quête:bee

Spectral Bounce’s latest offering comes direct from Norway, courtesy of Anders Hajem — co-founder of Boring Crew Records. To date, the Oslo producer’s previous releases have been vessels for the exploration of myriad dance musics, seeing the artist fluently turn his hand to soulful house, dub techno and 2-step.

SPEC07 — the Myr EP — is a much more focused affair, finding Hajem in techno mode across 4 potent cuts typified by undulating drums and swelling echoes. Despite its emphasis on percussion, atmosphere has not been sacrificed for rhythm: vivid FX and meticulous attention to detail bring these tracks to life beyond the context of the dancefloor. This is music that can be stepped into and explored, productions that reward repeat listens.

Opening at full throttle, “Myr” is a jackin’ percussive workout, harnessing punchy drums for maximum effect. Its pulsating low-end runs in tandem with trembling synths that perpetually reflect and refract in the stereo field. Atop its rolling drums, hardgroove-inflected “Sprett” utilizes timestretched vocals, cavernous reverb and ecstatically quivering tones, elevating this 2000s-era framework to new heights. “Existence” brings things to a deeper and more hypnotic place: delays are turned up, siren calls reverberate and timbres ebb and flow. Hajem goes more chasmic still on “Concussion”, hitting the brakes for a much slower cadence and allowing space for a truly expansive listening experience. Heady and mystical, entrancing and otherworldly — listen close enough; beneath the dizzyingly shifting pulses and rattling drums you’ll hear incantations, while bass tones pulse in the depths.

SPEC07 — immerse yourself!

Credits:
Art by Susanne Janssen
Mastering & Cut by Marco Pellegrino @Analogcut
Words by Cameron Leaf

Celebrating 30 years of the legendary label, we pick legendary bombs and unreleased gems from Black Vinyl Records rich catalogue. From its inception back in 1996 Black Vinyl Records has always been a label for the serious DJs. Tony Humphries, Paul Trouble Anderson, Ricky Morrison, Justin Berkman, David Morales, Bobby & Steve and most serious Underground DJ’s supported the original vinyl release of Kerri Chandler’s early masterpiece ‘My Old Friend Alan’, dedicated to label founder Alan Russell, and it gained many more supporters following its recent digital re-Master. The David Harness remix of Tedd Patterson’s ‘Roots’ appears on vinyl for the first time here and was featured in no less than 25 Traxsource DJ charts after it’s digital release in 2022, including luminaries such as DJ Pope, Quentin Harris, Kevin Yost, Charles Dockins, and many more. The vocal mix of ‘Fever Tension’ by Fresh & Low has always been a sought after gem, only ever appearing on a ‘Re:Cuts’ release in early noughties, and ‘Rising Into Joy’ by Arnold Jarvis was championed by Danny Rampling, Paul Trouble Anderson, Andy Ward, Deli G and all the 'heads' and is the definition of a Soulful House Classic.

Besides having one of the most original artist names out there, Qrusifix aka Hampus Karlsson, is a true record collector who has been putting in the work on his MPC 2000 for quite some time. With roots in Småland and now based in Stockholm he’s been spinning records, low-key producing tracks on his home turf and popping up whenever the time felt right to spread his vibes. In 2024, together with fellow producer and friend David, he released his first record on the Malmö label Hip Hop Weekend.

The Chasing Clouds EP, out in May 2026 on Västkransen Records, presents four tracks built for late nights that drift into dawn - calm, dreamy and slightly melancholic soundscapes, as if you're on your way somewhere but without rush.

Cheeba’s Reggae Sound Boys are unloading the bass bins again with another two slices of funky reggae beats for the dance, in their second release on ECR

VOICE OF THE VOODOO - Emerges through a haze of psychedelic dub sounds into a big break beat laden skank. Organ riffs are chopped up over the funky reggae guitar rhythm and the big bass grooves. With vocals and JA deejay scats coming in and out of the mix. This has been waiting for release for a while and the dubplate has been hammered all round the country the last 12 months or more !

SAY IT LOUD - The flip side is equally club friendly with a hard hitting combination of beats and rhythms - coming on like Jah Shaka playing a soundclash at Wigan Casino - when it explodes into a big soul-stomping piano loop and heavy Hammond flourishes. The vocals riff on the JB “Black & Proud” theme, with a dancehall flava to create a party vibe just right for the summer BBQs

Rot/gelbes Splatter Vinyl, limitiert auf 600 Exemplare. Nach Jahren als Frontmann einiger der ikonischsten Rockbands kehrt Erik Grönwall mit einem Soloalbum mit dem Titel ,Bad Bones" zurück, das am 22. Mai erscheint.Weltweit bekannt für seine kraftvolle Stimme und seine beeindruckende Bühnenpräsenz, hat sich Erik als Frontmann von Skid Row, H.E.A.T. und zuletzt durch Tourneen in ganz Europa und Japan (sowie durch die Aufnahme eines UFO-Jubiläumsalbums) einen Namen gemacht, bei denen er die Lead-Vocals für Gitarrenlegende Michael Schenker übernahm.Mit ,Bad Bones" richtet er den Fokus nun ganz nach innen und liefert ein rohes und ehrliches Statement ab, das ein mutiges neues Kapitel in seiner Karriere einläutet. Die Single ,Bad Bones" gibt die Richtung für ein Album vor, das furchtlos, persönlich und kompromisslos ist. Das kommende Album BAD BONES besteht ausschließlich aus Originalmaterial und markiert eine Rückkehr zum Kern des Songwritings - ehrlich, kraftvoll und zutiefst persönlich.Neben seiner Arbeit auf der Bühne und im Studio hat Erik einen äußerst erfolgreichen YouTube-Kanal aufgebaut, der Millionen von Aufrufen verzeichnet und ein weltweites Publikum anzieht, das von seinen kraftvollen Interpretationen und seiner Authentizität begeistert ist. Mit ,Bad Bones" verleiht genau diese unmittelbare, unverfälschte Verbindung nun auch seiner eigenen, originären Stimme neue Energie.

Nach Jahren als Frontmann einiger der ikonischsten Rockbands kehrt Erik Grönwall mit einem Soloalbum mit dem Titel ,Bad Bones" zurück, das am 22. Mai erscheint.Weltweit bekannt für seine kraftvolle Stimme und seine beeindruckende Bühnenpräsenz, hat sich Erik als Frontmann von Skid Row, H.E.A.T. und zuletzt durch Tourneen in ganz Europa und Japan (sowie durch die Aufnahme eines UFO-Jubiläumsalbums) einen Namen gemacht, bei denen er die Lead-Vocals für Gitarrenlegende Michael Schenker übernahm.Mit ,Bad Bones" richtet er den Fokus nun ganz nach innen und liefert ein rohes und ehrliches Statement ab, das ein mutiges neues Kapitel in seiner Karriere einläutet. Die Single ,Bad Bones" gibt die Richtung für ein Album vor, das furchtlos, persönlich und kompromisslos ist. Das kommende Album BAD BONES besteht ausschließlich aus Originalmaterial und markiert eine Rückkehr zum Kern des Songwritings - ehrlich, kraftvoll und zutiefst persönlich.Neben seiner Arbeit auf der Bühne und im Studio hat Erik einen äußerst erfolgreichen YouTube-Kanal aufgebaut, der Millionen von Aufrufen verzeichnet und ein weltweites Publikum anzieht, das von seinen kraftvollen Interpretationen und seiner Authentizität begeistert ist. Mit ,Bad Bones" verleiht genau diese unmittelbare, unverfälschte Verbindung nun auch seiner eigenen, originären Stimme neue Energie.

