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Guided By Voices’ last album Thick Rich And Delicious (October 2025) was lauded by NPR’s All Things Considered and picked #1 on Magnet Magazine’s Best Albums Of 2025. The single “We Outlast Them All” from this latest, Crawlspace Of The Pantheon, is an anthemic victory lap on album #44 from the indie rock stalwarts. Robert Pollard told Rolling Stone: “ ‘We Outlast Them All’ could be our ‘We Are The Champions’ but it’s not necessarily about us.

It’s about anyone who perseveres over a long period of time.” On Crawlspace Of The Pantheon: “I worked much more diligently on this set of lyrics. I chiseled away at lines and sections and phrasings...I wanted them to have an overall emotionally conceptual feel. At times it feels somewhat autobiographical.” Guided By Voices will not be on tour in 2026. Pollard recently told Magnet: “Why would we stop playing live and make these kinds of records? I don’t know. We do what we wanna do.” “Pollard is the greatest rock lyricist of all time.” —Dennis Cooper

Produced by Masters At Work (Kenny Dope and Louie Vega).

'Collaboration is stimulating, it's in my blood.' Thus speaks Brian Jackson and his philosophy for making music and it's indeed collaboration that runs through this amazing album of reimagined and revisited songs from his artistic past. Featuring artists such as Black Thought, Rahsaan Patterson, Josh Milan, Moodymann, Omar, J. Ivy and others and being produced by Masters At Work, Now More Than Ever takes the enduring classic tracks that Brian made with Gil Scott-Heron and places them in the now over nineteen tracks and across a triple vinyl LP or double CD.

Songs such as Lady Day & John Coltrane, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Home Is Where The Hatred Is, Winter In America, The Bottle and more soundtracked a generational movement of Black Consciousness in the 70s and 80s. As Brian says, 'This album is one way to connect to what we were about in the 70s; we were about change and this is part of the lineage of resistance. These tracks mark a period of time when resistance was essential and now a younger generation has picked them up.'

'As young men in their twenties we (Brian and Gil) just wrote about what we saw and were feeling and people interpreted these songs in ways we never thought about but as Sly stone said the song comes from me but it's for you.' This statement from Brian perfectly sums up the collaborative nature of Now More Than Ever and the relevance of these songs in a contemporary perspective can be perfectly summed up by the songs themselves. The formidable stable of artists contributing to each track and the excellent production from Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez make this album an event in itself. However, these songs are there to be enjoyed as a canon or as individual masterpieces, whether on the dancefloor or on a home system. ‘Now More Than Ever’ just has to be in everybody’s music collection.

Zum 60-jährigen Jubiläum von Raumpatrouille - Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffs Orion erscheint die siebte Veröffentlichung unserer Peter-Thomas-Reihe als erweitertes, klanglich überarbeitetes Reissue auf CD und LP. Der ikonische Soundtrack gilt bis heute als einer der prägendsten der deutschen TV-Geschichte - futuristisch, rhythmisch, wagemutig. Peter Thomas verlieh der Serie eine einzigartige Klangsignatur, deren Strahlkraft weit über das Bildschirmformat hinausreicht. Der legendäre Vocoder-Countdown und Titelthema wurden zahllos gesampelt, gecovert und neu interpretiert - u. a. von Pulp, Pizzicato Five, Die Fantastischen Vier und Mousse T. In Zusammenarbeit mit Philip Thomas konnten vier bislang unveröffentlichte Stücke aus dem Nachlass des Komponisten ergänzt werden. Die LP basiert auf der Philips-Originalausgabe von 1966, erweitert um die neuen Titel - und enthält ausschließlich Musik, die in der Serie zu hören war, mit einer Ausnahme: "Bolero on the Moon Rocks", dessen Sample Pulp 1998 zu This Is Hardcore inspirierte. Die CD bietet über 60 Minuten Originalmusik, inklusive rarer Outtakes, ohne später hinzugefügtes Füllmaterial.

Zum 60-jährigen Jubiläum von Raumpatrouille - Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffs Orion erscheint die siebte Veröffentlichung unserer Peter-Thomas-Reihe als erweitertes, klanglich überarbeitetes Reissue auf CD und LP. Der ikonische Soundtrack gilt bis heute als einer der prägendsten der deutschen TV-Geschichte - futuristisch, rhythmisch, wagemutig. Peter Thomas verlieh der Serie eine einzigartige Klangsignatur, deren Strahlkraft weit über das Bildschirmformat hinausreicht. Der legendäre Vocoder-Countdown und Titelthema wurden zahllos gesampelt, gecovert und neu interpretiert - u. a. von Pulp, Pizzicato Five, Die Fantastischen Vier und Mousse T. In Zusammenarbeit mit Philip Thomas konnten vier bislang unveröffentlichte Stücke aus dem Nachlass des Komponisten ergänzt werden. Die LP basiert auf der Philips-Originalausgabe von 1966, erweitert um die neuen Titel - und enthält ausschließlich Musik, die in der Serie zu hören war, mit einer Ausnahme: "Bolero on the Moon Rocks", dessen Sample Pulp 1998 zu This Is Hardcore inspirierte. Die CD bietet über 60 Minuten Originalmusik, inklusive rarer Outtakes, ohne später hinzugefügtes Füllmaterial.

Emotional Rescue returns after a much-needed year hiatus, refreshed and ready, as it moves into its 15th year, to further explore the environs of oft-forgotten musical secrets and present them to new heads and minds.

To celebrate, the label looks back to one of its favourite collaborations, the music of French ‘Ethno-Industrialists’ Vox Populi! in presenting a truly unique EP of “In Dub”, inspired remixes by 4 fellow Paris based artists of today in Full Circle, Froid Dub, Krikor and Shelter.

“In Dub” takes a selection of songs from the series of albums reissued or compiled on Emotional Rescue and sister label, Platform 23, and gives the Master tapes to this talented ensemble to offer their own, unique dub reworks. The project explores the on-going advances in technology offered, mixed with pure talent and a respectful homage.

Formed by Axel Kyrou and including wife Mitra, as well as long-term music and art partners Pierre Jolivet aka Pacific 231 and Francis Lafont aka FR6 Man, they forged a path from obscure, drum and drum-based cassette releases on to fully realized albums and compilations on their now cult Vox Man Records.

Alexis Le Tan and Joakim’s Full Circle project starts, with their electronic dub remake of Soleyman Dub from the ‘Alternatif Réalisme’ compilation (ERC079). With releases on Good Morning Tapes, Offen and their own “Released” label, their plaudits as master diggers and producers of dubby tripped-out inspired electronics – releasing slowed Trance some 10 years before anyone else – is inspired. Tuning in and turning on the original dub into a mantra style slow-breaks (Digi)dub is the perfect experimental flavour.

Jube Man is next, a twisted, psychedelic dub out by rising stars Froid Dub. The stand-out from the ‘Magiques Creations’ release (ERC052), an album that explored Vox Populi’s furtive post-industrial period of 1984 to 1988, Jube Man was the perfect selection by the duo of François Marché and Stéphane Bodin.

Froid Dub have steadily developed their “cold” Digidub style to acclaim –

releasing a steady flow of dub inspired electronics on their own label Delodio, as well as recently appearing on sister label Emotional Response’s 10th year anniversary collection, ‘All Trades’. Their haunting, shuffling and murky acid / piano dub, with the drifting “Space Echoing” of Mitra’s vocals from the live desk mix, creates a ghostly version to effect.

Next, master mixer, producer and engineer Krikor serves a steppers remake with his “OverDub” of Zen-Dub. With a career that spans releases on Tigersushi, LIES and Soul Jazz, his sound has developed from Electro, House and Techno, to Acid, Bleep, Dancehall, Dub and touches of Gabba.

Taken from Vox Populi!’s master-opus Aither (ERC030), the first of our reissues dating back to 2016, Zen-Dub’s pacey, lo-fi dub experience is transformed and overdubbed into an incessant sound system throb, a true bass quaking “steppa”.

