quête:tight control

Kniteforce and Just Another Label (owner of the Bear Necessities Sub Label) have been friends since the early 90’s, so when JAL wanted to remaster and repress some old and much sought after classic EPs, it was only natural for Kniteforce to take on that roll. This much sought after EP was originally a 10” but is now reissued and remastered as a 12” due to popular demand! Both tracks are absolute classics of the time, with deep and heavy vibes throughout!

Roman Khropko’s latest release leans into a restrained, late-night tension, balancing tightly coiled energy with hypnotic atmosphere and head- down groove. A subtle yet confident statement by the Ukrainian producer rooted in control rather than excess.

Be As One boss Shlomi Aber returns to Chris Liebing's CLR with the 'Schema' EP, arriving 24th April 2026 alongside a remix from James Ruskin. Active since 1994, Aber has been a cornerstone of underground techno for over three decades, with his focused, hypnotic approach in both the studio and DJ booth leading to releases on some of the scene's most respected labels, including Cocoon, Ovum, Nonplus, and Figure. With the 'Schema' EP, he follows his recent 'Retrospective' EP for Ben Klock's Klockworks, as well as previous CLR outings such as the 'Limelight' EP (2025), and the 'Remote 101' EP (2023), which both kept a spot in the Beatport Techno chart for over two years after release, while winning support from the likes of Carl Cox, Alienata, Dave Clarke, and many more.

Shlomi Aber's 'Schema' EP opens with the title track and heads straight into subterranean territory, pairing weighty low-end pressure with tightly controlled tension. Rattling bass foundations are o?set by sharp hi-hats and static-laced textures that flicker through the mix, keeping the groove locked and the atmosphere charged.

On remix duties, James Ruskin, founder of the seminal Blueprint, delivers a shadowy, atmospheric rework. Eerie pads hang in the background as swampy bass anchors the rhythm, with haunted melodic elements slowly unfolding to create a deep, immersive take built for late hours and dark rooms.

Closing track 'Gasolina' sees Aber shifting into broken-beat territory, where warm, glitchy rhythms loop with hypnotic precision. Ghostly synth motifs drift in and out of focus, giving the track a cinematic, heady quality that rounds out the release with understated intensity.

Founded by influential techno lynchpin Chris Liebing in 1999 and reemerging in 2021 after a five-year hiatus, Create Learn Repeat (CLR) has hosted a range of artists like Dubfire, Flug, Bjarki, DJ Dextro, and more while also focusing on developing newer acts in the scene, such as Risa Taniguchi, The Southern, and Klint.

PRESIDENT are an anonymous UK-based collective operating at the intersection of heavy music, electronic experimentation, and cinematic atmosphere. Refusing to conform to the traditional structures of genre or identity, PRESIDENT prioritise intent over image—shifting the spotlight away from individuals and firmly onto the work itself.





Musically, they create a hybrid sound rooted in alternative and post-rock, layered with industrial textures, programmed beats, and dynamic arrangements that lean into tension, release, and emotional weight. Their material moves with precision—considered, deliberate, and always atmospheric. Every element serves the wider vision. Having launched without fanfare and operating without personal profiles or commentary, PRESIDENT has cultivated intrigue through minimalism and control. Their visual and sonic identity is cohesive and considered—every release, image, and post feeds into a tightly held narrative. There is no chaos here. There is no guesswork. Built to exist outside the noise, PRESIDENT are not here to chase attention. They are building something that invites deeper investment—designed to be discovered, not sold. After 3 months of cryptic teasing, anonymous UK-based band PRESIDENT are taking the Rock scene by storm. Post one of the most talked about performances of Download, PRESIDENT unveiled their debut EP, King Of Terrors.

Jorge Gamarra and D’Marc Cantu - two true hardware heavyweights - come together for a split EP, marking the sixth release on Zonate.

Jorge Gamarra takes the A-side with two emotion fuelled productions. Eleven Minute Shrink opens - an instantly memorable, ear-worm melody underpinned by driving electro. A standout production with real versatility. This is followed by Prolonged Grief Disorder, a more textured and immersive piece, with tension conveying a real sense of raw emotion. D’Marc Cantu handles the B-side. Based on the outskirts of Detroit, and with over two decades of stellar releases behind him, he delivers two tracks written between 2019–2020.

Haystack explores the proverbial needle-in-a-haystack - a peak-time weapon that toys with chaos through rising energy and chopped vocals, before pulling itself back into tightly controlled club pressure. Closing the record is Madripoor, a deeper cut built around floating synth lines, capturing the essence of electro’s golden era.

Berlin-based artist and label head Tom Peters returns to his techno-focused imprint ...isserving with IS011 - CAN U, a refined four-track vinyl-only release that channels groove,hypnosis, and physical intensity in equal measure.
The EP opens with "CAN U", a deep yet propulsive cut built around metallic percussion,textured synths, and a haunting vocal hook. Its stripped precision and subtle emotionalcharge reflect Peters' evolving sound-somewhere between warehouse minimalism andlate-night transcendence.
Ketch, from the SYXT collective, reimagines the title track with raw drive and rhythmicprecision. His remix sharpens the low-end punch while unfolding layers of atmospherictension that feel both industrial and intimate.
On the flip, "Control Conscious" dives deeper into Tom's hypnotic palette-dark, groove-heavy, and cinematic in its design.
Steffi's remix closes the EP with her signature blend of deep techno and Detroit-infusedswing: warm chords, tight percussion, and a dynamic arrangement that nods to bothemotion and functionality.
Pressed on 140g black vinyl in a limited run of 300 copies, CAN U EP encapsulates thecore spirit of ...is serving-techno with groove, depth, and emotional intelligence.

Decibel Place arrives on Dorbachov's Scrap & Delete with the 'Swarm' EP landing on 8th May 2026, coming with a remix from Belgium's Steve Redhead. Known for navigating the darker, more experimental edges of the genre while maintaining driving, floor-focused energy, the Liverpool-based Decibel Place has previously delivered on labels including Materialised, Transition, MASS, and Khazad Records. As a DJ, he continues to earn attention with his tightly constructed sets across the hardgroove circuit, a sensibilitycarried through this latest body of work. The EP opens with the title track 'Swarm', setting the tone through immersive, tension-building arrangements. Undulating sound design and tightly interlocked rhythms draw the listener into a dense, atmospheric space, rich in detail and forward motion. Steve Redhead steps in on remix duties, reworking 'Swarm' into a stripped-back, percussive cut defined by clarity and control, where subtle shifts in rhythm and texture drive a deeper, hypnotic propulsion. 'Infection' follows with a shift into more industrial territory, introducing broken rhythms and raw, mechanical textures that sharply punctuate the groove. Closing track 'Smoking Kills' leans fully into hardgroove territory, with driving drums and visceral energy bringing the EP to a powerful, club-ready finish.
Decibel Place's 'Swarm EP' comes via digital and vinyl on Scrap & Delete on 8th May 2026.

Death Is Not The End collaborate with Uzbek label Maqom Soul to deliver an LP counterpart to last year's mixtape of the same title, compiling specially picked & fully licensed individual belters from the ex-soviet studios of Central Asian republics between 1978 and 1989 - incl. Uzbek, Tajik, Kurdish & Uyghur artists pulling traditional folk motifs together with pop & rock and psych elements.

"These recordings do not form a smooth or coherent history. They feel more like a sequence of discoveries made at different moments and in different circumstances. Songs and instrumental pieces that once lived inside specific contexts radio broadcasts, philharmonic programs, touring routes now sit side by side, revealing hidden connections as well as clear fractures between them.

Nasiba Abdullaeva appears here as a voice from the end of an era. Trained within a conservatory system, she worked inside the format of the Soviet pop song while filling it with melodic logic that did not come from Moscow or Leningrad. Her voice is soft and sustained, shaped by Eastern melisma, and it never functions as decoration. Even in tightly structured songs there is a sense of resistance, an effort to preserve a musical language rooted in Uzbek tradition rather than fully adapted to an all Union standard.

The ensemble Sintez, later renamed Navo, represents a different path. Beginning as a student rock group, the band was gradually absorbed into the official VIA system with all its limitations and compromises. Yet it was precisely within those boundaries that Sintez and Navo developed a recognizable sound. Electric guitars and jazz rock harmonies do not overpower the folk material but remain in tension with it. Their recordings feel like negotiations between what the musicians wanted to play and what they were allowed to perform.

The Tajik ensemble Gulshan reflects an institutional approach carried to a high professional level. Formed under television and radio structures, the group treated folk material almost as a written score. Carefully constructed arrangements, close attention to orchestration, and restrained use of pop techniques define their sound. There is less spontaneity here, but a strong sense of discipline and structure, where national melody becomes part of a carefully controlled sonic framework.

Koma Wetan occupies a very different space. Formed in the 1970s, this Kurdish rock group approached poetry and folklore as tools of cultural assertion. Their psychedelic rock never feels like a stylistic borrowing. Instead it functions as a contemporary vessel for language and themes that might otherwise have remained unheard. Even today these recordings sound fragile and stubborn at the same time.

The Uyghur ensemble Yashlik, closely connected to a musical drama theatre, operated somewhere between stage performance and popular music. Their songs are built on folk melodies but shaped for wide audiences. What emerges is a constant attempt to preserve the recognizability of Uyghur musical identity without freezing it in a folkloric frame. Yashlik's music exists in a state of balance between representation and development.

Digging Central Asia does not attempt to establish hierarchies or offer a single wayof listening. Names and dates matter less than the sound itself. Tape noise, abrupt transitions, and unexpected timbres remain part of the material rather than flaws to be corrected. This music existed at the crossroads of multiple routes geographic, cultural, and ideological. Heard today in a new context, it no longer feels peripheral. Instead it stands as a reminder that the history of popular music is far more fragmented, layered, and polyphonic than it is usually allowed to be."

With Zera, Len Faki returns to Figure with a tightly focused EP that moves between raw, driving functionality and more open, atmospheric moments. Across five tracks, he explores variations in groove, tone and energy, balancing direct, floor-ready structures with a more fluid and spacious approach.

Opening cut Maschine Girl locks into a restless, forward-driving groove. Crisp percussion and a tightly coiled low end create immediate momentum, while sharp synth fragments and metallic accents add a nervous edge. The track stays stripped and efficient, letting its steady build and controlled tension carry the energy.
Kobold follows with a darker and more twisted tone. Warped synth figures weave through a heavy rhythmic backbone, giving the track a slightly mischievous character while maintaining a firm, heads-down drive. The interplay between tonal movement and grounded percussion keeps the groove dynamic without breaking its focus.
Closing the A-side, Maschine Girl (Version) revisits the opener from a different angle. Elements are tightened and subtly rebalanced, shifting the emphasis further toward rhythm and direct impact. More reduced and tool-like in nature, it pushes the groove forward with a sharper, club-ready feel.
On the flip, Zera unfolds with a broader sense of space. Hypnotic synth movement and layered atmospheres sit atop a firm low-end framework, gradually building intensity while maintaining a deep, immersive flow. The track thrives on its slow development, drawing the listener further into its evolving structure.
Rounding out the release, Zera (Hardspace Mix) reimagines the original with a heavier, more physical approach. The groove becomes more pronounced and the rhythmic pressure more direct, tightening the structure into a denser, floor-driven tool that emphasises impact and propulsion.
With Zera, Len Faki delivers a cohesive and wide-ranging release that connects raw, driving tools with more expansive, early morning-leaning grooves — further reflecting the breadth and versatility that has defined his output in recent years.

Mutual Rytm spawns new sub-label ‘Versus’ with debut EP from longtime techno associates Regent and Chontane. Continuing to expand its creative world, SHDW’s Mutual Rytm imprint now introduces ‘Versus’ - a new sub- label crafted for creative symbiosis between two artists across one shared release. Opening the series with authority, Regent and Chontane man the debut offering - two close friends and native Berliners who have been shaping techno for more than 15 years. Both long-standing members of the Mutual Rytm family, having released multiple times here before, the pair have always created music informed by life immersed in their local scene. Having both mutually influenced one another over the years, here they present their shared interpretation of techno with individual artistic DNA, forming a unified sound that represents the best of both worlds. Regent goes first, leaning towards functional, anthemic, dance-floor-focused techno. ‘Ephemera’ is tight, minimal but forceful; ‘Slow Burn’ has synth tension rising through the dark, next to glitchy percussion; and ‘Afterglow’ lets in more light, bringing otherworldly synths that hang above the groove and consume your focus. Chontane then explores a more musical and unconventional approach. ‘Plaxaric’ is supple, warm, and deep techno that tunnels into an abyss. ‘Grounding Factor’ is just as economical in design, but with introverted funk and evolving layers of sound. ‘Mental Lab’ spins out into complex rhythms inspired equally by IDM, jungle, and techno. It’s a mental workout as well as a physical one. Both artists add a pair of digital bonus tracks. Regent’s ‘Control Room’ and ‘Rarely Enough’ deliver elevated, hypnotic tools, before Chontane’s ‘Escore’ and ‘Outside In’ bring extroverted drum patterns along with contrasting melodic unease

Pour Me, My Friend, The Nectar of Dionysus PCM004 is a vibrant four-track exploration of deep tech house, crafted with elegance, groove, and an undeniable sense of joy. Rooted in musicality and designed for the dancefloor, this release blends warm, jazz-tinged elements with modern production finesse, offering a rich and uplifting listening experience from start to finish.

On Side A, A1. Andrey Djackonda – Never Disappear and A2. Deep District – Back Room introduce a welcoming atmosphere built on smooth progressions, refined hi-hat work, and dreamy pad textures. The grooves are fluid and inviting, supported by strong basslines and a playful spirit that sets a positive tone from the very first moments — perfect for drawing people onto the dancefloor with ease and charm.

The B-side raises the intensity. B1. Anirr – Still Trying to Be Perfect and B2. Andrey Djackonda – Refresh shift into a more driving, peak-time energy, where tighter rhythms and increased momentum take control. These tracks carry a confident push, designed for those moments when the room is fully alive and the energy calls for a stronger, more direct connection.

Balancing warmth, groove, and power, PCM004 is a well-rounded and versatile EP — an essential addition for those who appreciate house music in its most expressive, dancefloor-ready form.

Panna Cotta Music is a division of MixCult Records

Nightcode EP finds UK deep-house craftsman Jacksonville in full control, lacing warm chords, swinging drums and basslines built for red-lit basements. Across “Nightcode”, “Ecstasy in Starlight”, “Octobers in Love” and “Blind Spot”, he fuses classic Detroit/UK house textures with his own emotional, story-telling touch—timeless deep house for DJs who play past sunrise.

Feedbacks:


Laurent Garnier : Octobers in Love <3 <3 <3
Nick Holder : dope
Gina Breeze (Classic / Get Up / Homoelectric) : Feeling the deepness! Look forward to playing.
Nightmares On Wax (Warp Records) : Ecstasy in starl;ight and Blind spot are my jams !
Josh Wink (Ovum) : Deep, old old school flavored with new school production.
Alexkid (Rawax / FUSE / NG Trax) : Lovely
Lauren Lo Sung (LOLiFE records, e1even records) : Octobers in love is nice!
Dj Hutch (Ambers / Rinse FM) : grooves
Louise Chen (NTS) : This is so so sooo good! Can't wait to play on the radio!
Rob Pearson (Evasive Records / Sine 102.6fm) : Nightcode is the standout for me, will play tonight on Evasive
Eviltron / Paul Donton (Bombis / Triangle) : Blind Spot and Ecstasy in Starlight are the ones on the
D'Julz (Bass Culture) : feeling night code and blind spot . merci!
Junior Sanchez (Strictly Rhythm / Cube Recordings) : Really Cool EP!
DJ Three (Hallucienda.com) : this is all very high quality house that feels very much a
nd_baumecker (Ostgut Ton) : Nightcode and Octobers In Love for me. Quality as usual.
Sasha (Last Night On Earth) : Downloading for Sasha
William Kiss (Rekids) : very nice!
Monty Luke (Rekids / Black Catalogue) : thx for this...
Mystic Bill (Classic / Trax / Relief) : Will try some of these out, thanks!
Carista : beautiful
Crackazat (Freerange / Local Talk) : Sick sick sick
Jhobei (Bizarre Trax / FUSE / Felon 5) : Nice smooth deep
Khadija (Rek'd / Rafiki Collective) : Danke
Ben Sims : Now downloading - will check asap!
DJ Bone (FURTHER) : Very nice tunes here, thanks
Bake (All Caps/Rinse FM) : thank you!
Dj Deep (Deeply Rooted) : very nice tracks!
Oliver $ (Classic Music Company / Play It Down) : nice one!
Tripmastaz (Plant 74) : Nightcode is tight
Harvey Sutherland (MCDE / PPU / Voltaire Records) : couple of nice tunes here!
Anthony Collins (Frank & Tony / Scissor & Thread) : super nice deep tunes
Marcel Dettmann : thx
Voigtmann (Subsequent) : Ecstacy in Starlight is the one!
Gerd (4Lux / Clone) : dope house trax from the phonogramme crew once again!
Groove Armada : Great EP - Love Nightcode, Ocotber is love so good too±
Harri (Sub Club) : nice, will play and support
Jorkes (Freeride Millenium) : ecstasy in starlight..yes yes yes yes
DJ Minx (Women On Wax Recordings) : Every one of these...top tier! I'm on 'em!
DJ Rocca (Nang Records, Mantra Vibes) : Great EP. Nightcode is great, super bassline indeed
Jacques Renault : Ectasy In Starlight for me here!
Geir Aspenes (G-Ha (Sunkissed)) : Thank u
Mark Farina : dig it
Âme (Innervisions) : thanks
Djebali ( ( djebali ) / INFUSE / Freak n Chic) : Love it ! thanks for sharing. Blind Spot is my fav
Jaye Ward (Dalston Super Store / Netil Radio) : wicked release!! night code is a belter!!! thx
Iron Curtis (Mule Musiq, Morris Audio) : thank you!

