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„Sybilline“, „unique“ and „peerless“. These are some of the adjectives that were used to describe Everyone Is A Door – Panoram’s first full-length on Edinburgh’s Firecracker Recordings. Since then, the elusive producer, founded his own label Wandering Eye, produced automated piano music in Los Angeles (Thom Yorke Sonos playlist approved), composed synth lines underwater for Amen Dunes Freedom and toured two years with the band as well being involved in their collaboration with Sleaford Mods Feel Nothing and their upcoming album on SubPop. But Panoram can also hold its own very well. His debut on Running Back’s Incantations series lets you hear and experience that after the first few bars already. Acrobatic Thoughts is surreal, abstract, puzzling and urgent, yet filled with beautiful, slow-moving melodies and emotional passages. Eccentric humor meets serious soundscapes, acrobatic thoughts evolve around abstract key notes, while an out-of-time and out-place atmosphere surrounds a microcosmos that seems to be otherworldly and very natural at the same time. Panoram manages to build a house that can be as much of a home for ambient record collectors as for futuristic pop fans and all the ones in-between those poles. Or to describe it one sentence while quoting two titles of this enigmatic record: Seabrains controlled by beautiful engines.

What If It Works’ first release, minimum wage maximum joy arrives by way of newcomer 11:68PM. Produced in Berlin in the winter of 2020 and mixed & mastered at the newly minted Brewery Studios, minimum wage maximum joy’s five tracks are precision-tooled for the club, showcasing 11:68PM’s veneration for UK-leaning house and techno.

11:68PM’s moniker, as well as the EP title minimum wage maximum joy draws on the artist’s experience of balancing the grind of the 9-5 with dreams of realizing his creative vision. The skittish breaks on “Bluff Mind State” and “Sway”’s glitchy “Call Mohandes Dub” reveal this state of mind, while “Vertical Mobility” reveals a playful side with its irresistible acid bassline and soaring synths.

In 11:68PM’s words: “Writing the record in the evenings in my bedroom on one of the loudest streets of Neukölln, after I had clocked out from work, I found myself in the ever-present struggle of being artistically active while making ends meet. In making this EP, I decided to prioritize my own desires and not wait for some hypothetical moment to pursue this project that might never arrive.”

Visually, this is underscored by Philipp Pess’ striking artwork, depicting the gaunt face of a man whose tired eyes hint at a lifetime spent in front of a screen.

With minimum wage maximum joy, 11:68PM offers a compelling glimpse into a new generation of Berlin’s left-of-centre club producers.

Rare recordings featuring Carla J Easton & friends with guests Duglas T
Stewart (BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (Vaselines) - This album was
shelved and never saw the light of day but now, for the frst time ever,
these recordings are re-mastered and presented to you on vinyl.In 2011,
Carla J Easton fnished her MFA at Glasgow School of Art armed with a
batch of newly written songs and wanted to start a band - Calling on longtime collaborator Sita Pieraccini and childhood friend Debs Smith, fat
rehearsals ensued and a frst gig was booked at The Arches in Glasgow
Aptly, the night the would debut as TeenCanteen was called The Love Club. Not
long after, Emma Kullander would join the ranks and the 4 headlined Henry's
Cellar Bar in Edinburgh. Through word of mouth, the place was packed. With only
5 songs to their name, a tentative version of All The Lovers by Kylie Minogue was
thrown in as a last minute encore before the band delved into replaying their song
Friends.Studio time was booked at the fedgling 45 A Side in Glasgow resulting in
the recording of How We Met (Cherry Pie), You're So Analog, Under My Cover and
Friends.Calling on mentors from the Glasgow music scene – Duglas T. Stewart
(BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines) turned up to be part of this
session. Duglas, joining TeenCanteen on a heart rendering duet for the song
Under My Cover, and Eugene, providing a blistering electric guitar solo on You're
So Analog.Hearing themselves on record for the frst time, and with Easton's
repertoire for songs growing more, they quickly returned to the studio for another
weekend.Recording the songs Atlas, Fireworks (which would go on to be covered
by BMX Bandits on their album BMX Bandits in Space), It could Be Beautiful and
One More Night, TeenCanteen were ready to release into the world with an
album's world of recorded material.
This is the sound of four friends making music together, learning as they go. At
its core are the luscious three- part harmonies TeenCanteen would go on to
develop further and be known for.
It's not perfect. It's not polished. It's the sound of something new.
It was the precursor to the glorious full pop sound the band would introduce to
the world when their debut album Say It All With A Kiss was released on Last
Night From Glasgow.This is how it starts.