To close, Micro Climax is put through Shelter’s increasing avant dub exposition. Appearing on the likes of Growing Bin, Emotional Response and his own Protopost, as well for – and being in-house designer – on the much-missed Séance Centre, Alan Briand aka Shelter productions have developed from Balearic, Edits and House to explore Avant, Raga and live Dub productions.

Appearing on the recent ‘Ethniques Pyschedeliques’ compilation on Platform 23 (PLA032), in original form Micro Climax is a sprawling 10-minute ethno-dub of whispered vocals, drone and sub bass. Shelter strips it back, keeping background effects, adding live bass and percussion to create a wonky, slow, shuffling ska-lite excursion to complete a true “In Dub”.

When funk music exploded onto the global pop scene in the late sixties, many of Jamaica's leading music-makers were inspired to incorporate elements of the exciting sound into their work. The result was the fascinating and compelling funky reggae style that proved immensely popular with record buyers on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the early ‘70s.

Pioneers of the sound included such celebrated producers as Lee ’Scratch’ Perry and Lloyd Charmers, whose recordings are heavily represented on both the CD and LP versions of this irresistible collection.

Collected here are some of the finest examples of the funky reggae, performed by some of reggae music’s most accomplished artists, from Ken Boothe and Lee Perry’s Upsetters to British-based acts, Greyhound and The Marvels.

Sometimes the title of an album tells you everything you need to know. Laurence Pike’s Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet is like that: The music within represents a search for freedom, potentiality—liberatory strategies that transcend the ego and the solitary, atomized figure.

But in this case, the album title is also a red herring, because there is no jazz quintet here—just Pike, his drums, and his machines, not so much an ersatz ensemble as a purely notional one, a thought experiment equipped with drumsticks, circuitry, and the desire to go beyond hardwired limits.

And the results, strictly speaking, aren’t really jazz, though they incorporate the vocabulary of jazz, along with that of ambient, electronica, and post-rock. They are some other thing, cognizant of genre but never beholden to it. Again, we’re talking about a search for freedom here.

The Sydney-based musician has a long history of coloring outside the lines, not just in his solo recordings—including four albums for the Leaf label between 2018 and 2024—but also in the trio Pivot (later PVT); Szun Waves (alongside saxophonist Jack Wyllie and Border Community’s Luke Abbott); Triosk, which recorded an album with Jan Jelinek in 2003; and even post-punk titans Liars, whom he joined in late 2018.

Of his first album for Balmat, Pike says, “My loose concept was: What does music sound like when the expectations of late capitalism are removed from it? How might a jazz musician from an idealised culture of the future, or even another world, utilise musical language when the conventions of style and marketing are no longer a factor in music making?”

That inquiry, he says, connects to his “guiding principle: that the purpose of music is to access something bigger than the individual, and reveal a sense of possibility and freedom in the world to the listener. To create an understanding that the future can be something other than what we imagined or expect, even unconsciously.”

Heady ideas, but plug into his stream-of-metaconsciousness flow and you may start to intuit what motivates him. There is a deeply lyrical expression in these pieces—in the ruminative piano of opener “Guardians of Memory,” for example—but also a sense of exploded perspective, of ideas approached from more angles than any one mind could dream up. Of a collectivized consciousness, of mycelial networks branching across tone and rhythm and timbre, of ideas articulated in distributed fashion, nodal points dancing across drum heads.

Pike’s imaginary quintet is hardly without precedent; it’s a continuation of concepts floated across Jan Jelinek’s Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, Burnt Friedman’s many guises, and much of the recombinant improv of the International Anthem roster, not to mention the far corners of ECM’s catalog in the late 1970s and 1980s, which Pike says have been integral to his development since he was a teenager. Possible Utopias for Jazz Quintet is a point in a continuum, a voice in a conversation, a question with no obvious answer: How can the search for otherness in music manifest something true about ourselves?

W.R.F. was formed in 2015 by Nina and late studio partner Andrew Weatherall to help wrangle the vast output recorded together beyond his solo releases.
Spotlighting nine tracks from the Apparently Solo series of EPs recorded between 2016- 2019 and released on Bandcamp in 2023, this lustrous time capsule marks the culmination of Walsh and Weatherall’s creative relationship born after they clicked at London’s earliest acid house clubs, becoming partners then managers of their Sabres Of Paradise/Sabrettes labels before taking different paths by the late '90s.
An accomplished musician, Nina had learned the art of studio technology by the time they reunited and started working together in 2012. Created at her Facility 4 Studio situated in the dangerous, gang-ridden no man’s land between Streatham and Mitcham, Anamchara captures the super-prolific creative stretch starting in 2015 that produced Weatherall’s Convenanza and Qualia solo sets, W.R.F.’s The Phoenix Suburb (And Other Stories) plus a whole lot more. According to Nina, Andrew envisioned the spectacular ‘Borderland’ as natural successor to ‘Smokebelch’, his most revered track. When it came to his remix, Nina enlisted renowned viola virtuoso Sarah Sarhandi and composed new harmonies with Pachelbel’s Canon in D Minor in mind.
The set also catches the breakthrough period when, through Nina’s careful coaxing, Andrew started using the computer system she’d set up to better express his musical visions by arranging the elements, grooves and melodies she sent him. Still considered the UK’s greatest DJ-producer, Andrew’s arrangements were inspired by his club-igniting sets. “This allowed me to mix the colours for his palette whilst he was painting the picture,” says Nina. Anamchara straddles the gamut of musical styles explored by W.R.F. at this time, from slower paced psychedelic “drug chug” outings ‘We Two’. ‘Heat To Meat Ratio’, ‘Hidden Watchers Part 1’ to banging acid house and techno sometimes inspired by the violence outside the studio door, including ‘SCHLAP’, ‘Crack-Ed’ and churning acid juggernaut ‘Yacidik’ (“After much dangling of the acid carrot, Andrew took a bite and, after one familiar raised eyebrow, never looked back,” says Nina).
Many tracks fly elements from the enormous sonic library Nina inherited from late partner Erick Legrand that she called The Akashic Library of Sound. Marking Andrew’s 2016 admission into the vault, ‘Rattly Old Puffin’ boasts Erick’s psychedelic guitar and tumbling drum loop Weatherall would run with, including on ‘Borderland’. “Erick was like our third member,” says Nina.
Bringing down the curtain, ‘Alma’’s exquisitely poignant melody that unfolds over thirteen time-stopping minutes was composed by Nina while navigating Erick’s birth and departure date anniversaries to accompany Andrew’s reading from Gordon Burn’s 1991 same-named novel at 2018’s Durham Literary Festival. Burn’s novel imagines early 60s popstrel Alma Cogan, who succumbed to cancer in 1966 surviving to reflect on fame. “Now it just makes me think of Erick. And every time I hear those well-placed cymbal crashes I can only think of the Captain himself.”
A beautiful grand finale for this astonishing selection of pure gold from the vaults.
Kris Needs / 2026

Die hochgeschätzten Euro-Metal-Pioniere Oz wurden ursprünglich 1977 in der kleinen finnischen Stadt Nakilla gegründet. Die Band bestand aus Mark Ruffneck (bürgerlicher Name Pekka Mark) am Schlagzeug, Sänger Ape De Martini (Eero Hämäläinen), Bassist Tauno Vajavaara sowie Kario Elo an der Gitarre.

Fünf Jahre nach ihrer Gründung legten Oz ihr Debütalbum vor. Mit Krachern wie “Saturday Night”, “Capricorn Man” oder dem schlüpfrigen “Second-Hand Lady” avancierten Oz schnell zur HM-Band Nummer eins in Skandinavien.

