Search:this is the sound of

"Los Angeles-born music producer, artist, and DJ DF Tram is thrilled to announce the release of his highly anticipated new album, Bittersweet Afternoon on Orbscure Records. Orbscure Records, founded by Alex Paterson of the legendary electronic act The Orb, continues its tradition of championing innovative and boundary-pushing artists with this remarkable release. About DF Tram DF Tram is a leading figure in the global downtempo electronic scene, celebrated for his meticulously crafted audio-visual performances and immersive storytelling through sound. His work seamlessly blends ambient, sampling, spoken word, vocals, and psychedelia into genre-defying sonic journeys, offering listeners a unique and transformative experience. Bittersweet Afternoon Written and recorded between DF Tram’s Zagreb and Vienna studios during the pandemic and finished last year. Bittersweet Afternoon represents the next chapter in his storied career. The album surprises listeners with his vocals, bittersweet lullabies, and signature collage and spoken word style. Featuring atmospheric soundscapes and cinematic influences, the project reflects the spirit and playfulness of Alex Paterson and Orbscure’s commitment to fostering experimental, forward-thinking music. Adding to the album’s rich tapestry are collaborations with Alex Paterson himself on two tracks, as well as contributions from multi-talented contemporary classical violinist Violeta Vicci on another pair of songs. The first single and video, "The Librarian," offers an immersive glimpse into the world of DF Tram and “Bittersweet Afternoon”. Available on a limited edition transparent blue vinyl, card gatefold CD.

Once upon a car park.
In the mid-90s, DJ Steve and Luca Lozano bonded over Mobb Deep, Droors, and the finer points of frontside flips. Soundtracked by skate videos and boombox freestyles, those formative years were more about asphalt than machines.
Time moved on. Steve found his way to stages from Sheffield to Sonar as half of an electro duo; Luca chased underground frequencies from London to Berlin. Life zigzagged. Contact faded.
Fast forward a couple of decades and a random reconnection just before lockdown sparked version 2.0 of their friendship—and a new chapter of collaboration. What started as nostalgia turned into studio marathons and shared sonic visions. The result: Closed Circuit.
This is the sound of two old friends channeling 20-year loops—where electro meets B-boy attitude, house nods to early Warp, and vocoders clash with vintage drum machines. Think sun-bleached jeans, fuzzed-out tape hiss, and that pre-internet rush of discovery.
To top it off, Running Back’s own Roman Flügel contributes a sharp remix flip, and the sleeve features archival photos taken by Lozano during his early London days (2002–2005)—moments frozen in grain and sweat from some of the city’s first DIY parties.
Friendship. Frequencies. Full circle.
Closed Circuit.

Polar Bear's groundbreaking debut 'Dim Lit' (2004) is being released on vinyl for the first time, marking over two decades since its arrival reshaped the UK jazz landscape

Led by drummer and composer Seb Rochford, the album introduced a band whose fearless approach to improvisation, rhythm, and texture would go on to influence a generation. Blending raw energy with intricate composition, 'Dim Lit' set the blueprint for Polar Bear's signature sound - expansive, unpredictable, and entirely their own.

From the outset, 'Dim Lit' positioned Polar Bear as one of the most forward-thinking groups of their time. The album bridged jazz, electronic elements, and avant- garde sensibilities, carving out a new space in the contemporary music scene. The interplay between Rochford, saxophonists Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart, bassist Tom Herbert, and electronics specialist Leafcutter John created a dynamic, shape-shifting sound that blurred genre boundaries. With its hypnotic grooves, explosive improvisation, and unexpected sonic detours, 'Dim Lit' remains a vital document of a band redefining what jazz could be.

This first- ever vinyl release offers a new perspective on 'Dim Lit's deep, layered soundscapes, giving longtime fans and new listeners alike the chance to experience the album in a fresh, immersive format. Edition Records now represents all digital rights to the Polar Bear catalogue, ensuring the band's visionary work continues to reach audiences worldwide.

Phantasy proudly presents a new AA single from Ewan McVicar, ‘Careless Drifter / Basic Foundation’. Undoubtedly one of the most prominent and successful figures in UK dance music in recent years, McVicar’s contribution to Erol Alkan’s long-standing London label is a love letter from his earliest days raving in rural Scotland. Debuted by McVicar at I Love Acid at Corsica Studios, and road tested at his own Handpicked parties, each track is a paean to communal party spirit that has informed his musical philosophy.

Patient but instantly trippy, ‘Careless Drifter’ coaxes dancers into a bottom-heavy bath of bassline and oscillations, revealing an alluring saxophone break that bridges the rawest end of the rave with unexpected opulence.

On the flip side, ‘Basic Foundation’ further strips back this instinct for club composition, dropping the tempo while dazzling with razor-sharp synths. The result is primo acid-house chug, alternating between light and shade, as McVicar’s knack for a melody emerges from his modular experiments.

Black Hole Superette, the latest album from Aesop Rock, delves into the invisible forces that shape our lives and psyches. It's about the small, often overlooked moments_the everyday experiences that blur the lines between the real and the unreal, waking and sleeping. Aesop's signature gift for transforming the mundane into something dreamlike gives the album a surreal quality, leaving listeners questioning what's truly real as they navigate its vivid, half-remembered imagery. Entirely self-produced, Black Hole Superette is one of Aesop Rock's most technically accomplished works to date. The album's intricate beats and complex structures provide the perfect backdrop for his expansive lyricism, balancing cerebral exploration with emotional depth. From the reflective 'Movie Night' and the eccentric 'Send Help' to the wistful 'Black Plums,' Aesop channels the spirit of a mad scientist, experimenting with sound and concept in ways that defy the ordinary. With a stellar lineup of collaborators that includes Lupe Fiasco, Armand Hammer, Hanni El Khatib, Open Mike Eagle and Homeboy Sandman, Black Hole Superette is dense and kinetic, an album that deftly navigates between complexity and instinct. It's clear this project stands as one of Aesop Rock's most multifaceted and ambitious works yet.

Hailed as the “Godfather of electronic music,” Paul Oakenfold is one of the most successful electronic artists of all time, counting more than 110M streams, 5M albums sold worldwide and three GRAMMY nominations.
Oakenfold’s discography includes three full-length studio albums, countless live/compilation albums, singles and remixes, and over 20 DJ mix albums. He has written and produced for major stars like Cher, The Happy Mondays, U2 and Madonna and also counts more than 100 remixes, including ones for The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and Elvis Presley.

He continues to push the envelope via his game-changing projects, including a once-in-a-lifetime DJ set in April 2017 at the top of the base camp of Mt. Everest, commemorating the set with the release ‘Mount Everest: The Base Camp Mix.’ In September 2018, he became the first-ever artist to perform at Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage site, followed by his ‘Sunset at Stonehenge’ mix album (February 2019) capturing the historic DJ set. In March 2019, he performed at the 2019 Special Olympics World Games opening ceremony in Abu Dhabi, in addition to remixing the Games’ official theme song.

This release is a reissue of his classic soundtrack album for the 2001 Joel Silver produced Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry & Don Chedle. It contains tracks specially commissioned for the film written by Paul & film composer Christopher Young, plus his remix versions of N*E*R*D – Lapdance, Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock, Muse - New Born, plus tracks from Lemon Jelly + Dope Smugglerz, Jan Johnston.

The original release has sold over 100k units to date & the vinyl is now selling upwards of £300 on Discogs. This 2025 triple vinyl reissue has been remastered at Metropolis Studios + will be pressed on green coloured vinyl & coincides with the 4k UHD limited edition 25th anniversary Blu Ray release.