Copenhagen based label Escho release “Escho 15 år: Burgers for my new life” - an extensive compilation of exclusive material for their 15th anniversary (2005-2020). The compilation gathers music by all the currently active artists of Escho - both Danish and international - 27 artists in total. Contributing artists for the compilation are (in alphabetical order): Anders P Jensen, August Rosenbaum, Astrid Sonne, Baby In Vain, BishBusch, The Bleeder Group, Bona Fide, Collider, Dane TS Hawk, Eric Copeland, Excepter, First Hate, Gullo Gullo, Homies, iB101, Iceage, Joanne Robertson, Kh Marie, Liss, Puyain Sanati, Small White Man, Smerz, Søren Kjærgaard, Thulebasen, Varnrable, Yangze and Ydegirl. About Escho and the compilation: The Escho sound was born 15 years ago in small apartments around Enghave Plads, a slightly run-down square at the west end of Vesterbro, Copenhagen, past the kebab shops and the porno shops and the drunks. A few years earlier, as teenagers, several members of the Escho crew had made extremely strange, crisp metal in a very popular band. Escho was a promoter and booking agent as much as it was a label in the early days. They put on small shows to foster and hype the local scene and they brought important performers from all over the world to Copenhagen for the first time. Black Dice, Gang Gang Dance, White Magic, Excepter, Hype Williams, Boredoms, Charles Hayward, they rippled through Copenhagen after they came. Eric Copeland stayed for months. Lorenzo Senni, now well known as a vanguard dance producer, brought his high-school hardcore band to Copenhagen. Escho found and asked these artists to play. And Escho played their humble part in giving sound back to the world. Iceage, Posh Isolation and the Mayhem scene went global. Escho is a lot about being in Denmark, what that sounds like, and projecting it for anyone to hear. Across its releases, Escho’s aesthetic has allowed for the amateurish and the obsessive, the soft and the hard. Escho is about the power of shared experimental experience. Escho has been going for such a long time that the kids who started it are now twice as old as they were when they came up with the name, the idea, the desire to start something. Much younger people, generations younger, work at the label. The world has transformed since then. Escho was born in a period of time where alternative and underground music existed on a private, separate plane to mass culture, and it now finds itself in a time where mass culture and the underground are porous. Tribalism and niche knowledge has been blended by the internet, erasing the border between mainstream and underground modes. Alternative thinking takes many forms now, and new artists continue to expand and interpret the sound of Escho, carrying with them the same curiosity that lit the first Escho sparks 15 years ago. As a whole, this compilation — it is important to note — is jagged in form and tone. It is not even close to a conventional scene compilation, where the sound of a clan flows together. This record doesn’t flow like that. And this, fittingly, makes this anniversary album a ‘classic’ Escho release, because conventions about form and presentation are thrown out the window and new conventions proposed. It is a reminder that Escho quietly remains an ongoing art project as much as anything else. More than its form and tone, however, this compilation is jagged because it is a document of today. It is not final, or conclusive in any way, because the contours of contemporary music are boundless. It’s jagged because Escho has been to a million shows, and put on a million shows, and still loves going to shows. It is a picture of pluralism, discovery and openness. It makes a case for having ears, and making art, and propagating this so that successive generations of young people do it too. This is exactly as it was in the beginning






















[v] 22 First Hate – Vampire Boy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [2020 Demo]

Repress

The third installment of Hypnus' Serum-series introduces two wonderfully swirling deep techno cuts from Swedish producer Hardstedt Under Molnet with interpretations by Hypnus adepts Luigi Tozzi and Ntogn.

The record will be pressed in 180 gram marbled vinyl (transparent blue and white); sheathed inside a hand-stamped and undyed inner sleeve. It will be limited to 300 copies and released under the July full moon.

Early support from Claudio PRC, Deepbass, Ness, Svreca, Slam, Patrick Siech, TM404, Etapp Kyle and Iori to name a few.

Limited Transparent Magenta Vinyl. Enigmatic pop outsider Tony Gallardo makes music that's perpetually perched on the outskirts of Mexico's fertile electronic underground. Since 2008, he has been releasing music that inhabits its own artistic universe, a cross between Frank Zappa, Daniel Johnston, The Knife, OutKast and Rosa Pistola. He co-founded the Cocobass label, pioneered the fusion of L.A. noise and cumbia known as ruidos6n and has released music under a plethora of monikers: dark techno as Boi Patrol, ramshackle electronic pop as Maria y Jose, experimental surf rock as El Capricho and experimental dembow as La Fiebre X. "Selected Works" assembles some of Gallardo's most crucial material from a run of EPs released between 2008 and 2013. These tracks show the breadth of his output, running through sleazy, neon electro ('Bruja', 'Mi Presa'), neck-snapping tropical dance music ('Kibose', 'La Conquista'), and eerie Mexican trap ('Plata 0 Plomo', 'Ultra'). It's introspective, haunted music from one of Mexico's most original and most under-appreciated artists that paints a picture of a psychedelic musical landscape that's hard to resist. One listen to the album's closer 'Club Negro', originally released in 2013, should tell you all you need to know. This track is the perfect introduction to the world of Tony Gallardo, with screwed 'n chopped Spanish vocals, 7 doomy syncopated beatbox rhythms and wobbly houseparty electronics.

Underoath sind seit fast zwei Jahrzehnten eine wegweisende Stimme im progressiven Heavy Rock. Nur sehr
wenige können mit ihnen mithalten, wenn es darum geht, immer wieder an die Grenzen zu gehen oder sich
kreativ weiterzuentwickeln. „Voyeurist“ ist eine Rückkehr zu Underoaths Heavy-Metalcore-Wurzeln, die sie
in den 2000er Jahren zu einer der größten Bands in der Metal-Welt machten. „Voyeurist“ ist ihr neuntes
Album und das erste, das die Band komplett selbst produziert hat. Es wurde im Studio von Gitarrist Tim
in Tampa, FL aufgenommen und enthält 10 Tracks, die schwer, aber dennoch experimentell und manchmal
wunderschön sind. Während das letzte Album „Erase Me“ aus dem Jahr 2018 eine Abkehr von ihrem
Sound war und eher ein geradliniges Rock-Album, kehrt dieses zu den beliebten Metalcore-Wurzeln der
Band zurück, von denen die Fans so begeistert sein.

Undertones, the first collaborative album between Lo-Fi producers Glimlip and Yasper, contains 20 tracks that combine influences from Jazz, Funk and Soul with Instrumental Hip-Hop. By involving schooled jazz musicians in their project, this album captures the classy creativity of live recordings resulting in a tremendously rich and refined sound.

