quête:time ep

Aroop Roy’s star is deservedly in the ascendancy! As one of London’s most exciting selectors, he’s managed to position himself in the sweet spot of being the DJ’s DJ and causing wild scenes wherever he plays, with headline grabbing sets at Defected Croatia, We Out Here, Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide and many more.

As a producer, musician and label owner, he continues to excel, armed with a vast knowledge of outernational sounds, from rare African disco, jazz, funk, to house, UKG and seemingly everything in-between. His open-minded approach has led to brilliant releases and remixes for labels as diverse as Soundway, Heavenly Sweetness, Permanent Vacation, Club Bad, Delusions of Grandeur, Atjazz Recordings and his own Vive La Musique imprint.

Having played a few gigs together, it was only a matter of time before Jimpster convinced Aroop to get an EP together for Freerange and the resulting Re Bulele EP couldn’t be any more satisfying!

Leading the charge, 'Mama Mwana' captivates with entrancing thumb piano loops and a traditional African vocal all propped up by a subtle yet chunky house beat to lock the dancers in.

'Re Bulele' features the hypnotic vocals of Botswana native Fox Meropa. Aroop masterfully combines a deep, techy Afro House groove with glassy synth pads to form a stripped back instrumental with the vocals front and centre. Seemingly disparate elements shine on this wonderful alternative to the deluge of maximal Afro House tracks being released these days.

Moroccan producer FNX Omar delivers the goods with a sublime remix of Re Bulele. Creating tension with layers of looping vocals along with a rolling, percussive groove. Like the original, this remix transcends genres and will create special moments on the dancefloor, whether it be in a dark, sweaty basement or daytime festival in the sunshine.

On Natura Morta, Sven Wunder is exploring art as a bridge between nature and the human ability to judge and observe in eleven musical compositions with brightly colored textures and an emphasis on vibrant melodies.

Throughout human history, we have depicted the world we live in through art. By reworking what we see in the world, the simplest things have helped us understand the beauty of nature and to evaluate the material world that we have created around us, as a window to a constantly changing reality, through our own perception. It is that absolute reality that appears in the seam of human and nature and that can be revealed through art.

Still life painting, also referred to as Natura Morta (”dead nature”) in Italian, stretches back to ancient times. Some of the earliest works, found in Pompeii, depict commonplace objects such as fresh autumn fruits alongside man-made objects such as a small amphora and a small terracotta heap with dried fruits. These two-thousand-year-old paintings give a snapshot of Roman life, and also creates a link to time and space. A slice of life has been created by binding the earth’s pigments with extracts of oil, made from nuts and seeds, painted with brushes, made from a variety of fibers, such as trees and hair from animals. While life wanes with each brushstroke, by shifting reality into the past, art exists to make us come alive, being a living image of a dead thing, a surface and a symbol with symbolic powers of its own. Still life works celebrate material and ephemeral pleasures by returning to nature as the ultimate source for our standards in art as well as in life itself.

Natura Morta collects pieces from a continuous variety of melodies — supported by a decisive rhythm section — creating a musical kaleidoscope of ever-changing colors. Sven Wunder brings life into this rich assortment of musical implications by fusing and combining melodic instruments with each other in a setting that spans from a classical to a modern idiom. The author evokes this panoramic portrait by articulating an instrumental dialog between a chamber orchestra and a jazz ensemble. The result is a musical celebration of material pleasures that also serves as a reminder of the brevity of human life. This album was produced with financial support from the Swedish Arts Council.

PETE MOLINARI is a singer-songwriter from the Medway Delta. He was born into a large Maltese/ Italian/ Egyptian family in Chatham, Kent, where he was discovered by Billy Childish.
He’s got five critically-acclaimed albums’ worth of timeless folk, blues, rock and alt- country songs to his credit, plus a bunch more EPs.
He’s often described as a songwriter’s songwriter. Bruce Springsteen once publicly proffered: “Pete Molinari – if you don’t know anything about him, he’s great!”
Rome has a secret heartbeat, an underground and urgent pulsation whose memory is preserved within the walls of old recording studios, in the tales of veterans, and most of all in the grooves of the soundtracks of Cinecittà. Music that has always flirted with poetry.
Pete Molinari is a poet, and that's why his words perfectly blend with this pulsation.
That's why producer Luca Sapio chose to record "Wondrous Afternoon" among his Blind Faith Recordings and Maestro Piero Umiliani's Sound Workshop. The result is an album with a strong cinematic impact. The lesson of Motown applied to the sound of Rome.
Backed by Luca’s crack band better known as the Italian Royal Family, Pete Molinari sings with great expressiveness and soul, embedding his words like precious stones, exposing them in all their fragility and strength to the listener.

An autumnal treasure, East Village’s Drop Out has spent the past thirty years finding new ears to bewitch and new hearts to melt. The only album from this British four-piece, recorded and released in the early nineties, it’s long been considered one of the hidden jewels of its time, and is talked of with hushed reverence by people who know. Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne once called it “an elegy for a particular brand of eighties guitar music, sweet minor chords and Dylanesque lyrics”, which captures what makes it so special; in summarising its era, though, it also effortlessly transcends it.

Like all great guitar gangs, East Village fell together as a four-piece; having relocated from High Wycombe to London in mid ‘80s, brothers Martin and Paul Kelly on bass and guitar, set on forming a group together, were joined by John Wood (guitar) and Spencer Smith (drums). Wood and the Kellys shared writing and vocal duties; it was an ideal combination, and one of the many charms of East Village is their various song writing voices, a tip of the hat, seemingly, to the 60s folk-rock groups who influenced them.

Originally influenced by garage-rock and freakbeat, the band eventually came through via the same scene as groups like Felt, The Go-Betweens, The Weather Prophets, and Primal Scream. They’d formed as Episode Four, releasing an EP, Strike Up Matches, in 1986, which has gone on to become one of most sought after releases of the C86 era. Their first two singles as East Village, ‘Cubans In The Bluefields’ (1987) and ‘Back Between Places’ (1988), were released on Jeff Barrett’s Sub Aqua label.

When it came time to record Drop Out, East Village found a supporter in Bob Stanley, who bankrolled the album sessions until Barrett re-signed the band to his new imprint Heavenly Recordings in 1990. The album that took shape is dusky, heartfelt, lamplit, full of chiming minor chords, close harmonies, rattling organs, all buoyed by a rhythm section that moves as one, steady and elegant. There’s melancholy here, certainly, on songs like ‘What Kind Of Friend Is This’, but also pleasure and freedom, on ‘When I Wake Tomorrow’ and ‘Silver Train’. The group were obsessed with Dylan’s Eat The Document at the time, and the album’s rich with references to the film; Drop Out’s character is also somehow close to the thin wild mercury sound of Blonde On Blonde, and the lambent light of the Byrds’ Notorious Byrd Brothers.

In one of life’s gentler surprises, ‘Silver Train’ became an unexpected radio hit in Australia when released there as a single in 1993. The story of East Village seems marked by such unexpected turns and surprising events. None was more surprising for their fans at the time, though, than their onstage split in 1991, leaving an unreleased album in the can. Encouraged by Jeff Barrett the band revisited the tapes two years on and while mixing the album for its posthumous release in 1993 invited Debsey Wykes (Dolly Mixture, Coming Up Roses, Saint Etienne, Birdie) to sing the quietly devastating album closer, “Everybody Knows”, a perfect, sad-eyed sign-off.

Listening now to Drop Out, its timelessness is clear. It could have been recorded by young folk-pop hopefuls in the late sixties, taking their shot at the big time; but it could just as easily have been recorded yesterday, by a group that’s both reverent to music’s past, but forward looking in spirit and temperament. It’s that kind of album. Drop Out’s pop poetry is fully formed, with a singular charm that takes in wistfulness, romance, and good times, and a clutch of deeply moving songs that are overflowing with melody and gracefulness. It’s pretty much everything you’d want from a guitar pop record.

It's also an album that’s slowly accrued its own legend. From its stunning cover art, photographed by Juergen Teller originally for a Katherine Hammett campaign, to the ten perfectly formed songs within, Drop Out’s significance in the scheme of things is such that, a decade ago, it was given a rare 10/10 rating in Uncut magazine, who called the album “the lost classic of its era”. Drop Out comes round every decade or so, each edition introducing new fans to its understated beauty, and this latest reissue is its most elegant and deluxe yet.

The 30th anniversary edition of Drop Out lands in two formats: an LP with tip-on style jacket and four-page insert, designed to partner with the 2019 vinyl reissue of their singles and rarities compilation, Hot Rod Hotel; and a double CD, featuring an extra disc compiling the group’s early singles and alternative versions. This CD edition previously has only been available in Japan, though it now features a new, superior mix of their second single, ‘Back Between Places’. Both feature new, typically eloquent liner notes from writer Jon Savage.

The members of East Village have all gone on to do inspired things: Martin Kelly joined Jeff Barrett at Heavenly and has managed label mainstays Saint Etienne since 1993; Paul Kelly formed Birdie with Debsey Wykes, and is now a renowned film director and graphic designer; both Paul and Spencer Smith played in Saint Etienne’s live band; John Wood moved to China to teach, and released a lovely, understated folk album, Quiet Storm, in Japan in 2006. But with the hazy perfection of Drop Out, they’ve all already etched their names in the firmament.

Shed Seven will return with their first album in more than six years. For "A Matter of Time", Shed Seven"s core members - vocalist Rick Witter, guitarist Paul Banks and bassist Tom Gladwin - reconnected with the classic albums that first inspired them to form a band. The resulting record sparkles with the liberated exuberance and full-throttle rock "n" roll attitude of a group who are making music for the sheer joy of expressing themselves and performing together. While the album broadens the Shed Seven sonic palette a touch, it"s full of the towering, arms-in-the-air anthems and yearning melancholia that fans have come to love them for. The trio enlisted a new line-up for the album, calling upon drummer Rob "Maxi" Maxfield (Audioweb) and keyboardist Tim Willis (Ian Brown). The album was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Youth (The Verve, Pink Floyd) at El Mirador Studios in Andalucia, Spain, before being completed by leading mixer Cenzo Townshend (Florence + The Machine, Inhaler). "A Matter of Time" flows from adrenalised punky power-pop right through to epic slow-burners, complete with some special guests: Happy Mondays" legend Rowetta contributing fervent gospel vocals to "In Ecstasy", Laura McClure of Reverend & The Makers on the folky-pop of "Tripping With You" and Peter Doherty, who duets with Witter on the dramatic closer "Throwaways". Shed Seven emerged as one of the big hitters during the heyday of Britpop, their catalogue of classic singles leading to seven Top 20 hits including "Going For Gold", "Chasing Rainbows", "Disco Down" and "On Standby" as well as four Top 10 albums. Their popularity has continued since reforming in 2007, with 2017"s "Instant Pleasures" album debuting at #8 - their highest-charting record in eighteen years. 2024 will mark 30 years since Shed Seven"s debut, Change Giver, and A Matter Of Time demonstrates that the band are at the very top of their game and the journey is far from nearing its end.

Suburban Architecture continue their series of now highly collectible 4 track EP releases with their 6th offering, 'Inside / Outside'. This new collection of tracks once again draws heavily on influences from the jazzier, atmospheric strains of mid to late 90s Drum & Bass. Putting a contemporary spin on sounds rooted in this golden era of dance music, the latest 4 tracker is split into two parts: Inside / Outside. Each track appears in two parts, delivering similar themes at different tempos.

Opening track 'Inside Part 1' will please followers of Suburban Architecture's previous work - lush pads, deep atmospherics, Jazz fusion flute licks and smashing Amens are all present in the mix. Inside Part 2 lowers the tempo without compromising the energy: Slo-mo Amens interspersed with complimentary breaks sit on top of huge pads, Reece style bass and rousing vocals. Outside also appears in two similarly styled parts. This time Part 1 comes in at the lower tempo, a light vocal-led slow motion rolling number with classic Apache elements, while Part 2 applies the same sonic template to a tough, jazzy roller.

MASA 006 delves deep into the sound of Leipzig resident HAL and includes two additional collaborations with his long-time friend & studio partner Perm. It's an elegant selection of tracks produced between 2018 and 2023, some of them recovered from long-lost hard drives and carefully remixed with the help of T I N's keen ears.

An always-present groove, magnetic synth-scapes, and saturated ambiance set the pace throughout the EP while the warm and fuzzy sound makes for timeless joy, blending throbbing techno with deep house and dubby nuances, giving every beat a distinct texture.

Big Sigh brings together the best of Marika's previous works as an indie musician and adds a new layer of epic sounds and full-bodied production. Big Sigh is the "hardest record" Marika has ever made. As the title suggests, it is a relief of sorts - of sadness, of stress and lust, but mostly relief. Co-produced with Sam Petts Davies (Frank Ocean, Radiohead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers) & Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Wolf Alice, London Grammar). Lyrically there's always romance a longside grief, with elements of vulnerability and feeling trapped. "This album took a long time I got to the end of it I was quiet. I wanted to be away from it and let it sit in its own space. Now the dust has settled and I've got to re-enter the world of big sigh, and I'm excited." Stepping into a new world, moving forward, chipping away. Breath in, breath out. Big sigh."

Superjock Records is proud to present the 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Connie Price & The Keystones’ cinematic Psychedelic masterpiece “Wildflowers” for the first time on vinyl!

Originally released in 2004 on Now-Again Records, the Expanded Edition features B-sides, EP cuts, and rarities from the vault.

Masterminded by producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist Dan Ubick, the album also features members of Breakestra, Orgone, Poets of Rhythm, L.A. Carnival, Funk Inc., Dap Kings, and The Heliocentrics!

EP compilation of essential UK house cuts recorded between 1987 - 1990. TIP!


