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The debut studio album by the American rock band The Standells, Dirty Water was released by the Tower label in June of 1966. Taped in the midst of touring in a two-day session on April 4–5, 1966 at Audio Recording in Seattle, Washington, the LP takes its title from the homonymous song, which, along with its B-side "Rari," had been recorded on March 5, 1965, at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California and issued as a single. Dirty Water became the band's best-selling LP, peaking at #52 on the Billboard charts, and #39 in the Cashbox listings. The "Dirty Water" single peaked at #11 in Billboard and #8 in Cashbox. Along with Why Pick on Me, this is considered the group's strongest album.

The short, mysterious career of the female French duo Deux Filles is bookended by tragedy. Gemini Forque and Claudine Coule met as teenagers at a holiday pilgrimage to Lourdes, during which Coule's mother died of an incurable lung disease and Forque's mother was killed and her father paralyzed in an auto accident. The two teens bonded over their shared grief and worked through their bereavement with music. However, after recording two critically acclaimed albums and playing throughout Europe and North America, Forque and Coule disappeared without a trace in North Africa in 1984 during a trip to visit Algiers. The short and terribly unhappy lives of Forque and Coule are at the root of the small but fervent cult following the mysterious duo have gained since their disappearance, not least because the placid, largely instrumental music on the duo's albums betrays no hint of the sorrow that framed their personal lives.

This would be a terribly sad story if a word of it were true. In reality, Deux Filles were Simon Fisher Turner, former child star/teen idol and future soundtrack composer, and his mate Colin Lloyd Tucker. Turner and Tucker left an early incarnation of The The in 1981 to pursue another musical direction. Turner claims that the idea of Deux Filles came to him in a dream, and he and Tucker strictly maintained the fiction throughout the duo's career. Not only did they pose in drag for the album covers, the duo once even played live without the audience realizing that the tragic French girls on-stage were actually a pair of blokes from south London. Deux Filles released two albums through Turner and Tucker's Papier Mache label, 1982's Silence & Wisdom' and 1983's Double Happiness'. Both albums are included here and blend watery piano, occasionally ghostly vocals, sheets of synthesizers, heavily processed guitars and the barest minimum of percussion. Drifting and wistful, they're a pair of lost ambient gems from a time when the genre had yet to mature, an excellent example of post-Eno, pre-Orb ambient music.

All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in gatefold sleeve with original front covers of both albums, and a centerfold of archive images and the original liner notes. Each LP includes a sticker of the Lino cuts by Adrian Gill that was included with the original pressing.

"Like an early French film soundtrack with melodramatic overtones, the sound is jagged and disjointed but never harsh. Lilting guitars and ample use of echo smack of Vini Reilly, relying on the hypnotic qualities of the sound rather than abrasive noise" (Sounds, 03/1983)

With `The devil's door' And Also The Trees, one true original Post-Punk/New Wave band, presents a quiet storm of an album. At times filmic, poetic and intense with an undercurrent of dark psychedelia. It completes a trilogy of works `The Bone Carver', `Mother-of-pearl Moon' and now `The devil's door' created by the current line-up. Here there are signature `And also the trees' poetic lyrics, orchestral guitar and soundtrack influenced songs inspired by newsreel, oil paintings and folklore. But with this work we have the addition of some surprising instruments that skew the album towards a world where John Barry meets Bela Bartok. And also the trees (AATT) formed during the original post-punk era in rural Worcestershire, an environment that has provided a constant inspiration to a group whose music has often explored the dark underbelly as well as the beauty of the British countryside. They are renowned for their captivating live performances, a unique style of mandolin-like electric guitar, evocative lyrics and dark jazz rhythms - not to mention a creative independence fiercely preserved for over four decades. Back then AATT immediately caught the attention of Robert Smith of The Cure, who invited them to tour with his group on several occasions. Smith was also involved with their early recordings alongside his bandmate Lol Tolhurst, who produced their first records. This longterm friendship and mutual respect was further solidified when AATT were invited to perform at the Robert Smith curated 2018 Meltdown festival in London. This July AATT appear as The Cure's special guests at the Nimes festival. Founded by singer Simon Jones and his guitarist brother Justin, AATT have maintained a continuous presence on the post-punk, and alternative rock scenes worldwide, with a solid fanbase e.g. in Germany.

Recorded during lockdown and previously only available as a CDr self-released in an edition of 99 in 2022, 'The Sympathy Portal' collects four tracks (one of which is divided into three parts) that make full use of Edward Ka-Spel’s command of melodies, cosmic churn, subtle field recordings, percolated vocals, hypno-rhythms, tempered noise, broken clocks, atmospheric keyboards, uncoiling springs and carefully hewn dynamics. Coupled to often despairing or melancholic lyrics, the album ultimately forms a fantastic addition to a body of work from this hardworking artist usually found at home fronting The Legendary Pink Dots and apparently barely able to rest when not engaged in commitments to them. Here is what he says himself about 'The Sympathy Portal': “'The Sympathy Portal' was created as 2020 drifted into 2021 with the world in the grip of a pandemic. He studied charts on TV, horrified by statistics, temporarily free from a lockdown but well aware that we'd be back in our cubicles soon enough. It was hard to be positive in such an environment and this album reflects much of the fear and tension of the time. But the last song, 'Angel Trail ( Slight Return)', was intended to offer some genuine hope, having been revived for the release after first appearing in a different form on The Legendary Pink Dots' '9 Lives to Wonder' back in 1994.” The album pays testament to a troubled and troubling time that now, a mere few years on, strangely appears like the grand entrance to a series of heavily dark periods we are still desperate to crawl from. It could be argued that the angel trail Edward so eloquently refers to is something that needs to be found more than ever and that, thankfully, his music helps to illuminate this despites its mostly distressed overtones.
Away from the confines of a now hard-to-find and long sold out CDr, Lumberton Trading Company brings this album back as a vinyl release that’s limited to 300 and is scheduled to appear in February 2026.

