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"It’s an album where I’ve limited myself to using only two instruments—a metallophone and a four-track tape recorder. Explorations of the metallophone and tape sounds are deconstructed and reintegrated into tracks with cassette loops. This release is part of this year’s Muscut label series, dedicated not to electronic but to electro-acoustic music focusing on analog recording and production."
Taken from the Shape platform interview (March 2024)

COLORS OF BACH: Violinistin Eldbjørg Hemsing lässt die Musik von Bach in völlig neuen Klangfarben leuchten Auf ihrem neuen Album COLORS OF BACH lässt Violinistin Eldbjørg Hemsing die ausdrucksstarke Musik von Johann Sebastian Bachs in völlig neuen Arrangements erklingen und eröffnet zeitgenössische Perspektiven auf sein Werk.Vielschichtig, fein nuanciert und mit ungezügelter Spielfreude, schöpft das Album seine Inspiration aus der strukturellen Raffinesse und der expressiven Schönheit von zwanzig ausgewählten Werken. Die renommierten Arrangeure Tim Allhoff, Jan-Peter Klöpfel und Jarkko Riihimäki rücken bekannte Meisterwerke durch buchstäblich neue "Farben", die in Bachs Musik eingeführt werden - durch Klang, Harmonie und Emotion - in neues Licht.Im Zentrum des Projekts steht eine gemeinsame künstlerische Philosophie: Bachs Musik zu erweitern, neu zu denken und zu formen - ohne sie zu verfälschen. Die Arrangeure schöpfen ihre Inspiration aus der positiven und universellen Kraft seiner Themen und Harmonien und bewahren dabei die innere Zuversicht, die Bachs Werk so einzigartig macht.Von der verspielten Brillanz der Partita Variation bis zur tief berührenden Neuinterpretation von Bachs Brandenburgischem Konzert - ikonische Melodien erhalten neue Vitalität, eröffnen emotionale Dimensionen, bewahren aber zugleich größten Respekt vor den originalen Meisterwerken. Die dichte, melodische Gestaltung des Orgelpräludiums in C-Dur geht nahtlos in eine virtuose Fassung für Solovioline und Streichorchester über und schafft ein fesselndes Hörerlebnis. Air nimmt die Eleganz eines italienischen Konzerts an, während das geliebte Erbarme Dich aus der Matthäuspassion als intime instrumentale Ballade neu erstrahlt. Gemeinsam zeigen diese kreativen Arrangements die Wandlungsfähigkeit und Zeitlosigkeit von Bachs Musik - und entfalten ein eindrucksvolles Kaleidoskop musikalischer Farben."Bach ist so ein genialer Komponist", reflektiert Eldbjørg Hemsing, "dass es unendlich viele Möglichkeiten gibt, seine Formen und Strukturen zu betrachten. Jede Melodie, die er geschrieben hat, vereint auf faszinierende Weise technische Präzision und tiefes Gefühl - und genau darin liegt die unerschöpfliche Vielfalt seiner Musik." COLORS OF BACH ist eine Hommage an diese zeitlose Musikalität - eine Einladung an die Hörerinnen und Hörer, Bachs Werke auf spielerische Weise neu zu entdecken. Im Herzen des Albums stehen Freude, Hoffnung und ein Sinn für Leichtigkeit. "Wir wollten dem Publikum die Möglichkeit geben, sich mit diesen bedeutenden Werken der Musikgeschichte neu zu verbinden", sagt Eldbjørg. "Und vielleicht dabei auch ihre ganz persönliche Interpretation zu entdecken."Eines der emotionalsten Arrangements des Albums ist Air. Das Stück, das oft mit Abschied und Trauer in Verbindung gebracht wird, hat für Eldbjørg eine tief persönliche Bedeutung: "Dieses Werk ist eines der wichtigsten, die ich je gespielt habe", erzählt sie. "Es wurde bei der Beerdigung meines Vaters aufgeführt, und ich habe es lange mit dem Schmerz des Verlustes verbunden. Aber so wollte ich ihn nicht in Erinnerung behalten. Musik hat die Kraft, unsere Emotionen zu lenken - und indem ich diesem Stück eine neue Perspektive gebe, kann ich selbst entscheiden, wie ich mich damit verbinden möchte. Genau das ist der Geist dieses Albums."COLORS OF BACH bildet eine Brücke zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Mit seinen überraschenden Momenten, facettenreichen Klangbildern und tief empfundenen Arrangements lädt das Album sowohl neue als auch erfahrene Hörerinnen und Hörer ein, die unendlichen Farben in Bachs Musik neu zu entdecken.

[a] a1 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Bach Partita Variation (After Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 100: I. Preludio) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:18
[b] a2 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Ertönt uns durch dein Güte Variation (After Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, No. 5: Ertöt uns durch dein Güte) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:58
[c] a3 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Ave Maria Variation (After The Well-Tempered Clavier I: Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846: I. Prelude) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet and Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:08
[d] a4 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Minuet in G Major Variation (After Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, BWV Anh.116, No. 7: Menuet in G Major) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:12
[e] a5 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Concerto in A Minor Variation (After Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041: II. Andante) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:30
[f] a6 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Martynas & Norwegian String Qui Melancholy Variation (After Concerto for Violin & Oboe in C Minor, BWV 1060R: III. Allegro) [Arr. for Violin, Accordion, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 3:11
[g] a7 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben Variation (After Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147: VI. Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:42
[h] a8 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Air Variation (After Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068: II. Air) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 2:37
[i] a9 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Bach Brandenburg Concerto Revisited (After Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F Major, BWV 1046: I. Allegro) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki] 2:11

[k] b2 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Aria Goldberg Variation (After Goldberg Variations, BVW 988: Aria) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 1:48
[l] b3 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Prelude in C Major Variation (After Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 553: I. Prelude) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 1:57
[m] b4 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit Variation (After Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein, BWV 734) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Jarkko Riihimäki] 1:27
[n] b5 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Invention in F Major Variation (After Invention in F Major, BWV 779) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 1:57
[o] b6 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Organ Sonata Variation (After Organ Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528: II. Andante) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 2:42
[p] b7 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Befiehl du deine Wege Variation (After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 53: Befiehl du deine Wege) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 1:33
[q] b8 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet & Tim Erbarme dich, mein Gott Variation (After Matthäuspassion, BWV 244, No. 47: Erbarme dich, mein Gott) [Arr. for Violin, String Quintet & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:08
[r] b9 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Louisa Tuck & Tim Allhoff Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ Variation (After Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639) [Arr. for Violin, Cello & Piano by Tim Allhoff] 2:39
[s] b10 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Concerto in D Minor Variation (After Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: III. Presto) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Jan-Peter Klöpfel] 2:06
[t] b11 Eldbjørg Hemsing & Norwegian String Quintet Choral Aria Variation (After Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54: I. Aria) [Arr. for Violin & String Quintet by Tim Allhoff] 3:37

Naked Lunch - Songs for the Exhausted (Reissue) 2004 markierte für Naked Lunch einen radikalen Neuanfang. Nach dem kometenhaften Aufstieg in den 90ern, geplatzten Major-Deals und finanziellen Katastrophen stand die österreichische Band vor dem Aus. Doch statt aufzugeben, zog sich das Quartett mit Produzent Olaf Opal (u.a. The Notwist) in ein Studio zurück und schuf über drei Jahre hinweg ein Werk, das als "nicht für möglich gehaltenes Meisterwerk" (Der Standard) gilt. Songs for the Exhausted ist kein leichtes Album: dunkel, intensiv, sperrig - und dennoch tröstend. Es erzählt von Müdigkeit und Wiedergeburt, von kompromissloser Kunst fernab des Pop-Business. 22 Jahre später erscheint dieses Kultalbum erstmals als Vinyl-Reissue bei Tapete Records - ein Muss für Liebhaber anspruchsvoller Indie-Musik.

