Canadian minimal titan Akufen dominated the scene at the turn of the new millennium and has a fine back catalogue full of classics. Now the Montreal man is back with new music though and it's like he never went away - 'Breakin' Free' (feat Dominique Fils Aime) is a slow, smoochy sound with low-slung drums and r&b vocals, while 'You Naughty Scamp' is a little more propulsive as it rolls through deep house and bright, textured synth melody. 'Rubber Ducky' is another playful jam with jazzy top notes, sampled vocals cut up and smeared through the mix and languid bass funk. 'Sensitive People (With So Much To Give)' is another symphonic and soulful house sound.
Few artists can make chaos sound this fun. Steel Beans, the self-titled album from the genre-bending one-man band, is a wild ride through rock, funk, jazz, and whatever else happens to cross the radar of Everett, WA’s Jeremy DeBardi — the multi-instrumentalist and mad scientist behind it all. Known for his jaw-dropping live performances where he sings, shreds guitar, and drums at the same time, Steel Beans brings that same unfiltered energy to tape, capturing the spirit of a garage jam gone cosmic.
The album moves effortlessly from fuzzed-out psych-rock to greasy funk breakdowns and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, mixing humor and virtuosity in equal measure. It’s unpredictable, unpolished in all the right ways, and full of personality — the kind of record that feels alive because it’s never trying to be perfect. Steel Beans isn’t just an album; it’s a reminder that music can still be weird, raw, fun, and ridiculously entertaining. Whether you’re hearing him for the first time or you’ve already seen the madness live, this album is the perfect introduction to the wild world of Steel Beans.
NO “ORDINARY JOE”!!! Our finest double-hearder ever… TERRY CALLIER was born in Chicago in the shadows of Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance,Ramsey Lewis and his mentor Jerry Butler. He would become one of the greatest Soul/Jazz voices of all time, although he barely new it in his own lifetime. Both his debut album, ‘The New Folk Sound’, and single, “Look At Me Now” had failed commercially when he was contracted by JERRY BUTLER to his Songwriters Workshop. It was here that he wrote his timeless masterpiece “Ordinary Joe” which first appeared on Butler’s 1970 Mercury album ‘You & Me’. Butler’s version of the song has been largely overlooked, underrated and undervalued, until now, 50 years on when it finally makes its 7-inch single debut! Callier’s definitive rendition of “Ordinary Joe” appeared a couple of years later, in 1972, on the second of his three critically acclaimed Cadet albums ‘Occasional Rain’. The ’72 single was taken from the album and now commands a hefty £700+ price tag.
Rose Connolly has a beautiful voice with a wide melodic range, which she bends, twists, strains and warps through both her physical exertions and a sample-based granular synthesiser. The results recall both the Gaelic tradition of séan-nos singing, and the work of experimental artists such as Meredith Monk, Yoko Ono and Hatis Noit, while the beats meld folk with gothic, 4AD-era soundscapes unmatched since the glory days of This Mortal Coil.” – The Guardian (10 Best Folk Albums of 2024) “RÓIS is a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic artist from Fermanagh, whose songs breathe new life into a forgotten Ireland. Self-released, written and produced by RÓIS with additional production from John Spud Murphy (OXN/Lankum), 'MO LÉAN' is a concept album, taking the listener through the grieving process from start to finish, from the chaos that loss brings, to the intense emotional outpourings and finally, a cathartic release.
‘MO LÉAN' features several new original recordings and reworks of songs and hymns based around the concept of death, life, mourning and catharsis. RÓIS re-imagines the tradition of 'keening' in Ireland that goes back to pre-christian times, a practice in which women would 'keen' a lamenting wail at the side of a coffin during a wake. After discovering the last two recordings of keening songs, RÓIS was inspired by their ethereal melodies to give them a modern reworking yet honouring the original women by sampling them in her adaption. 'Keeners', through their voices, movements and laments, conveyed the communal expression of grief and allowed those suffering a way to release their sorrow and loss. RÓIS aspires to do the same with 'MO LÉAN', by expressing the power of the voice to transcend death and help us relinquish our fear of it
Cream Vinyl[18,07 €]
Stank In Here
Have no fear, the stank is here! Temu & Mofak are bringing it with their new single “Stank In Here”. Serving as a long-awaited follow-up to their first collaboration back in 2015, “On the Come Up”, the duo returns with an even smoother, soulful yet futuristic dance smash meticulously composed by Mofak for people of all ages to enjoy. Meanwhile, Temu addresses the listeners directly with a message of love and togetherness while echoing back to the era of EWF, Kool & The Gang, Zapp & Roger, and The Gap Band.
