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Hania Rani announces "On Giacometti" a tender meditation on the life and art of Alberto Giacometti and family. "On Giacometti" is a collection of beautiful recordings inspired by the renowned artist and family and features some of Rani's most profoundly delicate compositions to date. Invited by film director Susanna Fanzun, to score her forthcoming documentary on the legendary artist Alberto Giacometti, Hania Rani took herself to the Swiss mountains to compose in blissful isolation. As Rani explains eloquently below the compositions are based on improvised melodies, simple harmonies and structures and inspired by the silence of the mountains as Rani returns to her main instrument, the piano. The results are beguilingly reminiscent of her beloved debut album Esja, but with subtle extra layers of synthesiser, and on two tracks cello from friend and long-running collaborator Dobrawa Czocher.

'On Giacometti' is presented as a limited edition LP with bespoke packaging featuring Les Naturals - Chocolat (Gmund) sustainable recycled paperboard made from 100 % recovered paper with Foil Artwork by Łukasz Pałczyński. Plus Double sided printed insert and download code inside.

Hania Rani "On Giacometti":
‘When I was asked to compose a soundtrack for a movie about the family of Giacometti I didn't think twice.

Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss artist, who worked mainly as painter and sculptor has been one of my favourite artists for a long time. His individual style, aesthetics and the character of his creative process is still fascinating to me on many levels, so being able to dive even deeper into his universe, getting to know not only him but also his family was an opportunity that I couldn't miss. Little did I know how far this "yes" will take me - not only mentally and on a creative level but also physically. Thanks to the director of the documentary - Susanna Fanzun and by a stroke of luck and a couple of extra questions I decided to move for a couple of months to the Swiss mountains, not far away from the place where Giacometti was born and where the place he called home was, although he didn't live there. Susanna showed me a place close to her hometown where I could rent a studio and work on the soundtrack but also for my other projects. It was the middle of a winter, the area was full of ice and snow, just like only it can happen still in the mountains. The residency house was located in a valley surrounded by high mountains and the sun in the winter season was not coming up for too long during the day. I remember she told me about it and added "that not everyone is feeling well there, but I hope you will". I did.

Being almost separated from reality, the city and its entertainments, people rushing and everything that usually takes my attention I could fully concentrate on the music and soundtrack, spending most of the day with my own thoughts and having enough space to experiment and be free in a creative process. This soundtrack would probably be a very different thing if composed in a place that I am usually living in. I took this a chance to explore something new about myself as a composer and human being, taking the opposite direction that I would usually choose for myself.

The album "On Giacometti" includes the excerpts from the soundtrack, the most representative tracks and those which became a strong voice itself. Based a lot on improvised melodies, simple harmonies, structures and silence it reminds me of my debut album "Esja" which was partly composed and recorded in another chilly place - Iceland. All these components, both mental and physical, guided me back to my main instrument - piano, which I tried to redefine again with a language of the space that I was working in. The space is usually the key element that gives me the answer about the arrangement or character of the project. Space seems to be the first to appear and music is the invisible power which is changing its angels.’ Living surrounded by mountains makes you change the perspective and understanding of scale as Alberto Giacometti once famously wrote in a letter: It gives an impression that things that are actually far away, like mountains, are close and the other ones that are not so far away, like people, seem small, watched from a distance. You feel like touching the mountain top with your finger could be as easy as touching the tip of your nose. The snow additionally protects the whole area from the noise, each sound lands softly on the ground accompanied by echoes of immeasurable space. Each scratch or whisper is becoming an autonomic entity, opening the gate to the world of ghosts and lost spirits. It's easy to think that time stands still there, while nothing is moving and changing at the first sight. But the ubiquitous ice and snow reveal the passage of time, transforming frozen paysage into the wild stream of water - each day, hour and second. Melting and vanishing, clearing the space from white powder and noise consuming surface. Invisible process for a one night traveller, becomes painfully real for longer time settlers. Time flows with each new wave of sound coming through the river, reminding us that we are part of the cycle, which endlessly repeats itself.

Defamator is the long-time-coming debut project of 24-year-old Chloe Gallardo. It tells a story of betrayal in love and friendship and the painful reality of overcoming love lost and former heartbreak.


Drawing influences from artists such as Broadcast, Grouper & My Bloody Valentine Gallardo adds her own haunting, folk-style vocals and hyper-specific lyrics to create a sonic unique to her. A style that she describes in her words as “dark shoegaze bedroom indie pop”.

Album opener “Bloodline” epitomises this bittersweet modus operandi. 15 seconds into its dainty acoustic strum , Gallardo adamantly sulks “I’m fucked up” - the salvo of a lyric about feeling like a family disappointment. As the track lifts up into a cascading gaze-pop rush, recalling the likes of Bachelor and Snail Mail, we’re blessed with a pristine elegance that belies the song’s raging core.
“I have always written music this way.”, she says of this fundamental contradiction. “It’s funny because I try so hard to write darker sounding songs and they always come out way too pretty. So, I’ve resorted to writing the most gut-wrenching and intense lyrics to compensate.”

Written mostly during peak-pandemic times in Gallardo’s bedroom - (“you can hear how scared and alone I was.”) - the songs that made their way onto Defamator arose from a concerted period of healing. Drawing from the teachings of therapy, the songwriting process gave her the means to channel some deeply entrenched emotional scars.
This venting of anger is implicit throughout the record. The album’s title - Gallardo’s own neologism - uses the concepts of “defamation” and “defamatory speech” to innovate a kind of pejorative accusation. As a result, it is like we are actively listening to Gallardo forcefully take command of her past. Of the title track she explains: “The song Defamator is about someone who spoke untruthful things about me in order to manipulate me and the way people perceived me and I felt that was an underlying theme in most of the album.”

Recorded at Jazzcat Studios in Long Beach California with Jonny Bell (Hanni El Khatib, Adult Books, etc.) Defamator marks Gallardo’s first time in a “legitimate recording studio”. And it shows. Bell’s production is vital moving part here. There’s more stripped back affairs - ‘There Will Be Blood”; ”The Way’ - songs which gently seethe and purr like Grouper’s spectral dream-pop; Gallardo’s fluttering folk-ish voice gloriously pushed to forefront.

Bedouin aka Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe are to release their long awaited and adventurous debut album Temple of Dreams on their own label Human By Default this Spring.

Over the course of the pandemic, Malki and Abousabe spent a great amount of time finalizing songs created in the past 7 years, composing, song writing, singing, and working on numerous projects including collaborations and new originals. Temple of Dreams was shaped from these sessions and captures the enigmatic sound of the versatile, forward-thinking group.

Malki explains that the album looks to “experiment and push the boundaries.” It differs from their previous work, as the album is intended to be a deep listening experience for the fans, rather than a slew of club cuts. The multi-talented artists sought to create a timeless sound in Temple of Dreams. Malki outlines that the album lies between “what we play on stages around the world and what we’re capable of writing and producing as musicians and producers. We wanted to exceed expectations and present something that you might think or feel you’ve heard before, yet it's something completely new and not what might be expected from us.”

It starts with the enchanting sounds and candle lit grooves of Rise And Fall then journeys far and wide through the Eastern string sounds of Coldman featuring Nathan Daisy, darkly alluring vocals and mystic rhythms of Voices In My Head and the hypnotic melodic leads of Crazy feat. Iveta Mukuchyan. Elsewhere the richness of Bedouin's sound makes for spellbinding listening on tracks like Hokema Feat. Delaram and Flore Chico feat. Chico Castillo with its alluring Spanish vocals. Love And Hate is a more dynamic and punchier house cut while Fill The Space is an intriguing mix of melodic magic, authentic instrumentation and smooth rolling grooves.

The musicians, singer-songwriters, and producers in Bedouin have spent the better part of a decade fine-tuning their sound, which draws as much from their Middle Eastern heritage as it does their world travels as DJs playing iconic venues across the globe. They have pioneered a distinctive and timeless sound on some of the world’s most notable labels such as Crosstown Rebels, Get Physical, All Day I Dream, and recently their own imprint—Human By Default.

Select major label releases include remixes for Black Coffee and Virgil Abloh on Ultra and Sony/Universal and as well as calling Burning Man home they have their own iconic Ibiza party, Saga, at Pacha each week of summer, and play major events such as Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Art Basel and venues like Ushuaïa, Wynn Las Vegas as well as a ground-breaking Cercle set filmed in Petra, Jordan.

