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The Stockholm duo Ella Guru made waves with their 2023 debut “No Strings Attached”, blending deep house with breezy balearic guitars. Since then, guitarist Tommy Galento and rhythm maker Daniel Strand have been joined by bassist Håkan Engström. His analogue basslines have not only made Ella’s sound more organic, but also pushed the band’s music even further onto the dance floor.


On their new record “Good Vibes Only”, the trio pays tribute to the afro-funk, disco and house of the late 20th century. With two original tracks and a powerhouse remix from Västertorp’s rising force Funky Loffe, the record delivers three electrifying cuts crafted for the club’s peak hours.

Legendary New Zealand-born experimental composer and sound art pioneer Annea Lockwood returns to Black Truffle with On Fractured Ground / Skin Resonance, her third release for the label. Having recently celebrated her 85th birthday, Lockwood shows no sign of slowing down in her exploration of new sound sources and collaborations with an ever-growing intergenerational pool of performers – here with Vanessa Tomlinson. Her creative vibrancy is alive as ever on the two recent works presented here, which demonstrate both her engagement with the social dimensions of sound and the deeply reflective, meditative aspect of her art.

On Fractured Ground derives from material recorded with Pedro Rebelo and Georgios Varoutsos for the soundtrack of Maria Fusco and Margaret Salmon’s opera-film, History of the Present (2023). Working together in Belfast, Lockwood, Rebelo and Varoutsos made extensive recordings of the city’s ‘peace lines’, the dozens of walls erected since the beginning of the Troubles in the late 1960s to separate Catholic and Protestant areas of the city. Struck by the immensity of these barriers, ‘the brutal way they sever neighbourhoods’, Lockwood and her collaborators focused not on the sound environment of the city, but on the walls themselves, playing them as gigantic resonant instruments, using their hands and objects such as stones and leaves. Continuing to work in her studio with the material collected for the soundtrack after its completion, Lockwood composed the work presented here, occupying a space somewhere between her own extended-technique percussion music and the Cagean tradition of hyper-amplified small sounds. From deep, gong-like metallic tolling to dry scrapes and uneasy groans, the piece’s sustained attention to single sounds derived from unorthodox sources draws a line all the way back to Lockwood’s classic Glass World (1967-1970). Its spaciousness and delicacy are at odds with the dark historical background of the Troubles, creating a moving listening experience somehow haunted by the shadow of violence and conflict.

Skin Resonance is a collaboration with Australian composer and percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson. Developed through conversations in which the two discussed the idea of ‘sonic attraction’, the piece focuses on Tomlinson’s relationship to the bass drum, reflecting on the complex web of connections embodied in this seemingly simply instrument, which is at once ‘animal, wood, and metal’. Approaching the instrument in a suitably elemental fashion, Tomlinson’s performance strips away conventional technique to explore the resonance and timbral properties of skin, drum, and metal hardware, producing overlapping waves of texture that at times seem closer to wind swishing through leaves or the ocean than anything usually associated with a drum. Emphasising the symbiotic relationship between performer and instrument, Tomlinson’s voice is heard at times, exploring the field of associations and connections the bass drum suggests to her: ‘Maybe the bass drum skin is an ear as well?’

Accompanied by insightful liner notes on both pieces and photographs documenting the recording of On Fractured Ground and a performance of Skin Resonance, this LP is a moving testament to the engagement, generosity, and openness that sustain Annea Lockwood’s work, still finding new directions after more than fifty years of activity.

"Dances With Wolves is the original soundtrack to the 1990 seven-time Academy Award and three-time Golden Globe Award-winning film of the same name. It is produced and directed by Kevin Costner, who also stars in the film himself. The original score and songs were composed and conducted by John Barry. Barry won the 1991 Academy Award for Best Original Score and the 1992 Grammy Award for ""Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television."" John Barry's fifth Oscar-winning score is a profoundly moving body of music. Dances With Wolves is available as a 35th anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent yellow coloured vinyl and comes in a deluxe sleeve finished with linen laminate."

"Vilhelm Bromander Unfolding Orchestra returns with Jorden vi ärvde (""The Earth We Inherited""), the follow-up to their acclaimed 2023 debut, In This Forever Unfolding Moment. Set for release on April 25, 2025, the album deepens Bromander’s unique fusion of cosmic jazz, free jazz, folk music and Indian classical traditions while carrying a powerful message about environmental and social responsibility.

Bromander composed this work as both a dedication to his children and a reflection on humanity’s role as caretakers of the planet. “The album is an attempt to spread light, beauty, hope, and resistance while acknowledging the gravity of our times,” he explains. “Right-wing forces are rising, wars continue, and climate disasters escalate. How do we find the strength and hope to change?”

The music balances urgency with a deep trust in humanity. Bromander’s meticulous arrangements, performed by an all-star ensemble, offer moments of both fiery resistance and serene contemplation. Tracks like “Jorden vi ärvde, den skall oss också ärvas” unfold patiently, blending vibrant improvisations with lush orchestration. The evocative ballad “Erde”, with stunning solos by pianist Alex Zethson and the bass-player himself, nods to Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, while “For Dewey” pays tribute to the elastic interplay of Keith Jarrett’s legendary quartet, high-lighting the fire-y saxophone playing of Elin Forkelid. The closing piece, “Calliope,” channels Indian classical influences, with harp evoking a swarmandal’s shimmering resonance.

With Jorden vi ärvde, Bromander expands his artistic vision, weaving together intricate compositions with a passionate call to action. The result is an album that doesn’t just demand to be heard—it invites listeners to reflect, feel, and, ultimately, act."

LIMITED POSTER EDITION (stickers included)

The Acid Machines series is back with its third electrifying release! Dedicated to the darker side of acid techno, this VA compilation is primed to ignite dancefloors and leave a lasting impression on any rave.

Leading the charge, G303 returns with a gripping opener. Starting with an entrancing breakbeat, the track seamlessly transitions into a thunderous four-on-the-floor rhythm, underpinned by resonant basslines that drive its powerful energy forward.

Acidupdub follows with "Steampunk," a masterclass in atmospheric tension and energy. The track evolves from a deep, pulsating low-end into a relentless techno anthem, featuring hypnotic 303 sequences and immersive basslines that demand attention.

New to the Acid Machines family, Citric Acid makes a stunning debut as a resident artist with "Damage" This one-take analog acid experience is a whirlwind of raw, unfiltered energy and pure acid techno brilliance, showcasing Citric Acid's exceptional production skills.

Acid Machines Vol. 3 is a must-have for fans of dark acid techno. Out now on Zodiak Commune Records. Unleash the acid and let the machines take control!

