created for themselves. Richer for shared experiences, and accepting the rise of the machines, they prove that while their journey is always going forward, there are many different paths to take.

Cluster can be counted among the most important international protagonists of the electronic avant-garde. Some credit them with having invented ambient music, others as pioneers of synthesizer pop, whilst to some they are firmly embedded in the krautrock universe. There is some truth in all of these notions. Cluster (or Kluster as they were in the beginning) were founded in 1970 in Berlin by Conrad Schnitzler, Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius. A change in direction and musical differences moved Moebius and Roedelius to split from Schnitzler after which the duo recorded 10 regular studio albums between 1971 and 2009. Their debut album ("Cluster 71") was in Wire Magazine"s "One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire" list. "Cluster II" is influenced by Berlin and Hamburg; situated somewhere in the middle of artistic happenings, musical outrageousness and drug abuse: an urban mixture.

sychedelic hard-rock Holy Grail, originally released by this Greek band in 1976 but sounding more akin to late 60s / early 70s.
Highly recommended to fans of HEAVY-FUZZ guitars, think DARK, FIRE, OPEN MIND or even SPACEMEN 3 circa “Revolution”!
The 4 Levels Of Existence (Τα 4 Επίπεδα Της Ύπαρξης) formed around 1974 in Athens from the ashes of a band called
Frog’s Eyes. Some of their influences were groups like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Who or Iron Butterfly as well as traditional Greek music.
They recorded their sole album in just 10 hours with no overdubs and it was eventually released (500 copies only) on the small Venus label. The cover artwork was created by guitar player Athanasios Alatas. The band sadly split soon after but they left behind one of the most legendary and sought after albums not only from Greece but also from the worldwide heavy-prog scene.

From the depths of personal reckoning to the forefront of the UK"s alternative scene, SPLIT CHAIN have spent the past two years transmuting raw emotion into sound. Their debut album, motionblur, out soon on Epitaph Records, is a thunderous statement of intent-an electrifying fusion of shoegaze, grunge, and nu-metal that surges with both nostalgia and forward momentum. Sonically, motionblur captures a distinctive aesthetic, steeped in the melancholic haze of early 2000s alt-rock yet sharpened by the intensity of modern hardcore. Guitars drenched in chorus and distortion crash into ethereal, hook-laden vocals, forging a sound that"s at once crushingly heavy and deeply immersive. Following a string of self-released singles that organically amassed millions of streams, SPLIT CHAIN"s signing with Epitaph catapulted them further into the spotlight. Their first label-backed single pushed their streaming numbers past the 15-million mark, earning them accolades as AltPress" Breakout Artist of the Month and Revolver"s "Badass Rising Band to Know." With nods from Stereogum, The Needle Drop, BrooklynVegan, and Metal Injection, the buzz around Split Chain is undeniable. With motionblur, SPLIT CHAIN aren"t just making an album-they"re making a moment. And if their trajectory so far is any indication, this is only the beginning.

From the depths of personal reckoning to the forefront of the UK"s alternative scene, SPLIT CHAIN have spent the past two years transmuting raw emotion into sound. Their debut album, motionblur, out soon on Epitaph Records, is a thunderous statement of intent-an electrifying fusion of shoegaze, grunge, and nu-metal that surges with both nostalgia and forward momentum. Sonically, motionblur captures a distinctive aesthetic, steeped in the melancholic haze of early 2000s alt-rock yet sharpened by the intensity of modern hardcore. Guitars drenched in chorus and distortion crash into ethereal, hook-laden vocals, forging a sound that"s at once crushingly heavy and deeply immersive. Following a string of self-released singles that organically amassed millions of streams, SPLIT CHAIN"s signing with Epitaph catapulted them further into the spotlight. Their first label-backed single pushed their streaming numbers past the 15-million mark, earning them accolades as AltPress" Breakout Artist of the Month and Revolver"s "Badass Rising Band to Know." With nods from Stereogum, The Needle Drop, BrooklynVegan, and Metal Injection, the buzz around Split Chain is undeniable. With motionblur, SPLIT CHAIN aren"t just making an album-they"re making a moment. And if their trajectory so far is any indication, this is only the beginning.

