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Brilliant Hard En Geslepen is a one-off project by hip-hop group Osdorp Posse and metal band Nembrionic.

The groups sometimes played together during live performances in the past, but this usually degenerated into complete chaos. After recording two songs as an experiment, the idea arose to record a complete album. The result is a unique combination of metal and Dutch hiphop. Brilliant Hard En Geslepen is now available on vinyl for the first time!

Is A Feeling ensures that their new 12" very much is with some classically inclined but not overly nostalgic deep house from Scott Featherstone. 'Plan B' is a bulky, wonky deep house cut for the pumping after party hours, then 'We Played House' taps into the early Chicago sound with Peach Boys style synths and dubbed-out vocals. 'Bad Mother Fucker's a raw, sleazy looper that DJ Sneak would love not least because of the rude-boy vocals and filtered synths, then 'Badass Breaks' spins out on just that. 'Journey' might be the best off the lot with its soulful xylophone melodies and smooth-cruising deep house beats. An eclectic and excellent EP.

Mustapha Skandrani, a luminary of Algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of Arabic-Andalusian and European styles.

"Istikhbars and Improvisations", recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as istikhbars. Playing these istikhbars (which have roots in the Islamic Arab-Andalusian culture which flourished in Spain) on the piano - that quintessentially European instrument - Skandrani was greeted with derision by some purists. His powerful musical vision, however, perceives the European element involved in Arabic-Andalusian musical culture, a world of exchange and co-existence.

Skandrani's modus operandi on this release is to present each istikhbar, modal in nature, then to play an improvisation based on it, and its attendant mode. This A/B alternation continues throughout. The pellucid clarity of Skandrani's playing on this album may remind the listener of a modal Goldberg Variations, Bach and Glenn Gould transplanted to Andalucia. Other ears will hear the Arabic/Maghreb elements more strongly. Skandrani's precise touch and clear, symmetrical rhythmic sense links both worlds, assuring us that the Mediterranean is not a barrier, but a unifier, and that the differences between the cultures are not so vast. This is an admirable achievement, resulting in beautiful music of a rare charm.

Mustapha Skandrani was born in Algiers in 1920, and died there in 2005. He mastered a number of instruments at an early age, and his musical prowess led him to work with the great singers and ensembles of his day, in live performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Later in his life, he devoted much energy to education.

Originally reissued by Em Records as a limited edition of 200 in 2012, now available once again, in offset printed sleeve, with insert of Japanese and English sleeve-notes and rare photosMustapha Skandrani, a luminary of Algerian music, possessed a unique musical sense, able to transcend the borders of musical cultures to create a distinctive fusion of Arabic-Andalusian and European styles.

"Istikhbars and Improvisations", recorded in 1965 in Paris, is a solo piano album presenting a trans-Mediterranean crossover based on traditional Algerian vocal pieces known as istikhbars. Playing these istikhbars (which have roots in the Islamic Arab-Andalusian culture which flourished in Spain) on the piano - that quintessentially European instrument - Skandrani was greeted with derision by some purists. His powerful musical vision, however, perceives the European element involved in Arabic-Andalusian musical culture, a world of exchange and co-existence.

Skandrani's modus operandi on this release is to present each istikhbar, modal in nature, then to play an improvisation based on it, and its attendant mode. This A/B alternation continues throughout. The pellucid clarity of Skandrani's playing on this album may remind the listener of a modal Goldberg Variations, Bach and Glenn Gould transplanted to Andalucia. Other ears will hear the Arabic/Maghreb elements more strongly. Skandrani's precise touch and clear, symmetrical rhythmic sense links both worlds, assuring us that the Mediterranean is not a barrier, but a unifier, and that the differences between the cultures are not so vast. This is an admirable achievement, resulting in beautiful music of a rare charm.

Mustapha Skandrani was born in Algiers in 1920, and died there in 2005. He mastered a number of instruments at an early age, and his musical prowess led him to work with the great singers and ensembles of his day, in live performances, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Later in his life, he devoted much energy to education.

Originally reissued by Em Records as a limited edition of 200 in 2012, now available once again, in offset printed sleeve, with insert of Japanese and English sleeve-notes and rare photos

»Nuts of Ay«, the thirteenth album by the Berlin-based electronic pop duo Tarwater (Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram), is their first in a decade, since 2014’s »Adrift«. Beautifully poised and smartly dressed, it's an album that draws Tarwater’s various pasts into a high-definition present, while bringing the duo, yet again, into productive dialogue with all kinds of fellow travellers.

Tarwater’s music has always been marked by a hypnotic pop-ness, but that’s particularly evident on »Nuts of Ay«, where a song like »Hideous Kiss« weaves together jangling guitar, pastoral flute, and flittering electronics into a gem-like construction. While the lyrics of »Hideous Kiss« are written by the duo, »Nuts of Ay« also continues a longstanding Tarwater tradition of recasting the words of others in their own mould. This time, their remit is broad: poetry from Derek Jarman (»All Nuns«) and Millner Place (»Trapdoor Spider«); lyrics from Jean Kenbrovin (»I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles«), the late Shane MacGowan (»USA«) and, again, John Lennon (»Everybody Had a Hard Year«).

This cast of found and borrowed lyricists also finds collaborative echo in the guest musicians dotted throughout »Nuts of Ay«. Schneider TM turns up on the lovely, Felt-like »Spirit of Flux«, where guitars channel the tangled reveries of Vini Reilly and Maurice Deebank into lush pop. Carsten Nicolai joins, as Alva Noto, dappling »On Waves and Years« with intimate glitching textures; he also provides the album cover art. Elsewhere, Masha Qrella appears on »Down Comes the Goose«, and actor Lars Rudolph pitches in for »USA«.