Before British house and techno found its’ distinctive groove at the turn of the 1990s, one act led the way: Bang The Party, a trio who emerged from London’s vibrant underground party scene in the mid 1980s and proved, beyond any doubt, that UK producers could make music every bit as magical as the pioneering productions put forward by their counterparts in Chicago, Detroit and New York.

By the time long-running DJs and party promoters Kid Batchelor and Leslie Lawrence joined forces with trained engineer Keith Franklin at legendary North-West London reggae studio Addis Ababa in 1987, they’d spent years as DIY dance music activists in Britain’s capital city. They channelled these experiences and their love of imported house and techno sounds into a new project, Bang The Party, in the process becoming the first British act to appear on Transmat, a reflection of the quality and authenticity of their music.

The latest Rush Hour Reissue Series release offers a snapshot of some of the numerous gems nestled in the Bang The Party catalogue, delivering a much-deserved celebration of one of Britain’s most significant early acid house collectives. It features four fully remastered cuts recorded and released between 1987 and 1990 – on-point and far-sighted club workouts that sound as fresh and timeless now as they did when Britain was sweltering under its infamous ‘second summer of love’.

Fittingly, the EP begins with ‘I Feel Good All Over’, the group’s ground-breaking debut single. Dedicated to their home city and one of the earliest UK interpretations of house music, the track exists in the grey area between Chicago house and New York ‘garage house’ – all jaunty organ stabs, jacking Windy City beats, restless bass and soulful vocalizations. ‘Jacques Theme’, which follows, originally nestled on the B-side of that single release. An early, acid-flecked expression of hip-house with a British twist, breakdance-friendly bongo patterns and a dose of Larry Heard-inspired deep house dreaminess, the track remains an under-appreciated classic whose rap verses reflect the popularity of hip-hop in London at the time.

1988’s ‘Release Your Body’, Bang The Party’s most celebrated early release, was reissued in the United States by Transmat, reflecting the strong working relationship between Derrick May and Kool Kat Records’ Neil Rushton. A hypnotising affair propelled forwards by sweat-soaked drum machine beats, jacking fills and an addictive bassline, the track offers another near perfect distillation of the band’s Black American musical influences while delivering something genuinely new and fresh.

Rounding off the EP is a choice cut from Bang The Party’s sought after 1990 album Back To Prison. Doused in the star-lit synth sounds of the Motor City with jaunty organ stabs inspired by the kind of New Jersey jams championed at East Orange institution Club Zanzibar, ‘Let It Rip’ is a superb slice of deep house soul featuring a lead vocal every bit as emotive as anything laid down by Robert Owens. Like the rest of Bang The Party’s output, it has stood the time better than anything laid down by their London contemporaries.

Four essential cuts from Ghana & Cape Verde, compiled by Arp Frique...

Music is a great connector, bringing people together in many ways. On his journey in music so far, Arp Frique has been fortunate to meet many beautiful artists. The songs on this first edition of "Radio Familia" are deeply connected to the musicians he performs with. Join the music family on a trip through exciting sounds from Ghana and Cape Verde and listen to their story in both words and music.

Arp Frique never played a show without including Americo Brito’s epic song “C’est Dudu”. The song originally appeared on his album “Fidjo Di Mizeria” from 1989 but he had been performing his anthem for years and it came in many shapes and forms. After spending a lot of time in Paris, he (like many others in those days) got inspired by new records from Guadeloupe and Martinique, especially “kadans”. Incorporating latin piano motifs borrowed from salsa and merengue and a bold choice to sing in French, the song and album became an instant success for Americo in and outside the clubscene (note: DJs were not the primary source of dance music in those days, bands played all night to keep the dancers moving). The addition of C’est Dudu to this compilation became especially relevant since Americo recently passed away. Fortunately, his anthem just like all his other music will remain with us for decades to come.

While going through the archives with Americo Brito for the Radio Verde compilation, he introduced Arp Frique to a band called Imilux Star, of course again well connected with Americo. This Cape Verdean band residing in Luxemburg (where there is a substantial Cape Verdean community) definitely added a different flavor to the musical pallet the islands are famous for: heavy syncopated rhythms coming from the drum computer. They released two albums which both became very popular in their scene and the track “Yolanda” from their 1988 album “Jota Dê” got to Arp Frique’s attention too late to add to the Radio Verde comp. The band is still performing to this day in the Luxemburg-Cape Verdean live circuit.

While Arp Frique was on the road with his lead singer Mariseya, they talked much and deep about Ghanaian music (especially highlife) and he learned a lot about the community from Ghana in the Netherlands, mostly in Amsterdam and The Hague. Mariseya’s dad, Nana Adomako Nyamekye, came to see their liveshow while in the UK which was very special to them considering he is one of the highlife artists Arp Frique has grown to be very fond of. His deeply funky and bubbly bass driven song “Obra Twa Owuo” is about life and death, telling us we should all love each other as we still have life to live. Originally released on “Ano Plan” from 1982, the album is filled with philosophical advice. In his own words: “A message to all humans that something awaits us all at the end of life. Let’s live together with love.

Bnnyhunna, from the Ghanaian community in the Netherlands, joined Arp Frique’s live experience several times playing keyboards and synthesizers. His dad Elvis Kwasi Ankomah, just like him, developed a high level of musicianship while performing regularly in church. The song “Fa Wokoma Mame” (give me your heart) from his only studioalbum “Mfa Menko” released in 1995 is about showing his love to a lady but only if she puts her trust in him completely. The album talks about love, pain, relationships and life. Having worked with artists like Daddy Lumba, Nana Ampadu, Amakye Dede and many other hiplife and highlife legends, he still plays in church every week and has been doing so ever since he was 15 years young.

repress

As EarToGround Records hits its seminal tenth release we have decided to go all out sonically and visually.

As you all know Dax has been a core member of EarToGround right from the beginning. It all began with his and Chris Stanford's jointly produced track 'Programm' on ETG001.

From then on in he has worked tirelessly at his East London studio, climbing through the ranks to become the very respected and some would say inspirational producer he is now. Over the last year he has very much honed in and developed his now unique sound and recently released on much respected, high quality labels such as Deeply Rooted.

You could say his own EP on ETG has been a long time coming but we like to think ETG010 is what he has been building up to, some of his best work to date. We will let you decide

3 new solid, hook heavy, DJ and dancefloor friendly tracks from Dax as well as 2 centralized locked grooves and additional, extremely slick remix work from ARTS label boss 'Emmanuel'...

Black vinyl. Internal textured black inner sleeve. External textured white outer sleeve. 2 ETG Invader Stickers. Again the artwork is Space related. The theme this time pays homage to what can arguably be called one of the best modern SYFY films ever made.

After an international tour, the multi-instrumentalist FKJ presents his new 6-tracker jazz EP : Ylang Ylang

Produced in an intimate context, the project, both bright and melancholic, is a real journey within the artist's time capsule.

Its numerous instruments - often accompanied by warm choruses - between apotheosis and rhythmic lull, tell the different parts of his life. Story of musical and familial love, loneliness and passing time, this project spotlights his name, coming from a soothing local flower.

Full of influences, there is Bas - the first rapper signed on Dreamville, label created by J.Cole - on the single "Risk", which deals with similar themes. French Kiwi Juice introduces us to a sweet orchestral ballad. Finally, between gratitude and lightness, he states "I am still the same".

Driving weirdo techno, warm melodic acid and daring sound experiments - Killekill welcomes a new duo on board: SKEW & SATIRIST are Max Cooper and Gareth Williams who met in the Not- tingham, UK club scene in the early 00s, living together for a number of years, leading to an effec- tive collaboration.
Max learnt production from sitting and watching Gareth in the studio, Max helped show Gareth the way with his DJing. Both became successful in their solo projects, Max as a regular guest
on stages all over the world, Gareth starting a music technology business with partners such as Richie Hawtin, John Acquaviva or Daniel Miller.
Over the years the musical collaboration between the two friends has continued in the background and they've finally found the time to bring it to fruition and start this project for their darker, more extreme and twisted techno which has been lying dormant over the years.

'London-based DJ/producer Soreab returns to Baroque Sunburst with a highly anticipated follow-up to 2020's 'Kraepelin Avenue' EP. The new four-tracker also marks his label's 10th release.

The concept of 'Maschera' revolves around Luigi Pirandello, an Italian dramatist and novelist. His ideas of the 'mask' and 'trap' take centre stage. Pirandello believed that the concepts of 'self' and 'identity' are lost and unachievable in human beings, who are all trapped behind a metaphorical mask concealing their identities.

Each track on 'Maschera' has two masks: they can be played at both 33 or 45 rpm, a dream for DJs mixing in wide tempo mode.The title-track draws inspiration from Pirandello's masking ideas. Soreab's half-time stomper moves with the slithering grace of a snake, evolving into intricate IDM melodies riddled with complex drum patterns. ‘Trappola’ is a melodic hide and seek, with a captivating slow tribal rhythm that gradually intensifies. In ‘Specchio’ the snake returns, biting his own tail in a continuous loop, a birth and death cycle. The closing track sees the opener remixed by KRSLD, a collaborator with Soreab on the BSUN and XCPT co-release 'Marmo'. His rework builds on all the concepts Soreab explores, infusing dub with a half-time modern dancehall mood. The snake, no longer masked, is now looking for you.'

Epic, grooving, dazzlingly creative, perfectly attuned blends of complex mbalax drumming, field recordings, thumping kick-drum, and cosmic, bubbling, jamming synths and electronics.

The opening is suitably liminal, haunted by a diachronic sense of times past, present, and to come: ancestral ghosts, scratched playback, scraps of old recordings, voices strangulated or just out of range; puttering drums; futuristic, kosmische keys. Part II picks up the pace; III gives the drummers some, and heightens the atmosphere of enchantment. Jon Hassell’s Fourth World music courses through a kind of Dream Theory In Dakar.

Toco SOS, the second side, is a thumping, throbbing, mesmeric future-classic; perfect for fahr’n fahr’n fahr’n on the Autobahn… in a spacecraft. Expert hand percussion, call-and-response singing, bin-trembling foot-drum, spaceways keys. Sleekly funky as prime Popol Vuh.

Both sides range expansively by way of Berlin, where Lamin resided for a few years: you can hear something of T++’s brilliant, landmark HJ record on the A, and elements of Mark Ernestus’ crucial Ndagga project, on the B.

Half an hour of stunning music; in a beautiful sleeve, with mirror lettering, and an intricate spot-gloss rendition of salt crystals, laid over a photograph of the salt mines at Lac Rose, outside Dakar.

Repress!

Following his debut on the label with last year’s ‘The Pob Routine’, Jerome Hill returns to AccidentalJnr with another absolute stonker of a release which we’ll let him describe in his own words...

“After my last EP for Jnr I spoke with label boss Matthew Herbert and he challenged me to write a track for the next EP, containing only sounds I'd recorded 'in the wild'. I was about to spend a little time on an organic Vegetable farming co-op just outside Munich, 'Kartoffel Kombinat' which I'd previously nicknamed Potato Land, so I brought my recorder and during my stay made lots of recordings, carrots being bitten and snapped, various gardening tools clattering around, voices and even the big tombola-like machine that cleans the freshly picked vegetables. The resulting track was Potatoland and the only non-organic noise in it is the kick. Various 'Potatoland’ elements also make guest appearances in the other tracks, although they are less easy to spot.

'Quibble’, was also written specifically for the label and was influenced by Herbert who I've been a huge fan of for decades... I wanted to make something suitably wobbly and humorous that shuffles along but then really slams when the kick comes in. Add in the Dance Mania influenced ‘Chicken’ and the final track ‘Bleeper’ and that's the EP... Very happy to be back!!”

Amazing garage punk cult band featured on the "Brazilian Nuggets" Vol 1 and Vol 2 compilations. Recorded in 1968, this EP is almost impossible to find and has never been sold on Discogs. It comes with a 12-page booklet with liner notes, photos and memorabilia. This release is a collaboration between Discos Nada, Fatiado and Munster Records. The Beggers were formed in the industrial ABC Paulista region, the birthplace of the Brazilian punk rock scene. But many years before that, The Beggers were already a kind of proto-punk act, as can be heard on the first track of this 7" record, 'Estes Homens Farrapos', a rather unusual social commentary song in those flower power days. Considered a protest song, it ended up being censored. However, the most psychedelic and experimental track is 'We're Going, to Aid You', a song about a fictional alien invasion. The creepy effects created by the group in the studio can be compared to those by the greatest international bands of the time. The Beggers only had three original compositions and a fourth one was missing to complete the EP. This was how 'We're Going, to Aid You' was eventually created as an experiment in the studio, just to complete the record. With "Metamorfose" banned from the shops, the members of The Beggers were running out of money, and without any gigs they had no other choice but to break up the band shortly after the release of their mighty EP. Bento Araujo (author of the book series Lindo Sonho Delirante) An amazing example of genuine teenage garage rock from 60s Brazil reissued for the first time, as result of a collaboration between Discos Nada, Fatiado and Munster Records.