This much anticipated debut album shows yet another side and the artistic development for this influential pair.

After an explosive performance at Wacken Festival, the mighty heavy metal newcomers ROADWOLF are back with pure power to unleash their highly anticipated sophomore record! The first single, “On The Run”, starts off the record with a bang, featuring electrifying guitar riffs, a pulsating bassline, and driving drums that set the tone for the entire album. The band wears their influences proudly on their sleeves as you can hear their inspiration from legends like Judas Priest, Saxon, and Dio. Single Blurb: Single 2 ROADWOLF is tearing up the heavy metal scene with their latest epic release! As one of the leading acts in the new wave of traditional heavy metal, they've shared the stage with some of the genre's most iconic names like Enforcer, Skull Fist, and Bullet. With "Supernatural," the band showcases their versatility, delivering a touching ballad-like verse before unleashing a full-blown metal extravaganza during the chorus. Get ready to rock out with ROADWOLF, the masters of heavy metal power! Single Blurb: Single 3 With the success of “On The Run”, ROADWOLF launch through your speakers once again with the release of their next single “Midnight Lightning”! The title track brings out ROADWOLF’s heavy metal prowess with soaring vocals and scorching guitar solos, reminiscent of Judas Priest. Join the band on this electrifying ride, bolting along lightning crashes as the clock strikes midnight. ROADWOLF is guaranteed to get the crowd head banging and moshing in frenzy with this new powerful single! Album Blurb: Brace yourself for an ear-shattering, face-melting experience as Austrian heavy metal sensations ROADWOLF unleash their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Midnight Lightning, out on May 5, 2023 via Napalm Records! With their debut album, Unchain the Wolf (2020), the band firmly established themselves as purveyors of classic heavy metal, drawing inspiration from legendary acts such as Judas Priest, Saxon, UFO, Dio and Ozzy Osbourne. Since its release, the band has turned heads on stage, performing at renowned metal festivals such as Wacken and sharing the stage with notable acts such as Enforcer, Skull Fist, Bullet, Lizzy Borden, Vicious Rumors, and Night Demon. Now, they bring the madness directly to you with their all killers no fillers album Midnight Lightning!

Benny The Butcher blazed a trail as an elite voice in rap’s underground to become a top artist in all of music. The prolific Buffalo, New Yorker has established two legendary (and concurrent) album series, broken bread with industry leaders, and twice reached the Billboard Top 40 albums chart as an independent. Now Benny sets the table for a definitive 2022. Soon, he will unveil his highly-anticipated Tana Talk 4. By 2004, Benny combined these experiences to launch the Tana Talk series while on house arrest. As TT3 promised, Benny delivered two volumes of The Plugs I Met, in 2019 and 2021, on his Black Soprano Family imprint. In between, Benny inked with Roc Nation management and made songs with Drake, Lil Wayne, Black Thought, and Freddie Gibbs. He also partnered with Grammy-winning producer Hit-Boy to flaunt his range on 2020’s acclaimed Burden Of Proof. If the third installment of Tana Talk made Benny a formidable presence in Rap, Volume 4 propels him to stardom. Debut single “Johnny P’s Caddy” partners The Butcher with J. Cole over The Alchemist production. Al’ and Daringer handle the album’s music, just as they seamlessly did on TT3. Conway, Westside Gunn, 38 Spesh and more guest on TT4, as does Stove God Cooks. Benny’s skills and authenticity have cemented his place in the game. However, in a career defined by will and perseverance, The Butcher’s blade keeps getting sharper.

Very Limited GREEN SKULL Vinyl.
Standing in a Greyhound Bus station, wearing a Sylvester t-shirt and huge duct-tape-covered glasses, Baltimore ’s Dan Deacon doesn't invoke the image of a composer to the other bus riders. The two suitcases he loads under the bus, which accompany him from city to city, hold the sweat-and-grime-soaked electronics that he uses to craft his raging, maxed-out party music and light show. After 12 tours and 300+ shows in little over 2 years, the gear is beaten and battered, but the show and the energy it produces is anything but.

Dan Deacon has garnered a reputation in the underground as an intense performer and classic showman. The table top full of pedals, a sine wave generator, vocoder and casio blasting through the PA, joined by a makeshift light board with various bulbs and green skull strobe light, make his all out dance-til-you-drop performance a complete experience.

But it isn't all fancy feet and bouncy beats. Deacon is a classically trained composer with a Masters degree in electro-acoustic composition. He has released 7 albums from 2003 to 2006, but those self-produced recordings do not contain the vocal-based experimental pop that he has fine-tuned in live performance. His latest full length, Spiderman of the Rings is the first album bridging the gap between party performer and genuine composer. A mixture of his live show dance anthems, intricate instrumentals and humorous monologues, Spiderman of the Rings establishes Dan Deacon as a new type of entertainer in the contemporary underground.

Fresh out of high school, Hannah Jadagu released her debut EP, What Is Going On?, a collection of intimate bedroom pop tracks recorded entirely on an iPhone 7, which was, at the time, Jadagu's most accessible mode of production. An off-the-cuff approach to music making and instinctive ability to write unforgettable hooks belied the intensity of Jadagu's subject matter. What Is Going On? confronted some of the nation's most urgent struggles through Jadagu's compassionate perspective. What Is Going On? built on the small online fanbase Jadagu had developed by releasing music on SoundCloud for years as she realized her growing passion for songwriting. Now, Jadagu is releasing Aperture, her first LP and most ambitious work to date. Written in the years between graduating from high school in Mesquite, TX and her sophomore year of college in New York, Aperture finds Jadagu in a state of transition. "Where I grew up, everyone is Christian; even if you don't go to church, you're still practicing in some form," Jadagu says, laughing. "Moving out of my small hometown has made me reflect on how embedded Christianity is in the culture down there, and though I've been questioning my relationship to the church since high school, it's definitely a theme on this album, but so is family." As a kid, Jadagu followed her older sister - a major source of inspiration - to a local children's chorus, where she received choral training. "I hated it," Jadagu admits. "But it taught me how to harmonize, how to discover my tone, how to recognize and write melody." The aching single "Admit It" is dedicated to Jadagu's sister, whose love and impeccable taste have been a constant since Jadagu was a kid. The siblings were raised on mom's Young Money mixtapes and the Black Eyed Peas (to whom Hannah credits her love of vocoder) but it was in the sanctity of her sister's car that Jadagu discovered the indie artists who inspire her work. With Aperture, Jadagu faced the challenge of finding a co-producer capable of complementing her work without dominating it. Enter Max Robert Baby, a French songwriter and producer who captured Jadagu's attention with his take on Aperture's lead single "Say It Now." The duo worked remotely, sending stems to one another via email, before meeting in-person for the first time at Greasy Studios on the outskirts of Paris. "When I recorded my EP, it was all MIDI, but in the studio Max and I worked with a ton of analog instruments," Jadagu says. "Every track on this album, except for 'Admit It,' was written first on guitar. But the blanket of synths throughout helps me move between sensibilities. There's rock Hannah, there's hip-hop Hannah, and so on. I didn't want any of the songs to sound too alike." An aperture is defined as an opening, a hole, a gap. On a camera, it's the mechanism that light passes through, allowing a photographer to immortalize a moment in time. For Jadagu, the word perfectly encapsulates the mood of her debut album. In the years it took her to complete, she faced moments of darkness, sure, but the process of making it was ultimately a cathartic experience, one she now shares with you. Let the light in.