It may have been ten years since the album's predecessor, but Lippok and Jestram have kept active with other projects. They’ve collaborated with Masha Qrella, Immersion, and Iggy Pop; worked on radio plays with Kai Grehn, some based on the writing of Nick Cave (»The Sick Bag Song«, featuring Tilda Swinton, Paula Beer and Alexander Fehling) and William S. Burroughs (»The Cat Inside«); and made music for several radio-tatorts (radio plays based on »Tatort«, a long-running German police TV series) by playwright Tom Peuckert.

Both voracious and committed in their creative energies, Jestram and Lippok report back from these experiments with »Nuts of Ay«, one of their most compelling, deeply lustrous, dreamlike albums yet. They say there was no concept for the album, which is surprising, perhaps, given its holistic mood, explaining it »grew together like a coral reef in the studio over a period of several years«. There’s something to be said for letting an album gather and mutate naturally, without an overarching framework in place, and »Nuts of Ay« certainly feels like an unforced collection of material that nonetheless inhabits a similar space, one where guitars twist like driftwood next to amorphous, aqueous electronics, Lippok’s droll yet completely convincing vocal delivery riding songs that pulse and plume with curious, unpredictable rhythms.

But you can also hear elements – submerged but still present – of other music that’s inspired the duo: they’ve drawn some connections for us with psychedelic folk, Bowie in Berlin, Burial, and the film music of Popol Vuh and Krzysztof Komeda. This music shares a strong sense of place – whether in the world, or the mind – and the twelve songs on »Nuts of Ay« have such similar presence; a shared mood, a shared world, a shared sense of the possibilities of what electronic pop music could, and should, be. A bold and brave pop experiment.

Artwork by Carsten Nicolai
Mastering by Bo Kondren, Calyx Berlin

»Trapdoor Spider«, »On Waves and Years« & »Breaking Day«: lyrics by Milner Place
»All Nuns«: lyrics by Derek Jarman
»USA«: lyrics by Shane MacGowan
»Down Comes the Goose«: lyrics from a traditional song
»Forever Blowing Bubbles«: lyrics by Jaan Kenbrovin
»Everybody Had a Hard Year«: lyrics by John Lennon

THE 4TH ALBUM BY ENGLISH FOLK ROCK SONGWRITER

A COMPLETELY UNINHIBITED PLAYGROUND WHERE PSYCH-FOLK DANCES WITH FREE JAZZ AND SOUL

English musician Nick Wheeldon has been on the starting blocks in Paris since 2012, churning out bands and albums at breakneck speed, from 39th and The Nortons, Os Noctambulos and The Necessary Separations to Sex Sux. In 2021, he got off to a flying start with his first solo LP, Communication Problems (2021) followed by Gift (2022) and Waiting For Piano To Fall (2024) just a few months ago. Today he brings you Make Art, his 4th solo album, a masterful, imposing work. For Nick Wheeldon aficionados, there's the same characteristic: always the same flickering, bright light. The tracks follow one another: tunnels, dead ends, nocturnal drifts. Days in the sun, lost paths, dark roads, all engraved on 4 sides of vinyl. Make Art offers a totally uninhibited and varied playground, where free jazz and soul dance together. Mixtures hitherto unknown to Nick Wheeldon. With Make Art, you're in the middle of a psychedelic-folk funfair. The musical avenues open to Nick Wheeldon widen and are likely to sweep away even the slowest and most resistant of you. Recorded with Julien Ledru, Thomas Carpentier and Paul Trigoulet.

Jan Anderzén - living in Tampere, Finland - is a collage artist making music, quilts, drawings, mosaics, videos and other things. From him, among a few others, sprang the The River of Finland. A stream that shook the European underground for infinity, back from the years 2005 and up. Jan is/was involved in acts like Kemialliset Ystävät, Avarus, Tomutonttu and The Anaksimandros. When in the past some of that River of Finland tasted like a fermented ocean of mycelia - today it tastes different, like sparkling water.

Halki pilvien - transl. Trough the clouds - brings exactly what one expects from the clouds. It is a collection of soft and gentle movements, as playful as a ‘Jan Anderzén type of music’ is always. A collection of patterns that solidify for just a brief moment in time, before sublimating in the back of the mind. This album is in constant motion.

Push play. A warped piano and cartoonish SFX’s might foretell a hyperreal approach to music. Yet while the champion of hyperrealism, Noah Creshevsky, describes his music as being written in a language we already understand (realism) yet in an exaggerated manner (hyper) - I have to add that things on this album do not sound exaggerated at all. Moreover, i have the feeling that somehow on this work, Jan is trying to underwhelm us. In the best possible way. Because clouds float trough and dissolve. Thus instead of hyperrealism, is Jan maybe speaking to us in a certain Serenerealism? Or Mildrealism?

What Jan’s music does have in common with Creshevsky’s is the no rush part. Listening to Halki pilvien makes time non-directional. The music seems to be designed to be played over and over again. This music has no direct impact like one can experience at a punk show, or at a classical music concert. This music is not that one gigantic raincloud covering the world dark. Quite the opposite, it is a pattern of clouds and clearings, floating over the lands. Trough this music a shadow play appears. This music is durable.

And it is when the sounds are at its faintest, that Jan touches the core: in the smallest detail, we find the fullest musical information.

Video Age follow up their newest album `Away From The Castle' with a new 7" release. Side A, "Record Shop," a sparkling pop/rock cut is a playful theme song for record shop employees, the track follows a fictional record store clerk through a typical day in the life of slinging records. Alluding to classic 70s songs from acts like Don McLean, America, and NRBQ, Video Age are right at home in the pantheon of great American songwriters. Side B is a reworked version of the recent LP's title track called "Out In The Country." The track features Alt-Country/Americana singer Esther Rose, dueting with Video Age's Ross Farbe on this stripped-back acoustic swooner.