Belgian label Music Man Records presents Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, a new compilation offering a fresh perspective on the legacy of the iconic Belgian club Boccaccio - often associated with the short-lived New Beat movement. The 40-track compilation highlights the raw and futuristic early house and techno sounds that were heard in the pioneering club.

Located in rural Destelbergen (Belgium), just a stone's throw from Ghent, Boccaccio has secured its place among legendary venues like Paradise Garage in New York and The Haçienda in Manchester. Its bold fusion of emerging electronic genres such as New Beat, Acid, House, and Techno was way ahead of its time, drawing music lovers and clubbers from across Belgium and beyond. Sundays at Boccaccio were unlike anywhere else-offering sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else.

Boccaccio Life 1987-1993 is carefully curated by resident DJ Olivier Pieters and club regular Stefaan Vandenberghe, standing as the ultimate testament to a club that was more than just a venue. For those who experienced it, it was a community - a way of life. Hence the club's full name: Boccaccio Life.

This compilation stands as a testament to an innovative time in electronic music, capturing the raw, futuristic sounds of early house and techno. It sheds light on another side of Boccaccio, one that goes far beyond the short-lived New Beat scene. A carefully curated selection of 40 tracks, resonating with those who were there by offering familiar classics, while also reaching a new generation-those who never experienced it firsthand.

With tracks from Blake Baxter, Virgo, Frankie Knuckles, Tyree, and A GuyCalled Gerald, the unmistakable influence of black American pioneers is clear-the originators of the first analog house and techno sounds. On the other hand, UK sound innovators such as The Orb and LFO bring both sharp textures and rough breakbeats to the table.

Club staple tracks include dreamy excursions from Roger Sanchez under his Egotrip moniker, the relentless basement house of Circus Bells by Robert Armani on Dance Mania, an uplifting take on a hip-house cut from The D.O.C. (Portrait of A Masterpiece in the CJ Ed-Did-It Mix), a timeless remix of UK Formation's Age of Chance from 1994, and an alternate take on The Tape by Boccaccio club regular and Belgian producer Frank De Wulf, taken from his B-Sides project.

While not always the obvious hits, these tracks have gracefully withstood the test of time, and were exclusive to Sundays at Boccaccio. Now, they are finally available to experience together in one collection,offering a timeless snapshot of a unique era.

As part of the Acoustic Sounds series, three of Diana Krall’s most beloved albums will be reissued on vinyl throughout the year, with the first, her dazzling Grammy-winning 2001 album, The Look of Love, to bow May 31st. The record boasts such standouts as “S’ Wonderful”, “Cry Me A River”, and her bewitching take on the Burt Bacharach-penned title track. Krall’s 1999 album — celebrating its 25th anniversary this year — When I Look In Your Eyes, will follow July 5th with her 1996 LP, All For You: A Dedication To The Nat King Cole Trio, to come September 27th. The two-time Grammy-winning album, which was also nominated for Album of the Year, When I Look In Your Eyes, features Krall and her excellent ensemble performing a sultry set of updated standards, including highlights like “Let’s Fall In Love”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Let’s Face The Music and Dance”. All For You: A Dedication To The Nat King Cole Trio is a superb salute to the mighty Nat King Cole Trio with Krall putting her unique spin on 12 of Cole’s classic cuts like “Frim Fram Sauce”, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “You Call It Madness” and “Hit That Jive Jack”. The albums will be mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original tapes and pressed on 2-LP black vinyl.

Two years ago he released ‘The Peak Season EP’ under his alias Flo 87, hitting all the right buttons, and now his back with ‘The Full Moon EP’ under his own name Jan Rezelman. The EP consist of three brand new tracks, all recorded in 2024. ‘Nobody’ is basically me cutting up a beautiful soul song on my MPC, and re-play it and having fun with it. I’ve put some banging drums under it, Maspaventi did the mastering, so you know it’s ready for club use! ‘Full Moon’ is an up-tempo track where I’m filtering a guitar loop and having fun with it. Anton Pieete mixed it and Sam Irl mastered it to tape, so you already know it’ sounds super phat! ‘Soul Music’ has a more experimental vibe to it, where I was messing with my new synthesizer and came up with this infectious bass-loop and those heavy hitting 808 drums. I added some strings and drum-breaks and kept the track really minimalistic. ‘The Full Moon EP’ is pressed to a limited amount so be quick! The vinyl will be in stores around spring ‘25.

Green Sonic Opaque w/ White Ink Cassette & Red Opaque w/ White Ink Cassette. Minecraft is a dreamscape, a limitless world where anything is possible. Minecraft is a tool, a means of bringing the imagination to life. Minecraft is a community, a platform on which inventive minds of all ages can share their creations and ideas. Minecraft, of course, is also a game, the most popular and best-selling video game of all time. Created in 2009 by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson, this cultural phenomenon speaks volumes of our current zeitgeist's love for virtual spaces, but its unprecedented success couldn't be pinned on one factor alone. Countless layers of thoughtful artistry flow through Minecraft's singular experience, not the least of which is its transportive soundtrack by C418, the project of German composer and musician Daniel Rosenfeld. Minecraft Volume Alpha, the first installment of a two-part OST, helped breathe life into the game's voxel-based universe. Upon release, fans and critics were universally enamored with C418's beatless, nuanced electronic pieces. Popular gaming site Kotaku named it among The Best Game Music of 2011, calling the music "remarkably soothing." The Guardian compared Rosenfeld's delicate piano and sparse ambient motifs to legendary artists Erik Satie and Brian Eno. Polygon distilled Volume Alpha to its essence: "It's not bound by the retro aesthetic of Minecraft's graphics. It transcends them. The album is an attempt to uplift the combined game/music experience into the sublime."

E-bony joins the INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS family to present DIGITAL DAWN, an album that defines his identity as an artist. Twelve tracks in which electro and techno intertwine to create a unique and personal sound. A sonic manifesto composed of twelve tracks that explore the darkest textures and the most hypnotic rhythms of underground electronic.

In this work, E-bony is not alone. The talent of Noamm is woven into four of the tracks, adding an additional layer of complexity and experimentation. The collaboration between both artists creates a unique synergy, elevating the DIGITAL DAWN proposal to a new level.

DIGITAL DAWN is released in 2×12″ format, a format that is still preferred by DJs and lovers of high-quality sound, guaranteeing a quality and sound pressure that will explode on the dance floor.

A new vinyl album from Nat Birchall, this is the Dub version of his Dimension of the Drums LP, a roots reggae instrumental set that was very enthusiastically received last year, ending up on many best Of The Year lists.
For this album Nat has remixed the tracks in classic early to mid - 1970s style. Inspired by the classic Dub LPs like Keith Hudson’s ‘Pick A Dub’ and Winston Edwards’ ‘King Tubby Meets The Upsetter at the Grass Roots of Dub’ the tracks have been reimagined in Roots Dub fashion, some with new horn lines and all with hand drums, giving the album a very authentic Rootsy sound. Additionally there are two different mixes of a new rhythm track that wasn’t on the previous album.
Once again Nat plays all the instruments and did all the recording, mixing and mastering.
Drums in Dub features eight tracks of instrumental Dub delight, specially designed for the 1970s Dub connoisseur.