The singles are long out of print!! “It's like electronic stoner rock. Very doomy, very sabbath! Sit back and nod your head to it. I don't know what this sounds like!’ JACK OSBOURNE (review of Kling Klang’s Heavydale in Kerrang) KKKKK - Single of The Week // “I could not believe it when I saw that there was a band named Kling Klang from Liverpool. A group named after Kraftwerk's Dusseldorf studio? I had to check them out. Pounding Krautrock inspired Motorik beat, like Neu! welded to incessant Phillip Glass keyboard riffs on acid. But somehow creating their own authentic style. I had to go and say “hello” and offer them studio time. Great maverick music… Their recordings still sound amazing, and like no other band that I have heard before or since.” Andy Mccluskey, OMD // “I first heard Kling Klang when recording The Coral with Geoff Barrow (BEAK>) and we immediately loved them. Heavydale blew me away then and still does. When we curated All Tomorrows Parties festival we invited them to play, then invited them to come on our European Tour for our Album Third. They were so awesome live. For me, when they played it was the beginning of the whole show and not just a support band. So cool this collection of singles is happening.” Adrian Utley, Portishead.

Mia Zapata was the greatest rock singer of her time. She may have likely been the greatest blues singer in punk rock history, the woman who married the 78 and the '78. Tragedy did not make this true. Mia Zapata made this true, and the ferocious, spring-loaded shrapnel frame that was built around her by Andy Kessler (guitar: metronomic and furious), Matt Dresdner (bass: fluid, punching, beat-addicted and melodic), and Steve Moriarty (drums: martial and explosive) - who, with Mia, combined to form The Gits - made it true. The Gits were formed at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in mid-1986, grabbing and swapping pieces of art, thrash, noise, punk rock, classic rock, and all the sorts of magical silly and bookish jingle bells that an old-school liberal arts education handed you; for the next few years they worked on turning it all into something tough, sensitive, both brutal and kind. Andy, Matt, Mia, and Steve moved to Seattle in middish 1989, landing in a house on Capitol Hill where they (and fellow travelers) wood-shedded and rehearsed for the next few years. The Gits put out three EPs in 1990 and '91 before signing with C/Z Records and releasing their first full-length album, Frenching the Bully. Seattle quickly claimed the quartet as their own and embraced the Gits blend of ferocious fangs and soft heart, the slug/slap of the guitars, and the gorgeous, soft underbelly of the poetic emotions. These qualities not only fit in with the doe-eyed/sharp-clawed grunge ethos but earned the Gits the respect of their peers, including Nirvana, who tapped them to open a major local show in 1990. Then other stuff happened, and their frantic, confessional barbed-heart snowball began rolling up hill very, very fast; the Gits "quickly" (hah! After half a decade learning to implode and explode hearts and stomping their boots on manifold beer-softened, Marlboro-weeded wood stages!) inspired rapture, awe, and the levitation that happened when peak emotion meets peak grindage in front of amps spitting out something that sounded like the mad marriage of Bolan swagger and Dischord tension_ all fronted by a genuinely incomparable woman who held her heart in her mouth and shared it, in all its celebration and fear, without hesitation. The Gits were an angry, inflamed slinky fully in tune with and tuned by the Bessie Patti Smith of her time, truly the only singer who could summon Joplin, Poly Styrene, Sam Cooke, Iggy Pop and Ian MacKaye all in the same goddamn song. In 1993, less than four weeks after accepting an offer from Atlantic Records, Mia died. I leave it at that, because this is not about death; it's about an extraordinary life. I do not say, "You should have been there," I say, "We are lucky so many of us were, and I am so glad we have this extraordinary evidence of the power and gifts of Mia and the Gits that you now can hold in your hands." And I note that Frenching the Bully, this extraordinary testament to the soul, shock, fury and feeling of the Gits, has been long out of print on vinyl and CD, and this new edition - remastered by legendary Seattle engineer Jack Endino - joyfully rectifies that. -Tim Sommer

French artist Trypheme debuts on Impatience with “Odd Balade”, a darkly-hued collection of songs drawn from human delicacy and dreamworld mythology.

“Odd Balade” is Trypheme’s most ambitious and boldest record to date - both lyrically and musically. The album’s thirteen tracks resist rigid genre boundaries and flutter from medieval folk realms, sprawling synths, gothic 80s wave, leftfield pop, haunted vocals, mutant electronica to reverbed guitars - all reflected through her own shadowy prism. Especially album closer “A Walk In The Vercors” evokes a soothing serenity that echoes the sonic balm of Julee Cruise.

Trypheme’s musical repertoire trends heavily electronic and somewhat abstracted, but on “Odd Balade”, the artist slips into the role of the modern troubadour with a shift to a more poetically and personal songwriting that is infused with symbolism and dreamlike fantasies. The connective tissue of the album is the audacity to love and the vulnerability that ensues. As intimate and introspective as the lyrics are, the themes remain universal and human to the core: the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and t“the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and the cycles of life. The record was largely composed in Chars, stirred by the French village’s eerie atmosphere and frequent trips to the seaside in Brittany, where Trypheme resides. Drawing inspiration from the rugged terrain of the seaside landscapes, the writings of Allen Ginsberg and Mark Fisher and the hyperrealist art of Scott Prior, Trypheme uses her songs to depict life with broad strokes of rhythm.

On “Odd Balade” Trypheme consolidates herself as a gifted, nimble songwriter, masterly producer and subtly powerful vocalist. The record combines her skill for crafting lush, alien sound worlds and efficient, alluring arrangements with stealthily devastating songs. Belin’s voice becomes a key ingredient, appearing on eleven of Odd Balade’s thirteen tracks, by turns heavily manipulated, sampled and replayed as a form of percussion, or basically bare.

“Odd Balade” is the manifestation of Trypheme’s roving artistic practice, a ceremonial-grade sacrament cast in a rich nocturnal glow. Pairing the mundane with the mythic, the album stays true to its core: odd and strangely familiar.

RIYL - Riding off into the sunset to an unknown destination, hauntology, present, tales told by the fireside, hot summer rain, adventures, to feel a warm presence when you are walking in the forest or in the mountain, coastal landscapes, sailor’s stories, slow motion, vitesse, heavy blossoms, colors, the warmth of the sun, the tenderness of the moon, getting lost in unfamiliar streets, city’s lights, motorway rest area by night, magic numbers, rendez-vous, picnic, serendipity, poetry, the smell of old records and old books.

Tiphaine Belin has been releasing music as Trypheme since 2016. Odd Balade was written and produced by Belin, and mixed by Belin and Abel Roux. It was mastered by Amir Shoat. Cover art photography is by Ariane Kiks, with art direction by Ariane Kiks in collaboration with Mathilde Chaize.

