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Plaque is a young Bristol label which knows what’s what; always worth checking.
Tiny runs so look sharp.

"Founder of KUMP and Meth.O tapes, Lyon’s Marc-Étienne Guibert (AKA Gil.Barte) awakens his new Mert Seger moniker for a shadowy Plaque excursion. Nine slow burners strike from the murk with venomous precision."

'The spiritual successor to The Gospel According To Budgie mixtapes and The Good Book albums with Alchemist. Holy Ghost Zone picks up right where they left blending 90's Gospel with a 2018 bounce.'

Possibly less obscure but definitely deeper. Made up of tracks that were started in Wyoming for Kanye/Sunday Service and then finished in LA and transposed to this project…

Includes 7 tracks exclusive to the vinyl release.

Something most fitting in places like main floor Sunday night at Cocktail D’Amore. Well produced big room sound for DJ use, by DJ turned studio magician Jonathan Kussuma, who’s efforts need little convincing of how effective they might be on a dance floor. 4 masterful exercises in heavy percussive action interlaced with deep industrial sounds and hypontizing synth use, portraying a highly unique aesthetic from the well versed Indonesian producer/DJ.

Repress of ‘Glow On’, the 2021 Grammy nominated third studio album from Baltimore hardcore punk quintet Turnstile. Co-produced by the band themselves along with hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo, and featuring the guest vocals of Blood Orange.



Recorded with producer Mike Elizondo and co-produced by the band’s Brendan Yates, GLOW ON follows TURNSTILE’s 2018 breakthrough album TIME & SPACE, which saw the Baltimore band charting new ground for hardcore, expanding stylistic boundaries and celebrating new possibilities.



With GLOW ON that utopic vision is fully realized; 15 tracks devoid of borders, boundaries, or entry obstacles, only abundant imagination, heart, and grooves plucked from all corners of the musical spectrum. GLOW ON includes the singles “HOLIDAY,” “MYSTERY,” “NO SURPRISE,” and “T.L.C. (TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION) from TURNSTILE’s recent TURNSTILE LOVE CONNECTION EP. GLOW ON also includes guest features from Blood Orange on “ALIEN LOVE CALL,” “LONELY DEZIRES,” with additional vocal contributions on “ENDLESS.”



“TURNSTILE has the ability to lure even the most poptimistic listener with spectacular hooks,” affirmed NPR remarking on the band’s single “HOLIDAY,” while The FADER named the track one of the 20 Best Rock Songs Right Now. Stereogum declared, “If you’re gonna go big, you might as well go gigantic, and with ‘MYSTERY’ TURNSTILE sound like they’re about to be huge.”



Bringing superhuman energy to the stage, TURNSTILE are scheduled to perform a string of sold-out headline shows this summer in the US, followed by appearances at next year at Spain’s Primavera Sound on 6/5, France’s Hellfest on 6/23, and the UK’s Outbreak Festival on 6/24.



Always more appeal than demand, more liberation than limitation, TURNSTILE extended their hand in 2018 with TIME & SPACE. Recorded with producer Will Yip, TIME & SPACE marked Turnstile’s Roadrunner Records debut and saw the band exploding the most outsized tropes of hardcore with tremendous heart. The album earned “Best of 2018” honors from Kerrang!, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard and more, with GQ naming TIME & SPACE one of “The Best Albums That Shaped the 2010s.”



Comprised of Brendan Yates (Vocals), Franz Lyons (Bass/Vocals), Brady Ebert (Guitars), Pat McCrory (Guitars), and Daniel Fang (Drums), TURNSTILE’s brand of youth-minded, youth-driven hardcore punk is intent on breaking down barriers, sonically and ideologically.

Radiohead kündigen mit "Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003-2009" ein neues Livealbum, welches es der Band ermöglichte, ihre Beziehung zu ihrem sechsten Studioalbum Hail to the Thief neu zu bewerten. Das Album ist jetzt digital verfügbar und als einmalige Pressung vorbestellbar, die am 31. Oktober erscheint. Es enthält Aufnahmen von Auftritten in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires und Dublin zwischen 2003 und 2009. Gemischt wurde das Album von Ben Baptie und gemastert von Matt Colton. Thom Yorke sagte über das neue Livealbum: "Als ich darüber nachdachte, wie ich Arrangements für die Shakespeare-Hamlet/Hail to the Thief-Theaterproduktion gestalten könnte, bat ich darum, einige archivierte Liveaufnahmen der Songs zu hören. Ich war schockiert über die Energie, mit der wir damals gespielt haben. Ich habe uns kaum wiedererkannt, und es hat mir geholfen, einen Weg nach vorn zu finden. Wir beschlossen, diese Liveaufnahmen zu mischen und zu veröffentlichen (es wäre verrückt gewesen, sie nur für uns zu behalten). Das Ganze war ein sehr kathartischer Prozess. Wir hoffen sehr, dass ihr sie genießt." Die einmalige Vinylpressung ist außerdem in einer limitierten roten Variante bei unabhängigen Händlern sowie in einer cyanfarbenen Version exklusiv im W.A.S.T.E.-Store von Radiohead erhältlich. Kürzlich hat Thom Yorke gemeinsam die von der Kritik gefeierte Produktion "Hamlet Hail to the Thief" mitgestaltet - eine rasante Adaption von Shakespeares Hamlet, untermalt von einer dekonstruierten Partitur aus neu bearbeiteten Songs des 2003er-Albums Hail to the Thief. Rolling Stone UK schrieb über die neue Inszenierung: "Der größte Beweis für Yorke und seine Mitautoren ist, dass diese Welten so nahtlos miteinander verschmelzen - als wären sie schon immer füreinander bestimmt gewesen."

Radiohead kündigen mit "Hail to the Thief Live Recordings 2003-2009" ein neues Livealbum, welches es der Band ermöglichte, ihre Beziehung zu ihrem sechsten Studioalbum Hail to the Thief neu zu bewerten. Das Album ist jetzt digital verfügbar und als einmalige Pressung vorbestellbar, die am 31. Oktober erscheint. Es enthält Aufnahmen von Auftritten in London, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires und Dublin zwischen 2003 und 2009. Gemischt wurde das Album von Ben Baptie und gemastert von Matt Colton. Thom Yorke sagte über das neue Livealbum: "Als ich darüber nachdachte, wie ich Arrangements für die Shakespeare-Hamlet/Hail to the Thief-Theaterproduktion gestalten könnte, bat ich darum, einige archivierte Liveaufnahmen der Songs zu hören. Ich war schockiert über die Energie, mit der wir damals gespielt haben. Ich habe uns kaum wiedererkannt, und es hat mir geholfen, einen Weg nach vorn zu finden. Wir beschlossen, diese Liveaufnahmen zu mischen und zu veröffentlichen (es wäre verrückt gewesen, sie nur für uns zu behalten). Das Ganze war ein sehr kathartischer Prozess. Wir hoffen sehr, dass ihr sie genießt." Die einmalige Vinylpressung ist außerdem in einer limitierten roten Variante bei unabhängigen Händlern sowie in einer cyanfarbenen Version exklusiv im W.A.S.T.E.-Store von Radiohead erhältlich. Kürzlich hat Thom Yorke gemeinsam die von der Kritik gefeierte Produktion "Hamlet Hail to the Thief" mitgestaltet - eine rasante Adaption von Shakespeares Hamlet, untermalt von einer dekonstruierten Partitur aus neu bearbeiteten Songs des 2003er-Albums Hail to the Thief. Rolling Stone UK schrieb über die neue Inszenierung: "Der größte Beweis für Yorke und seine Mitautoren ist, dass diese Welten so nahtlos miteinander verschmelzen - als wären sie schon immer füreinander bestimmt gewesen."