The work of GMM carries the echo of folk wedding melodies inspired by Oskar Kolberg's collections, interpreted in modern arrangements with electrifying sound.The trio, consisting of Michał Górczyński, Michał Marecki and Patryk "TikTak" Matela, explores the roots of the Mazovian tradition, translating them into the language of contemporary music. Oskar Kolberg's descriptions and a collection of melodies specific to the Polish region of Mazovia give the GMM band a foundation for creative existence in this old world and transferring it to the modern world.The freshly recorded album opens the traditional wedding gates in an unexpected way, where folk nostalgia meets contemporary avant-garde. The contrabass clarinet weaves deep, warm sounds into the compositions, adding them mystery, while the spinet boldly carries a note of baroque sophistication, creating a pleasantly contrasting texture. The modernity of synthesizers and dynamic beatbox balancing between stillness and dense, dirty tones, gives the whole mix a modern touch.In this characteristic journey full of rhythmic complexity and harmonic discoveries, you will find depth, a cynical smile and plenty of room for your own reflections.Michał Górczyński - specializes in playing the double bass clarinet, in 2004 he graduated from the clarinet class at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Composer, soloist and chamber musician. Co-founder of Kwartludium - a band specializing in performing contemporary music. Member of the band Bastarda. Author of music for theatre performances.Michał Marecki - instrumentalist, producer, composer. Collector of electronic and electroacoustic instruments. Associated with the bands Warsaw Village Band & Bassałyki, Mamadou & Sama Yoon, T.Love, Sidney Polak, among others. He is interested in creativity in artistic processes. Master of social sciences.Patryk TikTak Matela - beatboxer and beatbox activist. For over 20 years he has been giving concerts and teaching the art of vocal percussion. He conducts workshops for preschoolers, students, young people from orphanages and community centers. Author of the first book in Poland about beatbox (Human Beatbox -Personal Instrument!), organizer of the Polish Beatbox Championships, promoter and musician in film and theater. Creator of advertising and reportage films, megafan of Lego Technic.

Woven together from home studio recordings that span two decades, and with some notable guest appearances including; The Bug, Douglas Leal of Deafkids, Wayne Adams of Petbrick, Dave French of Yob and Sanford Parker, this final part of the Harvestman Triptych seeks once again for a lost world, with the voice of poet Ezra Pound extolling the virtues of "gathering from the air a live tradition".
Cloudy Clear plus Black Galaxy effect vinyl in dub style jacket. Limited and Non-Returnable.
At its heart, music has always been a questioning of inheritance – a dialogue with predecessors and forebears, the forging of one’s own perspective in relation to what has come before, and for some, a plunge into the boundless realms between. For Steve Von Till, that process has always taken on an added dimension to become the most sacred of tasks. Whether through the apocalyptic uprising of Neurosis, the sonic deconstructions of their sister project, Tribes of Neurot, the invocatory intimacy of his eponymous solo albums or his instrumental psychedelic reveries in the guise of Harvestman, that dialogue has never just been with musical influences, but with what underpins them: the primordial, elemental forces now banished to the peripheries of our contemporary consciousness, yet still broadcasting a signal for all who will listen.

Drawn to the megaliths, ruins and ancient sites mapped out along the British and European mainland’s geographical and psychic landscapes, the folklore and apocrypha forever resurfacing as portals from a rational world, Triptych is a meditation forged from traces and residues, and an hallucinatory recollection of artists who have tapped into that enduring otherworldliness embedded within us all. It’s a dream diary narrating a passage through Summer Isle where Flying Saucer Attack are wafting out of a window, a distant Fairport Convention are being remixed by dub master Adrian Sherwood, celestial scanners Tangerine Dream are trying to drown out Bert Jansch and Hawkwind are playing Steeleye Span covers, all prised out of time yet bound to its singularity.

"Herne's Oak" provides seismic bass waves that physically halt the track in its steps - giant footfalls as Herne's antlers themselves are dragged along a corridor. Another curious and mysterious piece of British folklore brought to life by Harvestman.

If Triptych is a multi- and extra-sensory experience, it extends to the remarkable glyph-style artwork of Henry Hablak, a map of correspondences from a long-forgotten ancient and advanced civilization. As with Triptych itself, it’s an echo from another time, an act of binding, a guide to be endlessly reinterpreted, and a signpost to the sacred that might not indicate where to look, but how.

Cover art is by Henry Hablak, who also designed the art for Part One and Part Two.

Originally released in 2023 via a humble run of 100 cassette tapes, c-thruʼs debut album “The Otherworld” is now available on black vinyl with a full colour jacket designed by Vancouver based illustrator Tylor Macmillan.

C-thru - The Otherworld is a collection of introspective cosmic-leaning dance music that gives a healthy nod to the golden era of trance, ambient, and downtempo from Austin, Texas-based producer Jesse Edwards. Inactive for several years, these 10 tracks mark a new chapter for Jesse Edwards. Previous works include his well-received psychedelic project, Red Morning Chorus, that included Boards of Canada amongst its fans. Edwards began his musical journey in the late 90s playing shoegaze and experimental music with Jessica Bailiff (Kranky). The pair collaborated on several albums together, including works with Flying Saucer Attack, His Name is Alive, and Odd Nosdam (Anticon).

Essential listening for anyone enamoured with the golden era of futuristic audio.

Robin Carolan's latest soundtrack for Robert Eggers' highly anticipated Nosferatu is a haunting, gothic-infused and meticulously crafted work that draws from a vast palette of sounds, instruments, and inspirations. Following their successful collaboration on The Northman, Carolan reunites with Eggers to bring the legendary tale of Nosferatu to life, infusing the film with a score that is as complex and nuanced as the story itself. With Daniel Pioro, one of Britain's most exciting young classical musicians, at the helm as the orchestra leader and first chair for a vast majority of the recording, the soundtrack features a vast orchestration, including 60 string players, a full choir, various horns and woodwinds, a harpist, and two percussionists. Despite the grandeur of the orchestration, one of the most challenging pieces was the music box used at the film's beginning. Carolan and Eggers struggled to perfect its sound, a process marked by their meticulous attention to detail, which Carolan describes as almost telepathic. Set in the 1800s, Nosferatu allowed Carolan to incorporate contemporary instrumentation, though he made a deliberate effort to ensure the score didn't sound overly modern. Letty Stott, who also worked on The Northman, contributed ancient horns and pipes, enhancing the soundtrack's eerie atmosphere. Additionally, percussionist Paul Clarvis custom-built a toaca-like instrument for added authenticity. Carolan's inspirations for the soundtrack were as eclectic as they were profound. He frequently drew upon the works of Bartok and Coil, while films like The Innocents, Angels and Insects, and Eyes Wide Shut provided cinematic inspiration. Additionally, he explored the more obscure side of Hammer Horror soundtracks and found a deep connection to the music of the Ukrainian film The Eve of Ivan Kupalo, which helped shape the score's otherworldly tone. Carolan intentionally moved beyond the typical horror score, focusing on capturing the tale's melancholy and tragic elements while weaving in a sense of warped romanticism. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the film but also stands on its own as a testament to Carolan's artistry and the enduring power of collaboration.

