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It’s abundantly clear from the first bars of their 5th studio album Through Other Reflection, that this is, and could only ever be, The Soundcarriers. From the enchanting vocal duets of folk-bidden Chanteuses Leonore Wheatley and Dorian Conway; to the precise bass lines of Paul Isherwood and the limber, jazz-cool, Hal Blaine-esque drums of his his co-songwriter Adam Cann; from the fairy-like flutes, 60s-garage guitars and organ sounds pilfered from the archives of exotica - listening to the Soundcarriers resembles a rediscovery of all the most prized, esoteric corners of the 1960s, all bundled up, warped and refracted through the quartet’s astutely modern cultural lens. Channelling Tropicalia, Middle Eastern psychedelic Jazz/Funk, The French Library sounds of Nino Nardini, and a whole host of lavish obscurites beside, Through Other Reflection delivers another sonic adventure from one of the most unique and distinctive voices of British Psychedelia. After an 8 year wait for their album 4 - 2022’s Wilds - it thankfully didn’t take so long for the follow-up this time round. In many ways, this feels like a companion to Wilds; recording again at their Nottingham warehouse studio, Through Other Reflection retains that same organic glow, all the passions and imperfections of a tightly clipped unit jamming out these living, breathing pop-art nuggets as if straight onto the acetate.”We wanted to keep an air of spontaneity with this album and not get too bogged with the recording process”, explains Cann, “It was more a case of getting the songs as tightly written and arranged as possible first so we could get them down quickly in the studio. It always takes longer than you think” Less packed with strident pop hooks as its predecessor however, the music of Through… has been given extra licence to breathe, stretch out, and wander more uncharted terrains. While gleaming psych-pop of tracks like ‘The City Was’, or ‘Already Over’ confidently carry on from where they left off, from the album’s 2nd track ‘Always’, the trip becomes a little less predictable. Starting out as a smoky Procol Harum-meets-French-Psych organ ballad, the music drifts, as if of its own accord into an eerie, garage trance that lingers, cycles, and hypnotises, growing ever stranger, reaching ever-further away from its point of conception. And almost every track on Through Other Reflections holds that outer-body moment, where the band fix themselves on a limber, lysergic groove, lose all grip on time and reality, and melt themselves away into a liquid state of blind euphoria. There are sequences on this record that feel more like rituals than songs, built upon a single hypnotic rhythm which, like the centre of a vortex, pulling everything under its beatific command. Take the finale to ‘What We Found’ for instance, sounding like a ghostly march across the psychedelic moors, or ‘Feel The Way’, where a single athletic drum-loop rises and rises, growing ever more urgent and suspenseful underneath its frantic harpsichords and rasping flutes. Full of such rich stylisms as these, The Soundcarriers showcase themselves as abstract storytellers par excellence by virtue of their textures and arrangements alone. Resembling Romantic composer Maurice Ravel, but if he had just a four-piece rock band at his disposal, Through Other Reflects is rich with detail; there’s shakers, rattles, clarinets, booming drums; there’s synthesiser swarms, chiming xylophones, vintage organs and experimental Cluster & Eno-esque ambiences. Within all this nuance the music flows like some undisclosed narrative swathed in a magnetic secrecy. “It almost comes across like a story in some ways”, says Cann of the album, “the music is quite sectional with elements of exotica and cinematic type layers, it's a good balance of grooves, tunes and weirdness”. No more is this “epic cinematic feel” heard more proudly than on short instrumental ‘Sonya’s Lament” - its innate, hauntological atmospheres befitting a Peter Strickland soundtrack, or the classics of Lex Baxter, the so-called ‘Founder of Exotica’ himself. On the other hand, providing a greasier undercurrent to all these bucolic sounds is a leaning towards a more “direct” lyricism referencing more “external concerns. Laying down the first tracks for the album in the wintry gloom of pre-lockdown 2020, and drawing inspiration from time spent in Berlin, Through Other Reflections returns to some of the post-apocalyptic futurism explored in 2014’s Entropicalia - a loose concept album inspired by J.G Ballard’s The Drowned World. “The songs explore a disillusionment with the way things are going particularly after 40 years of neoliberalism”, says Cann, “They follow that folk-song tradition of wanting to escape to an imagined time, but here it’s more urban than pastoral. The first couple of ideas I came up with when doing some music in Berlin and had some time to wander aimlessly. And think the atmosphere seeped in, particularly on The City Was and Already Over. He continues, “One aspect of the title, ‘Through Other Reflections’ is about synthesis and layers of influence. How things can be filtered through other things and change the perspective. This is something you get in cities as well.” Though, as with everything The Soundcarriers make, “It can mean anything. It also just sounds kind of cool.”