In der Folge zog man nach Stockholm um, wo 1983 der gefeierte Zweitling »Fire In The Brain« entstand. Die Platte enthielt höchst energetische Heavy-Metal-Hymnen wie “Fortune”, “Megalomaniac” oder “Gambler”. Der kanadische Journalist Martin Popoff verteilte in seinem »Collector’s Guide To Heavy Metal« 9 von 10 Punkten und schrieb: »Fire In The Brain« ist eine düstere, fast depressiv wirkende Platte, die den Hörer wie ein Güterzug trifft. Es ist ein sehr europäisch klingendes Werk – vom apokalyptisch anmutenden ‘Searchlights’ über das zähflüssige ‘Black Candles’ bis hin zum gewaltigen Titelsong werden absolut keine Gefangenen genommen.“

High Roller Records, silver vinyl, ltd 450, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover with 5mm spine, lyric sheet, 12 page booklet, poster

What do we need now more than ever? Exactly, OPTIMISM. This is the place we long for, the solution we need, and also the name of DIGITALISM's new album, which will be released on May 29. German electronic pioneers DIGITALISM spread the urgent energy of OPTIMISM with their upcoming album and live performances all over Europe. A DIY spirit, in-the-moment energy and a low boredom threshold - all have been crucial to Digitalism's practice since they built their first track in a studio inside a WWII bunker in Hamburg, 20 years ago. OPTIMISM is the logical consequence of the band's steady development.

DJ Support: Mousse T, Todd Terry, Young Pulse, Angelo Ferreri, Melvo Baptiste, Richard Earnshaw, Micky More & Andy Tee, Dr Packer, Hatiras, DJ Rae, Mark Picchiotti, Birdee, Shaka Loves You, Yasmin, Saison, Michael Gray, DJ Spen and Hatiras

A Touch Of Love goes from strength to strength with EP8 in the vinyl series. Label boss Seamus Haji reps the A side with his latest faves ‘Fire’ with his good friend Mike Dunn serving up the unmistakable vocals on a funk fuelled Firestarter followed by his collab with the New York diva Kathy Brown over the sexually charged disco chugger ‘Dancing’. On the AA side new kid on the block from Barcelona Osner hit big with his outing ‘It’s Good’ with a nod to the 70’s with a modern twist for peak-time dancefloors whilst Italy’s fast rising underground hero Gledd continues the theme with the blues & soul injected thumper ‘Move Me’.

Danish producer Kasper Bjørke returns with a new release on Tropical Animals, the “Veri/Gliss” EP a work that fully captures his signature blend of cinematic depth, refined production, and forward-thinking electronic aesthetics.

“Veri” opens the EP as a richly layered and immersive experience. Built around an evolving tapestry of textures, the track unfolds through pulsating synths, shifting sonic details, and a steady yet powerful rhythm. The result is a truly intergalactic journey, where each element seems to orbit around a constantly transforming emotional core. This is Bjørke at his most visionary-bridging club functionality with intricate sound design in a hypnotic and expansive narrative.

On remix duties, label head Ricardo Baez reinterprets “Veri” with a sharper, more direct approach. Stripping back the original’s layered atmospheres, he delivers a driving electro version that’s lean, tense, and fully focused on the dancefloor. With its tight groove and immediate impact, the remix is built for peak-time energy and club intensity.

On the flip side, “Gliss” reveals a more intimate and emotive dimension of Bjørke’s sound. A modern electronic ballad, the track blends sensual rhythms with delicate, suspended melodies. Its subtle yet captivating groove carries the listener to an unknown planet, where everything moves in sync, locked into the same pulse and flow. It’s a piece that radiates both mystery and warmth, showcasing Bjørke’s ability to craft deeply atmospheric yet rhythmically engaging compositions.

With the “Veri/Gliss” EP, Kasper Bjørke and Tropical Animals reinforce a shared artistic vision where sonic exploration meets club-ready precision, balancing introspection and dancefloor energy, cosmic textures and physical groove.

More Modern Soul madness from the team at Celestial Echo. No Stranger To Love is one of those rare tracks that crosses over both Modern and Northern scenes & has long been a favourite of collectors and selectors with original copies regularly changing hands for £100 + on the second hand market.

This lead to the synth laden funk track being picked up by Dam Funk & the Stones Throw crew, who shone a new light on the track via online mixes which has only increased the demand.

Officially reissued for the first time in 40 years and as always, officially licenced and remastered by Celestial Echo Records. Needless to say, buy or cry.

Repress on Transparent Red Vinyl

WRWTFWW Records is thrilled to announce their 5th archival release taken from cult Tokyo label FORM@ RECORDS' catalogue, this time with the first-ever vinyl edition of Re-Form Ver-1.0. The remarkable, yet not widely known, 1999 remix compilation is now available as a limited edition 45rpm cut double LP housed in a heavyweight sleeve, as well as in digital format.
Originally only available on CD in extremely limited quantities, Re-Form Ver-1.0 resurfaces as a fascinating document of FORM@ RECORDS' late-1990s creative peak. Re-imagining key pieces from the label's catalogue, the remix collection offers a rare glimpse into Tokyo's electronic underground, where techno, house, ambient, and IDM breathe freely through FORM@'s soulful and exploratory vision.
Highlights include two remixes of Missing Project's adored gem "Poisson D'Avril" (including its well known ethereal ambient Galaxy Dub which appeared on Music From Memory's Virtual Dreams II) as well as the otherworldly Fossil (aka the legend Virgo) Mix of Penance's "Cure & Soul". Throughout, the compilation balances dancefloor sensibility with introspective listening, embodying the warm human approach to machine music FORM@ RECORDS excels in.
Another essential time capsule from a crucial era of underground music, Re-Form Ver-1.0 echoes the spirit of Warp's Artificial Intelligence era, alongside the forward-thinking energy of Ken Ishii, Carl Craig, The Black Dog, and Ian O'Brien, while keeping its feet and individuality firmly rooted in local context - the magic recipe for creating a universal, timeless language of electronic expression.
Re-Form Ver-1.0 follows the vinyl edition of Virgo's Landform Code (1998) and Remnants (1999), as well as the FORM@ compilations Art Form I (1997) and Art Form 2 (1998), further expanding WRWTFWW's archival series dedicated to uncovering hidden gems of late '90s Japanese electronic music.

Rawbeats Records returns to its main catalog with a heavyweight release from Mar del Plata’s own Juaan. Meticulously crafted between 2020 and 2022, these four tracks are essential peak-time weapons already backed by the scene’s biggest names.

A1. "Decihden" sets a relentless pace right out of the gate. It's built on a foundation of heavy, punchy kicks and a rolling, infectious bassline creating a high-energy, club-ready tool.
A2. "Fui Do Por", which shifts the EP into a slightly more hypnotic and spaced-out territory. Syncopated rhythms layered with dubby, atmospheric chords, create a solid tension that perfectly bridges the gap between warm-up and peak time.

B1. "Knt" goes straight for the business, heavy production, driven by raw drum work, acid-tinged squelches and underground flavor. Mixes into a perfect dark, constant, piece designed to lock the dancefloor into a pure trance-like state.

Closing things off is DC Salas Remix of KNT, Diego steps up to completely reinterpret the original, injecting a distinct percussive bounce and twisting the core stems into a darker, expansive journey. It serves as the perfect cerebral closer to a heavyweight EP.

MUSIQUE POUR LA DANSE presents The Unreleased Themes From Hellraiser expanded ritual by Coil

Back in 1987, Clive Barker's supernatural body-horror classic Hellraiser hitted cinemas worldwide and introduced audiences to the demonic Cenobites. Barker was a devoted COIL fan (Peter Christopherson and John Balance), and he famously said they were the only band he'd ever heard on record whose music he'd had to take off because, in his words, "theymade his bowels churn.". He initially invited them to compose the film's music, and the group began recording cues. But the producers at New World Pictures ultimately rejected the material in favor of a more traditional approach, bringing in Christopher Young, whose final score remains excellent, if less experimental. What remains from Coil is an unfinished soundtrack with surviving fragments and rough ideas, abruptly left behind mid-process, a glimpse into an alternate Hellraiser movie, one we can only fantasize into existence.

Nearly 40 years later, key long-term collaborators and Coil's "secret third member" Danny Hyde located the original Hellraiser studio session tapes, and the bonus material recovered from them is presented here as an "expanded ritual" edition, reassembled into a standalone, possibly defnitive and strangely beautiful nightmare suite. Play it in the dark and experience the consequences of raising hell...

