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The leader of the European Dancehall/Shatta scene is still as productive as ever after his latest project Mad Ting 2 and a Europe/Latin America tour in 2022. By delivering multiple hits and appearing at major festivals, Blaiz Fayah is starting 2023 the same way he ended the previous year. The hit maker confirms his notoriety through his appearance in mixes played in clubs by the best DJs of the moment. His exponential growth on social networks, especially Tiktok, is also noteworthy.

A few digits: Blaiz Fayah has 850k monthly listeners on Spotify, 36M Spotify listens and 56M views YouTube for his hit "Bad", more than 9 million TikTok videos under the #blaizfayah.

For his upcoming project "Mad Ting 3" scheduled for June 2, 2023, which concludes the "Mad Ting" series, Blaiz Fayah highlights the vast range of his musical references by bringing in Dancehall, Kompa, Moombahton, Reggae, Shatta and Zouk influences.

For the occasion, some of the most renowned artists of their genre have been invited, such as Busy Signal, Jahyanai King and Nesly.

More than a mere sensation, the artist has seduced Dancehall fans all over the world with hits powered by a dancing energy that only he knows the formula. A unique energy that he was able to spread on some of the best European stages in 2022 (Solidays, Garorock) and that he will be able to continue to broadcast during some fifteen European dates in 2023 (Dour Festival, Reggae Sunska, No Logo...).

By collaborating with international DJs for the production of the tracks on his album (Netherlands, United Kingdom, Mauritius, West Indies...), the artist from the Parisian suburbs extends his influence across different international music stages, as shown by the success of his tour in Latin America (Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile...) and in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles...).

AVKRVST wurde von Martin Utby und Simon Bergseth gegründet - zwei Musikern und Freunden, die zusammen aufwuchsen und einen Pakt schlossen, dass sie eine Band gründen würden, wenn sie älter sind. Jetzt, 22 Jahre später, ist ein Album fertig: 49 Minuten Musik, inspiriert von allem, was sie in ihrer Kindheit gehört haben - von Mew, Anekdoten und Porcupine Tree bis hin zu Opeth, Neal Morse und King Crimson. "The Approbation" ist ein Konzeptalbum über eine düstere Seele, die nur mit ihren Gedanken allein gelassen wird, isoliert in einer Hütte tief in den dunklen Wäldern, weit weg von der Zivilisation. Das Album führt den Hörer durch die Gedanken eines Mannes, der mit der Akzeptanz des Todes kämpft und in den Abgrund gezogen wird. Klanglich ist "The Approbation" ein wuchtig klingendes Stück Musik: Es bietet alles von üppigen, melancholischen Stimmungen bis hin zu schweren, aggressiven Atmosphären. Es versucht, das Gefühl eines kalten, düsteren Herbstes einzufangen - ein dunkler Himmel, gefüllt mit Sternen, die über dem Nebel schweben. Das gesamte Album wurde in einer Hütte in Alvdal (Norwegen) während eines regnerischen, kalten Herbstes und Winters geschrieben und aufgenommen. Während des gesamten Albums kann man Regengeräusche und das Hupen eines Zuges aus der Ferne hören, die tatsächlich nachts unter dem Sternenhimmel in der Hütte aufgenommen wurden. Das Artwork von "The Approbation" ist ein Werk von Mastermind Eliran Kantor, der Folgendes über das Cover zu sagen hat: "Ich wollte das Element der vergehenden Zeit während einer Zeit der Abgeschiedenheit und Selbstreflexion in einer Waldhütte finden und dachte an die Sterne über mir. Alles auf dem Boden schläft und schlummert, während direkt über uns das Universum auf niemanden wartet. Das passte gut zu vielen Texten, da in ihnen die Elemente des Himmels immer die Rolle spielen, die unaufhaltsam ist und ständig auf den Menschen da unten einwirkt, der nach oben starrt und sich von der Schwerkraft seiner Umgebung mitreißen lässt und wie sie ihn zum Nachdenken anregt."

In the digital age, words are no longer just symbols of communication, but a powerful tool that gives rise to meaningful interconnections between different universes.

Words have the power to transcend time and space, connecting two souls destined to meet.

Il Significato delle Parole (the meaning of words) is Adiel's new effort on her DanzaTribale, a crossover of two minds, generated together with musician Flavio Accorinti: techno sounds like the restless soul that pervades our days, deconstructed atmospheres like shattered generational dreams. The fusion of two cosmic currents, two ways of thinking and creating, characterized by an immanent power, pushing us to imagine new urban primitivism. Two creative processes, transcending individual boundaries to connect into a single overarching vision, to explore new forms of art and storytelling.

The EP, mixed by Donato Dozzy and mastered at Rome's Enisslab Studio by Giuseppe Tillieci, starts with Nulla Resta, a defragmented, dreamlike, ascending climax markedly cyberpunk: dense with references to 90s Progressive Dream, Nulla Resta, with its dulcet melodies, transports us to an artificial reality, a spiritual reality albeit dominated by technology. A reality suspended between fantasy and materialism.
Suspended, like the second track (Sospesa): dark trip-hop's echoes adorned by the voice of Jordie Devlin Mcmorrow. "Shadows on the walls orchestrate our downfall." Dystopian futures intertwine with mysteriously dreamy pasts in a fatal spiral of redemption.
But words remain the catalysing element of this EP.
Parole(words) represents a communicative rare faction that embraces tribes near and far. Black drums echo in the distance in an intimate ballad, in an epic ride, in an ethereal metaphysical journey to the dissolution of the boundary between time and space, between memory and perception.
Notturna, on the other hand, is the epilogue we all deserve; a solemn twilight, a lysergic, dragging escape from the objectivity of the real world.

The images of life do not simply exist in a vacuum. They are defined by the energy that surrounds them, and it is the explanation behind each of these words that we must find if weare to truly understand them. Thanks to the meaning of words, sooner or later, we will be all united again.

In the five years since Creep Show’s acclaimed Mr Dynamite album was released it’s fair to say that we’ve all been through a fair bit. Sitting here, in 2023, things don’t seem to be getting any better. There’s the cost of living crisis and political meltdowns; we're in deep water with global warming and to top it all there’s a war on our doorstep.

Back in 2018 everything seemed less complicated. Sure, there was stuff to get riled about, but we knew nothing about what was to come. Mr Dynamite was a fairground ride into the dark corners of a world that was on the brink of being blitzed in a blender. It was a record teetering on the edge. Five years down the line you’d expect the follow-up, Yawning Abyss, would double-down and bring the white-knuckled, teeth-gritted fury of the last five years to the boil. And yet….

A quick recap? No problem. Wrangler + John Grant = Creep Show. And Creep Show? “A band of musical misfits who have found a voice or two”, says Wrangler’s Ben “Benge” Edwards, whose Bond villain studio on the edge of a moorland is Creep Show Grand Central as well as home to an analogue synth arsenal that could sink ships.

Wrangler have known each other for a while. Tunng’s electronics wizard Phil Winter and Cabaret Voltaire’s trailblazing, pioneering frontman Stephen Mallinder go way back, while Phil and Benge crossed paths in the 21st century when they seemed to be increasingly in the same venues at the same times. Meanwhile, Mal had been living in Australia since the mid-90s and when, in 2007, he returned to the UK his old pal Phil suggested he meet Benge and the three of them immediately began working together.

Wrangler collectively bumped into Grant at their soundcheck for Sheffield’s Sensoria Festival in 2014 where they were playing with Carter Tutti. A friendship blossomed and when they were invited to perform together for Rough Trade’s 40th anniversary show at London’s Barbican in 2016, well, they jumped at the chance... and Creep Show was born.

Let’s talk about the new album... What is the ‘Yawning Abyss’? You might well ask. According to Mal, it’s “a cosmic event horizon that I can see from my attic window when stand on a chair”. Yeah. Thanks.

“On this album”, offers Benge, feet firmly on the floor, “Wrangler wrangled some vintage synths, mostly Roland, Moog, and the ‘Crystal Machine’ - then John Grant joined in the fun at Memetune Studios where lots of musical experiments were carried out. Then Mal and John ran off to Iceland with the master tapes and recorded a load of madcap vocals. Back at Memetune, me and Phil were left to try and make sense of it all. Which wasn’t hard because what they did in Iceland was totally magnificent.”

