Search:feels

Recapture the wonder of Sonique's #1 hit 'It Feels So Good', now available on vinyl via limited pressing. From the evergreen 12" Breakbeat Mix to the Conductor & the Cowboy Amnesia Club Mix, the Can 7 Soulfood Radio Mix, and remixes from En-Motion and NIGHT/MOVES, this brand-new pressing reignites one of the most significant pre-millennial dance tracks.

Tomos is no stranger to reinvention. Over the years, his sonic explorations have spanned genres, yet one thread has remained constant—his deep-rooted connection to house music. His earliest co-releases under the alias Vanguard were high-energy French House cuts, built on the foundations of crate-digging and sample collage, channeling the spirit of Daft Punk and the wider French electronic movement.

Now, 15 years later, he returns to those techniques with a fresh perspective, releasing his latest EP Soul Feels Good through the esteemed Noire & Blanche.

Soul Feels Good isn’t just a nod to the past—it’s a showcase of the vast influences that drive his ever-evolving sound. Tomos weaves together an intricate patchwork, merging the meticulous sampling techniques of his early career with a broader, more mature musical palette. The result? A genre-fluid blend of Jazz, House, Dub, Soul, Gospel, Broken Beat, Downtempo and Disco—stitched together with the finesse of an artist who has spent years honing his skills.

For listeners who appreciate the craft of sampling and fans of genre-defying, groove-driven music - Soul Feels Good is a record that demands attention.

We are very happy to present the 3rd release by Alton Miller on RAWAXA Motor City Edition!
Another deep house future classic which will be out early March.
Highly recommended!

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Big names on the big ones, known to many but unknown on these summer slammers.

The Portland, ME trio returns with Feels Like Hell, their most self-assured and emotionally charged record yet. Despite the title, the album is a celebration of personal growth, creative freedom, and defiant joy in the face of a chaotic world.

Coming off the burnout and frustration captured in their 2021 album Quitter, Feels Like Hell finds Sonia Sturino (vocals/guitar), Annie Hoffman (bass/vocals), and Adam Hand (drums) leaning into clarity, gratitude, and renewed purpose. Sturino’s lyrics are as raw and honest as ever, but now they reflect strength rather than despair. It’s an album that drags existential dread into the daylight and sets it on fire.

“I decided to stop being such a sad-sap negative person,” Sturino says. “Now I practice being grateful, being proud, being happy, and not being envious.” That mindset shift shapes the tone of Feels Like Hell, which looks at darkness but chooses not to be consumed by it.

The record also marks the band’s first foray into co-writing, with Hoffman playing a significant role in shaping its sound. Embracing a more intuitive recording process, the trio stripped back the excess and focused on what felt right. The result is a record that’s resilient, cathartic, and brimming with creative energy.

While the world may still feel like it’s falling apart, Feels Like Hell pulses with the power of letting go. Letting go of fear, of perfectionism, of the illusion that vulnerability is weakness. With driving guitars, unflinching lyrics, and a renewed sense of purpose, Weakened Friends prove that it’s possible to stand in the wreckage and still find something worth singing about.

Vic Velvet ist das Soloprojekt von Victoria Aron, bekannt aus der Wiener Indie-Punkrock'n`-Roll-Band Topsy Turvy. Das Debütalbum mit dem Titel "My Heart Feels Like a Cowboy's" wurde unter der Leitung ihres Freundes Felix Schnabl, alias Salamirecorder, auf einem 4-Spur-Tonbandgerät aufgenommen. Inspiriert vom Sound und Feeling der 60er Jahre lassen diese Songs das Herz wirklich wie das eines Cowboys fühlen, der auf der Suche nach seinem endlosen Weg nach Hause ist. Nostalgisch und herzlich dreht sich bei Vic Velvet alles um Liebe, Hoffnung und Träume, denen eine junge Frau oder ein Cowgirl nachjagen möchte.

