quête:thomas lang

Next up on Nang it is time for a slice of spot-on male vocal house and disco. Liverpool based Thomas Lang made some fine albums in the 80s and 90s with John Murphy (who went on to carve a highly successful career in movie tracks) and David Hughes. Somewhere in between that and a string of recent albums (Torch Songs and The German Alphabet) he also managed to buy one of the finest recording studios in North West England, Parr Street Studios (the "Abbey Road of the North").

We are pleased here at Nang to see a new avenue turned in Tom's life, his first foray into the dance world. "Scared" was written with late Liverpool songwriter John Uriel quite some time ago. It first emerged as a b-side to Tom's comeback single "August Day" in 2011. Here at Nang we always loved the smooth and sophisticated vocal and melody. When Tom suggested some remixes we were on board.

"Scared" is a peak time vocal house track, here presented with remix options.

The a-side sees fellow Liverpool DJ crew The Imposters taking the track on a dubbed out trip, before flipping over for their hypnotic, swing-house rework which highlight the layered vocals and smooth sax. Camanchi take us for some peak time House action.

Strut proudly presents the first-ever reissue of a landmark 1974 Ghanaian highlife classic Sikyi Highlife by Dr K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings, originally released on Essiebons.

A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse.

The vocal arrangements echo the traditional Akan modal style, grounding the music firmly in Ghana’s cultural heritage. Yet Sikyi Highlife is equally forward-thinking. As electric guitars became standard in highlife during the 1960s, the 1970s ushered in further experimentation. The Noble Kings broke new ground as the first highlife guitar band to incorporate keyboards and a full horn section into their sound, expanding the genre’s sonic possibilities while retaining its rootsy spirit.

Gyasi’s approach was part of a broader indigenisation movement among Ghana’s electric highlife bands in the post-independence era. Inspired by the nation’s ‘African Personality’ ethos and reinforced by Afrocentric messages arriving from American soul and funk, artists began reclaiming traditional forms within modern arrangements. Contemporaries included Koo Nimo, who revived the older palmwine style, and drummer Nii Ashitey, whose Wulomei band pioneered a folklorised Ga highlife sound from 1973.

Like many musicians of his generation, Gyasi was a passionate supporter of Ghana’s independence movement. In 1963, he travelled as a musical ambassador alongside Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, performing across North Africa and the USSR and carrying Ghanaian culture onto the world stage.

The Noble Kings’ mid-’70s line-up featured some of the country’s finest musicians, including guitarist Eric Agyeman (who led the band at the time), Thomas Frimpong on drums and vocals, Ernest Honny on organ, and bassist Ralph Karikari - who was renowned for his innovative technique of translating the rhythms and tonal language of the traditional talking drum onto electric bass.

Upon its original release, Sikyi Highlife became one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s for Essiebons, earning Gyasi the affectionate honorary title of “Dr” from his devoted fans. Today, the album remains an evergreen classic, still cherished across Ghana and beyond.

There’s no direct English translation for the word “hiraeth”. In the Welsh language, it describes a form of longing for an intangible something, somewhere or someone that no longer exists. Sofie Birch and Antonina Nowacka draw on the concept to guide their second collaborative album, a suite of vulnerable, open-hearted improvisations and reflections that attempt to grasp an image of the past that’s chimeric, dissolving almost as soon as it materializes. The duo’s process follows the same distant beacon; unlike Languoria, their critically acclaimed debut, Hiraeth is, at heart, an acoustic record, informed by in-person improvisations with voices and string instruments that gesture to an era before computers, AI and DAWs. It’s just as lush, but Hiraeth is warmer and more muted than its predecessor.
Nowacka and Birch conceived the album in the wake of a slew of collaborative live concerts, spurred on by serendipitous improvisations and an interest in paring down their setup. Unsound arranged a retreat in Sokołowsko, an idyllic village nestled in the verdant hills of Southern Poland, close to the Czech border. Sokołowsko surrounds a large ruined sanatorium that’s rumored to have inspired Thomas Mann’s 1924 novel The Magic Mountain, and has long been a magnet for artists. The two took the opportunity to rethink their approach completely, arriving with just a guitar, a zither and a portable Nagra reel-to-reel machine. Recording directly to tape, they sketched out ideas with just their voices and instruments, reflecting their surroundings without being distracted or mediated by modern technology.
“We wanted to get away from screens as much as possible,” says Birch, “to bring to the world something vulnerable and honest. Without advance preparation, every day we went out into the open air, finding places to sit, during sunset or the midday sun. We discovered new tunings on our instruments, picked up a melody, and started the machine, playing over
and over till we got a take.” In the autumn, they met again in a Copenhagen studio, sparingly and carefully layering old synths and organs to add more depth without muddying the mix.
Both Nowacka and Birch sing throughout, their voices threading the acoustic instruments and tangling with each other, almost becoming one. But it’s the environment of Sokołowsko, “the birds and the light, even the wind playing against the harps,” that’s woven into the music’s lining. Affected by time spent meditating and in nature, as well as the fact that Birch was pregnant whilst recording, the album feels alive and remarkably present. Even the sound quality of the tape machine gives Hiraeth a tactile, organic quality, as Nowacka puts it, “like being in a warm bath.”

They still have the raw recordings from Sokołowsko on old reels, physical souvenirs of their time spent making music in a “habitat for intuitive songs, a little ecosystem, alive and spirited.” The outmoded gear and remote setting helped the duo disengage from the modern world for a few moments and imagine an existence that’s been lost to time and nominal progress. With digital technology receding into the background, Nowacka and Birch had space to make “intuitive connections with frequencies and people,” as Birch explains. Hiraeth is a testament not to nostalgia, but to the power of kinship.