Robin Carolan's latest soundtrack for Robert Eggers' highly anticipated Nosferatu is a haunting, gothic-infused and meticulously crafted work that draws from a vast palette of sounds, instruments, and inspirations. Following their successful collaboration on The Northman, Carolan reunites with Eggers to bring the legendary tale of Nosferatu to life, infusing the film with a score that is as complex and nuanced as the story itself. With Daniel Pioro, one of Britain's most exciting young classical musicians, at the helm as the orchestra leader and first chair for a vast majority of the recording, the soundtrack features a vast orchestration, including 60 string players, a full choir, various horns and woodwinds, a harpist, and two percussionists. Despite the grandeur of the orchestration, one of the most challenging pieces was the music box used at the film's beginning. Carolan and Eggers struggled to perfect its sound, a process marked by their meticulous attention to detail, which Carolan describes as almost telepathic. Set in the 1800s, Nosferatu allowed Carolan to incorporate contemporary instrumentation, though he made a deliberate effort to ensure the score didn't sound overly modern. Letty Stott, who also worked on The Northman, contributed ancient horns and pipes, enhancing the soundtrack's eerie atmosphere. Additionally, percussionist Paul Clarvis custom-built a toaca-like instrument for added authenticity. Carolan's inspirations for the soundtrack were as eclectic as they were profound. He frequently drew upon the works of Bartok and Coil, while films like The Innocents, Angels and Insects, and Eyes Wide Shut provided cinematic inspiration. Additionally, he explored the more obscure side of Hammer Horror soundtracks and found a deep connection to the music of the Ukrainian film The Eve of Ivan Kupalo, which helped shape the score's otherworldly tone. Carolan intentionally moved beyond the typical horror score, focusing on capturing the tale's melancholy and tragic elements while weaving in a sense of warped romanticism. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the film but also stands on its own as a testament to Carolan's artistry and the enduring power of collaboration.

Rough Trade Shops präsentiert mit "Behind The Counter with Ian Rankin" den zweiten Teil einer Reihe, in der Künstler eingeladen werden, die Musik zusammenzustellen, die sie am meisten beeinflusst hat. Der schottische Autor und Musikfanatiker Ian Rankin folgt auf den Komponisten Max Richter, der 2017 die erste Ausgabe kuratierte. Als langjähriger Vinylenthusiast gehören in Rankins Auswahl auch Songs, die als Titel seiner Bestsellerromane dienten, wie etwa Jackie Levens "Another Man's Rain" (aus dem "Another Man's Grave" wurde) und "The Hanging Garden" von The Cure. Beide Doppelformate enthalten je 23 Tracks mit Begleittexten.

- "Ich treibe mich immer noch in Plattenläden herum und lege Vinyl auf, und ich erstelle immer noch Playlisten, für den Fall, dass sich die Gelegenheit ergibt, hinter der Ladentheke zu arbeiten", sagt Rankin. "Hier ist ein Teil dessen, was Sie hören würden, wenn Sie die Tür aufstoßen und in mein Kaufhaus kämen, Tracks, die ich mir immer wieder gerne anhöre."

Neues limitiertes Vinylformat für "Million Dollar Baby", dem bislang ehrgeizigsten Popprojekt, das Pixey zusammen mit Tom McFarland (Jungle, Olivia Dean, Alfie Templeman) und Rich Turvey (Rachel Chinouriri, Blossoms, The Coral) produzierte. Die LP kombiniert Pixeys Liebe zu 90er Breakbeats mit ihren Skills als Popkünstlerin und -Produzentin, probiert und interpoliert einige ihrer Lieblingssongs, um nicht nur die Lücke zwischen alten und neuen Sounds zu schliessen, sondern einen völlig neuen Sound zu schaffen. Pixey erhält enorme Unterstützung von den britischen Popmedien und zierte hierzulande das Cover von Spotifys "Indie Brandneu" Playlist.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

Endonomos is the brainchild of Austrian multi-instrumentalist, producer and session musician Lukas Haidinger, who was mostly known for playing extreme metal in bands such as Profanity, Nervecell, Distaste and many more, but as a longtime ‘doomer’, he finally brought his sinister yet melodic sound to tape. Of what started as a one man's urge to craft menacing yet epic death/doom ‘funeral’ metal, turned into a full group of dedicated musicians in 2021 with their debut-album “Endonomos” (2022) as a result. Along with some of his closest friends to accompany Haidinger on this adventure, namely Armin Schweiger (drums), Philipp Forster (guitars) and Christoph Steinlechner (guitars), Endonomos now releases the sophomore album “Enlightenment”, recorded, mixed and mastered by Haidinger in his DeepDeepPressure Studios. Fans of acts such as Ahab, Evoken, Mournful Congregation, Katatonia, My Dying Bride, Candlemass, Swallow The Sun and Paradise Lost should give ear, as Endonomos once again unleashes a fierce blend of sinister, epic, melodic and menacing doom/death ‘funeral’ metal; low and cavernous grunt-vocals are continually breached by captivating clean vocals, combined with thick riffs, highly melodic lead guitars and, from time to time, also fragile parts, with uncanny chord progressions.