Gegründet im Jahr 2008, hat sich Büyük Ev Ablukada zu einer der einflussreichsten Bands der türkischen Alternativ-Musikszene entwickelt. Mit ihren metaphorischen und fröhlichen Liedern haben sie schnell eine große Fangemeinde gewonnen und durch ihre mutige, originelle und genreübergreifende Musik, der Stadt Istanbul und dem Land neues Leben eingehaucht. Büyük Ev Ablukada ist eine der populärsten und erfolgreichsten alternativen Bands Istanbuls, die den dynamischen kulturellen Puls Istanbuls auf den Punkt bringt. Mit jedem Album ist es ihnen gelungen, ihre Hörer mit einem anderen Musikstil und einer innovativen Herangehensweise zu überraschen. Die Reise, die mit ihrem ersten Album ,Full Faça" begann, setzte sich mit ,FIRTINAYT" fort und fand zuletzt mit ,Defansif Dizayn", an dem sie jahrelang gearbeitet haben, ihren nächsten Höhepunkt. Ihr genreübergreifender Sound spiegelt die sich ständig verändernde Energie der Stadt wider und schafft eine innovative und mutige Darstellung des modernen Istanbul. Ursprünglich im August 2024 exklusiv in der Türkei veröffentlicht, markierte "Defansif Dizayn" die mit Spannung erwartete Rückkehr der Band mit ihrem ersten Studioalbum seit sieben Jahren. Dieses Album ist mehr als nur Musik - es ist ein Fenster in die zeitgenössische Klangwelt Istanbuls und ein Spiegelbild einer Stadt in ständiger Entwicklung. Es hat sicherlich das Potenzial, sowohl kulturell als auch künstlerisch, eine starke Anziehungskraft auf ein europäisches Publikum auszuüben. Und sicherlich wird auch die große in der EU ansässige türkische Gemeinschaft, die eine tiefe Verbindung zur pulsierenden Musikszene Istanbuls pflegt, diese Album jetzt (nochmal) warnehmen. Im Frühjahr 2025 wird die Band eine Europatournee starten, die sie in einige wichtige Städte führen wird. Zur Unterstützung dieser Tournee wollen die Band und das Label nun eine spezielle Europa-Edition mit einem neuen, alternativen Cover-Artwork präsentieren und wieder Vinyl erhältlich machen. Das Mastering der Platte wurde von Shawn Joseph in den Grammy-prämierten "Optimum Mastering"-Studios in Bristol durchgeführt, in denen auch schon Namen wie Massive Attack und Portishead gearbeitet haben. Hergestllt wurde die EU Edition bei Optimal. Das Label CAZ PLAK stammt aus Istanbul, und verbindet konzeptionell Jazz mit anderen Genres um neue, hybride Klänge für die 2020er zu finden, am besten in ihrer idealistischsten und künstlerischsten Form. Obwohl das Büyük Ev Ablukada-Album musikalisch von Caz Plaks üblichem Jazz-orientierten Katalog etwasabweicht, fügt es sich in Geist, Haltung und musikalisch nahtlos in die Vision des Labels ein.

Hailed by Pitchfork for his “ambient, intimate…songs that blossom gently with intricate musical details and enigmatic lyrics,” Conner Youngblood gained early acclaim with a series of self-released singles and EPs before breaking out internationally with his 2018 full-length debut, Cheyenne, which fused electronic and analog elements into a lush mix of bedroom pop and chamber folk. Youngblood toured the record heavily until 2020, when the pandemic forced him off the road and, hungry for fresh inspiration, he began enrolling in Russian, Danish, Spanish, and Japanese language lessons. He didn’t realize it at the time, but those classes weren’t just expanding his vocabulary, they were laying the groundwork for his most ambitious, experimental album yet: Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly.
 
Written and recorded at home in Nashville, the collection is a dreamy series of meditations steeped in desire and yearning, loneliness and loss, exhilaration and escape. The lyrics blur the lines between fact and fiction, toying with magical realism and outright abstraction in various languages, and the arrangements are surreal and cinematic to match, hinting at everything from Cocteau Twins to Atoms For Peace. In addition to producing and engineering, Youngblood played every instrument on the album himself, and the result is a pure, unfiltered journey deep into the subconscious of a relentlessly curious artist, one with a boundless imagination and an insatiable appetite for sonic exploration. 

A1 - Planet Genesis

Chronicle makes his Spatial debut in style with Planet Genesis, opening with a beautifully crisp 2-step break over light atmospheric padwork, quickly accompanied by Hot Pants snares and dancing strings. Graceful hi-hats and insanely subtle vocal usage ebb and flow in the mix while soothing melodies enter and depart at will. The breakdown offers an intense change of tone before the breaks resume and continue the journey to a destination unknown.

A2 - Crystal Clear

Very much living up to its title, Crystal Clear sees Chronicle deliver a finely tuned assortment of beats with a remarkable clarity that truly shines in the "old school brand new" sensibilities of throwback atmospheric drum & bass. Snippets of various classic breaks can be heard in the mix with a superb attention to detail, taking you back with a style quite reminiscent of the golden era of late 90's Logical Progression.

B1 - Libra

Airy pads and a rousing yet subtle melody delicately introduce Libra, as Chronicle gradually builds towards a thrilling yet thoughtful amen workout set to blissful atmospherics. With a plethora of exquisite production techniques on show, the track showcases the versatility of Chronicle, offering something new to enjoy on each listen - the layers of detail are truly impressive.

B2 - Higher Limits

Echoing whirs and clicks dance playfully around light pads in the unique DJ-friendly intro to Higher Limits, a detailed, joyful track which celebrates a bygone era with sharp, expertly edited breaks and a smooth 808 bassline to die for. Micro melodies and long waves of delicious synths add texture and depth to the mix, resulting in the perfect closing track to a superbly varied and elegantly produced debut EP.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

For a project which made its debut in 2024 with next to no fanfare nor hype, rush2theUnknown managed to capture the attention and the imagination of a number of notable DJs across genres, tempos and timezones in their debut year. From legendary chillers Kruder & Dorfmeister picking up on the more Japanese VGM influenced side of their music, techno DJs like Courtesy, Anastassia Kristensen and Nastia drawn towards their more celestial-tinged breakbeat offerings and key support coming in from many trailblazers past and present of the genres that shaped the duo thirty years back. Support from artists and DJs around the world saw rush2theUnknown's music aired across Kool FM, Rinse FM, NTS, BBC Radio One, and thanks to impassioned support from punky-reggae icon Don Letts, multiple spins on the Rebel Dreads legendary BBC Radio 6 show.

With the foundation laid rush2theUnknown return to Diskotopia with the "Yugawara" EP.

Early support for the Yugawara EP has already seen responses from and tracks from the EP played by DJs like Machinedrum, DJ Flight, Addison Groove, dBridge, Gyrofield, Joakim, I:Cube, Courtesy, Cici, Sakura Tsuruta and more in clubs and on radio like NTS, Kool FM, Rinse FM and BBC Radio One, and BBC 6 Music.

Born from a journey out of Tokyo to the seaside town of Yugawara in the northeastern end of Izu Peninsula, the EP channels the energy, spirit and mathematically impossible coincidences that seem to come with each adventure the duo has in that part of Japan. Each morning the duo would leave their makeshift studio and wander across the hills of Yugawara. Be it a random encounter, a conversation or mental picture sparked by the visual scenery before them, new tracks came to life each day. As with their Diskotopia debut, each EP is a mix of the myriad influences the duo have accumulated since their teenage years living on outer ends of the Pacific Ocean.

From the technicolour aqua-jungle of "View From Fuua" which bursts with Logical Progression era Good Looking Records exo-planet optimism, through to the EPs closer, "Zuio-ji" a track that owes as much of a debt to the ancient Japanese court music of gagaku, as it does the 1960s soundtrack work of composer Toru Takemitsu and the jidaigeki infused breakbeat experiments of a mid 90s Rupert Parkes. Shades, tones and hues plucked from CD-ROM era "Visual Scenes" 80s CM Music and the techno-animism of synth-heavy anime soundtracks can be found on the EPs more VGM-leaning excursions "光のトンネル" and "夜明けの真鶴岬" whereas tracks like "Physical Reality" continue the question posed on their debut:What would a breakbeat tradition look and sound like, had it been forged a billion light years away?

Marina y su Melao is a band from Barcelona led by Puerto Rican Marina Molina. After a period of live activity, in 2025 they will release their debut album, "Rezo al agua", where Puerto Rico's bomba, an eminently rhythmic genre, expands to fuse with the colours and flavours of other Afro-Caribbean sounds. Tradition and folklore are embodied in a powerful and innovative conception.

In "Rezo al agua", Marina Molina expresses an attachment to the land, the landscape, the culture, the beliefs and the environment where she was born, Puerto Rico. She does this through bomba, one of the country's most identifying musical expressions. Bomba is as old as the slavery of those who gave birth to it in order to tell their tribulations and hopes, armed with the instrument they had at hand: the drums. It is a kind of meta-genre that includes a multitude of rhythmic varieties.

