Search:tone

Kitsune No Yomeiri, which translates to the fox’s wedding, is an endearing expression used to describe sunshowers. Dawson returned home from a recent tour of Japan with a collection of field recordings documenting the spring rain he encountered throughout his travels. These curious sounds, stretching from peaceful shrines to clattering city streets, underpin the material.

Dawson also credits the wonderful folks he met on that tour with profoundly shaping the direction of the album. After each show he found himself immersed in inspiring conversations about the guitar. Through navigating the language barrier, he discovered he was communicating with an immense sincerity that he would ordinarily avoid at all costs. “I’ve always just made records at home in a vortex, but this time it felt like those conversations were there with me in the studio.”

Musically the album has a slight western slant. It’s not country, but it does see Dawson lean softly into his prairie past. Constellations of stray notes and rusted tones form nostalgic melodies, like chance encounters between old friends. Dawson allows phrases and gestures to repeat across the record, resulting in a collection that’s more akin to turning the pages of a novel than a series of vignettes vying for attention.

Long Slow Distance is an album about finding peace, and making peace where it can’t be found. It’s inspired by change, grief, acceptance, forgiveness, love, and running.

Dawson began running around the same time he started making records. At this point it’s unclear where one practice ends and the other begins. The album’s title has become the ethos he’s embraced for all things in life.

Long Slow Dance unravels the woven collage of his previous work. Here each song consists of three long guitar takes, panned across the stereo-field with minimal overdubs. “I remember my grandmother always kept a rain barrel on the farm. Just a simple vessel that served as a means for gathering water for the garden and the flowers. I wanted to instill that sentiment on this record. Other than some panning and recreational EQing, the computer was just a vessel to gather sounds.”

There is a distant grace to the album. A soft expanse, a quiet contrast. Guitars dissolve and then recalibrate. Sparse melodic motifs bloom and fracture. Warm chords clash and make amends. Alpenglow textures shimmer against tones that feel weathered by salt air. The songs are lightly propulsive, yet drift at a glacial pace. Fields and artifacts ground the material, like keeping your eyes on the horizon. Long Slow Distance feels intuitive, sentimental, and like Dawson is one step closer to whatever distance he is chasing.
Downloadable Assets

When Drop Nineteens disbanded in the mid-'90s, singer Greg Ackell decided he would never make music again. He wouldn't noodle around on a guitar in his basement. He wouldn't get a group of friends together just to jam. He was done with music entirely. Following the release of the shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and the intricate experimentations on National Coma in 1993, the group disbanded. They shared stages with Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey and Smashing Pumpkins. They went from being teenagers in Boston to mid-twenty-somethings with a few MTV videos, a couple BBC sessions and numerous festival appearances under their belt. So when Drop Nineteens ceased to be, Ackell felt content. He had the rest of his life in front of him to figure out what he wanted to do. Music was a closed chapter.That was until 2021, when a friend from the band's early days got Greg on the phone to suggest making some music together, just to see how it felt. Instead of shutting it down like he had been doing over the years, he decided to entertain the prospect. For the first time in nearly 30 years, he picked up a guitar with intent. He immediately called up Steve Zimmerman, the band's bassist and fellow guitarist, and the two got writing. It felt effortless for Ackell, like he never stopped writing music. "We were off to the races," he says, "But also the question came up: what does a Drop Nineteens song sound like today?" Enter Hard Light, the band's stunning third record. It's the band's proverbial follow up to Delaware, a modern Drop Nineteens record that is completely singular in its sound and vision. The first task making Hard Light was, of course, getting the rest of the band back together. Drop Nineteens is an inherently collaborative project. Ackell writes the lyrics, and he works with band members Steve Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin to create the sonic world. The record came together over the course of a year, recording at a patchwork of studios all around the country: Boston, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Los Angeles. When Kelley and Ackell first heard their vocals recorded together on the opus album closer "T", the chemistry was undeniable. Making music together felt natural, fluid, exciting.Hard Light is a romantic record in the literary sense. Beauty from longing; longing from beauty. You put the album on and want to be clad in a velvet dress sprawled across a fainting couch. You want to be holding someone's hand while you sit back in the tall grass. The guitars are expansive and expressive as ever. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are cool, crystalline, and luminous. "Gal" comes on like a dream. The vocals pour in when you least expect them, once in the middle, where Ackell delivers one of the strangest (and best) lyrics on the record, "And there were snakes/with cats at the wheel." Hard Light's first single, "Scapa Flow" is triumphant and an excellent example of what a modern day Drop Nineteens song sounds like. The guitars glide cloud-like, floor toms shuffle and rumble in the background, searching. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are as toned as they are bound. Hard Light is every bit the ride that Delaware was, diverse in its sounds, with surprises at every turn. Drop Nineteens have brought clarity and cool in 2023 to the genre they helped create. A portrait of a band 30 years later, as talented and dedicated to their craft as ever. To put it more bluntly, they're at the top of their game.

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

In a world increasingly shaped by disposable content, Chat Pile answer with something defiantly real and organic, a mentality that permeates Who Loves The Sun, their third full-length record. Since the band’s formation just over six years ago, the Oklahoma City-based quartet Chat Pile has grown from a scrappy passion project into one of the defining heavy acts to emerge from the 2020s underground. Ray B. (vocals), L. Manhole (guitar), Stin (bass), and Cap’n Ron (drums) create a crushing, crass, and cathartic take on noise rock that captures a raw, undeniably human essence in an age marked by technological overreach and the cold state of society. Nothing about Who Loves The Sun feels synthetic.