At the center of Dadub's SA020 lie the myths of the ancient Greek goddess Demeter - her search for daughter Persephone, the drink at the Eleusinian Mysteries ceremonies in her honour, and the fungus which gave the drink its psychoactive properties. The opening track is 'Mistresses March', a thumping narrative of Demeter's search for her abducted daughter Persephone. At the fundament lies a test of a new generation VST - 'Diachronic' - which is used to manage audio samples. The textures which merge during the near 12-minute march scrape and plummet, raining down upon the ominous marching band beat. This is an odyssey, unhappy and unflinching. Based on the handmade modular synth system from Nicola Buono and Lino Monaco, the representation of ceremony drink 'Kykeon' is on one hand a flowing narrative and on the other a demonstration of intense artistic scrutiny: a perfect, unremitting thud. There is, at five minutes, a subtle key pattern, light but not impermanent under the cacophony of chaos. This is indicative of the ceaseless self-examination. Little details, significant differences. Powered by a sound and groove generator invented by Daniele de Santis (Grün), 'Ergot Kernel' is a chemical cauldron. It's a beat continuously emerging from the undergrowth; an imperious column rising; a train ploughing on, coursing through an arid landscape. Conversely, the atmosphere is bright, full of electricity and warmth, with moisture descending. Dadub's SA020 is a journey through a Greek myth, with textural magnificence and technological innovation.

The third release for Stroboscopic Artefacts in 2014, SA22 is the new cut from Italian producer Chevel. 'One Month Off' is an EP built around the abstract themes of construction, starting with demolition and ending on perspective. Opening track 'One Month Off' combines a warm thump with skittering percussion. Ragged cymbals build pressure. As the track continues to strut, through insistence as much as confidence, it gives out. 'The Wall', next up, is perhaps misleadingly a more unsettled affair. There is little linear impetus, a panoply of syncopated beats and foreign noises from the undergrowth. This is a wall of multitudinous surface, a front concealing the unsettled and unsure within. 'Cave Dwellings' is a more organic construct, building from the traditional basics of a kick drum and hi hat. Like the opening number this is a confident piece, but the Caves resonate with greater darkness and menace. The kick squelches at the bottom, the snare drips; glistening echoes bound through the chamber. 'Marker Shop' is fourth up, uniting disparate urges and glorious moods. The beat is uncomfortable, and repeatedly gives way. The record closes on 'Viewpoint', a piece of warmer perspective. It is not, however, a calm scene: in many ways this is a view of something more unsettled than what has come before. It is both jungular and industrial, an uncompromising marriage of nature and noise. Chevel lands, then, on SA, with a discussion of construction and constructs.

His partnership with the label has already resulted in a collaboration with Modern Heads, as well as one of the first entries in the Monad series, and now a fascinating new EP that showcases his talent for testing the limits of perception.
Alistair Wells is a producer whose current work is synonymous with a kind of benevolent intensity: he excels at sculpting tonally rich and percussively complex tracks that seem to both enlighten and confront. Under his most well-known alias as Perc, he has established a deep roster on his Perc Trax label to carry out a similar-minded program, and has built up a formidable arsenal of EPs and singles in the wake of enigmatic LPs like 2011's Wicker & Steel. His 'eclectic-yet disciplined' methodology practically guaranteed he would eventually come into the orbit of Stroboscopic Artefacts. His partnership with the label has already resulted in a collaboration with Modern Heads, as well as one of the first entries in the Monad series, and now a fascinating new EP that showcases his talent for testing the limits of perception.

The ominously titled opener "Death of Rebirth" - a title hinting at some form of hellish repetition - starts things off with a sense of dark premonition. Yet, in signature Perc style, that aura of uneasiness beckons listeners to explore further rather than to flee from it: in this context, the reliable 4/4 kick drum throb is the only means of orienting oneself or angling through a glassy and metallic labyrinth where foreign objects conspire to make previously unimagined percussive noises. "Negative Space" is a variation upon this theme of trying to maintain focus within a foreign environment bristling with strange enticements and potential dangers: with the kick pattern from the previous pice still acting as a trusty guide, new sound forms arise at every turn: a novel sort of hybridized piano / gamelan tone, a shuddering assembly line, and snaking delay feedbacks. Like dub music meant to be listened to in a hall of mirrors, "Negative Space" induces a heady feeling of multiplying realities.

The closing "Ma", if translated into Japanese, can mean "space / pause" and thus acts as a nice complement to "Negative Space." However, this massive, side-long audio force field dispenses with the previous tracks' steady pulse, and suggests a rigorous act of ritual contemplation taking place in the midst of phenomenal chaos and challenging blows to the body. "Ma" succeeds in modernizing the industrial-era rhythmic invocations of artists like Z'ev, achieving an almost classical solemnity without sacrificing Perc's usual love for cleverly maniuplated electricity. Altogeher, 'Ma' is an eye-opening, ear-infliltrating statement that will warp your understandings of time and space in a most exquisite way.

Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft.


Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft. Their decision to team up as a production duo for the newest Stroboscopic Artefacts EP may have seemed inevitable, given their shared responsibility for shifting techno's focus towards the facilitation of profound psycho-acoustic effects. And yet, even those who saw this coming will still be in for a wild ride.

Lucy's skill as a studio technician - displayed capably over his trilogy of full-length albums - has always been enhanced by his skill as a storyteller and as an artist with reverence towards myths and the pull of the unknown. This sonic personality is a perfect complement to the scientific severity of Rrose, for whom the electronic pulse beat and subsonic massage permit entry to a febrile psychic landscape whose contents are never entirely what the individual listener might expect or be prepared for.

