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**Hardcore, FWD dance music from two leading sound artists. Edition of 500, Mastered and cut by Matt Colton** Mark Fell and Gábor Lázár ratchet the game with their razor-sharp debut collaboration, 'The Neurobiology of Moral Decision Making'. As promised in the wake of Gábor's acclaimed vinyl debut, 'EP16', the duo have colluded on a full set of ten tracks, ranging from short synapse bursts thru to an uncannily emotive 12 minute masterpiece on the closing side. As the 10th release on The Death of Rave, it demonstrates the distance travelled since the early '90s paradigm shift of original rave culture, effecting a radical recalibration of meter and tone conventions in electronic/dance music, and by turns, acutely probing our perception of time and space. Essentially it's incredibly "funky", if "funk" is taken to mean syncopation or a play on tension-and-resolution. By utilising the grid-morphing potential of Max/MSP software, they unlock mutant ballistic patterns cleanly weaving between and recoding the tendons and ligament of techno, garage, footwork and hardcore with muscle memory-reprogramming impact. Kicks, claps and visceral chromatic stabs land at irregular, blind-spot junctures, acutely rewiring our sense of rhythmic anticipation and offering a thrilling new freedom of expression and dancefloor discipline in the process. It's a masterful step forward from Yorkshireman, Mark Fell's Sensate Focus output and SND classics, and, likewise, a logical leap from Budapest-based Max whizz, Gábor Lázár. If you're into Mumdance, Errorsmith, Lorenzo Senni, Autechre, Actress or SND; we'd say it's as essential as they come.

Irgendwann kommt die Zeit, in der der Hype um eine Band überflüssig wird, und allein ihr Status Bände spricht. Das ist der Fall bei Emperor, den Black-Metal-Göttern aus dem norwegischen Telemark. Emperor ist als einer der Begründer des symphonischen Black Metal bekannt geworden, für den Norwegen international bekannt ist. Der gesamte Backkatalog der Band wurde von Turan Audio unter vollständiger Anleitung der Band neu gemastert. Außerdem wurden die Alben in den berühmten Abbey-Road-Studios auf Half-Speed-Master neu eingespielt, wobei alle Vinyl-Kunstwerke sorgfältig so restauriert wurden, wie sie ursprünglich von ”Dan Capp” Design und Illustration entstanden.

Irgendwann kommt die Zeit, in der der Hype um eine Band überflüssig wird, und allein ihr Status Bände spricht. Das ist der Fall bei Emperor, den Black-Metal-Göttern aus dem norwegischen Telemark. Emperor ist als einer der Begründer des symphonischen Black Metal bekannt geworden, für den Norwegen international bekannt ist. Der gesamte Backkatalog der Band wurde von Turan Audio unter vollständiger Anleitung der Band neu gemastert. Außerdem wurden die Alben in den berühmten Abbey-Road-Studios auf Half-Speed-Master neu eingespielt, wobei alle Vinyl-Kunstwerke sorgfältig so restauriert wurden, wie sie ursprünglich von ”Dan Capp” Design und Illustration entstanden.

Irgendwann kommt die Zeit, in der der Hype um eine Band überflüssig wird, und allein ihr Status Bände spricht. Das ist der Fall bei Emperor, den Black-Metal-Göttern aus dem norwegischen Telemark. Emperor ist als einer der Begründer des symphonischen Black Metal bekannt geworden, für den Norwegen international bekannt ist. Der gesamte Backkatalog der Band wurde von Turan Audio unter vollständiger Anleitung der Band neu gemastert. Außerdem wurden die Alben in den berühmten Abbey-Road-Studios auf Half-Speed-Master neu eingespielt, wobei alle Vinyl-Kunstwerke sorgfältig so restauriert wurden, wie sie ursprünglich von ”Dan Capp” Design und Illustration entstanden.

Irgendwann kommt die Zeit, in der der Hype um eine Band überflüssig wird, und allein ihr Status Bände spricht. Das ist der Fall bei Emperor, den Black-Metal-Göttern aus dem norwegischen Telemark. Emperor ist als einer der Begründer des symphonischen Black Metal bekannt geworden, für den Norwegen international bekannt ist. Der gesamte Backkatalog der Band wurde von Turan Audio unter vollständiger Anleitung der Band neu gemastert. Außerdem wurden die Alben in den berühmten Abbey-Road-Studios auf Half-Speed-Master neu eingespielt, wobei alle Vinyl-Kunstwerke sorgfältig so restauriert wurden, wie sie ursprünglich von ”Dan Capp” Design und Illustration entstanden.

Turn up the volume and look how time bends before your eyes because that is what Robyn Schulkowsky and Andi and Hannes Teichmann do with their music. They bend time.
They make a ring out of it or some sort of ellipse, and then they pull it straight again, they transform it into a rope, and then, of course, they balance on it, forwards, backwards, half speed,
double speed, 33 rounds per minute, or was it 45? Just try both.

World percussion meets Techno and Berlin club culture, one might be tempted to say. One would be wrong to do so. This is not just crossover, this is just not an "encounter" between different generations, different experiences, different cultures, traditions and attitudes and form asossations of expressions, or, to put it in a more simple way, an "encounter" between drums and gongs and bells and stones and on the other side hardware-electronic and sequencing, delay and reverb. This is far more complex.No need to put a label on it.
by Roland Schimmelpfennig / excerpt

STRICTLY LIMITED COLLECTOR'S 'ART EDITION' OF THE ALBUM OF THE SAME NAME + TONS OF BONUS SONGS.
Elegantly electronic as ever, the new songs draw a remarkable strength from their monumental arrangements and foreboding aura. Embellished by a vague sense of nostalgia and enhanced by old family photos from the private Ljung vaults, "Orchestra Of Knives" is ZEROMANCER's dark night of the soul, an odyssey trying to coming to terms with the ineffable fact that we're all going to die. Instead of wallowing in misery and self-pity, however, the Norwegians chose to use this intense realization to craft some of their most touching, most heartfelt and easily most monumental songs ever.

The harsh and the mellow, the dark and the light, the depression and the elation all flow together on "Orchestra Of Knives", an album worthy of the turmoil of our age. Once and for all, ZEROMANCER are the masters of electronic melancholy, the designers of a musical world nourished by the shadows we cast. It's been too long since we felt understood and at ease merely by listening to a song.