Ultimo Tango (Milan) & Glossy Mistakes (Madrid) are thrilled to announce the release of "Tribal Organic: Deep Dive into European Percussions 79-90", a compilation of otherworldly percussion-driven tracks, digging deep into this unknown realm of a past era.


Compiled by Luca Fiore and Glossy Mario, the album takes listeners on a rhythmic journey through the diverse sounds of Europe from 1979 to 1990. This collaboration between two like-minded labels highlights forgotten recordings from across Europe, including works by artists from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands...
Opening with the ethereal “Rainforest” by British female duo Ova, this collection weaves together nine tracks from artists who were deeply influenced by global percussion traditions. With hints of jazz, new age, gamelan, and West African rhythms, these tracks feature instruments like congas, tablas, and shekeres, and reflect a shared fascination with the organic beat of the drum.
From the industrial-meets-African grooves of Jean-Michel Bertrand’s “Engines”, to the hypnotic accordion and tribal chants of Cuco Pérez’s “Calabó Bambú”, the compilation offers a cross-cultural listening experience that is both meditative and invigorating. Despite creating these works in isolation during the last years of the Cold War, each artist was inspired by a borderless world of sound. The compilation pays homage to these nomadic musicians who respected the traditions they drew from, while contributing their own experimental takes on percussion-led music.
In Tribal Organic, Glossy Mario and Luca Fiore have unearthed a treasure trove of rhythm-driven tracks that blur the lines between nations, genres, and cultures. This compilation offers more than just music; it’s a listening experience that is both spiritual and grounded—bold, exploratory, and deeply rooted in the beat of the Earth

Allt II: Cuimhne is a collection of newly composed settings of Irish and Scottish Gaelic poems and tunes - This recording forms the highly anticipated second release from the quartet featuring Julie Fowlis, Eamon Doorley, John McIntyre and Zoe Conway.

Cuimhne, the Gaelic word meaning a memory, a record, a memorial or a recollection, is a fitting title for this work, as the quartet are taking inspiration from the memories of Gaelic tradition and reworking and reframing them into a contemporary setting.

Poetry has been the dominant medium of art in Gaelic culture for hundreds of years and aligned with it is a tradition of setting music to poetry. Inspired by this, the quartet have created melodies which add an extra dimension to the lyrics that allows us to experience the emotional power of language.

With the addition of newly composed instrumental music, this album truly takes us on a journey of the shared heritage of Ireland and Scotland, Eire is Alba, and showcases the immense beauty of our traditions.

San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok

Aqua Tofana Colourless Vinyl. San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok.

San Jose slowcore/space rock outfit Duster returns with surprise album "In Dreams," continuing their of inclination of sonically capturing an open-ended question. These thirteen tracks hone in on their trademark dark, droning guitar tones, dialed back percussion, and alluring hard-panned vocals while expanding and exploring synth-heavy and drum machine avenues. it's the fifth duster album, ok

Get ready to sail into the vibrant rhythms of Romperayo with their new single, "La canoa del soldado," now available on Little Beat More!.

Romperayo brings a fresh take on Colombian tropical music by blending traditional coastal sounds with essential electronic elements and mixing nostalgic tropical vibes with modern beats.

The single also features a remix by Captain Planet with his fusion of global roots music adding a unique danceable twist to the original track.

Let’s paddle on Romperayo’s eclectic sounds and get your hands on the limited 7-inch vinyl that will carry you through sun-drenched landscapes and the bursting stream of millennial water flows.