At the time, Mikio Masuda was frequently mentioned as a Japanese jazz musician on par with the soft-and-mellow crossover sound of artists like Bob James and Ramsey Lewis. With a supple sensibility that moves effortlessly between jazz and rock, he stands as one of the defining figures of the 1970s. Now, one of his essential masterpieces, "Moon Stone", has been confirmed for reissue as the fifth installment from SPIN THIS NOW!

Electric Piano, Organ, Clavinet, Synthesizer - Mikio Masuda
Drums - Hideo Yamaki
Electric Bass - Motohiko Hamase
Electric Guitar - Kazumi Watanabe
Electric Guitar, Vocals - Kazumasa Akiyama

Hailing from Barcelona they are an eclectic, discerning form of contemporary industrial music, deploying compulsive minimal synth and primal polyrhythms, as well as uniquely reconstrued elements of post-punk & EBM. An artistic identity that embraces influence yet eschews compromise, changing flavors, but not essence, from release to release. Their music has been shared or praised by Iggy Pop, Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey), Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Beak), among many others.
This LP shows Dame Area most melodic side, bringing back experimentation to the genres of minimal synth, synthpop or EBM: subverting them from the inside, finding new ways to innovate, giving us unexpected twists along the ride. FFO: Chris and Cosey, DAF, Giorgio Moroder, Essaie Pas, Kraftwerk, Liasons Dangerouses.

Romphea lands on Scottish imprint Hilltown Disco with his debut EP, Blind Protocols. A producer who’s been making serious waves worldwide, Romphea’s forward-thinking take on electro has already found a home on respected labels such as Pinkman, Tiger Weeds, FERMA, and recently on Hilltown Disco’s charity compilation.

Romphea distills his sound on ‘Blind Protocols’ into a fierce club-ready statement. The A-side delivers three break-neck electro cuts, loaded with acidic pressure and gripping, sweat-driven drum workouts. Flip it over and the EP slips into darker territory, leaning into EBM influences with two killer remixes from Hayter and Timothy J. Fairplay.

Limited to 300 copies on vinyl.

“Come On In My Kitchen” remains one of Johnson’s most covered and celebrated songs. Said to draw inspiration from the Mississippi Sheiks’ hit “Sitting On
Top Of The World,” the song’s repeating guitar phrases create an unmistakable sense of melancholy and depth.

“They’re Red Hot,” on the other hand, stands out as one of Johnson’s most unusual recordings, performed in a lively hokum style. Featuring brisk, jive-inflected
guitar and Johnson’s rapid-fire vocal delivery, the track has even been described as a possible precursor to early rap music.

Wie jemand, der ein Signal aus Störgeräuschen herausfiltert, entdeckt Cosey Mueller immer wieder innovative Variationen von Punk und experimenteller Elektronik und entwickelt daraus in ihrer beeindruckenden Diskografie einen unverwechselbaren Stil - der mit „Embodiment of Denial" nun einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht. Eine zunehmend treibende Tanzbarkeit bildet dabei die Kulisse für eine verstärkte Konzentration auf Muellers Stimme.

Die acht Tracks des Albums sind voller eingängiger Hooks, während sie, weit entfernt von den leeren Parolen, die in „Der Politiker" parodiert werden, die deklarative Aussage für die Kräfte des Guten zurückerobert.

,Paradessence", das dritte Album von Visible Cloaks, ist ein Werk der Entstehung und Illusion. Die vierzehn Songs des Albums verschieben, heben und schimmern vor einem schwach leuchtenden Hintergrund der Nacht, einem höhlenartigen Raum, der durch spärliche hyperreale Darstellungen der natürlichen Welt geformt wird. Die Arrangements sind gleichzeitig grandios und zerbrechlich, sowohl eine Umkehrung als auch eine Kulmination dessen, was zuvor kam, und so abenteuerlich wie alles, was sie bisher produziert haben. Seit ihrer Umwandlung von Cloaks zu Visible Cloaks im Jahr 2014 haben Spencer Doran und Ryan Carlile eine komplexe Matrix gegensätzlicher Konzepte entworfen: organisch und künstlich, zufällig und bewusst, authentisch und repliziert. Der Albumtitel, der aus dem satirischen Portmanteau des Autors Alex Shakar aus ,paradox" und ,essence" stammt, spiegelt diese Spannungen direkt wider: Die Paradessence von Konsumgütern ist der ,schismatische Kern", der ihre Attraktivität ausmacht (in Shakars Beispiel ist Kaffee begehrt, weil er gleichzeitig entspannend und anregend wirkt). Der Balanceakt von Paradessence verleiht diesen Spannungen eine größere Dringlichkeit, da das Leben im 21. Jahrhundert durch eben diese Spannungen neu geordnet wird. Stille ist ein wichtiger Charakter in Paradessence, der nicht nur in der Gestaltung des Klangs zu spüren ist, sondern auch in dem Druck, den er auf alles und alles, was entsteht, ausübt. Die Gruppe ließ sich vom Konzept des ,positiven Raums" des Architekturtheoretikers Christopher Alexander beeinflussen, einer Idee, dass der Form der Leere um ein Objekt herum die gleiche Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt werden kann wie der Konstruktion des Objekts selbst. Wir hören, wie Klänge ihre eigene Stille in sich tragen, zwischen Existenz und Nicht-Existenz oszillieren und wie Mikroorganismen Lebenszyklen durchlaufen. Die Instrumente, die Paradessence untermauern, haben etwas Kollektives an sich. Sie bewegen sich wie eine Herde, so wie wenn der Wind über ein Feld voller Blätter weht und die Luft in der Abwesenheit von Bewegung sichtbar wird; mehrere Arten leben in derselben Melodie zusammen, treten hervor, ziehen sich zurück und verwandeln sich im Laufe von mehreren Minuten. ,Anstatt Stücke zu schaffen, die horizontal als Umgebungen funktionieren", sagt Doran, ,wollten wir sie als lebendes Material konzipieren, das sich im Raum verändert und ständig im Fluss ist." Die Songformen entfernen sich von der Atmosphäre und tendieren zur reinen Abstraktion. Utopismus schwebt am Rande; eine Beziehung zu imaginären Zukünften, die weder naiv, zynisch noch nostalgisch ist. Die Welt, die Visible Cloaks im Laufe der Zeit aufgebaut haben, wird oft von Mitwirkenden physisch umgesetzt, von denen eine vertraute Besetzung für Paradessence zurückkehrt. Motion Graphics (Joe Williams) ist auf ,synthetic woodwinds" zu hören und hat das Album mitgemischt, wobei er ihm mit seinem charakteristischen Glanz Kontur verliehen hat. Die miteinander verbundenen Stücke ,Shapes" und ,Thinking" wurden zusammen mit den Innovatoren der Umweltmusik Yoshio Ojima und Satsuki Shibano entwickelt, die auch mit dem Duo an der generationsübergreifenden FRKWYS-Kollaboration serenitatem gearbeitet haben. Das letztere Stück enthält einen von Ojima verfassten gesprochenen Text, der von Shibano auf Japanisch und von der Komponistin und langjährigen Freundin Félicia Atkinson auf Französisch gelesen wird. Das Componium Ensemble, Dorans Projekt für ,unbestimmte Kammermusik" mit selbstspielenden Software-Instrumenten, bildet die Grundlage für ,System" in einem Moment von Pessoa-scher Heteronymie. Auf dem Album ist auch Ioana Selaru zu hören, eine rumänische Komponistin und Violinistin, die ,Intarsia" mit ihrer Stimme und ihrem Streicherspiel bereichert. Doran beschreibt ihre Zusammenarbeit als ,eine Übung in illusorischer Präsenz", die sie gemeinsam aus ,der Idee entwickelt haben, ihr reales Instrumentenspiel virtuellen Instrumenten gegenüberzustellen, um die Grenzen zwischen synthetischen Streichinstrumenten und denen, die in der Realität existieren, zu verwischen". Selarus energiegeladene Darbietung in ,Intarsia" ist ein deutlicher Beweis für den dramatischen Kern von Paradessence: ein dringliches skulpturales Unterfangen, ein Instrument und eine menschliche Stimme, moduliert von einem Meer synthetischen Wachstums. Doran beschreibt, wie für ihn ,dieses Verschieben zwischen dem Realen und dem Virtuellen etwas ganz anderes einfängt, etwas Seltsames und Unbeschreibliches, das ein fester Bestandteil des Lebens in der digitalen Moderne ist, sowohl online als auch im realen Leben". Es ist elektronische Musik, die nicht nur durch ihre wechselnden Formen eine abstrakte Darstellung unserer aktuellen Traumrealität heraufbeschwört, sondern auch imaginäre Räume schafft, die emotional nuanciert sind und zu Momenten der Anmut führen.