We're thrilled to announce the release of "The Mackenzie - Classics EP 2", the long-awaited follow-up to the popular EP 1 everyone was excited about. This limited edition pressing comes on stunning smoked black-colored vinyl, with only 500 copies available worldwide. Housed in a deluxe threefold sleeve, this release is a true collector's item.

The Mackenzie name is legendary in the Belgian trance scene, and this EP brings together some of their most sought-after classics and overlooked masterpieces. Each track has been carefully remastered for 2025, breathing new life into these timeless anthems. This EP 2 is spanning over more than 2 decades of hit releases, amongst of them are "Falling In Love", "Walk Away", "All I Need" and "You Got To Get Up".

Expect rich melodies, mesmerizing builds, enchanting vocals, and that unmistakable 90s spirit that made "The Mackenzie" iconic in trance. This is not just the successor of EP 1 – it's the final chapter in a tribute to the golden era of Belgian quality trance music.

Belgian pop superstar Max Colombie, aka Oscar and the Wolf, announces new
album ‘The Shimmr’, on PIAS Recordings.
Enter Colombie’s world and you’ll discover a uniquely dazzling and shimmering
fusion of contemporary R&B and a more European electro-pop sensibility, uniting
shivery melody, shifting beats and vocals steeped in drama, sensuality and yearning.
Colombie hears, “a twilight zone where it doesn’t sound dark nor happy. It’s like the
name Oscar and the Wolf; it’s a balance between light and dark, this perfect
combination between the sun and the moon. It’s beautiful and scary at the same
time.”
Oscar and the Wolf’s official debut, the 2012 EP ‘Summer Skin’, showed his gifts
arrived virtually fully formed, but he truly came of age in 2014 with his debut album
‘Entity’. Balanced between dancefloor anthems and slow jams, ‘Entity’ went 4 times
Platinum in his native Belgium and quickly jettisoned Colombie to superstar status.
He sold out arenas in Belgium and the Netherlands, taking the penultimate
headlining slot (behind Muse) at 2016’s Lowlands festival before headlining
Belgium’s Pukkelpop festival, sharing the bill with Rihanna and LCD Soundsystem.
Released in 2017, the second Oscar and the Wolf album, ‘Infinity’, went Platinum at
home, whilst amassing a huge Middle Eastern fanbase across Turkey (where his
2018 tour sold out in minutes), Egypt, Israel and Iran. On stage, Colombie cut a
commanding and lithe performer, often garbed in shimmering outfits that interacted
with the dynamic lighting.
The new Oscar and the Wolf album, ‘The Shimmer’, distils the essence of Colombie’s
sound and vision in its title and the image of Colombie on the album cover, bathed in
starry light. The album is a benchmark of his transformation on record; whereas
‘Entity’ was recorded in a barn, “very lo-fi with no access to gear,” he recalls.
‘The Shimmer’’s bold, rich and layered dynamics were captured at ICP Studios in
Brussels, home to, “one of the best live rooms in Europe, with all this vintage gear.”
More intimate moments were added at Colombie’s house outside the city, “those
magic takes we made just after we’d written something, which are so hard to capture
again.”
By ‘we’, Colombie includes producer Jeroen De Pessemier and multi-instrumentalist
Ozan Bozdag, who had both worked on ‘Infinity’ (and Bozdag on ‘Entity’ too). “It’s a
magical trio,” Colombie says. “Everyone is allowed to be themselves, and to explore
themselves. I’m really happy with ‘The Shimmer’ because I hear a more mature
version of myself. I always want things to grow, and I’m proud that I allowed myself to
not follow people’s expectations and reproduce what had been successful before.
There are no four-to-the-floor clubby pop songs this time.”
Instead, ‘The Shimmer’ more accurately reflects Colombie’s personality. “My
emotions run from super-happy to super-melancholic in a split second,” he says. “To
me, ‘The Shimmer’ feels like the soundtrack to a blockbuster, with many types of
tracks and themes. It’s always changing."

Patami isn't a judo mat, an animal defense association or a kind of sausage. Patami is a concept unique to each individual and, above all, unique to singer Stanislas. Patami is a friend to all children. He's at their service, but he's also their king. For the audience, it's whatever they want it to be, as long as it's comforting! Patami is Astéréotypie's third album, an extraordinary musical adventure featuring post- punk, noise and electro sounds. There are also some lovely melodies. Patami will shake your heart with the myths, memories, concepts and rants of the four star MCs: Claire, Stan, Yohann and Aurélien, the greatest songwriters of the moment (a few guests are also expected)! In short, Patami is like nothing you've ever heard before, and what's more, it's a real comfort. Their previous record, Aucun mec ne ressemble à Brad Pitt dans la Drôme, released in the spring of 2022, was warmly received by the public and achieved great critical success. Since then, Astéréotypie has been playing headline shows and festivals all over France. The band's singularity has left its mark. After 10 years of existence, the collective has finally found its audience.

Mr Bongo proudly presents, ‘AFIM’, the second solo album by one of Brazil’s most exciting new talents, Zé Ibarra. You may be familiar with the hypnotic, entrancing tones of Ibarra’s vocals through his work with the Latin Grammy award-winning, four-piece, Bala Desejo and the band Dônica. He has also toured with the musical titan, Milton Nascimento, performing guitar and vocals, which is quite the honour and a testament to Ibarra's craft. As a solo artist, he has performed headline solo shows in Japan, Portugal and the US, as well as recently completing a support tour with the great, Seu Jorge.