As with both of the artists' solo offerings, these recordings feel as much like the branching off point for new creative acts rather than as objects to be passively enjoyed. As such, the opening "Chloroform" is a somewhat ironic title for a piece that is anything but anesthetic: at high volumes, its monstrous low-end surge and prickly, scintillating sonic ephemera are very likely to bring attention to otherwise imperceptible phenomena. "Peeling" continues in this style with a more urgent tempo, developing its own cascade of sensory impressions from seemingly unstable deep-bass loops, injections of intentional surface noise, and pitch-shifted / harmonizer-effected phantom phrases.

"Stained Glass," maybe the most straight-ahead piece on the record, is still a potent distortion of the mundane primed with shivering bell tones, tamed feedback and hints of speaker cones fraying. The climactic "Foil Gardens" is an elegant study in harmonics whose time-dissolving ability nods to the works of composers like Charlemagne Palestine or Eliane Radigue, without being a pure homage to either. The undertow of distortion beneath the glistening tone waves, in particular, provides a distinct update to the legacy of so-called
tonal 'minimalism'.

The end result here is a record that feels uncannily lifelike: an organism that always seems on the verge of a heuristic breakthrough, and whose full potential may not even be known by its creators.

Words by Thomas Bey William Bailey

Bump 'n Grind Wax's latest limited edition, hand-stamped 7" record is fresh-squeezed lemonade on a hot day. "Back Together Again," the underrated classic from Howard University alums Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway gets the Reggae Roast treatment. UK vibes conductor, Adam Prescott and vocalist, Rachel Wallace make silky smooth waves with this Studio One inspired late 70's disco tune. A beefed-up bassline couples with an array of echoes and reverbs to guide both the A-side and B-side, "Dub Together Again." Ready for the return of reunions, dances, and block parties, this one is played best with overproof rum, over-sized speakers, Clarks, and hot coals in the jerk pan.

London-based record label Wisdom Teeth kicks off 2021 with something close to home: Blush - the playful, dynamic debut LP by label co-founder, Facta. Recorded unusually quickly over a short stint in early 2020, the record is the product of a period of refreshed and unfussy creativity. It’s an innovative and distinctly contemporary album that moves a good few steps beyond the artist’s work to date - loosely rooted in UK dance music but taking added influence from ambient, modern classical, dreampop, Balearic, folk music and beyond. The result is a lush, ornate record populated by aqueous pads, bleeping arps, wandering melodies and sparse broken rhythms; acoustic instruments that play out alongside FM synths, all processed with a pristine UV sheen inherited from modern pop music. The record opens with ‘Sistine (Plucks)’ - a crystalline synth piece with a stumbling, shifting metre revolving around an odd-ended MIDI harp loop, coloured through with washed-out pads and snatches of found sound. This breezy mood follows through to ‘On Deck’, where an FM vibraphone rings out on top of woozy, warping chords and a subby soca groove. Moving forward the record moves cohesively through a range of shifting moods and hues. The machine jazz of ‘Brushes’ is tense and coiled, with nods towards Burnt Friedman, Photek and Eli Keszler. ‘Iso Stream’ sees a rich, colourful sprawl of arpeggiated synths and dissociated vocal chops unspool slowly to form pooling, lowlit melodies. Title track ‘Blush’ is a forlorn Autonomic love song built from clicks-n-cuts - like dBridge & Instra:mental reduced and reinterpreted by SND. Throughout, bold, broad melodies take centre stage, and the tracks build like compositions rather than loops or club tools. There are echoes of the dancefloor - particularly in the slo-mo bruk of ‘Verge’ and the glacial subs underpinning ‘Diving Birds’ (a collaboration with friend and Trilogy Tapes regular Parris) - however the end results find us somewhere far off. ‘Blush’ is the second long-form release to come from Wisdom Teeth following K-LONE’s 2020 debut album, ‘Cape Cira’, which was widely ranked as one the best LPs of 2020.

Slam collaborate with Hector Oaks, 999999999, Keith Tucker (AKA Optic Nerve), Amelie Lens, Rebekah, AnD & Perc, for a new five part Soma Records project LOUDER THAN CHAOS.

On March 2020 the world was abruptly thrown into collective disarray. The Pandemic stopped almost everything dead in its tracks. No social gatherings, self isolation, a sense of panic and bewilderment prevailed. An industry that had become so dependent on human connection and unity, was suddenly switched off and put on pause for an unforeseeable future.

It was in this climate that The Louder Than Chaos project was born, facilitated by Soma Records head honchos and techno protagonists Slam. A collaborative project with friends, colleagues and contemporaries normally only seen at airports, or events, now brought together under a completely different set of circumstances, allowing for a purposeful connection in a time of disconnect. The focus of the project is built on a powerful mutual participation, remotely constructed over time and fully intended for holding court on peak time dance floors when they inevitably return. That time has now finally come.

The Louder Than Chaos project is a series of 5 releases, on 12 vinyl" & Digital, to be released monthly via Soma Records. Featuring collaborations between Slam & Hector Oaks, Slam & 999999999 Slam & Keith Tucker (AKA Optic Nerve), + more to follow.

Each EP features specially commissioned artwork from German based artist PPP Panic, which consolidates into one constructive piece over the 5 releases.