Pop and dance music fans, rejoice! Pop icon, singer and performer Louise, is set to release her sixth solo album, 'Confessions' Following the success of her Greatest Hits compilation in 2023, Confessions marks an exciting new chapter for the artist, promising a bold and unapologetic exploration of electronic pop. The album, which Louise has been crafting over the past 18 months, features collaborations with some of the music industry's most sought-after talents. She has teamed up with Jon Shave (Charli XCX), Anya Jones (Benjamin Ingrosso, Lola Young, Kylie), Karen Poole (Becky Hill), Tre Jean-Marie (Perrie, Mabel), and Hannah Robinson (Annie) to create a soundscape that takes listeners on an exhilarating journey of selfdiscovery straight to the dance floor. "This album is a true reflection of where I am right now--both as an artist and as a person. It's raw, it's emotional, and it's full of energy," Louise shares. "I wanted to create something th

Gladio Operations launches its twelfth release, where the Spanish label returns to the various artists format.
Opening the pack is producer and Distrito 91 label owner Fabio Vinuesa. Under his newly created alias Protocolo Sysex, he gives us “NottheFuture,” a powerful track with raw bass lines — a benchmark for the dancefloor.

On the same side, we encounter Sinitsin. The Russian artist, who debuts on the label, leaves his mark with “Thinking Machine”. A track that reveals his enthusiasm for charismatic and effective melodies, very well sequenced throughout the track.
The B-side opens up by an acquaintance of the label, Jauzas the Shining. This time he is accompanied by Foreign Sequence, and together they have created “Enter the Body”. A track of dark aesthetics, served with dramatic vocals, very characteristic of the Frenchman who, of course, never disappoints. Another artist making his debut is Italian producer Teslasonic.
This fast-paced track titled “Chubby Bee” reveals a minimalist bass line, with subtle and delicate touches of the 303.
The EP is brought to a close by another Gladio acquaintance. Igors Vorobjovs returns with this track titled “For One”.

Orientated towards IDM sounds, the Latvian producer once again envelops us with a passage of deep and mysterious harmonies, which undoubtedly makes it a timeless piece.

Included are all 9 tracks from the two titles that have been highly acclaimed and talked about overseas.
This is an analog vinyl record pressed in Japan by Memory-Tech, the developer of high-quality CDs and UHQCDs, on 180g heavy vinyl.

Analog vinyl featuring all 9 cover and original songs from the 2024 album “Beyond The Window ~Mado no Mukou ni~” and the 2021 album “Another Answer”
by Kanae Izutsu, a singer who boasts strong popularity among music fans and audiophiles.
The two titles, which were ranked No. 1 on the domestic distribution site rankings and also ranked high on overseas distribution and streaming sites, were cut
by Katsutoshi Kitamura (MIXER'S LAB), one of the best cutting engineers, and by Memory-Tech, the company that developed UHQCD, a high-quality sound
quality CD. The 180g weight vinyl is made by analog pressing, which is also concerned about the sound quality. Please enjoy Izutsu's unique worldview, which
has both strength and fragility, and is clothed in lingering sound and space, on the analog disc as well.

Howdy punkè rocke fans, welcome to FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE - the wonderful and frightening world of ALIEN NOSEJOB’s EP’s & singles. Anti Fade and Agitated Records are teaming together to bring you a paint stripping, mind altering, rare collection of EP and compilation tracks recorded in various Australian bedrooms and garages between 2017 and 2022. The sound of goofy obnoxiousness will soon be permeating your bedroom airwaves and perforating your eardrums. Kicking off this long player is an EP that was recorded by Billy from Anti Fade in his childhood bedroom in July 2017. The songs came to fruition while AUSMUTEANTS were on tour in Japan 2016.

There was a lot of ‘WALLABY BEAT’ / ‘MURDER PUNK’ being played in the background while seeing the sites of Mount Fuji and ‘Bar Fuck Yeah’. In between shows Jake was organising the release of DANNY GRAHAM and PLASTIC AND THE EP’S records on the label he co-ran XEROX MUSIC. Both artists played parts in the sound and ethos of the PANEL BEAT EP. The goal was to make the songs sound unapologetically Australian without pretending to be something they’re not. There’s no fake accents or songs about VB and mullets. Instead, there’s songs about every day struggles, like dealing with fickle fashion followers, having too many fucking records, playing PlayStation, resentment and manipulation.

500 copies were pressed and self released, with a photo slipped inside each copy at random. Next is THE DEATH OF THE VINYL BOOM which was self recorded in a shed in November 2017. This is the only Alien Nosejob release (besides this comp, smartarse) to feature a cover - Flyblown by Adelaidean arty weirdo band JACKSON ZUMDISH. The idea behind this EP was to incorporate the simplicity and scrappiness of the late 70’s DIY Australian sound, but give them the complicated structures of prog songs. Scum stats - 500 copies, self released. Several copies were smeared with Jake’s blood and had smashed pieces of vinyl glued to the front cover.

Now we have a cover of the DEAD KENNEDYS. The conspiracy theorist wet dream Government Flu. Recorded September 2020 during lockdown in one-man-band with a tape recorder fashion for a 20 minute unedited ‘live set’ video where all instruments were played one by one, sung and mixed in the space of a couple of hours. The HC45 7” was recorded at the same time as a disco 12” maxi, which I hear were originally meant to come out on the same day. Shit happens I guess? This EP came out in Feb 2020 and sounds somewhere between early GANG GREEN, DIE KREUZEN and the BEASTIE BOYS old bullshit. Self recorded on a 4 track with a broken pinch roller. Lyrically this thing is cynical and choc-a-bloc full of satire and hate. A year later a sequel was recorded the same way, on the same machine.

No fucking disco this time though. Cold Bare Facts is the most recent recording on this comp. Self recorded in Jake‘s bedroom 2022 It has the same mid paced tempo as DYS or SSD when they’re at their slowest (pre-Boston Curse, of course!). Both songs take a stinky shit on the Australian state police. 300 copies. Finishing the record is a cover by THE AINTS. Originally written by ED KUEPPER for THE SAINTS Eternally Yours album, but it sounded too similar to Lost and Found. Originally released on ‘ALTA’ cassette compilation during the lockdown. FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE binds this mouthful of releases into one neat package from June 6th, 2025. Catch the ALIEN NOSEJOB band on tour in Europe & UK from June 13 - July 2nd, 2025.

Howdy punkè rocke fans, welcome to FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE - the wonderful and frightening world of ALIEN NOSEJOB’s EP’s & singles. Anti Fade and Agitated Records are teaming together to bring you a paint stripping, mind altering, rare collection of EP and compilation tracks recorded in various Australian bedrooms and garages between 2017 and 2022. The sound of goofy obnoxiousness will soon be permeating your bedroom airwaves and perforating your eardrums. Kicking off this long player is an EP that was recorded by Billy from Anti Fade in his childhood bedroom in July 2017. The songs came to fruition while AUSMUTEANTS were on tour in Japan 2016.

There was a lot of ‘WALLABY BEAT’ / ‘MURDER PUNK’ being played in the background while seeing the sites of Mount Fuji and ‘Bar Fuck Yeah’. In between shows Jake was organising the release of DANNY GRAHAM and PLASTIC AND THE EP’S records on the label he co-ran XEROX MUSIC. Both artists played parts in the sound and ethos of the PANEL BEAT EP. The goal was to make the songs sound unapologetically Australian without pretending to be something they’re not. There’s no fake accents or songs about VB and mullets. Instead, there’s songs about every day struggles, like dealing with fickle fashion followers, having too many fucking records, playing PlayStation, resentment and manipulation.

500 copies were pressed and self released, with a photo slipped inside each copy at random. Next is THE DEATH OF THE VINYL BOOM which was self recorded in a shed in November 2017. This is the only Alien Nosejob release (besides this comp, smartarse) to feature a cover - Flyblown by Adelaidean arty weirdo band JACKSON ZUMDISH. The idea behind this EP was to incorporate the simplicity and scrappiness of the late 70’s DIY Australian sound, but give them the complicated structures of prog songs. Scum stats - 500 copies, self released. Several copies were smeared with Jake’s blood and had smashed pieces of vinyl glued to the front cover.

