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Label favourites Balearic Ensemble return to the fore following last summer's spectacular 'Cachonda' EP, this time with a 12" treasury of wonderful, eclectic dancing music of the highest balearic order. They're joined by Das Komplex, notable for recent excursions on DJ Harvey's Mercury Rising, to round out their five-track excursion for the label: this is the Mediterráneo EP.

Opener 'Pitiusas First' sets the tone with dizzy, downbeat percussions as a bass guitar skates and glissades underfoot; soaring, starry-eyed synth work and Latin organ stabs in concerto. This homage to the islands and islets of Ibiza comes with a note of melancholy, or nostalgia: waking up to find that your best years might have evaded you - and celebrating the fact. It's a maturing of the Residentes sound in a way we haven't heard before; a gorgeous moonlight serenade, the last tango on Formentera, and a tip for orange-tinted sunsets all summer long.

Second track 'Almendros y Drones' takes us deeper into the throes of that distinctive Mediterranean sound with dizzying arpeggios and analogue bass over teetering hihats and fizzing synths; it's an eruptive, volcanic beast of a track that will take liberties with your dancefloor. Over-the-top filter action and driving piano perforations, crashing snares and resonant howls, Almendros, Drones.

The third offering is 'Mojada', taking cues from classic deep house with its deep-set bassline and modular squeaks. It's a slow burner, an aquaplane on Eivissa, cueing 303 squelches and 90s drum machine riffing before its eventual, explosive peak.

After Mojada we enter the chugging, gritty realm of Das Komplex's remixes. He refashions the heady throes of 'Mojada' into a driving, churning unit; percussions, distorted into infinity; basslines bent and buckled into submission; slabs of piano lathered with space echo delay. Wonky late-nite dancing music at its very best.

Extra treat: Das Komplex also left us his 'Pineapple Bonus Mix' of Mojada, which is a more sunset-suited affair altogether. This special mix lasers in on that exuberant piano part, then plays with percussions and dynamics to create a full-on dub version of the original track.

Peer through the windows of the sun-dappled homes in Sicily and you will be faced with a small, strange ceramic object adorning each hallway. It is a glistening pine cone standing upright – a pigna – the longstanding symbol of Sicilian openness and welcome hospitality.

The pigna is a delightfully unusual and yet apt symbol for the title of the third record from Benjamin Harris, AKA Yarni. Ever since his debut LP release in 2017, Yarni has established a following committed to his musical openness, an intuitive curiosity that has spanned everything from house and techno to cinematic ambience and Japanese percussion, as well as jazz horns and afrobeat fanfares. For Yarni, anything goes and everyone is welcome. Now, Pigna sees Yarni reach his fullest and most musically diverse expression, taking its name and ethos from Sicily, but finding a sonic home in the luscious orchestration of a new ensemble of musicians.

Here, at the helm of a nine-person ensemble, Yarni artfully pieces together live improvisations to create the warmth of a seasoned group performing deep within the groove. Opener “Midnight Getaway” places the listener squarely within the disco-funk of Daft Punk as Yarni’s top-line synth intersects with a rolling bassline and a lyrical flute solo from Rachel Shirley. This optimistic tone of sunlit spaciousness is then heightened on “Utopia”, as Yarni’s horn section comes to the fore to pay homage to the ineffable syncopations of Fela Kuti’s pioneering afrobeat.

Rather than scratch at the surface of these musical genres, Yarni’s attuned ear embodies the emotive essence of his various sounds by paying intimate attention to their creation. There is the punch of that afrobeat sax on “Utopia”; the rhythmic skitter of breakbeats on “The Astral”; the sludging thump of funk in the bassline on “Nova”. Collaborators are given free reign, too, to incorporate their own unique stylings into this remarkable whole, from vocalist Emily Marks’ languid tone on “In A Dream”, to saxophonist Jonoa’s innate swing on “Cherub”, and the metronomic movement of bassist Ally McMahon’s playing throughout.

Listening to Pigna is ultimately to find yourself squarely within the comforting embrace of Yarni’s musical mind. It is a truly LP experience – a record to be placed on the turntable’s platter and then left to play, allowing yourself an immersion in these journeying soundscapes. It is no wonder fellow sonic travellers such as the late Andrew Weatherall and DJ Harvey have been supporters of Yarni’s work, since here is a kindred spirit – an artist shaped in the form of radical openness, speaking the hospitable, universal language of beautiful music.

Peer through the windows of the sun-dappled homes in Sicily and you will be faced with a small, strange ceramic object adorning each hallway. It is a glistening pine cone standing upright – a pigna – the longstanding symbol of Sicilian openness and welcome hospitality.

The pigna is a delightfully unusual and yet apt symbol for the title of the third record from Benjamin Harris, AKA Yarni. Ever since his debut LP release in 2017, Yarni has established a following committed to his musical openness, an intuitive curiosity that has spanned everything from house and techno to cinematic ambience and Japanese percussion, as well as jazz horns and afrobeat fanfares. For Yarni, anything goes and everyone is welcome. Now, Pigna sees Yarni reach his fullest and most musically diverse expression, taking its name and ethos from Sicily, but finding a sonic home in the luscious orchestration of a new ensemble of musicians.

