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First release from @ascending.signs.records, @domenico.niki's own label.

Acid influences, percussive jams and emotional broken beats characterize the 3 tracks with unpredictable soundscapes, landing into new warm and dancing territories.

Goin "Through Lines" is a way to shine with the signs and open ascending points of view,
is a journey into new bright spaces and sonic feelings to let the deep come to light and move.

Audio engineering: @chromemastering
Visual design: @r_t_studio

"Swingin'" is the key word for this great 1962 recording session with the marvelous Dexter Gordon's tenor saxophone, leading an all-star quartet including Sonny Clark - piano - Butch Warren - bass - and Billy Higgins - drums.

The album opens with the infectious, Afro-Cuban groove of "Soy Califa', featuring the unique Billie Higgins beat, and develops through some Hi-Class renditions of romantic standards such as 'Don't Explain' and 'You Stepped out of a Dream', plus the dynamic Latin rhythm of Butch Warren's 'Backbone'.

Following on the somnambulant heels of When I See The Sun, our massive, near-complete Codeine overview, comes What About The Lonely?, an eight-track LP recorded at the group's live zenith. Captured direct from the mixing board at a stop on Codeine's November 1993 swing through the Midwest, opening for Mazzy Star, this document finds Stephen Immerwahr, John Engle, and Doug Scharin running through their hits at Chicago's notorious Lounge Ax for a crowd of chatty "120 Minutes" fans. Gastr Del Sol's David Grubbs adds his guitar to two songs, slinking on and off the 24-inch stage with little fanfare, but leaving his signature indelibly on the performance.

Introducing Wishy, a brand new band from celebrated Indiana songwriters Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites. Wishy came to life as a musical partnership between the two Indianapolis musicians when Pitchkites moved back home from Philadelphia in 2021. The two bonded over their love for 90s alternative bands like The Sundays and My Bloody Valentine and soon began crafting their own brand of swirling pop-rock with an introspective, grungy flair. By day Krauter works as a music teacher, giving drum and guitar lessons to students, while Pitchkites is a seamstress by trade and often makes embroidered merch for the band. While Krauter spent the better part of the last decade cementing his place as a torchbearer of Midwestern dream pop with 2018's Toss Up and 2020's Full Hand, Pitchkites delved into her own indie electro-pop project Push Pop, writing songs like "Spinning" that would later be reworked for Wishy. To round out the live band, Pitchkites and Krauter enlisted guitarist Dimitri Morris, bassist Mitch Collins, and drummer Conner Host. Across two trips to Los Angeles in late 2022 and early 2023, Krauter and Pitchkites linked up with friend and producer Ben Lumsdaine, who had some spare time between Durand Jones tours to record the pair's newly written songs. The result of their fruitful time in sunny California is the aptly named Paradise, a breezy and melodic EP that puts on full display the songwriter's musical fluency. Tastefully blending shoegaze, dreampop, and alt-rock into a heavenly haze, Wishy delivers a strong 5-song introduction that's dense with melodic earworms and stirring sentiment. Wishy's debut single for new label home Winspear, the driving and distorted "Donut," showcases Pitchkites' hypnotic vocal and Krauter's melancholic wash of guitars. Written after a period when Pitchkites was driving on a spare, "Donut" laments the cynical capitalism of Midwest living and the reliance on a car to get around. Of the song Pitchkites says "When you've got the possibility of the open road plus the limitations of your shitty car-and you're stuck driving on a donut spare tire- it's a Catch 22." Throughout Paradise, the band laments on American loneliness and idealism as it relates to our everyday lives. Across the EP's five tracks, Pitchkites and Krauter trade bittersweet reflections on love and self actualization over vast, scrappy guitar chords. The whole thing feels equally indebted to early aughts alt-rock and '90s jangle pop. Wishy's music is cathartic, yet underlined by a subtle brooding energy-sitting nicely alongside the work of their contemporaries like Momma or Tanukichan, both of whom Wishy will have shared the stage with. Wishy will be touring this Fall supporting Tanukichan, and the band will make their first festival appearance at LEVITATION in Austin, TX. After that, they have their eyes set on finishing their debut album, slated for release via Winspear in 2024

The Invisible Road: Original Recordings, 1985–1990 compiles an unheard, previously unreleased body of recordings by Sussan Deyhim and Richard Horowitz, dissidents from diametric backgrounds who met during the heady days of Downtown New York in the 1980s. This collection reveals the creative and life partners’ radical shared vision of avant-garde pop in all of its boundary pushing freedom, combining Deyhim’s singular approach to vocalization, Horowitz’s invention of new musical languages, and touchstones of traditional music from around the world, creating a new music that ultimately retains a voice entirely its own. Despite their difference in backgrounds and respective journeys, at the time of their meeting in the early 1980s in New York City, Sussan Deyhim and Richard Horowitz were both products of the search for freedom and understanding (and resultant awakenings) that swept the globe and helped culturally define the late 1960s and 70s. Deyhim, born and raised in Tehran, spent her teens dancing with Iran’s Pars National Ballet company, performing weekly on Iranian national television, and travelling her home country studying with master folk musicians and dancers, before relocating to Belgium and joining Maurice Béjart’s prestigious Béjart Ballet of the 20th Century. Horowitz, born and raised in Buffalo, New York, had spent much of the decade before abroad, first departing for Paris under the shadows of the Vietnam War, where he studied piano, Eastern philosophy, and became entrenched the city’s free jazz scene, playing with the likes of Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton, and Alan Silva, before embarking south to Morocco where his friendship with Paul Bowles helped cultivate a deep passion for the country’s musical traditions and a shift in his musical practice.



The pair met by chance sometime in 1981 at Noise New York, a small studio on West 34th Street founded by the musician and recording engineer, Frank Eaton, as a utopian creative laboratory that beckoned artists and bands like Arthur Russell, Christian Marclay, Liquid Liquid and Butthole Surfers into its orbit. Both artists had recently relocated to the city, Horowitz having recently released his debut album, Oblique Sequences (Solo Nai Improvisations), on the legendary Paris based imprint Shandar, and fallen in with members of New York avant-garde like La Monte Young, Jon Hassell, David Byrne, and Brian Eno, and Deyhim having begun to more actively incorporate singing into her practice, notably recording a vocal score for choreography she was doing at La MaMa Experimental Theatre.



Initially bonding over a cassette tape of field recordings made by Paul Bowles that had been given to mutual friend and writer Brian Cullman (seeking answers for Ornette Coleman’s question “what is the sound of sound”), their earliest collaboration was documented on Horowitz’s 1981 album, Eros In Arabia, with Deyhim contributing vocals to the track “Queen Of Saba.” Over the coming years, their deep connection would routinely gravitate them into the studio, culminating in the body of recordings that would appear on their 1986 album for Crammed Discs, Desert Equations: Azax Attra. Unknown to nearly all but the artists, laying in wait over the decades on numerous multi-track and stereo reels, DAT tapes, and reference cassettes, were a vast array of recordings made by Deyhim and Horowitz bookending Desert Equations. The 13 pieces represented on The Invisible Road: Original Recordings, 1985–1990 were recorded largely between Noise New York and Daylight Studio in Brussels, during a period that Deyhim describes the partnership between herself and Horowitz’s as seeking a music “free of any specific cultural reference, with a personal musical signature,” blossoming into a body of sonority that embraced the energy of contemporary boundary pushing pop and the avant garde, filtered through their mutual love and study of various musical traditions from across the globe and deep engagement with the ideas and tactics of experimental music.