Now we have a cover of the DEAD KENNEDYS. The conspiracy theorist wet dream Government Flu. Recorded September 2020 during lockdown in one-man-band with a tape recorder fashion for a 20 minute unedited ‘live set’ video where all instruments were played one by one, sung and mixed in the space of a couple of hours. The HC45 7” was recorded at the same time as a disco 12” maxi, which I hear were originally meant to come out on the same day. Shit happens I guess? This EP came out in Feb 2020 and sounds somewhere between early GANG GREEN, DIE KREUZEN and the BEASTIE BOYS old bullshit. Self recorded on a 4 track with a broken pinch roller. Lyrically this thing is cynical and choc-a-bloc full of satire and hate. A year later a sequel was recorded the same way, on the same machine.

No fucking disco this time though. Cold Bare Facts is the most recent recording on this comp. Self recorded in Jake‘s bedroom 2022 It has the same mid paced tempo as DYS or SSD when they’re at their slowest (pre-Boston Curse, of course!). Both songs take a stinky shit on the Australian state police. 300 copies. Finishing the record is a cover by THE AINTS. Originally written by ED KUEPPER for THE SAINTS Eternally Yours album, but it sounded too similar to Lost and Found. Originally released on ‘ALTA’ cassette compilation during the lockdown. FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE binds this mouthful of releases into one neat package from June 6th, 2025. Catch the ALIEN NOSEJOB band on tour in Europe & UK from June 13 - July 2nd, 2025.

I must admit to being a sucker for two-guitar bands. Ok, Hendrix pulled off a trio. But I don’t care what anybody says: The Yardbirds were a better band than anything that came out of them (Ok, maybe not Zep. But Cream?).

Maybe the reason I go back so far in my references is that, within the two-guitar band format, original new roles are difficult and rare. There’s the classic (socially problematic and often boring) “rhythm/lead” solution. There’s the JB’s or Nile Rodgers’ chicken pickin’ vs comping solution (which avoids chordal clashes by relegating one of the guitars to the role of single-note percussion instrument). There’s Ornette’s Prime Time division between Bern Nix’s rolled-off “jazz” tone and Charles Ellerbee’s trebly wah. Almost everything else is a variation on one of these.


In Ches Smith’s record Clone Row, each piece is built around a different concept for guitar interaction. The delightful and gifted weirdness of Mary Halvorson’s playing is counterpointed, contrasted, unisoned with, played off, juxtaposed (that is to say, enters every relationship possible) with Liberty Ellman’s equally amazing sound palette, chops, and imagination. This definitely ain’t your father’s guitar band.
The overall vibe of the record—despite Halvorson’s occasional noise outbursts or Ellman’s distorted guitar lines (see Mixed Fridge) is neither punk/funk, nor Zorn-ish metal—and certainly not the looser parameters of Ornette’s improvised harmolodics. Smith’s vibraphone playing, Halvorson’s guitar tone (whammy pedal squiggles aside), the brilliant electronics, and (most of all) the compositions themselves are somehow strangely West Coast cool. It’s as if I’m hearing a Jim Hall concert in which one of us did a lot of mushrooms, or (dare I write this?) some post-punk post-Dave Brubeck post-trip-hop experiment with classical form.

This recording is, most of all, about Ches as composer. He’s picked up a lot on his long, strange trip of the last few decades. The Haitian funkiness of his work with We All Break is audible—but deeply buried, encoded in the polyrhythms (check out Heart Breakthrough). His long-running side musician collaborations with John Zorn and Tim Berne are also evident but sublimated here into something new.

Not that improvising is absent. Check out the compelling collective statements in Sustained Nightmare and Ready Beat. Check out the brilliant interplay and bass soloing on Abrade With Me (a Weather Report for the age of extreme weather?) Nick Dunston is my favorite bassist of the new generation, and he plays brilliantly throughout. And Ches’ drumming here has all the groove, energy, and incredible range that have kept him in demand from Saturday night Vodou services to jazz and new music recording sessions (…the thinking man’s rock barbarian?).
The sus chords in Abrade With Me do build, for a moment, towards a fusion type of climax...but just at the moment I was gritting my teeth in anticipated defense against some horrible synth solo, the drums drop out, and we’re transported to the ambient lounge at the rave, and we suddenly understand we’re in the hands of a composer with the power to transport us just about anywhere.
So, this is a composer’s record most of all; a composer’s record performed by musicians who happen to be great improvisers. Ches Smith builds here on his reputation as a gifted new voice with an important vision, while showcasing some of the most creative musicians of our time.

here may still be electronic music artists in this age of overflow and convenience who follow their own artistic vision regardless of what attention it might bring, if any. With an output that shows individualism, ideas and a signature sound. An ongoing creative process, uncompromising and adventurous, even eccentric, with results of consistent quality and determination. Dennis Busch aka James Din A4 is an archetypical example for this type of artist. He flooded the scene with releases in the 00s with numerous monikers, mostly on his own Esel imprint, and they were all great. On the outside you had his singular artworks (he is also a very accomplished collage artist) and quirkily humorous titles, and on the inside you had his music, also seemingly informed by a collage approach (only with samples), managing to sound focussed and out of focus, often at the same time. If you listen to a James Din A4 track it probably is simultaneously playful and disciplined. Anything can happen, and a lot if it actually does.

For quite some years, music releases by James Din A 4 were scarce. Jan Jelinek, an ardent fan, re-interpreted some of his favourites from the vast back catalogue as an album in 2014, then ten years later the album „Ins Licht“ appeared, and it quite nonchalantly continued what seemed to have stopped, right on the same level of greatness. And now we know that it still continues, as the label Live At Robert Johnson releases the new album „Never Look Back“. Its title should not be taken too literally, as all the trademarks of his musical legacy are perfectly intact. You will find the light and air that seems to seep through the sounds, the frisky structural details, the jolly melodies, the subtle deepness, the minimalistic yet not too strict grooves.

But do not be mistaken, this album is not looking back too much, of course. After all, this is music that is still evolving. Let’s hope for more glimpses of James Din A4‘s special and spacious world, they are ever
needed.

In "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" (1976), Roy Ayers seamlessly blends genres, creating a timeless sound that continues to influence musicians and DJs around the world. He makes the vibraphone the central instrument, a jazz-funk approach that defines his unique style. Over time, the album has remained an essential reference in Roy Ayers' discography and in the history of 70s Black music. Summertime soul classic! 180g vinyl.
In 1976, legendary musician and composer Roy Ayers released one of the most iconic albums of his career: "Everybody Loves the Sunshine." This album not only solidified Ayers as a key figure in the world of jazz-funk but also marked a milestone in soul music and contemporary jazz. It features a sophisticated blend of irresistible grooves, smooth melodies, and a unique sound that has endured over the years, becoming a reference for multiple generations of musicians and listeners.

By the mid-70s, Ayers had already established his reputation with his band, Roy Ayers Ubiquity, and his distinctive use of the vibraphone, which became his personal trademark. However, with this album, Ayers ventured into a smoother, more accessible sound, partly in response to the rise of disco music and the growing interest in more experimental sounds within the music scene. Throughout its ten tracks, Ayers managed to create a sonic atmosphere that evoked both the warmth of summer and the sophistication of jazz from that era, set against a backdrop of modern soul. The production was carried out by Ayers himself, along with his producer and friend, David R. Williams, and features the wonderful sound of Phillip Woo's Fender Rhodes and the powerful energy of the rest of the band, achieving an unmistakable authenticity and freshness. Some of its most well-known songs include the title track, ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine,’ ‘The Golden Rod,’ and ‘The Third Eye,’ which quickly became classics of jazz-funk and soul. This album is crucial in Roy Ayers' career, as it demonstrates his ability to remain relevant and creative in an ever-changing music industry. Over the years, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" has become a cult album, frequently featured in DJ sets by artists like Gilles Peterson, Theo Parrish, and Lefto. Summertime soul classic!