Here, at the helm of a nine-person ensemble, Yarni artfully pieces together live improvisations to create the warmth of a seasoned group performing deep within the groove. Opener “Midnight Getaway” places the listener squarely within the disco-funk of Daft Punk as Yarni’s top-line synth intersects with a rolling bassline and a lyrical flute solo from Rachel Shirley. This optimistic tone of sunlit spaciousness is then heightened on “Utopia”, as Yarni’s horn section comes to the fore to pay homage to the ineffable syncopations of Fela Kuti’s pioneering afrobeat.

Rather than scratch at the surface of these musical genres, Yarni’s attuned ear embodies the emotive essence of his various sounds by paying intimate attention to their creation. There is the punch of that afrobeat sax on “Utopia”; the rhythmic skitter of breakbeats on “The Astral”; the sludging thump of funk in the bassline on “Nova”. Collaborators are given free reign, too, to incorporate their own unique stylings into this remarkable whole, from vocalist Emily Marks’ languid tone on “In A Dream”, to saxophonist Jonoa’s innate swing on “Cherub”, and the metronomic movement of bassist Ally McMahon’s playing throughout.

Listening to Pigna is ultimately to find yourself squarely within the comforting embrace of Yarni’s musical mind. It is a truly LP experience – a record to be placed on the turntable’s platter and then left to play, allowing yourself an immersion in these journeying soundscapes. It is no wonder fellow sonic travellers such as the late Andrew Weatherall and DJ Harvey have been supporters of Yarni’s work, since here is a kindred spirit – an artist shaped in the form of radical openness, speaking the hospitable, universal language of beautiful music.

Closing out another breakthrough year, Anfisa Letyago has established herself as one of techno's most talked about names. An intrepid selector with a positive attitude regarding all things art and dancefloor related, the Russian born starlet has been making seismic waves within the industry for a number of years. Past releases have been featured on revered labels such as Carl Cox's Intec, Nervous Records, Hotflush and Rekids. Letyago returns now with a brand new project primed and ready for her own imprint - N:S:DA. Originally a celebration of her own dark-brooding style of techno, the label has entered a metamorphosis of sorts, welcoming in a host of established producers to remix the labels first releases.

The unapologetically raw house sound of DJ Seinfeld opens up the third and final remix EP, putting his own spin on Letyago's deep cut 'Insidia'. Cavernous synthlines occupy the track's main body, reminiscent of late seventies golden-era Chicago house. The remix is laced with hard hitting percussion and bubbling sound fx, a supercharged production primed for widespread club usage. Seinfeld welcomes us into the project with his trademark, rough and gloriously danceable sound palette.

Letyago follows suit by revisiting 'Nisida', reshaping the track into an electro-acid workout adorned with sharply tuned drums and heavily-treated shimmering vocals. The euphoria-inducing breakdown at the center point of the arrangement unfolds weightlessly, building into an energetic barrage of low-end frequencies. Letyago's ability to raise and release tensions within a track is truly exceptional, a technique she has perfected over several years of DJing, witnessing at first hand the importance of building up to moments of high intensity on the dancefloor for maximum impact.

Drum and bass royalty, Calibre offers his dark and brooding interpretation of 'Don't Hide'. The original track has been wickedly morphed into an after-dark roller fit for extensive basement usage. Commanding and minimal, Calibre's remix has been executed with devastating precision, perfectly balanced space-age pads glide seamlessly across the disjointed rattle of breakbeats and white-noise imbued hi-hats. A painter, fine artist, multi-instrumentalist, writer and producer, this multifaceted Belfast producer never ceases to disappoint.

Closet Yi concludes the compilation with a slow burning techno metamorphosis of Letyago's 'Listen'. Subterranean and primal, the track unfurls from its ambient beginnings into a low-end focused four-to-the-floor rhythm steeped in misty reverb and distant chords. Based in Seoul, South Korea, Yi has played at some of the most respected underground clubs in the capital, including Cakeshop, Faust, Pistil, Contra and more. A welcome addition to the remix project and a seductive end to this shadowy collection of tracks.

Let’s Eat Grandma, the duo composed of songwriters,
multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Rosa Walton and
Jenny Hollingworth, release their third full-length
album, ‘Two Ribbons’.

 Co-produced by David Wrench and Let’s Eat
Grandma, the album includes previously released
singles ‘Happy New Year’, a celebratory song about
friendship, plus the stunning, melancholic title track
‘Two Ribbons’, glistening pop song ‘Hall Of Mirrors’
and ‘Levitation’, a glimmering and expansive track
driven by soaring synths.

 The band have also announced details of a UK tour,
their first in over three years, including a homecoming
headline appearance at the Sunrise Arena at Latitude
Festival, with further international shows to come.

 Deluxe 140g vinyl LP in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with
matt UV varnish and embossed foiling area, with
150gsm matt UV varnished inner sleeve and digital
download card, also with matt UV varnish.

 Deluxe LP includes exclusive 7” in spined sleeve disco
bag and 180gsm matt machine varnish inner sleeve.

 Tourdates - April 30 & May 1 Stag and Dagger Festival
Glasgow, July 24 Latitude Festival Southwold, October 6
Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 7 Yes (Pink Room) Manchester, 8
Belgrave Music Hall Leeds, 13 Cluny Newcastle, 14
Metronome Nottingham, 15 Space 54 Birmingham, 16
Mash Cambridge, 18 Thekla Bristol, 19 Koko London, 21
Patterns Brighton, 22 Epic Norwich.