Ein authentischer Geschichtenerzähler der heutigen Indie-Rock-Szene ist der in Tampa geborene und in New Orleans lebende Singer/Songwriter Thomas Dollbaum, und ,Birds of Paradise" ist sein bisher kraftvollstes und dynamischstes Werk. Nach seinen von Kritikern hochgelobten Alben "Wellswood" (Big Legal Mess, 2022) und "Drive All Night EP" (Dear Life Records, 2025) ist "Birds of Paradise" ein Abschiedsbrief an verlorene Liebste und sein früheres Ich. In diesen Songs sucht Dollbaum nach Akzeptanz an vergänglichen Zwischenorten: in den Kiefernwäldern Floridas, auf Nebenstraßen, die zur 1-95 führen, wo Vögel über das Wasser fliegen. Und obwohl die Geister seiner Alt-Country-Vorgänger Townes und Molina definitiv präsent sind, tritt Dollbaum auf Birds of Paradise aus ihrem Schatten heraus - er winkt der Vergangenheit zu und klingt dabei umso mehr wie er selbst. Dieser Moment - dieses Album - ist längst überfällig. Die Aufnahmen zu Dollbaums beiden vorherigen Veröffentlichungen hatten aufgrund von Umständen, die außerhalb seiner Kontrolle lagen, viel zu lange gedauert, was ihn frustriert zurückließ. Nachdem er acht Jahre lang von zu Hause weg war, war der Ort, den er verlassen hatte, nicht mehr der Ort, an den er sich erinnerte, und die Unveränderlichkeit der Natur fühlte sich wie eine Konstante an, über die er schreiben wollte. Mit einem Gefühl der Unmittelbarkeit schrieb er ,Birds of Paradise" in drei Monaten. Er rief die Musiker an, denen er am meisten vertraute und die er am meisten bewunderte - Nick Corson, Josh Halper und Jake Lenderman - und bat sie, sich mit ihm bei Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, mit dem Produzenten/Toningenieur Clay Jones zu treffen. Sie lernten das Album in vier Tagen ein und nahmen es auf, wobei sie einen Blitz in einer Flasche einfingen, eine klangliche Offenbarung, auf die Dollbaums Songwriting schon immer gewartet hatte. Mit der Hilfe von Lenderman, Halper, Corson und Jones ist ,Birds of Paradise" Dollbaums hart erkämpfter Durchbruch. Lebendig und nachhallend wie Gedichte und Kurzgeschichten, die man nicht vergessen kann: Kojoten heulen, Vögel fliegen nach Süden, Kinder jagen Kaninchen durch das Zuckerrohr und Zigaretten kosten vier Dollar pro Packung. Birds of Paradise erinnert uns daran, woher wir kommen - an die Dinge in uns, die wir vergessen haben - wir brauchten nur Dollbaum, um uns das zu zeigen. So blickt man ohne Angst oder Scham zurück. So sieht Authentizität aus.

Mit The Techno Session setzt die renommierte Electronic Music Anthology-Reihe aus dem Hause Wagram ihre Reise durch die wichtigsten Strömungen elektronischer Musik fort. Nach House- und Deep-House-Ausgaben widmet sich diese neue Edition nun konsequent dem Techno - in all seinen hypnotischen, treibenden und zeitlosen Facetten. Die Auswahl stammt von FG Radio, einer der angesehensten Institutionen für elektronische Musik in Frankreich und seit Jahrzehnten eng mit der internationalen Club-Kultur verbunden. Die Compilation versammelt prägende Künstler und Produzenten, die Techno von seinen frühen, funktionalen Wurzeln bis zu modernen, melodischen und atmosphärischen Ausprägungen definieren. Pulsierende Grooves, repetitive Strukturen, reduzierte Eleganz und eine klare Fokussierung auf den Dancefloor stehen im Mittelpunkt dieser sorgfältig kuratierten Zusammenstellung. The Techno Session richtet sich gleichermaßen an DJs, Sammler und Liebhaber elektronischer Musik, die Techno nicht als kurzlebigen Trend, sondern als eigenständige, langlebige Musiksprache verstehen. Eine hochwertige Anthologie, die die Essenz des Genres einfängt - kompromisslos, fokussiert und cluberprobt.

Hardcore-Neudenker Hammok aus Norwegen veröffentlichen ihr zweites Album, das erste bei Sargent House! Irgendwo mitten in Europa begann Sänger und Gitarrist Tobias Osland einen neuen Song zu schreiben, der die internationale Hardcore-Szene widerspiegelte, welche die Band alsbald sie die kleinen Alternative-Kreise Oslos verlassen hatten, mit offenen Armen empfing. Er und seine Bandkollegen - Schlagzeuger Ferdinand Aasheim und Bassist Ole Benjamin Thomassen - waren überwältigt, als sie auf neue Fans und Gleichgesinnte auf dem ganzen Kontinent trafen. Sie nahmen den Song "The Scene" mit auf die Tournee, ein Song von Menschen, die sich einst außen vor fühlten - und nun einen Ort in der Welt gefunden haben. Mit beeindruckenden Demos im Gepäck und der Absicht, ihren Sound zu verfeinern, experimentierten Hammok so lange, bis sie etwas gefunden hatten, das all ihre Impulse vereinte: explosiv, eingängig und detailreich. Sie erweiterten ihre Wurzeln aus Noise-Rock, Hardcore und Metal um ein breiteres, dynamischeres Terrain und verwebten industrielle Härte, Hip-Hop-Pulse, Synthie-Texturen und progressive Elemente zu klassischer Punk-Dringlichkeit. Indem sie die Gegensätze von Underground-Intensität und Pop-Sensibilität ausbalancierten, schufen sie so ein innovatives HC-Album. "When Does This Place Become Our Scene" ist eine Einladung - der Sound einer Band, die sich mit ganzem Herzen dieser neuen Musik widmet und dem Publikum verspricht, dass dieser Austausch, sich lohnt. Limitierte rote Vinyl-LP mit ausklappbarem Lyrics-Poster und DLC, CD im Digipak. FÜR FANS VON: METZ, Title Fight, Turnstile, Converge. GENRE/STIL: Hardcore, Alternative, Metal, Noise-Rock.

