HIKARIGASASHIKOMU translates as ‘Light Shines In’, a Japanese phrase conveying a sense of hope in a difficult place. Opening new creative possibilities for Foodman, this astonishing album is an introspective yet hyperactive body of work, representing the clarity and light found after a period of self-exploration. While this is a deeply personal record, it also captures the now-universal sound of a brain stretched between 500 open tabs, multitasking into oblivion in a world in which attention deficit is a global media environment, not merely a privatized psychological malaise. Focusing more on the use of voice, the album incorporates Foodman’s own looped vocals, singing elements of Japanese children’s songs and playground rhymes, and his everyday thoughts. Despite its charm and innocence, this soundworld leaps around manically, fractures and dissolves. Foodman’s voice repeats, disassembles, speeds up and down and is bounced around deliriously, as sound elements call and respond around him. Structurally and vocally, influences are drawn from footwork, ghetto house, and baile funk, all of which are maximally abstracted into bursts of spiralling psychedelic effects.
Dich lieb ich, Erde! trauerst du doch mit mir! Und unsre Trauer wandelt wie Kinderschmerz In Schlummer sich und wie die Winde Flattern und flüstern im Saitenspiele
The third stanza of Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem ‘Dem sonnengott’ evokes a narrator who is tortured by Spleen until slumber makes his childlike gloom disappear with music. Although today’s readers might judge these nineteenth century musings of the Imagination as mere stylistic platitudes, they also still speak beyond the grave as universal truths. A mere two hundred years later similar anxieties and hopes are still channeled through various art forms, with changing success and reverberation. Brannten Schnüre are one of those neo-romantic music experimentalists who add to a long tradition of celebrating folk tale and exoticism. Their meticulously crafted loops, hesitant melodies and heavily nostalgic lyricism could easily be translated to what the late philosopher and music critic Mark Fisher called ‘hauntology’, a postmodern longing for a lost future. To describe the beauty of ‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’, however, the term seems somewhat dissatisfying. Romanticism is a hard nut to crack in the Anthropocene, and Brannten Schnüre’s realms of the cerebral are too deeply ingrained in a German tradition of story telling to define them within popular paradigm.
‘Geträumt hab’ ich vom Martinszug’ was recorded in 2014 in Würzburg and functions as the autumn part of the band’s seasonal cycle quadrilogy (the other segments being ‘Aprilnacht’ (SicSic), ‘Sommer im Pfirsichhain’ (Aguirre) and ‘Durch unser zugedecktes Tal’ (Youdonthavetocallitmusic)). It deals with the Saint Martin’s parade, a mostly European tradition to celebrate the medieval spirit of Saint Martin of Tours, friend of children and patron of the poor. Around 11 November children come out on the streets with lanterns and sing ancient songs in exchange for sweets. It’s a period of snugness and expectation, of yearning and dreaming, and therefore a consummate subject for the duo to scrutinize.
To the adult’s ear the dream of the Saint Martin’s parade isn’t all that consolatory. The dark and slow loops of Christian Schoppik rather sound like motifs for a welcome paralysis. Sometimes as a gentle backdrop for vocals by Katie Rich and Schoppik himself, the repetitive structures serve as tricksters that trade innocence for the uncanny. The dream becomes a fever dream which quickly absorbs the listener into a vacuum, an eternal post-panic attack semi-relief. Maybe that’s the amazing paradox of Brannten Schnüre. The space they occupy is never comforting – as if being locked up inside a Carl Grossberg painting – but it’s also a subliminal aural zone you do not want to leave. It’s music as being, as a stream, devoid of climax or catharsis. And because it is flux and being, and exists to be taken, it speaks in art’s purest form. ‘In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art’ Susan Sontag famously concluded her essay ‘Against Interpretation’ with. Well, look no further …
In a cultural landscape trending toward mindless diversion, Your Old Droog has defied the odds, building a thriving career through musical depth and captivating songwriting. In pursuit of hip-hop immortality, the Brooklyn artist engages listeners with inventive metaphors, genuine reflections, and sophisticated rhyme architecture. Now, Your Old Droog is back with his tenth full length album, Bread & Butter. Recalling his humble immigrant family stretching caviar across slices of bread shortly after arriving from Ukraine, YOD has crafted a testament to making the best of any situation. This philosophy runs throughout Bread & Butter, as Droog chronicles the turbulence of rap success, ruminates on youthful memories, and dismisses unworthy challengers with clever precision. The project’s rich sonic texture is shaped by beats from Flying Lotus, Conductor Williams, Ohbliv, and more, while hip-hop luminaries Evidence, Oddisee, and Masta Ace make memorable appearances, along with South African star A-Reece and acclaimed singer Georgia Anne Muldrow. Grounded in resilience, perspective, and self-determination, Bread & Butter is an inspired statement from a truly distinct talent. Transforming personal history into universal truth, the album reaffirms Your Old Droog's place among the most thoughtful and compelling voices in modern hip hop.
A soaring new chapter unfolds from the forthcoming Elements Of Life album with the release of “Soar,” an uplifting and deeply moving collaboration featuring the incomparable Lisa Fischer. Written by Josh Milan and Louie Vega and produced by 2SoulFusion—Louie Vega and Josh Milan—the song is a powerful testament to resilience, transformation, and the limitless possibilities that emerge when spirit, soul, and music unite.
Built upon a rich tapestry of live musicianship, “Soar” embodies the signature sound that has made Elements Of Life a beloved musical movement around the world. At its core is Lisa Fischer’s breathtaking vocal performance, delivering a message of hope, elevation, and self-discovery with the emotional depth and conviction that have made her one of the most revered voices of her generation.
At the heart of “Soar” is a message of encouragement, resilience, and unconditional support. Through its uplifting lyrics and soaring melody, the song speaks to anyone navigating life's uncertainties while striving to become their fullest self. Lines such as “Clouds hang low, but the sky's still wide” acknowledge the challenges we all face, while the recurring refrain, “I just want you to soar,” serves as a powerful affirmation of faith in another person's journey. Equally moving is the song's central sentiment, “The more you do for you, the better I feel,” expressing a selfless form of love that celebrates growth, healing, and personal fulfillment. Universal in its message yet deeply personal in its spirit, “Soar” reminds us that one of the greatest gifts we can offer is the encouragement to rise, evolve, and embrace our own potential.
The production blends organic instrumentation with sophisticated arrangements, creating a timeless soundscape that feels both expansive and intimate. Multi Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride anchors the composition with his masterful upright bass work, while Josh Milan's lush keyboards, piano, organ, clavinet, and atmospheric textures provide the song's harmonic foundation. Live drums from Tony Cintron and vibrant percussion from Luisito Quintero infuse the track with an irresistible pulse, while Ivan Renta's expressive soprano saxophone solo adds another layer of emotional richness, and a tasteful guitar groove by Sherrod Barnes.
The song's message is elevated further through a powerful vocal ensemble featuring background vocals from Lisa Fischer, Dawn Tallman, Ramona Dunlap, and Lea Lorien, creating moments of communion and uplift that echo the song's central theme of hope, growth, and believing in the possibilities that lie ahead. For Louie Vega and Josh Milan, “Soar” represents another defining moment in their longstanding creative partnership. Through Elements Of Life, they have continually blurred the boundaries between house music, soul, jazz, Latin rhythms, gospel, and global influences, creating music that resonates as deeply on the dance floor as it does in the heart. “Soar” continues that tradition, offering listeners a song that inspires movement, reflection, and renewal.
Recorded at Honeycomb Studios in Pennsylvania and Manhattan Center Studios in New York City, and mixed at Daddy's Workshop in New Jersey, the production benefits from the expertise of recording engineers Yas Inoue & Josh Milan, with final mastering by the Maestro of mastering Herb “Pump” Powers for PM Mastering.
As anticipation builds for the forthcoming Elements Of Life album slated for February 2027, “Soar” offers a powerful glimpse into the project's next evolution— a celebration of musical excellence, spiritual connection, and the enduring power of song to lift us higher.