- Multicoloured vinyl
- Black, red and white in the form of rotating rays
- Each record individually made by hand
- Differences in pattern shapes and colours are therefore possible
- Every copy is unique
- 2 x180g 12" vinyl
- In total 9 bonus tracks off the EPs 'Damned Le Monde', 'Mourners' and 'Terminal Love'
- Sumptuous gatefold sleeve
- Printed inner sleeve and containing lyrics
- Printed vinyl labels
- Strictly limited to 300 copies only!!!

Bleed-Abide ist das vierte Full-Length-Album der Band, das auf eine Reihe erfolgreicher Singles folgt, die 2020 und Anfang 2021 veröffentlicht wurden.

Bodysnatcher spielen eine extrem brutale Beatdown- und Slam-Version des Deathcore. Mit ihrem Vorgängeralbum This Heavy Void katapultierte sich die Band in die extreme Metalszene und absolvierte eine Reihe erfolgreicher Tourneen mit Chelsea Grin, Lorna Shore, Enterprise Earth und Slaughter To Prevail.

Das neue Album zeigt die Band in voller Stärke und klopft an die Türen der zeitgenössischen Anführer des Deathcore-Subgenres.

Jonathan Kusuma is no stranger to club music. He has played, produced and re-edited multiple works. This is what he excels at. But on Dream Bot, he wants his audience to discover a more introspective side of his. Raised in Indonesia, where rhythms are abound, be it from a folk song sung in a ceremony, a machine in a soul-crushing factory or a Boombox on the back of a bicycle, Jonathan’s ears are destined for a career absorbed in rhythm and sound.

With 5 tracks of kaleidoscopic rhythms and introspective moods on Dream Bot, he is paying homage to his rich musical education and heritage. Layered percussive samples come to mind as well as the intricate interplay of gamelans and moody arpeggios. They both evoke their distinct mournful tunings. Dream Bot is a reminder of his roots and the beauty of the sounds on the Indonesian streets that have left many ears in awe.

The LP ‘All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo’ due for release on 29th July could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol’s decades of less conventional hip hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk.
The album was all recorded, produced and mixed by Andy at Christchurch Studios, Bristol (home of Mezzanine era Massive Attack) with all vocals written and performed by T. Relly.
During 2021 the first two singles from the LP were released. The first was the juggernaut that is ‘Groove With It’. T. Relly growling out polemic against the relentless cacophony spun by Andy Spaceland, The brutality of the bass and horns is temporarily smoothed with Relly’s soulful, swaggering placation of ‘Turn your speakers on/ Till ya speakers blown baby/ If you’re feeling strong baby/ We can keep it going baby’.
This was followed in April by the 12” release of Combat featuring a thumping remix by Surgeon (Tresor Records) and an extended electro remix by Ree-Vo themselves.
2022 began with the limited red 7” release of remixes by NØISE and Batbirds with stunning original artwork by Shepard Fairey who came to the project via mutual friend Joe Cassidy (Butterfly Child). The release was announced on OBEY’s website
‘Spacebox’ which will be the last single to be released in time with the album is their hookiest, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control.
“Lift off, blast off, shirt off, dance off! Naked in the dancehall SPACE BOX!” is the beamed mantra, Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy.
“We wanted to make a hedonistic and colourful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years”.
About Ree-Vo:
T. Relly​ is pure Bristol hip-hop royalty – known in the community variously for his links to all of the city’s major club nights, his passion and support for the most disadvantaged (through his work with the youth and prison leavers), through to compering stages at St Paul’s Carnival and his seminal 2018 LP with DJ Rogue ‘Let Them Know’. He collaborates with many crews including Innalife and Killer Crab Men.
Andy Spaceland​ (AKA Andy Jenks) got involved in Bristol bass music as soon as he moved to the city with Static Sound System​ and a collaborative 12” with Rudy Tambala (​AR Kane​) as Sugarboat Vs Sufi, before his band ​Alpha​ were signed to ​Massive Attack​’s label Melankolic, whilst he also became one of their tour DJ’s. His CV of collaborations range from ​Smith and Mighty​ to Madonna. He has released music on Dj Die’s label, Gutterfunk as White Bully and he is also currently releasing music with US producer ​Butch Vig​ in the band ​5 Billion in Diamonds​, whilst working on new tracks with ​Mark Stewart (The Pop Group) including remixes by Adrian Sherwood. His signature sound can also be heard on this remix for ​Elizabeth Fraser​ -

The LP ‘All Welcome on Planet Ree-Vo’ due for release on 29th July could only really have been made in one city steeped as it is in Bristol’s decades of less conventional hip hop and bass music. Tweaked and fine tuned during the summer of 2020 the record punches with a mix of red eyed paranoia to a playful future funk.
The album was all recorded, produced and mixed by Andy at Christchurch Studios, Bristol (home of Mezzanine era Massive Attack) with all vocals written and performed by T. Relly.
During 2021 the first two singles from the LP were released. The first was the juggernaut that is ‘Groove With It’. T. Relly growling out polemic against the relentless cacophony spun by Andy Spaceland, The brutality of the bass and horns is temporarily smoothed with Relly’s soulful, swaggering placation of ‘Turn your speakers on/ Till ya speakers blown baby/ If you’re feeling strong baby/ We can keep it going baby’.
This was followed in April by the 12” release of Combat featuring a thumping remix by Surgeon (Tresor Records) and an extended electro remix by Ree-Vo themselves.
2022 began with the limited red 7” release of remixes by NØISE and Batbirds with stunning original artwork by Shepard Fairey who came to the project via mutual friend Joe Cassidy (Butterfly Child). The release was announced on OBEY’s website
‘Spacebox’ which will be the last single to be released in time with the album is their hookiest, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control.
“Lift off, blast off, shirt off, dance off! Naked in the dancehall SPACE BOX!” is the beamed mantra, Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy.
“We wanted to make a hedonistic and colourful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years”.
About Ree-Vo:
T. Relly​ is pure Bristol hip-hop royalty – known in the community variously for his links to all of the city’s major club nights, his passion and support for the most disadvantaged (through his work with the youth and prison leavers), through to compering stages at St Paul’s Carnival and his seminal 2018 LP with DJ Rogue ‘Let Them Know’. He collaborates with many crews including Innalife and Killer Crab Men.
Andy Spaceland​ (AKA Andy Jenks) got involved in Bristol bass music as soon as he moved to the city with Static Sound System​ and a collaborative 12” with Rudy Tambala (​AR Kane​) as Sugarboat Vs Sufi, before his band ​Alpha​ were signed to ​Massive Attack​’s label Melankolic, whilst he also became one of their tour DJ’s. His CV of collaborations range from ​Smith and Mighty​ to Madonna. He has released music on Dj Die’s label, Gutterfunk as White Bully and he is also currently releasing music with US producer ​Butch Vig​ in the band ​5 Billion in Diamonds​, whilst working on new tracks with ​Mark Stewart (The Pop Group) including remixes by Adrian Sherwood. His signature sound can also be heard on this remix for ​Elizabeth Fraser​ -