_NRV011 welcomes Romanian craftsman Firesc for a deep, stripped and deliberate three-track journey built for long blends and late-hour tension.

“Travelling Monk” unfolds across eleven patient minutes — a rolling, meditative groove anchored by subtle low-end pressure and finely detailed percussion. The arrangement breathes, evolves and locks into a steady hypnotic stride designed for extended transitions and heads-down floors.

“Resiclap” tightens the focus. Snapping drums and elastic rhythm work drive the groove forward with crisp minimal precision, balancing restraint with just enough swing to keep things playful.

On remix duties, Andrei Ciubuc reinterprets “Resiclap” with a darker, more driving edge. His version sharpens the rhythmic framework and reinforces the low-end weight, turning it into a focused, late-night weapon without sacrificing the original’s subtlety.

A refined, functional release that stays true to the understated aesthetic _NRV is becoming known for — built for selectors who value patience, space and control.

Trelik is an A-grade label for minimal heads and now the founder, Baby Ford, welcomes back fellow micro-house specialist Ion Ludwig for vital two-tracker. 'It Broke With Speed' starts with jittery rhythms and blurts of synth as the rubbery bass rolls on and the percussion is spindled lightly up top. It's a more fulsome sound than you might expect from this producer but the art is in the intricacies of its layers. 'Archa Edel' on the B is quick and deep, speedy but tightly controlled with fluttering snares peeling off the groove and cosmic whimsy existing in the pads. Classy cuts as always.

In Soft Power, Funk Assault turns their surgical precision toward the invisible forces that shape modern life - control not through force, but through aesthetics, etiquette, and algorithms. Across five tightly woven tracks, the duo dissects how obedience is engineered through desire, conformity, and digital seduction.

From the sterile luxury of Aesthetics of Desire to the algorithmic exhibitionism of Like Me, Watch Me, and the chilling calm of Obedience Spa, this EP is a reflection on how control has evolved -smoother, quieter, but no less powerful. Soft Power invites listeners to dance, reflect, and perhaps notice the strings they didn't know were there.

Future Tones is back... this time with Fdez, label co founder. Four dancefloor killer tracks, and starts with Dr Blowfin, Dark and driving techno house tool. Rolling sub-heavy bassline, tight percussive groove and raw analog synth stabs.

The A2 is for Techcontrol, Stripped and hypnotic. Minimal drum programming layered with evolving analog textures and shadowy vocal fragments.

The other side starts with Sarcofago, Heavy low-end pressure with a punchy groove. Italo-tinged atmospheres and dusty analog sequences create a moody peak-time cut with steady progression.

And B2 is for Zigurat, Killer closer. Deep pulsating bass, restrained percussion and haunting vocal elements floating over warm analog pads. Perfect for late-night transitions and controlled energy shifts.

A concentrated four track showcase extending the warm glow of last summer’s album “Cruise Control” into the spring of 2026. Satin Jackets lines up a heavyweight cast and delivers an EP that moves effortlessly between sunlit elegance and late night force.
A1) Satin Jackets & Kimchii – “Bring On Up Our Love” (Flashbaxx Remix)
Flashbaxx transforms the Satin Jackets and Kimchii track into a driving disco house floor weapon with bright chords and classic dancefloor swagger. Guaranteed to get everyone grooving.
A2) Satin Jackets & Erobique & Thunder – “You Get Me So High”
A radiant meeting of Satin Jackets, Erobique and Thunder that sails between disco, Westcoast soul and soft focus glamour. Built around the 2025 vocal, the trio turn it into a warm and irresistibly smooth homage to timeless Yacht Rock.
B1) Satin Jackets & Nazzereene – “Know Me” (Johannes Albert Remix)
The Berlin producer dives deep into Chicago house aesthetics and delivers a crisp, rolling late night tool that lights up any club at peak time.
B2) Satin Jackets feat. Seint Monet – “Control” (Ceci Remix)
Ceci closes the EP with a dreamy, slow burning rework that wraps Seint Monet’s vocal in hazy pads and gentle after hours warmth.
Extra Mile EP is the kind of twelve inch you do not pass on. A tight, potent combination of artists who elevate each other with ease.

M-Plant's Perpetual Masters series continues throughout 2026 with Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP up next. Remastered once again by legendary German producer, Thomas Heckmann, the individual tracks have been dropping digitally through April and are now followed by a full vinyl release in June.

Robert Hood's "Spectra" EP, originally released in 2001, stands as a defining example of his stripped-back, conceptual approach to techno. It sees Robert Hood operating at his most stripped-down and hypnotic, built from tightly looped drum patterns and shadowy synth fragments that slowly evolve. Hood's precision is evident in every detail, as he balances repetition with crisp percussion and a tightly controlled groove.

More deep, immersive and hard-hitting minimal techno from the master.

Fides Records is ready to introduce the 4th chapter of the10-year anniversary series with. X4 leans into momentum and contrast with its hard-groove pressure, dub-chord depth, and melodic release that showcases a side of the label where functional club tools and emotional storytelling sit naturally together.

Side A begins with Rebecca Delle Piane’s “Genomica”, a driving techno train powered by tightly layered elements and rhythmic tenacity, marking another step forward for one of Italy’s most exciting rising artists. Rorschack follows with “Primeriti”, weaving dubby chords and rolling basslines around a haunting female vocal. Closing the side, Berlin-based SLV lands with “Ritual Resonance”, a hard-groove banger that fuses percussive urgency with dub-chord sophistication.

Flipping to Side B, OFF GRID’s “The Roots” stands out as a colorful, mental hardgroove tool: elegant in detail yet built for drive, striking a heady balance between control and impact. Francesco Devincenti’s “Joanaz” brings trance tinged melodic techno with harmonic depth and cinematic intensity, opening the door to a more emotive register. The record closes with Endrew’s “Alright”, a powerhous

With Severance, IGLO returns to Figure with a focused yet exploratory EP that reflects his open-ended approach to contemporary techno. The release moves fluidly between restraint and expression, combining functional structures with subtle, unconventional elements that give the tracks a distinct sense of character. Rather than settling into a fixed formula, Severance highlights IGLO's curiosity and willingness to push his sound forward while remaining grounded in precision and control.

Connection opens the release with a restrained, heads-down groove. A firm low-end foundation and sparse percussion lock into a steady momentum, while understated melodic elements add depth without breaking the track's linear drive.
On Kauriraris, the energy tightens. Nervous synth motifs and crisp rhythmic details create a sense of urgency, pushing the track forward through constant micro-variation. It's a lean and effective tool built for sustained pressure.
Flipping the record, Blink Twice moves into darker, denser territory. Murky textures and a weighty groove unfold gradually, building tension through repetition and space. The track thrives on its slow burn, making it well-suited for late-night transitions.
Alive introduces a more open and flowing feel. Warmer tonal elements and a subtle swing soften the edges, while the groove remains firmly anchored and forward-moving.
Digital-only track Forlornly closes the EP with a spacious and introspective mood. Reduced rhythms and airy melodic layers create a calm, drifting atmosphere that rounds off the release with control and restraint.
With Severance, IGLO delivers a tightly structured EP that emphasizes clarity, tension and functionality - a confident addition to the Figure catalogue.

Hot Creations Autumn 2025 Vinyl Sampler featuring four of the Hottest recent release on Hot Creations.

When Jamie Jones and Nicole Moudaber first collaborated on Hot Creations in 2020 with ‘Pepper Shake’, five years on, the pair return with ‘Where All My People’, a powerful anthem that merges Jamie’s signature groove-led style with Nicole’s unmistakable drive and energy. The record is further elevated by the infectious vocals of London-based duo House Of Molly, ‘Where All My People’ is a celebration of rhythm, anchored by a rolling bassline and crisp percussion that form a tight, understated groove. House of Molly’s commanding vocal hook runs through the track like a thread of energy, adding a human touch that feels both intimate and anthemic. Marking his second outing on Hot Creations, OMRI. is back with ‘Release The Pressure’, a pulsating, groove-driven heater made for full-throttle moments featuring Benny Ola on vocals. Crisp percussion, hooky vocals, sharp synths, and low-end pressure come together in a track that simmers with controlled intensity.

On the flip Joshwa makes a much-anticipated return to Hot Creations with ‘Lost In Music’ which reimagines a timeless disco classic through a contemporary house lens, delivering textured percussion, sparkling funk-laced synths, and an infectious groove that captures the euphoria of sweat-drenched dancefloors.As Hot Creations celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2025, label co-founder Lee Foss makes a long-awaited return to the imprint for the first time in half a decade with a powerful new collaboration alongside Colorado based talent GS5. ‘In The Ghetto’ hits with low-slung swagger and vibrant vocal energy, channelling a bass-heavy strut and hypnotic vocal loops that nod to early Hot Creations flavours while pushing into contemporary terrain.

Kucera & Delayed Sentence Present the Analog Rhythms EP

Scrap & Delete continues its trajectory as a home for uncompromising techno with the Analog Rhythms EP. A collaborative release from Kucera and Delayed Sentence that merges their respective strengths into a tightly honed four-tracker of futuristic machine music.



Opening cut "Analog Rhythms" sets the tone with raw propulsion and hypnotic focus. Anchored by a driving low end and jagged synth pulses, it balances grit with surgical control. A track built for long blends and warehouse immersion.

"Between Networks" dials into a more kinetic space. Its interlaced groove patterns, off-axis drum programming and haunting vocal grooves create a feeling of constant shift, evoking unstable connections and digital interference while maintaining absolute floor impact.

On "Synthax," the duo lean into sci-fi atmospheres. Bleeding-edge textures swirl through a thickly percussive dancefloor orientated framework, creating a dark yet spacious momentum that's equal parts cerebral and physical.

Closing cut "Twisted Ankl3" is the EP's most unhinged moment. A wonky workout full of broken signal bursts and twitchy rhythmic grooves. It's a subtly evolving sequenced post-industrial DJ tool, leaving dancers disoriented and locked in.

With Analog Rhythms EP, Kucera and Delayed Sentence showcase a shared vision rooted in sonic discipline, hardware fluency, and unrelenting energy. This is high-functioning techno at its most distilled. A perfect fit for Scrap & Delete's refined catalogue.

Four years on from their landmark Grassroots, visionary half-time heavyweights The Untouchables return with their third album, Lost Knowledge. The duo of Kate McGill and Ajit 'Nitrox' Steyns have carved out a space in modern D&B all their own, building on a legacy that reaches back to the late 00s to keep pushing into unexplored terrain with an assured and deadly line in rhythmic intrigue and atmospheric immersion.

Lost Knowledge launches into action instantly with the high-pressure drum science and dubby splashes of 'Drunken Bells', capturing the loopy techno propulsion and rolling intensity that drives so much of the output on Samurai Music. Where The Untouchables excel is in finding variety and nuance in their relatively forbidding, pared down sound. The heads-down groove of 'Mafia Town' owes as much to dembow and dancehall as D&B, while 'Lost Knowledge' spirals out into psychoactive flurries of synth strafes and organic percussion slathered in tight-locked delay trails. There's no light relief from strident hooks or riffs, just a pure, unshakeable commitment to the power of the beat and deeply designed layers of sound shaping out the space around.

'Busy Bones' makes space for carefully deployed hints of pad tone while the snares snap out of the mix with a sharp set of teeth. 'Four Eared Demon' baits the gabber crowd with its rapid-fire 4/4 hats atop seasick creaks across the midrange, keeping subtlety and patience in the lower frequencies to maintain the signature elegance readily associated with The Untouchables. 'Phase Correlation' teases an artfully unhinged ripple of synth that stands out amongst the murky murmurs filling out the middle distance, but it's still exercised with brutal precision.

Nothing happens by accident or feels out of place - McGill and Steyns are in total control, and they demonstrate incredible range and inventive approaches within their focused style. The accent of the grooves shifts, and individual sounds carry all kinds of artefacts, yet everything gets folded into the exacting Untouchables sound with a liberal dubwise sensibility. Brimming with inspiration and immaculately produced, on Lost Knowledge their one-of-a-kind sound is stronger than ever.

Introducing OBI02 – Plight of the Gifted EP by TB Shine, the second release on
Dutch-label OBI Trackz.

Operating under various aliases since the early 2000s, TB Shine is one of the many expressions of Norwegian artist Terje Bakke. Plight of the Gifted EP holds five tracks that drift between hypnotic minimalism and raw percussive workouts, told through disjointed rhythms, haunting atmospheres, and layered tension.

The A side kicks off with Dopamine Dungeon—a slippery, low-end-driven roller wrapped in hazy textures and unstable euphoria. The track traps the listener in a quirky haunt, like the title describes accordingly. Red Army Moody Troopers follows with a tougher edge: straight drums, spectral pads, and an undercurrent of unrest. It’s a track that marches forward but never fully lands, suspended in an unresolved urgency.

On the B side, Plight of the Gifted appears in two versions. The original leans into emotional melodic motifs and fragmented structures, evoking both vulnerability and defiance. The Haunted Version strips things back further—bleeding with space, odd grooves, and a kind of post-club phychosis that lingers long after. Closing the EP is Plague Doctor, a slow-burning piece where a hopeful melody echoes and distant percussion round off the release with a sense of closure while being wrapped in a warm blanket.

With Plight of the Gifted EP, TB Shine offers a layered and personal collection— one that walks the tightrope between control and collapse, rhythm and mood. A fitting next step for Obi Trackz: cryptic, cinematic, and carved with intent.

The Rituals series rises again, a fresh strike carved deep into black wax. RITUAL12 summons an international assembly of techno insurgents from the OMEN roster, each delivering their own sonic rite. Across two sides, the intent is absolute: raw, unfiltered power pulled from the shadows and unleashed on the dance floor.
RITUAL12 is not a compilation, it’s a convocation. Forged in analogue heat, drenched in distortion, and aimed directly at the heart of the floor, this record demands full surrender. Step in. There is no turning back.
SIDE A
Swarm Intelligence – Inexorable
Berlin’s Swarm Intelligence ignites the record with precision-tooled percussion and fractured basslines. Polyrhythmic tension winds tighter with every measure, industrial grit locking into a cybernetic march toward total hypnosis.
B.A.R.K – Shikijitsu
A bone-rattling invocation of distorted low-end and ceremonial drums. B.A.R.K drives forward like ancient machinery grinding to life, a Japanese primal energy sharpened to a deadly edge.
Axkan + Duellist – Resilence
Mexico meets Scotland for a brutalist assault: hammering kicks, serrated synth textures, and walls of analogue saturation. No safe passage here, only forward momentum into the heart of chaos.
SIDE B
EAS – Honored One
From Los Angeles, EAS delivers a tense, ritualistic construction where a subterranean EBM bassline pulses through metallic drones. Hypnotic, uneasy, and charged with controlled dissonance.
Ha†elove + Ogmah – Hanged Bodies
A dark ceremonial groove, heavy with ritual percussion and spectral synth chants. The layers rise to a fever pitch, blurring the line between transcendence and collapse.
Crystal Geometry + Axkan – Kratom
France’s Crystal Geometry joins Axkan for a militaristic strike of modular chaos and pummeling drums. EBM infused basslines drive beneath razor-sharp synth fire, rallying the midnight faithful to the front lines.

The black and white hoverbike flew out of the fog at breakneck speed and raced through the neon-lit urban jungle of the Havan metropolis. It manoeuvred steadily between the skyscrapers, trying to throw off the tail of the corporal's convoy, which was getting closer by the moment, preventing it from sneaking away with the seemingly easy-to-get Zero-G prototype. This weapon could create an anti-gravity field with a single shot and disable even the largest battle cruiser. That's why an elite squad of cyber-soldiers equipped with modified implants and gadgets was sent in pursuit not to allow them to ease off for a second.


With a sharp steering wheel jerk, Spacelunch turned off the main street and into a narrow alley. "Your turn!" – He shouted insistently over the engine's roar. Cat rose from the back seat, took aim, and deftly fired his blaster. In a pall of sparks and smoke, the pursuer's hoverbike spun out of control and crashed into the building. Gritting their teeth, the friends raced through the winding maze of obstacles and tight turns. All senses were heightened with excitement. They could see a gap ahead and a way out into the slums.


Suddenly, a heavily armed police drone blocked the road, aiming its red gun lights at them. Spacelunch decisively grabbed Cat and jumped into the so-fortunately spotted sewer manhole, barely managing to dodge the gunfire barrage. After landing in a pitch-dark narrow tunnel, they moved on, with every step feeling the growing tension in the air and realizing that they could be found out at any moment. The darkness seemed endless. The only consolation was that they had the prototype in their hands, and now all they had to do was get to the spaceship and get off this freaking planet.