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Amir ElSaffar has achieved international renown for his work combining the Maqam of Iraq and the Arab world with jazz. With Ashwaaq, he displays a new facet of his work with a composition for string quartet, santur, and vocalist Khaled AlHafez, a master of the musical tradition of Aleppo, Syria. This dialogue between AlHafez’s warm voice and interpretive style that blends rigor and grace and string quartet explores the microtonal resonances of the maqam and the possibilities of a polyphony rooted in Arab traditions.
The texts come from Turjuman Al-Ashwaaq (Translator of Desires) a collection of mystical and ecstatic love poems written by the revered 12th century Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabi, and explore the universal power of love, the inner quest, and the search for unity in the diversity of the world.
Ashwaaq is a captivating moment of celebration, where poetic and musical heritages intersect beyond cultural and disciplinary boundaries.
The intriguingly named Pigeon Steve joins Especial for an EP of trippy, psychedelic electronic dance music that goes far beyond its origin – a thirst for all forms of movement – a struggle filled with all possibility.
Since its inception, the label has sought to take inspiration from a wide range of music genres – new wave and new beat to disco-not-disco, post punk and proto-house – never looking for a trend. This belief system expressed is human; intimate and authentic, dissolving and uniting around shared truths and universal values.
Music as ecstasy, the flux of rhythm and sound, to find and be yourself; no guilt, no competition, no games. It is phenomenon – magick – that short circuits through human (emotional) response.
Relocated to South-East London, Glaswegian DJ and producer, Pigeon Steve aka Adam Low, showcases his talent. A dubby, trippy approach to DJing mirrored in his productions; the recent, well-received EPs on the esteemed Offen Music and Weirdos Inc lead here – an EP of sample heavy cuts, wrapped in echo-laden grooves, the beats dripping in psychedelic, new beat and steppers electronica.
Dialect locates us, through its cadences, inflections and intonations we journey through life. Language allows us to escape the lion in a cage. The moment we forget ourselves, we can reach joy and clarity. To live is to exist, the struggle against controls, fighting for an individual destiny.
not many artists are able to develop a distinct sonic identity releasing just 5 solo records. through his selective output in the course of 5 years on nina kraviz's Trip, vladimir dubyshkin gained not only an army of loyal fans analysing his live sets for new music, he also inspired many who followed and continued to develop his unique sound.
his tracks, many of which became underground hits like "lady of the night", "ticket to childhood" or "russian porn magazine", always stand out and are immediately recognisable. be it weird syncopated euro dance reminiscent bangers with crazy vocal snaps or haunting hypnotic beauties on a techno side. his music always has that genius dubyshkin groove, a pinch of irony and the ability to make just anyone dance, from a small underground club to a huge festival dancefloor. this universal appeal ensures his tracks resonate across sound systems of all sizes, embedding themselves in the listener's consciousness long after the music stops.
on "ivanovo night luxe", his first double ep on Trip, vladimir sounds as amazingly unhinged as ever embarking on a surreal journey, from the eerie echoes of a haunted funfair ride to the core of a peak-time set.
"ivanovo night luxe" continues to captivate and intrigue, solidifying dubyshkin's standing as an artist of unwavering integrity and reminding us that sometimes 'less is more'.
“What do you mean? Not everyone sees music in colors?” Paula whispered.
She froze. Tears filled her eyes and trickled down her cheeks as she realized the rainbow symphonies she had always thought were universal had belonged to her alone.
The song was blue, purple, and yellow.
Across time and beyond genre, this is an audio component test record that continues to earn universal acclaim. Drop the needle and unleash the fateful grooves etched into its tracks.
The rediscovery of this album—originally produced as a test record for high-end audio systems—stands as one of the great rewards brought about by the rare groove movement. The project was led by the visionary Katsunori Ishida, who would later become renowned as a producer, composer, and arranger for numerous television and film soundtracks. Gathering an exceptional line up of musicians including Shuichi “Ponta” Murakami, Akira Okazawa, Mikio Masuda, Kenji Ohmura, and Tantan, Ishida crafted a sound that is both tight and sophisticated.
Tracks such as “Cool Head” and “Son Of Pin Head” showcase grooves that are at times as powerful as a hammer blow, and at others as thrilling as a rushing torrent. The musicianship, precision, and dynamic energy throughout are simply outstanding. Today, thanks to its remarkable level of craftsmanship and commanding presence, this album is recognized as a true masterpiece, admired and celebrated far beyond the boundaries of any single genre.
Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, to a mother of Indian and Congolese heritage and a father of Slovak and Belgian descent, Siân grew up between Belgium and New York before finally letting her travelling wings come to rest in Paris. What could have become a story of fragmentation instead became a source of creative strength. Singer, songwriter, composer and photographer, Siân has always turned borders into bridges.
She first honed her voice in the jazz clubs of Paris and New York, performing alongside renowned artists such as Richard Bona, Jon Batiste and Mike Stern. Yet her path has always extended far beyond the stage. For nearly a decade, she led cultural initiatives with women and children living through exile, violence and poverty across India and Southern Africa, weaving together music, photography and artistic transmission as tools for dialogue and empowerment.
The true turning point came when she discovered the kamele ngoni, the West African harp whose ethereal sound seemed to echo something long buried within her. The instrument became her musical alter ego—the invisible thread binding together her many inheritances. Guided by Malian master Abou Diarra, Siân embarked on an inward journey towards her African roots. Yet this return to her origins was never an act of retreat into identity. Instead, it gave rise to a body of work that remains profoundly open to the world, where Africa enters into conversation with jazz, folk, soul, alternative pop and the rhythms of Brazil.
Along the way, she has crossed paths with remarkable artists including Rogê, Chico César, Fatoumata Diawara, Lokua Kanza, Flavia Coelho, Thomas de Pourquery and Philippe Baden Powell. On stage and in the studio, Siân continues to shape a musical universe that refuses labels. Like artists such as Björk, Joni Mitchell and Laura Mvula, she moves forward as an explorer, guided not by genre but by intuition.
Today, Siân stands as one of the most distinctive voices of the new Francophone music scene an artist capable of uniting musical sophistication with emotional power, introspection with collective celebration, depth with an irresistible urge to dance.
Animal — The New Album
With Animal, produced by British musician Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist, Africa Express...), Siân delivers her most intimate and assured work to date. Every song feels like a shedding of skin, a quiet metamorphosis, exploring self-acceptance, femininity, the freedom to be oneself, cultural heritage, and the reconciliation of one's own imperfections.
From Stereotype, a fearless manifesto against the expectations imposed on women, to the title track Animal, an anthem celebrating the beauty of imperfection ("I've turned my cracks into a crown"), the album gives a voice to everyone who refuses to fit into predefined boxes. In Terre, je danse sur toi, featuring Fatoumata Diawara, Siân pays tribute to Mother Earth and to the roots that unite us all. Oh! Congo, recorded with Lokua Kanza, reconciles her cultural heritage with an ancestral homeland that feels both distant and intimately familiar. En équilibre, with Flavia Coelho, embraces the exhilaration of risk and the courage to leap, while Put a Mask and I Could Kill confront hidden wounds and the invisible violences that quietly shape who we become.
In ADé, Siân addresses Adenomyosis as though speaking to an unwanted housemate. "My body is your battlefield," she sings, giving voice to an intimate shadow lodged deep within herself. This bittersweet lullaby transforms a pain so often left unspoken into an act of profound tenderness towards oneself.
The album also holds a rare treasure: Reste tel(le), an unpublished text by Pierre Barouh, the founder of the Saravah label. Never before set to music or performed, this elusive poem of free love finds new life through Siân's voice, becoming a dialogue across time between two artists united by the same devotion to freedom, métissage and openness to the world.
Driven by Tom Excell's vibrant Afro-pop pulse, the spiritual breath of the kamele ngoni, organic arrangements and deeply personal songwriting, Animal is an album of liberation. It invites us to lay down our masks, embrace our contradictions and reconnect with the free, instinctive and powerful animal that lies dormant within us all. More than a collection of songs, it is a radiant manifesto for the richness of identity, the passing on of memory, and reconciliation with oneself.
Animal is not simply the title of an album, it is a declaration of independence. An invitation to live fully, unapologetically, and without instructions.
A citizen of the world, travelling freely between continents, languages and memories, Siân Pottok delivers with Animal her most personal, and perhaps her most universal work to date: an album that reminds us that our fragilities, our roots and our differences are, beyond doubt, our greatest strength.