How We Function' is the debut album from London grunge trio BERRIES. Live shows and festival appearances in the UK planned for throughout the year to support the release, including 2000Trees and Kendal Calling; shows in Germany supporting The Subways in May and at Frank Turner's Lost Evenings V Festival in September. Plus support tour with Jim Bob from Carter in November and their own UK shows in October. RELEASE TIMELINE: TRACK 1 - 'Wall Of Noise' - 11th March 2022 - single Wall of Noise is the latest offering from BERRIES debut album due to be released in July. Lyrically the song gives a nod to self-doubt and how solitude can heighten and affect these feelings. Feeling lost or confused can produce the noisiest thoughts in your mind and that’s what BERRIES wanted to convey in this song. They push dynamics and layers to create the "noise" that so many people are often trying to escape in their own thoughts and the development of that "noise" throughout the song. TRACK 2 - 'We Are Machines' - 13th May 2022 - single + announce of album This single launches the album campaign for BERRIES' debut 'How We Function'. It is a song about struggling in a demanding society and being exploited by people who have little empathy or concern for your well-being. The song touches on how we are forced to become machines, trying to maintain an impossible level of perfection and how we need to fight against this. Admitting we are only human and finding the strength to stand up and push for balance and rights. In turn, becoming a different type of machine.

Yellow Vinyl

Following his late 2021 LP „Obi Thine Xi“, this extensive remix EP leads the last Rico Puestel album into its final conclusion, serving up substantial interpretations by Tom Wax, BOWMN and two further monikers from Rico Puestel himself! As if this wasn't enough, the highly anticipated, formerly unnamed and allegedly lost track „OTX“ is in on it too.

On the A-side, Tom Wax delivers his stronghold and contemporary Techno design of „ID“ while Rico Puestel hauls out the big analogue guns and „classical“ approach as „Modern Minimals Sound Research“ on the remix of „Voluptuous Antics Enter The Hemisphere“, reinterpreting his own work from another perspective.

Side AA brings you BOWMN with his forceful and psychedelic interpreation of „Modest“ before Rico Puestel comes in another time as „Tetzlaff“ and turns in the 80s-inspired earworm remix of „Thine“.

Last but not least, „OTX“ happens to be the concluding track of this record that people have been waiting and asking for since 2020 – finally delivered!

Ryo Okumoto who is known for his activity as keyboardist in Spocks Beard and The ProgJect presents his next solo album "The Myth of the Mostrophus". On more than one hour playing time his new album delivers entertaining progressive rock of the top class. In addition, "The Myth of the Mostrophus" features numerous guest appearances, such as Steve Hackett (Genesis), Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani), Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai), Nick D'Virgilio (Spocks Beard, Big Big Train), Michael Sadler (Saga). The album will be available as Ltd. CD Digipak, Gatefold LP+CD and on all digital platforms.

Finnish Death Doom spearhead Kuolemanlaakso, starring vocalist Mikko Kotamäki, are about to release their first album in eight years. The new album Kuusumu was produced by V. Santura, who also took responsibility for producing the band’s previous records. In addition to his studio works, Santura is known as the guitarist of Triptykon and Dark Fortress. Kuusumu is the band’s fourth full-length album, and it will be out in 2022 via Svart Records. “The recording pause got unnecessarily long, but there’s no rush in doom. It was great to get back to work with the folks and catch up with some good friends as well. Kuusumu’s keyboards were played by Aleksi Munter (Swallow the Sun, Insomnium, Ghost Brigade) and Lotta Ruutiainen (Luna Kills) performed female vocals on the album. In my opinion we took many steps forward on Kuusumu”, guitarist-songwriter Laakso says. Kuusumu's texts are loosely based on the sudden global cooling that began in 535, leading to a 10-year winter, loss of crops, mass deaths of cattle and other animals, and famine. Climate change was most likely caused by massive volcanic eruptions, the fog of which darkened the sun for one and a half years, causing intolerable cold. Moreover, the plague pandemic that began in the Byzantine Empire in 541 swept across Europe, killing tens of millions of people during the climate crisis. “Our previous releases are autumn albums, so this time we decided to make a winter album. I came across the literature about those catastrophic events by chance, and got thoroughly inspired - especially by contemporary stories. It wasn’t long until the album material was there already. It’s spine-chilling to think that deadly climate change and a pandemic also raged 1,500 years ago when medicine, information flow and living conditions were in their infancy. There was no knowledge about electricity, for example. People imagined that the gods are angry and the darkness is eternal. One way or another, the power of nature should still not be underestimated,” says the band's artistic director Laakso. On Kuusumu, Kuolemanlaakso stretch their artistic boundaries even further. The album contains the familiar slow heaviness, but also more epic, faster and more polished material. The first single Katkeruuden malja, featuring Lotta Ruutiainen, represents the catchier and lighter side of the album. “Katkeruuden malja draws its inspiration from grief and misery. Musically it trips almost in the landscapes of Tribulation, but with longing, Kalevala-infused and, in my opinion, very Finnish melodies. Regarding singing, Kotamäki introduces new winds, and Lotta's parts really top it all off. The music video is like a visual extension of the cover art and the album’s lyrical themes, ” Laakso comments. The previous Kuolemanlaakso record Tulijoutsen (2014), reached the 10th place on Finland's official album list and was selected as one of the best records of the year on Soundi, Rumba, Kaaoszine and Imperiumi, among others.