Tape

Fresh out of high school, Hannah Jadagu released her debut EP, What Is Going On?, a collection of intimate bedroom pop tracks recorded entirely on an iPhone 7, which was, at the time, Jadagu's most accessible mode of production. An off-the-cuff approach to music making and instinctive ability to write unforgettable hooks belied the intensity of Jadagu's subject matter. What Is Going On? confronted some of the nation's most urgent struggles through Jadagu's compassionate perspective. What Is Going On? built on the small online fanbase Jadagu had developed by releasing music on SoundCloud for years as she realized her growing passion for songwriting. Now, Jadagu is releasing Aperture, her first LP and most ambitious work to date. Written in the years between graduating from high school in Mesquite, TX and her sophomore year of college in New York, Aperture finds Jadagu in a state of transition. "Where I grew up, everyone is Christian; even if you don't go to church, you're still practicing in some form," Jadagu says, laughing. "Moving out of my small hometown has made me reflect on how embedded Christianity is in the culture down there, and though I've been questioning my relationship to the church since high school, it's definitely a theme on this album, but so is family." As a kid, Jadagu followed her older sister - a major source of inspiration - to a local children's chorus, where she received choral training. "I hated it," Jadagu admits. "But it taught me how to harmonize, how to discover my tone, how to recognize and write melody." The aching single "Admit It" is dedicated to Jadagu's sister, whose love and impeccable taste have been a constant since Jadagu was a kid. The siblings were raised on mom's Young Money mixtapes and the Black Eyed Peas (to whom Hannah credits her love of vocoder) but it was in the sanctity of her sister's car that Jadagu discovered the indie artists who inspire her work. With Aperture, Jadagu faced the challenge of finding a co-producer capable of complementing her work without dominating it. Enter Max Robert Baby, a French songwriter and producer who captured Jadagu's attention with his take on Aperture's lead single "Say It Now." The duo worked remotely, sending stems to one another via email, before meeting in-person for the first time at Greasy Studios on the outskirts of Paris. "When I recorded my EP, it was all MIDI, but in the studio Max and I worked with a ton of analog instruments," Jadagu says. "Every track on this album, except for 'Admit It,' was written first on guitar. But the blanket of synths throughout helps me move between sensibilities. There's rock Hannah, there's hip-hop Hannah, and so on. I didn't want any of the songs to sound too alike." An aperture is defined as an opening, a hole, a gap. On a camera, it's the mechanism that light passes through, allowing a photographer to immortalize a moment in time. For Jadagu, the word perfectly encapsulates the mood of her debut album. In the years it took her to complete, she faced moments of darkness, sure, but the process of making it was ultimately a cathartic experience, one she now shares with you. Let the light in.

Kessell is back at home with a powerful EP plus a bonus digital track on the digital edition. There is no need to remind everyone that Valentin Corujo is one of the most experienced producers on the techno scene. And this new work is the sonic proof.

Nothing left to say opens fire with distorted broken beats soon aligned by a solid 4/4 groove. The harsh sounds run across the stereo field wisely while the beat goes relentless. A powerful and raw peak time tool.

All that matters is the second cut, beginning with a bass heavy groove, sibilant and distorted at the same time until the additional percussive parts appear and the subterranean bass turns into distorted hypnosis as the bars go on. An intense and obsessive piece of rugged techno.

On the B side, Descending Darkness, an industrial funk workout made of continuous distorted sequences and an enforced drum beat. No sign of breakdowns or epic moments, just a continuous drill for your neurons.

Cyclical Nature goes scifi and mental, with reverberated sequences running over a solid cemented pattern the spiral sequence turns into overdriven madness as the track goes combining aggression with futurism.

Inside Trauma uses broken beats as a basement, one of Kessell's personal signatures when working on his side project Exium.

Another stepping stone on a solid and long career for this excellent creator.

First released back in the fall of 1989, the In Order To Dance album was a compilation LP that pulled together tracks from a
select band of electronic producers, pushing the boundaries of the house and electronic music that was in its infancy stage.
Released on the R&S Records label, the IOTD series would become pivotal in the development of the electronic music scene
at large.
The world of music is a constant shape shifting, trend moving behemoth. Style may come and go (and come back around
again), stars are made, stars can fall. But the ethos behind In Order To Dance remains the same as it ever has, with a fierce
independent spirit, and a pledge to bring forward the next generation of young artists and their music. And so, here we arrive
at a new collection, fresh for 2023, and just in time for the labels 40th anniversary year, and with the ardent A&R’ing of label
founder Renaat Vandepapeliere, a selection of new tunes is assembled to reinforce the strength and power to be found within
music.
Across thirteen tracks, a squad of refreshingly contemporary producers from around the globe are brought together under the
In Order To Dance banner. Ushering the series into a new era, new variations on the electronic genre and fresh ideas are
fused into a delightfully engaging collection of tracks. There’s deep breakbeats courtesy of UK producer Dharma, smooth and
dubby live action from Saytek and complex bass heavy rhythms from Vromm. There’s esoteric electronics from Hyphen, epic
piano driven deep house from Dino Lenny and swinging jazzy breaks from Nphonix & Matrika. Paul Roux’s melancholic
‘Bapteme’ unfurls waves of deft pianos and guitar swirls over taunt beats, and a driving electro tone is set on Acidulant’s
contribution. Intoxicating rave tropes and hefty breaks come courtesy of Pascal Nuzzo and Adam Antine delivers a wall of
sound anchored by shuffling, funky beats on ‘Sortavala’.
And to accompany the new wave of In Order To Dance, a series of music videos have been produced. Acclaimed artists and
video directors, including Alessandro Amaducci, Ben Marlowe and Gala Mirissa, have all stamped their digital artistic
visions onto these stunning compositions, synching audio and visual for a multi-sensory experience!
‘In Order To Dance 4.0’ by Various Artists is available on R&S Records from 14th April 2023 on 3LP vinyl, download &
streaming services.

Lucy has been a prominent figure on the UK folk scene for many years with her
skills much in demand by a plethora of esteemed folk artists, which has meant
her solo career has taken a back seat. Until now.
'We are only Sound' was recorded in the glorious medieval surrounds of Much
Wenlock Abbey, home to Nick Drake's sister Gabrielle who gifted the recording
space - as well as the use of her brother's instruments - through a mutual friend.
Specifically, Nick Drake's piano and guitar were tuned and used in the recording
bestowing a unique quality to the album. Songs were recorded together, in one
room, in one take.
Lucy's crystalline vocals are highlighted by sparse accompaniment: the exquisite
melodies interwoven with intricate - yet delicate - guitar playing and subtle
electronic touches. Songs are introspective and dreamy, written over a span of
eight years during which Lucy experienced motherhood, breakups and all that
comes with such heart and life changing events. "I think these themes and ideas
are universal," she says. "They would resonate for other people too." Lucy
continues, "I find it hard to articulate my thoughts in sentences - it's much easier
to muse through them in songs. It's how I work through my feelings. There's a lot
of wonderings in them, but no answers".
Lucy is joined by Kris Drever (Lau) on guitar and vocals, Ben Nichols (Nadine
Shah) on double bass, Tom Lenthall on piano, Neil McSweeney on bass and M G
Boulter on slide guitar.

Lucy has been a prominent figure on the UK folk scene for many years with her
skills much in demand by a plethora of esteemed folk artists, which has meant
her solo career has taken a back seat. Until now.
'We are only Sound' was recorded in the glorious medieval surrounds of Much
Wenlock Abbey, home to Nick Drake's sister Gabrielle who gifted the recording
space - as well as the use of her brother's instruments - through a mutual friend.
Specifically, Nick Drake's piano and guitar were tuned and used in the recording
bestowing a unique quality to the album. Songs were recorded together, in one
room, in one take.
Lucy's crystalline vocals are highlighted by sparse accompaniment: the exquisite
melodies interwoven with intricate - yet delicate - guitar playing and subtle
electronic touches. Songs are introspective and dreamy, written over a span of
eight years during which Lucy experienced motherhood, breakups and all that
comes with such heart and life changing events. "I think these themes and ideas
are universal," she says. "They would resonate for other people too." Lucy
continues, "I find it hard to articulate my thoughts in sentences - it's much easier
to muse through them in songs. It's how I work through my feelings. There's a lot
of wonderings in them, but no answers".
Lucy is joined by Kris Drever (Lau) on guitar and vocals, Ben Nichols (Nadine
Shah) on double bass, Tom Lenthall on piano, Neil McSweeney on bass and M G
Boulter on slide guitar.