WILDSTYLE HOUSE is a new compilation series where Toy Tonics invites producers and DJs that have a very special, funky, unique sound to make one new track. The compilation should show the variability and diversity of house and disco TODAY. Like the wild music mix you can hear at the Toy Tonics events and the way Toy Tonics DJs combine many different styles of "4 to the floor" music into one new soulful, multi-style, and warm-sounding blended "genre." It's about the groove, about a new soul sound, the human feel, the organic and Y2K-inspired dance music that is growing and appeals to a new generation of dance music lovers.

This first part of the compilation includes unreleased music by:

Afro-funk and salsa-house producer talents ELADO, MUSTA, and ALMA NEGRA.

Garage house maestros MELON BOMB and Italian musician DANIEL MONACO (known for his New Wave disco and proto-house releases on Rush Hour and his work for Antal).

MARLA KETHER, the London bass player and DJ, who is known for her work with Little Simz, Oscar Jerome, and Loyle Carner, and has now started to release her own tracks.

Argentinian singer, musician, and DJ ALOT, combining proto-house vibes with Spanish rap.

Funk house producer and edit maestro PAUL OLDER, who is starting to become one of the key names of the new soul house scene (supported by DJs like Folamour, David Penn, Seth Troxler, Kirollus, Breakbot...).

And also Toy Tonics' own GEE LANE, KAPOTE, and ARPY BROWN contributed new tracks.

"deathcrash’s third album, Somersaults, glimmers with an everyday euphoria. The London-based slowcore/ post-rock quartet has always had an affinity for building worlds only to crush them. From their breakout EP, People thought my windows were stars (2021), through two critically acclaimed studio albums, Return (2022) and Less (2023), they have been both the architects and the destroyers, the creationists and the ones manning the flood barrier. But, recorded between Black Box Studio in the Loire Valley and Haggerston’s Holy Mountain, Somersaults is almost joyful.

Its ten tracks are more vocal heavy than any of the band’s catalogue – think Mark Linkous via The Kinks – but lyrically, Somersaults resists revelation. For all its abrasion, phrases appear half-swallowed, broken off at the edge of meaning, consumed by the smaller textures of living. “Thirty, no career, it fucking worries me / And doing the band doesn’t help,” Banks sings in ‘NYC’. But, “This life is the best life,” he finishes in ‘CMC’ on top of the ambient white noise of an office printer, thankful that the band is still there, “still making noise in the doorway.”

Their role as caretakers of Duster, Low and Codeine’s slowcore lineage is all across Somersaults – songs scud to a narcotic crawl, sound monolithic and inwards before spotlighting a crystalline nothing. Cathartic builds are muddied with tenderness, the bass a heavy grounding, the drums an exhausted heartbeat grasping for air. But more so than ever, even the silence feels collaborative – a gesture of communal trust – friends celebrating the room they’ve made for each other’s ghosts, and some of the biggest, brightest songs they’ve made to date."

Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno recorded their first album, “El Nuevo Montuno Llegó” (1970), when Roberto Berríos was just 22 years old. This was also the debut release on Haddock’s own Uniart label. Berríos remembers that they did the recording in two sessions, splitting it up into four tracks per visit. The engineer was the famed Pedro “Pedrito” Henríquez, who recorded El Gran Combo, Roberto Roena and many others. The band had a mix of tasty, powerful originals, from Tony Cintrón’s title track that announced the band had arrived, ‘El Nuevo Montuno Llegó,’ to Quique Dávila’s mournful ‘Triste Arrabal.’ Then there was the hit Santería themed tune, ‘Llamé a Changó,’ which was a song that Quique Dávila brought to the band, but had been originally composed by Carlos Pinto, though Quique was given the credit. Dávila also composed ‘Me Queda Un Guaguancó,’ which is Roberto’s favorite song on the record (as well as a fan favorite), with Papo sounding like his friend Héctor Lavoe, and Quique Dávila’s proud manifesto declaring that Puerto Rico now had its own son montuno, ‘Oye Tu Son, Borinquen,’ featuring the pianist’s tasty but brief solo. The cover versions came from the group’s earliest period when most of their repertoire consisted of renditions of beloved but lesser known tunes, and include Louie Ramírez’s ‘Balancéate’ (a favorite of Roberto’s from Ray Barretto’s songbook), Bobby Valentín’s ‘Monina y Ramón’ (recorded during his stint with Willie Rosario), and a bolero indelibly sung by Cheo Feliciano when he was with the Joe Cuba Sextet, ‘Dichoso,’ written by Joe Cuba’s talented pianist, Nick Jiménez. Some of the arranging was done by Cintrón and some by Dávila, though Quique had some help from his old friend from El Combo Moderno, Freddie Miranda, who at that time was with Roberto Roena’s Apollo Sound. Roberto says that the arrangements of the cover tunes were made specifically to be different and more contemporary sounding than the originals. “El Nuevo Montuno Llegó” has become a legendary salsa dura classic from Puerto Rico and we are thrilled to present this first legitimately licensed and remastered vinyl reissue. It includes detailed liner notes that reveal the untold story of the band and their debut album, and rare photos.

Stripped bare and driven hard - this is Jack at its most physical. Filthy, saturated drum work meets crunchy, uncompromising samples as Bohm channels the genre's raw core across four relentless tracks. Each cut is engineered to whip crowds into a frenzy and lock the dancefloor in. Pure warehouse ammunition. Essential addition to any serious recordbox.

Barabajagal is the seventh studio album, eighth album overall and most fascinatingly the third of our re-issue programme from British singer-songwriter extraordinaire Donovan. It was released in 1969 and again features production duties by Mickie Most.

Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm Travis
gegründet.
Ihr letztes Album „Beaster“ erschien vor der Auflösung der Band im Jahr 1995.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger MalcolmTravis gegründet. Ihr Debütalbum Copper Blue wurde als eines der besten Alben der 90er Jahre gefeiert
und vereinte eingängige Melodien mit roher Gitarrenpower.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm
Travis gegründet. Ihr Nachfolgealbum „Beaster“ festigte ihren Ruf.

Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm Travis
gegründet.
Ihr letztes Album „Beaster“ erschien vor der Auflösung der Band im Jahr 1995.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger MalcolmTravis gegründet. Ihr Debütalbum Copper Blue wurde als eines der besten Alben der 90er Jahre gefeiert
und vereinte eingängige Melodien mit roher Gitarrenpower.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm
Travis gegründet. Ihr Nachfolgealbum „Beaster“ festigte ihren Ruf.

Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm Travis
gegründet.
Ihr letztes Album „Beaster“ erschien vor der Auflösung der Band im Jahr 1995.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger MalcolmTravis gegründet. Ihr Debütalbum Copper Blue wurde als eines der besten Alben der 90er Jahre gefeiert
und vereinte eingängige Melodien mit roher Gitarrenpower.
Sugar wurde 1992 von Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü) mit Bassist David Barbe und Schlagzeuger Malcolm
Travis gegründet. Ihr Nachfolgealbum „Beaster“ festigte ihren Ruf.

Donovan Philips Leitch is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist who in the 1960s developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music. He emerged from the British folk scene and reached fame in the UK in early 1965 before replicating this in the US the following year, baring the fruits of the blossoming, successful, and eventually long collaboration with record producer Mickie Most.

Fast forward to 2018 and we're very pleased to say we're re-issuing these wonderful albums on our own state51 Conspiracy label - these are the first two of five, with another special release to follow in 2019. All five were cut at Abbey Road, pressed on 180g audiophile vinyl and lovingly re-created to replicate the original releases. They are all strictly limited to just 300 copies for the world too.

Tori thanks: Mark & Tash, Mom, Dad & all the family, Irene. Mollie & Dave Ward & Arminda & Beene. Johnnie & Chelsea, Ahmet, Val, Ron, Craig. Vicky, Patti, Linda, Sharon, Laura, Andrea, Kris, Bonnie, Lee Anne, Danny, Jason, Rick, Steve, Andi, Bob, Nikke, Fran and all at Atlantic, Christian. Elyse, Matthew, Peter, Carla, Stella, Nisha & all at East West, Carol Kinzel at CAA, Mike Dewdney at ITB, Dave Brock at Rima Travel UK, Mog at Warners UK, Richard Bates, Tim Shaxon at HHB, Tony Larkin at TI. Audio, Steve Trim at Stirling Syco, John & Heather & all at SSE, Jason Ogarro at Macwarehouse, Neil at Neve, Su & Bruce at Digidesign US. John Philip Shenale - vintage keyboard finder, James Naylor at Corney & Barrow and a special thanks to David Slade. Hugs to Lesley Chilkes, Cim Mahoney & Bernice Brobbery - The Glam Squad. The Bude Contingent: Cliff "The Fish' Bowden, Super Debs & Adam at Martian, Thea & Dana, Hayley & Emily, Ros, The Falcon Hotel, Mick & Pearl and Phil and Jody, Stolichnaya & Van Nelle. And finally to all the musicians.

2026 Repress

DJ Quik is a giant of West Coast hip-hop. With his fourth album Rhythm-Al-Ism he created his masterpiece, a perfect hip-hop album. As Quik explains, “the name Rhythm-Al-Ism alone tells you what I was doing. I was mixing up rhythms. I was meshing R&B with hip-hop and jazz. And a little bit of comedy”. It’s absolutely sensational and as with a lot of mid-90s albums those original vinyl copies are now rare so here’s the Be With re-issue.

A preternaturally gifted producer/rapper, DJ Quik has produced scores of LA gangsta rap classics. He’s released platinum and gold records of his own, as well as helped craft them for the likes of Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and Dr Dre. Quik has always been quirkier and more interesting than his gangsta rap peers, both musically and lyrically. An old-school funk producer at heart, he’s also incredibly nice on the mic. His raps often deal in boasts, jokes and good times but also cover his beefs, his trials and his trauma. Partying and pain, all mixed up. DJing and producing hype beat tapes from age 14, Quik’s tracks blended the languid funk and rubbery synths of Zapp and George Clinton with a gangsta aesthetic, creating a more danceable foil to Compton’s more typical nihilistic hedonism. Ultimately, his records sound custom engineered to drift out over sun-soaked barbecues.

Released in 1998 on Profile, Rhythm-Al-Ism was the closest Quik ever got to making a commercial splash. “You’z A Ganxta” and “Hand in Hand” made radio waves across the country and the less radio-friendly tracks like “Medley For A ‘V’” were bumping out of car stereos. Combining his soulful, jazzy P-Funk/G-Funk beats with his effortlessly smooth flow, Rhythm-Al-Ism was the quintessential West Coast Party. Squelchy synths, bouncy bass, monstrously knocking drums and freaky keys - this is peaking acidic party-rap, straight out the gate. Music for gliding, for skating, for time with your people and your poison. Sunshine. No cares. BBQs. Heavy smoke in the air. Dripping with wit and good humour. A real swing to the vibe.

The album opens with Quik setting out his mission statement with “Rhythm-Al-Ism (Intro)”, telling us what this is all about before the self-explanatory “We Still Party” rocks the spot. It’s definitely all about the party here, complete with Quik’s signature head-nod/body-moving beat. Next up, the undeniable laidback funk and dripping swing of groove-laden “So Many Wayz”. This positively slaps.

Then we get to the three huge singles. The R&B-tinged radio-friendly minor-hit “Hand In Hand” closes the first side only for the flip to get straight into the rolling and scratching of bleepy computer-funk banger “Down, Down, Down” (featuring a particularly nice use of Howard Johnson’s epochal “So Fine”). The effortlessly smooth, flute and guitar-laced “You’z A Ganxta” completes the trio. Next up the fast-paced, vocoder-enhanced, woulda-beena-global-hit “I Useta Know Her”. This coulda (shoulda) been a single too. Head-nod funk workout “No Doubt”, with its ace sample of Prince's “Sexy Dancer”, closes out the second side.

“Speed” races out the gate on the second disc, sampling Edwin Birdsong’s “Rapper Dapper Snapper” in a harder, better, faster, stronger way than those daft Parisian punks. Amphetamine-swift raps over soaring, string-drenched b-boy beats. A total anthem. Up next, the staggering, near 8-minute laconic, lounge-y sax-rap of “Whateva U Do” cools things down and smooths things out with its flute wrapping around a sample of Smokey Robinson’s “So In Love” and some oh-so-classy lounge-piano tinkling. And speaking of smooth, things don’t get much smoother than the blissfully melodic glider-anthem “Thinkin’ ’Bout U” riding that ace flip of SWV’s “Use Your Heart”. Exceptional.

The exquisite funky-flute-slapper “Medley for a ‘V’ (The P***Y Medley)” opens the fourth and final side, with star turns from Snoop Dogg and a typically suave Nate Dogg. It’s followed by the supremely skanked-out “Bombudd II”, a beautifully sweet reggae-fuelled ode to the herb. “Get 2Getha Again” is slick funk. Stunning.

This 2022 Be With double LP re-issue has been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. Unusual for the time, Rhythm-Al-Ism was originally pressed as a double and we’ve reproduced the original LA vibe picture sleeve and insert to match.