With their emotive melodies, propulsive rhythms, angular guitars and dark cinematic electronics, TRAITRS have quickly become one of modern post-punk’s fastest rising independent bands. Consisting of Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker, TRAITRS formed during the summer of 2015 in Toronto, Ontario Canada. The duo recorded demos with producer/engineer Josh Korody (Nailbiter, F*cked Up, Japandroids, Dilly Dally), garnered the attention of Pleasence Records label head James Lindsay and released their debut cassette Rites And Ritual in April 2016. After gaining buzz in the European and North American dark music scenes, TRAITRS released their critically acclaimed LP Butcher’s Coin (Pleasence Records, Manic Depression Records, Alchera Visions) in May 2018. Backed by the strength of lead single ‘Thin Flesh’, the duo embarked on a series of lengthy tours overseas, performed in over a dozen countries including showcases at Wave Gothik Treffen, Castle Party, Extramuralhas, Nocturnal Culture Night, Wavefest, Canadian Music Week and Pop! Montreal. Their relentless touring schedule and work ethic caught the attention of Schubert Music Publishing’s Thomas Thyssen and Eric Burton, and in October 2020 they announced TRAITRS as the first signing to their brand-new record label Freakwave Records. This year, TRAITRS will release ‘The Sick, Tired And Ill’ EP on July 30 and the full-length LP ‘Horses In The Abattoir’ on November 19.

Debut release from David J (Bauhaus, Love And Rockets), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners Recorded worldwide during the pandemic Available January 21, 2022 on CD and Digital with LP coming later in 2022 Iconic and foundational bands in the history of alternative music certainly include Bauhaus, Love And Rockets, and Violent Femmes. San Francisco born artist Darwin Meiners was a fan of all three. A chance meeting 13 years ago with David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets) grew into a friendship, and Darwin not only became a bandmate, but David J’s manager. After reaching out to Victor DeLorenzo through e-mail, Darwin met the Violent Femmes drummer after the Femmes’ Coachella set in 2013. Soon after the three collaborated on Darwin’s 2014 release Souvenir. As the pandemic took hold, Darwin was looking for a new project to occupy the lock-down time and approached Victor, who was keen to proceed and suggested that David join as well. The musical trust established between these three was immediate and Night Crickets were born. Within weeks a global process was initiated between them, the recordings eventually forming the album, A Free Society. To say this is something of a dream come true for music fans would be entirely accurate. (The band’s name came from one of many Zoom meetings between the three members. After addressing various pressing musical issues the conversation rambled somewhat and turned to the subject of David Lynch, with David J telling an anecdote which was told to him by Lynch’s sound designer, John Neff. Lynch had asked Neff to obtain a field recording of crickets chirping at night for inclusion in Mulholland Drive. When Neff played him the tape, the director immediately recognized the sound that the insects make when it is light which is apparently a little different to their nocturnal chirp. “No! No! No! These are day crickets, John! I want my night crickets!” Victor, Darwin, and David then shared a look of mutual realization and instantly agreed that the project now had a name!) In Night Crickets’ own words: Night Crickets, a long distance groove affair conducted during the drawn out days of lockdown and beyond.

In association with DJ Amir’s 180 Proof Records, BBE Music continues its exploration of rare gems from the Strata Records catalogue, with previously unreleased Sam Sanders album ‘Mirror Mirror’. A collector’s dream come true, this is musical treasure is so rare that the recordings on this album have never before seen a proper release and even the cover art had to be created from scratch. An almost unbelievable fact, given that it ranks as one of the strongest releases in the already air-tight era of Strata’s Detroit. Although he’s been compared to John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Joe Henderson, saxophonist Sam Sanders stands out as one of the most unique phenomena to come from the Motor City. Sanders’ approach to life was so 'out there' that one might say his relative obscurity was a personal choice. Sanders caught glimpses of fame early on performing with several internationally known acts and subsequently, he also learned a bit about what the Record Industry’s primary goals were. Realizing that he did not share them, Sanders chose instead to walk his own path. This drive for artistic freedom turned out to be a double-edged sword: while it allowed Sanders to produce some of the most electric jazz, funk, and soul to come from Detroit, it also meant that most of his recordings were never widely released, if they were released at all. Drawing on his experience with Motown acts like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, Sanders incorporated a fresh soul sound into recordings that would have otherwise been categorised as jazz. As such, 'Mirror Mirror' moves seamlessly between spirit and style: The album starts on the street with “Inner City Player,” a superfly breakdown of a Detroit hustler’s life, before moving into distinctly abstract territory with the melancholy “Face At My Window.” The experience is held together by a no-nonsense rhythm section featuring the aggressive drumming of Jimmy Allen and the intensely focused bass playing of Ed Pickens. Perhaps the most straightforward jazz song on the album, “Lover’s Gain” showcases Sanders at his freewheelin’ best. And if there was to be any doubt that 'Mirror Mirror' can get funky as hell, look no further than the wah-wah guitar and early synth sounds of “Funk’ed Up,” easily the greasiest cut on the album. 'Mirror Mirror' is remastered from the original reel to reel master tapes.

We all make mistakes. We all have regrets. We all look back on the loves and losses life brings and lament on how things might have been different. In these deeply personal moments of reflection our emotions can run wild as we contemplate our choices and come to terms with what’s next. Hindsight is a powerful and complex thing, and a phenomenon whose intricacies are explored in captivating fashion on The Greatest Mistake Of My Life, the second album from Cardiff’s Holding Absence.

Building on the excellent foundations laid down by the band’s eponymous debut record, released in 2019, and following standalone singles ‘Gravity’ and ‘Birdcage’, the four-piece have returned with a group of songs that, in the view of vocalist Lucas Woodland, are the truest representation of Holding Absence to date.

Inspired by a song of the same name that was recorded in the 1930s by actor and singer Dame Gracie Fields, The Greatest Mistake Of My Life is rooted in a time long before Holding Absence even existed. Lucas’ great uncle covered the song during the 1950s – something the frontman repeats on this album – and after finding this out from his grandmother, the singer decided the poignancy of its words were worthy of titling Holding Absence’s next record.

Holding Absence – the band completed by bassist James Joseph and drummer Ashley Green – carry the The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’s contemplative and thoughtful spirit throughout their second album. Whereas their debut was a concept record about the subject of love, The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’s inspirations are more complex, as Holding Absence stare down love in the face of death, all the while musing on the vast array of emotions we as humans experience throughout our lives.