‘AFIM’ is comprised of eight tracks, featuring Zé’s own compositions as well as cover versions of tracks by contemporaries and friends, Sophia Chablau, Tom Veloso, and Dora Morelenbaum. It combines elements of MPB, jazz, pop and progressive rock in a bold, authoritative style. The album represents the intersection between different facets of the artist, from the stripped-down, intimate, guitar singer-songwriter, to dense arrangements with sweeping strings sections. Writing this album allowed Ibarra "to explore sides of myself that had not yet been organized in an album: a certain darkness, a more cinematic musicality, a desire for new soundscapes.

The album features the single, 'Transe', a song with an instantly comforting tone reminiscent of classic Brazilian songs of the past (think Caetano Veloso). It is built on a rhythmic guitar that supports dynamic sound layers, opening space for Ibarra's intense interpretation. Cinematic atmospheres that lend an air of mystery come courtesy of string arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum.

His unique cover version of Sophia Chablau's 'Segredo' is equally compelling, taking Sophia's punky-indie original in a different direction and making it feel like his own. 'Essa Confusão', a song celebrating the intensity of love and co-written by Dora Morelenbaum, is steered into epic, 70's AOR, singer-songwriter territory with wind arrangements by Ibarra, Jorge Continentino and strings by Jaques Morelenbaum.

The album is the result of the collaboration of experienced musicians and long-time partners of Ibarra. Fellow Bala Desejo and Dônica member Lucas Nunes co-produced the album. The core band featured on the record consists of Lucas Nunes on organs, Alberto Continentino on bass, Daniel Conceição and Thomas Harres on drums and percussion, Rodrigo Pacato on additional percussion, Chico Lira on Fender Rhodes and Guilherme Lírio on guitar.

The overall feel of the record is archetypically quintessential without slipping into retro mode. It is a stunning album from one of the finest musicians of his generation. A true star of Brazil’s blooming contemporary scene.

"It may surprise some that, after two decades of silent films, when Alam Ara broke the silence in 1931, it and every South Asian talkie that followed was what we in the West think of as a "musical." Music had been integral to the culture's staged drama going back to the Gupta Dynasty — sometime between the 4 th and 6 th Century CE. Since its inception, South Asian cinema drew heavily from Marathi, Parsi, and Bengali musical theatre and silent film screenings were often accompanied by live music to mimic a live staged experience.

When sound films arrived, actors with serious singing skills became the next wave of stars. Songs were performed live while shooting, with musicians hidden off-camera, to the side or sometimes even in trees. Playback singing — the practice of dubbing a real singer's voice over a lip-syncing actor — didn't become standard until the 1940s.

Thus, the biggest stars of the 1930s were also the greatest singers, with some, like Govindrao Tembe and Pankaj Mullick, excelling as both composers and vocalists. None, however, were more beloved than K.L. Saigal, whose emotional, untrained crooning captivated audiences across the subcontinent. Saigal's voice inspired a young Lata Mangeshkar, who vowed to become India's greatest filmi singer to win his heart. Sadly, Saigal grew increasingly addicted to alcohol, unable to perform without it, and passed away at age 42, seven months before the Partition. Lata never married.

This collection features some of the earliest songs from South Asian cinema, sourced from CDs and LPs found in Jackson Heights, Queens, Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn, Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, and Oak Tree Road in Iselin, New Jersey — areas home to vibrant immigrant communities. South Asian immigration to New York and New Jersey surged after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which lifted non-European quotas. By the 1990s and 2000s, the region's Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi media outlets flourished, especially in Jackson Heights, where such stores outnumbered the total number of regular record shops throughout the five boroughs.

The nascent period of sound film featured a limited palette of musical styles, predominantly Marathi Bhagveet, like the Ghazal, but with greater flexibility of subject matter and rhythm, and Rabindra Sangeet, the approximately 2,000 songs and poems composed by Bengali Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. But there was some evolution as well, with the success of South Asian cinema's first woman composer, the classically trained Saraswati Devi, and the introduction of Western instruments including the piano and Hawaiian guitar.

While much of the music was dark and brooding, perhaps exemplified best by Devika Rani's interpretation of Saraswati Devi's "Udi Hawa Mein" from 1936's Achhut Kannya (Untouchable Maiden), there were moments of brightness, such as R.C. Boral's "Lachhmi Murat Daras Dikhaye" sung by Kanan Devi in Street Singer, an otherwise thoroughly depressing film from 1938 that cemented Devi's and co-star K.L. Saigal's superstardom.

This selection was chosen to emphasise a range of expressivity, instrumentation and style achieved even within the decade's relatively limited scope, setting the listener up for the relative explosion of possibility in the 1940s, to be covered in the next installment of this series."

Since its formation in 1969, Soul Media had been advocating a fusion of jazz and rock. The next step along that line was this album, “In the Groove,” recorded in 1973.

The sharpness of jazz is brought to the forefront, with rock melting in to give it an edge, and funk injected to imbue it with power and resilience. The result was a strong, sophisticated, and simply “cool music” that could not be categorized within existing genres such as jazz rock, jazz funk, or fusion.

This work is also described as a response to The Crusaders, a group that Jiro Inagaki was paying attention to at the time. His aim was right on target. With this album, Soul Media acquired a “sophisticated black feeling” and headed for their final destination, “Funky Stuff.”

Words by Yusuke Ogawa (Universounds).

Mit seinem neuen Album Who Is The Sky? schlägt David Byrne ein weiteres spannendes Kapitel seiner künstlerischen Laufbahn auf. Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von American Utopia - gefeiert als Album, Broadway-Show und HBO-Film - richtet Byrne nun den Blick nach innen: Was bedeutet es, kreativ zu sein? Was ist Liebe? Was ist unser Platz in der Welt? Gemeinsam mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus) und dem New Yorker Kammerensemble Ghost Train Orchestra ist ein Werk entstanden, das persönliche Geschichten mit orchestraler Klangvielfalt und popmusikalischem Feinsinn verbindet. Gäste wie Hayley Williams (Paramore), St. Vincent und Tom Skinner (The Smile) verleihen dem Album zusätzliche Tiefe. Songs wie "My Apartment Is My Friend", "She Explains Things to Me" oder "I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party" erzählen Alltagsbeobachtungen mit Witz, Menschlichkeit und einem Hauch Absurdität. Byrne gelingt es wie kaum jemand anderem, komplexe Gedanken in eingängige Musik zu verpacken und so stets zugänglich zu bleiben. Who Is The Sky? ist verspielt, tiefsinnig und durch und durch Byrne: voller Fragen, Überraschungen und Momente echter Verbundenheit. Ein Album, das zum Zuhören, Nachdenken und Tanzen einlädt, ein orchestraler, verspielter und tiefgründiger Blick auf das Menschsein selbst.