But Marina is something more than bomba, the legacy she received from her elders and which she does not wish to turn into a frozen object of veneration, an untouchable totem, mystical and ruled by norms bequeathed by the years. Marina, who has Colombian blood in her veins, is an artist of today, of a world in which cultures can mix, people migrate, influence each other, travel, exchange their cultural traces, can see online what happens at the other end of the world and thus open the window that facilitates the mixing of identities. These mixtures redraw borders and genres, allowing popular music to avoid its fossilization.

Marina grows in this fertile territory. She has a ductile and powerful voice, as clear as her strong, independent mindset. This is a remarkable element in the lyrics of the album, which despite being written from a current perspective, contain the sense that popular lyrics have always had: they explain life with the small letters of the everyday. And all this is presented in the bomba genre. Impure. There is an African guitar, a pedal steel guitar, a Wurlitzer, an accordion and everything that Marina and Miguelito Superstar, the album's producer, thought was necessary to accentuate the musicality of a full voice and drums that resonate raw with the vibration of tradition. A tradition now in the hands of a woman who aspires to her own space in life, to write her own chapter.

Born in the vibrant alternative scene of 1980s Sao Paulo, Mercenárias is an iconic band in the history of Brazilian punk and post-punk. Formed by Sandra Coutinho (bass and vocals), Rosália Munhoz (vocals), Ana Machado (guitar), and Edgard Scandurra (drums), the group stood out for their rebellious attitude, incisive lyrics, and raw sound that blended punk, post-punk, and experimental elements. Mercenárias is an iconic band in the history of Brazilian punk and post-punk. They gained global recognition after being included in several compilations outside Brazil. Their debut album, "Cadê as Armas?" (1986), is considered one of the most important records in Brazilian music history. Three years earlier, they recorded their first demo tape at the studio of the funk/pop band Placa Luminosa. The recording turned out great, it's the best you can wait from a Brazilian punk record: raw, aggressive, yet catchy, well-played and produced. Recommended for fans of The Slits, DNA, Malaria!, Kleenex, and Minutemen, this early recording by Mercenárias is more punk than their albums, but still super catchy. It has been remastered from the original tape and includes an insert with previously unseen photos and a short text by Edgard Scandurra.

In a decidedly experimental approach, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota unveil a new vision of dub, reinventing the unexpected. While the sound treatment techniques inherent to the genre remain-evolving mixes, echoes, reverbs, and bass frequencies that are almost palpable-the Anglo-Jamaican roots of the style have indeed been replaced, re-conceptualized, recomposed, and rewritten. The duo seems to engage in a musical dialogue using a novel language, tinged with Japanese spoken word, creating moments of rare intensity, as unpredictable as they are hypnotic. By allowing for controlled improvisation, Brain Damage and Emiko Ota recreate the tracks of their latest album at each performance, oscillating between introspection and exaltation. With post-dub as the pretext, they once again explore, captivate, and surprise. For fans of: Massive Attack, Björk, Lee Scratch Perry... POST-DUB. With 16 soon 17 albums and nearly 900 concerts since 1999, French dub pioneer Brain Damage collaborates with artists like Horace Andy, Big Youth, Groundation and more recently with Mad Professor and Emiko Ota. Alongside his many productions showcasing his incredible vitality and unbridled creativity, the intensity of his live performances has earned him a strong international reputation.

In the winter of 2022, Holy Wave had a week off after a short tour that ended with a show in Los Angeles. The band found particular glee in playing those shows at that time, as they weren't sure they'd ever be doing that again just a few months prior_this batch of songs results from hanging out with some very good friends at Studio 22. "The band have fashioned themselves into mainstays in the world of gauzy psychedelia, infusing dream pop soundscapes with colorful instrumentation, lush melodies, and weighty pathos." - Under the Radar Magazine"_narcotic neo-psych with synthed-out bedroom-pop undertones." - Shindig Magazine"_lush-yet-tempered instrumentation that's undeniably pleasant, if not downright attractive." - Flood Magazine"The sound of Austin's Holy Wave has been getting progressively dreamier with each successive release, their music lush and immaculately arranged." - Post-Trash"Wonderful aural tones, meandering genteelly." - Narc Magazine

Another home run from Homehitters as they drop 2 classic UKG bubblers back to back for the first time on 45!

DJ Support: DJ EZ, Dr Banana and Enzo Siragusa.

ODF is a Leeds-based DJ and producer originally from London known for his eclectic genre-bending sets. Many of his productions have caught the attention of some high-profile artists such as Ben UFO, Bicep, Ilario Alicante, Michael Bibi and Interplanetary Criminal, as well as support on Radio 1, Kiss FM, Rinse FM and Reprezent.

Kicking off his new Imprint On Da Floor with a banging double header Tell Them & Underground.

The A side, Tell Them, is a dark, speed-garage-laced roller that oozes intensity, showcasing the gritty, bass-heavy sound that has defined ODF’s unique style. Its driving rhythms and shadowy undertones make it a late-night anthem for dancefloor aficionados.

The B Side, Underground, mirrors ODF’s signature sound with a bubbly organ top line and hip-hop-influenced vocal chops, delivering a playful yet irresistibly groovy vibe.

Limited Pressing Buy or Cry.

4XLP. Hardcover slipcase box. Liner notes from Soichi Terada, Colour: translucent red, clear, blue, and yellow vinyl

It has been 25 years since the release of Saru Get You (サルゲッチュ), known stateside and in the UK as Ape Escape. Ape Escape marked a significant milestone for the PlayStation, as it was the first game to require use of the PlayStation's DualShock (analog) controller. In Ape Escape, the use of the analogue sticks goes beyond camera rotation and acts as an extension of Kakeru's (Spike's) own character, controlling his many gadgets like the stun club, time net, and sky flyer. It's a unique form of control that, really, didn't become popularized until the release of the Nintendo Wii. It feels like a distinctly Japanese design, the sort of off-the-wall design that is either embraced or rejected on a global scale. In Ape Escape's case, the mechanic caught on.

Ape Escape is fast, frantic, and—at times—downright frustrating. Pipo monkeys dash, taunt, and swim away from your advances. They ride water monsters, fly UFOs, and even shoot uzis! Whether it's Kakeru, his friends, or the monkeys themselves, the characters are always running across the levels. This mad dash is enhanced by the game's soundtrack, composed by legendary composer Soichi Terada. As he recalls, the director of the production said, "Spike and his friends always have the image of running." In response, Terada happily produced fast songs with an average speed of over 170bpm. The resulting gameplay and audio is a match made in heaven.

Ape Escape is the first game soundtrack Mr. Terada ever created. The producers of the game heard one of his singles, "Sumo Jungle," and thought his frenetic drum-and-bass (Jungle) would be perfect for the game. The marriage of Ape Escape's charming overworld and Soichi's upbeat compositions is nothing short
of sublime. Especially now, it is difficult to separate the mischievous Pipos and fast-paced action from Soichi Terada's silky smooth synthesizer and heart-pounding bass. Earlier this year (2024), Soichi Terada's Ape Escape work was celebrated by the six-track EP Apes in the Net, which includes music from Ape Escape 1 and 3 (Terada did not compose the series' second installment). The label, Rush Hour Music, has prestigiously championed almost all of Soichi Terada's music, especially his (specifically non-VGM) house, jungle, and drum and bass releases (Sounds from the Far East, Asakusa Light, and more).
Before Apes in the Net, Terada's Ape Escape music was only available on CD, released in Japan around 2010. This release featured reconstructed tracks created by Mr. Terada himself, identical to the music arrangements featured in the game. The biggest difference, of course, was that they were of higher fidelity than was originally available on the PS1 disk format. Completing all of the aforementioned releases is this box set, released by Far East Recording in partnership with Cartridge Thunder and officially licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment. This box set release includes four LPs, housed individually by a hardcover slipcase. This box set includes every song from Ape Escape 1, except those available on Apes in the Net. This box set release also includes one bonus song, previously unreleased anywhere else (including the game itself!).

