Cerca:3 pi

Macclesfield 3-piece Cassia make their extremely welcome return with the announcement of their most ambitious release yet in new studio album everyone, outside - out April 11th.

The album marks a bold new chapter, and recently served up a tropical-tinged first offering in ‘heat’ - with today serving a superb Round Two with the stomping, insatiable, hook-laden new single ‘friends’.

everyone, outside takes Cassia’s sound to new heights. Written fresh off the back of two years of relentless touring, the band channelled every ounce of their renowned live energy into the album, returning to a studio they built themselves in Macclesfield, after creating their previous album in Berlin. The journey provided an added twist, recording the majority of tracks live on TikTok, giving fans a unique, inclusive experience to be part of the process.

The album’s title is a metaphor for embracing your truest self and reflection of a band who are at their happiest outside. It’s a message that speaks to the idea of reconnecting with nature and Britain’s finest summers. As frontman Rob explains, “That title, ‘everyone, outside’ started as a song about how weird it is that we stay inside all the time when being out in nature always makes us feel better. Over time, it came to mean more than that - like a metaphor for being your truest, most natural self, unburdened, like when no one’s watching.”

Drawing influences from a host of genres and cultures, everyone, outside reveals Cassia’s venn diagram of global sounds and intimate storytelling. A trip to Mexico during the writing process injected the record with a new energy, while their time spent in their new space back home gave the band a freedom to try new instruments, new sounds, acquire new tools to hone their production skills - and to simply have fun and explore. “The time we spent in Berlin taught us so much, but coming back home to Macclesfield allowed us to really focus on making something that felt like it came from us. No distractions, just pure creativity,” says drummer Jacob Leff.

Cassia’s rise has been impressive. From their early days busking the streets of Cornwall to playing major festivals, touring the world and receiving critical acclaim from BBC Radio 1, Radio X, The Independent, Rolling Stone UK, Clash & many more, the band has carved out a unique niche. Their sound, influenced by the African music Rob’s father introduced him to, combined with the indie heritage of nearby Manchester, combines the positivity of bands like Foals and Vampire Weekend, with the jazz-tinged afrobeats of Fela Kuti and Ebo Taylor.

After signing to Distiller Records in 2018, the band gave up their full-time jobs and ventured to Bath to record their debut album, Replica. Tracks such as ‘Right There’, ‘Drifting’ & ‘100 Times Over’ have amassed millions of streams, seeing the band sell out multiple headline Tours both in the UK and Europe. Playing to a homecoming capacity crowd at Manchester’s O2 Ritz, as well as sold out headline shows at London’s KOKO & The Garage, the band have accrued a huge, loyal following and their live shows earned them a nomination for Best Live Act at the AIM Awards alongside Idles and DMA’s, as well as making them the winners of Reeperbahn’s Anchor Award in 2022.

Cassia will tour the UK in May 2025, playing songs from the new album and some of their biggest tracks - headlining Leeds, Bristol, a newly added night in Southampton, a special Manchester homecoming, Glasgow, Birmingham, & a huge show at London’s HERE @ Outernet - dates below & Tickets Here. The band will also take things Stateside this year for their first ever run of headline shows in the US & Mexico.

Sushitech's first release for 2026 marks a landmark project from London based tech house pioneer Gideon Jackson.

Tokinowa : Seven, from the Japanese meaning “a circle of time” reflects the seven year period which these tracks were produced, 1999 – 2005. The release is a retrospective journey into the raw and warm sound of a producer who helped shape the London underground sound in the early 2000's and went on inspire generations that followed.

Pressed as a special triple 180g gatefold collectors edition, Tokinowa : Seven welcomes us into Gideon Jackson's world of art and vision, featuring original photography by Gideon himself paired with artwork by Sushitech's in-house designer Jeremy.

Sushitech's first release for 2026 marks a landmark project from London based tech house pioneer Gideon Jackson.

Tokinowa : Seven, from the Japanese meaning “a circle of time” reflects the seven year period which these tracks were produced, 1999 – 2005. The release is a retrospective journey into the raw and warm sound of a producer who helped shape the London underground sound in the early 2000's and went on inspire generations that followed.

Pressed as a special triple 180g gatefold collectors edition, Tokinowa : Seven welcomes us into Gideon Jackson's world of art and vision, featuring original photography by Gideon himself paired with artwork by Sushitech's in-house designer Jeremy.

Really glad to present the first release of the year 2026, an amazing piece of music made by 4 friends of Copenhagen Jacob Funch, Kim Las, Rasmus Valldorf and Tan Vargas.

A very cinematographic journey in between Ambient and Experimental, with a certain touch of Balearic right in the middle of the Leftfield. A super trippy trip, gifted by beautiful melodies and vocals like on the titles “Indisponible” or “Mambo n6”… as if you were crossing a super cozy desert on LSD, starting from the coast after a nice bath in the sea to the dryness of the sand under the sun, with intense divagations like on “Fastelavn” or “Kompasitu” to long relief of contemplations like on “Opium Swing” or “Blizzard” at the end of the way...

This is a full immersive experience, one of those life soundtrack releases, and probably one of our favorite release ever.

RIPIT is back with a new LP after 3 years spent mostly on the mesmerizing collaboration between THE ÅNGSTRÖMERS- his duo with FRÉDÉRIC ALSTADT -and the Haitian voodoo ensemble CHOUK BWA.

While Ripit is better known for his radical noisy breakbeat work, "A Church or a Factory" explores a more industrial, power electronic and noise ambient side of his synthesizer lust. The instruments abused on this record are: Serge modular, Knifonium and various eurorack modular. The A-side comes with 5 powerful synthetic industrial songs which feature each one a different guest vocalist. The B-side is a long ambient noise piece that will plunge the listener in an anxious meditation.

Ripit is the project of the French NICOLAS ESTERLE for almost 25 years. He explores electronic instruments thru distortion , ranging from industrial hardcore to breakcore, from doom hiphop to dusty dub. Beside his solo project, he's involved in various bands like SOLAR SKELETONS (with TZII), FUJAKO (with HHY) and more recently The Ångströmers.

On the guest side, there's a wild bunch of Nicolas' friends:
- PAUL-TERGEIST is the galactic moniker of PAUL BEAUCHAMP in his band SPACE ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE;
- ANDREA EV is the lead member of 1997EV;
- ROBERT IMHUMAN and DIVTECH are members of the REALICIDE COLLECTIVE;
- TZII is a long-time road comrade of Nicolas and a touring freak spreading his music all over the world;
- ANDRÉ COELHO is known as METADEVICE and is the founder of the now-defunct SEKTOR 304.