Lars Bartkuhn returns to Rush Hour with “See The Light”, as deep and complex as we have come to expect but as always his ever-present hunt for new inspiration and unique approaches is clearly evident across all 3 mixes of this beautifully deep yet pulsating track!

Originally written as a final foray into house music for the legendary Needs co-founder, this production aimed to “push boundaries within the world of electronic dance music, integrate fresh new elements, bring new compositional perspectives to the listener and to create overall rewarding experiences.”

It’s a deeply personal track, best summarised by the incredible piano solo in the Full Experience Mix. In Lars’ own words, “I am ten million light years away from being a good pianist, but for some reason I NEED to play those kind of things…even if they are raw, primitive and incomplete and lack parameters like elegance, fluidity and wisdom - I need to express myself in that very moment in this exact way.” It’s these unrestrained moments of brilliance that create rich palettes of sound with deep textures, organic rhythms and joyful melodies that keep your ear constantly engaged.

The Full Experience Mix is a near-13 minute trip through lush vocals, complex percussion, deep chords and raw piano solos that guides the listener through the changing motions of “See The Light”. Backed by two dub mixes, Inner Experience hones in on the keys and synths - truly elevating those striking notes. Opening with atmospheric percussion, the Dub Reprise settles into a chugging rhythm that brings the drums to the forefront.

“When a musician/composer really goes ‘all in’ there is almost nothing impossible. If you really pour out your heart and give all the sweat and tears you have you create a kind of zone where everything fits together in mysterious ways.” - Lars Bartkuhn

After a five-year hiatus, Times Are Ruff is back, recharged and inspired. This return marks a renewed commitment to the underground, bringing that ruff sound.

The label returns to the wax with the sound they are known for, defined by dusty grooves, ruff rhythms and soulful moods.

This record is for the heads. A proper blend of funk, acid, late-night vibes and early morning moods, that keep the floor moving and the soul intact. Pure, stripped-back house music for those who know.

Times Are Ruff—back in the game, staying true to the craft, and ready to deliver more underground cuts.

Pressed to limited edition other-worldly Zoetrope picture disc, Shui is the new album from Sydney based punk rock five-piece, Fangz, out via Impressed Recordings.

Since their 2019 inception, the band have released three EP’s For Nothing (2019), But No Thanks (2020), Falling Is Pretty Normal (2022), and a slew of singles, which received strong support from the likes of triple j, triple j Unearthed, Triple M, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Metal Hammer (UK), Loudwire (USA), Classic Rock (UK), Metal Injection (USA), Louder Sound (UK), NME, Pilerats, The Guardian, MANIACS and many more.

They’ve traversed the country multiple times selling out headline shows, performing at festivals and sharing stages with the likes of FIDLAR (USA), Pennywise (USA), The Bronx (USA), Cancer Bats (CAN), RedHook, Comeback Kid (CAN) and He Is Legend (USA).
The group have also completed an East Coast in 24 hours, launched their very own line of hot sauce Fang us Some Sauce, an annually curated festival ‘FANGZstock’, and hold the Guinness world record for the most hard-boiled eggs eaten in one sitting by front man Josh Cottreau (143 eggs in three minutes and ten seconds).

Coming into 2025, the quintet have released singles ‘Wasting Time’, ‘Nothing To Lose’, ‘Same Old Story’ and ‘Wide Awake’ from their forthcoming debut album ‘Shui’ (due July 2025), plus have taken FANGZstock on the road, launching the Melbourne and Brisbane contingents.

The project’s title track is the perfect blend of gossamer shoegaze and Graveface’s signature eerie nocturnal feel, with the lyrics similarly balancing the purity of love against mankind’s darker instincts in the face of romantic obsession.

“‘For Keeps’ is a story written from the perspective of someone who is so desperately in love, they’d do anything to hold onto that love,” the band shares. “We just wanted to explore a really dark part of the human psyche.”

To further elucidate on these themes, Night School has shared a music video that pairs performance footage with a narrative of amour fou that gets a little bit too fou—I won’t spoil anything, but there is manslaughter involved.