The music on this box set was meticulously mastered by Justin Perkins of Mystery Room Mastering. Using Mr. Terada's premastered source files, the music was completely and specifically mastered for vinyl. Rounding out the audio is absolutely stunning artwork created by Gobo3D. CT worked with Gobo to recreate some of Ape Escape's most iconic characters, referencing the original Japanese guidebook and other promotional materials. The result is visually delicious 300dpi artwork that takes you straight back to 1999. As uber-fans of the original PlayStation game, Cartridge Thunder and Far East Recording are proud to celebrate Soichi Terada's music and pay our respects to such a legendary PlayStation franchise—on the original hardware's 30th anniversary no less! It's with a happy heart, then, that Far East Recording and CT present to you Soichi Terada's Ape Escape Originape Soundtracks in a Box.

Please note: due to licensing exclusivity, this release does not include tracks previously released on Apes in the Net

Big new release by Peter Van Hoesen! Continuing his exploration of intricate techno systems, their effect and direct perimeter of action, Peter van Hoesen turns in his newest four-track piece, ‘Prime Directive’: a fascinating dive into the artist’s shape-shifting headspace and inner creative chaos.

Fuelled on a furnace-hot mix of abstract-leaning immersion and hi-octane rhythmic thrust, ‘Prime Directive’ looks at contemporary techno from the angle of experimentation and intuitive abandon. The result comes in the form of four distinct movements, each carving out their own logic and associated behaviour out an endless pool of potentialities. Here comes chaology unfolding in all its unadulterated, visceral glory.

‘Definition by Absence’ breaks the trip in to the sound of a faux-random symphony: its train-like swing and fiery bass seesaw coalesce through an elliptic fluttering of sorts, iterative and not, patterns moving in and out of synchronicity as van Hoesen applies more or less pressure on both ends. All in gusty in-your-face-ness, ‘Variables Edit 1’ whirls and swirls like an ominous vengeance of nature; Its puncturing kicks and whistling menace set against stellar winds and rabid machinery on the prowl for its next victim.

An even more unsettling piece of disjointedly arrhythmic, anti-club music for the dance floor, ‘Prime Directive’ will have you zoning out like a bad dream, flush with metronome-faced monsters and molten clocks hanging from dead trees. ‘Morphology’ could be PVH’s attempt at giving his concepts a carnal carcass to hold onto. Here, rhythm becomes somewhat less erratic, offering his 360-degree vision more melodic surface and actual room for dispersion. One to keep the boundaries pushed and status-quo challenged, this is techno at its most entrancingly bold and fearless.

*This new four-track epic from Peter van Hoesen comes draped in a fine piece of artwork courtesy of Atact, and pressed according to our standards in 180g audiophile quality so you get to experience the Belgian master's chiselled sound design in all its glory.

Nach den beiden limitierten 12inches erscheint das neue Album des britischen DJ/Produzenten Pangaea (aka Kevin McAuley), sein erstes seit der gefeierten Debüt-LP In Drum Play (2016), nun als kompakte Doppel-LP, inklusive dem aktuellen Clubit 'Installation' als Opener. Pangaeas neue Tracks sind galoppierend, ansteckend und hypnotisch und fangen seine Fähigkeit ein, Banger mit einer experimentellen Neigung zu konstruieren, ohne auf Wirkung zu verzichten. Ihr Fokus auf den Dancefloor ist dringend, nachdrücklich und von einer unbestreitbaren Präzision. Die beeindruckenden, unaufhaltsamen Grooves glänzen wie Marmor auf Beton: glatt und doch rau, attraktiv und doch aggressiv. Wie ein Zwielicht mitten in der Nacht, mit mysteriösen Elementen, die sich nicht als Bedrohung anfühlen, versprüht die Musik eine Wärme, die die Dunkelheit durchdringt.

Das Berliner Avantgarde Pop Trio Painting veröffentlicht sein zweites Album 'Snapshot Of Pure Attention' und gibt darauf der KI eine menschliche Stimme!

Eine atemberaubend unberechenbare Kollision aus Punk-Energie, Math-Rock Taktarten, treibenden Techno-Beats, expressiven Free-Jazz Saxophon-Soli, kraftvollen Synthesizern und sich überschlagendem Call-and-Response-Gesang: 'Snapshot Of Pure Attention' ist das berauschende zweite Album des Berliner Trios Painting. Es ist der zu Recht mit Spannung erwartete Nachfolger des hochgelobten Debütalbums 'Painting Is Dead' von 2022, für das sie vom Rolling Stone als die "tollste neue Band, die man gegenwärtig in der deutschen Pop-Avantgarde findet" gefeiert werden.

Aus einem vielfältigen Spektrum von experimentellem Rock über elektronische Avant-Garde Sounds bis hin zu Leftfield Pop, Techno und Jazz schöpfend, ist die Musik von Painting ein sich ständig veränderndes, erfrischendes Kaleidoskop von Klängen, das aus den engen Grenzen konventionellen Songwritings ausbricht.

Imagine having a song go viral for 17 years - without even knowing it. That's exactly what happened to the German 1980s band FEX. And this isn't just any song - it's The Most Mysterious Song on the Internet, a track that puzzled music detectives for decades before finally being identified in November 2024. Now, it has been officially released - twice.

The Story in Brief:
Sometime around 1984, a song was broadcasted on NDR Radio. The name of the song was Subways Of Your Mind - only found out 40 years later in November 2024. Back then, a listener recorded the NDR show on cassette, a common practice at the time. Decades later, the tape resurfaced, but while most songs from the recording were identified, one remained an enigma. On March 18, 2007, the track was uploaded to the internet in an attempt to uncover its origins. Due to its now-iconic opening lyric, it was tentatively titled Like The Wind. Over time, the mystery deepened, and the song was given a nickname: The Most Mysterious Song - or simply TMMS.

Starting in 2019, a dedicated Reddit group, TheMysteriousSong, now boasting over 63,000 members, took up the search. They meticulously documented every lead, hoping to solve the riddle of the song's origins. Then, in 2024, the breakthrough: Reddit user marjin1412 reached out to musician Michael Hädrich after discovering a reference to his band FEX in an old newspaper article. Hädrich, FEX's keyboardist, provided a recording from an old demo cassette which included an alternative version of the song. On November 4, 2024, the mystery was officially solved: FEX was the band, Subways Of Your Mind was the title.

What Happened Next:
Since then, FEX has released two singles - both featuring Subways Of Your Mind - through the Berlin-based independent label The Outer Edge. First, the demo cassette version was pressed onto vinyl, as the original NDR radio recording remained lost (see EDGE-028). The Remastered Demo Mix single instantly topped Bandcamp's global charts, holding the #1 spot for several days. By then, it was clear: this was more than just an internet curiosity. A real fanbase had formed. Enthusiastic comments on the sales page ranged from "best post-punk song to ever exist" to "FEX themselves (are) perhaps the most underrated musicians of all time."

But the story didn't end there. A higher-quality version of the NDR radio recording was rediscovered in late december, remastered, and now sent for a second vinyl pressing: the TMMS Version. This new vinyl 7" is backed with Talking Hands another great and unissued song that was found on the demo cassette.

Fame Comes with a Price
Suddenly, time isn't standing still for FEX. The band had to come to terms with the fact that they had become Lostwave super stars. A FEX fan club quickly formed on Reddit, fan-hosted FEX parties are popping up, and the internet is demanding more - an album, merchandise, live performances. But how does a band prepare for a comeback after a 40-year hiatus?

For now, FEX is carefully considering their next steps. Their demo cassette contains six songs - and a few other recordings have resurfaced which probably could be restored and compiled. But foremost, a brand new re-recording of Subways Of Your Mind is in progress.

One thing is certain: The Most Mysterious Song will continue its unstoppable journey around the world. Don't miss this (second) chance to own a piece of music history!

Following the compulsively layered collage of their Kill Rock Stars debut, Giddy Skelter, the duo felt inclined to evoke simpler times by foregrounding the performances instead of the production. They dropped Ableton & turned to attentive study of Carole Kaye & Hal Blaine. They enlisted Tim’s old bandmate from Joan of Arc, Theo Katsaounis, as a multi-instrumentalist, & hit the road to workshop the songs live, playing dozens of shows across the US & UK over a period of four months. & That set that they played each night became the foundation of their new album, Open ing Night.