Lead single ‘Beyond Belief’ is a soaring epic about the risk of loving someone forever, when their definition of ‘Forever’ might be different to yours, and a song that, Lucas says, argues how “love is something worth taking a risk on.” Holding Absence’s unique approach to romance is also present on atmospheric tracks like ‘Curse Me With Your Kiss’ and ‘Afterlife’, but for every display of affection, The Greatest Mistake Of My Life counters with despondency. ‘Die Alone (In Your Lover’s Arms)’ tells of the loneliness two people feel within a relationship long-turned sour, while ‘In Circles’ speaks to the monotony of everyday life and the crushing of dreams.

The Greatest Mistake Of My Life soundtracks the journey of our lives via all of its despair, elation, joy and pain, but never once tells the listener how they should be feeling.


Shedding their skins and emerging into a bright new phase for their band, with The Greatest Mistake Of My Life, Holding Absence are embracing change whilst holding onto the things that make them special. Aesthetic, for instance, remains important to Lucas and his bandmates, but as seen in the video for ‘Beyond Belief’, no longer do they exist in a world of purely black and white colour. Ushering in a colourful new era for Holding Absence, Lucas speaks of a desire “to bring warmth to people’s lives.”

Armed with a stellar new album and an unflinching belief in their craft, this new incarnation of Holding Absence promises to excite and impress like never before. An enthralling collection of songs and stories that tell of love, life, death and everything in between, The Greatest Mistake Of My Life is a thrilling record, and one its creators were born to make.

As Holding Absence have proved, the greatest mistakes can sometimes open the door to even greater triumphs.

Recorded under a loft bed in the guest bedroom of his Nashville home, Michael Ruth aka Rich Ruth’s “I Survived, It’s Over” starts in a humble space. And while many contemporary music projects are produced in such an environment, “I Survived, It’s Over” sets itself apart in its transformative properties as well as its transparency. What we have here is honest sound exploration, session musician-level instrumentation, and a true love for nature run through the fingers of a dude who can channel some acute and undeniable magic. This music goes deep. "I conceived much of this record amidst the quiet and tumult of 2020 in my neighborhood that had recently been ravaged by a tornado," Ruth recalls, "I spent most of my days working on these pieces between bicycle rides - watching the beautiful Tennessee ecosystem flourish in Shelby Park, listening to Keith Jarrett’s The Koln Concert and John Coltrane’s Ascension." Underneath the swell of the strings and the shredding of the guitars, this record has hard working, rustbelt, drum-heavy roots all over it (which makes sense as Ruth hails from outside of Toledo, the album was mixed by John McEntire from Chicago band Tortoise). Many of the flutes, saxophones, pedal steel, and other instruments were recorded remotely because we live in the future, but this only adds to the collage of sampled and sample-able material that Rich Ruth has to offer. The organic relationships between the artist and other musicians on the album is evident even in the compilation style sampling that needs to occur in putting such a project together. "Working on this music is a daily meditation," says Ruth. "I constantly experiment with sound until it reflects the way I am feeling and attempt to sculpt something meaningful from it. Through years of being a touring musician, it is a constant inspiration and privilege to collaborate with the individuals that graced this record with their voices." And those relationships pay off, because “I Survived, It’s Over” is a sonic meal. It’s rich (no pun intended) with massive instrumentation that’s usually reserved for more symphonic delights. But at the same time it’s simple and leaves space to breathe–space you didn’t know you needed. In his own words; "I Survived, It’s Over is a meditation on healing, confronting trauma, surrendering, and finding peace. I wanted to encapsulate the tranquility and disarray found within this process." Ruth’s heart and the peace that his presence produces is all over this album. And despite his midwestern humility and willingness to brush off any praise, he’s put together something really special that carries its own weight. It's the kind of record that only comes around every once in a while and it's worthy of all the head-bobs, acclaim, and celebratory potlucks that Mike and the gang have coming their way. “I Survived, It’s Over” is a record you should buy for your friend, your foe, and yourself. It’ll sit perfectly on your shelf between Alice Coltrane and Hiroshi Yoshimura.

"I was trying to find where I fit musically again. I wasn’t really sure if it was Americana or if it was Country or if it was Rock – I was all over the place with my songwriting and my career. Ironically enough, COVID really gave me a chance to just turn my brain off a little bit and stop thinking. When I came out on the other side I found not only a renewed sense of my music and wanting to get out and play again, but I found a renewed sense of self. I really felt I found who I wanted to be as a writer, as a singer, as an artist. I hate to just say Country music or more Country-oriented but that’s really what it came down to and the simplicity of it. I really wanted the simplicity of the songs to carry themselves and carry the album and lead us all the way through the live show; where the simplicity creates these big, massive sounding songs and that’s what I feel like we got from this record. I’m just trying to put my own personal spin on what I think is great about Country music. I’m not reinventing the wheel here, I’m writing about things that have been written about a million times; you just try to put your own spin on things and I really feel like that’s what this album’s strength is: it’s traditional Country roots but it has a vintage Wade Bowen feel to it lyrically and sonically." - Wade Bowen

For Fan Of: Journey, Rainbow, Kansas, Fates Warning, Armored Saint, Van Halen, Scorpions, Arch/Matheos, Warlord, Jethro Tull When Mark Zonder, famed former Fates Warning and Warlord drummer, started working on material in early 2020 he had a very clear vision for the band he wanted to put together. “I wanted to have a very accessible band that would appeal to the masses and would lead to the ability to tour larger venues. I knew from myself and the others that I would recruit, it would have some sophisticated music parts but the big hook was the main priority.” The result was A-Z, reuniting him with Fates Warning vocalist Ray Alder, Warlord/Steve Vai/Ring of Fire bassist Philip Bynoe, guitarist Joop Wolters and keyboardist Vivien Lalu, the combination of these players stirring up a very specific kind of magic that could not be replicated. The goal was always the same: shorter songs and getting right to the chorus, no twelve-minute songs, and everyone found it easy working to this remit. With everything else coming together nicely, finding the right singer was the hardest aspect of the whole process.

Turquoise Vinyl
Ignite’s sound is hard to pin down, as their music contains elements of punk, hardcore, alternative, and even heavy metal. Their 30 year career has produced several albums, one o the most successful being their 2006 debut for Century Media, Our Darkest Days. The authorised Svart Records repress of this modern genre-defining classic comes in a gatefold jacket with all lyrics.