LP, Green Slime Vinyl

The Portland, ME trio returns with Feels Like Hell, their most self-assured and emotionally charged record yet. Despite the title, the album is a celebration of personal growth, creative freedom, and defiant joy in the face of a chaotic world.

Coming off the burnout and frustration captured in their 2021 album Quitter, Feels Like Hell finds Sonia Sturino (vocals/guitar), Annie Hoffman (bass/vocals), and Adam Hand (drums) leaning into clarity, gratitude, and renewed purpose. Sturino’s lyrics are as raw and honest as ever, but now they reflect strength rather than despair. It’s an album that drags existential dread into the daylight and sets it on fire.

“I decided to stop being such a sad-sap negative person,” Sturino says. “Now I practice being grateful, being proud, being happy, and not being envious.” That mindset shift shapes the tone of Feels Like Hell, which looks at darkness but chooses not to be consumed by it.

The record also marks the band’s first foray into co-writing, with Hoffman playing a significant role in shaping its sound. Embracing a more intuitive recording process, the trio stripped back the excess and focused on what felt right. The result is a record that’s resilient, cathartic, and brimming with creative energy.

While the world may still feel like it’s falling apart, Feels Like Hell pulses with the power of letting go. Letting go of fear, of perfectionism, of the illusion that vulnerability is weakness. With driving guitars, unflinching lyrics, and a renewed sense of purpose, Weakened Friends prove that it’s possible to stand in the wreckage and still find something worth singing about.

The Bar-Kays were originally formed in Memphis, Tennessee, 1966, as a sextet backing group for Stax Records. They had a promising career in front of them as a session band & recording outfit before the backbone of the group was killed, along with Otis Redding who had hired them as his backing band for a tour, in a plane crash. Only Ben Cauley survived the crash and went on to form what could be dubbed Bar-Kays Mark II. James Alexander (Bass) was also one of the original members but was not aboard the plane because of limited seats on Redding's plane. For Alexander and Cauley and new members Michael Toles, Willie Hall, Ronnie Gordon and Harvey Henderson, the track 'Sang & Dance' was one of the first tracks from the new group, cut in late 1969. They recorded steadily for Mercury records in the 70s & 80s, the two tracks on this 7” among their best loved and sought after. “Open Your Heart” only previously a 7” B-side in Spain

Demon Records Single Club are delighted to introduce a reissue of
Urban Cookie Collective’s 1994 mega hit The Key, The Secret and
Feels Like Heaven.
Urban Cookie Collective was founded by Rohan Heath in the late 80s.
The Key, The Secret was the groups first single from their debut album High On A Happy Vibe. The track was an instant hit landing at the top of the charts cross Europe and today the track is widely regarded as one of the biggest dance music anthems of the 90s.
Flip it over and on the B-side is Feels Like Heaven, the follow up to The Key, The Secret. Another mega chart smash in the UK and across
Europe. Now newly remastered and with fresh artwork – an adaptation of the original High On A Happy Vibe sleeve

Perila returns with a contemplative spiritual successor to her album »7.37/2.11«, which was also released on Vaagner’s sister label A Sunken Mall back in 2022.

Featuring a collection of 8 pieces produced between 2021 and 2023, the album carries a serene vulnerability that underpins each work, drawing the listener in while gently grounding them amidst a drifting, ephemeral motion of echoing voices, droning guitars and sonorous soundscapes. Like a whispered conversation in the quiet moments of the day.

Perila has once again created a world unto itself, one that doesn’t need to be understood but simply felt. If anything, it’s an album that brings us back to the present, reminding us that the chaotic disarray of the world outside can be addressed and mitigated through our internal landscape. By embracing imperfection and forging new paths, »The Air Outside Feels Crazy Right Now« is a testament towards Perila’s ability to turn fragility into a powerful form of strength.