Which kind of brings us back to where we began. You’d imagine ‘Yawning Abyss’ would be blowing steam out of its furious ears. Mr Dynamite but kicking a wasps nest. Repeatedly. And yet…

Opener ‘The Bellows’ comes on like a modular ‘Radio Ga Ga’, the singalong ‘Moneyback’ (“You want your money back? / I didn’t think so”) sounds like Godley & Creme’s ‘Snack Attack’ meets Prince Charles And The City Beat Band (“Pennies, pounds, dollar bills, signed agreements, death wills”). ‘Yahtzee!’ is an unhinged electro breakdance party in four minutes and nine seconds.

Where Mr Dynamite was menace, a mélange of mangled voices, with Grant and Mallinder being heavily treated, pitched up or down, rendering their contributions largely indistinguishable, Yawning Abyss takes a more direct approach. You hesitate to say feelgood, but there’s a skip in the step here for sure.

The title track plays John Grant’s vocal straight. Completely. It’s good, so very good. Like ‘Axel F’ covered by Vangelis. The delicious shimmering synths of ‘Bungalow’ also plays those Grant pipes with a straight bat. ‘Matinee’ delves into darker, very funky territory. With Mal upfront it comes on like ‘The Crackdown’. Choice lyric: “You are starting to breakdown / And it’s so fun for me to see / You should have thought of that / You should have come prepared / You can see what’s happening and you look a little scared”.

So, you know, not all feelgood. But it does feel good. It’s probably best to draw your own conclusions... This is Creep Show after all.

Merging a dynamic curio of melodic guitars, disconcerting monologues and a rhythm section both technical and unruly, London’s Legss create a wholly unique and mesmerising sound. New EP Fester is a literary and disarmingly lyrical collection of art-rock songs laden with ideas and sun-licked beneath the bus smog of anxious skies.

Even when leaning into more melodic territory, there’s a pervasive uneasiness that underpins both the vocals and instrumentation. Just as you drift into the relaxing arpeggio flow, vocalist Ned Green’s soft soliloquy accelerates to an exasperated yelp and we’re jolted by discordant noise-rock stabs dragging us into Legss’ deliciously feverish and poetic world.

“The lyrics were written in the summer, when you’re sun-drunk and romantic, and the buses look like they’re kissing as they cross each other, and everyone’s got a cold sore. But beneath all the sunny games there’s a bittersweet desire to be someone or something else.” - Legss

Fresh from supporting the likes of Pom Poko and Hotel Lux, Legss release Fester via The State51 Conspiracy on 16th June. Pressed on 12” black vinyl in a sealed polybag liner.

Long out-of-print release available digitally for the first time. Extensive notes by a local writer in English and French. Previously unpublished family photos. Urbanized traditional music at a dance-floor-friendly tempo. The very definition of an "Awesome Tape From Africa". Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi. The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European "world music" scene as the 90s began. But the relentless sound of bikutsi developed in Yaoundé at the hands of Bekono and many others, as it developed from a village-based singing style performed mostly by women into a cosmopolitan music force that rivaled the popularity of established musics like Congolese rhumba, merengue and makossa. With his unique—some say suave—voice, Bekono contributed much over a period of more than 10 years as part of the evolution of this traditional rhythm-turned-urban dance movement. Bekono worked with legendary producer Mystic Jim, who had built a prolific home studio along with a crack team of musicians. They joined as part of the production of his self-titled album, which became known locally as "Jolie Poupée," the name of the album's lead single and most popular song. For "Jolie Poupée" Mystic Jim programmed the kick or bass drum, adding effects to have a heavier bass. Overall the album represented a new level of finesse and professionalism for his second release. In the middle of 1989, Jolie Poupée was released by the label Inter Diffusion System and aggressively hit the radio, discos and national television. The music video for the title track was on loop on TV. It felt like everyone was talking about it, even artists in adjacent music scenes like makossa. The album came out on vinyl and cassette and remains Bekono's best-selling recording to this day. With Jolie Poupée Bekono finally made an impact outside Cameroon as the record captured listeners in some Central African countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome & Principe. In these countries, we find the Fang or Mfan people (also known as Ekang), Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that are also found in Cameroon. This umbrella language group includes the language in which bikutsi is mainly sung. Most of Bekono's songs are in French, Ewondo (of which Beti is a dialect) and Pidgin. The four songs on Jolie Poupée are all considered bikutsi classics. On September 15, 2016, Bekono died of a long illness at the age of 62. In the wake of his passing the media published a wave of tributes, thanking him for what he did for Cameroonian music. He was an admired musician, songwriter and guitarist, and some of his old colleagues and some of the new generation of performers showered Bekono with vibrant tributes via social media, many of which noting something to the effect of: "The artist dies but his works remain."

From small beginnings in 1974 as a local cinema and university event, Film Fest Gent has grown yearly in stature and is now recognised as one of the major destinations for the film industry. A vital component is the celebration of film music in the shape of the World Soundtrack Awards which honours the very best composers at work in the world of cinema. In 2016 the award went to one of the most brilliant composers of his generation, Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is the first overview of his remarkable catalogue of film scores, fully approved by the composer and performed by the masterful Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Dirk Brossé. Sakamoto was already a celebrated pioneer in electronic music and composer/pianist/singer in Japan when director Nagisa Oshima asked him to write the score for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence in 1983 and also to star alongside David Bowie. In a 30 year plus career since then he has worked with the cream of film directors including Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor), Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes), Pedro Almodovar (High Heels) and most recently Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant). This compilation is a fitting tribute to his status as one of the greatest living musicians and film composers.

epressed! Proto-punk and garage Zamrock: the celebrated guitarist Paul
Ngozi’s essential debut album. Featuring Chrissy Zebby Tembo

Guitarist/vocalist Paul Ngozi’s debut album – under the name Ngozi Family - is an important record: not just in the Zamrock genre,
but in the global rock canon. Day of Judgement is an introduction to the most intense, raw and inimitable golden era Zamrock
recorded, as it paved the way for a dozen Paul Ngozi and Ngozi Family releases (the most famous being drummer Chrissy Zebby
Tembo’s My Ancestors) that straddled the line between funk and punk, of driving hard rock and Zambian folk melodies and rhythms.
Day of Judgement was released in 1976, the same year as other, now famous, Zamrock albums, from WITCH’s Lazy Bones!! to Rikki
Ililonga’s Zambia. But it sounds like none of its counterparts. Part of that stems from its frenzied primitivism, the Ngozi Family’s
attempt to overcome a lack of musical acumen with sheer force of will.
That will allowed Paul Ngozi to overcome a humble upbringing to become the most unlikely combination: Zamrock’s most beloved
star in its brief but now-well chronicled arc; the only musician to maintain his fame and recording prowess in the dark ages of the
’80s; an inspiration to not only aging but young Zambians — and now others, beyond Zambia’s borders.
But one cannot imagine Paul Ngozi without this album, a full-on aural assault that sounds as wild nearly forty years after its release
as it must have sounded in the developing Zamrock landscape from which it emerged. We listen to this anachronistic yet prescient
album now as a wholly original, completely unpredictable album in line with those from mavericks from across the world – from the
Ramones to the Sex Pistols to Death. And, though it’s been over two decades since Paul Ngozi’s passing, his voice and vision still
seem exciting, powerful, unique, unvarnished, new.

The next chapter of the Natural Information Society is here. Since Time Is Gravity, credited to Natural Information Society Community Ensemble with Ari Brown, presents a newly expanded manifestation of acclaimed composer & multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams nearly 15 year, 7 albums &-counting flagship ensemble. Joining the core NIS of Abrams (guimbri & bass), Lisa Alvarado (harmonium) Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet) are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto saxophones & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) & Chicago living legend of the tenor saxophone Ari Brown. Recorded live to tape at Electrical Audio & The Graham Foundation, cover painting Vibratory Cartography: Nepantla, by Lisa Alvarado. 2xLP on Eremite USA, 2xLP & CD on Aguirre/Eremite Europe. Out 14-04.

Since first developing Natural Information Society in 2010, Joshua Abrams has been gradually expanding the group’s conceptual underpinnings, its musical references & the sheer number of the group’s members. Its music is, in a sense, an expansive form of minimalism, based in repeated & overlaid rhythmic patterns, ostinatos & modality. Its roots, its scale & its meaning become clearer in time. If time is gravity, it also allows us to carry more. Having begun as fundamentally a rhythm section with Abrams’ guimbri at its core, the version here can stretch to a tentet, including six horns.