Notes by Danny Hyde
Original artwork by Trevor Brown
For fans of pain & pleasure, Throbbing Gristle, lost horror soundtracks & haunted electronics.

Felipe Gordon is back on Shall Not Fade with his new album Tezeta and f*ck is it special.

Felipe Gordon is SNF label mainstay... (we released his triple repressed debut album "A Landscape Onomatopeya" in 2022 as well as 7 x 12" EPs on SNF over the years plus an extra 12" on Lost Palms)... so given his consistent and exceptional output on our record label you'd probably forgive some complacency with this write up, you might even afford us license to assume we're preaching to the choir and allow us to rest easy knowing that at this stage Felipe Gordon's records sell themselves.... Well none of those things are happening here because when an artist makes a record this complete, this good, you have to try to find the words. You use words like "timeless", "complete and "special". Words that can carry the weight. Because when you've listened to an album dozens of times, and not once, in any part, on any listen in any way has it fatigued you, you need to say. When a record felt so wonderfully familiar from the first listen and just kept on giving you the same feels ever since, you need to say. When a record makes you think about you how you feel about certain Air & St Germain albums (even when you know what it means to put that in a press release), you need to say. So here we are, saying these things.. Tezeta is a special record, one that exists in the rarefied air. A proper album. A record that every time you press play you will immediately remember why you own it and why you love it. A record that your subconscious will know so well that if shuffle is on you will know in an instant. An album that when it's in your collection and the first track starts you get a twinge of annoyance because you didn't listen again sooner and when the final track stops you stop too.

Given paint and a canvas we can most of us paint a picture, but only those that are gifted can paint something that makes us feel. Tezeta makes you feel. Feel familiarity when it's playing, yearning when its not, and absence when it ends. This alone would be enough to make the argument as to why this album is special and justify the gushing opening paragraph of this press release. But we're not done yet.

We don't really have a word in english for what Felipe Gordon has created with this album and how it makes you feel. "Tezeta" that word.

Tezeta is a one of four musical modes within the traditional Ethiopian modal music system known as Qiñit. Mulatu Astatke, the father of Ethio-jazz, frequently uses this mode, often translating it as "nostalgia" or "longing". Gordon says Mulatu's own tezeta recordings convey to him "feelings of melancholy and longing from a point of affection". This is exactly the feeling Gordon has captured. It is what he has woven through every recording on this album. Tezeta is the prime ingredient. It's the base note in recipe, it's sprinkled over the signature jazz-sampled house tracks. It powers the vast array of synthesizers Gordon deploys. It underpins the explorations into trip-hop. It's present in Gordon's varied vocal deliveries and it tunes his guitar. It's in the running order. It's the flow. Tezeta is tezeta in electronic music form, with 4/4, breakbeats, samples and synths.

Gordon says a big part of what differentiates this album from from his previous albums is that is was recorded in a period where he allowed himself to create music without the constraints of time or self-pressure which coincided with a moment of heavy personal growth which allowed him to reflect deeply on his work.

There is a word in Portuguese "Saudade" that Gordon says has a similar meaning to Tezeta - Saudade is defined as a deep, sometimes bittersweet, longing or nostalgia for someone or something that is absent or lost. But here at SNF we think that in Tezeta nothing has been lost. Quite the opposite. Through Felipe Gordon's artistic explorations we have all gained something very special indeed.

Baccanalia is the new EP from PS5 : a collection of visionary dances inspired by the world of classic mythology. The syncopated rhythms and the ritual chants evoke war dances, satyrs ‘ parades and rites of passage and transformation. A deep sonic trip emerges, in which stylistic features of contemporary jazz interlace with ancestral suggestions creating a musical experience that is both physical and mystical. Pietro Santangelo is among the most prominent and recognizable voices of the contemporary Neapolitan music scene. Starting from the seminal experience of Slivovitz and the underground of the Crossroads Improving improvisation collective, in recent years it has given shape to PS3 and PS5, two of the most innovative ensembles in Italian jazz in recent years.The sound of his saxophone has characterized iconic records such as Nu Genea ’s Nuova Napoli and Dario Bassolino’s Città Futura, is featured in bands such as Fitness Forever, Funkin’ Machine, Khalab, Ex Generation (Napoli Exchange), Circolo Psiconautico, and many others.

Unpolished, refined, energetic club "mutations" Rantzen and Spinoglio go way back in time as old friends, and we are reuniting some of their old and recent pieces to forge a strong atmospheric dance LP with a unique flavor. Luen is also contributing strongly through her collaboration with Andy on " Black cloud". Some tracks in this release were made 15 years ago and some others were made in the last 5, but who cares ? Enjoy the music

Formed in 1994, Belgian power trio Metal Molly quickly built a reputation for their infectious blend of indie rock, grunge energy, and sharp melodies.
Their debut Surgery For Zebra was released in 1995, the album was driven by their single "Orange", which received extensive airplay across Europe.

The album propelled the band onto major stages, including Pinkpop and Torhout Werchter (1996), alongside high profile support shows with Therapy?, Bush, and David Bowie. After a highly successful run, Metal Molly disbanded in 2000.
In 2025 the band reunited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Surgery For Zebra, it also resulted in this long awaited vinyl pressing, now available for the first time.

Surgery for Zebra is now available as a limited numbered edition of 500 individually numbered copies on turquoise vinyl and it includes an insert.

,now i imagine a place not the same" ist eine Doppel-LP und ein neues Solo-Statement des Gitarristen und Komponisten David Torn, veröffentlicht bei Kou Records. Es kehrt zur rohen Energie seiner frühen Klangsprache zurück und treibt diese gleichzeitig mit der Klarheit jahrzehntelanger Erkundungen voran. Das Album ist gleichermaßen viszeral und schwerelos und konzentriert sich auf Torns langjährigen Dialog zwischen alternativen Stimmungen, Loop-Architekturen und berührungsempfindlicher Elektronik - eine Klangwelt, in der Melodie, Noise und Atmosphäre sich ständig ineinander verschmelzen. Als Pionier der E-Gitarren-Bearbeitung ist Torn weithin bekannt für seine Arbeit in Musik und Film, darunter langjährige Kooperationen mit dem Komponisten Howard Shore, Beiträge zu Filmen von David Cronenberg und einflussreiche Veröffentlichungen bei ECM Records, die dazu beitrugen, eine atmosphärische, filmische Sprache für die E-Gitarre zu definieren. Torn nähert sich jedem Stück als einer Form kompositionsorientierter Improvisation und behandelt alles in seiner Reichweite als musikalisches Material: Saiten, Tonabnehmer, Verstärker, externe Elektronik, Stimme, resonante Oberflächen und den physischen Raum selbst. Aufgenommen, gemischt und produziert von Randall Dunn und mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Unmittelbarkeit und physischer Präsenz eingefangen, wird die Gitarre Teil eines größeren Systems - Schaltkreise atmen, Delays wiederholen unvollkommene Erinnerungen, Töne regenerieren sich durch Berührung. Klänge entstehen durch Zufall, Geste und Intuition und werden dann durch aufmerksames Zuhören geformt, während sie sich entwickeln. Anstatt auf festgelegte Ergebnisse hin zu komponieren, lässt Torn die Form durch Feedback und Wiederholung entstehen und nimmt jeden Klang - ob beabsichtigt oder nicht - in einen sich ständig weiterentwickelnden musikalischen Körper auf. Indem er grundlegende Werkzeuge aus seinen prägenden Verarbeitungsjahren wieder aufgreift - alternative Stimmungen, Looping-Logik, Röhrensättigung - lehnt Torn Nostalgie ab und gewinnt stattdessen ihre Unmittelbarkeit als lebendiges Material zurück. Gleichzeitig intim und gewaltig fängt ,now i imagine a place not the same" einen Künstler ein, der seine einzigartige Sprache voll und ganz beherrscht: zutiefst melodisch, rigoros experimentell und verwurzelt in Vertrauen, Berührung und Elektrizität. Nicht als rückblickende Geste, sondern als gegenwärtige Erklärung bietet das Album eine kraftvolle Meditation über Vergänglichkeit, Erneuerung und das fortwährende Leben des Klangs.

