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Jnbo ist der Künstlername von Henry Jenkins, einem Komponisten, Produzenten/Toningenieur und Bassisten aus Melbourne/Naarm. Jenkins ist den meisten als Produzent/Toningenieur hinter Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo und der für den Grammy nominierten Frollen Music Library bekannt. Als hauseigener Toningenieur für Aufnahmen und Abmischungen bei College In-House-Aufnahme- und Mix-Ingenieur bei Knowledge Records hat Jenkins die klangliche Grundlage für die instrumentale Cinematic-Soul-Bewegung von Melbourne/Naarm geschaffen. Auf ,& Friends" setzt Jenkins seine Fähigkeiten für seine eigenen brillanten Kompositionen ein. Das Album umfasst 12 introspektive Instrumentalstücke - tiefe, cineastische Odysseen, die von Romantik und Aufrichtigkeit durchdrungen sind und jenen unverkennbaren ,Freak Funk Bump" haben. Jenkins erklärt die Konzeption von ,& Friends": ,Ich wollte ein Album schreiben, auf dessen Aufnahme ich mich mit meinen Freunden freuen würde. Die Musik, die ich schrieb, hatte eine Funk-Sensibilität in Bass und Schlagzeug, kontrastiert durch einen eher cineastischen Ansatz in Bezug auf Harmonie und Melodie, mit Gitarren, die sich dazwischen schlängeln und gleiten. Ich habe versucht, diesen Kontrast zum Charakter des Albums zu machen. Ich fand, dass jeder Song die gleiche Instrumentierung und die gleichen Musiker haben sollte. Das wurde zu einer angenehmen kreativen Herausforderung: Wie viel Variation konnte ich im Laufe des Albums aus denselben acht Instrumenten herausholen? Ich wollte innerhalb dieser engen Grenzen so viel Vielfalt wie möglich finden." Jenkins hat diese Prinzipien bei den Aufnahmen zu ,& Friends" angewendet und langjährige Musikpartner wie Hudson Whitlock, Darvid Thor und Callum Riley (Karate Boogaloo), Lachlan Stuckey und Jethro Curtin (Surprise Chef), Lewis Coleman und Lena Douglas (The Cactus Channel) zusammen, um unkonventionelle Arrangements für drei Gitarren, Klavier, Streichersynthesizer, Hammondorgel, Schlagzeug und Bass zu verwirklichen, wobei Jenkins selbst den Bass und die Produktion übernahm. Das Ergebnis ist ein auffallend einzigartiges Album: Mal gibt's malerische Stimmungen, mal funkige Rhythmen, die zum Mitwippen einladen, wobei die drei Gitarren und drei Keyboards genau im Stereofeld angeordnet sind. Das Album zeigt die Einflüsse des Filmkomponisten Bernard Herrmann, des Lounge-Pioniers Les Baxter und Lamont Dozier von Motown, zusammen mit den exzentrischen Eigenheiten von JNBO. Für Fans von Surprise Chef, El Michels Affair, Menahan Street Band, Les Baxter, Bernard Herrmann.

Emerging from the vivid chaos of Detroit’s underground, ZelooperZ returns with Dali Ain’t Dead — a surreal yet deeply grounded statement from one of rap’s most singular voices. Following his recent collaborative exploration Dear Psilocybin (with Real Bad Man) — which found him moving through a “stream of psychosis” just before sobriety. (Pitchfork) — ZelooperZ enters this new chapter not simply as the same intricate-flows rapper, but as a rising cult-figure in underground hip-hop who’s forged an identity both enigmatic and quietly unstoppable.

On Dali Ain’t Dead, ZelooperZ channels the spirit of the surreal — the album’s title a nod to the iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí — as he reframes his world post-substance, post-chaos, yet still dripping with vivid imagination. Reviews highlight that the album finds him in a more focused mode: one critic writes that “ZelooperZ seems to have adopted a similar outlook to Dalí… embracing sobriety and allowing his art to exist as the psychotropic fuel for his mind.” (Album of the Year) Production (courtesy of Dilip) is inventive and cohesive, blending experimental hip-hop, trap, cloud-rap and drumless textures to mirror Ze’s newly clear-eyed vantage point and trademark eccentricity. (Legends Will Never Die)

Tracks like “Mona Lisa Left Eye” and “Push Me Around” (featuring Zack Fox) carry Z’s jagged humor and restless energy, while deeper cuts like “Shrooms” and “Take Me I’m Drugs” trace his evolving relationship with psychedelia and the legacy of his past. (Legends Will Never Die) In doing so, the record positions itself as the sound of a freak-icon in transition — still wild, still weird, but sharpened, matured, operating with a purpose and increasingly commanding the attention of fans who relish the underground unusual.

ZelooperZ’s trajectory continues to rise. From his roots in the Bruiser Brigade collective in Detroit to the present moment as a cult figure whose every release feels like a mission statement, Dali Ain’t Dead confirms that he’s no longer just the oddball off-to-the-side: he’s the weirdo that others are quietly watching. This album isn’t just for the longtime disciples of his left-field aesthetic — it’s an invitation to anyone curious about hip-hop bending, breaking, and rebuilding itself from the fringes inward.

Longtime friend of the label Eraserhead returns after over a decade away from producing music due to his surreal MS Paint work as 'Jim'll Paint It' becoming an unexpected cultural phenomenon. With his debut full-length, 'Violence', Eraserhead presents a truly eclectic electronic LP featuring collaborations with established producers such as Om Unit, Enduser, and Brain Rays, as well as the vocal talents of Nadia Rose, Beans (of Antipop Consortium), and Cadence Weapon. An album held together by theme and tone rather than style or tempo, 'Violence' is the culmination of a bitter wave of inspiration, initially conceived in the wake of a personal tragedy that quickly grew into a broader polemic about the state of the world.

Originally linking up with Love Love in its breakcore netlabel infancy with his refined, breaks-heavy breakcore/gabba, Eraserhead's flair for tight, intricate productions was evident in his finely tuned tracks of controlled chaos. This time around, his work is a darker, more expansive evolution of his sound, with the scale upsized and the stylistic scope massively broadened, remaining unfaithful to any single genre, but with firm nods to Breakcore, Grime, Drum & Bass, Techno, Rave, Dubstep, and Footwork, all chewed up with a hard industrial edge and cinematically framed by a backdrop of apocalyptic synths.

Opening with the cold tech-noir of 'Shining Brainless Beacon' to set the tone, the album quickly locks in with the blistering spoken-word headrush of 'Hurricane With Teeth' alongside rapper Beans, before Om Unit lends his expertise on the sharp groove and clinical bass blasts of 'Operation Hardtack'. The album shifts and morphs constantly throughout the runtime, moving from the raw and urgent acid techno of 'Crowd Control' to the crunching military march of the Gore Tech collaboration 'No More Worlds' and the tribal sci-fi footwork of the Brain Rays collaboration 'Night Visions'. 'Monolith' provides a final burst of catharsis, channelling Underworld by way of Nine Inch Nails, complete with writhing screams from Amée Chanter of sludge-punk-noise-rock duo Human Leather, before the heart of the album is laid bare with the painfully bleak closing dirge of 'Animal'. In its final moments, 'Violence' leaves the listener suspended between devastation and awe - an unflinching portrait of an uncaring world.