— Christophe Tison
Vocalisations like ‘Hooo’ and ‘Huhuh’ form the wordplay on Use Knife’s upcoming release as these sounds are meant to summon strength, overcome fear and unleash unwavering sonic assault. Set for November 20, the EP ‘Hooo Huhuh’, on the band’s own Hooo Huhuh record label, is Use Knife’s first release since its acclaimed 2nd album ‘État Coupable’ on VIERNULVIER records in 2025.
The journey of Use Knife began in 2020 during a music residency in art centre VIERNULVIER (Gent, be) when Iraqi percussionist Saif Al-Qaissy, Stef Heeren and Kwinten Mordijck, as well as the multidisciplinary artist and scenographer Youniss Ahamad, came together to form Use Knife, later joined by Jerusalem In My Heart’s Radwan Ghazi Moumneh as mixer and guest musician. The project quickly gained the attention of prestigious platforms like The Wire, The Quietus, BBC6's New Music Fix, KEXP, NTS, Inverted Audio, METAL Magazine, Ma3azef, A Closer Listen, and others documenting the universal resonance of Use Knife's message.
Since releasing its debut album ‘The Shedding of Skin’ on VIERNULVIER, a remix EP ‘Peace Carnival’ on Morphine records, and follow-up album ‘État Coupable’, Use Knife has played its visceral audio-visual liveshows at many prestigious festivals like Le Guess Who?, Tremor, Colours of Ostrava, Les Trans Musicales, Rewire, Sonic City, Resonator, Roadburn, Donau, Fusion, Rage Sacrée, Micro, Clandestino, E-fest and many more.
Praised by The Quietus and The Wire for its vibrant and wholehearted performances, Use Knife has been described as an electrifying live act that fully engages its members and audience alike. Their sound, dubbed 'industrial Iraqi EBM', is celebrated for its ability to immerse the audience in a hypnotic state, erasing global borders through real-life connection and dazzling visuals on gigantic projection fabrics, resulting in exhilarating sensory experiences.
Further extending Use Knife's influence, Radio alHara in Palestine has hosted Use Knife's 'Feeding the Gentry' show since 2023, where the band aims to build a community by opening their platform to other guests like Saint Abdullah & Eomac, Monstera Occulta, Cinna Peyghami, Bader, Anthony Sahyoun, ... thus broadening the band's international reach and impact.
Earlier this year, Use Knife collaborated with Rabih Beaini from Morphine Records to re-remix the band’s track ‘To Feed the Gentry’ (feat. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh), blending in the beautiful track ‘Kunna’ by Rully Shabara. The resulting track was included in Beacon Sound’s compilation ‘Gaza is the Moral Compass’ to help support Palestinian-led mutual-aid groups on the ground in Gaza.
The forthcoming 'Hooo Huhuh' EP, releasing on November 20, advocates for the resilience and determination of the people, their collectives and communities, with energetic vocalizations, distorted percussion and throbbing saxophones. The title track, originally mixed by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and mastered by Heba Kadry during the ‘État Coupable’ sessions, has been surgically reworked into the clubby rant that is ‘Ho Hahaa Huh’ and the drone-like mantra ‘Nobody Can Separate Us محد يكدر يفركنا’.
The limited vinyl edition comes with a 3-color risoprinted sleeve designed by Lebanese artist and graphic designer Farah Fayyad.
Following the release of Electric Rescue's new album, "Different Horizons", Laurent Garnier's COD3 QR returns to its signature various artists format for a new vinyl-only release featuring six new tracks, by WheelUP, Rapson & Kathy Brown, Mirko Loko, Costello, Jules Wells, Rod20 and James Warburton.
WheelUP is West London producer and DJ Danny Wheeler who's released music on CoOperation Records, Jamz Supernova’s Future Bounce and his long-time home Tru Thoughts. After appearing on COD3 QR in July with a track alongside Blu James, he now teams up with regular collaborator, music producer, DJ and keys player, Rapson, alongside acclaimed US vocalist Kathy Brown for the intensely soulful "Music".
Mirko Loko is a prominent Swiss talent, known for his work as resident DJ at Couleur 3 and Loft Electroclub, artistic director of Polaris festival and releases on Planet E, Border Community, Cocoon and Visionquest returns once again to COD3 QR with the Detroit-influenced "Silent Failure".
French electronic DJ and music producer, Costello returns for his sixth track on COD3 QR, having also released on Solomun's Diynamic, Chloé's Lumière Noire and most recently Maceo Plex's Ellum Audio. His bright Techno groover, "Cocotte" closes the A-side.
Another COD3 QR regular, Jules Wells opens the B-side. Influenced by the Motor City, Jules has released on labels like Electrofunk, Submerge, Twilight 76, KMS, Planet E, Brique Rouge and Logos. Here, he takes the EP into atmospheric territory with "The Rooster".
Benny Rodrigues has previously delivered tracks for COD3 QR as The Lost Souldancer. But now he reprises his Rod20 alias with "Stars Of Bethlehem". Rod20 is the dedicated hardware-only techno project he began in 2020, which prior to its standalone vinyl imprint, launched with a self-released compilation, followed by a dual-part album on Jeff Mills' legendary Axis Records.
To close the EP is the experimental ambient work of "You Are Carried On Waves Of Endless Love" by James Warburton. James is a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work has appeared on TV and film including Netflix’s "Squid Games", HBO’s "Succession", the title music for Channel 4’s "Manhunt" and the original score for Endemolshine/Banijay’s hit TV series "Murdertown" and NBC Universal’s "Faceless" podcast.
Truths and secrets often reveal themselves at night, under the freedom of shadowy darkness, away from prying eyes. In creating Given to the Night, sisters Valentine and Clementine Nixon have crafted a world that drifts through the in-between: between dream and reality, between day and night and the undefined, and ultimately a world that embraces the discomfort of being untethered. A process that follows simplicity and intuition rather than pre-determined narratives. “We recorded songs as they appeared, which sometimes felt like catching light. Before we realised it we had a record”, the duo explain.
While making the record Valentine and Clementine gently pushed away from the world- deleted social media, retreated into the trees of their native New Zealand - and only invited a couple of people in during the recording process. From that space, the album came together in an eerily easeful way.
There is a dream-like drift and sonic timelessness to the the record, as reflected in its nocturnal title, which can be read in two ways:
“Being taken by, or being inclined towards nighttime, preferring its blurry cloak of shadows to the harsh light of day; or giving oneself up to night, in sacrifice, letting go of fear and melting into the darkness.”
Written during a time of personal transition there was “a sense of finding the light in the shadow” they add. Guitar lines float, synth lines entwine, tapes hiss and vocals stream creating a kaleidoscopic montage of transient memories and emotions. A spectrum of feelings arise - isolation and joy, insomnia and manic highs, confusion and fleeting clarity, grief and healings. In the record, these feelings all merge and fade into one another in a nonlinear manner, as life tends to do; creating something deeply human that simultaneously gestures towards the transcendental.
Aura Safari are taking it back to the source with new album Spaced Out Disco on Hell Yeah. The eight-track record is inspired by the iconic sound, feel and studio techniques of the original 1970s disco and was played entirely live with real instruments.
Aura Safari are Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni and Nicholas Iammatteo, and they have been releasing EPs, LPs and remixes on this label since 2020. They have long been entrenched in the local scene of Perugia and are live specialists with a unique chemistry that allows them to translate funk, jazz, soul, disco and house into their own timeless and universal musical language.
Integral to the album is the live performance aspect. All the band members hooked up in the studio and played together, often laying down tunes in one take and then adding some post-production for a modern edge. Disco, dub, jazz-funk and instrumental grooves define the sounds while the creative use of classic delay, echo, spacey FX and dubbed out arrangements lead the record the same Jamaican character that inspired original dub-disco pioneers like Arthur Russell, the Compass Point Studio and labels like Prelude and West End.
'Starlove' opens with low-slung grooves and squelchy bass that twist you inside out before 'Spaced Out' shimmers with astral melodies and synths that rise like a rocket disappearing into the night sky. Funky claps and flashes of Dexter Wansel-inspired soul complete the picture, while 'Santa Barbara' eases the pace with a brain-bending dub workout full of weighty low-end and warm, sun-kissed chords. 'Cosmic Affair' lives up to its name, gliding through the galaxy on uplifting guitars and slinky drums, all wrapped in irresistible retro-futurist magic and lit by the moon.
