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Back on Celestial Echo Records with CER010, a record that’s been a fixture in the right record bags for a long time.

Africano – “Open Your Hearts” is a serious modern soul tune for the Chicago DJs. Super funky, big on feeling, and powered by explosive instrumentation that just keeps driving. — strong, emotional, and made for proper dancefloors.

It’s been spun for years by DJs like Mark Grusane, Theo Parrish, and others in that Chicago scene — and it works every time. Part 1 on the A-side is the one you know, while Part 2 on the flip stretches things out and lets the groove roll on.

As always, Celestial Echo is about soul records that have earned their place. Remastered with care and pressed properly, Africano is one we’re proud to finally put back out there.

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, Reichel’s rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release.

Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely centre of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. As Reichel says in the charming archival interview with Markus Müller included here, he was ‘always a cuckoo’s egg at FMP’, a label that began as an outlet for roaring European free jazz. What strikes the listener right from the opening selection on Dalbergia Retusa—‘Return of the Knödler show’, from 1987’s The Dawn of Dachsman—is the extraordinary beauty of Reichel’s music, at once alien in the shimmering sonorities and unconventional pitch relationships made possible by his invented instruments, and deeply lyrical, even romantic in its harmonic content. Growing up in West Germany in the 1960s, Reichel’s formative influences were mainly British and American rock bands, a background that shines through in many of the pieces included here: ‘An old friend passes by’ is haunted by the ghost of Hendrix’s rhythm guitar, and the wild closer ‘Heimkehr der Holzböcke’, taken from a rare 1975 7” and the only piece to use overdubbing, layers errant hammer-on and slide tones over a Canned Heat boogie chug.

Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi’s own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel’s work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. On a piece from his very first LP, played on an 11-string instrument (partly strung with piano strings and using a schnapps glass a slide), we hear his intensive exploration of fret-hammering to create zither-like, chiming tone, which Reichel would hone further in later years with a double fretboard guitar specifically designed to be hammered rather than fretted and picked. On a piece from 1979’s Death of the Rare Bird Ymir, Reichel uses two steel-string acoustic guitars at once, with beautiful results: ‘some even say too beautiful’, he jokes in the interview included here. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the ‘pick behind the bridge guitar’, instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behaviour of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realised solely through Reichel’s unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel’s own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel. Rarely has music been at once so strange and so beautiful.

Ten years after the cult debut, Phil Kieran returns under his Le Carousel alias with a dazzling follow-up. The Humans Will Destroy Us blends shoegaze-inspired electronics, lush analogue textures, and dreamy synthscapes into a rich, cinematic journey. A colourful evolution of the underground classic - emotional, timeless, and deeply human.

It's been more than ten years since Rolando debuted with his sought after self-titled EP on 030303 and it is thrilling to see the producer - who has always managed to remain a sort of best kept secret, admired only by the heads - still surf those high waves of creativity. Lifephorce is bound to be an instant classic, leaving instant marks on the listener's soul with unsettling yet mesmerising chord changes, a heavy throbbing bassline and generally a deep, introspective outlook on the dancefloor. Sterilize the Club brings back memories of face masks (thank you Rolando), but soundwise this is face to the ground stomping braindance material. Just as driving but more melancholic are Dot Zoner and Exit Your Own Realm. Classic Rolando Simmons, this one. If you know you know...

Italy-born, Dublin-based Lerosa is back on Assemble after eight years. With releases on labels like D1, Millions of Moments, Ostgut Ton, Acid Test, Uzuri, Hotmix and Ferox, he now returns to Assemble Music with his second solo EP. Four tracks crossing deep techno, acid, electro and breaks. Analog stuff!