But, in the summer of 2024, a personal tragedy changed everything. Michael and Lou lost their six-year-old granddaughter, Bebe, in the Southport attacks in July that year, and, as much as they tried to carry on and make a My Darling Clementine album, with the weight of so much sadness and grief bearing down on them, it just didn't feel the right thing to do. The tragic events of summer 2024 not only changed the music they were making and the songs they were writing, it also altered their outlook on life. Recognising that everyone's grief is individual even that of a husband and wife Michael and Lou needed to channel their suffering via their own individual creativity and in their own way, rather than in collaboration, so they worked on two solo albums. Michael's "Nothing Can Hurt Me Anymore" is the first of the two to be released.

An album the defies genre, it is simply his instinctive musical reaction to the events of summer 2024. Michael writes "To be honest, it was impossible to write about anything else. It overwhelmed everything. I hope I am now creatively exhausted on the subject, but I think it will affect my writing forever, just as indeed, the loss of Bebe will". It features eleven brand new MWK songs Partly recorded in rural Wales and partly in not so rural Sheffield, "Nothing Can Hurt Me Anymore"was produced by Michael, along with wunderkind Clovis Phillips, and the brilliant Colin Elliot, who also mixed the album.

Swedish post-punk outfit Makthaverskan return with their highly anticipated fifth album, featuring the focus track Won’t Wait. Propelled by driving guitars, it channels the urgency of breaking free and taking back control. Makthaverskan have earned praise for their fiery live shows and are known for their blend of jangly dream pop, emotional intensity, and Maja Milner’s unmistakable voice. “thin but strong, hitting a violent edge as easily as the flick of a butterfly knife” (Pitchfork).

From the quiet desolation of earlier Iterum Nata now rises something heavier – more aggressive and defiant. With “Heartwood”, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Jesse Heikkinen (The Abbey, Henget, ex-Hexvessel) reshapes his progressive rock and neo-folk foundations through the crucible of metal, layering doom-laden riffs and blackened textures upon the project’s introspective core.

To give this vision its pulse, Heikkinen enlisted Ukrainian drummer Yurii Ciel (Stoned Jesus, Cailleach Calling, ex-White Ward), whose expressive performance transforms “Heartwood” into the most visceral Iterum Nata release to date. Together they carve a sound both expansive and immediate: progressive journeys steeped in folk atmosphere, driven by the weight and force of metal.

The record also features rare guest appearances: King Dude lends his commanding voice to “Forgiveness Undone”, Alexander Kuoppala (ex-Children of Bodom) unleashes a searing solo in “I Have Been Sacrificed”, and Sami Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre) delivers an unearthly vocal in “Only Ash and Bones Remain”.

“Heartwood” is an album hewn from fury yet tempered by revelation. Where past Iterum Nata releases drew from solitude and sorrow, here the wellspring is anger – but anger that points beyond itself, toward beauty, hope, and transcendence. It is a meditation on the spiritual war within the collective unconscious, channelled through music that flows between Anathema and My Dying Bride, Opeth and In the Woods…, Pink Floyd and Green Carnation.

‘Distracted’ is Thundercat’s fifth studio album, featuring contributions from an incredible cast of friends including A$AP Rocky, WILLOW, Tame Impala, Lil Yachty, Channel Tres, and a long awaited collaboration with the dearly departed Mac Miller. The record was primarily created in close collaboration with a new creative partner – the super-producer Greg Kurstin – plus Flying Lotus, Kenny Beats (Kenneth Blume) and The Lemon Twigs. In the six years since his GRAMMY-winning album ‘It Is What It Is’, Thundercat’s star has risen: playing stadiums worldwide with Red Hot Chilli Peppers with Flea naming Thundercat “the best bass player on the planet”; performing live with A$AP Rocky, Steve Lacy, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Silk Sonic, Erykah Badu, Spinal Tap, Yo Gabba Gabba; collaborating with Haim, Smino, Kaytranada, Kamasi Washington and Justice. He also branched out into acting with a role in Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. His warm, playful presence is never too far away, and life’s all the more enlivened by it.

Welcome to the world of Edward Blankman, a retired dentist who wrote elegant, minimalist jazz in obscurity circa 1970. At least that’s the story.

In truth, Edward Blankman’s Cape Cod Cottage is the 2021 concept album from Echo Park composer Brendan Eder.

A tender, wistful follow up to 2020’s To Mix With Time, the Cape Cod Cottage sound evokes the spirit of Erik Satie, Miles Davis with Gil Evans, and Stevie Wonder, balanced with the accessibility of 1960s lounge-exotica. Eder’s characteristic arrangements are crafted to reflect the past, without losing the innovative quality of his modern ear.

Eder created Blankman’s story to channel his own grief, with bittersweet tenderness. Read the liner notes, and you’ll be transported to the quiet shores of Cape Cod, where a lonely retiree mourns his late wife, Natalie, with walks in nature and evenings at his Wurlitzer.

The story is brought to life with a meticulously crafted package sporting classic liner notes, faux 1970s photographs documenting Edward with the musicians (taken during the actual session), a make-believe jazz label, and a commissioned oil painting of Edward’s cottage. Eder spent over a year rendering the compositions and charts according to his vision.

Eder brought together a dream line up with a ton of chemistry for the project; drummer Christian Euman (Jacob Collier), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Jeff Parker, Leon Bridges), and bassist Alex Boneham (Billy Childs), who all studied together at the Hancock Institute of Jazz. Rounding out the group is flutist Sarah Robinson, a recurring player in Eder’s ensemble, and Edward Blankman (Brendan) on the Wurlitzer.

The cast was booked for a single date with coveted engineer Michael Harris (Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes) at famed Electro-Vox Recording Studios. To create realism for Edward’s story, the charts were purposefully withheld from the musicians until they arrived at the studio. The result is an authentic and natural performance delivered by players at the top of their game, captured on pristine vintage equipment including the legendary Neve-8028 console.

Doubting all the time. Fearing all the time. Our Darkness descends upon Dark Entries with a reissue of Anne Clark’s epochal proto-house masterpiece from 1984. As a young poet, Clark found herself drawn to London’s emerging punk scene. She became acquainted with Psychic TV affiliate David Harrow, with whom she would collaborate on 1983’s Changing Places and 1984’s Joined Up Writing. “Our Darkness,” off the latter album, was released as a single on Ink Records that same year, and became an underground club hit. It’s a singular piece of music: Clark’s lyrics, delivered with equal parts muscular confidence and unease, speak of urban alienation and heartbreak, while Harrow’s production pummels the listener with hydraulic beats and gloom-laced arpeggios. The song’s spirit would prove influential on both the early Chicago house and Detroit techno scenes, where mechanistic funk and existential despair could catalyse dancefloor mayhem. This reissue offers three versions of “Our Darkness”: the original 12” remix, the Razormaid mix, and a previously unreleased dub version uncovered by David Harrow. Also included is the extended mix of “Sleeper in Metropolis,” another dancefloor hit of Clark’s, as well as the elegiac “Poem for a Nuclear Romance.” The record includes an insert with liner notes and lyrics. “Our Darkness” channels timeless longing and contemporary dismay, a classic overdue for a little light shed upon it.