As that original front cover says, this is “over 70 minutes of commercial free music” and it’s absolutely perfect from start to finish. There are no stand-out tracks here. It’s all gold.
: Rhythm-al-ism (2LP)

Mit seinem Album "Confidence" schaffte der gebürtige Osnabrücker Tilmann Otto alias Gentleman seinen großen Durchbruch. Seitdem ist sein ebenso kompetenter wie authentischer Reggae aus dem Genre nicht mehr wegzudenken. Liebevoll sind alle Songs bis ins kleinste Detail arrangiert. An blubbernden Bassläufen, perfekt sitzenden Bläsersätzen, entrückten Harmoniegesängen und feinen Gitarrenparts wurde nicht gespart. Superstars wie Barrington Levy und Anthony B sind ebenso dabei wie Coco Tea, Ras Shiloh und Tony Rebel. Mit den Hits "Superior" und "Intoxication" katapultierte sich das Album 2004 auf Platz 1 der Sales -Charts. Ein Nummer-eins Album für die Ewigkeit, das sogar in Jamaica gefeiert wird.

Included in Rolling Stone’s Most Anticipated Albums of 2020 list, this dynamic collection of Kelsea Ballerini’s latest 13 songs is aptly self-titled – kelsea - not surprising since this is her most authentically, self-aware reflection to date. Writing or co-writing all of the songs on the record, It’s an introspective look into the emotions of the last two years of her life. Using songwriting as therapy, she explores everything from social anxiety to the importance of real friendships to new perspective on old heartbreaks to the realization that even the most independent, stubborn people need someone sometimes. The writing credits on this album are, in her words, “pretty RAD”. In addition to Nashville royalty Shane Macanally, Hillary Lindsay and Ashley Gorley, she wrote with Ed Sheehan, Tayla Parx, and Julia Michaels. This is the first time Ballerini has been in the producer’s chair throughout the project, co-producing each track. She allowed the songs to drive the sonic personality of the record, resulting in a broad range of production elements/styles . Ballerini also set the collaboration bar high with two on this record... Stay tuned.

White Elephant announce their debut album “World Elephant Day”, the sound of time, trust and total freedom.

A project forged over ten years in Crazy P’s Nottingham studio, blending dancefloor DNA with intimate musicianship.

White Elephant began as a no-agenda weekend in Crazy P’s Nottingham studio, where Chris “Hot Toddy” Todd, Jim “Ron Basejam” Baron and Ben “BJ” Smith discovered an effortless musical union. Over the next decade, their collaboration slowly evolved into a debut album shaped by warmth, trust and lived experience rather than deadlines. Blending Crazy P’s dancefloor DNA with tender musicianship, the record moves between glowing disco grooves, 80s-bright sparkling pulses and intimate acoustic moments. It’s reflective without being nostalgic, playful yet deeply human. White Elephant is three friends rediscovering the joy of making music simply because it feels good.

Bryan Senti’s La Marea, out on 10th October, is a poignant new work for string orchestra that moves like the ocean. Written as a tribute to his father’s journey from Cuba to the United States, the music carries the listener across waters filled with memory, loss, and hope. Performed by the Czech National Symphony, La Marea is both intimate and cinematic, guiding the listener through a story that transports us from the mountain to the sea.

“The image that repeatedly came to mind was that of the proverbial raft, of being alone and adrift at sea. I can imagine the internal struggle: anchoring oneself to memories of the past while hoping, desperately so, to be reborn in a foreign land. That singular combination of grief and faith that brings someone to surrender to inevitable change”

The album brings together collaborators including bassist Spencer Zahn, cellist Noah Hoffeld, and Grammy-winning baritone Edward Parks, whose moving performance of Saloma (Tierra en Movimiento), set to the words of Chilean poet Antonia Torres Aguëro, is paired with a moving short film by Jared Malik Royal.

Co-produced with Grammy winner Justin Moshkevich and mixed by Francesco Donadello (Chernobyl, Tàr, The Joker).

La Marea is both a personal reflection and a universal meditation on migration and transformation.

Alex Rex, the project of acclaimed musician and former Trembling Bells bandleader Alex Neilson, is set to release his fourth and final studio album, The National Trust, on March 28th. Written in the wake of the sudden death of his younger brother, Alastair, the album is a poignant reflection on loss, love, and renewal, deeply rooted in the landscape of Carbeth—a cabin community in the Scottish countryside that Alastair called home. For Neilson, the cabin became both a physical and emotional project, a symbol of restoration and reconnection.

"For the first four years after Alastair died, his cabin lay empty and exposed to the remorseless Scottish weather. It came to look like a rotten tooth in a beautiful mouth. Cladding was dropping off its veneer, the ashen baubles of dead wasps nests clung to the rafters, all his possessions were just as he'd left them but eaten by mice, moths and time. Ashtrays still carried the crushed centimetres of his old tab ends. The cabins are so joyfully animated by their host's specific personality and this one looked like a haunted house. Guilt, unrealised hopes and encroaching nature yoked together in a wandering sadness. Combined with the fact that I didn't know the right way round to hold a hammer made the project of its restoration seem hopeless.”

Neilson, however, gradually began chipping away at the task, determined to transform the cabin into something he hoped would resemble “a National Trust site occupied by a psychopath,” with a little help from some friends, including Lavinia Blackwall and Marco Rea.

“They poured love into the cabin and helped restore Alastair's original vision. The project also helped restore my relationship with Lavinia which had fractured after Trembling Bells broke up in 2017. Alongside long-term Rex lieutenant Rory Haye, we applied the same intensity of dedication that we did in renovating the cabin, into creating The National Trust.”

As with Neilson’s previous albums, the recording process was intentionally unpolished, with songs presented in the studio with no rehearsals and captured in just a few takes. This raw, immediate approach amplifies the emotional weight of the album, which Neilson describes as being at a “personal apex of sour self-reflection, mock misanthropy, and self-exposure.” Longtime collaborators Lavinia Blackwall, Marco Rea, and Rory Haye return, alongside guest musicians like Jill O’Sullivan (Jill Lorean) and Trembling Bells guitarist Mike Hastings, to bring Neilson’s vision to life. The result is a deeply personal and multifaceted work, blending acid wit with haunting introspection.