Undeniably rooted in Horowitz’s study of the North Africa ney and the music of the Berber and Gnawa cultures during his time in Morocco, Deyhim’s deep engagement with the folk traditions of Iran, and the couple’s immersion in the interconnected Downtown underground music scenes, each piece on The Invisible Road offers its own vision creative and cultural hybridity. Deyhim sings in both English and Farsi, as well as a composite tongue that she developed by drawing upon numerous indigenous vocal techniques from around the world, intuitively responding to Horowitz’s simultaneous sound syntax forming and combining a wide range synthetic and acoustic instrumentation, and experimental tape techniques, within a visionary series of free-standing expressions.

"JPEGMAFIA, a trailblazing force in experimental hip hop, releases his latest solo project, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU. This album, his first since 2021, is a complex and innovative work that showcases his meticulous production skills. Featuring collaborations with Denzel Curry, Vince Staples, and Buzzy Lee, the album explores themes like capitalism, conscription, and propaganda through some of JPEGMAFIA’s most anarchic raps to date. The release is accompanied by an extensive global tour, reinforcing his status as one of the genre’s most incendiary talents. Since his last solo release, JPEGMAFIA has continued to push boundaries in the music industry, most notably with his 2023 collaboration with Danny Brown on Scaring the Hoes, which garnered critical acclaim and chart success. With I Lay Down My Life for You, JPEGMAFIA cements his reputation as a visionary artist, delivering a powerful commentary on the world through his unique lens. The album’s release is set to make a significant impact, both in stores and on stages worldwide."

Strut proudly present the brand-new studio album from Nubiyan Twist, 'Jungle Run'.

Now one of the leading lights in the UK's new generation of soulful, genre-fluid artists, the Leeds-born and now London-based 12-piece collective have created their finest recordings to date, effortlessly weaving together elements of jazz, soul, hip hop, African styles, Latin, dub, hip hop and electronics in a flow of thought-provoking and life-affirming music.

Recorded at the band's own self-built Henwood Studio in rural Oxfordshire, the album effortlessly moves through different voices from the band's circle. The inimitable, timeless vocals of Nubiya Brandon lead the way on the album's title track about breaking preconceptions and promoting equality, 'Where you from I'm from wherever I be.' Saxophonist Nick Richards vocals the killer first single from the album about inner turmoil and a search for the truth, 'Tell It To Me Slowly' while rising Ghanaian star K.O.G. appears on the Afro jams 'Basa Basa' and 'They Talk'. Percussionist Pilo Adami (Nina Miranda / Afrosamba) voices the infectious bossa-jazz jam 'Borders'. The band also draft in two African legends for guest duties with the original Afrobeat maestro Tony Allen on 'Ghosts' and Ethio jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke contributing vibes on the sinuous 'Addis To London'. 'The depth of talent and ideas that every member of this group has brought to the table for this album is incredible,'

says producer and orchestrator Tom Excell. 'Conceptually, 'Jungle Run' is all about connecting different people and cultures whilst exploring the journey of individuals. This album is the pinnacle of everything we have done to date and to collaborate with the godfathers of Afrobeat and Ethio Jazz and celebrate their music in a modern context was very humbling.'

The album is another landmark for a band that has been consistently developing their sound since their formation in 2015 at Leeds College Of Music. 'One of the biggest factors in our sound was the exciting music scene in Leeds,' explains saxman Joe Henwood. 'From a reggae night called 'Sub Dub' to venues playing whacked out experimental jazz.' Since then, the band's self-titled debut album (2015), EP 'Siren Song' (2016) and single 'Dance Inna London' (2017) have become classics in their own right and their live show has become an essential ticket; previous live highlights have included high profile slots at David Byrne's Meltdown at the South Bank and Glastonbury West Holts

'Jungle Run' is released on 15th February on CD, 2LP and digital. Cover artwork comes from acclaimed designer Marcus Davies and the album is mastered by The Carvery. Nubiyan Twist tour across Europe from November.

Celebrating dance music's roots in Africa, global music superstars SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR and renowned Australian DJ GROOVE TERMINATOR team up with Grammy- winning producer LATROIT to present 'History of House', an expertly crafted re-imagination of the iconic dance music classics that defined the genre at its inception and continue to influence it today.

Featuring vocal performances in Zulu and English, collaborations with Southern Africa's top emerging music producers, and live musical performances throughout, History of House is a cultural and musical celebration, authentically and effortlessly blending global beats, Afro house, Amapiano, and house music into a sublime listening experience that elevates any environment. This is a special project, and we are proud to share it with you. FEATURING: World Hold On, Good Life, You Got The Love, Everybody's Free, and More

Two-Piers präsentiert die nächste Killer-Compilation: "Weird Scenes From The Hangout (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Dancefloor Anthems 1967-1982)", kuratiert von Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, The Time And Space Machine) und zentriert um seine Liverpooler Clubnacht "The Hangout" in den 1980ern. Dort brachten er und weitere DJs bewusstseinsverändernden Wahnsinn aus Psychedelia und Freakbeat auf die Tanzfläche. Herausragende Songs wie "The Left Banke - I've Got Something On My Mind", "The Turtles - Buzzsaw" oder "Can - Outside Your Door" wurden zu echten Hangout-Hymnen. Man widmete der eher trendy Ausbeute der Spät-Sechziger ebenso viel Zeit wie angesagten Acts, solange der Groove auf dem Dancefloor funktionierte. Das Hangout kam und ging im Nu, aber sein Erbe, psychedelische Fußstampfer auf die Fläche zu bringen, lebt weiter, gemeinsam mit der Liebe zu allem, was mit Beat und Freak zu tun hat.
** Exclusive tracks to Vinyl Format

M.R.E. from Utrecht with his debut on 200 Records. He delivers a detroitish journey through 4/4 techno, breaks, and ambient parts. Classic quality techno.

Bicoastal disco aficionado, Super Elevation label/shop owner, and all-around legend of the scene, Tom Noble brings forth a sprawling project 15 years in the making with his House of Spirits full length LP on Razor-N-Tape.

Slow-cooked over more than a decade, the eight tracks that stretch across this double 12 inch pack are the realization of Tom’s unique vision of modern dancefloor soul, with lush live instrumentation and deviously catchy hooks. Boasting a near encyclopedic knowledge of decades of club music, Tom draws on influences like Patrick Adams & the Mizell Brothers to build a sound that’s both reverent to the past, but feels extremely fresh and immediately timeless.

