quête:basement

Volume 1 - Growth
Resurrection is a long-term musical work that has accompanied Christine Benz for almost twenty years. The first track was created in 2007 (track id - Born after Code), with another piece added nearly every year thereafter.
Throughout this time, she continued to produce other music while steadily developing her artistic language.
Musically, the album moves between minimal techno, ambient and experimental electronic music. Across different phases of her life, Resurrection gradually grew into an archive of her personal and musical evolution.
The complete work unfolds as a trilogy across Volumes 1-3.
At its core lies her fascination with sound as material. Rather than thinking in terms of conventional melodies, she works with textures, vibrations, and spatial relationships. A small number of elements give rise to complex sonic spaces, where minimal changes can have a profound effect. Mistakes, chance occurrences, and unexpected responses from the systems she uses also become part of the music. Even from chaos, remarkable structures
emerge. Whenever unplanned beauty reveals itself, she preserves it as a small “miracle” in which control and chance intertwine.
The complete work unfolds across three chapters: Growth, Structure and Resonance, exploring repetition, frequency, perception, consciousness and technological development in the relationship between humans and
machines. It moves from origin through the formation of an internal order towards connection and interaction.
Volume 1: Growth, draws upon the Fibonacci sequence and the spiral as symbols of natural development, with the music growing through repetition and minimal change into increasingly complex forms. Throughout the
project, technology appears as a tool, a partner and a mirror of our perception, raising the question of whether consciousness, responsibility and empathy can evolve alongside technological progress.
During the project’s long evolution, Donato Dozzy developed an interest in Christine’s distinctive sound design.
In 2021, this led him to propose his own interpretation of Our Determination for Volume 1, subtly reworking the track through his own musical perspective.
The artwork developed by Christine also went through a creative process of its own. The original photographs were taken in a basement around 2019, with a wet curtain draped over her. In 2026, she decided to transform
this visual world into a moving-image artwork. For the production, a film crew reconstructed the entire setting.
The video shoot demanded a great deal from Christine: after several hours beneath the wet curtain, the cold was no longer merely part of the staging. This elaborate creative process gives the artwork its distinctive character
and makes it an essential part of Resurrection.
The first chapter will be released in November 2026 as a double-vinyl edition housed in a distinctive gatefold sleeve with an inside-out finish, matte varnish, and partial raised spot UV varnish. Two further double-vinyl
releases, Structure and Resonance, will complete the trilogy. All three volumes will be released on Pirat Records.Records.

Sheffield's Monkz returns to GAMM with a gritty 7" combining Brazilian rhythms with a Chicago 4/4 stomp !

A side 'Doce Coelhinha' delivers a wild mix of samba rhythms, baile funk vocals, and 80's electro beats...and it WORKS!

On the flip, 'Wun Uv U' moves down to the basement: a raw, old--chool Chicago house cut anchored by prominent hip-hop vocals from a familiar voice.

FWM Entertainment returns with the second installment of the HYMNS series, bringing together an all-star cast of artists and collaborators united by one thing: groove. Blending house, gospel, soul, jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, and Chicago-inspired jack, HYMNS Vol. 2 features exclusive remixes, previously unreleased gems, and fresh collaborations from Stefan Ringer, Marquinn Mason, DJ Kemit, Moe BPM, Lavahi, Lionbabe, The Pheels, and more. From dancefloor heaters to soulful slow-burners, every track adds a different shade to the collection.

More than a compilation, HYMNS Vol. 2 is a snapshot of the expanding FWM universe —where rhythm, soul, and thoughtful production exist in equal measure. Built for selectors, dancers, and deep listeners alike, this release moves effortlessly between peak-time energy and introspective moments. This is what FWM sounds like. Own What Moves You.

2025 Repress

Dubs for basements.

Second release in the doddub series.

Only 150 copies available, vinyl only, hand-stamped, all black.

DODDUB2 by Dävid

The world needs more dub.

STAR CREATURE is proud to welcome aboard a new collaboration between some of the globe’s heaviest funkers. French disco collective Spaced Out Krew (S.O.K.) and Geneva’s Ghostape have teamed up for two sides of cosmonautical freaky mutant funk selected from vaults by label-head TIM ZAWADA. Drawing inspiration from the backroom and basement boogie bombs of yesteryear, the krew has assembled 2 giant cuts of bass heavy, booty shakers with a dangerous feeling twist, perfect alternative cuts to keep a set on the edge.

A batch of bass-heavy basement house tracks on the Clone Royal Oak series, simply because these are too much fun not to release on vinyl! The QB-1 project leans on those stompin' old school Todd Terry and Kenny Dope beats, but adds some modern production skills and turns them into proper DJ tools for those sweaty house basements, or what the heck, even your TikTok rave!

EVPHORIA is not just a record. It’s a trigger.
140 BPM of tension, ascent and release — engineered to push the dancefloor into collective hypnosis.

Balancing power house propulsion, techno pulse and large-scale emotional lift, the track transforms a strangely familiar sensation into something raw, direct and uncompromising. No nostalgia — only forward motion. A rise that refuses to come down.

The original version unfolds as a sustained euphoric surge: driving percussion, insistent hooks and controlled repetition built for peak-time unity.
The edit version distills that energy into a tighter DJ weapon — immediate, sharp, floor-focused.

On the B-side, Inflammable Noise appears in its instrumental form — pure club mechanics, no vocals, no distraction. A stripped version that amplifies tension and turns the track into a true dancefloor weapon. Already tested in demanding environments, it notably detonated a peak-time moment when Chloé Caillet played it at Berghain — a point where the room tipped over.

EVPHORIA moves freely across scenes — from house floors pushing tempo to techno basements and high-intensity dance spaces — built for DJs chasing the rupture point.

