Cerca:ca

Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 is a compilation bringing together the early 2000s works of Marco Passarani under his Analog Fingerprints alias, collecting key tracks originally released on Rome’s Plasmek and Pigna labels.

For Numbers, the story starts long before the label itself. In their formative years, digging in Glasgow’s Rubadub, Passarani’s records felt like dispatches from a future city. Releases on his own Nature Records and on labels such as Generator and Interr-Ference Communications were mind blowing: rooted in Detroit techno, Chicago house and electro, yet pushing somewhere new. Much like fellow travellers Autechre, who would remix him in 2001, Passarani’s music balanced machine funk with restless experimentation.

Information was scarce, and you would hear these records first on the dancefloor or at listening stations in shops like Rubadub. Print fanzines like Ear and early web outposts such as Forcefield offered only fragments. But there was a palpable axis forming between Detroit techno and a new European wave of record labels including Skam, Rephlex, Clone, Viewlexx and Nature itself. It was the sound that defined Saturday nights at Rubadub’s ‘69’ parties in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow.

Passarani’s records, in particular, were instrumental in bringing together the future Numbers co-founders. Richard had already booked him pre-Numbers; meanwhile Calum (Spencer) and Jack (Jackmaster), then 16/17 year olds working alternate Saturdays in Rubadub, were so enamoured with the Roman sound that they travelled to Rome for the Bitz Festival in 2003 to seek out Passarani and Lory D at their source.

The first Analog Fingerprints release landed as a 12” on Plasmek in 2001, following the fractured, IDM-leaning 6 Katun material. For Passarani, the project marked a recalibration. A DJ first and foremost, he had moved into production via early computer setups, from a Commodore Amiga through primitive PC audio, Cubase and Logic, later experimenting with Ableton. The IDM scene had offered a playground for trial and error, but there was always a tension between abstraction and the dancefloor. Analog Fingerprints became the bridge: still intelligent, but with more dance than distance. After years of broken beats and complex arrangements, he wanted directness without surrendering identity.

Working closely with Francesco de Bellis and Mario Pierro in the Pigneto district, the trio formed Pigna as a vehicle for reclaiming a more accessible dance sound, deliberately steering away from the minimal wave beginning to dominate Europe. Sessions were fast, instinctive, often stretching late into the night with friends dropping by. It was a studio as social space, production as collective energy.

“In that constant search for balance, Analog Fingerprints was my way of expressing something closer to the classic dance floor. The track 'Tribute' - a tribute to my favourite early Detroit techno track of all time, 'First Bass' by Separate Minds - came after I realised I had almost lost my connection with the dance floor. The simplest step was to take inspiration from early Chicago and Detroit and twist it in our Roman ‘Pigna’ way. My goal was to create more accessible dancefloor tracks by mixing my unconscious Italo roots with my teenage love for that early US sound, ensuring the result was as far as possible from the minimal sound that was starting to dominate everywhere.” - Marco Passarani

Technically, the Analog Fingerprints tracks span a transitional era: Roland TR-909, SH-101 and Alpha Juno hardware met early software experiments. A Novation Drumstation rack stood in for the unattainable TR-808, syncing with TB-303 and TR-606. Yet the true secret weapon was Jeskola Buzz, a tracker-style modular environment that allowed step-by-step parameter control and strange melodic constructions, later exported into the audio sequencer. Even the lead on ‘Tribute’ came from an early PPG Wave-style plugin. It was hybrid thinking at a moment when digital tools still felt unstable but full of possibility for technologists like Passarani.

Behind the music sat Finalfrontier, a loose Roman collective orbiting Nature and Plasmek. Distribution and production were intertwined; importing obscure records into Italy built connections with like-minded outsiders across Europe and the US. Expensive phone bills and fax machines forged an “electronix network” that linked Rome to Clone, Viewlexx, Skam, Rephlex, Rubadub and Detroit’s Underground Resistance. There was a shared sense of survival and resistance, of operating against commercial systems.

Passarani recalls “The first time I found a sheet of paper inside an Underground Resistance 12” with info about upcoming releases... and a huge picture of Spock on the back. Imagine that: you love the music, you love Star Trek, and there’s someone on the other side of the ocean sharing those same values and sounds. It was the perfect match. We even gave our original company the suffix ‘Finalfrontier’: that says it all.”

Feedback in that era arrived physically: distributor faxes, conversations with visiting DJs, the experience of playing abroad and meeting kids who had connected with the records. Glasgow became a key node in a scattered outlier network. Passarani personally brought the first two Nature releases to Fat Cat in London, playing them in-store. Shortly after, a fax arrived from Rubadub in Glasgow requesting copies.