Tony Holiday has been at the center of a Memphis soul blues revival anchored by a contingent of young, savvy, well-schooled musicians who have a "family-like" attitude and a strong belief in one another. Over the past couple of years, Holiday has been touring hard, taking spells in between to write and record with Producer Eric Corne in Memphis and Los Angeles. The result is Keep Your Head Up, an album that demonstrates an impressive command of styles, as Holiday leads his band fluidly through Texas, Chicago and hill country blues with plenty of Memphis soul and even a touch of Afrobeat. It features a nice array of special guests including Eddie 9V, Kevin Burt, Albert Castiglia and Laura Chavez, last year's Blues Music Award winner for 'Guitarist of the Year’ with Holiday shining throughout on vocals and harmonica.

A collaboration between US label Astral Spirits and Sweden’s Thanatosis Produktion, It could / If I marks the debut album from Stockholm-based duo Johan Jutterström (saxophone) and Alex Zethson (piano). Together, they reinterpret jazz standards and explore an eclectic mix of compositions by Leonard Cohen, Pet Shop Boys, John Lurie, and 19th-century composer Alexander Fesca.

Jutterström and Zethson’s musical partnership dates back to their teenage years, when they bonded over a love for jazz and the struggle to find their own voice within it. Their duo work has always been about navigating that tension—trying to capture jazz, failing, and finding another way forward. This album continues that pursuit, emphasizing not just what is played, but how it is played.

The record’s title reflects their approach: a process of reaching for something just out of grasp. Songs are deconstructed, rearranged, and treated like palimpsests—scrubbed clean and rewritten while allowing traces of the original to shine through. The result is a dynamic and deeply personal exploration of sound, filled with both reverence and reinvention.

Both musicians have extensive backgrounds in jazz, improvisation, and experimental music. Zethson, a prolific pianist and composer, has worked with ensembles like Fire! Orchestra and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, and plays keyboards in ensembles such as Vilhelm Bromander Unfolding Orchestra, Goran Kajfes Tropiques, Vathres, and Angles (current with the jazzopera The Death of Kalypso). Jutterström, a saxophonist with an artistic PhD, has performed internationally and runs the ensemble STHLM svaga, a band who have performed commissioned pieces by jazz legends such as Ron Carter, Archie Shepp and Roscoe Mitchell.

With It could / If I, the duo crafts an intricate, ever-shifting dialogue—an ongoing attempt to "stick jazz music," as they put it, constantly approaching, never quite arriving, and finding beauty in the pursuit.

For the first time on vinyl, a pressing of this legendary tape released in 1993 in Colombia, documenting Ultra Metal, the country's early extreme Metal scene. Volume 1 of 2 of the vinyl release of The Colombian Awakening tape, released in 1993 by Schizophrenia Records, a comprehensive collection of face melting, raw recordings from the early Colombian extreme Metal scene, known as Ultra Metal, with styles ranging from Death Metal to Thrash and Grindcore. A savage and powerful document of one of the most intense underground scenes of the era, kickstarted by the infamous Parabellum. A must for fans of underground Metal! Includes remastered audio, new cover and a foldout inner sleeve with extensive liner notes. Limited edition of 300 copies.

Second and final volume of the vinyl pressing of this legendary tape released in 1993 in Colombia, documenting Ultra Metal, the country's early extreme Metal scene. Second volume completing the vinyl release vinyl release of The Colombian Awakening tape, released in 1993 by Schizophrenia Records, a comprehensive collection of face melting, raw recordings from the early Colombian extreme Metal scene, known as Ultra Metal,with styles ranging from Death Metal to Thrash and Grindcore. A savage and powerful document of one of the most intense underground scenes of the era, kickstarted by the infamous Parabellum. A must for fans of underground Metal! Includes remastered audio, new cover and a foldout inner sleeve with extensive liner notes. Limited edition of 300 copies.

Limited edition of 500 copies.

Hard Top assembles the previously unreleased 1975 recordings of legendary South African saxophonist Kippie Moketsi (also spelled Moeketsi). The 2LP vinyl edition is presented in a gatefold sleeve featuring artwork by Mafa Ngwenya and comes from As-Shams Archive on the heels of the Tete Mbambisa's previously unreleased African Day album in 2024.

By 1975, at the age of 50, saxophonist Kippie Moketsi had already earned his stripes as a South African jazz figurehead. His tenure with the Jazz Epistles and the cast of the "South African Jazz Opera" King Kong in the late-1950s had not only marked his own rise to fame but also seen him help catalyse the ambitions of a younger generation of iconic artists who would go on to become the defining figures of modern South African jazz. While he didn't enjoy the same international attention as his protégés Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, his humble and challenging career on the local jazz scene until his death in 1983 saw him forge an enduring legacy.

Owing to the efforts of record producer Rashid Vally, Kippie Moketsi's journey through the 1970s is beautifully documented, most notably on the albums Dollar Brand + 3 (1973), Tshona! (1975) and Blue Stompin' (1977), in which he shares the spotlight with Abdullah Ibrahim, Pat Matshikiza and Hal Singer respectively. As a featured performer on Soul of the City's Diagonal Street (1975) and Dennis Maple's Our Boys are Doing It (1977), Moketsi is seen embracing the popular orientations of South African jazz in 1970s but, having come up in the 1940s and 1950s, he never forgot his roots as a dedicated admirer and scholar of traditional American jazz.

While Moketsi did write some memorable compositions, it was in the role of interpreter that he shone most brightly. With its title derived from a good-natured nickname that nodded to Moketsi's elder status by way of his receding hairline, Hard Top is a covers album that looks back in time to the era of rhythm and blues while also indulging 1970s pop and funk with a decidedly South African vibe. Officially joining Kippie Moketsi's catalogue 50 years after it was recorded, Hard Top provides an opportunity to celebrate the multiple dimensions of a South African jazz legend and reflect on the unwavering support of his fan, producer and friend Rashid Vally, who passed away in December 2024.

“Egypt’s “official” popular music throughout much of the 20th Century was a complex form of art song steeped in tradition, well-loved by the middle and upper classes, and even accommodating to certain non-Arabic influences. It was highly structured by professional musicians working an established industry centered in the capitol, Cairo. However, far from the bustling cosmopolitan center of Cairo, north and northwest, in towns like Tanta and Alexandria and extending across the Saharan Desert to the Libyan border, dozens of fully marginalized artists were developing a raw, hybrid shaabi/al-musiqa al-shabiya style of music, supported by smaller upstart, independent labels, including the short-lived but deeply resonant Bourini Records. Launched in the late 1960s in Benghazi, Libya, Astuanat al-Bourini اسطوانات البوريني (Bourini Records) published some 40 to 50 titles from 1968 to 1975. Bourini released 7-inch 45 RPM singles by 15 artists, all but one of them Egyptian, igniting brief careers for Alexandrian singer Sheikh Amin Abdel Qader and the blind Bedouin legend Abu Bakr Abdel Aziz (aka Abu Abab). The tracks compiled here comprise a full range of styles covered by the label, while highlighting some of its most gobsmacking moments, from Basis Rahouma’s beastly transformation into a growling and barking man-lion by the end of “Yana Alla Nafsa Masouda,” to Reem Kamal’s hopeful-if-bitter handclapping party pivot “Baed Al Yas Yjini,” which descends into an almost Velvet Underground outro-groove of nihilistic dissonance. All the tracks on this compilation were laid down in stark divergence from the mainstream Egyptian popular music topography of heightened emotions buoyed by lush arrangements. The contrast is most evident in Mahmoud al-Sandidi’s “Ana Mish Hafwatak,” wherein his voice weaves heavily but deftly through a constant accordion drone, and Abu Abab’s “Al Bint al Libya,” a sparse, slow-burning lament with minimal percussion, violin, and Abab’s nephew Hamed Abdel Muna'im Mursi on lyre. Whereas the Egyptian mainstream was aspirational, attempting to reflect Egyptian culture at its most refined, the performances captured by Bourini were manifestations of everyday life lived by the mostly otherwise ignored masses. More than half century old, this music has lost none of its urgency, presence, or relevance. We hear these artists as if they’d just joined us in our living room, and not on a stage decades ago surrounded by tens of thousands of long-forgotten acolytes.

Wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! // Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted // Ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike // Recorded on location in SW Madagascar by Maxime Bobo // “Tsapiky music from Southwest Madagascar features wild ecstatic vocals, distorted electric guitars, rocket bass, and the amphetamine beat! Unlike anything else, this is THE high life music you've always wanted - ceremonial music played with abandon and extreme intent, honoring the living and dead alike. In Toliara and its surrounding region, funerals, weddings, circumcisions and other rites of passage have been celebrated for decades in ceremonies called mandriampototse. During these celebrations – which last between three and seven days – cigarettes, beer and toaky gasy (artisanal rum) are passed around while electric orchestras play on the same dirt floor as the dancing crowds and zebus. The music, tsapiky, defies any classification. This compilation showcases the diversity of contemporary tsapiky music. Locally and even nationally renowned bands played their own songs on makeshift instruments, blaring through patched-up amps and horn speakers hung in tamarind trees, projecting the music kilometers away. Lead guitarists and female lead singers are the central figures of tsapiky. Driven as much by their creative impulses as by the need to stand out in a competitive market, the artists distinguish themselves stylistically through their lyrics, rhythms or guitar riffs. They must also master a wide repertoire of current tsapiky hits, which the families that attend inevitably request before parading in front of the orchestra with their offerings. This work, a constant push and pull between distinction and imitation, is nourished by fertile exchanges between various groups: acoustic and electric, rural and urban, coastal or inland. What results during these ceremonies is a music of astonishing intensity and creativity, played by artists carving out their own path, indifferent to the standards of any other music industry: Malagasy, African or global. Recorded live on location by Maxime Bobo, this vinyl LP includes a 4-page full-color insert with detailed liner notes plus photos of the musicians and surroundings.”

Japanese pianist Yumiko Morioka initially released Resonance, her first and only solo recording, on Akira Ito's ‘Green & Water’ imprint in 1987. Whilst by no means a commercial failure, the album was mostly found in the background of Japanese TV documentaries, maternity clinics and healing shops before drifting into relative obscurity.

By 1994, Morioka had relocated to America and her solo music career had given way to the joys of starting a family and her new life in California. It was, and still is, a shock for her to learn that Resonance had gained the attention of a new audience outside of Japan through blog posts and YouTube album uploads.

After hearing Resonance for the first time ourselves back in early 2017, we tried for months to track Morioka down about a reissue. This news reached her at a particularly trying time in her life following the devastating loss of her home in the 2017 California wildfires.

Her home had recently been razed, destroying all of her possessions, musical equipment, scores and recordings. Morioka was lucky to escape with her life; her quick thinking neighbour raised the alarm in the middle of the night giving her just enough time to escape safely before then tragically watching her home burn to the ground.

In the aftermath, Morioka returned to Japan in an attempt to rebuild her life. She found work writing music for commercial projects and pop acts before recently opening her own chocolate shop in the Jiyugaoka neighbourhood of Tokyo - back where it all began.

‘’Space and time moved at a different speed than now’’ – Yumiko Morioka

A lifelong student of the piano, Morioka was born in Tokyo in 1956. A child prodigy, she took up the instrument under her mother’s tutelage at just three years old and by her teens she had won multiple piano scholarships. Her talent was so obvious that she was invited to train in America, eventually graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a piano major during John Adams’ reign as head of composition.

After graduation, Morioka returned to Japan but struggled to find her place musically, working mostly on commercial songwriting assignments. Frustrated, and at times embarrassed by her musical output, she turned to the works of Brian Eno and the surroundings of her coastal home in the Izu Peninsula south of Tokyo for inspiration. It was here that she began to work on the compositions that would eventually become Resonance.

Recorded on a Bösendorfer grand piano, much of Resonance was made in an attempt to soothe her creative soul. Constructed from unwritten improvisations with additional instrumentation added later, Resonance explores the space between notes. As such, it's a record that feels open and inviting, permeated throughout with a sense of confident serenity.

The sparse, delicately played notes are allowed to reverberate and echo through the spaces between themselves, giving each track a feeling of both grandeur and intimacy. Like the great pioneers of classical and ambient music, there's a timelessness to Resonance - a comforting, familiar feeling, as if these melodies have always existed.

Resonance drew influence from the popular environmental music culture prevalent in Japan during the late 80s, but it was also heavily inspired by Western musicians such as the avant-garde Parisian composer Erik Satie. Listening today, it still feels fresh and pertinent; a warm, contemplative reflection of a travelled woman.

Resonance has been lovingly remastered by Séance Centre's Brandon Hocura and given new artwork by Métron Records’ label head Jack Hardwicke.

Visions Recordings is thrilled to announce the release of the fifth Various Artists EP from THE EVOLUTION series, showcasing a deep, soulful house anthem by the incredible Sean McCabe. We have a deep appreciation for Sean’s music and have eagerly anticipated this release. Joining him is Attias Brother, featuring Sohan Wilson on keys, contributing another captivating soulful house track.

On the B-side, we are excited to welcome back Detroit’s own Patrice Scott, who presents one of his deepest tracks to date. This musical piece unfolds beautifully, taking listeners on a journey that only Patrice can deliver.

To conclude the EP, we introduce the debut track from emerging DJ Eva May. Infused with an electro-techno vibe and a hint of funk, this track reflects her unique musical passion, marking a promising start for this talented newcomer from the Visions roster.

Mutant und WaterTower Music präsentieren den Soundtrack zu "Dune: Part Two" mit dem Score des Oscar-prämierten Komponisten Hans Zimmer, einem majestätischen und mitreissenden Meisterwerk, das zu einem der besten Filme des Jahres passt. Hans Zimmer liefert als Meister der kontemplativen und epischen Themen sowohl wunderschöne und zärtliche Liebesthemen wie auch kühne und bedeutungsvolle Schlachtrufe, die die Hörer in ferne Länder entführen, in denen sie für immer verloren gehen möchten.

2xLP schwarzes Doppelvinyl in bedruckten Innenhüllen im Gatefold, Erstpressung im bedruckten Kunststoffaussenschuber. Beide Formate mit Linernotes von Hans Zimmer & Denis Villeneuve.

No less deep, in fact debatably deeper still, Ghost Dubs aka Michael Fiedler returns after the runaway success of his highly acclaimed 'Damaged' 2LP (1500 units sold and 'Dub/Reggae album of the year' for 2024 in The Wire Magazine), with 'Extended Damaged Versions'. Six dubbed out reworks of tracks from last year's album, deconstructed by the man himself, again for The Bug's PRESSURE label. Kicking off with the irresistible seismic grind of 'Dub Regulator', a dancefloor driven beast that miraculously eclipses the original mix, the opening cut increases in weight and intensity seductively, upping the fx drenched madness with its incessant droid hypnotics. The album's mutant dub techno relentlessly probes, stretches and disfigures all of the previous originals, version by version, on this fascinating follow up release to 'Damaged'.