,Paradessence", das dritte Album von Visible Cloaks, ist ein Werk der Entstehung und Illusion. Die vierzehn Songs des Albums verschieben, heben und schimmern vor einem schwach leuchtenden Hintergrund der Nacht, einem höhlenartigen Raum, der durch spärliche hyperreale Darstellungen der natürlichen Welt geformt wird. Die Arrangements sind gleichzeitig grandios und zerbrechlich, sowohl eine Umkehrung als auch eine Kulmination dessen, was zuvor kam, und so abenteuerlich wie alles, was sie bisher produziert haben. Seit ihrer Umwandlung von Cloaks zu Visible Cloaks im Jahr 2014 haben Spencer Doran und Ryan Carlile eine komplexe Matrix gegensätzlicher Konzepte entworfen: organisch und künstlich, zufällig und bewusst, authentisch und repliziert. Der Albumtitel, der aus dem satirischen Portmanteau des Autors Alex Shakar aus ,paradox" und ,essence" stammt, spiegelt diese Spannungen direkt wider: Die Paradessence von Konsumgütern ist der ,schismatische Kern", der ihre Attraktivität ausmacht (in Shakars Beispiel ist Kaffee begehrt, weil er gleichzeitig entspannend und anregend wirkt). Der Balanceakt von Paradessence verleiht diesen Spannungen eine größere Dringlichkeit, da das Leben im 21. Jahrhundert durch eben diese Spannungen neu geordnet wird. Stille ist ein wichtiger Charakter in Paradessence, der nicht nur in der Gestaltung des Klangs zu spüren ist, sondern auch in dem Druck, den er auf alles und alles, was entsteht, ausübt. Die Gruppe ließ sich vom Konzept des ,positiven Raums" des Architekturtheoretikers Christopher Alexander beeinflussen, einer Idee, dass der Form der Leere um ein Objekt herum die gleiche Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt werden kann wie der Konstruktion des Objekts selbst. Wir hören, wie Klänge ihre eigene Stille in sich tragen, zwischen Existenz und Nicht-Existenz oszillieren und wie Mikroorganismen Lebenszyklen durchlaufen. Die Instrumente, die Paradessence untermauern, haben etwas Kollektives an sich. Sie bewegen sich wie eine Herde, so wie wenn der Wind über ein Feld voller Blätter weht und die Luft in der Abwesenheit von Bewegung sichtbar wird; mehrere Arten leben in derselben Melodie zusammen, treten hervor, ziehen sich zurück und verwandeln sich im Laufe von mehreren Minuten. ,Anstatt Stücke zu schaffen, die horizontal als Umgebungen funktionieren", sagt Doran, ,wollten wir sie als lebendes Material konzipieren, das sich im Raum verändert und ständig im Fluss ist." Die Songformen entfernen sich von der Atmosphäre und tendieren zur reinen Abstraktion. Utopismus schwebt am Rande; eine Beziehung zu imaginären Zukünften, die weder naiv, zynisch noch nostalgisch ist. Die Welt, die Visible Cloaks im Laufe der Zeit aufgebaut haben, wird oft von Mitwirkenden physisch umgesetzt, von denen eine vertraute Besetzung für Paradessence zurückkehrt. Motion Graphics (Joe Williams) ist auf ,synthetic woodwinds" zu hören und hat das Album mitgemischt, wobei er ihm mit seinem charakteristischen Glanz Kontur verliehen hat. Die miteinander verbundenen Stücke ,Shapes" und ,Thinking" wurden zusammen mit den Innovatoren der Umweltmusik Yoshio Ojima und Satsuki Shibano entwickelt, die auch mit dem Duo an der generationsübergreifenden FRKWYS-Kollaboration serenitatem gearbeitet haben. Das letztere Stück enthält einen von Ojima verfassten gesprochenen Text, der von Shibano auf Japanisch und von der Komponistin und langjährigen Freundin Félicia Atkinson auf Französisch gelesen wird. Das Componium Ensemble, Dorans Projekt für ,unbestimmte Kammermusik" mit selbstspielenden Software-Instrumenten, bildet die Grundlage für ,System" in einem Moment von Pessoa-scher Heteronymie. Auf dem Album ist auch Ioana Selaru zu hören, eine rumänische Komponistin und Violinistin, die ,Intarsia" mit ihrer Stimme und ihrem Streicherspiel bereichert. Doran beschreibt ihre Zusammenarbeit als ,eine Übung in illusorischer Präsenz", die sie gemeinsam aus ,der Idee entwickelt haben, ihr reales Instrumentenspiel virtuellen Instrumenten gegenüberzustellen, um die Grenzen zwischen synthetischen Streichinstrumenten und denen, die in der Realität existieren, zu verwischen". Selarus energiegeladene Darbietung in ,Intarsia" ist ein deutlicher Beweis für den dramatischen Kern von Paradessence: ein dringliches skulpturales Unterfangen, ein Instrument und eine menschliche Stimme, moduliert von einem Meer synthetischen Wachstums. Doran beschreibt, wie für ihn ,dieses Verschieben zwischen dem Realen und dem Virtuellen etwas ganz anderes einfängt, etwas Seltsames und Unbeschreibliches, das ein fester Bestandteil des Lebens in der digitalen Moderne ist, sowohl online als auch im realen Leben". Es ist elektronische Musik, die nicht nur durch ihre wechselnden Formen eine abstrakte Darstellung unserer aktuellen Traumrealität heraufbeschwört, sondern auch imaginäre Räume schafft, die emotional nuanciert sind und zu Momenten der Anmut führen.