Lyra Valenza set the tone for their first full-length album ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ with an idyllic ambience, which then tumbles into feisty, heartfelt dance workouts. Across eight tracks, the Danish duo explore the pixellated euphoria of their previous ‘Scan, Deliver’ and ‘Nightshade Edition’ EPs with a more focused sensitivity. At the start of 2020, Lyra Valenza had been freshly nominated by music platform SHAPE. With the pandemic in hand, however, plans changed: instead of playing a slew of festivals, the duo spent weeks in a summer house in rural Sjælland, right at Denmark’s North Eastern coast, making early versions of the tracks in this album. ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ refers to the unusual calmness of that time, away from music industry stress and burnout; inspired by friendship. More than previous EPs, the album is shaped by the duo’s live set, which they’ve been performing in Denmark and Europe for many years now. The album breezes through different modes with confidence and ease, tracks morphing fluidly into one another to create a cohesive listening experience. A cool, expansive breakbeat on track two, ‘True Computer’, hints at the psychoactive journey to follow. ‘Truthwork’ plays with arps over a half time groove: subtle synths which reach their final form in ‘Joy Divided’. These agile swells and drops recall peers-in-precision Minor Science and 96 Back. On the flip, ‘Gameshow’ looks back over one shoulder to eurodance, while ‘Life on the Line’ goes out to the soulful junglists, but with a touches of trance in the samplework. On ‘Who Might Win’, the album’s ecstatic hyperactiveness melts into a slo-mo heartbeat, reminding us there’s a chillout room somewhere in the building. And just when we think it’s time to go home, the album gifts us with “one more tune”, and the soaring pop vocals of featured artist Saltmother on ‘Stretch Your Arms’.

Repress!

Following his first ep for Accidental Jnr in the summer Bambooman is now back with something entirely different. The downtempo experimental designs of the 'Feel EP' give way to his latest offering 'Shudder'. Available on 12' and digital the 4 tracks of Shudder weave through a club music tapestry like a chainsaw through custard. The opening and title track is hard to describe, a mix of off kilter synth stabs and hammering snare that routes you to the floor - it's one of those tracks to whip out of your bag to remind the crowd they have no idea what is coming next. Track 2 'Grasp' with a blissful Detroit groove under deep rich melting chords is a perfect blend of early funk house style and super crisp new production.Side B opens with 'M1' a lazy floor track with washes of bells, static and detuned synth above a bed of solid kick and shuffling bass. Finally 'Kyrian' closes proceedings, another club friendly slice (despite being in a 7/8 time signature), the track could have led the EP in its own right but feels like the perfect bookend with its shifting almost garage like 2-step feel and glancing vocal hook.Bambooman wields refined live recordings, warm exquisite melodies and a silvery vocal into the track's rich musical fabric. It's hard to suppress the emotions with this one' - Boiler Room on 'Feel EP'

Charles Mingus brought together an amazing lineup spanning the totality of the nation's jazz scene with such luminaries as Eric Dolphy, Buddy Collette, Clark Terry, Zoot Sims, Pepper Adams, Jaki Byard, Grady Tate, and more. Brought together to perform new Mingus compositions for the first time in public, the recording was initially considered weak due to limited rehearsal time but the years have been kind to this recording and it's a fantastic set of Mingus compositions, including the powerful "Freedom" which rivals the works on Mingus Ah-Um (1959) for its strength of purpose and message, in a similar vein to Max Roach's legendary We Insist! album (1960). Mingus is one of the most important figures in 20th century music and this live recording documents his compositional and arranging process as well as sheer swinging joy.

Wrestling Music is Kean Kavanagh's most intriguing work to date, illustrating his vulnerabilities and contextualising his journey from hopelessness to vindication. Speaking on the EP, Kean explains that, “In May 2022 I suffered a vocal injury which meant that for the majority of the last year, I haven’t been able to sing or record. While I’ve been working on a lot of different music and writing a lot of songs, it has been heartbreaking and depressing at times to not be able to realise their full potential and to sing them how I hear them. On the 1st of May 2023, I wrote and recorded “The Magic” at home in Portlaoise and it helped me to embrace whatever the last year was and point me in a direction to go towards. It felt important to me and I didn’t want to just sit on it, so I gathered some instrumentals I had and worked quickly to create this EP, the Wrestling Music EP, as a timestamp of this period of my life and the loops of arrogance, introversion and acceptance that I’ve been spinning.”

Co-founder, producer and A&R of Irish Label Soft Boy Records, Kean Kavanagh is a story-teller with a strong imagination who set out his stall as both a singer-songwriter and world creator in 2020, with the release of his acclaimed project Dog Person. In what turned out to be a big year for him, 2020 also saw Kean make an appearance on the Everything Is Recorded project FRIDAY FOREVER, (curated by Richard Russell of XL Recordings) alongside Aitch, Flohio, Maria Somerville, Ghostface Killah and others, aligning himself with a tastemaker and a hotly tipped selection of musical peers.

In 2006, THE DRAFT was formed by Hot Water Music members Jason Black, George Rebelo, and Chris Wollard shortly after singer/guitarist Chuck Ragan's departure. The three remaining members of the band wanted to continue making music together but chose not to continue under the Hot Water Music name, opting for a fresh start instead. The initial writing and demo sessions included the legendary punk rock guitarist Brian Baker (known for Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion). However, due to conflicting schedules, Baker couldn't commit as a full-time member, leading fellow Florida resident and former Discount member Todd Rockhill to join the band. After releasing their debut album "In a Million Pieces" (produced by the esteemed Brian McTernan) on Epitaph Records in 2006, the band embarked on extensive tours with acts like Samiam, The Gaslight Anthem, and Paint It Black. They also released several singles on the renowned No Idea Label before disbanding in 2008. With both "In a Million Pieces" and all 7" records being out of print for years, THE DRAFT has now teamed up with End Hits Records and Equal Vision Records to release a deluxe vinyl version on double vinyl. For the first time, you can find every track ever recorded by THE DRAFT: Included are the twelve album tracks, six songs featured on three 7" records, two unreleased demo versions, as well as four songs recorded during a radio session in the UK that have never been released before. Not only were all songs remastered specifically for vinyl by Brian McTernan, and detailed liner notes have been added to tell the band's history from beginning to end, but the packaging has also been completely overhauled. A special feature for collectors: the European and American versions come in different gatefold covers, which together form a complete work of art.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!
Bad Company's eponymous 1974 debut featuring "Ready for Love"
180-gram 45 RPM double LP
Mastered directly from the original master tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

From the wreckage of Free came Bad Company, the English hard rock supergroup fronted by singer Paul Rodgers and featuring his drummer bandmate Simon Kirke, Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982.

The group's eponymous 1974 album debut decidedly proves the band is proudly not progressive — the details make a difference, as do the pastoral acoustics of the closing "Seagull" — reducing their rock 'n' roll to a strong, heavy crunch; compare "Ready for Love," a tune Ralphs brought over from Mott the Hoople, to the original to see how these quartet members keep their heads down as they do their business. Appropriately enough given their name, there's a sense of slow, churning menace to Bad Company, writes AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine.

Their first three albums, Bad Company (1974), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run with the Pack (1976), reached the Top Five in the album charts in both the U.K. and the U.S.. Many of their singles and songs, such as "Bad Company," "Can't Get Enough," "Good Lovin' Gone Bad," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Ready for Love," "Shooting Star," and "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy," remain staples of classic rock radio. They have sold 20 million RIAA-certified albums in the U.S. and 40 millon worldwide.

The self-titled debut album was recorded at Headley Grange, Hampshire, in Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S, and No. 3 on the U.K. Albums Chart, spending 25 weeks on the U.K. charts. The album has been certified five times platinum in the U.S., and became the 46th-best-selling album of the 1970s. The singles "Can't Get Enough" and "Movin' On" reached No. 5 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 10.

All the hallmarks of a top-notch Analogue Productions reissue are here for your pleasure: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings and RTI, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Melanie Martinez’s debut album “Cry Baby” has remarkably kept growing in stature since its 2015 release, now approaching its high-water mark of 1 BILLION global audio streams for the second consecutive year. The RIAA recently re-certified the record at 2x platinum, in large part due to TikTok trending moments for several of the album’s tracks. These trending moments, occurring over the course of 2020-1, most notably included the digital bonus cut “Play Date,” which became a TikTok phenomenon and is now Melanie’s most popular song with over 700M streams.
On this expanded deluxe edition, “Play Date” and 2 additional digital bonus tracks (“Teddy Bear” and “Cake”) are – for the first time – added to the original, standard vinyl album. These songs were only previously available on vinyl on the now out-of-print, limited edition Extra Clutter EP from 2016.
With an expanded booklet featuring 3 new illustrations for the 3 bonus tracks, this deluxe edition will be the one, primary Cry Baby vinyl product moving forward.

The second incarnation of the mythical band of the eighties mod revival, active since 2013 under the leadership of Chris Pope. The English band offers us 4 tracks full of power-pop, punk 77 rage and classic melodies. The Chords UK are back in action with a new EP that keeps the bar high when it comes to punk-influenced power pop. The title track of the EP was originally composed and worked on in 1985 for the Arista label, with the collaboration in production of Tony James (Generation X, Chelsea...). It finally remained unreleased and is now, at last, seeing the light of day once re-imagined, re-arranged and re-recorded in April 2023. It's a fearsome shock of rock'n'roll rhythm and sharp, angular guitars with more than a nod to late 70's The Clash, all wrapped up in infectious vocal harmonies and anthemic choruses. "Veronica Jones" is a new mix of the celebrated cut from the band's 2022 album "Big City Dreams". This track was born as a punchy modern folk song, as it tells the story of a girl who is clearly out to have a good time, but this version is elevated with a garage rock approach, ably assisted by the keyboard talents of Mick Talbot, formerly of The Style Council and Merton Parkas. "Before Elvis" has its origins in a 2014 demo that eventually remained unreleased and is a raging rock track with a Stones-style beat and amps pushed to the limit. The EP closes with "All I Want is Everything" a high-tempo rock'n'roll reworking of the song that previously appeared on their 2018 album "Nowhere Land", with the bass-driven beat rising several notches as the guitar screams and wails.

It's time for the 2nd release on Tripsi Records for Playedby's creator, Cristi Klebleev. Second Trip EP features two "longplay" minimal tracks, Budpass and Franky, while the artwork cover is a painting by Cristi. Franky was one of Sammy Dee's favorite selections to play back in 2019 at the Get Perlonized parties.

Erstmals auf Vinyl: Das Debütalbum der US-Pop-Punk-Band Hit The Lights, 'This Is A Stick Up... Don't Make It A Murder' aus 2006, auf rotem Vinyl. Produziert von Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco), enthält es frühe Hits wie 'Bodybag' und 'Speakers Blown', Titel ihrer EP 'Until We Get Caught' (2005), sowie den zusätzlichen LP-exklusiven Bonustrack 'Her Eyes Say Yes'.

A1 - Healing Properties
Opening his Spatial account with Healing Properties, Eusabia immediately throws down the gauntlet showcasing an inimitable versatility with breakbeats, permeated with a jungle flex so rarely captured in the atmospheric D&B landscape. Pivoting effortlessly as the track progresses from drumloop to thunderous drumloop with a simmering haunted atmosphere and deep, weighty basslines to yearning filtered vocal samples, this track has it all.

A2 - The Space Between
Smooth jungly synthwork seizes the foreground before crisp breaks begin to reveal our direction through The Space Between, jittery key stabs and familiar old school FX create a unique sci-fi style backdrop as the breaks drive the vibe forward, switching and weaving in style, constantly mixing it up to ram the point home that you cannot fully appreciate a Eusabia track until every second has been consumed - many times over, as The Space Between demands.

AA1 - Scope of Understanding
A more contemplative piece, Scope of Understanding strips things back with a synthwave-esque vibe tinged with intrigue and allure. Soon the breakbeats leap into gear and develop with an incredible level of refined detail, expertly edited, chopped and cut to a darkly undertone of sub bass and subtle micro melodies. Scope of Understanding will leave you in awe of the quickfire ideas Eusabia can conjure in the space of 6 minutes.

AA2 - Self Reflection
A smooth atmospheric introduction ushers in a thumping drum tools workout, somehow perfectly in sync with the calm harmonies dancing around in the composition. Certainly a track to enjoy both on the discerning dancefloor and while driving home with rain lashing at the windscreen at 2am, Self Reflection's synths and breaks conclude the EP in style leaving a long lasting memory of a Spatial debut you will not forget.

Words by Chris Hayes.

A1 - Synergy
A long-awaited release for seasoned fans of the label familiar with ASC's DJ sets since creating Spatial, Synergy has been requested for release many times and is finally here - and it hasn't aged a bit. A track which lifts you gradually through a true journey of escalating, dynamic atmospheric soundscapes with crisp detailed break patterns that ebb and flow to an intricate collage of synths, keys and vocal hits to an inquisitive melody. A
stunning piece which somehow has something new to offer each time you hear it.

A2 - Suspended Animation
Conjuring an ethereal feeling with grand atmospheric backdrops reminiscent of early Intense, Suspended Animation is a calming yet suspenseful track which slowly builds with expressive break patterns and minimal kickdrums as subtle basslines rumble below. Long echoing effects and melodies gently nudge the proceedings forward, ASC once again showcasing the diversity of his production toolset.

AA1 - Repetition
It's been a while since a pure two-step drum loop has had this much impact - make no mistake - the breaks of Repetition will bore their way into your brain like Pulp Fiction did in the mid 90's with a thumping kickdrum and stabbing snare tweaked to perfection. While the beats drive the track along, a collage of audio texture surrounds them with a signature female vocal sample closing out phrases filled with finely tuned synthwork.

AA2 - Pharaoh
Landing with immediate impact and building the mood with a subdued urgency, the Hot Pants breaks of Pharaoh surf the dunes of sound to an abundance of sheer atmosphere as ASC crafts a stunningly evocative track which is aptly titled, transporting the listener to mystical Egyptian sands, the synths and horns whispering like the echoes of of a bygone era demanding their timely reprise through the medium of Spatial.
Epic.

Words by Chris Hayes

Red Marbled Vinyl

Berlin, Funkhaus based electronic record label and music studio Bright Sounds enters their 10th year of business in 2023. And this marks the perfect occasion to team up with another long going techno institution, Skudge. Starting as a record label curated by two Swedish gearheads releasing their own studio jams in the late 00's, Elias Landberg is now recognized as one of the most steady techno producers of modern times.