The title "A Church or A Factory" refers to the Belgian countryside, wherever you are, you are at least surrounded by a church or a factory. As he just left the urban life of Brussels to escape to the French countryside, he is now lost enough not to have neither a factory nor a church in sight.

Fresh from the success of his debut solo LP ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ out last year on High Focus Records, Farma G returns with the anticipated full-length follow up ’Nearly Nothing’s Enough’.

An album anchored in his notorious musical adventures as 1/2 of Task Force, Bury Crew and Mud Family, but very much informed by the state of 2026 Britain and beyond, Farma’s new body of work is fuelled by equal parts venom and deep introspection across 12-tracks courtesy of Brighton based producer Relense.

With one eye on following ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ with something of equal standing, Farma revisited the fundamentals in the hope of better understanding what he really wants to say with the music he makes. By channelling feelings of familiarity and seeking out emotional connections to his past he created a record that feels both concise and expansive.

With the help of Relense’s gritty analog instrumentals, Farma found himself journeying across subjects and bandwidths; from exploring the mind of a conspiracy theorist on ‘X-Files’, to being a zen master with a mountain on his back on ‘Sun Wukong’, before returning to earth for a typical day in the life on ‘Mr Moany’, ‘Nearly Nothing’s Enough’ is an album that took Farma home and he is delighted to welcome you on the journey.

Fresh from the success of his debut solo LP ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ out last year on High Focus Records, Farma G returns with the anticipated full-length follow up ’Nearly Nothing’s Enough’.

An album anchored in his notorious musical adventures as 1/2 of Task Force, Bury Crew and Mud Family, but very much informed by the state of 2026 Britain and beyond, Farma’s new body of work is fuelled by equal parts venom and deep introspection across 12-tracks courtesy of Brighton based producer Relense.

With one eye on following ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ with something of equal standing, Farma revisited the fundamentals in the hope of better understanding what he really wants to say with the music he makes. By channelling feelings of familiarity and seeking out emotional connections to his past he created a record that feels both concise and expansive.

With the help of Relense’s gritty analog instrumentals, Farma found himself journeying across subjects and bandwidths; from exploring the mind of a conspiracy theorist on ‘X-Files’, to being a zen master with a mountain on his back on ‘Sun Wukong’, before returning to earth for a typical day in the life on ‘Mr Moany’, ‘Nearly Nothing’s Enough’ is an album that took Farma home and he is delighted to welcome you on the journey.

Fresh from the success of his debut solo LP ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ out last year on High Focus Records, Farma G returns with the anticipated full-length follow up ’Nearly Nothing’s Enough’.

An album anchored in his notorious musical adventures as 1/2 of Task Force, Bury Crew and Mud Family, but very much informed by the state of 2026 Britain and beyond, Farma’s new body of work is fuelled by equal parts venom and deep introspection across 12-tracks courtesy of Brighton based producer Relense.

With one eye on following ‘How To Kill A Butterfly’ with something of equal standing, Farma revisited the fundamentals in the hope of better understanding what he really wants to say with the music he makes. By channelling feelings of familiarity and seeking out emotional connections to his past he created a record that feels both concise and expansive.

With the help of Relense’s gritty analog instrumentals, Farma found himself journeying across subjects and bandwidths; from exploring the mind of a conspiracy theorist on ‘X-Files’, to being a zen master with a mountain on his back on ‘Sun Wukong’, before returning to earth for a typical day in the life on ‘Mr Moany’, ‘Nearly Nothing’s Enough’ is an album that took Farma home and he is delighted to welcome you on the journey.

Frizzell & Duque's A Sorrow Unrequited moves with suspended patience, each LP piece built from simple melodic figures, each of which eventually thicken out to quiet overwhelm. Working outside their Zake/City of Dawn aliases, the pair realise a more diaristic exposure here, drawing their inspiration and track titles from Julia Frizzell's poems of the same name. 'We Once Believed We Owned The Sky' tone-sets the vibe with long, tidal swells of strings and synth, dissonances sparing but weighted, while 'Closer, Always Closer' moves in similarly tidal cycles, with momentary swellings and torn cellos fissuring through the overall sadness.

Gap Mangione's monumentally influential Diana In The Autumn Wind. AKA BEWITH200LP. And, without question, Be With's White Whale.

They said it could never be done. And with good reason.

We've spent the past 12 years trying to license this legendary 1968 recording from Gap and, after much work, it's finally here. Remarkably, this is the first ever vinyl reissue of Gap Mangione's Diana In The Autumn Wind, produced with the full and extensive participation of Gap. An exceedingly rare album, it's been coveted by funk, soul, jazz and hip-hop sample fiends for decades.

It's unarguably *the* most sought after album for J Dilla / Madlib sample collectors. It has also been brilliantly sampled by A Tribe Called Quest, Large Professor, Ghostface Killah, Kendrick Lamar and Talib Kweli.

But this record is so much more than a sample-spotters curio. It's solid gold throughout. Bursting with killer funky-jazz grooves and tracks adorned with warm electric piano, the release is notable for featuring some extremely significant players at the very outset of their careers; Tony Levin, at 21, whose superb playing on both acoustic and electric bass was the harmonic mainstay of the trio and Steve Gadd, at 23, one of the greatest drummers of his generation.

With acceptable copies of this holy grail changing hands for $400, to call this reissue "much-needed" underplays just how vital it is. Gap's story is told in his words alongside rare photos across a sumptuously designed 2-page insert and, to augment this deluxe edition further, its all wrapped up in a beautiful, no-expense-spared luxury tip-on sleeve, as per the original hens-teeth release. And, while we're talking packaging, just take a look at that cover - a work of art in and of itself.

The tracks are short but complex, with that extraordinary rhythm section backing the beautiful piano, organ and electric piano work of Gap. It's like the best ever library funk breaks record you never heard - but all your favourite golden age rap producers were all over it, long ago. It's a stunning blend of the vibrant, driving music of the Gap Mangione Trio coupled with the sensitive composition and superb orchestration of Gap's legendary brother, Chuck Mangione, who helmed an amalgam of seemingly disparate elements – rock, big band jazz, solo improvisation and "classical" music - into a spectacularly cohesive whole that has aged wonderfully well. As Gap himself notes in the liners, "with this group I was able to explore and add new and exciting elements from rock, Brazilian and then-current pop music."