BENNY THE BUTCHER THE PLUGS I MET 2 THE PLUGS I MET 2 IS NOW AVAILABLE IN A LIMITED EDITION BURGUNDY PRESSING

Mere months after releasing an undisputed AOTY contender for 2020 with Burden Of Proof and only three months after being shot, Benny got back on his feet (way ahead of schedule) and re-immersed in his element “back to that little pot, that little flame.” While he has separated himself from his peers, Benny from Montana Ave knows the game is to be sold and never told and he has put all of these accolades in his rearview mirror to focus on his next lick; The Plugs I Met 2. The Plugs I Met 2 is the coronation of a true G going from worker to the PLUG---and never looking back. “I came in as an underdog, to filling out my position as one of the elite rhymers in the industry. Plugs 2 expands upon that mindset; the same confidence, same attitude, cocky, but I still have something to prove” Benny asserts. Produced entirely by Harry Fraud, the Brooklyn bred producer describes The Plugs I Met 2 as “the story of a hustler who’s realized success but understands how fragile it is. Lyrically the album shows Benny reflecting on what he’s sacrificed to get here and what he’ll need to do to continue his rise to the top. With this project we set out to transport the listener into a world that was lush but still gritty, triumphant but still emotional and sonically diverse across the board.”

Back in 2012, Thee Oh Sees made their first appearance at Austin Psych Fest, performing an electrified set at Emo's East. The first of many Levitation appearances down in Austin, this show has been mixed by John Dwyer and mastered for vinyl by JJ Golden. Now immortalized on glorious 12" colored wax. "I think this was our first time at levitation but our millionth time in the amazing and tough as nails city of Austin, Texas. Brigid Dawson, Mike Shoun, Petey D and myself had already laid the live show out in front of crowds here, so it wasn't our first rodeo and certainly not my last. Our love is obvious here as we bring forth a short but sweet set of hits and deep cuts. This is also the version of the band with Lars "Fingers" Finberg of Intelligence fame as second banana drummer. So enjoy some primal and sensual double drumming and as a side note, no one died at this show. Thanks as always to Levitation for making shit happen" - John Dwyer LEVITATION and the LIVE AT LEVITATION Vinyl Series The first Austin Psych Fest was held in March 2008, and expanded to a 3 day event the following year. The event quickly developed into an international destination for psychedelic rock fans, with lineups spanning the fringes of indie rock, from up-and-comers to vintage legends, and capped off with headline performances from co-founders The Black Angels, along with Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees (in various forms) and many more. LEVITATION helped spark a movement, inspiring the creation of similar events across the globe and a burgeoning psych scene that would soon ignite. The series captures key moments in psychedelic rock history, and live music in Austin, Texas, pressed on beautiful limited edition colorful vinyl pressings - each an eye popping visual representation of the music contained within.

New signing to Xtra Mile Recordings - Hannah Rose Platt releases her new album 'Deathbed Confessions' on 19th May 2023. 'Deathbed Confessions' is a concept album inspired by classic horror, Rod Serling’s ‘The Twilight Zone’, BBC’s ‘Inside No 9’ and Samuel Pepys’s ‘Balladeer’ and is produced by Ed Harcourt. Available digitally, CD and beautiful gold vinyl, gatefold sleeve with special A3 Print of cover art. 'Deathbed Confessions' is an eclectic collection - sure to intrigue, disturb, and pull on the heartstrings of any listener. A collection of haunting vignettes linked through polarised themes of death, love, the afterlife, murder, regret, the uncanny, and bizarre… “Deathbed Confessions” boasts a wide dynamic curve, featuring the luscious swells of the Budapest Film Orchestra on ‘Inventing the Stars’, Harcourt’s signature piano playing and vocals (featured on the sea-shanty duet ‘The Mermaid and The Sailor’) and classical Ondes-Martenist Charlie Draper on ‘Home for Wayward Dolls’. Hannah Rose Platt is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and storyteller, who merges the sinister authorial prowess of Nick Cave and Tom Waits, with the gilded Americana of Bobbie Gentry. Track 1 - 'Dead Man On The G Train' - released 24th February 2023 - Single ‘Dead Man on the G Train’ was the first song I wrote for the record and the opening title. I wanted to write little four-minute ‘pulp noir’ mystery thriller, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. Ed and I had such fun recording this track, expect to hear bombastic drums and beastly guitar train sounds. We hope to transport you to 1930s New York, someone’s boarding the G train to Brooklyn and they won’t be getting off… (listen out for the twist!)’ Track 2 - 'Feeding Time For Monsters' - released 29th March 2023 - Single “If a house represents the psyche – what would haunt the rooms of our very own haunted houses? I explore a mix of my own ptsd experiences and personal ghosts in this song. Ed and I wanted to create a sense of chaos and dissociation with woozy vocals and thrashing guitars (and the video animation by William Davies is just astonishing! Check it out!

THULCANDRA’s rise to power ignited when the Germany-based outfit unleashed their debut album, Fallen Angel’s Dominion, upon metaldom in 2010. The group, fronted by founding member and visionary Steffen Kummerer (also of Obscura fame), have tightened their hibernal grip on blackened death metal since. The desolate melodic emanations in follow-up studio records Under a Frozen Sun (2011), Ascension Lost (2015), and the chart-topping, 2021-album A Dying Wish, dedicated to the late drummer Chris Kratzer, solidified THULCANDRA as a superior force, expertly thrusting the magic and mystery of mid-’90s melodic black-death metal into the modern era. Their fifth attack, entitled Hail the Abyss, sees THULCANDRA prove yet again why they’re atop death metal’s malefic vedette! Fierce tracks such as "As I Walk Through The Gateway", or the uber-brutal "Blood Of Slaves", showcase the band‘s affinity for dark, aggressive, and mellifluous metal while the album title track and the epic, mid-tempo rager "On The Wings Of Cosmic Fire" rip and terrorize with the intensity of hell. As always, THULCANDRA's about a vibe - there's a distinct "feel" to the band's latest album that's distinctly old-school but without the tired trappings of it. The hotly-anticipated Hail the Abyss is slated for release on May 19, 2023 via Napalm Records. Cooperation with renowned producer Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Katatonia), who handled the crushing album mix, was compulsory, as was the re-invitation to cover-master Lochner. Don’t fear the reaper—fear the majestic might of THULCANDRA, as Hail the Abyss will see them ultimately rise to full power!

Golden-voiced Mavericks frontman Raul Malo lets his guitar do the singing in this 10-song collection highlighting his skill as an arranger and instrumentalist. From midnight in Havana to the beaches of California, hear Malo‘s full range of musical influences on display as he explores a wild variety of textures from surf guitar licks, lush earthen tones, spaghetti western to big band jams and more, accompanied occasionally by his Mavericks bandmates. It’s a sonic adventure befitting his time leading music’s most shape-shifting band.

Svart Records unveils “Sutra”, the new album from grand master avant-garde overlords Yakuza. An genre crushing album of forward thinking metal for the modern age, “Sutra” is a powerhouse of unlimited expression and molten riffs. Formed in 1999, Chicago based heavy hybridizers Yakuza, are in a genre all of their own, which Pitchfork describe as a “a specialized and strange alloy”. So eclectic and hard to pigeon-hole, their music has been described over the years as everything from avant-garde metal, progressive metal, alternative metal to experimental rock, jazz metal, art metal and post-metal. Incorporating psychedelic rock jams that sprawl into heavy, sludging Doom with jazz influences, while also incorporating breakneck grind riffs and grooves, makes Yakuza’s new album “Sutra” a long awaited and insanely enjoyable feast of frequencies. From their break-out debut album “Amount to Nothing” in 2000, which was met with critical acclaim, Yakuza have been a phenomenon in the world of heavy music, hot on the tongues of those who know. Their second album “Way of the Dead” in 2002 landed Yakuza a deal with Century Media and worldwide notoriety, securing them live slots with like-minded progressive heavyweights like Candira, Opeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lacuna Coil and Mastodon.

Svart Records unveils “Sutra”, the new album from grand master avant-garde overlords Yakuza. An genre crushing album of forward thinking metal for the modern age, “Sutra” is a powerhouse of unlimited expression and molten riffs. Formed in 1999, Chicago based heavy hybridizers Yakuza, are in a genre all of their own, which Pitchfork describe as a “a specialized and strange alloy”. So eclectic and hard to pigeon-hole, their music has been described over the years as everything from avant-garde metal, progressive metal, alternative metal to experimental rock, jazz metal, art metal and post-metal. Incorporating psychedelic rock jams that sprawl into heavy, sludging Doom with jazz influences, while also incorporating breakneck grind riffs and grooves, makes Yakuza’s new album “Sutra” a long awaited and insanely enjoyable feast of frequencies. From their break-out debut album “Amount to Nothing” in 2000, which was met with critical acclaim, Yakuza have been a phenomenon in the world of heavy music, hot on the tongues of those who know. Their second album “Way of the Dead” in 2002 landed Yakuza a deal with Century Media and worldwide notoriety, securing them live slots with like-minded progressive heavyweights like Candira, Opeth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Lacuna Coil and Mastodon.

buen clima is the solo project of producer, composer and DJ Felipe Castro (Santiago, 1993). Under that alias, he makes a sometimes clean, sometimes dirty mix of techno, house and electro, among other styles, with a soft spot for high BPMs, big, glossy pad sounds and interlocking rhythms. With a background in classical music and free improvisation, his productions and live performances often bring into them unexpected moments of noise, unusual influences and, above all, humour.