“I still remember that phone buzz and the fax paper slowly sliding out, with someone I didn’t know saying they wanted 75 copies of Nature 001. Or like the time we got a fax from the Rephlex crew just saying, “Hello Nature Records, Keep up the good work.” That was how we knew the message was getting through. It was a fantastic feeling; just one piece of thermal fax paper as an analog notification - the mood for the entire week would change.” - Passarani

The connection to Glasgow has since stretched across generations. As Passarani reflects, links often fracture as scenes renew themselves, but in Glasgow something different happened. New and old mixed seamlessly. There was a visible trust in what came before, and a willingness to carry it forward rather than discard it. Observed from Rome, it was deeply encouraging.

Analog Fingerprints Vol. 0 captures that moment of exchange: Rome to Glasgow, Detroit to Europe, experiment to dancefloor. It documents an artist recalibrating his sound and a network of scenes discovering one another in real time, connected by vinyl, faxes and shared intent.

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…

SXB Deep Tales Part 2
Smallville is happy to welcome Axel Fischer aka El Kazed to the family, proudly presenting his very own SXB Deep Tales, hitting the stores worldwide in May 2026 as Part 1 & 2.
El Kazed is a DJ & producer from Strasbourg, France. Together with a group of like-minded friends, he is running Ordinaire Records– a vinyl imprint fully dedicated to House music. The collective is throwing parties and a festival, building an underground house community in the heart of the Alsace Region. Next to releases on his own imprint, El Kazed also appeared on Chez Damiers' „House Of Chez“ label, contributing a track to catalogue number 01, as well as releasing on Brawther's Interweaved label.
On SXB Deep Tales, he delivers 8 amazing tracks, stretched onto two 12“ parts, containing all the quintessentials of house music, driving cuts next to deepest shades, solo work as well as collaborations with friends- the result is magical.
Full cover artwork from Stefan Marx – don't miss Part 1 of the series.

Pick a Piper is a Toronto-based electronica duo featuring Caribou drummer Brad Weber and vocalist–songwriter Sophia Alexandra. Their music pairs catchy, ethereal vocals with warm synths, upbeat percussion, and a distinctive sense of sound design that feels both grounded and vulnerable.
The duo’s live show is an intoxicating blend of vibrant physicality and immersive lights and visuals, creating an experience that is both danceable and hypnotic. Pulsing with momentum, vocally driven and haunting, it radiates a charisma that unites the band and audience in cathartic release.
Their new album "Dandelion", explores how we exist in the space between opposing feelings while calling for resilience and the courage to recognize that growth is possible and inherently beautiful, even in life’s most difficult experiences. The record employs skippy beats, bass-heavy kicks, warm subs, hyperactive percussion, woozy synths and organic textures, delivered with a lovingly human-curated feel.
Pick a Piper has toured across Europe, the US, Canada, Guatemala, and Colombia, and has shared the bill with Bonobo, Gold Panda, Blue Hawaii, Do Make Say Think and Ghetto Kumbe.

Next up on Acid Pauli's new label All Is Acid is Urwald (engl. jungle). Originally released 2009 on Smaul, the track has been carefully restored and remastered and comes with a brand new remix by French DJ and producer rRoxymore.
Urwald marks an early moment in Acid Pauli's solo work. The track is built on a dry, steady rhythm and a small melodic loop that shifts slowly over time. It does not follow a classic build-up structure and lets subtle changes shape the movement to give it a hypnotic vibe.
The new rRoxymore remix makes the tune even trippier. She loosens the rhythmic grid, softens some of the edges and tell's her own story with lots of off-the-wall elements that guide the listener through the jungle.

"Happy Today" is the third album from guitarist/bandleader"s Jeff Parker"s long-running ETA IVtet, recorded live at Lodge Room in Los Angeles on August 20, 2025. This fresh entry into the IVtet"s catalog captures the instantly recognizable group sound of Parker and the band - including drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, and saxophonist Josh Johnson - on record outside of the now-shuttered Highland Park micro-club ETA for the first time ever. "Happy Today" is that sound - the IVtet"s signature syntax built around long-form, minimalist improvisation - expanding confidently into larger space while creating the same hypnotizing, deeply-tuned listening effect on visibly enraptured audiences. The album contains two sidelong pieces recorded as the band performed in the round at Lodge Room, surrounded by an audience of 400 or so deep listeners.

"Tapping into a shared affinity for early trance – as in short for transcendental – Function and Nastia Reigel come together on Dekmantel with ‘Devocion’. Bridging the past and the future, this partnership draws deeply on brooding, melancholic early-90s sounds and supercharges it with the immensity of modern techno.

The project began when Nastia Reigel shared a series of discoveries with David ‘Function’ Sumner – records rooted in the rave-leaning edge of the era, spanning labels like R&S, FAX and EXperimental. He responded that this was precisely the music he had been absorbing while coming up in the thick of New York’s club and rave scenes and beginning his journey into DJing. The excited exchange of deep digs around this niche of dance music history naturally led to a conversation about collaborating on music in this vein, and Devocion is the result.