Cosmocities returns with a sizzling six-track remix package of 'How It Feels To Be Loved' by American artists Erik Rico & C. Boogie. These jams are all ready for deployment in the club but come with a soulful signature that fans of Rico will quickly recognise. Tracks 'How It Feels...' and 'Love Everlasting' both get reworked by the one and only Josh Milan while Marc Mac, and Rico himself also step up with their own fresh twists. Milan's 'Honeycomb' mix infuses slap bass and acid-leaning grooves, his 'Floor Radio Vocal Mix' adds late-night soulful funk, Rico's 'Trench Coat Tribute Remix' delivers seductive P-funk vibes and Marc Mac's take on 'Love Everlasting' brings Balearic house magic.

This year's compilation is once again dedicated to the Bärenherz children's hospice here in Leipzig.
The people in this organization do such incredibly important work, but unfortunately it is all too often "invisible" - because if we're honest, it's not a topic you like to deal with unless you are directly or indirectly affected yourself. And then you realize that the costs of care, accommodation, supplies and psychosocial therapies are only partially covered by health insurance. The children's hospice does not receive any state subsidies, and that's why it is dependent on private donations.

We asked a few old friends from our new hood (now that we are no longer just mentally but also physically located in Leipzig) for tracks, as well as new ones - from Connewitz to Chicago - bridging the gap between Neo-Soul, good old Boom Bap, Modern Funk, Electro, Synthiepop, Breaks and of course, House Music in all its shades.

One love goes out to all artists and supporters!

Starbuck‘s debut single, „Moonlight Feels Right“, reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts in 1976.

The rock band Starbuck from Atlanta was formed in 1974 by producer Bruce Blackman and Bo Wagner.

Return of The Vibe does what it says on the tin and brings the uplifting '92 style old skool breakbeat hardcore vibes with this second installment from Zensation (AKA Vagabond formerley Next Generation Recs) who delivers 2 original and brand new tracks with big pianos, high energy vocals, old skool stabs and 4 to the floor beats.

Potatohead People's classic tune "What It Feels Like'' featuring T3 (Slum Village), Kapok and Illa J gets a remix treatment from in demand bass player and rising star Carrtoons. Switching up the order of the verses, dubbing out the horns and adding in his signature basswork, Carrtoons gets the song into a whole other groove of its own while retaining the original vibe in a unique way. Look out for a 7" coming in Spring of 2022 with the remix and the OG on it!

Little is known about Norman Feels_but we do know that he was an underground soul sensation in the 1970s. He released two classic albums on Just Sunshine Records (the label that was also responsible for putting out milestone recordings by artists like Betty Davis, Karen Dalton and Arica). Over the years, Norman's songs have been sampled by renowned acts from the likes of Ghostface Killah, Nas and Kanye West. The sound his songs emit reminds of the classic soul coming out of New Jersey at the time, but it just has that extra thing going for it_something alternative and exceptional. This made for an excellent match with the `Just Sunshine' label that released both of his albums. Just like his labelmate Betty Davis, Norman Feels was an artist that was hard to typecast and compare with his contemporaries/peers_this makes Norman's work very interesting and worth every soul/funk connoisseur's time. In 1973 Norman Feels released his self-titled debut album which has become a much sought after funk/soul classic. Behind Norman's floating (and extremely soulful) voice hides a dark and almost psychedelic instrumentation that makes this album particularly unique. The recordings have been beautifully arranged by David Van De Pitte (who is world-famous for the arrangements heard on Marvin Gaye's `What's Going On') and topped off by Sal Scaltro's slick production work. Next to Norman Feels' fascinating writing skills and trademark voice, on this album you'll find complicated (and at times brooding) compositions that takes the listener on a dreamy musical journey filled with themes about struggle, relationships and social commentary. Love, beauty and sadness is lingering in every track on this album_all of this makes his self-titled debut a total `must-have' album that begs for a special place in your record collection! Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the FIRST ever vinyl reissue of this fantastic album (originally released in 1973 on Just Sunshine Records). This rare record (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a 180g vinyl edition (500 copies). This reissue comes packaged in a gatefold jacket complete with the original 1973 artwork, photographs and lyrics.