Whereas their debut album God’s Country depicted a particularly American flavor of dread, and the follow up Cool World showed a cruel planet defined by global systemic violence, Who Loves The Sun peels the skin back on how collective indifference defines this new century. Spanning imagery of coastlines devouring cities, dead-end jobs, and submission to data-driven inauthenticity, the album dissects the apathy-bloated state of 21st-century existence as a slow-motion apocalypse. As with much of Chat Pile’s work, Oklahoma City itself looms over the album like a character, its sprawling isolation, economic contradictions, and underlying sense of decay embedded in the fabric of the record. The perfect allegory for the thematic essence of Who Loves The Sun is the photo embossed on the record’s cover, where Devon Tower, a glassy, largely vacant monolith, looms high above the Oklahoma City skyline while a burnt-out home or storefront envelops the foreground. The album remains lyrically and sonically confrontational, but Chat Pile approached the songwriting with hooks in mind, drawing on melodic tones of pre-2000s indie rock, alt-rock, and new wave. From the blood-soaked vocal passages of “Christabel ’26” to the eerie trip-hop pulse of “Same Rules,” Who Loves The Sun is deeply human despite its allusions to a dying, divided .

Acid Pauli returns to the curious world of Gwar Is Not The Answer (originally released 2006 on Smaul) with a carefully remastered re-release that includes two new remixes from Jonathan Kaspar and Acid Pauli. The title track unfolds at an unhurried pace, weaving loose acid traces through warm percussion and off-centre melodic fragments that seem to appear and dissolve before settling into place. It drifts forward with a quiet sense of momentum, balancing eccentric textures with a groove that remains firmly grounded throughout. With his new remix Jonathan Kaspar takes the original into leaner territory, sharpening its contours and drawing out its tension while preserving the peculiar character at its core. His remix stretches the track into a more focused club framework where rolling low-end pressure meets finely tuned rhythmic movement, allowing small details to carry unexpected weight. On the flip Acid Pauli revisits the track from a different angle. The remix opens up the source material into a spacious and fluid arrangement where shimmering tones circle around a deep pulse and subtle harmonic shifts gradually reveal themselves over time. Together the three versions explore different dimensions of the same musical language, moving between psychedelic house, understated dancefloor functionality and the kind of idiosyncratic storytelling that has long defined Acid Pauli's work.

New EP, after a long break.

Bermuda and Matteo Point, Italian producers and DJs who have been friends for years, return with a new EP born from their shared vision of electronic music.

On Side A, Bermuda delivers dry 80s-inspired drums, energetic synths, and deep, precise, and immersive sounds.

On Side B, Matteo Point brings a more visionary and experimental approach: dreamy high-tone synths, reverse effects, and dynamic drums that create a hypnotic and constantly evolving atmosphere.

Fresh off of their 2020 offering Adult Themes, El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled Yeti Season, this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA's patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where Adult Themes inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Yeti Season brings us to a different place in time_with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with Yeti Season. If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. The first single off of Yeti Season showed their hand back in 2018. A double-sided banger, that release brought the musical textures to the fore that dominate this record. The first song, titled "Unathi," is fully realized with the beautifully haunting-yet-hopeful vocals of Piya Malik, formally of 79.5_another Big Crown artist. Singing in Hindi, Piya's ethereal voice is telling us to work and strive together toward progress. Even if you don't understand her language, you can still hear the urgency of purpose, creating a lasting vibe that sits on top of it all. Leon Michels explains that Piya had a vital influence on this record: "When Piya started singing in Hindi, she had a different voice, a different tone. I knew we had to do something together." And so Piya appears on three other songs on Yeti Season: "Zaharila," "Murkit Gem," and "Dhuaan." Each providing particular signatures to the album. "Zaharila" is a building and changing love song punctuated by blaring trumpets, driving drums, and Piya's pleading lyrics. While the more upbeat "Murkit Gem" opens with a fuzzed out, Wu-Tang-esque baseline that buoys Piya's stylings. The psychedelic guitar and Piya's changing tones and textures singing about an all-consuming love are what pushed "Dhuaan" on to the second single from Yeti Season. There is also a vocal appearance from Shannon Wise of The Shacks, yet another Big Crown artist. Her song called "Sha Na Na," lies more in the familiar EMA vein: melodic, hypnotic, soulfully visual. But between Shannon's airy singing, the jumpy baseline, moody vibes, the active drum lines, it sounds like a pensive walk home after a strangely dramatic night. So what is Yeti Season? It could be more of a feeling than an actual place or time of year. It's a heavy album_as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better_or fuller_coming our way. You hear it in songs like "Ala Vida," with its stabby, pulsing chords laying a bedrock for EMA's bright, atmospheric horn lines. Or even in "Fazed Out," which leaves you with a feeling of determination, a striving for resolution even though the driving, march-like song structure should accompany some conquering army. This persistence has to come from the fact that Leon Michels and company finished this record during the lockdown. It was a tough and troublesome time. But look at what has come of it: Yeti Season_a record of high and heavy drama, but also one of hope and promise. It may take a year like 2020 behind us to find hope in a winter big footed creature like a Yeti, but that's where we are.

New Japanese Ambient Electronica from Tokyo

Composing primarily with the piano, Kotaro Maruyama creates music for a variety of visual media, including commercials and short films. Influenced by the composer Toru Takemitsu, he places importance on the “silence” and "ambience" of sound, aiming to create works where the music quietly depicts a scene.

Kotaro Maruyama's first solo album, "Vapor Curve," is constructed entirely from the sound source of the OP-Z digital synthesizer. Notably, he avoids the concept of harmony for a single tone, instead pursuing a unique "woven harmony" created by intricately layering multiple independent melodies. Using only the OP-Z, and recording everything in a single take without using a computer, Kotaro Maruyama's "Vapor Curve" is distinguished by its uncompromising production style. The minimalist melodies that are layered to create an ambient soundscape, along with the incidental noise that gives an organic texture to the inorganic electronic sound, showcase the raw appeal of sound that is imperfect."

Originally scheduled for release September 2025, this album faced delays due to a series of errors involving the distributor, pressing plant, and cutting engineer. However, earlier this year, Personal Affair teamed up with a new distributor, Rubadub, who introduced them new pressing plant, allowing them to restart the entire pressing process from scratch. Emerging from Tokyo via Glasgow, this release is now ready to deliver a fresh sound to the world."