Slam collaborate with Hector Oaks, 999999999, Keith Tucker (AKA Optic Nerve), Amelie Lens, Rebekah, AnD & Perc, for a new five part Soma Records project LOUDER THAN CHAOS.

On March 2020 the world was abruptly thrown into collective disarray. The Pandemic stopped almost everything dead in its tracks. No social gatherings, self isolation, a sense of panic and bewilderment prevailed. An industry that had become so dependent on human connection and unity, was suddenly switched off and put on pause for an unforeseeable future.

It was in this climate that The Louder Than Chaos project was born, facilitated by Soma Records head honchos and techno protagonists Slam. A collaborative project with friends, colleagues and contemporaries normally only seen at airports, or events, now brought together under a completely different set of circumstances, allowing for a purposeful connection in a time of disconnect. The focus of the project is built on a powerful mutual participation, remotely constructed over time and fully intended for holding court on peak time dance floors when they inevitably return. That time has now finally come.

The Louder Than Chaos project is a series of 5 releases, on 12 vinyl" & Digital, to be released monthly via Soma Records. Featuring collaborations between Slam & Hector Oaks, Slam & 999999999 Slam & Keith Tucker (AKA Optic Nerve), + more to follow.

Each EP features specially commissioned artwork from German based artist PPP Panic, which consolidates into one constructive piece over the 5 releases.

Ambient folk musician and experimental composer from Portland, Oregon David Allred returns to Belgium-based Dauw Label with a full length record, Driving Through the Aftermath of a Storm on a Clear Day. The underlying theme of this music is about exercising calm and learning to find it in the aftermath of all situations. These modern classical compositions are primarily centered around felt piano, strings, brass, tape, voices, synthesizers, guitars, percussion, etc. with methodical dynamic dub-inspired experimental arrangements throughout.

David Allred is a musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and sound engineer based in Portland, Oregon. While primarily working and touring internationally as a solo artist, David has also released music under various collaborative projects such as Allred & Broderick (with Peter Broderick) and Good Enough for Grandpa (with Greg Eldridge). David has additionally appeared on works by Heather Woods Broderick, Lubomyr Melnyk, Masayoshi Fujita, Chantal Acda, Brigid Mae Power, Birger Olsen, Jung Body, St. Tsunami, The Beacon Sound Choir, etc

Darwin Grosse debuts on One Instrument with the album “Fresco”, solely created on the Korg ARP 2600 FS, a remake of the classic semi-modular synth of the 70’s. He states that he loves the ARP 2600 not for its complexity, but for the purity of its sound, and this can very well be heard in this wonderful dreamy ambient electronica release.

All of the tracks were created using a hand-written script on the monome norns hardware device and were recorded in a single session, with errors and recorder glitches embraced as part of the performance.

Each track reveals Darwin’s harmonic and melodic sensibilities, his love of lush reverb and passion for the beautiful tone of the Korg Arp 2600.

“Fresco” is an elegant undertaking to be listened to from beginning to end. The 8-part, 30 minute work is an ideal example of how warm minimalism and thick melodic soundscapes are combined, becoming a graceful richly textured trip.

After years spent living on opposite sides of the Atlantic world events threw Laura Mary Carter and Steven Ansell of Blood Red Shoes back together into what has become the must fruitful era of their 17 years together.

“It’s been a loooong time since we both lived in the same city”, explains Steven. “I mean we actually wrote this album in LA at Laura’s place, then came to the UK to record it…and then everything went nuts”.

Realising very quickly that they wouldn’t be able to release the album or tour until the world returned to some kind of normality, the band found their energies quickly spilled over into other projects. Laura-Mary started a podcast, Never Meet Your Idols, with her best friend in LA, interviewing everyone from Zack Snyder to Mark Lanegan to CHVRCHES. It is now about to start its third season. Steven started applying his love of electronic music by writing and producing other alternative artists like Circe, ARXX, Aiko and XCerts, racking up millions of streams in the process.

Having worked together on Laura–Mary’s forthcoming solo mini album Town Called Nothing and restless from the lack of touring, the duo started jamming out in rehearsal rooms, which led to the light-speed writing, recording and release of the impossibly-titled Ø EP in the summer of 2021. Which concludes what the band call an “off year”.

And that brings us back to GHOST ON TAPE. It appears that like David Lynch’s The Lost Highway, nothing is linear in the world of Blood Red Shoes. Written and recorded before their most recent EP, GHOSTS ON TAPE is a huge jump into new terrain for the band. Musically and emotionally their most mature work, it is a complex, imaginative, and very gothic development on their sound. Musically, it leaves almost no trace of their former selves.

There’s an element of emotional abstraction and also something very intimate simultaneously on ‘Break into Blossom’. The stories find characters experiencing (and trying to make sense of) certain circumstances, but there’s at the same time a kind of distance from those experiences — a kind of cognitive reckoning that eventually gives way to understanding and actually feeling them.
Like picking up a tiny stone from the bottom of a riverbed. Turning it over in your hand. Holding it up to the sun. Inspecting it from every angle. But instead of a rock, it’s memories, dreams, relationships, losses, desires, anxieties, triumphs.
I took the title of the record from a poem called “A Blessing” by James Wright (1927-1980).
In the poem, the narrator is experiencing a moment of sublime beauty that’s also colored with a tinge of loss and of loneliness. The poem ends with, “Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I would break Into blossom.”
When you’re wading in the river, it may be gold… or it may just be a plain old rock. And that’s okay. Sometimes the loss itself creates a space for something profoundly beautiful.
So you keep going out and digging around, nonetheless. That’s the important thing.

