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In 2025, Off The Grid celebrated 10 years of existence, throwing several events throughout the world.

It's now time to put a seal on these celebrations with a curation of music, gathering old and new faces orbiting the OTG galaxy, divided into two compilations.

For Part 1, deeper and deeper we go, focusing on delicate aesthetics and dubby grooves, trippy sounds and dreamy atmospheres. A soundtrack for early mornings and initial stages of the night.

Off The Grid was born around this sound and this is a tribute to it.

Part 2 will be announced in Spring.

Stay tuned!

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Mastering & Lacquer Cut by Marco Pellegrino at Analogcut Mastering Studio Berlin
Graphic Design by Guillaume De Ubeda
Pressed at Mother Tongue in Verona

“Al destino”, the new album by Steve Pepe, began to take shape in 2023 after roughly a year of highly abstract sound research. The original intention was to create a dancefloor-oriented record, moving away from down-tempo structures, built around minimal, percussive compositions and high BPMs, with sound conceived primarily as a functional element.
In 2024, however, the process shifted. Less time was spent producing and more time reflecting. Emotions hovered between the urgencies of the present and unresolved past traumas, and almost without conscious intention, singing returned to the center of the project. It was not a calculated choice, but an inevitable one.
The resulting album does not draw its energy from distant places, nor does it focus on sonic experimentation as an end in itself. Instead, Al destino offers an intimate perspective on how memories and emotions shape the inner self, on the sensation of being simultaneously alone and deeply connected to everything, and on the struggle to reconcile feelings, sensations, love, and desire.

This Raven With A Crown 02 is a new fledgling label materializes in the Violent Cases universe. Corvus Corone - also known as the carrion crow - is stylistically dedicated to true Tribal sounds.This is not chipmunk tribal with laughing gas voices, this is serious stuff as you can expect from Violent Cases because evil forces are invading lala land and we need to gather the tribes. The roadmap for the project covers territory cultivated by the likes of Isotope, LBE and DSP just to name a few reference points.
First in flight is a full release by As’teka Nahuatl who just featured on MSTR 13.
Corvus Corone is styled by TDSiGNZ, whose design skills consistently lend the Violent Cases sub-labels a fresh, disciplined minimalist touch. As he previously created for “Endless Night”... More is forthcoming - because the Violent Ravens nest has another spawn in the breed. Keep an eye out for their upcoming signs!
Mastering by Stefan ZMK.
A1 – Musicō'teka
20k rig in the catacombs of the pyramid of the sun. Join the war dance. 160 beasts
A2 - Tekno Drops (feat. Lil’ Nahuatl)
Serious old school dancefloor vibes under the wings of crows circling above. 170 beasts
B1 – Shaman Children
Inducing a long trancy journey heeding the shaman’s call. 170 beasts

The latest tape from Captured Visions offers up smoky, low-key deepness that is perfectly suited to the imperfections of the format. Arcade, aka Nathan Stephenson, opens up this compact but potent collection with 'Grace 01', a dreamy house sound for calm and reflection with a gentle smattering of toms and smeared chords soothing the soul. 'Grace 02' moves more but remains well below the surface, with liquid pads and cuddly kicks. '03' spins out into electro drum patterns with bleeping digital synths and crunchier hits, and '04' closes with ghostly chords that drift in and out of focus over a cavernous and dubby low end from late 90s Berlin.

Mountain Call, ein Höhepunkt im musikalischen Schaffen von Miroslav Vitous, präsentiert den Meisterbassisten in unterschiedlichen Ensemblekonstellationen – zu seinen musikalischen Mitstreitern auf dem
Album gehören u.a. Klarinettist Michel Portal und Schlagzeuger Jack DeJohnette. Der Mitbegründer
von Weather Report kam Ende der 1970er-Jahre erstmals zu ECM, im Trio mit Terje Rypdal und Jack
DeJohnette. Schon damals bildeten Miroslav und Jack eine kraftvolle Rhythmussektion, die später auf Universal Syncopations (2003) mit Jan Garbarek und Chick Corea erneut zusammen kam. Auch auf Mountain
Call spielt diese Kombination eine zentrale Rolle. Bassist und Schlagzeuger interagieren dynamisch auf
„Tribal Dance“ und „Epilog“, wobei ihr Spiel im letzteren Stück orchestral eingerahmt wird – Jack soliert
auf Vitous’ dreiteiligem Werk „Evolution“ mit großer Entdeckungslust. In der Suite „Rhapsody“ tritt die
Stimme Esperanza Spaldings in den Vordergrund, die Vitous’ Texte singt. Mountain Call beginnt und endet jedoch mit einer Reihe herausragender Duette mit Michel Portal, die möglicherweise Miroslavs stärkste
improvisatorische Momente seit seiner gefeierten Zusammenarbeit mit Jan Garbarek auf Atmos darstellen.
Der abschließende Titelsong mit Miroslavs dramatischem Arco-Spiel und Portals eindringlicher Bassklarinette bestätigt ihre bemerkenswerte kreative Verbindung. Mountain Call wurde von Miroslav Vitous und
Manfred Eicher produziert

Die gefeierte schottische Band The Twilight Sad kehrt mit IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE zurück, ihrem lang erwarteten sechsten Studioalbum, das über Rock Action Records erscheinen wird.
Das Album ist eine Erzählung von Verlust und persönlicher Krise, verwurzelt in konkreten Erfahrungen. Mit dringlichen, gitarrenreichen Arrangements von Andy MacFarlane und dem unverwechselbar rohen, leidenschaftlichen Gesang von James Graham markiert IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE einen weiteren Höhepunkt im Werk der Band und unterstreicht ihre Fähigkeit, gelebte Erfahrungen in tief empfundene Musik zu verwandeln.

Mit der furiosen Single „WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL“ und einem Gastauftritt der legendären Robert Smith von The Cure wurde IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE in den Battery Studios in London mit Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine) aufgenommen und von Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Slowdive) gemischt.


Beloved Scottish band The Twilight Sad make their long-awaited return with IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE, their sixth studio album released via Rock Action Records. IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE is a cogent story of loss and personal crisis, rooted in specific experience. Set to urgent and guitar-rich arrangements from Andy MacFarlane, with James Graham’s distinct, raw and impassioned vocals, the result is a pinnacle for THE TWILIGHT SAD in a career of tremendous integrity and artistry, and a record that honours the band’s ability to turn lived experience into fully felt music.

Including the blistering single WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL and featuring the legendary Robert Smith of The Cure, IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE was recorded in London’s Battery Studios with Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine) and mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Slowdive).