Bypass EP brings label friend Connor Wall to Stelus, his deepest body of work yet, pushing further into the core of his signature palette than anything before. The A-side sets a tone and holds it. 'Bypass' opens with melancholic ambience, patient and unhurried, establishing the mood that carries the release. 'Listen to Me Talk' follows with something stranger, crafted for late hours and darker moments. 'Maple Lok' closes the A-side as a slow burner, a long gurgling lead hook winding through textural restraint. The B-side opens at the release's peak. 'Infotrut' brings warm, powerful low end paired with swampy overtones, earning the spotlight without asking for it. 'Ocean Brain' closes in full turbine hypnosis, completing the picture and confirming the depth of Connor's sound. Depth has no shortcut.

In Walter Benjamin’s seminal essay “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, he posits that the aura of art objects is destroyed by the ability to photographically reproduce them. When you had to make a pilgrimage to a work it remained elusive, charged, ever distant; but when you can easily see a reproduction, such aura dissipates. What Benjamin did not anticipate is that in the age of AI and the frictionless fount of digital content, we have imbued mechanical and analog means of media production with aura. Film cameras from the last 100 years are in high demand (the point and shoot Olympus Mju I featured in Wim Wenders film Perfect Days still sells for $200), vinyl sales continue to grow year by year, 35mm and 70mm film screenings have become aura-drenched events people travel across country for, and as to the world of vintage and analog synthesizers, when a friend asked for the price on the Yamaha CS-80 synth used on Toto’s “Africa”, the answer was a cool $60,000.

Despite the ability to simulate almost any synthesizer on a computer, the original physical units retain their mystique. Perhaps this lies in the physical process, many of these synths are temperamental and difficult to fully utilize, and the effort and ingenuity can be felt in ways that will always be absent from easy digital simulacra. Perhaps there is an aura in their imperfection, as Brian Eno wrote: “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided.” Some may call this nostalgia, but such sonic imperfections are the sounds of humans interacting with the physical world, and it is understandable to feel a pang of emotion and attachment in a time of exponential alienation.

Marche 22 was recorded over a week at the Museo Del Synth Marchigiano in Macerata, Italy. The museum is filled with rare and obscure synths (especially CRB, GEM & Elka) as well as salvaged materials from a nearby shuttered Farfisa organ factory, including MARS, an unfinished realtime audio processing application developed by IRIS - similar to the now well known MAX/MSP. Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein play a suite of pieces that encompasses the last sixty years of synthesizer music—there are nods to Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, and Morton Subotnick. Dixon and Stein are like jazz masters playing the American songbook with their own riffs and quotations. What shines through in these varied works that are sometimes rhythmic, sometimes melancholic, and sometimes both, is a soul, a spirit, an emotion vibrating through the tones like the charge of coming rain or the thrum of a distant train on the tracks. - Neil Fauerso

American experimental composer Stephen O’Malley releases Avaeken, two sides of immense, immersive, self-annihilating music via Dais Records.

The record preserves site-specific work: O’Malley installed Avaeken as part of Wish You Were Here, the exhibition by renowned American artist Banks Violette, underscoring the tension between presence and absence, life and loss.

O’Malley and Violette have developed a distinct language of sound, space, and sculpture over the past two decades, reverberating through the walls of world-class institutions from The Guggenheim and Centre Pompidou to prominent galleries such as Maureen Paley in London, Gladstone Gallery in NYC, and Antwerp’s TICK TACK, the brutalist space where Wish You Were Here unfolded in early 2026.

Emerging now as an LP, Avaeken presents power and phenomena: low-frequency vibrations, deep oscillations, and phase cancellations that translate as innately effective in any environment. Violette’s visual expression — the impossibility of locating yourself within the loss of a friend and the broader decay of culture — now fills the LP sleeve and feels inextricable from O’Malley’s sound, both still without resolution.

“Natural harmonic tone coloured by the valves of the amplification is the one desired characteristic,” reads the initial notes.

“At first I asked, why would I write for another guitar player?” he says. “I realized how amazing it is to be a listener on the other side of the music; together we were able to try all these precisions with intonation, harmonics, specific microtonal ideas.”

The quartet performed Avaeken several times before O’Malley joined them for a recording session at Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, a 13th-century former hospital with modern acoustics in Ghent.

What is Buck? Buck is a state of mind, a way of life, a demeanor that gets you through the good times and the bad. If you ask Brainstory, It is also the energy that permeates their debut album. Kevin, Tony, and Eric are a trio of brothers bounded by blood, fate, and a small town with nothing to do. Their story begins in the long lost lands of the San Bernardino Valley, in the twilight zone known as Rialto, California: An arid wasteland of boredom and empty lots. Through punk rock and skateboarding they found temporary liberation from the local monotony. However, it wouldn't be long before a hunger for more led them to explore musical realms beyond that of the hardcore punk they admired. After stints at music school and steady disappointment trying to navigate their local jazz scene they moved to Los Angeles and Brainstory was born. Through a introduction from Chicano Batman's bassist, Brainstory caught the ears of Big Crown head honchos Danny Akalepse and Leon Michels. Shortly thereafter they were on their way to Queens, to record at The Legendary Diamond Mine with Michels at the helm. An instant chemistry yielded 10 songs in 10 days and now Brainstory has gifted the world with one hell of an introduction to all things Buck. Highlights include the sublime slow burner, "Dead End" which was the A-side to their first 45 on Big Crown that sold out in a matter of days. With Kevin's sublime falsetto floating atop Tony and Eric's unflappable and unmistakable backbeat, this tune has become a favorite with the ballad heads, the low-riders, and the slowie collectors. "Breathe" showcases another side of their sound taking a page out of the Shuggie Otis playbook and flipping the script with some stoned out west coast swag. Kev and Tony's father, Big Tone, an accomplished performer himself, steps in on "Peter Pan" to sing lead vocals over a chorus of friends and family. Bassist extraordinaire, Tony, takes over lead vocal duties on "Sorry", a smoked out, G Funk groove that is just waiting to be sampled. These guys have come a long way from their self released EPs and opening tours with Chicano Batman. Their musical growth is undeniable, and taking their California sunshine vibes and mixing them with Michels' NYC aesthetic has proven to be an amazing combination. It's a debut record that pulls influences from so many genres seamlessly it's hard to nail down. Call it Funk, call it Rock, call it Soul, but over here at Big Crown HQ, we've decided to call it BUCK.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7" single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low prole while making his heart felt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with. The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musician-ship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a HipHop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is an artist on his own terms. Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experi-ence behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderoya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape. However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to nd the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his inuences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine. "It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to put in a box. The album showcases both Martens' range and his ability to make a cohesive album. The lead single "Falling Away" starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On "Still Here" he professes his resilience through life's twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like "You" and "Our Love" mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens' lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. "Love & Flowers" finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that ts the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor or while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like "Muse" and "Chess" that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens' lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There's an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.