For Talia Hoit from Colorado, who has been classically trained to play the piano since the age of five, her early musical education has definitely paid off. Now she writes original songs, performs on vocals and keyboards, and composes orchestra scores for symphonic metal. For many years, she has also had a passion for writing songs outside of any formal band situation, and is now working with talented producers and musicians to bring her most personal and intimate songs to life to share with the world. For five years, Talia was the keyboardist and a songwriter for the band AnaDies. Presently she is the lead singer, orchestrator and co-songwriter in the symphonic metal band Beyond Forgiveness and the keyboardist for the metal band Ob Nixilis. As a solo artist, she recorded two original home studio albums for personal purposes, Fate’s Too Small (2007) and A Little Longer (2012), which had a limited physical CD release only, mostly just for friends and family. Back in 2019, she recorded the single Angel (produced by Jarek Musil), which just recently received a new master, and after the experience of working with a professional producer she decided to pursue her solo project, to professionally produce and commercially release as many of the personal songs she had written over the years as possible. In 2023, she released two more singles: Abandon and Whispers in the Storm. Her extensive experience in the music industry and understanding of classical music are quite audibly reflected in these works, which show a high level of quality and expertise. Talia’s music is definitely a treat for symphonic metal fans and heavy music lovers, showing influences of bands such as Within Temptation, Nightwish, Evanescence, and Visions Of Atlantis.

None of Scattersun’s principal collaborators could easily meet in person. When Fax Gang and Parannoul began work on the album in 2023, they encouraged themselves to throw all caution to the wind with regard to genre and sound palette, ultimately weaving together intense strains of blown-out electronica that pull on a whole manner of stylistic threads, from two-step beats, to flashes of breakcore, cloud rap passages, and pop serenity. Jarring turns that lead to booming, emotional climaxes form the animating logic behind Scattersun. Album opener “Quiet” lulls listeners into a false sense of security before the breakdown tells them do not pay any heed to your expectations as it dismantles itself before exploding into a climax the artists describe as a spirit bomb. Such crescendos and dime-turns are all over Scattersun, defining characteristics which, in their scattered unpredictability, always culminate in enrapturing, playful mimicry of human nature.

Just as his basslines never stay within the limits of the obvious, so Joe Sanders" life as a bassist, composer, band-leader and educator has never followed the single, most discernible pathway. A Midwest native, he"s studied and played jazz on the opposite coasts of California and New York: a master of the acoustic bass, he"s equally at home producing in the digital realm; embedded deep in the living tradition of American jazz; and living, teaching and creating in Europe. All these separate strands come together on his third headline release, "Parallels". The album presents a set of live recordings from a dream line-up that matches the leader"s full-bodied acoustic bass presence with Seamus Blake, Logan Richardson and Gregory Hutchinson in performances that capture all the daring and drive of the East coast scene. Alongside them is a set of studio self-productions with guests Jure Pukl and Taylor Eigisti that capture the laid-back dreamy adventurousness of the West Coast.

Ghostly 25 Year Anniversary Edition. Thus far, Zach Saginaw's releases as Shigeto have been fragments, albeit singularly satisfying fragments -- EP-length glimpses into the Detroit producer's creative psyche. After filling two EPs on Ghostly International, Shigeto's lush, sumptuous take on instrumental hip-hop has fully materialized. Full Circle, the artist's first full-length album, completes the journey begun with Shigeto's Semi-Circle EP, synthesizing the drummer/producer's signature themes of family, continuity, and musical boundary-pushing into a vibrant, fully unified artistic statement.The sounds on Full Circle come from four years of obsessive field recording and collaboration. Saginaw brought his Tascam mini-recorder with him everywhere, capturing the "glasses, chains, breathing, children, family meals, monks singing in cathedrals, walks in the south of France, and good friends offering their musical skill" that would all find homes in the record's compositional nooks and crannies. As a result of Saginaw's constant documentation, the songs on Full Circle play like chapters in an ongoing story--as in "Escape from the Incubator", whose initial rhythmic claustrophobia opens up into a boom-clap nocturnal chase, or "French Kiss Power Up", whose romantic digital strut gives way to discord and fragmentation as the waves of synthesizer give way to a shaky, neurotic coda. Full Circle is framed by the "Ann Arbor" diptych, a pair of beat suites named after Saginaw's hometown (one featuring a sample of Detroit MC SelfSays), all double-thick synths and triple-strength kick drums. Saginaw plays the majority of his rhythms by hand, and Full Circle's consistently deep pocket is the record's secret weapon, thumping and breathing like a living being.Having set the stage with Semi-Circle and What We Held On To EPs--twin treatises on Saginaw's Japanese grandmother's escape from a US internment camp--Shigeto is clearly ready to draw the tale to a close and take center stage. "This release represents the end of the beginning--or perhaps that there is no end and no beginning at all," says Saginaw. Regardless, Full Circle is the start of something great.

200 COPIES MARBLE COLOURED VINYL Jailcell Recipes: Perhaps the last untold chapter in the story of the rapidly-detonating, late 80’s UK Hardcore scene. Often overlooked in favour of their contemporaries, this re-mastered/re-modelled retrospective collection of songs finally puts the record straight, giving them the recognition they deserve. It showcases the band’s importance within that scene and throws light on their unique standpoint and their growth over a 4 year period. This release is not intended as a discography, rather a selected ‘strongest hand’ from between the years 1988 to 1992. It features the definitive line up of Robbie Reid (vocals), Jamie Owen (guitar), Dave Arnold (bass) and Ian Barwick (drums). It's a game of two halves; the faster, straight ahead hardcore stylings make up Side One (practically the entire first album recorded in 1988), whilst the more melodic, mid-tempo material completes the set on the flipside - Robbie's unmistakable vocals being the constant throughout that makes it all work, he provided the band with a unique identity. Side Two closes with previously unreleased studio tracks from 1992 - virtually unheard until now, we believe these final three tracks to be amongst their best. The songs now sound as the band intended all the way back in 1988. Largely down to a relentless run of gigs back in their heyday, Jailcell Recipes gained a strong reputation for being an exciting and energetic ‘live’ hardcore band, playing with Bad Brains, All, Gorilla Biscuits and including tours with Youth Of Today (1989), Green Day (1991), Naked Raygun (1988). It’s the 35th Anniversary of the release of their debut album “Energy In An Empty Tank World” and after all these years, we finally have the recorded output to match the ‘live’ performance!