Familiar genre touchstones are everywhere, from the plaintive bleeps and understated breakbeat roll of 'Eternity' through the sad-eyed arpeggios strafing on the edges of 'Reverence' and on to 'Flowstate's blue-hued acid lines and 'Orion's sky-scraping gated pads. But Reigel and Sumner deploy these strongly coded elements with poise, feeding into a richly rendered production that feels anything but old-school. The emotive streak is wielded with care, spelling out the mood without losing the steely, shadowy sensibility that tracks through their respective catalogues.

In a perfect demonstration of honouring the past while embracing the present, Devocion EP lands as a distinctive artistic statement on its own terms."

Work of Art is not merely a sophomore album; it is a victory lap run with the precision of a master artist. Following the stratospheric global ascent of his debut, Mr. Money with the Vibe, Asake faced the kind of pressure that usually demands a pivot. Instead, he treated that intensity like clay, sculpting a project that feels at once more expansive in scale and more intimate in spirit. Released in 2023, the album serves as a definitive statement on Asake’s sonic identity, deepening his signature fusion of Amapiano, Fuji-inspired percussion, and Afrobeats while moving with a newfound sense of deliberate poise.

If his debut was a high-octane sprint to introduce his sound to the world, Work of Art is a confident stroll through his own creative museum. Anchored once again by the masterful production of Magicsticks, the album serves as the perfect architectural space for Asake’s erratic, infectious flows. The record feels richly textured—brimming with pulsating log drums, soulful samples, and the specific, ecstatic chaos of Lagos nightlife. Asake successfully bridges the gap between traditional Yoruba heritage and the deep, percussive basslines of South African Amapiano, resulting in a sound that feels simultaneously ancestral and futuristic.

The project thrives on a unique duality: it is introspective, yet undeniably club-ready. Tracks like "Amapiano," featuring Olamide, provide the anthemic energy his fans crave, while cuts like "Basquiat" showcase a lyrical swagger that frames his life as high art set to a relentless four-on-the-floor beat. By leaning into his "Mr. Money" persona with added vulnerability and a clearer focus on the craftsmanship of his vocal delivery, Asake avoids the dreaded sophomore slump entirely. He proves that he isn't just making pop songs; he is curating a moment. Ultimately, Work of Art captures the feeling of an artist standing at the peak of his powers, looking out at the landscape he has helped reshape, and confirming that, indeed, he belongs there. It is not about reinventing the wheel—it’s about proving that the wheel he built is a masterpiece.

In the rapidly shifting tectonic plates of the global Afrobeats scene, few arrivals have been as seismic as that of Ahmed Ololade—better known to the world as Asake. With his breakout project Mr. Money With The Vibe, the artist didn’t merely debut; he effectively recalibrated the tempo of the Nigerian pop soundscape. The EP functions as a masterclass in synthesis, pulling from the ornate, percussive history of Fuji music and grafting it onto the driving, bass-heavy architectures of contemporary Amapiano. It is a calculated, deeply rhythmic hybridization that manages to feel both nostalgic and jarringly modern.

From a critical vantage point, Mr. Money With The Vibe is defined by its brevity and density. Asake treats each track as a focused vignette, utilizing a vocal delivery that oscillates between a melodic, almost liturgical chant and the staccato urgency of a Lagos street orator. The production—characterized by sharp, frenetic percussion and deceptively simple melodic loops—creates a high-intensity atmosphere that mirrors the relentless pace of urban life. He avoids the pitfall of bloated experimentation; instead, he doubles down on a "street-pop" ethos, prioritizing accessibility without sacrificing the complex rhythmic interplay that gives the genre its distinctive texture.

Ultimately, Mr. Money With The Vibe stands as a pivotal document of the current era, capturing the transition of Afrobeats from a regional powerhouse to a dominant global force. By blending the aspirational "hustle culture" narrative with an increasingly sophisticated sonic palette, Asake established a blueprint that has since influenced a new wave of artists. The project is a testament to the idea that authenticity, when paired with relentless precision, remains the most effective currency in contemporary music.

DJ Support: Gilles Peterson and Lauren Laverne on 6Music, with club play from the likes of Axel Boman, Peter Kruder and Erol Alkan.

Photay drops epic acid breakbeat magic on ALWAYS COSMIC. The A-side features his remix of United Freedom Collective’s ‘Always Open’ (featuring the vocal talents of Falle Nioke) in both original and instrumental form. With early plays by Gilles Peterson & Lauren Laverne, the hype around this incredible track is building for good reason. There is an exceptional combination at play: slick, detailed, hifi dance production with powerful, prodigious talent on the drums – we call it ‘the PHOTAY advantage.’ The B-side brings expansive cosmic dub versions, the first track derived from the Always Open session, the second from Photay’s recent remix for Conclave & Toribio. Deep, emotional stuff that doesn’t lose track of fun-factor with sheer, un-fakeable excitement in the rhythm section!