Pedro Ojeda: Drums, percusion, composition, mixing.
Ivan Medellín: Accordion
Marco Fajardo: Clarinet
Nicolas Eckardt: Bass
Juan Manuel Toro: Synth
Recorded by Daniel Michel at MamboNegro Studios, Bogotá, 2023

Remix produced and mixed by Captain Planet

Master by Simone Squillario
Artwork by Michael Boulton

Debut collaborative album from Troth, the Nipaluna-based duo of Amelia Besseny and Cooper Bowman, and kindred spirit and legendary Mancunian free-form guitarist Jon Collin. A lavish dreamscape conjuring the dramatic beauty of uncharted mountains and streams, it documents both the crystilisation of ideas first shared during an Australian encounter in early 2023 and years of mutual appreciation.

Troth’s sonic universe, a constellation of drifting atmospherics, bedroom pop impulse and modern classical motifs, is deeply intimate and never rushed. Recent sides Forget The Curse and Idle Easel and live performances supporting the likes of Maxine Funke and Treasury of Puppies have seen Besseny’s soaring, celestial voice take centre stage, delicately adorned with Bowman’s synthesiser flourishes and homespun instrumentation. At their heart lies Bowman’s tireless collaborative instinct: his decade-long involvement in the Australian underground and his countless musical outfits (including contemporary trio Th Blisks, with Besseny and Yuta Matsumura).

Summer 2023 saw the duo host two shows for Collin in their former home of Mulubinba, regional New South Wales. Collin is perhaps best known for his playing, deconstructing and reconfiguring of the guitar and other stringed instruments, realised in solo works on his own Early Music and Winebox Press imprints, and collaborations on a trio of albums with Demdike Stare and live sessions with Sarah Hughes and Bill Nace. His unique style of playing, sometimes delicate, at other times frictional, refutes expectations of traditional instruments and fits perfectly within both Troth’s ethos and their lush sonic mise-en-scène.

The objects of devotion perhaps symbolise the group’s devotion towards each other during their music-making process, and the fruits from which they are borne. “I think, any music I have a hand in, is a dialogue with by the people I'm making it with. It's an ongoing conversation between people and sound”, reflects Bowman. The sacredness and ominousness of remote Tasmania is just as affecting, the interplay of Besseny’s haunting vocal washes, Bowman’s sparse instrumentation and Collin’s ritualistic strum evoking the eeriness that lurks beneath the seemingly limitless Australian landscape. “When I think about it, it sounds like being together at the bottom of the Earth. Watching, listening and playing together with no-one else in sight."

Mit dem Begleitalbum "Best of Jethro Tull Redux" lässt sich das Erlebnis von "Aqualung Redux" noch erweitern und vertiefen. Mit beiden Werken zollen Magnetic Eye Records gemeinsam mit zahlreichen Freunden der britischen Rocklegende JETHRO TULL und ihrem Meilenstein-Album "Aqualung" aus dem Jahr 1971 respektvollen Tribut. Auf "Best of Jethro Tull Redux" bieten weitere spannende Künstler ihre Neuinterpretationen aus dem ebenso einzigartigen wie umfangreichen Gesamtwerk der Briten an.
JETHRO TULL sind musikalische Riesen mit einem einzigartigen Sound - oder besser gesagt Sounds, die im Kanon der Rockmusik unvergleichbar geblieben sind. Die 1967 in Blackpool, Lancashire, von dem Schotten Ian Anderson gegründete Band hat im Laufe ihrer jahrzehntelangen Karriere immer wieder stilistische Veränderungen und Imagewechsel durch- und überlebt. Vor allem die charakteristische Stimme ihres Frontmanns und die Einbeziehung der Querflöte als wesentliches Instrument haben JETHRO TULL dennoch mit einem unverkennbaren klanglichen Fingerabdruck versehen.
JETHRO TULL haben von Anfang an die Grenzen der Rockmusik neu vermessen. Durch die Einführung von Elementen aus der klassischen Musik, des Jazz sowie der traditionellen Musik haben die Briten zahlreiche Impulse gegeben, weshalb sie zunächst dem Art Rock zugerechnet wurden und mittlerweile unter anderem zum Progressive Rock zählen. Die britische Legende schaffte den Spagat zwischen Kunst, Breitenwirkung und kommerziellem Erfolg stets mit nur scheinbarer Leichtigkeit. Dazu trug auch die herausragende Bühnenpräsenz von Frontmann Ian Anderson bei, dessen theatralischen Auftritte sogar mit denen seines Zeitgenossen, dem legendären britischen Sänger Arthur Brown, konkurrierten.
Die Magnetic Eye Redux- Reihe lässt ausgewählte Künstler handverlesene klassische Alben aus der Geschichte des Rock und Metal komplett neu interpretieren und respektvoll in das neue Jahrtausend übertragen. Bisher hat das Label solche Meilensteine wie PINK FLOYDs "The Wall", HELMETs "Meantime", BLACK SABBATHs "Vol. 4", JIMMY HENDRIX' "Electric Ladyland", "Dirt" von ALICE IN CHAINS, AC/DCs "Back in Black" und den SOUNDGARDEN-Klassiker "Superunknown" in Redux-Versionen veröffentlicht. Unter vielen anderen haben sich solch herausragende Künstler wie MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, SCOTT REEDER an diversen Redux-Projekten beteiligt.