The long-anticipated debut album "Infernal Fractality", set for a late 2023 release, unleashes a relentless onslaught of sonic brutality that has consumed over half a decade of tireless devotion from the band's enigmatic founder, Ødemark (known for his work with 3rd Attempt, Ovate, and Necrocave). Ødemark, an artist driven by both the fiery passion of psychedelics and a relentless pursuit of extreme metal's uncharted territories, has woven these elements into an epic, violent, and boundary-defying soundscape that delves deep into the realms of the Luciferian ideals, non-duality pointers, and the mystic principles found in his own psychedelic experiences.

THE LAST EON was formed to push the boundaries of the established but dormant industrial black metal sound pioneered by bands such Thorns and Mysticum and to its maximum exponential, with the vision of "creating the most intense music in history", objective that took 6 years of obsession, a couple burnouts, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers and outers, to map the depths of the psychedelic experience that would be distilled into "Infernal Fractality". With the help of drummer Jarle Byberg, Ødemark created this whole beast by himself.

After years of pushing every conceivable boundary, and breaking every possible rule and standard in composition, production and sound design, the masterpiece was ready for the crucible of Zardonic's mastering process, who consolidated the behemoth of a more than 300 track project into a time-space shattering soundscape of cosmic proportions.

Mainman Ødemark states: “I wanted to push the limits of what extreme metal can be, and materialize a vision for the future of electronic black metal that required me to rebel against every single rule in my mind of what black metal is, to create what black metal can be. This included also the theme and lyrics, spreading awareness of the mind expanding psychedelic experiences and self exploration within the black metal culture.”

The long-anticipated debut album "Infernal Fractality", set for a late 2023 release, unleashes a relentless onslaught of sonic brutality that has consumed over half a decade of tireless devotion from the band's enigmatic founder, Ødemark (known for his work with 3rd Attempt, Ovate, and Necrocave). Ødemark, an artist driven by both the fiery passion of psychedelics and a relentless pursuit of extreme metal's uncharted territories, has woven these elements into an epic, violent, and boundary-defying soundscape that delves deep into the realms of the Luciferian ideals, non-duality pointers, and the mystic principles found in his own psychedelic experiences.

THE LAST EON was formed to push the boundaries of the established but dormant industrial black metal sound pioneered by bands such Thorns and Mysticum and to its maximum exponential, with the vision of "creating the most intense music in history", objective that took 6 years of obsession, a couple burnouts, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers and outers, to map the depths of the psychedelic experience that would be distilled into "Infernal Fractality". With the help of drummer Jarle Byberg, Ødemark created this whole beast by himself.

After years of pushing every conceivable boundary, and breaking every possible rule and standard in composition, production and sound design, the masterpiece was ready for the crucible of Zardonic's mastering process, who consolidated the behemoth of a more than 300 track project into a time-space shattering soundscape of cosmic proportions.

Mainman Ødemark states: “I wanted to push the limits of what extreme metal can be, and materialize a vision for the future of electronic black metal that required me to rebel against every single rule in my mind of what black metal is, to create what black metal can be. This included also the theme and lyrics, spreading awareness of the mind expanding psychedelic experiences and self exploration within the black metal culture.”

The entity known as ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES, would like to express its excitement to be working with the Seattle, WA based BAND Sandrider, and enjoyed the previous relationship of Damm and Weisnewski in their former entity known as AKIMBO. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES is very much a fan of previous work from the BAND on Satanik Royalty Records and highly recommend new listeners investigate the discography further. The upcoming 2-song single by BAND, hereafter referred to as AVIARY/BALEEN has a limited-edition initial pressing on blue and white splatter vinyl pressing of 300 copies, and successive runs will not be as colorful. Immediate orders are encouraged. This cheeky duality of Sandrider is also captured perfectly in the subject matter of the EP’s two tracks: The explosive first track, “Aviary,” portrays the modern hellscape of social media as sinister, soulless mama bird, willfully vomiting disinformation into the eager mouths of enthusiastically consenting participants. “PLEASE MOTHER, FEED THEM YOUR BILE. DOUSE THE BABES WITH YOUR WHOLESOME RETCH,” vocalist/guitarist Jon Weisnewski wails over massive, frenetic riffs, rounded out by bassist Jesse Roberts’ warm low end and drummer Nat Damm’s ultra-hard, punch-like beats. The song concludes in a frenzy of danceable beats, with Weisnewski doing his best Painkiller-era Halford screams as he commands you to flood the whole damn thing – drown those who wish to destroy us. As pissed off as the song is, you’ll feel triumphant by the end anyway. Side B’s “Baleen” on the other hand (while ironically the angrier-sounding song of the two), is about a lighter thought that keeps Weisnewski up at night: Do you ever think about how fucking weird whales are? They’re enormous floating creatures that can't handle gravity, and they hang out in the deepest oceans. Yet they can’t breathe underwater, so they have to stay near the top and come up for air all the time. Seems inconvenient. And you’d think that the biggest mammal that ever lived would be a brutal carnivore, right? But no. They eat the tiniest creatures, through a bunch of hair in their mouths. What the fuck? Anyway, ponder on that while you bang your head along with Sandrider’s signature primal, hypnotizingly heavy riffs.

High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK's best hardcore bands. Gild-toothed frontman Graham Sayle's anguished lyrics about life in working class Britain were familiar to fans of Tremors' full-throttle thrash, but alongside his former bandmate Edward `Ski' Harper and veterans of Dirty Money, DiE and The Smear, High Vis sought to transform that energy and intensity into something entirely new.Like scene-mates Chubby and the Gang did by pulling in unlikely source material from classic doo-wop or Micromoon have by combining everything from psychedelia and metal into their high potency mix, High Vis' 2019 debut album, No Sense No Feeling showed the band were never going to be constrained by any sense of genre rules or regulations. Its claustrophobic rattle bore traces of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Crisis, The Cure and Gang Of Four lurking in the shadows. 2020's synth-driven EP, Society Exists, was further evidence of the band's restless creative MO.High Vis' second album Blending sees them open their viewfinder wider than ever before. Alongside longstanding favourites such as Fugazi and Echo and The Bunnymen; Ride and even Flock Of Seagulls were shared reference points as the band worked on the album together.From the anthemic sweep of opener "Talk For Hours", through the title track's psychedelic swirl and "Fever Dream"'s baggy groove, it sees High Vis' sound blossoming into something with an unlimited richness. The hazy drift of "Shame" or the melodic jangle of "Trauma Bonds" may take them until uncharted waters, but they still have all the power and bite that made No Sense No Feeling so remarkable.Lyrically, the album represents another leap forward too. Talking frankly about poverty, class politics, and the challenges of everyday life, Sayle's lyrics have always addressed the downtrodden and discarded communities across Britain slipping below the waterline. This time around, Sayle's lost not of that social consciousness, but he's looked at himself and his own emotional landscape, and in the process created something that feels more universal, that reaches a hand-out to people and ultimately gives a message of hope."To me, the lyrics are less selfish," reflects Sayle. "In the past, I couldn't see past whatever was going on with me. It's about accepting things and being open to conversations and learning to talk to people rather than just thinking that we're all doomed."The song "Talk for Hours" is a prime example of that. Born out of an afternoon meeting up with an old group of mates "repeating the same thing and not actually learning anything about each other" it offers to actually break the cycle and to listen and speak frankly about shared feelings and experiences. "Trauma Bonds", meanwhile, traces the broken lines of those living in lost communities, but ultimately realises that despite our shared scars, there's still hope to move on to a better future."The message of the album is you're not who you're told you are," Sayle summarises. "You're not your class background. Whatever it is, you're not that. Don't resign yourself to thinking you can't be this and you can't be that."It's a vitally important message right now, and one that could be the motto for not only Blending, but for High Vis themselves.

KID FRANCESCOLI, leader of the French Riviera Touch is back with the stellar album SUNSET BLUE out Sept 22nd 2023.

After a first sold-out world tour (over 200 concerts in Europe, USA, Asia...), and successful hits such as Nopalitos, Blow Up or Moon (now certified diamond, with more than 200 millions streams), the Marseille-based producer, crooner and multi-instrumentalist, Mathieu Hocine, is eager to share his most accomplished LP ever. This fine collection of soulful songs honor his Mediterranean roots, with elegant and pop melodies. His most recent success and the creation of his first original soundtrack with AZURO, installed him as one of the best French songwriters of his generation, with a unique signature sound.

"I live in Marseille, I spent my childhood in Corsica, I have Algerian origins, my first vacations with friends were in Barcelona, vacations with my first girlfriend in Roma,... Then, I had the chance to perform in Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Egypt: each time I spent time in the Mediterranean region, the people I met there made me feel like I was part of the same country. This shared multiculturalism is really comforting, it has its own poetry and strength, bringing uniqueness and empathy to the people. It is essential for me. I love my city: it’s the perfect place to feel good with sun, sea, family, friendships, love... It gets me emotional, bringing tears with a smile".

With his new musical gem, Mathieu Hocine unveils 11 elegant tunes of his finest craft: sunbathed French Touch (Run Run, 1986), romantic chillwave (Corsica), uplifting synthpop (You Are Everywhere, Like Magic), electronic-soul (Casino Soul), cinematic disco (Solaris), cosmic R&B (Sweet and Sour, Take Time), … Everything is in this record.

For the first time ever, Kid Francescoli paid tribute to his mixed origins with his collaboration with world-renowned lute and mandolin player Hakim Hamadouche (Rachid Taha, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Tricky...), whom added Algerian patterns to the introspectives songs Drift in Blue and The Morning After.

"My ambition is to create pictures in people's heads with music, to transport them instantly into a movie"

SUNSET BLUE is an instant-crush album: crystal-clear, strong, personal but universal at the same time.

It's an ecstatic soundtrack for this moment when time is suspended, the golden hour when everything seems possible. It feels like Love is in the air, you're living your best life and you're at the right place at the right time. This album embodies this magic moment where we would like to last forever… Like an epiphany, Kid Francescoli's new album is a moment of pure pleasure, a soothing way to escape reality.

"I see myself as a melodist.I would like my music to feel like velvet. There's something cinematic, classy about it, and yet comforting. It's very simple, popular and synonym of love and passion"

His friend French 79 co-produced the album, while the american rapper Bamby H2O brought his NYC swag (on Sweet & Sour), Stan Neff (Polo & Pan, Kungs, Christine and the Queens...) took care of the mix and Alex Gopher (Daft Punk, The Blaze, Bon Entendeur...) added a final touch of magic when mastering. Nicolas Despis (known for his work with Etienne Daho, Hoshi, Juliette Armanet... and many famous French rappers) later joined this dream-team to craft custom-made artworks. SUNSET BLUE is a deeply personal quest, a human adventure for Mathieu Hocine (whom explores his maghrebian origins, his feminine side, his subconscious space, ...). It's a male's work, but don't get it wrong, this LP would be nothing without women’s touch : Julietta (on Run Run and Take Time), Sarah Gaugler from Turbo Goth (on You Are Everywhere and Like Magic), and iOni (on Drift in Blue).

“Music has this magical power to broaden your vision of the world. It's fascinating because, like dreams, it's the kind of irrational things science can't explain and that makes life exciting."

Planets aligned perfectly on this project and thanks to this five-star cast of collaborators, Kid Francescoli achieved his personal holy grail : he orchestrated a great 21st century pop-music album.SUNSET BLUE is a new turning point between organic and electronic, both a mediterranean travel and a Californian dream, a bridge between Ennio Morriconne and modern electronic music.

Also, while it might be called SUNSET BLUE in honor of the sea and the Portuguese / Brazilian concept called “saudade”, but it is a really optimistic album, whose true colors would rather be "yellow-orange-red" in nod to the sun.

Created in the midst of the world tour, SUNSET BLUE is a direct result of the lives’ energy and fans’ joyful vibes: going back in the studio after smiling, singing and dancing with people all around the world inevitably gave Kid Francescoli the desire to retranscribe this ecstatic feeling in music. This album is a sensitive experience, from sunrise to sunset, from first track to last one. It’s an exploration of an everlasting summer, reaching its climax in the very final seconds of the track Corsica, making us want to press play and dive into this jewel all over again.

A beautiful cosmic trip, whether you like to stay in bed cocooning, to travel far, far away or to dance ‘till dawn, to catch the first rays of light.

Make sure to catch Kid Francescoli on his next world tour to have a good time.

Limited release.

After “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser” directed by Davide Manulli, Vitalic is once again putting his music to moving images with “Disco Boy” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (awarded a Silver Bear at the 2023 Berlinale). Electronic, intense and navigating between a variety of different atmospheres, the soundtrack - much like the film it accompanies - is full of promise and mystery. “The Swamps”, “La Guerre” and “Helicopter” are reminiscent of the intense, dark and foreboding productions of Thomas Bangalter for “Irreversible” by director Gaspar Noé. In contrast, “Winter is Coming” and “Lost Time” are places of melancholy and sweetness where all bass has completely disappeared. As for the eponymous theme for the film, “Disco Boy”, it pays true electronic homage to the sound of disco. The retro-futurist soundtrack to “Disco Boy” oscillates between devastating kick drums, moist ambient and dreamlike swathes. Vitalic has created uncharted sonic landscapes that invite us on a voyage of initiation and self-discovery.

Here comes the 2nd release on our imprint from the classy duo, this time on vinyl.

The Robinson continue their personal voyage into the shades of house never forgetting their roots deeply linked to the second wave of Chicago House and the distinctive sound of Italo House. This new effort consists in two tracks per side: two original cuts and in as many powerful remixes by the U.S. legends of the game Fred P and Trinidadian Deep.

Taste Rec. keeps the pressure high with an EP that unleash pulsating beats and groovy bass lines merged perfectly with soulful melodies, tribal percussions and a special Kora solo recorded live. Dreamy atmospheres alongside a four to the floor rhythms is the philosophy we chase and we prove it still delivering a record suitable both for clubs or private underground events.