Abrams has been expanding his minimalism gradually, but he has long understood a key to minimalism’s potential: the breadth of its roots in the late 1950s & early 1960s, ranging from the dissatisfaction of young European-stream composers with the limitations of serialism to the simultaneous dissatisfaction of jazz musicians with the dense harmonic vocabulary of bop & hard bop. The former began exploring rhythmic complexity & narrow tonal palates in place of harmonic abstraction (Steve Reich’s Drumming, Philip Glass’ Music with Changing Parts; perhaps above all Terry Riley’s In C & his late ‘60s all-night organ & loop concerts); the later reduced dense chord changes to scales (signally with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but rapidly expanding with John Coltrane’s vast project). In the 1950s the LP record opened the world with documentation of Asian & African musics, key influences on both minimalists & jazz musicians. If John Coltrane’s soprano saxophone suggested the keening shehnai of Bismillah Khan, the instrument was rapidly taken up by two key minimalists, LaMonte Young & Riley, similarly appreciative of its flexible intonation, the same thing that kept it out of big bands.

If the guimbri, the North African hide-covered lute that Abrams plays with NIS, involves a rich tradition of hypnotic healing music associated with the Gnawa people, Abrams’ music also touches on other musics as well — other depths, memories & healings, different drones, rhythms & modes. As the group expands on Since Time Is Gravity, he has made certain jazz traditions in the same stream more explicit as well. If there is a mystical & elastic quality involved in the experience of time, both in direction & duration, you will catch it here. The parts for the choir of winds expand on the roles of Abrams’ guimbri, Mikel Patrick Avery & Hamid Drake’s percussion & Lisa Alvarado’s harmonium: at times, the winds are almost looping in the tentet version, each hitting a repeating note in turn, at once drone & distinct inflection on temporal sequence. The brilliance of the work resides in Abrams’ compositions, the NIS’ intuitive execution & in Ari Brown’s singular embodiment of the great tenor saxophone tradition, including the oracular genius of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, & Yusef Lateef. The three pieces by the expanded NIS featuring Brown —the opening “Moontide Chorus” & “Is” & the ultimate “Gravity”— have an immediate impact, & togther might be considered a kind of concerto for tenor saxophone. Here Brown presses almost indistinguishably from composed melody to improvised speech, getting so close to language that he might have a text. Everything here is a sign. Note the tap of the Rhythm Ace that links “Moontide Chorus” to “Is”, the attentive heart always present, even when signed by a machine. There’s a link here to the methodologies & meanings of dub music & the linear & vertical collage of beats, textures & tongues: treated with reverence, a sample of a beat-box can be as soulful, as hypnotic, as a mbira or a tamboura. If those pieces with Brown are heard as a suspended concerto, the three embrace & enfold the other works, like the sepals of a flower. That placement will also touch on the mysteries of our perception of time.

Particularly in “Is”, but elsewhere as well, a phenomenon of transcendence arises in which time appears to be tripartite, at once moving backwards & forwards & standing still. This is an act of technical brilliance certainly, but also an illumination of music’s ability to represent temporal consciousness through polymetrics. This particular listener has only heard it before in a few places, including the horn shouts & bowed basses of Coltrane’s Africa, in moments of Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, in certain pieces where tapes were literally running backwards, & earlier still in Dizzy Gillespie’s Cubana Be, Cubana Bop, in which the composer George Russell & conguero Chano Pozo found a music that spoke at once in the voices of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring & the vestigial rites, rhythms & songs of the Yoruba language & Santeria religion of inland Cuba.

In Joshua Abrams’ compositions & the realization of them by the NIS, in the time of one’s close listening & memory thereof, distinctions between the “natural” & the “social”, the “quotidian” & the “transcendent” are erased, suspended or perhaps irrelevant. Consider two of the ensemble pieces, one named for nature, the other social science. In “Murmuration” the repeated wind figures of flute & alto saxophone combine with the interlocking patterns of harp, guimbri & frame drum (tar) to create a perfect moving stillness, not an imitation but a witness to the miracle of the starlings’ astonishing collective art, a surfeit of beauty that might be the ultimate defense tactic.

“Stigmergy” takes its name & concept from the Occupy movement’s Heather Marsh, who proposes a social system based on a cooperative rather than competitive models, one in which ideas are freely contributed & developed as ideas rather than an individual’s property. In its form, Abrams’ “Stigmergy” is the closes thing to traditional jazz, a series of accompanied solos by each of the wind players. However, the composed accompaniment is a radically collectivist notion: a repeated rhythmic figure, call it ostinato or riff, in which the different winds each play only a note or two of the figure, a concept both more collectivist & individualistic in its conception than any typical unison figure. It suggests another of the underlying recognitions that propel the Natural Information Society, the group as social organism, the teleology of hypnotic anarchy, all parts in place, functioning systematically, evolving & expressing itself, its nature & society, as a transformative organism.

George Lewis has described music as “a space for reflection on the human condition”. This suggests that, rather than a “distraction”, at least some music might serve as a distraction from distraction. It’s a focus, a clarity, a awareness, an external invitation to interiority, as if music itself is a model for form & contemplation, an organism contemplating for us or as us. If that is a possibility, & I am sure I have heard such musics, than this music is among them. How many of our rhythms, melodies & harmonies (cultural, historical, biological, psychic) might such music carry, translate & transform in the particulate ecstasy of our own murmuration? (Stuart Broomer, April 2022)

*The product of a move from South Carolina to Berkeley, CA and the subsequent extended separation from loved ones, Toro Y Moi's third full-length, Anything in Return, puts Chaz Bundick right in the middle of the producer/songwriter dichotomy that his first two albums established.

*There's a pervasive sense of peace with his tendency to dabble in both sides of the modern music-making spectrum, and he sounds comfortable engaging in intuitive pop production and putting forth the impression of unmediated id.

*The producer's hand is prominent- not least in the sampled "yeah"s and "uh"s that give the album a hip-hop-indebted confidence- and many of the songs feature the 4/4 beats and deftly employed effects usually associated with house music. Tracks like "High Living" and "Day One" show a considerably Californian influence, their languid funk redolent of a West Coast temperament, and elsewhere- not least on lead single, "So Many Details"- the record plays with darker atmospheres than we're used to hearing from Toro Y Moi. Sounding quite assured in what some may call this songwriter's return to producer-hood, Anything in Return is Bundick uninhibited by issues of genre, an album that feels like the artist's essence.

*Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Chaz Bundick has been toying with various musical projects since early adolescence. Having spent his formative years playing in punk and indie rock acts, his protean Toro Y Moi project has been his vessel for further musical exploration since 2001. During his time spent studying graphic design at the University of South Carolina, Chaz became increasingly focused on his solo work, incorporating electronics and allowing a wider range of influences- French house, Brian Wilson's pop, 80s R&B, and Stones Throw hip-hop- to show up in his music. By the time he graduated in spring 2009, Chaz had refined his sound to something all his own. Music journals across the board touted his hazy recordings as the sound of the summer, and he released his debut album, Causers of This in early 2010.

*Since then, Bundick has proven himself to be not just a prolific musician, but a diverse one as well, letting each successive release broaden the scope of the Toro Y Moi oeuvre. The funky psych-pop of 2011's Underneath the Pine evinced an artist who could create similar atmospheres even without the aid of source material and drum machines. His Freaking Out EP, a handful of singles and remixes, and a retrospective box-set plot points all along the producer/songwriter spectrum in which he's worked since his debut, and Anything In Return is another exciting offering that shows he's still not ready to settle into any one genre.

The album Symposium Musicum is developed from field recordings, interviews, and observations collected in the villages of Podolínec, Lomnička, Levočské Vrchy, and Kolačkov - all areas of the eastern and north-eastern Slovakia with significant Romani enclaves. The pieces resulting from these interactions encourage the listener to tune in for a delicate negotiation of language, (audible) gesture, and storytelling.

The collaboration with the local participants appears lighthearted and whimsical on the records, but this seeming easiness is clearly a result of devoted fieldwork planning and committed post-production. The curated compositions represent and emphasize not only performative aspects of the acoustic activities but also point attention to seemingly non-productive aspects of creation, such as silence, hesitation, observation, perception, or waiting.

Sound experiment and preservation is not the only goal of the project. Some of the records capturing acoustic activities in peculiar places but also carry an element of social novelty that accompanied their making - according to the locals in Lomnička, the recording visitors were the first non-Romani persons who spent the night in the village.

In many instances, these recordings explore liminal spaces that have lost their original function (a church ruin or an out-of-business grocery store) and became a lively territory for acoustic exploration and playful reciprocity. For instance, in track 7, "Kavka", local children used crackling leaves as percussion devices.