The lead off singles ‘Times Are Changing’ and ‘Please Take Me There’ and respective remixes by Harvey Sutherland, Makez and Sizmo have already garnered huge support, and ‘Holding On’ the beloved original House Of Spirits single from 2020 appears with a shiny new mix. The album opens with ‘Love Trip,’ an uptempo invitation to the sonic world to follow, and moves through various moods, like the Brit-funk vibe of ‘Time Is Running Out,’ the mid-tempo groover ‘I Get Lifted’ and the downtempo R&B smoothness of ‘Diamond Eyes’ featuring dreamcastmoe on vocals.

The cheeky dollar bin artwork rounds out this package perfectly, and with the tracks mixed to perfection and cut tough for the floor, this is an essential record that will surely find a permanent home in the bag.

Lonely Planets Rec. is thrilled to announce label co-pilot Caim with his luring new EP Medusa Hunter. A deep dive into a sonic realm where ancient myth intertwines with futuristic soundscapes, Medusa Hunter invites listeners on a seductive journey through hypnotising layers of hissing rhythm and smouldering, Goa-inspired techno. This EP pulses with energy, as Caim masterfully blends trance-inducing melodies with venemous driving bass-lines, creating an atmosphere of ancient mystery and suspense. Each track coils and twists like the mythic Gorgo, luring us deeper into her sonic gaze where time dissolves and consciousness drifts. Rhythm and warmth and whisper seamlessly through the mesmeric soundscapes, igniting a primal sense of movement where sound and myth collide.

Next from the label that brought you "You Time", "Unrest Hazard 1" and "First Sign of Trouble" is a sizzling 5 track slice of 12" from renowned DJs and producers who get the crowd jumpin and pumpin, Deejay Atlas and K Super. The pair are known for an impressive back-catalogue of tracks the last few years on Ruff Cutz, SweetBox, Parallax and more, as well as for running the Certain Sounds label and parties in Manchester, UK.

This one takes a look at the less glamorous side of northern England's rave scene, the goings on under a dark night sky at a free party in a field somewhere near Manchester. Illustrated through tunes that possess the brooding spirit of 1993 and 1994 jungle and ferocious vocals, albeit as always when it comes to Erupt, with a modern twist for the 2020s that tells a story of the here and now.

Also featuring appearances from Buda and Wild Swan, as well as an EXCLUSIVE fifth track that you won't find on any digital releases of this EP!

"‘One of the most exciting composers alive.’ – Daily Telegraph

Nonesuch will release the original score for Ken Burns’s new two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI, with new compositions by Caroline Shaw; the documentary airs on November 18 and 19 on PBS. The album features performances by the composer’s longtime collaborators Attacca Quartet, Sō Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth as well as John Patitucci. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score.

In celebration of LEONARDO da VINCI, New York City’s historic venue The Town Hall presents an evening of performances from Shaw’s score by Attacca Quartet, Sō Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth on October 29. The filmmakers will also preview excerpts from the four-hour film..

LEONARDO da VINCI is directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. The film, which explores the life and work of the fifteenth century polymath Leonardo da Vinci, is Burns’s first non-American subject. It also marks a significant change in the team’s filmmaking style, which includes using split screens with images, video, and sound from different periods to further contextualize Leonardo’s art and scientific explorations. LEONARDO da VINCI looks at how the artist influenced and inspired future generations, and it finds in his soaring imagination and profound intellect the foundation for a conversation we are still having today: what is our relationship with nature and what does it mean to be human?

“No single person can speak to our collective effort to understand the world and ourselves,” said Ken Burns. “But Leonardo had a unique genius for inquiry, aided by his extraordinary skills as an artist and scientist, that helps us better understand the natural world that we are part of and to appreciate more fully what it means to be alive and human.”

“To help give depth and dimension to Leonardo’s inner life, and to carry our viewers on his personal journey, we enlisted the composer Caroline Shaw,” McMahon says in the album’s liner note. “Caroline’s existing body of music—joyful, daring, at times transcendent, and wholly unique—seemed to speak directly to Leonardo, a seeking soul who, 500 years after his death, can come across as strikingly modern. A fully original score, we believed, would add crucial connective tissue to areas where the record of Leonardo’s life is thin and it’s possible to briefly lose his trail. The music Caroline created is dynamic, enthralling and filled with wonder.

“This soundtrack is a testament to the inspired efforts of Jennifer Dunnington, who marshaled it into being, the brilliant musicians and vocalists who, with the help of Alex Venguer, Neal Shaw, Colton Dodd and Tim Marchiafava, made it soar, and most of all Caroline Shaw, who might be Leonardo’s soulmate from across time,” he continues. “With her help, the Leonardo who emerges is no wizard shrouded in mystery, but a prideful, obsessive, at times lonely or flustered, occasionally ecstatic, and, in the end, content man who is in ways both modern and thoroughly of his time.”

“As we set out to explore Leonardo’s life, we realized that while he was very much a man of his time, he was also interested in something more universal,” said Sarah Burns. “Leonardo was uniquely focused on finding connections throughout nature, something that strikes us as very modern today, but which of course has a long history.”

Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo-Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and TV series including Fleishman Is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyoncé’s Homecoming. In addition to three albums with Sō Percussion, Narrow Sea, Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part, and Rectangles and Circumstance, Nonesuch has released her two Grammy-winning albums Orange and Evergreen, both of which feature Attacca Quartet. “Two-Step” and “Ghost,” Shaw’s songs with Ringdown, her duo with Danni Lee Parpan, are available now on Nonesuch. Caroline Shaw is Wigmore Hall’s 2024-25 Composer in Residence."

"Can machines sing? With his Synthetic album cycle, Rich Aucoin answers that question with a resounding, exuberant ""yes."" The four-part project sweeps listeners through a gallery tour of synthesis history, giving voice to a chorus of specimens from the past century of electronic sound. On Season 3, Aucoin deepens his dive into the variegated genealogy of dance music, charting a joyful course through the many flavors of rave euphoria.

From March 2020 through February 2024, Aucoin recorded Synthetic: Season 3 during a series of visits to the National Music Centre in Calgary and the Vintage Synthesizer Museum in Los Angeles. Among these collections, he found historic synthesizers ranging from the ubiquitous to the esoteric, each with its own voice just waiting to be jolted to life. During these sessions, Aucoin took the opportunity to air out some of synth history's most iconic instruments.

From the mass-produced to the bespoke, each synthesizer on Synthetic: Season 3 sends a transmission from its makers' own historical vision of the future. The instruments' tactile interfaces -- from fields of patch jacks to 50-year-old optical discs to rows and rows of voltage dials -- all lend embodied dimension to the practice of shaping sound from raw electricity. Each of them carries a story about what might have tumbled into being from the moment of their creation. In awakening these machines, Aucoin cross-pollinates a choir of futures into an ecstatic, reverential present."