Mit "Hoarse" legten 16 Horsepower 2000 ein Live-Album der Extraklasse vor. Die elf Songs, aufgenommen 1998 in Denver und Paris, zeigen die Band auf der Höhe ihres Schaffens, mehr noch, die hier zu hörenden Versionen der Songs ihrer Studioklassiker "Low Estate" und "Sackloth"n"Ashes" sind nahe der Perfektion. Was für eine Kraft, was für eine Wucht! Von dem von David Eugene Edwards" Akkordeon dominierten Intro des Openers "American Wheeze" braucht es keine zwei Minuten, bis die Band die Hölle losbrechen lässt. 16 Horsepower waren anno 1998 eine Maschine, die alles niederwalzte - nicht brutal, aber immer gewaltig. Dabei blieben sie stets filigran, beherrschten auch die leisen Töne (man höre nur "Bad Moon Risin""!) in gleicher Souveränität wie das volle Brett. Neben dem CCR-Cover gibt es Gun Clubs "Fire Spirit" sowie ein fulminante Version von Joy Divisions "Day Of The Lords". Wer die Band jemals live erlebt hat, weiß um die Magie solcher Momente.

The compositions recorded here are a product of work with computers in synthetic speech, song and vocal sounds and were created between 1972 and 1975. The music was realized on two different computer music systems and takes advantage of, and attempts to extend and explore their features. The system employed to realize speech songs was created at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for research in synthetic speech and speech communication. Since the system was not designed for musical purposes, its limitations were severe and its musical use a great (and often rewarding) challenge. The system used for In Celebration and The Story of Our Lives was designed with the expressed purpose of creating synthetic musical voices, and was therefore much better suited to the task at hand. As with any high technology project, there was extensive collaboration in the production of the works.

The works on this disk are called computer music because the sounds were created numerically in a computer before reaching magnetic tape and loudspeakers. The computer did not compose the music. However, it was only used as a sound synthesis and analysis medium. In order to hear the sounds which are represented in the computer as successions of numbers it was necessary to attach a digital-to-analogue converter to the computer. The converter transformed the succession of numbers into a fluctuating voltage which was recorded directly on to audio tape.

The technique used to create the synthetic voices is called speech synthesis-by-analysis. For this method of speech synthesis, only those words, phrases and sentences which have been spoken into the computer previously (via an analogue-to-digital converter) may be synthesized. First the digitally-recorded speech is analyzed by programs which extract the attributes (parameters) of the speech for short time segments (.01 sec.). From these parameters the speech may be recreated in a form which resembles the original recording very closely. But for musical purposes the parameters are most often altered before synthesis. It is possible, for example, to change the natural pitch contour of the speech into a melodic line or to change the speech speed without altering the natural pitch level.

The variety of musical patterns which may be created from the analytic parameters is limited only by the composer's imagination. Most of the speech sounds on the recording were created by changing the pitch and duration attributes of the original on resynthesis, but for a few, the resonances (the formants) of the speech were altered as well. The voice of the book in The Story of Our Lives was created by replacing the program which simulates the sound of the human vocal cords with one consisting of 64 sine tones glissandoing at different rates. All the textures in which more than one voice is heard were obtained by mixing the synthetic voices together digitally.

Die Compilation vereint ikonische Tracks aus Tarantinos gesamtem filmischen Werk: von Pulp Fiction über Kill Bill bis Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Mit dabei sind musikalische Größen wie Dick Dale, Johnny Cash, Joe Tex, The Coasters, The 5.6.7.8"s, Dee Clark, Keith Mansfield und viele mehr. Tarantino Sounds entführt in eine Welt aus Surf-Rock, Soul, Rockabilly und Retro-Vibes - genau wie Tarantino sie liebt und inszeniert.

A MUCH SOUGHT AFTER SOUNDTRACK, THIS NEW VERSION FROM SILVA SCREEN CONTAINS MUCH NEVER BEFORE RELEASED MATERIAL!!

After a decade of creating pioneering puppet series made for children, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson took their first steps into live-action, with the 1969 feature film Doppelgänger (re-titled outside Britain as Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun). This science-fiction film approached its outer space subject matter with a gritty realism, and would set the tone for what was to be their first live-action television series: UFO. This new series took as a starting point the pioneering work of Dr Christiaan N. Barnard, the surgeon who performed the world’s first heart transplant operation. In UFO a dying race of aliens travel across vast distances of space to harvest organs from human beings to help ensure their own survival. To combat this threat the United Nations created SHADO, a top-secret organisation utilising the latest technology available to defend the Earth.

To complement the series, the Andersons frequent musical collaborator Barry Gray created a multifaceted score that gave the programme its own musical identity. Elegantly crafted and a firm favourite with Barry Gray fans, the sound of UFO, particularly its ethereal “World Music” closing credits is, quite simply, a joy. Includes a bonus track, Trampoline performed by The Spencer Davis Group from the episode Ordeal.