200 COPIES MARBLE COLOURED VINYL Jailcell Recipes: Perhaps the last untold chapter in the story of the rapidly-detonating, late 80’s UK Hardcore scene. Often overlooked in favour of their contemporaries, this re-mastered/re-modelled retrospective collection of songs finally puts the record straight, giving them the recognition they deserve. It showcases the band’s importance within that scene and throws light on their unique standpoint and their growth over a 4 year period. This release is not intended as a discography, rather a selected ‘strongest hand’ from between the years 1988 to 1992. It features the definitive line up of Robbie Reid (vocals), Jamie Owen (guitar), Dave Arnold (bass) and Ian Barwick (drums). It's a game of two halves; the faster, straight ahead hardcore stylings make up Side One (practically the entire first album recorded in 1988), whilst the more melodic, mid-tempo material completes the set on the flipside - Robbie's unmistakable vocals being the constant throughout that makes it all work, he provided the band with a unique identity. Side Two closes with previously unreleased studio tracks from 1992 - virtually unheard until now, we believe these final three tracks to be amongst their best. The songs now sound as the band intended all the way back in 1988. Largely down to a relentless run of gigs back in their heyday, Jailcell Recipes gained a strong reputation for being an exciting and energetic ‘live’ hardcore band, playing with Bad Brains, All, Gorilla Biscuits and including tours with Youth Of Today (1989), Green Day (1991), Naked Raygun (1988). It’s the 35th Anniversary of the release of their debut album “Energy In An Empty Tank World” and after all these years, we finally have the recorded output to match the ‘live’ performance!

MC5 (Motor City Five), the legendary Detroit band. Their first single (included here) was released in 1967. In 1968 they played the infamous Democratic Convention that turned into a police riot, and they went on to be the "Official White Panther Party Band". Their manager John Sinclair became a hippie martyr, after being jailed for 10 years for 2 joints, inspiring John Lennon"s "10 For 2" song. Thrown off their first label Electra, they signed to Atlantic for 2 more albums but only achieved underground success. Now greatly revered as one of the seminal rock"n"roll bands and a huge inspiration for punk. Thunder Express documents their last and first studio works: - six tracks recorded in France at Studio Castle Herouville for a TV show in 1972; plus four tracks from their debut singles from "67 & "68. The title track is not available elsewhere. In 2024 MC5"s guitarist Wayne Kramer, drummer Dennis Thompson and manager John Sinclair all passed away, marking the end of the MC5 era.

Black vinyl 180g made only in 100 numbered copies.

This record is different. It is different from what might be expected of Jan Emil Mlynarski by those who know him, from sold-out shows and platinum albums of his bands – Jazz Band Młynarski – Masecki and Warsaw Dance Combo, as an old-timer, curator and reenactor of pre-World War II Warsaw's plush dancehalls and backyards folklore. Quite likely they may not recognize him until the last song, when he removes his shaman mask and bows down: Yeah, that's really me, folks, your good ol' Jan Emil, the entertainer. They might not have even known that he ever played drums because in his flagship bands, clad in a white tux in the former or in a Peaky Blinder hat in the latter, he sings and plays mandolin banjo. In fact, Młynarski has been a drummer for a lot longer than a singer. He stands clear of the jazz mainstream but is active on the progressive scene. A record he contributed to, trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski's 2022 release The Individual Beings, was recognized by Downbeat magazine as "excellent" and awarded the highest rating of five stars.

However, this is the first instrumental record to bear his name. As an album by a drummer, it stands out from other records, especially as it features drums as the principal content rather than the performance by a band with a drummer as the leader. It's all about drums, there is neither an articulate melody – because the melodies that are there are only micro-linesencased in ostinato modules – nor is harmony as an intentional chord progression – because whatever harmony-wise there is, is rather a product of the counterpoint of overlapping voices. All sounds other than the drums make only a riverbed through which runs a raging stream of rhythms. And indeed, this record took off just with this stream. At first all the drums were recorded live onto an analog tape, all at once, without overdubs or editing. After that, synthesizer riffs were added, and the record was ultimately assembled on tape without the use of computers or complex postproduction, which sets it apart from most releases today.

Młynarski the drummer acknowledges that he follows the trail beaten by Art Blakey, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, and Billy Higgins, but he walks it in his own strides. He treats the jazz drumming with specific reversed engineering by decompiling the jazz drum kit originally compiled by the pioneer jazz drummers from an array of instruments that had made their way from a jungle to New Orleans, first to Congo Square and then to street brass bands.

This takes him back to the jungle, his drums don't sound like jazz drums, the snare is rare, and the hi-hat and ride aren't there at all. Instead, there are drums and bells from Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. He doesn't sound like a jazz drummer either, but like a gang of drummers, each playing their own rhythm, and it's hard to believe that all this is the work of one man.

Not only his drumware comes from the jungle, but also the software – his approach to rhythm and time. Its essence is polyrhythm and ostinato. The polyrhythmic matters were unveiled to Młynarski and Piotr Zabrodzki, his creative partner in many projects and co-composer/producer of this album, by the legendary eccentric veteran-drummer Władysław Jagiełło, who introduced them, aged thirteen, to his concept and practice of "17 Latino rhythms at once". Ostinato, an obstinate repetition of a phrase or rhythm, "arrests" time, turning its linear course into cyclical in-place rotations. This is specific not only to African music but also to cultural music of other regions and differs from Western artistic music in that it does not "run" to fulfil an aesthetic intention but "stays" to provide the framework for recurrent routines of communal proceedings.