For his sixth solo album, Ezéchiel Pailhès returns with a new collection of songs infused by a sunny wandering spirit.
Within each of the twelve songs on SOL is a thread of melancholic happiness that has permeated much of Pailhès’ music and songwriting. He addresses love, the passing of time, hope, lost illusions, fleeting moments of grace, the temptation of forgetting, a need to escape, and desire. All this is
insulated by understated orchestrations that blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation with deft confidence.
The Portuguese and Brazilian concept of saudade—a form of melancholic longing and nostalgia— pervades, thanks in part to Pailhès decision to record the album in Rio de Janiero and to reinterpret some of the finest works of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). In particular, he revisits a handful of
lesser known classics from the mid-century samba and bossa nova era—originally written or performed by talents including Vinícius de Moraes, João Gilberto, Tom Zé, Dorival Caymmi, João Donato, Os Tincoãs, and Ataulfo Alves.
The shift from Brazilian Portuguese to French and the decision to adapt rather than perform a straightforward cover versions, allows Pailhès to invent a form of prosody and euphony (the musicality and harmonious combination of words) that feels vibrant and unlike anything else in today’s French
chanson landscape.
“Some lyrics are simple translations from Portuguese, in what I’d call an expanded version. For others, I started from a single word or a single phrase and embroidered an entirely new text that carried me elsewhere,” explains Pailhès. “I allowed myself great interpretive freedom, while preserving the humanist dimension of the original songs. I’ve always been deeply moved by the way Brazilians transfigure reality through heightened emotion. I love this visceral and spontaneous country, which always seems to live through emotion. And above all, I love its music both popular and unifying,
bringing together all social classes. In that sense, it’s very political music, but even more so utopian, made by the people and for the people.”
On this new album, however, the French artist was keen to avoid cliché. Each song is therefore built around a carefully balanced interplay between Pailhès’ piano and synthesizers, alongside restrained arrangements of percussion, brass, bass, and cavaquinho (a small four-string plucked guitar). These parts were recorded in Rio de Janeiro with two musicians who regularly perform alongside the legendary Caetano Veloso—Kainã Do Jêje and Alberto Continentino—joined by Thomas Harres, Antônio Neves, Eduardo Neves, and Gabriel Loddo.
Since the 1960s, France and Brazil have shared a long-standing cultural and musical relationship. Some Brazilian artists, most famously Gilberto Gil, took refuge in France during the dictatorship years (1964–1985). But above all, French chanson quickly fell in love with the richness and ingenuity of
bossa nova and samba, translating and reinventing them in the language of Molière. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, albums and hits by Henri Salvador, Georges Moustaki, Pierre Barouh, Pierre Vassiliu, and Claude Nougaro all drew from the MPB repertoire.
Fifty years later, with SOL, Ezéchiel Pailhès reinvents this rich Franco-Brazilian musical legacy, bringing to it a personality and modernity that stand confidently alongside those of his forbears.

Immersive Patterns has quickly established itself as a label of rare quality, with the first three releases already proving its strong artistic vision and timeless approach. Each record blends hypnotic depth with precision and a clear sense of identity, making the catalog highly sought after among DJs and collectors alike.

For the fourth chapter, Jonas Orbiting returns with a striking four-tracker that adds a raw, Detroit-tinged energy to the label’s repertoire. Mastered by Thomas P. Heckmann at Schnittstelle, the sound is powerful, warm, and exact, while the new full-colour Pantone sleeve designed by Steve O Connell expands the visual language of the series.

Immersive Patterns continues to set its mark: refined, uncompromising, and built for both the floor and the shelf.

“Okie Dokie It´s The Orb On Kompakt“ is already the 13th album of one of Britian's most prized cult bands. We feel it's better that way, because the music of The Orb only has an intensive effect when taken in as a long playing full length. And it proves with this lovingly conjured collection of songs brought together like a collage. The first half of Okie Dokie showcase The Orb´s love for minimal Techno and Schaffel/Shuffle as it is so obviously present in the foreground, while the second half is only reserved to the classic Orb-ish ancestral domain. There are wonderful guest appearances by Schneider TM and Kompakt´s ambient-guru Ulf Lohmann. As many of you know, there is so much history about The Orb you could write a book. Since Jimmy Cauty and Alex Paterson, in the flush of euphoria invented Chill Out and Ambient House in the first summer of love 1988, an incredible amount of things have occurred. The following timeline should give you a rough idea. - Alex Paterson gives up his job as roadie for Killing Joke. - “A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld” is not only the record with the longest title of the world, but it also marks the departure into the new sonic worlds of post-Rave Ambient. - While Cauty goes different ways with The KLF, The Orb re-form themselves and have a big hit with Little Fluffy Clouds in 1990. - The debut album “The Orb´s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld“ hits the Top 30 in England. - The Orb produce “Higher Than the Sun“ for Primal Scream. - The Orb perform “Blue Room“ as chess-playing aliens at Top Of The Pops. Everything goes. - “Blue Room“ clocking in at 39:58 minutes goes into music-history as the longest time for a chart single ever. - The Orb achieve great success in Glastonbury '92 + '93. - The Copenhagen double concert “to the sunrise and sunset” is eternalized on record: “Live 93“ - Previously a floating member of The Orb, Thomas Felmann becomes a fix member in 1997 - No joke: Robbie Williams takes part of The Orb for a short time. The collaboration “I started A Joke“ is released on a benefit compilation - After 2002 The Orb found with Kompakt a new ambient-loving partner and release a row of singles and play live, as the trimmed-down version as Le Petit Orb. And one more for the extra hush-hush: The Orbs first album “A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain...” was actually a Kompakt release. You can check it out. Besides the actual label Wau! Mr. Modo you can read... Kompakt Discos. Ha!!
Mit „Okie Dokie It´s The Orb On Kompakt“ liegt nun das circa 13. Album der britischen Kultband vor. Das ist gut so, denn The Orb's Musik wirkt eigentlich erst im Longplay-Format so richtig intensiv. Die Stücke sind, wie man das von ihnen kennt, liebevoll collagenhaft miteinander verwoben. In der ersten Hälfte tritt The Orb's Liebe zu Minimaltechno und Schaffel in den Vordergrund, während die zweite Hälfte ausschliesslich der Orbschen Ur-Domäne Ambient vorbehalten ist. Es gibt wunderbare Gastauftritte, wie etwa Schneider TM und Kompakt's Ambient-Guru Ulf Lohmann. Zur Geschichte von The Orb könnte man ganze Bücher schreiben, denn seit Jimmy Cauty und Alex Paterson im Rausch der Euphorie des ersten Summer of Love anno 1988 Chill Out und Ambient House erfunden haben ist viel passiert. Extrem viel. Die folgende Auflistung soll einen ungefähren Eindruck davon vermitteln. -Paterson hängt seinen Job als Roadie für Killing Joke an den Nagel -„A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld“ ist nicht nur bis dato die Platte mit dem längsten Titel der Welt sondern markiert den Aufbruch in die neuen sonischen Welten des Post-Rave Ambient. - Während Cauty mit The KLF andere Wege geht, reformieren sich The Orb und landen 1990 mit “Little Fluffy Clouds“ einen Riesenhit. -Das Albumdebut “The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld“ geht Top30 in England -The Orb produzieren „Higher Than The Sun“ für Primal Scream -The Orb performen „Blue Room“ als schachspielende Aliens verkleidet bei Top Of The Pops. Alles geht. -“Blue Room“ geht mit 39.58 Minuten als längste Chart-Single ever in die Musikgeschichte ein - The Orb legen 92 + 93 Glastonbury flach - Ein Copenhagener Doppelkonzert zum Sonnenauf- und Untergang wird auf Platte verewigt: „Live 93“ - Bisheriges „floating member“ Thomas Fehlmann wird 1997 festes Mitglied - Ohne Scheiss: Robbie Williams wird für kurze Zeit The Orb-Bestandteil. Die Kollaboration „I Started A Joke“ erscheint auf einer Benefiz-Kompilation. - Ab 2002 finden The Orb mit Kompakt einen neuen ambientverliebten Partner und veröffentlichen eine Reihe wunderbarer Maxis und treten live, vornehmlich in abgespeckter Form als Le Petit Orb in aller Herren Länder auf. Ein kleiner Treppenwitz am Rande für Erbsenzähler : Schon The Orb's erste Platte („A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain...“) war eigentlich eine Kompakt-Veröffentlichung. Ihr könnt nachschauen. Neben dem eigentlichen Label Wau! Mr. Modo stand nämlich folgendes ...Kompakt Discos. Ha!