Underground Hip Hop vets, Dillon & Paten Locke aroused appetites with their 2016 standout release, 'Food Chain', the follow-up to 2009's cult classic, 'Studies in Hunger' and prequel to 2025's 'Rations'. The flagship release of their fledgling label, FULL PLATE, 'Food Chain' opened many doors (and ears) for the Atlanta, GA /Jacksonville, FL based crew, setting the table for their sprawling catalog today.
Produced entirely by Paten Locke (the Boston-bred triple threat who cut his teeth with Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, Edan and his groups: Asamov + The Smile Rays), Food Chain's recipe starts with rugged chops of impossibly rare samples from Paten's world-renowned vinyl collection. Once that's simmering, just add Dillon's razor sharp rhymes; ranging from aggressively self-sure to deeply self-reflective, then finish with their signature seasoning - comedic relief! Food Chain also boasts an impressive list of guest features including Count Bass D, Homeboy Sandman, Supa Dave West, J-Live, Von Pea of Tanya Morgan, Phill Most Chill, Boog Brown, Malkovich, Tone Tank and their FULL PLATE FAM, Willie Evans Jr. Too many chefs? We say, 'Let 'em cook!!'
Now 10 years later this critically acclaimed album receives the treatment it deserves: a proper double LP pressing of the album in its entirety - including a lost bonus intro + bespoke poster insert. 2016's pressing was an abridged single LP that was missing songs, interludes & skits in order to fit the time limits of the format. With the 2xLP, you finally get to enjoy the full album, they way it was meant to be heard. What makes this 10th Anniversary reissue even heavier is that Paten Locke passed in 2019 and never got to see the full impact of his work, so this release doubles as a delicious celebration of Paten's lifelong creative pursuits & accomplishments.

offerings is a new project from Bruno Silva (Ondness, Serpente) and Gonçalo F. Cardoso (Lagoss, Prophetas, Hannibal Chew III).

Born from a shared obsession with the peripheral—rain puddles, empty city spaces and the flickering crawl of late-night credits—the album occupies a stalled threshold; a space that refuses to resolve into a clear image. It does not strive for the "new" nor the "old"; it exists in a state of suspension, like end credits that refuse to roll, fixed in a permanent noumenal state.

Composed through a frantic exchange of files during the stormy winter of 2026, End Credits Noumena functions as a document of inner domestic spaces. It captures a floating, jam-like camaraderie between two artists with shared fixations and divergent sound palettes. The result is gritty and acetic — a series of random, eerie transmissions that remain strangely inviting. These are offerings, left over for whoever chooses to claim them.

Elevator Music is the collaborative album from Newport’s own Lord Sko and acclaimed producer Statik Selektah — a smooth, soul-heavy project rooted in classic East Coast hip-hop tradition. With Statik’s signature dusty drums and soulful sample chops setting the tone, Sko delivers sharp storytelling, effortless flows, and downtown NYC swagger across ten standout tracks.

The album features appearances from Dave East, B-Real, Smoke DZA, Ab-Soul, and more, adding extra depth to an already cohesive listen. From introspective cuts like “Better Days” to smoky late-night anthems like “Northern Lights,” Elevator Music captures the feeling of timeless New York rap with a fresh new perspective.

Robag Wruhme is the solo alias of Gabor Schablitzki, a quietly singular voice in minimal and house music since the early 2000s. His sound is built on precision without ever feeling rigid. Instead of chasing big moments, he lets tracks unfold through subtle movement and carefully balanced tension, always evolving but never rushing.

That same approach runs through this EP. It's about letting momentum emerge naturally, allowing each element to settle into place while the energy continues to build.

Across four tracks, Robag creates a world where rhythm and atmosphere constantly shape one another. The arrangements are rich with detail, yet nothing competes for attention. Even in the densest passages, every sound feels deliberate.

OLAHNI opens patiently, with ghostly textures and hypnotic vocal fragments setting the tone before the bassline slowly comes into focus. The arrangement keeps evolving, with subtle details drifting in and out as the groove steadily deepens.
IFTHAH takes things into darker territory, driven by a heavy rolling bassline and a looping motif that never quite loosens its grip, adding weight without disrupting the flow.

On FUMAXOHN, the groove remains tight while the mood shifts. A warm harmonic layer gradually emerges as the vocals dissolve into texture, drawing the track towards something more melancholic.
PENTHO closes the EP in its most direct form. Stripped back and driving, it lands with quiet confidence, bringing the journey to a close while holding onto the hypnotic tension that defines the record.

It's been a pleasure bringing this EP together, and we're excited to finally share it with you. We hope these four tracks draw you into Robag's world as much as they have us.

Hatchback is the alias of Samuel Milton Grawe. Sam creates music that sings of the Cosmos, full of deep resonant tones, glistening arpeggios, lush pads and harmonic motifs. ‘Phaser For The Ocean, Chorus For The Moon’ is his magnum opus, a sprawling masterwork that encompasses ambient, new age and environmental music to wondrous effect. Soaked in Californian consciousness, the album is a balm like no other for these troubled times.

When I first was getting into the creative side of music making in my teens, I was heavily influenced by concept albums like ‘Quadrophenia’ and ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’, as well as epic pieces that took up an entire side of a record: Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes’, Yes’ ‘Close To The Edge’, Klaus Schulze’s ‘Nowhere Now Here’, Miles Davis' ‘Shhh/Peaceful’ and ‘He Loved Him Madly’. In the extreme, these ideas coalesced in double albums where each side of each record is occupied by a single title - Yes’ ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’, and Tangerine Dream’s ‘Zeit’ being primary examples. When I returned to making music after moving back to Northern California in 2020, the first piece I recorded landed around the 20-minute mark, and the idea of creating three other long pieces to realize a full album felt like a natural - if indulgent - goal. From there, each new piece followed sequentially. Four songs. My fourth album. - Sam Grawe

‘Phaser For The Ocean Chorus For The Moon’ is a pure expression, informed by a lifetime of deep listening unbound by algorithms or AI.
These are songs for the sunrise and the sunset - and every colour in between.

a 01. And The Walls Became The World All Around [18:53]
[b] 02. Phaser For The Ocean, Chorus For The Moon [21:48]
[c] 03. Other Desert Cities [20:19]
[d] 04. Friendship Fountain [18.33]

¡Hola amigos! ¡Dieciséis guarniciones de chile picante, peyote loco y tequila helado! ¡Hermoso!
If there's one thing I'm good at it's finding records. It doesn't matter where in the world I am, I find records, the best records, the rarest records. And always in Mint condition. I have a knack for it. One place I like to hunt for records is South of the Border, in Mexico. You can find great records there, way out in those pequeños pueblos del desierto. Another great thing you can find is cactus.
Mexico is famous for cactus. You got your Ariocarpus, your Turbinicarpus, your Mammillaria. You got cactus of all kinds, big and small. Little ones like Eplithelantha, psychedelic ones like the peyote Lophophora, and rare ones like Aztekium. But my favourite is Mammillaria humboldtii. Now this one is very hard to find. The villagers over in Hidalgo know where it is, and they go high up in the mountains to look for it.