'Disco Mirage' turns inward with simmering bass, dusty open hi-hats and hazy synth trails drifting through effervescent jazz keys that rise like champagne bubbles. 'Magik Space Dust' stretches towards the stars with soaring leads and knotted bass locked into an effortless groove.
Spaced Out Disco does exactly what it promises and plots a richly imagined journey that never stops looking towards the stars while keeping its feet firmly on the dancefloor.
Bill Withers was a modest, gentle, and yet towering musical figure responsible for some of the most important, universally known soul hits ever written. It’s no wonder that “Just the Two of Us” and “Ain’t No Sunshine” won him two Grammy awards and undoubtedly played a huge role in getting him inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Naked & Warm is Withers' fifth studio album, released in 1976. A year earlier, the Sussex label—home to Bill's first four landmark albums—ceased operations. Withers then signed with the mighty Columbia Records, which would remain his home until the end of his recording career. While Naked & Warm retains Bill's unique, earthy approach to soul that made him Sussex's biggest star, it's clear that musically too, he was in transition; the first half of the album is full of synthesized jazz-funk vamps, while "City Of The Angels" is an almost 11 minutes long cosmic funk excursion combining biting Rhodes chords with swirling synth pads and Dorothy Ashby's spiritual harp work. All in all, Naked & Warm might be one of Bill's most underrated records, simply because his previous work for Sussex was just that impactful.
Naked & Warm is available as a 50th anniversary edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on blue vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet featuring lyrics and new liner notes written by Marcia Withers.
Multi - instrumentalist with rare elegance, FKJ unveils its first album French Kiwi Juice, and invites us in his world.
Tribute to his idols, affirmation of musical maturity, FKJ goes from Jazz to Soul, with his electronic touch that makes his paw incomparable.
A warm, reassuring and sensual universe.
His children’s questions (Why are there boundaries), his joys (Blessed & Joy), his journeys (Go Back Home & Canggu), the Franco-New Zealander delivers himself in an intimate and profound album, with music as an universal language.
An opus to advise to enthusiasts, travelers, dreamers...
*Kissa* is an immersive ambient electronic project crafted by Mathias, drawing inspiration from the serene and evocative atmosphere of Japanese jazz kissa cafés. These intimate spaces, known for their deep reverence for music, serve as the foundation for *Kissa’s* sonic landscape—where warm nostalgia and futuristic minimalism intertwine. Consisting of eight expansive compositions, *Kissa* abandons traditional rhythmic structures, allowing sound itself to guide the listener. Ethereal textures, evolving drones, and subtle harmonic shifts create a meditative experience that blurs the lines between memory and imagination. Each track is a portal—an invitation to lose oneself in sound, to explore the spaces between notes, and to embrace stillness as a form of movement. With *Kissa*, Mathias redefines the boundaries of electronic music, crafting an experience that is at once deeply personal and universally resonant. Whether serving as a soundtrack for introspection or a companion for late-night contemplation, *Kissa* embodies the essence of timeless listening—where music is felt, not just heard.
Younger Brother Live, with Shpongle and The Orb at Troxy, London 9th May
Twisted Records is thrilled to announce the release of the long-awaited fourth album by Younger Brother: Mutually Assured Distraction.
The first full-length release by the fabled electronica project in a decade features nine sumptuous tracks that each embody the project’s intoxicating fusion of profoundly human sonorities and etheric electronic soundscapes.
The title is a subversive reframing of the Cold War doctrine “Mutually Assured Destruction,” pointing to a world currently frozen not by the geopolitical threat of a Nuclear Winter but by a Digital Summer of mindless overstimulation. Mutually Assured Distraction is a sonic salve for the pervasive numbness induced by an emotionally disconnective artificiality that seeks to pacify with counterfeit happiness; the album offers an antidote to mundane superficiality with nine musical masterpieces that convey the depth of human experience and authentic creative expression.
The progression of track titles symbolically represents the arc of this soulful journey through an evocative auditory landscape of moods, harmonies, and textures, progressing from the haunting opening “I Belong to Nowhere” to the penultimate “Home In This World” before arriving at the concluding “Endless Drift.”
The synthesised musical mastery of renegade musicians Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan is complemented by the contributions of some supremely skilful musicians, with beguiling vocals by MiraBelle Rose and Jay Marsh and the rich cello of Rena Jones. With poignant lyrics that speak to the universal human condition in a world where voices are amplified yet so many feel unheard,
Mutually Assured Distraction provides, through its fusion of electronic and real-world music- making, an example of how technology can pair harmoniously with our humanity - an energetic homecoming as the music draws us away from the unconscious scroll into an open field where we can embody our essential nature.
The album stands as both a reflection of our times and a timeless reminder that beneath the noise, a deeper presence continually exists, waiting to be felt, heard, and expressed.
Welcome back, hope you've had a good trip so far. While we're digging global tunes, let's not forget what's cooking in our own yards. No less then a new dub don has risen from the wastelands of bratwursts, nutcrackers and garden gnomes: Toni Wobble is looking back on over 20 years of roots in punk, free parties and political movements. From anti-nuclear activism to the Gaggeldub performances, Toni's dug deep into the Dub universe: from Dubstation to Rootsbase to Subardo. By 2012, Toni became a respected operator of Leipzig's Plug Dub Soundsystem. Soon after, he didn't hesitate to create the very own solarpowered Sunplugged sound. Toni's live dub sets hit with all depth and energy of low bass sound culture, shaking the foundations with refreshing freakuency adventures. After a guest spot on our 18th release, helping RUZ dubbing out a deep b-side, it's time to unleash the full Wobble fury on 45Seven!
Out In Da Streetz was born in a lockdown, when urban life got stall, opening space for experiments. Inspired by Juke and Footwork at nights such as Bassmæssage, Toni ventured into Jungle production - the genre him love from way back. The result is an opus of subs, breaks, skanks and dubs. Expect 30 Hertz bass, wobbly midranges, halftime snares and Jungle edits sharp like razor. Don't miss the Ini cameo and hand-made skank work straight from the lab. The result ain't just a track, it's a state of inner and outer emergency, a deep dive into groove, texture and creative chaos.
Irie Cruise rolls up like a cloud of green smoke riding through the streets with a sick ride in a surreal vibe. Rootsy rhythms meet subtle Jungle twists inbetween the twinkles of Dub and the flickers of breakbeats. When the hook drops, the impulse fires up, the lowrider bounces through the turns of skanks, throwing dub delays and gliding deep into the night. By the final tone, you didn't just take a ride, you're actually a bit closer to the sun.
Toni Wobble is giving the full hundred. Dub ain't just a genre, it's a portal to infinite spaces of sound. It's a culture, a process and an attitude, all about echo, bass and space. But it's also about experimentation, consciousness and transformation. Each delay loop is reshaping reality, tearing it down and rebuilding it from the ground up. D.U.B. equals to deep universal beats, the universal frequency... Deep, wide and open. Tune in and dub out!
On his latest offering, &ME is delivering quite the achievement. Co-produced with Black Coffee, the a-side „The Rapture Pt. III” obviously continues the narrative of its predecessors. But unlike in the motion picture business, where sequels tend to be watered down rehashes of the original, those Raptures are just getting better and better.
It’s all here, the dense and gentle build-up, the tender piano lines, the just overwhelming emotion. Safe bet, we’re dealing with a future classic here.
On the flipside you’ll find L.I.F.E, yet another score for the emotive peak of a clubnight. And that tune is brimming with life for sure, be it pulsating within its rhythmic architecture or it’s inhaling and exhaling dynamics. It salutes the children of planet earth and that message
lucidly comes through as it’s written in &ME’s distinctive, but utmost universal sonic language.
The Armenian electronic underground has been quietly brewing something visceral. After years navigating the labyrinth of electronic production from his Yerevan studio, Dave N.A. strips away the excess to reveal six raw, uncompromising cuts that pulse with quiet intensity. Not the manufactured urgency of algorithmic dance floors, but the honest tension of someone who’s spent years refining his craft while the scene evolved around him.