Selekt Wax returns with its second vinyl offering, shifting the lens from introspection toward motion. Where its predecessor explored stillness and space, Varginha 96 leans into rhythm with a more fluid, tactile energy.

Loopedeville works within a minimal framework but pushes it toward something more animated. Groove takes the lead, while detail reveals itself gradually. The result is playful but controlled, built for movement while still carrying depth beneath the surface.

Inspired by the 1996 Varginha incident in Brazil, the record carries a subtle sense of the otherworldly. Not in a literal sense, but in texture. Unfamiliar tones, slightly off center moments, and elements that feel just outside of reach.

Etched on the sleeve, a poem sets the tone:

the analog moment is now
but, how? release
free form feelings finding
new places in yourself
a sort of synthesis
of interpretations
crash & collide
into the infinite groove of reality
but, is anything really real?

A1 – Varginha 96
A breakbeat driven opener centered on a looping vocal from the Varginha ‘96 incident. Off kilter synth textures circle the groove, giving it a subtle, otherworldly feel. Simple on the surface, with depth that reveals itself over time.

A2 – Varginha 96 (Ohm Hourani Remix)
Ohm takes it into a more stripped back, hypnotic space. Centered around the same vocal, the track locks into repetition and feel. Hazy, controlled, and built for late hours.

B1 – Thunders in Paradise
A driving groove built on dusty drums and a tightly controlled rhythm. It holds a steady pulse, with understated details and shifting textures giving it quiet depth.

B2 – Never Enough
A fluid, late night groove shaped by Loopedeville’s signature swing. Less driving than the previous cut, but still locked in, with warm tones and an easy bounce that carries through.

A sonic journey that feels both intimate and expansive, Inigo Lunani drifts between late-night introspection and dancefloor euphoria. The album blends minimal grooves and warm tones into a cohesive narrative that feels alive—constantly evolving, yet grounded in emotion.

Each track unfolds like a fragment of memory: hazy, rhythmic, and slightly surreal. There’s a tension between control and spontaneity, where tight percussive patterns meet playful, almost careless melodies. The result is music that invites movement but rewards deep listening—equally at home in a dark club or through headphones at sunrise.

Inigo Lunani isn’t just about sound; it’s about identity in motion. It captures the feeling of searching, of becoming, of existing somewhere between who you were and who you’re about to be.

EVPHORIA is not just a record. It’s a trigger.
140 BPM of tension, ascent and release — engineered to push the dancefloor into collective hypnosis.

Balancing power house propulsion, techno pulse and large-scale emotional lift, the track transforms a strangely familiar sensation into something raw, direct and uncompromising. No nostalgia — only forward motion. A rise that refuses to come down.

The original version unfolds as a sustained euphoric surge: driving percussion, insistent hooks and controlled repetition built for peak-time unity.
The edit version distills that energy into a tighter DJ weapon — immediate, sharp, floor-focused.

On the B-side, Inflammable Noise appears in its instrumental form — pure club mechanics, no vocals, no distraction. A stripped version that amplifies tension and turns the track into a true dancefloor weapon. Already tested in demanding environments, it notably detonated a peak-time moment when Chloé Caillet played it at Berghain — a point where the room tipped over.

EVPHORIA moves freely across scenes — from house floors pushing tempo to techno basements and high-intensity dance spaces — built for DJs chasing the rupture point.

Pressed in a strict limited edition.
Vinyl only — no digital release.

Created under the EVPHORIA imprint by Hardrock Striker — dancefloor architect and driving force behind the Skylax universe — this release stands as a physical, autonomous club statement.
Sleeve artwork by H5 (Daft Punk, Air, Étienne de Crécy, Logorama, Kanye West / Adidas), reinforcing EVPHORIA as both a sonic and visual manifesto.

EVPHORIA doesn’t ask permission.
EVPHORIA triggers.
A record for the moment the room tips over.

"Anti Todo" is Eskorbuto's most celebrated album, recorded in the shortest time imaginable and released in 1985. It shows what the Spanish punk band did best: hitting the studio with as much raw energy, provocation, inspiration, and natural talent as possible. A new remastering for this edition has given the album the richer, more vibrant sound it always deserved. We can once again enjoy the urgency, simplicity, and rage of this refreshed "Anti Todo", a true classic recorded at Eskorbuto's peak of their creativity and energy. It includes a large poster and insert with notes. DESCRIPTION 1985 was a landmark year for punk rock in the Basque country, and possibly for the whole of Spain. Punk merged with the Basque Radical Rock (Rock Radikal Vasco or RRV) movement, although this was not necessarily always the case. For instance, Eskorbuto invariably kept their distance from the movement and everything related to it. Hardship was part and parcel of Eskorbuto's life and musical career. All their albums were recorded in the shortest time imaginable, partly due to tight budgets (studios were expensive, labels were close-fisted), and partly because Josu and Jualma needed to spend the money on other things_ When it came to recording "Anti Todo", Eskorbuto stuck to what they did best: hitting the studio with as much raw energy, provocation, inspiration, and natural talent as possible. It was their best record and we have to ask: what would Eskorbuto have been capable of if they had more time, a bigger budget, and tighter control? The song 'Tamara' was practically composed on the spot in the studio in less than two recording days, as was much of 'Ha llegado el momento'. The experienced sound technician did an outstanding job, but a new remastering for this rerelease has given the album the richer, more vibrant sound it always deserved. We can once again enjoy the urgency, simplicity, and rage of this refreshed "Anti Todo", a true classic in our musical history, originally released in 1985 at Eskorbuto's peak of their creativity and energy. This edition of the album includes a large poster and insert with notes.

A shift in perception, a rupture in the known-Isabel Soto carves a new space within the abyss with Habitat Alteration. Sine Space 7 is very proud to present the latest EP by Isabel Soto, reinforced with a remix by the fantastic Elisa Batti.
Available on vinyl and digital on the 17th of May. This latest EP is an exploration of tension, with the distinctive hypnotic pulses that are so characteristic of Soto.

With a meticulous blend of deep, rolling basslines and unsettling, high-pressure pad textures, Soto orchestrates an environment where time distorts and the senses unravel. The EP's sound design is razor-sharp, each element precisely
crafted to immerse the listener in a state of heightened awareness-dark, brooding, and unrelenting.

Elisa Batti steps in with a remix that tightens the grip, amplifying the tension while injecting more rawness into one of Soto's tracks. Sculpting the original's ghostly elements into an even sharper and hard-hitting framework, Batti's interpretation is a masterclass in controlled intensity, leaving no escape from the spiraling hypnosis. This is techno for those who seek the darkness, a sonic habitat where alteration is inevitable.

Chalo & Vell return with Made From Moss Volume 2, marking the next step in their collaborative EP series. This four-track of club rollers explores a range of styles and tempos, each track anchored by distinctive rhythms and textures aimed squarely at the dancefloor.

Bangkok, despite being a bustling metropolis, boasts a music scene that feels as intimate and vibrant as those found in smaller European cities. It’s a place where local creatives from various disciplines come together, leaving their artistic imprint across the city. This collaborative energy resonates through Boiled Wonderland’s catalog, which features artists like DOTT, Sarayu, and Chalo—pioneers of Thailand’s burgeoning underground music movement. Both DOTT and Sarayu are co-founders of the record store and label More Rice Records, while Chalo plays a pivotal role as the mastering engineer at Thailand’s pressing plant, Resurrecc. It’s here that the Made From Moss project took root.

While Boiled Wonderland continues to champion eclectic and boundary-pushing music, its sonic direction has evolved to embrace a more dancefloor-oriented approach. This shift reflects the label’s immersion in Bangkok’s electrifying club culture and the inspiration drawn from the city’s warm, sunlit atmosphere.

The Made From Moss series emerged from a creative dialogue between Chalo and label founder Vell. Moss, with its simplicity yet dynamic nature, became the symbolic foundation for a series focused on rhythmically driven, danceable tracks. This vision also sparked the creation of Mosspit events and welcomed MetalMetal as a core contributor.

Chalo’s opener, Feeling, weaves house-inflected vocals with acid synth lines, building a steady groove that carries effortlessly to the finish. Tolerance Break follows, layering dynamic snares, tight breaks, and basslines that pulse with energy. On the B-side, Vell leads with The Ship Rolls Through, a euphoric roller balanced by flickering sound effects that keep the track grounded. Back To Normality closes the EP, leaning into progressive tones with bouncing bass lines that sizzle toward a breaking point, bringing the EP to a close.

The record is already receiving support from the likes of: Ploy, Mixtress, Raresh, Space Dimension Controller, Jennifer Cardini, Answer Code Request and many more.

Hailing from Playa Del Carmen, Mexico our dude Hotmood keeps it funky with his 'Baby Come Down EP'! Hot off his multi pressing sellout release on Blur Records Hotmood gets straight to the funk with the title track 'Baby Come Down'. All heat for your feet for this jam! House music legend DJ Sneak comes correct with his bangin floor stomper B.B.B. (Big Boss Bizness) Remix of 'Baby Come Down'. Peak time biz right here, bang it out! Back to the Hotmood sure fire floor filler 'Disco Lady' with baseline for days, and a catchy spoken word over steamy funk filled disco heat. Natural Rhythm kicks in the cruise control as we hit high velocity with a deep and funky slice & dice of 'Disco Lady'. Heavy drum work and tight percussion is the call with this cleverly woven gem that’ll fill the floor and get em moving! Next up we have the House music icon Nail of Robsoul, Classic and Diy fame with his 'Fleng EP'.

"‘Soil’ by Amsterdam-based producer and musician Jelee is heavily influenced by video game world-building. Like a beat alchemist, he carefully pours his love for beats into his lifelong passion for video game soundtracks. That far exceeds your typical 8-bits and bobs: Soil unfolds like a challenging adventure game, held together by a sonic palette of hip-hop-minded drum programming, jazz-inspired chords, and synthesized sounds.

The album features tight-knit homegrown collaborations with jazz multi-instrumentalist Guido Hoek, rising deejay Jerrau, producer lofi prototype (“one of Amsterdam’s best-kept secrets when it comes to beatmaking,” says Jelee), deejay, producer, and keyboardist Mo Wrights, and singer Erosi. With influences ranging from Brainfeeder’s roster to Zelda games, Jelee presents a multifaceted take on music.

Jelee’s music has been featured on compilations by Resilienza Records, Stamp The Wax, and Carista’s ‘Modern Intimacy Volume 1.’ Jelee is also known for his expressive live sets, such as the support act for Onra, Samiyam, and Salami Rose Joe Louis."

Some records just stop you in your tracks. They resonate with you and feel instantly familiar like an old friend, even on the first listen. SOYUZ's third album ‘Force of the Wind’ is one of those records. It holds all the trademarks, beauty, and eccentricities of classic Brazilian recordings, from the 60s and 70s, that we have come to love. Think artists such as Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Burnier e Cartier, Arthur Verocai et al. But this record wasn’t made in Brazil and is in fact a brand-new release.

SOYUZ (which translates as 'union') is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, led by composer, arranger, and singer, Alex Chumak, multi-instrumentalist, Mikita Arlou, and drummer, Anton Nemahai. SOYUZ's previous albums explored and reimagined the legacy of jazz-oriented, non-English-language pop music of the 20th century. For their third album, there is a stronger focus, and it is influenced by 70s Música popular Brasileira and building bridges from it to present-day Belarus. Alex notes that from the moment he first encountered Brazilian music, he found in it a kind of concentrated emotion that felt as if it were familiar to him from his childhood. This non-verbal emotion and connection between the listener and musician echoes in the music, regardless of understanding of the language the album is recorded in.

‘Force of the Wind’ includes songs sung in Russian and Portuguese as well as instrumental compositions. Its musical palette is both acoustic and electroacoustic: rich warm Rhodes piano, soaring string arrangements, and a controlled drum swagger sounding both relaxed yet super tight. Alongside Alex's sublime vocals, that grace the majority of the tracks, the album features guest performances by multi-talented musician and vocalist Kate NV and rising Brazilian star, Sessa. Alex also recently arranged a number of tracks on Sessa's highly praised 2022 album 'Estrela Acesa'.

On the album, the trio is joined by a cast of friends; NY-based musician of Turkish origin percussionist, Cem Mısırlıoğlu, classically trained composer, Simon Hanes, who aided with string arrangements and conducting the string players, Netherlands-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, Gabriel Milliet, on flutes. With the collaboration of these friends SOYUZ have created nine songs/suites that are subtle and plenitude and like the best albums, leave you aching for more.

‘Force of the Wind’ is an enigma, Brazilian yet not Brazilian, vintage yet still contemporary, out of sync with modern culture yet completely relevant and necessary.

It’s time for the label founders to take control over our spaceship. Clusterhead offers four slices of proper abstract techno for those who know.
Release starts with Alteración del orden: a broken kick spiced with elastic synth washes and microdrones sets the pace while the rest of the percussive elements appear softly in the arrangement. The main sequence grows and mutates as minutes go by, reverb and stereo treatment goes heavier until repetition makes the desired effect on the virtual dancefloor.
Second cut Resiliencia Incesante again relies on broken kicks and processed synth lines. The BPM rate is higher here and the percussive elements are snapper and tighter. Sounds twist and change over time as the frequency range grows. An industrial ode to obscurity.
On the flip side, Automutilación creativa brings us again into oblivion, shuffled grooves obsessive sequences continuously moving and high pitched synthetic drums running through the stereo field.
Closing the release we have Notzing on board, still recovering from his amazing experimental work on our label, we give him again the commands of our spaceship to translate his mental obsessions in this superb rework of Automutilación creativa.
One more time we push the sound boundaries on behalf of timeless futuristic music in touchable format.
ESPAÑOL
Es hora de que los fundadores del sello tomen el control de nuestra nave
espacial. Clusterhead ofrece cuatro rebanadas de techno abstracto para aquellos que saben de lo que hablamos.
El disco comienza con Alteración del orden: ritmos rotos condimentados con sonidos elásticos de sintetizador y microdrones marcando el ritmo, mientras que el resto de los elementos percusivos aparecen suavemente en el arreglo. La secuencia principal crece y muta a medida que pasan los minutos, la reverberación y el tratamiento estéreo se vuelven más presentes hasta que la repetición produce el efecto deseado en la pista de baile virtual.
Como segundo corte Resiliencia Incesante nuevamente se basa en bombos rotos y líneas de sintetizador procesadas. La tasa de BPM es más alta aquí y los elementos de percusión son más rápidos y ajustados.
Los sonidos se retuercen y cambian con el tiempo a medida que aumenta el rango de frecuencia. Una oda industrial a la oscuridad.
En la cara B, Automutilación creativa nos trae de nuevo al lado oscuro, grooves mezclados, secuencias obsesivas en continuo movimiento y percusiones sintéticas de alto rango recorriendo el campo estéreo.
Cerrando el lanzamiento tenemos a Notzing a bordo, todavía recuperándonos de su asombroso trabajo experimental en nuestro sello, le damos de nuevo los comandos de nuestra nave espacial para plasmar sus obsesiones mentales en esta soberbia reelaboración de Automutilación creativa.
Una vez más empujamos los límites del sonido en nombre de la música futurista atemporal en formato táctil.

Italy's Di Saronno (can you see what he did there? Almond liqueur? No?) drops a couple of nicely raw house jams here and the first one features Parris Mitchell. 'Street Walls' has swirling melodies lopping endlessly in the midst of big, lolloping kicks and chopped up vocals bring some playful vibes. 'Out Of Control' is more tight and tech-y - constructed under Di Saronno's Mindbuster alter-ego - with a jazz-inflected but tough MAW style groove and horns up top, adding a softer, more musical counter point. Last of all is Di Saronno's On The Rocks mix of a much loved Inland Knights tune, 'Like This', which flips it into a filter-heavy house jam with swing, jazz and the sort of energy you want in cosy back rooms.

Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!

2026 Repress

SK_eleven celebrates a decade of sonic exploration with a 13-track compilation showcasing its signature tension, technical discipline, and stylistic spectrum. Reuniting a tight circle of artists whose contributions have helped shape the label, the release offers an unrelenting sequence of pressure, mental twists, and textural collisions; a multifaceted snapshot of techno's enduring capacity to evolve, disturb, and seduce.

The compilation resists uniformity. Instead, it thrives on contrast: tension versus release, density against spaciousness, rhythm in all its permutations. From high-energy metallic openers and dub-inflected body rollers, to disorienting, delay-heavy experiments and stripped-back percussive tools, each contribution reveals a unique grip on groove and detail. Some tracks move like engineered machines: sharp, robotic, and syncopated to surgical precision. Others embrace sensuality and unpredictability, exploring spatial motion, layered harmonic friction, and states of controlled chaos. Each piece acts as a structural component in a larger sonic architecture, where tension is built, collapsed, and rebuilt. Friction becomes a form of choreography. Across the record, a shifting palette of emotional mechanisms takes form; granular and magnetic, haunting and quietly forceful, restrained, then disruptive.

More than a retrospective, SK_eleven's first compilation becomes a collective gesture toward techno's unresolved possibilities: its ability to hold contradiction, remain in flux, and mutate without conclusion.