For Judah & the Lion, the last two years should’ve been the best of their lives as the Nashville band toured behind a powerful single and a genre-upending album, sharing stages with heroes and playing to oceans of fans. But as everything was coming together for them, singer-guitarist Judah Akers’ family was falling apart in a hail of alcoholism and affairs, death and divorce. From that tension comes Pep Talks, the trio’s third LP, and a hard left turn into deeply personal terrain. Knowing they had something new on their hands, Judah, Brian Macdonald (mandolin), and Nate Zuercher (banjo) took their time crafting a set of songs that not only shores up their one-of-a-kind sound—a heart-pounding whirl of folk, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, and electronic production— but takes the listener on a bracingly candid, surprisingly anthemic journey from the kind of pain that tears your whole world apart to the sort of hard-won hope that can bridge the deepest of rifts.

Following the incredible reception to Deb Never’s most recent releases ‘Someone Else’ and ‘Sorry’ being championed by Radio 1s Annie Mac and Jack Saunders as ‘Tune Of The Week’ ‘First play’ & ‘First Wave’ stating that “Deb Never is a really special artist, someone with limitless sonic horizons and the most brilliant lyrical finesse! Deb Never has all the makings of stardom and her journey is truly under-way!”, along with continuous support from Matt Wilkinson and Zane Lowe Apple Music 1 shows, New York Times, Billboard, The Fader, Variety and Spotify’s continued love in both Pollen and LOREM adding to the playlist description ‘how are we supposed to focus when this Deb Never track exists’. In the lead up to her highly anticipated second EP, Deb Never teases us with another single ‘Disassociate’. The EP is due to drop this July, yet this is only an introduction to what is to come and to be an extremely exciting year ahead for Deb Never.

Ryo Okumoto who is known for his activity as keyboardist in Spocks Beard and The ProgJect presents his next solo album "The Myth of the Mostrophus". On more than one hour playing time his new album delivers entertaining progressive rock of the top class. In addition, "The Myth of the Mostrophus" features numerous guest appearances, such as Steve Hackett (Genesis), Jonathan Mover (Joe Satriani), Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai), Nick D'Virgilio (Spocks Beard, Big Big Train), Michael Sadler (Saga). The album will be available as Ltd. CD Digipak, Gatefold LP+CD and on all digital platforms.

21st Century pop is curiously irrelevant: autotune, twelve 'writers' on a single song, sensationalist yet skin-deep social commentary . . . with none of the joy, excitement and surprises of pop's lengthy heyday, from the Brill Building through the New Wave era. Where did it go? That would be an apt introduction to an album of calculated throwbacks to a three-minute pop ideal . . . but No Place Like Home isn't that record. We doubt even Gemma could tell you where this collection of beguiling jewels came from exactly, each fully-formed, complete and satisfying, no two quite alike, and each devoid of Wet Leg or Dry Cleaning's crafty calculation, but with every bit of those acts' charm. The first single, Stop, is based on an idea so simple that it's nearly unfathomable why no one had come conjured it earlier. Like toilet paper or a pair of scissors, the song feels entirely obvious until one ponders its late arrival. Stop's motorik beat propels verses to a chorus of pure delight, bested by a bridge occurring so late in the tune that it comes across like a surprise second dessert. My Idea Of Fun, a tale of frequent drunken regret, comes with a video of minimalist humour and visual brilliance. On other songs, Gemma channels acts Delta 5, Au Pairs and The Raincoats, along with the humour of Ian Dury and a similar verité of London life found in the best of Madness. The more serious fare is equally compelling. Rabbit Hole projects a daring newness of young freedom, Dance Of A Thousand Faces veers into Sprechstimme and expands into a swooping chorus, the feel of which subtly conveys present-day tensions reminiscent of the Weimar era. Tailspin captures the dark feeling which comes burdened with real-time consciousness of a loss of control, while the album closer, Frida, a tale of the loss of a dear friend manages to end in a guardedly upbeat tone. Gemma's debut album is sure to stir up deep interest and will be supported by a number of videos and live performances, plus free digital singles featuring otherwise unavailable non- album tracks.

Will Stewart's new full length 'Slow Life' is a collection of songs that
capture his unique blend of varied styles and interpretations
From Montgomery's river region, up through west Alabama and over to
Birmingham, a brief stint in Tennessee and tumbling back over Red Mountain to
settle back in east Birmingham. You might call Will Stewart's sound "Central
Alabama Music." A little south of Nashville, some might say. In our current rapid
fire consumer culture of "brands" and "influencers," Slow Life invites people to
take a seat and relax for a while.
While past releases County Seat (2018) and Way Gone (2020) drew from a more
internal and reflective mood, 'Slow Life' approaches the music in a more
immediate and whimsical spirit.
Armed with his core band, Ross Parker (bass) and Tyler McGuire (drums) and
Janet Simpson (vocals) and help from Daniel Raine (keys), Stewart churns
through 10 songs of guitar driven folk rock. Recorded in the heart of east
Birmingham and engineered by Brad Timko, it's a sound that is uniquely central
Alabama.

An iconic Killing Joke mainstay since its initial release in 1979, Turn To Red is available once more as a limited edition 12" pressed on Black Vinyl. Includes a re-mastered version of the original track, a 6 minute 31 second version (In Dub), an 8 minute version (In Dub Extended), re mixed and produced by Youth, plus a re-mastered version of Almost Red.

ODESZA veröffentlichen ihr viertes Album auf Ninja Tune inklusive Features von The Knocks, Bettye LaVette, Låpsley, Izzy Bizu, MARO, Ólafur Arnalds, Julianna Barwick & Charlie Houston.