Such moments betray a high level of engagement in the subtle details of the recorded spaces and their social ecologies. According to the creators, their creative processes involve "a social sound practice" as an attitude towards exploring sound in its social setting.

Symposium Musicum leaves behind many aesthetic conventions of sound capture and what is considered "musical", including the usual notions of a linguistic unit, narrative, memoir, and play. Instead, it engages in a self-reflective questioning of the way we listen to the world around us.

This project invites us to experience places outside the divided sociolinguistic provinces, resulting from multigenerational displacement and neglect of the Romani communities from the explored areas. The result is in many ways revelatory and poetically impactful.

Vienna impact on RFR! PELETRONIC blesses us with his own unique blueprint of abstract house.

„Riddim & Bassline“ are the main ingredients for the opener of his
„Honey Badger EP“. A rumbling, buzzing and funk loaden predator digs his way into our ear canal.

„Sry I’m dazed AF“ - words we‘d sometimes like to address our supervisor with, especially after a serious weekend night out. A grating, distorted Miami Bass variant on a Deep House bouquet that lives up to his title.

„True Brew“ also starts wonderfully imperfect. Blustering beats and scruffy hi hats are being perfectly paired with a piano harmony. Bring us another two or twenty of this special drink!

Last but not least we got a remix by none other than DMX Krew, who provides a bubbly finish to „Riddim & Bassline“. There is not much left to say, cos if you got Ed DMX on your record, really everything has been said.

Faith Discipline presents on the same release two of the proposals that best define its identity as a recording project. Two artists, or two bands, or a band and an artist, who coincide in some of their qualities and who also perfectly represent the sound line that the label has pursued since it was launched in 2015. German Army and Group have a lot in common, but their personalities are also unique, as are the objectives that influence their work.

German Army and Group coincide in several ways, both operate from anonymity and their approach to music production is also very similar. The style and sound of German Army and Group is mainly based on extreme and lo-fi treatments, and their music can be categorised as tribal, industrial, ethnic or experimental. However, German Army adds to their style a series of moral principles, as the project is based on a vindictive nature with continuous messages and appeals to the population and the rulers, the health of our planet is in extreme danger and with it the life and dignity of the underprivileged.

Formerly known as James Lascelles’ Quartet, Talking Spirits present a unique blend of world jazz. These highly respected London based session musicians - with a very mixed repertoire - have touched audiences wherever they play. The quartet mixes up world music, folk, jazz and Anglo/Caribbean grooves, inspired by influences from all over the world.

They have honed their skills over the decades working with some of the biggest names in music, including Frank Zappa, Joan Armatrading, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, L Shankar, Ginger Baker, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Incognito, Van Morrison, Billy Ocean, Mick Taylor and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

The new Talking Spirits album ‘Hands’ will be released on Zephyrus Records early June. Tracks feature regular band members James Lascelles (various keys and percussion), Tim Herniman and former bandmates from the legendary Breakfast Band Richard Bailey (drums and percussion) and Kuma Harada (bass and guitar). Guests appearances by Tony Maronie on congas, Didier Malherbe (once of “Gong”) on duduk and sax, and the wonderful Mongolian group Andaunion, for whom James specially wrote Grasslands to feature the haunting morinhuur (horse-hair fiddle) and hoomei or overtone singing.

More than four years after his previous EP and after having released some remixes and collaborations with Agar Agar, Black Devil Disco Club or the Italian design studio Burro Studio, LeonxLeon comes back with a new EP, passing to the electronic shaker the styles of music listened since the last release.

4 tracks all as different as each other with first Itanewa, where the Parisian producer tries for the first time to give voice, without vocoder, well aware that on a track inspired by South African productions of the 80s, an instrumental version only would not be enough to do justice. It is thus in a kind of invented Esperanto that the lyrics, a call to lightness and simplicity according to the artist, are distilled between synthetic bass, keyboards and other percussions.

On Piano Mondo, we leave rather in the direction of South America with pianos of Bossa inspiration on a bass italo-disco, rises and descents as if we were in Val d'Isere and breaks just long enough to catch its breath.
The idea of Solid Dose is completely different since it was a question of taking the post new-beat dance sound of the beginning of the 90s, with a big blow, hence the title, of the synthetic bass sound "Solid Bass" which will be used in a lot of ways at this period and which is coming back in force nowadays, and to mix it with the Nordic touch of dance music for a soaring, evolving track, with arpegios which cross each other and an acid line which finally makes its appearance here.

The last track is a wink to the well-known movie that gave its name to the whole project: it is indeed Luc Besson's Léon that we are talking about, re-cut on the dialogues of Nathalie Portman and Jean Reno, supported by a simple rhythmic, analogical bass and electronic kick at the service of a dark atmosphere, closing the record at the antipodes of the first track, without ever having left the universe of melodies and percussions that already characterized the previous releases of LeonxLeon.

Mixed Coloured Vinyl

The duo of Parisian DJs and producers, Cléon & Jazzy Pidjay, are back under the name Last Bongo In Paris, with a new 7 inch full of Latin Funk & Jazz Funk atmosphere... With raw drums, heavy breaks and a jazzy flavor, these 3 tracks should quickly become a hit for all groovers and dancefloors!!

Cléon & Jazzy Pidjay have long been united by their love of hip-hop music and culture. DJ Cleon is one of the best French producers of breakdance fight music, also respected as a fine wax seeker, mixing all kinds of music, like disco, funk, soul, jazz, breakbeat, hip -hop and older and newer. recordings.

Alongside his pal Jazzy Pidjay and his great production and mixing skills, they give new dancefloor life to hidden and forgotten musical treasures, through funky uptempo tracks.

Fast-rising pianist and producer Yoni Mayraz presents his debut LP ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ revealing the story of a malicious possession that is taking over one’s body and soul.

Dybbuk, known from Jewish folklore, is a malevolent wandering spirit that enters and possesses the body of a living person. It’s a cursed soul of a dead one that wanders tirelessly for sins committed during their life. The most vulnerable victims are the young and the sinful. Possession can be taken literally or as an analogy to the burden that young people carry generations back, which they have no influence on, and which they have to accept. Dybbuk can only be removed by exorcism. The titular ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ is a command to remove the spirit from the possessed body. The album is a story about possession but also about exorcism through music.

Recorded live with his band in a dusty wooden studio, ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ is indeed experimenting with the ‘darker side of things’, but yet with a somewhat lighthearted approach which is so typical of Yoni’s work. He easily combines jazz with the sound of 90’s New York hip hop and raw old school breakbeat. The album interweaves unique Middle Eastern melodies, sophisticated structures and sounds, and beautifully crafted solos played by some of the promising talents on the scene.

London based Israeli born pianist and producer Yoni Mayraz has set foot in the instrumental music scene with his EP ‘Rough Cuts’ released in 2020. Since then, Yoni and his band have been playing major venues and festivals around the world including the legendary Ronnie Scott’s and The Jazz Cafe, to name a few, bringing raw energy to stage with live versions of the studio materials, and stretching the melodies and structures into a Dancefloor-focused take on jazz.

‘Dybbuk Tse!’ album will be released by Astigmatic Records on LP in regular and limited (B1 poster included) editions, as well as on all streaming platforms.

Since we've known him, Robert Lloyd has made quite clear his enormous affection for the songs and sounds of Freakwater, the duo of Janet Beveridge-Bean and Catherine Irwin who've been wrongly denied their place as rightful and willful progenitors of alt-country's 'movement', which (frankly) is to their credit. Their genius in offering absolute authentic to the sound old-time Appalachian folk music with a modern façade that in no way negates tradition (one of their albums is titled Feels Like The Third Time) is unparalleled within the genre, and Freakwater remain under-appreciated. After the start of Covid, Robert dared approach Janet with the idea of recording together. Over the course of the long pandemic, songs were bandied about for months, and when recording was finally practical, a band was assembled with dates set up for a recording session in Valencia, Spain. Robert and Janet were joined by Robert's long-time ally, Pete Byrchmore, the musical foil for Robert's solo album on Virgin and a former Nightingale, Mark Bedford, the bassist for Madness and Terry Edwards' Near Jazz Experience, and Pablo Roda, Spanish mystery drummer, couldn't have worked out more perfectly. Tracks were selected without regard for collective presentation, just the goal of walking out of the studio with an album of perfect gems. Forget Lee & Nancy or George & Tammy, Rob and Janet have an immediate chemistry that only sounds long-lived - and too uniquely them to merit any comparison. The title track, Black Cat, Dark Horse is the sole Lloyd / Bean / Byrchmore composition and one of the record 's highlights. Jim Elkington, collaborator with Jeff Tweedy and Richard Thompson, contributes Heavy Reckonings and a song written with Janet, The True Lovers' Knot And The Lie, while Robert adds reworkings from past releases - Sweet Georgia Black and Black Country (with Pete) - not to mention the unreleased Eggs And Bacon. Janet brought One Shot and the unheard Freakwater song Arc Of A Smile. Covers of tunes from Dion and The Monkees and a magnificent Jon Langford song, "Tears Like Stars" round out the album. We daresay the album is among the finest you'll hear in 2023. That it doesn't fit perfectly into any preconceived genre is a testament to its quality. "Songcraft" is a word used infrequently today, yet Black Cat, Dark Horse will show that good songs endure. We're proud that Robert and Janet will find some new admirers through this album's release. The Michael Cumming / Stewart Lee film King Rocker made a case for Robert Lloyd-as-losthero; this album furthers that idea and shows a compelling side of Janet's talent and abilities which will be a surprise to her fans and serve as an entry point to exploring her many other compelling projects.