Lucas Santtana’s tenth album celebrates the vitality and musicality of the Romance languages.
The heir to Brazilian tropicalism, Santtana marks 25 years of his career with Brasiliano, a true collective celebration that brings together prestigious collaborators: Gilberto Gil, Oxmo Puccino, Flavia Coelho, Piers Faccini, Chico César, Paralamas do Sucesso, Cocanha, Dimartino, Karyna Gomes, Tainara Takua, Rachel Reis and Maria Lado.
Sung in eight different languages, Brasiliano is both an ode to linguistic diversity and a testament to its symbolic power. Carried by luminous and layered arrangements where voices intertwine like a polyphonic conversation, the album treats language as a musical instrument in its own right, but also as a political tool. Santtana questions cultural heritage, identity, colonial memory, and the possibility of a shared language. With his singular approach—blending popular rhythms, contemporary soundscapes and vibrant melodies—he celebrates the love and exchange embodied in Romance languages, where music becomes fertile ground for encounters and reinvention.

Nail has been an important voice in the UK underground ever since his DiY Sound System days in the East Midlands in the 90s. After many years away, he returned, much to the delight of many heads, about a decade ago and has continued to roll out essential jams ever since. This one on his In The Dance label embodies his style - loopy, disco tinged house that's rough around the edges and burning with soul. 'Lick The Bag' is a cheeky title for a cheeky tune, 'The Price Is Wrong' shimmers with muted jazzy chords that are always held back, but the delight is in the promise and 'Medicine Stick' rolls on sweet grooves and knotted bass. 'Swing By' shuts down with plunging kicks and hints of MAW. Superb.

The breakout underground star of the past year, the deservedly hyped Thought Leadership returns with another X ideas: the deck this time chooses the suit of Cups. This new collection is closer to the Post-Punk tonality of Pentacles, than the breezy Balearic Jazz of Swords. Gone are the brushed drum samples and airy synths and in their place are BIG guitars, 808 thumps and a decidedly more prominent use of bass as a melodic device.

As the suit of Cups reflects the emotional heart of the Tarot, presented within are a further X pieces, this time displaying the full range and fervour of Thought Leadership.

You know the drill by now. Originally out on cassette only, we present the first ever vinyl issue. It's a hideously limited pressing of 300 for the world, so don't sleep on this.

Side A explores the emotional levels of consciousness; angst, joy, love, sorrow, relief, regret – they are all represented across the first seven tracks, and often within the same piece. XXI kicks us off with a huge tumbling D minor passage, layers and layers of guitar front and centre, whilst the drums pound away in the distance. Release is provided with a gorgeous G Dorian section, where we hear the bass take flight with a high melodic line.

We’re still in familiar Durutti Column meets Dif Juz territory here, but things switch up with XXII. This piece showcases a darker, more angular palette of guitars; think Alan Rankine (The Associates), or Deb Demure (Drab Majesty) in the unexpected harmonic shifts, knotty arpeggiated patterns and heavy, goth-adjacent modulation. A real love letter to 45+ years of darkly inclined guitar heritage.

XXIII enters the fray with tight, thumping 808s and Marr-esque guitar figures; and again, the bass providing heavy melodic counterpoint to the guitars. Enter chiming, lyrical lead phrasing, reminiscent of the eternal opening to "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Another accidental perfect pop moment from the Thought Leader. Whilst on the topic of Tears For Fears, XXIV comes swinging out of the gate with some serious Sophisti-chug; we’re reminded of "Shout" in the A section, before being beautifully juxtaposed in the B section with more Vini-eqsue patterns, reminiscent of his timeless classic, Another Setting.

XXV gives us welcome pause to take stock midway through the A side. No drums this time, but instead a heartbreaking conversation between two guitars; think Kevin McCormick and David Horridge’s masterful Light Patterns, or perhaps even the early solo-Bill Connors mid-70s cuts for ECM. The moment of quiet reflection passes, and is quickly shattered by the thudding march of XXVI – this piece comes across like The Associates playing "Wicked Game"; heavy, moody, and utterly compelling. XXVII ends our journey across Side A with more Marr-inspired playing; one for the heads and already featured on mixes, this one is real testament to the vision of Thought Leadership.

Side B again takes us on a trip through three long-form semi-improvised pieces. XXVIII is like those classic Jonny Nash, early Melody As Truth releases, slowly unfurling, additional details introduced deliberately piece by piece, this idea builds across 7+ minutes culminating in some utterly joyous ebow fireworks at the end – well Balearic.