When Ryan DeRobertis announced the name change of his project from Saint Pepsi to Skylar Spence, there was no indication of any stylistic departure, though the change arrived with a musical shift toward faster tempos and more pristine production. Whereas Saint Pepsi had often used decades-old boogie, disco, and new wave as grist for the sampling mill, Skylar Spence is intent on trafficking more overtly in those genre aesthetics through his own production techniques and vocal contributions. With Prom King, DeRobertis reorients his music for his new full-band live act and winds up with an album full of tight and enveloping dance tunes.

Working with Carpark Records 'gave me the confidence to 'go big' with the new material: to write pop songs with universal messages in the sonic wrapping paper that I've grown accustomed to,' DeRobertis says. 'A few songs on Prom King are about specific events in my life—a party where I got too messed up, watching a friend's life spiral out of control and trying to help—but I tried hard not to be too autobiographical because I want my music to unite, above all else. I'm much more interested in connecting with the listener than mystifying my personality.'

While DeRobertis' previous long-players have been more amorphous collections in the style of beat tapes, Prom King is compact and cohesive, with the album's varied stylistic references (new wave, UK garage, boogie) united through strong guitar melodies and Todd Edwards-ian cobblings-together of tiny vocal samples. 'I slowed some music down and called myself an artist,' DeRobertis sings on lead single 'Can't You See,' acknowledging in his lyrics what is already apparent in the music's tone—he can maintain fidelity to his vision while working in more uptempo, disco-based song structures.

'Ridiculous!' and 'Bounce Is Back' are big groovers that capitalize on jacking hi-hats and hand drumming, respectively, and both have an air of Balearic warmth and smoothness. On the title track, DeRobertis entwines a chorus of unintelligible but expressive samples with his own vocals—what feels like a synthesis of two approaches—and the result is an affecting pattern of build and release. More contemplative sophisti-pop numbers like 'Fall Harder' and 'Affairs' add a realist's breadth of scope: thoughts of past foibles bleed into present-dwelling and dancing.

Prom King is DeRobertis making sense of missed opportunities. His high school did not have a prom king; he has filled the position with an imaginative album of personal and musical revisionism.

Red Axes step into the fabric presents series with a release that feels both inevitable and deeply personal. Known for their hypnotic, psychedelic approach to club music, the Tel Aviv–based duo bring a narrative-driven sensibility that aligns seamlessly with fabric’s legacy of long-form storytelling and forward-thinking curation.

Across years of performances at fabric and other key global institutions, Red Axes have developed a reputation for sets that unfold patiently and unpredictably, drawing dancers into a world where groove, tension, and atmosphere take precedence over genre or trend. Their contribution to the fabric presents series reflects this ethos: a carefully sculpted journey that prioritises mood, momentum, and emotional depth, while remaining firmly rooted in the physical language of the dancefloor.

Formed by Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi, Red Axes emerged from Tel Aviv’s underground with a sound shaped by post-punk, acid, krautrock, and cosmic disco influences. Over the past decade, they have built a catalogue defined by raw textures, twisted melodies, and a distinctly human looseness, qualities that translate as powerfully in the club as they do on record. Their releases and remixes for labels such as Phantasy, Correspondant, Running Back, Dark Entries, and Permanent Vacation have established them as artists who consistently operate just outside the expected.

As DJs, Red Axes are celebrated for their ability to stretch time on the dancefloor, weaving obscure selections, unreleased material, and leftfield classics into slow-burning, trance-inducing narratives. This approach has seen them invited to venues and festivals including Panorama Bar, De School, Bassiani, Dekmantel, Sonar, and Primavera Sound, where their sets are defined not by peaks alone, but by the tension built between them.

With the forthcoming fabric presents Red Axes release, the duo deliver a statement that captures years of shared musical intuition and a deep respect for the club as a communal, transformative space. It is a mix that rewards close listening as much as physical immersion, a snapshot of Red Axes at their most focused, expressive, and uncompromising.

To mark the launch of their forthcoming fabric presents album, the duo unveil the lead single, “Hot Rod To Hell”, a bold reworking of Man Parrish and Roy Garrett’s 14-minute spoken-word electro epic, reimagined through Red Axes’ signature psychedelic lens.

Stripped back and refocused, the original’s narrative tension is transformed into a hypnotic, downtempo house track built for late-night immersion. A rolling, elastic groove anchors the track, while pulsing low-end, subtly warped synth lines, and tightly controlled percussion create a sense of slow, smouldering momentum. The spoken vocal elements drift through the mix like fragments of memory, lending the track a ritualistic, cinematic quality without overwhelming the dancefloor.

Regal delivers his first full EP on Backspin, marking a defining moment for the label he founded. More than just another release, the Forgotten Heroes EP captures the essence of Regal's vision: groovy, forward-moving techno that balances raw club energy with atmosphere, emotion and narrative.

The title track 'Forgotten Heroes' sets the EP in motion with a sense of controlled urgency. A rolling, slightly breaktinged groove pushes forward relentlessly, while an eerie, almost nostalgic synth melody hovers in the background, giving the track an emotional pull. 'Concentrate' shifts the focus inward_ bleeping motifs, tight claps and restless hihats circle around spoken fragments that feel like thoughts caught between the peak of the night and the quiet hours before sunrise.

On the B-side, 'Forte' accelerates into pure momentum: sharp, bleep-led sequences and forward pressure combine into a rush that feels like racing through the city at night. 'Soft Killer' deepens the mood with a darker, dominant edge, its stripped back power and razor-sharp sounds cutting clean through the mix. Closing track 'Wild Magic' offers a final release of tension, slowing the pace into a lighter, more house-leaning groove. Warm pads and a catchy, uplifting melody bring a sense of air and openness, letting the EP drift out on a hopeful, almost euphoric note.

Regal's comeback EP 'Forgotten Heroes' stands as a personal statement and a cornerstone release for Backspin. It's techno built on groove, contrast and character, made to leave a lasting impression on the dancefloor.

Longtime friend of the label Eraserhead returns after over a decade away from producing music due to his surreal MS Paint work as 'Jim'll Paint It' becoming an unexpected cultural phenomenon. With his debut full-length, 'Violence', Eraserhead presents a truly eclectic electronic LP featuring collaborations with established producers such as Om Unit, Enduser, and Brain Rays, as well as the vocal talents of Nadia Rose, Beans (of Antipop Consortium), and Cadence Weapon. An album held together by theme and tone rather than style or tempo, 'Violence' is the culmination of a bitter wave of inspiration, initially conceived in the wake of a personal tragedy that quickly grew into a broader polemic about the state of the world.

Originally linking up with Love Love in its breakcore netlabel infancy with his refined, breaks-heavy breakcore/gabba, Eraserhead's flair for tight, intricate productions was evident in his finely tuned tracks of controlled chaos. This time around, his work is a darker, more expansive evolution of his sound, with the scale upsized and the stylistic scope massively broadened, remaining unfaithful to any single genre, but with firm nods to Breakcore, Grime, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, Dubstep, and Footwork, all chewed up with a hard industrial edge and cinematically framed by a backdrop of apocalyptic synths.

Opening with the cold tech-noir of 'Shining Brainless Beacon' to set the tone, the album quickly locks in with the blistering spoken-word headrush of 'Hurricane With Teeth' alongside rapper Beans, before Om Unit lends his expertise on the sharp groove and clinical bass blasts of 'Operation Hardtack'. The album shifts and morphs constantly throughout the runtime, moving from the raw and urgent acid techno of 'Crowd Control' to the crunching military march of the Gore Tech collaboration 'No More Worlds' and the tribal sci-fi footwork of the Brain Rays collaboration 'Night Visions'. 'Monolith' provides a final burst of catharsis, channelling Underworld by way of Nine Inch Nails, complete with writhing screams from Amée Chanter of sludge-punk-noise-rock duo Human Leather, before the heart of the album is laid bare with the painfully bleak closing dirge of 'Animal'. In its final moments, 'Violence' leaves the listener suspended between devastation and awe - an unflinching portrait of an uncaring world.

Longtime friend of the label Eraserhead returns after over a decade away from producing music due to his surreal MS Paint work as 'Jim'll Paint It' becoming an unexpected cultural phenomenon. With his debut full-length, 'Violence', Eraserhead presents a truly eclectic electronic LP featuring collaborations with established producers such as Om Unit, Enduser, and Brain Rays, as well as the vocal talents of Nadia Rose, Beans (of Antipop Consortium), and Cadence Weapon. An album held together by theme and tone rather than style or tempo, 'Violence' is the culmination of a bitter wave of inspiration, initially conceived in the wake of a personal tragedy that quickly grew into a broader polemic about the state of the world.

Originally linking up with Love Love in its breakcore netlabel infancy with his refined, breaks-heavy breakcore/gabba, Eraserhead's flair for tight, intricate productions was evident in his finely tuned tracks of controlled chaos. This time around, his work is a darker, more expansive evolution of his sound, with the scale upsized and the stylistic scope massively broadened, remaining unfaithful to any single genre, but with firm nods to Breakcore, Grime, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, Dubstep, and Footwork, all chewed up with a hard industrial edge and cinematically framed by a backdrop of apocalyptic synths.

Opening with the cold tech-noir of 'Shining Brainless Beacon' to set the tone, the album quickly locks in with the blistering spoken-word headrush of 'Hurricane With Teeth' alongside rapper Beans, before Om Unit lends his expertise on the sharp groove and clinical bass blasts of 'Operation Hardtack'. The album shifts and morphs constantly throughout the runtime, moving from the raw and urgent acid techno of 'Crowd Control' to the crunching military march of the Gore Tech collaboration 'No More Worlds' and the tribal sci-fi footwork of the Brain Rays collaboration 'Night Visions'. 'Monolith' provides a final burst of catharsis, channelling Underworld by way of Nine Inch Nails, complete with writhing screams from Amée Chanter of sludge-punk-noise-rock duo Human Leather, before the heart of the album is laid bare with the painfully bleak closing dirge of 'Animal'. In its final moments, 'Violence' leaves the listener suspended between devastation and awe - an unflinching portrait of an uncaring world.

A label long synonymous with raw, off-centre electronics and uncompromising club tools, Bjarki’s bbbbbb recors welcomes a producer whose approach feels cut from the same cloth, London’s Henry Greenleaf. In an era where functionality often outweighs feeling, ‘Brawn’ is a record that doesn’t court approval; it insists on impact. Built for high-pressure systems and low ceilings, it channels force not as spectacle, but as design.

Greenleaf’s catalogue to date, spanning labels such as Par Avion, YUKU, and ARTS, sketches a restless trajectory between precision and collapse. His productions operate where rhythm becomes architecture: kicks land like poured concrete, subs buckle and flex beneath shifting percussive grids, and textures are stretched until they fray at the edges. Sound is treated as a physical material, layered and stress-tested, reshaped until the familiar mutates into something tactile and strange.

Across the EP, that philosophy takes full form. A1 ‘Brawn’ sets the tone with dense, piston-like drums and tightly coiled low-end pressure, balancing brute force with meticulous spatial control. ‘Jump Up To Be’ follows with a more fractured swing, percussive shards ricocheting across a framework that feels perpetually on the verge of rupture. On the flip, ‘Gawk’ strips things back to skeletal components, carving negative space between distorted pulses and menacing, warped rhythmic figures, before ‘UNTUNTUNT’ closes the record in driving fashion, delivering a raw, functional workout that reduces the groove to its bluntest, most hypnotic form.

True to the label’s ethos, ‘Brawn’ doesn’t chase trends or smooth its edges. It folds air and pressure into motion, pares club music down to its working parts, and leaves room for spontaneous chaos to erupt within the grid; moments where structure splinters, energy misbehaves, and control gives way just enough to keep things volatile. Engineered yet unpredictable, utilitarian yet unruly, the EP embodies the tension, unpredictability, and uniqueness that have long defined bbbbbb recors.

KALEIDOBOLT’s fifth album is pungent to the ears – KARAKUCHI out in March Karakuchi is one record you can judge by its cover. The first time Kaleidobolt’s faces have adorned an LP, they have been fused into a torpedoing biomechanical vehicle. Echoing The Birthday Party’s Junkyard or Motörhead’s Orgasmatron (…on acid?!), the illustration epitomises perfectly Kaleidobolt’s agenda of “hyperkinetic rock”. Their feverish, psych-prog sound is full of motion. It jerks around at different speeds, threatening to spin out of control and crash into flames at any given moment. What’s more, it isn’t taken too seriously. This is heavy and intricate music, yes. But as bassist and co-singer Marco Menestrina puts it, the Kaleidobolt attitude is “an ugly smirk more than an angry face with a fist.” On their fifth album since forming in 2014, the Helsinki-based outfit lean into their strengths as a formidable power trio. With their previous two records, 2019’s Bitter and 2022’s This One Simple Trick, they had thrown everything at their disposal into the recording with no expense spared on overdubs, effects and kitchen sinks. Produced again by Niko Lehdontie (Oranssi Pazuzu), Karakuchi comes from tightly rehearsed, live-in-the-studio takes. Kaleidobolt realise that greater sparsity can be a strength, and they’ve allowed their instruments extra space to breathe. It makes for their earthiest, purest and perhaps most authentic record to date. Karakuchi’s exuberant style emerges from the individual members’ contrasting listening habits. These span classic prog, Japanese city pop, noise rock, post-hardcore and historical podcasts. One record they can all agree is a masterpiece, the centre of the Venn diagram where all three members meet, is King Crimson’s Red. As for their new album’s title, that’s as suitable as the cover art. “Karakuchi” is the slogan of the Japanese beer brand Asahi Super Dry. Translated literally, this means “pungent to the mouth”. As drinkers of that product, Kaleidobolt acknowledge its parallels to their songs. “It’s very intense, right at the front, like at the first bite,” explains Menestrina. “And then it leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. The flavour doesn’t linger in your mouth, basically. It has a quick, hard finish. With a bit of a stretch, we thought that that could also be said of our music.” Karakuchi is Kaleidobolt at their hardest, fastest, tightest and super-driest. Pungent to the ears. -JR Moores, November 2025

KALEIDOBOLT’s fifth album is pungent to the ears – KARAKUCHI out in March Karakuchi is one record you can judge by its cover. The first time Kaleidobolt’s faces have adorned an LP, they have been fused into a torpedoing biomechanical vehicle. Echoing The Birthday Party’s Junkyard or Motörhead’s Orgasmatron (…on acid?!), the illustration epitomises perfectly Kaleidobolt’s agenda of “hyperkinetic rock”. Their feverish, psych-prog sound is full of motion. It jerks around at different speeds, threatening to spin out of control and crash into flames at any given moment. What’s more, it isn’t taken too seriously. This is heavy and intricate music, yes. But as bassist and co-singer Marco Menestrina puts it, the Kaleidobolt attitude is “an ugly smirk more than an angry face with a fist.” On their fifth album since forming in 2014, the Helsinki-based outfit lean into their strengths as a formidable power trio. With their previous two records, 2019’s Bitter and 2022’s This One Simple Trick, they had thrown everything at their disposal into the recording with no expense spared on overdubs, effects and kitchen sinks. Produced again by Niko Lehdontie (Oranssi Pazuzu), Karakuchi comes from tightly rehearsed, live-in-the-studio takes. Kaleidobolt realise that greater sparsity can be a strength, and they’ve allowed their instruments extra space to breathe. It makes for their earthiest, purest and perhaps most authentic record to date. Karakuchi’s exuberant style emerges from the individual members’ contrasting listening habits. These span classic prog, Japanese city pop, noise rock, post-hardcore and historical podcasts. One record they can all agree is a masterpiece, the centre of the Venn diagram where all three members meet, is King Crimson’s Red. As for their new album’s title, that’s as suitable as the cover art. “Karakuchi” is the slogan of the Japanese beer brand Asahi Super Dry. Translated literally, this means “pungent to the mouth”. As drinkers of that product, Kaleidobolt acknowledge its parallels to their songs. “It’s very intense, right at the front, like at the first bite,” explains Menestrina. “And then it leaves your mouth feeling refreshed. The flavour doesn’t linger in your mouth, basically. It has a quick, hard finish. With a bit of a stretch, we thought that that could also be said of our music.” Karakuchi is Kaleidobolt at their hardest, fastest, tightest and super-driest. Pungent to the ears. -JR Moores, November 2025

KIK is the new project of two core strategists of sonic enigma HHY & The Macumbas: Jonathan Uliel Saldanha & João Pais Filipe. Ditching acoustic instruments in favour of drum synthetics & tightly controlled sound design, the duo's debut album NIGHTSHIFT focuses on off-kilter club tracks that thwart 4-on-the-floor flavours whilst maintaining trance-inducing extended cycles. If the devil is in the details, this is all about the spectromophology of the details.
Beginning with moving morse code blips in an odd time signature We Can't Dance announces the characteristic unlife of the album's pulse. Once the kick enters, syncopations progressively accumulate into a weave of interacting rhythmic lines. Smoke Machine's groove is reminiscent of the riddims Saldanha explores in his HHY & The Kampala Unit, adding scintillating pads and snippets of blitzed out laughter.

The album's third track, Proff, hearkens back to the initial pulse, displaced and pitched down in register. Here's a more meditative temperament on display, where the regular geometries of the club have been moved into higher-order structures. Segments rise & fall into earshot. Deepening the meditative mood, Back Room explores a short melodic leitmotif anchoring the track's wander- lust.