Opener "Boy With Toys" triumphantly swaggers out the gate, all big band horns, flutes and dextrous organ work. The synthesis of everything going on is nothing short of stunning. When one wise YouTube commentator called this tune "old school superhero music", Gap agreed. Rap luminaries did, too, amongst them Talib Kweli, who rapped over DJ Scratch's chopped up intro for "Shock Body" on his Quality album back in 2002.

You've barely recovered from that incredibly affecting opener when you get hit over the head with the exquisite title-track. And now you see how two of the greatest beats of all time emerged from one single track produced nearly 50 years earlier. Unforgettably utilised by Dilla for Slum Village's heartbreakingly good "Fall In Love" and then Madlib for his "Official" beat for Dilla to rap over, on the Jaylib record. Regardless of the records it went on to spawn, this is just a staggering tune in its own right. Be beguiled by the flutes and the flutter tonguing, the counter-melody from the trombones, the soprano sax solo. All of it. Simply beautiful.

The questing organ and horn workout "Long Hair Soulful" deserves a lot more attention, overshadowed somewhat by the opening two monsters but no less fantastic. It swings, it grooves and Gadd and Levin truly cook. Up next, Gap's wonderfully percussive, mellifluously piano-heavy cover of "Yesterday" by some fellas called The Beatles. It's a subtly arresting gem. "The XIth Commandment" is damn fine, with thick, gorgeous electric piano and snappy drum work underpinning chaotic soundtracky horns. To close out the side, "St. Thomas" showcases the "fourth" member of the Gap Mangione Trio, conga drummer Dhui Mandingo. Having performed with the Trio since 1965, Dhui‘s African-based and jazz-latin-influenced style amazed listeners and its way to hear why.

Opening the B-Side, standard "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" breezes along in the late-night jazz club fashion before things get super deep with the outstanding and - up to now - un-sampled "Pond With Swans". It's simply heavenly, and how its moody, melancholic intro has yet to be pilfered is anybody's guess. It oscillates between gentle, sombre movements and bombastic grooves, equally hypnotic and joyous. The rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" is yet another showcase for Gap's virtuoso playing and Gadd's mastery of the pocket. Indeed Gadd's drumming on "Free Again" is nothing short of neck-SNAPPING! Ghostface took it for not one but two "Iron's Theme" tracks across his seminal Supreme Clientele. It's got that Galt MacDermot "Coffee Cold" feel. Suuuuuper cool. The frantic "Dream On Little Dreamer" hurtles along and must've surely had the whole room absolutely swinging from the chandeliers back in Rochester in the late 60s. The album closes with the magnificent Graduate Medley, featuring memorable renditions of "Scarborough Fair", "The Sounds of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson". The warm electric piano lines of the former were sampled by The Ummah (Dilla again!) for Tribe's "Pad & Pen" from their reappraised final album, The Love Movement, as well as by Large Professor on his much-loved "The LP (For My People)".

Under the watchful eye - and extremely attentive ears - of Gap Mangione himself, the audio for Diana In The Autumn Wind has been carefully remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, with a few much needed tweaks here and there, according to the artist's wishes. At the prestigious Abbey Road Studios, Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the records have been pressed to the highest possible standard at the always stellar Record Industry in Holland. The artwork restoration has taken place here at Be With HQ and has that drop-dead gorgeous cover artwork popping like new. Buy on sight!

2026 Repress

Anenon's tenor saxophone breathes an emotive contemplation on loss, meshed with sustained piano and field recordings. 'Moons Melt Milk Light' is a hyper-personal statement contained in a visceral beauty.

LA native Anenon returns with a highly anticipated new album 'Moons Melt Milk Light' on Tonal Union, bearing his most personal, expressive, and arresting works to date. Anenon is the ongoing solo studio and live project of Brian Allen Simon, whom since 2010 has released multiple albums and EPs to critical acclaim, including the highly revered 'Tongue' (2018) and 'Petrol' (2016).

'Moons Melt Milk Light' is direct, efficient, and unwavering in its immediacy. Anenon departs from the electronics of previous works, and embarks on a reductive, almost entirely acoustic approach consisting of piano, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, and field recordings. All of the music was improvised with everything recorded as either a first or second take with no edits. Any layering happened fast and in the moment, and yet the sonic architecture of the whole feels both planned and refined.

"I feel a kinetic and messy honesty that doesn't exist in any of the other music I've ever made. There is also a sense of being settled, of calm. There is no faking it here."

More than 25 years after its original release, Beatsqueeze Records brings back a classic of French rap: “Le Piège” by TRIPTIK.


Originally released in 2000 featuring D’Oz and Cutee B, this cult track is being reissued for the first time on 45 RPM vinyl.


A must-have for French rap fans and vinyl collectors alike.
The year 2000 was a turning point in TRIPTIK’s career.
The Parisian trio, then close to Cut Killer, released the maxi “Dat Shit” with the New York group Blahzay Blahzay, on the label of the famous French DJ.
At the same time, a 2-track maxi from Blahzay hit the shelves. It included the same track… but without the French MCs and without crediting the group’s beatmaker, Drixxxé.
Side B featured another of his productions, again without any credits.
In response, TRIPTIK decided to reclaim the appropriated beat. This reaction gave birth to the legendary “Le Piège”, featuring D’Oz and Cutee B.

"I wanted to travel / Home into somewhere,"Ana Roxanne breathes across an eerie suspended drone on "The Age of Innocence". "I wanted to try / And go very far." These are the first words we hear on Poem 1 and reintroduce an artist who's in a conspicuously different phase of her life than she was when her debut album, Because of a Flower, sprouted nearly six years ago.

Heartbroken and reflective, Roxanne surveys the transformations that followed and displays a new-found boldness. Her voice is naked, vulnerable and alive, no longer shrouded in tape noise or looped and echoed beyond recognition beneath layered electroacoustic textures.

Throughout the course of Poem 1, Roxanne displays her skill as a singer and songwriter in the classic sense, using the limited instrumentation simply to accent her exposed tones. Muted piano phrases and plucked bass notes languidly trail her anguished siren song on "Berceuse in A-flat Minor, Op. 45", making each word count.

On "Keepsake" meanwhile, she sounds as if she's alone in an abandoned bar, stroking the dust off the piano's keys as she inventories her emotional scars. There's a smell of old whisky in the air, but Poem 1 is a remarkably sober album; never wallowing in self pity, Roxanne finds catharsis in the logic of her expressions, twisting out the edges of her memories into surreal, cinematic asides. "Untitled II", the album's pronounced, uninhibited centerpiece, delivers on the Lynchian promise that's been present since her first EP, 2019's ~~~. "

And when she interprets the Robert Schumann's lied "Stille Tränen" on "One Shall Sleep", she turns Justinus Kerner's words into a whispered echo of her own grief, narrating the 19th century poem over syrupy synthesizers and strings. There's a light emerging on the horizon, though; burying her past on the choral standout '"Cover Me", Roxanne shifts the pace and the mood on 'Atonement', lifting her voice into a gentle lilt.