Die in Stockholm lebende Sibille Attar ist seit 15 Jahren eine der herausragenden Künstlerinnen in ihrer Heimat Schweden und verbindet perfekte Popsongs mit vielseitigen Klangwelten. Als Liebling der Kritiker wurde sie für die schwedischen Grammys nominiert und erhielt einen ständigen Strom an Lobeshymnen von nationalen Medien sowie internationalen Publikationen wie Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit und Brooklyn Vegan. Sibille Attar versammelt auf diesem Album Tracks aus ihren 14 Jahre als Solokünstlerin, mit Titeln von der bahnbrechenden Debüt-EP ,The Flower's Bed" aus dem Jahr 2012, dem gefeierten Debüt-Album ,Sleepyhead", ihrem Comeback-Mini-Album ,Paloma's Hand" aus dem Jahr 2018 bis hin zu ihrem 2021 erschienenen Album ,A History of Silence", zu einem zusammenhängenden Set, das eine der faszinierendsten Künstlerinnen ihrer Generation präsentiert. "Sibille Attar" erscheint als limitierte Edition über PNKSLM Recordings (ShitKid, Clutter, vegas water taxi etc.) im Vorfeld ihres kommenden vierten Albums, das im Herbst 2026 erscheinen soll.

Church Andrews and Matt Davies return with Tilt, a pinpoint collection of skewed microtonal and discordant compositions for percussion and digital synth.

Tones ascend but don’t resolve, rhythms loop, collapse and reassemble, patterns wriggle with geometric precision, sounds tilt, the edges fray.

Kinetic, elastic, wonky without being obtuse, Church Andrews (aka Kirk Barley) and Matt Davies new LP Tilt is the culmination of six years of creative collaboration, refining and redrawing the relationship between Davies’ virtuoso percussive practice and Barley’s off-kilter synthesis.

Where their 2024 release Yucca, took rhythmic cues from the Fibonacci sequence, Tilt explores a more intuitive approach, returning the duo to a minimal sound interrogating the interplay of chance and control, system and body, freedom and mechanisation. Featuring prepared guitar, finely resonant muted percussion and a crisp palette of digital synths, it draws on the pair's long-standing interest in alternate time signatures.

Here, a tripped-up 11/8 beat gives ‘Yokai’ a disorientating quality, threading unusual paths through the playful, mysterious 5-note Hirajoshi scale - a pentatonic scale from Japan hinted at in the track’s playful reference to a supernatural spirit in the country’s folklore.

Using a simple on-off system between drum and synth to trigger a Shepard tone - an auditory illusion of a sound that ascends or descends in pitch without actually changing - ‘Shepherd’ revels in the stripped-back simplicity of its sonic palette, where the nuance lies in what Barley calls “subtleties in the timbre of the sounds” as they dialogue with Davies’ warped loops.

It’s these finely tuned melodic drum tones and an eerily abstracted prepared guitar that give ‘Debris’ its uncanny feel, yet never feeling overly controlled. Like the album’s meticulous, graphic artwork, Tilt seeks the shifting ground between the physical and the digital, as acoustic tones are tweaked and disambiguated into new and unexpected forms.

Tilt represents Church Andrews and Matt Davies’ ongoing collaboration in its purest form - a hyper-defined evocation of gravitational potential in their live sound.

Ramping up the intensity from his 2025 debut, Joe Milli returns to Livity Sound with a spring-loaded EP of upfront club workouts that once again split the difference between techno propulsion and UK Funky swagger.

Milli's previous release, Deep Forest, carried a dubby atmosphere on top of its bassweight rhythms. On this new four-track EP, the shroud lifts and he leans in on raw, impactful drums and sparse sound fields.

'Retreat' piles percussion into an uptempo stomper with a looped intensity and carnival accents on top, and 'Mantra' offers a similar 4/4 thrust around the 140 mark. Meanwhile, 'Revival' locks down low into a heavy dembow-informed groove and 'The Less You Know' prizes tense, precisely arranged hand drums with a minimal finish primed for creative blends.

Zeroing in on stark, heads-down production for the club, the Repetitions EP offers a different slant on Milli's emergent, sharply executed sound.

This is it ! GetAFix Records is 23 years!! Owner and wellknown artist: "Bad Boy Pete" (UK) wants to celebrate this with his fans & followers and has put together this amazing 2x12" vinyl with friends and fellow artists from the Acid Techno scene. The biggest names appear on this release! To make this complete: 1 vinyl has been added for FREE. So you pay for 1 vinyl instead of both! This is to thank you all!! Without you, we are nothing! Together with the support of Stay Up Forever & the Flatlife Records Labelgroup we are strong !

2026 Repress

Marking the anniversary of three decades of career, Dopplereffekt debuts on Tresor Records with Metasymmetry, arriving 12 December 2025. This latest release finds members Rudolf Klorzeiger and To-Nhan in deep inquiry in sound, contemplating structure and pattern in physics and nature resulting in a harmonious audio tessellation.
Metasymmetry itself relates to a kind of second-order reality found not in the structures of life but in the rules that govern these structures; that order exists not only in things but in the relationships among systems of order. It is a structure of structures, a logic of laws, an abstract unity embedded in the act of transformation itself.
Accordingly, the four-track EP reflects this duality. Each side opens with a piece of electronic music at its most precise and immovable: defined, kinetic, architectural. This is followed by a second composition that dissolves into a weightless, atmospheric counter-form.
The shift evokes a higher symmetry: an alignment not of parts, but of principles; a sonic model of the universe’s hidden invariance.
Metasymmetry also echoes across Dopplereffekt’s extended sonic continuum; this stands as the first offering on Tresor under the Dopplereffekt name despite an association with the label and club going back to the start. In this, it becomes the source of an echo that reverberates backwards through time; its own reflection:

Blue Hour is the most recent release from Friday Night Plans, recently signed by Modern Obscure Music. The project marks FNP's shift from their 'pop' roots towards a more experimental and ambient sound. Friday Night Plans is pioneered by singer/songwriter Masumi who has collaborated on this project with acclaimed Japanese producer Ena. Together, they have created a collection of songs that represents the quiet introspection and emotions of the AM hours, using improvisation during the production process to create a cyclical record that is described as 'dreamlike'. Masumi attributes the project to a journey consisting of fragments of memory through each song; a reflection of how nostalgia and recollection connects us to emotions.

FELT wade deeper into the murky waters of contemporary Scandinavian electroacoustic music following the recent reissue of Johan Wieth’s Health & Safety project on sub-label LEFT and established gems from the likes of Civilistjävel!

Gintė Preisaitė, a Lithuanian artist and graduate of Copenhagen’s Rhythmic Music Conservatory, reveals her first solo release under her own name, following a collaborative effort with Toshimaru Nakamura in 2025 and a number of cassettes as “Baraboro”. The deliberately genre-blurring sound Preisaitė deploys works with composed pop vignettes, sustained drones, FX manipulations and guttural bursts of noise. Sparse piano movements, sample-laden psychedelia and moments of big beat/trip-hop rhythms gel with crowd noise, close mic’d intimacy and experimental percussion with a focus on instrumental timbres and extended techniques.

With a background in composing for large ensembles, Preisaitė's multi-instrumental approach is evident across the eight tracks, moments of dense concrète-style sound collages anchored by the human voice never being far away. She laments on fantasy, absurdity and relationships as a cast of players contribute string, brass, accordion, and guitar parts. Passages move from delicate acoustic folk motifs through to wide-eyed, cut-and-paste glitch electronics and spectral melodic riffs, making the album an unorthodox and welcome addition to Denmark's current world-class music scene.

Eliza Rose joins the ‘FABRICLIVE. presents’ series with a release that reflects the breadth of her creative journey in club music culture. A DJ, vocalist and songwriter from London’s vibrant underground, she has become one of the UK’s most compelling voices, equally at home in the DJ booth, on record, and crafting music that resonates across dancefloors and charts alike.