Die gefeierte schottische Band The Twilight Sad kehrt mit IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE zurück, ihrem lang erwarteten sechsten Studioalbum, das über Rock Action Records erscheinen wird.
Das Album ist eine Erzählung von Verlust und persönlicher Krise, verwurzelt in konkreten Erfahrungen. Mit dringlichen, gitarrenreichen Arrangements von Andy MacFarlane und dem unverwechselbar rohen, leidenschaftlichen Gesang von James Graham markiert IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE einen weiteren Höhepunkt im Werk der Band und unterstreicht ihre Fähigkeit, gelebte Erfahrungen in tief empfundene Musik zu verwandeln.

Mit der furiosen Single „WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL“ und einem Gastauftritt der legendären Robert Smith von The Cure wurde IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE in den Battery Studios in London mit Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine) aufgenommen und von Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Slowdive) gemischt.


Beloved Scottish band The Twilight Sad make their long-awaited return with IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE, their sixth studio album released via Rock Action Records. IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE is a cogent story of loss and personal crisis, rooted in specific experience. Set to urgent and guitar-rich arrangements from Andy MacFarlane, with James Graham’s distinct, raw and impassioned vocals, the result is a pinnacle for THE TWILIGHT SAD in a career of tremendous integrity and artistry, and a record that honours the band’s ability to turn lived experience into fully felt music.

Including the blistering single WAITING FOR THE PHONE CALL and featuring the legendary Robert Smith of The Cure, IT’S THE LONG GOODBYE was recorded in London’s Battery Studios with Andy Savours (My Bloody Valentine) and mixed by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Slowdive).

Eine Frau ist auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff gefangen. Ein Prediger beschließt, mit seiner Stadt unterzugehen. Ein Mann im Blumenladen verliert sich in der Bedeutung eines Arrangements. Diese und andere Menschen an persönlichen wie gesellschaftlichen Grenzpunkten stehen im Mittelpunkt von zehn zeitgemäßen und zugleich zeitlosen Kurzgeschichten, die The New Pornographers auf ihrem kommenden Album The Former Site Of in Form sorgfältig komponierter Popsongs versammeln.Wie schon Continue as a Guest zeigt auch dieses Album The New Pornographers - Bandleader A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins und Todd Fancey - dabei, wie sie ihren ohnehin reichen Katalog auf überraschende Weise erweitern. Unterstützt vom legendären Session-Drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, Keith Richards, Fiona Apple) war der Raum innerhalb eines New-Pornographers-Songs noch nie so klar definiert und zugleich so reich texturiert. Das verleiht den Figuren, deren Leben sich in Newmans einfühlsamen, bildhaften Texten entfalten, einen unverwechselbaren Puls.The Former Site Of verleiht dem Sound, den Newman durch das Schreiben und Aufnehmen im Heimstudio entwickelte, zusätzliche Tiefe und verfeinert den kreativen Prozess der Band weit über die Notwendigkeiten der Lockdown-Ära und der damaligen Remote-Zusammenarbeit hinaus. ,Die Zeit in meinem Studio hat vieles geöffnet", erklärt er. ,Ich kann zuerst das Skelett eines Songs zusammenstellen - nur ein paar Elemente, das zentrale Gefühl, wirklich so wenig wie möglich - bevor ich ihn zur Band bringe und von dort aus weitermache."Zwei Alben nach dieser Veränderung erschaffen The New Pornographers Klanguniversen von komplexer Textur und erzählerischer Detailfülle, bei denen jede Ebene darauf abgestimmt ist, eine unerwartete neue Facette offenzulegen. Wie schon auf Continue as a Guest ist eine der deutlichsten Ebenen die Art und Weise, wie sich ein Song um ein hervorgehobenes Instrument formt. Auf The Former Site Of ist es die Mandoline, die - in Carl Newmans Händen - der Lead-Single ,Votive" ihr Gefühl von Beschleunigung verleiht, während sie sich vom atmosphärischen Synth- und Keyboard-Intro zu einer klassischen, weit offenen Jam-Nummer aufbaut.,Hände schützen ein Streichholz / Ich versuche nur, das Licht am Brennen zu halten", singt Newman in dem Stück. Diese Metapher - das Festhalten trotz der Unsicherheit des Lebens - zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch The Former Site Of. ,Bonus Mai Tais" handelt im Grunde davon, wie die Flamme erlischt: Newman schreibt darin offen über ein Treffen mit einem Freund, der an fortgeschrittenem Krebs erkrankt ist, und über seine eigene Entwaffnung angesichts dessen Offenheit im Angesicht des Todes. Es ist ein brutal trauriger Song, dessen Schmerz in Newmans Stimme schwebt - und zugleich einer der schönsten der Band, wobei die Harmonien von Neko Case und Kathryn Calder wie ein ätherischer Spiegel der Szene wirken.The Former Site Of platziert viele seiner Figuren am Rand des Vergessens - ihre Zeit wird knapp, ihre Situation scheint aussichtslos -, und doch halten sie fest. Das gilt auch, wenn The New Pornographers den Blick nach innen richten, wie auf ,Pure Sticker Shock", in dem Newmans Texte um Selbstwert kreisen. Dass sie sich selbst unter dieser so unterschiedlichen Figurenriege wiederfinden können - sogar die Cassini-Huygens-Sonde aus ,Spooky Action" - verleiht dem Album Zusammenhalt, noch bevor die sich wiederholende Schlusszeile des Titeltracks erklingt, die den Weg ins Herz jedes einzelnen Songs warm erleuchtet und einladend macht.Weit davon entfernt, einfach das erwartbare nächste Kapitel von The New Pornographers zu sein, ist The Former Site Of ein Plädoyer gegen Erwartungen - von einer Band, die sich weiterentwickelt, statt sich auf ihren Lorbeeren auszuruhen. Selbst in den dunkelsten oder selbstironischsten Momenten liegt in dieser Musik eine unwiderstehliche Spritzigkeit: eine Bestätigung, dass der Kampf ihrer Figuren und der Hörer:innen - wie das Foto eines fernen Planeten - es wert ist.