LIMITED VINYL COMES IN CARDBOARD SLEEVE WITH BOOKLET!
OSTRANENIE is a collection of digitally manipulated, impressionistic piano miniatures — each named after blockbuster films and TV series. Improvised late at night as a reaction against passive media consumption, these pieces function as both homage and critique, navigating the space between classical impressionism and contemporary digital manipulation. They don’t just deconstruct traditional piano expression; they interrogate the emotional stakes of sound in an era where immersion culture flattens meaning and algorithmic logic erodes agency.

The album’s title references the Russian formalist Viktor Shklovsky’s concept of “ostranenie” (ɐstrɐˈnjenjɪj, estrangement/defamiliarization), a term he introduced in the early 1920s to describe art’s role in resisting the indifference of habitual perception.

“And so, held accountable for nothing, life fades into nothingness. Automation eats away at things, at clothes, at furniture, at our wives, and at our fear of war.”
—Viktor Shklovsky, Theory of Prose (1925)

Shklovsky saw art as a way to break through the anesthetizing effects of routine, stripping away the layers of habit that dull our senses. By making the familiar strange, art reclaims perception from the mechanical and the automatic. His argument wasn’t just a theoretical exercise — it was a response to a world rapidly consumed by industrialization, war machines, and the alienation of a technologically dominated modern life. In this context, he positioned artistic technique as something autonomous, distinct from mere social criticism or psychological reflection. Art seeks to remove “...the crust that the world of things deposits on our senses, with routine’s unending murder of the real.” Ben Ehrenreich on Serena Vitale’s Making Strange (The Nation, 2013)

This tension—between revolutionary/artistic and industrial technologies—defined the 20th century, and it continues to resonate today. The mechanization and automation that fueled the First World War’s devastation, alongside the social and economic turbulence of the 1920s, became central to the era’s self-conception. But just as technology was a source of alienation, it was also positioned as an agent of radical change. As the shock of modernity disrupted the human condition, it also became the driving force behind an ideological utopia — one that ultimately deformed into political totalitarianism — a paradox that remains unresolved.

OSTRANENIE plays within this contradiction. The music shifts seamlessly between an uncanny black MIDI dismantling of traditional piano virtuosity and moments of raw, fragile intimacy. The result is a work that resists automatic anonymity while questioning what it means to create in an era where the technological mediation of sound — and experience itself — is unavoidable: Art in the age of its technological constructedness.

OVERVIEW: DUB TREES is one of Youth’s most revered dub projects, it helped define the Liquid Sound Design sound that fans around the world hold dear. This project is the third in a triptych of albums Youth has made with a specific Celtic / Hindu fusion. Starting out with the classic Celtic Cross ‘Hicksville’ 20 years ago, featuring the mythical Simon Posford (Shpongle) through to ‘East of the River Ganges’ (ft Klaus Shultz / Tangerine Dream amongst many others) in 2004 followed by the last piece of this mystical puzzle ‘Celtic Vedic’ ,released on compact disc only in 2016 , which charts the journey of the Celt from Northern India to Snowdonia. The idea stems from Youth’s firm belief that there is a strong correlation between Celtic and Vedic cultures and their Northern Indian roots. Youth has assembled a host of collaborators to weave their labrynthine magic on ‘Celtic Vedic’: Jah Wobble (PiL) on bass, Matt Black/Coldcut (Ninja Tunes) on warped soundscaping duties, Galician Celtic pipe and flute player Daniel Romar, Bollywood contemporary Indian singer Shridevi Keshavan and Elfic Circle. It features many field recordings made by Youth on his various Indian odysseys and is all harnessed together with cutting-edge electronica that the Liquid Sound Design team pioneered 20 years ago. The team today are still pioneering new directions within ‘Downtempo Electronica Music’ and beats that create 3 dimensional landscapes for the helioscopic imagination to explore and psychoactive maps for the inner astronaut in all of us. ‘Celtic Vedic’ promises unchartered bass annihilation and heliotropic soundscapes, pounding basslines overlayed on 3D holographic beats and wrestles with serpentine melodies and psychedelic textures.

Thy Burdens is a natural evolution of the Drunken Prayer catalog. The album is an homage to the fiery, sublime music of the church that means so much to the musicians who worked on it. Musically it's hard country-soul with horns, shouting and a lot of groove. The songs vary between the evergreen and the obscure. Represented here are tributes across the landscape: Thomas Dorsey, Martha Carson, Snooks Eaglin, Ralph Stanley, The Zion Travellers, Leon Payne, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Hank Williams, Odetta, Dylan, and traditionals that are too old to credit. The project was spearheaded by Drive-By Truckers' bassist Bobby Matt Patton who cut his teeth playing in fiery Pentecostal church bands around north Alabama, and Morgan Geer (Drunken Prayer) who learned a lot of the hymns they recorded from his great grandmother and father in Mobile, AL. This all started when Bobby Matt met Morgan at a shared gig in Chapel Hill, NC, where they found themselves instant friends and kindred spirits. After talking for a while the idea for this album was born. The inspiration, other than purely rocking the hell out, was a pull to get to the core values of the old songs. The incontrovertibly true and inconceivably vast principles of kindness, right and wrong, and social justice: Cosmic Gospel. Morgan started using the moniker "Drunken Prayer" after a chance conversation with Tom Waits on the importance of gospel music, regardless of religious beliefs. There are a handful of Drunken Prayer albums, all with semi-religious overtones and imagery, but this one is the first that's all gospel - a prophecy revealed. Thy Burdens was recorded at Dial Back Sound, Patton's studio in Water Valley, MS. There may be some ghosts but there's nothing haunted about this music. It's a joyful noise

During a month living with the Wampís in the Amazon Rainforest, Aboutface and the Wampís community collaboratively captured field recordings, music instrumentation and traditional Wampis Nampets – ancient songs sung from the perspective of animals living in their rainforest environment.

These recordings then informed 4 improvised performances to articulate the story of the 4 Nampet songs from within each animal's habitat, to depict nature and culture as inseparable, and to propose that humanity is not exclusive to humans but a multinaturalist characteristic available to all living organisms.

This is the first project of its kind in Wampís history and contains sound recordings of biodiversity that no longer exist due to deforestation.

Indigenous-managed Amazonian rainforests sequester around 340 million tonnes of CO₂ each year—equivalent to the UK’s annual fossil fuel emissions. In stark contrast, non-Indigenous-controlled forests have become sources of carbon emissions, therefore accelerating our global climate crises. Among the vital custodians of these precious ecosystems are the Wampís people, who protect 1.3 m ha of precious rainforest territory currently being decimated by mining for gold. This devastating practice is currently decimating Wampís territory, destroying their river habitats, leaving toxic methylmercury pollution that strips all biodiversity, contaminates the food chain, and causes widespread harm.

100% of all sales revenues from this release will directly go to the Wampís to protect their rainforest territory, to fund Wampís-led eco-initiatives against illegal mining, alongside ways to preserve Wampís cultural heritage– embedded in their songs, art and crafts, central to their conservation of their territory called The Iña Wampisti Nunke: A system of life that encompasses reciprocal relationships between humans, plants, animals, and spirits, central to the harmony of all its multi-dimensional ecology– which they term Tarimat Pujut.