Specs: Wrapped in shrink, DL code, insert with liner notes

"Music in DNA" is an album recorded in the early 1980s in New York City by Yasuhito Ohno, a young Japanese man breaking free from the constraints of his homeland. The album is a naive burst of outsider DIY enthusiasm, inspired by the multiple avant-garde movements of the era, in music, painting and performance, as well as the native energy of 80s NYC. Ohno channeled his youthful “edge” and zeal into open-minded lo-fi musical explorations using a mere two machines: the then-new technological glories of a four-track cassette recorder and that polyphonic synthesizer masterpiece, the Roland Juno-60; on several pieces he vocalizes. These seven tracks have a zestful, innocent, anything-goes charm, free from preciousness and self-consciousness: a raw and youthful human spirit at play in a new world. Ohno was also inspired by the humanistic promise of the general technological developments of the day, including DNA research, personal computing, and early computer graphics, an example of which can be found on the cover. Ohno later returned to Japan, becoming a renowned composer/producer. In an era of jaded cynicism, "Music in DNA" is a welcome taste of big-hearted innocence, a revival of a raw self. Available on CD/LP/Digital, with E/J liner notes.

Bambe welcomes Low Jack — the alias of French producer Philippe Hallais — to the label with his debut single “MARKET,” backed by a remix from Bambe label head Bambounou. Following the dark ambient explorations of his recent album Lacrimosa on Stroom, Low Jack returns decisively to the dance floor, channeling his club instincts while preserving a deep-rooted connection to contemporary art.

Originally conceived as a commissioned composition for Australian visual artist Thomas Jeppe, “MARKET” was created to accompany an immersive installation exploring the hallucinatory rhythms of cosmopolitan life. The work was presented in February 2025 at Circolo UltraFiorucci, a newly launched cultural space in Milan, where sound and image converged to envelop visitors in Jeppe’s vivid, destabilized urban vision.

Recontextualized for the club, “MARKET” bridges installation and dance floor, reinforcing Low Jack’s singular ability to move fluidly between experimental art contexts and forward-leaning club music — now sharpened further by Bambounou’s remix, which pushes the track into electro territory.

The Fall were an English post-punk band, formed in Manchester in 1976. The band existed in some form ever since, and was essentially built around its founder and only constant member Mark E. Smith. Initially associated with the punk movement of the late 1970s, the group's music went through several stylistic changes over the years, but is often characterised by an abrasive guitar-driven sound and frequent use of repetition, and was always underpinned by Smith's distinctive vocals and often cryptic lyrics. The band was noted for its prolific output: and released over 25 studio albums, and more than triple that counting live albums and other releases. They have never achieved widespread public success beyond a handful of minor hit singles in the late 1980s, but maintained a strong cult following. The band were long-associated with BBC disc jockey John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career and cited The Fall as his favourite band, famously explaining, "They are always different; they are always the same.

When you notice the cheerful mystery playing with the synths, the edges of this small world start to look slightly distorted. In any era, someone is always creating mysterious music on their own. (7FO)

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Music in DNA is an album recorded in the early 1980s in New York City by Yasuhito Ohno, a young Japanese man breaking free from the constraints of his homeland. The album is a naive burst of outsider DIY enthusiasm, inspired by the multiple avant-garde movements of the era, in music, painting and performance, as well as the native energy of 80s NYC. Ohno channeled his youthful "edge" and zeal into open-minded lo-fi musical explorations using a mere two machines: the then-new technological glories of a four-track cassette recorder and that polyphonic synthesizer masterpiece, the Roland Juno-60; on several pieces he vocalizes. These seven tracks have a zestful, innocent, anything-goes charm, free from preciousness and self-consciousness: a raw and youthful human spirit at play in a new world. Ohno was also inspired by the humanistic promise of the general technological developments of the day, including DNA research, personal computing, and early computer graphics, an example of which can be found on the cover. Ohno later returned to Japan, becoming a renowned composer/producer. In an era of jaded cynicism, Music in DNA is a welcome taste of big-hearted innocence, a revival of a raw self. Available on CD/LP/Digital, with E/J liner notes.

2026 Repress

Rhythm by Nature is back with Somefink Old, Somefink New, a three-tracker from seasoned producer Grant Dell that bridges past and present: sketches first laid down in the mid-2000s rediscovered and reworked alongside a brand-new cut, forming a dialogue between memory and renewal.

The EP opens with Feel Me?, a deep tech construction driven by a heavy low-end, its groove unfolding patiently while flashes of disco glimmer through the framework. On Light of Day, Dell shifts into full deep house territory — spacey pads and floating strings suspended across open structures until acidic stabs break through, twisting the track into brighter, playful directions. Closing with Death Disco in Dub, Dell channels the hallmarks of his Tribalation project: dub-infused atmospherics, light percussion and echo-drenched fragments circling around a hypnotic core, equally suited to open or dissolve a night.

With Somefink Old, Somefink New, Rhythm by Nature traces the arc of an artist deeply embedded in the underground, reuniting past forms with present gestures in a release that reaffirms the label’s consistency in quality and commitment to timeless club music.

On Blinking as the Starlight Burns Out Paula Kelley explores her reverence for the dark edges of pop music, crafting a deeply personal song cycle informed by her career as a musician, song-writer and arranger. Channelling some of her most treasured pop-noir classics by Judee Sill, Colin Blunstone and Big Star, the songs on her first album in almost 20 years are filled with heart-wrenching melodies and layer-upon-layer of lush, kinetic instrumentation.

Debut solo album from leader of legendary psych band Föllakzoid, Available on white color vinyl! RIYL: Föllakzoid, Beatrice Dillon, Huerco S., Arca, Amnesia Scanner, SOPHIE, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Musician and filmmaker Domingæ is probably best known as the founder of experimental psych band Föllakzoid. Written whilst stranded in Mexico and Tokyo on her way to a world tour with Föllakzoid, her new debut solo album Æ has taken the decompositional system she devised for the band and added the depth of inner exploration and a symbiotic relationship with musical craft. The resulting sound is as groovy and hypnotic as the best Föllakzoid tracks but with a seductive and darkening electronic texture. She has become a channel in which the shadows inhabit. Domingæ's sounds and formats are articulated via depuration, expanding in time and space via the subtraction of shifting elements. The process of unlearning and uninstalling previously established creative softwares in order to achieve dissolution has always been a central focus in her creative pursuit. Æ is a result of said experimentation, the dissolution of preconceived notions to create a minimal sound yet rich in textures.