Das zehn Songs starke "Train On The Island" entstand erneut in enger Zusammenarbeit mit ihrem langjährigen Weggefährten John Parish (u.a. PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning) und wurde gemeinsam mit ihm in den legendären Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, produziert. Dort entstanden bereits Hardings frühere Alben "Party" (2017), "Designer" (2019) und "Warm Chris" (2022). Unterstützt wurden Harding und Parish diesmal von Pedal-Steel-Gitarrist Joe Harvey-Whyte, Harfenistin Mali Llywelyn, Synth-Künstler Thomas Poli sowie Schlagzeuger Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear). Außerdem mit dabei: H. Hawkline alias Huw Evans an Bass, Gesang, Akustik- und E-Gitarre sowie Orgel.

Das zehn Songs starke "Train On The Island" entstand erneut in enger Zusammenarbeit mit ihrem langjährigen Weggefährten John Parish (u.a. PJ Harvey, Dry Cleaning) und wurde gemeinsam mit ihm in den legendären Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, produziert. Dort entstanden bereits Hardings frühere Alben "Party" (2017), "Designer" (2019) und "Warm Chris" (2022). Unterstützt wurden Harding und Parish diesmal von Pedal-Steel-Gitarrist Joe Harvey-Whyte, Harfenistin Mali Llywelyn, Synth-Künstler Thomas Poli sowie Schlagzeuger Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear). Außerdem mit dabei: H. Hawkline alias Huw Evans an Bass, Gesang, Akustik- und E-Gitarre sowie Orgel.

Killer Groove Records proudly presents "Keep Your Step", the explosive comeback by Italian rock steady & early reggae ambassadors The Appetizers, a soulful celebration of reggae's timeless spirit.


"Keep Your Step" marks the band's much-awaited return, landing April 10th on limited edition LP, CD digipack and digital format featuring two exclusive bonus tracks.

The Appetizers deliver a masterclass in roots reggae music with their highly anticipated second studio album, bridging Jamaica's golden age with contemporary relevance. "Keep Your Step" is a heartfelt sonic journey where the band blends rocksteady and early reggae with funk and soul influences to create a sound that's both genuine and refreshingly modern.

The fourteen tracks move fluidly between infectious dancefloor fillers and socially conscious lyrics. From the laid-back swing of "Feel Like Dancing" to the hypnotic rhythm of "Thicker Than Water", the band demonstrates their versatility while remaining true to the roots of Jamaican sound. "A Message from The Meters" pays tribute to the legendary funk pioneers, while the instrumental "Catch This" and "Make It Reggay" highlight the band's musical prowess and the deep connections between reggae and funk.

Meanwhile, tracks like "Fussy Girl" and "Behind My Shoulders" explore love's complexities with humor and soul. The album's heart lies in its social consciousness. "Cool and Deadly", "The Life", "Stormy Weather" and the album title track "Keep Your Step" tell stories of perseverance through life's struggles.

With the hopeful anthem "We Shall Overcome," The Appetizers deliver a timely message about genuine human connection in a social media-dominated era. The digital edition closes with "Get Some Rollin'" and "Swing and Sway," rounding out the journey with two additional gems.

"Keep Your Step" pays homage to Jamaican music legends, from Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook to Toots & the Maytals, while carving out The Appetizers' own distinctive sound. This is a groove made for both the dance floor and the soul, proving that reggae's power to inspire, unite, and uplift remains as vital as ever.

The production stays true to The Appetizers' signature sound: organic tones, deep groove, and that live-room vibe you only get when real musicians are locked in together. Luca Monza and Claudio Mambrini, the band's core members, handled the artistic production. Mastering came courtesy of the great JJ Golden (Black Pumas, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Jr. Thomas & The Volcanos, The Frightnrs) at Golden Mastering in Ventura, California. JJ is one of the most trusted engineers working in this sound, ensuring every ounce of warmth and authenticity came through.