Mit dem Begleitalbum "Best of Jethro Tull Redux" lässt sich das Erlebnis von "Aqualung Redux" noch erweitern und vertiefen. Mit beiden Werken zollen Magnetic Eye Records gemeinsam mit zahlreichen Freunden der britischen Rocklegende JETHRO TULL und ihrem Meilenstein-Album "Aqualung" aus dem Jahr 1971 respektvollen Tribut. Auf "Best of Jethro Tull Redux" bieten weitere spannende Künstler ihre Neuinterpretationen aus dem ebenso einzigartigen wie umfangreichen Gesamtwerk der Briten an.
JETHRO TULL sind musikalische Riesen mit einem einzigartigen Sound - oder besser gesagt Sounds, die im Kanon der Rockmusik unvergleichbar geblieben sind. Die 1967 in Blackpool, Lancashire, von dem Schotten Ian Anderson gegründete Band hat im Laufe ihrer jahrzehntelangen Karriere immer wieder stilistische Veränderungen und Imagewechsel durch- und überlebt. Vor allem die charakteristische Stimme ihres Frontmanns und die Einbeziehung der Querflöte als wesentliches Instrument haben JETHRO TULL dennoch mit einem unverkennbaren klanglichen Fingerabdruck versehen.
JETHRO TULL haben von Anfang an die Grenzen der Rockmusik neu vermessen. Durch die Einführung von Elementen aus der klassischen Musik, des Jazz sowie der traditionellen Musik haben die Briten zahlreiche Impulse gegeben, weshalb sie zunächst dem Art Rock zugerechnet wurden und mittlerweile unter anderem zum Progressive Rock zählen. Die britische Legende schaffte den Spagat zwischen Kunst, Breitenwirkung und kommerziellem Erfolg stets mit nur scheinbarer Leichtigkeit. Dazu trug auch die herausragende Bühnenpräsenz von Frontmann Ian Anderson bei, dessen theatralischen Auftritte sogar mit denen seines Zeitgenossen, dem legendären britischen Sänger Arthur Brown, konkurrierten.
Die Magnetic Eye Redux- Reihe lässt ausgewählte Künstler handverlesene klassische Alben aus der Geschichte des Rock und Metal komplett neu interpretieren und respektvoll in das neue Jahrtausend übertragen. Bisher hat das Label solche Meilensteine wie PINK FLOYDs "The Wall", HELMETs "Meantime", BLACK SABBATHs "Vol. 4", JIMMY HENDRIX' "Electric Ladyland", "Dirt" von ALICE IN CHAINS, AC/DCs "Back in Black" und den SOUNDGARDEN-Klassiker "Superunknown" in Redux-Versionen veröffentlicht. Unter vielen anderen haben sich solch herausragende Künstler wie MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, SCOTT REEDER an diversen Redux-Projekten beteiligt.

Magisch wie immer, aber besser denn je präsentiert sich die international renommierte und vielseitige Künstlerin auch optisch im neuen Look: Der Jazzsängerin und Komponistin Simone Kopmajer gelingt es mit ihrem neuen CHRISTMAS ALBUM einmal mehr, bekannten Klassikern wie "Let It Snow" oder "Süßer die Glocken nie klingen" u.v.m. mit ihrer ausdrucksstarken und zugleich einfühlsamen Stimme einen modernen Twist zu verleihen – ohne dabei das Traditionelle und Ursprüngliche zu vernachlässigen. Die bei Fans so beliebte Verschmelzung von Jazz und Volksmusik erlebt in den unterschiedlichen Arrangements eine neue musikalische Ebene. Nicht zuletzt auch durch die erstmalige Zusammenarbeit mit einem österreichischen Kinderchor oder ihre ganz individuelle Interpretation des Erzherzog-Johann-Jodlers mit Herbert Pixner.