Last Dinosaurs has found a rhythmic succession over the last decade, one that’s plucked them out of Australia, pulled them through the eye of the European needle, off to write in ancient Japanese ghost towns, onto America’s most iconic stages, and somehow grounded them in the middle of a sacred loophole - a ring of fire, really - that few artists find. They call it a loophole because it hasn’t been linear, it hasn’t been promoted, it hasn’t been announced and popularized and pushed through the press. Blame it on the Latino and Asian kids streaming the sh*t out of their trifecta of indie-rock records or the internet’s international party knuckles banging at their digital door 24/7, but Last Dinosaurs are erupting. They’ve all felt it onstage and backstage in every sold-out sanctuary of sound they have ripped through.

Even as the obstacles to meaningful connection mount into an Everest-ian hurdle, artists nevertheless find ways to bend the technologies of our days to foster visceral human connection, rather than bereft isolation. Comprised of a West Coast bassist (Kristian Dunn of El Ten Eleven) and an Appalachia-adjacent drummer (Damon Che of Don Caballero), Yesness forges a friendship mediated through the language of collaboration, all formed through emailed song sketches and text exchanges of Van Halen demos. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. "We were ships in the night of the musical variety until Karl found a way to merge our paths," Che said of his introduction to Dunn. "There are very few comparisons in the aesthetic approach to how we created the music. We worked remotely for eight months before physically meeting for the first time at the recording studio." Neck-deep in their own ambitions, Che and Dunn swapped musical ideas and quirky song titles throughout the summer, working at a breakneck pace. Star Wars references were intertwined with walloping bass lines ('If You Say So'); non-sequiturs were punctuated by Che's signature frenetic percussive jabs ('Horror Snuggle'). Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion—uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Tearing through the record's evocative instrumentals is a delightful bolt of strangeness, felt as much as heard in the spontaneous chemistry between Che and Dunn. "Occasional Grape?" dances like a waltz played with a sledgehammer—delicate moments shattered by bursts of aggression, while still embedding a rhythmic earworm deep into your heart. 'Nice Walrus,' a string-studded panorama featuring Kishi Bashi, volleys between nervy hyperactivity and heartfelt grandeur. The album's closing track, "Non-incredible Visitor," contrasts Che's meticulous precision with Dunn's imaginative instrumentation, bonding bass and percussion like nesting dolls. Just as the track seems to settle, it drives off an uncharted auditory cliff—abruptly, without ceremony, leaving the listener grasping for meaning in the murk. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other – our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

Deluxe Edition = "Queen's Tassel Pink" Vinyl + bonus 7". Video Age make breezy and timeless songs that are so ineable, they can only be the result of a decades-long friendship and songwriting partnership. Across four albums, Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli have gleefully worn their influences on their sleeve, writing inviting tunes that reference sounds ranging from disco to pop and indie rock. On their latest LP, Away From The Castle, the New Orleans duo have strayed from nostalgia and instead have honed their own unique musicality, making songs that sound like themselves with a taste of inspiration from classic singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. The album is a testament to the possibilities that come from getting out of your comfort zone, the freedom of writing vulnerably and unselfconsciously, and the joys of getting to work with your closest companions. After releasing and eventually touring their critically-acclaimed third album Pleasure Line in 2020, Farbe and Micarelli sought inspiration for their next project through collaboration. They worked with Drugdealer on his album Hiding In Plain Sight, Micarelli gigged throughout New Orleans' jazz and blues scenes, and Farbe recorded local artists at his home studio, most recently producing Esther Rose's new album Safe to Run. Feeling refreshed, they rented a cabin in Eunice, Louisiana with touring members Nick Corson and Duncan Troast, where they spent eight days in August 2022 jamming, cooking and writing together. Through this process, Video Age have made their best collection of tracks to date by perfectly alchemizing their influences and experiences into a record still tinged with nostalgia, but moving towards a more succinct and authentic voice. Away From The Castle is a document of a band having fun and rediscovering their love for making music together, but it's also their most honest and personal work yet-Video Age distilled to its purest form.

Woven together from home studio recordings that span two decades, and with some notable guest appearances including; The Bug, Douglas Leal of Deafkids, Wayne Adams of Petbrick, Dave French of Yob and Sanford Parker, this final part of the Harvestman Triptych seeks once again for a lost world, with the voice of poet Ezra Pound extolling the virtues of "gathering from the air a live tradition".
Cloudy Clear plus Black Galaxy effect vinyl in dub style jacket. Limited and Non-Returnable.
At its heart, music has always been a questioning of inheritance – a dialogue with predecessors and forebears, the forging of one’s own perspective in relation to what has come before, and for some, a plunge into the boundless realms between. For Steve Von Till, that process has always taken on an added dimension to become the most sacred of tasks. Whether through the apocalyptic uprising of Neurosis, the sonic deconstructions of their sister project, Tribes of Neurot, the invocatory intimacy of his eponymous solo albums or his instrumental psychedelic reveries in the guise of Harvestman, that dialogue has never just been with musical influences, but with what underpins them: the primordial, elemental forces now banished to the peripheries of our contemporary consciousness, yet still broadcasting a signal for all who will listen.

Drawn to the megaliths, ruins and ancient sites mapped out along the British and European mainland’s geographical and psychic landscapes, the folklore and apocrypha forever resurfacing as portals from a rational world, Triptych is a meditation forged from traces and residues, and an hallucinatory recollection of artists who have tapped into that enduring otherworldliness embedded within us all. It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

"Herne's Oak" provides seismic bass waves that physically halt the track in its steps - giant footfalls as Herne's antlers themselves are dragged along a corridor. Another curious and mysterious piece of British folklore brought to life by Harvestman.

If Triptych is a multi- and extra-sensory experience, it extends to the remarkable glyph-style artwork of Henry Hablak, a map of correspondences from a long-forgotten ancient and advanced civilization. As with Triptych itself, it’s an echo from another time, an act of binding, a guide to be endlessly reinterpreted, and a signpost to the sacred that might not indicate where to look, but how.

Cover art is by Henry Hablak, who also designed the art for Part One and Part Two.

Mustapha Skandrani, a luminary of Algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of Arabic-Andalusian and European styles.

"Istikhbars and Improvisations", recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as istikhbars. Playing these istikhbars (which have roots in the Islamic Arab-Andalusian culture which flourished in Spain) on the piano - that quintessentially European instrument - Skandrani was greeted with derision by some purists. His powerful musical vision, however, perceives the European element involved in Arabic-Andalusian musical culture, a world of exchange and co-existence.

Skandrani's modus operandi on this release is to present each istikhbar, modal in nature, then to play an improvisation based on it, and its attendant mode. This A/B alternation continues throughout. The pellucid clarity of Skandrani's playing on this album may remind the listener of a modal Goldberg Variations, Bach and Glenn Gould transplanted to Andalucia. Other ears will hear the Arabic/Maghreb elements more strongly. Skandrani's precise touch and clear, symmetrical rhythmic sense links both worlds, assuring us that the Mediterranean is not a barrier, but a unifier, and that the differences between the cultures are not so vast. This is an admirable achievement, resulting in beautiful music of a rare charm.