Two fantastic previously unreleased tracks from Norman Feels from the Just Sunshine Stabl

"This Is What It Feels Like’ is the latest 12-track project from ethereal singer/songwriter, Gracie Abrams.
Since making her debut with “Mean It” in October 2019, Gracie Abrams has emerged as one of the most compelling songwriters of her generation, earning the admiration of such likeminded artists as Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo. A consummate songwriter who names Joni Mitchell as her most formative influence, she penned her first song at the age of eight, then went on to amass a devoted following on the strength of her emotionally intimate lyrics and DIY sensibilities. She is praised her “painfully honest tales of heartbreak draped in delicate melodies that carry much more intrigue than the usual run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter."

‘This Here Feels Good’ is the sound of an artist using music as
their second language. With all music self-produced / written,
Kay Young is defining an original generation of Black British
Music.

Moving between tightly rapped verses and glorious vocal
performances, often within the space of one track as well as
across the whole EP.

The release is a stunning collection of songs which expands
upon the sonic blueprint Kay has already laid out, that caught
the attention of Jay Electronica and Jay-Z, who later signed her
to Roc Nation.

She delves deeper into dance and soul while continuing to
explore themes of familial legacy and cultural relation, keeping a
perfect balance between lyrical vulnerability and musical uplift.

Live TV performance for Other Voices (Dec 2021), TV
performance for BT Sport (May 2021), Clash New Gen Artist
(autumn 2021), plus performances last year at Boiler Room
Festival, South Facing Festival, BBC Intro Live Summer By The
River, Live at Leeds Festival and more.

Supporting Jay Electronica for UK tour.

“uplifting groove” - The Fader

“pertinent, powerful lyrics” - Cool Hunting

“Young will undoubtedly keep shining” - Line of Best Fit

“Pure and bright promise.” - Beats Per Minute

“Kay Young finds a balance between smooth vocals and hardhitting lyrics” - Gigwise

“one of the UK’s most promising up and coming talents.” - Alfitude

“...an extremely exciting future ahead.” - CLASH Radio - 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio London, BBC 1Xtra, Amazing Radio A-List.

"The core of confusion and upheaval that drove some of the band's most fiery earlier work, however, is replaced by a more stabilized undercurrent, a mentality that's reflected in songs not afraid to try new things and honestly explore uncomfortable feelings. When combined with exciting production and songwriting choices, that mindset helps make Feels So Good // Feels So Bad one of the Shivas' best albums.” - AllMusic "Portland, Oregon-hailing psych-surf band The Shivas accomplish another time-traveling, reverb-ridden sound that refuses to get boring. Jared Molyneux’s guitar work knows when to be bright or bashful at the right times, breaking into guitar solos that possess a late-’60s groove… The Shivas seem to blissfully flourish” - Paste "a consistent treat for the ears” - The Vinyl District "Though the psych-tinged guitar riff that drives 'Feels So Bad' was written while The Shivas were still on the road, its lyrics didn’t fall into place until the band was well into lockdown, unsure of when they’d be able to return to their most imperative true love: Live shows... Accordingly, 'Feels So Bad' permeates with a sense of urgent desperation, building off a chugging prog-rock instrumental.” - Consequence (on “Feels So Bad”) "They hooked the audience with their throwback rock sounds. The guitar strums and rhythmic drum beats were layered atop smooth and hallucinogenic vocals. The eyes can tell the take at times and there was a sparkle there that said that the band members just love doing live performances." - California Rocker "This single layers on the fuzz but keeps it dreamy, with an especially sticky guitar riff sure to lodge itself in your brain with minimal effort." - Portland Monthly (on “If I Could Choose”) “'My Baby Don’t' translates the genuine vibrant joy