Originally released in 1991 via their own Triple Helix Records, Automation brings us 'The Remixes' EP, featuring 4 tracks that have stood the test of time, bridging the gap between Hardcore, Breakbeat, and Techno. Reissued via MPS!

The long out-of-print sophomore album by the pioneering, creatively restless troupe, Cerberus Shoal, highlights the earliest phase of their transition from experimental hardcore band to transcendent exploratory collective. Originally released in 1996, _And Farewell To Hightide combined the group's unique command of patient anticipation with a significantly expanded musical palette and a refined musicianship. Shedding virtually all obvious references to the frenetic post-hardcore of their eponymous debut album, Hightide saw Cerberus Shoal incorporating elements of Talk Talk, Tortoise, and the early Windham Hill catalog into a sound that was incomparable at the time. Now, more than 20 years later, it's proven astonishingly prescient and truly timeless. Beautifully remastered and finally made available digitally for the first time ever, this expanded deluxe edition includes the Lighthouse In Athens EP recorded during the same era as _And Farewell To Hightide. Finally available on vinyl for the first time ever, _And Farewell To Hightide - Deluxe Expanded Edition is packaged in restored artwork with newly uncovered photos and extensive new liner notes written by the band. The record has been newly mastered for vinyl by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl.

The long out-of-print breakthrough third album by the forever forward-thinking New England collective, Cerberus Shoal, is rightfully considered a high-water mark for the band, and a quintessential example of what would eventually be commonly defined as "post-rock." The first studio album to feature the members of fellow local experimental rock troupe, Tarpigh, Homb exemplifies the transitional magic and mystery that marked Cerberus Shoal's brilliant early era. Unraveling their various influences - early 90s post-hardcore, shoegaze, avant-rock, psych-folk, early New Age - and weaving them into something uniquely rich and resonant seemed almost effortless to Cerberus Shoal, and perhaps no album epitomized that more than the lush tapestry of Homb. Finally available on vinyl for the first time ever, Homb - Anniversary Edition is packaged in restored artwork with extensive new liner notes written by the band. The record has been newly mastered for vinyl by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl.

Repress!

On 22nd October, the Nottingham-raised and highly-praised musician/DJ/producer Matt Cutler, AKA Lone, presents his 8th album – and first in 5 years – ‘Always Inside Your Head’. It marks two major changes, with both a new label and new approach – featuring vocalists for the first time.

This deeply textural and ethereal artwork is situated high above the clouds, amidst the heavens, occupying a stratospheric state where swathes of synthesized vapour and azure rays sound like a literal breath of fresh air.

A varied selection of music influenced the record, but two main influences were Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. “I wanted to approach a range of different styles, but attack them from their angle in a way, so for example on 'Inlove2' I tried to imagine what a Balearic / acid house tune might sound like if it were produced by Kevin Shields”, comments Lone.

Another key example of Cutler’s strange but successful combination of elements is the halcyon bliss of ‘Echo Paths’, where his trademark fat drums and love for hip hop meet double-time pan pipes, dub effects and dream pop, mixed into a wonderfully lysergic concoction.

This rarefied auditory stratus was previously evident in tracks like ‘Alpha Wheel 4 (Ambient Mix)’ from ‘DJ Kicks’, ‘Under Cherry Blossoms (Minds Eye Reprise)’ from ‘Ambivert Tools, Vol. 2’, ‘Pulsar’ (from ‘Ambivert 4’), and ‘How Can You Tell’ (from ‘Abraxas’), but is now more fully-fledged, broader in scope and even more celestial.

In addition to the above, the LP exists somewhere between trip hop on Mo' Wax, 90s Warp, intelligent drum & bass and ambient house. There are heavier forays too, like ‘Mouth Of God’, where darker clouds emerge, but are pierced like acid lightning with fierce, tearing tech-step bass.

Although still firmly rooted in club culture – here Lone shows a definite leaning towards a song-based sound, with several tracks edging towards the same crossover space as the nineties hits which also inspired him – particularly William Orbit’s production on Madonna's 'Frozen', and Olive's 'You're Not Alone'. This is especially evident on the bright, spacious brilliance of 'Hidden By Horizons', where vocals and synths swirl around one another, with crisp breakbeats and reggae rolls pushing purposefully through the ether.

Despite initially seeming almost entirely sunny of disposition, upon deeper immersion there’s lot more beneath the album’s surface, both in its deep pools of immiscible layered elements, and also thematically. When recording Cutler kept in mind a loose narrative based on birth, death, and our existence in-between.

He then extended this idea to reach what may happen after death, which is reflected in the sequencing: By penultimate track ‘Undaunted’ the life reflected in this longplayer has come to an end, which is then followed by 'Coming In To Being And Passing Away' – an afterlife epilogue, which evokes a transition from this world to the next.

Having firmly re-established his underground roots, through a series of killer EPs on his newly birthed imprint, 49North - the Spooky and Animated legend now turns his attention to solo album number 1 - his first ever, as Duncan Forbes.

Laying its first foundations some 5 years ago now - ‘Return Of The Strobelight Kid’ has been stealthily taking shape and developing organically ever since. And as a result, the 8 tracks which now make up the final running order, feel very much a direct reflection of all that was experienced during that time; as someone who - whilst having well and truly bought the t-shirt several times over by now - nevertheless finds themselves back on the starting grid, having to do it all over again from scratch.

But embarking on new adventures from way back on square one - is something Duncan’s no stranger to; and on this album, he invites us to join him on this journey of his, and experience all the ups, downs, twists and turns that come with such intrepid territory.

TASTEMAKER/DJ SUPPORT: Axel Boman, Steve Bug, Baikal, Ame, Len Faki, Red Axes, Agoria, DJ Sabo, Anja Schneider, Alex.Do, Oliver Huntemann, AFFKT, Smash TV, The Revenge, Joshua James, Nicole Moudaber, Tim Sweeney, John Osborn, Powel, Alexi Delano, Davide Squillace, Kasper Borke, Iron Curtis, Optimo, Musumeci, Klose One + more.

Making their debut on Rupture, we are pleased to welcome Pugilist & Tamen with the 'Looking Out EP'.

The duo from Melbourne come with a unique blend for the Rupture crew, across four tracks that journey through the elements.

The EP drifts between dubby tribal steppers and rolling percussion, taking its time to savour everything in between, experimenting with different tempos, textures and atmospherics.

Progressing and building at every turn, the EP develops organically and hits in all the right ways.

Limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Quickly rising to be one of the most exciting names in UK electronic music, live artist / producer Jasper Tygner presents his multi-faceted 2nd EP 'Off Season' via LG105 following his 'Real Time' EP earlier this year.

Featuring the incredible Art School Girlfriend, 'Ready' is a match made in heaven exploring glitchy keys, ambient synths and ASG's captivating vocals. Making his mark in chilled-out experimental electronica, Jasper perfectly balances club-ready beats with meditative melodies across the EP, that also features Australia's DJ Boring on their 2nd collaboration this year.

Sourced from the Original Master Tapes and Presented in Audiophile Sound for the First Time: Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g SuperVinyl LP Plays with Riveting Detail
Three decades before he released The Philosophy of Modern Song — an insightful book devoted to 66 tunes that both impacted his career and the music world at large — Bob Dylan issued Good As I Been to You. The under-heralded 1992 album, Dylan’s first solo acoustic album in nearly 30 years and first all-covers effort in nearly 20 years, can be seen as a prophetic prelude to what has become the Nobel Laureate’s celebrated late-career arc. It’s also an absorbing continuation of the custom Dylan has embraced since he first picked up a guitar.


Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at RTI, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g SuperVinyl LP of Good As I Been to You reveals the immediacy, detail, and stripped-down nature of recording sessions that took place in Dylan’s garage studio in California. Simple, raw, and unplugged, the record presents Dylan in peak form — and showcases a diversity of vocal phrasing, soulful chording, harmonica accents, and close-up ambience that on this reissue emerge like never before. As the first-ever audiophile edition of this almost-lost classic, this LP also benefits from SuperVinyl’s extraordinary properties: a nearly inaudible noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces among them.

Recorded and mixed by Micajah Ryan, and supervised by Debbie Gold, Good As I Been to You took shape at Dylan’s home shortly after the singer-songwriter completed sessions in Chicago with a full band. Unaccompanied, he again gravitated to existing works — in this case, traditional folk music — and, with Gold serving as a trusted advisor, performed the songs in multiple keys and tempos until he arrived at what he desired. That careful, determined albeit loose, organic approach emanates from this reissue, on which each note, movement, and space come across more directly, fully, and immediately than on the original formats. It helps draw a through-line to Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) as well as the similarly themed follow-up, World Gone Wrong (1993) and immersive old-world storytelling of Tempest (2012) and Rough and Rowdy Ways (2020).

Well before Dylan made those renowned 21st century LPs, however, he needed to find a way out of a funk that — save for his 1989 collaboration with Daniel Lanois, Oh Mercy — followed him for years. As author Clinton Heylin reported Dylan admitting in 1997: “My influences have not changed — and any time they have done, the music goes off to a wrong place. That’s why I recorded two LPs of old songs, so I could personally get back to the music that’s true for me.”

Truth: Few, if any, concepts better encapsulate Good As I Been to You. It resonates with the same originality, honesty, resolve, and age- and time-defying relevance as the seminal Anthology of American Folk Music that fired Dylan’s imagination as a kid in small-town Minnesota and, later, per Greil Marcus’ That Old Weird America book, informed Dylan and the Band’s Basement Tapes sessions. This record also contains the type of music Dylan was playing during his acoustic sets at his period Never Ending Tour shows; within a year of the record’s release, Dylan would play half the album’s songs live.

As for those songs: Rife with strange mystery, common circumstance, and epic adventure, the stories appeal to our base instincts. Their themes — jealousy, temptation, sacrifice, love, revenge, identity, opportunity — operate on a fundamentally human level immune to trends, generations, or eras. They’re ancient and modern, serious and comical, open and disguised, simple and multi-layered. They talk of vengeance and justice (“Frankie & Albert”; “Jim Jones”), romance and tenderness (“Tomorrow Night,” “Froggie Went a Courtin’”), the troubled and trouble-free (“Hard Times,” “Sittin’ on Top of the World”). They lend voice to lovers scorned and freed (“Blackjack Davey”), the used and users (“Diamond Joe”), the powerful and powerless (“Arthur McBride,” “Canadee-I-O”), the followed and followers (“Little Maggie”). And akin to much of Dylan’s finest output, things are not always what they appear to be.

Spanning country, folk, sea shanty, bluegrass, and blues motifs, Good As I Been to You re-confirms Dylan’s position as an elite interpreter and sculptor — not of just structure but emotion. Dylan delivers the tunes as if he’s known them forever. He plays with a subtle sense of mischievousness and retains a largely upbeat demeanour; his eyes seemingly twinkle as he sings and picks. His guitar serves as the guidepost for shuffles, boogies, ballads, and mess-arounds while his innate feel for each specific arrangement and melody helps inform pacing, tone, attack.

Like a great author, he understands the importance of adhering to concision, luring an audience, holding their attention, and maximizing the impact of details, actions, and unexpected turns. Though already coarse and ragged, his voice feels ideal for the subject matter and his phrasing — from the clever ways he stretches syllables to underline meanings on the surprise twists of “Canadee-I-O” to the sheer delight he gets from singing “rowdy-dow-dow” on the protest song “Arthur McBride” — outstanding.

NOW Music is proud to announce NOW Presents…Disco, a stunning 5LP boxset featuring 80 of the greatest Disco classics ever!

Kicking off with the genre defining #1 from Donna Summer ‘I Feel Love’ followed by Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions and their timeless hit ‘Boogie Wonderland’, this boxset features the most enduring tracks from dance-floor legends, including Chic, Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, Village People, and Grace Jones - together with Saturday Night Fever gems - ‘Disco Inferno’, ‘More Than A Woman’, and ‘If I Can't Have You’.

LP 2 opens with Amii Stewart’s stunning version of ‘Knock On Wood’, followed by Candi Staton’s ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ and Chaka Khan’s hugely successful debut solo single ‘I'm Every Woman’. Other massive debuts include ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’ from A Taste Of Honey, Alicia Bridges’ ‘I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)’, and Cheryl Lynn’s ‘Got To Be Real’. Up next is the often-covered ‘Lady Marmalade’ together with Diana Ross’ ‘Love Hangover’ which lead into #1s from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, (‘December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)’), Tina Charles (‘I Love To Love’), Odyssey (‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’) and Irene Cara (‘Fame’).

LP 3 Side A is packed with groovy and romantic chart-toppers from Elton John (‘Are You Ready For Love’), George McCrae (‘Rock Your Baby’), Barry White (‘You're The First, The Last, My Everything’), and The Spinners with their ‘Working My Way Back To You / Forgive Me, Girl’ medley. Flipping over to the other side, we have the timeless smash from Baccara ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, Boney M. with ‘Daddy Cool’, and Village People’s ‘In The Navy’. Viola Wills’ Hi-NRG cover of ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now’ and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ bring LP 3 to a close.

Lipps Inc., Kool & The Gang, Frantique, and KC & The Sunshine Band keep the dance-floor energy levels high on LP 4 with ‘Funkytown’, ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Strut Your Funky Stuff’, and ‘That's The Way (I Like It)’. The disco-mania of the late-70s also saluted the late-70s craze for Space themed movies & tv with early Electro-pop-dance, and included here from Space and Dee D. Jackson, before Sarah Brightman’s debut with Hot Gossip, ‘I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper’, and Meco’s remake of the ‘Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band’ as a dance-floor classic… Giorgio Moroder productions for Sparks with ‘Beat The Clock’ and The Three Degrees with ‘Givin’ Up Givin’ In’ lead the side to a close with ‘Souvenirs’ from Voyage.