‘Hex’ is the eighth studio album of Spanish post-rock outfit TOUNDRA. Like many bands all across the globe, 2020 forced a new and unexpected reality upon the Madrid natives, who found their touring plans cut short due to the pandemic and would begin shifting their focus towards recording new material under unusual circumstances. Frequently traveling between Madrid and the Cantabrian Coast in 2020, the band would grow to embrace these uncomfortable conditions, and ultimately use them as inspiration to make a record unlike anything previously found in their catalog. Their newest effort, ‘Hex’, is decidedly an album that is divided into two sides. Side A will consist of a single, 22-minute-long track, titled “El Odio” (Hatred), and Side B is made up of four new tracks. Available as extra heavy 180g vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve (incl. album on CD as bonus), eco-friendly limited edition CD format in mini-gatefold packaging & digital album

Pelagos come from the deep, dark waters on the southwestern coast of Finland, the same city as Circle and a few other remarkable local underground acts. Pelagos’ sound is melancholy in a decidedly post-industrial minimalist, repetitive urban Finnish way, but it is also soaked in romantic wanderlust and Balearic exotica. New album "The Boat" will be released 10th of December 2021.

"Beyond the Permafrost" is a tightly played, thrashy as hell, and damn tuneful album. The disc combines classic thrash with a bit of melodic death and black metal, and a NWOBHM undercurrent, all of which is given a modern (though not glossy) production. An added twist are the scruffy and snarling (kind of like a CARCASS-y "Heartwork" era crossed with black metal) vocals of Chance Garrette. The guy strikes the balance between a truly sinister aura and good 'ole evil fun. Some death growls are smartly utilized as well. Count "Beyond the Permafrost" as one of those albums that just feels right. Hell bent and upping the irons, SKELETONWITCH gets "it" right on every single one of these smoking tracks. I'll even go out on a limb by saying that from the standpoint of talent and urgency of approach, SKELETONWITCH reminds me a little of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER when they first began their ascent. Crank this one really, really loud. - BLABBERMOUTH

Buckle in for an orgasmic Italo trip, courtesy of Argentinian duo Furor Exótica. The result of a sweaty and shaky journey in their Buenos Aires studio, here they deliver two stir-crazy babies, crafted for dancing lovers worldwide.

The title track ‘Macchina Bum Bum’ builds energy gradually from minimal beginnings, adding spine-tingling vocoder vocals, shimmering synth melodies and a familiar sample as it builds towards a euphoric climax. Prime sunset material.

Meanwhile ‘Fractal’ is a hot and heavy chugger, with its throbbing bassline, trippy vocals, and euphoric synth melodies swelling and swirling together. You can practically smell the sweat on leather.

On remix duties, Donald’s House kick things off with a brilliant reimagining of ‘Macchina Bum Bum’, complimenting the vocals with a squiggly, wiggly, funky and propulsive retro-futurist instrumental. Just try not to throw your hands in the air when the synth melody comes in around the halfway mark! A certified stone cold banger, ready for peak-time deployment.

Bringing things home, label founders Kayroy and GREETINGS deliver a dreamy, psychedelic rework of ‘Fractal’. The vocals are transformed into a trippy, gated refrain, taking center stage alongside mellow, warm synth lines, and underpinned by a robust 808 kick. The track ends in a final crescendo, which should please dancers in a club or lovers in a broom closet alike.

Round two of Rebirth’s bonus EP series that follows on from the massively popular Ciao Italia. Generazioni Underground compilation – digging deep to reissue some of the most treasured Italian dream house tracks out there.

Highly sought after and hard to get your hands on EP Due includes another four tracks that are cemented in many a wantlist including one of the standout cuts from Green Baize’s beloved 1992 LP Game Of Chance, Don Carlos – I Believe In Heaven, the extended mix of Stage 28’s - Feel The Night and a white label gem in the form of Cirillo & Leo Young Pres. Brother’s Brigade - They Couldn’t Resist.

For 100 LIMOUSINES’ third release, mad genius KEMETRIX unleashes 8 tracks of pure, raw, underground Detroit techno.

As a long time member of URBAN TRIBE, the name KEMETRIX rings out loud throughout the underground as a force to be reckoned with. Yet only the savviest of listeners seem aware of the prophetic depths of this artist’s unique style of anthemic, futuristic street music. HERE AND NOW explores a terrain of paranoid industrial soundscapes - an extinction level event at the centrifuge of a particle collider that endlessly creates a vast universe. This album is a clinic in the sacred and profane, the horror and the beauty, that can only be brought to you by someone that has truly lived it.

HERE AND NOW will appeal to lovers of ONYX, CYBOTRON, WU-TANG, and the SP-1200.

Tom Middleton is focused on the future in many ways. His new alias GCOM is an all-new, 21st century redesign of his original Global Communication concept and collaboration with Mark Pritchard. The new album E2-XO is some of the most advanced music he has ever made, both in sound and concept. signifying a technological, creative and philosophical evolution into the new era; from planetary communication and understanding to Galactic Communication.

HOUND is proud to present its first Various Artists compilation available on 12” vinyl, featuring tracks by OTHR, Poison Point, Ćyan ID, and BLUSH RESPONSE.” ” HOUND is an Industrial / EBM techno vinyl label and podcast channel based in Georgia. The main idea of the project is to support underground culture and create the first Georgian podcast channel, with a unique VA feature. Accordingly, not only do we provide rare podcast compilations but release VA of the same artists that took part in podcast compilation as well. We believe this is the best way to create and spread a full range of sensations from underground music and leave it in history.”