Pressed in a strict limited edition.
Vinyl only — no digital release.

Created under the EVPHORIA imprint by Hardrock Striker — dancefloor architect and driving force behind the Skylax universe — this release stands as a physical, autonomous club statement.
Sleeve artwork by H5 (Daft Punk, Air, Étienne de Crécy, Logorama, Kanye West / Adidas), reinforcing EVPHORIA as both a sonic and visual manifesto.

EVPHORIA doesn’t ask permission.
EVPHORIA triggers.
A record for the moment the room tips over.

Strong international support from Richie Hawtin, Arnaud Rebotini (Black Strobe), Kristian Beyer (Âme / Innervisions), Dax J, Ilario Alicante, Chris Fortier, Michel Gaubert, DJ Mag, KEXP Seattle, Byte FM, Tsugi, Waveform Transmitter and many more.

Outstanding reactions included: "This is just perfect... one of the best things I've heard in recent weeks. Supported!" (Club Furies), "Great release! Adding to Waveform Recommended." (Ste Knight), "Excellent work here! Will play on my show." (Fly Radio 104 FM), "Great – will play." (Radio Reverb), "Energetic and ethereal club energy." (CJSW Canada)

3 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

First Word Records proudly present ‘One 4 Detroit’; the third single from Above The Clouds (aka kidkanevil & Magic Manfred), complete with a remix by 14KT.

This 7" vinyl release follows on from last Summer's MF DOOM cover 'Arrow Root', which received strong support from the likes of Japan's DJ Koco and Philadelphia's DJ Jazzy Jeff, and their recent cover of ‘Change’ which was originally by Shadez of Brooklyn, most notably appearing on DJ Premier's 1997 mix album 'New York Reality Check 101.

One of the original First Word roster, UK Producer/DJ and all-round laptop music geek kidkanevil has developed a distinctive and progressive sound over the years, gleefully exploring the beats and bleeps of the electronic music universe to international recognition. Leeds born, sound system bred and raised on a (un)healthy diet of video games and anime, his solo work inhabits the curious space between bass frequencies and otaku culture. But as a devoted teenage backpack rap nerd, somewhere in the back of kid's mind was a lingering desire to reconnect with his first love, hip hop.

Not long after moving to Berlin he joined a studio space in graffiti plastered Kreuzberg, where he met multi instrumentalist wizard Magic Manfred; a disciple of all things boogie, disco, funk and soul. Born and raised in Berlin, and currently a touring musician for many an act, Manfred's musical map joins the dots from piano lessons at four, to starting a band with his teenage friends, leading him to his true calling - the bass - via the club vibrations of his hometown, which introduced him to the world of DJing and production, and a stint studying in the explosive London jazz scene to finalise his Jedi training.

Bonding over their mutual love of '90s hip hop, a friendship and musical kinship developed, coupled with a desire to honour past eras but push things forward, Above The Clouds was born; named after their joint favourite Primo beat, with a touch of irony regarding their basement based studio of a windowless variety.

kidkanevil explains that “after we made a bunch of piano joints it felt like time for a switch up, I had these raw drums looped and Manfred started playing this simple synth line on the Prophet - it kind of happened in an instant. This one was really a case of capture a moment and let it be. It had this cold, industrial bounce to it that really felt ‘Detroit’ somehow, so it became something of a tribute to that sound. Obviously there’s a rich musical history there that’s beyond anything we could encapsulate, but I hope the respect comes across. From Berlin to the D with love!


We felt pretty strongly that if we’re gonna nod to Detroit, we needed a remix from someone who reps there directly. I’ve been a fan of 14KT since the early 2000s beat scene, and as he’d previously released music on First Word, it made perfect sense to approach him. We asked and did he oblige!! I’m very comfortable saying we got schooled! He really blessed us with an amazing remix that brought a life and soul to what was originally a pretty stark beat, we’re super honoured to have this as our first ever remix.


‘U3P1’ (named after a synth preset so we didn’t forget!) is on the flip - this also came about pretty fast. I was thinking Ummah-era Tribe with the drums, and Manfred once again put down this super nice riff and it grew from there. It kinda felt like it needed some trumpet and it's always nice to highlight some of the amazing musicianship lurking beyond the club systems here in Berlin, so we called up Berlin based trumpeter and composer Paolo de Jesus, who blessed us with a beautiful performance and arrangement. And that was that; we hope you enjoy!”

‘One 4 Detroit / U3P1’ is released on limited 7" vinyl & digital platforms, June 12th 2026.


b 02: One For Detroit (14KT Remix) feat. 14KT


b 02: One For Detroit (14KT Remix) feat. 14KT


[b] 02: One For Detroit (14KT Remix) [feat. 14KT]


[b] 02: One For Detroit (14KT Remix) [feat. 14KT]


[b] A2 | One For Detroit (14KT Remix) [feat 14KT]

Five Special were a five-man harmony vocal group all from Detroit, formed during 1975. Founding members Mike Pattillo of ‘The Explosions’ and Steve Harris of the group ‘Trouble’ both unhappy with their then situations decided to unite to form their own group. They were soon to be joined by Zeke Stanley of “Deep Velvet”. As a threesome, the sound they created was fantastic but they all agreed a five-man group with five potential lead singers was the way forward.

It was around this time that Mike Pattillo’s lifelong neighbour Ron Banks (of The Dramatics’) introduced the guys to Charles “Chuck” Underwood. Chuck had been involved in the music business from the early 60’s as a show promotor, one of many acts he promoted was The Dramatics. Chuck had known the group from their earliest days and later became their road manager. After a failed attempt to buy the Dramatics contracts from Groovesville Music, Chuck pressed ahead with his plans to form T.E.A.I Record Corporation (T.E.A.I being an abbreviation for “Tellin’ Everybody About It”) with Ron Banks joining the label in an executive role only. This young and aspiring record company sprung into production during 1974 with initial releases on a local artist’s Renee Williams “Special To Me/Are You My Brother”, followed by ‘The Gaslight’ “Just Because Of You/It’s Just Like Magic” in 1975.