For more project information, a short essay is provided alongside a nonstop-listening version of the album as part of the free Bandcamp download with every LP.


Credits

Nampet songs
Kutir, Wancha and Pinchichi by Elizabeth Huampankit Najamtai.
Manchi by Fernando Ijisam Tsakim.

Acoustic Percussion by Wampís band Guayabita
Fernando Ijisam Tsakim, Edilberto Ijisam Tello, Larry Tello Huampankit, Jose Luis Cahuata Pipa, Tedy Tello Cahuata, Heyner Tello Cahuata, Eli Artista Antonio, Never Tello Huampankit

Violin by Taro.

Peruvian bamboo quena, classical flute, acoustic guitar, electronics, composition and arrangement by Aboutface.

Original portrait painting of Fernando Ijisam Tsakim by Nyran Loomcal.
All other artworks, analogue photography and design by Aboutface.

Rainforest field recordings identified and collected by The Wampís of Guayabal and Aboutface.

U.K. progressive post-rock supergroup Crippled Black Phoenix is a musical collective that has featured nearly 30 members in it's rotating roster. The constant driving force is multi- instrumentalist Justin Greaves (Electric Wizard, Iron Monkey Se Delan), who formed the band in 2004 with Mogwai bassist Dominic Aitchison. Creating what they describe as "endtime ballads" to signify both the slightly macabre nature of their songs & the unusual blend of styles as the final evolution in music. The band have made live shows a focus by performing in unusual venues across the world as well as using Victorian-era instruments in tandem with more modern instruments, often involving more than a dozen members onstage. In 2006, Crippled Black Phoenix released their first album, 'A Love Of Shared Disasters', followed in 2009 by 'The Resurrectionists' & 'Night Raider', but it was their fourth album released in 2010 on Invada Records - 'I, Vigilante' - an album of uncompromising soundscapes that garnered the band & album widespread critical acclaim within the media worldwide. On 'I, Vigilante', CBP create songs that feel both sky-crackingly epic & intimate at the same time. "We Forgotten Who We Are" is an 11 minute thundering storm which powers through sections of head-nodding chugging guitars to a sunrise of happy melody & back, "Fantastic Justice" is a staggering display of songwriting, with twists & turns that make the band sound like a mini orchestra - horns, strings, crashes & swoons with Greaves the dark conductor. The spoken-word opening to "Bastogne Blues" is perfectly evocative for a genuinely troubled song, CBP's command of bleakness is at it's strongest here; cinematic doesn't come close to describing the song's emotional resonance. When 'I, Vigilante' threatens to disintegrate into a black hole of misery, a faithfully screaming version of Journey's "Of A Lifetime" shows a sense of humour & some sweet guitar tones. This edition of 'I, Vigilante' is presented on black vinyl LP & is the first time the album has been released on single vinyl

Acclaimed director and musician Jim Jarmusch and experimental lute player and composer Jozef van Wissem met nearly 20 years ago, forming a close bond after they ran into each other on the streets of New York City. In 2011, they began performing and producing records together. The follow up to “American Landscapes “ entitled “ The Day The Angels Cried” releases June 6 and coincides with a world tour. The duo weaves an intricate Lute and guitar string tapestry of droning, minimal free-folk compositions destined to captivate listeners with their dark hypnosis. This time vocals and electronics are added as well. Van Wissem’s work comes from a tradition of avant-garde minimalism and lends itself well to the director’s stark cinematic works. Jarmusch has played guitar in bands on and off since the late ‘70s. Van Wissem’s compositional style involves hypnotic circular musical phrases that allow for a lot of contemplative space between the notes. Their first live performance was in Issue Project Room in Brooklyn in October 2011, where they appeared together for a Van Wissem curated concert program called “New Music for Early Instruments.” The idea for their first album, Concerning the Entrance Into Eternity (Important Records) developed from their live performance. Jarmusch has said that he considers these songs as Van Wissem’s compositions, and sees himself as someone filling in the background to Jozef ’s foreground, like the “scenic” on a film shoot, the one who paints the backdrops. “The sound of the lute is as bright as the sun, a beautiful red color and my stuff sounds sort of like the moon, more like blue, like mercury.” .According to Van Wissem: We started with layers of instrumental parts.. Jim recorded a otherworldly Passerelle bridge guitar part to which we added vocals. This became the title track " The Day The Angels Cried" The lyrics for this song came to me during a vision I had in a dream. It was much like a vision Swedenborg writes about. In it he converses with angels. In my vision the angel looked down from the heavens upon the earth engulfed in flames. Recent events in Los Angeles and other parts of the world, have led me to believe that this dream was a premonition. “The Day The Angels Cried” ( Inc 040/41) releases June 6th on Incunabulum Records, right before the duo start their World tour. releases June 6, 2025 Jozef Van Wissem Voice, Baroque And Renaissance Lutes, 12 String Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Electronics, Found Recordings Jim Jarmusch Voice, Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Passerelle Bridge Guitar, Electronics, Found Recordings

Germany's iconic deep funk collective digs into a new soundscape: "A Higher Frequency" was recorded with a nine-piece live to tape at legendary MPS studio in the Black Forest, adding an airy, jazzy flavour to their trademark raw and breaks-heavy funk. Ten tracks full of spiritual grooves, soulful themes, loose funkiness and organic interplay, captured with state-of-the-art 1960s gear in a super-vibey room - but the title A Higher Frequency is not just about the pristine analogue sound quality of the recording, it is also a reference to a trancendant wavelength where minds meet and music connects.

Together with long-time friends and collaborators Daniel Kimaz on flute and Guillame Métenier, who worked his magic on the studio's historic Bösendörfer grand piano and Hammond organ, the group spent a week in the Black Forest, with full focus on the mission to capture the live energy and togetherness of the ensemble.

The result is an album bursting with positive energy and power, rooted in a universal funk groove with excursions into many colourful branches like outernational, cinematic, soulful jazz, psychedelic & disco.

The common thread is a propulsive, driving-forward feel: "Open The Gate" welcomes us with hard-hitting breakbeats and dramatic crime brass, followed by the cool groovin' piano-led soul jazz of "Get Loose", while "Spinning" takes us on a ride through cinematic horn choruses and folky-psych flute and guitars. "Back And Better" is Nichola Richards' time to shine, laying her sweet vocals over the sparse hiphop-infused soul beat to tell a comeback story. "Sweet Company" is a lighthearted uptempo tune inspired by TV and library themes of the 1960s. The swampy groove of "Sparks Of Joy" best reflects the fun of the band playing together and "Phantom Power" combines a trademark Mocambo breakin' theme with an unusual instrument, an electric phin from Thailand – a nod to the many so-called "world music jazz" recordings that the MPS studio gave birth to. On "Can't Stop This Fire", soul singer Carlton Jumel Smith from New York City takes over the mic as a special guest and brings the house down with a heavy funk delivery. "When We Roll" builds another highlight where bouncy drums play off disco-jazz horn themes and finally, the gospel-flavoured cine-soul epic "Homebound" drives it all home.

The vinyl record comes in a limited first edition in hand-made tip-on sleeve.

o encapsulate the themes. “Aseurai means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,” Choi says. “It’s a poetic expression. You wouldn’t say it in normal conversation, but I like that.”

Following the four-piece band’s 2024 self-titled EP, Aseurai adds disco and city-pop influences while staying true to dream-pop roots. While Phoebe Rings was originally a solo project of Choi’s, Aseurai marks a shift with contributing songwriting credits from the whole band. The four musicians cut their teeth working on other notable NZ projects such as Princess Chelsea, Fazerdaze, Tiny Ruins, AC Freazy,, Sea Views and Lucky Boy.