Mighty Joseph is the combination of emcees Vast Aire (Cannibal Ox) with his long-time rhyme ally Karniege. The duo's sole album, Empire State (2008) was released during the tail-end of the last great non-commercial Hip-Hop period.

Never released on vinyl before, the album will be available soon on a double LP edition.

Rooted in the concrete streets but lyrically abstract, features and beats are provided by equal musical foils including Madlib, Camu Tao, Murs, J-Zone, Poison Pen and Vordul Mega (Cannibal Ox) among others.

Fan and critical attention were positive with All Hip Hop summing the album as "solid post-millennium product that bridges the gap between gritty street tales and a paranoid view of the future."

Plug One Magazine added that "Empire State" "unravels a unique perspective, documenting not only much personal change between the two emcees but also the changes in the streets of New York City. From poverty, to the September 11 attacks, to the abuse of Hip Hop culture in general, "Empire State" stands strong as a snapshot of the city."

French chanson, electro beats, pared-down or synthetic piano: at 21, Iliona draws on all of this. Plural, multifaceted, elusive. Yet her lyrics resonate as if one were singing heartache—and the love one hopes for—for the very first time.
She composes, records, and produces her tracks alone, determined to keep them as close as possible to the tunes, harmonies, and silhouettes she holds in her mind. This time, they are infused with the light of an intense love, and still carried by extreme sparseness in their arrangements: nothing—from electronic arpeggios to melodic autotune—is ever superfluous; everything has its place. Lifted by a new lightness, the tracks also echo the spirit of the yéyé sound Iliona has been listening to for a few years, without necessarily knowing the name of every songwriter or the mark they left behind. It’s their longing for carefree abandon that hovers over the hypnotic Si tu m’aimes demain and its music video inspired by the New Wave, the Beatles, and all those future memories you begin to build when you’re in love.


A gentle warmth also sweeps through the hazy doo-wop contours of Tête brûlée, and the lo-fi twist of Cocoon; but always with that veil of shadow that once floated over the apparent nonchalance of Françoise Hardy’s songs. That unease, that worried smile, resurfaces in the lovely pop gallop of Garçon manqué, an ode to the deepest friendships—the ones you hold in your arms to dance or, sometimes, to cry. Or in the delicate Cent fois, which whispers, “when will the movie scenes we quietly dreamed of come to life?”
The answer, perhaps, lies in wherever you hide, the party finds you, a superb soundtrack to an imaginary drama, whose venomous keyboards unfold the pictorial strength of Iliona’s songs.

This album originally released on Electrecord’s RCM (Romanian Contemporary Music) series in 1986 provides a selection of works which belong to Nicolae Brînduş's cycle PHTORA (1968-1972). The cycle comprises five pieces which are five degrees of structuring collective improvisation, leaning towards the spectralist tradition.

It’s probably the most eccentric record in the whole RCM series, offering a mesmerizing collage of organized cacophony, as a massive but subtly layered whirlwind of abstract orchestral improvisations, Romanian picturesque folklore and free jazz with extensive use of tape manipulation and reverberation.

This reissue comes with the beautiful original sleeve artwork by Ana Golici who designed many sleeves for Electrecord.

SOEN - the Swedish progressive metal powerhouse spearheaded by Joel Ekelöf (vocals) and Martin Lopez (drums) - continue to find incredible new pathways into the spatial areas between light and dark, loud and calm, heavy and soothing. And with its seamless march across deeply human emotional terrain, their forthcoming 7th studio album Reliance, SOEN continues to explore the human mind, heart, and soul with a visionary duty of care, plus an extra edge of heavy. With Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboards & guitar), Cody Lee Ford (guitar), and Stefan Stenberg (bass) standing shoulder to shoulder with Ekelöf and Lopez, the lush continual evolution of SOEN’s sound soars. Take “Primal”, a barrel-chested roar detailing the existential fight between the human spirit and our current world, Ekelöf’s incredible vocals leading the heavy charge. “Axis” is a resolute and defiant look into where humanity sits, propelled by Lopez’s relentless yet swinging drums, and then there’s the serene elegance of “Indifferent” a beautifully orchestrated modern lament on the loss of love which rides resolutely on the power of strings, piano, and Ekelöf’s marvellous voice. With Reliance, SOEN continue their extraordinarily raw and earnest lifetime exploration of the mental and physical boundaries which challenge humankind as it writhes and wrestles with itself in these challenging times. Thoughtful, provocative, beautiful and brutal, Reliance is a journey you need to take.

SOEN - the Swedish progressive metal powerhouse spearheaded by Joel Ekelöf (vocals) and Martin Lopez (drums) - continue to find incredible new pathways into the spatial areas between light and dark, loud and calm, heavy and soothing. And with its seamless march across deeply human emotional terrain, their forthcoming 7th studio album Reliance, SOEN continues to explore the human mind, heart, and soul with a visionary duty of care, plus an extra edge of heavy. With Lars Enok Åhlund (keyboards & guitar), Cody Lee Ford (guitar), and Stefan Stenberg (bass) standing shoulder to shoulder with Ekelöf and Lopez, the lush continual evolution of SOEN’s sound soars. Take “Primal”, a barrel-chested roar detailing the existential fight between the human spirit and our current world, Ekelöf’s incredible vocals leading the heavy charge. “Axis” is a resolute and defiant look into where humanity sits, propelled by Lopez’s relentless yet swinging drums, and then there’s the serene elegance of “Indifferent” a beautifully orchestrated modern lament on the loss of love which rides resolutely on the power of strings, piano, and Ekelöf’s marvellous voice. With Reliance, SOEN continue their extraordinarily raw and earnest lifetime exploration of the mental and physical boundaries which challenge humankind as it writhes and wrestles with itself in these challenging times. Thoughtful, provocative, beautiful and brutal, Reliance is a journey you need to take.