British rock singer Chez Kane is back with her third studio album, “Reckless” — an explosive blend of arena-ready hooks, slick guitar work, and unapologetic 80s-style swagger. Following the success of her first two records, Chez levels up with a collection that’s bigger in sound, richer in emotion, and packed with pure melodic firepower. Once again written and produced by Danny Rexon, frontman of Swedish hard rockers Crazy Lixx, “Reckless” channels the golden age of melodic rock while injecting it with fresh energy and modern production. The chemistry between Chez and Danny continues to shine, resulting in a record that blends 80s-inspired anthems, infectious hooks, and soaring vocals into a modern rock statement with attitude.

From glam-infused bangers to emotional slow-burners, “Reckless” showcases Chez’s growing confidence and undeniable charisma, proving she’s not just riding the revival wave — she’s leading it. If you’re craving fist-pumping choruses, soaring vocals, and a no-holds-barred throwback to the glory days of rock, look no further. Chez Kane’s “Reckless” is melodic rock done right — bold, catchy, and undeniably alive. Turn it up loud. This one’s recklessly unforgettable.

British rock singer Chez Kane is back with her third studio album, “Reckless” — an explosive blend of arena-ready hooks, slick guitar work, and unapologetic 80s-style swagger. Following the success of her first two records, Chez levels up with a collection that’s bigger in sound, richer in emotion, and packed with pure melodic firepower. Once again written and produced by Danny Rexon, frontman of Swedish hard rockers Crazy Lixx, “Reckless” channels the golden age of melodic rock while injecting it with fresh energy and modern production. The chemistry between Chez and Danny continues to shine, resulting in a record that blends 80s-inspired anthems, infectious hooks, and soaring vocals into a modern rock statement with attitude.

From glam-infused bangers to emotional slow-burners, “Reckless” showcases Chez’s growing confidence and undeniable charisma, proving she’s not just riding the revival wave — she’s leading it. If you’re craving fist-pumping choruses, soaring vocals, and a no-holds-barred throwback to the glory days of rock, look no further. Chez Kane’s “Reckless” is melodic rock done right — bold, catchy, and undeniably alive. Turn it up loud. This one’s recklessly unforgettable.

Wish You Well is the powerful new album from US rock band Lansdowne, a journey through renewal, resilience, and transformation. Built around the pillars of physical, mental, and spiritual health, the record channels real emotion into anthems about breaking down and rebuilding stronger than ever.

Featuring the explosive singles "Burn It Down", "Make It a Lie", and "Release Me", Wish You Well captures Lansdowne at their most inspired, merging raw energy with purpose-driven storytelling. Available now on CD Digisleeve with a 16-page booklet, and as a limited edition transparent blue vinyl, strictly limited to 500 copies for collectors and fans alike.

Ruff Kutz presents 'Found Sound', a debut solo album by Pugilist.

At a time where art has become readily reproduced and seemingly disposable, I have made something longer-form to be enjoyed as a complete piece, rather than it's single elements.

Found Sound delves into my internal monologue, which I hope results in a personal and introspective listening experience. Building on my previous discography - you can expect versatile sounds and tempos, with a washy dub-wise feel, intoxicating atmospherics, all in a genre-free structure. The album is floaty, euphoric and perhaps a surprisingly light listen compared to my normal output, but with notably huge bass and intricate percussion throughout.

The album taps into nostalgic reference points without leaning on retrograde tropes. While sculpted by contemporary production and FX, the sound remains raw and not overly polished. The album is best described as a collage of sounds that I have steadily collected over the last decade, which have inspired me, some very cheeky sampling and many a late night working on my studio tan. It is a tribute to the music I grew up with and love the most, from past to the present. It is fitting that this release marks the 10 years since I started the Pugilist alias.

This wouldn't have been possible without Umeya, who the album is dedicated to.

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.

One of the most innovative and ambitious albums ever made, Genioh Yamashirogumi’s Ecophony Rinne is a sonic masterpiece featuring over 200 musicians that expanded the limits of what music and sound could do.

Before Akira there was Ecophony Rinne. Originally released in 1986, Ecophony Rinne is a four-part symphony of “ecological music” by Geinoh Yamashirogumi that married ancient tradition with technological innovation, and changed the way we listen to music in the process.

Half-speed mastered at Abbey Road by Miles Showell, Time Capsule’s high-tech analogue reissue is the first to reproduce composer Ōhashi’s ground-breaking “Hypersonic Effect” theory on vinyl, cutting frequencies beyond the realm of human hearing into wax to capture the full spectrum emotional impact of this extraordinary work.

Founded by genius polymath Tsutomu Ōhashi aka Shoji Yamashiro, Geinoh Yamashirogumi is a shapeshifting collective of over a hundred members from across disciplines. Rejecting professional musicianship, Ōhashi cultivated an ethos where neuroscientists, psychologists, doctors, journalists, engineers and students could critique society through artistic expression and pursue their research in ethnomusicological performances that spanned global traditions, Eastern spirituality and Western classical form.

Ecophony Rinne represents the pinnacle of this vision - an expansive orchestral suite made with over 200 musicians that channeled Ōhashi’s thinking about mankind’s relationship with nature, and fundamental questions of life, death and rebirth.

Here pipe organ synths made from sampled Tibetan horns sit alongside field recordings from Central African forests, Buddhist mantras circle dummy head microphones, Javanese Jegog percussion ensembles pulse like verdant ecosystems, and the acoustics of temples, caves and landscapes are conveyed in the mix. Weaving together culture, nature and technology, it is a record that vibrates with the polyphony of life on Earth.

But Ecophony Rinne was not only musically innovative. Noticing the difference between vinyl and CD versions of the album where digital reproduction limited the sound, Ōhashi developed a theory of “Hypersonic Effect”, determining that ultra-high frequencies above 20khz can impact human perception even if they are inaudible. At once a physical and a psychological experience, to listen to Ecophony Rinne is to feel music differently.

The rest is history. After its release, Ōhashi was approached by director Katsuhiro Ōtomo to produce the soundtrack for Akira, the work for which Geinoh Yamashirogumi is best known. Emerging from the shadows at last, Ecophony Rinne was its transcendental blueprint, reissued in its most complete hypersonic form on vinyl for the first time.

Rather than describe nature, Ecophony Rinne embodied it. Rather than reflect culture, Ecophony Rinne defined it. Rather than explore technology, Ecophony Rinne changed it. As a work of art, it is more relevant than ever. You won’t have heard anything like it.

Meticulously assembled from a good 15 years' worth of source material, Cong Burn boss John Howes' second Paperclip Minimiser transmission proliferates its predecessor's network of turn-of-the-millennium aesthetics and concepts, bringing us closer to the lost future promised by the mid-digital age. If the debut album rooted itself in 2006, using an era-specific rig to activate its vintage Winamp-ready sound, 'II' pushes the clock forward just a little, recycling an unreleased album that Howes engineered in various locations across the north of England, starting way back in 2011. Working quickly and methodically with his homebrewed "DIY DAW" system, Howes improvised live using the record's bank of sounds, transforming the skittering bio-electronic rhythms, bitcrushed modem whines and inclement Lancs soundscapes into a suite of sleek, bass heavy steppers.