Following his debut ‘Altura EP’ on no•id, where collaborations with freq444 showcased his ability to merge Armenia’s electronic scene with Brussels’ underground pulse, Dave N.A. returns with ‘Echoes EP’ after the label’s necessary creative hibernation. This isn’t about comebacks or grand statements. It’s about persistence. About the kind of restless creativity that emerges when you’ve been grinding in relative obscurity, releasing on labels like Uppers and Downers, Typeless, and Elicit Records, slowly building a sound that refuses easy categorization.
The EP opens hard and unexpectedly with “BLINK,” delivering a throat-cutting and all-consuming bassline. “ECHOES” builds around atmospheric sounds and percussive elements, driven by a straightforward yet effective drum sequence. “SHADO” ventures into darker and faster territory with sparse drum programming and heavy sub-bass emphasis. Both “RUSH” and “ORB” unleash torrents of unrelenting breaks, each percussive hit landing with surgical precision as sub-bass currents pull everything forward into hypnotic repetition. “HUNTER” closes the journey, stalking into frame with predatory low-end and razor-sharp hi-hats slicing through dense atmospheric fog.
The no•id ship continues to chart its course through Brussels’ underground, prioritizing artists who value craft over hype. With Dave N.A.’s return, the label reinforces its commitment to electronic music that functions on multiple levels: cerebral yet visceral, local yet universal.
In the late 1980s, Klaus Wiese (Popol Vuh) deepened his connection with Tibetan culture. The result is a series of works solely dedicated to the universal purity of the Singing Bowls. Uranus, perhaps the most rigorous of these, is an intense meditation on the trans-personal sphere of the VI chackra. The music becomes like a single harmonic chant, the reflection of a constant flow of divine light, which transforms the psyche and dilates the secret passages of the heart. In the galaxy of pure sound, the accumulated overtones offer the intrepid listener the access to a prismatic, fluoriscence-rich consciousness. The ego thus becomes the sonorous composer of itself, of the vital circle flooded with beneficial acoustic vibrations. In this sense, Uranus, originally published on tape (Aquamarin Verlag/1988), also marks a parallel with the same research by Henry Wolff & Nancy Hennings or Nada Himalaya's Deuter.
The moment the instantly recognizable intertwined guitar passage on the title track to the Eagles' Hotel California begins, the record's genius becomes obvious all over again. Ranked the 118th Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, certified by RIAA as the third best-selling LP in history, and considered the foundation on which the Golden State's mid-‘70s music scene was built, the 1976 landmark is a music staple immune to shifts in trends, eras, and styles. Fearlessly addressing the chaos and consequences of American life, its songs remain strikingly prescient and gain creedence with each passing day.
Mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and limited to 17,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP vinyl box set ensures you will want to permanently check into and never leave this particular Hotel California. Up to the herculean task of standing head and shoulders above all prior reissues, this collectible edition plays with extreme clarity, organic richness, tube-like warmth, massive dynamics, and microscopic levels of detail. You'll be able to practically smell the colitas and feel the breeze in your hair. Songs come across with an epic sweep and feature immersive, front-to-back soundstages that allow the music unprecedented air, roominess, and separation. As for the noise floor? It's basically as invisible as the spirits that waft in the corridors of the unforgettable title song.
Aesthetically, the premium packaging and presentation of the UD1S Hotel California pressing befit its esteemed status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features gorgeous foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the renowned cover art to the meticulous finishes.
Indeed, the opportunity to zero in on all the particulars of the 26-million-selling Eagles record dubbed "a legitimate rock masterpiece" by vaunted Los Angeles Times scribe Robert Hilburn has never been better. A global phenomenon that marked the band debut of guitarist-singer Joe Walsh, Hotel California continues to resonate and connect with listeners of all generations taken by its narrative depth, stark directness, picturesque melodies, daring majesty, and ardent emotionalism. Adorned with a breathtaking exterior photograph of the Beverly Hills Hotel that serves as the simultaneously haunting and alluring cover art, and rounded out by a rear-cover shot of the Lido Hotel lobby that reinforces a notion that teeters between permanence and transience, Hotel California is brilliantly tied to a specific place that functions as a universally understood metaphor for the American Dream.
Confronting the darker undercurrents and oft-ignored constructs attached to that romantic notion, the record's songs revolve around a host of shared themes: excess, mobility, stability, illusion, fame, destruction, and idealism included. Notably, Hotel California appeared at a crucial junction in American history: During the country's bicentennial and amid escalating controversies related to the Vietnam War, energy crisis, and governmental corruption. That the Eagles manage to channel such cultural, social, and economical matters into a cohesive, stately, big-picture statement is alone a stupendous feat. That the album's reach, boldness, vitality, accessibility, and understated intensity have never waned make it a marvel.
Reflecting on Hotel California 40 years after its original release, and indirectly explaining its enduring appeal and increasing relevance, singer-songwriter Don Henley confirmed the record pertains to the "loss of innocence, the cost of naiveté...the difficulties of balancing loving relationships and work, trying to square the conflicting relationship between business and art; the corruption in politics, the fading away of the Sixties dream of ‘peace, love and understanding.'"
It can be argued that Henley and company squarely hit on and drove home those ideas in the surreal title track, chart-topping "Life in the Fast Lane," and grand "The Last Resort" alone. But that would miss the forest for the trees. Experienced as an unbroken whole, complete with the pristinely shot imagery and physical grooves, Hotel California unfolds like a geography-conscious saga by James Michener and plays like colour-saturated movie shot on 70mm film by Martin Scorsese. It's about our collective and individual decisions – and the shape of our past, present, and future. And, just like that conjured by our imaginations, Hotel California continues to take on a life of its own.
More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.
MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.
The Love symbol is universal for LOVE. Přistěhovalci is the Czech word for Immigrants.
The "Love Immigrants" EP was created partially from field recordings in 2025. It has 3 Grooving Deep House tracks with messages of Solidarity, Love and Long Life.
Time in the context of the cosmos is not merely a measure of change but a profound mystery permeating all aspects of existence. It is both present and elusive, like the light of a distant star we see but can no longer touch at its source. The cosmos poses a fundamental question: what is time? Is it the stream in which we exist or an illusion crafted by our perception? The grandeur of the Universe reveals the extraordinary malleability of time. Gravity can slow its flow, while velocity can stretch it to infinity. At the event horizon of a black hole, time can nearly halt, transforming a moment into an eternity. This teaches us that time is not a universal truth but a phenomenon dependent on conditions and perspective
Younger Brother Live, with Shpongle and The Orb at Troxy, London 9th May
Twisted Records is thrilled to announce the release of the long-awaited fourth album by Younger Brother: Mutually Assured Distraction.
The first full-length release by the fabled electronica project in a decade features nine sumptuous tracks that each embody the project’s intoxicating fusion of profoundly human sonorities and etheric electronic soundscapes.
The title is a subversive reframing of the Cold War doctrine “Mutually Assured Destruction,” pointing to a world currently frozen not by the geopolitical threat of a Nuclear Winter but by a Digital Summer of mindless overstimulation. Mutually Assured Distraction is a sonic salve for the pervasive numbness induced by an emotionally disconnective artificiality that seeks to pacify with counterfeit happiness; the album offers an antidote to mundane superficiality with nine musical masterpieces that convey the depth of human experience and authentic creative expression.
The progression of track titles symbolically represents the arc of this soulful journey through an evocative auditory landscape of moods, harmonies, and textures, progressing from the haunting opening “I Belong to Nowhere” to the penultimate “Home In This World” before arriving at the concluding “Endless Drift.”
The synthesised musical mastery of renegade musicians Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan is complemented by the contributions of some supremely skilful musicians, with beguiling vocals by MiraBelle Rose and Jay Marsh and the rich cello of Rena Jones. With poignant lyrics that speak to the universal human condition in a world where voices are amplified yet so many feel unheard,
Mutually Assured Distraction provides, through its fusion of electronic and real-world music- making, an example of how technology can pair harmoniously with our humanity - an energetic homecoming as the music draws us away from the unconscious scroll into an open field where we can embody our essential nature.