With a more ambitious collection of instruments, Choi says this album heralds the start of true collaboration: “I feel more precious about this LP because it includes everyone’s gems.” Guitar/synthesist Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent spearheads unexpected arrangements, with bold fuzzy guitar textures, to spice up the mix. Benjamin Locke adds maturity to the lyrics, paired with perfectionist bass lines. And drummer Alex Freer’s slick production soars Aseurai to diverse and synergetic heights. The broth is richer with more cooks in the kitchen, and the brewing of textures creates a distinct ‘Phoebe Rings’ sound.

If the EP was spacey, then Aseurai settles on earth, rooted in tangible moments. “Without getting too gloomy, it’s a weird world out there. A lot has changed in the world since the EP came out,” says Kavanagh-Vincent on this transformation. The album delves into hope and longing across all possibilities, and this exploration of holding on and letting go is organically threaded throughout. Across ten songs, Phoebe Ring’s storytelling ranges from tongue-in-cheek musings on gentrification to tender autobiographical memories.

아스라이 흩어지는 하늘의 별이 (May the falling light of faraway stars) / 그대의 손 끝에 닿아 숨이 돼주길 (Reach your fingertips and let you breathe),” Choi sings in the title track “Aseurai.” Imagined as a breezy track inspired by a 90’s Korean pop band, Choi discovered, when fleshing out the lyrics, that it was about yearning for people she couldn’t see anymore. In the old-school disco track, “Get Up,” Locke addresses struggles with mental health in a Matrix-inspired driven mantra:  ‘Just get up / Just get up.’ The groove persists with ‘Fading Star,” a quirky ballad filled with steely jazz/rock guitar solos dedicated to a suburban aging musician. Kavanagh-Vincent’s lead single ‘Drifting’ is an unrequited celestial love song with bouncing bass and playful synths.

The band wrote, produced, and engineered the album across studios and band members’ homes in 2023/2024 in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). It features mixing/mix production by local legend Jeremy Toy (Bic Runga, Aaradnha, Princess Chelsea) and mastering by Kelly Hibbert. With Aseurai, Phoebe Rings mark out a brilliant new constellation in their sky, bringing their individual compositions to the fore whilst seamlessly threading them into one celestial body - launching skyward on Carpark Records in June 2025.

This is a release that has been on the back burner for a few years now. Discussions started a while ago but so many distractions happened in-between (plus we released the excelled Amen Brother EP by EQ as well which distracted things for a while). But we got there and by god, we know how much this EP is loved by you guys... so super happy to have finally got it over the line.

This is a proper piece of grail... EQ and the amazing Mastersafe. They only released one record together, this one, back in 1994. Though trainspotters, anoraks and fans alike will be stoked to know that they actually made quite a few tunes together back then that were never released (though a few made it to dubplates)... and EQ has found all the DAT's, so keep on eye on Vinyl Fanatiks during 2025 for further treats by this duo!

Dez Dare launches into 2025 with his 5th album, ‘CHERYL! Your Love Shines Down Like A Supernova's Death'. Blending his unique mix of existential wordplay and experimental riffage to create an album that is at arms with itself while cohesive; cheeky and upbeat, simultaneously breaking our hearts. How often do we think about what we miss when we are distracted by shiny things? While fencing with social media, long winded stories, dreams of other lives, unnecessary toys, and irrelevant social experiments with happiness, we miss the things that make up our world. This album looks at those morsels of time and the bits that fill them, soaking existence… as well as manspreaders. Those people should be added to the 7th circle of hell… or suburbia. Either is probably a similar commute!
Dez Dare (AKA Darren Smallman of labels God Unknown, BATTLE WORLDWIDE, Low Transit Industries, and bands Thee Vinyl Creatures, The Sound Platform, Warped) grew up in Geelong, Australia, where he became involved in the local punk and rock scene in 1990. Sharing stages with the likes of 5678s, Cosmic Psychos, Fugazi, The Dirty Three and the Hard-ons, before shifting his focus to running record labels. In the 2020s we see Dez Dare take form in a spare room in Brighton, UK, where Dez starts building his own studio and producing music and videos that have been described as "sounds like MONSTER MAGNET and DEVO caught in a drug bust… highly unique and highly recommended" by MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL Nick Odorizzi to The Wire’s Edwin Pouncey "dynamically armed with a ten-pronged set of lyrical barbs and musical hooks that, once heard, sink deep and hold fast" to Crossfire Metal "minimalistic, electronic psychedelic hippie poop that is only bearable with a hell of a lot of acid, angel dust and LSD". On this album Dez was joined by Laura Loriga on backing vocals and Jonny Halifax on backing vocals and lap steel, expanding on the sound of previous records and adding a new dimension to his trademark weird-n-roll.


[a] 1.Cheryl! [Loading...

One of the most politically charged terms of the 20th century, the Iron Curtain was a metaphor for political and cultural division. In a post-war telegram Winston Churchill referred to the fault line that ran through Europe between East and West as "an Iron Curtain is drawn down upon their front. We do not know what is going on behind".



In this two-part album, as far as jazz is concerned, we will showcase, describe and celebrate exactly what was 'going on behind'. We see that music is the power supreme, with the ability to transcend all barriers, be they physical, political or metaphorical.



Our liner notes illustrate the complex and contradictory history of Soviet jazz, and the tracks we've chosen cover the key period of the early 1960s to the 1980s. It was during these dark years of the Cold War that the Soviet Union and its satellite states produced a number of outstanding artists playing in a variety of styles. The impact of modernism, from hard bop and Latin to modal and cool jazz, had found its way through cracks in the curtain. The deeply-felt ancestral strains of traditional European folk music were combined with the exciting new and progressive sounds of the West, and a radical, intoxicating brew was created that no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome.



We chronicle the triumph of jazz at a time of extreme geopolitical conflict. What went on behind the Iron Curtain in these countries was once mysterious and unknown to the West, but the perseverance of their artists provided sound and light amid the secretive, dark days of the communist-capitalist standoff. There was no end of life-affirming spiritual jazz behind the Iron Curtain.



"Whether it's by improvisation in the African-American jazz tradition, or by a village kobza player standing on top of a damn hill - he feels connected to the stars."

"Evil is very real and having its way, and love is also real and hasn't lost yet." That's how Activity's Travis Johnson described their third album, A Thousand Years In Another Way. A friend had asked why these songs seemed to capture the strange, heavy feeling of being alive right now better than anything else_and that was his answer. The album doesn't try to explain this time we're living in; it simply feels like it. It's a mix of violence, alienation, and tenderness_reflecting the surreal, dreamlike (or nightmarish) rhythm of daily life. Across ten songs, Activity blends experimental rock, electronics, and found sounds with a sense of paranoia, flickers of hope, and a warped reality. Working with producer Jeff Berner (of Psychic TV), the band manipulated sounds and played with room acoustics to create a feeling that's disorienting_like the air is thick and the walls are listening. Coming out of a period of uncertainty, the Brooklyn-based quartet_Travis Johnson, Jess Rees, Bri DiGioia, and Steven Levine_pieced the album together from fragments: clipped samples, looping guitar lines, ghostly melodies. Rees, DiGioia, and Johnson share vocal and writing duties, shaping a record that feels both deeply personal and strangely alien. There's a constant sense that things could shift or fall apart at any second_nothing stays one thing for long. A Thousand Years In Another Way might not offer answers, but it captures the feeling of right now better than most. And maybe, it sounds a bit like your world too.