ODESZA veröffentlichen ihr viertes Album ’The Last Goodbye’ auf Foreign Family Collective/ Ninja Tune. Es ist das bisher ambitionierteste & emotional mitreißendste Album des Grammy nominierten Duos. Ein Projekt voller Glanz und Emotionen, nostalgisch und doch in der Gegenwart verwurzelt, ist es ein mitreißendes Klangerlebnis, das Themen wie Verbindung, Erinnerungen und den Einfluss, den wir aufeinander ausüben, anspricht. Es ist eine lebhafte Feier der Menschen und Momente, die unsere Fingerabdrücke hinterlassen haben und die in der gesamten Platte widerhallen. Es ist das bisher persönlichste Album des Duos und eine brillante Sammlung, die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart auf euphorische Weise miteinander verwebt. Neben The Knocks, Bettye LaVette und MARO werden auf „The Last Goodbye“ auch Julianna Barwick, Låpsley, Ólafur Arnalds, Izzy Bizu und Charlie Houston zu hören sein. Das Produzentenduo ODESZA besteht aus Harrison Mills und Clayton Knight, die zusammen Musik zu machen begannen, nachdem sie sich an der Universität in Washington, USA, kennengelernt hatten. 2012 veröffentlichten sie ihr von der Kritik gefeiertes Debütalbum „Summer's Gone“, gefolgt von der 2014 mit Gold ausgezeichneten Platte, „In Return“, die an der Spitze der Billboard Dance-/ Electronic-Charts debütierte und die Platin-Single „Say My Name“ enthielt - ein Remix des Tracks von RAC wurde später für einen GRAMMY 2016 nominiert. Ihr drittes Album, „A Moment Apart“, wurde 2017 veröffentlicht, ebenfalls mit Gold zertifiziert und brachte ihnen zwei GRAMMY-Nominierungen für das beste Dance-/ Electronic-Album und die beste Dance-Aufnahme für die Gold-Single „Line Of Sight“ ein. Das Album erreichte Platz 2 in den UK-Dance-Album-Top 40 Charts und Platz 2 in den iTunes-Electronic-Charts im Vereinigten Königreich und debütierte auf Platz 3 der Billboard Top 200 in den USA.

"2022 marks a year of celebration for Roxy Music. Throughout the year, each of their eight studio albums, all heralded as modern classics, will be reissued as special anniversary editions with a new half-speed cut, revised artwork and a deluxe gloss laminated finish. In addition, Roxy Music will tour for the first time in more than a decade to mark the 50th year since their groundbreaking debut album.

The final studio offering from Roxy Music would draw upon a smoother, more adult orientated sound giving us the now iconic single ‘More Than This’. Avalon would be yet another UK no’1 album staying there for more than three weeks and in the album charts for over a year

Belgian instrumentalists Glass Museum have found the perfect balance between piano and drums, where jazz and electronics collide, uniting the surgical precision of the best contemporary jazz, à la Gogo Penguin and Badbadnotgood, with the electronic influences of Jon Hopkins or Floating Points.

In motion since 2016, the duo consisting of keyboardist Antoine Flipo and drummer Martin Grégoire, have a rich history written around a powerful connection to duality. From the initial impact of the 'Deux' EP in 2018, to the synthetic and organic textures of the critically acclaimed 2020 album 'Reykjavik', Glass Museum has found its balance in symmetry.

Released 29th April via the groove-obsessed Sdban Ultra label, 'Reflet' was born out of a desire for freedom, a wish to innovate and travel differently. This new piece stands out as an artistic climax crafted at the crossroads of time and genres, an electronic proposition wrought by two brave hearts, tempered by the organic reflections delivered through computer free melodies. An album which places the human at the core of its compositions and in order to return to a more instinctive and instantaneous means of creation, the duo retreated to a secret location in one of the most remote parts of the Ardennes. It's there, in the shade of spruces, that the album was first born.

Extremely cinematographic, 'Reflet' delivers a panoramic view point: jazz, breakbeat, minimal techno and deep house, collide on neo classical grounds. From the dynamic instrumentation of album opener 'Caillebotis' to the absorbing oscillations of 'Shiitake' and grand gestures of the album title track, 'Reflet' is an odyssey running through troubled times, an ode to night time, to life, dreams and to all rhythms that convey emotions beyond words. Like its immersive creative process, the album offers a counterpoint and, above all, endless perspectives. Elsewhere, the pulsing, melodic 'Auburn' and entrancing electronic textures of 'Opal Sequences' continue the exploration before the strutting 'Kendama' showcases the electronic sensibilities that are buried within their productions.

Shining as a true instrumental tour de force, 'Reflet' also takes inspiration from the progress of the Ohme Collective. At the crossroads of art disciplines, science, new technologies and societal challenges, this creative community draws the future of visual arts and created the album artwork for this resolutely futuristic album.

Having initially won the opportunity to perform at the Dour Festival, Tournai back in 2016, Glass Museum have picked up a series of awards and distinctions back home in their homeland and they now find themselves dining at the top table of Europe's contemporary music scene. The international music scene opened itself to the band once again in 2019, with the duo performing at Elb Jazz in Hamburg, the legendary Ancienne Belgique in Brussels and the Iceland Airwaves Festival, Reykjavik.

In 2020, Glass Museum distinguished themselves by remixing a track for electronic artist, Rone. Having recently received a César Award for his soundtrack to the Jacques Audiard film, Les Olympiades, the French producer called on the Brussels duo's know-how - a mark of confidence which once again underlines the international reach of Glass Museum. Germany, Iceland, Turkey, Romania, Greece, France or Czech Republic have already approved Glass Museum's singular recipe.

NEW 45 BY DEEP-FUNK PIONEER LUCKY BROWN RECORDED DURING THE MYSTERY ROAD SESSIONS!

"Funk is a living, breathing, creative and generative entity and The New Lucky Seven celebrate its life with a mysterious and authentic sonic snapshot from the iconic Mystery Road sessions: WOODHEAD!"

Woodhead is a steady medium groover built around an acute chanky guitar part that Joel Ricci aka Lucky Brown composed while living in the "Woodhood" district of Bellingham Washington, USA in the fallout shadow of an industrial area on the outskirts of town. The Woodhood was so named because the streets were all named after different kinds of trees; Cottonwood, Alderwood, Birchwood, etc. Though members of the band had been performing Woodhead since as early as 2004, it had never been officially committed to tape. So during the 2013-2014 span of living room "Magik Carpet" sessions at drummer, Oliver Klomp's house in West Seattle, the combo dubbed by Lucky as "The New Lucky Seven" casually hit the head a couple times before calling it a night as Lucky rolled tape.

Opening with the now world-famous guitar player, Jabrille "Jimmy James" Williams dropping deftly into his rhythmic part, Lucky chants in the background the words "don't stop" as the tension builds up into the moment the whole band comes in. With Bob Heinemann on bass, Marc Hager on Rhodes and Oliver Klomp on drums, the thick but honest groove is instantly palpable. Trombone player Mars Lindgren and Sax player Thomas Deakin, along with Lucky on Trumpet lay down the 'head' to the tune right off the bat with everyone in the band giving that hard hit on the 4 count of the last bar of the repeated figure. This 'hit' returns again to form the breakpoint between soloists Jimmy James, Marc Hager, and on side B, Thomas Deakin, and Lucky Brown on the flute. The horn section microphone was situated on the dining room table and Lucky just had to lean over to reach it with his instrument! Michael Iris of Bell Creek Studio transferred and mixed these two tunes from Lucky Brown's cassette machine.