Mit seinem neuen Album Who Is The Sky? schlägt David Byrne ein weiteres spannendes Kapitel seiner künstlerischen Laufbahn auf. Nach dem weltweiten Erfolg von American Utopia - gefeiert als Album, Broadway-Show und HBO-Film - richtet Byrne nun den Blick nach innen: Was bedeutet es, kreativ zu sein? Was ist Liebe? Was ist unser Platz in der Welt? Gemeinsam mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus) und dem New Yorker Kammerensemble Ghost Train Orchestra ist ein Werk entstanden, das persönliche Geschichten mit orchestraler Klangvielfalt und popmusikalischem Feinsinn verbindet. Gäste wie Hayley Williams (Paramore), St. Vincent und Tom Skinner (The Smile) verleihen dem Album zusätzliche Tiefe. Songs wie "My Apartment Is My Friend", "She Explains Things to Me" oder "I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party" erzählen Alltagsbeobachtungen mit Witz, Menschlichkeit und einem Hauch Absurdität. Byrne gelingt es wie kaum jemand anderem, komplexe Gedanken in eingängige Musik zu verpacken und so stets zugänglich zu bleiben. Who Is The Sky? ist verspielt, tiefsinnig und durch und durch Byrne: voller Fragen, Überraschungen und Momente echter Verbundenheit. Ein Album, das zum Zuhören, Nachdenken und Tanzen einlädt, ein orchestraler, verspielter und tiefgründiger Blick auf das Menschsein selbst.

Unter der Dunkelheit des schwarzen Himmels kehren Public Enemy zurück, um Licht zu spenden: Nach einer fünfjährigen Pause kehren Chuck D & Flavor Flav mit einem neuen Public Enemy-Album auf die Bildfläche zurück und bringen ihre stets aufschlussreichen Kommentare über schroffe und formwandlerische Beats. Von der Eröffnungsdiagnose von "Siick" bis hin zum Wahnsinn der Schulschießereien während "March Madness" ist die rot-schwarz-grüne Maschine zurück, um die Szene aufzuräumen. CD und klassisch schwarze LP! Public Enemy, die einflussreiche amerikanische Hip-Hop-Gruppe, die 1982 in Long Island, New York, gegründet wurde und sich 1985 offiziell gründete. Die Kernmitglieder Chuck D und Flavor Flav sind bekannt für ihre sozialkritischen und oft militant klingenden Texte in Kombination mit einem lauten, Sample-lastigen Sound. Sie gelten als eine der einflussreichsten, kontroversesten und radikalsten Bands ihrer Zeit und schafften in den 90er Jahren den Sprung vom Underground-Hip-Hop über den Alternative in den Mainstream. "Bring The Noise!" - auch 2025 lassen sie es noch krachen!

Im Zuge der Louisville-via-Chicago-Post-Rock-Explosion des späten Millenniums kam Mercury Program mit einem Vibraphon in der Hand in einer amorphen ,Szene" im Umbruch an. Von The Vapors of Gasoline - ihrem 2000er Album für Tiger Style - war keineswegs ein Einbruch, sondern zehn intellektuelle und dissonante Jams, die verschämt die nie gestellte Frage beantworteten: Was wäre, wenn New Age und Posthardcore ein Haus in der Vorstadt kaufen würden? Diese Remaster-Version zum 25-jährigen Jubiläum offenbart das Genie eines übersehenen Triumphs in erstaunlich lebendigen Details und bietet atmosphärische Farbe für ehemalige Reptilien- und Periodensystem-Fans gleichermaßen.

Das Fantasy-Mittelalter-Metal-Phänomen CASTLE RAT präsentiert sein zweites Album! Castle Rat ist die NY Fantasy-Heavy-Metal-Band, die von der Rat Queen angeführt wird, welche die Mission verfolgt, ihr Refugium gegen diejenigen zu verteidigen, die es zerstören wollen. Ihr zur Seite stehen The Count, The Plague Doctor und The All-Seeing Druid. Gemeinsam stellen sie sich mit Heavy Magie dem unerbittlichen Zorn ihrer Erzfeindin - dem Tod in Form von The Rat Reaperess. Das zweite Album The Bestiary ist ein riffgeladenes Kompendium mystischer Kreaturen und vorwarnender Erzählungen aus einer vergessenen Welt. Es erzählt 13 allegorische Geschichten von mythischen Bestien und dem Zauberer, der sie beschwört, und verwebt kraftvolle Heavy-Hymnen und dunkle Verzückungen zu einer betörenden und unvergesslichen Heavy-Metal-Odyssee. Als ob Grace Slick mit Black Sabbath um ca. 1200 A.D. auf einem KISS-Konzert rumachen würde. Aufgenommen von Randall Dunn (Sunn O))), Wolves in the Throne Room, Björk) und gemischt von Jonathan Nuñez (Torche, Restless Spirit), bietet das Album fesselnde Tracks zwischen epischem Heavy-Gemetzel und doomy Hard Rock. The Rat Queen kommentiert das Album wie folgt: "The Bestiary' ist ein konzeptionelles Buch der Bestien, das von mystischen Kreaturen aus einer vergessenen Welt erzählt. Die letzten verbliebenen Seelen jeder dieser Kreaturen wurden von `The Wizard' gesammelt und aufbewahrt. Die Geschichten der einzelnen Bestien und des Zauberers selbst werden mit der Kraft traditioneller Heavy-Metal-Songs und Hard Rock-Magie verwoben." Hervorgegangen aus New Yorks abscheulichem, kreaturenverseuchtem Untergrund, schlugen die Fantasy-Heavy-Metaller zunächst mit ihren Live-Auftritten und später mit ihrem Debütalbum "Into The Realm" im Jahr 2024 große Wellen. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2019 haben CASTLE RAT ein lebendiges Labyrinth aus Erzählungen und Mythen geschaffen, welches sie nun rund um die Welt führt. The Bestiary auf CD (aufklappbares Digipak), MC (mit gefaltetem Inlay) und auf LP (farbiges Vinyl, inklusive ausklappbarem Lyrics-Insert)!

The long-awaited debut album from Panic Shack featuring the singles 'Gok Wan' and 'Girl Band Starter Pack', available digitally, on CD and on Latex Red vinyl.

Different Class (originally released October 30, 1995) is Pulp's most successful album, achieving multi-platinum sales and international acclaim, winning the 1996 Mercury Music Prize and debuting at #1 on the UK Album Chart. It also produced four Top Ten singles, including ‘Common People’. Four months prior to the release of the album, the band headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 24 June. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of what is widely regarded as one of the best records of the era, this legendary Glastonbury performance, the audio wholly restored and released here for the first time, has been paired with the remastered album (each cut over 2 LPs) and is released as a deluxe 4LP boxset.