The album stands as both a reflection of our times and a timeless reminder that beneath the noise, a deeper presence continually exists, waiting to be felt, heard, and expressed.
"Potency rolls into double figures with a new release from Malik Kassim, aka Retromigration. Following albums and singles on labels including Love On The Rocks, Rhythm Section and Wolf Music, the tenth release on Cromby's rapidly-evolving, floor-focused imprint locks into the sound of one of house music's most consistent and consistently exciting producers, seamlessly bridging the established Potency energy with a luxurious vision of the genre. 'Love Rock' summons an instant block party energy, showcasing the expert weight of Kassim's basslines, as well as hinting at the fusion of hip-hop and jazz that bubbles through the textures of the German-Nigerian producer's studio work. Meanwhile, 'I Do Dance' stays true to the promise of its title, delivering blissful sun showers of synths amid emotional pads and hints of the classic Korg M1 organ sound, a universal signal to party. Ushering in the flip, the more tightly-wound percussion of 'Neighbourhood' maintains Kassim's driving groove, while dancehall samples and dub influences expand the established Retromigration sound into new spaces. Finally, 'Go 2 Nowhere' completes the dance, masterfully blending pillowy breakdowns and wistful keys with the EP's most urgent groove. Rich in detail while keeping the floor in constant motion, 'I Do Dance' reinforces Malik Kassim's timeless touch for unmistakably modern house music."
As Selofan's fifth studio album, Vitrioli, from 2018, is a testament to the tragedy of life. The Greek duo, Joanna Pavlidou and Dimitris Pavlidis, who recorded the album in the Fabrika Records home studio, continue on in their poetic, but heartbreaking, music set to a dance beat. Between languages (Greek, English, German, and Spanish), Selofan feels on the brink of mania with Vitroli. However, the madness is controlled, the songs are restrained hysterics that culminate into the alchemic perfection of the band's specific moody sound.
From synthpop to synthpunk elements, the twelve-track LP leads listeners through dark corridors and into haunted, empty beds. There is a resignation to a doomed destiny with Vitroli—a trait that connects all Selofan releases—as a bitter pain and loneliness that cannot, or will not, subside.
The album begins with "Give Me a Reason" whose lyrics feel universal in this day and age: Give me a reason, to get out of bed / I could just watch the ceiling instead. Its heartbreak is profound as bells and voice pads echo under Joanna's voice. The adjacent music video for the song was directed by Dimitris Chaz Lee, and the band describes the video as "depicting the fragile nature, conflicts, emotional demands, and vulnerability of each person in a relationship."
"Billie Was a Vampire" is a story about an undead creature who works at a nightclub followed by the urgency of "Black Box." Brass sounds moan against the fast beat and suggest a frenzied need to escape.
"I'm Addicted" became the second single for the LP. I am addicted, you are mine, Joanna demands of the lover. The music video, also directed by Dimitris Chaz Lee, depicts a clean, white photoshoot primed for the most beautiful creatures of the Athenian wave scene. Alex Macharias, from the legendary Greek band In Trance 95, acts as the photographer for the session, as the models pose and flail under the bright bulbs. The director states: "Addiction is a mental state, something inside all of us. It altered our perception and created a parallel world of avant-garde beings and flashy lights making us part of this everlasting bond."
The arrival of REAL, Vol. 1 marks a seismic shift in the global music landscape, uniting two of Nigeria’s most formidable forces for a project that defines the current zenith of Afrobeats. This collaborative effort sees Wizkid, the smooth-talking pioneer of the genre’s international expansion, and Asake, the "Mr. Money" whose neo-Fuji sound redefined the street-pop aesthetic, finding a middle ground between luxury and grit. The project serves as a sonic bridge between eras, blending the minimalist, high-fashion sensibilities of Wizkid’s recent output with the high-octane, choir-backed energy that has made Asake a household name. It is less of a competition and more of a conversation between two masters of their craft, exploring themes of spiritual gratitude, the weight of superstardom, and the unyielding pulse of Lagos.
With soundscapes both cinematic and deeply rhythmic, the production moves beyond standard club formulas, opting instead for a sophisticated fusion of traditional Yoruba percussion, shimmering synths, and the heavy, resonant log drums of Amapiano. Wizkid provides the effortless, melodic swagger that acts as the project's anchor, while Asake injects a spiritual intensity through his signature layered chanting and rapid-fire flows.
Ultimately, REAL, Vol. 1 is a celebration of authenticity in an era of global crossover. By stripping away the pressure of conforming to Western pop standards, Wizkid and Asake have created a body of work that is unapologetically Nigerian yet universally resonant. It captures the spirit of a city that never sleeps and the ambition of two artists who have conquered the world without losing their souls. This is more than just a collection of hits; it is a blueprint for the future of African music, proving that when Wizkid and Asake occupy the same frequency, the result is nothing short of legendary.
Grammy-nominated Malian singer, songwriter and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara returns in 2026 with MASSA, her most personal work to date. Introspective and powerful, the album explores motherhood, faith, memory, and resilience, transforming intimate reflection into universal storytelling. Through these songs, Fatoumata invites listeners, of all backgrounds, to embrace gratitude and accept that destiny is an inevitable part of the human journey. The album also carries a moving tribute to her late father, whose love continues to guide her beyond his passing. Musically, MASSA sees Fatoumata Diawara expand her sonic universe, blending her Malian musical heritage with pop textures, under the artistic direction of pop icon -M-, creating a sound that is both rooted and forward-looking. With MASSA, she reaffirms her place as one of the most vital voices in African music, transforming personal truth into universal resonance.
Love Train returns in an exclusive new interpreta)on by Joe T Vannelli, legendary figure of the
interna)onal house and club scene.
This new release reimagines one of the most iconic soul records of all )me through a modern,
elegant and dancefloor-driven sound, while preserving the )meless energy and universal message
of the original track.
The release features the powerful “JOE T VANNELLI Club Remix”, created for clubs and
interna)onal DJ sets, the “Classic Version”, inspired by the disco and soulful roots of the original
song, and a B.A.S. old school version
LP Limited Edition (500 copies) ‘Draw Out Your World” LP on Pink Marble Vinyl with signed postcard.
Caoilfhionn Rose's completely immersive fourth full-length offering - her first for Lost Map - is a powerful statement about new motherhood, strength and resilience through change and the importance of collaboration, community and placing trust in others. A softly unravelling collection of songs grown from dreamy improvisations and driving, beat-led folktronica. 'Draw Out Your World' arrives in the wake of Caoilfhionn having scored a #1 on the UK Official Independent Albums Chart, as a key contributor to Mancunian post-punk cult heroes The Durutti Column's critically-acclaimed 2026 release Renascent.
Raised in Manchester, Caoilfhionn developed a "deep, almost spiritual appreciation" of music in all its diversity. Drawing inspiration from nature, dreams, and personal experiences, she crafts songs that are both intimate and universal in their themes.
A performance at a local café caught the attention of Gondwana Records founder Matthew Halsall, who invited Caoilfhionn to work on her debut album 2018's Awaken. It became the first of three albums for the label; followed by 2021's Truly and 2024's Constellation. As a bandleader she headlined tours across the UK and Europe and has also supported artists such as Mammal Hands, The Breath, GoGo Penguin, Alabaster dePlume and Hania Rani.
Scattered ideas for what would become Caoilfhionn Rose's fourth album began accumulating long ago, in fits and starts and multiple iterations, with some tracks lying finished but unheard for years. Yet the record only truly began to take shape in the midst of a period of profound personal change. During a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco with her husband and long-time creative partner Rich Williams in January 2025, the pair spent evenings among the musicians and communities gathered beneath the night sky in Jemaa el-Fnaa. "The trip really reinvigorated us and led to lots of conversations about why we make music and why we love it," she remembers.