Now these guys, they take their time. But when they come down from those mountains, they bring back the most beautiful specimens. I really mean it, they're beautiful. They're like clumps of fluffy white golf balls, and they have these cute little pink flowers. Beautiful I tell ya. I pay precio alto for a good specimen of Mammillaria humboldtii.

The Third Room launches its new curator-led series with Oscar Mulero, one of techno's most uncompromising and influential voices. Through decades of releases, DJ sets and his work with PoleGroup, Mulero has helped shape a sound defined by tension, reduction and depth, leaving a lasting mark on contemporary techno culture. For this first chapter, he brings together artists who reflect that same discipline and sonic clarity. Rather than focusing on solo authorship, Mulero shifts towards dialogue - connecting with producers who operate within a shared language, while bringing their own distinct perspectives to the record. He opens with Sonic Synergy, the only solo track: restrained, dub-influenced and immersive, built on warm low-end and gradual development. The centrepiece of the record follows with Reaction Pair, a collaboration with DVS1. Bringing together two of the scene's most established voices, the track unfolds as a fluid, open construction: a rolling, slightly woobly bassline meets evolving chords that build and dissolve tension in continuous cycles, creating a sense of forward motion without obvious peaks. Seven, with Luigi Tozzi, introduces a more spatial dimension, merging Tozzi's atmospheric depth with Mulero's steady drive. Closing track Between the Stars, with Isabel Soto, leans into a timeless, understated energy - functional without ever becoming forceful. Across all four tracks, the EP remains consistent in tone: spacious, spheric and focused on long-form movement. As the first entry in the series, it sets a clear direction - reduced, hypnotic techno built for longevity. ? 2026 The Third Room A1 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero | A2 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Zak Khutoretsky | D1 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Luigi Tozzi | B2 Written and Produced by Oscar Mulero & Isabel Soto Mastered by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

The second chapter of The Third Room's curator-led series is shaped by D.Dan, one of the defining voices of a new generation pushing techno into sharper, more forward-leaning territory. Through his productions, DJ sets and close ties to an emerging network of artists, he has helped shape a sound defined by precision, intensity and subtle experimentation. For his curation, the focus lies on collaboration and alignment. Rather than presenting a wide spectrum, the release draws a tight circle around a shared sound: one defined by contrast and a strong sense of aesthetic cohesion. D.Dan's Bound sets the tone: reduced, warm and controlled, balancing sharp accents with a steady, grounding low-end. On Dynamic, Rene Wise delivers a record's standout moment: a fluid, rolling tool shaped by subtle disruptions and evolving tension. Slither by Connor Wall expands into a more trippy, forward-facing space, while Gensou by Sunju Hargun & DJ MARIA. closes on a fresh, detailed take on acid - understated but effective. Across all four tracks, the release feels tightly unified - less like a compilation, more like a single body of work shaped from a shared sonic language. Contrast plays a central role: between tension and warmth, control and surprise, functionality and detail. Cohesive and focused, the record feels carved from a single aesthetic, where contrast and small, unexpected shifts drive its momentum. Copyright 2026 The Third Room A1 Written and Produced by Theodore Su-Ahn Shin | A2 Written and Produced by Andrew Shobeiri | B1 Written and Produced by Connor Wall | B2 Written and Produced by Sunju Hargun & DJ MARIA. Mastered by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

BOOH opens the record with a slow subterranean rumble before the machine locks in with full force. Welding Groove is a dense and relentless techno tool, built on a heavy low-end foundation and punctuated by sharp breaks that release tension only to snap back harder. A floor-ready opener that sets the tone for what follows.

Powder wastes no time. The groove hits from the first bar, driving forward with precision and urgency through a series of tightly chopped breaks before the bass reclaims the floor. Physical, direct, and built for the peak hours.

BOOH flips the record with Spectrum, the most patient track of the four. A long, layered intro slowly stacks elements one by one before the groove finally takes over and holds its ground without letting up. Wide and immersive, it carries the energy of a long set deep into the night.

Jackson Poliakov is the most unpredictable of the bunch. Opening with a wide, full-spectrum groove, it shifts midway into darker, more hypnotic territory before a final break brings everything back for the closing stretch. Two faces in one track, and the perfect way to close this chapter.

Michaela Turcerová’s compositions unfold in slow motion. The saxophonist and composer’s glacial music zeroes in on the granularities of each note as it rings, soaking in every subtle shift in texture and pitch.

Šumum exemplifies this patient approach to writing music, branching out from themes of loss and togetherness into an intricate tapestry of introspective sound. These four pieces invite deep collaboration between performers, who together shape the music through the shared process of listening and interpreting Turcerová’s relatively open scores. And while these works often grow from long, stretched-out tones, they also foreground forward direction: no note stays in one place, no melody is without action. Instead, Šumum chronicles how the tiniest shifts can lead to major transformation.

Šumum builds from Turcerová’s longheld interests in place and minimalism. Many of the composer’s works explore perception: how a room can shape the music we hear, and how repetition alters a melody. Like the music of Éliane Radigue, Šumum embraces the rainbow of colors that appear when close listening with the wave-like flow of looped melodic and rhythmic patterns. All the album’s pieces observe the subtle changes that happen as music grows.

Group communication yields the constant evolution that defines Šumum. The album feels like a conversation, with each instrumentalist swapping phrases or trading places when the moment feels right. “Straty” builds from a series of strongly accented drones that appear as quickly as they fade away; underneath them is a perpetual rhythm that drives the color of each long held note, from melancholy into radiance and back again. With “Vlny,” pitch eventually disappears, leaving a delicate rhythm, and with “Masy,” a matrix of brassy tones link together and eventually burst. No matter where the music goes, one thing remains true: Šumum invites close listening, and in the process, reveals the beauty of continual motion.