Ambient-Post-Rock aus San Diego, dem Rückzugsort der Millennials für Post-Hardcore. Aufgenommen zwischen den Tourneen zu "Tristeza", verwebt das zweite Album von The Album Leaf zarte Gitarrenklänge, klimperndes Klavier, nachdenkliche Synthesizer, unheimliche Feldaufnahmen und treibende Percussion zu einer Meditation über das Vergehen der Zeit. Diese remasterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe entspricht dem Original, mit neuen Anmerkungen des Autors Adam Gnade und bisher unveröffentlichten Fotos. Eine beeindruckende Stunde akustischer Photosynthese.

Crystal Clear Vinyl. Ambient-Post-Rock aus San Diego, dem Rückzugsort der Millennials für Post-Hardcore. Aufgenommen zwischen den Tourneen zu "Tristeza", verwebt das zweite Album von The Album Leaf zarte Gitarrenklänge, klimperndes Klavier, nachdenkliche Synthesizer, unheimliche Feldaufnahmen und treibende Percussion zu einer Meditation über das Vergehen der Zeit. Diese remasterte 25-jährige Jubiläumsausgabe entspricht dem Original, mit neuen Anmerkungen des Autors Adam Gnade und bisher unveröffentlichten Fotos. Eine beeindruckende Stunde akustischer Photosynthese.

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, Reichel’s rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release.

Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely centre of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. As Reichel says in the charming archival interview with Markus Müller included here, he was ‘always a cuckoo’s egg at FMP’, a label that began as an outlet for roaring European free jazz. What strikes the listener right from the opening selection on Dalbergia Retusa—‘Return of the Knödler show’, from 1987’s The Dawn of Dachsman—is the extraordinary beauty of Reichel’s music, at once alien in the shimmering sonorities and unconventional pitch relationships made possible by his invented instruments, and deeply lyrical, even romantic in its harmonic content. Growing up in West Germany in the 1960s, Reichel’s formative influences were mainly British and American rock bands, a background that shines through in many of the pieces included here: ‘An old friend passes by’ is haunted by the ghost of Hendrix’s rhythm guitar, and the wild closer ‘Heimkehr der Holzböcke’, taken from a rare 1975 7” and the only piece to use overdubbing, layers errant hammer-on and slide tones over a Canned Heat boogie chug.

Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi’s own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel’s work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. On a piece from his very first LP, played on an 11-string instrument (partly strung with piano strings and using a schnapps glass a slide), we hear his intensive exploration of fret-hammering to create zither-like, chiming tone, which Reichel would hone further in later years with a double fretboard guitar specifically designed to be hammered rather than fretted and picked. On a piece from 1979’s Death of the Rare Bird Ymir, Reichel uses two steel-string acoustic guitars at once, with beautiful results: ‘some even say too beautiful’, he jokes in the interview included here. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the ‘pick behind the bridge guitar’, instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behaviour of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realised solely through Reichel’s unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel’s own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel. Rarely has music been at once so strange and so beautiful.

With »News from Planet Zombie«, The Notwist return to view after years of exploration and experiment with an album rich in both melancholy and positivity, sketched across a suite of thrilling, fiercely committed pop songs. It’s an album reflecting a chaotic world, but responding with warmth and generosity, to achieve creative and spiritual consolidation. Recorded in their home base of Munich, it reconnects with the security of the local to explore the troubles of the global: a guiding impulse writ large across this album’s eleven songs. It’s also the first studio album since 1995’s »12« that the entire band recorded together in the studio in its expanded live formation.

A new album by The Notwist is always a curious endeavour; their musical language is as consistent and resilient as the contexts for creativity are unpredictable and ever shifting. For »News from Planet Zombie«, the core trio of Markus and Micha Acher and Cico Beck embraced the plural possibilities of writing together, bringing songs to the collective and then arranging, rehearsing and recording that material live, in the studio.

The result is an album that’s energised, fully in ›the now‹, with spectacular moments where you can hear the magic bubbling up in the dynamic between the Achers, Beck, and fellow members Theresa Loibl, Max Punktezahl, Karl Ivar Refseth, and Andi Haberl. If »Teeth« begins »News from Planet Zombie« quietly and reflectively, by »X-Ray« everyone’s supercharged, blasting out future anthems with the collective energy cranked up high. The chiming keys of »Propeller« skim the instrumental’s surface like stones across burbling water; »The Turning« clangs its way into one of the album’s most heartwarming melodies.

»News from Planet Zombie« was recorded over one week at Import Export, a non-profit space for arts and music. You can tell, too; there are some pleasingly rough edges here, as though The Notwist’s striving for hazy perfection means they’re also confident enough to let the songs breathe and mutate between our ears. That openness to chance also takes in guest turns from friends both local and international, reflective of a cosmopolitan Munich: Enid Valu joins in on vocals, while Haruka Yoshizawa guests on taishōgoto and harmonium, Tianping Christoph Xiao on clarinet, and Mathias Götz on trombone.

The Notwist aren’t best known for cover versions, but »News from Planet Zombie« features two: a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s »Red Sun« (from 2000’s »Silver & Gold«), which the group originally developed for a theatre play directed by Jette Steckel, and a take on Athens, Georgia folk-pop gang Lovers’ »How the Story Ends«. They slot into the album’s narrative perfectly, nestling in like old friends, revealing The Notwist as poetic interpreters. Played well, the cover version is both acknowledgement of fellow travellers and act of generosity, and The Notwist nail both aspects here.

And that narrative, the way the album plays out? »News from Planet Zombie« acknowledges the distress of our current geopolitical impasse, while reminding us there are collective ways forward. Fed through the figure of the zombie, Markus Acher explores our anxieties: »In the title and some lyrics I reference B- and horror-movies, which is a reference to the crazy world at the moment, which seems to be like a really bad and unrealistic B-movie.« But there’s a reminder here not to lose the thread entirely, that these things, too, will pass.