Much anticipated, the band's first full length release sees the four- piece surf a swirling wave of reverb-drenched organ, garage-rock guitars, hypno-motorik bass and pounding, ritualistic drums. Preferring to work in a village hall deep in the wilds of the east British countryside, JTV recorded live to an old 8 track machine with The Wytches' Kristian Bell.In 2020 the band released their third EP slice of
off- piste cosmic- beach psych before calling in top remixers ncluding UNKLE, Gabe Gurnsey, and James Welsh for a 2021 Record Store Exclusive around a headline UK tour culminating in a triumphant homecoming London show at The Lexington and playing with friends Snapped Ankles. EP III had followed two previous critically acclaimed and quickly sold out EPs supported heavily by key
alternative tastemakers from Marc Riley & Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music to the likes of So Young, NME, and Clash.

REMASTERED EDITION OF PORCUPINE TREE'S 1995 RELEASE 'THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS - 2LP GATEFOLD SLEEVE'."A dreamy, tranquil and heavily atmospheric effort" - Record Collector 'The Sky Moves Sideways' is the third studio album by Porcupine Tree, first released in February 1995

It's the first Porcupine Tree album to be released in the US (albeit with an altered track list), & the first on which Porcupine Tree was a band rather than simply a pseudonym for Steven Wilson.

Regarded by many fans as one of Porcupine Tree's finest releases & a
cornerstone of any Porcupine Tree collection, the album was recorded partly as a Steven Wilson solo project & partly as a full band album, 'The Sky Moves Sideways' is a diverse experimental rock release spanning space rock & progressive rock styles with long guitar led, instrumental sections.

The album is now being re-printed in a gatefold sleeve & presented with Steven Wilson's sonically superb 2017 remasters first heard in the 'Delerium Years' box set. Disc 1 is the original album as conceived for vinyl. Disc 2 includes an alternative version of the title track containing music that was eventually cut from the original album version, as well as different lyrics. It also contains EP tracks
'Stars Die' & 'Moonloop' (the edit presented here is a hybrid which contains all the music from all the previous versions & runs to 22 minutes).

Porcupine Tree are currently gearing up for the release of their new album 'Closure / Continuation', marking another step forward in the incredible journey of the band that began as a solo studio project created by Steven Wilson in the late eighties to a multi grammy nominated act & one of the world's most revered live bands, selling out arenas across the globe & wowing fans with their incredible
performances. TRANSMISSION PRESENTS 'THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS' ON GATEFOLD DOUBLE LP

Twice JUNO-nominated and two-time Polaris Prize listed, Toronto's soul songstress Tanika Charles unveils her album "Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly".

"Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly" is the third studio album from Canadian Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles and is slated to be released worldwide on Milan-based Record Kicks label on April 08th. Composed and recorded while in and out of lockdowns, "Papillon de Nuit" is an album anchored in growth and maturity. The thematic inspiration came from an unlikely source, a creature that soars after the sun sets, but often goes unnoticed until the light shines on it. It is the "papillon de nuit" to some, but drably referred to as a moth by others, revealing a bias in language alone.

"I always thought it was a strange insect. Once while in Paris, a friend swatted at one and I asked: 'Was that a moth?'. I was told: 'No, that's a papillon de nuit.' I thought that was the most beautiful description for this otherwise overlooked creature. When I later learned of the symbolism associated with it, I felt that really spoke to both my own situation and also what we've all been going through." Production on "Papillon de Nuit" was helmed by a mixture of old and new collaborators. The Safe Spaceship Records production team, consisting of Scott McCannell (Lydia Persaud, Claire Davis), Ben MacDonald and Chino de Villa (re.verse, Jessie Reyez), produced four songs on the album. The group also assisted as session musicians for songs produced by newcomer Todd "HiFiLo" Pentney (Allison Au Quartet, JUNO Award winner). "The Gumption" contributor Kevin Henkel ("Tell Me Something", "Look At Us Now") returned with three compositions, and old friend Jesse Bear (Sean Kingston, Stan Walker) contributed to one song.

Following the success of "Soul Run" (2016/17) and "The Gumption" (2019), Tanika had found a comfortable pace of releasing albums then hitting the road the following year to bring her show to new markets far and wide. So when things changed for all of us, and plans of touring "The Gumption" properly fell through, there was a realization that getting to work on the next project was the healthiest choice to make.

"I was in some dark places. My energy was stagnant and the only reliable constant was this perpetual uncertainty. I had gone from feeling like I was everywhere to only being in one place. From seeing so many new faces, to only my own, in the mirror, everyday and having to face that. Getting back to work on music allowed me to explore these feelings through the format I know best. And I wanted to make sure that when things were ready to resume, I'd be ready with something new for my audience too."

Tanika, who took part in the writing of most of the album, was also assisted by regular co-writer Robert Bolton ("Soul Run", "Remember to Remember") and accomplished solo performer Tafari Anthony (Priyanka, of RuPaul's Drag Race). Featured guests include the multi-disciplinary artist Khari McClelland and rising Toronto rapper, DijahSB. Both Dakarai Morris-James (Joanna Majoko, BeBe Zahara Benet) and Sean "D/SHON" Henderson ("Love Overdue", Serena Ryder) assisted with vocal arrangements across multiple songs.


"I think this album represents my best work to date. And yet, it also represents me coming to terms with who I am as an artist. For the first time I think I've actually accepted my own voice. I can hear beyond the imperfections, and I realized that when paired with the right music, it can sound pretty good. I still have my doubts and my dark places, but a little less of them."