LP 5 is filled with truly monster sized dancefloor-fillers, beginning with a run of Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards productions: ‘Le Freak’, ‘We Are Family’, ‘Spacer’ and ‘Upside Down’ from Diana Ross. It wouldn’t be a Disco album without Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’, the Bee Gees-written ‘Nights On Broadway’ covered by Candi Staton, and the Grammy award-winning ‘Best Of My Love’ from The Emotions, before another hit cover from Amii Stewart, ‘Light My Fire’. Side B features some fabulous European Disco, including Belle Epoque and Amanda Lear, and signature hits from Patsy Gallant and Vicki Sue Robinson before drawing to a close with Rose Royce’s celebrated ‘Car Wash’, and Cher’s biggest disco hit ‘Take Me Home’ – and the last dance is left to Thelma Houston with her defining anthem ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’.

NOW Presents…Disco – the perfect collection and collector’s item for every 70s Disco lover.

Yellow/Green Marbled Vinyl

* From Karma Recordings comes their fourteenth EP. I can hardly believe it myself as I type this but yes, Karma Recordings is up to 014. On remix duties this time around is the very talented Dope Ammo. Fusing the jungle and drum n bass styles together seemlessly we feel we have another classic in the making with this release. Taking the pianos of DJ KOS’ original Horizons Lost and overlaying some haunting vocals and then slamming into the dnb, this track is not to be missed. Then rolling right on to the second remix on the A side we just had to release on to vinyl the brilliant Sync Dynamix remix. With a style all of his own Sync Dynamix has really done the track justice with rolling breakbeats and a heavy bassline. I was originally going to title this the light and dark EP and then completely forgot while doing the artwork. However, that’s where we went with the double A side. Psycho Boy by DJ Ande is a grimy menacing track sampling the laughter of Tyler Durden from Fight Club and just gets more and more troubled all the way through. Sinister, scary and chopped, the perfect track for Halloween. Then we have been delighted to bring back the hardware talents of Dertie Bassett, always a bit dark but absolutely superb. All four tracks will take you on a journey from light to dark.

2023 Repress

Music beamed through Dimensional Waves by Abstract Thought. 3 unnamed Abstract Thoughts taken from the original project tapes from 2003, recorded around the same time as the wellknown full length album release. Sonic expressions that will need your own interpretation to lead to a reality-oriented conclusion.

Trop-pop duo Summer Salt — singer/guitarist Matthew Terry and drummer Eugene Chung — spent many years building towards their latest album, Sequoia Moon (2021), ever since jettisoning their Dallas, Texas, hometown for the arts-and-culture oasis of Austin. The band quickly rose through the ranks of the local Austin scene with their 2014 debut Driving To Hawaii, teeming with both the escapism and recklessness of youth and the composure and charm of '60s-era pop, doo wop and bossa nova.
2018's Happy Camper, 2019's Honeyweed and 2020's Avenue G further cemented the band's place as one of the indie brightest stars. Summer Salt soared past 1 million monthly Spotify listeners and toured the world, all as Live Nation's Ones To Watch and American Songwriter hailed them for their breezy, synesthetic soundscapes.

French production duo and live act Atomic moog debuts on the Delsin Cameron series with their Programm EP. Operating in a deep techno niche since 2015 they've put out an excellent run of mesmerizing, introvert dancefloor techno for labels like Lowless, Subosc and Norwegian techno platform Monument. Here on Delsin they crafted the next chapter of their vibrant modular quest, sub heavy and sparkling at the same time, sparsely arranged subtle techno jams.

High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK's best hardcore bands. Gild-toothed frontman Graham Sayle's anguished lyrics about life in working class Britain were familiar to fans of Tremors' full-throttle thrash, but alongside his former bandmate Edward `Ski' Harper and veterans of Dirty Money, DiE and The Smear, High Vis sought to transform that energy and intensity into something entirely new.Like scene-mates Chubby and the Gang did by pulling in unlikely source material from classic doo-wop or Micromoon have by combining everything from psychedelia and metal into their high potency mix, High Vis' 2019 debut album, No Sense No Feeling showed the band were never going to be constrained by any sense of genre rules or regulations. Its claustrophobic rattle bore traces of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Crisis, The Cure and Gang Of Four lurking in the shadows. 2020's synth-driven EP, Society Exists, was further evidence of the band's restless creative MO.High Vis' second album Blending sees them open their viewfinder wider than ever before. Alongside longstanding favourites such as Fugazi and Echo and The Bunnymen; Ride and even Flock Of Seagulls were shared reference points as the band worked on the album together.From the anthemic sweep of opener "Talk For Hours", through the title track's psychedelic swirl and "Fever Dream"'s baggy groove, it sees High Vis' sound blossoming into something with an unlimited richness. The hazy drift of "Shame" or the melodic jangle of "Trauma Bonds" may take them until uncharted waters, but they still have all the power and bite that made No Sense No Feeling so remarkable.Lyrically, the album represents another leap forward too. Talking frankly about poverty, class politics, and the challenges of everyday life, Sayle's lyrics have always addressed the downtrodden and discarded communities across Britain slipping below the waterline. This time around, Sayle's lost not of that social consciousness, but he's looked at himself and his own emotional landscape, and in the process created something that feels more universal, that reaches a hand-out to people and ultimately gives a message of hope."To me, the lyrics are less selfish," reflects Sayle. "In the past, I couldn't see past whatever was going on with me. It's about accepting things and being open to conversations and learning to talk to people rather than just thinking that we're all doomed."The song "Talk for Hours" is a prime example of that. Born out of an afternoon meeting up with an old group of mates "repeating the same thing and not actually learning anything about each other" it offers to actually break the cycle and to listen and speak frankly about shared feelings and experiences. "Trauma Bonds", meanwhile, traces the broken lines of those living in lost communities, but ultimately realises that despite our shared scars, there's still hope to move on to a better future."The message of the album is you're not who you're told you are," Sayle summarises. "You're not your class background. Whatever it is, you're not that. Don't resign yourself to thinking you can't be this and you can't be that."It's a vitally important message right now, and one that could be the motto for not only Blending, but for High Vis themselves.

High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK's best hardcore bands. Gild-toothed frontman Graham Sayle's anguished lyrics about life in working class Britain were familiar to fans of Tremors' full-throttle thrash, but alongside his former bandmate Edward `Ski' Harper and veterans of Dirty Money, DiE and The Smear, High Vis sought to transform that energy and intensity into something entirely new.Like scene-mates Chubby and the Gang did by pulling in unlikely source material from classic doo-wop or Micromoon have by combining everything from psychedelia and metal into their high potency mix, High Vis' 2019 debut album, No Sense No Feeling showed the band were never going to be constrained by any sense of genre rules or regulations. Its claustrophobic rattle bore traces of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Crisis, The Cure and Gang Of Four lurking in the shadows. 2020's synth-driven EP, Society Exists, was further evidence of the band's restless creative MO.High Vis' second album Blending sees them open their viewfinder wider than ever before. Alongside longstanding favourites such as Fugazi and Echo and The Bunnymen; Ride and even Flock Of Seagulls were shared reference points as the band worked on the album together.From the anthemic sweep of opener "Talk For Hours", through the title track's psychedelic swirl and "Fever Dream"'s baggy groove, it sees High Vis' sound blossoming into something with an unlimited richness. The hazy drift of "Shame" or the melodic jangle of "Trauma Bonds" may take them until uncharted waters, but they still have all the power and bite that made No Sense No Feeling so remarkable.Lyrically, the album represents another leap forward too. Talking frankly about poverty, class politics, and the challenges of everyday life, Sayle's lyrics have always addressed the downtrodden and discarded communities across Britain slipping below the waterline. This time around, Sayle's lost not of that social consciousness, but he's looked at himself and his own emotional landscape, and in the process created something that feels more universal, that reaches a hand-out to people and ultimately gives a message of hope."To me, the lyrics are less selfish," reflects Sayle. "In the past, I couldn't see past whatever was going on with me. It's about accepting things and being open to conversations and learning to talk to people rather than just thinking that we're all doomed."The song "Talk for Hours" is a prime example of that. Born out of an afternoon meeting up with an old group of mates "repeating the same thing and not actually learning anything about each other" it offers to actually break the cycle and to listen and speak frankly about shared feelings and experiences. "Trauma Bonds", meanwhile, traces the broken lines of those living in lost communities, but ultimately realises that despite our shared scars, there's still hope to move on to a better future."The message of the album is you're not who you're told you are," Sayle summarises. "You're not your class background. Whatever it is, you're not that. Don't resign yourself to thinking you can't be this and you can't be that."It's a vitally important message right now, and one that could be the motto for not only Blending, but for High Vis themselves.

Baby Series is born as an approach to young artists who propose a new dialogue. Artists little known to the general public that have a lot to contribute.With the musical quality as key factor, Baby Series gives a platform to people with solid projects for the future and that deserve to be heard to express themselves.

Ram Godt is a very versatile Belgian artist when it comes to producing and has a very strong sound. In this EP Ram Godt proposes a first track, "Raised by Goddess", more emotional and uplifting and a second cut, "Godt's Touch", thought in essence to be danced on the dancefloor, quality techno.

It is impossible not to find parallels between the sound of "La Ruta Destroy" and Victor Muerte. The young Valencian presents two somewhat different tracks. The first of these, "Corazón Valiente", with a more raw touch with vocals sung by himself and the second, "El Encuentro", with a more ambiental melody and somehow reminiscent to the trance proposed in past times

Calibro 35 unleash the new OST for the second season of TV series BLANCA, to be released on limited edition LP on December 1st 2023.

Italian cinematic cult outfit CALIBRO 35 announces the release of the ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK of the second season of BLANCA, the TV series produced by Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction, broadcast in prime time on Rai 1 starting from Thursday, October 5th 2023 and directed byJan Maria Michelini and Michele Soavi. The soundtrack will be released worldwide on limited edition, crystal clear LP next December 1st via Milan based label Record Kicks.

The new thrilling episodes of Blanca Season 2 follows the success of the first season, that was aired worldwide on Netflix, M6 France and Telecinco Spain. Accompanying the journey is once again the original music of CALIBRO 35 the Italian "cult" cinematic combo active for over 15 years and with a fan base that includes superstars such as Dr.Dre, Jay-z and Damon Albarn. Made up of 20 tracks in total, the OST was entirely composed by CALIBRO 35 that created the sound universe of BLANCA: an impressive and choral work, which has engaged all the components of the band for a long time, giving the them the opportunity to develop a very vast soundscape.

"It's the first time that we deal with the creation of a 'season 2' and we discovered that the creative process can be very different" Calibro 35 says. "In the first season, we had to build from scratch a sound and musical world consistent with the idea that Jan had (Michielini, director and showrunner of the series); this time, however, we had to develop that already existing world further, in order to describe the new stories and new different characters of the second season. There had to be undiscovered musical territories, that forced us to step out of our comfort zone." The result is that on the 20 tracks of the ost, the heavy dose of Calibro's signature funk grooves of tracks such as "Badanti, "Carignano", "Cambio di Stagione" or "Sampierdarena" is mixed with more moody and soulful tunes, world music, opera and atmospheres à la John Carpenter. Amongst the album's highlights worth definitely a mention the Opening and End titles that feature the voices of Arya, MEI and Tahnee Rodriguez. Essential contribution to the recordings were made by Francesca Biliotti - mezzo soprano of the Monteverdi Choir, Valeria Sturba - exceptional multi-instrumentalist of the avant-garde music group OoopopoiooO, Rahma Hafsi and Elisa Zoot.

Described by Rolling Stone as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that has happened to Italy in the past few years", Milan-based Calibro 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest bands around. Active since 2007, during their long career they were sampled by Dr. Dre on Compton ("One Shot One Kill" feat. Snoop Dogg), Jay Z ("Picasso Baby"), The Child of Lov & Damon Albarn ("One Day") and Demigodz ("The Summer Of Sam"). They played major venues and festivals all over Europe and as unique musicians they collaborated with, amongst others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish, Stewart Copeland and Rokia Traoré. The BLANCA OST is the latest of many activities concerning cinema for CALIBRO 35: the band has been completely immersed in the world of soundtracks since the very beginning and they have recently worked on other productions as well, both as Calibro and individually. Last June, the band released their 8th studio album, NOUVELLES AVENTURES, recorded in Naples at Auditorium Novecento. With the new LP the group has made full use of their knowledge and resources, refined and enriched over the years, back to making "Calibro's music": a unique mix of funk, progressive rock, alternative jazz and wide-spectrum cinematic music the public has known them for in fifteen years of career.

Sound Metaphors Records continues to explore the Italian early 90's techno scene with another re-issue of D.A.T.A.'s precious catalogue. Already 3 decades ago, 4 Italians got together in northern Italy to elaborate this sound, and it's only fair to say it's still timelessly effective, possibly a mixture of pure naivety and/or premeditated distilled club essence, bold and minimal in its use of rhythmic patterns generated by drum machines and samplers of the time. To imagine this music was being made in a time where only petrol company CEO's had cell phones, emails weren't even a thing, let alone social media, a time capsule into a special epoch where "progressive" or "trance" weren't quite established keywords yet. Re-issued with a new remastered face and 2 new remixes from studio guru Anatolian Weapons beautifully adding to this powerful exploration of club oriented electronics.

Nearly 20 years since his first official release, Fanu's output keeps on reaching new heights. Hip hop releases under the FatGyver alias and recent excursions into deep house underline his versatility while last year's Legacy EP on Metalheadz was another showcase of his unique & timeless approach to drum & bass.