Howes has refined his setup and process over the years to function as an antithesis of contemporary production logic, a system that he can use easily to retreat from the excessive layering, overdubbing and editing that plagues modern electronic music. With only limited separate channels in each track, 'II' sounds both archaic and strangely novel. Showing respect to the early days of techno, when stone-cold classics were jammed out live using just a drum machine, a sampler and a couple of synths, Howes simultaneously acknowledges the promise of the transition to a digital future, as nascent algorithmic technology began to rehydrate stale rhythmic and melodic patterns. Fabricating its wrinkled cyberpunk landscape from shovelware blips and whines, spacious environmental echoes and lustrous, plasticky FM hits, 'II' is dense but never congested. It's a reminder that bass music thrives when it's given the room it needs to breathe.

It started in a Brooklyn studio back in 2011. A raw demo, a shared vision, and a deep reverence for the echoes of Basic Channel and King Tubby. After years of meticulous overdubbing and sonic layering, Marter (Bass) & Yony (Drums) have finally completed their masterpiece. Originally licensed to Bill Laswell’s label for digital release, this warm, lo-fi journey is finally available in its truest form. Recorded on 4-track and 8-track tape before meeting ProTools, every frequency breathes with analog soul.

This album sold out immediately upon its initial release in 2018. Due to overwhelming demand, a highly limited number of copies have been repressed with sticker on black jacket.

2nd album is on the way!

A label long synonymous with raw, off-centre electronics and uncompromising club tools, Bjarki’s bbbbbb recors welcomes a producer whose approach feels cut from the same cloth, London’s Henry Greenleaf. In an era where functionality often outweighs feeling, ‘Brawn’ is a record that doesn’t court approval; it insists on impact. Built for high-pressure systems and low ceilings, it channels force not as spectacle, but as design.

Greenleaf’s catalogue to date, spanning labels such as Par Avion, YUKU, and ARTS, sketches a restless trajectory between precision and collapse. His productions operate where rhythm becomes architecture: kicks land like poured concrete, subs buckle and flex beneath shifting percussive grids, and textures are stretched until they fray at the edges. Sound is treated as a physical material, layered and stress-tested, reshaped until the familiar mutates into something tactile and strange.

Across the EP, that philosophy takes full form. A1 ‘Brawn’ sets the tone with dense, piston-like drums and tightly coiled low-end pressure, balancing brute force with meticulous spatial control. ‘Jump Up To Be’ follows with a more fractured swing, percussive shards ricocheting across a framework that feels perpetually on the verge of rupture. On the flip, ‘Gawk’ strips things back to skeletal components, carving negative space between distorted pulses and menacing, warped rhythmic figures, before ‘UNTUNTUNT’ closes the record in driving fashion, delivering a raw, functional workout that reduces the groove to its bluntest, most hypnotic form.

True to the label’s ethos, ‘Brawn’ doesn’t chase trends or smooth its edges. It folds air and pressure into motion, pares club music down to its working parts, and leaves room for spontaneous chaos to erupt within the grid; moments where structure splinters, energy misbehaves, and control gives way just enough to keep things volatile. Engineered yet unpredictable, utilitarian yet unruly, the EP embodies the tension, unpredictability, and uniqueness that have long defined bbbbbb recors.

Manfredi Romano, founder and A&R of Life and Death Records, has been a pivotal figure in electronic music for over two decades. This year marks an important milestone as he is invited to curate the upcoming fabric presents mix for fabric Records, a release that highlights his instinctive storytelling and the distinct musical identity he has cultivated throughout his career.

Manfredi’s journey began in Italy around the turn of the millennium, tour-managing punk bands and organizing left-field music events before completing his studies in computer science at the University of Pisa. He went on to form DAZE, Italy’s first booking agency dedicated exclusively to electronic music, laying the groundwork for what would become a globally influential presence in the scene.
In 2010, he shifted focus to his own artistic project, DJ Tennis, which quickly gained international recognition for its emotive blend of house, techno, and disco. Renowned for creating intimate atmospheres in even the largest spaces, DJ Tennis has performed at leading clubs such as Circoloco Ibiza, Fabric London, and Panorama Bar Berlin, and at major festivals including Sonar, Timewarp, Primavera Sound, and Coachella. His 2022 residency at Phonox in London further showcased his ability to shape dancefloors with nuance and depth. Since 2017, he has also co-founded and curated Rakastella, the celebrated Art Basel Miami festival created in partnership with Life and Death and Innervisions.

As a producer, DJ Tennis draws from early relationships with post-rock pioneers such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Tortoise, and Fugazi, channelling their influence into intricately layered electronic compositions. His work has appeared on respected labels including Kompakt, Rhythm Assault, Running Back, !K7, Cercle Records, Aus Music, and Circoloco Records, alongside frequent releases on Life and Death. His remix portfolio includes collaborations with Diplo, Boys Noize, Loco Dice, WhoMadeWho, and Acid Pauli, among many others. He has also previously contributed a DJ-Kicks mix, bringing his eclectic sensibilities to one of electronic music’s most beloved series.

After extended periods living in Miami, Berlin, and Barcelona, DJ Tennis now resides in Paris. Outside the studio and club environment, Manfredi is a passionate chef who has curated menus for charity events and collaborated with Beatport at ADE, Pioneer, and Resident Advisor. He is also an avid collector of bicycles, vintage action figures, and vinyl — his record collection now surpasses eleven thousand pieces.

With the forthcoming fabric presents DJ Tennis release, he offers a deeply personal, narrative-driven statement that reflects decades of crate-digging, boundary-pushing selections, and a lifelong devotion to sound. It marks a new chapter in his artistic evolution and stands as one of the year’s most anticipated entries in the iconic series.
The first single from DJ Tennis is a collaboration with long-time studio partner Ashee, and it immediately sets the tone for the mix: warm, seductive, rhythm-driven, and emotionally charged.

“I Wanna Know” is a sleek club track built around a pulsing groove and a steady, hypnotic rhythm. The low end is rounded and warm, giving the track a driving but understated momentum. Percussion is crisp and minimal, allowing the bassline and vocal elements to take center stage. The repeating, robotic earworm of a vocal hook, “I wanna know’ is the lynchpin to the track and will remain in your head long after the track has finished.

It’s the kind of record that warms up a room early in the night, sets the tone for a sunset beach set, or adds a lush, emotional peak during a more leftfield club moment.

Walter Thomas’s “Chicago Knights” LP features a retrospective of songs written and released between 1987 and 2009, primarily with the Roland 1824 and the Fostex 8 track reel to reel. Channeling the spirit of underground soul and dance music specifically rooted within the greater area of Chicago, Illinois–a city known for its deep and healthy soul and r&b roots–this compilation features 8 of its 9 tracks on vinyl for the very first time.