The Appetizers are a rocksteady and early reggae band formed in Milan in 2020 by musicians deeply embedded in the Italian and international reggae scene. Musicians from different paths united by a shared vision: recreating that vintage Caribbean and American sound with authenticity, respect and a forward-thinking edge.

Drawing inspiration from Jamaica's golden era and channeling the soul of Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis, the early Wailers, and The Upsetters, The Appetizers carry forward the essence of bass culture with a pure, fully organic approach.

Their debut album Listen Up! (2022), released via Belgian imprint Badasonic Records (home to The Slackers, The Aggrolites, David Hillyard & Victor Rice), featured ten original tracks and a dub cut by Victor Rice. Distributed across Europe, the UK, the US, and Japan, it quickly earned international recognition among reggae connoisseurs and selectors worldwide.

Following extensive touring, including shows with The Slackers, Black Uhuru, Skip Marley, and more, the band returned to the studio to record "Keep Your Step", their second album produced by Killer Groove Records. Here the band expands its musical language, weaving together the spirit of historic Jamaican labels like Studio One and Treasure Isle with '60s funk, arriving at a warm, organic, and timeless sound: soul, Jamaican roots, and modern sensibility in perfect balance. Their lyrics explore heartbreak, social issues, and reflections on life and music, performed with dedication and respect for tradition while always pushing forward.


If you're into The Skatalites, The Ethiopians, and those classic Caribbean rhythms, this one's for you.

Thomas Peter debuts on Hallow Ground with »changing bodies,« an album inspired by the resonance and reaction of objects with and to sound. The Swiss composer and sound artist has worked with sounds generated with various materials, field recordings, and an array of analogue and digital synthesizers to create five ever-shifting pieces full of twists and turns in which even silence plays a significant role. Peter composed and recorded the album over the course of four years in an inherently physical process, led by both his intuition and his perception—what you hear on »changing bodies« is an artist intently listening to the material world around him.

Peter laid the foundation for »changing bodies« by making field recordings wherever he went, whether in closed rooms, cities, or rural environments, while also recording organic-sounding material with different synthesizers as well as working with objects made of wood, stone, or metal. »I viewed all these sounds as a kind of language that I was trying to understand,« he says. »I paid close attention to differences between sounds in motion, rhythmic patterns, and dense textures.« He further describes this as an inherently corporeal endeavour, quite literally becoming all ears and internalising the different sounds.

This process of concretion led to one of abstraction when Peter translated the source material and its psycho-physical reverberations into new musical structures. He applied repetition, densification, and recombination to unlock their true potential. Across its five tracks, the album sets literally unheard-of sounds into motion, creating intricate dynamics without ever overwhelming its listeners. »changing bodies« was born out of listening intently and physically.
It is recommended to listen to it in the exact same way.

Welcome to the second instalment of the collaboration between THE REFLEX’ DISCOLIDAYS label and BECAUSE MUSIC in Paris, remixing gems from the ZAGORA catalogue.

Created in 1975 by producer Daniel Vangarde (father of Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter), the Zagora label created some of the most exciting disco music in France, ranging from cult underground artists Who’s Who and Starbow, to massive international hits by the Gibson Brothers, la Compagnie Créole and Black Blood.

On this 12’’, we’ve got two first time ever remixes from LA COMPAGNIE CREOLE, one of the most successful acts in France during the 80’s who expertly mixed tropical sounds from the West Indies with pop and disco to staggering record sales.

With tapes thought to be long lost, a chance find of stems from two of their songs not only makes this release possible, but also perfectly showcases two sides of the band with ‘Le Bal Masqué’ which was a huge hit commercially in 1984 and ‘La Nuit Des Requins’ which is probably their least known and most underground track, both masterminded by songwriters DANIEL VANGARDE and JEAN KLUGER.

‘LE BAL MASQUE’, now devoid of its cheesiest sections, puts the focus on that infectious groove adorned with percussions and electronics but with its singalong chorus intact and stronger than ever. A guaranteed tropical disco floor filler at 122bpm, regardless of your knowledge of the French language!

‘LA NUIT DES REQUINS’, an ode to session musicians found regularly in Paris studios back in the day, gets a complete overhaul by putting the exhilarating drums and killer bass line of the original to the fore into a brand new 124bpm version that is destined to rock the most discerning dance floors the world over.

Released on 180g vinyl with custom artwork on card sleeve designed by AL KENT / MILLION DOLLAR DISCO.

Don Leisure has cemented his name as one of the most forward-thinking and experimental beatmakers & producers within the current musical ecosystem. As well as being 50% of Darkhouse Family (alongside Earl Jeffers) he has collaborated with the likes of Angel Bat Dawid, Gruff Rhys, DJ Spinna and First Word label-mates Amanda Whiting & Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus). Garnering serious support from Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Huw Stephens, Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, The Vinyl Factory, Clash, Uncut and many more. Following the release of ‘Cynnau Tân (feat. Carywyn Ellis)’ (which gained support across BBC Radio from Tom Ravenscroft, Zakia & Huw Stephens) Welsh beatmaker Don Leisure announces the release of a new album ‘Tyrchu Sain’) as he returns with a new single ‘Tyrchu’ due for release on 22nd January 2025. ‘Tyrchu’ features the soft-spoken vocal stylings of Gruff Rhys over a gently rolling, tape saturated and expertly chopped instrumental, creating (in Gruff’s own words) ‘Shiny new beat-treasures with ghostly reflections of Welsh pop’s past - skillfully dug from Sain Records’ deepest veins’