Sunburst vinyl version of “Make Metal Royal Again” (previously released August 15th, 2025 via Reaper Entertainment), HAMMER KING once again raise their banners high: the throne of power metal is theirs to claim. Following the chart-breaking success of their last two records – “Kingdemonium” (#17 DE) and “König und Kaiser” (#16 DE) – the German quartet returns in 2025 with even more grandeur, might, and majestic songwriting. Produced by Charles Greywolf (Powerwolf) and Titan Fox V, and mixed & mastered by Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Volbeat), the album delivers ten powerful new tracks and a surprise bonus cover. With “Danger Zone”, the band pays a thunderous, metallic tribute to pop culture for the very first time. From anthemic epics like “For Crown And Kingdom” to the cinematic grandeur of “Hoheitsgebiet” and the touching ballad “Schlaf Kaiser schlaf”, HAMMER KING offer a full royal banquet of sound and spirit. Introducing new drummer Count Shandorian, whose precision and creative drive elevate the band’s sound even further, Make Metal Royal Again marks a new peak in the group’s journey. The magnificent artwork by Péter Sallai (Powerwolf, Sabaton), inspired by The Last Supper, captures the album’s core themes: power, identity, and loyalty. This is not just an album – it’s HAMMER KING’s metal manifesto for a new golden age.

Dallas, Texas resident Ben Hixon is a consistent performer with a tasteful take on deep house that most often comes on this label. His final missive of the year opens up with 'Meant To Be', a nice bumpy cut with bass reverberations and glitchy percussive textures. Hi-hats tick in the background to keep time as smudged vocals burn with soul and lolloping rhythms take centre stage. 'Love Crazy' is another stripped-back sound that is dusty and gritty with bass that folds in on itself and more sprinkled analogue percussion to add extra bite.

Quartet Records and MGM present the re-issue of the first official complete vinyl edition of Burt Bacharach’s timeless classic soundtrack for the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale.

The infectious main theme performed by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is just the starting point of an epic comedy ride that includes such highlights as the unforgettable “The Look of Love,” sung by Dusty Springfield, or the epic fight music at the end of the film. Produced by record industry legend Phil Ramone, the original soundtrack LP offered selected highlights, expertly edited to showcase the best parts of the entire score. Thanks to the legendary sound quality of the stereo copies, this record became one of the most highly sought-after collectibles in the industry.

This straight re-issue of our 2019 vinyl edition was produced, restored and mastered by Chris Malone, rebuilding the score from the ground up. The soundtrack album has long been considered a cornerstone of an audiophile’s collection. Lauded by The Absolute Sound, the original Colgems release continues to remain in pole position as the best sounding “popular” LP vinyl disc of all time.

Malone’s work was focused on addressing unintended technical anomalies (such as filling dropouts and covering analogue splices) rather than broadly applying a modern sound palette. He has eschewed dynamic range compression and retained the brilliance of the original recording. The first LP is a fully remastered reissue of the iconic original stereo vinyl, playing in all its splendor. The second LP contains all the unreleased material, in mono, which are still the only available source to date.

This special 2xlp is a limited edition pressed on 180-gram black vinyl, all of it housed in a gatefold jacket, retaining the iconic original cover art by Robert McGinnis

Gil Tamazyan Unveils a Timeless Downtempo Journey with His Latest Album
Los Angeles-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Gil Tamazyan returns with his latest release—an evocative fusion of live and electronic soundscapes that transports listeners through a lush, jazzy journey. Featuring authentic compositions performed with live analog instrumentation, the album delivers a warm, organic depth rarely heard in today’s electronic music scene.
The project features an impressive lineup of vocal collaborators, including Dave Aju, Dina Moursi, Syndee Winters, B. Valentine, Jeremiah Jae, and more. Together, they bring life and emotion to 11 handcrafted tracks that flow seamlessly between genres—bridging jazz, downtempo, and electronic textures into a cohesive, immersive experience.
Designed as a soundtrack for calm, everyday moments, Tamazyan’s latest work invites listeners to slow down, breathe, and reconnect with the beauty of the present. With its timeless tone and meticulous attention to detail, this release stands as a testament to the power of real musicianship in modern electronic music.

Crypt of the Wizard is proud to present Ginger Wizard - The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World on vinyl and digital formats.
About ten years ago in a record store in Prague, the Ginger Wizard discovered a copy of Bo Hansson’s Lord of the Rings LP. Although initially unfamiliar with the record, the reference to Tolkien’s masterwork and the incredible cover art drew him in and, rather fittingly, sent him off on a journey of discovery that would reshape his creative trajectory.
Years later while working in cassette tape manufacturing, Ginger Wizard noticed that most fantasy-inspired music fell into two camps: metal and dungeon synth. With little interest in the former, but intrigued by the latter, he began writing a few songs imagining a beautifully packaged and tactile cassette tape. However, dungeon synth he soon realized was “the most boring music to make”.
So began the Ginger Wizard’s own mythological discography. In 2022 came The Feast for the Dead King and Other Musical Themes recorded at home in a cold kitchen, is conversely an album full of warmth drawn from sheer exploration. A year later Can I Choose My Own Psychopompos? was recorded for the legendary Stoned to Death label - a 7” séance of semi-improvised noise and melody featuring allies from the Ginger Wizard’s live backing band The Peter Jacksons. The following year with Bathysburg Tales, a new approach was needed in order to keep the project interesting. Drawing inspiration from Popol Vuh and the inclusion of vocals lent by Protomartyr’s Joe Casey and Jakob Battick, a new more cinematic sound began to emerge.
Now, we present The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World marking a step into something stranger while still channeling the spirit of Bo Hansson. The new album rejects swords and sorcery for the mythology of the natural world “the ancient stuff,” he explains in the record’s insert, “has a similar taste for me as fantasy.” These songs bloom, creep, and shimmer like forgotten plants under distant suns while rooted in something real and organic. Inspired by the myths of nature rather than heroic quests, it’s an album that feels alive, equal parts archaeological dig and psychedelic garden.
Currently at work on a soundtrack for an imagined 1970s fantasy film in collaboration with The Peter Jacksons, the Ginger Wizard continues to expand his strange universe while The Curious Flora and Fauna of the Ancient World serves as a new map to somewhere ancient, beautiful, and unknown.

The 3rd album from Jana Horn was written in New York and recorded in the Texas desert. Horn went to Sonic Ranch studio with her trio (Jade Guterman - bass / Adam Jones - drums) to record her self-titled record, comprised of 10 sonic landscapes which don't quite sound like they're from anywhere. Past comparisons to Yo La Tengo and Phil Elverum are still apt on "Love" and "All in bet", while spare post-punk rhythms drive "Designer" and
"Don't Think."
In 2023 The New Yorker stated: "Horn's work aligns with a fraternity of the lonely that cuts across genres: traces of Young Marble Giants, Syd Barrett, and Broadcast all waft through her songs."