The rhythmic assault continues in Tactical Gear, bringing further experiments into polyrhythmic contours exacerbated by preci- sion movements of echo & delay. Limping can be heard as a what-if sonic fiction taking Autechre-inspired abstractions through Durbanoid Gqom terrains. The album closes with its longest track, Night Shift, that segments into shifting sound worlds.

Drawing from industrial grit, cybernetic percussion and the eerie fluorescence of after-hours energy, NIGHTSHIFT exists in the liminal space between body music and abstraction——a soundtrack for phantom warehouses and malfunctioning machines. This isn’t just music; it’s an immersive sonic environment, a journey into the heart of deconstructed dancefloors.
For fans of Rian Treanor, Proc Fiskal, Jlin and Lorenzo Senni.

Most recently, HHY has been collaborating with Nyege Nyege through projects such as Kampala Unit and Arsenal Mikebe, performing live with the ensemble alongside Valentina Magaletti, and producing records for artists like Fulu Miziki, as well as collaborations with Phelimucasi, Rey Sapiens, Kingdom Choir and others. He also released Camouflage Vector: Edits From Live Actions 2017–2019 on the label, a live album featuring two tracks with Adrian Sherwood.

Previous collaborations include Tunnel Vision with Badawi (released on Tzadik), the HHY & The Macumbas album Beheaded Totem on House of Mythology, and Fujako (Wordsound, with MC Sensational), along with double-bill shows with acts such as Clipping and Death Grips.

Four years on from their landmark Grassroots, visionary half-time heavyweights The Untouchables return with their third album, Lost Knowledge. The duo of Kate McGill and Ajit 'Nitrox' Steyns have carved out a space in modern D&B all their own, building on a legacy that reaches back to the late 00s to keep pushing into unexplored terrain with an assured and deadly line in rhythmic intrigue and atmospheric immersion.

Lost Knowledge launches into action instantly with the high-pressure drum science and dubby splashes of 'Drunken Bells', capturing the loopy techno propulsion and rolling intensity that drives so much of the output on Samurai Music. Where The Untouchables excel is in finding variety and nuance in their relatively forbidding, pared down sound. The heads-down groove of 'Mafia Town' owes as much to dembow and dancehall as D&B, while 'Lost Knowledge' spirals out into psychoactive flurries of synth strafes and organic percussion slathered in tight-locked delay trails. There's no light relief from strident hooks or riffs, just a pure, unshakeable commitment to the power of the beat and deeply designed layers of sound shaping out the space around.

'Busy Bones' makes space for carefully deployed hints of pad tone while the snares snap out of the mix with a sharp set of teeth. 'Four Eared Demon' baits the gabber crowd with its rapid-fire 4/4 hats atop seasick creaks across the midrange, keeping subtlety and patience in the lower frequencies to maintain the signature elegance readily associated with The Untouchables. 'Phase Correlation' teases an artfully unhinged ripple of synth that stands out amongst the murky murmurs filling out the middle distance, but it's still exercised with brutal precision.

Nothing happens by accident or feels out of place - McGill and Steyns are in total control, and they demonstrate incredible range and inventive approaches within their focused style. The accent of the grooves shifts, and individual sounds carry all kinds of artefacts, yet everything gets folded into the exacting Untouchables sound with a liberal dubwise sensibility. Brimming with inspiration and immaculately produced, on Lost Knowledge their one-of-a-kind sound is stronger than ever.

Denmarks leading outlet for fresh, forward forward-thinking jazz, April Records, proudly presents the debut release from award award-winning Danish vibraphonist Viktoria Sondergaard. With wide ranging influences from jazz, chamber music, cabaret, pop, rap and SukumaSukuma-inspired grooves, as well as the hymns and melodies of the Danish Hojskolesangbog traditional/folk songbook, the music is grounded in collective expression and responsibility. The album s bold, boundary boundary-pushing sound was built on a strong sense of musical community, as well as Sondergaard s desire to integrate spoken word and lyrics into her practice to convey her thoughts and feelings on the world around her on a deeper, more personal level. Composing with her four collaborators in mind, Viktoria imagined her quintet playing each note as she composed, making the music inseparable from their presence. The album integrates spoken word, rap, singing, screaming, and whispering - a shared sonic tapestry that expresses joy, wonder, questioning and celebration. It s a band built on inspiration, joy, dreams and love, Viktoria says. For me, one of the most beautiful things in art is that we have a platform to say something about the society and world around us. This album is an attempt to do just this. this." Balancing warmth and intimacy with tension and exploration, the music weaves rich instrumental textures and spacious soundscapes with intricate vocal arrangements - intertwining voices that move between comforting folk folk-like harmonies and angular, avant avant-garde expression. The quartet s deep listening and intuitive interplay are evident throughout, shifting fluidly from open, exploratory passages to tightly locked grooves. The result is a sound that feels both grounded and searching: a sonic conversation inviting the listener into a space of vulnerability, curiosity, and connection. With a sparkling tone, emotive improvisation and refined control over her instrument Viktoria is recognised as a fearless explorer and bold musical voice. A recipient of the Aarhus Jazz Talent Prize, Tivoli Jazz Prize and the 2025 Carl Prize Honorary Award presented by Marilyn Mazur, she balances adventurous writing and collective invention with melodic immediacy and emotional power.

Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time traces an audio-spiritual journey through time and place, recorded across a long-awaited debut tour of Japan in the fall of 2024. Compiled from environmental improvisations captured in and for the moment, material at once welcoming, responsive, and inimitable, the album distills a voyage guided by psychic wayfaring, unbound presence, and activating performance for a reciprocal exchange with space, listener, and each fully engaged instant. The Japanese tour documented on Cloud Time held an almost mythic significance for Sprague, taking on properties of her own sonic white whale. After many near-departures and dropped plans to play in the country, "the empty spaces of cancelled trips and forgotten music turned into strange little misty spirits that I felt followed by," she says. "When I began preparing for the tour, I couldn't shake a sense that the invitation to Japan was more about opening myself up to this new place instead of bringing something into it tightly under my control. Improvisation has always been such a pillar in my music practice, and I really wanted to meet the country, spaces and people through that process." To amplify these intuitive whispers on-stage, Sprague reimagined her time-tested live rig, designed to be as free from error as possible, as a looser, more flexible set up that would allow her to interface with what was essentially a blank sonic canvas every night. Each performance became a collaboration between environment and instinct, Sprague processing the events, energies, and emotions informing the evening through her new sound ecosystem, and projecting an entirely present and unique version of herself to each open-eared and hearted crowd. "It was very much more than just an act of playing for me, but a total experience of time and place," she says. The seven long-form pieces that plot the course of Cloud Time, excerpted from over eight hours of recordings archived on the artist's on-stage recorder and generously shared on the album with no additional mixing and only minimal editing, invite listeners to become still in these deep-rooted moments of presence as the album moves from city to city, venue to venue. Cloud Time chronicles material recorded at each tour stop, Sprague selecting and sequencing the album around mood-based storytelling more so than linear chronology. "I tried to make the whole album flow in the way that any one of the complete live performances did," she explains, "while also keeping the spirit of the whole thing as a journey." The result is equal parts travelog, love letter, and impressionistic collage channeled from the potent ferment of a now encased in the glowing amber of memory. Intrinsically inspired by kankyo ongaku, an environmental music philosophy, known both in and widely outside of Japan that tunes into the similarly expansive ethos as Pauline Oliveros' deep listening practice and posits the listener as composer, Cloud Time is ambient music that seems to be listening right back, grounded in heartfelt synthesized frequencies that abundantly hold and heal. Pieces like "Nagoya," "Tokyo 1," and the ten minute "Matsumoto" in particular hum with the atomic resonance of gently tended landscapes, offering space for tuning way in and dropping far out from perspectives that stifle and bind. Cloud Time is an invitation to embrace each moment as both fleeting and eternal, floating by with nothing to grasp onto and absolutely everything to gain. The exercise in acceptance and letting go that Sprague practiced throughout the tour deeply impacted her understanding of self as both a guest and venerable performer. "The process of loving wherever I am, being present and focusing on a clear channel of communication for mind and emotion, rooted so deeply in respect for the space, those within it, and myself, ended up being profoundly healing," she says. "My vision and hope is that this album can be released as a gift back to anyone who either was or wasn't there. A cloud time of life passing by."

Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time traces an audio-spiritual journey through time and place, recorded across a long-awaited debut tour of Japan in the fall of 2024. Compiled from environmental improvisations captured in and for the moment, material at once welcoming, responsive, and inimitable, the album distills a voyage guided by psychic wayfaring, unbound presence, and activating performance for a reciprocal exchange with space, listener, and each fully engaged instant. The Japanese tour documented on Cloud Time held an almost mythic significance for Sprague, taking on properties of her own sonic white whale. After many near-departures and dropped plans to play in the country, "the empty spaces of cancelled trips and forgotten music turned into strange little misty spirits that I felt followed by," she says. "When I began preparing for the tour, I couldn't shake a sense that the invitation to Japan was more about opening myself up to this new place instead of bringing something into it tightly under my control. Improvisation has always been such a pillar in my music practice, and I really wanted to meet the country, spaces and people through that process." To amplify these intuitive whispers on-stage, Sprague reimagined her time-tested live rig, designed to be as free from error as possible, as a looser, more flexible set up that would allow her to interface with what was essentially a blank sonic canvas every night. Each performance became a collaboration between environment and instinct, Sprague processing the events, energies, and emotions informing the evening through her new sound ecosystem, and projecting an entirely present and unique version of herself to each open-eared and hearted crowd. "It was very much more than just an act of playing for me, but a total experience of time and place," she says. The seven long-form pieces that plot the course of Cloud Time, excerpted from over eight hours of recordings archived on the artist's on-stage recorder and generously shared on the album with no additional mixing and only minimal editing, invite listeners to become still in these deep-rooted moments of presence as the album moves from city to city, venue to venue. Cloud Time chronicles material recorded at each tour stop, Sprague selecting and sequencing the album around mood-based storytelling more so than linear chronology. "I tried to make the whole album flow in the way that any one of the complete live performances did," she explains, "while also keeping the spirit of the whole thing as a journey." The result is equal parts travelog, love letter, and impressionistic collage channeled from the potent ferment of a now encased in the glowing amber of memory. Intrinsically inspired by kankyo ongaku, an environmental music philosophy, known both in and widely outside of Japan that tunes into the similarly expansive ethos as Pauline Oliveros' deep listening practice and posits the listener as composer, Cloud Time is ambient music that seems to be listening right back, grounded in heartfelt synthesized frequencies that abundantly hold and heal. Pieces like "Nagoya," "Tokyo 1," and the ten minute "Matsumoto" in particular hum with the atomic resonance of gently tended landscapes, offering space for tuning way in and dropping far out from perspectives that stifle and bind. Cloud Time is an invitation to embrace each moment as both fleeting and eternal, floating by with nothing to grasp onto and absolutely everything to gain. The exercise in acceptance and letting go that Sprague practiced throughout the tour deeply impacted her understanding of self as both a guest and venerable performer. "The process of loving wherever I am, being present and focusing on a clear channel of communication for mind and emotion, rooted so deeply in respect for the space, those within it, and myself, ended up being profoundly healing," she says. "My vision and hope is that this album can be released as a gift back to anyone who either was or wasn't there. A cloud time of life passing by." Emily A. Sprague's Cloud Time will be released Friday, October 10th in vinyl, Japanese import CD (via Plancha), and digital editions.

After a ten-year absence that left a palpable void in the hearts of millennial emo kids, MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK are finally back-and yes, it"s everything we hoped for. The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World feels like coming home: a dizzying, emotionally articulate blast of guitar-laced pop-punk that reminds us why this band meant so much in the first place. It"s a sonic time machine, sure, but it never gets stuck in the past. Instead, it builds on it-older, a little bruised, but somehow more alive. Justin Pierre"s voice still wobbles gloriously between a scream and a sigh, only now it carries the weight of experience, not just anxiety. Rather than reinventing themselves, MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK double down on what they"ve always done best: big hooks, bigger feelings, and that perfect tightrope walk between chaos and control. Tracks like "Particle Physics" (with Patrick Stump of Fallout Boy) and "Your Days Are Numbered" (featuring Mat Kerekes of Citizen) channel the kind of clarity that only comes after surviving your own worst years. In a world drowning in lazy nostalgia, The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World is a rare and welcome return that feels less like a reunion and more like a long-overdue continuation.

After a ten-year absence that left a palpable void in the hearts of millennial emo kids, MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK are finally back-and yes, it"s everything we hoped for. The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World feels like coming home: a dizzying, emotionally articulate blast of guitar-laced pop-punk that reminds us why this band meant so much in the first place. It"s a sonic time machine, sure, but it never gets stuck in the past. Instead, it builds on it-older, a little bruised, but somehow more alive. Justin Pierre"s voice still wobbles gloriously between a scream and a sigh, only now it carries the weight of experience, not just anxiety. Rather than reinventing themselves, MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK double down on what they"ve always done best: big hooks, bigger feelings, and that perfect tightrope walk between chaos and control. Tracks like "Particle Physics" (with Patrick Stump of Fallout Boy) and "Your Days Are Numbered" (featuring Mat Kerekes of Citizen) channel the kind of clarity that only comes after surviving your own worst years. In a world drowning in lazy nostalgia, The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World is a rare and welcome return that feels less like a reunion and more like a long-overdue continuation.

fabric, the iconic hub of electronic music culture, proudly announces its latest addition to the fabric mix series: "FABRICLIVE. presents Pola & Bryson". This mix will be a dynamic exploration of contemporary drum & bass, fluid in genre, rich in emotion, and sharp in sound design. It navigates the space between soulful reflection and controlled chaos, painting a vivid picture of contrast and transformation.

Showcasing a unique blend of melancholy, emotion, and euphoria that elegantly yet purposefully harnesses the immense power of electronic music, UK-based duo Pola & Bryson have solidified themselves as one of the most talented production duos flying the flag for the genre today.

Throughout the mix, you’ll hear liquid textures layered with depth and warmth, tracks that breathe with shimmering pads, smooth rolling drums and emotionally resonant melodies. These moments evoke late night introspection and spacious clarity, tapping into the more human, melodic side of drum & bass.

But the mix doesn’t stay in one mood for long. It periodically plunges into darker, more technical territory, where the basslines twist, the rhythms fracture and tighten and the atmosphere becomes tense and futuristic. Here, the emotional gives way to the mechanical, driving energy through razor-sharp precision and relentless force.

Experimental soundscapes weave throughout, blurring genre lines and adding moments of unpredictability. At times ambient and abstract, other times intensely rhythmic, the mix balances structure with freedom, always pushing forward without losing emotional weight.

For 25 years, fabric has stood as a cornerstone of the UK’s drum and bass movement, a place where the genre has not only thrived but evolved. More than just a club, fabric has been a vital incubator for underground sounds, consistently championing drum and bass alongside a wide spectrum of electronic music. From early pioneers to cutting-edge innovators, its legendary room two has become hallowed ground for DJs and ravers alike. As a bastion of innovation and inclusion, fabric has shaped the soundscape of UK nightlife, influencing global trends while staying fiercely true to its roots.

In addition to the mix album, fabric and Pola & Bryson unveil the brand new original single "Worlds Apart" an emotional vocal lead anthem featuring the incredible vocals of Emily Makis. The track balances Emily’s heartfelt lyricism with Pola & Bryson’s signature crisp liquid drums and deep and intoxicating basslines. The 2 acts first combined on the track "Complete" alongside Monrroe and followed it up with the certified hit, "Phoneline", dubbed by Radio 1 as the D&B Anthem of 2023. With a history of making pure magic happen when they join together in the studio, "Worlds Apart" certainly delivers on those high expectations.

Fragments Of Reality is an ongoing series from 20/20 Visions that explores interplanetary sounds, and this seventh outing is another doozy. American artist Miles Mercer kicks off with the crunchy drums and big hits of his acid-laced electro-tech fusion, 'Voice Control.' Shaked flip the script with a funky minimal jam that's wired up with innocent sounding melodies and lush colours that feel psychoactive. Label curator Luther Vine then flips things once again with his punchy 'Take The Wheel' with its bold bassline and tight tech bounce, while London's Pach serves up 'Critical Emergency' which hits a sweet spot between trip-out cosmic synth work and kinetic drum programming. Four tasteful tools once more from this fine old label.