2023 Repress

"banging piece of sound art" - The Observer

"...a fascinating piece of Brutalist techno that pivots between crisp machine-like minimalism and granulated noise." - Clash

"A piece of immediately engaging techno it reveals more of itself with each listen." - CMU Daily

Nik Colk Void is well established with her work as one half of Factory Floor, one third of Carter Tutti Void (alongside Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti) and with the late Peter Rehberg as NPVR, but perhaps surprisingly, "Bucked up Space" is her first solo album release.

Void explains, "When Peter Rehberg initially asked me to produce a record for Editions Mego, I didn't feel quite ready and asked if we could make a record together instead. Collaboration is so ingrained into what I do, I only felt ready to make this album after working through ideas live, using the audience in place of the collaborator."

Bucked Up Space combines Void's love of improvisation with the driving force of beat-driven music absorbed from performing in galleries, residencies and clubs across the UK and Europe. She goes on to say, "You find out more about yourself when you explain your ideas to others, and that's how I felt the live performance worked for me."

The process steadily teased out a language and Void employed a variety of tactics in the recording process including a methodical approach of collecting data at her home studio in a manner not dissimilar to keeping a diary. Her microscopic focus on raw instrumental noise, layered and reformulated, resulted in a sound catalogue that Void divided into groups for their tone, density and texture.

These initial pieces were taken to a studio in Margate to put them into a more cohesive compositional context. Something that pragmatically started as cold and detached was given warmth, unity and emotion in the studio. Via improvised repetition co-existing alongside organised production, Void conjures new sonic muscle with tracks such as 'Interruption Is Good' and 'FlatTime'. Initial recordings are rendered into sequences initiating the organic rhythms, triggering awkward jerks of high hats and percussion, or used to activate the margins of post effects detectable in the tracks like 'Demna', 'Big Breather' and 'Oversized'.

Void explains: "It was important to me that the simplicity in the work disguised a lot of complexity, I want this work to be absorbed instinctively."

The sleeve image, a still from We Are City by Brazilian artist Maria de Lima, was chosen to illustrate Bucked Up Space, which Void describes as "a distorted reality, the space that lives at start of an idea, then floats in public view, before returning to inform my understanding of the idea. Once the idea is out in the world, it moves and morphs into something else entirely."

Written, performed and produced by Nik Colk Void, the album was engineered by James Greenwood, mastered by Rashad Becker and tracks 1, 4, 5, 7 and 9 were mixed by Marta Salogni.

Bucked up Space is the result of the ideas and resulting sounds of free exploration morphing into a personal structured album that fearlessly moulds patience, listening and restraint. It's a sharp focussed work embracing collective action through the lens of the self. All this, and also one of the best abstract dance records you will hear in some time!

This special Record Store Day 5 x 45s collection comes packaged in a limited-edition Brazil 45 clamshell collector’s box.

The long-running relationship between Masters At Work and Mr Bongo has been a fruitful affair. Beginning in the 90s, it has included releases such as their seminal 'Brazilian Beat' 12" featuring Liliana, their magnificent rework of Atmosphere’s ‘Dancing In Outer Space’, and their recent hit Surprise Chef remixes 12". The influences of Brazilian music is evident in their DJ sets and productions, take the poly-rhythms of the 'Nervous Track’ as a prime example. We couldn't think of anyone more fitting to curate the third volume in our "Brazil 45 Boxset Curated by" series than one half of the MAW duo, the mighty Kenny Dope.

For his volume of the series, Kenny selected 10 knockout tracks from the golden era of Brazilian music. As you would expect from such a legend, he surpassed the brief of simply compiling the tracks, as he re-edited and remixed a number of his favourites especially for this boxset. Amongst these exclusives is a blazing, heavy psych-funk remix of Antonio Carlos & Jocafi's 'Quem Vem Lá’, and a hip-hop breakbeat bounce woven into Luli Lucinha E O Bando's folky-MPB beauty 'Flor Lilás’. Di Melo and Miguel De Deus are also given the Dopeman remix and edit treatment.

Kenny's selections pull out some forgotten classics and recently overlooked gems, many of which were once top of the want-lists for collectors in the 90s. These include Milton Banana Trio and the irresistible version of 'Berimbao' by Jayme Marques. Along with the Brazilian funk and jazzy-bossa dancefloor-oriented tracks, Kenny has also chosen the leftfield, deeper, trippy psychedelic folk sounds of Papete.

As with previous volumes, the selections are very personal and represent the individual sound and taste of the selector digging from the rich tapestry of Brazilian music. Its unique palate and stamp are exactly what you would expect from a Master At Work.

Color Vinyl
Brian Borcherdt (aka Dusted) is the founding member of Holy Fuck as well as LIDS which includes members of Metz and Constantines, and has a single due out this year on Sub Pop. 

The new album is the follow up to the acclaimed 2018 release BlackOut Summer and will provide a welcome musical shot in the arm for fans who have anxiously waited three years for new music from Dusted.
‘The album's process began with Borcherdt finding a long forgotten favourite song, coming back to him in a dream. ‘’That same morning, I found a demo of it, along with countless others, on an old laptop,’’ said Borcherdt. ‘’It was a joyful moment, hearing long lost songs as if I was never part of them. I was a third-party listener thus allowing them to be innocent and unjudged. I added a handful of the favourites to a current set list, which became the inspiration to go into the studio, to lay everything down, live off the floor, simply to preserve them, to keep them from being forgotten again.'
Dusted’s 2012 album ‘’Total Dust’’ was selected for the Polaris Prize Long List in 2013. The support from filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee earned Dusted two songs in his most recent film Demolition and a cameo role in Wild. With Holy Fuck, Borcherdt has been making music for 15 years and has released 5 albums. Holy Fuck has seen their music played on major TV shows like Breaking Bad and Mr Robot as well as ranking over 200K monthly listeners on Spotify and accumulating over 5 million career streams to date. Borcherdt has been releasing solo music since 2002. Previously to Holy Fuck, he was part of By Divine Right whose past band members count Feist and Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning. 