The songs on The National Trust traverse a wide emotional and thematic range. The title track opens the album with a sharp and confessional edge, exploring love, loathing, and cultural critique with Neilson’s signature wit. “Boss Morris” pays tribute to the all-female Morris dancing troupe that reinvents British folk with vibrant energy, while “Two Kinds of Song” turns self-referential humour into an avalanche of remorse, culminating in the unforgettable chorus: “I’ve got two kinds of song. Which one will it be; one where I hate myself or one where you hate me?” Elsewhere, tracks like “Psychic Rome” draw from the decadence and hysteria of ancient Rome, while “The Coward in the Tower” breaks new ground as the only song Neilson has composed on an instrument before recording.

Throughout the album, Neilson’s lyricism is as vivid as ever, transforming personal tragedy into poignant and often darkly humorous art. Yet, there is a sense of finality to this work. "Songwriting has encouraged me to see the whole world as a resource. The things people say and throw away can be chiselled and polished and plopped into a lyric. It’s the same with building the cabin- scouring the edges of society for pallets, discarded wood, ornaments for the garden. But while song writing brings to life orphaned parts of my personality, the cabin is a synthesis of all my interests – nurturing my emotional health instead of exploiting it. With that in mind, I think this will be my last album as Alex Rex.”

With The National Trust, Neilson closes a significant chapter of his career, blending masterful musicianship with deeply personal storytelling. Known for his collaborations with artists such as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Shirley Collins, and Current 93, as well as his decade-long tenure leading the psych-folk outfit Trembling Bells, Neilson has long been celebrated for his eclectic and uncompromising vision. This final album serves as a fitting culmination of his journey as Alex Rex, capturing the essence of his artistry while offering a profound exploration of loss, renewal, and the enduring power of love.

Don Leisure has cemented his name as one of the most forward-thinking and experimental beatmakers & producers within the current musical ecosystem. As well as being 50% of Darkhouse Family (alongside Earl Jeffers) he has collaborated with the likes of Angel Bat Dawid, Gruff Rhys, DJ Spinna and First Word label-mates Amanda Whiting & Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus). Garnering serious support from Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Huw Stephens, Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, The Vinyl Factory, Clash, Uncut and many more. Following the release of ‘Cynnau Tân (feat. Carywyn Ellis)’ (which gained support across BBC Radio from Tom Ravenscroft, Zakia & Huw Stephens) Welsh beatmaker Don Leisure announces the release of a new album ‘Tyrchu Sain’) as he returns with a new single ‘Tyrchu’ due for release on 22nd January 2025. ‘Tyrchu’ features the soft-spoken vocal stylings of Gruff Rhys over a gently rolling, tape saturated and expertly chopped instrumental, creating (in Gruff’s own words) ‘Shiny new beat-treasures with ghostly reflections of Welsh pop’s past - skillfully dug from Sain Records’ deepest veins’

A dedicated student of music, over the years, Don has amassed a vast encyclopaedic knowledge of music genres and subcultures, including a fascination with Welsh psychedelic folk music from the mid-20th century. This introduction was made by respected musician, producer & selector Andy Votel’s 2005 two-part compilation series ‘Welsh Rare Beat’ (in collaboration with Gruff Rhys and Don Thomas), comprising twenty-five tracks from Sain Records’ back catalogue. Now the oldest independent record label in Wales, Sain is a wildly influential bastion of home-grown Welsh talent, co-founded by Welsh-language folk singer Dafydd Iwan, whose music has seen a cultural resurgence in recent years with his 1983 song Yma o Hyd (We’re Still Here) becoming a huge anthem for Wales football fans. Set up in the Welsh capital, many of Sain’s early releases were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, but in the early 1970s the record company moved to the Caernarfon area and opened their first recording studio in 1974 near Llandwrog. Announcing a huge digitisation project throughout 2024, Sain Records took on the mammoth task of painstakingly digitising their entire back catalogue spanning 55 years, working in partnership with the National Library of Wales the resulting archive then be submitted for to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, preserving them for future generations to enjoy. Taking this period of rediscovery as an opportunity to reimagine their impressive inventory, Sain invited Don Leisure to dig into their musical treasure chest, creating a sprawling sonic tapestry from the dusty gems within. On this exhilarating excursion, Sain Records founder Dafydd Iwan explains: ‘Imagine someone gave you access to over 50 years of Welsh popular music – almost all of it unknown to you before. It would be a strange experience of discovery, an unknown territory which could baffle and excite. This happened to Jamal (Don Leisure) – and he was captivated by a world of music he barely knew existed, and when he was asked to distill the experience into one album, he immediately warmed to the idea. And this is the result – a kaleidoscope of sounds to encapsulate a half century of Welsh music. To call it unique would be superfluous: no-one could ever recreate this album. Listen, and enjoy.’.

The resulting product is ‘Tyrchu Sain' (translating to ‘Digging Sain’), a fearless and exploratory album, which sees Don put his signature unparalleled and unpredictable skills to work, weaving together moments of forgotten beauty into celestial and otherworldly compositions. The record features appearances by artists from Wales who have a similar obsession as Don Leisure in these classic Welsh rarities including Gruff Rhys, Carwyn Ellis, Earl Jeffers Amanda Whiting and Boy Azooga. A shimmering patchwork quilt of sound, ‘Tychru Sain’ traverses a shifting landscape of acid folk, eerie vocal melodies and interstellar soundscapes, propelled forth by crisp, head nod-inducing drums and grainy textures. Breathing new life into compositions lost to time, and paving a path for new listeners to discover the magic that lies within.

Die neue EP der irischen Songwriterin Lisa O"Neill besteht aus sechs Songs, darunter die eindringliche Version von Bob Dylans "All The Tired Horses", die Lisa für die Schlussszene der letzten Folge von Peaky Blinders aufgenommen hat, sowie "Homeless In The Thousands (Dublin in the Digital Age)" mit Peter Doherty, das bereits im Januar dieses Jahres als eigenständige Single veröffentlicht wurde. Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass O"Neill über soziale Ungerechtigkeiten in Zeiten des Wandels schreibt. Lieder wie "Rock the Machine" über Arbeitslosigkeit in den Dubliner Docklands, "When Cash Was King" über den Übergang zu einer bargeldlosen Gesellschaft und "Violet Gibson" über die Irin, die 1926 versuchte, Mussolini zu ermorden - dieses neue Lied entstand als Reaktion auf das wachsende Problem der Obdachlosigkeit in Dublin und Irland. Ergänzt wird die EP durch einen neuen Song und den aktuellen Live-Favoriten "Mother Jones" über die irische Aktivistin Mary G. Harris Jones, die nach Amerika auswanderte und dort als Gewerkschaftsorganisatorin tätig war. Im Jahr 1902 wurde sie als "die gefährlichste Frau Amerikas" bezeichnet, nachdem sie Bergarbeiter gegen die Minenbesitzer mobilisiert hatte - ein Engagement, das direkt zur Einführung der ersten US-Gesetze gegen Kinderarbeit führte. Abgerundet wird die EP durch eine eindrucksvolle Version des zur Jahreszeit passenden "The Bleak Midwinter" sowie eine bewegende Rezitation des Gedichts "Autumn 1915" von James Stevens.