Das Debütalbum der jungen Band aus Chicago auf Golden Nugget Doppelvinyl. LP 2 enthält 11 Bonustracks, darunter B-Seiten, Live-Tracks und ein My Bloody Valentine-Cover.

"Reaffirms that indie rock, as a style and ethos, can still feel like the most exciting thing a young person could be into.” - Pitchfork

Zukunftsweisender Indie-Rock hat in Chicago eine lange Tradition. Neuzugang und Hoffnungsträger Friko bilden da keine Ausnahme und verwandeln jeden Song in einen Moment der kollektiven Katharsis. Auf ihrem Debütalbum knüpfen Sänger/Gitarrist Niko Kapetan und Schlagzeuger Bailey Minzenberger an die brennende Energie ihrer Debüt-Single Crimson To Chrome an, indem sie Elemente von Post-Punk, Kammer-Pop und experimentellem Rock miteinander verschmelzen und die berauschende Kraft ihrer Musik mit einer Flut von temperamentvollem Ensemble-Gesang verstärken. Poetisch, explosiv und von erhabener Gefühlsrohheit.

"This is the time that we, who have benefitted from the Last Poets shouldbe able to say, 'it's the Last Poets. It's them we should be honouring, because we did not honour them for so many years_"

KRS One wasn't just addressing the hip hop fraternity when he uttered
those words by way of introducing the video for Invocation - a poem
written thirty years ago, around the time of the Last Poets' last significant comeback. He was speaking to everyone who's been affected by the word, sound and power issuing from the most revolutionary poetry ever witnessed, and that the Last Poets had introduced to the world outside of Harlem at the dawn of the seventies.

In 2018 the two remaining Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin
Hassan, embarked on another memorable return with an album -
Understand What Black Is - that earned favourable comparison with theirseminal works of the past, whilst showcasing their undimmed passion andlyrical brilliance in an entirely new setting - that of reggae music. Trackslike Rain Of Terror ("America is a terrorist") and How Many Bullets demonstrated that they'd lost none of their fire or anger, and their essential raison d'etre remained the same.

"The Last Poets' mission was to pull the people out of the rubble o f their lives," wrote their biographer Kim Green. "They knew, deep down that poetry could save the people - that if black people could see and hear themselves and their struggles through the spoken word, they would be moved to change."