Heralds of the Stank
Temu is back on the scene with his new solo single “Heralds Of The Stank”. Temu recalls the first moments when the stank hit him personally and credits the ones who introduced him as its heralds — his parents — in an infectious funky tribute song. (Ever heard something so good it made you frown and pucker your lips while nodding your head? That’s the stank face!) Standing ten toes firm on his Funk roots, Temu both lyrically and musically draws inspiration from George Clinton, Sly & the Family Stone, Jackson 5, Prince, and James Brown. Be on the lookout for his upcoming album titled “HERALDS”.
"Time Is Slipping Away is an album by American R&B/jazz fusion producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist Dexter Wansel. It is the last of four studio albums released at Philadelphia International Records. The album contains songs with different styles from P-funk to sophisticated quiet storm music to instrumental jazz-funk. It features the two popular songs ""The Sweetest Pain"" and ""I'll Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)"". The former song features vocals by soul singer Terri Wells. Time Is Slipping Away is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on purple coloured vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics."
Josiah aka JdB is a key creative at the heart of the New Palm crew. Not only does he DJ and produce, but also he is a resident at Gradient Campout and a member of LA's PrintShop collective. He has a sound rooted in dubby drums and cavernous grooves, both of which are evident here. 'Feels Good' is a heavy warm-up sound with sparse chords slowly ramping things up, while 'Surface Area' is icy minimalism with abstract sines and FX. 'Come Over' pulls back to a more liquid dub roller and 'Dante Is Late' is an ambient soundscape with plenty of tape hiss and curious melodies drawing you in deep. Stefan Bitke of Scape has taken care of the mastering so these sound superb.
Gatefold Single LP Pressing of Threat To Survival on Clear Red Colored Vinyl.
Multi-platinum, record-breaking band Shinedown - Brent Smith vocals, Zach Myers [guitar], Eric Bass [bass, production], and Barry Kerch [drums] - have sold more than 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, earned 14 platinum and gold singles, five platinum and gold albums, and amassed more than 2.7 billion total streams. Recent hits "Atlas Falls," "ATTENTION ATTENTION," "GET UP," "MONSTERS" and "DEVIL" bring their total to 17 No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock Chart and 16 No. 1s on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, breaking the record for the most No. 1s ever in the history of the Billboard chart. Additionally, all of Shinedown's 27 consecutive career singles have reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, another unparalleled achievement.
As part of their “Atlas Falls” COVID-19 relief effort, Shinedown has raised more than $300,000 for Direct Relief, one of the largest providers of humanitarian medical resources in the world whose mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations by mobilizing and providing essential medical resources needed for their care.
Hailed for their high-octane live shows, Shinedown continues to engender diehard love from millions of global fans and has racked up countless sold-out tours and headlining festival sets.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iconically brutal-yet-stylish Hotline Miami, the head honchos at Devolver Digital, Dennaton Games and Laced Records picked up the phone and made the call to bring back two killer soundtracks to vinyl.
This Standard Edition of the Hotline Miami 1 & 2: The Complete Collection 8LP box set includes traditional black vinyl.
Every in-game track from Hotline Miami and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number is present and correct, including Castanets’ “You Are The Blood” (not previously available via the HM2 Steam soundtrack release.) 76 tracks remastered for vinyl will be pressed to heavyweight LPs that come in spined inner sleeves, contained in a rigid board lift-off lid box with spot UV highlight.
Also included in the box are two 12” art prints of the front and back cover pieces, and a 50 Blessings symbol felt slipmat and metallic sticker.
The box set features brand new eye-exploding artwork by long-time Dennaton collaborator Niklas Åkerblad — aka El Huervo aka Beard — alongside illustrator -IZMA-. El Huervo’s grisly covers depict contradictory accounts of a berserk face-off between Jacket and Biker, replete with entrails. -IZMA-’s disc sleeves explore scenes from the series’ lore, tapping into the violence, psychedelia and nihilism that pervade its characters and themes.