Now under the auspice of Chuck, Mike, Steve and Zeke were introduced to Greg Finley formerly of the ‘Innovations’. Now four, the quest for a fifth member continued. After months of disappointing auditions, Ron Banks decide it was time for his younger brother Bryan to embark on a professional career after initially resisting due to him being a 16-year-old school boy. After many daily rehearsals in each other’s respective basements until Bryan’s graduation the full and dynamic sound of these five young men was finally honed. Still nameless, it was Steve Harris that came up with the group’s name ‘Five Special’ stating that these five young men were “very special and unique entertainers, with each member being a complete show in himself” with Bryan on lead they sometimes sounded like “The Dramatics” with Mike they sometimes sounded like “The Temptations” high comparisons indeed.

Five Special’s first recording for T.E.A.I was the 1976 joyously uplifting dancer “The More I Get To Know You” a Jimmy Roach and Marcella Henderson composition featuring Bryan on lead, released as a part I and part II deemed to be a more disc-jockey friendly practice at the time. The record was popular with radio stations throughout the Detroit metropolis and Chuck went on to precure a deal with Polygram which resulted in a release on their nationally distributed Mercury label. A second Five Special release followed in 1977, the Jimmy Roach penned mellifluous “(Let’s Stop Making) Small Talk” backed with the Ron Banks/Paul Clark penned psychedelic soul styled “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with Greg Finley and Zeke Stanley exchanging tenor and baritone parts throughout.

Through our ongoing working relationship with T.E.A.I we have gained access to some previously unissued material on Five Special. From the tapes we have taken “The More I Get To Know You” in its 5:50 minutes entirety backed with the previously unissued mid-tempo delight “You Got To Be The One That I Love” with interchanging leads from Bryan and Steve. The second b-side track is the psychedelic soul “Oh, Oh (Look What We’ve Done)” with interchanging leads between Greg and Zeke. Three songs, three different styles all of the highest quality, with more to come from Five Special, so watch this space!

Frenzy steps back into the warehouse fog for FRNZYREC012, marking the arrival of Mees Javois with the Eyes Without A Face EP. This six-track collection functions as a raw blueprint of the early hours, where the steady pulse of hardware meets a stripped-back, mechanical soul.

Already turning heads in the underground circuit, Mees brings a fresh yet timeless approach that feels equally suited to intimate basements and peak-time dance floors. His debut on Frenzy introduces an artist with a clear vision and a deep understanding of club music's darker edges.

FRNZYREC012 is a singular vision of the dancefloor, a deliberate sequence of sound that balances cold precision with a visceral human touch.



c A3: Mees Javois - Reflection Matrixxman Remix

Hit the North is a DJs’ movement
Not a label. Not a revival. A discipline.

Over the years, the collective travelled across multiple states in the US and parts of the UK, digging deep into private collections, basements, garages, storage rooms and forgotten boxes.

They weren’t looking for classics.
They weren’t looking for hits.
They were looking for attempts.

Artists chasing something bigger than themselves.
Trying to sound like Motown.
Trying to sound like Detroit.
Trying to sound like the records that saved them.

Many of them dreamed — at best — of becoming a one hit wonder.
Most never got that far.

Some never crossed a state line.
Some never crossed the street at the end of their block.
Some never played outside their hometown.
Some never played at all.

What they left behind were fragments.

Raw versions.
Unfinished recordings.
Alternate takes.
Rejected mixes.
Test pressings.
Acetates passed quietly from hand to hand.

Sometimes with real credits.
Sometimes with fake ones.
Sometimes with handwritten labels leading nowhere.
Titles that didn’t match the music.
Stories that changed every time you asked.

Often, the trail simply disappeared.

What remained was intention.

Energy.
Urgency.
Hope pressed into sound.

So the collective worked on it.

They edited certain parts.
Extended others.
Cut what didn’t serve the floor.

Not to modernise.
Not to rewrite history.
But to unlock the power that was already there.

The result sounds like Northern Soul pushed to its breaking point.
Fast. Physical. Emotional.
Built for movement.

Some circulated privately.
Others were never pressed at all.

Recorded in personal studios, borrowed studios, friends’ rooms, temporary spaces.
Always outside the system.

This is not nostalgia.
This is unfinished business.

Welcome back to a time when Bulletin Board Systems were the social media, it was too dark for influencers, hardware predated plugins, and a home studio was a cumbersome necessity in the absence of ghost producers.

The vinyl-only Kilotoni series returns with another faceless batch of radioactive techno from the previously unreleased tape archives.

A1 The classic acid techno anthem formula is utilized in its purest form for prime time main floor use. Steady build-ups keep the tension going in what is otherwise a simplistic live recording style performance.

A2 Compressed-to-death hard techno and a detuned lead that could have come straight out of late-90s Sweden. A rare cheeky vocal snippet from an old Trax record and submarine sonar pulses provide some relief from the pressure.

B1 Melancholic but funky acid house for warming up the dance floor in your local club basement. A bouncing bassline and flanging chords meet for the sweetest treat.

B2 Cruiserweight ghetto techno meets dubby, modulating chords — perhaps unexpectedly. The last sweat of the morning hours.