Full of joy, they ran to meet him.
Then threw one of the shirts over each of them,
and when the shirts touched their bodies they were transformed into swans,
and flew away over the woods.
The record is comprised of a series of improvised recordings made over the course of an evening in Autumn ’23, captured at the Jabu home studio, south Bristol while Teresa was staying in town for a show. Everything was recorded into the desk in a single take and left as it was, no editing or overdubs, instruments were swapped around and effects units left buzzing ground hum scattered over the floor.
Teresa and Guest (Jasmine of Jabu) provided the vocals, taking words from anything at hand - poetry books, an old copy of the Whole Earth Catalog - their voices winding together, echoing out each other’s melodies. This approach is mirrored by the instrumentals, anchored by something at times - a bassline, one of Birthmark’s synth drones or a fizzing chord but always on the edge of collapsing in on itself or floating away. The tracks become more soporific as the record goes on (and as the night got later), ending on a refrain of ‘say you think its true’ as the instrumental finally dissolves the pedals get dialled up to 11 and Birthmark’s drones turn into distant lasers in a last swan song of feedback.
Recorded Sep 2023 in Bristol, BS3, by:
Teresa Winter (vocals, fx)
Guest (vocals, guitar, fx)
Birthmark (synth, fx)
A.Childs (samples, bass, guitar)

Recorded in just two sessions at Abba's former studio, the resulting songs are a testament to the idea that art, music, or expression itself can be a kind of faith as well as a way to find meaning after control is gone.

Its members have deep roots in 90s and 2000s mixed-bill shows, basement gigs, and tours that crossed paths with the broader Midwest DIY network. Collectively they've played in projects like Towers, Stillwell, Engines, Ghost Towns, Sore History and others, giving The Feat a seasoned musical identity that blends melodic punk, indie rock and emo without fitting cleanly into any single lane. Their songwriting leans heavily into emotional grit, sharp guitar work and the kind of lived-in perspective that comes from decades in the community

Auf dem vierten Album von Chrystia Cabral als SPELLLING verwandelt die Künstlerin aus der Bay Area ihr gefeiertes Avant-Pop-Projekt in einen Spiegel. Cabrals Texte auf „Portrait of My Heart“ befassen sich mit Liebe, Intimität, Angst und Entfremdung und tauschen den allegorischen Ansatz vieler ihrer früheren Werke gegen einen Blick in ihr menschliches Herz. Die thematische Unverblümtheit des Albums spiegelt sich in den Arrangements wider und macht es zum bisher schärfsten und direktesten SPELLLING-Album. Vom düsteren Minimalismus ihrer frühesten Musik über den üppig orchestrierten Prog-Pop von „The Turning Wheel“ aus dem Jahr 2021 bis hin zu diesem neuen energiegeladenen Ausdruck ihres kreativen Geistes hat Cabral immer wieder bewiesen, dass SPELLLING alles sein kann, was sie braucht. Der Titeltrack mit seinem treibenden Drum-Groove und dem hymnischen Refrain von „I don't belong here“ ist die stärkste Verkörperung der Hinwendung des Albums zu emotionaler Direktheit. Sobald sich die Hauptmelodie herauskristallisiert hatte, nutzte Cabral den Song als Werkzeug, um ihre Ängste als Performerin zu verarbeiten, und entschied sich für eine straffere, rockigere Komposition. Diese Transformation spiegelt die allgemeine Verlagerung des Albums in Richtung Energie und Unmittelbarkeit wider, die von der Kernband Wyatt Overson (Gitarre), Patrick Shelley (Schlagzeug) und Giulio Xavier Cetto (Bass) vorangetrieben wird, deren Zusammenarbeit neue Konturen des SPELLLING-Sounds offenbart. Cabral schreibt und demontiert immer noch alleine, aber die Präsentation der Songs für „Portrait of My Heart“ vor ihren Bandkollegen hat ihr geholfen, die späteren lebendigen, organischen Formen zu entdecken. Das gilt auch für die Zusammenarbeit mit einem Produzententrio: Drew Vandenberg, der Tontechniker von „The Turning Wheel“, Rob Bisel, der mit SZA zusammenarbeitet, und Psymun, der Produzent von Yves Tumor. Wichtige Gastbeiträge prägen das Album zusätzlich. Chaz Bear (Toro y Moi) liefert SPELLLINGs erstes Duett auf „Mount Analogue“, Turnstile-Gitarrist Pat McCrory verwandelt Cabrals ursprüngliches Piano-Demo für „Alibi“ in die knackige, rifflastige Version, die auf dem Album zu hören ist, während Braxton Marcellous von Zulu „Drain“ seine schlammige Wucht verleiht. Diese Teile fügen sich nicht nur nahtlos in das Album ein, sie fühlen sich wie ein integraler Bestandteil seines Universums an. Letztendlich ist Portrait of My Heart jedoch niemandes Platte, sondern die von Cabral. Sie zieht furchtlos den Vorhang über Teile ihrer selbst zurück, die sie in SPELLLING noch nie gezeigt hat - ihre Gefühle als Außenseiterin, ihre übermäßig vorsichtige Art, die Art und Weise, wie sie sich rücksichtslos in intime Beziehungen stürzen kann, um sie dann genauso schnell wieder abzubrechen. „Es ist wie ein offenes Tagebuch all dieser Empfindungen“, sagt sie.

XL Recordings is proud to mark the 10th anniversary of Archy Marshall’s (aka King Krule) A New Place 2 Drown with the release of a newly remastered instrumental edition.
Originally released on 10 December 2015, A New Place 2 Drown remains a singular entry in the Archy Marshall catalogue. Known to many for his work as King Krule, Marshall released A New Place 2 Drown under his own name, highlighting a different facet of his creative identity. An atmospheric blend of submerged beats, woozy textures, and diaristic storytelling, the project earned widespread acclaim upon release, including Pitchfork’s Best New Music.
Developed in parallel with a visual world shaped with his brother and longtime collaborator Jack Marshall, the quietly influential project stands as a multidisciplinary love letter to their home of South London, originally released alongside a Will Robson-Scott–directed short film and a book of artworks, photography, and poetry by the Marshall brothers.
The 2025 instrumental edition offers a newly illuminated perspective on the record’s sonic core, drawing fresh attention to the production craft that underpins the project. By stripping the songs back to their foundations, the release highlights the intricate textures, rhythmic detail, and atmospheric depth that have helped A New Place 2 Drown grow into a cult favourite over the past decade.
“A New Place 2 Drown evokes a septic world filled with flickering halogen bulbs, sticky synth keys, and corroded outputs. Marshall has made tremendous strides as a producer, gorgeously reproducing the gloom and loneliness of early '90s hip-hop and finding a way to integrate it into his own style.” - PITCHFORK

THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET is spearheaded by twisted Australian guitar legend STU-ART GRAY, most notoriously known as STU SPASM of LUBRICATED GOAT, CRUNT, SALAMANDER JIM, and THE BEASTS OF BOURBON. Adding another crazed chapter to an already solidly sordid musical history, THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET stars some of the finest scoundrels of the New York City underground scene - SKELETON BOY of WOMAN on two-string bass, NIKKI D'AGOSTINO on sax, and veteran drummer RICH HUTCHINS of LIVE SKULL providing the savage, swinging beat. A rotating roulette of characters swagger into the second guitar slot as needed, each showcasing their particular specialty - twang, treble, or atmosphere. Stuart Gray's wayward path through the flashpoints of noise, grunge, and swamp-rock history is well-represented in the Quintet's sound - chaos with a cinematic edge. Sharing stages with kindred spirits such as THE SCIENTISTS and MUDHONEY got the attention of audiences early on. Their recordings and incendiary gigs throughout the New York scene and beyond soon caught the eye of the infamous LYDIA LUNCH, and it was only a matter of time before a new collaboration was born . . . Now, THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET collide with the queen of no wave LYDIA LUNCH on a new two-fisted ten-inch single . . . Melting the MAGAZINE classic "PERMAFROST", and grinding out an apocalyptic version of IGGY POP's "MASS PRODUCTION". Only on IN THE RED RECORDS! "Speaking of noise, that’s kind of Stu Spasm’s thing — from LUBRICATED GOAT in the late 1980s, to his current project, THE ART GRAY NOIZZ QUINTET. This elder statesman of clamor hasn’t lost his touch." - THE NEW YORK TIMES

"“Back of My Mind” represents a bold, inward journey—a turning point in his evolving artistry. Gone is any trace of uncertainty: instead, Drew channels a quiet confidence, and understated shift in his music style while sharpening his sense of self and sound with remarkable clarity. As a testament to his growing talent, Drew played almost every instrument on the album, giving each track a deeply personal and authentic feel.

With a debut for the ages, Drew Pulliam is about to make his mark on the music scene as a triple threat – singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. Pulliam said, “I feel like this album is finally approaching what I hear as my sound. I just hope I’m on the right path
because it’s the only one I know.”"

Michael Mayer returns to the Speicher series for his first release since last year’s brain-bursting The Floor Is Lava album. And yes, the floor is indeed lava when Mayer is on peak form, as he is here, with three tracks that oscillate, effortlessly, between the twin poles of Mayer’s music: dancefloor detonation and heart-wrenching beauty. To be fair, there’s more of the former here, but there’s beauty in generous discipline, too, and the unrelenting “Cry Me A Raver” feels, somehow, like it brings together decades of Kompakt pleasure in six giddy minutes – disco-fied arpeggios, glistening and hand-burnished textures, abstruse patterns that fall in and out of step. “Don’t Sync With My Tag” stomps with destructive glee, a beat as undeniable as the shaker cross-rhythms are silkily sexy. There’s always been something practical, functional, and utilitarian about Speicher, but it doesn’t get more everyday DJ-life than this: Mayer tells us the title is “a super-annoying message that pops up every time you open Rekordbox. Nobody knows what it means. It’s a DJ mystery.” But who needs answers, anyway? By the time you’ve started to get close to solving the riddle, Mayer’s taken you to Detroit via Cologne with “It Isn’t What It Isn’t”, a little doffing of the cap to Rhythim Is Rhythim. “You’re May, I’m Mayer, I used to tell him,” Michael chuckles. This made one of our cats almost jump out of its skin, with its stealthy slyness – creeping, amorphous electro noise; percussives that just won’t quit; the whole thing flooded with twitchy strip-light energy and silver-machine flare- outs.

Speicher is as Speicher does, and this is a damn good one. Make Mine Mayer!

Michael Mayer returns to the Speicher series for his first release since last year’s brain-bursting The Floor Is Lava album. And yes, the floor is indeed lava when Mayer is on peak form, as he is here, with three tracks that oscillate, effortlessly, between the twin poles of Mayer’s music: dancefloor detonation and heart-wrenching beauty. To be fair, there’s more of the former here, but there’s beauty in generous discipline, too, and the unrelenting “Cry Me A Raver” feels, somehow, like it brings together decades of Kompakt pleasure in six giddy minutes – disco-fied arpeggios, glistening and hand-burnished textures, abstruse patterns that fall in and out of step. “Don’t Sync With My Tag” stomps with destructive glee, a beat as undeniable as the shaker cross-rhythms are silkily sexy. There’s always been something practical, functional, and utilitarian about Speicher, but it doesn’t get more everyday DJ-life than this: Mayer tells us the title is “a super-annoying message that pops up every time you open Rekordbox. Nobody knows what it means. It’s a DJ mystery.” But who needs answers, anyway? By the time you’ve started to get close to solving the riddle, Mayer’s taken you to Detroit via Cologne with “It Isn’t What It Isn’t”, a little doffing of the cap to Rhythim Is Rhythim. “You’re May, I’m Mayer, I used to tell him,” Michael chuckles. This made one of our cats almost jump out of its skin, with its stealthy slyness – creeping, amorphous electro noise; percussives that just won’t quit; the whole thing flooded with twitchy strip-light energy and silver-machine flare- outs.

Speicher is as Speicher does, and this is a damn good one. Make Mine Mayer!

Wiccans only make noise when they feel like it. A band that’s been uttered in reverence for nearly two decades with only a handful of releases, each one a stand-alone classic.
You see, it’s hard to pinpoint a band that actually has the equal influences of American psychedelia and hard rock all anchored in the glorious benevolence of American Hardcore. A tonne of bands dance around and flirt with each but it rarely lands in the sweet spot. They’re not trying to fit some supposed perfect space and that’s the very point so many others miss.
Wiccans are creating the space. Breaking rules and allowing a bit of breadth to what is often a claustrophobic style of music. This might sound scary as everyone knows that the more Hardcore evolves the worse it is - at least on record. The formula that Wiccans are playing with on Phase IV should scare you. It’s totally potent with odd songwriting, intensely creative and varied guitar work and completely pissed vocals. Phase IV does whatever the fuck it wants and passes the bar that only Wiccans could have set for themselves. All of this is propelled by a far stronger production quality than previous efforts and instead of having that expose some fault line it’s secured it as a modern classic.
It’s the kind of shit that will shake the dandruff from the beard of a Third Man collector but will also make that guy stop going to DIY gigs because they’re “too rough” or whatever. I’m just sitting here wondering if this is maybe what might have happened if Poison Idea wrote Hidden World. There’s always space for a carbon copy Negative Approach destroying someones basement and they usually put out a record that is clearly brilliant but fuck me if I can’t help but yawn.
Am I getting old or is Hardcore painting by numbers? In a slough of legitimately top tier Hardcore Punk releases, this one actually sounds like something truly special.

2026 Repress

Flickering in ultraviolet, there is an elusive place where blue pill meets red, ups become downs, and day merges with night. Those liminal spaces where anything is possible is where you’ll find Nightbus and their hypnotic debut album Passenger. Doom, uncertainty, and opportunity lurk in the shadowy corners of their murky existence with stops at disassociation, co-dependency, and addiction before reaching its final destination - a glimmer of hope.