10 years on, neon-soaked indie hit Hotline Miami has become a cultural touchstone in a way that few video games ever achieve — and the electronic soundtracks for both series titles are held up as modern classics that have transcended gaming. At turns brutal and laid-back, pulsating and aimless, coked-up and checked-out, these two ultracool compilations were at the heart of the retro-’80s synthwave scene that swept the Internet over the 2010s.
"Every day, the skies of New York City fill up with unseen clouds of radio signals spreading over immigrant neighborhoods. These culturally charged clouds of radio energy burst with a flow of content that continually shifts and transforms, following the lifecycle and rhythm of the streets.
“Danny Elfman’s musical score was to die for, and
it was incorporated into ‘Wednesday’’s joyfully
bleak coming-of-age story so brilliantly.” -
Double LP on Purple Goth with Smoky Shadow
vinyl, with full colour gatefold sleeve and inner
sleeves.
Composed by four-time Oscar nominee, two-time
Emmy winner Danny Elfman (‘Milk’, ‘Big Fish’,
‘Men in Black’, ‘Good Will Hunting’, ‘Live from
Lincoln Center’, ‘Desperate Housewives’, ‘The
Simpsons’) and three-time Emmy nominee Chris
Bacon (‘The Tick’, ‘Bates Motel’, ‘Smash’,
‘Gnomeo & Juliet’, ‘Sherlock Gnomes’,
‘Immanence’).
Elfman also composed music for Tim Burton’s
‘Beetlejuice’, ‘Batman and Batman Returns’, ‘The
Nightmare Before Christmas’, ‘Mars Attacks!’, ‘Big
Fish’ (for which Elfman earned one of his four
career Oscar nods) and ‘Alice in Wonderland’,
among others.
Chris Bacon is a protege of the great James
Newton Howard, and won an HMMA for ‘Gnomeo
& Juliet’, which he shared with James and Bernie
Taupin (Elton John).
Online - Promoted through all Lakeshore Records social
media.
Languoria is a collaboration between Denmark's Sofie Birch and Poland's Antonina Nowacka. While Birch describes herself as an ambient musician, Nowacka''s primary instrument is her own voice; they share in common a facility for creating complex, layered work.
Polish label Mondoj has teamed up with Unsound Festival, who initially brought this project to life for their 2021 Warsaw edition. After another show in Cracow later that year, the two have met in Copenhagen to record a series of compositions. Unsound will also premiere Languoria this year in Cracow as well as during their New York offshoot.
Sofie has previously published her music on Stroom, Seil, Longform Editions and Intercourse. Antonina's debut album "Lamunan" was released in 2020 by Mondoj. Antonina is also half of the A/V experimental duo WIDT.
"...their upcoming collaborative project Languoria, shows how natural the pairing is" - Pitchfork
"Soundscapes meet "spiritual vocalisations." - The Vinyl Factory
Djrum's first release since 2019, the Meaning’s Edge EP is an introduction to a whole new world. For the artist also known as Felix Manuel, it was created in the final stretches of six rather traumatic years work. Having carefully honed his techniques and aesthetics, and learned some hard-won emotional lessons over this time, finally he began to work in a quicker, lighter fashion – and to cleanse his palate a little by bringing in a fresh ingredient: his own flute playing. For listeners, though, it will serve as an appetiser, a way into the delights and complexities of this new phase of his creativity.
It’s a serious work in its own right, mind. The use of flutes – including Bansuri, Shakuhatchi, Western Classical, and synthesised all blending and blurring into one another – gives it a coherence and a sense of airiness that unites the five tracks over half an hour, however divergent their beats get. And as in all his music, Felix’s whole life is in here. Ethnomusicology studies, untold hours of DJing everywhere from the gnarliest squat raves to the most rarefied deep house clubs, explorations of his own neurological and emotional makeup, and the technical finesse of someone who is never not creating music or art, all roll into an experience that’s dazzling, delightful and keeps on giving.
Just the opening track ‘Codex’ alone touches on OG dubstep, Aphex Twin-like braindance, post-classical exploration, movie themes and more. The gentle tones and melodies that rise up out of it perfectly conjure Felix’s running theme of a protective bubble that provides a sense of safety and tranquillity even as the beats and acid gurgles and spurts all around it conjure up the slings and arrows of life’s difficulties.