Several of Draw Out Your World's newest songs were born during Caoilfhionn's pregnancy with her first child. Although a deeply joyful time, she experienced severe sickness throughout, making music difficult (her voice changed so much during pregnancy that some vocals had to be re-recorded after her daughter arrived). In moments when she felt well enough, Caoilfhionn and Rich began shaping new ideas and songs from loops and fragments he had been creating, later bringing musicians together to record and remodel the compositions live in the studio. A combination of impulse and patience, individual expression and collective improvisation lies at the heart of Draw Out Your World. Four tracks emerged during two days of spontaneous invention in Copenhagen with multi-award-winning Danish electronic jazz duo Svaneborg Kardyb. Other, older pieces were patiently revisited and reworked with keyboardist John Ellis (a founding member of The Cinematic Orchestra). Caoilfhionn's ongoing collaborations with The Durutti Column have long informed her carefree approach to making music ("lots of improvising and experimenting… seeing what sticks"); here she pushes it further than ever. "It's been a lot about following my intuition and trusting in the process and musicians in the room," she says.
Started from a sweet little mini-hand-drum loop by Rich and finished with Awen Blandford's swooping cello lines, lullaby-like opener 'Reflecting The Light' was inspired by Caoilfhionn's pregnancy - "the feeling of my little girl growing inside me," as she puts it, and the almost supernatural feeling of connection to another person it brings. The much older 'Grow' - a song about how a person "keeps unfolding" through good times and bad - came close to appearing on Caoilfhionn's previous record Constellation in 2024 before finding renewed meaning and purpose here, reinvigorated by John Ellis's rolling Fender Rhodes. Set to finger-picked guitar and hazy electronics, the album's title track 'Draw Out Your World' drifts into view like a gentle parting of the clouds - a mellow but vivid reflection on dreams and realities and the pathways in between, with shades of Judee Sill and Linda Perhacs. By sharp contrast, 'Hidden Wars' - a song about trying to get away from spiralling negative thoughts - is set to a fiercely snaking groove inspired by Caoilfhionn's love of artists like Portishead and The Smile. The moodily languid and sparse 'Just To Be Alive' leans into Caoilfhionn's more electronic side, Nikolaj from Svaneborg Kardyb conjuring pure atmosphere on his swirling Juno synth, before 'To A Feeling' collides into a wild, wonky and raw jazz jam rising to Eleanor Colee's ripping saxophone solo. 'As I Find Myself Again' lands the album on a subtle ellipsis - its feeling of calm finality unsettled by the faintest flicker of a new melodic phrase at the end.
COS 010 - Environmental Architecture A fusion of ambient, techno and IDM, often described as a form of “mental abstraction.” Created by Mark Cheney in a bedroom in Clapham, this release captures a moment defined by raw imagination and open-ended experimentation. It sits alongside artists of that era such as B12 and The Black Dog.
It stands as a perfect reflection of that era – raw, inventive and deeply evocative – leaving a lasting sense of nostalgia for those who experienced it. For the first time, this release has been remastered and cut by Mike Grinser at Manmade Mastering. Pressed on 180g vinyl, it sounds exceptional - rich, detailed and full of depth. Originally intended for home listening, it’s been cut loud so it can be played in a club setting.
The 41st release on TECHNO Records marks a defining milestone: the first full- scale solo record by the label’s founder, Nastia, in her music career. It opens up a new depth of detail within the character and identity of both the artist and the catalogue.
Rather than making a loud statement, Nastia focuses on a restrained and functional approach to techno, shaped through subtle shifts in tension, texture, and rhythm. The tracks move with intention, avoiding obvious peaks in favour of gradual development and controlled energy—a familiar methodology and a direct analogy to the evolution of the label itself. Crafted with dancefloor energy in mind but not bound by it, the release offers a fresh perspective on the author’s persona, stripping away excess and overexplanation. It leaves ample room for the listener’s imagination and a versatile, expert application within a DJ set.
The trajectory of ascents and shifting attention in an artist’s career is the only honest path, providing material for reflection and the anchoring of values. This depth of experience cannot be replicated by overnight success or short-lived peaks—only decades of exploration, trial, and error can forge a work built to endure. Studio work becomes a new instrument for Nastia to build value capital, while her debut solo EP stands as an artefact marking a historic point for the author and the label.
TECH041
A1 “Indoctrinated” — a masterclass in rhythmic interplay used as a narrative device. It functions as a sonic manifesto: universally accessible yet distinctly individual. A process-driven track, its strength lies in its ability to repeatedly shift the listener’s focus. It serves as an ideal transitional tool, offering a calculated awakening from a hypnotic state.
A2 “Ignorance Is Keelleeng” — a structured dancefloor powerhouse built on a precise understanding of peak-time energy. Functioning as a set-defining anchor, it allows the DJ to pivot the mix in any direction without losing momentum. A true catalyst track that opens up new sonic horizons.
B1 “True Majority” — the most forward-thinking cut on the record, providing a definitive blueprint for the hypnotic techno sound of summer 2026. It presents a multi-layered, all-encompassing sonic tapestry that interacts with the listener while maintaining a strictly restrained narrative. A motif-driven track that subtly exposes an underlying tension.
B2 “Additive Integration” — best conceptualised within an extended set where the goal is to gradually establish the atmosphere and dictate the rules of the journey. A track built on anticipation, it conserves energy and conceals its inner mechanics until the final acts. It compels the listener to decode its sonic language for full comprehension.
Originally released by Time Capsule in 2021 and long out of print, Stories From Another Time 1982-1988 returns in an upgraded edition following years of demand and rising collector prices on the secondhand market. Widely regarded as a modern cult classic, Mário Rui Silva’s visionary recordings blend acoustic folk, cinematic soul, spiritual jazz and saudade-filled Lusophone rhythm into a deeply timeless and universal work that transcends genre and geography.
This new edition features half-speed mastering cut at Metropolis alongside an expanded 4-page insert with a tribute essay and unseen photographs following Silva’s passing in 2024.
The roots of Angolan popular music explored in the meticulous guitar studies of Mário Rui Silva. For fans of Naná Vasconcelos, John Hassell’s Fourth World ambient, Eduardo Mateo’s psychedelic folk and Cameroonian electronic music visionary Francis Bebey.
Whether on mesmerising acoustic ballads or hypnotic groove-led tracks, the music of Angolan guitarist, researcher and intellectual Mário Rui Silva has a beguiling, melancholy quality, woven into the dynamics of his deft guitar playing.Rhythmically complex yet supremely effortless, the music collected here stems from three albums Mário released in Luanda in the 1980s that reflect his diverse range of influences, from traditional Angolan and West African rhythms to European jazz and classical instrumentation. It is united by a sense of low-key beauty, whether on the chugging opener ‘Kazum-zum-zum’, the jazz-funk keys of ‘Lembrança Dum Velho’, or the twinkling, late-night poly-rhythms of ‘Kizomba Kya Kisanji’.
Born in Luanda, Angola in 1953, Mário dedicated his life to Angolan popular music. His fifty-year career has seen him live between Angola and Europe, rub shoulders with Cameroonian musicians Francis Bebey and Ewanjé, record the seminal album Angola ’72 with fellow Angolan musician Bonga, and draw influence from Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell.
It was the teaching of Angolan legend and Ngola Ritmos co-founder Liceu Vieira Dias that Mário gained a technical, political and spiritual understanding of Angolan musical culture. In the hands of Liceu, the traditional Angolan semba and kazukuta rhythms of the 1940s and ‘50s helped create an emancipatory sense of national pride and collective agency that awakened its listeners to the racism and tyranny of colonial rule, underpinning the country’s push for independence in the process.
What might sound like the intonations of Brazilian influence are what Mário attributes to the “African rhythms taken by the slaves which gave rise to other musical cultures” around the globe. Instead, this music emerged from a collective instinct to assert a cosmopolitan Angolan identity free from the patronising falsehoods of Lusotropicalism.