(*Previously unreleased)

Two lost cuts from the orbit of Tony Humphries surface at last, pulled straight from acetates in his private archive and pressed here for the first time. Unearthed like messages from the booth itself, they capture that raw, transitional moment when club music was still inventing its own language night after night.
On the A-side, Kerri Chandler with “Kerri Kaoz Beats”, a stripped, swinging tool full of basement pressure and early-morning intent. No excess, no compromise, just Kerri doing what Kerri does best. Flip it over for Dee Dee Brave – “My My Lover (Tony Humphries Dub)”, a previously unheard Humphries reconstruction that stretches the vocal into something deeper, moodier and unmistakably floor-ready. Spacious, patient, and quietly euphoric.
Two pieces of house history that never made it past the acetate stage until now. Not revisions, not edits, but originals finally stepping into the light. Essential documents from the roots that still point forward.

3 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

Alina Valentina ignores rule books. When it comes to making music, she bends genres to her own sound and vision. Acid, electro, synth wave, vocoders. All are melted to produce a bracing style that is floor focussed and strikingly individual. It is this distinctive perspective that The Hague based artist brings to Schrödinger’s Box for NPC Dream, eight tracks that map a journey that disregards genre limitations. The intent and mood are immediately set with the fierce “Air Slasher” plunging through the fog as kicks roll and beads of acid bulge. Raw electro is further coarsened by scything keys and vicious vocoder words in the title piece before the technoid mutations and pain-streaked “Echo of Ecco.” The ground is never stable, the direction and ideas darting and shifting to new sonic territory. Punishing and pure, “Mine Cart Madness” is EBM-encrusted cruelty. Tempos shift on the flip, the slow and cinematic atmosphere of “Pixel Swamp” feeding into the sinister and snarling snares of “Wishing Engine.” Paranoia and tension collide in the stabbing chiptune chords and spiking percussion of “Come Get Some”, acid barbs ballooning into a blistering barrage in this warped wrecking ball. “Light Warrior” is cut from the same raucous cloth. Knobs splinter against machined lyrics, sirens blare as kicks thump in this basement lurking beast.

NPC Dream is a relentless record. From the needle drop, Alina Valentina enforces her sound as she teases and taunts styles. Fiery and brimming with energy, this 12” encapsulates the sound of an exciting talent who carves their music with a truly unique ear.

Lambrini Girls kündigen am 15. Januar ihr mit Spannung erwartetes zweites Album „NO REFUNDS“ an. Ihr Debütalbum „Who Let The Dogs Out“ schaffte es in die Top 20 der britischen Charts, wurde von Magazinen wie Kerrang! und NME auf den Titelseiten vorgestellt, sorgte weltweit für ausverkaufte Tourneen und löste einen regelrechten Hype in den sozialen Medien aus. „No Refunds“ ist düsterer, direkter und radikaler. „BANG BANG BANG“ eröffnet die Kampagne mit voller Wucht: scharf, schnell und explosiv.

Lambrini Girls sind ein Punk-Duo aus Brighton, das Musik über all das macht, worüber deine beschissene Regierung, deine beschissenen Chefs und deine beschissenen Männer lieber nicht reden würden. Phoebe Lunny (Gesang, Gitarre) und Selin Macieira-Boşgelmez (Bass) stehen ganz in der Tradition des Riot Grrrl – roh, laut, witzig und wütend. Ihre Songs über sexuelle Übergriffe, Queerness, Sparpolitik, Rassismus und toxische Beziehungen werden mit einer chaotischen Live-Energie vorgetragen, die Veranstaltungsorte in Moshpits und Fremde in Gemeinschaften verwandelt. Ihr Debütalbum „Who Let The Dogs Out“ (City Slang Records, Januar 2025) war eine der meistgelobten Platten des Jahres: eine Metacritic-Bewertung von 83, was auf „allgemeine Begeisterung“ hindeutet, ein Einstieg auf Platz 16 der britischen Albumcharts, Rough Trades „Album des Monats“ und Platz 12 in Kerrang!s Liste der 50 besten Alben des Jahres 2025. NME kürte es zu einem der 20 besten Debütalben des Jahres. Die Band zierte die Titelseiten von Notion, Kerrang!, Paste, New Noise und Variety und erntete Lob von Größen wie Kathleen Hanna, Sleater-Kinney und Peaches, die ihren Hit „Cuntology 101“ remixten. “ Im Anschluss an das Album folgten mehrere ausverkaufte Headliner-Tourneen durch Europa, Großbritannien und Nordamerika, bei denen sie das O2 Forum Kentish Town ausverkauften und sich einen Auftritt beim Coachella sicherten, bevor sich Frontfrau Phoebe Lunny mitten auf der Tournee in Australien eine Halswirbelfraktur und eine Hirnverletzung zuzog. Die US-Termine wurden verschoben. Und dann neu angesetzt. Eine Reihe von Festivalauftritten wurde angekündigt. Ein Auftritt als Vorgruppe von Bikini Kill in New York wurde hinzugefügt. Das ist nicht die Ruhe vor dem Sturm … Die Lambrini Girls sind schon mittendrin, und sie werden gerade erst richtig loslegen.

Lambrini Girls kündigen am 15. Januar ihr mit Spannung erwartetes zweites Album „NO REFUNDS“ an. Ihr Debütalbum „Who Let The Dogs Out“ schaffte es in die Top 20 der britischen Charts, wurde von Magazinen wie Kerrang! und NME auf den Titelseiten vorgestellt, sorgte weltweit für ausverkaufte Tourneen und löste einen regelrechten Hype in den sozialen Medien aus. „No Refunds“ ist düsterer, direkter und radikaler. „BANG BANG BANG“ eröffnet die Kampagne mit voller Wucht: scharf, schnell und explosiv.