« This EP is comprised of five tracks written between 2020 and 2022, and it's got quite a bit of contrast among them, as well as some common threads. Some are gritty and noisy, some are a bit more amiable. However, they all show signs of recurring obsessions with certain rhythms, certain synth sounds, and share a sense of fun and humour. Each is an exploration of different production and synthesis techniques.

Big Butibit Chess Master Pro v.3.5 is on the lighter side, with some big warm pads and jazzy drum sound. It's kind of a sunny ghettotech cut, if that makes any sense. The synth part has a spontaneous feel, it was recorded pretty much in one take.

>:) Is a heavier club track, made to go a little evil, a little mischievous. It's full of squelchy sounds and has a drum part that sounds like a never ending Street Fighter combo, or a bunch of beer bottles being opened one after the other.

Forma/Contenido is also on the darker side, with a droning, oppressive mass of sound that accumulates and evolves all throughout the track. It's very much inspired by the piece "I am sitting in a room" by Alvin Lucier, and is, in fact, a sort of live version of the same premise, a long feedback loop of the voice and the beat recorded and played in the studio.

Arturito is how we call R2D2 in Latin America (or at least in Chile), and it's also my father's name. We both love the original Star Wars and this is a little tribute to that. I had a lot of fun making this track, using only Ableton's Operator synth to make 90% of the sounds. It's a bouncy, evolving electro cut with a lot of quirky bleeps and bloops.

Pequeña midi is definitely the heart of the EP, a slower track made for my cat, who's sitting in my lap as I'm writing this. The rhythms and the sounds are a musical representation of how I imagine her life is like, and of her little games, running around the house. In terms of style I feel like this is what it would sound like if Yellow Magic Orchestra did a slowed down footwork track (play it at 160 BPM if you don't believe me!). »

After a creative break of more than 10 years the Contemporary Noise Ensemble returns with the brand new album called »An Excellent Spiritual Serviceman«. With the band’s line-up reduced and the sound of the brass section replaced with programmable synthesizers comes an entirely new sound of the band’s music. Leaning towards composition instead of improvisation the music is now less jazzy sounding - with electric bass being used instead of double bass and drums actually being the only strictly acoustical instrument. But then again you can hear a lot of other prerecorded instruments like marimba, vibraphone, Rhodes and upright pianos surrounded by arpeggiated synths and other programmable electronic instruments.

The album takes you to a journey through jazz, space rock, funk and electronic music with a destination in a form of a rock song which is as well the title song of the album. The Contemporary Noise Ensemble still impresses with maturity and class.

Ten years ago, Parish Bracha anonymously released his Disconscious album Hologram Plaza, significantly influencing the still nascent Vaporwave scene. He continued producing a number of disparate anonymous projects until Cascade II was released in 2020 on Arca's Mutant Mixtape.

Cascades of Refinement, which includes the single Cascade II, is Parish's debut album released under his own name and his focus on the dialogue between the digital and the organic continues. The techniques that defined his influential early sound have been refined into a flawless hybrid of analog and digital textures which give his post-minimalist compositions an unmistakably personal expressivity.

Classical instruments are mutilated and transmuted into razor-sharp shards of glass suspended on piano wire above warped opalescent metal while never losing sight of their tonal integrity. Much like the impartial juxtaposition Parish employs in his timbral exploration, each composition explores the concepts of beauty and gentleness through and with extremity, violence, and chaos as equal counterparts, with each successive piece refining and relieving the artificial tension between these states. Employing use of the Una Corda, prepared piano, bowed piano, plucked piano, harpsichord, church organ, untuned violin, voice, synthesizers, and resampled field recordings, Cascades of Refinement lies somewhere in the indefinite space between acoustic and electronic and is beholden to neither.

Parish's initial electroacoustic experiments with piano and strings were interrupted by the pandemic lockdown when he was limited to sampled instrumentation and digital processing available on a computer. Out of this necessity evolved an appreciation for the incidental nature of digitally sampled acoustic instrumentation and the unpredictability of its interaction with digital signal processing.

As work on Cascades of Refinement continued and acoustic recording was reintroduced, the focus turned to the tension between recorded and sampled instrumentation, with the goal of integrating the two into a singular indistinguishable material to be warped and shaped together. Each of the four pieces of the Cascade series explore this tension, successively integrating and collapsing their distinction with each piece.

The subtle artifacts of digital processing and incidental mechanical sounds of the acoustic are amplified and given presence alongside the tonal elements of each piece until a point of indivisibility is reached. The sound of a bow scraping along a string or a granular buffer freezing are neither discarded nor hidden, but selected as the ripest material to accompany and structure each composition. Cascades of Refinement is a dialogue between organic and digital, between the mercurial and infinitely reproducible, not as opposites, but as mereologically cohabiting counterparts with equal expressivity.

It’s always a joy to release music from friends, and ZamZam 91 is our first collab with a dear one, Jim Coles AKA Om Unit. It’s impossible to frame the breadth and depth of such a storied career in bass music in just a couple lines- so suffice to say that releases over decades on a who’s-who of seminal labels including Exit, Fabric, Planet Mu and of course his own Cosmic Bridge have cemented his rep as an absolute force in production and DJing across any number of genres and sub genres.

Coles’ roots in Bristol and deep love of dub and reggae - made beautifully explicit on his recent Acid Dub Studies LPs - come through strong on both sides. “The Canopy (Armageddon Style)” opens with ravey, arpeggiated synths worthy of Vangelis, punctuated by a brooding piano chord, building steadily into a dark and utterly apocalyptic steppers guaranteed to storm & batter down Babylon walls inside and out.

“Mystic 808” is a deep meditation, a slow stepper that ices down the furious energy of the A side and drops the tempo to suit. Recalling the heady days of original late 90s/early 2000s UK Dub - as well as early dub techno - stabs and melody caress, restrained percussion swims and multiplies in reverb and echo, orbits locked to the gravitational force of the massive and truly timeless bassline. Proper sound system material that will satisfy the heart and soul long after the dance is done.

Canto A Lo Divino is the unique musical expression of the Chilean peasant world - a conversation with the divine nourished by Biblical and other sacred texts. It is communal music, played in packed rooms throughout the night on the 25-string guitarron, its ancient melodies transmitted through the 10-line decima form originating in Spain and found across the Caribbean, South America, and even into the Mississippi Delta. Rooted in the remote Central Valley of Chile at the skirt of the mountains and following the slopes of the major rivers, the Canto tradition has persisted for centuries in the voices of hundreds of men and women who sing of saints, divine images, and angelitos (very young children who have died). The verses are also centered around daily life in the valley - labor and drought, family, animals, and plants. There are countless entonaciones (melodies) that define this region, its communities, and its unique worldview. Mississippi Records is privileged to work with the Museo Campesino En Movimiento and their archive of hundreds of hours of intimate field recordings of the Canto - music rarely, if ever, heard outside of the region. Artwork is provided by another inhabitant of Chile's Central Valley, a baker called Frederico Lohse, who brought divine visions from the Cantos to life, painted on reused flour bags. Canto A Lo Divino celebrates the complexity and solemn, stunning beauty of this nocturnal, communal form of musical devotion. Double vinyl LP comes housed in deluxe gatefold jacket with 8 pages of lyric translations and liner notes about the Canto tradition by researcher Danilo Petrovich.

Power, Pain, Privilege is Specimens fourth album & most personal work to date, it follows up on his collaboration album ‘Intersections’ with Peter Broderick, Benoît Pioulard, Midori Hirano & Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch.