»In Words« is the first solo album by the Danish musician, composer, and visual artist Alexander Tillegreen. The album represents a series of varied electronic music pieces while also carrying examples of ongoing work with psychoacoustic phenomena. Composed partly of material taken from his artistic practice as an installation artist and his ongoing interdisciplinary artistic research into psychoacoustic phenomena, Tillegreen investigates subjective sonic perception and the negotiation of language. Particularly, these investigations are done through the use of the phantom word illusion, originally discovered by music psychologist Diana Deutsch. Parts of the album were conceived when Tillegreen was the first artist ever in resident at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. Triggering the brain’s tendency to interpret language-based auditory illusions as meaningful information and as words within the mind of the listener, Tillegreen’s unique sound works unfold like a kaleidoscope of phonetic mirrors which render possibilities to reflect upon the listener’s own psychological and culturally situated linguistic embeddedness. Gender-distorted voice perception, speech and language borders are all challenged and thematized throughout Tillegreen’s work. The listener’s head and bodily movement drastically affect the listening and the word interpretation. Their psychological subconsciousness, recent events, memories, and expectations as well as the listener’s motion in space all become co-creative and co- composing factors in a reactive and choreographic process of listening. The polyrhythmic seriality of spatialized syllabic structures is accompanied by elements of heavy bass drops, high-frequency tensions, undulating synth lines, and hypnotic effects. Some of the many compositional potentials of the phantom word illusions are exercised and unfolded in selected tracks throughout the album. The notion of language borders is approached from an entirely different and even more “anti-logocentric” perspective on the “eponymous” closing track »Assimilate (in Words)«, where the listener experiences the struggle and collapse of interpersonal communication through conversation. Other parts of the album represent more diverse approaches to abstract electronic music. »In Words« morphs soundscapes into glacial, spherical passages of ambient backdrops, while at other times emphasizes raw tectonic blocks of hyper-panning drones that erupt into high-velocity outlets of energetic, granular fields. Tillegreen is alternating between cyclical, minimalist, hypnotic approaches and complex, glitchy polyrhythmic melodic structures that shift and melt into evocative ambiences. The phantom words and the nature of Tillegreen’s musical visions progressively demand more of the listener’s attention and represent the artist’s ongoing artistic work and scientific research into psychoacoustics and language. While »In Words« is a highly conceptual album, the musical bandwidth is extensive.

Tape

Vestigios, Aeondelit’s second full length record after recently releasing an EP of shifting club music influenced by postmodern philosopher Leotard on Tel Aviv’s Sadan records, tells a lucid, captivating story of heritage, transformation, vulnerability and healing. It will be released via Berlin-based art platform and record label Unguarded as a digital and tape release with an artwork created by Petra Hermanova, and will be accompanied by limited textile pieces by Diane Esnault. Aeondelit’s music is strongly influenced by the rocky surrounding of his hometown Manizales and fuses electronic sensibilities, ambient streams and avant-percussive rhythms that build his sound identity. Aeondelit's evocative music has previously been released via the Insurgentes imprint, Vienna-based Ashida Park and was recently featured on the 'Unguarded 2 – Entangled' compilation. Cortés describes the meaning of Vestigios as such: “The memories of past generations: the lives that burn within me, are the pillars of who I am. They constitute longings and traps, sin and strength, the temple that breaks down and rebuilds. The different dimensions of consciousness converge in the mind, which constantly tells us who we are, synthesizing and projecting our contradictions. The pain that comes with getting in touch with our vulnerabilities opens the doors to healing through confrontation. This lays the foundation for a more honest relationship with our past, present and future. 'Vestigios' is the bridge between the temporal and the eternal, the crystallized remnant of pain caused by transformation and recognition of the convulsive underworld of our psyche.” Aeondelit, birth name Sergio Cortés, is a Colombian music producer who explores themes related to technology and human condition in sound. He focuses on the creative use of sample manipulation techniques and digital sound synthesis to deepen the idea of a dialogue between computer and human, and how both influence each other. Deep in Colombia's Andes, surrounded by big mountains and the sacred Nevado del Ruiz, Aeondelit has been forging his own sound identity, exploring the intersection points between sparkly experimental club music and melodic ambient electronic. His first release Editing Destiny on the Colombian label Insurgentes was well received by the public and DJs, named one of the best albums of 2020 on Mixmag. His last release on Sadan Records, Anima Minima, was reviewed and premiered on platforms like DJ Mag, THE BRVTALIST and Orb Mag. He is also the co-founder of the independent record label Nvrclose, where his debut album as Æon Series: Dualidad, was released. About Unguarded: Unguarded is a Berlin based experimental electronic music label and art platform. In 2020 long-term collaborators Tim Roth aka Sin Maldita aka 1k Flowers and Phillipp Hülsenbeck founded Unguarded to foster forward thinking artists with a focus on exploring cross-disciplinary collaboration and embarking on sonic adventures. Unguarded was founded in a time of turmoil and uncertainty for artists and music, trying to keep personal connections alive through shared personal and collective experiences between doom and destruction and glistening hope. Amongst their own contributions, Hülsenbeck and Roth gather a collection of genre-defying works by longtime collaborators as well as artists they bonded with in recent years. Their releases constantly escape from definition but through entangling their unique artistic marks, this diversity remains absorbing and compelling throughout their sprawling sonic miasmas. Combining earth-shattering club cuts, equally elegant and bouncy, Unguarded contributes to and connects the experimental music scene in and outside of Berlin. We invite the curious to a deep, tense but rewarding experience.

"Detroit Stories" is the name of this cool social project happening in Motorcity, USA, aka Detroit. It's a rad way to capture and show off the history and present of the city and its peeps. They're doing it by interviewing OG residents and immigrants from way back, the ones who lived through all the ups and downs of the Motor City. You've got stories of good times, hard work, opportunities, but also struggles, violence, and social movements that shaped Detroit's rise and slow fall. This city's always had a lot to offer in terms of music, culture, and beyond.

And guess what? DJ and producer Luca Fronza gets in on the action, finding some of those interview podcasts. He's turning their stories, the vocals, and speeches into some killer beats, with the distinctive motorcity raw house touch that we absolutely love here at Flexi. And to top it off, you've got a remix by the master himself, Prins Thomas! It's gonna be lit!
All tracks (except B2) produced and composed by Luca Fronza Remix of “Gipsy” is by Prins Thomas

House of Harm are proud to announce the forthcoming release of their new album Playground, out December 1st, 2023. The new record builds and expands upon the three-piece’s enthralling shadow-pop sound, a mix of midnight atmospherics, 90s era jangle pop, and contagious synth drenched hooks that further elevate the transcendent vocals of lead singer Michael Rocheford. Rounded out by Cooper Leardi (guitar / synths) and Tyler Kershaw (guitar / synth), House of Harm have amassed an impressive following as something of a best kept secret among their growing fanbase, leading to sold out shows on both coasts by the power of word of mouth alone. The band members have been drawn to music for as long as any of them can remember, and the drive to be around like-minded artists and make their own noise drew them all to Boston after high school. There they all quickly enmeshed themselves, playing in other bands before meeting each other. Ever since, House of Harm have been quietly making a name for themselves among music fans with darker pop persuasions via a steady stream of releases in single, ep and album form. That attention to detail and workmanlike approach at the expense of chasing instant gratification seems to be paying dividends after years of steady effort. The journey of their new album Playground saw House of Harm stay true to that ethos. The band painstakingly narrowed the record down to an efficient 10 tracks that they felt made the most sense, both standing on their own as well as fitting into an LP that built a cohesive world for the listener to get lost in. The album’s name also reflects the experimentation and happy accidents that came about during the writing and recording process. On “The Face of Grace” they set out to explore different dynamics by writing a song entirely without drums, but couldn't help themselves from putting emphasis on the song’s 6/8 waltz time signature. “Two Kinds” is another first for House Of Harm in that it’s predominantly driven by acoustic guitar. That aforementioned vulnerability shows up in other areas of the songwriting process as well with “Two Kinds”, one of their most revealing songs to date from a lyrical standpoint, written from a place of reflection and weakness and tackling feelings uneasy to be put on display for public consumption. Taken as a whole, the end result is an album representing a collection of the band’s most raw and expressive songs yet.

Ross Mc Millan Aka Carlos Nilmmns Started His Career Over 10 Years Ago With Skylax Records. From His 1st Ep "Red" It Is a Statement. a Subtle Mix of House, Techno All Embellished With Striking Cinematographic Landscapes. There Followed a Multitude of Releases on Skylax (Blue Ep) but Also Ornaments, 4lux or Even Circus Company. He Has Just Recently Released 2 Fabulous Remixes for the Soul of the Makossa Man Project (Warehouse Classic 5 & 6). and It Is Logically in View of the Incredible Level He Has Reached in the Development of His Remixes That We Offered Him to Make a New Ep. There Is in This New 12 Inch His Very Personal Touch to the Deep and Sensual but Also Latin House Influences That Surely Would Not Have Denied the Maw but Also the Great David Mancuso (The Loft) Who if He Were Still Alive, We Think Would Have Loved This Ep (Rip). Indeed, Ross Also Manages to Integrate Into His Songs Cinematic Landscapes Worthy of Lalo Schifrin of the 1970s While Maintaining a Club Aspect. Latin Tapes Is One of the Most Beautiful House Bangers We've Heard in a Long Time, a Real Ode to Party and Life. No Love Lost Is Eyeing Moodymann, Mcde and the Brilliant and Forgotten Trus'me. Hootenanny Looks Nothing More or Less Than Isaac Hayes From His Blaxploitation Period. Everything Else Is on the Same Level: City of Love, Sunset Over Antoni De Portmany (Balearic Nights) & Life in the Loire. the Real Question Would Be to Know How He Manages to Obtain This Sound So Classy, ​​the Impression That He Is Accompanied Throughout the Ep by the Philadelphia International Rhythm Section (Gamble & Huff) an Orchestra of Seasoned Musicians. Probably One of the Finest House Records (Or Even Just Music) to Be Released This Year by a Talent as Singular as It Is Elusive. This 12 Inch Is a Masterpiece of Elegance and Refinement....

2023 Repress

It was surely a matter of time before Leicester natives, darlings of the UKG revival Y U QT graced Time Is Now with a release. Cooper and Darryl Reid have been repping the Midlands' oft-forgotten 2-step and bassline scene since being picked up by Riz La Teef's South London Press in 2019; since dropping two EPs on Warehouse Rave and getting picked up for a remix by Conducta's award-winning Kiwi Rekords. For Time Is Now, the duo have put together five tracks of dynamic, cheeky garage that takes influence from the full breadth of the genre.

Studded with bangers, the EP kicks off surprisingly gently with "Be Real". Some spaced out keys float over the 2-step rhythm before hitting a sidewinding bassline and the pace picks up in "Keep On Lovin' Me" - a classic speed garage sound you can't help but move to. Cooper and Reed show their ruder side on the frenetic, brass infused "Look Good" and the deeper, Niche-style wobbling bassline on "Chopper". The record closes with "Hardly Keep it Inside"; icy synth and contorted trancey diva vocals make this track feel somehow larger than the others - you could imagine it going off in a cavernous club on a mountainous soundsystem, a swirling bassy number that sucks you in. This headsy release makes your feet want to move in the way only garage can, bringing out some of the best that the UK sound has to offer.

Our next EPMmusic release comes to you both digitally and on vinyl with a hefty four-tracker that sees Mark Broom and Patrik Carrera team up for the "ZZZZ EP".

A prolific music artist with over 150 releases under his belt, Mark Broom is best known for Techno but has also crossed music genres with numerous monikers and collaborations on labels including Rekids, Warp, Ifach, M-Plant, Cocoon and Glitterbox, as well as recently reigniting his mighty Beard Man label.

Patrik Carrera's connection to Broom has seen him release on Beard Man, as well as other highly regarded Techno labels like Modularz, Mindtrip, Mord and his own Paranoid Dancer. He's an artist with an astute approach to composition and a sound firmly rooted in the analogue domain. His fascination with vintage and modern analogue electronics are the foundation of his work.

Their "ZZZZ EP" pulls no punches, delivering four peak-time Techno tracks that could each be EP openers in their own right.

With roots from Lyon and Saint Etienne, Good Morning TV is a fresh and new exciting band hailing from Paris. This name hides the mind of the gifted young woman Bérénice Deloire that writes and composes all the songs. Helped by Barth Bouveret on the production, the band manages to record and creates one of the most impressive debut EP we heard in years. Listening for the first time to "Ordinary People EP" was a shock, it encapsulates all we love at Requiem Pour Un Twister : four ambitious pop songs with a very unique eerie vibe, a stunning production and great melodies. Good Morning TV's "Ordinary People" EP is a well crafted first step for a very promising young band.

For fans of : Melody's Echo Chamber, Broadcast, Tame Impala, Connan Mockasin, Pond, Beach House, Deerhunter, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ariel Pink

Somebody somewhere once said that music doesn't mean anything; it is meaningful.

The Czecho-slovakian instrumental trio, Inheritance, invite you to rediscover their sonic journey with the reissue of their previous EPs, "Frames" (2014) and "Saturate" (2016), now elegantly entwined into a single captivating package released for the first time on vinyl, on Weltschmerzen. Comprising of the trio Jakub Volovár (guitar), Alex Strapková (piano), and Peter Kušnírik (drums), Inheritance was active in the mid 2010s in Brno, later unfortunately disbanding due to own personal pursuits.

Frames // Saturate embodies the melancholic and melodic tension characteristic of contemporary post-rock, complemented by the whimsy of piano-led instrumentals with a tint of indie-playfulness and a very slight yet powerful grain of sludge heaviness that can be traced back to Volovár's and Kušnirik's earlier post-metal project, Dawn to Come.