Eine Frau ist auf einem Kreuzfahrtschiff gefangen. Ein Prediger beschließt, mit seiner Stadt unterzugehen. Ein Mann im Blumenladen verliert sich in der Bedeutung eines Arrangements. Diese und andere Menschen an persönlichen wie gesellschaftlichen Grenzpunkten stehen im Mittelpunkt von zehn zeitgemäßen und zugleich zeitlosen Kurzgeschichten, die The New Pornographers auf ihrem kommenden Album The Former Site Of in Form sorgfältig komponierter Popsongs versammeln.Wie schon Continue as a Guest zeigt auch dieses Album The New Pornographers - Bandleader A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins und Todd Fancey - dabei, wie sie ihren ohnehin reichen Katalog auf überraschende Weise erweitern. Unterstützt vom legendären Session-Drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, Keith Richards, Fiona Apple) war der Raum innerhalb eines New-Pornographers-Songs noch nie so klar definiert und zugleich so reich texturiert. Das verleiht den Figuren, deren Leben sich in Newmans einfühlsamen, bildhaften Texten entfalten, einen unverwechselbaren Puls.The Former Site Of verleiht dem Sound, den Newman durch das Schreiben und Aufnehmen im Heimstudio entwickelte, zusätzliche Tiefe und verfeinert den kreativen Prozess der Band weit über die Notwendigkeiten der Lockdown-Ära und der damaligen Remote-Zusammenarbeit hinaus. ,Die Zeit in meinem Studio hat vieles geöffnet", erklärt er. ,Ich kann zuerst das Skelett eines Songs zusammenstellen - nur ein paar Elemente, das zentrale Gefühl, wirklich so wenig wie möglich - bevor ich ihn zur Band bringe und von dort aus weitermache."Zwei Alben nach dieser Veränderung erschaffen The New Pornographers Klanguniversen von komplexer Textur und erzählerischer Detailfülle, bei denen jede Ebene darauf abgestimmt ist, eine unerwartete neue Facette offenzulegen. Wie schon auf Continue as a Guest ist eine der deutlichsten Ebenen die Art und Weise, wie sich ein Song um ein hervorgehobenes Instrument formt. Auf The Former Site Of ist es die Mandoline, die - in Carl Newmans Händen - der Lead-Single ,Votive" ihr Gefühl von Beschleunigung verleiht, während sie sich vom atmosphärischen Synth- und Keyboard-Intro zu einer klassischen, weit offenen Jam-Nummer aufbaut.,Hände schützen ein Streichholz / Ich versuche nur, das Licht am Brennen zu halten", singt Newman in dem Stück. Diese Metapher - das Festhalten trotz der Unsicherheit des Lebens - zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch The Former Site Of. ,Bonus Mai Tais" handelt im Grunde davon, wie die Flamme erlischt: Newman schreibt darin offen über ein Treffen mit einem Freund, der an fortgeschrittenem Krebs erkrankt ist, und über seine eigene Entwaffnung angesichts dessen Offenheit im Angesicht des Todes. Es ist ein brutal trauriger Song, dessen Schmerz in Newmans Stimme schwebt - und zugleich einer der schönsten der Band, wobei die Harmonien von Neko Case und Kathryn Calder wie ein ätherischer Spiegel der Szene wirken.The Former Site Of platziert viele seiner Figuren am Rand des Vergessens - ihre Zeit wird knapp, ihre Situation scheint aussichtslos -, und doch halten sie fest. Das gilt auch, wenn The New Pornographers den Blick nach innen richten, wie auf ,Pure Sticker Shock", in dem Newmans Texte um Selbstwert kreisen. Dass sie sich selbst unter dieser so unterschiedlichen Figurenriege wiederfinden können - sogar die Cassini-Huygens-Sonde aus ,Spooky Action" - verleiht dem Album Zusammenhalt, noch bevor die sich wiederholende Schlusszeile des Titeltracks erklingt, die den Weg ins Herz jedes einzelnen Songs warm erleuchtet und einladend macht.Weit davon entfernt, einfach das erwartbare nächste Kapitel von The New Pornographers zu sein, ist The Former Site Of ein Plädoyer gegen Erwartungen - von einer Band, die sich weiterentwickelt, statt sich auf ihren Lorbeeren auszuruhen. Selbst in den dunkelsten oder selbstironischsten Momenten liegt in dieser Musik eine unwiderstehliche Spritzigkeit: eine Bestätigung, dass der Kampf ihrer Figuren und der Hörer:innen - wie das Foto eines fernen Planeten - es wert ist.

Die 15 Songs sind eine Reise und zaubern uns mit der klassischen Rock-Group (Gitarre, Bass, Schlagzeug) sowie mit Slideguitar, Geige, Nyckel-Harpa, Chor, Klavier- und Orgelsounds bunte Bilder in den Kopf. Eine Mischung aus erdigem Blues - Country und Folkrock mit prägnanten Lyrics auf deutscher und sorbischer Sprache.Die Musik öffnet mit ruhigen, tiefen, gospelartigen Passagen Räume und bewegt sich bis hin zum Punkrock.Textlich handelt das Album vom Weg, den du mit der Zeit gehst, von den damit verbundenen Sorgen, vom Ringen mit dem Guten und dem Bösen, von Liebe, von Freundschaft aber vor allem von Hoffnung. Der Sound von J.J.Cale, Neil Young und Ry Cooder verschmilzt mit modernem Postpunk und kreiert etwas ganz eigenes. Ein Album mit vielen Ecken, Kanten und Rundungen.Jacke selbst nennt seine Musik Lusitzana, was eine Anspielung auf den Begriff Americana ist. Hier gehts jedoch um das Leben in den langsam austrocknenden Sümpfen und Wäldern der Lausitz, rund um die Spree - Wo die Wölfe heulen und die Schafe ins Gras beißen. Aber die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt und der Rock wird siegen! (Henne)

Hagridden' is the second full-length from Scottish sisters Bratakus. Fiercely political and unapologetic, the duo made up of siblings Brèagha Cuinn (guitar and vocals) and Onnagh Cuinn (bass and vocals) deliver ten songs that combine garage rock and feminist punk with the same deft poise as forerunners The Distillers, The Donnas, Bikini Kill and X-Ray Spex.
In 2019, a BBC news report called Bratakus "the UK's most remote punk band". Formed in 2015 outside a small whiskey village called Tomintoul in the Scottish Highlands, the sisters (then 14 and 8 years old) have maintained a DIY ethos in everything they've done. Recording at home, self-releasing music, booking their own tours and with no drummer available locally, the duo turned their limitation into a statement, performing live with a drum machine and cementing their reputation as an uncompromising force within the punk scene.
'Hagridden' marks a new beginning for the two sisters, introducing real drums to the recording process (including a guest appearance from Chris Dangerous of Swedish rock band The Hives) plus a more focused approach to songwriting. The message and music are just as loud, but the execution is now deadlier than ever.