Lambrini Girls sind ein Punk-Duo aus Brighton, das Musik über all das macht, worüber deine beschissene Regierung, deine beschissenen Chefs und deine beschissenen Männer lieber nicht reden würden. Phoebe Lunny (Gesang, Gitarre) und Selin Macieira-Boşgelmez (Bass) stehen ganz in der Tradition des Riot Grrrl – roh, laut, witzig und wütend. Ihre Songs über sexuelle Übergriffe, Queerness, Sparpolitik, Rassismus und toxische Beziehungen werden mit einer chaotischen Live-Energie vorgetragen, die Veranstaltungsorte in Moshpits und Fremde in Gemeinschaften verwandelt. Ihr Debütalbum „Who Let The Dogs Out“ (City Slang Records, Januar 2025) war eine der meistgelobten Platten des Jahres: eine Metacritic-Bewertung von 83, was auf „allgemeine Begeisterung“ hindeutet, ein Einstieg auf Platz 16 der britischen Albumcharts, Rough Trades „Album des Monats“ und Platz 12 in Kerrang!s Liste der 50 besten Alben des Jahres 2025. NME kürte es zu einem der 20 besten Debütalben des Jahres. Die Band zierte die Titelseiten von Notion, Kerrang!, Paste, New Noise und Variety und erntete Lob von Größen wie Kathleen Hanna, Sleater-Kinney und Peaches, die ihren Hit „Cuntology 101“ remixten. “ Im Anschluss an das Album folgten mehrere ausverkaufte Headliner-Tourneen durch Europa, Großbritannien und Nordamerika, bei denen sie das O2 Forum Kentish Town ausverkauften und sich einen Auftritt beim Coachella sicherten, bevor sich Frontfrau Phoebe Lunny mitten auf der Tournee in Australien eine Halswirbelfraktur und eine Hirnverletzung zuzog. Die US-Termine wurden verschoben. Und dann neu angesetzt. Eine Reihe von Festivalauftritten wurde angekündigt. Ein Auftritt als Vorgruppe von Bikini Kill in New York wurde hinzugefügt. Das ist nicht die Ruhe vor dem Sturm … Die Lambrini Girls sind schon mittendrin, und sie werden gerade erst richtig loslegen.

LP,180g, 2027 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART

The 'vivid contemporary sounds for a fresh visual image' make up the now canonised Synthesis from Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett. These two greats go deeper than usual on this collection, and the end result is a synth concept record of sorts. Released in 1974, it's an essential companion piece to
their Synthesizer and Percussion LP, released on Themes International Music in the same year.
Like most of our favourite library records, Synthesis has that gloriously funky, 'weird electronic music' vibe without ever being inaccessible. With the awesome ARP Odyssey at the fore, Hawkshaw and Bennett have created a blissed-out soundscape that, whilst laid back in all the right places, somehow remains heavy on the funk. It's a sort of throbbing, proto-G Funk sound and you can fnd it on many of these low-lit basement workouts.
Take the ice-cool 'Alto Glide'. It's a sunset-funk highlight with an electro-fute refrain that conjures those dreamier Dre / DJ Quick instrumentals from '91 to '92.
Stereolab, Koushik (again) and all those Ghost Box artists were clearly listening very closely in the years since. The equally relaxed 'Mermaid' glides efortlessly with soft, shimmering piano, understated percussion and kaleidoscopic synths.
It's a really beautiful piece.With these two soft-focus closing tracks allowing the LP to foat away over the horizon, the preceding ten tracks have a more insistent, neck-snapping rhythm
section to back the synth overload. Highlights include the head-nod funk of 'Getting It Together' and the synth break in 'The Executive', which informed classic video game soundtracks.
For once Be With really is stuck for words to describe just how good this record is.
Best just to listen. As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Synthesis comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.

2026 Repress

Mermaids is many things at once: The debut single by Fila Brazillia (named after the mishearing of a Brazilian mastiff breed mentioned on the radio), the second release on Pork Recordings, a deep house master piece, the brainchild of the summer of love, a pen friend to A Man Called Adam’s Barefoot in the Head and most of all pure balearic bliss. Originally released in 1991 and subsequently featured on Old Codes, New Chaos, which according to Frank Tope at Mixmag, is "the Best Dance LP ever made”, it marked the beginning of a long and illustrious partnership for Hull natives Steve Cobby and David (Man) McSherry.
Mermaids still sounds as good and as addictive on any kind of beach or natural environment as it supposedly did on Boris Dlugosch’s Front dance floor or any other basement suffused with strobe lights at the time (or any hedonistic place for that matter). Having been already part of the latter’s and Klaus Stockhausen’s Mastermix Front Compilation, it has now been dusted off and remastered for an individual performance. Added for the first first time though is the original demo version that makes use of a different yet not less enchanting bass line.
Also included is Fila’s 1994 trippy, dare we say progressive, UK house blueprint Slacker. A seismic shift from the traditional tropes of house, it set an example for what should rock the dance music boat just a few years later. Delivered in a previously unreleased extended version for your utmost enjoyment.
Artwork note: The sleeve photograph is a proto-selfie taken by Steve in 1983 (the year the two first met). Man still has those braces.