of the live experience into the studio, bringing the band’s ‘60s garage rock roots, sharp pop vocal harmonies, and fervent performances along for the ride." - Under The Radar "Perfectly straddling the line between a solid-head bopping track and an introspective deep cut, The Shivas’ 'Undone' is a rock & roll gem. The track sounds straight out of the late 60s and fits seamlessly in the Portland band’s electrifying catalog." - The Luna Collective "The first time I clicked play on this track, I knew it was a yes for me." - Ear To The Ground Music (on “If I Could Choose”) "The harmonies would make the “Happy Together” Turtles blush, but the unsettling guitar doesn’t shy away from the woollier implications of the ’60s." - Willamette Week (on “If I Could Choose”) "'Undone' is just the perfect song for the good days and the bad ones." - GlamGlare "another hit" - Austin Town Hall (on “Undone”) "one of the best forthcoming albums of the year" - Austin Town Hall RADIO: #3 Most Added @ NACC - 50 official adds BIO Every working musician has had their life turned upside down by Covid-19. For The Shivas, who had recently released a new LP and normally keep a rigorous touring schedule, it was a particularly screeching halt. “We were about to go to SXSW, the following weekend was Treefort in Boise, and then we were going to open for our friends’ band on tour in the US before going to Europe,” Jared Molyneux remembers. Then everything just stopped. They were faced with a dilemma. “It forced us to adapt or just quit,” Molyneux says. “The reality is that shows are our job.” In truth, live shows aren’t just The Shivas job: they are the band’s greatest love. Shivas shows are bombastic, explosive and thoroughly communal live rock and roll experiences where barriers between the performers and their audience seem to dissolve into the sweat and sound. The stage—or the basement, or the living room—that’s The Shivas’ true element. It’s their raison d’etre. It’s their religion. The band’s live urgency may have been born in 2006, when the band’s young members—who began booking West Coast tours while still in high school—waited without fanfare on sidewalks or in parking lots, before being rushed onstage for their sets at 21-and-up clubs. Maybe it developed a little later, as The Shivas blasted their way through Portland’s storied and unsanctioned mid-aughts house show scene. Whatever the origin of their famously kinetic live experience, it’s the show that keeps them coming back after over 1,000 performances spread over 25 countries in 15 years. In those 15 years, The Shivas have grown tight-knit as a group. Guitarist/singer Jared Molyneux, bassist Eric Shanafelt and drummer/singer Kristin Leonard have all been with the band since its earliest days; guitarist Jeff City, another high school friend, joined in 2017. Together they’ve learned to thread a seemingly impossible needle: They’ve honed and tightened their performances without sacrificing the element of surprise that makes each show special. And despite touring and recording for most of their lives, they speak about their project with humility, in the DIY vernacular of their Pacific Northwest upbringing. They talk up their own favorite bands, play all-ages shows as much as possible, and bring a sort of blue-collar humanism to the live performances they relish so much. “We just want to make people feel good,” Molyneux says. “We want them to forget they have to work tomorrow.” Kristin Leonard elaborates, “The live show is all about that feeling of catharsis—in ourselves and in everyone who comes out. We’re creating this safe space where we can all let go. Where we can exhale. And it feels really good when we are able to facilitate that.” So when Covid hit, the band knew it was time for transformation. After a settling realization that live music would be grounded for the foreseeable future, The Shivas booked significant studio time with Cameron Spies, who also produced the 2019 Dark Thoughts LP. They also transformed their lives: three of the band’s four members found work with a local nonprofit serving unhoused Portland residents. They became engaged in protests and fundraisers for social justice. They spent a whole summer actually living in Portland, settling into the city they had always called home, but that sometimes felt like a temporary stop between tours. “We got into a more community-minded headspace,” Leonard says. “And that did give us some purpose. It felt cool to see everybody come together to stick up for what they believe in. It feels like an incredibly formative last twelve months.” The album that emerged from this new moment finds The Shivas reborn as a band that seems seasoned and perfectly at home with itself. There is a calm, even a hopefulness, to Feels So Good // Feels So Bad that sounds new. The Shivas didn’t write or record the album with a particular theme in mind, but one seems to have emerged: where Dark Thoughts was about confronting your demons with fearless self-examination, much of Feels So Good // Feels So Bad is about what happens once you find that peace: how being honest with yourself changes your relationships and your priorities. “I do think it’s about acceptance,” Leonard says. “There’s a weird relaxation that comes with being at peace with things you can’t control or have regrets about.” Maybe that’s why the squealing, riff-laden break-up song opener, “Feels So Bad,” is such a shock to the system. But it’s more of an exorcism than a melodrama: more a song about not being able to do the thing you love (in