F
ourth record already here, new Triptych being scooped out of the drawers. This one is heavily video game inspired and marks a turning point for me. I’ve somehow been very much drawn to what I call “boss fight techno”, this is the result of this cogitation.

Total Debauchery kicks off the record with truculence. The title says it all, we’re very far away from warm up time, all hell let loose, big energy discharge, weird stereo bassline, pure madness. Gate Middletone certainly is wonky. It sounds like an anesthetized telephone call. I don’t know if we can refer to this as techno, but who cares, groove is spotless. Absolute Buffoonery started off as a joke with hoover sounds in mind. Turns out it is very danceable and weird enough to be on the record. It still is a foolery.

The B side starts with Demonic Shine. This one is purely dedicated to zombie games. I’ve been thinking about how techno could be interpreted for this kind of stuff. Turns out you can shoot dead people and dance at the same time. Good time. Zany Ditherings is a hard drive that keeps crashing. It disrupts the track, making it spasmodic. You are in a convulsive loop of data being thrown out the window. dc11 accepted this remix operation. His work acts as counterpoint to the record, bringing flawless techno tunneling. Buckle up mate.

Alongside the legendary Mercyful Fate and more obscure acts such as Alien Force, Randy, and Crystal Knight, Copenhagen's Witch Cross are undoubtedly one of the best Danish metal bands of all time. Their 1984 album “Fit For Fight” is definitely among the top five metal records in the country. One of the two guitarists on this masterpiece was a certain ‘Cole Hamilton’. His real name is Ole Hamilton Poulsen. He joined the band after the recording of Witch Cross' debut single, “Are You There” (from 1983). His partner on guitar was Mike Wlad (his birth name is Michael Koch). Mike Wlad is not only a founding member of Witch Cross, but also their main songwriter. After the premature end of the original Witch Cross, Mike Wlad formed a band called Harlot, which released a hard-to-find album called “Room With A View” in 1988. He then moved to London. Witch Cross are now active again and are currently working on their third album.

The duo’s debut album sets off on an airy, groovy odyssey.

Recorded at the legendary La Frette studio (Parcels, Fontaines D.C.), the album follows an extensive period of demo development.

Immersed alongside outstanding musicians, the team worked in a relaxed, old-school spirit: a handful of takes, tape recording, and analog gear. Plenty of space was left for ideas to emerge organically in the studio. The arrangements—synthesizers, flute, backing vocals, percussion—were then carefully refined over many months.



"Idésia" stands out for its delicate production, brought to life by Maxime Kosinetz on recording (Oracle Sisters, Bon Voyage Organisation), Stan Neff on mixing (Andrea Laszlo de Simone, Polo & Pan), and Chab on mastering (Daft Punk, La Femme).



The record unfolds across changing sonic landscapes, with Will’s voice gliding over melodies rooted in a bright, warm groove. A subtle blend of pop and Californian warmth runs throughout the album.

The album explores themes of childhood (Sur le Chemin de l’École, L’Île Perdue), ecstatic escapes (Holiday(s), Pas de Côté, Escalier), and simple pleasures (Le Bal, Cavalière de l’Aube). It also casts a poetic eye on the evolution of the world (Dernier Vol, Robot Rêveur, Balayeur de l’Espace). Will & Paul play with contrasts, shifting perspectives along the way.



"Idésia" is the imaginary world in which Will & Paul gracefully lose themselves - a suspended place between nostalgia and science fiction, as if their silhouettes were drifting from a bright, carefree past toward a place suspended in time.

'At the beginning of the 1960s, at the Berklee College of Music, Byard Lancaster met some feisty friends: Sonny Sharrock, Dave Burrell and Ted Daniel. It is easy to see why he rapidly became involved in free jazz. Once he was settled in New York, he appeared on Sunny Murray Quintet, recorded under the leadership of the drum crazy colleague of Albert Ayler.
'In 1968, the saxophonist and flutist recorded his first album under his own name: It’s Not Up To Us. The following year he came to Paris in the wake of… Sunny Murray. He would come back to France in 1971 (again with Murray) and in 1973 (without Murray for a change). This is when he met Jef Gilson, the pianist and producer who encouraged him to record under his own name again. On Palm Records (Gilson’s label), he would release four albums: Us, Mother Africa, Exactement and Funny Funky Rib Crib.

'Us, the first of the four records was recorded on November 24th, 1973 with Sylvin Marc on electric bass (a Fender… Lancaster?) and the evergreen Steve McCall on drums.
'On the album, the trio works from the John Coltrane model; free jazz shook up by the timely contributions of the bassist, followed by a mesmerizing atmospheric music. Then, Lancaster delivers a sinuous solo path, which is a reminder of his unique tone. On the album’s companion single, the trio launches into great black music of a different genre which would lead the clairvoyant François Tusques to claim that Byard Lancaster is an “authentic representative of soul/free jazz”, to sum up this is Great Black Music!'

DIY-Haltung, Slacker-Romantik und der Flirt mit den MTV-Heydays - eine bewährte Ästhetik, die irgendwie nicht totzukriegen ist und neuerdings in HI MUM aus Nürnberg ein weiteres Pro- Argument findet. Ja, das Quartett hat sich frisch formiert. Nein, der Begriff Newcomer trifft es trotzdem nicht ganz. Jedenfalls sollte die direkte Vorgängerband MAFFAI nicht gänzlich unerwähnt bleiben, auch wenn es zu kurz gegriffen wäre, die Verwandtschaft der beiden Projekte schlicht auf den Tausch der Frontperson zu reduzieren. Elan und Skillset beibehalten, profitieren HI MUM zwar vom Knowhow der letzten Jahre, schlagen musikalisch aber eine spürbar andere Richtung ein. Alternative, Shoegaze, Indie und Grunge sind in diesem Zusammenhang Genre-Bezeichnungen, die sich zweifellos aufdrängen.

Die limitierte 7"-Vinyl präsentiert einen der letzten Studio-Momente des verstorbenen David Johansen - eine intime, akustische Liebeserklärung voller Verletzlichkeit und Reife Seine Stimme trägt jene rauhe, unverwechselbare Tiefe, die ihn seit den Tagen der New York Dolls auszeichnete: ehrlich, ungeschönt, unmittelbar. "Gonna love you baby, till I lose my mind." An der akustischen Gitarre erschafft Earl Slick - bekannt durch seine Arbeit mit David Bowie und John Lennon - schwebende, fast sphärische Klangfarben, die Johansens erdigen Gesang umrahmen. Gemeinsam formen sie ein nuanciertes Zusammenspiel aus bluesiger Erdung und kosmischer Leichtigkeit. Der Track steigert sich in ein kraftvolles Mundharmonika-Finale, das Blues und Rock miteinander verschmilzt und den Song in eine spirituelle Intensität führt. Am Ende bleibt die Erinnerung daran, was uns Menschen am stärksten bewegt: L.U.V. - die Liebe.