»The river here in Munich I often go to has been there forever and will be there long after us,« Acher reflects, pinpointing an important source of succour for him, »always the same but always changing. Very calming, but also always reminding me that like this river time only flows into one direction and you can’t go back. Every moment is very precious.«

Artwork by Marie Vermont

The Notwist:
Markus Acher: vocals, guitar
Micha Acher: bass, sousaphone, euphonium, trumpet
Cico Beck: electronics, keyboards, guitar, recorder, percussion
Theresa Loibl: bassclarinet, clarinet, piano, harmonium, organ
Max Punktezahl: guitar
Karl Ivar Refseth: marimbaphone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, congas, percussion
Andi Haberl: drums, dulcimer
+
Enid Valu: vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11
Haruka Yoshizawa: taishōgoto on 6, harmonium on 9, 10, 11
Tianping Christoph Xiao: clarinet on 4, 10, 11
Mathias Götz: trombone on 4, 10, 11

It's been more than ten years since Rolando debuted with his sought after self-titled EP on 030303 and it is thrilling to see the producer - who has always managed to remain a sort of best kept secret, admired only by the heads - still surf those high waves of creativity. Lifephorce is bound to be an instant classic, leaving instant marks on the listener's soul with unsettling yet mesmerising chord changes, a heavy throbbing bassline and generally a deep, introspective outlook on the dancefloor. Sterilize the Club brings back memories of face masks (thank you Rolando), but soundwise this is face to the ground stomping braindance material. Just as driving but more melancholic are Dot Zoner and Exit Your Own Realm. Classic Rolando Simmons, this one. If you know you know...

Nail has been an important voice in the UK underground ever since his DiY Sound System days in the East Midlands in the 90s. After many years away, he returned, much to the delight of many heads, about a decade ago and has continued to roll out essential jams ever since. This one on his In The Dance label embodies his style - loopy, disco tinged house that's rough around the edges and burning with soul. 'Lick The Bag' is a cheeky title for a cheeky tune, 'The Price Is Wrong' shimmers with muted jazzy chords that are always held back, but the delight is in the promise and 'Medicine Stick' rolls on sweet grooves and knotted bass. 'Swing By' shuts down with plunging kicks and hints of MAW. Superb.

aja monet ist eine surrealistische Blues-Dichterin, Musikerin und Bandleaderin, deren Werk fließend zwischen Poesie, Musik und politischem Ausdruck wechselt. Aus der Spoken-Word-Szene der Lower East Side in New York City hervorgegangen, wurde sie die jüngste Gewinnerin des Nuyorican Grand Slam Poetry-Titels, bevor sie ihr Schaffen auf genreübergreifende musikalische Darbietungen ausweitete, die ihre Wurzeln im Jazz, Blues und experimentellen Sound haben. Ihr Debüt-Poetry-Album ,when the poems do what they do" wurde 2024 für einen Grammy Award in der Kategorie ,Best Spoken Word Poetry Album" nominiert und etablierte Monetas als einzigartige Stimme in der zeitgenössischen schwarzen Musik- und Performance-Szene. Das Projekt verbindet Poesie mit Live-Instrumentierung und Improvisation und erkundet Themen wie Widerstand, Liebe und Freude durch einen kollaborativen, ensembleorientierten Ansatz. Als tourende Bandleaderin ist sie weltweit bei großen Festivals und in bedeutenden Veranstaltungsorten aufgetreten, darunter das Newport Jazz Festival, das North Sea Jazz Festival, das Montreal Jazz Festival, das Guggenheim, das Lincoln Center, das Barbican Centre und die Fremantle Biennale. Neben ihrer musikalischen Arbeit ist monet eine gefeierte Dichterin und Autorin. Ihr erster vollständiger Gedichtband, ,my mother was a freedom fighter" (2017), wurde für den NAACP Image Award in der Kategorie Poesie nominiert. Ihr jüngstes Buch, ,florida water", erschienen bei Haymarket Books, schöpft aus mehreren Jahren des Lebens und der Organisationsarbeit in Südflorida und setzt ihre Auseinandersetzung mit Ort, Bewegung und kollektivem Gedächtnis fort. Zu ihren Auszeichnungen zählen der Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award für Poesie, der Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, der Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award, der EBONY 100 Artist in Residence Award sowie der Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award. Zudem ist sie künstlerische Kreativdirektorin von V-Day, der globalen Bewegung zur Beendigung von Gewalt gegen Frauen und Mädchen, und Schöpferin von VOICES, einem Hörspiel aus dem Jahr 2022, das die Geschichten schwarzer Frauen in der Diaspora und auf dem afrikanischen Kontinent in den Vordergrund rückt. aja monet's zweites Studioalbum, ,the color of rain", wird im Mai 2026 bei drink sum wtr erscheinen.

New label Species hits the ground running with its debut release. The outlet is an extension of globally-renowned booking agency Pieces, and will feature music exclusively from the agency’s roster, which includes some of the scene’s most formidable and talented DJs and producers. The first release comes from an exhilarating project - Punky & The Brain, AKA Otis and Paul Lution. Described by the duo themselves as “scientific experiments” the music is a fusion of playful excursions with their lab equipment, and their musical knowledge.

Together they have been experimenting in the studio, merging incisive technical prowess with straight up dance floor-focused rhythms. Their field research has tested emotional variables on numerous research subjects through live performances in the most renowned clubs. A Fender bass guitar and vocoder bring another dimension to their studio exploits, and this EP is the result of their preliminary scientific findings…

2026 Repress

Ten years after it was first released, the eponymous debut EP by M.O.O.N gets a re-release in the much sought-after picture sleeve alongside the follow-up collections, Particles EP and Day/Night EP.

The EP has found fans in DJs such as Andrew Weatherall, Peggy Gou, and Jacques Renault, whilst the appearance of all four tracks on the soundtrack for cult game Hotline Miami the EP ensured a cult following, racking up millions of plays on streaming sites.

All tracks have been remastered by Brendan Zacharias aka Assembler Code giving the EP a new level of punch in the club and on home hi-fi.

Ten years after it was first released, the eponymous debut EP by M.O.O.N gets a re-release in the much sought-after picture sleeve alongside the follow-up collections, Particles EP and Day/Night EP.

The EP has found fans in DJs such as Andrew Weatherall, Peggy Gou, and Jacques Renault, whilst the appearance of all four tracks on the soundtrack for cult game Hotline Miami the EP ensured a cult following, racking up millions of plays on streaming sites.

All tracks have been remastered by Brendan Zacharias aka Assembler Code giving the EP a new level of punch in the club and on home hi-fi.

EFUNK Volume V is the fifth installation of the annual VA compilation featuring music from a curated collection of artists set to perform at Soul Clap’s House Of EFUNK touring party series. This release date on wax and digital is right in time for the official Movement Festival afterparty @ TV Lounge in Detroit that spans 2 days with 3 areas of sound. This year’s compilation features music from Soul Clap alongside long time friend and Baltimore favorite Baronhawk Poitier who present “Set The Scene”, a futuristic earthshaking groove with Baronhawk’s spoken vocals backed by Charles Levine’s vocoder and a Moog topline played by Baronhawk that won’t quit. Hercules & Love Affair makes a debut on the label with “Stay Ready” a chugging tracky / acid infused banger which should absolutely induce a dancefloor sweat. Kai Alce shares a discofied sample-licious crowd pleaser called “Boogie” with the help of additional keys by Byron Blaylock better known as Byron The Aquarius. Detroit’s new school starchild JMT joins with the hard hitting peaktime soul powered “Black Magic Touch” and last but certainly not least, Lauren Flax adds an edge of danger while calling for “Revolution” featuring vocals from Liz Wight. These tracks are sounding warm and round thanks to the mastering expertise of Caserta and have been dancefloor approved by Soul Clap!