Power, Pain, Privilege is a commissioned piece by London’s Southbank Centre and is an abstract sonic exploration of biracial identity, in its historicity as well as through the lens of Ives’ own personal experience of being British-Jamaican. The album is a departure from his largely ambient work and explores haunted and twisted dancehall rhythms, industrial drones, and spoken word pieces that track a course through painful incidents of imposter syndrome, shame, privilege & racism.

The album opens with a computerised robotic voice reading excerpts of the 1930s Fletcher Report: “an Investigation into the Colour Problem in Liverpool and other ports” a report which heavily stigmatises children and mixed heritage families of African and European origin. It could be deemed the official outset in defining Liverpool's ‘half castes’ as a problem and blight to the “British way of life”. Ives’ states “this track sets the tone to the album, the cold analytical and dehumanising approach to reports like this, whilst over 80 years old set the standard for viewing biracial families and to have used a Human voice to recite these pieces of text would have been to give it too much life”

The album is accompanied by a film directed by the photographer & director Lucie Rox which was live scored at The Southbank Centre in London and in Paris at 3537.

Vinyl release compiling both Nukuluk EPs on one LP. Curating their own unique sound and captivating crowds with their refreshing approach to hip-hop, electronica and indie, Nukuluk return with their new EP ‘SUPERGLUE’ on 21 April. The writing and recording process has never been executed in a conventional style for the group, a series of laptops and bedrooms manifesting the groups’ studio, aspiring to a fundamentally collaborative process as they piece their separate parts together in ever surprising ways. Respective members lead through a variety of formats, bringing a demo, a motif or concept in what can be a deeply stimulating process, ensuring the sound is ever-evolving. The EP acted as an educational vehicle that held the group together as they learned how to overcome certain challenges, and hold it together as one, hence the title SUPERGLUE. It presents a fractured journey and chaotic growth of five individuals trying to create the new together; honest vulnerable expression married with complex soundscapes, pulling from whatever genre feels natural and trying new combinations of internal collaborations in the group. The release spans genres from hip-hop to alternative rock, ambient to metal, dance music to r’n’b in what the band note as: “a kaleidoscope of sonics, songs, beats, noises and stories lurching between vulnerability and bravado, as a body of work growing in all directions at the same time.” Their latest single ‘I Just Wanna Luv U’, the follow up to the high octane ‘Covered In Gold’, marks a charged change of pace; an introspective, meditative trip-hop piece, with creeping synths, electronic drums and gruff vocals transitioning into acoustic guitars, live drums and rap verses. It tells the story of wrestling with childhood trauma, isolation and self-acceptance. Vocalist/producer Syd Nuku explores an eerie modern condition before conversing with an inner child’s trauma and memory - “be slow kid, go and take a place below the ceiling where it won’t fall”. The accompanying video was co-directed by Luke Kulukundis (Syd Nuku) and Iso Attrill, and takes reference from the likes of Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman and David Lynch. Nukuluk are Monika, Syd, Mateo, Louis and olivia. Entirely self made the collective successfully blend genres and styles to reach new spaces through a broad range of influences (including JPEGMAFIA, Jockstrap, SOPHIE, Wu-Lu and Yves Tumor as well as esteemed groups like Massive Attack, Portishead and Gorillaz). Formed in the midst of lockdown, the collective played their first show in July 2021 before releasing their debut EP DISASTER POP to critical acclaim in November, which subsequently led to multiple festival appearances and a 3-night sold out residency at Bermondsey Social Club in 2022. Their release campaign was littered with videos and creative visuals that were constructed by the collective and its extended family of artists - this multifaceted creative output of the group making them a unique prospect; directing and producing their own videos, exploring many avenues of creation and trying to exist in a unique contemporary DIY space. With nods across the spectrum of the music media – including The Quietus, CLASH, NME, Ransom Note, DIY, DORK, So Young and many more – Nukuluk are steadily carving out their own space in the British leftfield.

Hailed by American Songwriter as "one of America's most intriguing,
creative, and idiosyncratic voices," Eilen Jewell rises from the ashes on her captivating new album, Get Behind The Wheel, picking up the pieces of her shattered world and finding new purpose after watching her marriage, her band, and what felt like her entire career fall apart in a series of heartbreaking implosions Co- produced by multi- instrumental wizard Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Hayes Carll), the 11- song collection pushes the acclaimed singer and songwriter's
trademark blend of vintage roots- noir into more psychedelic territory, with spacious, cinematic arrangements complementing her revelatory explorations of grief, loss, resilience, and redemption. The band's performances are electrifying here, resulting in Jewell's boldest album yet, a powerful work of artistic alchemy that transforms heartache into genuine creative rebirth.

Andrey Pushkarev presents the sixth installment of his very own Luck Of Access imprint, welcoming Toki Fuko with three deep, hypnotic & expertly crafted tracks – enjoy the journey.

After last year's release on Shall Not Fade, Paul Rudder & Kresy are back - this time on Exploited for the infamous Black Jukebox Series.

‘Along With You’ bounces along with plenty of feel-good energy, channeling ‘90s energy with its thicc bassline pump and an earworm of a sugar-sweet vocal. Well-chosen vox cuts create an infectious rhythm in between the full vocal sections while soft synth arps tickle the surface of the track and epic snare rolls inject more energy in the breakdown and at key moments. Guaranteed to get massive reactions. Kresy’s Continuum Mix takes things into a lighter direction with gorgeous, sunny piano chords chiming in unison with a driving, uplifting bassline and pretty synth flourishes.

‘Her Dream Road’ pushes the EP into almost ambient house territory with its swirling pads and deep atmospheres, but the energetic percussion and warm bassline throb and melody give it plenty of dancefloor energy. Kresy’s Mellonized Remix pumps it up with plump organ bass, dreamy acid licks, soaring arpeggios, continual automation and epic pad progressions that make for an absolutely huge rework that’s full of life, atmosphere and colour.

Neon is eviscerated across the wet light of pavement dreams, splashed back and absorbed by the darker shapes coalescing in the shadows. Through the broken concatenation of the night, neuron inputs are fed relentlessly by hardwire bodies. Mainlined subtle as a fetishist’s whisper, they in turn feed a punishing progression of rhythms dragged like a dream through your body. Against this digital dystopia, Sequence 87’s I Am Sequence propels the ear through a high-intensity array of blackened beats at once familiar and fresh. The grimey pulse of underground techno bridges the DNA of early industrialized electronics, a chimeric construct which heaves with the chrome breath of EBM’s heavy assembly. Shawn Rudiman, the Pittsburgh pioneer behind alias, has been crafting techgnosis solo and as part of the experimental dance duo T.H.D., and these veteran bona fides show in how deftly he parses the language of that era’s heavy synthesis into a work that easily translates into the modern languages of club movement. I Am Sequence retains that chunky ‘80s analog bounce, while injecting a wriggling sheen of HD intensity through its veins. Vocals emerge from the glistening shards, bursting against a wash of sine waves before remerging in a fusion of funked-out bass. Headlights crashing as horns blare, an autobahn nightmare funneling you down some future highway where machines crash ceaselessly across a horizon of endless red night. Lifting the psyche upon high, corroded harmonies herald the last chants to dance before the inevitable systemic collapse. An album for a foreseen Apocalypse, experienced through the language of dance floor speakers. All songs written and recorded by Shawn Rudiman Artwork by Shawn Rudiman Mastering at Dadub Studio Distributed by ReadyMade Distribution Braid Records 2023

Neon is eviscerated across the wet light of pavement dreams, splashed back and absorbed by the darker shapes coalescing in the shadows. Through the broken concatenation of the night, neuron inputs are fed relentlessly by hardwire bodies. Mainlined subtle as a fetishist’s whisper, they in turn feed a punishing progression of rhythms dragged like a dream through your body. Against this digital dystopia, Sequence 87’s I Am Sequence propels the ear through a high-intensity array of blackened beats at once familiar and fresh. The grimey pulse of underground techno bridges the DNA of early industrialized electronics, a chimeric construct which heaves with the chrome breath of EBM’s heavy assembly. Shawn Rudiman, the Pittsburgh pioneer behind alias, has been crafting techgnosis solo and as part of the experimental dance duo T.H.D., and these veteran bona fides show in how deftly he parses the language of that era’s heavy synthesis into a work that easily translates into the modern languages of club movement. I Am Sequence retains that chunky ‘80s analog bounce, while injecting a wriggling sheen of HD intensity through its veins. Vocals emerge from the glistening shards, bursting against a wash of sine waves before remerging in a fusion of funked-out bass. Headlights crashing as horns blare, an autobahn nightmare funneling you down some future highway where machines crash ceaselessly across a horizon of endless red night. Lifting the psyche upon high, corroded harmonies herald the last chants to dance before the inevitable systemic collapse. An album for a foreseen Apocalypse, experienced through the language of dance floor speakers. All songs written and recorded by Shawn Rudiman Artwork by Shawn Rudiman Mastering at Dadub Studio Distributed by ReadyMade Distribution Braid Records 2023

180 Gram Vinyl Following the success of the 2021 reissue of Ambient Warrior’s cult classic Dub Journey's (1995), Isle of Jura is pleased to present their unreleased second album, II. Born from the same oceanside fusion of instrumental dub, reggae, bossa nova and tango music that made Dub Journey's so distinctive and memorable, II is an equally sublime collection of eleven unheard tracks from the brilliant minds of Ronnie Lion and Andrea Terrano.