DJ Support: Carl Cox, Gorgon City, SethTroxler, BLOND:ISH, Noizu, Sam Feldt, Armin VanBuuren, ALOK, MistaJam, Judge Jules, Martin Garrix,MK, Wax Motif, Dombresky, Danny Howard, Afrojack,Oliver Heldens, MK, Lucas & Steve, ACRAZE & more

Toolroom’s next Sampler showcases 4 big releases from Low Steppa, Rue Jay, Reza, Chuck Roberts, Fedde LeGrand, Crusy, Jem Cooke, Martin Ikin & Hayley May.

Freerange Records proudly presents SUN, the brand-new album from Crackazat - a radiant, genre-spanning statement and the long-awaited follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2021 LP Evergreen. SUN is Crackazat’s fourth album and his most expansive work to date: a rich blend of jazz, house, hip-hop, soul, and funk that fully steps into his own lane as a musician, bandleader, collaborator, song writer, and producer. Early radio support from 6 Music (Craig Charles), NTS and Jazz FM. Press/online support from Notion, Electronic Groove, Atwood, Earmilk & Magnetic Magazine.

Freerange Records proudly presents SUN, the brand-new album from Crackazat - a radiant, genre-spanning statement and the long-awaited follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2021 LP Evergreen. SUN is Crackazat’s fourth album and his most expansive work to date: a rich blend of jazz, house, hip-hop, soul, and funk that fully steps into his own lane as a musician, bandleader, collaborator, song writer, and producer. Early radio support from 6 Music (Craig Charles), NTS and Jazz FM. Press/online support from Notion, Electronic Groove, Atwood, Earmilk & Magnetic Magazine.

Canadian-born Alexander 'Skip' Spence was the co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. In the same year he released his only solo album: Oar.

The album was recorded after Spence had spent six months in a mental institution following a delusion-driven attempt to attack his Moby Grape band mates with a fire axe, after having ingested LSD. As the urban myth goes, on the day of his release he drove a motorcycle - dressed in only his pyjamas - directly to Nashville to record his only solo album. Fact is that he recorded this album in seven days, playing all the instruments himself, and that the end result is now considered to be a classic psychedelic folk album. After this album Spence largely withdrew from the music industry.

Original copies of Oar fetch quite the sum nowadays, so Music On Vinyl teamed up with Columbia/Sony to make this psychedelic folk gem available for everybody to enjoy.

Oar is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on transparent vinyl.

JoeyStarr is the co-founder of the famous French rap duo Suprême NTM. Originally starting out as breakdancers and graffiti writers, the duo is known for representing the perspective of minorities residing in the underprivileged neighbourhoods of Paris and beyond through dark, gritty, politically-conscious lyrics. Despite achieving record sales with their four albums, they split in 1998.

After a few detours away from the music business, in 2006 JoeyStarr dropped his first solo album. Egomaniac, released in 2011, is his second album and includes some high-profile collaborations; on "Mamy..." he works together with Nicoletta on a rework of her 1971 hit single "Mamy Blue" and the interlude "Appel À La Resistance" features a speech by leading left-wing politician Olivier Besancenot. After its initial release, the vinyl edition went out of print so we're happy we can finally make it available again.

Egomaniac is available as 15th anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on orange vinyl and includes an 8-page booklet.

Sélection naturelle is the fourth studio album by the French rapper Nessbeal, released on CD in the fall of 2011. A self-professed fan of National Geographic, he named the record "Natural Selection" after developing a fascination for the evolutionary idea that only the strongest survive.

This ferocious attitude to life is present throughout the whole record, with Nessbeal presenting us with 14 serious tunes about persisting in the urban jungle such as "Je Suis Un Salaud", "Force Et Honneur", and "Là Où Les Vents Nous Mènent".

Sélection naturelle is available as a 15th anniversary edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on silver vinyl, and includes a 12-page booklet.

The Byrds were one of the earliest groups who could combine the best of two worlds. They caught on to the energy of the British Invasion and combined it with the lyricism & musical elements of the contemporary folk movement. Along the way they pioneered Psychedelic and Country Rock, always keeping things recognizable with their vocal harmonies accompanied by their jangly guitars.

On their third album Fifth Dimension from 1966 they started showing a more LSD-tinged side of themselves with the Psychedelic Rock of songs such as "Eight Miles High" and "I See You" and a preference for the Indian raga. One of their most pioneering albums!

Fifth Dimension is available as a 60th anniversary edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on orange vinyl.

Uncle Slam, featuring former members of Suicidal Tendencies and Warrior, was a politically-minded thrash act from the 90's. Their list of influences shouldn’t surprise anyone with a passing familiarity of the genre: early Corrosion of Conformity, Dark Angel, Testament, Megadeth and of course Suicidal Tendencies.