A dedicated student of music, over the years, Don has amassed a vast encyclopaedic knowledge of music genres and subcultures, including a fascination with Welsh psychedelic folk music from the mid-20th century. This introduction was made by respected musician, producer & selector Andy Votel’s 2005 two-part compilation series ‘Welsh Rare Beat’ (in collaboration with Gruff Rhys and Don Thomas), comprising twenty-five tracks from Sain Records’ back catalogue. Now the oldest independent record label in Wales, Sain is a wildly influential bastion of home-grown Welsh talent, co-founded by Welsh-language folk singer Dafydd Iwan, whose music has seen a cultural resurgence in recent years with his 1983 song Yma o Hyd (We’re Still Here) becoming a huge anthem for Wales football fans. Set up in the Welsh capital, many of Sain’s early releases were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, but in the early 1970s the record company moved to the Caernarfon area and opened their first recording studio in 1974 near Llandwrog. Announcing a huge digitisation project throughout 2024, Sain Records took on the mammoth task of painstakingly digitising their entire back catalogue spanning 55 years, working in partnership with the National Library of Wales the resulting archive then be submitted for to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, preserving them for future generations to enjoy. Taking this period of rediscovery as an opportunity to reimagine their impressive inventory, Sain invited Don Leisure to dig into their musical treasure chest, creating a sprawling sonic tapestry from the dusty gems within. On this exhilarating excursion, Sain Records founder Dafydd Iwan explains: ‘Imagine someone gave you access to over 50 years of Welsh popular music – almost all of it unknown to you before. It would be a strange experience of discovery, an unknown territory which could baffle and excite. This happened to Jamal (Don Leisure) – and he was captivated by a world of music he barely knew existed, and when he was asked to distill the experience into one album, he immediately warmed to the idea. And this is the result – a kaleidoscope of sounds to encapsulate a half century of Welsh music. To call it unique would be superfluous: no-one could ever recreate this album. Listen, and enjoy.’.

The resulting product is ‘Tyrchu Sain' (translating to ‘Digging Sain’), a fearless and exploratory album, which sees Don put his signature unparalleled and unpredictable skills to work, weaving together moments of forgotten beauty into celestial and otherworldly compositions. The record features appearances by artists from Wales who have a similar obsession as Don Leisure in these classic Welsh rarities including Gruff Rhys, Carwyn Ellis, Earl Jeffers Amanda Whiting and Boy Azooga. A shimmering patchwork quilt of sound, ‘Tychru Sain’ traverses a shifting landscape of acid folk, eerie vocal melodies and interstellar soundscapes, propelled forth by crisp, head nod-inducing drums and grainy textures. Breathing new life into compositions lost to time, and paving a path for new listeners to discover the magic that lies within.

ince its opening in spring 2021, JUBG, a still young Cologne gallery for contemporary art, has specialized in the broad field of artists and collaborations working along artistic interfaces, especially those between visual art and experimental and/or electronic music. For example, JUBG has already hosted exhibitions by Markus Oehlen, Kim Gordon, Wolfgang Voigt, Matthias and Aksel "Superpitcher" Schaufler, Sven-Åke Johansson, and Emil Schult. Albert Oehlen, who is a kind of mentor and supporter of the gallery, was also a guest at Albertusstraße this summer, where he presented the exhibition D-I-E ORPHEUSMASCHINE together with Michael Wertmüller, Thomas Stammer and the poet Rainald Goetz.

It is only logical that the gallery now expands its sphere of activity to include its own label, on which music appears that comes from similar contexts as the artists listed above already suggest.

As catalog number 1, JUBG is now releasing the official soundtrack to "The Painter" from 2021. The film, German title "Der Maler", is a mixture of feature film and documentary and a collaboration between German director Oliver Hirschbiegel, best known for his Oscar-nominated film "Downfall", and Albert Oehlen, with whom Hirschbiegel has a long friendship, as they both once studied together at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Hamburg.

The docu-fiction shows Oehlen struggling with a painting and pondering the meaning of his work. Oehlen is played by German actor and musician Ben Becker, accompanied by the off-screen voice of Charlotte Rampling. In the film, Becker makes a painting that Oehlen himself creates step by step behind the camera, while the actor improvises the process in front of the camera.

The wonderful music for this film comes from no less than two outstanding personalities whose individual biographies and musical signatures could hardly be better suited to this project. On the A-side it is Gudrun Gut, icon not only of the German electronic music scene since at least the 90's, singer, composer, DJ, label owner (Monika Enterprise) and of course founding member of the legendary 80's New Wave band Malaria. On the B-side it’s the world famous and award winning US avant-garde trumpeter and improvisational musician Nathan "Nate" Wooley, who has played with Fred Frith and John Zorn among others.

Gudrun Gut's tracks bear such beautiful titles as "Bewegung", "Küste" or "Weinen" and she once again pulls out all the stops of her great skills and decades of experience as a producer of the most diverse electronic music genres. These are unusual and much more experimental musical paintings that she creates here than on her recent solo works. Edgy, angular, raw and unpolished, yet always elegant and clever, she subverts the male artist madness depicted extensively in the film in her own unique way.

Nathan Wooley answers with the instrument he has been familiar with since childhood, the trumpet, with which he is able to create a ravishingly virtuosic noise. His pieces are more like sketches, often only 90 seconds or a few minutes long, but in all their abstractness underpin the narrative of the film almost perfectly.

A limited edition of 20 copies in total, painted and signed by Ben Becker, can be purchased directly through JUBG.

JUBG, eine noch junge Kölner Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst, hat sich seit ihrer Eröffnung im Frühjahr 2021 auf das weite Feld von Künstler:innen und Kollaborationen spezialisiert, die entlang künstlerischer Schnittstellen tätig sind, insbesondere an denen zwischen bildender Kunst und experimenteller und/oder elektronischer Musik. So hat JUBG bereits Ausstellungen von Markus Oehlen, Kim Gordon, Wolfgang Voigt, Matthias und Aksel "Superpitcher" Schaufler, Sven-Åke Johansson und Emil Schult gezeigt. Auch Albert Oehlen, der eine Art Mentor und stiller Unterstützer der Galerie ist, war im Sommer dieses Jahres zu Gast in der Albertusstraße, wo er zusammen mit Michael Wertmüller, Thomas Stammer und dem Dichter Rainald Goetz die Ausstellung D•I•E ORPHEUSMASCHINE präsentierte.

Es ist nur logisch und folgerichtig, dass die Galerie ihren Wirkungskreis nun um ein eigenes Label erweitert, auf dem Musik erscheint, die aus ähnlichen Zusammenhängen und Sphären stammt, wie es die oben aufgezählten Künstler:innen bereits vermuten lassen.