For a number of years now, A Guy Called Gerald has largely made music only for himself. But this special EP is borne from Gerald’s unique and long-lasting friendship with Analog Room founders Mehdi Ansari, Siamak Amidi and Salar Ansari. They first met in 2013 when Siamak booked Gerald to play his Analog Room party in Dubai – a leading underground light in the UAE’s then emergent scene. Away from the glossy VIP hotels and expensive bottle service parties
typically associated with Dubai, Analog Room only deals with quality bookings of the caliber of Move D, Roman Flügel, Moritz Von Oswald and the likes. Gerald immediately fell in love with the party. Its strict music-first, no-nonsense policy appealed to him and he’s returned many times over the years.

By then, of course, A Guy Called Gerald’s musical legacy was already assured. The Manchester icon is best known for his 1988 hit single Voodoo Ray – the touchstone of his hometown’s dawning acid house scene. As well as being an early member of 808 State, Gerald embraced breakbeat and jungle, ran his own Juice Box Records label and worked with the likes of Columbia, Perlon, K7! and many other vital labels. His skills on everything from synths to keys, samplers to
drum machines stood him apart then – and still do today.

“This release is based on a real friendship,” Gerald explains. “I feel part of the Analog Room family. Back in the early days, that’s how it was. These days, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re famous, let’s do something.’ I’m not interested in that. I’m not interested in being a celebrity or living that life. I’m the same as I was 30 years ago, all I care about is the music. With Mehdi, we have spent hours jamming in private in Dubai, we have partied together. We’ve vibed together for so long and he’s shown me new parts of the world I should be making and playing music in, away from the trendy scenes in other places. So this is an exclusive just for him.
I’m not looking at doing anything else with anyone, and the music is just about celebrating individuality rather than trying to fit in anywhere.”

When Iranian-born Mehdi decided to start Moozikeh Analog Room – which translates from Farsi as “the music of the Analog Room” – Gerald was one of the first artists he asked to release on the label. It might have taken some time for Britain’s Dirty Little Secret to materialize, but boy it’s been worth the wait.

Says Mehdi, “The magic comes through proper relationships and friendships.
That’s why Analog Room worked. It was a great room, an amazing sound system, with amazing artists doing their thing. Bookings were so on-point because we had agents around the world, on the dancefloors, spying up artists who were killing it,
and Gerald was one of them. He was a perfect fit from the first gig and our friendship grew from there. He’s always been very kind to me. We have this common language of music without any bullshit, and that is where this EP comes from.”

The EP is a mixture of different things. Some of it is unreleased material from the vaults revisited, some of it is brand new. It opens up with the devastating Old Skool – a writhing, physical track with naughty bass. The drums hark back to Gerald’s early days of making jungle but reimagined through a modern perspective. As the synths spray about the mix and the percussion bounces atop the jostling drums, muttered vocals draw you in deeper. Sugoi is an experimental
track that fuses ambient synth design with the spacious and eerie atmospheres of jungle. Nimble drums get you on your toes as the spangled synths twist and turn in all directions. It is a thrillingly original, impossible to define track.

Flash Fight is built on a captivating rhythm that sits in the area where house, techno and jungle intersect. It is warm and cavernous, physical yet elegant as it bounces on rubbery kicks and lithe synths roam in and out of earshot. Perfect for those sweaty, cozy back rooms, it’s another masterclass from Gerald. Closing out the EP is False Religion, a deep-rooted house track with elastic drums and
haunting, wispy pads. As a subtle acid bassline rises and falls way down below,
Gerald’s own mystic whispers leave listeners hypnotized.

Following on from Analog Room co-founder Salar Ansari’s debut release on the label, this EP is a statement of intent. More releases will follow from some of Analog Room’s most frequent international guests, but only when the time is right. Moozikeh Analog Room is a label of love, one that is focused on putting out the best possible music at all times rather than chasing hype.

A timely reminder of why A Guy Called Gerald is one of the world’s most enduring electronic artists.

Peat Bog’s Earthmonkey does it again with this psychedelic and macabre double record entitled “Underground Carousel”. Pete is best known for his contributions to Rock and Roll Station along with Steve Stapleton of Nurse With Wound

The soundtrack to Oscar winning movie “Juno” is well known for its indie rock theme, featuring artists such as The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Mott The Hoople, The Velvet Underground and Cat Power amongst others. The soundtrack – which was certified platinum in the US – has not been available on LP since the original pressing in 2007, it will be pressed on neon green vinyl.


[b] a2. My Rollercoaster [Juno Film Version] - By Kimya Dawson







[j] a10. Sleep [Instrumental] - By Kimya Dawson

Ever-evolving Australian outfit The Possé debut on cult deep house label Pulp with Moods & Vibrations. Their fresh new four-tracker includes a remix from Space Ghost.

Andrew Elston and Ross Ferraro are the core members of The Possé, but the group often expands or contracts with various other musicians. Since 2017 they have released on the likes of Plastic World, Ken Oath Records and Kolour LTD, and bring plenty of Southern Hemisphere heat to all their productions.

'Parting' opens up with plenty of soulful Detroit house flavours. The dusty drums get you in the groove while subtle acid and silky pads bring a feel-good, sun-kissed vibe. Remixer Space Ghost is Sudi Wachspress, a real album specialist who has released on Tartelet and Apron Records. He has a uniquely lo-fi house sound that draws on funk
and soul. This remix is a late-night jam with gorgeous trumpet motifs and scuffed-up drum patterns all finished off with warming sunset chords.