This tune was left off of the Mystery Road compilation album but comprises one of the last tracks created during those sessions therefore the concept, vibe, style, and intention should resonate and be interchangeable with the rest of the 45s from that epic Box Set TR-9043 released by Tramp Records on May 4, 2015.

As you spin and interact with the Mystery Road recordings, you are invited to allow Woodhead to take its rightful place specifically alongside the other "The New Lucky Seven" recordings and generally as a part of the suite of crude and naive living-room "Magik Carpet" funk of the rest of the Mystery Road.

As illuminated before in Lucky's artist statement regarding the Mystery Road sessions, the music contained therein was always intended to put emotion, vibe, feeling, and spirit before technical, spatial, or even performance constraints and to serve as a gift of discovery to lovers and aficionados of the deep funk idiom and the rare 45rpm format. Funk is a living, breathing, creative and generative entity and The New Lucky Seven celebrate its life with a mysterious and authentic sonic snapshot from the iconic Mystery Road sessions: WOODHEAD!

+++ Braindance Alert +++ RTR delivering an energetic and diverse album full of infectious acid and breakbeat injected tunes. Flirting with Squarepusher and Luke Vibert influences '61 Cygni' will sound familiar, yet still fresh, adventurous and bubbly!

PBS Nights (Star Hustler) b/w Turn. It. Up. by Strictly Butters | GSC45-34 Galaxy Sound Co. | Even better, I love it when the always on-point @galaxy_sound_company takes a surprising turn from the edit game to drop another sure shot by Michigan beat maestro @strictlybutters. It’s the second release on GSC by the Owosso, MI skateboarder, cyclist & sneaker-head. He is a deep digging vinyl head, dad, & brilliant bedroom beat maker & now gifts us with another super sweet pair of hip-hop instrumentals. Side A’s “P.B.S.” recalls a 70s Public Broadcast Service afternoon with my babysitter aka the TV. Rolling piano & warpy keyboards over a tight drum break was a perfect soundtrack for me while walking my Detroit streets on a sunny afternoon. The vibe comes correct. Side B “Turn It Up“ bounces effortlessly and simply to do what Strictly Butters says, the sweet soul guitar riff will force you to turn the knob up to 11. So whatcha waitin’ for son?

Zum 10-jährigen Bandbestehen schenken sich die Jungs des Turbo Rock Trios Balls Gone Wild selber ein Album mit 11 Songs voller Power, Melody und vor allem Hooks, Hooks, Hooks.

"Stay Wild“ heißt das neue Album des Turbo Rock Trios BALLS GONE WILD, das am 22.07.2022 das Licht der Welt erblicken wird. Zum 10-jährigen Bandbestehen schenken sich die Jungs selber ein Album mit 11 Songs voller Power, Melody und vor allem Hooks, Hooks, Hooks.Der Hörer merkt sofort, dass hier drei Jungs ans Werk gegangen sind, die wissen wie man sein Instrument hält. Spielfreude und gute Laune tropfen einem aus jeder Pore entgegen, wenn man die Songs auflegt und ordentlich aufdreht.
BALLS GONE WILD – Das ist der Punk und Hardrock Sound der 70er und 80er Jahre mit frischem Wind im Hier und Jetzt! Der Geruch von Bier liegt in der Luft und es klingt nach dem Resultat einer außerehelichen Liaison von Motörhead und AC/DC - Also… LAUT HÖREN!!!

Dewa Alit, Bali’s master of contemporary Gamelan composition, returns to Black Truffle with Chasing the Phantom, presenting two recent works played by the composer’s Gamelan Salukat, a large ensemble that performs on instruments specially built to his designs, using a unique tuning system that combines notes from two traditional Balinese Gamelan scales. Alit explains that the ensemble’s name suggests “a place to fuse creative ideas to generate new, innovative works” and both compositions demonstrate the composer’s ability to wring stunning new possibilities from variations on the traditional Gamelan ensemble. While using familiar elements of Balinese Gamelan music, such as unison scalar melodies and stop-start dynamics, Alit’s music is overflowing with harmonic, rhythmic, and timbral inventions, the latter often facilitated by unorthodox playing techniques.

“Ngejuk Memedi”, an English translation of which gives the LP its title, results from Alit’s reflection on the complex relationship between tradition and modernity in Balinese culture, particularly in the way that belief in the phantoms or spirits known as ‘memedi’ are shared through social media using digital technologies. Embodying this uncanny co-existence, the opening passages of the piece are at once immediately recognisable in their use of the metallophones of the Gamelan ensemble and strikingly reminiscent of electronics in their timbre and movement. At points, what we hear seems to have been fragmented with digital tools, or even to originate in some incessantly glitching DX7. Short melodic figures loop irregularly, with the ensemble splintering into polyrhythmic shards before unexpectedly recombining for intricate unison passages. After several minutes of this manically tinkling metallic sound world, the metallophones are joined by drums for a meditative passage of lower dynamics, as the uniformly high pitch range explored in the opening sections gradually opens up to include resonant low gong hits. Recovering some of the manic energy of the opening, but now enhanced with the full range of percussion, the piece weaves through a series of tempo changes to a stunning passage of rapid-fire melodies and ringing chords that sweep across the metallophones, their unorthodox tuning creating complex clouds of wavering harmonies.

“Likad”, written during Covid-19 lockdowns, channels anxiety and uncertainty into musical form, resulting in a piece that, even by Alit’s standards, is stunning in its complexity and the virtuosity it demands of Gamelan Salukat. Its opening section is perhaps most remarkable for its mastery of texture, with rapid transitions between dry, muted strikes and metallic shimmers calling to mind the use of filters in electronic music. At points, the complex irregular repetitions of short melodic patterns, where the music seems to get stuck or be suddenly interrupted by a skip, recall the mad sampler works of Alvin Curran or the skittering surface of prime period Oval more than anything familiar from acoustic percussion music. Moving through a dizzying series of twists and turns, the piece ends with a majestic sequence of chords possessing an almost hieratic power. A major statement from a radical contemporary composer, one cannot help but agree with Alit when he sees Chasing the Phantom as an answer to the “question of the future of Gamelan music”.