Mustapha Skandrani was born in Algiers in 1920, and died there in 2005. He mastered a number of instruments at an early age, and his musical prowess led him to work with the great singers and ensembles of his day, in live performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Later in his life, he devoted much energy to education.

Originally reissued by Em Records as a limited edition of 200 in 2012, now available once again, in offset printed sleeve, with insert of Japanese and English sleeve-notes and rare photosMustapha Skandrani, a luminary of Algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of Arabic-Andalusian and European styles.

"Istikhbars and Improvisations", recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as istikhbars. Playing these istikhbars (which have roots in the Islamic Arab-Andalusian culture which flourished in Spain) on the piano - that quintessentially European instrument - Skandrani was greeted with derision by some purists. His powerful musical vision, however, perceives the European element involved in Arabic-Andalusian musical culture, a world of exchange and co-existence.

Skandrani's modus operandi on this release is to present each istikhbar, modal in nature, then to play an improvisation based on it, and its attendant mode. This A/B alternation continues throughout. The pellucid clarity of Skandrani's playing on this album may remind the listener of a modal Goldberg Variations, Bach and Glenn Gould transplanted to Andalucia. Other ears will hear the Arabic/Maghreb elements more strongly. Skandrani's precise touch and clear, symmetrical rhythmic sense links both worlds, assuring us that the Mediterranean is not a barrier, but a unifier, and that the differences between the cultures are not so vast. This is an admirable achievement, resulting in beautiful music of a rare charm.

Mustapha Skandrani was born in Algiers in 1920, and died there in 2005. He mastered a number of instruments at an early age, and his musical prowess led him to work with the great singers and ensembles of his day, in live performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Later in his life, he devoted much energy to education.

Originally reissued by Em Records as a limited edition of 200 in 2012, now available once again, in offset printed sleeve, with insert of Japanese and English sleeve-notes and rare photos

Multi-talented artist Poppy Ajudha will be announcing her sophomore album, titled ‘Poppy’, which will be released 22nd November 2024. This follows Poppy’s triumphant return to releasing music this year with the release of 'My Future', following a two year hiatus. ‘Poppy’ was created alongside Mike Malchicoff (Kanye West/King Princess) with contributions from the likes of producers Maestro (Rihanna), Fred Ball (Alicia Keys/Raye/Mariah Carey), Grades, (Kali Uchis, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), and Travis Sayles (Ariana Grande).

Poppy says: “I can’t believe I’m writing this, but my sophomore album is finally coming out! After numerous trips back and forth from London to LA, millions of revisions to perfect each song and a lot of moving the track listing around, I’ve made an album I’m so in love with, with people who I felt truly seen by, who I respected and found a natural synergy with. I really put everything into this album, it is a reflection of my growth over the last 2 years, an outward pouring of my raw vulnerability, the inner workings of my chaotic brain and the deep desire I have to challenge myself with everything I do. I’m really proud of what we made, and I hope that when you hear it, it means something to you too.
Thank so much to all the special people who contributed to the making of this project, the producers, engineers, musicians, visual creatives, the friends who listened to me while I processed my life in order to write it down, I wouldn’t have been able to manifest this dream without you.”

Alongside the announcement of her upcoming album, Poppy has also released new single ‘Lean On Me’, a bold pop banger about the importance of community and showing support for each other even during challenging moments. ‘Lean On Me’ was written by Poppy with production from Wesley Singerman (Kendrick Lamar/Anderson Paak).

On ‘Lean On Me’, Poppy says: “We realise true friendship in the moments we are most vulnerable with each other. When I wrote ‘Lean On Me’ I was going through a breakup and struggling to make sense of my world. My friend who was experiencing their own kind of grieving found the time to give me the advice I needed, and the next day I wrote this song about the power of friendship, community, unconditional love and showing up for each other through our hardest times.”

“Music is my forever cove,” writes Portland, Oregon’s Luke Wyland of the ideas that give shape to Kuma Cove, his latest album under his own name. Though named after a real place on the Oregon coast, Kuma Cove casts its gaze far beyond the sightseer’s line of vision. Recorded live in the studio and blurring obvious lines between computer-based composition and electro-acoustic instrumentation, it is an album about flow, borders, transitory states, and shelter. Composed of discontinuous ripples and repetitions (“I’m forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse,” Wyland says), shaped into richly emotive arcs, and informed by his experience as a person who stutters, it is also an album about identity, self-expression, and the energies that sluice through and across what we perceive as linear time—like floodwaters seeking an exit, like streams running into the sea.

Artist’s Statement:
I made this record while spending significant time in the woods by the Sandy River in Corbett, Oregon,
where I've had my studio for the last five years. It is a diary of spontaneous live recordings edited to highlight the moments of clarity that emerge from long-form improvisations. These compositions express a slowing internal rhythm. An unwinding. A somatic recalibration as I enter middle age. A newly empowered vulnerability.

Here are the internalized cadences of my stutter, flowing freely from my fingers. The musicality of my disfluency is revealed in its frictions, elongations, and foreshortenings. Disruptions in linear time, where the bubbling cadences of my stutter find unexpected pathways, reveal the elasticity of the present moment. This is my idiosyncratic language, shaped and inspired by my disability. Subliminally mirroring internal processes, neural firings, cognitive entanglements...

The title, Kuma Cove, refers to a beloved cove on the coast of Oregon my wife and I return to yearly. There has always been something so magnetic about coves. The way they cradle one from the overwhelming enormity of the ocean beyond, muting a primordial fear. I experience these improvisations as ecosystems I'm able to inhabit for stretches of time, embodying the particular rhythms and sensorial textures within each. Music is my forever cove. Everything you hear is created live in Ableton on a setup I've been honing for 15 years. I celebrate MIDI and computer music as an extension of self and strive to make it as expressive as any analog instrument. I was a visual artist for the first half of my life and quickly adapted those skills to composing and producing on a computer. The transition felt natural within the landscape of DAW's interfaces, especially as a synesthete. Ableton and its community of Max creators continue to surprise me with its expansiveness.