After the wild Afro-jazz fusion of Trancedance (reissued as BT118) and the meditative solo Christer Bothén Donso n’goni (BT133), legendary Swedish multi-instrumentalist Christer Bothén returns to Black Truffle as part of a dream quartet completed by the three members of Ghosted: Oren Ambarchi (guitar), Johan Berthling (bass) and Andreas Werliin (drums). Recorded at a rustic studio built by Werliin and Hans Fredriksson in the sylvan surrounds of Hamburgsund, Sweden across a few days in September 2023, Serpentine offers up four generous slices of hypnotic repetition and shimmering resonance, cut through with wild bursts of Bothén’s bass clarinet.

The depth and ease of the quartet’s rapport is evident from the first moments of the opening title-track. Berthling’s resonant upright bass locks into a head-nodding ostinato that makes sensitive use of a prominent end-of-phrase rest, opening spaces through which Werliin’s continually shifting statements of the pulse shine through. Having worked together in various groups for many years, Berthling and Werliin are masters at playing subtle games of difference and repetition, creating a driving rhythmic flow animated by perpetually changing details: here, you can never step in the same groove twice. Weaving through it all is Ambarchi’s now-signature Leslie-cabinet guitar tone, sounding out long chords at times strikingly close to a Hammond, while also creating intricate cross-rhythms through the play of his tremolo modulations against the bass and drums. When Bothén enters five minutes in, the growl of his bass clarinet at first works deep in the collective brew, carving off brief staccato phrases and twisting them into fragmented melodies. As he moves into the instrument’s higher registers, Bothén’s playing becomes wilder, twinning with Ambarchi’s guitar in shimmering arcs like a 21st century update of the Garbarek-Rypdal pairing immortalised on Sart.

Each of the four pieces explore different possibilities of a shared language. On ‘Antigorite’, another hypnotic bass riff emerges gradually from an atmospheric haze, eventually developing into a frenetic rhythmic workout propelled by Werliin’s cowbell. Berthling sits out for ‘Lizardite’, while Bothén moves from bass clarinet to the Donso n’goni, the sacred Wassoulou hunter’s harp he has studied for half a century; the resulting performance streamlines the approach heard on other tracks into pure modal propulsion, sparkling with harp-like arpeggios from Ambarchi’s guitar. On the closing ‘Chrysotile’, the bottom drops out, leaving a swampy, churning mass of wavering organ-like chords, roaming bass runs, and distant toms, over which Bothén floats bass clarinet figures by turns bluesy and abstract, the whole thing landing somewhere between classic ECM and the most blasted freeform moments of early Amon Düül II. Bearing a delicate calligraphic abstraction by Bothén on its cover and beautiful documentation of the recording sessions on its inner sleeve, Serpentine is a powerful reminder of the magic that can happen when inventive musicians just get together and play.

Sometimes an album title arrives like a voice from across time. For Johanna Samuels, Sorry, Kid began as a message to her younger self, part apology and part recognition. Gathering songs written as far back as 2007 alongside newer work, the album bridges nearly two decades of lived experience.

The record holds 70s tones without leaning on them, drawing from a lineage of melody and restraint while staying fully alive in its own time. It feels lived in, steady, and quietly powerful, like something finally understood without needing to be explained. The result is intimate and fully realized, songs that began as questions now settling into something like resolution.

Regulator Watts returns with kWh (kilowatt-hours), the band's first new music in nearly 30 years. Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge), this 5-song EP is a masterclass in post-hardcore dynamics, contrasting crushing grooves with moody, mysterious atmospherics and the haunting tone that remains guitarist Alex Dunham's trademark. This is essential listening for fans of the DC scene and those who find catharsis in the cycles of tension and release perfected by this peerless power trio.

The neo-soul movement of the late 1990s, which fused classic soul sounds with contemporary elements, heralded the arrival of some of the greatest R&B recordings of the decade. Albums like Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, and Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite were all born of this trend, while artists such as Mos Def, The Roots, and Common whole-heartedly embraced the sound, creating some of their most timeless material in the process. These are some of neo-soul's great successes, but a slew of underground acts were what set the initial blueprint for their more pop-friendly acquaintances to follow. Acts such as R&B duo Groove Theory. The New York pair, consisting of singer/songwriter Amel Larrieux, and producer Bryce Wilson, (A veteran of the legendary 80s electronic group Mantronix) helped set the tone for neo-soul via their lone studio release, the self-titled Groove Theory. The nearly hour-long record features 14 tracks of Wilson's smooth soul arrangements and atmospherics merged with golden era boom-bap beats, and Larrieux's siren-quality vocals, inspired equally by a combination of Native Tongues, peak Marvin Gaye, Joan Armatrading, Soul II Soul, as well as elements of breakbeat, jazz fusion, and even trip hop. It's a definitive, but often overlooked classic of the 1990s, which helped expand contemporary R&B's sound, render Billboard hits out the tracks "Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv", and even found the time for a Todd Rundgren cover. On the cusp of Groove Theory's 25th anniversary, Get On Down is proud to bring you this vinyl reissue of an underrated 90s gem. The original record has never been re-released on wax since its 1995 debut, but is now presented here with fully remastered audio, and bundled in a full-color insert sleeve with complete lyrics and liner notes.

Originally released in 1989 as an early milestone for the label, this landmark session teams the legendary alto saxophonist - then at the absolute peak of his powers at age 57 - with the incomparable Tommy Flanagan Trio . A titan of the genre for over 60 years, Woods masterfully combined a lush, beautiful tone with a complete command of the bebop vocabulary. Backed by veteran pianist Tommy Flanagan, former Oscar Peterson Trio bassist George Mraz, and a young, up-and-coming Kenny Washington on drums, the quartet delivers a timeless set of acoustic jazz that sounds as vital and vibrant today as it did nearly four decades ago.