The in-between of Nightbus’ own Gotham lies where Manchester’s city pulse meets Stockport’s outer realm. An audio-visual entity formed among a musical family of friends, freaks, and foes in messy mills and after hours on dancefloors alike, their sound bleeds from tension where collective creative forces are bound together and collide with the fallout of being torn apart. Before even playing a show, their So Young released single ‘Mirrors’ – a knowing nod of respect to some well-known gloomy Northerners - may have made old school indie heads shimmy at shows in Salford’s The White Hotel but also signalled the duo’s knack for offering listeners a Bandersnatch approach to hitchhiking their own personal Nightbus in whatever direction they choose to take. “Everyone can have their moment with our songs; the music is our response to who we are as young people, living in the city full of this energy right now,” they say.

Whilst reverb hefty melodies and dread-filled loops embody isolation from writing at each of their home studio set-ups, magic happens in the ether across 90s trip-hop, indie sleaze and electronica; Jake’s production layers Olive’s pop sentimentality with drums and samples whilst tales of a cast of faceless characters place Olive as puppet master; her severed self’s perspective manipulating their stringed limbs at arm’s length to see how their stories play out when scenes reflecting her own lie close to the bone. “It’s a bit fucked; like having this out of body experience with a made-up movie running through my head,” she says. “As I write I can see they’re all from a similar world, but they allow me to explore different feelings without giving away part of myself.”

Recorded at The Nave in Leeds with producer-engineer Alex Greaves (Heavy Lungs, Working Men’s Club), surprise and danger lies in every crevice. Brooding whispers turn to chants on 6-minute opus ‘Host.’ Improvised when performed live, its immersive shift in tempo leads to hefty dub courtesy of Jake’s pedals. Even then, you won’t know shit’s hit the fan until its mid-point reveal when ominous bass blasts a thunderous soundtrack as its protagonist defiantly walks away after committing the perfect crime. “It makes you wait, and more songs should have sirens,” Olive grins.

Leaning deeper into alter-egos via the video game-psychological horror of a Silent Hill dystopia, the band’s Fight Club moment ‘Angles Mortz’ turns its literal translation of death angles on its head as it reflects upon kink and internalised shame reincarnated as pride. Elsewhere the ice cool ‘Landslide’ is a Requiem for a Dream about the addiction of being in a band; ‘The Void’ explores co-dependency and estranged relationships; and carefully selected samples revive house track ‘Just A Kid’ from the band’s early incarnation. Passenger’s every direction is to face challenges head on. “That is what’s so great about horror; you can see through predictable patterns so when the unexpected occurs it's more realistic and uncomfortable… I want to own the dark stuff!”

As for Passenger’s first single, the pulsating ‘Ascension’ is a spiralling deep dive into death, suicide, and legacy around who or what we leave behind. A noughties club banger by way of NYC beats - ergonomically designed for those who like to stay out a little too often and too late - it throbs like a house party’s partition wall as the literal levelling up undergoes a neon transformation; blue glitching to pink, diffusing the white construct of the Nightbus Matrix. “It really does feel like the end of something and was purposely written that way,” they say, “the ascension is like a firework going off!”

With wheels in motion, Nightbus has become a movement surpassing sonic realms. Between shows from Porto to Brighton taking in The Great Escape, Rotterdam’s Left Of The Dial and Paris’ Supersonic; DJing; remixing; guesting (BDRMM’s Microtonic album); and even enlisting talented like-minds to craft a 3-part queer coming-of-age music video series which ties in with a new ‘hyperpop’ phase in the evolution of their popular Nightbus Soundsystem club night, heads are now being turned from sports brands to high-end fashion designers. “There are things we can’t reveal just yet,” tells Olive, “but we’re excited about the direction this beast we’ve created is heading.” As the album philosophises and asks one ultimate question; what does it truly mean to be ‘Passenger’? Nightbus may not claim to offer a definitive answer, but it might make you feel a bit better about those demons.

In 2022, In the Red Records released The Great Confrontation, an album of instrumental electronic music by Chip Kinman. It was Chip’s first solo album; his previous recording, This American Blues, by his band Ford Madox Ford, was issued just prior to the 2018 death of his brother Tony. The Kinmans had been partnered musically since they were teens, in a variety of now-legendary projects: the OG California punk band the Dils, the pathfinding cowpunk unit Rank and File, the ear-shattering electro-rock duo Blackbird, and the Western music twosome Cowboy Nation.

In the wake of The Great Confrontation, Chip and In the Red plotted another record. The resultant collection, Chip Kinman, is reflective, soulful, and profoundly affecting, a statement of identity and a look back at life that avoids the pitfalls that could derail an autobiographical work.

"I had to figure out something to write about, and I thought, it’s time to make that record," Chip says. "A long time ago, Tony and I were talking about singer-songwriters, and he said, ‘If you’re going to sing about your life, you better have had a fucking interesting life.’ And I thought, I have. I’ve gotta deep-dive into that. I figured, if I was going to write about what it was like, how was I gonna approach that? How was I going to say that without being nostalgic or without being maudlin or without being over-celebratory? It it was, well, just say it like it was."

Limited edition (numbered 100 copies) 180g black vinyl with insert.

"BEN BEKELE does not exist. At least not the one I'm thinking of.


It's a mix of memories and fantasies from the mid-80s when it was my father who visited Ethiopia, returning with two small drums, a couple of pictures and tons of tales.
One of them was a story of a boy named Bekele, who taught him a traditional Ethiopian song.

Father passed this song on to us, as best as he could - now I'm having doubts as to what the message is actually about - but back then I was fascinated. Many years later, when I was preparing a song for a compilation "Portrety" at U Know Me Records, I realized that the bass line that I created resembled a fragment of that exact song. Apparently the melody buried itself somewhere deep in my subconscious and unexpectedly revealed itself at that moment. Therefore I decided to honor the memory of my deceased of 30 years dad (whose friends called him Ben) naming the composition: "The Life and Death of Ben Bekele". The song turned out to be very happy to me - its success definitely exceeded expectations, while in my head an idea to go further after Ben Bekele began to form.

This time I didn't want to work alone. I invited Kamil Piotrowicz and Igor Wiśniewski to cooperate with me. Incredibly creative, sensitive artists and wonderful companions on stage as well as off it. The music on this album is similar to a small extent to the "founding" piece.
It has however a couple of common features, with focus on the rhythm as the form-forming factor at the forefront. It's also organic, emotional, at times trance-like and illustrative.

I sincerely hope that when listening to this record, for these tens of minutes you'll escape from the surrounding us not-so-pleasant everyday life."

Originally released as a digital double a side both lead tracks were chosen by the remixers and the results are like an electrical storm.