“Evil is very real and having its way, and love is also real and hasn’t lost yet.”
That’s how Activity’s Travis Johnson described their third album, A Thousand Years In Another Way. A friend had asked why these songs seemed to capture the strange, heavy feeling of being alive right now better than anything else—and that was his answer. The album doesn’t try to explain this time we’re living in; it simply feels like it. It’s a mix of violence, alienation, and tenderness—reflecting the surreal, dreamlike (or nightmarish) rhythm of daily life.
Across ten songs, Activity blends experimental rock, electronics, and found sounds with a sense of paranoia, flickers of hope, and a warped reality. Working with producer Jeff Berner (of Psychic TV), the band manipulated sounds and played with room acoustics to create a feeling that’s disorienting—like the air is thick and the walls are listening.
Coming out of a period of uncertainty, the Brooklyn-based quartet—Travis Johnson, Jess Rees, Bri DiGioia, and Steven Levine—pieced the album together from fragments: clipped samples, looping guitar lines, ghostly melodies. Rees, DiGioia, and Johnson share vocal and writing duties, shaping a record that feels both deeply personal and strangely alien. There’s a constant sense that things could shift or fall apart at any second—nothing stays one thing for long.
A Thousand Years In Another Way might not offer answers, but it captures the feeling of right now better than most. And maybe, it sounds a bit like your world too.

"U.S. Maple's first album, before they fell all apart on """"Sang Phat Editor"""". This is the album that """"rocks"""". Disjointed machinations, poppy locksteps and jarring sideways excursions all leading down a path to nowhere's-ville. Engineered by Jim O'Rourke with a cold. Pressed on Muleta Maroon Colored Vinyl LP includes a vinyl-only bonus track plus a Two-Sided Footlong OBI and Lyric Sheet.

In high school, the members of U.S. Maple never said a word to anyone. And although this had disastrous results (stolen shoes, constant de-pantsing, gum in the hair, etc...), a fire was burning inside each one of them.

A beginning was struck in Chicago, early in 1995. The four met near the corner of Grand and Western Avenues to devise a working method for reorganizing rock and roll, keeping what was felt to be it’s most important core elements.

The mumblings are slick. The melodies are souped-up and soured. The drums are spastic bursts of laughter, rocket fuel and confetti. It is fronted by a singer who reminds one or the other of Kevin Costner's stoner bro. A 7” single and a version of AC/DC’s Sin City are the first to be recorded.

U.S. Maple’s debut full-length, “Long Hair In Three Stages” was recorded late in 1995 with Jim O'Rourke at Solid Sound Studios in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. This was Jim's first legitimate recording session with a rock and roll band. The album receives critical acclaim. Soon thereafter, U.S. Maple find themselves flying coach to Deutschland for a European tour. The extensive six-week tour spans 12 countries and includes a Peel Session for the BBC's John Peel Show. More history is made.

""""Long Hair In Three Stages"""" goes on to be ranked #85 on the Alternative Press “90 Greatest Albums of the '90s” list. We all know better."

The vinyl is a collaboration between two indie labels KXNTRAST and U JAZZ ME.

The record was pressed on 180g vinyl with printed innersleeve.

HER NAME WAS YUMI is the title of hoshii's second studio album, created by saxophonist Kuba Więcek in late 2022. On this album, the musicians deliberately free themselves from the burden of European music genres, exploring sounds that carry a spark of hope and a free spirit. In the musical layer, they focus on deep synthesizer basslines, intensification of electronic sounds and an extensive layer of samples, redefining their approach to composition.

The album title refers to YUMI (夢美 - from Japanese "beautiful dream") - a friend of hoshii who brings him to Earth when he feels tired of life on the distant planet Versus. However, even among earthly sounds, loneliness becomes inevitable. At the right moment, YUMI, overcome with longing, decides to fly and find her friend.

HER NAME WAS YUMI is a musical journey full of experiment, freedom and a new sonic identity. The album shows hoshii in a new version - even more conscious, bold and not limited by genre frames.

Kuba Więcek - alto saxophone, electronics

Grzegorz Tarwid - synthesizers

Max Mucha - bass guitar, synthesizers

Miłosz Berdzik - drums, glockenspiel

In collaboration with Telekom Electronic Beats, HOMEAGAIN005 captures the spirit of this year's Home Again Club Festival 2025 with a forward-thinking selection of tracks from artists across the festival roster.
Spanning house, tech house, breaks, ambient, and progressive sounds, this 7-track VA is a deep dive into late-night euphoria, sunrise moments, and everything in between.
Side A opens with Thabo's "Cheza Mwili" featuring Nairobi's Brian Msafiri-a high-octane Afro-electronic anthem with Swahili vocals and dancefloor urgency. Miura follows with the punchy and introspective "Home Alone," while Meggy delivers pure Berlin house warmth on "Around." Soela & Module One close the side with "Obsidian," a deep, shimmering journey built for long-form sets.
On the flip, "Pull Me Back" by LUV ATTACK pushes progressive, fast-paced house to an emotional edge. Thalo Santana & Oran Ray shift gears into breaksy territory with the playful, rhythm-heavy "Sweet Potato," before All Shade rounds things out with "Something Like This"-a sleek, driving tech house roller built for peak-time sets.
Mixed and mastered by Matthias Millhoff, and adorned with artwork by Ken Hanamura, HOMEAGAIN005 is a celebration of the diverse sonic threads running through Home Again's dancefloor community.

In the turbulent world of hip-hop, few artists are able to make the transition from hot young star to acclaimed rap luminary. Los Angeles emcee Blu has followed this rare path, graduating from a spot on the 2009 XXL Freshman list to an expansive catalog with more than 25 celebrated releases. Now, the talented lyricist is celebrating his remarkable journey with Forty, a new album entirely produced by influential beatsmith August Fanon, who has crafted tracks for Westside Gunn, Mach-Hommy, Tha God Fahim, billy woods, Navy Blue, and more. “This album is a celebration of me reaching 40 years of age,” Blu explains. “All the content is a reflection of where I am mentally at the age of 40.” With intricate verses packed with wisdom and maturity, the collection finds Blu and a host of guests reflecting on happiness, religion, love, knowledge, humanity, and more.
Fanon brings these tracks to life with a unique production approach, taking it back to basics with soul heavy soundscapes Blu describes as “straight loops, no drum programming or layers, just really soulful loops.” With appearances by Kota The Friend, Asher Roth, R.A.P. Ferreira, Mickey Factz, Homeboy Sandman, Chester Watson, Fashawn, and more, Forty is a timless experience from an artist who remains a vital presence in any decade of life.

After breaking through with a gold selling debut in the late 1990’s, Harlem emcee Cam’ron quickly emerged as a leading figure in hip-hop, just as the genre was reaching mass audiences for the first time. A platinum-selling classic on Roc-A-Fella Records came a few years later, followed by the founding of the iconic collective Dipset and the release of three more seismic solo albums over the course of the 2000s. The last chapter in his historic run was 2009’s Crime Pays, which drew praise from critics while also lighting up the Billboard Charts, showcasing Cam’s sonic evolution while proving his pen game remained unmatched. More than 15 years after it’s release, this vital collection is now receiving an official vinyl pressing for the first time ever. A perpetually underrated lyricist with transcendent rhyme mechanics embedded in his leisurely flow, Cam’ron is in peak form on Crime Pays, effortlessly walking listeners through the details of his fascinating life and times. With suprisingly modern production supplied by AraabMuzik, I.N.F.O., Skitzo, and more, this memorable album is an important chapter in the story of a truly essential artist.