With no compromises on sound quality and an exclusive pressing designed for true vinyl enthusiasts, KRONERT002 is more than just a record—it's a collectible statement of artistry and innovation. Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of this journey.

Pushing sonic exploration even further, KRONERT002 embodies the raw essence of underground house music, capturing its energy, groove, and timeless appeal. This limited Coloured Splatter/Split vinyl is more than just a record—it’s a statement, a collector’s piece for those who live and breathe the rhythm.

Kronert crafts a hypnotic blend of rolling basslines, shuffled drum patterns, and atmospheric pads, seamlessly fusing classic house elements with a forward-thinking approach. The EP’s warm textures and intricate grooves ensure its versatility—whether igniting peak-time dance floors or setting the tone for deep, late-night sessions.

In 2006, "Undiscovered" introduced the UK to one of its most distinctive new voices. Powered by the breakout single "You Give Me Something", the album debuted at No.1 in the UK Albums Chart, and went on to become 5x Platinum in the UK, and achieved Platinum and Gold certifications across Europe, Australia and beyond. Blending soul, acoustic pop and classic British songwriting, "Undiscovered" delivered a string of enduring tracks including "Wonderful World" and "The Pieces Don"t Fit Anymore", establishing James Morrison from the outset and laying the foundation for a successful international career. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the album returns in new formats for collectors. The vinyl has been cut by John Webber at AIR Studios to showcase the warmth and depth of the original recordings, and a deluxe CD edition features 4 bonus tracks, available exclusively on CD. A landmark British debut of the 2000s, "Undiscovered" remains a defining release of its era.

Die Musik der ersten Staffel der Disney+ Original-Serie ”Andor” als Picture Disc. Komponiert von Nicholas
Britell.
Ab dem 01. Mai erhältlich!

Repetition stops being mechanical and starts to breathe. Beauty is taken apart piece by piece to get rebuild with irony as A Thousand Details' minimalism blinds the mind.

Limited numbered version of TAR-LP4 with an extra vinyl lathe disc, an extra of 4 tracks.
2x12inch + 1 lathe cut vinyl.
inlcuding: free digital download code

Glenn Underground is the founding member of the Strictly Jaz Unit. He was raised on disco classics and freeform jazz in Chicago's Southside, the place where house music was born. Taking inspiration from Chicago's original pioneers, Larry Heard, Ron Hardy, Lil' Louis, and the like, Glenn has produced many sought after house gems for some of the most well respected deep house labels such as Prescription and Guidance.
‘Atmosfear’ Glenn Underground’s debut album was originally released in 1996 and set the standard for sophisticated dance music. Dreamy melodies, heavy bass lines and acid grooves blend beautifully with jazz vibes and Detroit techno. Essential!

Glenn Underground is the founding member of the Strictly Jaz Unit. He was raised on disco classics and freeform jazz in Chicago's Southside, the place where house music was born. Taking inspiration from Chicago's original pioneers, Larry Heard, Ron Hardy, Lil' Louis, and the like, Glenn has produced many sought after house gems for some of the most well respected deep house labels such as Prescription and Guidance.
The Jerusalem EP's, GU's second album for Peacefrog originally released in 1997 still sounds so fresh, so deep and so soulful. Blending jazz-tinged chord progressions with sax accents, and rolling basslines the album evokes the sound of late-’90s hypnotic Chicago house.
Timeless, quality, underground house music for the mind, the body and especially the soul.

East London producer and DJ IZCO announces his debut solo studio album ‘POWERSCROFT’, set for release on 1st May via Brownswood Recordings. The album’s first single, ‘Strike a Pose’ featuring the vocals of Camille Munn offers an early glimpse into the project. To celebrate the release, he will go on a run of UK dates from March to May, culminating at London’s Jazz Cafe.
Named after the road where he grew up, ‘POWERSCROFT’ marks a defining new chapter for an artist who has spent the past decade shaping the sound of UK dance music. Drawing from jungle, broken beat, grime, garage, soul and dub, the album channels the energy of the dancefloor while remaining deeply rooted in memory, instinct and identity. It captures what it feels like to be inside IZCO’s world, where thoughts, memories and influences collide.

Hailing from East London, IZCO is a producer and DJ spearheading a new generation that is bringing soul back to the dancefloor. Shaped by the rich musical heritage of his hometown, he has developed a sound that feels familiar yet forward-looking, diverse yet distinctly his own. That sound has taken him across the globe, from New York to Tokyo, alongside standout sets at We Out Here, Outlook and Glastonbury.

IZCO began his journey making grime beats for local rappers including Capo Lee, Novelist and Reek0, before becoming a key figure in the UK’s evolving garage and dance music landscape. In 2018, he launched his long-running Rinse FM show and released his debut EP Tek 5, earning early underground acclaim. His production credits include PinkPantheress’ breakout track ‘Passion’, created alongside Jkarri, as well as collaborations and remixes for artists such as Katy B and Greentea Peng.
Beyond his solo work, IZCO is a label head, promoter and co-founder of the Brighter Days Family, a collective built on community, craft and cooperation. With ‘POWERSCROFT’, he steps fully into the spotlight, presenting his most personal and fully realised body of work to date. “This album is about channeling my true musical personality and character,” he says. “I’m marking a new chapter by paying tribute to my foundations.”