Newark, NJ’s Dälek (Will Brooks) drags T. Relly’s growl through the quicksand, a cacophony of whiplashed beats and visceral loops spurring our protagonist on. It’s a gaggle of Ghostface Killas trapped in a hall of mirrors; it’s next door’s MBV heard through the walls whilst submerged in a low-lit bathtub. And Wu Tang are pulling the plug out.

Kevin Martin aka The Bug continues to release teeth rattling sonic masterpieces, his most recent being November’s ‘Implosion’ on his own Pressure label. In his hands ‘Protein’ becomes a submarine bass, head n’ rig wrecker opting here for more of his hooky ‘In Blue’ style Bug mix. As Kevin said – “to my fantastical mind it sounds like Bug dirt ‘n’grind Vs Yin Yang Twins’ louche swagger and Neptunes funk”.

“In Bristol, it was hip-hop and reggae renegades meeting up with white ex-punk guitarists, alternative pop pioneers hanging out with underground roots music makers, and sound system sonic stalwarts grooving out with rave’s space cadets that laid the bedrock for such an explosion. And if you think that such an eclectic melting pot ever went away, you would be wrong. Ree-Vo is all the proof that you need” – The Big Takeover

‘Pilot’ is the debut album from London quintet Miniseries. Channelling the epic sweep of TV themes and movie soundtracks into resplendent space rock they explore themes of youth and ageing, heartbreak and paranoia, euphoria and existential dread.

Songwriter Doug Morch (Longview) had been working on largely acoustic folk songs when he met Angela Gannon (The Magic Numbers) at Glastonbury 2017. Romance and musical collaboration ensued. The band coalesced in the hallowed environs of Farringdon's The Betsey Trotwood pub – a musical nexus where burgeoning indie and Americana scenes collide – where they met fellow songwriter and guitarist Dermot Watson (from Brighton's The Dials) and drummer Danny Abbasi and were joined by Doug's former bandmate Aidan Banks on bass. When they came together, their indie folk mutated into motorik art rock, with their first single being an eight-minute jam called "Road".

When it came to capturing their sound, the band reached for maverick musician and producer Sean Read. They recorded tracks at Read's Famous Times studio in Clapton, London, as well as at Edwyn Collins' Clashnarrow in Helmsdale, Scotland – one of the world's most breathtaking and idiosyncratic studio locations, adding unquantifiable magic to the proceedings.

For the closing track "May You Always", they headed to another studio imbued with tangible inspiration: Blueprint Studio in Salford with producer Craig Potter (Elbow) at the helm. For the song, Dermot drew cinematic inspiration from the Withnail & I line "I'll never play The Dane", the song is about realising that the things you aspired to in youth will never come to pass and being at peace with that realisation.

The recurring themes of youth and ageing are apparent in the resplendent lead track ‘You're Gold’ – a heartfelt call for young people to reject materialism and exploitative influencer culture in search of life's deeper meaning, with stylistic nods to The Pixies and early Stereolab.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, "Sepia" explores old age and fading memories through dementia, where the ending descends into chaos like a fragmenting mind. Elements of "Sepia" are foreshadowed in the album's opening track, the instrumental "Pilot Theme", which pays homage to TV theme music, invoking spy thrillers or perhaps something otherworldly from science fiction.

“Offcumdens” is a Calder Valley, Yorkshire term for people who live in the area but come from somewhere else. Hailing from Bury, Lancashire, Morch wrote the song while living in Hebden Bridge (and watching too much Happy Valley) and found himself being an offcumden. It’s a pop at the kind of local nativism which breeds intolerance and an illustration of the sinister rise of wider political populism.

Miniseries' Pilot is just the beginning of the story. Enthralling and atmospheric, the London quintet have created something familiar yet timeless. As singer Doug Morch says, "It's the Miniseries Pilot episode. Like the TV episode a studio makes to test whether it's viable.” In the age of streaming and box-sets, this is an album to truly binge on. We can’t wait to hear what happens next.

Free Mousse is a Paris-based collective and festival. They have been spreading their signature “Mousse” across the capital over the past three years. This year, they’ve decided to share it with everyone by pressing it on wax. To make it happen Blinkduus Dischetto and Kiss The Future, rising talented producers and close friends of Mousse team joined forces on a unique EP born from their collaboration.

On the record, you’ll find:

A1 – a banger by Kiss that has been tearing up dancefloors for a year now

B1 – a tech-house weapon from Blinkduus bringing the heat every time it’s played

Finally, both artists’ identities come together on A2 & B2 in exclusive cuts that we invite you to uncover.

We deliver mousse <3

To submit or to surrender? Robert Johnson resident Oskar Offermann doesn’t have the answers, and that’s kind of the point. Things change: one moment you’re touring the globe as a recognizable face of one of the greatest clubs in the world, the next you’ve started a new life as a teacher. How do you handle that shift? On this record, Offermann doesn’t offer solutions so much as trace his own way through it, reflecting the whole process in his music and creative work.

Whatever the story, whatever the case, Oskar Offermann can still produce some of the most emotive, bleepy, strange dance music out there and this 12 inch is the proof. Sonically and conceptually it leans into that precise, melancholic German school: at points drawing from 80s wave and experimental music, then flirting with trancey motifs and closing in divinely crafted breakbeat. In just four tracks it packs in a surprising amount of functional range, exactly what you’d expect from one of RJ’s longest-standing residents. The A- and B-sides mirror each other: they open at full intensity, tempos pushed well past the 130 BPM mark, easy to imagine ripping through a peak-time floor – and still both sides land on something far more personal and reflective.

Even inside a framework of high-intensity club tunes, Oskar’s character shines through loud and proud. Think the slightly disjarring yet melodically captivating winds in the middle of the B1 trance induced number “Accepting”, or the masterfully paced build of opener “Planet Interface”. The same goes for A2 “Televise Improvise” and B2 “Sei mal nur lieb”: on paper they should feel like breathers next to the two behemoths, but they don’t. Offermann crams so much substance and personality into them that they become quietly dangerous. There’s that magical mix of squelchy acid, rough low end and naturalistic melodies on B2, and the relentless emotional drive of A2 “Televise Improvise”. Oskar is really, really good at making dance music irresistible.

Character, skill and honesty in one record, meant for the attentive listener and the brave DJ. A rare combination nowadays, get it fast!

Master composer-pianist RIOPY returns with his fifth album “Be Love” - his first key music release since 2023’s “Thrive”. RIOPY’s releases have a history of RIAA Gold certifications, breaking records for topping the Classical music charts, and reaching over a billion streams. His music explores healing and resilience through sound. “Be Love” sees RIOPY sing for the very first time on a release. Through partnering with Lana Del Rey in 2023, RIOPY discovered the powerful, symbiotic connection between singing and the piano, leading to tracks like "Feeling Safe", "Long Way Home", "Come With Me". The 12 track album is comprised of 6 cinematic piano-instrumental tracks - a return to his roots of cinematic solo piano - and 6 more expansive tracks where RIOPY experiments with his voice: from meditative whispers stimulating his vagus nerve, to raw and emotive lyricism. The composer-instrumentalist has utilised numerous ways to produce sound, just never his own voice. “I had this compulsion, this need to use my voice, because I think it’s one of the biggest fears I’ve had through my life. I started just whispering… it’s not a new me, it’s just an expansion of what I do. It felt right. I needed to do this.”