The audio has been remastered/mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road, overseen by Jarvis Cocker and Mark Webber, and is presented in a sturdy slipcase with a comprehensive, 28-page booklet featuring extensive notes from new interviews with the band members, plus previously unseen images from photographers Rankin and Donald Milne (who took the photos for the original release) and the band’s own archives. The original ‘aperture’ sleeve design, which invited purchasers to “Choose your own front cover”, came with six double- sided inserts/art cards of alternative cover images depicting cardboard cutouts of the band members in a variety of situations.

This has been fully recreated and a 12” by 12” poster featuring miniatures of the cutouts themselves is also included.

Enigmatic UK producer Dylan Henner announces new album of deeply considered and choral-laced experimental ambient music Star Dream FM, said to be taped from a mysterious radio broadcast that plays his favourite memories from adolescence.

Though (clearly) fictional, the backdrop to new album Star Dream FM represents a tactile canvas on which the record’s true meaning is painted. It is, through Henner’s now-characteristic employment of ambient-textured synthesis, marimba, digital choir, and processed voice, a study of late adolescence and the experience of being seventeen.

Little is known about Dylan Henner, who landed on the ambient scene in 2020 with cassette releases for Phantom Limb, Belgian label Dauw, and cult tastemakers AD93. He barely promotes himself publicly, instead choosing to communicate through disarmingly poetic song titles. His debut album “The Invention of the Human” (AD93, 2020 - a recipient of BBC 6Music’s Album of the Year honours) responds to a set of philosophical questions - what exactly makes us human? What good is civilisation when there’s so much misery attached to it? How will technology affect humanity in the long run? In 2022, he released follow-up You Always Will Be on AD93, which traced the course of a single life from birth, to childhood, to adolescence, adulthood, parenthood, middle-age, old-age, and demise. He has also covered Raymond Scott, Terry Riley, Aphex Twin, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Su Tissue among numerous further projects.

Along with his long-time DJ partner Fabio and contemporaries Goldie and LTJ Bukem, Grooverider is known as one of the originators of the UK jungle/drum and bass scene. In the early nineties he founded Prototype Recordings which soon became the home of many influential 12” singles that showcased a new side of breaks-heavy electronic music: deep, gritty, and futuristic. In 1997 Grooverider put together a collection of 12 heavy hitters from the Prototype catalogue, some of which previously only available as white label promos on acetate such as Dillinja’s “Silver Blade” and Ed Rush & Fierce’s “Locust”. Lemon D’s “City Lights” was previously only available on acetate and the CD version of this release. Now, after more than 25 years, a selection of these tracks is available again in the form of a DJ-friendly double LP. Finding these tracks separately will be very difficult, so don’t miss your chance to snag yourself a copy of this one. The Prototype Years is now available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl.

As Grammy nominee, remixer for Madonna, Moby, and the Chemical Brothers, and winner of various prestigious awards and hearts on dancefloors across the globe,
Welsh DJ Sasha hardly needs an introduction. In 1999 he released the double 12" EP Xpander containing four epic progressive trance tunes each clocking in at over 10 minutes. Each track progresses slowly and takes you for a ride across numerous tense build-ups and intense releases without ever letting up Xpander EP is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl and includes printed inner sleeves.

NSDA, the visionary imprint led by Anfisa Letyago, presents TUNEL, the debut album from Argentine producer Unfinished Portraits. The 11-track album explores a richly immersive world of brooding textures, melodic storytelling, and cinematic sound design.

"A journey inward. A space where the hidden comes to light and everything shifts shape. Each song is a signal in the dark, a guide to keep moving forward without losing your way" says Unfinished Portraits about the album's concept.
A rising force in the underground circuit, Unfinished Portraits builds a signature style rooted in techno, ambient, and electronica - combining hypnotic percussion with atmospheric depth. Across TUNEL, he constructs a soundscape that is both introspective and physical, designed for deep listening as much as late-night floors.

"When I first heard Unfinished Portraits music, I felt an immediate connection. There's something raw and cinematic in his sound that felt perfect for NSDA," says Anfisa Letyago. "Collaborating on this album was really special - it's a beautiful example of how storytelling and club energy can live in the same space."

Anfisa appears as a featured artist on three standout tracks - Home, Confusion, and Radar - adding emotional weight and rhythmic edge to the release. Their creative synergy underscores NSDA's commitment to supporting innovative new voices with bold sonic perspectives.

TUNEL will be available as a full digital album, with a limited-edition vinyl sampler featuring six selected tracks.

'Find a Way' is the new album from Manchester-based pianist, composer, and producer Matt Wilde, released via his own imprint Hello World Records. The album serves as a reminder that creativity should be accessible and the importance of opening yourself to the unexpected as you 'Find a Way' through all endeavours. Digging into improvisation and jazz harmony on the LP, he crafts a sound that bridges jazz, hip hop, and electronic music, adding: "The creative act is not a matter of waiting for the perfect conditions, but of moving gently, insistently, through the imperfect".

Focus and title track "Find a Way" encapsulates this journey of process. Humans are known for adaptation and response when they face challenges, seeking solutions towards a better world. "Find a Way" leans into our instinctive reaction to improvise and reshape, taking the listener on an unexpected journey. The opening loop could as easily feel at home as part of an electronic soundscape, developing into a clock-like effect from the drums. This keeps time, allowing a duet between keys and trumpet to unfold, symbolising the individual, imperfect and non-linear paths we all carve out day to day.

The album was funded by Arts Council England and created in close collaboration with trumpeter and composer Aaron Wood, with the pair recording in Aaron's rural DIY studio in Huddersfield. Through improvising upright piano, Rhodes and trumpet over intricately programmed beats, the duo captured the spontaneity that makes jazz feel alive, but with the forward-facing touch of Ableton live production. "I actually had live drums recorded for this project and then deleted all of them and instead programmed intricate drums on Ableton live myself to create the kinds of drum sounds I could hear in my head," Matt adds, explaining the onerous process that truly made 'Find a Way' a labour of love.

Matt Wilde discovered jazz through an unconventional journey, and 'Find a Way' is an introspective map of this musical development. Starting out as a self-taught beatmaker, growing up Matt made tracks for friends in the grime scene before falling in love with jazz through the sample-heavy works of Madlib, J Dilla, and Pete Rock. Hints of this influence can be found on "Windup", driven by a deeper bass and a glitchy intensity not commonly associated with jazz. There are also nods to the weekly DJ residencies Matt had in his late teens, establishing a love for club music at iconic Manchester venues like Sankeys. "It's Ok, Feel it" incorporates pitched-up kicks and crisp, papery snares that pay tribute to UK dance culture and the foundation of connection in this world.