As Fiedler surgically splices and dices his own original source material into successively more warped variants, gleefully atomizing the originals into molten space echo fragments. 'Thin Dub' is a masterclass in simultaneous saturation and evaporation, wilfully liquified in the heart of the echo chamber. Anyone already smitten by 'Damaged' (ie Pole, JK Flesh, Echospace, Valentina Magaletti etc have all graciously, recently acknowledged its greatness), will definitely find further reverb drenched nourishment on 'Chemical Version', which releases a whirlpool of heavily sedated delay trails, and ends up sounding like a wall of sound mirage, vaguely resembling prime Porter Ricks at their sub aquatic peak. Finally, the ambient pulsations of 'Lobotomy Version' sets the album adrift in deepest space, as this superbly crafted collection reflects Michael Fiedler doing what he does best, getting lost in his own mixing desk sorcery, whilst reflecting the captivating morphology of his live shows, where he magically revamps his heavyweight tracks into pure voodoo, casting spells effortlessly....Not an attempt to just milk 'Damaged', 'EDV' is itself a standalone triumph, an invaluable transformation of the original album's material into an epic, fresh, dub odyssey.

After a little vacation Wellness Records returns - straight out of the spa area onto the much missed dancefloor! During the break a lot has changed and developed, hence the sound of Wellness also discovered new nuances. With the two young talents Pük & Oward, it turned out wonderfully. The English Pük on the A side manages to pack a very own eclectic variation of breaks, minimal and electro into two sonically top balanced and driving tracks. Both "Double E" and "Get Well Soon" captivate with their clarity, their deepness and their inherently unique coherence.

French Oward, on the other hand, creates a wonderfully fun and light-footed contrast on the B side. With "I Need A Rocking Chair" and "Center Of The Universe" it's almost impossible to keep your feet still. This inevitable groove-attack throws thousandfold ideas and details in the right spots and creates two fantastically arranged dance tracks. We are so happy and proud to present Wellness IV to you!

DJ Sotofett presents a double 12inch with 8 strictly underground & classic Techno tracks. The album features regular collaborators LNS, L.A. 2000, Ronny Nyheim and Zarate_Fix while scanning through a set of tracks designed for DJ Sotofett's resident nights at Berlin's Tresor club. Energy driven Dub-Techno, overtonal and percussive Acid, pumping bassline-riding power Dubs and Deep Techno wraps up this DJ friendly but versatile double pack. The programming, mixing, mastering and cutting on "WANIA mk1" has been perfected for an attempt to resurrect real undeground & no-bullshit club music, strictly for real DJ's and clubbers who passionately loves the core of true Techno music. Includes the bombastically percussive "Preparation" and 909-vocoder driven "My Spirit Is In Techno Music" as well as alternative mixes from the previously released "WANIA mk2".

THIS 2x12" SET IS CUT WITH LOUD VOLUME FOR EXCELLENT CLUB USE!

Kribbelnde Spannung im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes verheißt dieser Fall - die drei ??? juckt das nicht. Gilt es doch der attraktiven Letitia Radford beizustehen, die zwar im Luxus lebt, sich aber von allerlei Krabbelndem und obendrein einer lebendig gewordenen Vogelscheuche bedroht sieht! Der mutige Entschluss, es mit Ameisen und Schlimmerem aufzunehmen, bringt die drei ??? mit sonderbaren Zeitgenossen in Berührung ...

Cold Specks kehrt mit ihrem vierten Album 'Light for the Midnight' zurück.

Nach den Erfolgen ihrer ersten drei Alben 'I Predict a Graceful Expulsion' (2012), 'Neuroplasticity' (2014) und 'Fool's Paradise' (2017) hat Cold Specks (Al Spx) ihren Ruf als einzigartige Stimme der modernen Musik gefestigt. Von ihrer fesselnden Acapella-Performance bei Later... with Jools Holland bis hin zu Kollaborationen mit Moby, Massive Attack und Michael Gira von Swans hat Cold Specks immer wieder Kunstwerke geschaffen, die nachhallen.

Mit 'Light for the Midnight' begibt sie sich auf ihre bisher persönlichste Reise. In seinem Kern ist das Album eine rohe und zutiefst emotionale Reflexion über Ausdauer, Überleben und Transformation. Es ist eine Sammlung von inbrünstigen Balladen und atmosphärischen Popsongs, die Spx' gefühlvolle Stimme in weitläufige Klangwelten kanalisiert.

Das Album entstand in einer herausfordernden Phase in Spx' Leben. Die Arbeit begann 2019 inmitten von Kämpfen mit der psychischen Gesundheit, Erfahrungen, die tief in die Musik eingebettet sind. Doch trotz seiner persönlichen Ursprünge betont Spx seine Universalität: „Ich wollte auf jeden Fall über die letzten Jahre reflektieren, weil sie mich so sehr beeinflusst haben, aber ich wollte auch, dass das Publikum mit diesem Album weggeht. Die Songs gehören ihnen, sobald ich sie veröffentlicht habe.“

Das Album wurde in Toronto und Bristol aufgenommen, wobei Spx zusammen mit Adrian Utley von Portishead und Ali Chant (bekannt für seine Arbeit mit Perfume Genius, Dry Cleaning und Aldous Harding) als Co-Produzent fungierte. Es enthält Streicherarrangements von Owen Pallett (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Sampha) und zusätzliche Beiträge von Graham Walsh von Holy Fuck. Spx arbeitete auch mit einer Reihe von hervorragenden Kollaborateuren zusammen, darunter Chantal Kreviazuk (Drake, Kendrick Lamar), Malcolm Middleton von Arab Strap, Ben Christophers, Ed Harcourt und Jonathan Quarmby.

'Light for the Midnight' zeigt Cold Specks von ihrer verletzlichsten und kraftvollsten Seite, indem sie die Geschichten ihres Kampfes in atemberaubende Kompositionen verwebt, die einen tiefen Eindruck hinterlassen. Es ist ein Album der Hoffnung und der Transformation.

Gatefold 2LP

Far Out Recordings proudly presents a landmark discovery in Brazilian jazz: the long lost album by drumming pioneer Edison Machado. Recorded in New York City in early 1978 but never released, Edison Machado & Boa Nova captures a pivotal figure in Brazilian music history at the height of his artistic powers.

Combining North and South American jazz traditions with Machado's revolutionary samba innovations, Edison Machado & Boa Nova represents a triumph against the odds. After facing persecution under Brazil's military dictatorship and being forced to sell his drum kit in 1976, Machado found renewed creative purpose in New York with the Boa Nova ensemble. The resulting album captures the essence of his genius - sophisticated yet wild, controlled yet daring, leading an ensemble of some of the best jazz, samba and bossa nova players of the day.

At just fifteen years old, Machado revolutionized Brazilian music through an accident that would change everything - when his snare drum broke during a performance, he began playing samba rhythms on the cymbal. This innovation, known as "samba no prato" (samba on the cymbals), brought new layers of dynamism to samba and proved instrumental in the development of bossa nova alongside contemporaries like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto.

A complex and passionate figure, Machado was notorious for his militant perfectionism and "attacking" style of drumming. Having spent some years of his youth in the Brazilian army, musicians often remarked that he played as if he were at war. But his innovative style, while exhibiting complete control and sophistication, somehow so often danced right on the edge of chaos and wild abandon.

After making his name in Rio's legendary Beco das Garrafas (Bottles Alley) in the 1950s and early '60s, Machado went on to form Bossa Três - the world's first instrumental bossa nova group. His influence spread internationally through collaborations with Stan Getz, Sergio Mendes, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento, and Chet Baker, while his 1964 album Edison Machado É Samba Novo stands as a masterpiece of Brazilian jazz.

At 80 minutes in length, Edison Machado & Boa Nova, the lost 1978 New York sessions, is a singular achievement in Brazilian jazz. The format itself is a rarity in the canon. It’s packed full of exceptional technical precision and creative vitality, with sophisticated arrangements and masterful improvisation from its exceptional sextet of Brazilian and US musicians: Paulinho Trompete (flugelhorn/trumpet), Ion Muniz (tenor saxophone), Steve Sacks (baritone saxophone), Mozar Terra (piano), and Ricardo dos Santos (double bass).

The album features unheard compositions by Brazilian masters Dom Salvador (Salvador Trio, Harry Belafonte, Edu Lobo), Guilherme Vergueiro (Raul De Souza, Leon Ware, Joyce), Aloisio Aguiar (Arthur Verocai, Airto) amidst the plethora of captivating original material by the members of the Boa Nova ensemble.