Bristol duo Pume Orenge unspool a world of spectral electronica from cassette loops and instrumental improvisation on their debut album Angel By Milo for Odda Recordings.

It is a world that opens draped in ferric hiss. A fog of sound, dense and yet not quite there, catching the light in strange shades and ambient drifts. Looping and receding, looping and receding, as pucks of static burst like faraway fireworks on a cold winter’s night. Sound sources obscured, ambiguous, not quite what they seem.

Angel By Milo takes its lead from the analogue process and textures by which it was made. Percussive and melodic loops were established, manipulated and responded to with instrumental improvisation, in a give-and-take with the materiality of the medium.

Across these seven intricately developed tracks, the sound fluctuates between the cinematic and the introspective, at times melancholy, at others verging on a kind of restrained anger, before the calm sets in once more. It is music for the small hours, awash with the grainy stuff of memory.

Embedded within Bristol’s independent scene, Pume Orenge’s quiet debut also speaks to the duo’s shared roots in the area, and like many of Odda’s previous releases, contains a sensitivity to place and atmosphere, even when these are no more than implied.

Angel By Milo builds on the DIY ethos of Pume Orenge's 2023 self-titled debut EP, whose tracks were recorded live in single takes, now honing a more intentional, purposeful approach to music making. It is one in which layers of meaning are allowed to reveal themselves, a way of composing that makes a virtue of its labour and the chance occurrences that can arise in the process.

This is music in praise of shadows. Of the things we can’t quite see, the feelings we can’t quite grasp. Heard through the haze, or maybe not at all.

Mark IJzerman’s debut album Flounder Maps sounds like wandering through a world that's both familiar and strange. Forests humming with electricity, machines that breathe. Warm synths drift into chaos, calm moments crack open into something urgent. It's about things growing, falling apart, becoming something else. Inspired by eco-fiction and near-future imaginings, it pulls you through landscapes that feel alive and uncertain. The album takes its name from navigating uncertain ground. Music for a world in flux.

Following on from Butler, Blake & Grant's eponymous 2025 debut for Bernard Butlers' 355 Recordings, the trio reassembled at Norman Blake's home studio. 'Murmurs' is in some ways going back to where it all began for Butler, Blake & Grant, with the trio reimagining songs from their individual back catalogues which was in fact the premise for the very early shows that they played together. It all begins with 3 guitars, 3 voices and blooms from there.

Limited edition initial pressing of 1000 copies on silver vinyl in individually numbered sleeve.

"Scottish fireside Supergroup' - Uncut

"A uniquely pastoral musical summit...the tone feels perfectly integrated and cohesive. Imagine a mostly-Caledonian CSN&Y and you get the idea" - Record Collector

Backyard Babies was formed in 1987 in Nässjö and can by rights be called Sweden’s most influential glam punk act. Between 1994 and 2019 they released eight studio albums of which Stockholm Syndrome is their fifth. Here we have another collection of bangers brought to you by the babies with reckless abandon. This time they invited a whole slew of guest musicians such as the Ramones, Danko Jones, The Cardigans, Turbonegro, and The Hellacopters, elevating the whole affair to another level with no signs of stopping. This is the first time the album is available again on vinyl since ten years and features the songs "Minus Celsius", "A Song for the Outcast", and "Everybody Ready?!". Stockholm Syndrome is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear & black marbled vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet with lyrics.

MYRYRS3 presents a calculated compilation of cuts pulled from a variety of styles and backgrounds for their third and largest release to date. Having been quiet on the release front since 2023, this collection sets a calibrated tone for a label in its growth stage. Comprising present, esoteric, and regional techno expressions. Remaining grounded in their cultivation of a space where dancefloors and artistic endeavours share conversation, this release opens the room to an array of talent who approach the idea from varying angles of the dancefloor.

A Pandora's box of modern and daring ideas awaits inside MYRYRS3.

Nach dem "makellosen und zeitlosen Soul" (The Guardian) des 2019er-Vorgängers "American Love Call" öffnet "Private Space" von Durand Jones & The Indications die Tür zu einer breiteren Palette von Klängen und führt die Band kühn in eine synthielastigere Soul-Welt aus mit Streichern durchsetzten Disco-Beats. Das harmonische Zusammenspiel zwischen Aaron Frazers sanftem Falsett am Schlagzeug und Durand Jones' kräftigem Gesang sitzt noch immer tadellos und wird von Blake Rhein (Gitarre), Steve Okonski (Tasten) und Mike Montgomery (Bass) perfekt abgerundet. The Indications bleiben auch auf ihrem dritten Album wahre Meister darin, Revival-Sounds mit einer modernen Haltung zu verschmelzen. "Private Space" atmet den Geist der vergangenen Disco-Ära und die zehn Tracks liefern so eine dringend benötigte Dosis Eskapismus nach diesem turbulenten Jahr 2020. Das Album entstand nachdem die Band einen Großteil des Jahres getrennt voneinander verbracht hatte. Die Freude des Wiedersehens und am kreativen Miteinander ist auf "Private Space" jederzeit spürbar. Der hoffnungsvolle Sound setzt auf die Idee, dass Freude uns befreien kann. Die Kraft eines guten Songs, ein Licht in der Dunkelheit zu sein. Bandleader DURAND JONES fasst es treffend zusammen: "At the end of the day, I just want people to close their eyes and forget where they are. Just the way a Stevie Wonder album does for me."

"Saint Cloud" von Katie Crutchfield alias Waxahatchee ist das fünfte Album der Indie-Songschreiberin und wurde im Sommer 2019 auf der texanischen Sonic Ranch in Tornillo und Long Pond in Stuyvesant, NY, aufgenommen und von Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Big Red Machine) produziert. Mit unerschütterlicher Ehrlichkeit unterzieht sich Crutchfield auf "Saint Cloud" einer offenen Selbstprüfung. Das Album entstand nach Crutchfields Entschluss Alkohol und Drogen hinter sich zu lassen, entsprechend widmet sie sich lyrisch dem Thema Sucht. Das schlägt sich auch klanglich in einer klareren und traditionelleren Ausrichtung des Albums nieder: "I think all of my records are turbulent and emotional, but this one feels like it has a little dose of enlightenment. It feels a little more calm and less reckless." gibt die Musikerin zu Protokoll. Auch musikalisch beschreitet Crutchfield neues Terrain, während die letzten beiden gefeierten Alben "Out In The Storm" (2017) und "Ivy Tripp" (2015) noch von lärmenden Gitarren bestimmt waren, streift "Saint Cloud" diese Wall of Sound Schicht für Schicht ab, um Platz für Crutchfields Stimme und Texte zu schaffen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album geworden, das von klassischen Americana-Sounds durchwoben ist, aber mit einem modernen Touch. Auf "Saint Cloud" präsentiert sich Crutchfield erneut als eine der talentiertesten Geschichtenerzählerinnen der Gegenwart und sitzt so selbstsicher im Songwriter-Sattel wie noch nie zuvor.