I'm forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse. I envision sonic loops as tangled masses of time, three-dimensional knots spinning on tilted axes, or overlapping wreaths refracting out a myriad of colors. My practice is continually refocusing my ear to what is revealed in the repetitions, searching for the fingerprint of each. I find it incredible how technology lets us manipulate time like this. Nothing on this record is quantized or locked to a universal bpm. Experiencing numerous tempos at once feels important. Recordings as mirrors. Freedom from expected (conversational) flow as we hold time for each other.
-Luke Wyland, August 2024

Artist Bio:
Luke Wyland is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and performer based in Portland, OR (USA). Wyland has been releasing critically acclaimed records for the past 20 years in the groups AU and Methods Body, as LWW, and under his own name, working with such labels as New Amsterdam, Beacon Sound, Balmat, The Leaf Label, and Aagoo Records. As a person who stutters, Wyland’s approach to music is informed by his idiosyncratic relationship with language. Wyland believes deeply in the cathartic power of live performance as a means for collective healing. Through an interdisciplinary art practice that focuses on improvisation, somatic embodiment, bespoke tuning systems, the cadences of disfluent speech, and time manipulation technologies, he’s collaborated with choreographers, high-school choirs, filmmakers, sound designers, and renowned musicians such as John Niekrasz, Holland Andrews, Colin Stetson, and Abraham Gomez-Delgado. He’s also the co-creator of the “It’s A Fucking Miracle” dance class with Tahni Holt.
Wyland has toured nationally and internationally and performed at the Whitney Museum, Ecstatic Music Festival, Issue Project Room, PICA’s Time-Based Arts Festival, End of the Road Festival, and Les Nuits Botanique, among others.

Wicked: The Soundtrack features performances by the stars of Universal Pictures’ new cinematic event, Wicked, with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The soundtrack includes songs performed by Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winning powerhouse and Oscar® nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Elphaba and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda. In addition, the soundtrack features the musical talents of Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University’s regal headmistress Madame Morrible; Olivier Award winner and Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers) as Fiyero, a roguish and carefree prince; and pop culture icon Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz. Based on one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on stage for the past two decades, the spectacular, generation-defining film adaptation of Wicked is destined to be the most talked-about film of the holiday season. The official soundtrack track list includes iconic Wicked songs “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” “Dancing Through Life” and more, performed as you’ve never heard them before! Wicked, in theaters November 22, 2024, is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in theaters next year, on November 21, 2025.

The dark lord of the dance returns to Sneaker with the 'No Favours' EP, another ominous set of non-conformist shellers rough-cut from obsidian and set in steel.

We first broadcast our love of Christoph de Babalon's distinctively destructive, hard-boiled hardcore via the Evident Ware compilation back in 2020, but a longer release has been an ambition of ours ever since. From his early years on Digital Hardcore through his prolific return in the 2010s across a broad tapestry of underground operators, de Babalon has left a fascinating trail of albums, EPs and scattershot tracks behind him that feed into the cult fervour around his music.

As this EP demonstrates in reliably gritty fashion, the magic in the German producer's music lies in his ability to take the tropes of jungle and hardcore and subvert them through signal chains which owe more to noise and industrial than dance music. The structure of his tracks is equally maverick, pushing and pulling according to its own whims rather than following the dancer-centric energetic flow of a standard club record. Somewhere in this alchemy between classic ingredients and confrontational experimentation, he evokes the original chaotic spirit of hardcore when it seemed anything was possible within the music.

'For Nothing' is the perfect example — a tunnelling odyssey of ferrous atmospheres, roundhouse drums and bass bloated into the red on a force-fed diet of saturation. 'Total Deceit' turns up the pressure on the break chopping science de Babalon is capable of, teasing gamelan flurries and elegiac swirls that hit at the emotional depth he can wrench amidst such bludgeoning material. 'Jaded Memory' funnels Mentasm bass into a strange new form amidst staggering, tightly clipped drumfunk, leaving enough space for haunting ballroom reveries stretching out across the mid-section. That leaves it to 'Dearth Mill' to mop up with gloriously creepy detuned piano notes slopping over each other in between the most ferocious blasts of drums on the whole record.

You didn't expect something straight-forward, did you?

"The Millennium Bell is the 20th record album by Mike Oldfield, originally released in 1999. The theme of the album is a reflection of different periods of human history. The album borrows its name from the dawning of the 3rd millennium and Oldfield's Tubular Bells series of albums. The Millennium performance of the latter half of the album plus some older tracks was given in Berlin, Germany on New Year's Eve 1999, with an estimated audience of 500,000 people.

Oldfield recorded the majority of the album at his home studio, Roughwood Studios, Berkshire, and then recorded the orchestrations in just one day at Abbey Road Studios, London with the London Session Orchestra. It was Oldfield's third album within one year, after Tubular Bells III in late 1998 and Guitars MOVLP1694 earlier in 1999. The album is eclectic in style, ranging from majestic choruses and soundtrack-esque orchestral passages through New Age sonic textures and ethnic sounds to strong pulse of electronic percussion. The Millenium Bell is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl and includes an insert."

Introduction: Janeff the Poet is a dynamic artist whose spoken word performances transcend boundaries, blending socially conscious poetry with the soulful rhythms of jazz and R&B. As an attorney and college professor hailing from Southside Chicago, and an alumnus of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Janeff brings a unique perspective rooted in community, intellect, and cultural heritage to his craft. Concept: "Love & Liberation," Janeff's latest EP, features six new tracks that explore themes of love, empowerment, and the pursuit of social justice. Each song is a testament to Janeff's lyrical prowess and his commitment to storytelling that challenges, inspires, and provokes thought. Artistic Vision: Janeff's spoken word pieces, set against the backdrop of jazz and R&B beats, create a captivating fusion of poetry and music. His lyrics, crafted from personal experiences and academic insights, resonate deeply with audiences, offering introspective narratives that celebrate resilience and advocate for change. Release Date: Experience "Love & Liberation" as it is set to release on Date. Prepare for a transformative musical journey that celebrates the power of words and the liberation found in self-expression. Conclusion: Janeff the Poet invites you to join him on a journey through "Love & Liberation," where every word and melody serves as a testament to the beauty of love, the quest for justice, and the enduring spirit of community. Through his artistry, Janeff continues to inspire and empower, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape and hearts of listeners worldwide.

At long last! Finally on vinyl! Can Fifteen Great Christmas Songs be collected together on one lovely 12-inch vinyl disc featuring bands and artists from the Damaged Goods archives? …you betcha bottom dollar they can! Each song has been recorded with the Christmas spirit in full flow and we’d guess the odd mince pie was consumed along the way as well. The full-on Christmas feeling that is flowing through these wonderful tracks is a joy to behold and we implore you to not just read these sleeve notes but to go crimble-crumble-crazy and actually buy this record and treasure it, not only this year but for many years to come. We are very proud to have put this album together as Christmas is our favourite time of the year. We love the feeling at special Christmas gigs - the over-inflated people and prices of things and the way everyone just has to go out and drink as much as they possibly can in the name of the good old lord Jesus. We did this for you, and only for you because we really, really care and want to share the joy that only Damaged Goods Records can bring you at this special time of the year. So enjoy some great music from the likes of Will Billy Childish, Miss Holly Golightly, Helen Love, Goldblade & Poly Styrene, The Courettes and so many more and remember, this LP is not just for Christmas it’s for LIFE! Ian Damaged, National Elf

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is available as a limited edition of 2500 copies on “Muncher” coloured vinyl (crystal clear & transparent green). The heavyweight gatefold sleeve has a special UV Spot varnish + embossing finish. The package contains a printed innersleeve and 4-page booklet (featuring several of your favorite mini-pufts!) and a special litho of the gatefold artwork.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is co-written and directed by Jason Reitman and stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhar, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts, and Paul Rudd. The film follows a single mom and her two kids who arrive in a small town, where they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

Rob Simonsen rejoins director Jason Reitman with his score for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, having scored The Front Runner & Tully for the director. Other recent film scores include The Friend, The Way Back, and Love, Simon. Based in Los Angeles and ever with his finger on the pulse of contemporary music, he co-founded the influential collective The Echo Society with the mission ‘to inspire, challenge, enrich and connect the community through the creation and performance of new sonic and visual art’. Simonsen’s debut artist album Rêveries was released in 2019 on Sony Masterworks.