JayWood - the nom de plume of Jeremy Haywood-Smith - is embracing new pastures having moved his music-making from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Montreal, and his new album Leo Negro chimes with a different tone as it looks to reconnect the self and grapple with one's identity. Marking a moment of meaningful change where controlled chaos takes the lead, it philosophises on what it truly means to be an experimentalist building a multi-faceted world where genre is infinite through sounds braver, more playful, and truthful than he's dared deliver before. Despite its astute sampling with layers of twists and turns, Leo Negro doesn't showboat but roars in the presence of vulnerability as it considers one's absolutes as a way of navigating the identity crisis. "Always looking for attention, I admit it, I can't help it, I'm a Leo," he reasons between vintage hip-hop scrubs on `Pistachios,' recalling a childhood need to be the centre of attention then stepping out of the spotlight as a grown-up. "Leos are confident and sure about themselves, but this record isn't that; so really, when translated, the title inspires `black confidence.' It's an uncomfortable, weird, and surreal term which bends the truth and embodies everything within." Experimenting in both life and music, Leo Negro and its first cut, `Big Tings' (feat. California, art-pop duo Tune-Yards) couldn't be further from 2023's Grow On EP and the previous year's slick LP Slingshot. Moving with flow akin to D'Angelo with Toro Y Moi textures, its twinkling intro of whirling synth and playful approach circles back to Jeremy's adolescence when he'd reverse, slow down, and speed up his favourite songs through the media player on his computer. Encouraged by his musical squad Will Grierson, Arthur Antony, Brett Ticzon, and enlisting his stylist and thrifter friends to capture the Leo Negro aesthetic, JayWood's big `in' for 2025 is collaboration, with the tight-knit crew of likeminded musical colleagues captured in session photo grins beaming from his Instagram grid. Nominated for Canada's coveted Polaris Music Prize, it'd be easy to be the cowardly lion; to rinse and repeat what's worked up to this point. But for JayWood, leaning into his natural `what if?' curiosity to make up his own rules as he goes along ("I never really knew what they were to begin with") and venture into honesty's unsafe space to seek comfort, confidence and make even greater connections, really is the only option. After all, he can't help it; he's a Leo.

For our ninth chapter, X/Y/Secret hands the controls to Sira. Surfacing is a study in tension: grooves tight enough to steer a packed floor, yet spacious enough for long blends or sudden cuts. Each element arrives with purpose, opening pockets of air to breathe just before the pressure rises again. Both sides speak the same language while delivering different messages. Phil Berg distills the title track into a focus-sharpening remix, before Sira closes with a late-hour mover built to steady the room while the lights stay low.

Vacation Records finally lives up to its name — after years of throwing parties and pushing wax across Indonesia, the collective-turned-store-turned-label now drops its first official 12". VAC001 is here, and it's a punchy four-tracker pressed to vinyl and primed for peak time.

Side A is helmed by label head Angga, who delivers two tightly-wound cuts: the tough, acidic stinger ‘Failed System’, followed by the psychedelic and hypnotic builder ‘Extension’. These tracks channel Angga’s ear for raw basslines and left-of-centre rave magic, honed over years behind the decks across Indonesia.
Flip to Side B and Seoul’s Jesse You takes the controls. Kicking off with ‘Cherry Lights’, a pulsating ride for strobe-lit hours, Jesse then closes the record with ‘DJR’, showing off his knack for bending sonic layers without breaking the groove.

What started in 2022 as a simple mission — bringing electronic music’s vinyl culture closer to home rather than waiting for overseas digs — has grown into something much bigger. Now, with VAC001, Vacation Records cements its place as a platform connecting Indonesia’s scene with the rest of the world, one release at a time.

The debut release on Caricia Records sees longtime collaborators VIL and CRAVO refine the language they've developed through years of joint work, both individually and as members of the Hayes collective. Between them, their output on labels like Monnom Black, Klockworks, Self Reflektion and the aforementioned Hayes Collective has consistently balanced precision with character, and this first chapter under their new imprint is no exception.

Opening with So Right, the record sets a distinct tone, with rolling percussion and a hypnotic vocal line threading through the mix with restraint and control. 420% FODA leans into classic swing and texture, tightly looped and built for movement without ever overreaching. On the B-side, CRAVO offers Future Detroit, a stripped-back piece with room to breathe, subtle in its shifts but firm in its intent. VIL rounds off the EP with Hard to Find, a playful closer that keeps things buoyant and dynamic, pushing forward without losing its shape.

Caricia 001 is about clarity of purpose. No filler, no theatrics, just four tracks that speak for themselves.

Elektrotechnik - Impulse EP is functional, dark, built for the dance floor. Machine-tight sequencing stands in contrast to an emotional atmosphere across four original tracks. A tense, precisely constructed record that explores control, repetition and feelings. Dutch legend Rude 66 delivers a slowed-down mutation of "Impulse" with his signature vocoder work, while Teslasonic recharges "Das Fundament" with a tight acid bassline.

Spectral Bounce’s fifth instalment comes courtesy of L.A.’s rave archivist and dancefloor operative Dreams, A.K.A. Jesse Pimenta. Throughout his decade-long career the California native has inspected, dissected and concocted all manner of dance musics, leaving his mark with drops on Apron Records, Pinkman, BANK NYC and his own imprint Dance Data. On SPEC05 — Dangerous When Wet — he hijacks the synapses with 4 accomplished productions, plotting a high BPM course through manifold styles using the raw aesthetic that characterises his output.

“Losing Control” is a frenetic dancefloor invitation, immediately locking into a pacing groove. Beneath wild hand drums, Dreams plays with an insistent 303 bassline alternating between rasping buzz and oily squelch, while stern vocals are layered on top of breaks that have been processed to a viscerally satisfying end.

Taking things from delirious dance circle to underwater biosphere, the EP’s eponymous track explores a submerged 1980s Miami. Weighty & enveloping, “Dangerous When Wet” is pure aquatic pop-n-lock — hydraulic electro for a drowned world. Ocean floor caustics are transmuted into auditory form: arpeggios bubble up; drones shimmer mystically; hi-hats hiss like air from an open valve. Amongst the sonar bleeps, a barrage of pummeling low-end is sure to give subwoofers a workout.

“XTC Messenger” delivers an infectious paranoid dispatch, astutely balancing the sensual with the deranged. A slow-mo dial tone unfolds languidly, running counter to nervously twitching high frequencies. Its punchy percussion is tuned for maximum dopamine release; the track’s abrupt vocal chops and mechanical kick-snare pulsation evoke the leather jackets and jagged edges of 1980s industrial discotheque.

“Pressure Points” closes the EP on a heady and mesmerising polymetric trip. The parting track is a lithe yet spacious number, propelled by a rattling break. Here Dreams follows from track 2, creating an immersive environment in which sounds tightly twist and twirl. Shifting oscillators call out like tiny creatures as the bass throbs and wriggles further into your brain, long after the needle hits the runout groove.

With Harmonia, Trikk takes us on a rich, multi-faceted trip of club music. Spread across five singles, the project explores a wide spectrum of styles, tempos, and textures—all while staying rooted in the heart of the dance floor.

Sagrado marks the peak of the project, with Trikk once again on quality control. It hits the heart and essence of the project—club music to the core. The track begins with a tight framework of kick drum, claps, and a bubbling bassline, a welcoming foundation for the elements that follow. Gradually, it opens up into a wide musical sunrise, as Trikk demonstrates his sure instinct once more—balancing warmth with his distinctive style.



The project took off with Rigor, a peak-time statement that paired massive, tactile sound design with surprising moments of piano serenity—setting the stage for both bold and nuanced. Luxo followed, weaving together industrial grit and organic warmth, further expanding Trikk’s musical language. With Fortuna, the project stepped into the glow of summer, as Trikk joined forces with Kenyan vocalist Sofiya Nzau. The latest single Raiva unites two worlds, blending Trikk’s rhythmic, new-wave-infused sound with MEUTE's commanding brass power.



Harmonia is a carefully woven narrative of rhythm, design, and identity—an artistic statement built to move.

With Harmonia, Trikk takes us on a rich, multi-faceted trip of club music. Spread across five singles, the project explores a wide spectrum of styles, tempos, and textures—all while staying rooted in the heart of the dance floor.

Sagrado marks the peak of the project, with Trikk once again on quality control. It hits the heart and essence of the project—club music to the core. The track begins with a tight framework of kick drum, claps, and a bubbling bassline, a welcoming foundation for the elements that follow. Gradually, it opens up into a wide musical sunrise, as Trikk demonstrates his sure instinct once more—balancing warmth with his distinctive style.



The project took off with Rigor, a peak-time statement that paired massive, tactile sound design with surprising moments of piano serenity—setting the stage for both bold and nuanced. Luxo followed, weaving together industrial grit and organic warmth, further expanding Trikk’s musical language. With Fortuna, the project stepped into the glow of summer, as Trikk joined forces with Kenyan vocalist Sofiya Nzau. The latest single Raiva unites two worlds, blending Trikk’s rhythmic, new-wave-infused sound with MEUTE's commanding brass power.



Harmonia is a carefully woven narrative of rhythm, design, and identity—an artistic statement built to move.

In the madrigal-strewn world of neo folk-psychedelia, the queen of drones holds court…In this late teen decade, as green men are burnt, resources dwindle and naturalists plunder for authentic Englishness, the hunt for the grail-like Silver Globe continues. Back in 2014, the story was first whispered; A mythical jaunt set to a motorik rhythm, played out in an overgrown forest of ideas: Jane Weaver’s ‘The Silver Globe’ was a conceptual delicacy – “a synth-ridden post-apocalyptic prog-pop opus based on tightly embroidered, non-linear recurring themes inspired by esoteric stories, cosmic imagery and re-filtered past experiences”. Since those heady beginnings, our heroine has time travelled to darker times and been celebrated for her glorious ‘Modern Kosmology’ (top album of 2017, here, there, everywhere).
“A full-scale leap into the cosmic void of contemporary space rock” The Quietus

“As a child of the 1970’s I can thank my friends’ brothers for their space rock record collections and concept album sleeves that I would spend hours looking at, then my first love for Kate Bush followed by a heavy dose of disco and synth pop. I guess ‘The Silver Globe’ is just a subconscious inspired imprint of those things that have never left me, married with an accidental viewing of a vintage Polish sci-fi film that was so bizarre I couldn’t stop thinking about it and so it became my muse...” Jane Weaver. Set the controls…

Since 2020, and from coast to coast, indie-rockers Fib have been rewiring brains with their singular, jangly sound and furiously tight live performances. Fib's members connected in Portland through their love of punk, friendship, and their shared exceptional musical abilities. After releasing their debut self-titled tape in 2021 and touring the US, the band picked up and moved across the country after falling in love with Philadelphia. The city quickly warmed to Fib's controlled mania- the band putting on the tightest show imaginable, and then, at the end of the set, destroying their instruments in total chaos mode. They matched Philadelphia's freak- fitting like a fingerless glove. Now, connecting with Philly label Julia's War, the group is releasing their debut full-length record Heavy Lifting- a musical odyssey exploring arty pop, punk and progressive rock- while simultaneously breaking free from genre and giving the listener a vividly surreal auditory experience. With Heavy Lifting, Fib shed their early, scrappy, lofi limitations, and embraced a new, expansive and warm recording capture. This bigger sound allows the group to put their technical skill, harmonious vocals, and hyper-infectious songwriting on full display. Songs like 'Mutuals' and 'Say' are frenetic and bouncy- shifting through virtuosic arrangements held together with intermittent, powerful hooks. With tunes like 'Dotted Line' and 'PS,' the band settles deeper into the grooves and songwriting allowing the listener to zone in and bob their head a bit more. While the nine tracks that comprise Heavy Lifting are equally unique and invigorating showcasing the members' intricate guitar tangles and polyrhythms, the album is holistically composed- a greater sum than its parts. The release would easily sit well for fans of new bands like Palm, TAGABOW, and Water From Your Eyes, but would just as easily be a welcome addition for record heads who love bands like This Heat, Television, and Psychic TV. While this might all be hard to believe, and their name is Fib- it's no lie. Fib's Heavy Lifting is a vibrant, moving and endless sonic rainbow. Pick it up and step into their wild and ecstatic void.

Red Motorbike maestro Eddie C drops on the ensemble with an anthemic ode to the most sought-after of desires. We’ve been keeping this secret for far too long; it’s time to bring U Be Mine into the light, complete with remixes from Lex, Da Silva and Marcello Giordani aka Italo Deviance.
It was just over a year ago when Eddie sent us his original demo of U Be Mine. I remember plugging i the speakers in my fat, pressing play. A fash from a place of love that wet, grey day. The lyrical bass, euphoric stabs, the iconic delay, the pining vox. There are times where things seem naturally bound, designed to intertwine. An instant essential. We couldn’t wait to throw it down in the disco. Much like the coveted desire of its vocoder-clad protaganist, we needed a club-ready fx. Eddie, getting the message, sent us over a quick master - the Eddie C ‘Cash’ Version. Over the next year, at parties from Lisbon to Ibiza, I saw how those swirling arps locked onto the foor, how dancers cosied up to its decadent groove. It was peak time, warm-up and wind-down at once. In the true spirit of the ensemble, we got to work curating a cast of balearic technicians to write their distinct shade of depth onto Eddie’s golden letter. And that’s where it lands.
Lex from Athens casts an exotic, eclectic spirit with his Plaka Remix, all shufing percussions and wild, breezy strings, rejigged baselines and NYC disco tackle. Label curator Da Silva ups the ante with his 7-minute club-ready fx: tight kicks and searing acid, all the bells and whistles for your peak-time excursions. Finally, Marcello Giordani shifts into hyperdrive with the ITALO DEVIANCE ACID CONTROL version, conjuring creatures of the night in kaleidoscopic confgurations, a trusted party roller for the most decadent dancefoors.
We’re releasing U Be Mine on 150 pristine discs only. Claim it as yours, forevermore.

“We all grew up playing heavy music. For me personally, listening to artists like Swans, Godflesh, Neurosis and Kiss It Goodbye in my 20s was cathartic in a lot of ways. Identifying with people that have a similar world perspective, who are channeling their angst and frustration into the creative outlet of art and music — that was important.”

Josh Graham isn’t just talking about his decades-long career in heavy music, which has included A Storm of Light, Battle of Mice, and many years as the one-man visual department for Neurosis. He’s also talking about the formation of Guiltless, his new band with bassist Sacha Dunable (Intronaut), drummer Billy Graves (Generation of Vipers) and guitarist Dan Hawkins (A Storm of Light).

Guiltless released their debut EP, Thorns, via Neurot Recordings in early 2024. Crushing and cheerless, it seemed to welcome the apocalypse looming on our collective horizon. “The EP had a pretty narrow focus starting from my ideas,” Graham explains. “With this record, my main goal was to really collaborate with Sacha and Dan and Billy because those guys are great songwriters. The new album is meant to open up the sonic palette and explore more territory.”

That new album is Teeth to Sky, the band’s first full-length. Even more pulverizing and focused than its predecessor, the album’s collaborative songwriting approach was paired with an adjustment to the lyrical content.

You can hear it on “One Is Two,” which channels a tightly controlled Meshuggah churn through the more visceral lo-fi approach of Kiss It Goodbye or Swedish noise rock legends Breach. On “In Starless Reign,” Guiltless blend dissonant black metal and thundering doom while Graham invokes humanity’s inability to see the forest through the trees. Then there’s the bruising title track, which combines the gnarled sensibilities of The Jesus Lizard, Cherubs and Barn Owl into a rumination on Mother Nature’s revenge.

Teeth To Sky was recorded remotely by the members of Guiltless—except for the drums, which were recorded by Travis Kammeyer (Generation of Vipers) at Fahrenheit Studios in Johnson City, Tennessee. The album was mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City in Salem, Massachusetts, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon.

"The title track here ebbs and flows in and out of Amen break cascades, as the drones hovering beneath give a sense of flying through an electrical storm. Dooky' is better still, its sparser rhythm recalling Reinforced stalwart Paradox in its ability to be simultaneously woody and ultra-digital, human and alien." THE WIRE

Those who are aware of dgoHn will by now be familiar with his sound and those who aren't should be. Back with his third single on Love Love, the drum maestro makes skin prickle once again with two shining original tracks laced with impeccable moments. Only dgoHn can create the kind of drum and bass that sounds like the tightest of ensembles playing meticulously rehearsed arrangements, painting intricate shapes with the percussion.

The title track takes a fresh look at the amen break, finding ways to breathe new life into it. Soaring above the clouds on thick warm pads, the drums thunder with a blissful rage propelled forwards by a rumbling bassline.

On the B-side 'Dooky' serves up a dgoHn masterclass in spatial control that could well be a future-classic of his. A formidable groove with serious punch, hi-hats skip along as the delicate balance of frequencies gives the listener just enough headspace not to get lost in the deep, dark world it creates. A subtle demonstration of tension and release, this single floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee whilst dripping with funk.

Lastly, Rognvald switches up the title track with a jam that triples the edits and doubles the bass, tipping the scales from the side of restraint to that of chaos without losing the feel of the original. Artwork once again provided by Colin 'Snublic' McCallister.

Artikal Sound System is a reggae band based out of South Florida. Founded by Chris Montague (guitar) and Fabian Acuna (bass) in 2012, the band honed their chops backing a series of Caribbean singers. Along the way the boys picked up the insane and absurd keys player Christopher Cope and the heavy footed drummer Adam Kampf before finally trying something a little sonically different with their neighbor, female vocalist Logan Rex. After nearly a decade of playing together the boys sound tight and powerful, creating the perfect foundation for their jazz-influenced singer to dance around on lyrically and literally. What you hear is the sound of friendship, hard work, imagination and the hope to spread their message of love and the importance of having a good time

*press Release From David Katz*

The Hardest Working Reggae Band In Southern England, Dubheart Is On A Mission To Spread Messages Of Peace, Love, Unity And Resistance Through A Heady Stew Of Contemporary Roots Reggae, Delivered On Live Instruments With A Hefty Dose Of Dub In The Mix. Cool Under Pressure, Their Latest Offering, Is The Band's Most Compelling Set To Date, A 'showcase'-style Album Where Every Vocal Track Is Followed By Its Dub Counterpart, And The Vital Contribution Of The Brassica Horns—from Rising London Ska Band Chainska Brassica—is Another Intriguing Element That Makes This Album Tougher Than The Rest.