Evoking the delights of white sands, palm trees and sunsets, all set against clear waters and endless blue skies, Dub Journey’s and II document the golden moment when Ambient Warrior came together during the mid-90s to create some of the most Balearic Dub ever made. “Music is the greatest traveler, isn’t it?” says Ronnie. “It gets to places the actual artists can’t even get to really.”

The son of an orphaned Jamaican jazz trumpet player and professional boxer who enlisted in the military after stowing away on a boat to London, Ronnie grew up between Germany, Singapore and the UK before becoming a working musician in his mid-teens. A bass player by trade, he honed his skills playing in a series of soul, jazz-funk, blues, rock and reggae bands that performed throughout the UK.

By the time Ambient Warrior released Dub Journey’s, Ronnie and his business partner Ras Joseph were running the Lion Inc. recording studio and record label in Brixton, London. Having set up distribution arrangements with Roots Records (UK) and Semaphore (DEU/NL), they recorded and released a series of singles, compilations and solo albums from a who’s who of roots reggae artists, including Twinkle Brothers, Delroy Washington, Michael Prophet, Alton Ellis, Little Roy, and Ronnie’s own band The Amharic. “Lion was a regular port of call for visiting Jamaican artists,” reflects Ronnie. “When you were in London, it was on the route.”

An accomplished guitarist, producer and recording engineer from Trieste, Italy, Andrea grew up listening to Russian folk, Klezmer and the Italian harmony tradition in a Sicilian-Ukrainian family. After completing compulsory Italian military service, he moved to London to continue studying music. One night, he turned up at Lion Inc. and approached them about running audio engineering classes from the studio.

In Andrea, Ronnie found a collaborator who shared his desire to create borderless music that reflected the diversity of their backgrounds. “I wanted to do something that had no boundaries,” Ronnie explains. “If you’re working on a roots album, it has to sound a certain way, but with Ambient, especially in the nineties, it was just a license to let off. You could do whatever you wanted to do.” “It was a melting pot of influences like London itself,” adds Andrea.

Although they wrote most of II at the same time as they were recording Dub Journey’s, it took them several years to finish off the album. “Things never got done quickly,” Ronnie remembers. By the time it was complete, Roots Records had gone out of business, leaving Lion Inc. without UK distribution. Not long after, their Brixton studio flooded, bringing the label to a close.

These days, Andrea continues to work as a session guitarist, recording engineer and producer in London. Over the last two decades, he has collaborated regularly with Basement Jaxx and released several solo albums. Ronnie, on the other hand, lives on a boat equipped with an onboard studio, where he has recorded a series of oceanic dub albums off the British coast. Twenty-eight years after the release of Dub Journey’s, he recently started working on demos for a third Ambient Warrior album he hopes to record with Andrea in the not-so-distant future.

Artwork By Bradley Pinkerton.

Josh Dahlberg is The Valley and the Mountain aka TVTM and is an artist who has made a big move recently from the deep westside of Detroit all the way across to the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest. He he arrives on Central Scientific for its inaugural release with Detroit-based producer and Akka & BeepBeep founder, Jo Rad Silver, taking care of the flip. Next to an array of hardware, there is plenty of improvisation with guitars in this EP - 'Experiment Obscura' is a widescreen and dramatic ambient cut with a meditative feel and 'Immersion Theatre III' is another empty but inviting piece with curlicues, wispy pads, distant guitar echoes and moodiness to spare.

RP Boo's essential first album, 2013's ‘Legacy’ caused a storm of acclaim worldwide as people finally started to piece together his true place in Footwork and the powerful legacy of his work as an innovator. In parallel with productions, his always on-point DJ sets have lit up festivals and clubs worldwide and continue to do so to this day, notably leading to him being named one of the ‘100 World’s Best DJs’ in a recent book by DJ Mag. Now on its 10th anniversary ‘Legacy Vol.2’ continues his story. Featuring tracks created between 2002 and 2007, this is a wonderous selection of material, some known, some unknown. The album kicks off with the dark and epic ‘Eraser’ created in September 2007, during a time RP was going to underground Footwork club War Zone on the west side of Chicago. The track was inspired by, and created to fuel, the “taunting words of intimidation” between dancers.” And now it makes for one intense album opener. Some cuts are inspired by everyday life – take for example 2005's ‘Pop Machine’, which was inspired by the time he was working at Speedway Oil Change who had a temperamental soda/pop machine. One day, a customer put money in the machine and nothing came out, so he continued to press the button, and for some reason RP found this funny so he went over to the machine and started pressing the buttons himself and everyone he touched started saying “Work!.” Inspired once he was back home in his studio he made ‘Pop Machine’ in tribute to the defunct machinery. When he came back to work the next day and played the track for all this co-workers it blew their minds and they also laughed with at how creative RP could get using things from his everyday life as inspiration. ‘Pop Machine’ also illustrates how RP’s Footwork uses repetition and minimalism as fuel. Years later RP Boo is still inspired by Foot Work – the art of dancing and working for dancers. He continues to shake up clubs and isn’t afraid to get out from behind the decks and drop some Foot himself. We’ll let the man himself have the final word - “What inspires me to keep going is seeing the people having an awesome time moving on the dance floor, as well as playing music that is a recognizable part of my life. I’m one with it.”

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk’s multi Grammy winning hit record ‘Random Access Memories’ including ‘Get Lucky’, ‘Instant Crush’, ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ and features Pharell Willams, Nile Rodgers, Julien Casablancas, Paul Williams, Panda Bear and Todd Edwards. To celebrate this milestone a special expanded edition will be released including 35 minutes of unreleased music (Demo and Studio Outtakes). The triple vinyl also includes a special Lose Yourself To Dance poster.

Thanksmate have been working together for over a decade and are pioneers of their local scene. They run the notorious Soul Express event and their experiences of keeping its dance floor vibrant and bouncing feeds into this first new EP. It's a bright mix of disco, house and Italo that brings the party in a classy fashion.

Brilliant opening track and lead single 'Your Friend' showcases what Thanksmate is all about - buoyant grooves, big bass drums, lush synth work and a touch of '90s house class with some cult r&b vocals from the early 2000s. It's an irresistibly feel-good record that is well-executed and full of fun. 'M8s On LSD' is a more intense, heads down but just as characterful track with ravey melodic riffs and unrelenting drums run through with flashes of acid. 'Feelings' offers a third different look with exquisite synth craft glowing with plenty of Detroit warmth and soul over super-charged drums. An emotive vocal and cosmic keys finish this new school Italo anthem in style.

Thanksmate's unique mix of charm and colour is a perfect way to kick off what is sure to be an essential label from the tastemaking Marvin & Guy.

After a bit of down-time, Spacetalk Records returns with something special: a stunning compilation of obscurities, rare cuts and secret weapons compiled by label co-founder Danny McLewin under his Skyrager alias.

Although most widely known as one half of Psychemagik, McLewin has long been regarded as one of the UK’s most decorated crate-diggers – a DJ and record dealer recognised for his ability to unearth slept-on gems, private press obscurities and campfire-friendly curios. He’s already showcased his curatorial skills on a string of acclaimed and now sought-after comps – see Psychemagik’s Magik Cyrkles, Magik Sunrise and Magik Sunset Pt 1 & 2 – but Traces of Illusion marks the first time McLewin has put together a collection as Skyrager.