Then comes 'In Focus', a brilliantly loose and jazzed-up jam. The skipping drums are run through with playful keys and humid chords that cannot fail to bring the party. 'Prime Mover' is a little more direct and dynamic but no less heartfelt, with more expressive melodies and infectious drums. A liquid Mix of 'Prime Mover' layers in fatter bass and more crisp percussion to take you to another level. Moods & Vibrations is an EP of rich, musical house grooves that are overflowing with soul.

„Vicennial - 2 Decades of Seether“ ist eine karriereübergreifende Zusammenstellung der größten Hits,
darunter Fanliebling ”Careless Whisper”. Die gefeierte Rockband kann auf acht Studioalben und zwei
Jahrzehnte unglaublicher Leistungen zurückblicken, die auf diesem Album erstmals gemeinsam präsentiert
werden. Seether sind bekannt für ihre Zielstrebigkeit, ihr Engagement und ihre Hingabe zur Musik, und das
ist auch bei dieser Veröffentlichung nicht anders - mit einer von der Band sorgfältig zusammengestellten
Tracklist, die ihre Geschichte erzählt. Das 20-Track-Album führt durch ihre beeindruckende 20-jährige
Karriere - von ihren frühen Durchbruchssingle „Broken“ und ”Fine Again” bis zu ihrem jüngsten Radioerfolg
„Dangerous“. So sehr sich die Band ihrer Musik verschrieben hat, so sehr sind sie auch ihren Fans zugetan,
denn das Artwork wurde von einem Fan gefertigt.

Luigi Grasso rubbed shoulders, when he was twenty, in New York. He then fed on all those artistic possibilities that thrive in the big apple, and bit into it with full teeth, with fierce greed. Jazz was already flowing in his veins, and he was going to enrich this impetuous river of multiple confluences, which he discovered in the prolix underground of the city universe. Meetings, musicians, friends, artists, approaches, differences, additions, mergers, the Italian had found his America for the best and for the sake of it. In words and music. As in Greenwich Village, where he would find a refuge nest in 2O14. In the heart of Manhattan between Soho, Broadway, Chelsea, Hudson. This once bohemian neighborhood, where trees thrive at the foot of red brick buildings, is more often called "the village". Here the young saxophonist from the south of Italy will pose his audacity and his appetite. He will quickly fraternize with the best, in this refuge for artists where gospel, rock, rap, soul and, above all, reign supreme, reign in gospel, rock, rap, soul.

The 1959 courtroom crime drama classic Anatomy of a Murder, directed by Otto Preminger, is based on the best-selling homonymous novel written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver. The film was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to address sex and rape in graphic terms.

Its score is composed by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. It won three Grammy Awards - Best Performance by a Dance Band, Best Musical Composition First Recorded and Released in 1959, and Best Sound Track Album.

Anatomy Of A Murder is available on black vinyl.

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...

Imagine deserted volcanic wasteland, freezing winds and the all-embracing darkness of the longest winters on this planet: The obvious inspiration for rather vicious and somber tunes for lonely evening hours that the biggest part of Iceland’s heavy music scene is known for. Who would even dare to think of tales about brave warriors and mystical creatures coming from such an island? Power metal seemed like a fairytale until 2017 when Reykjavík based sextet POWER PALADIN (originally founded as PALADIN) rose in quest of carrying out their uplifting tunes and finally proving everyone wrong. On an island known for its musical doom and gloom, they are the midnight sun. “Iceland has such a great representation of extreme metal. We didn’t feel we had much to add to that scene so why shouldn’t we do the complete opposite?” the band recall their origins. A truly wise decision! Their first live performances and demo releases were of such good reception that they were booked for Iceland’s main underground festivals, Eistnaflug and Norðanpaunk, and subsequently played at one of the country’s biggest music events, Iceland Airwaves, in 2019. Highly praised as a “standout” act by The Reykjavík Grapevine, POWER PALADIN kept crafting material at Windfyre Studios, composing their 9-track strong debut album titled »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel«. The opus is a historical landmark for both the group and Atomic Fire Records, being the label’s first full-length release since its recent founding. “We actually started to write some of these tunes in the very beginning of our band history and captured them over the course of about two years at various places: at Ingi’s bedroom, at Atli and Bjarni’s workplace, at a cabin outside Reykjavik etc.”, POWER PALADIN say about their approach to songwriting and recording. And while self-producing such a splendid album has been no easy quest, it almost reads like a part from Joseph Campbell’s »The Hero’s Journey«:“So we went through a whole lot of trials, but that’s why we’re even happier and prouder of this record now!” Mixed by Haukur Hannes at Mastertape Studios (AUÐN, DYNFARI etc.) and mastered by Frank de Jong at Hal5 Studio (BLEEDING GODS etc.),
” they explain. The group’s love for fantasy games and books from authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie doesn’t remain unnoticed either: James Child (Astral Clock Tower Studios) translated that inspiration into the album’s adventurous artwork. »With The Magic Of Windfyre Steel« gets the listener's attention immediately. Air guitar-provoking lead single 'Kraven The Hunter‘, a track that’s frequently been aired via Iceland’s radio stations prior to the album’s release, peaking at position #1 of X-977’s chart, sets the right tone for this 51-minute venturesome ride. A ride that ranges from songs in the vein of the opening track like 'Creatures Of The Night' to rather aggressive bangers such as the second single 'Righteous Fury' and 'Ride The Distant Storm'. In the end, critics might say that “only a ballad is missing” to deliver all ingredients for a great heavy metal album. But does a power metal saga whose first chapter has just been written need one at all? Well, we will find out in chapter 2...