‘’Borcherdt has found a worthy foil who can help him steer clear of sad-bastard solipsism, introducing luminous textures that lend these recordings a greater sense of space and levity.’’ - Stuart Berman, Pitchfork

Black Vinyl
Brian Borcherdt (aka Dusted) is the founding member of Holy Fuck as well as LIDS which includes members of Metz and Constantines, and has a single due out this year on Sub Pop. 

The new album is the follow up to the acclaimed 2018 release BlackOut Summer and will provide a welcome musical shot in the arm for fans who have anxiously waited three years for new music from Dusted.
‘The album's process began with Borcherdt finding a long forgotten favourite song, coming back to him in a dream. ‘’That same morning, I found a demo of it, along with countless others, on an old laptop,’’ said Borcherdt. ‘’It was a joyful moment, hearing long lost songs as if I was never part of them. I was a third-party listener thus allowing them to be innocent and unjudged. I added a handful of the favourites to a current set list, which became the inspiration to go into the studio, to lay everything down, live off the floor, simply to preserve them, to keep them from being forgotten again.'
Dusted’s 2012 album ‘’Total Dust’’ was selected for the Polaris Prize Long List in 2013. The support from filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee earned Dusted two songs in his most recent film Demolition and a cameo role in Wild. With Holy Fuck, Borcherdt has been making music for 15 years and has released 5 albums. Holy Fuck has seen their music played on major TV shows like Breaking Bad and Mr Robot as well as ranking over 200K monthly listeners on Spotify and accumulating over 5 million career streams to date. Borcherdt has been releasing solo music since 2002. Previously to Holy Fuck, he was part of By Divine Right whose past band members count Feist and Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning. 

‘’Borcherdt has found a worthy foil who can help him steer clear of sad-bastard solipsism, introducing luminous textures that lend these recordings a greater sense of space and levity.’’ - Stuart Berman, Pitchfork

“Out of Our Hands” brings together Alvin Lucier and Jordan Dykstra who, through the hands of Ordinary Affects, have created debut recordings of two new compositions.

These companion pieces have similar orbits as they were not only both composed in Middletown, CT (where Alvin and Jordan lived for a number of years), but are about Middletown, at least from a starting point. Alvin’s piece — a homage to the location of the house in which he recorded “I am sitting in a room” back in 1969 — continues his study into slow-moving glissandi and carefully crafted beating patters by interweaving three string players within a minor third (voiced by two vibraphonists). The result is entrancing, almost psychedelic, and opens space where one didn’t expect. Like much of his previous work, it is conceptual and process-based; once the wheels get turning they go on and on, giving the listener time to approach the piece, sit with it, and then move back inward.

On the other hand, Dykstra’s piece “32 Middle Tones” (a pun on his Middletown street address and the harmonic microtonality utilized in the composition) is a very textural work. His piece asks the cellist to sustain pitches for extended durations — at times quietly singing in close proximity to the stopped pitch coming from the cello — while the rest of the ensemble (violin, viola, and 2 percussion) voice a sequence of chords separated by notated silences. The cello voice is sometimes alone, but never for too long as it finds itself supported from both the top and bottom in a harmonic embrace. This supportive structure involves a percussion section which colors the seemingly simple chords (major 6th, inverted minor 7th, inverted minor 2nd, etc.) with a non-traditional toolkit of bowed singing bowls, stone sheets, harmonicas, and even leaves.

This is music that gently gives the listener a sense of predictability but always in an unexpected (and subtly indeterminate) shade. Speaking of shade, the album’s cover photo was taken in 2019 in Alvin’s backyard in Middletown. Alvin and Jordan sit with similar demeanors in front of his favorite tree — a crooked aspen which early on looked to be doomed — but which he would often saunter over to spend time with, giving it whispers of blessings and encouraging words.The world was blessed with Alvin’s presence and hopefully this album will whisper to you and yours.

Artist statement:
“With Alvin’s recent passing I was overwhelmed with messages and calls from friends, collaborators, and his former students. Everyone had a heavy heart, no doubt, but were grateful for the memories and their gift to be around Alvin during his lifetime of prolific dedication to the arts, his fascination with poetic storytelling through scientifically-inspired minimalism, and his calm and warmhearted spirit. In his last few years on earth, Alvin was busier than ever — brainstorming new ideas, creating new pieces, and planning big things. While he was here, he was alive, and may his music — and spirit — live on forever, spreading from his corner of Church and High (where he recorded his seminal piece I am sitting in a room) to every corner, concert hall, and loudspeaker in the world.”