Several years later and the follow-up is now with us. The project started when Tony Allen, the Nigerian master drummer whose unique polyrhythms had driven much of Fela Kuti's best work, dropped by Prince Fatty's Brighton studio and laid down a selection of drum patterns to die for. That was back in 2019, but then the pandemic struck. Once it had passed, the label booked a studio in Brooklyn, where the two Poets voiced four tracks apiece and breathed fresh energy, fire and outrage into some of the most enduring landmarks of their career. Abiodun, who was one of the original Last Poets who'd gathered in East Harlem's Mount Morris Park to celebrate Malcolm X's birthday in May 1968, chose four poems that first appeared on the group's 1970 debut album, called simply The Last Poets. He'd written When The Revolution Comes aged twenty, whilst living in Jamaica, Queens. "We were getting ready for a revolution," he told Green. "There wasn't any question about whether there was going to be one or not. The truth was many of us still saw ourselves as "niggers" and slaves. This was a mindset that had to change if there was ever to be Black Power." He and writer Amiri Baraka were deep in conversation one day when Baraka became distracted by a pretty girl walking by. "You're a gash man," Abiodun told him. The poem inspired by that incident, Gash Man, is revisited on the new album, and exposes the heartless nature of sexual acts shorn of intimacy or affection. "Instead of the vagina being the entrance to heaven," he says, "it too often becomes a gash, an injury, a wound_" Two Little Boys meanwhile, was inspired after seeing two young boys aged around 11 or 12 "stuffing chicken and cornbread down their tasteless mouths, trying to revive shrinking lungs and a wasted mind." They'd walked into Sylvia's soul food restaurant in Harlem, ordered big meals, then bolted them down and run out the door. No one chased after them, knowing that they probably hadn't eaten in days. Fifty years later and children are still going hungry in major cities across America and elsewhere. Abiodun's poem hasn't lost any relevance at all, and neither has New York, New York, The Big Apple. "Although this was written in 1968, New York hasn't changed a bit," he admits, except "today, people just mistake her sickness for fashion." Umar is originally from Akron, Ohio, but had arrived in Harlem in early 1969 after seeing Abiodun and the other Last Poets at a Black Arts Festival in Cleveland. That's where he first witnessed what Amiri Baraka once called "the rhythmic animation of word, poem, image as word- music" - a creative force that redefined the concept of performance poetry and stripped it bare until it became a howl of rage, hurt and anger, saved from destruction by mockery and love for humanity. When Umar's father, who was a musician, was jailed for armed robbery he took to the streets from an early age where he shined shoes and raised whatever money he could to help feed his eight brothers and sisters. By the time he saw the Last Poets he'd joined the Black United Front and was ready to join the struggle. Once in Harlem, Abiodun asked him what he'd learnt in the few weeks since he'd got there. "Niggers are scared of revolution," Umar replied. "Write it down" urged Abiodun. That poem still gives off searing heat more than fifty years later. In Umar's own words, "it became a prayer, a call to arms, a spiritual pond to bathe and cleanse in because niggers are not just vile and disgusting and shiftless. Niggers are human beings lost in someone else's system of values and morals." And there you have it. It's not just race or religion that hold us back, but an economic system that keeps millions in poverty and living in fear - a system born from political choice and that's now become so entrenched, so bloated on its own success that it's put mankind in mortal danger. It was many black people's acceptance of the status quo that inspired Just Because, which like Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution, was included on that seminal first album. Along with their revolutionary rhetoric, it was the Last Poets' use of the "n word" that proved so shocking, but it would be wrong to suggest that they reclaimed it, since it never belonged to black people in the first place. There's never any hiding place when it comes to the Last Poets. They use words like weapons, and that force all who listen to decide who they are and where they stand. Umar's two remaining tracks find him revisiting poems first unleashed on the Poets' second album This Is Madness! Abiodun had left for North Carolina by then where he became more deeply enmeshed in revolutionary activities and spent almost four years in jail for armed robbery after attempting to seize funds related to the Klu Klux Klan. Meanwhile, the 21 year old Umar was squatting in Brooklyn and had developed close ties with the Dar-ul Islam Movement. A longing for purity and time-honoured spiritual values underpins Related to What, whilst This Is Madness is a call for freedom "by any means necessary," and that paints a feverish landscape peopled by prominent black leaders but that quickly descends into chaos. "All my dreams have been turned into psychedelic nightmares," he wails, over a groove now powered by Tony Allen's ferocious drumming. Those sessions lasted just two days, and we can only imagine the atmosphere in that room as the hip hop godfathers exchanged the conga drums of Harlem for the explosive sounds of authentic Afrobeat. Once they'd finished, the recordings and momentum returned to Prince Fatty's studio, since relocated from Brighton to SE London. This was stage three of the project, and who better to fill out the rhythm tracks than two key musicians from Seun Anikulapo Kuti's band Egypt 80? Enter guitarist Akinola Adio Oyebola and bassist Kunle Justice, who upon hearing Allen's trademark grooves exclaimed, "oh, the Father_ we are home!" Such joy and enthusiasm resulted in the perfect fusion of Nigerian Afrobeat and revolutionary poetry, but the vision for the album wasn't yet complete. He wanted to create a new kind of soundscape - one that reunited the Poets with the progressive jazz movement they'd once shared with musicians like Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. It was at that point they recruited exciting jazz talents based in the UK like Joe Armon Jones from Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective, also widely acclaimed producer/remixer and keyboard player Kaidi Tatham, who's been likened to Herbie Hancock, and British jazz legend Courtney Pine, whose genius on the saxophone and influence on the UK's now vibrant jazz scene is beyond question. The instrumental tracks on Africanism are in many ways as revelatory and exciting as the Last Poets' own. It's important to remember that the kaleidoscope of styles and influences we're presented with here aren't the result of sampling but were played "live" by musicians responding to sounds made by other musicians. That's where the magic comes from, aided by Prince Fatty's peerless mixing which allows us to hear everything with such clarity. Music fans today have grown accustomed to listening to all kinds of different genres. Their tastes have never been so broad or all- encompassing, and so the music on this new Last Poets' album is as groundbreaking as their lyrics, and perfectly suited to the era that we're now living in. John Masouri