Will Work for Food, originally released in 1993 by Roadrunner Records in Europe, with cover art by the legendary Ed Repka, will now be a available on vinyl for the first time ever.

This album features an iconoclastic take on Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused” which is one of the record’s highlights, These guys are turning that song’s proto-punk into actual punk. The rest of the album is a blast of antigovernment aggression, and is ready to be rediscovered 30-odd years later!

Will Work For Food is for the first time available on vinyl as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on purple vinyl and includes an insert.

On their fourth proper studio album Ruckus, Galactic wholeheartedly move not so much away from their past as a bad-ass New Orleans jazz & roll band, as they move toward another of its traditions: Voodoo funk.

Not merely content to stick to Mardi Gras or Dr. John esthetics, Galactic points firmly toward the technological present with their primordial groove machine music. Bass, bass, and more bass is the order of the day, and strange keyboard sounds come bubbling under like some lost Lee Perry session gone digital. Ruckus is a spooky ride to the other side of midnight. That moment in time when anything is possible.

This is musical rebirth of a band. Galactic was made all the better for its brave new direction. Ruckus is a album packed with ass-burning grooves and was produced by Dan The Automator.

Ruckus has not been available on vinyl more than 2 decades, and now it's finally out again as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on yellow & green marble vinyl, and includes an insert.

* A highly influential and sought-after benchmark dub LP, originally released on the Jah Works label in 1995.

* Produced by the late Rej Forte AKA Jah Rej, who was one of the most creative minds from the UK reggae and dub scene from the last 40 years.

* The album features recognisable tracks from the Jah Works cannon, but dubbed into oblivion with special effects galore. All tracks played by humans, with the exception of a drum machine.

* Dub Crusaders feature members of Revolutionary Dub Warriors (On-U Sound, Ariwa), and Radical Dance Faction.

* Recorded at Channel One under the supervision of Martin Campbell, whose vocals feature twice on this set.

Cowboy Junkies are set to release Open to Beauty, a collection of songs from their 21st century albums to date. This "Best Of" set will revisit selected tracks from albums "Open", "One Soul Now", "Early 21st Century Blues", "At The End of Paths Taken", "Renmin Park", "Demons", "Sing In My Meadow", "The Wilderness", "All That Reckoning", "Songs of the Recollection" and "Such Ferocious Beauty". Speaking about the new collection, Cowboy Junkies" Michael Timmins said: "We are now 25 years into this century, the beginning of which saw us leave the world of major labels and return to making music as an independent band. We figured this was as good a time as any to look back, reassess, and reflect on the music that we have recorded over these past two and a half decades and, hence, "Open to Beauty - The Best of the 21st Century".

ANNE is proudly presents her new imprint Blind Harmonies, shaped by intuition, patience, and a self-taught approach to music creation. The name reflects a journey built without formal training, producing music "blind," guided by listening, experimentation, and trust in instinct rather than rules. The label is built on the belief that harmony is something you sense before you understand. By closing your eyes, sound becomes more honest, rhythms breathe, textures speak, and emotion takes the lead.

With her first release, ANNE presents four dynamic, dance floor - oriented cuts-emotional and seductive at the same time. Opening with A1. Daydream, the EP sets a melancholic yet driving tone, drifting deep into the listener's mind and emotions. A2. Castles in the Air follows with a propulsive rhythm, led by Detroit-influenced synth soul and percussive energy that carries the track forward.

On the B-side, B1. Metallic Tapes delivers a hypnotic, percussive, and trippy groove, maintaining a steady yet intense rhythmic flow. Closing the record, "In the Blink of an Eye" blends powerful drums with a sharp, striking lead-proving that potent techno can be both intense and beautiful. The release it's a personal journey, produced with detail and love and focusing on the dynamic but timeless approach of techno music.

"It transported me back to 1979. Me as a 17 year old post-punk kid at Futurama Festival in Leeds watching PiL, Killing Joke, The Fall and Cabaret Volatire." Lubomir Jovenovic - Leeds Jazz Festival Curator.

Born out of a chaotic Saturday night in Hastings. A raucous double bill between Leeds Jazz troupe and Kent post punks resulting in feedback, mosh pits and a breakneck rendition of The Stooges TV Eye. A plan was hatched right there to record an album together.