There’s no grand concept behind Traces of Illusion, though McLewin’s selections are universally tactile, sun-baked and effortlessly summery, evoking images of nights spent camped out in the Californian desert or beneath the vibrant canopy of an English forest at dusk. As you’d expect, there are no well-known anthems or ‘big tunes’ here, just an inspired selection of largely unknown musical nuggets oozing in quality.

For now, the track list is under wraps but you can be sure there are plenty of highlights to savour amongst the 15 tracks which all add up to an eye-opening, head-soothing journey through the dustiest corners of McLewin’s record collection.

Damian Lazarus celebrates 20 Years of his world-renowned Crosstown Rebels imprint with a special album project of unreleased cuts and fresh remixes, featuring material from Black Coffee, Maceo Plex, Art Department, Dennis Cruz and many more.

Undeniably one of the most influential record labels within underground dance music, releasing material from Laurent Garnier, Krust and Mathew Jonson to Rósìn Murphy, Deniz Kurtel, Francesca Lombardo and Jennifer Cardini while playing a pivotal part in the careers of artists like Maceo Plex, Jamie Jones, Art Department and Seth Troxler, Crosstown Rebels stands today as a hub and platform for flourishing projects across the electronic spectrum, including via sub-label Rebellion and across a long list of showcases across the globe. More than just your everyday label, the Crosstown Rebels legacy has grown alongside its founder in equal measure, with head honcho Damian Lazarus continually showcasing, championing and spotlighting artists from across the globe who share his radiant, experimental vision for house music and beyond. Ringing in a major milestone in style, 2023 will see the biggest twelve months to date as Lazarus and Crosstown mark the 20th Anniversary of the label with a series of projects set to be unveiled in the lead-up to summer, with ‘CR20 The Album’ set for release on 12th May 2023.

“20 years ago, I dreamed a dream of creating a family of like-minded, crazy individuals from all corners of the planet - releasing music to the world and making people dance. That dream was Crosstown Rebels, and this year we are 20. Over these years, I have forged beautiful friendships, discovered very talented artists and tried my best to help, advise and support some of the most colourful characters in dance music. Crosstown Rebels is more than a record label, it is family.
So 2023 will mark the label’s 20th Anniversary. This is an opportunity for the Crosstown Rebels family, a global community of artists, DJs and creatives, and the label’s myriad of followers to celebrate this momentous milestone. There will be parties and events around the world. A killer compilation of exclusives and special remixes, a beautiful coffee table book, a short film, and a special launch event are planned to bring together the sights and sounds of the label’s unique and influential history. There’s lots to share, announce and reminisce. 20 years young.” - Damian Lazarus.

Comprised of six stellar, high-profile remixes of releases from the label’s catalogue, alongside two previously unreleased original gems, the eight-track package is a rich and exemplary showcase of the far-reaching corners of the Crosstown Rebels sound and also its globally connected family of artists and close friends.

Opening the package, Lazarus’ own 2020 collaboration ‘Into The Sun’ with regular Crosstown vocalist Jem Cooke is given a cosmic rework by Johannesburg’s Major League DJz, while Jamie Jones’ slick ‘Paradise 2011’ is stripped back and given a new lease of life by the hypnotic and heady sounds of Art Department. Opening the B-Side, Dennis Cruz brings his percussive Latin-infused signature sound palette to Chilean musician and producer Pier Bucci’s ‘Hay Consuelo’, before Audiojack’s ‘Feel Good’, another standout collaboration alongside Cooke, is taken into synth-led territories as Michael Mayer reaches for an evolving bed of captivating tones.

The second half of the project brings more excellently remixed material, both new and old, with GRAMMY-winning DJ/producer Black Coffee turning his hand to the label’s first release of 2023 in Made By Pete and Zoe Kypri’s emotive ‘Horizon Red’, unveiling reworked melodies and sparkling keys as he delivers an interpretation of a track which has featured as a staple in his sets. Next, the project welcomes Adam Ten & Yamagucci’s playful yet off-kilter and wonky ‘The K Dance’ which unveils itself as a production perfect for those late night hours and early afters, before Ellum boss Maceo Plex’s ‘Together (2011 Mix)’ brings another lost production to the mix with a driving and zipping ride through sugary synths and soaring leads. To close, Tibi Dabo turns his attention to Guti & Dubshape’s absorbing ‘Every Cow Has A Bird’, delivering a nimble minimal-led trip through lush pads and crisp percussion to round things out in style.

Alongside the album, the 20 Year celebrations will also welcome a 192-page hardback book, ’20 Years Of Magic, Madness and Music’, with words from renowned journalist and key underground music player Joe Muggs, and a feature-length documentary directed by acclaimed director David Terranova.

Crosstown has become known globally for throwing some of the world’s best parties, from the wondrous cultural journey of Day Zero Tulum to longstanding Music Week marathon Get Lost Miami. This ethos of creating magical dancefloor moments spills into the label’s 20 year celebration with its worldwide Get Lost tour, launched with Get Lost Miami, and followed by Bali, Tokyo, Ibiza, Dubai, Istanbul, Rome, Paris, London, Berlin and more, plus a special to-be-announced London showcase.

Few artists exude as much passion for, and dedication to, their craft as Tom Marshall (AKA Marsh). Since he first emerged on the electronic music scene in the mid-2010s, Marsh has sculpted a uniquely soulful sound that has captivated his listeners and earned him a fast-growing and intensely devoted fanbase. Marsh's forthcoming album 'Endless' follows two previous bodies of work; his 2017 debut 'Life On The Shore', and his critically-acclaimed Anjunadeep debut LP, 'Lailonie', the latter of which has accumulated over 20 million streams to date. Marsh also has an array of widely-supported anthems in his discography. 'Come Together' (with Nox Vahn), 'Little Darling' and the Beatport chart-topping 'Lost In You' are some of his best-loved tracks, all streaming well into the millions and winning support from electronic music's biggest artists, including Joris Voorn, Pete Tong, Diplo, and RÜFÜS DU SOL. The two years since Marsh released his previous album 'Lailonie' have seen Tom moving around the States and touring the globe in a world rapidly opening up post-pandemic. This whirlwind, semi-nomadic lifestyle has inspired his third artist album 'Endless', and caused him to take stock of his values. In his own words, "I've written this entire album on the move, writing from so many different homes. On a deeper, more spiritual level, this has led me to question, what is truly home, and will we experience home after this life?" 'Endless' comprises twelve memorable tracks, including collaborations with vocalists Jodie Knight, Leo Wood, and Mariel Beausejour. Drawing on influences as diverse as the rich trance sounds of the 2000s that soundtracked his teenage years, and the musicality of crossover drum & bass acts like Pendulum, Tom's next offering is perhaps his most expansive in scope. Opening with the subtle first track 'Pneuma', the album moves from the emotive and lyrical, on lyrical, emotive tracks like 'Sleep' and 'Forgiveness', to piano house melodies on 'Reminiscent' and smooth broken beats on 'Blue', all united by Marsh's innate warm musicality.

This time two years ago, Pupil Slicer were preparing for the release of their debut album, Mirrors, with zero expectations of where it could take them. The breakneck speed with which Pupil Slicer were not only accepted but celebrated by the metal scene - both at home and abroad - took the band by surprise. As 2023 starts to unfold, it is a more mature, more considered version of Pupil Slicer that stands before us brandishing their sophomore album: Blossom. Blossom is a hard science fiction/cosmic horror concept album with central themes of abject despair, reincarnation and a fascination of hell. An intense month in the studio with producer Lewis Johns has led to a cohesive and confident sounding album that embraces ethereal singing, electronic breakdowns, and bold experimentation - without ever losing sight of their core tenets. Drawing from influences as diverse as Nine Inch Nails, Deafheaven, Radiohead, and Deftones, Pupil Slicer have moulded an album that is effervescent with passion but doesn’t shy away from a good hook and a catchy chorus. Through darkness and despair, there is always - at the very least - a glimmer of light in all that they do. Blossom is an album that benefits from being digested as a whole, but within this body of work there are gems that stand out, demonstrating that the future is extremely bright for Pupil Slicer. They’re only just getting started.