Shaped from fragile, emotionally charged piano motifs that distort, disappear and transform into dense, cinematic textures, 'CANALS' is a debut that's finely matured, the result of years of friendship and growth. Italian artist Vanja Sturno and Montréal-based Belgian-Spanish composer Pablo Geeraert (aka Sanea Ima) have worked together extensively on various projects up until now, but 'CANALS' is their first official release as a duo. Having both studied music academically, the pair were eager to work more intuitively, so applied their well-honed set of skills to sound that, instead of fitting into a conceptual box, reflected more personal experiences.

Back in 2023, Geeraert travelled to Rome to support his friend at a difficult time and, during the trip, received some bad news of his own. The complicated feelings unconsciously surged through a series of delicate Ryuichi Sakamoto-inspired piano improvisations and a new project began to coalesce. They didn't realize it at the time, but once the record was finished, Sturno and Geeraert began to understand that the entire process had been a form a joint catharsis - a release of pressure. They were able to function so effortlessly and swiftly because they had already provided the space for each other to resonate emotionally and the music flowed from that point.

So the album's title, while remaining ambiguous, suggests its formation: a sequence of eight interconnected channels that feed a creative whole. On the first segment, Sturno and Geeraert's initial recordings can be perceived most nakedly, the melancholy, Satie-like phrases floating peacefully for a moment before the tranquility is agitated by stormy distortions and swelled into thick waves of harmony. The piano provides the record with its emotional anchor, offering focus and clarity as multi-dimensional noise wells up around it before inevitably dissipating, leaving gentle, unadorned sounds once again.

And the familiar instrument is reshaped into a wheezing artificial organ on the animated 'CANALS III', punctuated by percussive, tape-warped pitch fluctuations that seem to bite into its very essence. Gauzy acoustic granulations snowball into a powerful, bass-heavy crescendo on the fourth part, setting the tenor for the album's second half. But after the crushing 'CANALS VI', possibly Sturno and Geeraert's heaviest track, a brief tremolo-heavy vignette that ripples through experimental rock and ambient music's braided history, the duo clear the air with a jazzy diversion, introducing soft woodwind blasts as a palate cleanser before an epic, widescreen finale.

It's an album that's best absorbed as a whole, a vortex of ritualistic, rhythmic repetitions that Sturno and Geeraert appropriately refer to as "spiral listening".

To commemorate 10 years since its original release, Architects present a physical-only reissue of All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us. This isn"t just a repress; the album has been completely remixed and remastered for this 10th anniversary edition, featuring brand-new artwork and an insert of never-before-seen studio photos from 2016. Exclusive to vinyl and unavailable on digital platforms.

To commemorate 10 years since its original release, Architects present a physical-only reissue of All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us. This isn"t just a repress; the album has been completely remixed and remastered for this 10th anniversary edition, featuring brand-new artwork and an insert of never-before-seen studio photos from 2016. Exclusive to vinyl and unavailable on digital platforms.

Irish drone-doom-folk act One Leg One Eye, the project of founding Lankum member Ian Lynch and veteran noise monger George Brennan, announce their new album, CRONE, out on 1 May on AD 93.

Today the group share the first track on the album, ‘Many are my Names Besides’, on which they are joined by the elemental force that is legendary actor, performer, writer and director Olwen Fouéré (Operating Theatre) contributing vocals.

Olwen Fouéré comments:

“When Ian and George first approached me to work with them, they were already creating the Crone album as a sonic invocation of the ‘sovereignty goddess’, who personifies the land and the legitimacy to rule it, in her darkest and most terrifying form. As we spoke, the triple goddess figure of the Morrigan entered my mind, reinforced by a marked presence of crows every time we met. The Morrigan is essentially a war goddess, frequently appearing as a crow in a battlefield, a death prophet, a guardian of sovereignty, and a very powerful figure in Irish Mythology.

So I invoked her energy as a starting point, using text extracts that Ian sent me from the Ulster Cycle and other sources. The voice recording was done in one day, improvising the source material while the already composed music occupied my psyche through headphones.

Listening back, at this time in our world, I can only wonder at how much blood and war the Crone/ Crow of sovereignty is preparing to unleash now. Watch out.”

CRONE is the second album from Lynch and Brennan, following on from 2022’s slowburn slab of ambient grit, …And Take The Black Worm With Me. Bewildering, psychedelic and ultimately transcendental, the four tracks of One Leg One Eye’s CRONE shapeshift and morph endlessly in a coarse miasma. Traditional song structures and vocal melody are eschewed, instead the trio directly channel energies from the rich seams of mythological significance submerged below the Irish psyche. The anger, rage and beauty of the sovereignty goddess burn a consistent and deliberate line through the album in the form of obscure incantations and dire pronouncements, the gnarled sinews that bind it all together.

Just as the subject matter of the tracks delve deeper into Irish myth and the remote past, the temporal reality of the album reaches back into the bands prehistory, with the majority of it the material being recorded by Lynch and Brennan in 2021 before One Leg One Eye was conceived of as an entity with Brennan working on the CRONE project while Lynch worked on …And Take The Black Worm With Me.

When they were there they saw a lone woman coming to the door of the Hostel, after sunset, and seeking to be let in. As long as a weaver’s beam was each of her two shins, and they were as dark as the back of a stag-beetle. A greyish, wooly mantle she wore. Her lower hair used to reach as far as her knee. Her lips were on one side of her head.

She came and put one of her shoulders against the door-post of the house, casting the evil eye on the king and the youths who surrounded him in the Hostel. He himself addressed her from within.

"Well, O woman," says Conaire, "if thou art a wizard, what seest thou for us?"

"Truly I see for thee," she answers, "that neither fell nor flesh of thine shall escape from the place into which thou hast come, save what birds will bear away in their claws."

"It was not an evil omen we foreboded, O woman," saith he: "it is not thou that always augurs for us. What is thy name, O woman?"

"Calib," she answers.

"That is not much of a name," says Conaire.

"Lo, many are my names besides."

"Which be they?" asks Conaire.

"Easy to say," quoth she. "Samon, Sinand, Seisclend, Sodb, Caill, Coll, Díchóem, Dichiúil, Díthím, Díchuimne, Dichruidne, Dairne, Dáríne, Déruaine, Egem, Agam, Ethamne, Gním, Cluiche, Cethardam, Níth, Némain, Nóennen, Badb, Blosc, Bloár, Huae, óe Aife la Sruth, Mache, Médé, Mod."

On one foot, and holding up one hand, and breathing one breath she sang all that to them from the door of the house.

Bright Opaque Orange Vinyl, Opaque Turquoise Vinyl & Semi-Opaque Natural Vinyl. ,Images of Life" ist ein die gesamte Karriere umfassendes 3xLP-Retrospektive-Boxset, das die beeindruckende Bandbreite und Tiefe von Detroits unbekanntem Songwriting-Genie Ted Lucas beleuchtet. Die erste Platte ,Strange Mysterious Sounds (1965-1970)" zeigt Teds Annäherung an die psychedelische Major-Label-Szene durch seine Bands The Spike Drivers, The Misty Wizards und The Horny Toads. ,Rainy Days (1970-1974)" präsentiert die akustische Wärme und den Charme seiner Solokarriere, die denjenigen am besten bekannt sind, die bereits mit Teds selbstbetiteltem ,OM"-Album von 1975 kennen. ,Impossible Love (1979)", das verschollene zweite Album, präsentiert Ted sanft und fast schon im ,Yacht-Rock"-Stil, ohne dabei jemals die wahre Kunstfertigkeit und das handwerkliche Können des einmaligen Talents Ted Lucas zu verraten.


