The intro track “I Wanna Get Witcha” dates back to 1987, holds a proven track record of kicking off many a dance floor, rocking clubs worldwide in a blur of boogie-funk, disco, and soul. “Immaturity” and both versions of “Fed Up” echo the emotional differences and tensions between lovers in a spat. “Magic City” served as the anthem and homage to its namesake roller skating rink in 90s-era Waukegan, IL. While “Chicago Knights” is a relentless mid-tempo groove inspired by the aggressive motorists that dominate Chicago roadways, “2nd Chance” drops the tempo to a slow r&b roll, preaching the ethos of love, peace, and forgiveness.

Last but certainly not least, “E&J’s” was a real commercial jingle used for a once legendary BBQ joint “E&J’s” in Illinois: a short bonus track to close out the LP. These 9 tracks are just a touch of Walter’s expansive body of work, and we’re stoked to bring them to you on wax.


Walter Thomas is a singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and composer from North Chicago, IL known for his soulfully smooth arrangements and vocals. Walter has toured internationally with quintessential soul groups like the Temptations and Friends of Distinction, as well as opening for performers including the Floaters, Bette Wright, The Emotions, and The Drifters. His decades of touring with nightclub and concert performances have honed this gifted artist into a seasoned and refined live act.

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.

The wait is over! Season 2 music from the iconic Disney Channel series HANNAH MONTANA is available now on stylized black and white vinyl and features all the hits including We Got the Party, Nobody’s Perfect, Life’s What you Make It and more!

Bei einem aktuellen Auftritt von DREAM_MEGA stand Joel Kyack allein auf der Bühne und schickte einen Soundstrom auf das Publikum los. Überwältigt von den gruseligen Frequenzen, den eindringlichen Rhythmen und den wilden, verstimmten Vocals, flüsterte ein Besucher seinem Nachbarn zu: ,Ich glaube, der Typ hat Kontakt zu Dämonen." Ob aus Angst oder Bewunderung gesagt, diese Anschuldigung ist angesichts des zweiten Albums von DREAM_MEGA, ,Control / You Are Not the Center", durchaus zutreffend. Die Platte ist voller Bedrohung. Man hört es in den mutierten Kriegsmarschen, im Dancehall-Reflux, im dröhnenden Bass. Man hört es in den kristallklaren Melodien und den sehnsüchtigen Aufstiegen. Man hört es sogar in dem Cover von Guided by Voices. Joels Beziehung zu verstörenden Klängen - dem Channeling von Dämonen - besteht nun schon seit Jahrzehnten. Seine langjährige Tätigkeit bei Landed, der Band, die er 1997 mitbegründet hat, verläuft parallel zu Joels Beiträgen zu Six Finger Satellite, Men's Recovery Project, Megafuckers, Dos Mega und Street Buddy. Diese unermüdliche Hingabe führt direkt zu dem fieberhaften Verfall seiner heutigen Arbeit, aber Dream Mega ist etwas ganz Besonderes. Entstanden aus Joels Nahtoderfahrung im Jahr 2020 - einer Woche der Schwäche, die er isoliert in Thailand verbrachte, Blut hustete und seine Bettlaken durchnässte - erobert DREAM_MEGA einen einzigartigen Raum an der Schnittstelle zwischen Konfrontation und Hingabe. Aufbauend auf seinen eigenen Erfahrungen bei Hardcore-Shows und Straßenauftritten treibt Joel DREAM_MEGA in einen antipodalen Zustand, in dem Hyperbewusstsein und befreiende Transzendenz koexistieren. Die Songs auf ,Control / You Are Not the Center" starren unerschrocken auf unsere dumme, gefährliche Welt, ähnlich wie es ein Song von Dropdead tun würde, aber gleichzeitig heben sie die Last dieser Katastrophe und drängen auf eine luftige Atempause. Ein Teil davon ist Joels kompositorischer Ansatz, bei dem er alte Holzblasinstrumente gegen digitale Synthesizer setzt und unnatürliche Schaltkreise mit menschlichem Atem kreuzt. Aber im Kern geht es um Joels dringendes Bedürfnis, mitten in der Nacht seine Angst und Traurigkeit und die Funken der Hoffnung anzusprechen und sie in etwas zu verwandeln, das sein Herz trotz allem weiter schlagen lässt. Es ist ein Akt der Klarheit und Selbsterhaltung, der so geschickt inszeniert ist, dass jeder Zuhörer die Dämonen spüren kann, die in seinem eigenen Herzen wirken. ,Control / You are Not The Center" enthält Klangbeiträge von Ryan Weinstein (Coffi n Prick), Cordey Lopez und Lisa Anne Auerbach. Es ist empfehlenswert für Fans von Hassell & Enos ,Fourth World, Vol.1: Possible Musics", Houstons Chopped-and-Screwed-Szene und Captain Beefheart.

Calvin Love is a Canadian singer-songwriter, composer, and producer from Edmonton, Alberta, now based between Edmonton and Los Angeles. With a sound that blends noir-tinged folk‑pop, crooning rock ’n’ roll, and cinematic storytelling, Love has become a distinctive voice in the international indie landscape. His music has drawn comparisons to Roy Orbison, Leonard Cohen, and Bryan Ferry, with Aquarium Drunkard describing his work as “a crestfallen soundtrack of near‑escape… like Chris Isaak trapped in a David Lynch film.”
Since his debut New Radar (2012), Love has released a run of acclaimed records including Super Future (Arts & Crafts, 2015), Highway Dancer (2018), Night Songs (2020), and Lavender (2021). Along the way, he has collaborated with renowned producers and artists such as Gus Seyffert (Beck, Roger Waters, Black Keys) and the late Richard Swift (The Shins, Damien Jurado), while earning coverage from outlets including SPIN, The Fader, Interview Magazine, and Stereogum.
A seasoned live performer, Love has toured extensively across North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing at festivals such as SXSW, Pop Montréal, Strawberry Festival (China), Endless Daze (South Africa), and Sled Island. He has shared stages with Morrissey, Mac DeMarco, Courtney Barnett, Jonathan Wilson, The Divine Fits, and Jim James, performing in iconic venues like Carnegie Hall, The Troubadour, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
In early February 2026, Love releases his seventh studio album, Throw My Shadow To The Sun — a bold, visceral statement that captures him at a new creative peak. Self‑produced and recorded by Reverend Baron at The Ladder Factory in East Los Angeles, the album channels raw, unfiltered energy into a late‑night rock ’n’ roll atmosphere built on moody grooves, gritty textures, and Love’s unmistakable croon.
The sessions brought together a formidable live band: Josh Da Costa (Drugdealer) on drums, Brent Randall (Vanity Mirror) on bass, Davey Chegwidden (De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Too Short) on percussion, Jeremy Brian Gill (Curtis Harding) on tenor saxophone and flutes, Daniel E. Garcia (Reverend Baron) on lead guitars, and multi‑instrumentalist Laena Myers (White Fence, Orville Peck, El Mariachi Bronx) on violin.
From the hypnotic sway of “Underneath It All,” to the reverb‑drenched sax of “Forever Feels,” to the heavy sludge‑rock crush of “Setting Sun,” Throw My Shadow To The Sun draws from the lyrical storytelling of Dire Straits, the laid‑back blues of JJ Cale, and the timeless melodic drama of Roy Orbison. The result is a cohesive, lived‑in record that transforms fleeting moments and late‑night impressions into something enduring and cinematic.