With over 30 years of studio experience under his belt, pivotal British techno producer Kirk Degiorgio once again lands on De:tuned with the mesmerizing eight-track album Requiem. The trademark As One sonic signature shines through and beautifully expands with a more melodic touch as Catherine Siofra Prendergast joins the As One line-up. Nourishing your body and soul, the progressed As One soundscapes result in a coherent production of the highest order. Stay tuned!

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

With over 30 years of studio experience under his belt, pivotal British techno producer Kirk Degiorgio once again lands on De:tuned with the mesmerizing eight-track album Requiem. The trademark As One sonic signature shines through and beautifully expands with a more melodic touch as Catherine Siofra Prendergast joins the As One line-up. Nourishing your body and soul, the progressed As One soundscapes result in a coherent production of the highest order. Stay tuned!

Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis. A separate digital release will also be available at the usual digital shops. Stay tuned!

On their debut 45 for Batov Records, Indonesia-based BABON deliver two irresistible jams, cooked from a recipe full of Indonesian flavours, Afro Latin funk, Morricone grooves, Bollywood breaks and blues, they call “Tropical Desert Music”. A must-hear for fans of Surprise Chef, Khruangbin, or Sababa 5.

Drummer Wahyudi T. Raupp and multi-instrumentalist Rayi Raditia, friends since high school in Jakarta, via university life in Melbourne, formed BABON in 2023 to address environmental issues through instrumental music, thus combining
two mutual passions.

Working in their home studio free of time restraints, Babon developed their “Tropical Desert Music’’ sound, mixing the energy and influences of Melbourne’s vibrant music scene, with traditional Indonesian forms, from the pulsating rhythms of dangdut, and gamelan, the ritualistic percussion ensemble music native to Java and Bali, to keroncong, a popular and melodic folk style; while addressing environmental concerns and societal complexities, such as the
impact of ruthless exploitation on tropical regions.

On the A-side, “Desert Rose” is a spaghetti blues dedicated to the widows marginalised and objectified by mine workers. Rayi’s electric guitar gently wails with the cinematic effect akin to a Tarantino soundtrack, over a hypnotic groove that never grows tired.

On the flip, “TNT” explores the moral dilemma faced by a miner torn between the destructive nature of his occupation and the dire financial needs of his family, leading to a downward spiral of alcohol abuse. Slowly raising tension levels,

BABON pit somber organ riffs over bass guitar fuzz and Indonesian-sounding guitar motifs, leading to a final explosion
of guitars and drums. BABON’s “Tropical Desert Music” perfectly complements Batov Records’ rich catalogue of Middle Eastern grooves and is an irresistible sound its own right with a poignant message.

With this second record Shoko unveils a new genre called “Onsen Music”. Each track invites you on a relaxing journey, much like soaking away your troubles in the steamy hot waters of a traditional Japanese spa (Onsen). The variety of songs mimic the variety of onsens, some are salty and scorching, some are smooth and clear, some are bubbly and colorful, and others are a refreshing dip into crisp clear waters. In every instance, there's a sense of satisfaction as soothing and delightful as the tracks themselves. This ode to “relax”, while remaining irresistibly danceable, is filled with good vibrations, melodies and hooks that go straight to the heart, saxophone playing virtuosity, intricate electronic compositions, vocals that make us dream of new worlds, and beats that could keep us on a dancefloor all night long.

Shoko Igarashi was born in Yamagata Prefecture, Tsuruoka city, Japan. An accomplished tenor saxophonist, she is also a versatile flautist and plays alto and soprano saxophone fluently. She has already made her mark as both an arranger and a composer. Shoko grew up surrounded by dreamlike landscapes of abundant nature in the snowy countryside of Tsuruoka, a mysterious and surreal region renowned for producing the best quality rice in Japan, where she says, “the water and the air feel the purest," and where mountains and shrines overflow with ancient mysticism.