The album opens with "Hypnagogia," an ode to the space between sleep and wakefulness where we are open to other realms of consciousness. The song slowly builds along a steady pulse provided by bassist Pickle (Nicole Smith) and drummer Rikki Styxx. Tripped out saxophone bleats from guest player Gabe Flores swirl on top of the organ drones laid out by guest keyboardist Gregg Foreman. The band's choral objectives for Under the Spell of Joy are established right off the bat, with Bonnie Bloomgarden's melodic invocations bolstered by a choir, giving the album a rich and vibrant wall-of-sound aesthetic. The song ominously builds on its hypnotic foundation until it opens up into a raucous revelry at the four-minute mark. The portentous simmer of the opening track yields to the ecstatic rocker "Hold My Hand," where verses reminiscent of Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For The Man" explode into big triumphant choruses. From there the band launches into the title track, which marries the griminess of The Stooges with an innocence provided by a children's choir chanting the album's primary mantra "under the spell of joy / under the spell of love." Death Valley Girls have always vacillated between lightness and darkness, and on "Bliss Out" they demonstrate their current exuberant focus with a patina-hued pop song driven by an irrepressibly buoyant organ line laid down by keyboardist The Kid (Laura Kelsey). A similar cosmic euphoria is obtained on "The Universe," where alternating chords on the organ help elevate soaring saxophone and keyboard lines out beyond the stratosphere. If you're looking for transcendental rock music, look no further.

Pelican has always been a band that's not just from Chicago, but distinctly of Chicago. Formed in 2000 by guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec alongside brothers Bryan and Larry Herweg on bass and drums respectively, Pelican's foundation was built upon the rule-free, genre-agnostic scene synonymous with the Fireside Bowl. "The `90s in Chicago was a free-for-all. Everyone was just coming from a place of pure creativity," says Shelley de Brauw. With Schroeder-Lebec returning to the band following Dallas Thomas' departure in 2022, this reunified version of Pelican allowed the band to tap back into the spirit of their formative era and build something distinctly new with Flickering Resonance. While longtime Pelican fans will recognize the album as an update to the band's ethos_one that's been constantly evolving since their very first EP_their new partnership with Run For Cover Records emphasizes something that's always been implicit to the Pelican formula. These songs take as much inspiration from titanic `90s post-hardcore, space-rock, and emo as they do traditional metal, showing that though Godflesh and Goatsnake records occupied the shelves of Pelican's songwriters, so too did Quicksand, Christie Front Drive, and Hum. "A lot of people didn't hear it at first," says Schroeder-Lebec. "I was like, well, I guess the metal world is where we fit. But now, we're more willing to acknowledge all the suits we're wearing."On Flickering Resonance, Pelican doesn't attempt to reinvent itself as much as emphasize the elements that were so often overlooked. Though Pelican's thick sonic backbone remains intact, the songs on Flickering Resonance show a more humanistic side of the band. Tracks like "Evergreen" and "Indelible" tease Pelican's doom-metal roots, but these songs feel equally, ebullient and truthful, playing like Texas Is The Reason songs transmuted into a post-rock landscape. Recorded with longtime musical compatriot Sanford Parker, who recorded their first EP, Pelican begins this new chapter of their career with an album that's neither full reinvention nor back-to-roots revivalism. After so much time apart, and with so much life having been lived between the original Pelican lineup's last recording sessions together, the band approached it with renewed vigor and a more communal spirit."There was more room for openness and critique with the understanding that we're all trying to craft the best song possible and that every suggestion is valid until it's proven invalid," says Shelley de Brauw. That process allowed everyone to embrace the material with a shared vision. "We didn't move forward unless we all wanted to move forward, and that felt like real community building," says Schroeder-Lebec of this unified approach. "I went from seeing it as my art and my craft to our craft that we were shaping together."In doing so, Pelican allowed themselves to look at their music less as a means of hard-earned catharsis and more as an appreciation for the glimmers of joy that occur even in the bleakest landscapes. Songs like "Cascading Crescent" and "Indelible" don't languish in what's been lost, these tracks see the band embracing what remains in their hands instead of lamenting what's slipped through their fingers. It's a concept that's mirrored in the artwork of Christian Degn that graces the cover of Flickering Resonance. It's a piece built off the concept of flame meditation, and how the smallest flames can often bring about the biggest transformations. A song like "Flickering Stillness" exemplifies this feeling through its sonic expanse, putting the band's sonic density and hyper-focused clarity on display, but with an emphasis on the profound human connections that have kept Pelican going all these years. "When Laurent left and we were able to carry it through, there became a real sense of gratitude for the fact we still have this artistic outlet and a community of people who want to be a part of it" That feeling of deep, grounded appreciation isn't just one that's within the band members, it's expressed in every track on Flickering Resonance. Because at the very core of Pelican, are four individuals who have grown both separately and together, and always will.Like a distant light faintly glowing in the darkest night, Flickering Resonance is a reminder of all that has passed us by, but also all that is still to come.