"Frames // Saturate" is first and foremost a compact sonic voyage. Volovár's evocative yet precise guitar work builds complex yet airy scaffolding, while Strapková's piano melodies create a tapestry of moods around it. Both EPs showcase Strapková's piano prowess, transforming each composition into a living organism. Kušnírik's drumming then acts as the steady pulse, guiding you through. These songs encapsulate the kind of mutualism and appreciation for (musical) interdependence that you can only develop throughout the years of practice and playing live.

You can hear how much fun it was for the band to play these songs, and that sense of joy translates directly into your own listening experience. It's the kind of music that makes you pick up an air guitar, (piano, or drums) - and sometimes everything all at once. It is music serious and poetic, yet fun and moving and complex at the same time.

Analogical Force presents a killer EP filled with 4 tracks ranging from colourful braindance to old Viewlexx style electro .The debut of Hamburg-based Carsten Schulz aka Quadratschulz. 'Halo Welt' appropriates the space in a particular way because it bewitches you and never lets go. Fast and choppy rhythms against dreamy melodies, acidic bass lines and mind-blowing electronic exercises that will leave you wanting more. A versatile EP that will stand the test of time!

For the first time ever you can now own a copy of Jam Baxter's legendary  'The Gruesome Features' album on limited edition double vinyl! Up until now the long sold out EP edition of 'The Gruesome Features' was the only wax available of this title, which only contained a few choice cuts from the CD version. Now you can have it all! Be sue to make your order sharpish as these are going to fly off the shelves!

90 Day Men spent a decade boldly in conflict with the world, catering to no one and careening toward its own abyss. Forged by Midwestern teens amid a late-90s spike in angular indie rock, the band wrote itself into the lexicon of Chicago music history. Eschewing trend and time, 90 Day Men was as ornate as it was alienating, transcending genre and embracing the strange. This 5LP set, remastered by Heba Kadry, collects the band's three studio albums and a previously unreleased 2001 Peel Session, plus EPs, singles, and outtakes, all detailed within a 68-page oral history curated by Joan of Arc's Tim Kinsella.

90 Day Men spent a decade boldly in conflict with the world, catering to no one and careening toward its own abyss. Forged by Midwestern teens amid a late-90s spike in angular indie rock, the band wrote itself into the lexicon of Chicago music history. Eschewing trend and time, 90 Day Men was as ornate as it was alienating, transcending genre and embracing the strange. This 5LP set, remastered by Heba Kadry, collects the band's three studio albums and a previously unreleased 2001 Peel Session, plus EPs, singles, and outtakes, all detailed within a 68-page oral history curated by Joan of Arc's Tim Kinsella.

Mighty fine collaboration release from Qeta & Inkipak on Sound Synthesis own imprint. Signal II Signal EP deliveres 3 tracks from each artist of high quality timeless electronix sounds. Limited pressing of 200 copies and comes with a printed sleeve.

ARTIST OVERVIEW Mixing warm acoustic tones and strong vocals with heavy emo elements, the band launched several DIY tours, quickly developing a national presence. Signing with Boston indie Topshelf Records, they released their debut album, “The Earth Pushed Back" and in 2014, Have Mercy signed with vaunted indie Hopeless Records, which released their second LP, “A Place of Our Own”, later that year. Working with producers Paul Leavitt (All Time Low) and Brian McTernan (Thrice), Swindle and a rotating crew recorded the band’s Hopeless follow-up, “Make the Best of It”, which was released in early 2017. Have Mercy returned with “The Love Life” in 2019, which charted Swindle’s tumultuous personal life over the previous three years. The band came back in August 2022 with a self-tiled EP, released via Zodhiac Records, which caught the attention of Brooklyn Vegan, FLOOD Magazine, The Noise, and more. In september 2022 they shared an unreleased B-Side from their 2012 EP, My Oldest Friend, titled "Seventeen" via Rude Records. BAND MEMBERS Andrew Johnson // Guitar, Backing Vocals Brian Swindle // Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard Nick Woolford // Bass, Backing Vocals TOURING HISTORY Since 2012, Have Mercy has toured both nationally and internationally with such acts as Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, Senses Fail, Mayday Parade, The Maine, The Wonder Years, Turnover, Real Friends and Neck Deep

Candlemass was formed by bassist & songwriter Leif Edling in Stockholm, Sweden in 1984 & is well known for its epic doom metal, having a great influence over a generation of the genre's subsequent greats such as Paradise Lost & My Dying Bride - Candlemass themselves taking a large influence from Black Sabbath.

'Ancient Dreams' was Candlemass' third album, released in 1988 & it featured a natural progression of slow- mid tempo epic arrangements from their previous release, 'Nightfall' - perhaps even more distinction between slow & faster parts - with the unique tones & unmistakable voice of Messiah Marcolin still dominating proceedings on this pure doom metal classic.

With a perfect balance between melody & sheer heaviness, it is still debatable as to whether this is the ultimate Candlemass & therefore greatest doom metal album of all time, with some giving this particular title preference over the seminal 'Nightfall' album. 'Ancient Dreams' was produced by Leif Edling & Candlemass & was recorded at Stockholm Recording studios in 1988.

Marking 35 years since release, this edition of 'Ancient Dreams' is presented on limited green marble-effect vinyl, featuring the original cover art

Amsterdam based indie rock band POM made their debut in 2019 with their immediately successful single Down The Rabbit Hole, which has now streamed over 2 million times.

After releasing a number of singles and an EP, their debut album We Were Girls Together will be released on November 10 via Mattan Records.

POM brings together a balanced sound of raw guitar rock on the one hand and a sense of catchy melodies on the other. With their fresh and idiosyncratic style, a combination of Britpop, punk and garage rock, their sound can best be described as fuzzpop.

They were previously named by 3voor12 as one of the 12van3voor12 talents and tipped as a must-see act at Eurosonic Noorderslag.

Amsterdam based indie rock band POM made their debut in 2019 with their immediately successful single Down The Rabbit Hole, which has now streamed over 2 million times.

After releasing a number of singles and an EP, their debut album We Were Girls Together will be released on November 10 via Mattan Records.

POM brings together a balanced sound of raw guitar rock on the one hand and a sense of catchy melodies on the other. With their fresh and idiosyncratic style, a combination of Britpop, punk and garage rock, their sound can best be described as fuzzpop.

They were previously named by 3voor12 as one of the 12van3voor12 talents and tipped as a must-see act at Eurosonic Noorderslag.

TOPradio, the trailblazing force in dance music, proudly announces the release of its highly anticipated 5 x 12" Vinyl Box Set, showcasing the very essence of timeless classics through the revered Retro Arena brand.

Renowned for curating unforgettable musical experiences, Retro Arena has meticulously handpicked 22 iconic tracks that continue to set dancefloors ablaze. This limited edition vinyl collection is a testament to the enduring allure of the classics, encapsulating the spirit of an era that defined the electronic dance music landscape.

From anthems that resonate with the golden age of dance to tunes that have stood the test of time, the Retro Arena 5 x 12" Vinyl Box Set promises an immersive journey through the evolution of electronic dance music.

Channelling the rhythm of the poetry of Desnos and also the dinstinctive paintings of Francis Bacon, the band Venera 4 is an original presence in France.

Venera 4 impacted with their first Ep, 'Deaf Hearts', which laid the foundations of their expansive yet intimate sound that evokes the DIY spirit of the post-punk scene.

The intricate vocals are delicately layered over the uncompromising guitars. Eidôlon is a powerful yet introspective album with the icy elegance of Broadcast, melodies worthy of the best of Ride, and a white wall of noise like that of The Jesus & Mary Chain.

Abrasive, violent, delicate and sexual, Eidôlon is a reflection of it's own time: a protean art form.

It's time for a new match on Waxmania, Lello Di Franco aka L.D.F. vs the Dutch icon Orlando Voorn for the super Challenge EP!

With Scream If You Don’t Exist, Richie Culver metamorphoses from outsider musician to underground fixture, feeling his way from the fringes towards a growing community of musicians that have gravitated towards his singular sound world. Building upon the stark catharsis of his previous dispatches, on his sophomore album the artist draws from grimdark drone, industrial noise, experimental hip-hop and UK rave to map out a space for himself, caught between genre and discipline. While on his debut, I Was Born By The Sea, Culver took a last glimpse back at his grey, salt-flecked past while struggling towards somewhere brighter, here, he documents the process of finding fresh waters, parsing through the complexity of inhabiting a more open and optimistic place while contending with the weight of his resolve, staring hard won self-acceptance in the face. The album’s title speaks to this creative and emotional work, serving both as the foundational paradox from which the artist’s new discordant sound emerges and as a call to action, a defiant cry in the face of existential angst.

Part of this process involves visiting familiar territory with renewed focus. Macabre opener ‘Hottest Day Of The Year’ signals an unpleasant memory with crow caw, queasy, gas leak ambience and dental drill whir as Culver recalls a life lived in nihilism: “Everything is just something that happened / Reductionism, muscles spasms, a mother’s first contraction.” Yet, on Scream If You Don’t Exist, Culver’s irresistible formula for ragged machine poetry is shot through with palpable urgency. No longer listless and despairing, he finds new intricacies for these compositions, tracing a stark interplay between crushing bass excavations and penetrating vocal clarity, a contrast picked out in the delicate threads of rhythmic pulse suggesting themselves in the blunt pressure and skittering creep of ‘Weakness’, on which Culver offers up vulnerability as a tentative solution to self-described emotional constipation: “Please do / Do take my kindness for weakness / For I am weak / And that is ok.” The amniotic soundscape of ‘YOLO (then u die)’ gives way to depth charge drone and unnerving machinic improvisations, like a noise show heard from deep in the Mariana trench, while on ‘Underground Flower’ the low-end fog lifts to reveal a brighter, colder scene. “Love me for who I could be / Not who I am,” he pleads, tending gently to his own tenacious bud.

Scream If You Don’t Exist gives us a glimpse of this flower in bloom. On the album’s cursed self-help tape title track stuttering loops of off-kilter keys and childlike repetition make light of the very real risk of disappearing all-together, a nervous breakdown rendered as a malfunctioning nursery rhyme. Paranoiac anthem ‘Say 4 Sure’ introduces bit-crushed boom-bap stomp, as though hammered out on a water-logged Game Boy, swarms of loose-wire noise sparking up against guttural grunts and ragged exhalations, while ‘On The Top’ enacts a seance for the hardcore spirit, with loops of rave piano and hiccuping vocal chops pirouetting through knackered samples, air raid sirens and the ghostly crash of breakbeat cymbals. As though in response to the solitary nature of much of his musical exploration, this time, the artist invites other voices into the world of Scream If You Don’t Exist. On ‘Swollen’, the unflinching, brimstone prophecy of Billy Woods sounds clear through an expanse of spirallic bass, preaching the same frayed gospel as Culver when he issues the quietly devastating contemporary diagnosis: “Computer broke but it still works for now / That’s the best you can say for most of us anyhow,” while another fearless correspondent from the fringes, Moor Mother, brings earthbound heft to the ambient drift and obliterating barrage of ‘Restaurants,’ teasing out meaning with elongated intonation and pitch-shifted intensity.

It’s during the album’s most meditative moments that we might recognise this space Culver has found for himself for what it really is. ‘OMG They’re Gone’ follows a chopped and slowed monologue from Culver’s wife, who works as a death doula, reflecting on her own experiences with grief and the reality of living within a culture both terrified and ignorant of the process. Floating over glistening ebb, etherised croons and luminous chimes, her words stand as a prescient reminder of the power of ephemerality. Just as Culver flourishes in imperfection, here we can find enormous strength in transcience. But it’s with ‘Just Jump In,’ which unfurls like a buoyant counterpart to the sparkling oil rigs of ‘I was born by the sea’, that Culver illuminates the hopeful waters we realise we’ve been making our steady way towards. “I know now / That you loved me,” he admits, a revelation a lifetime in the making. Through the rawest reflection Culver has found a way forward, driven by an optimism drawn from a resolve to be better, to love and be loved, an admission to weakness and the discovery of a new kind of strength. “Don’t test the water,” he reassures us and himself, “just jump in.”

Scream If You Don’t Exist will be released in November 2023 by Participant, on limited edition vinyl, and digital download . The release will be accompanied by a series of films directed by Mau Morgo, Josiane M.H Pozi, William Markarian-Martin, Simon Bus, and Bruxism.

Session Victim return to Jimpster's ' Delusions Of Grandeur' imprint with a third studio album. 'Listen To Your Heart' is the result of a year of cross-continental scripting, started in their Hamburg studio and wrapped up stateside in San Francisco's Room G Studios where the duo had worked on their 2014 LP 'See you When You Get There'.
Sampling still remains an ever present backbone throughout the album. Session Victim have dug deep for sounds, resulting in a richly detailed and organic sound collage that goes hand-in-hand with their live instrumentation, this time enhanced through several guest musician appearances, most notably Carsten "Erobique" Meyer (ex-International Pony). Smooth guitar samples are built up on 'Over and Over' while on 'Moons & Flowers' the live instrumentals that Session Victim do so well come to the fore.

The treasure trove of San Francisco's record shops proved to be a hard bait to resist and the pair spent a large part of their Californian time hunting for records to sample. Three new tracks emerged from these digging sessions, with the sweeping disco string arrangements on 'Shadows' standing out as a prime ode to days spent combing through bargain bins.

Listen To Your Heart is equally a product of the road. While heavy touring is often cited as a hindrance to the creativity of artists, Session Victim see their live shows as a catalyst to their creativity. Two US tours in 2016 gave the Hamburg duo the opportunity to take track sketches and fragments on the road to incorporate into their live shows and then digest them back in the studio. The playful funk soaked groove of 'Matching Half' captures the sense of movement present throughout Listen To Your Heart and the LP mix of 'Up To Rise', which caused heavy ripples when it dropped as part of 2016's Matching Half EP is an extension of the upbeat and euphoric groove that permeates the album.