To accompany the release, fabric presents commissioned a bespoke, hand made tapestry depicting Eliza Rose and her friends at Carnival, a celebration of community, heritage and collective joy that runs through her story and the culture she represents. Rich in texture and detail, the piece transforms a living moment into something timeless and craft led. Eliza is pictured alongside the tapestry in an iconic hot pink tracksuit, set within a council estate garden that feels instantly recognisable as a portrait of London life. Surrounded by nostalgic children’s toys, from a rocking unicorn to a plastic slide, the scene captures the everyday intimacy and character of the city’s estates, spaces where music, family and friendship intertwine.

The contrast between the ornate woven artwork and the raw familiarity of the setting creates a striking visual metaphor, bridging past and present, celebration and reality. Together, the imagery reflects the spirit of the release itself: rooted in community, shaped by lived experience and grounded in the environments that continue to inform Eliza’s creative world.

Maybe it was inevitable that Vilhelm Bromander and Fredrik Rasten would find each other. A symbiotic musical alliance of suggestive combinatory magic that stretches back to the interstitial two day space that separates their dates of birth and manifests here as the movement between ‘perfect’ or ‘just’ intonation and the ragged, psychoactive energy of the slippages from and towards that togetherness that render otherwise simple patterns or generally understood repetitions as wildly other and alive.

Astral Twins shares ‘twin’ works by each composer. The patiently unfolding real time retuning of Fredrik Rasten’s guitars on the a-side’s Sojourns and Vilhelm Bromander’s quickened steps and spry looping melodies on the flip’s Partially Dancing.

Both artists have history of going deep into the aesthetic and acoustic impact of intonation (how you think about what is ‘in tune’). Where their first LP (...for some reason that escapes us, 2019, Differ Records) shared a gorgeous set of sustained tone colour fields, this time they lean more explicitly into the folk music traditions of Scandinavia and further afield, whilst echoing the zoned minimalist atmosphere of Arthur Russell’s classic Instrumentals.

Recorded up close and in real time at Fylkingen’s soon-to-be-abandoned temporary location in Stockholm’s southern suburb of Bredäng, Astral Twins sings with the possibility that one plus one can equal more than two.

Fredrik Rasten:
 Sojourns explores the live retuning of guitar and double bass in a sequence of just intonation harmonies. A guitar ostinato runs throughout the piece where the retuning becomes an integral part of the composition. The slow pace reveals every detail in the transition from one harmonic arpeggio to another — how interfering waves emerge and disappear as the tonal interactions settle in electric clarity. The double bass shadows the guitar's process and comments with occasional pizzicato tones and register jumps, at times providing a low foundation for the sound and sometimes soaring together with the guitar. This is music that is deeply listening; experimental and at the same time humbly inviting many kinds of being with sound.

Vilhelm Bromander: 
As the title suggests, this song has a partially dancing character. The title also has a double meaning with reference to the partials and harmonics that dance together. The basic idea was to write music in just intonation that instead of being drone-based is reminiscent of a lightly dancing folk music, where the joyous feeling of just being in the music — “musicking" — is allowed to lead the way.

The double bass plays repeated overtone double stops in an open harmonic progression with subtle modulations that is inspired in equal parts by Steve Lacy's persistent repetition of phrases as east-asian khaen music. The guitars and mandolin have a freer role, with plucked retuned strings that enhance the bass's modulations and provide forward movement. The music invites to both melodic and spectral listening, suddenly halting so that other focal points can reveal themselves. For example, a chord sequence suddenly transitions to a more spectral part where Fredrik is playing a bowed guitar with a chain, several plucking guitars, voices, and pitch pipes. I wanted to make something ‘orchestral’ with just two people and no overdubs: a dance of overtones and open resonant strings, where we seamlessly take turns standing in the foreground.

About Alec Pace’s “Respiro 22:16”
Breath as rhythm. Breath as memory. Respiro 22:16, the debut album by Alec Pace, is a world suspended between intimacy and impact — where personal confessions are carried by low-end frequencies and fragile melodies are shaped into physical space.
Written, produced and mixed between London and Turin, this record reveals Alec Pace not only as a producer but as a storyteller through sound. Layer by layer, his voice, guitars, piano, synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, and field recordings converge to form a sonic diary — one that whispers, cracks, shimmers and erupts.
The album moves fluidly between dream pop, modern UK bass, breaks, jungle, and club music, yet its essence lies in emotion: love, memory, anticipation, release. Each track is a breath, an exhale, a fragment of something lived.
“The30th” opens with nostalgic warmth, darkness and breaks; “For You (Hello)” captures the tender rush of a love song over a drum & bass heartbeat; “Venus Winds” floats in a balance of techno pulse and harmonic light. “Angular Invariance” reshapes the floor beneath your feet, while “Respiro” pauses to listen inward — piano and air, fragile and close. “Anticipation” closes it all with a forward surge: emotional, propulsive, unresolved.
Respiro 22:16 is not just a collection of tracks, but a portrait of an artist learning to breathe out loud.

Alec Pace said:
“This album is about putting myself out there — letting every sound, chord and rhythm breathe,” says Pace. “Respiro is both a personal archive and a release.”

“Respiro 22:16” is available across all platforms on Friday 6th March 2026.

‘Warm Waves’ first appeared in 2020, ten years after Turn On The Sunlight’s debut self-titled album was first released in Japan. During that decade, Turn On The Sunlight’s Jesse Peterson and Mia Doi Todd welcomed their first child and co-founded a music venue in Los Angeles. When performance spaces were required to close at the start of the pandemic, Jesse’s focus shifted back towards home recording. Since ‘Warm Waves,’ five more Turn On The Sunlight albums have followed (including ‘Drives To The Beach,’ also on Tokonoma Records), all of which can be seen as an expansion of the musical direction set forth on this album.

The group heard on ‘Warm Waves’ consists of musicians who Mia and Jesse were regularly playing with at the time - Sam Gendel, Mitchell Brown, Andres Renteria & Gabe Noel - joined by Laraaji, Arji & Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, making their first recordings together.

The group’s blended signal was routed through Mitchell’s tape loops and modular synthesizer, which contributed to the unique communal sound of these recordings. Further extending this approach, Carlos Niño then reprocessed and reimagined ‘Passing Rain’ with Jamael Dean for his Elemental Beat Mix.

Originally released one week into the official lockdown period, some listeners found the warm, collective sound well-suited for the time of introspection and shifting priorities that followed. Now, in 2026, ‘Warm Waves’ returns on vinyl to once again encourage peaceful contemplation and open-hearted togetherness, in echo of the spirit of its creation.

Credits
Sam Gendel: Saxophone & Electronics on A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Laraaji: Voice & Zither on A3
Luis Pérez Ixoneztli: Bird Sounds on A1, Aerophones & Water Drums on B2
Mia Doi Todd: Voice on A1, A2, B2, B3; Piano on A3
Jesse Peterson: Guitar, Bass, Organ & Bird Sounds on A1; Organ on A2; Guitar & Bass on A3; Wooden Whistles, Guitar, Ukulele & Piano on B1; Ice Breaking on B3
Andres Renteria: Percussion on A1, A2, B1, B2, B3; Marimba & Percussion on A3
Mitchell Brown: Synthesizers & Magnetic Tape on A1, A2, A3, B2, B4
Gabe Noel: Bass on A2, A3, B1
Arji: Bells & Shells on A3
Carlos Niño: Production / Remix on B4
Jamael Dean: Additional Keyboards on B4

Produced, mixed & recorded by Jesse Peterson
Except B4, produced by Carlos Niño

‘Warm Waves’ first appeared in 2020, ten years after Turn On The Sunlight’s debut self-titled album was first released in Japan. During that decade, Turn On The Sunlight’s Jesse Peterson and Mia Doi Todd welcomed their first child and co-founded a music venue in Los Angeles. When performance spaces were required to close at the start of the pandemic, Jesse’s focus shifted back towards home recording. Since ‘Warm Waves,’ five more Turn On The Sunlight albums have followed (including ‘Drives To The Beach,’ also on Tokonoma Records), all of which can be seen as an expansion of the musical direction set forth on this album.