Legendary indie travellers Half Japanese return with their new album Adventure. The prolific outsider combo, helmed by the ever-optimistic Jad Fair, delivers a heartwarming set of upbeat sonnets celebrating the power of love, affection, and maturity. More than 50 years since Jad and his brother David emerged from their lo-fi bedroom in Uniontown, Maryland, USA, Adventure takes the latest incarnation of the band down new and more refined avenues. Recorded in London at Vacant TV and produced by Jason Willett and Jad, Adventure presents a more pristine and polished canvas for Jad to expand upon. The addition of Euan Hinshelwood to the sonic palette, with saxophone, harmonica, and piano, creates a smoother backdrop for the band's less lubricated sound. Lemonade Sunset is an ode to the world of wonder, a spacious overture built with melancholy in mind but relishing the positivity of life. By contrast, Step On Up revolves around a glorious rising piano motif that hints at Steely Dan if they were high on energy drinks and spinach rather than their usual tipple. It's a light-hearted evocation of the good times. Magnificent is a homage to living in the present tense, powered by the bittersweet saxophone, with a glorious piano-led sub-melody offsetting Jad's positivity: "magnificently magnificent," no less. Elsewhere, ringing percussion and sharp arrangements provide Jad with a sturdy and far reaching soundtrack to lament over. Adventure sees Half Japanese covering new ground, with Jad's considered soliloquies set in a sumptuous setting. The lineup for Half Japanese on Adventure includes Jason Willett (bass, keyboards), Gilles-Vincent Rieder (drums, percussion), John Sluggett (guitar, piano, bass), Mick Hobbs (guitar), Euan Hinshelwood (guitar, saxophone, piano, harmonica), and Jad Fair (vocals, percussion). Sadly, longstanding member Mick Hobbs passed away last year. "Absurdly underrated art-rockers" - Record Collector. * "Fair's ability to bang out music behind him is matched perhaps only by Mark E Smith" - The Wire.

Black Moon Circle return with A Million Leagues Beyond - a powerful new album recorded live at Trondheim"s intimate and legendary Moskus club. Since 2014, the Norwegian trio has built a devoted following with their heavy blend of space rock, psychedelia, and raw jamming energy, earning acclaim for both studio albums and immersive live performances. Moskus is a small bar located in Trondheim that hosts about 70 concerts every year, showcasing genres as diverse as jazz, country, Americana, rock, progressive jazz and occasionally psychedelic hard rock. With a capacity of around 80, the audience faces the stage which barely has room for drums and a couple of amplifiers. Feeding off the intimate atmosphere, Black Moon Circle have done what they do best, conjuring up heavily improvised jams out of thin air.

Utopia, Saunders’ fourth solo album, is an extraordinary exploration of all her past lives.

If the singer regards her first three solo records — 2014’s Y Dydd Olaf, 2018’s Le Kov and 2022’s Tresor as “childhood records”, rooted in her upbringing, her parents, her formative identity, then Utopia captures a time of self-determination and experimentation.

These are songs of discovery, of the years between being someone’s daughter and becoming someone’s wife and someone’s mother. They range from floor-fillers to piano ballads, via contributions from Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline, and encompass William Blake, a favourite Edrica Huws poem, and the Number 73 bus. It is her finest work to date.