[xh] 11IMPOSSIBLE LOVE [ACOUSTIC]

Peach’s Soak Vol. 1 is a cross-Canadian link-up with Mood Hut that moves through slower, deeper waters.

The mini-LP was written after a tour through Asia that opened up something new in how Peach approaches making music. The turning point, as she tells it, came during a visit to a neighbourhood sento in Tokyo, while surrounded by steam rising in suspended time, something clicked about the relationship between the body and the sounds she wanted to make.

She’d been learning about cycle synching and working out with the phases of her hormonal cycle, respecting energy fluctuations throughout the course of a month, and decided to apply the approach to writing music. She allowed shifts in energy to guide tempo, density, and emotional tone rather than strictly answering to the floor.

Soak came out of this exploration, sketched and layered with field recordings from her trips to Vietnam and the Philippines during a challenging time in her life. Fragments of heat, air, and shoreline are absorbed into the music itself. Vapourous pads, low-end weight, fractured percussion, and melodies hover at the edge of dissolution. Water runs structurally through the record in surges, in tidal pacing, in the slow accumulation of texture.

Wherever this music finds you, please enjoy the Soak.

I first encountered Pascal Comelade’s music thirty years ago—and nothing has sounded quite the same since. I was immediately captivated: he is an artist like no other, whose sincere and selfless love of music is always evident, especially in his tender reworkings of other people’s songs.

Comelade seems to work like a watchmaker: meticulous, precise, and obsessive—yet always drifting into something dreamlike. His music opens hidden doors, telling strange and beguiling stories filled with obscurity, kindness, and reserved humour.

Back then, my fascination was instinctive. Today, with a few more words at my disposal, I look to this exceptional 70-year-old French musician and feel exactly the same pull.

Métaphysique Du Hit-Parade is the first vinyl compilation devoted to Pascal Comelade’s favourite cover versions. It spans a forty-year career and traces sixty years of rock and roll history along the way. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” becomes a soft, soothing lullaby that may well have made the Ramones weep. Then there are his idiosyncratic tributes to Jonathan Richman (“Egyptian Reggae”) and The Kinks (“Sunny Afternoon”), alongside nods to formative heroes such as The Gun Club, Captain Beefheart, and MC5.

Two exclusive recordings stand out particularly: Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country” and Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”—a song that shaped my early youth. Both were recorded especially for this release.

Jan Lankisch, January 2026

Amateur forever? Oh yeah! “Amateur Hour” celebrates 15 years of Frank Music - still running on pure DIY energy, with Johannes Albert happily admitting he’s got no master plan, just a deep feel for House Music. And somehow, nearly 80 releases later, that instinct still hits. Volume II dives into the digital archives - bringing these cuts to wax for the very first time. Tom drops the vocal house bomb “Watch Me”; New Zealand's Eden Burns flips “Sounds” into something seriously special, and Claus Casper brings the sunshine with “Piano Italiano” (exactly what you think it is). And then there’s Amount’s “Feel You” - the one that’s been moving bodies since Fusion Festival 2023 and hasn’t really stopped since.
Let's be frank. Once again.

Persistence of Sound releases a new work by Brunhild Ferrari called »L’oreille Voleuse« (The Thieving Ear). The LP features an extraordinary live reinterpretation by Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O’Rourke, recorded in October 2025 in Paris.

»No, without listening at doors, the ear captures noises here and there and unexpected sounds without choice, but remains attentive to the messages of each one picked up over the years. It gathers surprises and impressions, bringing them together in a simple mix. In waking up these ear memories again, which were mostly recorded on magnetic tapes, I am very happy about the collaboration of Eiko Ishibashi and Jim O'Rourke in playing on this mix tape.« Brunhild Ferrari

Eiko Ishibashi is a Japanese composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who has developed a unique body of work blending experimental pop, improvisation, and film music. Her work, praised for its expressive intensity and sensitivity to sonic textures, has led her to collaborate with numerous musicians on the international scene, including Jim O'Rourke, with whom she forms a long-standing duo. She is also the composer of several film scores, notably for the films of Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car, Evil Does Not Exist), which have helped to bring her work to a wider audience beyond experimental music circles.

Jim O'Rourke is an American composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and has been a major figure in experimental and independent music since the 1990s. His work spans rock, improvised music, electronic music, and contemporary music. A former member of Sonic Youth and a collaborator with Wilco, Gastr del Sol, and Merce Cunningham, he has released numerous solo albums and film scores. Based in Japan since the early 2000s, he continues to pursue a rich and multifaceted musical practice, where formal rigor and freedom of invention coexist.

Persistence of Sound was founded in 2019 by Iain Chambers (Langham Research Centre, Rubbish Music). The label explores the world of electroacoustic music, contemporary global field recordings, and the unclassifiable music spanning these genres.

Ruf Dug flies to Duca with 4 edits showcasing his Ruf Kutz have never been far from the mind.

Rhythm Section, International Feel, Pinchy & Friends, Wolf Music, Music For Dreams and Klasse Wrecks all released the Dug, it’s super honouary to board.

Manchester to Guadalope to Ibiza, his reputation as a DJ, producer and toker is example to all. Here we go. Dug dives in, drum machines ready, mutated across scenes. Street Soul, si! Industriale, buono! Beatdown, no problemo !

Ruffy’s Big Decision is UK Disco meets back alley Boogie, love pains galore over driving funk bass. You Are The One !

Ruffy’s TV Channel is metalica. Heavy beats, unrelenting. Funk to 11. Sherwood. Ciao. Pursuit of trivia. Television, The Drug Of The Nations !

Ruffy Electric Bill. Now we move. Cowbell chiunque? New York ‘81. Smoke stacks. Cars bouncing Downtown. Nobody gets to meet the Duke. Set. It. Off !

Boogie Back Records proudly reissues BBR008 on 7-inch vinyl — a timeless slice of soulful innovation from Max Beesley, whose deep roots in the UK’s acid jazz and soul scene have influenced generations of musicians and listeners alike. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer, Beesley has collaborated with some of the most iconic artists of our time — Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Earth, Wind & Fire, James Brown, Incognito, Jamiroquai, and many more — contributing his signature touch on drums, percussion, keyboards, and vibraphone.