/// First track, Symmetry, debuted on BBC Radio 6 New Music Fix, 10th February: "A beautiful, beautiful album" /// I got my life back. On 17 February 2025, 1024 rays of ultra sound converged at an operation table in Bern, Switzerland, and disconnected a noisy circuit on my brain. 90% of the manifestation ceased – of a disease that I no longer wish to mention by its name. During the same period, I completed my new album: Self Help Manual. I’ve read more current research about the nameless disease than my neurologist, who despite that I didn’t follow his advice on suitable treatment, called me after the successful operation: a brave, brave man. I have composed the music in the same way as in my previous album – Songs for the Nervous System – through layers upon layers of improvisations in dialogue with my synthesizers, most of which are the same age as me. I made the majority of the songs in my studio in the remains of Old Hagalund in Solna. I edited the recordings in my bed during the waking hours of clarity at night. Some songs – NAC, Ketosis, Overkill – were recorded in the basement of my childhood home in Skutskär, in Norduppland, where I’d returned to be nurtured by my retired parents – who during a night when I couldn’t turn over in bed, or pull the blanket over me – made a list of what would happen to my belongings. To my friends who have stood out with me despite my disease, I want to state: you will not inherit me yet. On the new album, the electric bass takes on a leading role. ESG and Liquid Liquid have been important when I reinvented my baselines, limited and liberated by my poor fine motor skills. Plasma is my homage to Summertime Rolls by Jane’s Addiction, that I listened to frequently in my youth. I guess that no one will hear the resemblance. In several songs, the Fender Rhodes plays an important role, a magical instrument that I bought shortly after my diagnosis over a decade ago, and for a long time didn’t dare to touch out of respect for Herbie Hancock and Fela Kuti. A couple of songs draw inspiration from the Horn of Africa – Inner Nile and Delta. At first, subconsciously in the reverb-drenched Inner Nile, then more consciously in Delta. I’m sorry it doesn’t swing the right way, but it was my attempt to return to the cradle of humanity. Longevity is possibly my favourite. The melody is played by an arpeggiator that I controlled by pressing down different keys in an exhilarating sense of freedom. One song in particular, the second track – One – has caused friends to associate freely: one thought it sounded like Patrick Cowley, another like Sly & Robbie meets Kraftwerk, a third like Air – Moonlight Safari. I made one song just before the surgery: opening track Symmetry. It’s the mightiest and most minimal song. I made one song after the surgery: finishing track Self Help Manual. My previous medication pump is heard through the microphone of my Ovation Magnum. It’s the most hopeful song on the album. I took the cover photos with my Hasselblad during walks in Tokyo suburbs of Ōmori and Kamata more than ten years ago. It was something about the faith of the traffic cones that fascinated me – born in the same streamlined form, they had over the years become increasingly individual and lovable. The mixing was finalized by Christoffer Roth in the newly built Studio Dubious in Nacka. Rashad Becker, who in an interview said that he listens as much with his mouth as with his ears, mastered the album at Clunk in Berlin. Right now it feels like anything is possible. My recovery is perhaps a small step for mankind, but a giant leap for me. I hereby leave the music to you. Joakim Forsgren

Aspetuck has been steadily carving out a name for himself through releases on Never Late and Oslated, garnering a respected following for his DJ mixes and festival performances. Aspetuck’s latest record, Immersion, was sequenced and curated from dozens of ideas spanning a transformative few years in Griff’s life. The album is less a snapshot in time and more of a memory bank - flashes of fatherhood, loss, modular rabbit holes, late-night studio sessions, and long walks by the Hudson River with his daughter.
The emotional undertow of the album is immediate. Opener Hit Me With Your Pet Shark is one of the earliest compositions in the collection, created just months after the loss of Griff’s brother and during the sleepless swirl of new parenthood. Built around a single sound from Spectrasonics Omnisphere, found while rediscovering his brother’s studio gear, the track sets the tone: restrained yet searching, personal without becoming precious.
From there, The Printing Press captures the raw energy of a live jam in Griff’s upstate New York basement, running through a 1980s Tascam mixer like a lo-fi assembly line of synths, pads, and drum machines. REI, named after a spontaneous family mission to find a pink water bottle, encapsulates his knack for imprinting daily minutiae into sound. And title track Immersion- once known simply as Tuesday 303 Jam- emerges from a dinner break and a blender, distilling modular sketches and distorted drums into a powerful, slow-motion march.
Under, Under The Tree hits hardest. Built around a grainy iPhone voice memo of Griff’s daughter singing by the Hudson. And closing the album is Bobik, a collaborative studio session with Moon Patrol channeling the playful chaos of a close friendship and modular exploration. Named after a joke about their golden retriever and filled with alien textures from Griff’s beloved EMU XL7 gifted years ago by his late brother, it’s a fitting send-off to an album that straddles celebration and mourning with grace.
The artwork comes courtesy of Peter Skwiot Smith, whose textured analog/digital aesthetic resonated immediately with Griff’s original vision. Peter’s treatment draws on Griff’s personal photography and leans into motion, blur, and the layered nature of memory, echoing the album's sonic tone without overexplaining it.
Mastered by Sven Weisemann, Immersion is available on blue smoke colored 12”

The SOUP crew return, with a monstrous melange of musical delights to ignite hedonistic basement bashes and Balearic backyards alike.

Cultural reincarnation, a sonic samsara for enlightened minds and elastic hips

UK producer Tom Carruthers delivers another masterclass for Skylax, diving deeper into the DNA of house music with Deepline, a 5-track journey that connects the raw futurism of the late ’80s to the deep innovations of the early ’90s. Known for his MPC-driven grooves on L.I.E.S., Clone Jack For Daze and Craigie Knowes, Carruthers has become a true guardian of machine funk — always stripped down, always pure. The title track Deepline captures the very essence of house, hypnotic and driving, right at the crossroads of 80s machine funk and early 90s deepness, a timeless groove that feels like the missing link. Dream 12 unfolds as lush and atmospheric, with pads that instantly recall the golden era of early 90s deep house, a reverie made for afterhours and smoke-filled basements. Experience stands as a raw reminder of the four pillars of house — drum machines, bass, minimalism and repetition — metallic, stripped, relentless, pure underground. On the flip, Fantasy explodes with wild energy, channeling the raw spirit of Trax Records and Armando, dirty and direct, a weapon for uncompromising dancefloors. Finally, Folx closes the record with a cosmic edge, its tough jackin’ drums colliding with spacey synth touches to create a bridge between Chicago basements and interstellar dancefloors. Once again, the visual identity is entrusted to the iconic H5 studio (Daft Punk, YSL, Logorama), whose bold modernist artwork perfectly mirrors Carruthers’ stripped yet futuristic vision. Vinyl only. No digital. No compromise.