XXIX again, like XXV before it, dispatches the drums with a focus purely on melody and mood. The piece feels like a lost Save Room Theme from the Resident Evil series, pure golden age Capcom Sound Team vibes. Unadulterated aural nostalgia for hours spent with a PS1 in haze of hash.

XXX completes this majestic voyage with another Modal exercise; this time the Thought Leader has opted for the Lydian Mode. Beautifully dreamy, undeniably Soundtrack-y, and arguably the most concise distillation so far of everything this project stands for; drum machines, guitars, pedals, one-take improvised solos – XXX has the lot, and is surely destined for greatness.

So, another X epic statements for guitar, homespun with the humblest of means, for all the dreamers out there. The first ever vinyl release of IV Of Cups has been carefully remastered by Be With's engineer Simon Francis to ensure it sounds better than ever after its initial tape release. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut at Abbey Road Studios whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at Record Industry, in Holland. The original tape cover artwork, so crucial to Thought Leadership's striking visual aesthetic, has been rejigged for vinyl issue here at Be With.

The last 2 LPs flew. You have been warned.

"US funky drummer Les DeMerle who is one of the representations of rare groove scenes. hisA1st album which was released in 1968 is finally reissued as vinyl for the first time!AMany killer tracks for diggers are included, such as ""A Day In The Life"" which is also known as sampling material of HIP HOP classic OC ""Time's Up"" and the US No.1 hit great funk numberA ""Aquarius"" by Fifth Dimension.A
In addition, great musicians were joinedAfor this great funk album such as Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin,AArnie Lawrence, Charles Sullivan etc...you can find how young Les DeMerle was a talented drummer even though he was just around 20 years old at that time!"

2026 Repress

Welcome to the brilliant Herbie Hancock with the always in-demand slinky groover Stars In Your Eyes on the much coveted 11.21 "special disco remix".

This is quite simply one of the smoothest Disco rides you will ever take with a production made in heaven and a vocalist supreme with Gavin Christopher taking it to another level. Find an original U.S. promo of this if you can.

There's lookalikes about which are inferior quality! As if that wasn't enough, we've only gone and paired it with the hugely rare U.S. promo-only 12" "special disco remix" of the scintillating Saturday Night.

This is as rare as hens teeth and you'd be lucky to find a mint one for less than £50. Featuring an extended percussion break from the fantastic Sheila E, this a very different mix to the original album version and was never widely circulated at the time.
So another nice rare gem. As double-siders go, this really takes some beating. Order with confidence because this will still be selling for years to come.

For more than two decades, Eamon Harkin has helped shape New York’s communal pulse. As a founder of Mister Saturday Night, Mister Sunday, Planetarium, and Nowadays, he’s created and DJed in spaces where dance, listening, and connection blur into something deeper — places where people come together to make sense of the world through sound.

On his new album, The Place Where We Live, Harkin turns that lens inward. Drawing on 25 years as a DJ and curator, he moves between house, techno, and ambient currents with a sense of stillness and searching. The result is a record that feels both physical and introspective — the sound of the dance floor seen through memory.

The title comes from psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott’s idea of “the place where we live,” the psychic space between the inner and outer world — where play, art, and culture help us build meaning. For Harkin, an Irish immigrant long settled in another land, that idea resonates both philosophically and personally. The Place Where We Live captures the tension and beauty of the pulse of the club and the quiet of reflection — an album about belonging, transition, and the quiet resonance of finding home somewhere in between.

Super Rhythm Trax are proud to present this reissue of one of the most loved, most underground and most sought after Breakbeat Hardcore records from 1991. Raw rugged and authentic, no silly chipmunk vocals or twee piano here, oh no!

Carefully remastered from the original dat tapes, both original versions of Underkut “Both Ends” are now available at a reasonable price after 35 years!!

Since its original release in 1991 it quickly gathered legendary status with it’s super slamming breaks and ‘that’ huge Bassline, it doesn’t get any better than this.

On the DAT tape, we also chanced upon an unreleased, unheard version, and We include this unheard vocal mix as an ‘of it’s time’ artefact for the collectors, as it really accentuates the record’s obvious HipHop leanings and there are parallels to be drawn with the whole Britcore movement of the time, where crews like Hijack, Gunshot, Cash Crew, Demon Boyz and London Posse were flourishing.