TRANSMISSION 2LP EDITION OF PORCUPINE TREE'S 1991 DEBUT
ALBUM
Having recently announced that Snapper Music will be representing
Porcupine Tree's Transmission label worldwide, new CD & LP reissues of
the band's extensive catalogue continue to roll out throughout 2021
Porcupine Tree's 1991 debut album 'On The Sunday Of Life' is an album that
stands up as a modern-day pop-psych classic.
With acid warped lyrics courtesy of Alan Duffy (the brains behind the late
lamented Imaginary Records label) the album is a surreal delight containing gems
such as "Jupiter Island" & "Linton Samuel Dawson" filled with quirky melodies,
effected vocals & trippy backwards guitar work. "Nine Cats", the undoubted
masterpiece of the album, is pure Edward Lear styled psychedelia.
'On The Sunday Of Life' also hints at the direction the band would later take with
more progressive influenced material such as the epic "Radioactive Toy".
Porcupine Tree released their last album, 'The Incident', in 2009, marking another
step forward in the incredible journey of the band that began as a solo studio
project created by Steven Wilson in the late eighties to a multi grammy nominated
act & one of the world's most revered live bands, selling out arenas across the
globe & wowing fans with their incredible performances.
"Refreshingly original – a wonderful musical adventure" Record Collector "A debut
disc of unearthly delights… deadly seducing stuff" NME 2LP 140g Gatefold
Edition

The US-born, Norwegian-Mexican musician and producer Carmen Villain, real name Carmen Hillestad, has spent the last nine years and four albums gently unraveling song into the sound of emotional impulse. From the tilt and croon of her first two albums to the expansive warmth that flows and pulses beyond ambient in her more recent output, Hillestad's journey is artful musical deconstruction but also somehow spiritual growth.Hence new album Only Love From Now On, her fourth full-length and the culmination of a build-up that really began with the turn in sound evident from third album Both Lines Will Be Blue (2019, Smalltown Supersound) and the subsequent releases Affection In A Time Of Crisis (2020, Longform Editions) and Sketch For Winter IX: Perlita (2021, Geographic North). While the seed of her aesthetic was planted earlier, it has blossomed into something unexpected, benevolent in its composure and altogether luxuriant in its sensuality. If her themes, especially now, are wide, philosophical, and occasionally abstract, the emotional tenor of Hillestad's music is clear and purposeful. Makes sense that her key musical touchstones are dub, ambient, and cosmic jazz - flexible vehicles for tranquil wonder. While it may not contain voice or lyrics, as her two earliest records do, she describes it as, "wishing to maintain a sense of careful optimism for the future, while on the cusp of something unknown." Listening to Only Love From Now On is simultaneously comforting and alluringly strange. Partly it's the contributions of guests Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Johanna Scheie Orellana (flutes). Partly it's the fluidity between instruments - such as clarinets - field recordings, the studio, jam, and careful composition. She calls the process a conversation with sound that occurs in her deliberate attempts to experiment with new methods, like granular synthesis, for her music-making. But mostly that strange comfort is in the peace and grateful contentment she has found via the stark recognition of her own privilege - laid bare by the pandemic. Only Love From Now On is fueled by the sense of scale in feeling small in the face of things so large, the contemplation of how the biggest impact we can have is in the people close to us, the attempt to make sure that impact is a positive one, and the choice to try to focus on love instead of fear.

"The beauty of Jiha's work lies in the spaces she leaves" - The Guardian
The highly acclaimed Korean multi-instrumentalist and composer Park
Jiha, returns with a luminous third album
A deep meditation on the intersection of music and light, The Gleam further
extends Jiha's reputation for uncompromising sonic explorations. Pop Matters
called her musical art "a near flawless fusion of folk tradition and new
composition."
How often do we consider light? We revel in the soft wonder of a sunrise or the
majesty of a glorious sunset, but all through the day its quality and texture is
continually changing, second by second, in ways we rarely register. That beauty is
the inspiration for The Gleam.
"The Gleam continues Park Jiha's solo expedition into experimental Korean
neoclassical braindance. Once again, she plays all the instruments herself – piri
(an oboe), saenghwang (a multi-pipe mouth organ), yanggeum (a dulcimer) and
glockenspiel – overdubbing multiple parts to build songs that shimmer with
levels and degrees of light." - The Wire: Adventures In Modern Music Upcoming
live shows

Established UK-talent Made By Pete lands on Damian Lazarus’ flagship Crosstown Rebels imprint this February. Collaborating with Savage & SHē on the two-track Walls of Zion, it acts as the debut release of 2022 for each artist and marks Made By Pete’s third release on the label.

The title track sets the tone, taking the form of a spacious, shamanic inspired cut. Rattling percussion reverberates around shimmering hats, as resonant vocals dive in and out. It feels atmospheric and soothing in one, opening neatly into the stripped-back sounds of Too Drunk To Dream. Lucid and dream-like, there’s a spiritual theme throughout, with whirring synths residing beneath tribal-like drum patterns to form an ethereal, club-ready cut.

Born and raised in London UK, Made By Pete is an artist who can count mavens of the electronic music scene like Damian Lazarus, Sasha and Kolsch as big fans of his sound. He has seen his work snapped up by taste-making labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Saved, Rebirth and Radiant to name a few, whilst performances across the world at clubs such as Space (Ibiza), Chinese Laundry (Sydney), Fabric (London) as well as Thailand’s famous Full Moon Party have highlighted him as a truly global artist.

Mexico-based duo Savage & SHē have garnered an international following thanks to a consistent schedule of quality releases. Imprints such as Abracadabra, Earthly Delights, TrueColors and Trndmsk are just a few examples of labels they’ve graced over the years, whilst sharing the stage with standout performers in the form of Adriatique, Be Svendsen, Matthias Meyer and many more besides.