The UK’s Black Metal forerunners, WINTERFYLLETH make a stand with The Unyielding Season, coming March 27, 2026 via Napalm Records. Their ninth album is a social commentary wrapped in meticulously crafted poetry and prose. Where the preceding album, The Imperious Horizon (2024), described an ominous, malevolent force, lurking in the distance, The Unyielding Season now explores said threat becoming a reality. The raging wildfire to its predecessor’s calculating, icy cold, WINTERFYLLETH’s first offering for their new record label is a reflection and a rebellion against the turmoils tearing individuals apart. It is a cry against the unsustainable weight of fear and pressure being pushed into the world, by the agents of a unresting, and unyielding force for evil.

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present MIDYRASI’S KULT’s highly anticipated debut album, Italian Dark Sound, on CD and vinyl LP formats. MIDRYASI'S KULT are revolutionary and uncompromised. Featuring veterans from such Italian doom stalwarts as Doomsword, Midryasi, Agarthi, and Fiurach, their unique blend of elements from the NWOBHM, doom metal, and early black metal – all fused in their distinctive national dark-sound tradition, which includes such cult legends as Black Hole and Death SS – results in an obscure, hypnotic, and exciting formula. In March 2025, after just one week on Bandcamp, MIDYRASI’S KULT were intercepted by Caligari Records, who released on cassette their debut demo, Mountain Devil. Featuring three songs in a concise 15 minutes, this demo reaped international acclaim for its originality and attitude. But that was but a foretaste of darker delights to come. Witness the first full-length of MIDRYASI’S KULT, Italian Dark Sound.

Truly titled, Italian Dark Sound is an intoxicating spelunk into catacombs both idiosyncratic and indefinable. Totaling 32 time-/mind-expanding minutes, the eight primary tracks here – the outro is titled “The Lost Son of Sylvester Anfang,” which should offer an obvious clue to the black-metal-minded out there – each offer something different from the next, and yet all add up into a shadowy experience that’s both rocking and atmospheric. In fact, if one were to single out an aspect between the demo and album, it’s that MIDYRASI’S KULT exude more energy on this full-length without sacrificing any of their occult aura. But, just like that demo, Italian Dark Sound features supremely pro production – gritty, earthy, and yet kaleidoscopic in texture – under the guidance of Gabry "The Way" Strada, head of RDF Studio and who’s now collaborating on the upcoming Doomsword new album. In the vein of an open artistic project, all the artwork is made by vocalist / bassist Geilt himself, and up to 11 musicians have been involved in these recordings

April Records proudly presents the new album from Stockholm Stockholm-based bassist and composer Jon Henriksson - a confident and flexible statement that deepens his place within contemporary Scandinavian jazz. Following the success of his 2023 debut Harmonia which placed second in Orkesterjournalen s Golden Album " readers " poll, Henriksson returns with music that foregrounds collective interplay, shifting forms, and a strong compositional voice. Born in Gothenburg and now active across Sweden and Europe, Henriksson has collaborated and toured with artists including Lars Jansson, Hakan Broström, Erik Söderlind, Klas Lindquist, Jonas Kullhammar and Christina von Bülow. Alongside leading his own ensembles, he remains a soughtsought-after bassist in a wide range of projects, balancing a deep connection to the jazz tradition with a modern, exploratory approach. Shapeshifter is built around a core quartet of tenor saxophone, piano, double bass and drums, expanded with guitar on three tracks and trombone on two. The album moves fluidly between contrasting moods, from forceful and driving to reflective and restrained, with each piece shaped by the musicians " intuition and responsiveness. The title reflects Henriksson s compositional philosophy: allowing roles, textures, and forms to evolve as the music unfolds.The ensemble brings together long long-standing musical relationships. Pianist Rasmus Sorensen and Henriksson have collaborated since their studies at Skurups Folkhögskola (Henriksson is a longstanding member of Sorensen s own trio), while drummer Jonas Bäckman forms part of a well well-established rhythm section partnership with the bassist across numerous projects including the Britta Virves Trio. Saxophonist Karl Karl-Martin Almqvist, a member of the Danish Radio Big Band, completes the quartet, with guitarist Pelle von Bülow and trombonist Rasmus Holm joining the session shortly before recording to expand the album s sonic palette where the music called for it. Originally conceived as a quartet album, Shapeshifter took its final shape in the lead lead-up to recording as additional instrumental colours were introduced organically. The piece Toninho , a tribute to Brazilian guitarist and composer Toninho Horta, features acoustic guitar and subtle wordless vocals, reflecting melodic influences that sit naturally within the album s contemporary jazz framework. Across the record, space, pacing, and interaction remain central. Rather than forcing constant motion, the music allows ideas to develop with clarity and intent, resulting in an album that highlights Henriksson s growing assurance as a composer and bandleader, while keeping the collective at its core.

A collection of tense and melancholic post-punk gems calling for rebellion. "Blurred Visions" sees the Parisian trio Bleakness deliver an unstoppable album filled with bursts of energy. For fans of The Damned, Killing Joke, Wipers, Poison Ruïn.

Ltd red marbled vinyl. A collection of tense and melancholic post-punk gems calling for rebellion. "Blurred Visions" sees the Parisian trio Bleakness deliver an unstoppable album filled with bursts of energy. For fans of The Damned, Killing Joke, Wipers, Poison Ruïn.

It’s 5 AM, the world is still quiet as dawn begins to rise. While most are asleep, a few of us are in the final stretch, finishing last edits or easing into the day, surrounded by scattered notes in the living room with a sleepy cat nearby.

5 AM Study Session is a tribute to the early risers and the night owls. This collection of 34 tracks carries early-morning focus and momentum, guiding you through the quiet and setting the tone for the day ahead. Sunlight slowly peeks in as the melodies play, creating a soundtrack for productivity and peace.