"Really f**king happening. I dig this big time." Mike Watt (Minutemen, The Stooges)

With Burn The House Down, Ghalia Volt delivers a raw and electrifying blend of blues, garage rock, and roots-driven energy. Fueled by gritty guitar riffs, hypnotic rhythms, and her unmistakable raspy vocals, the album captures the spirit of stripped-down, high-voltage rock’n’roll. Recorded with an organic and live feel, the songs pulse with authenticity and urgency, balancing infectious grooves with a rough-edged charm. Ghalia Volt’s performance is both fierce and soulful, channeling the essence of traditional blues while pushing it into a more modern, rebellious direction. Burn The House Down is a bold and uncompromising release—perfect for fans of The Black Keys, Larkin Poe, and raw, unfiltered blues rock

Soulbound with their new album "Addicted To Hell" from 2020 stand for urban, end-time Industrial Metal. They don't renounce their roots from Alternative Metal and keep their trademark despite all harshness: catchy melodies with dystopian and socially critical lyrics. Stomping beats combine heavy guitars and aggressive synths to an apocalyptic mix of Gothic, Metal and Industrial which in this form is still unparalleled. Here comes the album for the first time as a limited edition vinyl neon orange/black dust gatefold.

William Onyeabor was born outside Enugu, a small, rural town in Eastern Nigeria, he created his own genre of African electronic funk in the late 70s and early 80s, making music completely unique for his time. Today, he is reaching cult status among a growing list of admirers, including everyone from Damon Albarn and Hot Chip to Carl Craig and Madlib, with some likening him to the Kraftwerk of West Africa, or a precursor to LCD Soundsystem.

Among the crate-digging few that knew of him, he is considered a complete myth. While he has never performed live and almost never given interviews, his fantastical biography is scattered and has to this day not been verified. And, though he is still alive, he refuses to speak about anything regarding the past.

According to various rumors, he left home following the Biafran War and went to study cinematography in the Soviet Union, returning in the mid-70s to start his own film company and record label, Wilfilms. He then self-released eight remarkable records from 1978-1985. He wrote and produced everything on his own, and possibly played every instrument himself. Then, at some point of his life, he became born again and denounced his earlier music, deciding it is something he would never speak about.

Limited Apricot/Rose Vinyl. After being only available on his "North America & Japan Tour 2025", Black Screen Records is excited to release the second pressing of VK Blanka's latest studio album "Knightclub" on 1xLP Rosé / Apricot Split Vinyl. The album comes with an exclusive vinyl bonus track "Black Catcher - Piano Version" and includes a lyrics sheet. The Japanese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist also announced his return to AnimagiC 2026. The convention will be held from July 31st - August 2nd in Mannheim, Germany. Black Screen Records will also return and bring the Knightclub vinyl to the event. Since expanding his activities overseas in 2023, he has performed electrifying live shows in new territories, including North America, Europe, Saudi Arabia, and Latin America. At Brazil's largest anime convention, Anime Friends Sao Paulo 2024, he captivated a staggering audience of 10,000, their voices rising in fervent chants of his name, as he closed out the event as the final act of the night.










[j] 10OLD RIVALS [A SELF-COVER OF RIVALS!]
[k] 11BLACK CATCHER PIANO VERSION [BONUS TRACK]

Strut proudly presents the first-ever reissue of a landmark 1974 Ghanaian highlife classic Sikyi Highlife by Dr K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings, originally released on Essiebons.

A defining recording of the era, Sikyi Highlife bridges tradition and innovation at a pivotal moment in Ghanaian music. Deeply rooted in the classic 1950s–’60s highlife sound, K. Gyasi drew inspiration from the ancient sikyi drum-dance of the Akan people of southern Ghana, shaping the album’s rhythms around its distinctive pulse.

The vocal arrangements echo the traditional Akan modal style, grounding the music firmly in Ghana’s cultural heritage. Yet Sikyi Highlife is equally forward-thinking. As electric guitars became standard in highlife during the 1960s, the 1970s ushered in further experimentation. The Noble Kings broke new ground as the first highlife guitar band to incorporate keyboards and a full horn section into their sound, expanding the genre’s sonic possibilities while retaining its rootsy spirit.

Gyasi’s approach was part of a broader indigenisation movement among Ghana’s electric highlife bands in the post-independence era. Inspired by the nation’s ‘African Personality’ ethos and reinforced by Afrocentric messages arriving from American soul and funk, artists began reclaiming traditional forms within modern arrangements. Contemporaries included Koo Nimo, who revived the older palmwine style, and drummer Nii Ashitey, whose Wulomei band pioneered a folklorised Ga highlife sound from 1973.

Like many musicians of his generation, Gyasi was a passionate supporter of Ghana’s independence movement. In 1963, he travelled as a musical ambassador alongside Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, performing across North Africa and the USSR and carrying Ghanaian culture onto the world stage.

The Noble Kings’ mid-’70s line-up featured some of the country’s finest musicians, including guitarist Eric Agyeman (who led the band at the time), Thomas Frimpong on drums and vocals, Ernest Honny on organ, and bassist Ralph Karikari - who was renowned for his innovative technique of translating the rhythms and tonal language of the traditional talking drum onto electric bass.

Upon its original release, Sikyi Highlife became one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s for Essiebons, earning Gyasi the affectionate honorary title of “Dr” from his devoted fans. Today, the album remains an evergreen classic, still cherished across Ghana and beyond.