“There was a need within me to contribute in doing new things,” Mário describes. “In the sense of solidifying the music of Angola that was the result of the meeting of two cultures, and wanting to value the Angolan part whenever possible.”A selection from Mário’s three 1980s albums, Sung’Ali (1982), Tunapenda Afrika (1985) and Koizas dum Outru Tempu (1988) have been compiled here as a 2xLP release by Time Capsule’s Sam Jacob and Kay Suzuki. Together, they provide a snapshot of one man’s journey to the core of his nation’s music, charged with the search for a culture uprooted by colonialism
Extinction Burst! is the new invocation in album-form by Guttersnipe, Leeds’ premier and pre-eminent XFCER (XFCER: Xenofeminist crisis-energy rock)* duo. Slamming at full speed to multi-dimensional oblivion, Extinction Burst! is the most full, hidefinition lurid dream-mare yet spewed out by Uroceras Gigas & Tipula Confusa. Engineered and mixed by Ross Halden at Hohm Studio in Bradford and mastered by Rashad Becker, Extinction Burst! follows 2018’s My Mother The Vent, which garnered universal critical adoration. Nevertheless, this long-awaited follow up is more extreme: it is wildness beyond reason, splitting new tears in the reality gauze, ultimate hallucination through sound ecstasy. 2026’s Guttersnipe are evolved, mutated by 8 years of touring together and with the labyrinthine network of groups both Guttersnipe members are involved with - Tristwch Y Fenywod, Nape Neck, Petronn Sphene, Yexxen to name a few. On Extinction Burst!, as with previous material, the duo are heavily augmented with technology. Tipula Confusa's drum kit triggers chasm-causing synth pulses with thumping low end attack.. Strafing from all over the stereo field the constant shatter of the cymbals and toms feel like Sunny Murray or Rashied Ali in full flight during a John Coltrane session in 1967. Uroceras Gigas’s guitar + synth storm is by-now similarly an instantly recognised tool kit in underground music. Switching from screeching guitar atonality to intricate riffs from the black metal/Voivod hinterland to ultra-distorted synth meltdown, it’s an utterly overwhelming, essential and vital pouring-out of the full emotional spectrum. Both artists vocalise, ecstatic and primal, drawn out or yelped in pain or pleasure or panic. Alive On Tuesday begins with some of the only space on Extinction Burst! Digital crackles and tight-delays blow out into a fullthrottled death-dive into sweet opaqueness, offset by the duo’s vocals. There’s a popular believe that Guttersnipe is chaos, but over 9 mins here the group are clinical in their control of the simulated entropy. Mincing while the Maelstrom Churns’s guitar is modulated into jagged atonal atonement, duetting with the virtuoso drum patterns before it thuds into gear at quadruple the speed. Threads Of Radical Unaliveness veers close to the extreme Metal influences with blast beats and guttural vocalisations until the track exhausts itself into unaliveness. Keep Honking summons a demonic digital panic, with the duo reincarnating in real time as haunted versions of themselves, almost translating the lurid, ultra vivid, simultaneous hell+heaven of being alive in this dimension. Primordial Invagination harnesses No Wave’s dissension of normality before the structured collapse of Skra¨ckblandad Fo¨rtjusning, in which Tipula Confusa’s accelerating drums simulate a bouncing barrel of brimstone descending into a primordial gunky ooze, a respite in the middle before the record splutters to a stuttering finale, both members’ vocals out there in the neon realness, alive with crisis energy. There is nothing on this cursed earth like Guttersnipe. For over 10 years they have whirled in a wiggliness both woebegone and wonderstruck on a mission of radical mutant exaltation using rock music weaponry loaded with a queer hysterical ammunition to rupture the fabric of the known Rock universe and unleash a tendril-soft hallucinatory violence; thrumming with the bracing vividness of insect bodies, crazed with alien synaesthetic emotions, harnessing jagged excoriating illogic as a face meltingly snazzy affront to redundant macho mediocrity with the hope to break minds, squeeze hearts, explode pelvises and maybe even reset the parameters of reality. Addendum: xenofeminist : proposing and creating a world defined not only by sexual/gender equality, queer empowerment and the toppling of the racist heteropatriarchal hegemony and it’s tyranny of phallogocentric signifiers, but a philosophy of radical queerness that explodes the basic notion of embodied existence itself beyond even the human, where we see bacteria, invertebrates, reptiles, marine life, animalia in general, inanimate objects, quantum phenomena and as yet inarticulated bodies and minds as social and political equals that may inspire and inform our concepts of self, feeling and meaning as we labour to build a collective reality that doesn’t completely suck!! crisis energy : a term borrowed from the weird fiction author china mieville to describe a type of extreme concentration of power which emerges when a system or organism is pushed to it’s absolute limit; the point of rupture, chaos, entropic overload, just before it all breaks apart. rock : Rock ’n’ Roll, rock music, the devil’s music, sex, guitar, drums, voice, rhythm, riffs!
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band's 2017 stereo mix as a limited, collectible picture disc vinyl LP. Produced by Giles Martin for this year's universally heralded 'Sgt. Pepper' Anniversary Edition releases, the album's new stereo mix was sourced directly from the original four-track session tapes and guided by the original, Beatles-preferred mono mix produced by Giles' father, George Martin. Praised by fans and music critics around the world, The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' Anniversary Edition is 2017's most celebrated historical music release and an ideal gift for Beatle People here, there, and everywhere.
From deep within the astral planes of all that is cosmic in the Northwest and through a fog of kaleidoscopic haze emerges the latest mind-expanding music makers to arrive on Sprechen in the form of the Todmorden based Lines Of Silence.
Living amongst a hotbed of UFO activity and home to the UK's highest ever beach they combine experimental analogue and digital electronics, motorik beats, polyrhythmic improvisation and drone rock guitar explosions to create an immersive, expansive and contemporary take on psychedelia.
Their long player on Sprechen: 'Lines In Opposition !' takes the listener on a visionary aural journey across 8 tracks of electronic, shamanic soundscapes where the sounds of Krautrock exist in harmony alongside drone-esque ambient excursions through an array of synths, guitars & sequenced patterns that draw heavily on the stylings of NEU!, Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk and the musical pickings of the more esoteric sets and radio shows by Andrew Weatherall.
A truly universal listening experience to take you into a higher state of electronic music consciousness...
We have released two Darrow Fletcher CD on Kent but he has never had a vinyl LP of his own - of any description.
This compilation concentrates on his Chicago years, though it adds a rare demo, ‘Hope For Love’, only previously available on a “Masterpieces” Kent CD. Also, we have included his one-off late-70s version of fellow Chicago-born writers Grey & Hanks’ ‘No Limit’, also originally a “Masterpieces” track and a now-deleted Kent Select 45; these fetch £100+ on some sales lists.
The mid-60s sides speak for themselves. He began his career with the acclaimed soul blast of ‘The Pain Gets A Little Deeper’ (an Elton John favourite of the time!) and followed up with dancefloor classics ‘My Young Misery’, ‘What Good Am I Without You’, ‘Infatuation’ and ‘Gotta Draw The Line’.
As was common in those days, the hip dance sides were coupled with tender ballads such as ‘Sitting There That Night’, ‘Little Girl’ and ‘My Judgement Day’. Those were particularly well received in his Chicago homebase and have been admired by slow-groove scenes like Lowriders in Los Angeles ever since.
Darrow’s late 60s recordings, though recorded in Chicago, were issued on Los Angeles labels controlled by Universal. By 1971 his producer - stepfather Johnnie Haygood - had reverted to using his own Chicago imprint Genna for the last recording.
This perfectly formed EP brings together Dutch duo Fouk with a selection of collaborators across four groove-led cuts blending house, disco, and nu-disco influences.
The title track sees Fouk teaming up with The Phenomenal Handclap Band, delivering a vibrant vocal cut driven by warm basslines, uplifting melodies, and classic disco instrumentation. Importantly, both the vocal and instrumental versions appear here as extended mixes exclusive to the vinyl release.
Further collaborations with Archil & Leon and 79.5 continue the EP’s groove-heavy approach, combining soulful vocals, live instrumentation, and dancefloor-ready arrangements.
Already receiving strong support across radio, DJs, and streaming platforms, including plays from Bill Brewster (NTS Radio), Colleen Cosmo Murphy, Dom Servini, Francois K, Graeme Park, Hot Toddy, Massimiliano Pagliara, Pete Herbert, Slothboogie, Tim Zawada / Star Creature Universal Vibrations, Dave Pezzner, Nadiem Shah, Luxxury, Dj Supermarkt, Luke Solomon, Seamus Haji, Sophie Lloyd, J-Kriv, DJ Rocca, Faze Action.
The release has also landed #1 placements on Spotify’s Nu Disco editorial playlist.
With warm grooves, uplifting vocals and strong crossover appeal between disco, house and nu-disco scenes, this EP offers high playability for DJs and strong appeal for modern disco and house collectors.