The tone set, the EP moves through ultra-rarefied glass-like percussion in an almost ambient setting, hints of grime’s counterintuitive patterns, and even more hectic patterns influenced by Tanzania’s hyperspeed singeli style of dance music – but always with that perfect balance of chaos and control, unpredictability and protection. It rewards playing and replaying endlessly, it’s a profound and often joyous experience… and it’s only just the beginning. This is the return of a master craftsperson more focused than ever on his vision and vocation and ready to blow your mind all over again.
Mastered and cut on 140g black vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London. Pressed at optimal media, Germany.
Repressed LP on Neon Orange Vinyl. Come Away With ESG - 35-year anniversary release of the classic genre-busting debut album by the Bronx sisters ESG. The sample-friendly opus that’s the inspiration for hip-hop, house and post punk. Music that falls outside of the no wave, new wave and post punk library, it’s for the dance floor but it’s not funk, there’s no horns, no driving organ; it’s the opposite of Sly And The Family Stone but no less cool and no less groovy. “A lasting document of their unique brand of minimal funk that would influence subsequent post-punk, hip-hop, and dance music acts. Stripped down to the most basic of drumbeats and rudimentary bass lines, ‘Come Away’ confirms the notion that the real rhythm is what happens between the beats. AllMusic // “This is dub disco with a punk edge.” Paste // “Uncut punk-funk straight off the streets of the South Bronx.” Record Collector // “ESG are that rare thing” Guardian // “Come Away with ESG sounds so shockingly current.” Paste // “A musical snapshot of New York City at the beginning of the '80s.” Allmusic
Van Morrisons neues Album 'Remembering Now' markiert seine Rückkehr zu Original Music mit einer reichen Mischung aus Soul, Jazz, Blues, Folk und Country und enthält die lang erwartete Single 'Down To Joy'.
Van Morrison, blue-eyed Soul-Shouter und wild-eyed Dichter-Magier zugleich, ist einer der wahren Erneuerer der populären Musik. Er ist ein rastlos Suchender, dessen beschwörender Gesang und alchimistische Verschmelzung von R&B, Jazz, Blues und keltischem Folk das vielleicht spirituellste Werk im Rock'n'Roll-Kanon hervorgebracht hat. Seine Aufnahmen, die nur den Launen seiner eigenen Muse unterworfen sind, decken ein außergewöhnliches stilistisches Terrain ab und bewahren doch eine Geschlossenheit und Reinheit, die unter seinen Zeitgenossen nahezu unerreicht ist. Was sie verbindet, ist die mythische Kraft seiner einzigartigen musikalischen Vision und seines feurigen Gesangs: spiralförmige Wiederholungen von Klagen und Flüstern, die die Grenzen der Sprache umgehen, um emotionale Wahrheiten zu artikulieren, die weit über den Rahmen der wörtlichen Bedeutung hinausgehen.
DJ DIE SOON is the apocalyptic alter-ego Daisuke Imamura, whose performances of masked malice have been a fixture in the Berlin underground for the past decade. His latest record My Brothel The Wind takes inspiration from Sun Ra at his most grotesque, conjuring a distorted phantasmagoria with an eclectic crew of compatriots like Rully Shabara, Sara Persico, and longtime collaborator Kiki Hitomi. Film director Hiroo Tanaka’s visual contributions in the album art, poster, and music video complete the album’s narrative, telling a story not of villainy but of phantom caprice in a dying world.
My Brothel The Wind shows DJ DIE SOON as an alchemist of distortion, transmuting the club-forward beats of his 2020 debut Kappa Slap and the seething horrorscapes of DIEMAJIN, his 2022 collaboration with Tokyo vocalist MA. Imamura’s obsession with noise stems from his upbringing in Tokyo, where he grew up hearing the deafening roar of trains every day. “The buildings were really tall, so the sounds reflected so much and it was so loud that you couldn’t even have a conversation on the phone. Hearing this noise every minute when living in this flat, it became a normal thing,” he says. While most would content themselves with avoiding loudness, DJ DIE SOON seeks to unpack its visceral potential.