Als Katalog-Nummer 1 veröffentlicht JUBG nun den offiziellen Soundtrack zu "The Painter" aus dem Jahr 2021. Der Film, deutscher Titel “Der Maler”, ist eine Mischung aus Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm und eine Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem deutschen Regisseur Oliver Hirschbiegel, vor allem bekannt für seinen Oscar-nominierten Film "Der Untergang", und Albert Oehlen, mit dem Hirschbiegel eine lange Freundschaft verbindet, studierten sie doch beide zusammen einst an der Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Hamburg.

Die Doku-Fiktion zeigt Oehlen, wie er mit einem Gemälde kämpft und über die Bedeutung seines Werks nachdenkt. Oehlen wird vom deutschen Schauspieler und Musiker Ben Becker gespielt und von der Stimme von Charlotte Rampling aus dem Off begleitet. Im Film erstellt Becker ein Gemälde, das Oehlen selbst hinter der Kamera Schritt für Schritt anfertigt, während der Schauspieler den Prozess wiederum vor der Kamera improvisiert.

Die wunderbare Musik zu diesem Film kommt von gleich zwei herausragenden Persönlichkeiten, die mit ihren individuellen Biographien und musikalischen Handschriften kaum besser zu diesem Projekt passen könnten. Auf der A-Seite ist dies Gudrun Gut, Ikone nicht nur der deutschen elektronischen Musikszene seit mindestens den 90er Jahren, Sängerin, Komponistin, DJ, Label-Betreiberin (Monika Enterprise) und natürlich Gründungsmitglied der legendären 80er Jahre New Wave-Band Malaria, auf der B-Seite der weltberühmte und Preisgekrönte US-amerikanische Avantgarde-Trompeter und Improvisationsmusiker Nathan “Nate” Wooley, der u.a. mit Fred Frith und John Zorn zusammengespielt hat.

Gudrun Gut’s Tracks tragen so schöne Titeln wie “Bewegung”, “Küste” oder “Weinen” und sie zieht hier einmal alle Register ihres großen Könnens und ihrer jahrzehntelangen Erfahrung als Produzentin der verschiedensten elektronischen Musikspielarten. Es sind ungewöhnliche und sehr viel experimentellere musikalische Gemälde, die sie hier entwirft als auf ihren jüngsten Solo-Werken. Kantig, eckig, roh und ungeschliffen und dabei immer elegant und schlau, unterläuft sie den im Film ausgiebig dargestellten männlichen Künstlerwahnsinn auf ihre ganz eigene Art und Weise.

Nathan Wooley antwortet mit dem ihm seit Kindesbeinen vertrauten Instrument, der Trompete, mit der er in der Lage ist, einen hinreißend virtuosen Lärm zu erzeugen. Seine Stücke sind eher Skizzen, oft nur 90 Sekunden oder ein paar wenige Minuten lang, die in all ihrer Abstraktheit das Narrativ des Films nahezu perfekt untermalen.

Eine auf insgesamt 20 Exemplare limitierte Edition, bemalt und signiert von Ben Becker, ist direkt über die JUBG zu erwerben.

'Flowers', the new EP from Elizabeth Davis, finds itself at the cross-section of many factors. In part, it’s the result of Davis’ obsession with a seminal folk song. But it also coincides with her rediscovery of the voice and language as an instrument. It was recorded during an autumn residency at Sternhagen Gut, the cultural refuge run by Gudrun Gut and Thomas Fehlmann, located deep in the Uckermark countryside halfway between Berlin and the Baltic coast.

The six tracks on 'Flowers' all take Pete Seeger’s ‘60s protest-folk song 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone' as their starting point. However, they veer off in different directions, from vocal loops and deconstructed lyrics, to instrumental drones and glitchy, manipulated rhythm tracks. Like many musicians, Davis has learnt composition by a process of disassembly, analyzing musical works piece by piece, and 'Flowers' began as one such forensic exercise. “But sometimes,” says Davis, “a source is so loaded up on meaning that the studies and experiments can become worthwhile and meaningful works in their own right.” 'Flowers' began to take on a life of its own, raising renewed questions about age-old themes such as war, authorship, translation and historical structures.

Davis is no stranger to cover versions. From studying violin to playing in free jazz and punk bands, interpreting other artists’ works has long been a key part of her musical approach. And since her radio show 'Deep Puddle' recently drew to a close after seven years, her experiments with narration and sound collage have found their way into her musical work once again. For 'Flowers', she cut up the source material (with a nod to Gysin and Burroughs), and reassembled the lyrics, the musical notes, and recordings by different performers, to create uncanny new forms.

But perhaps the biggest influence on 'Flowers' was conversations about music, art and pop subcultures with Gut. These dialogues helped Davis find a balance between far-out sound design experiments and catchy melodies, combining a certain avant-garde element and modern day songcraft. And it’s this sense of conversation, this revisiting of topics and renewal of ideas, that will keep us coming back to 'Flowers' long into the future.

Remix EP featuring remixes by Justin Robertson and Hawksmoor
Magick Knives is a four-piece band conjuring cinematic post-punk from the sandy shadows of the Sonoran Desert. Drawing from gothic rock, darkwave, and cinematic atmospheres, their music is less composed than summoned, blending hypnotic basslines, ghostly guitar textures, and synths that shimmer.
Formed by vocalist/bassist Sonia Campbell and visual artist + guitarist/synth wizard Daniel Martin Diaz (Trees Speak), the band emerged through instinct and alchemy. Rounded out by lead guitarist Daniel Singleton and drummer Daniel Thomas, Magick Knives quickly found a shared sonic language that is brooding, immersive, and otherworldly.