The group heard on ‘Warm Waves’ consists of musicians who Mia and Jesse were regularly playing with at the time - Sam Gendel, Mitchell Brown, Andres Renteria & Gabe Noel - joined by Laraaji, Arji & Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, making their first recordings together.

The group’s blended signal was routed through Mitchell’s tape loops and modular synthesizer, which contributed to the unique communal sound of these recordings. Further extending this approach, Carlos Niño then reprocessed and reimagined ‘Passing Rain’ with Jamael Dean for his Elemental Beat Mix.

Originally released one week into the official lockdown period, some listeners found the warm, collective sound well-suited for the time of introspection and shifting priorities that followed. Now, in 2026, ‘Warm Waves’ returns on vinyl to once again encourage peaceful contemplation and open-hearted togetherness, in echo of the spirit of its creation.

Credits
Sam Gendel: Saxophone & Electronics on A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Laraaji: Voice & Zither on A3
Luis Pérez Ixoneztli: Bird Sounds on A1, Aerophones & Water Drums on B2
Mia Doi Todd: Voice on A1, A2, B2, B3; Piano on A3
Jesse Peterson: Guitar, Bass, Organ & Bird Sounds on A1; Organ on A2; Guitar & Bass on A3; Wooden Whistles, Guitar, Ukulele & Piano on B1; Ice Breaking on B3
Andres Renteria: Percussion on A1, A2, B1, B2, B3; Marimba & Percussion on A3
Mitchell Brown: Synthesizers & Magnetic Tape on A1, A2, A3, B2, B4
Gabe Noel: Bass on A2, A3, B1
Arji: Bells & Shells on A3
Carlos Niño: Production / Remix on B4
Jamael Dean: Additional Keyboards on B4

Produced, mixed & recorded by Jesse Peterson
Except B4, produced by Carlos Niño

2025 Repress

(remastered classic incl DL card) Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition. In the late nineties, the budding producers Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani bonded over their shared love of slower tempos and '70s and '80s NYC club culture. Obsessed with record digging and the sounds they heard on late-night "club classics" radio shows—and turned off by current releases they saw as artlessly "updating" sublime disco by sampling, filtering and subjugating them with huge kick drums —the duo set out to discover how their favorite old 12" records were made. They naturally gravitated towards extended dubs of songs—full of strange mistakes and echoing backing tracks—instead of the better-known vocal versions. Lacking the big budgets and gear that made so many of their favorite classic records come together, they were forced to take a guerrilla approach. They reprogrammed their techno-oriented arsenal of secondhand synths and samplers, using novel digital recording technology to capture live instrumentation and prioritizing mood over hooks, and the resulting music was just wrong enough to sound unlike anything else being released at the time.After just four underground 12" releases, the duo—now well-known as Metro Area—released their first and only album, Metro Area, in the fall of 2002. Fifteen years later, it's time to celebrate the culmination of their shared history and inspiration once again. Environ is proud to present the Metro Area 15th Anniversary Edition, Metro Area's eponymous debut album, meticulously remastered using the original source tapes and generously spread across three slabs of vinyl. The 12-track triple LP and digital package combines all the songs from both the original US and licensed European releases, and features new commemorative artwork unique to this edition.

"I got to know visual artist, musician, and producer Guido Erfen and sound engineer, acoustic artist, and percussionist Michael Springer as part of a group of five by the name of SHM1. The members of the group organised concerts at Rhenania, a disused grain silo, where I performed with The Absurd in 1988 and 1989. The band was also featured on one of Erfen's tape releases. Erfen and Springer met when they were still at the same secondary school and soon became close friends and musical allies. With the other members of SHM they built an independent network for creating and distributing music beyond the mainstream in Cologne. Rent at Rhenania was incredibly low, allowing a recording studio to be established there.

The first traces of the Ukrainian Underground arrived at Erfen's door via a cassette tape with three bands from Kharkiv and Kyiv, the package including a long essay which detailed the rock scene in the two cities by Sergey Myasoyedow. In 1986, Myasoyedow, together with Sasha Panchenko, had founded the “Novaya Scena“ rock club in Kharkiv, presenting bands inspired by punk, the avant-garde, dadaism, and even medieval melodies. If Erfen hadn't been part of the independent mail-art scene, he wouldn't have had the chance to discover this unorthodox music. It was the summer of 1990, shortly before the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became an independent state the following year.

In 1991, singer and keyboard player Soloveyka from Kharkiv arrived in Cologne and gave Erfen half a dozen cassettes with underground bands from Ukraine and a handful with bands from the Soviet Union. Intrigued by the original music of many of the acts, he visited Ukraine twice, made friends there, compiled a tape with his favourite tracks and finally succeeded in convincing Hamburg label boss Alfred Hilsberg to present underground music from Ukraine on the CD “Novaya Scena“ via his label What's So Funny About (the original home of Einstürzende Neubauten).
The album compiled 20 tracks recorded between 1986 and 1992 by 14 bands out of Kharkiv and Kyiv– music beyond the usual Perestroika records, often with jarring dissonances over grooves that fans of Captain Beefheart or The Fall would certainly enjoy.

On the other hand, there are tracks featuring flute and trumpet that seem inspired by folk, classical music, and punk. Ghostly chamber prog miniatures by Cukor Belaya Smert (lit. Sugar White Death) from Kyiv featuring, among others, the classically trained pianist and singer Svitlana Nianio (née Ochrimenko) and guitarist, visual artist, and spokesman Yewgeny "Yenia" Taran. Nianio sang in her native Ukrainian, as did two more of the bands. Today, this seems more relevant than ever, more culturally and historically significant from a Ukrainian point of view than it was even in 1993. Young Ukrainians were amazed at that time that rock music sung in their native tongue could work!

It is in the aftermath of the “Novaya Scena“ album that the music on this LP was created. About a year after the release of the CD in August 1993, Nianio and Taran came to Cologne to work on music for the dance production "Transilvania Smile" by the dance theatre ensemble Pentamonia2.
The seeds for the Traces of Ukrainian Underground in Cologne were sown. Starting in 1994, a series of informal recording sessions took place at Michael Springer’s Phanton Studio and at SHM studio in Rhenania. Together, these sessions formed the basis of the four different incarnations of the Ukraine-Cologne connection heard on STROOMS’s compilation.

Following her debut album, I’ll Look for You in Others (Past Inside the Present), earlier this year, Patricia Wolf joins Spain’s Balmat label with See-Through, her second album. See Through finds the Portland, Oregon musician and field recordist continuing to develop her signature style of ambient, balancing radiant soundscaping with a carefully expressive sensibility. But the new album is also marked by an important difference. Where I’ll Look for You in Others was largely written in response to the death of a loved one, See-Through represents a kind of rebirth.

“After a long period of grief, I had been hoping to find my way to a place of lightness, peace, playfulness, curiosity, and sensuality again,” Wolf says. “What I was surprised and pleased to find is that for the most part, I had.”

She wrote and recorded many of the album’s songs quickly, in preparation for an August 2021 broadcast on the online radio platform 9128 Live. Excited for the opportunity to play live after more than a year of the pandemic, Wolf decided to write all new material for the event, working with a lean setup of Octatrack, Roland Synth Plus 10, Make Noise 0-Coast, and Novation Summit. (In fact, Wolf was the first sound designer invited to create patches for the Summit.) She also picked up an acoustic guitar that her brother had loaned her. “I decided to take the surrealist approach of ‘pure psychic automatism’ to see what poured out of me,” she recalls. “Woodland Encounter,” “Under a Glass Bell,” “The Grotto,” “The Mechanical Age,” “The Flaneur,” and “Psychic Sweeping” are all products of those sessions; the through line holding them together is their exploratory spirit and clarity
of vision.