2026 Repress
Six years after the release of the "A Parade, In The Place I Sit, The Floating World (& All Its Pleasures)" EP on anno Records, Brian Leeds, aka Huerco S., returns to the Loidis project with his debut album "One Day" on Incienso.

Daniele Baldelli
"A pleasant surprise to find in this release various atmospheres and sounds that have always been part of my DJing. It even made me rediscover M’Bamina, whom I used to play back in 1974 at the Tabù Club in Cattolica.
There are afro vibes as well, with Black Line – Myele, which is featured on one of my Cosmic tapes, and Nowhere by the Stratosferic Band recalls a track I used to play at the Baia degli Angeli…
Excellent work!"

Voom Voom Music was an independent Italian record label based in Turin, founded and managed by record producer Ivo Lunardi (Turin, December 6, 1940 – December 9, 2010). A pivotal figure in the Piedmont music scene, Lunardi was active both as a DJ and as the owner of several disco clubs.

The label operated for several years in the latter half of the 1970s, releasing mainly productions connected to the Italian dance and pop scene.
Since 2016, the original master tapes from the Voom Voom Music catalog have been owned by Gianluca Pandullo (I-Robots), a close friend of Ivo and Luca Lunardi. Through his labels Opilec Music and Turin Dancefloor Express, Pandullo oversees their preservation and historical enhancement.

The artistic direction of Voom Voom Music was marked by a distinct sonic identity — eclectic yet visionary. The Turin-based label founded by Ivo Lunardi embraced a sound that blended disco, pop, and rock influences, interwoven with African American grooves in a pioneering, international perspective.

Voom Voom Music was among the first Italian labels to introduce this kind of musical language in the country. A prime example is the Italian edition of the debut album by B.T. Express, Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), released in LP, 8-Track Cartridge, cassette, and 7" single formats.
The label’s productions clearly reflected the influence of black and funk music, as evidenced by the references and inspirations running through its catalogue. The track “Lady Pick-Up”, for instance, includes direct nods to “Do It Good” by KC & The Sunshine Band and Manu Dibango’s iconic “Soul Makossa”, revealing a musically refined and contemporary sensibility.

Among the label’s most representative works is Splash (1977) by the Stratosferic Band, a project conceived by Luigi Venegoni — producer, songwriter, and guitarist of Arti e Mestieri. Venegoni’s artistic journey spanned from progressive rock to space and Italo disco. The album artwork was designed by Piero D’Amore (1944 - 2022), a charismatic and multifaceted figure of Turin’s art scene (one of his works was even acquired by the MoMA in New York).
The record includes a disco reinterpretation of Van Morrison’s classic “Gloria”, and “Splashdown”, a track fusing the disco-rock energy of Rockets and Space. In contrast, “Nowhere” revisits the 1975 single by Hokis Pokis, a soul/disco band from Nassau County (New York), transforming it into a vibrant disco-funk number.

Another significant expression of the label’s catalogue is the afro-rock sound of M’Bamina, an Italo-Congolese group whose rhythmic energy and dialogue between African percussion and Western funk evoke the style of international formations such as Osibisa — themselves linked to a rich artistic history in Italy.

Some 30 years after they first met in the DJ booth of Tokyo’s Spacelab Yellow nightclub, close friends François Kevorkian and Dimitri From Paris have finally joined forces in the studio. The result is The Nassau Excursion, a dazzlingly good three-track EP inspired by their joint love of disco and boogie-era dance records made at Island Records’ Compass Point Studio in the Bahamas.

Across three essential tracks, François and Dimitri explore and celebrate this distinctive Caribbean post-disco sound – one where weighty basslines and heavy drum machine beats rub shoulders with early ‘80s synths, dub-style production, heady hand percussion patterns and arrangements drenched in space echo and tape delay.

James Ruskin's Blueprint Records continues its 30-year celebrations with a new EP by Kr!z who returns with his fourth EP for the label. Kr!z made his Blueprint debut in fine style with his "Neutrino EP" in 2022 and went on to deliver the "Revelation EP" in 2023 and "Horo EP" in 2024 so it's fitting that he's back to join in this landmark label anniversary.