mclusky sind eine Band, die eine Band war, keine Band war und nun wieder eine Band ist. Sie wurde Ende der 90er Jahre gegründet und löste sich 2005 nach drei Alben zum ersten Mal auf. Meinungen zu diesen Alben finden sich im Internet. Der Weg zurück zur Band begann 2014, als die Band sporadische Konzerte spielte, um Geld für einen lokalen Veranstaltungsort zu sammeln, der von der Schließung bedroht war. Nach einigen Rückschlägen, die man als die schönsten Seiten des Lebens bezeichnen kann, veröffentlichten sie 2025 ihr erstes Album seit zwanzig Jahren. sporadische Konzerte gab, um Geld für einen lokalen Veranstaltungsort zu sammeln, der von der Schließung bedroht war. Nach einigen Missgeschicken, die man als Teil des Lebens in seiner schönsten Form bezeichnen kann, veröffentlichte die Band 2025 ihr erstes Album seit zwanzig Jahren. Nun, im Jahr 2026, setzt sie ihre musikalische Reise mit weiterer neuer Musik in Form dieses 6-Song-Mini-Albums fort. Der Zeitpunkt dieser Veröffentlichung fällt mit einer US-Tournee im Frühjahr 2026 zusammen, die nach ihrer Australien-Tournee im Januar und einer Reihe weiterer Tourneen aus dem vergangenen Jahr rund um den Globus stattfindet. Die Rückkehr der Band wurde mit Begeisterung aufgenommen, insbesondere von der Presse, wo Medien wie NPR schwärmten: ,Progressiver, ungewöhnlicher, frecher Post-Punk mit echtem Sinn für Humor und Grandiosität. Diese Musik ist einfach voller Kreativität", und Pitchfork sagte: ,Mclusky, bekannt für ihre explosiven Live-Auftritte, klingen auf ihrem Comeback-Album genauso laut... Viel Spaß dabei." Das Album enthält vier neue Songs, die im Herbst 2025 aufgenommen wurden, sowie einige Songs aus ihrer nur digital erhältlichen Comeback-EP aus dem Jahr 2023.

The mysterious Pirka Vinyl Cuts series continues, digging deeper into the crates to reframe the classics. This chapter presents four broken-beat interpretations, blending deep textures with familiar samples. Features sophisticated reconstructions of material by Telepopmusik, Depeche Mode, Chemical Brothers and Limp Bizkit.

Jede Band, die was drauf hat, hat ein Mitglied, das mal in einem Plattenladen gearbeitet hat. Bei METZ, dem mutigen Noise-Rock-Trio, das zwischen 2012 und 2024 fünf Alben bei Sub Pop rausgebracht hat, war das Sänger und Gitarrist Alex Edkins. Während seines Studiums verkaufte Edkins in seinem Heimatort Indie-Rock- und Hardcore-Platten und wurde zu einem begeisterten Schüler des Rock ,n` Roll, von den psychedelischen 1960er Jahren bis zu den DIY-1990er Jahren und darüber hinaus. Hoopla, das eingängige, melodische zweite Album aus Edkins' Soloprojekt Weird Nightmare, mischt und kombiniert diese Einflüsse auf unterhaltsame und mitreißende Weise und zeigt seine ausgefeilte musikalische Intelligenz. ,Hoopla" sprüht vor Hooks und Ohrwürmern und ist genau die Kassette, die nie aus dem Autoradio genommen wird, sondern immer wieder gespielt wird und den Sommer begleitet. ,Hoopla" ist neu und nostalgisch zugleich und wird deine Ohren erfreuen. Das selbst produzierte und ausgesprochen lo-fi Debütalbum von Weird Nightmare wurde während der Pandemie zu Hause aufgenommen und 2022 von Sub Pop veröffentlicht. Weird Nightmare zeigte Edkins' Indie-Rock-Sensibilität mit einer Vorliebe für unverkennbare Hooks und mitreißende Refrains zum Mitsingen. Auf dem neuen Studioalbum Hoopla, das gemeinsam mit Jim Eno von Spoon produziert und in Seth Manchesters Machines with Magnets aufgenommen wurde, erweitert Edkins die Dimensionen von Weird Nightmare noch weiter. Neue musikalische Texturen wie Klavier, Glocken und Kastagnetten verschmelzen mit Edkins' geradlinigem Songwriting und verleihen diesen Stücken einen glänzenden Schimmer. Es ist, als würde ein beliebter Indie-Regisseur mit seinem ersten Studiofilm einen Schritt nach vorne machen. Wenn das Debütalbum Weird Nightmare ein Underground-Publikumsliebling war, ähnlich wie Richard Linklaters Slacker, dann ist Hoopla Edkins' Dazed and Confused. ,Hoopla" glänzt mit sonnigem Gitarrenpop und wurde mit genau der richtigen Menge an Fuzz und Crunch produziert. Die unmittelbare, schnörkellose Aufnahme versetzt dich direkt ins Studio mit Edkins und seiner Rhythmusgruppe: Loel Campbell am Schlagzeug und Bassist Roddy Kuester. Das ist Power-Pop der Extraklasse; diese scharfen Adrenalinstöße könnten sich nahtlos in einen Radio-Rock-Block zwischen The Replacements und Elvis Costello & the Attractions einfügen. Oder passen genauso gut zu Sharp Pins, Ratboys und Alvvays. Im Kern ist dieses Album ein optimistischer, leuchtender Lichtblick in unserer seltsamen Zeit. Mit Weird Nightmare möchte Edkins euch wissen lassen, dass er die Welt immer noch liebt, und er lädt die Hörer von Hoopla ein, dasselbe zu empfinden. Nutzt diese Chance, um einen Funken der Magie des Pop in unserer verbrauchten alten Welt zu ergreifen. Ihr habt es verdient.

Ein PUNK-ROCK-MEISTERWERK neu aufgelegt - mit, aus aktuellem Anlass, aktualisiertem 2026 Cover-Artwork! Das erste Studioalbum von NOFX auf Fat! Die Band behandelte ernste Themen (Punk-Kultur und Politik) mit ihrem typischen Witz und Sarkasmus und zielte auf George W. Bush. Nun ist ein neuer Clown am Start! Damals (2003) schaffte es das Album sowohl in Großbritannien als auch in den USA in die Top 50 und war auch auf dem europäischen Festland erfolgreich, wo es in der Schweiz und in Deutschland die Top 30 erreichte, in Österreich die Top 50 und in Frankreich die Top 100. "Musically, NOFX fuses its political cynicism with criticism of punk rock itself and suggests that the best thing for all the kids and the bands might be to close ranks and start their own little hardcore community. 'Irrationality of Rationality' and 'Franco Un-American'_two of the album's most melodic, catchy songs_are also two of War on Errorism's most biting commentaries. The first personalizes the trickle-down effect of corporate decision-making over a lockstep hardcore rhythm; the second gets all-new wavy as Fat Mike reasons out his own world view, and somehow rhymes "apathy" with "Noam Chomsky.'" - NOFX hat sich zwar aufgelöst, aber das Vermächtnis lebt weiter. Die Band ist derzeit Gegenstand ihrer ersten umfassenden Ausstellung im Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. Die Dokumentation "40 Years of Fuckin Upmakes" feiert beim SXSW 2026 Premiere und ist ab April umfassend zu sehen (Score & Original Soundtrack mit neuer Musik von NOFX folgen in Kürze). Der zweite Teil der A-Z-Raritäten-Trilogie "I to Q" soll Ende 2026 erscheinen. Und behaltet Fat Mike im Auge, denn Gerüchten zufolge hat er eine eigene Meinung zur aktuellen Weltlage. Warning: owning this record might piss off (more than ever) your army recruiter, grizzled grampa, or those wacky flag-wavin' nationalist buddies of yours.