Death Is Not The End present a compilation gathering a cross-section of early gospel choirs and vocal harmony groups recorded between late 1920s and the mid-1950s - a period when spirituals & jubilee traditions merged with blues, jazz and early rhythm and blues, providing the musical routes for the coalescence of the civil rights movement born out of the black church. In the modern world these perennially vital recordings provide a fitting tonic for the near-dystopia we find ourselves living through.

Three musicians, three worlds: raga, jazz, and their own imagination. East, West, and the fusion in between. Rhythm, melody, and harmony. Past, present, and future.With 3, Ragini Trio experiences a rebirth - after years of deep exploration into long-form ragas, South Indian Carnatic traditions, konnakkol, and Western jazz.Thirteen years after their debut, this album stands as an homage to both worlds. By refusing to play things "as they should be played," Ragini Trio finds the in-between space - that magnetic tension where jazz and Indian classical music meet and transform each other.



Inspired by the traditional Indian trio of tabla, flute, and tanpura, Ragini offers its mirrored jazz response: drums, saxophone, and double bass. The result unites jazz, which seeks freedom within structure, with raga, which seeks structure within freedom. Far from purism or imitation, Ragini Trio crafts a living dialogue between rhythm, melody, and tone colour.



And it's a statement. Bursting with energy, depth, and self-irony, 3 is a vibrant antidote to the algorithmic recycle-music of today and tomorrow - born from the chemistry of three exceptional artists: saxophonist Nathan Daems, drummer Lander Gyselinck, and double bassist Marco Bardoscia.

21 songs are barely enough to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! From less than a minute twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads to two minutes something fuzzy rockers, electronic r'n'r and sexy glam, you'll find all you need and much more in this incredible album! It takes at least 21 songs - and 30 Polaroids on the cover! - to show the "Many Faces of Memphis Electronic"! On the XYZ, Dum Dum Boys and NON! guitar player third solo album, entirely home recorded, you will find plenty of fuzzy bangers, trashy rockers, electronic r'n'r, lo fi disköpunk, sexy glam, twisted psych pop and heartbreaking ballads, 21 different faces on just 2 album sides! With the help of 60s fuzz pedals, analog synths, a wild organ, an out-of-space Theremin, raw drum machines and tons of delay, reverb and strange noises, all used to maximize the minimalism of the tracks, Memphis Electronic manages to create an orgy of arousing sounds, an overdose of aural pleasure, an irresistible avalanche of exciting songs, all ranging from 49 seconds snapshots to 2 minutes something instant classics!

First time reissue of this mega rare album by Angel Vásquez, versatile Colombian accordion master of Antillean shades, that comprises a muscular, rhythm-packed ride moving from pachanga to paseaito, passing through charanga, porro, son and cumbia. Here, direct lines are drawn between Colombian coastal folklore and Afro-Antillean sound. A must-have release! Angel Vásquez brought Antillean shades into the accordion tradition of a region overflowing with juglares, as the Colombian northern coast has always been. Vásquez built a monumental songbook where pachanga, charanga, son, cumbia, and even the Puerto Rican countryside, Boricua sound, played leading roles. His few recordings carried a remarkable stylistic range, making it difficult to put him into any single category-a quality that led to a style he himself called vasquesón. In the early seventies, he released through Discos Fuentes a single that would become one of the anthems of the Barranquilla Carnival: 'Pica pica en carnaval', a tropical, electrifying gem with a guarachero flow so unmistakable that it's still a staple in verbenas, neighborhood dances, and picó parties today.

One of the last projects undertaken by the NETWORK label was the
60th Anniversary Blu-ray set for STINGRAY which was released in two versions - the Deluxe and Super Deluxe.

Each version was packed with extras but the Super Deluxe had a music item as part of the set – a 7” single of
Themes From Stingray containing cues for the original soundtrack as performed by Barry Gray.

But the 7” single was not included in the set, but to be posted separately to customers who had pre-ordered the Super Deluxe set.
When the single was manufactured, it was housed in a card envelope with a sticker placed on it with the title, catalogue number
and barcode so that all that needed adding was the address label before posting.

Although the Super Deluxe set sold out, there was some stock of the 7” single, still housed in its card envelope left
in the warehouse, NETWORK are no longer trading, and these singles have now been rescued from potential destruction!

Released in 2016, It’s Immaterial found Black Marble refining its coldwave and synth-pop foundations into a warmer, more melodic expression of isolation, longing, and quiet resilience. Guided by Chris Stewart’s unmistakable baritone and a palette of analog synths, pulsing basslines, and minimalist rhythms, the album feels simultaneously nostalgic and forward-leaning. Its songs drift between shadowy introspection and subtle hope, creating a cinematic atmosphere that’s both intimate and hypnotic.
With It’s Immaterial, Black Marble deepened its signature sound, offering a collection that resonates like a faded memory—soft, hazy, and endlessly replayable.

"Melodies twist inward and out of the comfort zone, but never overstep their boundaries or demand extra attention they don’t deserve. The fragments that have been found, from beginning to end, click and fall into place almost effortlessly. It’s surprising how nothing feels forced." - Drowned in Sound

The Cabildos remain one of the most enigmatic names to emerge from the 1970s library music scene. Little is known about the group, except that their name was inspired by Johnny Cabildo, an Italian keyboardist and composer who had relocated to Florida. Their recorded legacy is strikingly concise: just three albums—Yuxtaposición (1972, released under the name Cabildo's Three), Cross Fire (1974), and the later Where Is the Cat? (1979).

Entirely instrumental, the Cabildos' music is driven by deep grooves and a vibrant blend of Latin influences, funk, and jazz fusion, often enhanced by Afro-tribal percussion. Conceived primarily for use in films, documentaries, and advertising, their work naturally belongs to the world of synchronization music.

Cross Fire stands out as a particularly compelling chapter in their catalog, distinguished by an impressive range of textures and moods achieved through the minimalist interplay of bass, drums, and keyboards alone.