this case, playing live shows) than splitting with a partner. “It’s like part of you goes to sleep,” Leonard says. As bandmates who are also in a long-term relationship, Molyneux and Leonard know that their songs might be seen as glimpses into their personal lives, but their songwriting is rarely autobiography. Leonard compares their process to something more akin to screenwriting. “There’s bound to be some autobiographical material in there,” she says. “But the common denominator is the exploration of universal feelings: ones that everyone experiences or can relate to.” The goal is to use the music to drill down into something genuine and sincere, beyond genre or stylistic affectation. That’s where The Shivas have arrived. Whatever growth led the band to Feels So Good // Feels So Bad, plenty of their fascinations remain. They’re still turning love songs into psychedelic, transcendent epics. “Tell Me That You Love Me” subverts doo-wop extravagance and dabbles in Flamenco rhythms. “Rock Me Baby” is a bubblegum anthem soaked in so much reverb that we might just be hearing it from the stadium nosebleeds. “Sometimes” is almost impossibly huge, like a witchy outtake from the Brill Building era. Those songs feel like logical expansions from a band that has always excelled at a timeless sort of rock and roll that tinkers with and explodes elements from every era. But on the towering and mournful “You Wanna Be My Man,” a slow-burning six-minute shoegaze prayer for a higher sort of love, there is a level of emotional nuance that feels like something altogether revolutionary. It’s there again in the stripped-down vulnerability of the album-closing elegy “Please Don’t Go.” Yes, Feels So Good // Feels So Bad is an album about acceptance. Sometimes that acceptance feels enlightened and sometimes it feels like the end result of a lot of kicking and screaming. The Shivas have adapted in both of those ways. With new tours scheduled and a new album on the way, they’re still hoping--like all of us--for a new era of vibrant, cathartic live music. The lessons they learned from having their normal upended, though, have only helped them grow

Bleach Lab have shared details of their second EP, ‘Nothing Feels Real’. The South London band made their return in July with single ‘Real Thing’, hinting that more music was to come. Receiving similar acclaim as the band’s debut EP, which saw them rise to prominence, ‘Real Thing’ received support from 6Music as well as the likes of Line of Best Fit (Song of the Day), DIY, Gigwise and many more.

Bleach Lab have shared details of their second EP, ‘Nothing Feels Real’. The South London band made their return in July with single ‘Real Thing’, hinting that more music was to come. Receiving similar acclaim as the band’s debut EP, which saw them rise to prominence, ‘Real Thing’ received support from 6Music as well as the likes of Line of Best Fit (Song of the Day), DIY, Gigwise and many more.

‘Feels’ is Animal Collective’s sixth studio album,
originally released in 2008. The album features all
four band members - Avey Tare, Deakin, Geologist
and Panda Bear.
‘Sung Tongs’ is the band's fifth studio album.
Originally released in 2005, the album features
Avey Tare and Panda Bear.
Both albums available on 140g black double vinyl
in poly inner sleeves and gatefold jackets with
matte UV finish, plus digital download card.

American blues guitarist Buddy Guy released his eighth studio album Feels Like Rain in 1993. It was produced by John Porter, whom had previously worked with The Smiths, Bryan Ferry and Killing Joke. The album features Guy’s take on songs written by the likes of John Hiatt, John Fogerty, James Brown, Ray Charles and Guy’s frequent collaborator Junior Wells. He also collaborated with some renowned musicians: John Mayall, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Rodgers and Travis Tritt can all be heard on this album.