Ein PUNK-ROCK-MEISTERWERK neu aufgelegt - mit, aus aktuellem Anlass, aktualisiertem 2026 Cover-Artwork! Das erste Studioalbum von NOFX auf Fat! Die Band behandelte ernste Themen (Punk-Kultur und Politik) mit ihrem typischen Witz und Sarkasmus und zielte auf George W. Bush. Nun ist ein neuer Clown am Start! Damals (2003) schaffte es das Album sowohl in Großbritannien als auch in den USA in die Top 50 und war auch auf dem europäischen Festland erfolgreich, wo es in der Schweiz und in Deutschland die Top 30 erreichte, in Österreich die Top 50 und in Frankreich die Top 100. "Musically, NOFX fuses its political cynicism with criticism of punk rock itself and suggests that the best thing for all the kids and the bands might be to close ranks and start their own little hardcore community. 'Irrationality of Rationality' and 'Franco Un-American'_two of the album's most melodic, catchy songs_are also two of War on Errorism's most biting commentaries. The first personalizes the trickle-down effect of corporate decision-making over a lockstep hardcore rhythm; the second gets all-new wavy as Fat Mike reasons out his own world view, and somehow rhymes "apathy" with "Noam Chomsky.'" - NOFX hat sich zwar aufgelöst, aber das Vermächtnis lebt weiter. Die Band ist derzeit Gegenstand ihrer ersten umfassenden Ausstellung im Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. Die Dokumentation "40 Years of Fuckin Upmakes" feiert beim SXSW 2026 Premiere und ist ab April umfassend zu sehen (Score & Original Soundtrack mit neuer Musik von NOFX folgen in Kürze). Der zweite Teil der A-Z-Raritäten-Trilogie "I to Q" soll Ende 2026 erscheinen. Und behaltet Fat Mike im Auge, denn Gerüchten zufolge hat er eine eigene Meinung zur aktuellen Weltlage. Warning: owning this record might piss off (more than ever) your army recruiter, grizzled grampa, or those wacky flag-wavin' nationalist buddies of yours.

Preston duo White Flowers announce new album, Dreams For Somebody Else - due for release 1st May 2026 via The state51 Conspiracy.
White Flowers, the long-running collaboration between Joey Cobb and Katie Drew, exists within what they call “the realm” – a shared creative space, wherein time, rather than being a restrictive force, is fluid and boundless, and music exists as an endless conversation with their past and present selves. Adopting what the band describe as a “sketchbook” approach to writing, White Flowers is the product of a decade’s worth of recordings - snippets nestled away on hard drives, only to truly make sense years later.
On Dreams For Somebody Else, the band expand upon the dark-hued dream pop of their debut, channeling the catharsis of dance music via repetitive structures and “sad, euphoric sounds”. Working alongside LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip’s Al Doyle on production, the album maps out a mosaic of soaring choruses that swirl around imposing arrays of synths, guitars, and percussion.
Through this new lens, the band explore themes of isolation, dissociation and identity - drawing inspiration from Annie Ernaux’s The Years. “Whilst recording the songs for ‘Dreams For Somebody Else’, we really connected with the concept of Annie Ernaux’s book, ‘The Years’ - a ‘collective autobiography’ pieced together from mismatched fragments from her past, conjuring the effect that she’s merely an observer of her own life. This concept merges into the White Flowers world, where time, rather than being restrictive, is fluid and boundless, with our music existing as an endless conversation with versions of ourselves at different stages of our lives.”
“The album has that same feeling of disassociating from your own life, because you’re just blending into everyone else”, the band explains. “There’s a sadness there, because it’s as if you’re looking back on things that happened to you, and they feel like they don’t belong to you anymore”. It’s the dull ache of nostalgia intertwined with a sense of wonder at what could lie ahead - the hopeful optimism and endless loss that defines the human experience. “It’s this idea of identity not being a fixed thing, but something that’s always changing. It’s a fluid thing, similar to time. Things aren’t really fixed, but rather in a constant state of change. It’s important to remember that we’re all going through that.”

Presenting the remarkable second album by the Chinese musician, DJ and creative chef Yu Su. An evolution from her 2021 debut LP and two track single released last year, Foundry radiates a fresh, fully-fledged and far-reaching sound.

The nucleus of Foundry began with material penned for live performance at MUTEK in 2025, alongside a move to London which brought about new shifts in perspective. Searching for a style that was true both to her roots and progression as an artist, Yu ventured in a post-orientalist direction, and came upon a language of ‘in-between music’.

Mixing the eclectic influence of her DJ sets with genre-defying collaborators and newfound taste for minimal and ambient techno, a dusky, dub-inflected character began to emerge. This broad palette reiterates Yu’s prior form in making connections across disciplines, which have not only consisted of music, but also multisensory endeavors which incorporate taste and smell.

With cover art featuring hammered metalwork by the artist Brendan Ratzlaff, for Yu the foundry represents a nexus of creation; a shared workspace where collaborators combined their materials and skills. With the input of Seefeel, Dip In The Pool, and Memotone, together their broad spectrum of aural elements underwent a chemical transformation, and were forged into something new.

Well-designed, ergonomic yet occasionally amorphous, the effect is that of meticulous freedom, both controlled and free flowing. Using immersive sound design, Yu creates inspiring spaces to revel in, which are warm yet steeped in shadow, with flashes of silvery light.

Featuring Yu in with duet Miyako Koda of cult Japanese art pop duo Dip In The Pool, the record kicks off in swirling but poised fashion with ‘A Jewel’. The dusky, reverberant underwater minimalism of ‘Sunless’ follows, which features British composer Memotone, and was influenced by Chris Marker’s 1983 film Sans Soleil.

The dubby, sunkissed affirmation on ‘Cul De Sac’ leads to the thumping acid stomp of ‘Foundry’, and onto the hazy glow of ‘One Place After Another’, featuring lauded soundheads Seefeel, where Yu’s voice is joined by Sarah Peacock’s, alongside Mark Clifford’s seductively gauzy fuzz guitar.

Venturing into more ominous territory is the liminal ambient dub of ‘Wanli’, followed by the rich textured flutter of ‘Os Cionn’, which translates from Gaelic as ‘above’. The album ends with the reflective, processional pulse of ‘Ripe Fruits’, which was inspired by Frederic Leighton’s 1892 oil painting The Garden of the Hesperides.