Originally released on CD only – those were the days – “Triola im Fünftonraum“ counts as one of the most iconic albums of the early Kompakt era. Experience this timeless masterpiece of lush electronica lovingly restored and remastered for the first time on vinyl – 21 years after its inception.

We found this review from back in the days that perfectly sums up what “Triola im Fünftonraum” is all about:

The press material for “Triola im Fünftonraum” made allusions to home listening, when the album is mostly about movement… in a car …preferably a fast one … on a muggy spring day.

This might catch followers of producer Jörg Burger off guard. Up until this point, the producer’s Triola tracks – limited to three consecutive appearances on Kompakt’s yearly Pop Ambient series and a spot on “Leichtes Hören Teil 1” – were free-floating ambient washouts (albeit wondrous free-floating ambient washouts) with no pulse. The album, on the other hand, is beat-driven. Though still resolutely ambient – more an update of Burger’s lushest Bionaut tracks, only fully engaging instead of mildly diverting.

The soft, synthetic hand drums and tranquil vapors of “Leuchtturm” from Pop Ambient 2003, remain untouched and begin the album. Two other tracks that might sound familiar receive dynamic overhauls, now supported with quick dance rhythms and additional layers of synth gauze; the whispy flute trills and lightly flickering keys of “AG Penthouse”, for instance, are melted into a churning rhythm and some singing keyboard vamps that resemble a relaxed take on Tangerine Dream’s suspenseful soundtrack work for “Thief” (minus the crazy guitars).

What really makes the whole thing glow is the manner in which the tracks are attached, flowing in and out of another, rising and cresting and receding, with supreme poise – even if its title provides no indication, the album is as much a travelogue as Carl Craig’s “Landcruising”, Morgan Geist’s “Driving Memoirs” and Model 500’s “Deep Space”.

These are some of Burger’s most inventive productions, a remarkable feat since he’s been doing this so long. Catch yourself in the right frame of mind and you’ll wonder if everything he has released has been one extended ramp-up to this. In this age, it’s also refreshing to have a purely ambient techno album with absolutely no connection to “Boards of Canada”.

In other words, it’s a landmark for both its label and its genre.

Andy Kellman

Copyright 2025 TiVo Corporation
Ursprünglich nur auf CD veröffentlicht – das waren noch Zeiten – zählt „Triola im Fünftonraum“ zu den ikonischsten Alben der frühen Kompakt-Ära. Dieses zeitlose Meisterwerk schwelgerischer Electronica erscheint nun 21 Jahre nach seiner Entstehung erstmals liebevoll restauriert und remastered auf Vinyl.

Wir haben diese zeitgenössische Rezension gefunden, die perfekt zusammenfasst, worum es bei „Triola im Fünftonraum“ geht:

Das Pressematerial für „Triola im Fünftonraum“ spielt auf das Zuhören zu Hause an, obwohl es in dem Album hauptsächlich um Bewegung geht … in einem Auto … vorzugsweise einem schnellen … an einem schwülen Frühlingstag.

Das könnte die Fans des Produzenten Jörg Burger überraschen. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt waren die Triola-Tracks des Produzenten – beschränkt auf drei aufeinanderfolgende Auftritte in der jährlichen Pop-Ambient-Reihe von Kompakt und einen Platz auf „Leichtes Hören Teil 1“ – frei schwebende Ambient-Auswaschungen (wenn auch wundersame frei schwebende Ambient-Auswaschungen) ohne Puls. Das Album hingegen ist beatgetrieben, obwohl es immer noch entschieden Ambient ist – eher eine Aktualisierung von Burgers üppigsten Bionaut-Tracks, nur dass es voll und ganz fesselt, statt nur leicht abzulenken.

Die sanften, synthetischen Handtrommeln und die ruhigen Dämpfe von „Leuchtturm“ aus Pop Ambient 2003 bleiben unangetastet und bilden den Auftakt des Albums. Zwei weitere Stücke, die einem bekannt vorkommen könnten, erhalten eine dynamische Überarbeitung, die nun von schnellen Tanzrhythmen und zusätzlichen Schichten von Synthesizer-Gaze unterstützt wird; die flüsternden Flötentöne und leicht flackernden Tasten von „AG Penthouse“ zum Beispiel verschmelzen zu einem aufgewühlten Rhythmus und einigen singenden Keyboard-Vamps, die an eine entspannte Version des spannenden Soundtracks von Tangerine Dream erinnern, der für „Thief“ (ohne die verrückten Gitarren) verwendet wird.

Was das Ganze wirklich zum Leuchten bringt, ist die Art und Weise, wie die Tracks miteinander verbunden sind, wie sie ineinander fließen, ansteigen und ihren Höhepunkt erreichen und wieder abklingen, und das mit höchster Gelassenheit – auch wenn der Titel nichts darauf hindeutet, ist das Album ebenso ein Reisebericht wie Carl Craigs „Landcruising“, Morgan Geists „Driving Memoirs“ und Model 500s „Deep Space“.

Dies sind einige von Burgers einfallsreichsten Produktionen, eine bemerkenswerte Leistung, wenn man bedenkt, wie lange er schon dabei ist. Wenn man sich in die richtige Stimmung versetzt, fragt man sich, ob alles, was er bisher veröffentlicht hat, eine einzige Vorbereitung auf dieses Album war. In der heutigen Zeit ist es auch erfrischend, ein reines Ambient-Techno-Album zu hören, das absolut nichts mit „Boards of Canada“ zu tun hat.

Mit anderen Worten: Es ist ein Meilenstein für das Label und das Genre.

Andy Kellman

Copyright 2025 TiVo Corporation

Marathon is an Amsterdam-based band rooted in the intensity of the underground scene and the post-punk revival. With a blend of punk, shoegaze, and indie, they create a sound where emotion and raw energy converge. Founded ten years ago, the band found its unique identity after finding its way through the vibrant Amsterdam music scene. Marathon’s music captures the anxieties of the 21st century with powerful drum lines by Lennart, gritty vocals by Kay, and deep basslines from Nina, enhanced by guitar and keyboard from Sofie and Victor. The result is an explosive “wall of sound” filled with post-punk, grunge, and noise, where the beauty and chaos of modern existence resonate. Despite a dark tone, they transform postmodern frustrations into moments of hope and reflection. Known for their intense live shows, Marathon has performed at festivals such as Best Kept Secret and Reeperbahn Festival. They have caught the attention of both national and international media, including 3voor12 and de Volkskrant. Their debut album, Fading Image, will be released in spring 2025, exploring themes of transience and resilience and unveiling a world where hope and despair meet. Recognized as an “artist to watch” by 3voor12, KINK, and de Volkskrant, Marathon is ready to continue their exploration of sound—a mysterious adventure calling to those willing to listen closely.

Marathon is an Amsterdam-based band rooted in the intensity of the underground scene and the post-punk revival. With a blend of punk, shoegaze, and indie, they create a sound where emotion and raw energy converge. Founded ten years ago, the band found its unique identity after finding its way through the vibrant Amsterdam music scene. Marathon’s music captures the anxieties of the 21st century with powerful drum lines by Lennart, gritty vocals by Kay, and deep basslines from Nina, enhanced by guitar and keyboard from Sofie and Victor. The result is an explosive “wall of sound” filled with post-punk, grunge, and noise, where the beauty and chaos of modern existence resonate. Despite a dark tone, they transform postmodern frustrations into moments of hope and reflection. Known for their intense live shows, Marathon has performed at festivals such as Best Kept Secret and Reeperbahn Festival. They have caught the attention of both national and international media, including 3voor12 and de Volkskrant. Their debut album, Fading Image, will be released in spring 2025, exploring themes of transience and resilience and unveiling a world where hope and despair meet. Recognized as an “artist to watch” by 3voor12, KINK, and de Volkskrant, Marathon is ready to continue their exploration of sound—a mysterious adventure calling to those willing to listen closely.