Kr!z has been at the forefront of techno for more than a decade. Influenced by the hypnotic and energetic sound helmed by veterans such as Jeff Mills, Steve Rachmad and James Ruskin, he gradually but steadily developed his own identity in the international techno scene.

After making a name for himself as a skilled DJ with sharp focus and a quick mixing style in home country Belgium and the Netherlands, Kr!z launched Token Records in 2007. It has since been a leading outlet for heady, purist sounds. He rapidly established the label as a fixed value with a timeless and powerful sound and took it around the world with label nights on every continent. Token remains important in defining techno today - always straightforward, sometimes weird, often catchy - all under the helm of Kr!z as avid A&R.

After 12 years spent assiduously focused on curating the Token discography, showcasing artists he has nurtured and supported over this time, and incorporating the connoisseur's knowledge and experience he has cultivated in his work as a DJ, in 2019 he released his own debut EP "Mantra" on the label, earning high acclaim from both media and key DJs. Since then, he has continued to develop a strong body of work, regularly releasing on the influential Blueprint Records and SK_eleven alongside his own Token imprint, and producing aseries of notable remixes. This steady output has established him as a key figure within the techno landscape, recognized for both consistency and artistic depth.

Kr!z's latest Blueprint EP "Footprints" is released 13th March on vinyl and digitally.

Since last year's EP “rhyme09,” a quiet storm has been brewing around the label. This release is not only long overdue, but Vienna is also home to numerous new talents as DJs and producers. The label boss makes the selection here and kicks off this release with a completely crazy track that is unlike anything else out there. There is virtually nothing else like it, making this track unique with its bassline, offset kick drum, and acid grooves. The second tune on the A Side comes from Fabiano Jose’, a well-known DJ in Vienna who, with his brand “Merkwürdig” has been an important player in the local party scene for several years. A catchy tech house tune, “step in” if you can!

The first tune on the B Side is a collaboration between ZentaSkai, well known for his label MASK Berlin, and Thomas Grün, also a long-time DJ and producer in Vienna who releases house and tech house tunes also on his own label “Untitled100 records”.

With Manu Script on B2, we have a debut here. With his great taste as a DJ and producer, he delivers a powerful groove. Another true Party stepper! Be ready...

Best known as the DJ for multi-platinum band Sugar Ray, American DJ, musician, rapper, singer, record producer and radio personality Craig Anthony Bullock aka DJ Homicide_ has been active for more than three decades. His solo work finds him flipping a wide range of source sounds into his own fat, club-ready joints, all informed by years of working various crowds into party mode. He opens here with 'Se Acado Fl', and brings a light touch to heavy beats that are overlaid with impassioned Spanish vocals that add a florid edge next to the excitable horns. On the backside is Big Syphe'd 'Our Generation Flip' which is soul music welded to a low slung and dusty hip-hop foundation.

Born 2 Be Free label head Azaad has been kicking out his twist on UKG for a few years now, and in that same time he has also been beavering away on his debut album. Ahead of that drop, he teases us with a sampler from it that covers plenty of ground. 'Isthisluv (feat Elias Mazian)' is a deep one with an expansive comic backdrop and cool grooves. 'Dubble Lively' is more tightly coupled and punchy, kick-driven garage house, then he remixes 'Lost Worlds' into something dubby but kicking. Two B-side cuts roll deep with deft sampling. Bring on the album!

Musical maverick Mark de Clive-Lowe returns to his roots with a new electro-acoustic record ‘Dreamweavers', displaying his talent as a pianist and composer in partnership with creative collaborators bass player Andrea Lombardini and drummer Tommaso Cappellato.
De Clive-Lowe’s stylistic signature is usually found in his role as conductor, producer and manipulator of sounds behind his highly customized, mind-boggling setup of intertwining synths, drum machines and live-remixing technology. With all but a grand piano and a few keyboards stripped away from him, and the production in Lombardini and Cappellato’s hands, ‘Dreamweavers’ is the first non-self-produced MdCL album in 25 years.