Andrius Arutiunian’s debut album »Seven Common Ways of Disappearing« was first conceived as an installation for the Armenia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2022. The Armenian/Lithuanian artist and composer uses hybrid forms of music, focusing on sonic vernaculars, hypnotic musical forms, and aural cosmologies. Arutiunian is known to work with installations, sound objects, and time-based collaborations with ensembles and performers. The piece on this record was written for two musicians, a retuned piano and analogue electronics, and it borrows an enneagram as its score—the world-ordering model introduced by the controversial Armenian-Greek mystic and composer G.I. Gurdjieff. The result is an album that is both aesthetically and spiritually intoxicating music of the spheres, at once reminiscent of the masterpieces of minimal music and improvised, if not stochastic music. G.I. Gurdjieff was one of the first thinkers and (quite possibly charlatans) to introduce a syncretic idea of Eastern philosophy into the West. His unique way of teaching was based on an esoteric blend of Middle Eastern, Buddhist, and Dervish philosophies, and oscillated between a genuine search for enlightenment and a complex form of trickery. Borrowing from Gurdjieff’s writing on the world ordering and musical tuning, Arutiunian used the enneagram to organise the musical and structural matter of the piece that was originally conceived as a live performance.»Seven Common Ways of Disappearing« is written for a grand piano—the epitome of Western composition and musical production—and follows a simple set of rules: the two musicians have to navigate the topography of the score, rendering the piece in a different configuration each time. In a sense, this gripping recording is thus only one of the potentially infinite versions of how it could be played, but also seems to take on different shapes and forms with each new listen. It documents a truly mystical composition that follows its own logic

Hardcover collection of five 12" LPs on multi-color specialty vinyl w/ 40-page graphic novel. Book is foil embossed with a faux-leather cover printed in a limited edition of 1,000 hand numbered copies.

Omnibus includes Magic Sword's first four releases: “Volume 1” 2LP on Clear + Black Smoke Vinyl, “Legend” on Red + Bone Galaxy Vinyl, “Awakening” on White + Violet Galaxy Vinyl, “Endless” on Blue + Aqua Galaxy Vinyl. RIYL: Oneohtrix Point Never, M83, Stranger Things, Kraftwerk, D & D, Daft Punk. Magic Sword Omnibus is a hardcover collection of Magic Sword's first four releases (Volume 1, Legend, Awakening, and Endless) across five 12" LPs and a 40-page graphic novel written and illustrated by Shay Plummer. Magic Sword Omnibus is foil embossed with a faux-leather cover printed in a limited edition of 1,000 hand-numbered copies. Ages ago, the immortal Dark One was freed from his prison. Since that time, the forces of good have been searching for the Light; the Chosen One; to force him back into his cell. The key to this prison is the Magic Sword. When wielded by the Chosen One, it has the power to return balance to the Universe. Magic Sword is an ageless tale of good and evil, told through an ever-expanding graphic novel and accompanying synth-heavy soundtrack albums; together they create an epic experience for those bold enough to bear witness and come away with a deeper understanding of the ultimate hero's journey

Stimela were a popular and successful South African Afro-fusion outfit led by guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and arranger Ray Phiri. The band was formed under the name ‘The Cannibals’ during the 1970s when Phiri got together with drummer Isaac Mtshali, keyboard player Thabo Lloyd Lelosa and bass player Jabu Sibumbe. They initially started out as instrumentalists, but later evolved to Afro-fusion when they joined forces with vocalist Jacob “Mparanyana” Radebe in 1975. The story of ‘The Cannibals’ ends when Radebe died in 1978 but the ‘Stimela’ story was only just beginning.

In 1979, after a life-changing experience in Mozambique (where they were stranded for three months) the band members had to sell all their belongings to take a train home. This trip was a watershed moment as it was here where they conceived the new name for the band: The Zulu word for “locomotive-train” STIMELA.



Stimela would soon become little short of an institution in their home country of South Africa. With soulful tunes and gripping lyrics, the band has recorded platinum-winning albums such as Fire, Passion and Ecstasy, Shadows, Fear and Pain & Look Listen and Decide. In addition to recording their own material, the group supplied instrumental accompaniment on albums by a lengthy list of legendary artists. Stimela would go on to gain global fame after being featured on Paul Simon’s iconic 1986 ‘Graceland’ album and the mega tour that followed.



Ray Phiri would enter into many successful collaborations with major acts and artists such as Harari, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson and Manu Dibango. In 2017 he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died at the age of 70. Phiri has received many awards in recognition for his contribution in the music industry, one of these is the Order of Ikhamanga awarded to him by the South African president. This was to honor his sterling contribution to the South African music industry and the successful use of arts as an instrument of social transformation.



Stimela is the tale of a South African band who have battled their way through dark days to take their rightful place in the forefront of the South African apartheid-era music invasion. One of their most memorable tracks “Whispers in the Deep” was even restricted from being broadcasted by the old South African Broadcasting Corporation.



On the album we are presenting you today (Fire, Passion and Ecstasy from 1984) the unique sounds of Ray Phiri’s Stimela are fully showcased. Expect infectious hypnotic build-up grooves, cinematic lowdown jazz-funk, Afro-soul, delightful reggae, gospel influences and funky synth-boogie sounds…all with a touch of early eighties new wave and hints of Island disco mixed with sensual bubblegum pop. It comes as no surprise that the album has now become a sought-after item due to its addictive and original-sounding nature, a must-have for any self-respecting record digger!



These recordings completely encapsulate Stimela’s fusion style. They managed to craft a modern South African sound that continues to influence SA musicians to this day. Never in a rush, yet always with a sense of purpose and direction – like the steam train after which they took their name.

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first reissue of this fantastic Afro-fusion classic since 1990 (originally released in 1984 on Gallo Records) & this is also the first time the album is getting a release outside of the African continent. This rare record (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (limited to 500 copies) complete with the original artwork. Also included is a double-sided insert containing rare pictures of the band.

Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings imprint welcomes a unique project from Malian and French pairing Siraba, unveiling their debut single ‘Ngana Fôlly’ alongside remixes from Philou Louzolo and Peaking Lights. Meaning ‘The Great Path’ in Bambara, Siraba - the duo consisting of Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of French electronic band dOP - are on a path of bringing the traditional sound of the Wassoulou to the world. They met in 2003 when Damien visited Mali to work with local artists and met Boubacar’s father - the legendary Sibiri Samake. Working together on multiple occasions, the two promised to work with one another and Boubacar on a project one day, and 17 years later, the two connected to begin to develop their unique sound and showcase their shared universe.

Inspired by the music of the master hunters from across Mali, the ‘Dozo’, the project transmits values based on justice and righteousness, love and respect for others, moral and spiritual rectitude and protection for everyone. Debuting on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings imprint, an outlet for the Crosstown Rebels boss to delve deeper into musical realms outside of the norm and away from the dance floor, the pair will release their debut album in September, with a series of live performances set to be announced. Their first single arrives in early June with ‘Ngana Fôlly’

A spiritual and hypnotic production rooted within Dozo musical tradition, featuring Boubacar playing the Ngoni while singing in Bambara, ‘Ngana Fôlly’ is a resonant and rich production combining organic textures with warping synths, rich bass and sweeping electronics, capturing the magical essence of Mali across a fascinating journey. Providing the first remix on the package, Dutch DJ/producer and DJ Mag ‘Artist To Watch for 2023’ Philou Louzolo harnesses Boubacar’s vocal and places it at the heart of his soaring remix as stripped-back percussion and a commanding low-ends guide sweeping synths, before handing over to San Francisco husband-and-wife pairing and Dekmantel signees Peaking Lights who tip things down a bright and blissful rabbit hole of soundscapes as vibrant guitar riffs and twisting leads work amongst off-kilter melodies and acid flecked tones for an eight-minute trip.