3 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

4 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

Lady Jane Beach land on Slacker 85 with their lo-slung label debut, ‘Binman’. A short, sharp shot of minimal rhythm and rhyme, ‘Binman’ is the sound of the enigmatic London-based trio soundtracking their trips around the capital’s outer ringroads seeking adventure, trouble and corrupted drum machines. Blessed with loose, confident production and verses like glue, Slacker boss Seth Troxler doubles down on his support with a beefed-up, roadtested club edit.

An undisputed trailblazer of UK rave, Zed Bias fires up his studio for two contrasting takes on ‘Binman’, each capturing split sides of the soundsystem culture he helped define. Zed’s ‘Weighty Dub’ goes unapologetically raw, transitioning between skippy beats, heavy bass drops and a fusebox melody out of the darkness. From the basement straight through to the beach club, the ‘Nostalgia Mix’ makes good on its promise of misty-eyed reverie, recalling the first-wave of UKG domination with lush strings and steppin’ drums that still sound like a bright future.

From one generation to the next, fast-rising DJ and producer HalfPint is already familiar to dancers of Circoloco's famed Terrace and Garden. His take on ‘Binman’ finds a fresh frequency, converting the rhymes of the original into a precision-tooled tech house groove, primed for the summer season.

Silvana Rossi emerges from the new wave of Italo revivalists with a sound that feels both timeless and sharply contemporary, where vintage drum machines, analog synth lines and nocturnal romance collide with a modern club sensibility. Rooted in classic Italo disco but filtered through today’s underground circuitry, her music speaks directly to selectors navigating the space between wave, electro and slow-burning techno. The tracks carry a distinctly personal edge—melancholy, desire, and late-night introspection wrapped in icy melodies and hypnotic grooves. This is music made for dimly lit booths, smoke-filled basements, and DJs who still believe in storytelling through vinyl.

A seductive opener “Elixir Of Love” built on cascading arps and a steady pulse, romantic but restrained, like a whispered confession over a rolling bassline. Perfect for setting the tone early set. Tension-driven and emotionally charged, italo anthem “Breakdown” balances crisp electro rhythms with a sense of inner collapse. A cold wave-leaning cut that hits hardest when the lights stay low and the energy turns inward. Shades Of The Night – a cinematic slow-burner drenched in shadow and atmosphere. This one is all about texture and space. Walk In The Night, another italo classic on the EP, stripped-back and hypnotic, with a confident groove that nods to classic Italo while staying firmly rooted in modern club aesthetics. “Bad Girl” brings a sharper, more playful edge, driving, stylish, and slightly dangerous. A weapon with crossover appeal for electro and wave crowds alike. A versatile tool for both warm-ups and deeper moments. Emotionally direct yet sonically controlled lush pads and restrained vocals create a sense of distance that pulls you in “Don’t Leave Me”. A melancholic highlight for DJs who know how to play with tension.

Hey! Cabrera is back at Bordello. Following on from Italo Void, this time he arrives with two friends and fellow countrymen in tow: Marta Paradise, the duo of Paolo Ancona and Davide Pozzovivo. A shared passion for the analogue riches of the 1980s cements this new partnership, a passion fully captured in the bold synth‑lines and heady grooves of Go By Night. Bodies swirl in the fog of “Stasera No.” Glittering melodies float above clean beats, shifts swooping and tucking before the unmistakable vocals of Fred Ventura smoulder. The mood drops from disco to basement as “Go Ahead” takes hold. Those addictive hooks remain central, but now they’re teased by breathy samples, orchestral rinses and thick basslines.

Whistle blasts and cowbell rumbles introduce the flip. Bright and luminous, vocoder verses carry this late‑night rave straight into sunrise. Tempos fall for the close. Fragile drum patterns form a base from which machined and spoken words intertwine with bubbling 303 lines. A record that captures every moment of the night.

The Nightlife finds Honey Dijon exploring the space between house music’s past, present, and future — blurring boundaries, bending conventions, and inviting an all-star cast of collaborators to help redefine what club culture sounds like for today.

Rooted in the lineage of house yet never confined by it, the album moves effortlessly from sweat-soaked basement energy to lush strains of soul and R&B — and into unexpected spaces in between. It’s not a strictly house record; it’s an expression of nightlife itself: fearless, fluid, and in constant evolution.

At once reverent and forward-looking, The Nightlife honors the foundations of the dancefloor while pushing its possibilities outward. It captures the communal pulse, the intimacy, and the transformative power that only music at night can hold.

A love letter to the dancefloor.

Pre-order now and step inside.

Atjazz presents his long-awaited 27-track long player "Starbase 17" — an epic odyssey through song and sound, offering a rich tapestry of styles that draws listeners into a wondrous sonic realm where rhythm, harmony, and imagination intertwine.

Taking inspiration from his extensive body of work, Martin "Atjazz" Iveson fuses his signature deep musicality with cutting-edge production to reach new creative heights. This time, he brings an exceptional ensemble of world-renowned collaborators aboard his cosmic vessel, each adding their own distinct brilliance to the voyage

Together, this stellar lineup consisting of Fred Everything, Nathan Haines, Sio, Karizma, LyricL, Peacey, Pete Simpson, OVEOUS, Charles Webster, Kaidi Tatham, Clyde Beats, Natasha Watts, Omar, Max Beesley, Josh Milan, Rona Ray, Osunlade, and Clara Hill joins Atjazz on a journey through sound, space, and emotion — where each track is a world of its own, yet all are united by a shared creative vision and boundless imagination.