Drawing On The Foundations Laid By Jamaican Stalwarts Such As Burning Spear, Dennis Brown And Culture, Dub Pioneers Like Scientist And Jah Shaka, Plus Newer Vanguards Such As Tarrus Riley, Grounation And Conscious Sounds, Dubheart Has Crafted A Distinctly Appealing Style That Is Very Much Their Own, Based On The Organic Presentation Of Their Musical Vision. Indeed, This Fully Self-contained Five-piece Is Firmly Engrained In The Neo-roots Movement Of The Present, With A Sound That Faces Ever Forwards.

The South Coast-based Band Was First Formed Back In 1999, And Slowly Built A Following Through Their Intense Live Performances, Which Always Harnessed A Live Dub Element. Their First Ep, the Solid Foundation Rhythm,' Issued On Their Own Karnatone Label In 2011 And Featuring Dub Mixes By Russ D Of The Disciples, Became A Regular Part Of Jah Shaka's Live Playlists. It Was Followed By The 7' 45, we Chant,' Featuring The Band's Charismatic Bristol-based Lead Singer, Tenja (who Originally Hails From France), The Track Becoming An Underground Anthem In Japan (via Rob Smith, Aka Rsd). Dubheart's First Album, Mental Slavery, Was Released In 2013, A Momentous Year That Also Saw The Band Win The European Reggae Contest Staged By Rototom Sunsplash, Leading To A European Tour With Festival Appearances At Summerjam (germany), Reggae Sun Ska (france), Overjam (slovenia), Sudoweste (portugal), United Islands (czech Republic) And The Sardinia Reggae Festival, As Well As Rototom In Spain. Then, In 2015, Karnatone Issued The Dub Companion To Mental Slavery, Mixed Down In A Heavy Dubwise Fashion By Drummer Gavin Sant, Otherwise Known As Fullness, The Band Was Then Invited To Participate In The Bbc Television Show, The Uk's Best Part-time Band, Leading To Their Ep Of Cover Tunes, 2016's full Time Pressure,' Again With Dub Versions From Fullness. part Of The Band's Appeal Lies In Its Tightness As A Recording And Performing Unit, When You See Them Live, You Understand That This Band Of Brothers Is On A Higher Mission, United In Their Wish To Use Music As A Means Of Upliftment. And That Sentiment Is Entirely Evident On Cool Under Pressure. The Melodic Bass Grooves Of Mark Shepherd Act As The Perfect Buffer To The Furious Rolls And Expressive Drum Patterns Of Fullness, David 'daddy U' Mountjoy Adds Scintillating Melodies On Keyboards, Including Some Delightful Wurlitzer Lines, And Richard Ramsey's Guitar Licks Tend Towards The Understated, Aside From The Occasional Solo Pyrotechnics, As Heard Here On rocky Road.' And On Songs Like can't Wait,' watcha Gonna Do' And The Title Track, The Brassica Horns Add Further Melodic Depth Through Fanfares Of Treble Brass Texture. with The Rhythms Laid Entirely Through Live Recording Sessions Cut At Fullness' Home Studio In Bournemouth (with Horn And Wurlitzer Overdubs Done Elsewhere), Cool Under Pressure Reveals Dubheart As A Band On The Rise, Heading For Unstoppable Heights.

The Dub Deconstructions On The Disc Allow The Listener To Hear The Exceptional Quality Of Their Playing, Emphasizing Each Member's Individual Talent, While The Lyrics Tackle Subjects We Can All Relate To, With watcha Gonna Do' Addressing Social Inequalities, can't Wait' Alluding To The Refugee Crisis, rocky Road' Imploring Everyone To Hold Strong In Trying Times, And rise Up' Calling For Direct Action Against The Unjust System That Rules Our Lands. Overall, The Outstanding Title Track cool Under Pressure' Really Sums Up The Band's Ethos: The System May Burden Us With The Stresses Of Censure And Control, But Our Obligation Is To Stay True To Ourselves And Resist. And The Music Can Help Us To Achieve This.

The last couple of years have seen a renaissance for West Coast singer-songwriters. LA-based youngsters such as Drugdealer and Sylvie have attracted considerable attention releasing warm and mellow records tonally reminiscent of the early 70s. Most fans of this new/old sound are unaware of Bart Davenport's early explorations in the same sonic territory. His now 20-year-old "Game Preserve"album should gain an appreciative new audience with its first ever vinyl release.

In the year 2000, Bay Area troubadour Bart Davenport and several other musicians were recruited by a major tech corporation in Seattle to work on an algorithm-based music matching/search engine. It was what looked like the beginning of a promising career. After a year, however, the project was shelved. Bart and his colleagues were laid off with a healthy severance package... on the 12th of September, 2001. Not only had the musician's life changed, so had the world. Rather than blow the money on a holiday or new car, Bart knew he had to make a record. A proper album that meant something.

Back in Oakland, he entered Wally Sound Studios with former Kinetics bandmate Jon Erickson at the controls, and a swathe of talented local musicians. "With Game Preserve," Bart explains, "Jon and I really wanted to knock it out of the park. I wanted to utilize people from my old bands like Loved Ones drummer John Kent. I also invited my newer indie-pop friends from Call & Response, and a young Nedelle Torrisi. Harmony singing by The Moore Brothers was an essential ingredient on Game Preserve as well."

Both Erickson and Davenport fondly recall growing up in households where the music of The Carpenters, Joni Mitchell and The Eagles soundtracked their young lives. By the early 00s they were ready to reconnect with what is often referred to as the "Laurel Canyon" sound. "I'd buy used tapes at garage sales and play them in the car. "Ladies Of The Canyon" by Joni and Jackson Browne's first album were both in heavy rotation. Jon Erickson was getting deeper into the Steely-Mac-Doobie yacht-rock sound in earnest. A certain amount of childhood nostalgia led a lot of us back to that part of the 70s. I'd flirted with classic soft-rock on my first album, but that record was pretty scattered esthetically. I wanted my next one to be more focused. Jon and I made some ground rules: no electric guitars (except on 'Bar-Code Trees'). No synths. Most importantly, all the songs have an air-tight, super dead, close mic'd drum sound. Putting these sorts of limitations on the sessions will give your record a specific quality. In the case of "Game Preserve"it's mostly about tight drums, acoustic instruments and analog production. We used a 24-track, two-inch tape machine for tracking, then ran the mixes through an analog board straight to a 1/4 inch master tape."

While the album's sonic palette may be firmly planted in 1970, Davenport's songwriting covers a sizable landscape of moods and reflections. From the quasi-flamenco intro of 'Sweetest Game' to the somber Wurlitzer of 'Nowhere Left To Go', to the 12-string shimmer of 'Intertwine', "Game Preserve" tells a story of young love, lost innocence and redemption, crossing borders and oceans along the way.

Released in 2003 on family-run Oakland label Antenna Farm, the ultra-analog sounding "Game Preserve" was only made available on digital formats, including CD. Copies were later pressed by labels in Germany and Spain; the latter being one country the album actually did well in, establishing Bart Davenport with a small but loyal fanbase he still enjoys today. Two European tours as support for Kings of Convenience also helped gain a foothold on the continent. Back in the US, however, Davenport and his sophomore album remained quite obscure.

Limited promotion meant it did little, but for the music lovers that heard it, the album undoubtedly remains a classic of the era, deserving far more. Twenty years on, it now finally receives its vinyl debut. "I personally think it holds up well," says Bart of the album two decades later. "The idea was to make something that could be an homage to late 60s/early 70s West Coast pop but hopefully timeless as well. Years on, I hear it as just that. It was a colorful and brief period of my life that felt at times like it could last forever. I discovered the joy of working in a proper studio with a perfect cast of characters. I'm still very close with all these people and still play music with many of them."

Not much has been written written about the conceptual hardcore band inspired by and named after a 9th century antisocial loner monk-poet of China’s Tang dynasty. Han-shan the band existed from 1991 to ‘93 in California. Their lyrics covered themes of solitude, mystery, poverty, and discord, directly inspired by the verses of the titular poet. Han-shan’s music was psychopathic, with blood-curdling vocals, and messy but powerful, in the vein of Void, Siege or Septic Death. The band played to the absolute limits of their physical ability and then some, with a sound that complemented their West Coast contemporaries—bands like Heroin, Mohinder, Second Story Window, Antioch Arrow and Angel Hair. Recorded in San Diego by Matt Anderson in late 1993 and originally released posthumously in early 1994 on the tiny Soledad record label, Hans-shan’s eight song seven inch EP came packaged in a manila envelope, each one hand-printed with a woodcut block and roller, with the art and insert referencing both the poet and Tang dynasty China. LG Records has carefully reproduced this cover art and returned to the original multitrack tape. Tim Green has remixed the recording at Louder Studios for a significantly more powerful, and yes, LOUDER, 12” 45rpm release. Members of Han-shan had previously been in Suckerpunch, Brain Tourniquet, End of the Line, and John Henry West; and went on to play in Behead The Prophet NLSL, Solid Gold, Drunk Horse, Astral, Tight Bro’s from Way Back When, Sex/Vid, Very Paranoia, Low Plateau and Nudity. For fans of fast, out of control hardcore with a raw emotional edge. And saxophone.

Born in Aldershot on 11 September 1947, Catley's family moved to the Tile Cross area of Birmingham when he was young. He went on to attend the nearby Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham) and left to start an apprenticeship at the GPO before deciding on a musical career shortly after meeting similarly minded individuals at college. Whilst at college he joined several bands, such as The Smokestacks (Jeff Clark-guitar, Ron Savage-guitar, Derek Danks-bass & Brian Worrell-drums, Life and Clearwater). His first professional band was when he joined local outfit The Capitol Systems. The initial line-up was Bob Catley (vocals) Paul Sargent (guitar) Paul Whitehouse (bass), Dave Bailey (keyboards) and Bob Moore (drums). Shortly afterward they changed their name to Paradox, inspired by a science-fiction novel. A one-off deal was arranged with Mercury after Paradox had come to the attention of Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. The tracks were "Ever Since I Can Remember", backed with "Goodbye Mary". In addition, they recorded "Mary Colinto" and "Somebody Save Me". All of these songs were written by Dave Morgan. Paradox played festivals in the Netherlands and Italy before splitting up upon their return to the UK in 1970. Formed in 1972, Magnum throughout the next 16 years consisted mainly of Bob Catley on vocals and Tony Clarkin on guitar. Magnum began as the house band at Birmingham's famous Rum Runner night club (later the home of Duran Duran). They began to develop their own style by playing Clarkin's songs at a residency at The Railway Inn, in Birmingham's Curzon Street, in 1976. Joining Clarkin and Catley were drummer Kex Gorin and bassist Dave Morgan (later a member of ELO). Their most notable success during these early years was the Jeff Glixman produced Chase The Dragon (1982) which reached No. 17 in the UK, and included several songs that would be mainstays of the band's live set, notably ‘Soldier of the Line’, ‘Sacred Hour’ and ‘The Spirit’. Their breakthrough album came in 1985 with On a Storyteller's Night which featured the single ‘Just Like an Arrow’. This success continued in the following years with the Roger Taylor (Queen) produced Vigilante in 1986, the top 5 album Wings of Heaven in 1988, and the Keith Olsen produced Goodnight L.A. reaching No. 9 in the UK album charts in 1990. Subsequently, Clarkin decided to maintain a tighter control, and after their initial mainstream success, the band lost their major label backing and returned to a more personal level of production. This finally found the band splitting and the formation of Hard Rain in 1995, which saw Clarkin pursue a more Pop orientated direction with a band that included Sue McCloskey on lead vocals. This new direction didn’t sit well with Catley, and after a headline performance at The Gods in the late 90s, a conversation with Bruce Mee of Now & Then Records saw Catley agree with a decision which eventually led to his debut solo album, ‘The Tower’. This release was completely written by Gary Hughes of Ten, with the writing completely decided to be in the vein of classic Magnum. The album itself was recorded by various members of Ten, including the amazing Vinny Burns (Dare) on guitar. On release, the many positive reviews concluded that the release of ‘The Tower’ had succeeded beyond its wildest imagination…..and Bob Catley’s solo career had been launched with amazing success!! With a lyrical intricacy and majestic pomp, songs like ‘Far Away, ‘Fear of the Dark, ‘Madrigal’ and ‘Deep Winter’ take you back to that glorious period of Magnum between ‘Chase The Dragon’ and ‘Wings Of Heaven’ whilst hard melodic rockers such as ‘Scream’, ‘Dreams’ and title track ‘The Tower’ show just what Magnum would have sounded like if they’d gone a little bit harder. Another absolutely brilliant album that totally deserves to be filed alongside those mid-period Magnum classics.

Typically, a band's big indie label debut doesn't come 15 albums into its career, but with Constant Smiles' Paragons, here we are. Primary songwriter and sole "constant" member Ben Jones_who considers Constant Smiles a collective_sees its impressive output as a way to document the group's evolution. Since its live debut as a noise duo on Ben's home of Martha's Vineyard in 2009, Constant Smiles has grown to include contributions from 50 other members, all of whom have personal connections to the group's extended family. And while the collective has indulged an array of musical whims along the way - including Ben's penchant for penning a new set's worth of material for each live performance - Constant Smiles' sound has tightened up considerably over their past couple of albums, in large part as a result of Ben's working relationship with Mike Mackey, who has become his main creative partner. This increased focus manifests on Paragons in the band's most cohesive batch of songs to date, ranging from shimmering psych-pop excursions to bittersweet, piano and string-accented strummers, and an execution that feels like a massive step forward for the band. Through its recent forays into dream pop and shoegaze (Control) and synth-pop (John Waters), Constant Smiles has learned how to incorporate its experimental inclinations more fluidly into the mix. Artists like Yo La Tengo, and the more recent Rat Columns, are good touchstones for Constant Smiles' musical approach - tethering to an indie-pop core while perennially mining genres, always finding new ways to intrigue listeners and pursue a unique vision. Paragons was produced and engineered by Ben Greenberg in the last two weeks of December 2020 at Gary's Electric, with additional recording done by Ben Jones at his home studio, The Void, and his Aunt Leanne's house. The album was mixed at Circular Ruin Studio and mastered by Josh Bonati. The band on Paragons consists of Jai Berger (who performed "Introduction"), Spike Currier (bass and synth), Matthew Addison (drums), Emma Conley (violin), Nicky Wetherell (cello), Adam Lipsky (piano), and Ben Greenberg (guitar and Mellotron).

LIMITED INDIES LOSER EDITION PRESSED ON BLUE TRANSPARENT VINYL! Stella makes her Sub Pop debut with the mesmerizing Up and Away, an old-school pop paean to the pangs and raptures of love. From the Greek folk-inflected get-go, we're swept up in Stella's world - and it's quite the captivating place to be. The singer-songwriter joined forces with artist and producer Tom Calvert (aka Redinho), and it was a match made in Athens; the results are heavenly. Tom caught one of Stella's gigs on a visit to the city. He reached out, they started hanging out, and the pair soon clicked creatively. Both mention chemistry when asked about their collaboration and it's clear, from what we hear, they had it in spades. The meld is seamless. Stella's songs have always riffed on American and Greek mid-century pop but Up and Away doubles down on the vintage aesthetic. Tom says he styled the record "as if it was a rare gem from the '60s found in a box of records in Athens," and Stella notes she was ready for a more "deeply Greek touch - it felt comfortable and right, smoothly fusing with the pop." The bouzouki appears on a full five tracks played by Christos Skondras who, she says, "was brilliant at improvising," while Sofia Labropoulou on the kanun "brought an insane amount of dreaminess to the last two songs. Having these amazing musicians play for Up and Away - I couldn't be more grateful." While not exclusively a confessional artist, Stella is always intimate - when she sings, it's personal. She writes "about things I feel passion for. Stories about me, about others, about all that's there in love and war." Stella was "in a very emotional state at the time, which came through in the lyrics and vocals." And it's true, her honeyed voice - layered in those unmistakable harmonies of hers - thrillingly runs the gamut from tender to terse, by turns bracing and smitten, aching and forlorn. But it's the lyrics that feel key. Across her output, Stella has proven herself a strong storyteller, and Up and Away is no exception (the guise of the medieval bard she assumes on the cover is telling). Past releases have been studded with gem-like vignettes - a diverse array of stories set tightly together to form non-linear narratives unified by emotion. Her latest feels singular in that it seems to trace a longer-form tale across songs, with each track escalating the record's erotic arc. By the end of the album, Up and Away's core concerns are clear: the conflicting and conflicted emotions inherent in love, that live on in ways we can't always understand or control. Love is like this record: when it's over, you still feel it for time to come.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Brainstory’s sophomore full-length album Sounds Good.