DJ DIE SOON’s subterranean productions form a monstrous gestalt with the eclectic contributions of his network of co-conspirators. “Unfinished” and “Directions” are pulsating chimeras that highlight animalistic vocalizations from Hitomi and Shabara; Italian MC Franco Franco’s verses snake underneath the noisy onslaught. The tectonic textures of “Dandelion Crackers” are courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Laure Boer’s handmade stone synth. Sara Persico’s mangled vocables hang as fleshy reminders of human fragility on “SAQ4IME”; in the Hiroo Tanaka-directed music video, the track’s sonic uncanniness is made cinematic, with an ambient dread that references Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1964 psychological thriller Woman in the Dunes.
While Sun Ra’s intergalactic Moog reached for the stars, DJ DIE SOON plunges into the depths of hell. “Everybody, Shake Your Body, We Chill At Party” feels like the sonic equivalent of a wax museum burning to the ground, rigid smiles melting into the fire. Rather than a vision of the future, My Brothel The Wind is a laugh-cry of despair in the face of a Hadean present. DJ DIE SOON confronts the world with a new hand-made mask, reborn in the ashes.
Now, following great acclaim for Volume 1, CTR is proud to unveil another equally eclectic Post-Punk Era Selection Compiled by Jason Boardman ( Before I Die Records) Celebrated Manchester club-night curator & record Label Owner , DJ & digger - supreme.
A second compilation of late 1970s / early 1980s Post-Punk era bedroom & small studio innovations & DIY Inspirations - Featuring more rarely & never heard cuts from that period. Including tracks from the enigmatic Prana, Blank Students, Janet Armstrong & The Native Hipsters ..A rich vein .
Jason Writes Of Volume 2 :
"It was a delightful shock that No Ones Listening Anyway Volume One was so well received - thanks to everyone one who bought & enjoyed it. This led to John asking me to collate Volume Two, so here it is.
This time all the material was recorded & released in the UK between 1978 & 1984.
I was conscious that there was minimal female energy on Volume One so have tried to rectify that here on Volume Two. I have also tried to make it as varied as possible with none hit wonders, oddities, collectables, under the radar B-sides & a couple of previously unreleased on vinyl selections."
Dez Andrés, Detroit’s underground legend and genre-blurring maestro is back with another batch of reworked old skool bangers.
Since the late '90s, Dez has built a respectable catalog that blurs the boundaries between genres. One of motor city’s most prolific artists, his music can be summed up in one word: quality. Now he returns to DFM with a two-sided heater.
Dez flips Odyssey’s classic Native New Yorker into a gritty dembow style club weapon. With iconic vocal lines and signature piano riff, Dez injects his signature bounce and percussive punch, turning this disco anthem into a raw dancefloor destroyer.
Diving deeper, Dez revives Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band’s classic Sun Showers, transforming it into a rhythmic, power groove tailor-made for sweaty basements, rooftop sets and smoke filled dance floors on red-lit nights that refuse to end.
Forest Swords' debut album 'Engravings' is back in print on vinyl and CD for the first time in years, newly remastered by Rashad Becker with previously unheard bonus tracks exclusive to this edition.
Created by electronic producer and composer Matthew Barnes, and originally released via Tri Angle Records, 'Engravings' received instant acclaim from the likes of Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, The Guardian and saw Barnes take his hypnotic live show across festivals like Sonar, Glastonbury, Unsound and Le Guess Who.
While much of British electronica is defined by its inner cities, 'Engravings' was recorded in Barnes' hometown on the banks of an ancient river in Merseyside, the album's earthy, organic soundscape reflected the landscape and climate: all silt and sandstone, woodlands and wind, with the ghosts of Liverpool's pop music and clubbing history echoing in the near distance.
The album was a prototype for a sonic vocabulary Barnes has expanded on over the next few years: in critically acclaimed studio albums ('Compassion' and 'Bolted' via Ninja Tune), collaborations with Massive Attack and Neneh Cherry, remixes for the likes of Bjork, as well as commissions for video games, ballet and film scores - of which he has carved a career as an in-demand composer and sound designer.
'Engravings' is a snapshot of an artist confidently defining their own language: a piece of work that distills influences like dub, ambient, rave, post-rock and psychedelia into an ancient-futurist musical vision that feels timeless and vital.