INTERWOVEN' is a four-track split EP that binds together two of Denmark's most forwardthinking heavy acts: HIRAKI and Meejah. Built on a shared appetite for boundary-pushing intensity, the collaboration channels the urgency of electronic hardcore, the spaciousness of experimental rock, and the emotional depth of cinematic metal into an immersive work that is at once confrontational and deeply connective. As a part of Denmark's flourishing underground scene for dark and heavy music, the HIRAKI trio deploys an aggressive style of progressive synthpunk from the edge of the abyss. The band presents this sonic assault to accompany the inevitable fact that our world is sick, and we all take part in maintaining the fucked up systemic structures. MEEJAH is a Post/Experimental Danish-Korean band from Copenhagen weaving together Nordic Melancholia & Korean Ancestry. The results sound like Heaven, Thunder, Mountain, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Lake. Across these four tracks, both bands challenge each other to step past familiar contours, unraveling and recombining their musical identities until a new hybrid shape emerges_volatile, textured, and unmistakably alive. FOR FANS OF The Body * The Armed * Sightless Pit * Massive Attack * Julie Christmas * Death Engine

INTERWOVEN' is a four-track split EP that binds together two of Denmark's most forwardthinking heavy acts: HIRAKI and Meejah. Built on a shared appetite for boundary-pushing intensity, the collaboration channels the urgency of electronic hardcore, the spaciousness of experimental rock, and the emotional depth of cinematic metal into an immersive work that is at once confrontational and deeply connective. As a part of Denmark's flourishing underground scene for dark and heavy music, the HIRAKI trio deploys an aggressive style of progressive synthpunk from the edge of the abyss. The band presents this sonic assault to accompany the inevitable fact that our world is sick, and we all take part in maintaining the fucked up systemic structures. MEEJAH is a Post/Experimental Danish-Korean band from Copenhagen weaving together Nordic Melancholia & Korean Ancestry. The results sound like Heaven, Thunder, Mountain, Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, Lake. Across these four tracks, both bands challenge each other to step past familiar contours, unraveling and recombining their musical identities until a new hybrid shape emerges_volatile, textured, and unmistakably alive. FOR FANS OF The Body * The Armed * Sightless Pit * Massive Attack * Julie Christmas * Death Engine The single colour edition comes as white vinyl!

Benefit compilation with exclusive tracks from live performances & installations at eavesdrop festival 2024. All revenues go to charities providing medical aid and food sovereignty in Gaza.

In november 2024, eavesdrop festival presented its 3rd edition of contemporary electronic music and sound art, taking place in the striking architectural setting of silent green’s Betonhalle in Berlin. ”to eavesdrop” - is invoked as a mode of listening intently, attentively and with curiosity. With its ongoing commitment to adventurous listening cultures, the festival brought together a top-notch line-up of Berlin based and international artists, who share a common practice in electronic sound composition whilst spanning a diversity of inter-related contemporary tendencies. Whether it’s multi-award winning Mariam Razaei’s exceptional turntablism, Ilpo Väisänen’s legendary DIY analogue electronics, Jasmine Guffond’s generative sound installation, Nina Garcia’s extraordinary electric guitar manipulations, Lottie Sebes’ AI voice synthesis or Rashad Becker’s idiosyncratic synthesizer explorations, to name a few, eavesdrop invited listeners to consider, from multiple perspectives, new social and technical developments in international music and sound cultures.

This compilation documents those 2 nights with 9 exclusive tracks - 7 live performances and 2 stereo mixes from multi-channel installations, edited by the festival’s curator / organizer Jasmine Guffond, with a total running time of approx. 78 minutes. All revenues will go to charities providing medical aid and food sovereignty in Gaza: Medical Aid For Palestinians & Thamra.

With two deeply cherished compilations already in the bag, Luke Una steps up for the third volume in his É Soul Cultura series on Mr Bongo. A love letter to the dancefloor and its power to unite people from all corners of society amid growing division and extremist politics. Genre-spanning in nature, the 15 tracks travel between cosmic soul, boogie, proto-house, slo-mo technoid grooves, drum machine afro, astral bass-bugging futurism, jazz funk, dance, and disco. Each having the ability to move the body as much as the heart.
 
From his formative years in Sheffield to co-founding Manchester’s much-fabled Electric Chair with Justin Crawford, through to helming the iconic LGBTQ institutions of Homoelectric / Homobloc, Luke has spent 40 years immersed in dance music. His latest outlet, É Soul Cultura, has grown from a label to a globe-spanning events series with Luke holding residencies and embarking on tours across the world from Japan and Australia to America and Europe. 
 
“For me, the dancefloor was never about a one-dimensional, thudding, 130 BPM beat only. It's a much more dynamic, broader vision than that. I cut my teeth in an era where a 100 BPM record had as much impact, excitement, and energy as a 134 BPM dancefloor jazz funk or techno record”, Luke mentions. É Soul Cultura Volume 3 is the perfect embodiment of that notion: “It’s about four decades in the trenches playing dance music, the late-night afters, the shebeens, the basements, warehouse parties, the eight-hour journeys in East London, through to festival sets at Houghton and We Out Here. It’s music unconstrained by genre or tempo and more about making your body move”. 

But this isn’t simply a collection of disparate dance tracks; they carry meaning and soul. “It’s less about escapism, more about reconnection. My experience of post-covid has been the coming together of all the clans in various clubs and gatherings. A reaction to a very toxic world out there, where the aggro rhythms of division have sought to divide us, and people don't meet as often. The coming back together face-to-face in clubs has encouraged a real love in the air, there's a real togetherness and collective spirit”.
 
Opening up the compilation is a track that channels that very message, the transcendental, soul-rousing Harris & Orr ‘Spread Love’. Joining the dots from there, to the low-slung deep house closer of Fatdog ‘Remember’, you’ll find electronic drum machine Nigerian funk, sitting side by side with dancefloor Cape Verdean brilliance, a post-punk cover of Fela Kuti, rubbing shoulders with cosmic electro, and an Una-championed, 8-minute, kickless DJ Harvey remix. There’s jazz funk in various guises moving from boogie synth to astral travelling, slo-mo acidic raw techno, and a ‘79 soul stepper, alongside swirling percussive Italo disco and tribal-charged house. All infused with an innate ability to bring people together.
 
As society becomes increasingly fractured, É Soul Cultura Volume 3’s message is more than movement. It’s about dance music’s power to unify people from all walks of life and break down the barriers that divide us.

With two deeply cherished compilations already in the bag, Luke Una steps up for the third volume in his É Soul Cultura series on Mr Bongo. A love letter to the dancefloor and its power to unite people from all corners of society amid growing division and extremist politics. Genre-spanning in nature, the 15 tracks travel between cosmic soul, boogie, proto-house, slo-mo technoid grooves, drum machine afro, astral bass-bugging futurism, jazz funk, dance, and disco. Each having the ability to move the body as much as the heart.
 