BIOHAZARD formed in Brooklyn in 1988 and soon after released their first demo. The band consisted of founding members Billy Graziadei (vocals, guitar), Bobby Hambel (lead guitar) and Evan Seinfeld (vocals, bass). After the release of their second demo in 1989, drummer Anthony Meo left the band and drummer Danny Schuler replaced him. BIOHAZARD released their combined the urban sounds of hard-core, metal and rap with scorching lyrics describing the forces at work in our modern urban lives. With an impressive career spanning over 20 years with 10 albums (on both indie and major labels), the band sold over 5 million records. In 1990, Biohazard signed a recording contract with Maze Records. The band's self-titled debut album was poorly promoted by the label and sold approximately 40,000 copies. The album's subject matter revolved around Brooklyn, gang-wars, drugs, and violence.

In 1992, Biohazard signed with Roadrunner Records and released Urban Discipline, which gave the band national and worldwide attention in both the heavy metal and hardcore communities. The video for the song "Punishment" became the most played video in the history of MTV's Headbanger's Ball, and the album sold over one million copies. The band also began opening for larger acts such as Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies, House of Pain, Fishbone, and The Cro-Mags. In 1993, the hardcore rap group Onyx brought on Billy Graziadei for an alternate "Bionyx" version of their hit single "Slam" with Biohazard as their backup band. This led to a collaboration on the title track of the Judgment Night soundtrack. The soundtrack would go on to sell over two million copies in the United States. Months later, the band left Roadrunner Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records Inc. who released their third studio LP, State of the World Address. The album was produced by Ed Stasium in Los Angeles and contained the single "How It Is" featuring Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, for which a video was also shot. During their 1994 tour, the band made an appearance on the second stage at the Monsters of Rock festival held at Castle Donington. State of the World Address went on to sell over one million copies, and Rolling Stone magazine selected the Biohazard logo as the best logo of the year.

This was the last Biohazard album with Bobby Hambel, who left due to differences with the rest of the band. The band recorded their fourth studio album, Mata Leao, as a three piece in 1996. It was produced with the help of Dave Jerden. For the 1996-97 Mata Leao Tour, former Helmet guitarist Rob Echeverria joined the band. The band also played on the Ozzfest mainstage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Danzig, Fear Factory, and Sepultura. While touring Europe in support of the Mata Leao album, the band recorded their Hamburg, Germany, show for their first live album, No Holds Barred (Live in Europe), which was released in 1997 through their former label, Roadrunner Records. The band signed to Mercury Records and released their fifth studio album, New World Disorder, in 1999, once again with Ed Stasium as a producer.

The relationship with Mercury Records soured quickly as the band felt betrayed and misunderstood by the label. They severed their ties with the label amidst the merger of Mercury Records, Island Records, Def Jam Records, and Polygram into the Universal Music Group. The following year, Biohazard signed two new record deals with SPV/Steamhammer in Europe and Sanctuary Records for the remainder of the world. Despite the new record deals, the band took some personal time in order to work on other projects. Graziadei and Schuler also collaborated in transforming the band's rehearsal Brooklyn studio into a digital recording studio, known as Rat Piss Studios and soon after changed the name to Underground Sound Studios. Re-investing into the band, Graziadei and Schuler honed their engineering and productions skills while recording and producing local acts and new Biohazard demos. The band then undertook the process of writing, recording, and producing their own music. Their studio work led to the band's sixth studio album, Uncivilization, released in September 2001.
The album featured several guest appearances by members of bands such as Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Pantera, Slipknot, Sepultura, Cypress Hill, Skarhead, and Type O Negative. Shortly after the release of Uncivilization, guitarist Leo Curley left the band and was replaced by former Nucleus member Carmine Vincent, who had previously toured with Biohazard as part of their road crew. The band had to cancel scheduled European festival dates when Carmine Vincent underwent major surgery. The band did manage to find a temporary guitarist, Scott Roberts, formerly of the Cro-Mags and the Spudmonsters, in time to join the Eastpak Resistance Tour with Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Discipline, Death Threat, Born From Pain and All Boro Kings. Biohazard completed their seventh studio album in seventeen days; Kill Or Be Killed was released in 2003. While touring North America with Kittie, Brand New Sin and Eighteen Visions, Biohazard announced that Roberts would remain as their permanent lead guitarist. The tour was curtailed when it was announced that Seinfeld had fallen ill. With more downtime due to Seinfeld's illness, Graziadei and Schuler collaborated to mix Life of Agony's live comeback album, River Runs Again: Live 2003. Once Seinfeld was healthy again, the band toured Japan and North America, headlining over bands such as Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Throwdown, and Full Blown Chaos.