The Canadian folk singer renowned for her purity of voice and composer of the ever-fresh ’Morning Dew’; once at the heart of the Greenwich Village heyday when she sang at Gerdes Folk City alongside the likes of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan; and the UK’s premier purveyors of Cosmic Americana riding a wave of creativity and acclaim, following two successive classic albums Hollow Heart and On A Golden Shore. The spry octogenarian and the psychedelic cowboys proved a match ripe to be made. Since Bonnie’s reemergence, at Jarvis Cocker’s Meltdown in 2007, she’d been interacting with a host of London musicians, but when the Stars came onto her horizon she sensed she’d found the perfect accompanists for her new compositions. With no concrete plan they worked up a few songs, then went into Sean Read’s Famous Times studio to see what might happen. What might happen is now Dreams, comprising eight songs; six being recent compositions never before studio-recorded while a further two reach into and celebrate her back catalogue, along with the era that initially defined her, and as one of its now few active representatives – it’s her and Dylan and not many more – she stands for.

Despite the outright denial in its title, death is present in every one of the songs on Never Die, the collaborative album from MIDWIFE’s Madeline Johnston and Matt Jencik (of Implodes, Don Caballero, and Slint’s live band). Jencik held the tenderest thought imaginable when he came up with that phrase—Never Die—the fact that the people he loves eventually would, a certainty that feels impossible and remote, until the day it absolutely doesn’t. Never Die represents Jencik’s desperate bid to hold onto everyone he loves, to keep them on Earth so fiercely that they might enter the grave with claw marks on their skin.

Johnston, who recognizes the grace of mortality (and who, as MIDWIFE once sang: “I don’t wanna live forever,” over and over) serves as the spiritual guide for the album, transmuting the fear of death into an incentive to live more keenly and dearly. Following a number of ambient drone instrumental albums, Jencik felt the need to set himself a new creative challenge: to write vocal-heavy songs. He worked on them alone in his basement, recording directly to a four-track cassette. He sent those demos to a different collaborator to tinker with before that partnership eventually dissolved. Then, he thought of Madeline: the way her voice tended to glower in her songs, as well as her commitment to minimalism, which fell squarely within the project’s aesthetic and spiritual impulses.

“I was immediately drawn to what she was doing,” Jencik says. In both of their work, Jencik and Johnston understand minimalism as a vehicle for enormous, desperate and universal emotions. Entire worlds come in and out of existence between each of their sparse notes; a great breadth of feeling is bedded into the simple structure of their songs. Never Die offers a calm confrontation with the dour inevitability that bookends our lives. When the fact of death looms over life, it tends to denature every experience we have and every relationship we know we’ll eventually have to forfeit back to the Earth. No one, no matter how hard we love, makes it out of this alive thing. But we feel anyway. And we love anyway. And we sing anyway. Here, Jencik and Johnston have sung ‘die’ over and over, snowglobing life in the process.

This Chicago-based artist isn't just reconstructing soul music; they're reimagining it for a new generation. The album intertwines Soul Music’s rich history with contemporary production, creating a sound that's both familiar and fresh. St. James' unique vocals are rich and expressive -
soaring and soulful, conveying every emotion with raw intensity. But it's the songwriting that truly sets "Soul Nepotism" apart.

The album tackles weighty themes of personal struggles, family and heartbreak, but also celebrates the importance of freedom and self-confidence, all with a refreshing honesty and cleverness. Tracks like “Cocky (Can’t Tell Me Nothing” showcase St. James' sharp wit, while ballads (grooves) like “Saved By The Bell(s)” delve into the complexities of his past and self-discovery.

One of the most striking elements of "Soul Nepotism" is the use of vocal harmonies. Erthe doesn't just sing; he orchestrates a choir within the recording. The layers of harmonies are meticulously crafted and at times, swell like a full-fledged gospel choir, infusing the songs with an undeniable spiritual energy. This gospel influence adds another layer to Erthe's genre-bending mastery, creating a truly unique and unforgettable listening experience.