Auf seinem neuen Album "Chopin Orbit" eröffnet Piano-Shootingstar Hayato Sumino einen ganz eigenen musikalisch Kosmos rund um den berühmten Komponisten Auf dem konzeptionell vielfältigen und emotional bewegenden Album, stellt der weltweit gefeierte japanische Pianist und Komponist Hayato Sumino (alias "Cateen") die Musik von Frédéric Chopin in den Mittelpunkt und baut seinen ganzen eigenen musikalischen Kosmos darum auf. Frédéric Chopin, der zu Hayato Suminos Lieblingskomponisten gehört, ist seit Langem eine treibende Kraft in dessen künstlerischen Leben. Diese Verbindung wurde erstmals während seiner vielbeachteten Auftritte beim Internationalen Chopin-Wettbewerb 2021 deutlich und kommt nun in "Chopin Orbit" voll zur Geltung. Zum Programm gehören Chopins Polonaise-Fantasie op. 61, Nocturne Nr. 20 in cis-Moll, Berceuse Des-Dur op. 57 und das "Regentropfen"-Prélude op. 28 Nr. 15. Daneben stellt Hayato Sumino eigene Werke wie "White Keys" und "Post Rain", als auch Stücke von so unterschiedlichen Komponisten wie Thomas Adès, Leopold Godowsky und Leoš Janáček, die Chopins Einfluss über Generationen hinweg unterstreichen. Hayato Sumino erklärt dazu: "Für mich war Chopin schon immer wie ein Idol, und seine Musik liegt mir seit meiner Kindheit sehr am Herzen. Als ich mich als Musiker weiterentwickelte, wurde mir bewusst, wie natürlich sein Einfluss in meine eigenen Kompositionen einfloss. Irgendwann dachte ich mir: Warum nicht ein Album mit Chopin als Mittelpunkt aufnehmen? Dieser Moment war der Ausgangspunkt für dieses Projekt. Meine Stücke entstanden aus der Inspiration durch Chopins Werke. Manchmal zitiere ich ein Motiv oder verwende eine Melodie, aber ich habe nie einfach versucht, 'im Stil von Chopin' zu komponieren. Ich wollte vielmehr seinen Geist mit meiner eigenen modernen Sensibilität und Kreativität verbinden."Und weiter: "Der Titel 'Chopin Orbit' spiegelt diese Idee wider. Ich habe Chopins Musik in den Mittelpunkt gestellt, und von dort aus nehmen verschiedene Reaktionen und Ableger Gestalt an - als würden sie von seiner Schwerkraft angezogen und bildeten ihre eigenen neuen Umlaufbahnen. Aus Respekt vor Chopin ist jedes meiner Stücke mit dem Original gepaart, das es inspiriert hat, sodass das Album abwechselnd seine Werke und meine Reaktionen darauf präsentiert.""Chopin Orbit" folgt auf das gefeierte Sony-Debütalbum "Human Universe" dieses außergewöhnlichen jungen Musikers, das im November 2024 bei Sony Classical erschien und auf dem Sumino mühelos ein vielfältiges Repertoire von Bach bis Zimmer sowie einige seiner eigenen Kompositionen präsentierte. Für das Album und seine herausragenden Leistungen als Pianist erhielt Hayato Sumino als erster Künstler überhaupt gleich drei Preise bei der Opus Klassik Preisverleihung 2025. Wie schon auf "Human Universe" kombiniert Hayato Sumino auch auf "Chopin Orbit" unterschiedliche Klaviere und Flügelklänge bei der Aufnahme.Das Album "Chopin Orbit" erscheint als CD und Doppel-Vinyl.

Slip is Paul Abbott’s response to his 3 day residency at OTO in 2023. It’s a continued exploration of the acoustic-digital hybrid drum setup Abbott has been developing for some time, which involves drum kit and synthetic sounds combined closely—through an entanglement of limbs and cables—in an intimate but strange relationship with each other.

Paul Abbott hasn’t had any formal musical training, but has a long history of making music, having collaborated for years with Seymour Wright, Pat Thomas, Michael Speers, Cara Tolmie, Anne Gillis and many others. Eventually, led by a profound suspicion of what is fixed or limited, Abbott began finding other ways to organise sound - or what he calls ‘material’:

“I wanted a way to 'persuade' or guide the possibility of something happening - my activity or the events of an algorithmic composition - for example, but without certainty or formalism. It felt to me, during playing, that certain ideas had a particular sort of shape, but more than the form of a line. I began to write alongside (before/after) playing the drums, and ‘characters’ began to enter the scene as a more wobbly, and therefore appropriate option to notation. Working with these characters allowed me to simultaneously approach body, imagination, language and music: without dividing things up or separating these aspects from each other. It allowed me to leave things messy and entangled, whilst trying to deal with form and specificity: wanting to have some things feel or respond differently to other things at other times.”

In approaching his residency, Abbott developed a fixed cast of characters - crystal, lleaf, reiy.F, reiy.C, strike, nee, qosel, sphu and aahn. They each communicate using different kinds of movement and drum kit/s, and Abbott choreographed them as ‘dances’ based on different feelings, or outlines of behaviours suggestive of ways of moving (body, drums, sounds). He then arranged these characters into ‘compositions’: one for each performance day, with each composition featuring multi-layered activity - options for behaviours, ways to move around the rooms, play drums, develop synthetic sounds, change the lights or re-distribute the sound in the space.

After the performances, Abbott took home 9 hours of recordings split into up to 28 multitrack channels for each day, and re-organised his cast once more into a performance for 2LP, CD and digital. It’s an enormous amount of work - but Abbott is activated by the process. For him, the pleasure of unstable edges, possibilities, slippages, is the vital attraction. Like all living organisms, Abbott’s characters have malleability and responsivity. They stimulate a bundle of possible behaviours, a tendency to act a certain way, a temperament, a boundary of respective limits or affordances.

It’s an affective way of working, inclusive of Roscoe Mitchell, Sun Ra, Nathaniel Mackey and Milford Graves. In ‘Pulseology’(2022), Milford Graves reminds us, ‘Breath varies, so cardiac rhythm never has that (metronomic) tempo. It’s always changing. All the alignments of the heart are determined based on the needs of the cells, specifically tissues and organs. The heart knows if it needs to speed up.’ In Slip, to slip, in a heartbeat, is to descend not into the grid of the even metre accorded to the heartbeat, but into a play of mutability and modality. To change is the condition of the heart.