Guided by values of accessibility and creativity, Matt has become a key voice in the UK's boundary-pushing jazz and beats scene. His debut album 'Hello World' alongside EPs and single releases, have been championed by the likes of BBC Radio 1, Jamie Cullum and Soweto Kinch (BBC Radio 2), 'Round Midnight (BBC Radio 3), and across BBC 6Music, Jazz FM and Worldwide FM. He has performed headline shows at Band on the Wall (Manchester) and The Lower Third (London) and showcased his music at Brick Lane Jazz Festival and London's iconic Jazz Café.

A proud Mancunian with Polish roots, Matt's values-driven approach reflects his passion for community and empowering others through the arts. Matt founded the UK's first youth-led charity and is a trustee of Manchester music charity Brighter Sound. Driven by these values of equality and inclusion, Hello World Records strives to champion grassroots music with a backbone of fairness built into the business model. The imprint is named after Matt's debut album, released via Band on the Wall Recordings; simultaneously championing the music scene and global musical footprint of Manchester and highlighting the importance of artists reminding people: Hello World, I've made it. I'm still here.

- Martha Cleary, Glow Artists

Recloose’s ‘Dust’ returns to the spotlight on The Remedy Project, with the remaster of the original joined by remixes from Natasha Diggs, Aroop Roy and a never before available accapella.

First championed by Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 1 in the noughties, ‘Dust’ is now a cult favourite as it effortlessly bridged genres and soundtracked dancefloors across the globe. The track’s warm groove, featuring Joe Dukie’s unmistakable vocals and Recloose’s signature production, cemented it as an underground classic; Dallas Tamaira, occasionally releasing under the alias Joe Dukie, is best known as the lead singer of New Zealand band Fat Freddy’s Drop.

A pioneering figure in the Detroit electronic scene, Recloose (aka Matt Chicoine) first broke through in the late 90s with support from techno legend Carl Craig, releasing on Planet E and later building deep ties with New Zealand’s fertile soul and jazz community. His music fuses house, funk, and broken beat with a distinct warmth and musicality that have made him a trusted name across generations of selectors.

To mark its 20th anniversary, ‘Dust’ is renewed with a package of remixes from some of the scene’s finest tastemakers. Natasha Diggs injects her soulful New York finesse, while Aroop Roy brings his global dancefloor touch. With the two new remixes sitting alongside the both the original record and the accapella, ‘Dust’ is ready to gain a new generation of fans.

Ltd White Deluxe Vinyl

Young Fathers - Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole und G. Hastings - kündigen heute ihr langerwartetes neues Album, „Heavy Heavy“, an. Das vierte Album des Trios erscheint am 3. Februar 2023 via Ninja Tune und ist ihr erstes seit „Cocoa Sugar“ von 2018. Das 10-Track-Projekt signalisiert einen erneuten Back-to-Basics-Ansatz ohne externe Produzenten, nur ein winziges Heimstudio, ein paar Geräte und Mikrofone: alles immer eingesteckt, alles immer in Reichweite. Über das Album schreibt Alloysious: „Jede Platte muss besser sein als die letzte. Das ist die Mentalität. Wenn es nicht besser wäre, würde es nicht herauskommen.“ Für ihn geht es bei diesem Album nicht einmal wirklich um die zehn Songs auf der Tracklist. Es geht darum, was mit dem Trio in den langen, verrückten Jahren seit „Cocoa Sugar“ passiert ist. „Heavy Heavy“ ist der Beweis für das, was von dieser Zeit übrig geblieben ist. Der Erfolg des Überlebens, der Exzess der Existenz. „Ich mag den Titel ‚Heavy Heavy‘, denn es ist alles plus die Küchenspüle", fügt G. hinzu. „Maximalistisch. Keine Art von Schlankheitskur. Es fühlt sich voll an, gewichtig. Und es zweimal zu sagen, macht es spielerisch.“
Für Young Fathers gibt es keinen Dresscode. Tanzen, nicht moshen. Die Hüften zucken, die Füße rutschen, das Gehirn feuert in Catherine Wheel-Sparks aus Freude und Empathie. Unterirdisch, aber nie dunkel. Immer noch jung, nach einigen Jahren, auch wenn die heavy, heavy weight of the world von Tag zu Tag zu wachsen scheint.

TIGHE is a new name on us with nothing out there to tell us more, but whoever they are they know how to make walls rattle with their deepest dubstep. This offering comes on Beatrice M's Bait label and opens with the eerie 'Empty Units', which is a masterclass in building suspense and tension through empty spaces. The low end wobbles with glistening hi hats in the mids and distant sonic echoes adding late night intrigue. 'Untitled 9' is a busier cut that rides a lumpy broken beat with glitchy textures, and 'Cut Off' then has tribal percussion shimmering over more cavernous low ends. A pair of flipside remixes from Pianeti Sintetici & Yogg add more drive to close out a fine EP.

Dantz Records launches its catalog with Time & Space, the first vinyl EP by producer Promising/Youngster. An elegant and powerful electro work that explores futuristic soundscapes, oscillating between rhythmic force and atmospheric depth. With this release, the label paves the way for a new era of talent promotion and projection in the electronic scene.

Skip Audio Records is proud to present a new EP from the dynamic duo Chris Llopis & Cirkel Square. This vinyl-only release features three original tracks that showcase the artists' signature sound, blending intricate grooves with atmospheric textures.
Leading the charge is a powerful remix from Argentinean maestro Alexis Cabrera. His interpretation adds a unique twist, taking the listener on a mesmerizing journey through hypnotic rhythms and deep, evolving melodies. Additionally, this release features a captivating DubTape remix, offering another unique sonic perspective.
This record is a must-have for any vinyl enthusiast and a perfect addition to any DJ’s bag. With its blend of original productions and standout remixes, this vinyl is set to be a timeless piece for your collection.

Ritual Dance - is a sound journey, where futurism and the obsolete merge into a new world. Arash & Quasar (truth and star) - is a duo of electronic producers, friends, DJs, rare record collectors and artists, Pavel Grachev and Vitaly Zhul'kov. Their approach for music making compiles elements of various cultures and eras, resulting in fresh and trippy sonic labyrinths. The title track puts the listener in a state of trance and wild fields, where shaman dance moves take over the existense. Powerful percussion, rich synth textures and traditional instruments are mixed in one. 'Acid Krishna' extends the trip, adding acid basslines and meditative flavour. A true morning anthem of a proper rave trip. 'Lokum' is exploring the deepness of the East through melodies, that sweeten up your adventure away from the daily reality. The flip side starts with 'Opium', where slow beats suck you in the abyss more and more. 'Truth & Star' - is an energy exchange ceremony, where Arash & Quasar become rhythm wizards and dictate how you move and feel, just like snakes dance to the magic flute... The Truth refers to the inner awakening and The Star is the symbol of the external shine. 'Desert' is the final chapter of the trip, evolving into eternity, just like a caravan dissolves in the endless desert, hot air and the blue night... Besides studio work, Arash & Quasar share videos of their own trips and adventures via Youtube-chanel, called DIG LOTO. Together with their best friend, the portative Vestax Handy Trax vinyl player, they search for rare records in remote destinations.