The physical edition captures the warmth of a fresh cup of coffee: pressed on double "Morning Latte" marble vinyl, the swirling beige and brown tones mirror the cozy, studious atmosphere of the artwork. A tangible reminder that the best work often happens when the world is still.

Slip on your headphones, pour a hot drink, and let the sunrise guide your workflow.

Jeb Loy Nichols is at it again with a brand new 7” that pairs two sides of his soulful storytelling. On the A-side, the exclusive cut “Do The Get Together” makes its debut – a slow-burning southern soul dancer that gently calls people closer, both on the dancefloor and beyond it. With warmth, patience, and a steady groove, Nichols invites connection without force, offering a quiet reminder that togetherness can still feel natural and unpretentious.

Driven by Cold Diamond & Mink’s deep-pocket rhythm and understated analog textures, “Do The Get Together” unfolds with ease. The groove never rushes, allowing Jeb’s voice to guide the message with soft authority and lived-in wisdom. It’s a song that feels tailor-made for late-night spins, where movement and meaning find common ground.
On the flip, “First Night Away From Home” brings listeners back to the opening chapter of Nichols’ latest album This House is Empty Without You. Warm, melodic, and intimate, the track captures that mix of vulnerability and quiet resolve that defines Jeb’s songwriting. Together, these two sides form a perfect 7” pairing, pressed for those who value soul that speaks gently but stays with you

This double LP yellow vinyl 20th anniversary release of G. Love's "Lemonade" celebrates one of his most beloved and successful records. The release accentuates G. Love’s unmistakable blend of blues grit, hip-hop cadence, and sun-kissed songwriting and captured a creative peak that welcomed an all-star cast of collaborators including Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Marc Broussard, Blackalicious and more. Critics praised its warmth and ease, often calling it one of G. Love’s most effortlessly joyful projects, and fans have carried its songs with them for two decades.

Their debut album, Why Trains Crash was released in June of that year to rave reviews. In 2023 they released their follow-up LP, A Company Sleeve, solidifying their reputation with critics and fans alike for all- killer/ no- filler indie rock. Their third LP, Never Felt Bitter, will be released on March 27, 2026. The music on Never Felt Bitter -- the quartet's first release for Chicago- based Forge Again Records--is the result of playing together on hundreds of nights in innumerable bars and clubs across Southern California and beyond. Over the years the band has honed a fearsome melding of pop melodicism and raw physicality. Their knack for crafting catchy anthems for outsiders and underdogs has made them one of the most respected underground bands in L.A.

José González has delivered a new album, Against the Dying of the Light, a companion and further meditation on the themes of his critically acclaimed album, Local Valley. Where Local Valley turned inward toward place, language, and personal reflection, this new record widens its gaze, becoming an urgent call to preserve the light of humanity with all its flaws, at a moment when, technology increasingly shapes how we think, feel, and relate to one another.

While José has always embraced technological advancement, he questions the assumption that every new possibility must be pursued to its maximum potential, especially when progress comes at the expense of human flourishing, attention, and empathy.

Keeping in the tradition of folk music as protest, José’s new single — sharing its title with the forthcoming album — urges listeners to resist systems that dehumanize and divide: “Disconnect from every algorithm, every perverse incentive that drags you down. Let’s rebel against the replicators, against the dying of the light. Kill the codes that feed the hate, keep the codes that make you thrive, celebrate the **king fact that we’re alive.”

Across the album, González works within a deliberately minimal framework, pushing his familiar palette to new heights through subtle variation, restraint, and detail. Each song unfolds with its own distinct character, proving how much emotional and musical range can be achieved within self - imposed limitations. Written in English, Swedish, and Spanish, the record reflects his Swedish - Argentine roots and frames its humanist message as a global one rather than a purely personal or political statement.

José González is one of the most quietly influential artists of our generation. The Swedish - Argentine artist has built a singular musical world from hypnotic, minimal guitar work and his unmistakably gentle voice — a sound that has become deeply personal to millions of listeners worldwide. With billions of streams across platforms and hundreds of thousands of physical records sold, González’s songs often act as emotional landmarks. Ask almost anyone, and they can name at least one of his tracks tied to a defining moment in their lives.

Al Wahem (“The Illusion”) is the new full-length release by PRAED, the Swiss–Lebanese duo of Raed Yassin and Paed Conca. Recorded between Beirut and Berlin, the album returns to the group’s central aesthetic: a rhythm-driven weave of Egyptian shaabi, electronics, improvisation and the gritty pulse of street-level sound. Nearly twenty years into the project, PRAED have distilled their approach into four pieces that subtly shift the listener’s bearings, reordering grooves and fragments until familiar elements take on new identities.
The twenty-minute title track sets the tone. A tightly interlocking two-drum foundation from Pascal Semerdjian and Ayman Zebdawi shapes a structure that expands steadily: synth figures branch outward, clarinet and bass lines act as internal guideposts, and brief vocal calls from Yassin and guest singer Mayssa Jallad sit inside the texture rather than leading it. PRAED’s shaabi keyboard language is present, but the duo stretch it outward, building tension and movement through patient accumulation.

“Al Hathayan,” at 4:46, tightens the focus. Conca’s clarinet moves between melodic arcs and clipped rhythmic gestures, threading through electronic loops that surface and disappear. Zebdawi’s percussion adds a raw, tactile quality, placing acoustic patterns and electronics in direct conversation. The piece acts as a bridge between the album’s two long-form compositions.
Side B begins with “Al Maraya,” a thirteen-minute piece that relies on electronic, bass and clarinet interplay. The atmosphere nods to the breadth of PRAED Orchestra!, but remains anchored in the duo’s rhythmic foundations. Rather than building mass, the layering creates a sense of depth, as if new spaces were opening inside the groove.
The album closes with “Assarab,” featuring keyboardist Amr Said. Semerdjian and Zebdawi again form a dual percussive axis, while synths hover between melody and pulse, and themes recur in widening circles rather than building vertically. The porous boundary between electronic and acoustic sources — processed clarinet mistaken for a sequencer, rhythmic figures springing from live drums — is where the album’s theme of “illusion” shows itself most clearly.

Al Wahem follows a long arc: early releases on Annihaya, a key appearance on Ruptured Sessions Vol. 5 – Live at Radio Lebanon (2013), later albums on Akuphone, and the large-scale PRAED Orchestra! documented on Morphine Records. This new Ruptured/Annihaya co-release brings the duo back to a concentrated format, reorganizing their familiar materials with renewed clarity and intent.