Baro Sura’s Today & Always is a cinematic album told in three parts; it’s cosmic, cyclical, and impossibly human. As Baro writes, “Love is the universe… it is not linear… it can be lonely… it is recursive & contradictory yet eternal.” This album moves through devotion, doubt, persistence, and quiet reconciliation with each track as a signpost in an astrological journey. “Yours Now, Yours Next” opens the project with a Taurus-like groundedness, capturing the paradox of steadfastness and emotional weight. “i Still Care” teeters like Libra’s scales, a reflection on indecision, contradiction, and the heart’s refusal to let go. Blending spiritual storytelling with an ambient soul, Baro invites listeners into a world of intentional vulnerability where silence speaks and love echoes, today & always.

Disco Mind Records impressed everyone with its first EP and now it deals with the pressure of coming back with a second in fine fashion. This one is perfect for warm days and summer nights as it offers four high-impact and gloriously feel-good Brazilian and disco edits all pulled off to perfection. New young talent Brother Julian kicks off with a peak time and groovy burner, then disco don Romand Truth goes a little more deep and smooth with his seductive sound. Delfonic offers the percussive Latin grooves of 'Nada is Going to Change' and 'Grito de Guerra' is another upbeat open-air rhythm.

Known for their exhilarating live-to-record albums such as last year's critically acclaimed Wood Blues and Giant Beauty, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the first of two releases that will surface after أحمدAhmed’s first studio recording sessions at North London’s The Fish Factory in early 2025.

Since 2014, Ahmed أحمد have excavated and re-imagined the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, in an ever ongoing search for future music. Over a decade on, the group were given the opportunity to set up in the studio for the first time and, with the aid of meticulous engineer Benedic Lamdin, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the quartet's most detailed work to date.

Fastidious fans may recognise the album's tracklisting as that of Ahmed Abdul-Malik’s Jazz Sahara. After his success collaborating with the pianists Thelonious Monk and Randy Weston, Jazz Sahara was the first record Abdul-Malik made as a leader and was released in 1958. It used the flame of late Fifties jazz to light the wick of North African folk music and acted as a reminder of the Arabic origins of jazz, creating a distinct, unique sound that was far beyond its time. In Malik’s Jazz Sahara, there is no piano. The ongoing work of each member of [Ahmed] then is to think differently, to wonder how the music will work and to take a risk on trying it out - an extraordinarily compelling feat of imagination. Using group improvisation strategies and recording in single takes, سماع [Sama'a] (Audition) tackled the full suite of Jazz Sahara in just one session, with ‘Ya Annas [Oh, People’] and ‘Isma'a [Listen’] being previously unrecorded. 'Farah 'Alaiyna’, also released on 2019’s Super Majnoon, sounds unrecognisable - the slow, heady stomp and repeated phrasing of 2019’s embryonic [Ahmed] having been blast furnaced and sped up four-fold. The result is four kaleidoscopic, relative miniatures that move, unfold and re-imagine at a very different scale and proportion than [Ahmed]’s previous records. It’s a dizzying, euphoric music and an extraordinary record of a group moving through space-time like no other.




[b] Isma'a [Listen]
[c] El Haris [Anxious]
[d] Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 | Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 | El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 | Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]

Leave it to Langhorne Slim - a pioneer of raw, rule-breaking Americana for more than two decades - to reach far beyond the genre he helped inspire.

The Dreamin' Kind finds the Nashville transplant strapping on an electric guitar and embracing his longtime love of larger-than-life rock & roll. With it's chugging power chords, 1970s-sized riffs, and richly layered arrangements, The Dreamin' Kind is fueled not only by sheer amplification, but by the soul-baring songwriting that's become Slim's calling card, too. Tucked between those anthems are acoustic-driven songs that skirt the outer orbits of folk music, from the bare-boned heartbreak of ''Stealin' Time'' to the organic, orchestral sweep of ''Dance On Thru.'' The result is the more explorative and expansive album of Slim's career: a record made for rock clubs, campfires, and garages alike, produced by Greta Van Fleet's Sam Kiszka, and anchored by a lifelong desire to break down new walls.

''It felt like I was blowing some old shit up so I could plant some new flowers,'' Slim says of the creation process. ''I love acoustic music. I love folk music. But those aren't my only loves. Rock & roll has always tickled the same place in my soul as great singer-songwriter music, and I wanted to explore those influences. Raw songs that make you feel something: that's the stuff I'm after.''

Ltd. Orange Vinyl Finnish powerhouse Bloodred Hourglass (BRHG) return with their seventh studio album “We Should Be Buried Like This”, a bold and unrelenting statement from a band that has steadily evolved into one of the most commanding forces in modern death metal. Hailing from Mikkeli, BRHG have long stood out for their ability to merge the ferocity of thrash and groove metal with the immersive soundscapes of metalcore, alternative metal, and melodic death. Their music is as dynamic and emotionally resonant as it is heavy and entertaining - a mix that has earned them critical acclaim, a devoted international fanbase, and a reputation for explosive live performances. On “We Should Be Buried Like This”, the band takes their darkest, most unfiltered turn yet. Described as “a work of end-time songs,” this album does not aim to comfort or explain. It’s a raw, confrontational piece built around the slow erosion of hope, the fading of love, the repetition of generational mistakes, and a world defined by self-obsession, disconnection, and indifference. “There’s no pleading, no sugarcoating,” the band explains. “We’re not here to prove anything. This is an album born from an urgent drive to rip things open and say them as they are.” Musically, “We Should Be Buried Like This” is the most aggressive and straightforward album BRHG have ever crafted, yet it never loses sight of the unmistakable melodic power that defines their sound. With searing riffs, explosive energy, and sweeping emotional depth, the album pulses with intensity from start to finish. Guest appearances and fresh sonic elements are woven throughout, yet the band remains firmly rooted in the signature style they’ve spent years perfecting.

Hazy Runway Indie Rock That Oozes Vibes

Katie Schecter is for fans of Sharon Van Etten, Caroline Rose, and Amy Winehouse. Raised in NYC, it feels as if Katie Schecter time traveled to present day from a chicer and more sonically cool yesteryear of the future. She effortlessly blends the half-cool, half-kitsch of her home in Nashville that is neither new nor timeless. Deeply soulful and introspective indie rock vibes await the listener when you drop the needle on this LP. Produced with love and care by Nick Bockrath of Cage The Elephant with an incredible set of musicians (Homer Stenweiss, Leon Michels to name a few!) this LP is one that reveals more of itself the more you spin it.