Recorded one and a half years after his magnum opus Music For Animals—described by PopMatters as “a musical waterfall of monumental proportions”—Nils Frahm shares a new live album, due for release by his LEITER label on December 6. In what’s becoming a tradition, it follows 2013’s Spaces, a Pitchfork Album of the Year taped at shows over the preceding 18 months, and 2020’s Tripping With Nils Frahm, also released as a film. The latter, arriving in the wake of 2019’s All Melody and its 2020 companion, All Encores, was recorded during shows in Berlin’s grandiose Funkhaus Saal 1, once the largest studio in the former GDR’s radio complex. Paris, nonetheless, is Frahm’s first live album from a single night, March 21, 2024, and contains ten tracks over a running time of 84 minutes

For the first release of AKIHI DRIVE on Bright Sounds, wepresent an immersive journey through complex soundscapesthat seamlessly blend intricate rhythms and abstract melodies.This debut is a bold exploration of experimental electronictextures, evoking deep atmospheres that challenge conventionallistening.

Expect a fresh yet familiar sound with roots in the most iconicmovements of IDM, where organic beats meet synthetic beauty,inviting listeners into a space of introspective discovery andsonic experimentation. Perfect for those seeking music thattranscends traditional genres, AKIHI DRIVE's release is set toresonate with both seasoned electronic enthusiasts and curiousnewcomers alike.

As Odysee celebrates its 30th anniversary, the label’s original founder Atila Kemal (T-Mirage) steps up to deliver this jaw-dropping E.P.

In 1994, Tilla was just 17 years old, and an integral part of the original St Albans collective that comprised Jim Baker & Phil Aslett (Source Direct) and Rupert Parkes (Photek), when he set up the Odysee imprint and released the first Source Direct record (Future London/Shimmer). With a follow-up release from Photek (Phaze 1/Try A Style) and a second from Source Direct, the profile of the label began to grow exponentially.

It was the 3 Mirage releases however that really put the label on the map. These tracks were engineered by Jim Baker but heavily co-produced by Tilla himself with a major focus on his keen ear for dark 70’s Noire samples and eerie abstract electronica pitted against soulful R&B vocals. In hindsight, the impact of this rather different soundscape on the Source Direct material that followed is unmistakable.

The A side track Dark Rhodes is a showcase of T-Mirage’s production skillsets. From the opening atmosphere of utter menace and spacious percussion, to the trademark call and response between the different breaks and speaker shaking subs; this track will take the listener straight back to that infamous dark 1995/6 sound that emerged from both the Odysee & Source Direct studios. What is particularly noticeable is the distinctive pairing of sets of samples to form unique sections within the piece, whilst maintaining the consistent rolling energy of the drums & bass. This was a clear stylistic trait the earlier tracks like Feel My Dreams, and is very much on display in Dark Rhodes; leaving us in no doubt that we are listening to the work of one of the OG St Albans Jungle masters!

One of the most important aspects of each Odysee release was to demonstrate versatility on the B side tunes. As a label that was an important part of the mid 90’s Atmospheric scene, it would be remiss not to revisit that style on this seminal E.P. The first of the two B-side tracks is the incredible Existence.

Everything about this piece is a pure distillation of Tilla’s musical style; from the intricacy of the break work and the depth of the subs, to the masterful dovetailing of the 70’s Noire and Jazz samples that build a cohesive arrangement drawing the listener deeper into the tune’s narrative- “A piece of music that’s just a pure expression.... A celebration of existence!” There is no need to re-invent the wheel, or to force groundbreaking new tricks when the strength of this classic sound is so overwhelmingly persuasive!

With the final track Flawless, Tilla delivers an absolute heart-breaker of a tune that rivals the very best of the original Odysee & SD B-sides. Misty-eyed pads and Jazzy rides launch the crisp rolling Think breaks. The deep melodic sub line and haunting guitar riffs draw the listener in, then hold the listener in suspense for a moment before dropping down in the body of the track. The gorgeous guitar motifs are paired with achingly gorgeous vocal ad-libs and avant-garde electronica, emerging orchestral flutters with that unmistakable 70’s Noire flavour. Once again it is

Tilla’s ear for those ‘special sounds’ that really sets this track apart, and as if that wasn’t enough, some 4 minutes down the track Flawless nonchalantly unveils another primary motif; well worthy in of itself of being the tracks centrepiece!
Absolutely stunning heritage-style Atmospheric Jungle at its finest!