From his formative years in Sheffield to co-founding Manchester’s much-fabled Electric Chair with Justin Crawford, through to helming the iconic LGBTQ institutions of Homoelectric / Homobloc, Luke has spent 40 years immersed in dance music. His latest outlet, É Soul Cultura, has grown from a label to a globe-spanning events series with Luke holding residencies and embarking on tours across the world from Japan and Australia to America and Europe. 
 
“For me, the dancefloor was never about a one-dimensional, thudding, 130 BPM beat only. It's a much more dynamic, broader vision than that. I cut my teeth in an era where a 100 BPM record had as much impact, excitement, and energy as a 134 BPM dancefloor jazz funk or techno record”, Luke mentions. É Soul Cultura Volume 3 is the perfect embodiment of that notion: “It’s about four decades in the trenches playing dance music, the late-night afters, the shebeens, the basements, warehouse parties, the eight-hour journeys in East London, through to festival sets at Houghton and We Out Here. It’s music unconstrained by genre or tempo and more about making your body move”. 

But this isn’t simply a collection of disparate dance tracks; they carry meaning and soul. “It’s less about escapism, more about reconnection. My experience of post-covid has been the coming together of all the clans in various clubs and gatherings. A reaction to a very toxic world out there, where the aggro rhythms of division have sought to divide us, and people don't meet as often. The coming back together face-to-face in clubs has encouraged a real love in the air, there's a real togetherness and collective spirit”.
 
Opening up the compilation is a track that channels that very message, the transcendental, soul-rousing Harris & Orr ‘Spread Love’. Joining the dots from there, to the low-slung deep house closer of Fatdog ‘Remember’, you’ll find electronic drum machine Nigerian funk, sitting side by side with dancefloor Cape Verdean brilliance, a post-punk cover of Fela Kuti, rubbing shoulders with cosmic electro, and an Una-championed, 8-minute, kickless DJ Harvey remix. There’s jazz funk in various guises moving from boogie synth to astral travelling, slo-mo acidic raw techno, and a ‘79 soul stepper, alongside swirling percussive Italo disco and tribal-charged house. All infused with an innate ability to bring people together.
 
As society becomes increasingly fractured, É Soul Cultura Volume 3’s message is more than movement. It’s about dance music’s power to unify people from all walks of life and break down the barriers that divide us.

Detroit powerhouse vocal trio Dames Brown make their long-awaited debut with ‘Take Me As I Am’, a bold, soulful celebration of the Motor City’s sound and a heartfelt tribute to their late mentor, Amp Fiddler.

Crafted at Amp’s legendary home studio, the album captures the essence of Detroit through rich instrumentation, gospel-infused harmonies, and unfiltered soul. Blending house, funk, techno, and 70s groove, Take Me As I Am embodies the city’s spirit; timeless, raw, and full of life.

Featuring collaborations with Detroit icons Andrés, Eddie Fowlkes, and Waajeed, standout tracks like ‘You’re The One For Me’, ‘Glory’, and ‘What Would You Do’ showcase the trio’s unmatched energy and vocal chemistry.

Across fourteen tracks, Athena Johnson, Teresa Marbury, and LaRae Starr channel the soul of Motown, the groove of Parliament Funkadelic, and the power of Aretha Franklin, uniting their influences into one authentic, uplifting sound.

With nearly a decade of releases on Defected and its sub-labels, including collaborations with Sophie Lloyd, The Vision, Floorplan, and Horse Meat Disco, Dames Brown continue to shine as one of Detroit’s most dynamic vocal collectives.

‘Take Me As I Am’ is more than an album… it’s a declaration of love, legacy, and Detroit soul.

Comic Sans are back! The San Sebastián Midwest Emo quartet has finished their second album, "Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal", following" Éramos felices y no lo sabíamos" and the EP "Ojalá fuera mi cumpleaños". However, "Todas las cosas que nos salieron mal" and its opening single mark an evolution within Comic Sans"s perfectly recognizable style. Without abandoning the parameters of midwest emo, the San Sebastián band wants to reach a wider audience and sound more like themselves than their influences. They have matured, and it shows in deeper lyrics, while still remaining honest and direct, and in a more personal choice of structures, effects, and melodies. Everything"s more indie, really; understanding indie no longer as a genre (which it never was) or a classification related to the size of a band"s distribution channels, whether more mainstream or more underground, but as the desire to move away from the conventions of the style in which they emerged and took their first steps in order to develop something genuinely their own.

Limited Green LP is for Indies only. all LPs include a DL card. Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop wonder Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail's contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic, bound up in sometimes conflicting ideas and feelings around nature and environment, sincerity and artifice, escapism and belonging. It's an album about how no man can remain an island, however hard he might try. Released by Fire Records, with support from Johnny's own label Lost Map, and produced by long-term collaborator Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group), 'Island Family' opens with its title track, a song of death, ghosts and the ties that bind, fusing abrasive electronic beats with a tongue-in-cheek fireside folk refrain and the haunted ice cream van melody of a digitally reincarnated traditional Scottish jig. A purgative surrender to nature's whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, 'Natural Successor' is five-and-a-half-minutes of cathartic churning bass. 'In The Land of The Dead' is an eight-bit glitch-core reflection on island party excesses spasming into existential dread and regret, suitably accompanied by a funereal mariachi band. It's followed by the epic 'It Came Back', the understated verses and arms-aloft falsetto chorus of which are accompanied by a tense, foreboding bass-driven electro hip hop instrumental with (spoiler) a brain-shattering industrial-metal meltdown. 'Melody Something' is the album's purest moment, a cautiously uplifting solar-powered-ballad about losing track of time in the cycle of the seasons, and the gap between memory and reality. Shapeshifting closer 'Remote Control' is a channel hopping cabin-fever-dream flipping from warped boyband ballad to deep-fried fuzz pop. "One of my favourite artists" Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

Here we have two luminaries of contemporary music, vocalist Audrey Chen and iconoclast guitar player Tashi Dorji, who both have proven themselves as key representatives of idiosyncratic music for the past 20 plus years.

Audrey, born into a family of material scientists, doctors and engineers, channeled those family genes through un-processed hyperextended voice, consequently transmutating her family's DNA into her very own sonic language of equal precision, discipline and creative power as her kins' professions.

Tashi, on the other hand, carries the mountains in his spirit: born in Bhutan, Southeast Asia, now residing in Ashville, North Carolina, close to the Appalachians. That earthly power is unmistakably present in his energetic guitar playing, which also incorporates folkloric elements of both his native country, and his homeland since 2000.

Those two strong musical personalities met on stage in the late summer of 2023 at Morphine Raum, Berlin. The fact that it took place in one of the birthplaces of techno music, seems to have pushed their performance towards an industrial, repetitive aesthetic of, at times, almost dancelike quality. However, as the track titles suggest, that classic forward pulsating rhythm, associated with electronic dance music, is bent at their heart's content, as are its appertaining clean melodies gnashed to smithereens.