The LP’s visual was art directed by Lucas Dupuy, whose approach perfectly encapsulates Yu’s spatial sonics: “We both think in layers”, she comments. “Not linear layering, but horizontal layering, like weaving metallic threads, where a bigger picture of a grainy sphere will occur at the end.”

Mastered by Miles

Art by Lucas Dupuy & Brendan Ratzlaff

Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.

“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”

However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.

The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”

What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.

Wasteland is a record that is unafraid to plunge into the darkness of the modern world and embrace the weirder, edgier and more unnerving moments that come from doing so. It is an album that captures all the enormity of life from the micro to the macro, zooming in on the personal as well reflecting on broader societal issues.

“Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.” And within that you have a lot going on. “It also explores death, personal loss, grief, mental health and how the natural world provides solace and meaning for that loss and how these worlds blur into one another.”
Ghedi has always been an artist that in many ways perfectly encompasses folk music in its purest form but he is also someone that frequently pushes the boundaries of that label and no more so is that apparent than on this record. As like previous albums, such as 2018’s A Hymn for Ancient Land and 2021’s In the Furrows of Common Place, Ghedi uses traditional folk songs as a means to explore contemporary issues via modern and experimentally-leaning music. “With the traditional material on this album I wanted to find songs with content that resonated with me,” says Ghedi. “But also that were based roughly around the north of England.” This is a central underlying theme to the album for Ghedi. The feelings of loss, erosion, and degradation are often most pronounced in working class communities and this was something he wanted to weave in. “It was important to voice and choose material that represented or expressed issues that correlated with things going on around me.”

However, as remarkable as some of the traditional material is, some of the most arresting work on the album is Ghedi’s entirely original compositions. Lead single ‘Wasteland’ is a stunning piece of work that while rooted in an environment being corrupted and broken – “there’s violence on these hills” Ghedi sorrowfully sings, before claiming this is no longer somewhere that can be called home – it is also a stirringly beautiful composition that soars and glides as it opens up, as sweeping strings swoop and in and out of Ghedi’s twangy electric guitar.

The decision to incorporate more fuller sounds, such as electric guitar and huge drums, results in a notable shift and evolution in tone for Ghedi. “The lyrical content needed something more band-driven and loud to deliver them,” he explains. “Incorporating the electric guitar in my songwriting was also a big part of opening the sound up, using drop tunings pushed me to use my voice in a wider range, which forced me to use falsetto a lot which I haven’t previously done before. That then opened the sound up and gave me creative ideas for bigger arrangements and to sonically really push things.”

What Ghedi has done in creating his masterpiece is construct a remarkable space where deeply intimate and personal feelings coexist with reflections on environment, place and society, while also interweaving historical context via traditional songs. Wasteland is as much of a world to explore and exist in as much as it is an album, with Ghedi carving out his distinctly unique sonic language and voice to explore that singular environment.

VERY LIMITED BLACK VINYL WITH DOUBLE-SIDED INSERT (NON-RETURNABLE)

California composer Phil Geraldi’s vinyl debut both refines and refracts his signature muse of interstitial Americana across 11
melted glass mosaics of processed guitar, decayed radio glow, and Harmonia synth horizons: Rural Deceased Undiscovered. He
describes his vision for the pieces as “multilinear,” rearranging classic radio songbook elements like hooks, choruses, and
emotional cues into unfamiliar topographies of “alien country.”

Shards of acoustic guitar and pedal steel flicker in long shadows of amplifier hum and airwave static, like the scrambled
broadcast of some heartland station along a desert highway. It’s music both rustic and placeless, warped by weather and
technology, shimmering like northern lights over the badlands.

,Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow" ist das zweite Album der Funk-Pioniere Funkadelic, das 1970, nur wenige Monate nach ihrem bahnbrechenden Debüt, erschien. Das Album, das bekanntermaßen aus einer einzigen, von LSD begleiteten Marathon-Session hervorgegangen ist, zeigt die Band bei der Verfeinerung ihres Songwritings, lässt aber dennoch viel Raum für experimentelle Jamsessions. Es markierte den offiziellen Einstieg des legendären Keyboarders Bernie Worrell und erreichte Platz 92 der Billboard Pop-Charts.

45 RPM Edition. ,Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow" ist das zweite Album der Funk-Pioniere Funkadelic, das 1970, nur wenige Monate nach ihrem bahnbrechenden Debüt, erschien. Das Album, das bekanntermaßen aus einer einzigen, von LSD begleiteten Marathon-Session hervorgegangen ist, zeigt die Band bei der Verfeinerung ihres Songwritings, lässt aber dennoch viel Raum für experimentelle Jamsessions. Es markierte den offiziellen Einstieg des legendären Keyboarders Bernie Worrell und erreichte Platz 92 der Billboard Pop-Charts.

Blue Mist Vinyl. ,Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow" ist das zweite Album der Funk-Pioniere Funkadelic, das 1970, nur wenige Monate nach ihrem bahnbrechenden Debüt, erschien. Das Album, das bekanntermaßen aus einer einzigen, von LSD begleiteten Marathon-Session hervorgegangen ist, zeigt die Band bei der Verfeinerung ihres Songwritings, lässt aber dennoch viel Raum für experimentelle Jamsessions. Es markierte den offiziellen Einstieg des legendären Keyboarders Bernie Worrell und erreichte Platz 92 der Billboard Pop-Charts.

,Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow" ist das zweite Album der Funk-Pioniere Funkadelic, das 1970, nur wenige Monate nach ihrem bahnbrechenden Debüt, erschien. Das Album, das bekanntermaßen aus einer einzigen, von LSD begleiteten Marathon-Session hervorgegangen ist, zeigt die Band bei der Verfeinerung ihres Songwritings, lässt aber dennoch viel Raum für experimentelle Jamsessions. Es markierte den offiziellen Einstieg des legendären Keyboarders Bernie Worrell und erreichte Platz 92 der Billboard Pop-Charts.

Die US-Kultband veröffentlicht ihr viertes Album.