Where we welcome you to the Fourth installment of 'Divine Harmonics" Featuring Kuniyuki Takahashi. Music produced in collaboration with friends
Here we present Part one of a Two Part Series.

Recorded in a full-fledged Recording Studio in Brooklyn New York, the idea behind this current project was to assemble a few admires of Kuniyuki's music and invite them to participate in the composition.
The musicians on this project include master percussionist composer Lekan Babalola on African Drums and Percussion, Lead Guitarist James Bergeau , Joaquin Joe Claussell Main Voice and Percussions; And of course, the artist himself Kuniyuki Takahashi and Acoustic Piano, Keyboards and Drum Programming.
Artwork Created by the one and only artist Akemi Shimada.

Debut album by Cindy is aptly called I'm Cindy. Produced by Kai Hugo a.k.a. Palmbomen II. Vinyl comes with a 20-page handmade booklet, an individually signed and kissed handkerchief of Cindy (some of them even have her teardrops on them) and a huge fold-out poster! Who exactly is Cindy? If producer Kai Hugo used oblique strategies it would be this question that's been central to his past four years of musical output. First appearing on his 2015 LP Palmbomen II as the titular subject of the track Cindy Savalas, her life has become intertwined with the producer's. "Following that release, I made a music video for Cindy Savalas, where Cindy came to life through the portrayal by Blue LoLan,' Hugo explains. 'I really felt a connection with this character and went deeper into developing who she was and the world she lived in. The result was the creation of the LP Memories Of Cindy, where my goal was to reveal more about Carmel Vista, the town Cindy lived in. Afterwards, I imagined Cindy having her own 'lost' album, as if she had once released a record that was kind of forgotten.' I'm Cindy is altogether different though. It sits at an uncommonly explored intersection between Italo disco and shoegaze - Cocteau Twins and Slowdive are mentioned as influences and you can hear that in the blurred textures and hazy synths of the 13 tracks here. But Hugo also revels in a chance to use his self-created character as a conduit to explore his love of both mainstream pop and its more skewed forms. In many ways the record is as much LoL?n's. It was she who gave the character her voice - initially across 27 tracks recorded with the producer - but her own connection to Cindy runs deeper than that. 'It makes me really nostalgic thinking about everything Cindy went through, she and I have similar feelings' says the vocalist. 'Cindy is a mix of me and Kai so when I listen to the album I feel like I'm half entering Kai's head and half in mine, with a whole bunch of deep emotions, purity and loneliness that just makes me want to dance and cuddle with all my cats in a disco forest somewhere outside of Carmel Vista.'

Debut album by Cindy is aptly called I'm Cindy. Produced by Kai Hugo a.k.a. Palmbomen II. Who exactly is Cindy? If producer Kai Hugo used oblique strategies it would be this question that's been central to his past four years of musical output. First appearing on his 2015 LP Palmbomen II as the titular subject of the track Cindy Savalas, her life has become intertwined with the producer's. "Following that release, I made a music video for Cindy Savalas, where Cindy came to life through the portrayal by Blue LoLan,' Hugo explains. 'I really felt a connection with this character and went deeper into developing who she was and the world she lived in. The result was the creation of the LP Memories Of Cindy, where my goal was to reveal more about Carmel Vista, the town Cindy lived in. Afterwards, I imagined Cindy having her own 'lost' album, as if she had once released a record that was kind of forgotten.' I'm Cindy is altogether different though. It sits at an uncommonly explored intersection between Italo disco and shoegaze - Cocteau Twins and Slowdive are mentioned as influences and you can hear that in the blurred textures and hazy synths of the 13 tracks here. But Hugo also revels in a chance to use his self-created character as a conduit to explore his love of both mainstream pop and its more skewed forms. In many ways the record is as much LoL?n's. It was she who gave the character her voice - initially across 27 tracks recorded with the producer - but her own connection to Cindy runs deeper than that. 'It makes me really nostalgic thinking about everything Cindy went through, she and I have similar feelings' says the vocalist. 'Cindy is a mix of me and Kai so when I listen to the album I feel like I'm half entering Kai's head and half in mine, with a whole bunch of deep emotions, purity and loneliness that just makes me want to dance and cuddle with all my cats in a disco forest somewhere outside of Carmel Vista.'

Wally Badarou is a synth pioneer and musical polymath. But rarely does he sing over his sumptuous tracks. The 6 songs that comprise new record Simple Things finally realise Wally's vision for select backing tracks from his beloved Colors Of Silence.

The tracks were originally developed back in 2001 for the release of the original CD; here, Wally has “simply" added overdubs and vocals to their mastered mixes with some discerning edits. Simply put, Simple Things is another slice of simply stunning Wally Badarou genius.

Simple Things has been decades in the making. Indeed, Wally struggled not only with the idea of singing these wonderful songs himself but singing them in English and writing his own lyrics, while wrestling with the sensational backing tracks, which themselves seemed to have taken on a life of their own.

As Wally explained to us: "In addition to the instrumental artist I have been known as, so far, there has always been a singer who simply was not sure he was, up until now. Even though “Back To Scales Tonight”, my very first album, was, indeed, a song album."

Opener "It Couldn't Be You" embellishes the uptempo groove of soca-funk gem "The Lights Of Kinshasa". As Wally explained to us, it's about “a simple love story somewhere, one rainy night, under the lights of Kinshasa. A woman, a man, online dating, quite usual in our times. Then they meet, almost missing each other." The guide vocal Wally had laid for Colors Of Silence - with an organ sound - seemed striving for words in Linguala, a Congolese language he could not speak. Therefore the decision to do it himself was not an easy one, for it had to be in English to fit his singing. We think it turned out pretty good!

"You Can't Hide Always" vocalises Wally's deep concerns set to the propulsive "Smiles By The Millions": "Populism, ostracism, radicalism, ethics and values all turned upside down worldwide, are they all inevitably exacerbated by our social networks? It could all melt down one day, like a house of cards in the ocean of fake news and false prophecies”. Wally wanted to keep the track as bare as possible but, inevitably, the backing vocals and the synth-brass arrive ultimately to present a welcome 70s flavour, with no snare-drum added.

The bright and breezy "We'll Make It Again" adds vocals to "Where Were We", a tropical, reggae-tinged bounce through the islands. Here's Waly: "Where were we when we last said: "I love you"? Simple words to express something quite common, but never quite simple to deal with. A simple song about the resilience of the broken hearts.” The reggae came from it being conceived when Wally was scoring for “Third World Cop”, a 1999 Jamaican action movie.