The Voodoo Universe is now complete! The masterpiece combining the Trilogy 1-3 will be released on November 27th and is a magnificent work show of the multifaceted genius.

Concerts by successful musicians often have an air of church-mass: Fans pay homage to their idols, hailing them, giving the impression of following them blindly. Parov Stelar, a globally successful musician from Austria, is one such artist. Is this art of seduction a kind of Voodoo, Black Magic even? Who can tell? It makes no difference whatsoever, as to his fans Parov Stelar easily passes as a High-Priest of grooves that perfectly understands how to put them in ecstasy.

In Voodoo, Bondieu, a higher being communicates to the masses through priests called Loas. Parov Stelar manages to do so with his music. Voodoo Sonic was born and delivered with the idea to replace the conventional album with several EPs, allowing greater musical freedom and the possibility to explore the many sonic landscapes of Voodoo Sonic.

Now the Voodoo Sonic Universe is complete and celebrated with all three parts combined into one ultimate and highly demanded package. It's a Parov Stelar work show which makes it possible to enjoy his diverse sound world in all of its facets.

The Artwork for Voodoo Sonic was designed and painted by Parov Stelar himself. From the art studio to the recording studio, on to the dance floor in the form of art and beats. Parov Stelar is an all in one king of art.

The icing on the cake is the Voodoo Sonic documentary, which can be seen on all Parov Stelar channels available. (coming September 2020).

If you want to see Parov Stelar live, you will get the chance in summer 2021 at festivals in many countries following by a headliner tour across Europe towards the end of the year.

Malik Kassim AKA Retromigration, makes a powerful return to WOLF Music with Choices EP Vol. 1, reaffirming his place as one of the most exciting producers in house music. Building on the momentum of his acclaimed Ausfahrt 9 EP released in late 2025, as well as his standout remix contribution to Manuel Darquart’s Dream House Factory Vol. 1, Malik continues to push his sound into fresh and compelling territory.

With Choices EP Vol. 1, he comes out of the gate at full throttle. The release captures a refined and confident artistic vision, blending deep grooves, rich textures, and infectious rhythms that feel both timeless and forward-thinking. Each track showcasing his ability to balance musicality with energy.

This first instalment of the Choices series not only highlights his evolution as a producer but also signals a new creative peak. Bold, cohesive, and undeniably engaging, Choices EP Vol. 1 stands as a strong contender for his most accomplished work to date and sets an exciting tone for what’s still to come.

Following the success of his debut EP 'Departure', J Michael Harris returns with a dynamic neo-jazz album that marks his evolution as an artist. Bringing together legendary musicians from London, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, the album embodies elements of jazz, dance and electronica while drawing inspiration from luminaries such as Robert Glasper, J Dilla, Aphex Twin, Sampha, and Herbie Hancock.



All music written by J Michael Harris (saxophone, piano, fender rhodes, synths, EWI, clarinet, flute)

featuring

Freddy Sheed (drums, percussion, programming/ Lewis Capaldi, The Japanese House, The 1975)

Jimmy Haslip (bass/ Yellowjackets, Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Lorber Fusion)

Mo Pleasure (piano, hammond b3/ Earth Wind and Fire,

Michael Jackson, Ray Charles)

Karlos Edwards (percussion/ Nitin Sawney, Spice Girls, Mark Ronson)

Henry Collins (trumpet/ Amy Winehouse, Tom Jones, Van Morrison)



Mixed and Mastered by Guy Massey (The Divine Comedy, Kylie, The Beatles)

Ecstasy and delirium—Amterdam’s duo Match Box transport us once again, getting us back on bright, trance-leaning club sounds; while Berlin-based Olsvangèr takes on remix duties with patient in waveform form—dubby, radiant and groove-led. X-File’s is an ep leaned into pure ecstasy made for this summers festival calendar and beyond.

303 synthesiser leads, driven bouncy baselines, infectious chopped vocal samples from the nineties—Match Box sit somewhere between euphoric trance and high-energy progressive house, shaping the sound of the EP.
On B1, Olsvangèr takes Stone Again into dubby territory with his signature prog touch, full of intricate textures and depth.

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”

TGP & LDG on their third collaborative release, a four-track statement that moves between raw live energy and deep, hypnotic exploration. The A side captures the essence of the dancefloor with two cuts from Tobias. & Kuniyuki’s live set at EDEN, Japan. Spontaneous, textured, and driven by the moment. A direct transmission from the booth.
B side shifts perspective: Yuta / O-MA strip things down to the core with a minimal techno approach, precise, reduced, and functional. Ness closes the record with a downtempo, hypnotic journey, immersive, subtle, and introspective.A release built on contrast and cohesion, bridging live improvisation and studio precision. Third chapter. Same vision. Expanded language.