Als die Idee für ein viertes Album (zum zweiten Mal) aufkam, war American Football klar, dass es düsterer werden würde. Nach einer einjährigen Welttour mit ausverkauften Konzerten zum 25-jährigen Bandjubiläum und der Veröffentlichung eines Coveralbums (mit Songs von Iron & Wine, Ethel Cain, Blondshell, u.a.) tat sich das Quartett mit Produzent/Toningenieur Sonny Diperri (My Bloody Valentine, M83, Kurt Vile) zusammen, um sein bis dato essentiellstes Album aufzunehmen. LP4 verbindet atmosphärische Soundlandschaften mit emotionaler Katharsis im Post-Rock-Stil. Anders als alles, was American Football bisher aufgenommen hat, fügt sie sich dennoch nahtlos in ihren stetig wachsenden und beeindruckenden Katalog ein. LP4 ist ein ambitioniertes künstlerisches Statement einer Band, die die Grenzen von Genre und Kultur immer wieder neu definiert. Es ist ein wunderschönes und vielschichtiges Album, das sich Zeit nimmt, seine Schönheit zu entfalten, während es gleichzeitig die dunkleren Seiten anklingen lässt, die sich so gut wie möglich verbergen. Das Album enthält Gastvocals von Brendan Yates (Turnstile), Wisp und Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria).

They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.

Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.

Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.

As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.

My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”

They Came Like Swallows is the first album-length collaboration between Thurston Moore and Kramer (now officially Bonner Kramer), two giants of alternative/ experimental music. The accomplishments and influence of these two artists in the world of independent music cannot be overstated and the result of their artistic union is a startlingly cohesive statement that burns through landscapes of primitive outsider rock, avant-garde composition, progressive ambient and further locales boldly and beautifully unnamable. “Kramer and I reconnected in Miami, Florida, a few years back, many many years after each of us had departed NYC on separate life adventures. It was only a matter of time before Kramer and I started making plans to record together and with his irrepressible due diligence he quickly set up a mobile recording contraption in the pad I was decamped in, the Florida sunshine flowing through the palm leaves, lithe lizards skittering across the windowsills, and we just went for it.

Kramer had the idea to cover a Joy Division tune, a left turn from the improvisations we had been tracking, though wholly in keeping with both our sensibilities of light and dark unifying in transcendent songwriting, both of us devotees of 'the song' as well as 'the freedom.’ What transpired is They Came Like Swallows, a session we immediately felt should exist as a prayer to the war-torn souls of the families of Palestine continually decimated by the brutality of genocide. We agreed beyond words to offer our music as a sonic activism and as a beneficent energy. This album is our duo exchange for human dignity, it is our soul music for any semblance of a peaceful planet.” ~ Thurston Moore “For the first time in our nearly 45 years of friendship, we had identical time windows open to make a record together,” recounts Kramer. After all this time not a moment is wasted as the duo immediately taps into the heightened core of improvisational tension across these seven offerings. Volcanic opener “Urn Burial” notches a similar historic union (John Cale and Terry Riley) to meet the circumstances of the moment, with swirling mists of organ and pounding toms over guitar that thickens the atmosphere with jagged, grimy dissonance.

Solemn strings open the second track, “The Redness In The West,” with Kramer’s cello and viola in dueling bow beneath the high tension drive and sustain of Thurston’s electric guitar, tapping out a Morse code of tension that mounts endlessly into a fog of inevitable war by the end. Moore and Kramer’s sense of experimentalism is in free and full grandeur throughout They Came Like Swallows, though the duo keep a strong and constant sideways eye on melody, composition and architecture, to the ends that any strict lines between song and improvisation are blurred beyond qualification.

As if to punctuate this point, Swallows closes with a nightwork cover of Joy Division’s “Insight,” a doleful coda that breathes out with a solemn inner grace under Thurston’s instantly stylistically recognizable guitar melodies as they weave into he and Kramer’s unison voices. As the lone vocal piece and only traditional ‘song’ form on the album, “Insight” is unique to this set and as a closing statement draws connective lines back to the kind of dynamic, electrified melodicism that wove deep, melancholy patterns into the untamed fire of Sonic Youth’s Sister and Daydream Nation. In the album’s final moments, the two voices repeat the lyric “I’m not afraid anymore” as mantra, underscoring the heavy, unsettled themes and methods that preceded it. Kramer describes the creative process of They Came Like Swallows: “I had composed and recorded a few pieces at my home studio over the course of a couple weeks. Thurston was spending the winter in South Florida, so I flew down and spent a few days recording his guitar parts in his home there. Watching him spontaneously compose his parts was pretty astonishing, to say the least. Once we'd finished working on those pieces, we began improvising and following wherever the music pointed us, and another few pieces were born. We got straight to it, without anything driving us other than the joy of finally working together.

My personal goal was to remain present and catch as many surprises as I could from Thurston's guitar work, and there were plenty during those few days. We had a fucking blast.” Thurston’s contributions here will be readily familiar to any acolytes of his other works, the through-line between his inspired playing, cradled in Kramer’s meticulous, solid arrangements. “If I had to make this record again, I'd do it all exactly the same way,” Kramer says. “It’s like jazz, you don't think about it. You just do it. It was miraculous, and you don't fuck with a miracle.”

Die US-Kultband veröffentlicht ihr viertes Album.

Als die Idee für ein viertes Album (zum zweiten Mal) aufkam, war American Football klar, dass es düsterer werden würde. Nach einer einjährigen Welttour mit ausverkauften Konzerten zum 25-jährigen Bandjubiläum und der Veröffentlichung eines Coveralbums (mit Songs von Iron & Wine, Ethel Cain, Blondshell, u.a.) tat sich das Quartett mit Produzent/Toningenieur Sonny Diperri (My Bloody Valentine, M83, Kurt Vile) zusammen, um sein bis dato essentiellstes Album aufzunehmen. LP4 verbindet atmosphärische Soundlandschaften mit emotionaler Katharsis im Post-Rock-Stil. Anders als alles, was American Football bisher aufgenommen hat, fügt sie sich dennoch nahtlos in ihren stetig wachsenden und beeindruckenden Katalog ein. LP4 ist ein ambitioniertes künstlerisches Statement einer Band, die die Grenzen von Genre und Kultur immer wieder neu definiert. Es ist ein wunderschönes und vielschichtiges Album, das sich Zeit nimmt, seine Schönheit zu entfalten, während es gleichzeitig die dunkleren Seiten anklingen lässt, die sich so gut wie möglich verbergen. Das Album enthält Gastvocals von Brendan Yates (Turnstile), Wisp und Caithlin De Marrais (Rainer Maria).

Fresh as morning dew, “Sundays” marks Module One’s debut EP on Luck of Access. Throughout this beautiful release, the Berlin-based artist continues exploring the deeper shades of electronic music, our favorite, as he has done for the past decade. The EP is complemented by an ambient rework from Leafar Legov’s new alias “rfl”, making it the perfect closing piece, and the ideal soundtrack for a reflective Sunday at home.