Now reissued by Redi Edizioni on clear red vinyl, this excellent record returns with a faithful reproduction of the original artwork, offering a renewed opportunity to appreciate one of library music's most elusive gems.

‘Moonlight Concessions’ goes back to basics, a return for Throwing Muses to their esoteric off-kilter best courtesy of Kristin’s pin-sharp sketches and their suitably abrasive musical arrangements. The album follows their acclaimed ‘Sun Racket’ from 2020, a heady set filled with tough and tender tales spiked with surreal imagery. Produced by Kristin Hersh at Steve Rizzo's Stable Sound Studio in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ is a collection of snippets from everyday life writ large - think Raymond Carver Short Cuts, overheard conversations, recounted happenings and telling one-liners, all sewed together to illustrate the times as they slowly mature, fully peppered with original Muses’ vim and vigour. ‘Drugstore Drastic’ is a kerbside soliloquy caught en route to a more alluring rendezvous. Built on a brisk acoustic strum with a guitar sub-melody underpinning proceedings, it’s an unfolding tale of social awareness from a blurred sub-conscious. ‘Summer Of Love’ began as a bet with a guy for a dollar that revolved around the idea that the seasons don’t change us. The album opener, it’s a haunting baroque overture, bowed and brooding. ‘Libretto’s strings offset the acoustic ambience, the hot and cold of longing at the very heart of it, a thematic driver filed with warmth in a safe haven lubricated by tequila. Written in the differing South Coast environs of The Gulf Of Mexico and Southern California, ‘Moonlight Concessions’ pulls from the star clusters that light both, generating optimism and hope in varying degrees. Hersh explains, “In New Orleans the stars look greenish-blue, as it’s below sea level and swamp-lit. But on Moonlight Beach, they glow icy white. All these songs were written in these two glowy places, which helped our sonic technique find itself.”

Includes demos of every track from the original album, stripped back to (mainly) guitar and voice. Originally a Norman Records exclusive, these are the last few copies available from a limited pressing of just 300. Mark Fry is a France- based, English singer- songwriter/ artist whose debut album, 'Dreaming With Alice,' released in Italy in 1971, became a much-bootlegged "acid-folk" classic three decades later. Fry returned to recording in 2008 and has since released 4 more acclaimed studio albums. These days, far less "acid" than in his youth, Fry still knows his way around a beautiful melody. This album of sketches is resplendent with love songs, the beauty of nature and the passing of time Fry is certainly no stranger to the preparatory sketch. An artist in the truest sense of the word, renowned equally for his decades- long career as a painter of vibrant abstracts and as a cult psychedelic minstrel turned intimate, evocative singersongwriter, his atelier, housed in a converted stable building at his Normandy home, literally doubles as his music studio. It was in this space that Mark's fifth solo album, 'Not On The Radar,' released back in May, was recorded in the summer of 2024, with the singer pushing back his easels to accommodate a four-piece live band and vanloads of miscellaneous accompanying paraphernalia.

Before that, the studio had been a considerably emptier space in which working versions of the album's ten languidly bucolic compositions were first demoed by the solitary songwriter (although some emergent tracks were also captured at Balintore - the home studio of Mark's regular guitarist, Iain Ross, housed on the latter's London-moored canal barge). With those sketches presented here in the same running order as on the mothership longplayer, this new album stands as a document of process - offering the opportunity for track- by- track comparison for those already familiar with Not On The Radar. Crucially, it also makes for a very fine standalone album in its own right, which, if nothing else, bears testament to the inherent robustness of Mark Fry's songwriting.

White Elephant announce their debut album "World Elephant Day", the sound of time, trust and total freedom. A project forged over ten years in Crazy P"s Nottingham studio, blending dancefloor DNA with intimate musicianship. White Elephant began as a no-agenda weekend in Crazy P"s Nottingham studio, where Chris "Hot Toddy" Todd, Jim "Ron Basejam" Baron and Ben "BJ" Smith discovered an effortless musical union. Over the next decade, their collaboration slowly evolved into a debut album shaped by warmth, trust and lived experience rather than deadlines. Blending Crazy P"s dancefloor DNA with tender musicianship, the record moves between glowing disco grooves, 80s-bright sparkling pulses and intimate acoustic moments. It"s reflective without being nostalgic, playful yet deeply human. White Elephant is three friends rediscovering the joy of making music simply because it feels good.

Un-easy listening from »anti-singer« and improviser Sofia Jernberg, a celebration of the voice in its rawest, most malleable form. Jernberg was born in Ethiopia and grew up in Vietnam and Sweden, so one can only imagine these diverse languages opened up a wealth of phonetic possibilities before she entered academia to study jazz and composition. If you dive into her catalogue you’ll clock her startling range – working as a jazz soprano and as an improviser, collaborating with everyone from Stefan Schneider to Mats Gustafsson, as well as appearances on the stage and screen, most notably in Matthew Barney, Erna Ómarsdóttir, and Valdimar Jóhannsson’s »Union of the North«.

On »Voice«, Jernberg provides a ground-level entry point to her work, meticulously running through a litany of unconventional techniques (non-verbal vocalisation, split tones, toneless singing, and distortion) without any effects, just pure batshit sonics designed to show off the voice’s scope as an experimental instrument. On »Mouth Synthesizer« she purses her lips to make ratcheting pops like some analog oscillator, hoarsely mimicking the sort of blustery, Merzbow-coded distortions you might get if you patched a RAT pedal into a broken guitar amp. It isn’t an act of caricature, it’s Jernberg’s way of demonstrating that expensive modular rigs aren’t an essential tool for experimental music, before throwing a side-eye to the field recording industrial complex on »Birds«, transforming her vocal chords into a nightmare aviary. But it’s Jernberg’s startling »multiphonic« experiments that hit hardest. The album opens on »Multiphonic I«, and it’s difficult to tell that you’re listening to a human voice at first – you could just as well be on Colin Stetson’s overblown sax airstreams. Jernberg creates a captivating spiral of crooked, phased tones and hoarse, guttural croaks that she develops over three movements. On »Multiphonic II«, her voice is turned into a storm of pained shrieks, and on the third and final segment, it almost resembles Arve Henriksen or Jon Hassell’s muted brass curlicues. Each track pulls a different musical muscle, whether it’s »One Pitch« with its unsettling yodel-like quivering drones or »Gurgle«, sounding like a close mic-ed recording of a small pot gently simmering.