So, this record is different. And, if you are different too, this is the record for you.

Phonica AM proudly introduces the latest release from upcoming Irish-born producer and DJ, Rhythms Of Prescott. For fans of Pepe Bradock and Derrick Carter, this record is a must-have.

The A-side kicks off with 'Beat Heat', a driving filter house monster underpinned by dubbed-out percussion, playful vocal interjections, and infectious disco stabs. Following up is 'RGRT', which delves into a deeper vibe with slick jazz samples and a pulsating filtered bass line. The B-side brings 'The Instigator', a tension-filled mind melter perfect for early morning trippiness, featuring Rhythms Of Prescott's masterful sample manipulation and unique wonkiness.

This release showcases Rhythms Of Prescott's raw approach and jackin' sample manipulation to rock any dancefloor.

"Black Stone Cherry is the debut album from American southern rockers Black Stone Cherry. They offer more than your traditional southern rock sound, it's a mix of classic rock & hard rock tight together with some ballads. This 4 piece knows how to roll & deliver, Chris Robertson’s powerful, rough voice, Ben Wells’ bluesy guitar riffs, Jon Lawhon’s impressive bass play and John Fred Young’s technical skilled drum rolls it's all there. Black Stone Cherry's debut album is indeed a real treat for rock fans.

Black Stone Cherry is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent red colored vinyl. It comes in a gatefold and contains an insert."

"In Game of Thrones Season 5, nine noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue is pervasive. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard, Lord Stark, to serve as Hand of the King, or highest official. Secretly warned that the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate further. Meanwhile the Queen's family, the Lannisters, may be hatching a plot to take power. Across the sea, the last members of the previous and deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also scheming to regain the throne. The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Targaryen and with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn,Tyrell and Martell leads to a full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond. Game of Thrones has always featured excellent music. The opening theme is practically iconic at this point, having been played and covered so many times. Composer Ramin Djawadi’s heavy, atmospheric tunes have always helped set the mood, no matter what tone the show is going for at any given time. Game of Thrones Season 5 (Music From The HBO® Series) is available as a limited edition of 750 numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl and includes an insert."

Recorded by McIlroy’s long-time friend and musical associate, Big A, the songs are laden with cracked harmonies and homemade instruments, including found materials used as percussion. The pair drew on the talents of fellow travellers for backing vocals and rhythm tracks which has resulted in the live outfit expanding to a three piece, with Ben Price (bass) and Charlie Garson (drums) on board.
Commenting on the writing process McIlroy explains:
“It was written during a period of madness and adverse offending behaviours. The songs dash from one theme to another and reflect the mistaken beliefs we cling to when our perceived realities are threatened. It’s also got jokes.”
Opposing a streaming culture that values top tracks and playlists, the record is intended to be heard in one sitting, with Side A showcasing more extroverted songs, in all their loudmouth braggadocio, and Side B being more introspective and honest.

Gavin Vanaelst runs the space Aboli Bibelot in Antwerp where exhibitions and musical performances can happen side to side with dealings in centuries-old furniture and unique pieces of folk art or volkskunst. Gavin makes music under the aliases DJ Charme, Kassett and So Sorry. This is the first album under his birth name. Takeaway Loops cycles back to the days when Gavin was working as a courier for .

is a food delivery company. Their couriers - ehm, brand ambassadors, as the company prefers to call them - dressed in bright orange, they race their bikes around the city. They deliver meals and groceries for all sorts. Thanks to them, the privileged can stay tucked in their private spaces. Interaction between the two groups - the privileged and the brand ambassadors - is mostly kept to the bare minimum. And sparse communications are often driven by annoyances - “my Coke is warm because you kept it too close to the French Fries.” And on the streets the general public dis-approaches the brand ambassadors with pity. We tell our peers: “That’s not a good job,” and “stay away from the Sharing Economy.” Because, you know, in our capitalistic dollhouse we all stand our grounds and play our parts wholeheartedly.

During his shifts for , Gavin recorded location sounds on his phone at fast food restaurants while waiting on the orders he had to pick up and deliver. Later in his home studio Gavin added piano and electronics to this source material. The result: a gloomy soundtrack for a shadow world. Seven songs in evening blue with a bright orange glare.

A few years ago, our favorite Belgian publishing house Het Balanseer released Seizoenarbeid by Heike Geissler (available in English trough Semiotext(e)). Geissler writes about her job at Amazon in Leipzig. Because her writing and freelance work did not pay the bills any longer, she was forced towards this underprivileged shadow-world of unwanted jobs. Seizoenarbeid shed a light on freedom in an unfree world. A monument of ‘we are all in this, but not together’. Takeaway Loops gives us a similar peak in a world that is at the same time so visible, but then also very veiled for many. A world that we prefer to use, yet that most of us prefer not to see - a world that we don’t like to enter.

Last year at Harbourland subway station in Kobe i was mesmerized by its sound design, created by Hiroshi Yoshimura. For each part of the subway station he composed a short phrase. While walking trough the station, a full composition grows in your head. The looping melodies guide you trough a microworld. Trough a blue world of commuters, of the homeless, of the lonely, of the fast paced, of the tourist. Gavin creates a similar effect with Takeaway Loops. The tonality somehow corresponds to Yoshimura’s work. Yet instead of being guided trough a building, we are now taken to the after dark. You feel the concrete evening heat of the city. You hear the rain. Stiff fingers during cold winters’ nights. You are alone on the bike, cruising. Your maps app telling you where to go. You just left the fake leather bench of the well-lit pastiche interior of a fast food restaurant.

Next order, number ECN44! Please wait outside, sir?

If Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira were a utopia instead of its opposite, this EP could be a possible sound track. Using the ingredients of classic house as a platform (pianos anyone?), Nick Nikolov‘s imagination as a producer for his new new NKLV project is far too vivid to stay on the beaten track.