"Walk Straight Ahead" provides Wally's gorgeous, contemplative and idiosyncratic vocals to the deep serenity of Colors Of Silence highlight, "Amber Whispers". It's a gliding, divine, mini melodic masterpiece. It'll make you swoon in its extreme beauty. As Wally describes, "it started as just whispers, sweet amber whispers. Then the colour turned darker, as darker skies seemed to fall upon us while the whole world keeps on walking ahead, straight ahead, regardless of the blatant warnings, feeling much too comfortable in conformity. Initially, the verses were to be spoken only. I realised they could be sung all the while, without overshadowing the ethereal atmosphere." Amen.

The serene, celestial "Painting My Life Blue" presents the vocal version of "Days To Wonder". Says Wally, "how does it feel when your second half is gone after decades of riding life together? Past the temporary loss of your bearings, you come to realise you've been blind to the essential, and suddenly you can see...For this most intimate song of mine, I had tried to come up with a melody on top of the existing backing track, long before realising the melody was in the keyboard part already. It just needed to be properly mixed with it."

The profoundly emotional "Just Two Lovers" works up the formerly-too-brief and glorious "Crystal Falls" into a much fuller masterpiece and features acoustic guitar sparkle before fully glistening with some gentle head-nod percussion. Waly explains further: "Dear little green men, please tell me, what is it about us that makes you want to come and visit us so often (contrary to Fermi's assertion)? And here is the reply I believe I heard them sing: "You've got the key you've been searching for: Love”. I reverted to the initial backing track I had made around 1985, which already bore the melody, and which I added acoustic guitars to, before singing it." An astounding closer.

A synth specialist, there can be few artists more under-appreciated given their vast influence than Wally Badarou. His solo work practically defined the sound of the Balearic DJs of the 1980s, and thus the more sophisticated sound of dance culture thereafter. He was one of the Compass Point All Stars (with Sly and Robbie, Barry Reynolds, Mikey Chung and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson), the in-house recording team of Compass Point Studios responsible for a series of albums in the 1980s recorded by Grace Jones, Tom Tom Club, Mick Jagger, Black Uhuru, Gwen Guthrie, Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs. Badarou's keyboard playing could also be heard on albums by Robert Palmer, Marianne Faithfull, Herbie Hancock, M (Pop Muzik), Talking Heads, Manu Dibango and Miriam Makeba. He also produced Fela Kuti. Phew!

When we asked Wally about the significance of this collection's title, he explained: "These are "Simple things” that everyday’s life seems to build upon. The simplest are the harder to describe, but when satisfactorily described i.e. with simple words, they are the more genuine and authentic to express and share. I’ve immersed myself in other classic song lyrics, something I hardly did before, just to appreciate the genius behind the simple words they were made of, and had a great time studying how powerful they were in expressing complex ideas such as love."

Recording was twofold: first, most of the backing tracks were recorded in 2001, in Wally's studio in Normandy, mostly using hardware synths and Yamaha digital consoles. Then, he fine-tuned the melodies and wrote the lyrics in late 2023, then added some overdubs and sang them all during summer 2024. States Wally, "Digital Performer was and remains the DAW I’ve been using throughout, ever since the 80s."

Wally's sophisticated synth textures and expressive keyboard runs are so full of character, so full of life, that this work of art transcends any easy genre categorisation. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland. Sometimes, the simple things are the most extraordinary.

The anticipation is there in Elizabeth Stokes’ solo guitar riff under the opening lines of “I’m Not Getting Excited”: a frenetic, driving force daring a packed Auckland Town Hall to do exactly the opposite of what the track title suggests.

As the opener of The Beths’ Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 expands to include the full band, the crowd screeches and bellows. It’s a collective exhalation, in one of the few countries where live music is still possible.

The album title, and film of the same name, deliberately include the date and location, lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce says. “That’s the sensational part of what we actually did.” In a mid-pandemic world, playing to a heaving, enraptured home crowd feels miraculous.

In March 2020, everything seemed on track for another huge year for The Beths. Home after an 18-month northern hemisphere tour, they had just finished recording sophomore album Jump Rope Gazers and were primed for more extensive touring. But within days, New Zealand’s lockdown split the band between three separate houses. All touring was cancelled.

“It was existentially bad,” Stokes says. As well as worrying about economic survival, they lost something crucial to the band’s identity: live performance. “It's a huge part of how we see ourselves... What does it mean, if we can't play live?”

The band found an outlet through live-streaming, returning to the do-it-yourself mentality of their early days to connect with a global audience. The album and film have their genesis in that urge to share the now-rare experience of a live show, as widely as possible.

The fuzzy-round-the-edges live-streams pointed the way aesthetically. Native birds, wonkily crafted by the band from tissue paper and wire, festoon the venue’s cavernous ceiling while house plants soften and disguise the imposing pipes of an organ. The presence of the film crew isn’t disguised: much of the camerawork is handheld; full of fast zooms and pans.

With much of the material still fresh, the band was less focused on re-invention than playing “a good, fast rock show”, Pearce says. The tempo is up on crowd favourites “Whatever” and “Future Me Hates Me” (released as a live single on its third anniversary) as both band and audience feed off the mutual energy in the room.

Certain songs have taken on special resonance post-Covid. Pearce has found “Out Of Sight”, a tender rumination on long-distance relationships, hits particularly hard with live audiences.

Album closer “River Run” visibly brings Stokes to tears as a mix of achievement and relief kicks in. “You can finally relax at that point … You play the last note, breathe out a sigh and look up - and you’re in a giant room full of people happy and smiling.”

Argentine pianist Hernán Jacinto and Uruguayan drummer Mateo Ottonello, come together in this boundary-pushing duo album recorded in New York. Blending acoustic and electronic textures, tradition and innovation, this project reimagines South American jazz through a contemporary lens-offering a powerful journey into the evolving sound of the Rio de la Plata. The two shores of the Río de la Plata-Buenos Aires and Montevideo-share a deep and vibrant jazz tradition, one that merges global influences with the region's rich musical heritage. For over half a century, rhythms like tango, candombe, and milonga have intertwined with jazz and other instrumental forms, continually exploring new directions and pushing creative boundaries. Argentine pianist and composer Hernán Jacinto and Uruguayan drummer and percussionist Mateo Ottonello embody this spirit of exploration. Though from different generations, both are among the most innovative voices in the Río de la Plata music scene-artists unafraid to blend past and present in pursuit of something new. Recorded in New York, their duo album offers a journey into the musical soul of the Río de la Plata, reimagined through a contemporary lens. It weaves a rich tapestry of acoustic and electronic textures, tradition and experimentation, groove and introspection. More than a fusion, it's a reinvention-revealing a new dimension of South American jazz musicianship.