Exotica, ye-yé cumbia, guaracha infused twist, rock’n roll mambo, Spanish rumba, boogaloo beat, tropical garage and other unexpected bastard genres are featured in this festive compilation of bizarre hits taken from the glorious catalog of records released during the 60s and 70s on the Peruvian label Discos MAG. Some clearly unite genres, others are projects with creative names, but all are bold musical initiatives that got and will always get people onto the dance floor. “Sabroso Go Go” brings together fourteen musical mixes created in the recording studios of Manuel Antonio Guerrero (MAG), in which music directors combine rhythm with alchemy in a quest to find the philosopher's stone of the dance. Exotica, ye-yé cumbia, guaracha infused twist, rock’n roll mambo, Spanish rumba, boogaloo beat, tropical garage and other unexpected bastard genres are featured in this festive compilation. Although this compilation begins in 1957, experiments like this (some more memorable than others) were not new in Peru. The songs on this album were however much more successful hybrids. Some clearly unite genres, others are projects with creative names, but all are bold musical initiatives that got and will always get people onto the dance floor. At the end of the fifties, rock music shook the foundations of Peru, and orchestras rushed to cover hit songs and explore the possibilities of mixing them with tropical music. Lucho Macedo's orchestra took up the mantle and reinterpreted a well-known guaracha by Celia Cruz ('Rock and Roll') in mambo style, renaming it 'Rock and roll Mambo'. 'Maestro de Rock and Roll', a hit by the Cuban Conjunto Casino, received similar treatment. Another mix in this vein is the rock tune 'El Rock de los Chinos' by the Mexican Manolo Muñoz (author of 'Speedy González') recorded by the Chilean Choche Mérida for MAG in 1961. The following year, Chubby Checker’s 'The Twist' hit the scene and was immediately fused with guaracha by maestro Nelson Ferreyra. A legendary MAG musician, Carlos Pickling, composed 'La Charanga del Espacio' in 1963. The space sounds are produced by Pickling and his inseparable Hammond. He himself is the one who leads the orchestra that accompanies Benny Del Solar, Lita Branda and Pablo "Melcochita" Villanueva in the tropicalized version of Spanish Rumba, when the beats of the Iberian rumba were still exotic in South America. Around that time, the Chilean Willy Marambio was already living in Lima. In the track included on this album, the go-go style showcases his virtuosity on the trumpet. Another outstanding trumpet player, Roberto "Tito" Chicoma from Chiclayo, played as a session musician with MAG from 1959. A few years later, he became one of the most popular Colombian cumbia players, a talent he demonstrates in the song on this compilation, which blends the fun of go-go with yé-yé beats. 'Batijugando' was a hit from Mexico and was played in all the rhythms played across the Hispanic world since 1967. Inspired by the "Batman" series, it was performed at MAG by the Betico Salas orchestra, with vocals by the Panamanian lady crooner Nallye Fernández. 'Computador Electrónico' is another surprise on this album, performed by Panamanian vocalist Patty Pastel, it is the only known version in Spanish of 'Der Computer Nr. 3', originally sung in German by France Gall. Two other songs feature Edgar Zamudio. The versatility of Zamudio y Los Vikingos (originally a Chilean group) is demonstrated in the guitar-heavy song composed specifically for the late sixties skate fashion ('Go Go en Patines') and in his idiosyncratic protest song ('Día de Pago') performed in beat style. In the mid-seventies, Los Kintos, led by guitarist Francisco Acosta, developed different harmonic ideas in an instrumental track that veers from boogaloo to salsa, the fashionable rhythm of the day. Finally, in 1976, when the bumping hips dance craze swept the continent, Manuel Guerrero was quick to jump onto the bandwagon, composing a Bump song, together with his son Carlos. The Italian musician based in Lima, Luciano Luciani performed the song 'A Bailar Bump' backed by his band of local musicians Los Mulatos.

After the success of their previous "Get Mine/I'm Gone" 7" vinyl 45 release LRK Records is proud to announce the digital single follow up by Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers!!

Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers are a Los Angeles based, transplanted fromChicago, unit that specializes in 60s/70s soul and funk. The band is fronted by the dynamically charismatic Bella Brown. A fiery female lead singer that is a mixture of Tina Turner and Sharon Jones, with a persona that is reminiscent of the empowered female
leads of 70s Blaxploitation films. Backed by the musicianship of The Jealous Lovers they form a unit that expertly expresses a uniquely modern interpretation of the traditionalsoul and funk genres.

Their new single "What Will You Leave Behind" exemplifies this
ideal. The track is a heartfelt call to action in these times of failed humanity and injustice. A Motown influenced message of hope that features sympathetic vocals, supportive horns, and a funky twist that asks us to create a better future by considering the effects of our present.

Look for "What Will You Leave Behind" March 3rd, 2023 on all streaming platforms, and stay tuned for an announcement from LRK Records regarding "What Will You Leave Behind" and a future Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers 7" vinyl 45 released!

Following on from the well-received release of Toc De Breaks earlier this year, Spanish duo JP Sunshine and Guim return with a full collaborative EP, Toc De Jaume, released on Steel City Dance Discs.

Coordinating a masterful blend of funk-infused instrumentals, melodic breakbeats and acid-tinged basslines, Toc De Jaume is unique in its character, which bears its defining traits from its two creators, JP Sunshine and Guim, whose partnership is nothing newfound, yet, in light of this EP, feels as fresh as ever.

Toc De Jaime contains a vast variation of sounds within its entirety, from the funky, acid dripped breakbeat of La Fiesta, which was released earlier this year, to tracks like JP Sunshine’s I Want To Stay, released in 2020, which offer a more melodic, feelgood aspect to this EP, and the sound of both artists as a whole.

Through Toc De Jaime, JP Sunshine and Guim present an EP that feels like an ode to the sounds of their shared native homeland; sounds which the duo manipulate and rework within the confines of an electronic dance music context, resulting in a perfect marriage of diverse sounds.

Detroit’s Eddie Fowlkes returns to Rekids this June with ‘Bahama Man EP’

Hot on the heels of his recently released ‘Forever EP’ on Radio Slave’s evergreen Rekids, Eddie ‘Flashin’ Fowlkes returns to the label with ‘Bahama Man EP’, another four-track EP of red-hot dancefloor cuts. From the swinging opening title track through to the jacking low end of closer ‘Cube’, Eddie’s knack for crafting his unique style of club-friendly cuts is on full display across the record, some of his finest work to date.

As one of Techno’s originators, Eddie Fowlkes has shaped the Techno genre for over 36 years. With his releases on Metroplex, Tresor, Sony, Peacefrog, and his own imprints CityBoy Records and Detroit Wax, Fowlkes' contribution to the blueprint of modern electronic music cannot be overstated.

Spanning a decade of sophisticated funk from the Motor City, two midtempo picks from the crates of Mr. K get his trademark classy edit treatment on this Detroit-themed 7-inch.

G.C. Cameron was a solid singer in the Motown stable, a vocal chameleon whose range extended from clear tenor to soaring falsetto. Though this agility is most easily heard via his lead vocal on the Spinners’ “It’s A Shame,” he shows off the same versatility in the rare groove classic “No Matter Where,” a 1973 Curtis Mayfield-esque burner that’s the subject of Mr. K’s latest release on Most Excellent. For Krivit this has been a lesser known & hard to find floor filler for years. Intro cleanly extended, now ready for the big stage and modern club play.

Our flip side stays in midtempo, rare groove Detroit territory but jumps ahead a decade to the early ’80s with Candye’s “Time Is What You Need.” Candyce Edwards got her start in the Detroit funk powerhouse One Way (her predecessor was Alicia Myers) and soon became connected with the group’s wunderkind songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kevin McCord. McCord had already taken Myers to the top with “I Want To Thank You,” and seeing if lightning could strike twice with Edwards. Although only resulting in this solo debut, time and the untiring excavations of latter-era vinyl junkies have subsequently made her collaboration with McCord (a union that briefly included marriage) a sought-after boogie gem in the rough. Mr. K plucks perhaps the most winsome LP-only cut and subtly extends intro and outro to provide a useful 7-inch version that should get plenty of warm weather play.