Other songs, like “A Conversation With My Innocence,” “Recalibration,” and “Psychic Sweeping,” wrestle with the traumas of the preceding year. Though they may linger on the heaviness of loss, Wolf says, “What I discovered is that a stronger archetype had grown inside me to steer my emotions and thoughts to a better place.” Likewise, “Wistfulness” and “Upward Swimming Fish”—her first experiments with VST synthesizers—balance the bittersweet embrace of melancholy with the freedom to choose happiness.

“Pacific Coast Highway,” the album’s lone song with drums, might at first seem like an outlier. But it also signals Wolf’s interest in finding a fusion between the introspection of ambient and the togetherness of beat-oriented music. “Experiencing loss and isolation is what drove me into gentler territories of sound,” she says, “but I want to start making more beat-oriented music. After an extended period of loss and isolation, I’m ready to experience more joyous and social things.”

Listeners with keen ears might recognize the album’s closing song, “Springtime in Croatia”: A different mix of the song originally appeared on the 2021 digital compilation secondnature & friends Vol. II, from the Seattle label secondnature. This marks its first appearance on vinyl, however, and its spiritual home is undoubtedly here, at the close of See-Through. As the bookending answer to the opening “Woodland Encounter”—another song in which field recordings play a crucial role—it closes the circle of an album that is itself keyed to the steadily turning cycles of life.

Riotvan opens 2026 pulsating with drama in the form of a sad Valentine and a special collaboration: Hard Ton, joined by New York City icon Amy Douglas. “How am I going to fill the hours now?” It’s an emotion we’ve all known; and one we all dread, the raw burning haunting ache, when left alone with ourselves after loss. Hard Ton and Amy take us on a soul scorching journey through hollowed out earlymorning emotions, set to a raw, early-2000s house energy—somewhere between Berlin and New York, without drifting into nostalgia. Adding a layer of raw intimacy is a stripped-back piano interpretation shaped by Hard Ton together with maestro Matteo Baroni, whose freestyle takes became the emotional backbone of this version. From there, the release branches out: Massimiliano Pagliara stretches the original into a deep, slow-burning piece of late-night elegance, while Sylvio B flips the energy entirely, firing it back onto the floor with bold grooves and big-room confidence.

Rolando’s back in the game with Syncrophone Remixes Vol.2—flipping DJ Qu’s “Undescribed3,” Detect Audio’s “Synchronize,” and Anthony Shake Shakir’s “Arise.” Three exclusive remixes, pure underground techno for real heads. Detroit spirit, cop this 12” before it disappears!

DJ Feedbacks :


Honey Dijon : DJ Qu is the one for me. Will def support!
Raresh (ar:pi:ar) : super! thanks
Truncate : Thanks!
The Advent : Smooth bgrooves on here.. 3 - Anthony 'Shake' Shakir - Arise (Rolando Remix)
Anika Kunst (Symbolism / RSPX) : Cool release. Arise rmx is beautiful. Thanks!!
Harvey Sutherland (MCDE / PPU / Voltaire Records) : DJ Qu flip for me, thanks!
Scott Grooves : The Shake is the one
Satoshi Tomiie (Abstract Architecture) : Wooow hot hot hot
Roman Fluegel (Roman Fluegel, Dial, Cocoon, Playhouse, Robert Johnson) : The Remix for Shake is the one for me.
Erol Alkan (Phantasy Sound) : Downloading Thanks!
Enrica Falqui (ERIS, Plexus 4) : I like it!
Daniel Avery (Phantasy / Fabric) : Awesome
Laurent Garnier : cool release
Elisa Bee : Only love for Rolando, thanks x
Slam (Soma) : Brilliant - thanx
San Proper (Perlon / Rush Hour / Proper's Cult) : Totally what i needed to hear, Rolando remixing Shake & Q, my heroes lined up. I will enjoy playing all 3 mixes. One Love.
Axel Boman (Studio Barnhus) : killer remixes!
Terry Farley : DJ Qu mix my fave - heads down LETS GURN
D'Julz (Bass Culture) : great work !
gilbr (Dj Gilb'R / Chateau Flight (Versatile)) : Like the Shakir remix thanks for sending
Ben Sims : Now downloading... will check asap!
Lea Lisa (Phonica Records / Folklor Club) : mental, really good one
Dj Deep (Deeply Rooted) : Super nice package! Dj Qu's Undescribed3 remix for me here! Thank you
Mike Shannon (Cynosure) : Rrrrreeeeemix!! Thx
Efdemin (Dial) : Wonderful remix package!
Inland (Inland) : Hellooo. These are great. Qu and Shake versions both killer! Thanks
Kai Alce (Real Soon) : DJ QU remix bangin
Uncertain (RSPX, WRKTRX, Suara) : remix 1 for me
Harri (Sub Club) : very nice all three will play and support
Blasha & Allatt (Meat Free) : Thank you!
Marcel Dettmann : thx
Richie Hawtin (M_Nus) : downloaded for r hawtin
Luke Solomon (Classic / Freaks / Music For Freaks) : all killer
Luke Slater : Thanks Ro!
Ame (Innervisions) : thanks
Felix Dickinson (Futureboogie, Rush Hour, Cynic) : I like this
Geir Aspenes (G-Ha (Sunkissed)) : Thank u
Alienata (about blank) : Very nice remixes, all of them, thx!
Nat Wendell (Depth of My Soul, Courtesy of Balance, Love & Loops) : Dope remixes!
Dave Clarke (white noise radio) : Not my sound, but please keep them coming !

Tony Bontana, the Birmingham rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist, releases his 35th album My Name, which is also his first to receive a proper vinyl pressing. The album follows an impressive 2025 in which he performed with Nourished By Time, Mark William Lewis, YHWH Nailgun, TAGABOW and 454.

His earlier 2025 album The Beautiful Malaise made The Wire’s annual top 50, and he appeared as the sole feature on Nourished By Time’s album The Passionate Ones, where Marcus praised his “freewheeling spirit.”

Tony’s production work has appeared on records by Billy Woods, Cities Aviv and Novelist, with upcoming collaborations planned with Blackhaine and DJ Python. The single Battered Chips has received airplay from NTS, Esk on Rinse and Huw Stephens on 6 Music.

If anyone is counting this is the 35th album by Birmingham rapper, producer, multi-instrumentalist Tony Bontana. A pioneer of his own ‘Splayed’ style of production characterised by heavily manipulated samples, non-linear rhythms and introspective lyricism. My Name is a significant landmark for Tony being the first album to receive a proper vinyl pressing. It caps an impressive 2025 which has seen Tony play live with acts such as Nourished By Time, Mark William Lewis, YHWH Nailgun, TAGABOW and 454. His previous album “The Beautiful Malaise” (one of four he released in 2025) made The Wire’s annual top 50. He appeared as the sole feature on the acclaimed Nourished By Time album The Passionate Ones on the track Jojo with NBT’s Marcus praising the rapper as having the “freewheeling spirit of a street baller out on the playground” . His productions have already appeared on records by Billy Woods, Cities Aviv and Novelist with further collabs to come with the likes of Blackhaine and DJ Python. The standout single Battered Chips has received airplay from NTS, Esk on Rinse, New Music Fix and Huw Stephens on 6.

Estus & Lester Patterson’s ‘Gonna Find A True Love’ is one of the greatest ‘70s southern soul dancers. A sublime three minutes of smooth, shuffling, dance floor dynamite, that has been reissued before and will no doubt be reissued again. It’s a record that has been in demand since it was championed by UK DJs, as Northern Soul began its wonderful offshoot into Modern Soul in the early '80s. It’s one that should be permanently in print for those who feel the need to add it to their DJ set, juke box, or home-listening/dancing pile… and Acid Jazz Records has obliged.
Nearly seven years since group label Miles Away pressed 500 copies, this new pressing is on Acid Jazz. To add to the fun, the Deep Soul ballad ‘How Long Must The Show Got On’ is on the flip, which has, until now, been an album-only gem, just sitting there waiting for someone to shine the spotlight on it.