In the late 2000s a sprawling catalog of what is now genre-defining music was emanating from an unlikely place. Cleveland, Ohio has a broad reputation for many things, but in the aughts, psyche-expanding Kosmische wasn’t necessarily Cleveland’s calling card… until Emeralds. The trio of John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt, and Mark McGuire had released a profusion of limited-run cassettes, CD-Rs, and vinyl titles that had been passed around basement shows and then migrated to niche music communities online, creating a unique kind of murmur, even in the height of the DIY blog era. Three kids from the rust belt were crafting a distinctive and truly far-out strain of music on their own terms in the Midwest. They were flipping lids in wood-paneled basements and circulating around the underground with soaring sounds stylistically indebted to deep German electronic music pioneers and released with the ethos and twisted fervor of renegade Midwestern noise freaks. After several releases garnered a die-hard fandom in niche circles of internet/music culture, and then catching the attention of the late Peter Rehberg, the renowned artist and curator of the Editions Mego label, an expectation was set that the next Emeralds record was going to be a big one. And in 2010, Does it Look Like I’m Here? was it.

mp3s of this album; they can finally get a fresh copy on vinyl. Does It Look Like I’m Here? became a hallmark that would carve a path for an entire scene. Ghostly International is thrilled to reissue the album, remastered by Heba Kadry, including 7 bonus tracks exclusive to the digital album and CD. The limited edition 2xLP includes extensive liner notes by Chris Madak (Bee Mask).

Vakula flips the script with U’re Made Of Sound – cosmic textures meet raw basement energy straight from Konotop. Deep beats, hypnotic layers, every groove tells a story. Elevate your set, ride the soundwave.

Trackmaster Dre delivers raw ghetto crispiness for the streets, raves, clubs boiler rooms and basements, house heads and techno cobras. Trackmaster Dre is for the world.No cap.

4 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

Calder City Development Corp. returns from Detroit with CCDC008 “Body Remembers EP” by Chicago Skyway, a raw, emotional slice of pure Detroit house energy. This is that unmistakable blend of swing, grit and soul: dusty drum programming, deep basslines and chords that feel both melancholic and hopeful at the same time. It’s music that taps directly into the body – the kind of grooves you feel in your chest before you even realise you’re moving. “Body Remembers EP” fits perfectly into the Calder City Development Corp. universe: deep but direct, underground but timeless. This is finest Detroit house designed for concrete basements, smoky backrooms and all those moments when the lights are low and the crowd is completely locked into the groove.

HAVEN are back with their vinyl operation with a fresh plate of grubby Techno heat from Irish heavyweights Faetch & Sunil Sharpe on the Grotteca EP. Featuring 4 original rippers and a remix from Italian legend DJ Plant Texture of upfront club pressure, the NZ-based label are proud to transmit some of the finest in creeping electronics from across the globe.

The A-side kicks off with 'Bleed In' with its tough drum-work and hypnotising atmospheres eventually descending in to an all-out stomp with one of the filthiest synth-lines in the label's history hitting half-way through. This is followed up with 'Test Breaks' - a broken-beat slammer with a ton of gritty synth design and rear-shaking rhythms. The first side is closed with DJ Plant Texture's remix of 'Bleed In', where driving 909 hits combine with the original synth line for a club-ready weapon ready to get those feet moving.

On the B-side 'Vapornation' keeps the energy rolling with its rolling congas, heavy kick, and eerie atmospheres tailor-made for a concrete basement. Finally, 'Shinplant' closes the record with full-steam-ahead drums and squalid synth rhythms to end yet another plate of dance-floor ammunition from the HAVEN camp.

Rosa Brunello returns with Reworks, a 5-track EP featuring new reinterpretations of music from her acclaimed and now out-of-press albums Sounds Like Freedom (2022) and Senseless Acts Of Love (2024). Following recent highlights including the Women In Jazz Compilation, Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Basement and a sold-out Ronnie Scott’s show, Brunello invites a diverse group of collaborators to reshape her bass-driven compositions across jazz, dub and electronic forms. Featuring reworks by Eva Geist, Khalab, Neil Bopperson, Paolo Baldini and Joe Christensen (DJ Stepmom / King Pari), Reworks bridges contemporary jazz and forward-thinking club music. Released on limited 12” vinyl and digitally via Domanda Music.

3 monstruous tracks straight from the basement feat. one of the original house music creator RON HARDY.

Jalapeno Records are celebrating their 25th anniversary in the business. The label are marking the occasion with the release of a 3LP compilation featuring some of label boss Trevor Mac's favourite dancefloor gems from across the years. From a humble start in a basement recording studio on Holloway Road to a quarter century anniversary celebrated from their Brighton offices – Jalapeno Records has been an indie label with a mission - to bring the funk to the masses. Along the way that has taken in so many genres from chill to house, gospel to soul, breaks to drum & bass but it has all had a common thread running through it - the funk. "Twenty Five years means there are too many artists to list and this album is not supposed to be a Greatest Hits. We did that on the 20th anniversary. The album is dedicated to all of the artists that trusted us with their music and all the people who supported us along the way" says Trevor











k 11. Back Again (Hot Toddy Remix) feat. John Turrell — Kraak & Smaak


n 14. Alone with You (Purple Disco Machine Remix) feat. Cleopold — Kraak & Smaak











[k] 11. Back Again (Hot Toddy Remix) [feat. John Turrell] — Kraak & Smaak


[n] 14. Alone with You (Purple Disco Machine Remix) [feat. Cleopold] — Kraak & Smaak











[k] 11. Back Again (Hot Toddy Remix) [feat. John Turrell] — Kraak & Smaak


[n] 14. Alone with You (Purple Disco Machine Remix) [feat. Cleopold] — Kraak & Smaak