Both tracks have been carefully remastered for this release & have never sounded better.

Laura Poitras’ Oscar-nominated film »All the Beauty and the Bloodshed« is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin. Told through intimate interviews, photography, and footage, central to the story is her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the opioid crisis. The film cuts to the bone with its incandescent celebration of life and condemnation of those who threaten it. Art and activism are one and the same.

Helping to interweave Goldin’s past and present, multi-disciplinary duo Soundwalk Collective soundtrack her personal and political struggles to sublime effect. The contemporary sonic arts platform of founder and artist Stephan Crasneanscki and producer Simone Merli, the pair work with a rotating constellation of artists and musicians, developing site-and-context-specific sound projects through which to examine conceptual, literary, or artistic themes. And for all the beauty and the bloodshed on show here, the duo strike the balance just right; their compositions in collaboration with Zacharias Falkenberg and Johannes Malfatti producing a trance that oscillates between grace and madness.

Within the score, Crasneanscki draws connections with the life and work of German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, who was removed from society through confinement in institutions. In his last poems, written as fragments while he was plagued by mental illness, Hölderlin renders nature, in all its fragility and ephemerality. Similar themes merge in Laura's portrait of Goldin and serve as an inspiration for the composition of the choral songs and cantus within the soundtrack. Through the repetition of words and the layering of voices, the lyric scansion operates like a language possessed, echoing various styles from sacred music to modern minimalist techniques. The music is characterised by quivering strings and swells, de-tuning and lingering, shifting around the surreal, and creating a spectrum of musical experience. Exerts of Nan’s narration are featured in two of the tracks, her powerful narration offering a more direct approach to the storytelling.

In »All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,« Poitras shows protest is really Goldin’s great artwork: Her entire life had been leading to this moment of passionate expression, an inspired situationist gesture which fused the personal and the political. Art can change the world, which Poitras and Goldin tell us with powerful results. While there are multiple threads in this remarkable portrait which could have carried entire films, the soundtrack provides a sonic identity that helps keep track of proceedings. Utterly unique in their approach, Soundwalk Collective have delivered a gripping and thoughtful score, helping turn Goldin’s personal pain into culture-rattling impact.

UK artist Jayson Wynters debuts on Pulp with four tracks of atmospheric house and funk that come complete with remixes by Jarren and Mogwaa.

Kung fu master Wynters hails from Birmingham and has been a key player on his local scene for years. More recently he has broken out with impressive EPs on mighty Dutch label Delsin and Adam Shelton's EON. He has a real love of hazy house and always brings his own unique take on that to his timeless analogue grooves. This latest EP was written during lockdown, which provided Jayson a chance to explore different sounds and delve into different styles.

Opener 'Solitude' proves that with its misty-eyed melodies and dreamy pads. The drums tumble loosely, the percussion has a frayed edge and the whole thing is coated in warmth and soul. Half Moon's Jarren is based in LA and brings plenty of that city's musical charm to his remix. It has far-sighted chords, soft-focus harmonics and well swung claps and drums that are simply irresistible.

Wynters then offers 'Corns Funk,' which pairs another dusty drum line with pinging kicks and woodpecker-like percussive hits. A superb twanging bass riff brings some real funk and retro-future feels as the groove builds and bright synths shine through the haze to enrich your soul.

'Night Drive' is a lush downbeat tune for sunset cruises. It has heart-melting chords that prompt deep inward reflection and features an aching guitar riff full of melancholy. The remixer for the one is Seoul musician and master beatmaker Mogwaa who layers in squelchy synth bass and dreamy, loved-up pads. Last of all, 'Uncle's Jam' is Dam Funk-style electro bliss doused in lo-fi chords and languid late-night funk and packed with romance.

Jayson Wynters shows off another superb side to his sound with his expansive Solitude EP.

Adam Pits is back with his second album on Leeds based On Rotation ‘Synthetic Serenity’ represents the next evolutionary step of Adam’s sound design and direction. In stark contrast to his first album, ‘A Recurring Nature’, this new release moves out of the forest and into the digital landscape, capturing the sound of a future world over 8 varied tracks.

Adam Pits talks about the inspiration behind the new album:

“It’s hard to put into words how much of an impact 2022 had on my life. I could talk for hours about the highs and lows, the journeys, both inside and out of my body. Or I could just make an album.

Having delved into the deeper reaches of techno and ambient, I wanted to show my appreciation for these genres on the record. Atmosphere, clarity and warmth became the pillars of my new sonic exploration, with stress falling on my signature ‘journeying’ style. The album describes the idea of being at peace with machines and being open to the idea that in the future we will find ourselves more and more involved with one another.

‘Synthetic Serenity’ is a product of a big energy release. It’s a testament to my acceptance of change in life and I believe it’s a true sign of my sonic evolution”

«The Truth» gilt weithin als einer der am meisten unterschätzten verborgenen Juwelen von Prince. Das Album wurde ursprünglich als Begleitung zum Triple-Album «Crystal Ball» aus dem Jahr 1998 veröffentlicht, mit dem Prince zum ersten Mal ein Album völlig unabhängig herausbrachte. «The Truth» war auch das erste Prince-Album, das als "akustisch" bezeichnet wurde, obwohl es elektronische Instrumente und Elemente enthält, und es gab den Hörern eine noch nie dagewesene Möglichkeit, sein Songwriting und seine Stimme in einer reduzierten Form zu hören. Erhältlich auf schwarzem Vinyl als Einzel-LP

Following on from the Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett’s anarchic Live ’82 (BT095), Black Truffle continues its deep dive into the archives of legendary drummer/accordionist/photographer/composer/conceptual prankster Sven-Åke Johansson with Scheisse ’71. Recorded in November 1971 during the Berliner Jazztage at a heavy-hitting concert that also included the Spontaneous Music Ensemble and groups led by Peter Brötzmann, Manfred Schoof, and Masahiko Sato, Scheisse ’71 is the only document of a wild, otherwise unrecorded quintet featuring Johansson on drums, accordion and oboe d’amore, legendary free jazz vocalist Jeanne Lee, her husband Gunter Hampel on vibes, flute and bass clarinet, live electronics pioneer Michael Waisvisz on modified Putney (VCS 3) synthesizer, and the unknown Freddy Gosseye on electric bass. Part of a festival centred on giants of jazz like Duke Ellignton and Dizzy Gillespie, the radical performance shocked its audience, who can be heard heckling and yelling abuse at points, including the titular exclamation of ‘Scheiße!’ Clocking at just over half an hour and recorded in raw but detailed stereo by Johansson himself, the music burns with intensity while also making room for spacious passages and frequent dynamic movement. Beginning with Lee’s voice, Hampel on flute and Johansson on oboe d’amore in a bird-like game of call and response, the unexpected entry of Waisvisz’s tortured, squelching synth bursts prompts the first of many changes in energy and instrumentation, as Gosseye’s busy, roving bass enters and Johansson moves to the kit, his swinging cymbal work and juddering toms extending the approach of Sunny Murray or early Milford Graves. The presence of synthesizer, electric bass, and Lee’s highly amplified voice moves the quintet away from conventional free jazz textures, at times pushing into zones of abstract free sound reminiscent of what groups like MEV, AMM or Johansson’s MND were exploring in the same years. But the energy and joyful melodicism of the music keep it rooted in the tradition of American fire music and its European inheritors. Capable of changing gears in an instant from ferocious blow outs to fragile tapestries of chiming vibes and fizzing synth, the music finds space for Lee’s post-bop free scat (which integrates shrieks and howls just as a post-Ayler saxophonist might), Gosseye’s virtuosic bass runs (a rare attempt to apply the classic free jazz style of players like Alan Silva or Henry Grimes to the electric instrument), Johansson’s folkish accordion interjections, and even a sustained passage of unison bass clarinet and electric bass riffing in its second half. Special mention should be made of Waisvisz’s Putney performance, one of the earliest documents of this under-recorded instrument inventor and player, here playing a major role in giving the music its wildly exploratory, primordial air, his buzzing glissandi and bubbling filter sweeps at times howling like a distressed monkey. Arriving in an austerely stylish sleeve with beautiful black and white photographs by Johansson, Scheisse ’71 is an essential recording that adds yet another layer to our appreciation of this golden era of radical free music.