The sound design and nerdy attention of IDM and ambient (Clusters) connects with the brazen boogie approach of the French touch, micro-sampling manifestos have to stand up to the weirder moments of signature sounds like Basement Jaxx or KiNK‘s musical side (Heartbeat). Not too far off from his peer‘s early approach, the Bulgarian‘s take is emotionally charged, play- and powerful.

For instance, Speak to Me and No More hit their respective topical nails on the head and the EPs title track Inbetween is sultry serotonin soul. If you are looking for plain and pure euphoria in between all the hardships, happiness is just around the bend.

In Game of Thrones Season 5, nine noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue is pervasive. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard, Lord Stark, to serve as Hand of the King, or highest official. Secretly warned that the previous Hand was assassinated, Eddard accepts in order to investigate further.

Meanwhile the Queen’s family, the Lannisters, may be hatching a plot to take power. Across the sea, the last members of the previous and deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also scheming to regain the throne. The friction between the houses Stark, Lannister, Baratheon and Targaryen and with the remaining great houses Greyjoy, Tully, Arryn,Tyrell and Martell leads to a full-scale war.

All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war and political confusion, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night’s Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.

Game of Thrones has always featured excellent music. The opening theme is practically iconic at this point, having been played and covered so many times. Composer Ramin Djawadi’s heavy,
atmospheric tunes have always helped set the mood, no matter what tone the show is going for at any given time.

Game of Thrones Season 5 (Music From The HBO® Series) is available as a limited edition of 750 numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Nosferatu (1922) is still one of the most highly regarded horror films of all time, F.W. Murnau’s unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it remains an Expressionist masterpiece of the silent era.

Much of the original score by Hans Erdmann (meant to be played live by an orchestra) was lost, leading Nosferatu to inspire several subsequent soundtracks, the best known of which is by Hammer Horror composer James Bernard, written for the Tanis Film video reissue of the film in 1997. The world premiere of the score was performed by Nic Raine and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at the London Film Festival the same year and now, almost twenty years later, the score is being pressed on vinyl for the first time.

A magical and inspirational collaboration between musicians from Burkina Faso - including West African griot and balafon player Seydou "Kanazoe" Diabate and guitarist Abdoulaye "Debademba" Traore - alongside French jazz vocalist and flutist Clotilde Rullaud. In the streets of Burkina Faso, the phrase "ka nana ye" can be heard everywhere. It means "it's not easy" but also implies that things will be okay. With the album Kananaye, which takes its name from this popular saying, things can only get better. Its foundational multiculturalism, conscious lyrics, intertwined traditions, and contemporary grounding are essential qualities in these times when optimism has become a survival virtue. It's not easy, but it will get better - provided we make the effort, crossing borders where others seek to close them. Clotilde Rullaud, Abdoulaye Traore, Achille Nacoulma, Seydou Diabate and Boubacar Djiga, the creators of Kananaye, are dedicated to this cause.

Originally released in 2017, Beast Epic, Iron & Wine’s fourth album for Sub Pop, recasts soft power as a series of vignettes, observations and regular old songs that redeem through joy and a certain expectation of grace. Even the instant classic, “Bitter Truth, with a lyric as pained and direct as any I've heard from Iron & Wine, is leavened with background vocals recalling The Jordanaires. The album brims with surprise flourishes, classic touches and an appealing confidence that is evident on songs like “Call It Dreaming,” “Thomas County Law,” “About A Bruise” to the almost croony “Last Night.” Iron & Wine’s Beast Epic was written and produced by Sam Beam, and recorded and engineered by Tom Schick at the Loft in Chicago in July 2016 and January 2017. The musicians who played on Beast Epic include longtime Iron & Wine collaborators Robert Burger (keys), Joe Adamik (percussion), and Jim Becker (guitar, banjo, violin, mandolin), along with bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing and Fiona Apple), and Chicagoan Teddy Rankin Parker (cello). Beast Epic was mastered by Richard Dodd in Nashville, Tennessee. *The term "soft power" was cribbed from author and Harvard professor Joseph Nye, but used in a different context.

Even as the obstacles to meaningful connection mount into an Everest-ian hurdle, artists nevertheless find ways to bend the technologies of our days to foster visceral human connection, rather than bereft isolation. Comprised of a West Coast bassist (Kristian Dunn of El Ten Eleven) and an Appalachia-adjacent drummer (Damon Che of Don Caballero), Yesness forges a friendship mediated through the language of collaboration, all formed through emailed song sketches and text exchanges of Van Halen demos. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. "We were ships in the night of the musical variety until Karl found a way to merge our paths," Che said of his introduction to Dunn. "There are very few comparisons in the aesthetic approach to how we created the music. We worked remotely for eight months before physically meeting for the first time at the recording studio." Neck-deep in their own ambitions, Che and Dunn swapped musical ideas and quirky song titles throughout the summer, working at a breakneck pace. Star Wars references were intertwined with walloping bass lines ('If You Say So'); non-sequiturs were punctuated by Che's signature frenetic percussive jabs ('Horror Snuggle'). Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion—uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Tearing through the record's evocative instrumentals is a delightful bolt of strangeness, felt as much as heard in the spontaneous chemistry between Che and Dunn. "Occasional Grape?" dances like a waltz played with a sledgehammer—delicate moments shattered by bursts of aggression, while still embedding a rhythmic earworm deep into your heart. 'Nice Walrus,' a string-studded panorama featuring Kishi Bashi, volleys between nervy hyperactivity and heartfelt grandeur. The album's closing track, "Non-incredible Visitor," contrasts Che's meticulous precision with Dunn's imaginative instrumentation, bonding bass and percussion like nesting dolls. Just as the track seems to settle, it drives off an uncharted auditory cliff—abruptly, without ceremony, leaving the listener grasping for meaning in the murk. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other – our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

120 BPM minimal techno music, 2 long shots to play with stereophony. Something special darling...