By the end of 2003, the band had begun recording its eighth studio album, Means To An End. The completed album was lost in a studio disaster, forcing the band to completely re-record the album, which was finally released in August 2005. In October 2004, Graziadei announced that Means To An End had been the final Biohazard album and that he would continue playing with his new band Suicide City as his main focus. One month later, on the Biohazard website, it was announced that there would in fact be a 2005 Biohazard tour. On December 15, 2005, Seinfeld and Graziadei participated in the Roadrunner United conglomerate event at the Nokia Theater in New York for an all-star event. The show opened with Biohazard's "Punishment," performed by Seinfeld, Graziadei, Sepultura's Andreas Kisser, former Fear Factory member Dino Cazares, and Slipknot's Joey Jordison. Graziadei and Schuler relocated their recording studio to South Amboy, New Jersey and renamed it Underground Sound Studios. The studio was renovated to include a live room with 20-foot (6.1 m) ceilings and 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of studio space. After Schuler's departure from the studio business, Graziadei relocated the studio to Los Angeles and changed the name to Firewater Studios. In January 2008, the classic lineup of Evan Seinfeld, Billy Graziadei, Danny Schuler and Bobby Hambel made the announcement that rehearsals had begun for a 2008 summer tour to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. They toured Australia and New Zealand in April with Chimaira, Throwdown, Bloodsimple and headliners Korn to celebrate their newly declared reunion. The band also took part in Persistence Tour 2009, and announced at one of their shows that they were working on a new record. Biohazard brought in producer Toby Wright to work on the album and after several months at Graziadei's Firewater Studios in Los Angeles, the band completed their recording sessions. In June 2011, Biohazard announced that Evan Seinfeld had quit the band and Scott Roberts returned to replace Seinfeld for two UK dates but no decision regarding a permanent replacement was made. In January 2012, the band decided that Scott Roberts would remain with the band as a permanent member. The new album, Reborn In Defiance, was released worldwide, with the exception of North America, on January 20, 2012 through the Nuclear Blast label. In support of the album, Biohazard embarked on a short co-headlining tour of Europe with Suicidal Tendencies in the latter half of January 2012. After touring the world in support of Reborn in Defiance, the band entered the studio to work on a new release and after a falling out, Roberts departed the band.

Biohazard remains as it’s core founding members of Graziadei, Shuler and Hambel. Graziadei has since ventured off onto a solo career as BillyBio and teamed up with Cypress Hill frontman Sendog to start Powerflo. Both groups are working on their second releases due out late 2021 and early 2022.

The third compilation EP to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment is Coastal Haze under the umbrella of Church,

An up-and-coming duo from New Zealand, Manuel Darquart, released on Wolf Music and others. The long-awaited first vinyl version of the popular song released digitally only in 2016.

The dense sound world with a wide range, including the impressive synth bass that penetrates the song, is unique to vinyl release. Including mastering by

Mr. KUNIYUKI, this work that realized a thick groove that is different from the time of digital sound source, there is no doubt that it will shake the entire space.

The up-and-coming French beatdown house S3A, whose long-awaited first album from Dirt Crew was well received. It's no wonder that he grew up listening to Detroit house,

and his unique sense of exquisite combination of sleezy beats, muffled texture and breathing such as disco funk is an excellent work.

The space is gradually filled with layers of euphoria that folds down, and the feeling of exhilaration and sophistication is irresistible!

The Japanese twin duo SATOSHI & MAKOTO, whose two albums released from YOUNG MARCO's label attracted a lot of attention, remixed the songs of SATOSHI FEAT and KUNIYUKI.

It is a remix of the work that was recorded in the label's 20th anniversary edition "20 YEARS SOUND OF SPEED RECORDS VOL.2" and was well received, but it seems that they were strongly influenced by early techno, and there is a melancholic synth work that drifts. The finish that is drawn into. It's a wonderful remix with respect for the original and a fusion of your own colors.

KUNIYUKI is in charge of mastering

F.S.Blumm and Nils Frahm have confirmed details of their fourth collaborative album, 2X1=4, which will be released on September 3, 2021, by LEITER, the new label formed by Frahm and his
manager, Felix Grimm. The seven-track album finds the duo unexpectedly exploring a dub influenced universe, though in truth it’s one already familiar to both. F.S.Blumm, for instance, is
co-founder of Quasi Dub Development, whose 2014 album, Little-Twister vs Stiff-Neck, featured Lady Ann and Lee Scratch Perry, while Frahm’s music – not least 2018’s All Melody – has
occasionally betrayed a fondness for the form’s associated studio techniques, though he concedes wryly that his approach has always been “a little bit more German” than his influences.

F.S.Blumm, a revered mainstay of the German underground for over two decades, and Nils Frahm, who’s enjoyed significant success in recent years with his ground-breaking compositions
for piano and synths, first met in the early 2000s. Frahm was a big fan of Blumm’s 2001 album, Mondkuchen – he refers to his fellow Berlin resident admiringly these days as “a vital brick in the
Berlin Wall” – while Blumm was soon dazzled by Frahm’s studio set up. “Compared to mine,” he says, “it was like a space ship!” Soon they were working together on a variety of projects –
including theatre pieces and animated films – and by 2010 they’d released their first collaborative album, Music For Lovers Music Versus Time. A second, Music For Wobbling Music Versus
Gravity, followed in 2013, and a third, Tag Eins Tag Zwei, in 2016.

2X1=4 is very different to its predecessors, but its final track, ‘Neckrub’, first took shape as they wound up work on Tag Eins Tag Zwei. “We had a certain sound in the back of our heads,”
Blumm recalls, “which was influenced by these 80s rhythm machines, and we suddenly discovered a common love for dub.” Most of the new album, therefore, was initially developed in 2016 during improvisation sessions recorded by Frahm to two-track cassette. “It was like we were running a combine harvester,” Blumm laughs, “so we could write our names on a single grain!”

Afterwards, they worked on editing and overdubs in Frahm’s new studio at Berlin’s legendary Funkhaus. “We kept on making new songs out of these sessions and starting over and over again,” Frahm smiles. “It was a process that was time consuming but really fun.” Not that either of them is eager to claim a purist approach. “I love ending up somewhere where I’m surprised by myself or the machine or the person with whom I’m making music,” Blumm concludes, while
Frahm emphasises that, “None of this is too serious. The record is only as much of a dub record as the ones before are jazz records…”