Heisenberg continues its vinyl series with HSBRGV015, a four-track VA bringing together some of the labels all-time favorite artists. Romania s Nu Zau and Direkt set the tone with their signature hypnotic grooves and unmistakable swing. From Latvia, D I N adds a deeper, driving touch, while label head Saktu closes the record with a stripped, groovy, and trippy cut true to the Heisenberg sound.
HSBRGV015 is a pure reflection of the label’s identity, carefully selected, deeply underground, and made for those who truly understand. Vinyl only.

Fiat Lux return with Desire & Belief, their third album of new material this millennium, following their acclaimed comeback LPs Saved Symmetry and Twisted Culture. The trio—Steve Wright, Will Howard, and David P Crickmore—combine modern production with vintage synths and instruments rooted in their Polydor-era beginnings to craft ten tracks that span cinematic atmospheres, synth-pop anthems, and moody electronica. Tracks like "Clear Sky " and "Turn Me Around" offer hook-laden synth-pop, while "Summer Solstice " and "Am I Dreaming " delve into ambient and darker tones. Desire & Belief is a natural progression for Fiat Lux—retaining the spirit of their 1980s Northern roots in synth, goth, and indie, yet confidently stepping into new sonic territory for long-time fans and new listeners alike. RIYL: Blancmange, OMD, Scary Thieves, Tears For Fears

Auf ,Revelations of Divine Love", Jason Calhouns fünfter Veröffentlichung bei Dear Life Records, hat Calhoun ein besonders kraftvolles Album zusammengestellt, das surrt, summt und leuchtet. Im Gegensatz zu seinen jüngsten Werken, die sich um ausgedehnte, hypnotische Kompositionen drehen, wecken die vierzehn Tracks hier sofort deine Aufmerksamkeit und Neugier. Ihre Prägnanz unterstreicht nur eine seiner größten Stärken: die Fähigkeit, einen verfliegenden, flüchtigen Moment einzufangen und festzuhalten. Der Titel ist eine Anspielung auf die britische Anachoreta Julian von Norwich, deren gesammelte Schriften mit demselben Titel die frühesten sind, die jemals von einer Frau in englischer Sprache verfasst wurden. Hier dient er als verbindendes Thema für Calhouns ganz eigene Palette aus unruhigen Texturen und zaghaften Melodien. Das ist zweifellos persönliche Musik, aber sie fühlt sich auch greifbar an, fast wie Toffee in ihrer Präsentation - und bei einer so kraftvollen Kombination fällt es schwer, beim Hören ein Lächeln zu unterdrücken. Zum Beispiel, wenn der eindringliche Puls, der ,last one" trägt, plötzlich seine Farbe wechselt, während sich gähnende Töne offenbaren, oder wie ,eye dilation" auf Zehenspitzen in den Raum schleicht, wobei jede Note wie ein sorgfältig gewählter Schritt klingt. Obwohl das Album niemals gekünstelt oder überladen wirkt, bleibt es entschlossen intim.

Langsam, schnörkellos und größtenteils instrumental - auf ,Orphans" wendet sich Art Feynman nach innen. Das Album, das als ,Musik zum Nebenbei-Hören" konzipiert ist, soll den Alltag begleiten und die Atmosphäre untermalen, ohne konzentrierte Aufmerksamkeit zu erfordern. Es bewegt sich durch den Raum wie ein Windspiel - weniger etwas, dem man folgt, als etwas, das man spürt. Es sind intime, einsame Erkundungen, Skizzen, die sich weniger komponiert als vielmehr entdeckt anfühlen, und doch strahlen sie eine stille emotionale Klarheit aus. Während sich Feynmans frühere Arbeiten oft auf komplexe Grooves und dichtes Zusammenspiel stützten, ist ,Orphans" entwaffnend still, geduldig und beruhigend. Zu Beginn des Albums kann man sich fast vorstellen, wie Feynman über einem 4-Spur-Recorder sitzt, Melodien auf einem kleinen Casio nachspielt und seinem Instinkt folgt, wohin auch immer er ihn führt. Der Eröffnungstrack ,Soft Reminder" entfaltet sich mit einer sanften Orgelmelodie, die zu gleichen Teilen melancholisch und neugierig ist; ihre Töne verweilen in der Luft, anstatt voranzutreiben, und legen sich so mühelos im Raum nieder, wie sie zur stillen Reflexion einladen. An anderer Stelle vermittelt ,Soup Song" eine Art hausbackenen Minimalismus, wobei sein beharrliches Orgelmuster an den frühen, experimentierfreudigen Geist von Terry Rileys ,A Rainbow in Curved Air" erinnert. ,Always In Need of Something" verweist auf die verspielten, suchenden Qualitäten von Francis Bebey, wobei seine zyklische Phrasierung eine stille, menschliche Unruhe unter der Oberfläche andeutet. Durchgehend sammeln sich Klänge und Texturen sanft an und formen ebenso sehr eine Atmosphäre wie eine Reihe eigenständiger Kompositionen, wobei sie subtil die emotionale Temperatur des Raums verändern, den sie einnehmen. Das späte Herzstück des Albums, ,Ice Bath", einer der wenigen Momente mit Gesang, bietet eine subtile These: "It slowed me down / That's what I needed / For a new beginning." Der Song fühlt sich wie ein Wendepunkt an, eine Akzeptanz der Stille als notwendige Voraussetzung für Veränderung. Er geht nahtlos über in ,The Condition of New Things", ein wunderschön skizzenhaftes E-Gitarrenstück, das im offenen Raum nachhallt, wobei jede Note mit sorgfältiger Absicht platziert ist und an einige von Jeff Parkers Soloarbeiten erinnert. Der Abschluss-Track ,Plastic Flowers" schwebt herein, getragen von Vocoder-gefiltertem Gesang und einem zarten Bett aus Gitarre und Synthesizer. "To trick the eye but still touch the heart", singt Feynman - eine Zeile, die stillschweigend das Ethos des Albums umrahmt. Wie Licht, das im Laufe eines Tages über eine Wand wandert, mögen diese Aufnahmen bescheiden sein, in ihrer Einfachheit sogar illusionartig, doch ihre emotionale Resonanz ist unbestreitbar.