"Run the Jewels - Hip-hop's preeminent collaboration between veteran rhyme-slayers El-P and Killer Mike —have gone from a whim-driven underground rap project to a worldwide sensation since the release of their 2013 debut Run The Jewels. Mixing the industrial grime of New York City with the vibrant bounce of the dirty South, they forge hip-hop's future while adhering to the core tenets of its bedrock: gymnastic displays of skills, incendiary political rhetoric, merciless braggadocio, battle-honed assholery, R-rated punchlines and a back-and-forth that brings the interplay of the shell-toe Adidas era screaming into our contemporary nightmare.

Tearing up the music industry rulebook, their self-titled 2013 debut was originally released through a series of website-crashing free album downloads. Featuring Outkast's Big Boi on Banana Clipper and Prince Paul on Twin Hype Back, it's a "rough and rabid ride"; a "swaggering victory lap for two artists at the peak of their creativity"; and been dubbed "one of the best hip-hop records of 2013"."

Volume 4 of the Make Up series is another doozy and this one brings together accomplished house heads Camille, Chez Damier, and Nico Lahs in a celebration of underground disco classic "through the lens of 60's and 70's underground comix." Similar to these rebellious reads, the tracks on this release carved their niche with purists seeking distinct and thrilling sounds. Across the double album, Camille's contributions include Mystic Pleasure's 'Back Door (Getting Down)' and Cold Fire's 'Badder Than Bad' which both bring soulful melodies and infectious rhythms, Chez Damier adds Fascination's 'Shine My Love' and Bileo's 'You Can Win' with shimmering vocals and funky basslines and together, they make for an exhilarating mix of disco brilliance.

Video Age follow up their newest album `Away From The Castle' with a new 7" release. Side A, "Record Shop," a sparkling pop/rock cut is a playful theme song for record shop employees, the track follows a fictional record store clerk through a typical day in the life of slinging records. Alluding to classic 70s songs from acts like Don McLean, America, and NRBQ, Video Age are right at home in the pantheon of great American songwriters. Side B is a reworked version of the recent LP's title track called "Out In The Country." The track features Alt-Country/Americana singer Esther Rose, dueting with Video Age's Ross Farbe on this stripped-back acoustic swooner.

J. Written has been preparing for this moment almost his entire life. From early on he has been writing. You might even say he was obsessed with writing. It did not matter what he was writing, he just felt compelled to write. Hence the name Written.
Born on January 18, 1994 (yes, he will gladly accept birthday greetings!) in the Payne Land neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, J. Written entered this world as Jason Rasheed Wright. Due to certain financial instability in his family they had moved around a bit to various locations within the Kingston area. His parents, wanting him to be safe, encouraged him to be at home with his two sisters and to occupy his time at home he began to write. And write and write. And write some more.
He would write daily journals and even create newspaper articles written on the walls of their home. This creative outlet gave way to writing poems, speeches and essays while a student in high school. At 16 he started a dance trope known as the ACEZ dancers who were quite popular around Kingston.
He was then drawn to music around age 18 and began to create beats at a studio in Trench Town. He became part of the Trench Town community and is still very connected with the people there. His drive to write songs became his new medium for expressing himself. And this has led to him being recorded for various producers and included in the song “Fear To Understand” with Albarosie. Other songs and music videos followed and J. Written was brought to the attention of reggae producer Doctor Dread.
“When I first saw a video with J. Written and began to listen to more of his songs I knew this was a unique artist with a special vibe and a knack for writing interesting songs” says Doctor Dread. So he came to Jamaica and produced a first album “Kaleidoscope” for J. Written which is due for release in late 2024.

“My mission is to be active and positive. Not to confirm with the norm. To sometimes make people feel uncomfortable with issues impacting our community and society at large. To give thought to what is happening in the world and presently around us”. J. Written has made his intentions clear and it is revealed through his music.
And of special note is that J. Written has a role in the Bob Marley movie “One Love” as Junior Braithwaite, a member of the early Wailers in the scene when the young Wailers first come to audition for Coxsone Dodd of Studio One.
The future is bright for J. Written. He is creating music and lyrics as a constant in his life. And now the world will be able to share in his vision of creative expression.

Following 5 years in Berlin, two albums and a continuing residency at Tresor all bringing acclaim, Maedon is now an established voice and one also in transition. The 8th release for her own Rant & Rave label announces this in its title, 2.0, and its sound, a bold move away from her industrial roots towards the groove-laden techno that earned her bones im Keller. The product of careful study of techno's roots and evolution, this gradual process reaps rewards here, showcasing a bracing new direction for an already-accomplished artist.


'Working Out the Kinks' leads off, more a kinky workout than the work-in-progress its title suggests. A vocal sample and rugged groove initially brings an old school feel, something quickly offset by strikingly modern production details. The EPs middle stride, 'Temporal' and 'Growing Pains', attacks heads-down techno head on with style to spare. On the former, growling lows and rotating pads are gradually joined by a symphony of sonic detritus, with razor sharp drums slicing through the murk. A bouncing bassline and blink-and-miss fills on the latter hammer the rhythm onwards, surrounded by reduced industrial elements and grimy ambiance. 'Breakthrough' does exactly that, it's uneasily modulating lead and bruising EBM bass buffeted by waves of percussion then jackhammering to a climax confirming Maedon's 2nd coming.

»Nuts of Ay«, the thirteenth album by the Berlin-based electronic pop duo Tarwater (Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram), is their first in a decade, since 2014’s »Adrift«. Beautifully poised and smartly dressed, it's an album that draws Tarwater’s various pasts into a high-definition present, while bringing the duo, yet again, into productive dialogue with all kinds of fellow travellers.

Tarwater’s music has always been marked by a hypnotic pop-ness, but that’s particularly evident on »Nuts of Ay«, where a song like »Hideous Kiss« weaves together jangling guitar, pastoral flute, and flittering electronics into a gem-like construction. While the lyrics of »Hideous Kiss« are written by the duo, »Nuts of Ay« also continues a longstanding Tarwater tradition of recasting the words of others in their own mould. This time, their remit is broad: poetry from Derek Jarman (»All Nuns«) and Millner Place (»Trapdoor Spider«); lyrics from Jean Kenbrovin (»I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles«), the late Shane MacGowan (»USA«) and, again, John Lennon (»Everybody Had a Hard Year«).