Originally released as part of Boogie Back’s 12” series, BBR008 captures Beesley’s unmistakable sound: rich harmonies, heavy grooves, and that soulful energy that bridges classic street soul and contemporary jazz-funk. This 7” reissue distills the essence of his acclaimed Boogie Back Records impacting era — a period defined by vibrant musicianship and cosmic jazz grooves ready for both the dancefloor and the deep listener. These two tracks showcase the full range of Beesley’s musical vision. “Night Daze” rides a hypnotic groove of cosmic Rhodes chords, tight percussion, and lush vibraphone lines, creating a cinematic, late-night atmosphere. On the flip, “Painful Truth” features the unmistakable voice of Omar, one of the UK’s most iconic soul vocalists — delivering a deep, heartfelt performance over Beesley’s rich, jazz-funk arrangements. This is another special and exclusive 45/7“ release via Soulkitchen Distribution…

Daniele Baldelli
"A pleasant surprise to find in this release various atmospheres and sounds that have always been part of my DJing. It even made me rediscover M’Bamina, whom I used to play back in 1974 at the Tabù Club in Cattolica.
There are afro vibes as well, with Black Line – Myele, which is featured on one of my Cosmic tapes, and Nowhere by the Stratosferic Band recalls a track I used to play at the Baia degli Angeli…
Excellent work!"

Voom Voom Music was an independent Italian record label based in Turin, founded and managed by record producer Ivo Lunardi (Turin, December 6, 1940 – December 9, 2010). A pivotal figure in the Piedmont music scene, Lunardi was active both as a DJ and as the owner of several disco clubs.

The label operated for several years in the latter half of the 1970s, releasing mainly productions connected to the Italian dance and pop scene.
Since 2016, the original master tapes from the Voom Voom Music catalog have been owned by Gianluca Pandullo (I-Robots), a close friend of Ivo and Luca Lunardi. Through his labels Opilec Music and Turin Dancefloor Express, Pandullo oversees their preservation and historical enhancement.

The artistic direction of Voom Voom Music was marked by a distinct sonic identity — eclectic yet visionary. The Turin-based label founded by Ivo Lunardi embraced a sound that blended disco, pop, and rock influences, interwoven with African American grooves in a pioneering, international perspective.

Voom Voom Music was among the first Italian labels to introduce this kind of musical language in the country. A prime example is the Italian edition of the debut album by B.T. Express, Do It ('Til You're Satisfied), released in LP, 8-Track Cartridge, cassette, and 7" single formats.
The label’s productions clearly reflected the influence of black and funk music, as evidenced by the references and inspirations running through its catalogue. The track “Lady Pick-Up”, for instance, includes direct nods to “Do It Good” by KC & The Sunshine Band and Manu Dibango’s iconic “Soul Makossa”, revealing a musically refined and contemporary sensibility.

Among the label’s most representative works is Splash (1977) by the Stratosferic Band, a project conceived by Luigi Venegoni — producer, songwriter, and guitarist of Arti e Mestieri. Venegoni’s artistic journey spanned from progressive rock to space and Italo disco. The album artwork was designed by Piero D’Amore (1944 - 2022), a charismatic and multifaceted figure of Turin’s art scene (one of his works was even acquired by the MoMA in New York).
The record includes a disco reinterpretation of Van Morrison’s classic “Gloria”, and “Splashdown”, a track fusing the disco-rock energy of Rockets and Space. In contrast, “Nowhere” revisits the 1975 single by Hokis Pokis, a soul/disco band from Nassau County (New York), transforming it into a vibrant disco-funk number.

Another significant expression of the label’s catalogue is the afro-rock sound of M’Bamina, an Italo-Congolese group whose rhythmic energy and dialogue between African percussion and Western funk evoke the style of international formations such as Osibisa — themselves linked to a rich artistic history in Italy.

Kim Rapatti (Mono Junk) is a long-running Finnish electronic music producer and the operator behind DUM Records. In the early 1990s, releasing across multiple aliases was a practical way to keep output organized and to present a broader label roster. Mars 31 Heaven was one of Rapatti's period-specific side names, used to separate a more inward strand of work from the main Mono Junk line.

Mono Junk presents Mars 31 Heaven: Collected Works '93–'95 is the first time these recordings have been compiled onto a single release. The tracks were previously scattered across various compilations, with "Little Elephant" later reappearing on a Mono Junk release. Audio was sourced from the original DAT tapes and remastered by Michael Diekmann. "Osaka House Remix" and "World of Isolation" originally appeared on the B-side of DUM Records' Blue File Compilation (1993). "Violins" and "Abyss" appear on vinyl for the first time after CD-only appearances ("Violins" on Dum Trax, 1995, and "Abyss" on Unitunes and Came From Outer Space I), and the original mix of "Osaka House" is previously unreleased. Housed in full-colour sleeves designed by Ed Cheverton.

Das zweite Album des Palace-Records-Gründers Andrei Nikolsky ist stark von Soundtrack- und Library-Musik der Vergangenheit beeinflusst, darunter auch von einem seiner Helden, John Cameron (Kes, KPM, Bruton), der auf dem Album mit dem Song "Swing Time" zu hören ist. Die Platte bietet eine Mischung aus ungewöhnlicher Elektronik, modalem Jazz und experimentellem Disco. Weitere Mitwirkende sind Mitglieder seiner Band The Kanpai Quartet (Charlie Searle, Euan McGinty, Dan Kabakov) sowie die Schlagzeuger Filippo Galli, Mike Bandoni (aka Funkshone) und Felix Weldon (Johnny Dankworth, Ian Shaw, Jean Toussaint, The La's).

- "Verdammt nochmal, Mann, was für ein Jazz!" - Sarah Evans (BBC6-Produzentin)
- "Ein wunderschönes Album! Perfekt für meine One Jazz-Show." - Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s)
- "Schöne Soundsammlung." - Rory More (Les Hommes)
- "Die neuen Tracks klingen super! Ich mag die Anspielungen auf Disco und die verschiedenen musikalischen Richtungen." - Paul Osborne (Project Gemini)

Since last year's EP “rhyme09,” a quiet storm has been brewing around the label. This release is not only long overdue, but Vienna is also home to numerous new talents as DJs and producers. The label boss makes the selection here and kicks off this release with a completely crazy track that is unlike anything else out there. There is virtually nothing else like it, making this track unique with its bassline, offset kick drum, and acid grooves. The second tune on the A Side comes from Fabiano Jose’, a well-known DJ in Vienna who, with his brand “Merkwürdig” has been an important player in the local party scene for several years. A catchy tech house tune, “step in” if you can!

The first tune on the B Side is a collaboration between ZentaSkai, well known for his label MASK Berlin, and Thomas Grün, also a long-time DJ and producer in Vienna who releases house and tech house tunes also on his own label “Untitled100 records”.

With Manu Script on B2, we have a debut here. With his great taste as a DJ and producer, he delivers a powerful groove. Another true Party stepper! Be ready...

RCR002 marks the second release from RAW CUTS Records, bringing together four established producers making waves across their respective scenes.

Leading the VA is 'Junior' from Argentinian artist Light Blue File whose been creating buzz with his cotemporary take on electro house built to set dancefloors alight. On A2, UK mainstay and Bizarre Trax founder Jhobei delivers 'Radionyx,' a hypnotic, progressive leaning takes on modern UK tech.

Flipping to the B-side, Christopher Ledger brings the acid-driven pressure of 'Acid Redux.' with a commanding bassline Rounding out the release is fellow Argentinian Guile, closing the VA with 'El Sonido Subterráneo,' an electro-infused funk workout that brings us home.