Original Soundtrack to FEELS GOOD MAN - (US Special Jury Prize for Emerging Filmmaker - Sundance 2020)

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*BRAND NEW ALBUM RELEASED.

Berlin-based Markus Schatz is no stranger to Cargo Edition. In 2009 he release
d his first EP "Drippin" on this Leipzig-based label.

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&apos's music veers between abstract, experimental compositions and more beat driven tracks, all held together by a defined aesthetic of sonic impurities and random patterns thrown up by algorithmic computations. In &apos's music compositional decisions are not merely reliant on himself but also on a range of processes from constrained randomness to full fledged neural networks. That is to say, the 'instruments' he creates have -to a certain extent- a mind of their own. There will always be a dynamic between the musician and something else that triggers, proposes or decides what will happen to the music.It is exactly from this human-machine interaction that &apos extrapolates his musical ideas that are both intricate and detailed while never losing an overall sense of emotional value.
His first solo project 'Lichtdrank' is a selection of four tracks made during his time studying Sonology at The Hague's Royal Conservatory and the time following. It is the third and final installment of bepotel's startupLabel trilogy. Previously, he has released music together with Walrus and Sagat under several musical projects like smaakwaterval and bepotel. The artwork of the Lichtdrank EP is based on screenshots from an interactive multiplayer video game where the musical universe of &apos can be explored.

Eno Williams, frontwoman of Ibibio Sound Machine, uses both English and the Nigerian language from which her band's name is derived for the dazzling new album Doko Mien. Long lauded for jubilant, explosive live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine fully capture that energy on Doko Mien, the followup to their Merge debut Uyai.
In a glowing piece in the New York Times, those songs were praised for following 'in the tradition of much African music, [making] themselves the conscience of a community.' By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams' lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future. That propensity for duality and paradox seems common in people whose lives span continents.

Williams was born in the UK, but grew up in Nigeria, always steeped in her family heritage. She obsessed over West African electronic music, highlife, and the like, but was equally empowered by Western genres such as post-punk, disco, and funk. The London octet have enveloped themselves in that maximalist quilt proudly since their 2013 formation. Though it can often bring with it news of stress and uncertainty, the modern world further brings all these disparate traditions into connection.
'Everyone has everything now,' says multi-instrumentalist Max Grunhard. 'Everyone has immediate access to every genre, picking things up from everywhere—like magpies.' And while they haven't suddenly left their African roots behind, Doko Mien does find increased representation of English lyrics in the ratio. By sharing more directly with more universal lyrics, the record feels more anthemic, reaching for grander heights.
'We wanted to give people a reason to sing along, to find their soundtrack every day,' Williams says. 'We wanted everyone to feel as if they're part of the music as well.'

Late album highlight 'Guess We Found a Way' addresses the change with a coy smile. 'Guess we found a way to speak to you/ Guess we found a way to say what's true/ To say what's real,' Williams coos over glistening chains of reverberant synth and diamond dust percussion, before returning to Ibibio in the chorus. Perhaps the best example of the group's ability to convey meaning across language and tradition, to blend past and future into a singular present comes on 'She Work Very Hard'. The traditional Ibibio folk tale bobs over the waves of tuned percussion, chunky synth, and pinprick highlife-esque guitar, while Jose Joyette's drums and Derrick McIntyre's bass funk groove bring everyone to the dance floor. 'These stories won't be forgotten. Feel the music: it speaks to everybody,' Williams says. 'We can travel back in time together, while convening on a futuristic, present tense. We hope that we can give people that reason to wake up, that one song to sing and dance and be happy.'

Doko Mien: Tell me everything. On their new album, Ibibio Sound Machine provide the perfect companion, ready to digest as much as possible and then further unfurl beauty and hope. They remember and honor the past and charge forward toward the future, all while intensely expanding the present.