This cast of found and borrowed lyricists also finds collaborative echo in the guest musicians dotted throughout »Nuts of Ay«. Schneider TM turns up on the lovely, Felt-like »Spirit of Flux«, where guitars channel the tangled reveries of Vini Reilly and Maurice Deebank into lush pop. Carsten Nicolai joins, as Alva Noto, dappling »On Waves and Years« with intimate glitching textures; he also provides the album cover art. Elsewhere, Masha Qrella appears on »Down Comes the Goose«, and actor Lars Rudolph pitches in for »USA«.

It may have been ten years since the album's predecessor, but Lippok and Jestram have kept active with other projects. They’ve collaborated with Masha Qrella, Immersion, and Iggy Pop; worked on radio plays with Kai Grehn, some based on the writing of Nick Cave (»The Sick Bag Song«, featuring Tilda Swinton, Paula Beer and Alexander Fehling) and William S. Burroughs (»The Cat Inside«); and made music for several radio-tatorts (radio plays based on »Tatort«, a long-running German police TV series) by playwright Tom Peuckert.

Both voracious and committed in their creative energies, Jestram and Lippok report back from these experiments with »Nuts of Ay«, one of their most compelling, deeply lustrous, dreamlike albums yet. They say there was no concept for the album, which is surprising, perhaps, given its holistic mood, explaining it »grew together like a coral reef in the studio over a period of several years«. There’s something to be said for letting an album gather and mutate naturally, without an overarching framework in place, and »Nuts of Ay« certainly feels like an unforced collection of material that nonetheless inhabits a similar space, one where guitars twist like driftwood next to amorphous, aqueous electronics, Lippok’s droll yet completely convincing vocal delivery riding songs that pulse and plume with curious, unpredictable rhythms.

But you can also hear elements – submerged but still present – of other music that’s inspired the duo: they’ve drawn some connections for us with psychedelic folk, Bowie in Berlin, Burial, and the film music of Popol Vuh and Krzysztof Komeda. This music shares a strong sense of place – whether in the world, or the mind – and the twelve songs on »Nuts of Ay« have such similar presence; a shared mood, a shared world, a shared sense of the possibilities of what electronic pop music could, and should, be. A bold and brave pop experiment.

Artwork by Carsten Nicolai
Mastering by Bo Kondren, Calyx Berlin

»Trapdoor Spider«, »On Waves and Years« & »Breaking Day«: lyrics by Milner Place
»All Nuns«: lyrics by Derek Jarman
»USA«: lyrics by Shane MacGowan
»Down Comes the Goose«: lyrics from a traditional song
»Forever Blowing Bubbles«: lyrics by Jaan Kenbrovin
»Everybody Had a Hard Year«: lyrics by John Lennon

Dark Evergreen VInyl. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. Despite Che's initial unfamiliarity with Dunn's musical output, their personalities bridged any and all gaps_both Che and Dunn share a flair for the comically absurd and musically adventurous, a mindset that shines throughout See You at the Solipsist Convention. Che has become legendary for his calculated polyrhythms and undeniable physicality, while Dunn is known for relentless experimentation and productivity akin to a freight train. Quickly, the unlikely pair transformed into destined collaborators. Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion_uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other - our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

French hip-hop producer Ugly Mac Beer, with over 20 years of experience in the industry, returns to his youthful passions and ventures into synth-punk production for the first time with his upcoming album titled "Broken Ill". Three decades later, he brings to fruition an album he has dreamed of making since the age of 16, adopting a "Rick Rubin style" in its creation and production.

"Broken Ill" transcends the boundaries of a typical album. It features a UK sound that seamlessly blends post-punk, electro-punk, darkwave, new wave, while still maintaining its roots in US hip-hop, with a significant touch of rap rock.

Mac Beer's influences are clearly heard throughout the album, ranging from the Beastie Boys to The Cure, and including Kraftwerk and Sleaford Mods.

In terms of collaborations, Ugly Mac Beer has enlisted a diverse array of rappers from various backgrounds. Among them is the iconic Princess Superstar, a prominent figure in the 90s underground scene, whose hit track "Perfect", released two decades ago, unexpectedly resurged on TikTok, sparking excitement and eventually securing a place on the 2024 Billboard Charts. It even underwent a remix by David Guetta himself.

Additionally, Mac Beer has teamed up with French rapper signed to Kitsuné, Mynameisleonidas, who has contributed to a significant portion of the album. Other collaborators include the singer from the French punk band Frustration and Mac Beer's longtime collaborator and friend, The Real Fake MC a.k.a OP18.

With "Broken Ill", Ugly Mac Beer, hip-hop beatmaker par excellence, surprises and delivers a solid rap rock album with a pervasive UK influence, inviting listeners into his ever-evolving, creative, and audacious universe.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

10 years after their debut, City Of All Times audio-visual enquirers John B McKenna and Richard Greenan re-appear as Devonanon, to share the findings of a decade-long sonic experiment. Like its predecessor, Richard & John is a living, breathing collection of field recordings and compositions, gathered gradually from remote corners of the pair's lives. Familiar waypoints - interwoven microtonal synths, regurgitated live performances, polite whispering, and the gurgling hum of vehicles (land and sea) - all fold into the perpetual stew.

Where City read like a crumpled postcard account of fraternal reportage, Richard & John is a tone poem on something more amorphous, and out of time - a garbled history of human closeness, upheaval and mark-making, that seems to buckle and creak like a tapestry with no beginning or end. No two spoonfuls are the same, as our story reels through kosmische library stylings ('Wilderness Engine'), to cortex-quieting free association ('Generate Countryside'), and baroque instrumentation ('Blood Laughing', which features beautiful turns from Masayoshi Fujita on vibraphone, and Rosa Juritz on bassoon).

Matt Gilmour's latest album, "Business As Usual," marks a bold evolution in his sound and lyrical depth. With a blend of introspective lyrics and catchy melodies, the album explores themes of resilience, personal growth, and the complexities of modern life.

The project opens with the infectious lead single, setting a dynamic tone that resonates throughout. Gilmour's signature blend of genres—from rock to pop and elements of electronic—creates a diverse soundscape that captures the listener's attention. Each track delves into various facets of daily life, reflecting both the mundane and the extraordinary.

Collaborating with a range of talented musicians and producers, Gilmour infuses fresh energy into his work, resulting in a polished yet authentic feel. Standout tracks showcase his ability to balance heartfelt ballads with upbeat anthems, all while maintaining a cohesive narrative.

"Business As Usual" is not just an album; it’s a journey through the everyday hustle, reminding us that even amidst routine, there’s beauty to be found. With this release, Matt Gilmour solidifies his place as a compelling voice in contemporary music, ready to resonate with fans old and new.