Based in L.A. but hailing from the Inland Empire's own Rialto, California, two-thirds of Brainstory, Kevin and Tony Martin are brothers by blood, while Eric Hagstrom is a brother through their music and long term friendship. Since they started the band they have constantly faced situations that forced them to rise to the occasion. They got signed to Big Crown Records, they stepped up their game. COVID happened, they learned to record themselves. They started touring a ton sharing the stage with the likes of Lady Wray and they got their live show super tight. All of this time spent grinding and growing has certainly paid off. The path to take their art to the next level is clearer than ever, and once again, they are here for it. If there is one thing that is abundantly clear on Sounds Good, it’s that Brainstory has leveled up.

Part of this evolution is undoubtedly attributed to having access to and working constantly in their own studio in Long Beach. Another major factor is that their brotherhood has expanded. "I've been playing music with my brother all my life and now with Eric for a long time," Tony tells us. "Leon, though, is like another brother I've just met."

Leon Michels, Big Crown's co-owner, produced this record and applied his unmistakable golden touch in crucial ways. The other member of the extended Brainstory brotherhood whose contributions were essential to the album, is studio engineer legend Jens Jungkurth who controls the tones and textures of the music. "That's what you're hearing, our connection, the fun moments, the little details," Kevin describes. "This record isn't half what it is without them—and it made us want to match that effort," and match that effort they did. Album opener "Nobody But You" is an uplifting, dance ­oor burner, that shows off a new side of Brainstory's range. Drummer Eric Hagstrom’s crushing back beat lays the foundation for an inspirational feel good banger that manages to take the uncomfortable truth that “nobody will save you but you” and turn it into pure blissful motivation. "Peach Optimo" is a laid back half time tune that blends the bounce of Down South Hip-Hop with California G funk and Jazz. They once again show off their B said ballad talents with "Gift Of Life" but this time taking the genre to a new place with lyrics about existentialism and a track that is drop dead gorgeous, haunting, and profound all at once. "NyNy" is an homage to Kev and Tony's recently deceased grandfather while "Too Yung" is a show stopping, deeply personal, stripped down number about being introduced to

alcohol at a young age. They put another hit on the boards with "Hanging On," a Latin / Psychedelic Soul inspired banger featuring Claire Cottrill on background vocals while "XFaded” addresses the all too common vicious cycle of smoking and drinking too much over a trippy shuf­e.

"It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." That's one way to describe change: catching up to oneself. Each member of Brainstory has gone through shifts, both personally and musically, and all of that threads through Sounds Good. It's easy to say that the music industry can be short on lasting, genuine relationships. However, for Brainstory, from day one it's been about standing by each other, for each other. Their friendship started the group. Track listing:

Datashader emerges from the shadows with a striking breaks- and bass-heavy debut release that challenges the fabric of our digital existence. Replete with a Dopplereffekt remix, it nods to the legacy of revered anonymous acts such as Scopex, Drexciya and Underground Resistance, pushing the boundaries of both electronic music exploration and its conceptual underpinnings. As a critique of the erosion of genuine human connection in the digital age, Datashader delivers a barrage of billowing subs, infectious electro, recontextualized jungle, and techno, serving as a poignant counterbalance to current dance floor-centric norms. It’s a contemporary anti-soundtrack that offers a haunting mirror to the societal costs of technological convenience.
In a world engulfed by the digital realm, where social media platforms thrive and dominate every aspect of our lives, the enigmatic project known as Datashader was founded to reflect on the pervasive erosion of authentic human connection through various virtual realities. Artistically, Datashader seeks to critique the impact of technology on human identity and relationships, breaking with an archetype of digital conformity and expressing a profound disillusionment with the superficiality of online interactions through music. Genuine human connection and art cannot be quantified by likes, comments, or followers but rather thrives in the visceral realm of shared sonic experience and human emotion. This idea is at the core idea of Datashader, whose artistic expression ranges from avant-garde composition and electronic experimentations to art, installation, film and more.
Expressed within the varied contexts of diverse artistic mediums, Datashader explores the concept of “technological gentrification”, which describes the gradual displacement of human interaction by technology. Just as gentrification alters the urban landscape, driving out communities and cultures, digital gentrification transforms the social landscape, replacing genuine connection with curated online personas.
Musically, Datashader’s practice confronts this dystopian reality, highlighting the alarming consequence of people becoming mere nodes in a network, reduced to a collection of data points. This is manifested sonically by a blistering assault of breaks, recontextualized IDM, abstract electronics and otherworldly synthscapes, conceived as the aesthetic counterbalance to much of contemporary electronic music’s dancefloor focus.
Datashader dives deep into genres and influences which stand for a form of sonic resistance: A contemporary anti- soundtrack – a sonic mirror of the price we pay for convenience and instant gratification. A self-image in constant flux. No false technological idols.

Repress!

Jurassic 5 flexed serious old-to-the-new muscles in the '90s, beginning with their independently released single Unified Rebelution' in 1994, and book-ending with their stellar debut full-length: 2000's Quality Control. They walked a tightrope between underground and mainstream hip-hop, and toured alongside rap peers as well as punk rockers on the Vans Warped Tour. With double the pleasure of your average hip-hop group - two DJs and producers (Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark), and four MCs (Chali 2na, Akil, Marc 7 and Zaakir aka Soup) - they brought the late 1970s unison MC' style of pioneering groups like the Fantastic 5 and the Force MCs to a new generation. Even more surprisingly, they did so out of Los Angeles, whose hip-hop flavors generally leaned towards Gangsta, G-Funk or Electro lines. Musically inventive and lyrically forward-thinking, each song on Quality Control is a new adventure, exploring engaging territory, delivered via one of the best live hip-hop shows fans had seen in years. From singles like the strutting groove of the title track to the throwback doo-wop samples on The Influence' and the catchy, keyboard groove-driven World of Entertainment (WOE Is Me),' to deeper album tracks like the lyrical gymnastics of Jurass Finish First' and the thought-provoking Lausd,' Jurassic 5 consistently stepped to the plate and their fans responded in kind, nearly pushing the album to Gold status. Add the innovative DJ-and-sample workout which closes out the album, Swing Set,' and you have one of the 2000s' most unique and solid full-length platters.

Delivered via the manic pedalboard wizardry and sophisticated finger work of guitarist Tommy Meehan (Cancer Christ, Deaf Club, Cartoon Network) and the utterly brutal and savage drumming of Seth Carolina (Starcrawler), SQUID PISSER's tightly controlled, futuristic hardcore-onslaught of amped-up rainbow vomit is a thing of throbbing, mucous-laden beauty. Conceptualized and formed in 2022, SQUID PISSER decided to fully utilize planet Earth's viral slumber in order to gestate, write, and record - resulting in the opening salvo 'My Tadpole Legion' (Three One G / Sweatband) and a spattering of live shows, already the stuff of legend.

SQUID PISSER continue their live assault and make their SKiN GRAFT Records premiere with "Vaporize A Neighbor", a four-song EP packaged in a full-color 24-page comic book sleeve with comics from Johnny Ryan (Angry Youth Comix), Mike Diana (Boiled Angel), Kali Fontecchio (Maude Macher) and many more. The first 500 copies are pressed on translucent "Purple Bruise" vinyl, include a wraparound obi-strip and come packaged in a crystal clear resealable sleeve. Released alongside "Vaporize Your Neighbor" is the fifteen song CD companion "Vaporize A Tadpole", compiling the new EP, Squid Pisser's debut album "My Tadpole Legion" and additional unreleased bonus tracks. Both releases feature exclusive cover artwork from afro-surrealist A4RO.

By the turn of the 80s, the impact of David Bowie’s ground- breaking Berlin recordings – the synths, the alienation, the drily futuristic production – was being felt on music across Europe. What’s more, the records being made were reflecting back and influencing Bowie’s own work – 1979’s Lodger and 1980’s Scary Monsters owed a debt to strands of German kosmische (Holger Czukay), new electronica (Patrick Cowley, Harald Grosskopf), and the latest works from old friends and rivals like Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel and Scott Walker, all of whom had been re-energised by the fizz of 1977.

Compiled by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and the BFI’s Jason Wood, Fantastic Voyage is the companion album to their hugely successful Café Exil collection, which imagined the soundtrack to David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s trans-European train journeys in the mid-to-late seventies. “Fantastic Voyage” is what happened next.

Bowie’s influences and Bowie’s own influence were rebounding off each other as the 70s ended and the 80s began, notably in the emergent synthpop and new romantic scenes as well as through the music of enigmatic acts like the Associates and post-punk pioneers such as Cabaret Voltaire.

Like Low and Heroes, some of the tracks on Fantastic Voyage are spiked with tension (Grauzone’s ‘Eisbär’) while some share those albums’ sense of travel (Simple Minds’ ‘Theme for Great Cities’, Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Riot in Lagos’) and others find common ground with “Lodger’s” dark, subtle humour (Thomas Leer’s ‘Tight as a Drum’, Fripp’s ‘Exposure’).

This is the thrilling, adventurous sound of European music before the watershed moment when Bowie would abandon art- pop for America and the emerging world of MTV with “Let’s Dance” in 1983. Fantastic Voyage soundtracks the few brief years when the echo chamber of Bowie, his inspirations, and his followers created an exciting, borderless music that was ready to challenge Anglo American influences.

Harm’s Way is Duck Ltd.’s most intuitive and organic album yet, the result of keen observation, self-possessed songwriting, and a collaborative spirit. Building on the successes of their previous releases, the deeply relatable album displays a band operating at a nuanced, lyrical and musical best.

Ducks Ltd. make inviting and frenetic guitar pop for when life feels overwhelming. While the band’s songs are ostensibly breezy, a palpable anxiety boils underneath that communicates something deeper about everyday existence. On their latest album Harm’s Way, the Toronto duo of Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis hones in on interpersonal and societal collapses, urban decay, and the near-impossibility of keeping a level head when everything around you seems to be falling apart.

“They’re songs about struggling,” says singer and lyricist McGreevy (who also plays bass and rhythm guitar). “About watching people I care for suffer, and trying to figure out how to be there for them. And about the strain of living in the world when it feels like it's ready to collapse.” 

Even with its often dark subject matter, Harm’s Way is Ducks Ltd.’s most vividly rendered and collaborative collection yet. It’s an undeniable evolution for the band, not just in how these songs soar, but in their entire writing and recording processes. Composed on tour while supporting acts like Nation of Language, Illuminati Hotties, and Archers of Loaf, the album displays the band’s finely tuned songcraft and well-earned, road-tested confidence. “When we got signed, we had played maybe five or six shows ever. After last year, it’s in the hundreds. That experience can change your perception of your own music and songwriting,” says McGreevy. “In the past when we got stuck on a song we had a tendency to look at our favourite records to see how they tackled it. But now, instead of asking ‘what would Orange Juice do?’, we’d ask, ‘what would we do?’.” Lewis adds, “We have this really great thing where every decision with the band is filtered through both of us. Here especially, we really figured out how to make something that truly sounds like us.”

The band, fortified by this strong sense of sonic identity and a self-assurance in their new material—and in contrast to their critically acclaimed 2021 debut Modern Fiction and 2019 EP Get Bleak, both self-recorded and self-produced in a Toronto basement—wanted to bring Harm’s Way to life in a new city, with an outside producer, and with some of their favourite musicians. “We realised that so many of our favourite bands who are making guitar music right now are from Chicago,” says McGreevy. Working with producer Dave Vettraino (Dehd, Deeper, Lala Lala), they enlisted a marquee cast of Windy City collaborators to round out the tracks on Harm’s Way, including: Finom’s Macie Stewart (violin, string arrangements); Ratboys’ Marcus Nuccio (drums on most tracks); Dehd’s Jason Balla (who helped arrange the backing vocals, to which he also contributed); and backing vocals from Julia Steiner (Ratboys), Nathan O’Dell (Dummy), Margaret McCarthy (Moontype), Rui De Magalhaes (Lawn), and Lindsey-Paige McCloy (Patio). The band’s touring drummer, Jonathan Pappo, and bassist Julia Wittman also appear on the LP.

Ducks Ltd. are a band that already thrives on skirting the edges of buoyant jangle pop and driving power pop, and the duo credits these collaborators with helping to push their sound even further. “Historically our process has been really tightly controlled and insular. On this record, we worked with people who we trusted with a pretty wide range of musical backgrounds and they had approaches and ideas that helped open up the record's sonic palette,” explains McGreevy. “Jason thinks about backing vocals in a totally different way than I do and is super intuitive with melodic ideas. Julia and Margaret have a really deeo understanding of harmony. Macie and Dave were comfortable with the idea of improvising string parts which took some of those layers in some surprising directions. Dave also has an amazing ability to create atmosphere on a recording, and encouraged us to use a bunch of different techniques, tones, and processes to achieve that.”

Harm’s Way’s lush, melodic swagger is clear from the first notes of opener “Hollowed Out.” A song about living with decline (inspired by a Toronto sinkhole), its bright, indelible catchiness serves in contrast to its lyrical unease. Anchored by Lewis’ shimmering electric guitar, “The Main Thing” laments growing apart from a person whose views you once shared while managing to toss in references to both the unglamorous lives of middle relief baseball pitchers and the occult. Other songs split the difference between country and krautrock, like the rollicking “Train Full of Gasoline,” which uses the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in Quebec as a metaphor for self-destructive patterns. Meanwhile, “Deleted Scenes” mourns the absence of someone no longer in your life (even if for very good reasons) and recalls The Cure at their most direct, and closer “Heavy Bag” employs enveloping, mournful strings to evoke a sense of how misery frequently loves company.

Impex Records is celebrating the 35th anniversary of this seminal audiophile classic with our final and finest collaboration with long-time partner and raconteur Jennifer Warnes. This ultimate authorized production of Famous Blue Raincoat is getting the complete Impex 1STEP treatment! After Bernie Grundman cuts the last lacquers, Jennifer's analogue master tapes will return to her personal vault for good.

Impex has always treasured our work with Ms. Warnes, from the original Famous Blue Raincoat 45 Box, The Well, The Hunter, and her latest LP, Another Time, Another Place. Each of these releases celebrates Jennifer's singular legacy of musical excellence combined with exceptional craft in coordination with the original production team of Jennifer, C. Roscoe Beck, and Bernie Grundman.

For FBR's ultimate release, Impex returned to Jennifer's first-generation analog "slave" master tapes and let Bernie work his magic within the laborious 1STEP mastering process on BG Mastering's tube-cutting lathe. We will cut as many refs and test pressings as needed to get the quietest surfaces and intimate detailing. Final discs will be pressed at RTI on VR-900 super vinyl, illuminating every note and nuance of this cherished masterwork.

The three 1STEP LPs and the elegant new 24-page booklet are housed in a deluxe four-sleeve Monster Pack tip-on jacket and booklet with metallic accents and spot gloss applications. Even if you have every version of this pop classic, you will find considerable value and new benefits from this unbeatable production!

The 1STEP Process:
The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each run of 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details, and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies, and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

1STEP Process 180g 45rpm Double LP Pressed on VR900-Supreme Vinyl!
Mastered From The Original Analogue Master Tapes by Bernie Grundman!
Super-Luxe "Monster Pak" Jacket with a Rich 36-Page Booklet & Striking Outer Slipcase!

New lacquers cut for every 500 pressings!

Strictly Limited To 7,500 Numbered Pressings!

There have been more than 40 U.S. releases (and hundreds more worldwide) of Stan Getz's cultural touchstone album and for good reason: few recordings better capture the breezy warmth and easy-going sophistication of Brazilian bossa nova for an American jazz audience. Fewer recordings can replicate the you-are-there presence and flawlessly tight studio acoustics. Only Getz/Gilberto has Billboard Top-10-charting singles like "The Girl from Ipanema." When Impex Records jumps into this densely-populated fray with our own production, we need to bring maximum value and prestige to it. Challenge accepted. We worked directly with Stan's wife Monica Getz and their son Nicolaus to create the most authentic, best-presented Getz/Gilberto ever.

Exclusive to Impex's 1STEP Getz/Gilberto includes an insightful new interview/essay by Charles Granata featuring Monica reminiscences of the making of this record, the subsequent cultural phenomenon, and Stan's battles with some pretty heavy demons. Also unique to this release are two bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" (without the added echo, thank you very much) and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall. Finally, the large-format, 36-page booklet features dozens of rare photos, the original album notes, and a fascinating personal remembrance from Monica Getz herself, celebrating her late husband's work and an inside look at Stan's family life while making the record!

Using the original analog master tapes and no computers at all, Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering sought to keep the sense of space and tone on the master tape intact without unnecessary embellishment. Impex 1STEPs get you closer to the source, not the ideal.

We know you have many choices when it comes to enjoying this singular album. The Impex 1STEP of Getz/Gilberto cuts above all other releases with added-value content that takes you deeper into Stan Getz's life and process in a way never previously possible.

The 1STEP Process:



The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly-controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

Features:



The only release of this fundamental jazz classic crafted with the full participation of the Getz family, including never-before-seen photos and notes from Monica and Nick Getz
Exclusive new interview essay about Getz's life and the recording of the album by noted producer and historian Charles L. Granata
Exclusive ultra-luxe Impex 1STEP packaging featuring a deluxe 36-page booklet within a heavy-stock two-sleeve Monster Pack jacket and striking colour-matched slip case
Two all-analogue bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall
Limited to 7,500 copies