Avishag Cohen Rodrigues is an artist and musician based in New York. She broke out to the Tel-Aviv underground scene at age 18 with the guitar drum duo Laila. Since then she has been playing electric guitar with Ryskinder, Sloppy Jane, Cumgirl8. She has a forthcoming solo project where she plays too many of the instruments. She is currently an MFA candidate at Columbia University in the Sound Art Department.

In 2019 she released her first EP “One Winter One Hunter” with Baby Satan Records (Berlin). She has opened for major acts such as Dirty Beaches, Better Oblivion Community Center, Mac DeMarco, Psychic Ills, Deerhoof, Cloud Nothing, Night Beats, Wire, The Shivers.

Gacha Bakradze releases his third album on Lapsus entitled "Pancakes", and while the name may appear conventional at first glance, it actually contains esoteric philosophical concepts.

The Georgian producer perceives the making of pancakes -a transformative and healing parental activity that he loves to partake in with his son- as a metaphor for alteration, metamorphosis and change. A reflection that also accentuates the importance of balance during each process of preparing a simple recipe, which in turn highlights key human attributes such as patience, attention to detail and willingness to adapt to shifting circumstances.

On a sonic level, Gacha’s new album embodies precisely that: the contextual reworking of his music, while maintaining the essence of his previous work. "Pancakes" provides the typically melancholic yet vibrant genetics already recognisable in his music, but also embraces new genres, including his unique and personal take on hyper-pop and trance. It is an album of contrasting elements, where bucolic interludes make way for heavier tracks that are more suited to a club environment, an aural universe that hybridises IDM, electro, bass music and cutting edge techno, and once again demonstrates that trying to pigeonhole Gacha Bakradze's sound is a somewhat fruitless task.

In the KID BE KID superhero universe, the fact that she is not only a singer but also a virtuoso pianist goes without saying. So much talent in one person would hardly be bearable if KID BE KID wasn't, above all, such a lovable funky freak!
"Naked Times! No More Lies! Here I am strippin' straight in front of your eyes," she chants in a futuristic dress with a gigantic shoulder width, and in the video clip she skillfully oscillates between the authenticity of her live performance and the complete unreality of the production.
Musically, it sounds like a finely curated neo-soul record collection pushed through a 2030s cyber-sound AI. Except that with KID BE KID, the beats don't come from the hard drive, but from her body: Human Beat Boxing. So hip-hop community members are welcome to nod their heads here.

In the 10 songs contained on "Truly A Live Goal But No Ice Cream" KID BE KID reflects on our existence between Internet publicity and Home Sweet Home, in which the mere start of the day can become a regular challenge! KID BE KID arms herself against the personified time and gives it an ultimatum: "Don't you dare not be better than last year!". As a result, everything in her life as well as musically finally takes a turn for the better...

KID BE KID has been touring Europe almost non-stop since last summer, has been recording vocals for Netflix ("Rumsspringa") and, in her remaining free time, has been hanging out in the young Berlin jazz and abstract beats scene.
All these influences can now be heard on her fantastic new album, where KID BE KID seems extremely determined to make the world a little bit better with her art:
"We are here for a reason, Move! Be the better Move!", she challenges herself and us in her song "Move" and of course: KID BE KID is a movement we are only too happy to join in 2023.

She has been a celebrated sensation for years for her live performances anyway, so it's no wonder that she is only too happy to make fun of all the boring online productions, including bloated self-marketing in her lyrics: "You'll have to post 5 times a week, at least 5 videos and one pic, if not your audience won't grow".
But since we have all become little self-marketing monsters with the desire for constant virtual pats on the back, KID BE KID directs this criticism primarily at herself: "Of course: For love everybody seeks, But it makes me sick, to do so, too" it also says in the song ("News Feed").

Well, when this album comes out in June, the ice cream parlors should finally be open again in real life. Walking there, with KID BE KID on the AirPods, we make a few jumps of joy! Because, honestly? This is really so incredibly good.

re:discovery records is happy and proud to honor a beloved and missed amazing electronic producer Jake Stephenson. Sadly, Jake passed away in 2005 but his music lives on with us forever. A prolific producer with hundreds of credits under many names and many styles. On the record insert inside this EP, his brother Silas and fellow producer and friend Brian Trower share some special stories of Jake as a person and a musician. An eccentric hippie of sorts, music historian and audio savant certainly, Jake was truly a unique, talented and special person. While a 5 track EP hardly scratches the surface, we at re:discovery wanted to honor an artist who impacted the label owner and the history of chill out music more than maybe some know. 50% of the proceeds to go the charity Silas picked to honor his late brother.

The horses are out of the barn…and it’s time to trot. Introducing Mortar & Pestle: a union between two of Canada’s dance bandits at large. D. Tiffany & Maara come together to bring you pure delicious magic. These tracks are fresh out the skillet and piping hot on your plates. Dip us in maple syrup and throw us to the lezzies!

What do you get when you stir the pot…or grind the pestle? Wet, bubbling, sticky, throbbing bangers that make you lose your mind. Two’s company, but three’s a party. Sweetheart Hannah Karpinski hops in with her provocative Polish vocals, ready to ignite the freak fire and desire in this world and beyond. Unhinged, raw, and chaotic, burning the whole barn down. Enjoy this 4-track offering of hypnotic indulgence. Mortar & Pestle: Pound or be Pounded? Whatever you fancy, you’re in for a treat.

Long out of print (10 years!), this new edition of Soul Jazz Records' classic Delta Swamp Rock, features a killer all-star line-up of seminal artists who all first blended rock, soul and country together to create a stunning new sound of southern American music in the 1970s.

Featuring the Allman Brothers, Dan Penn, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Johnny Cash, Bobbie Gentry, Big Star, Link Wray, Area Code 615 and loads more!

This album comes as a superb limited-edition gold vinyl double vinyl release complete with extensive original sleevenotes, interviews and exclusive photography, all spread over a 12-page full-size magazine and two bespoke inner sleeves. The works!

Delta Swamp Rock is an interstate southern road-trip through the United States of America where country, rock and soul met at the crossroads - an exploration of the musical and cultural links between the cities of Memphis, Muscle Shoals and Nashville in the 1960s and 70s.

At the start of the 1970s, a new type of music emerged out of the southern states of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. Southern rock, the creation of young blue-collar white Americans, blended rock, soul, country and blues music together to present a new vision of the south – a post-civil rights southern identity complete with a celebration of the regions natural landscape and its way of life.

The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd epitomised the definitive southern rock groups – a mixture of blues-rock and country with a southern rebelliousness and attitude. Unfortunately both The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd were to be struck by tragedy, which would affect the movement’s rise and fall.

The backstory to southern rock is the fact that a number of the people involved in its creation had been central to the production of southern soul music in the 1960s mainly in Memphis, Tennessee, and the small town of Muscle Shoals (population around 10,000) deep within the bible-belt, liquor-free, deeply segregated state of Alabama, creating 100s of R&B hits on an almost daily basis.

Here in Muscle Shoals, with its proximity to Memphis and Nashville, an all-white group of in-house musicians, (famously referred to by Lynyrd Skynyrd in the song ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ as the ‘Swampers’), created countless classic soul records for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Clarence Carter and more during the 1960s.

This album charts the rise and fall of southern rock from its funky swamp roots in southern soul to its phenomenal success in the first-half of the 1970s, including its influence on Nashville’s ‘outlaw’ country and tracing it right back to the arrival of rock and roll in the 1950s - the first meeting of black and white American music at the crossroads.

Manuel Sahagun lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has a long history in the music industry. He is known for his unique sound signature which have landed him releases on great labels such as Freerange, True Romance, Minor Notes, Lazy Days and more. And this summer he tryst with Fortunea Records, bringing along his new 3-tracker ‚A Daily Noise‘.
The record starts off with ‚Dreams‘. Don’t expect with this title a fluffy, peaceful melancholic tale. This track pushes through the door with warm subs, galloping hi-hats, xylophones and an irresistible crunchy bassline that’ll get stuck in your head for hours and hours. An absolute belter!

The EPs title-track goes on in similar manner. This time built around an eerie pad that lurks from behind and comes more and more forward in the course of time. A sign for danger? Not at all. But an optimistic relief will come along when the climax hits the dancefloor.

Finally we have ‚Hostages‘ on B2. A deep house track which has a beautiful sense of gloom and curiosity to it. Manuel gives more drama to the track by adding abstract digital glitch noises and haunting synths. A substantial treat for the ears.

‚A Daily Noise‘ comes out on the 9th of June 2023. The vinyl is limited to 300 copies. There will be no repress!