Cult reissue label Sticky Buttons returns with ‘Sweet Edits’, their first official foray into dancefloor edits featuring 4 remixes of Nigerian boogie legend Dizzy K by a hand picked set of superstar producers specially designed to get the party moving.

Starting with a bang, the A Side features a double hit of remixes to Dizzy K’s 80’s sleeper hit “Afrikan Jamboree”. First up is Clive From Accounts, frequent contributor to Razor-N-Tape and hot off the heels of his 2025 debut full length LP, Clive’s edit has gifted us a complete foot stomper, filled with popping synths and squelchy baselines the track has already been getting big plays by the likes of Optimo over the past 18 months. On track A2, well known dance floor magician Lipelis takes the reins, creating his Disco Dub version, expertly layering traditional african drums and vocal loops from the original to build a wonky club track laden with energy and soul as come to be expected from the artist.

Over on the B Side, South London based duo Make A Dance (M.A.D) take the formula from their own widely popular house inspired edits imprint to take apart Dizzy K’s “I’ll Never Love Again”, stripping it down into a teetering, chugging acid sprinkled weapon overlaid with a ferocious drum pattern destined to move even the stiffest hips. Last but not least, Japanese producer Mayurashka brings her signature subversive style to Sticky Buttons, flipping Dizzy’s K’s “Konga Mama” into a hypnotic tribal masterpiece, pulsating with a psychedelic techno edge ripe for blending in smokey club venues and dark mainrooms.

Four heaters not to be slept on. Hearing is believing and on this limited edition vinyl release the legend of Dizzy K sings again, finely tuned for 2026 dancefloors but always carrying the raw spirit of the original.

Mastered by Submarea Estudio
Cover Art Illustration by Alex Ram

Spiritual World presents: Ashleigh Ball — Center of the Universe, a transcendental flute journey from the singer and flutist of Teal. Center of the Universe is a 32-minute improvisational odyssey recorded inside the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO), a National Historic Site on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia Canada..

Inspired by the pioneering work of Paul Horn and his Inside series, the recording channels a similar spirit of reverent exploration within a space rich in history and resonance. Completed in 1918, the observatory is home to the Plaskett Telescope - once among the largest and most powerful in the world - playing a key role in mapping the Milky Way.

Following months of coordination, three hours of private access were granted on the morning of August 25, 2025. Beneath the observatory’s towering telescope, Ball performed a wordless meditation, moving between alto flute and soprano concert flute, allowing each note to merge with the chamber’s vast natural reverb. Tones bloom, linger, and return, carried along the massive curved steel walls.

Captured using a minimalist recording approach, Center of the Universe preserves the purity of the moment—its warmth, stillness, and the architecture’s subtle mechanical resonance. Here, the observatory itself becomes an instrument, shaping the sound into something elemental, timeless, and deeply human. Center of the Universe will be released as a limited-edition vinyl LP (300 copies) with a printed insert on May 15, 2026, via Rubadub, Forced Exposure, and HiFi in Sheep’s Clothing.

On Lila, his debut LP, Moroccan artist Karim presents a series of undulating electronic rhythms laser-etched into tessellated form: drumless techno from the pre-Sahara, built for communal psychic expansion.

Drumless, yes, but not percussionless. There are shakers, castanets, stabs, plonks, thuds. There are insistent basslines propelling forward, pulsing with energy, rippling in time. There are tones interlocking, rolling, fluttering, pattering. Dancing within, around, between each other. Considered in terms of sheer geometry, Lila is a techno record, unmistakably. But it sounds quite unlike any other techno record you've heard lately.

To write the album, Karim borrowed from the music of the Gnawa, a religious-spiritual musical tradition descended from West African peoples brought to Morocco as slaves hundreds of years ago. Now integrated deeply into Moroccan culture, the centerpiece of Gnawa music is the lila—or "night," in Arabic—an all-night-long ritual of rhythm designed to induce participants and musicians alike into a healing trance state. Which, if you're a dedicated raver, may sound familiar, yes?

Crafted entirely with modular synthesizers, Lila conjures a range of textures and moods. The show opens with "Bakh," a blissful exercise in beatlessness, clear and crystalline. On "Philipoussis," "Kiyex," and "Sonic," arpeggiated synths approximate Gnawa chants while interlaid percussion keeps time in multiple meters. "La" and "Kille" pulse in half-time, ideal for creative mixing. "Joul à lèvre" bristles with electricity, the sound of a charged lightning rod. "Pamil," woozy and lurching, feels like being shipwrecked on a forgotten island. Last and absolutely certainly not least, on the final track, "Miloir," Karim faces West and unleashes the album's only kick drum for a ten-minute psychedelic techno masterpiece. The mind warps; the body moves. 

Lila is released on Tikita, Karim's own record label, founded in 2014. Tikita's discography, spare but tightly curated, features artists from across the globe pushing outwards into techno's deepest reaches. Karim's album pushes even farther. Listen for yourself.