Up Ya Archives returns with its first release of 2026, ‘Northern Step’, from Manchester-based jungle producer & DJ Worsleyy. The track arrives ahead of his upcoming EP of the same name slated for a 13th March release via Up Ya Archives Records.

Fuelled by crisp, tightly swung drums and a smooth, rolling bassline, ‘Northern Step’ is a salute to its junglist roots. Drawing from the Manchester rave records he was introduced to by his dad, and with the help of legendary Mancunion music mixologist Chimpo, Worsleyy channels those early warehouse energies and pairs them with his own progressive and futuristic lens. It’s heritage and evolution colliding, rooted, forward-thinking and built for sweat-drenched dance floors.

When speaking about ‘Northern Step’, Worlseyy said:

“Northern Step is a proper nod to the junglist past with the lush floaty vocals, calculated drum choppage, a smooth rolling bassline and Chimpo hopping on to drive forward the sound of the North.”

Worsleyy is a familiar face across the UK circuit, having played sets at The Warehouse Project and supporting Nia Archives on her 2024 UK tour in Manchester. Drawing from UK rave lineage and contemporary club sounds, his productions balance nostalgia with futurism, channelling the energy of Manchester’s acid raves. His tracks have travelled far beyond UK borders, spun by the scenes most forward-thinking tastemakers like DJ SWISHA, Sherelle, Pete Cannon, and Nia Archives on dancefloors around the world. Worsleyy’s rise has been as visible as it is audible — bold, bass-driven, and impossible to ignore.

Released in 2000, Alan Braxe and Fred Falke's “Intro” is five minutes of faultlessly melancholy, perfectly elegant, dance music that nudged French House into the future.
“Intro” is now being re-released for its 25th birthday, using the remastered version of the song from the 2023 re-issue of Alan Braxe, Fred Falke & Friends - The Upper Cuts album, with Braxe and Falke also making new remixes of their golden child. Given that “Intro” was pretty much perfect the first time around, the results are astoundingly strong.
Falke’s remix takes “Intro” into new dimensions, cosmic and suspiciously dubby, a newly-recorded bass line sending the mix on its psychedelic way. Braxe’s remix is raw and dirty, a “hotel room edit” as he calls it, that nods to the history of French House as it sparkles up the spine.
Both tunes are evidence that - actually - you can remix the un-remixable, so long as it is done with infinite love and incredible skill.

As Nathan Fake rises from the nocturnal subterranea and rave catharsis of his previous records, on Evaporator, he resurfaces into the domain of daylight, bringing a tangible sense of air rushing against your face, of big skies, and endless landscapes. The idea of pop accessibility that trickled into 2023’s Crystal Vision is refracted here through the prism of sweeping ambient, deep electronica, and trance uplift. Evaporator is Fake’s idea of “airy daytime music”, with each track a different barometer reading across the album’s varying atmospheres, which range from vibrant sunbursts, bracing rainscapes, and fine mists of clement melodics. “It’s not overtly confrontational electronic club music,” states Fake. “It’s quite pleasant, it’s accessible. As I was progressing through making the tracklist, I called it a daytime album. It doesn’t feel like an afterparty album.” For the past decade Fake has been gingerly introducing collaborations with heroes and friends alike into his lone, idiosyncratic working process. Border Community alumni Dextro AKA Ewan Mackenzie transmutes his ferocious drumming for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs into the blurred choral thump of ‘Baltasound’. ‘Orbiting Meadows’, meanwhile, is his second collaboration with Clark, an eerily idyllic duet where microtonal 18EDO piano clangs slowly twirl around wailing pads. Evaporator marks the junction point of old technology and ever fresh creativity for Nathan. The trusty “dinosaur” age software, particularly Cubase VST5, that has powered two decades of music is rarely updated. “I used to sort of feel a bit ashamed of using such old software, and then I kind of had an epiphany – that’s just how I work”, comments Fake. “That’s just how I play. I’m very fond of these old tools, and I get the most joy out of them, but now I’ve incorporated new technology too.” When an artist accumulates so much synergy with their instrument, music making becomes instinctual. By Fake’s account, much of Evaporator just fell into place. The album title arrived randomly in his head (“it felt completely perfect. Airy.”), ideas looped and developed until things locked into place and just felt right. ‘The Ice House’ is a fleeting glimpse of the sonic world he taps into in this creative state, its glassy FM synths built around a counterpoint between rough-hewn crystalline arpeggios and sparse yet gravitas-bearing bass. “That riff I just wrote out on the keyboard, I just played it forever and ever and ever. The original track ended up being really short. Here you go, and it’s gone!” These unplanned channellings of sound call forth records from Fake’s past while he looks ahead, perhaps getting at the very essence of his musicianship. The opener ‘Aiwa’ (“the breeziest,” he muses) reminds of the introspection that characterised Providence, excited by the fire and grit of Steam Days’ textural experiments, its chunky slams and clatters surging into a flood of harmonic buzzing as they reach out for old wisdom. ‘Hypercube’ stampedes in a similar chronological confluence, infusing an incessant synth line reminiscent of the golden age of rave with the crackling, ecstatic energy of modern festival anthems. Like the vaporisation of liquid to particles, everything that Evaporator presents has a mutant desire to be amorphous. Sounds rarely settle; the irradiated garage beat of ‘Bialystok’ is pitched downwards to driving, rebounding effect, while ‘You’ll Find a Way’ warps static into shivering energy, cinematic synth strings building anticipation into a gradual gush of chords. This translates into a more expansive stereo field than Fake has explored before. ‘Slow Yamaha’ saves the wildest, most kinetic transformations for last with a cornucopia of crispy melodies and fried drums; a sibilance of cymbals on the left, a susurrus of shakers on the right, and kaleidoscopic lasers pulsing and fizzing all around. Evaporation culminating in pure excited atoms. In a world where music has increasingly become background content, making albums remains lifeblood for Fake: “It makes me realise how long; twenty years is ages! It’s weird to see how much the world has changed. Release day back then you did fuck all, now you spend all day on socials. When I grew up the people who made the electronic music I was into were quite mysterious, and the artwork was very abstract. There was a massive distance between you and that music, and that was a key part of it, really. Now it helps to be an extrovert, and I'm just not, but the album marks the first time my face has graced the cover art. I’ve never wanted to do this before, I'm very shy, and generally I don’t like being seen,” he professes. “But, twenty years in, I supposed I could try something new. I'm very lucky that I'm somehow surviving in this world, where the media world favours extroverts and interesting looking people. It’s not my world but somehow I’m still in it.” Evaporator continues to prove Nathan’s necessary presence, with some of his most engaging, varied, and magical music yet.