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'Flowers', the new EP from Elizabeth Davis, finds itself at the cross-section of many factors. In part, it’s the result of Davis’ obsession with a seminal folk song. But it also coincides with her rediscovery of the voice and language as an instrument. It was recorded during an autumn residency at Sternhagen Gut, the cultural refuge run by Gudrun Gut and Thomas Fehlmann, located deep in the Uckermark countryside halfway between Berlin and the Baltic coast.

The six tracks on 'Flowers' all take Pete Seeger’s ‘60s protest-folk song 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone' as their starting point. However, they veer off in different directions, from vocal loops and deconstructed lyrics, to instrumental drones and glitchy, manipulated rhythm tracks. Like many musicians, Davis has learnt composition by a process of disassembly, analyzing musical works piece by piece, and 'Flowers' began as one such forensic exercise. “But sometimes,” says Davis, “a source is so loaded up on meaning that the studies and experiments can become worthwhile and meaningful works in their own right.” 'Flowers' began to take on a life of its own, raising renewed questions about age-old themes such as war, authorship, translation and historical structures.

Davis is no stranger to cover versions. From studying violin to playing in free jazz and punk bands, interpreting other artists’ works has long been a key part of her musical approach. And since her radio show 'Deep Puddle' recently drew to a close after seven years, her experiments with narration and sound collage have found their way into her musical work once again. For 'Flowers', she cut up the source material (with a nod to Gysin and Burroughs), and reassembled the lyrics, the musical notes, and recordings by different performers, to create uncanny new forms.

But perhaps the biggest influence on 'Flowers' was conversations about music, art and pop subcultures with Gut. These dialogues helped Davis find a balance between far-out sound design experiments and catchy melodies, combining a certain avant-garde element and modern day songcraft. And it’s this sense of conversation, this revisiting of topics and renewal of ideas, that will keep us coming back to 'Flowers' long into the future.

Am 13. Februar 2026 veröffentlicht Sony Music Austria die ersten beiden Hansi-Lang-Alben "Keine Angst" und "Der Taucher" auf einer LP neu in einer limitierten Auflage auf farbiger Vinyl.
Hansi Lang gilt als eine der charismatischsten Stimmen der heimischen Rock- und Popkultur. Mit seinem experimentierfreudigen Stil, der Elemente aus Rock, Pop, Punk und New Wave verband, prägte er maßgeblich die österreichische Musikszene der frühen 80er Jahre.

In bildhaften, existenzialistischen Texten griff Lang Themen wie Unsicherheit, die Selbstbehauptung in einer konformen Gesellschaft und Großstadtgefühl auf und traf damit den Nerv einer jungen, urbanen Generation.

Während "Keine Angst" und die bahnbrechende gleichnamige Single den Grundstein für Hansi Langs Solokarriere legte und lautstark und zeitgeistig eine Brücke zwischen Wiener Underground und Mainstream-Pop schlug, präsentierte sich das zweite Album "Der Taucher" komplexer und konzeptioneller als der Vorgänger und stellt möglicherweise Langs künstlerisch ambitioniertestes Werk dar. Mit "Monte Video" und "Ich spiele Leben" enthält es zudem zwei absolute Klassiker aus dem Repertoire des Ausnahmekünstlers.
Die limitierte coloured Vinyl Reissue vereint beide Alben in einer hochwertigen Edition - ideal, um das einzigartige musikalische Erbe Hansi Langs wieder oder auch neu zu entdecken!

Beide Alben werden zum Release der Vinyl-Edition endlich auch vollständig im Streaming erhältlich sein.

"What If" ist das neue Album von MAIIJA - eine eindringliche Auseinandersetzung mit Verletzlichkeit, Mut und den Emotionen, die uns verbinden. Marilies Jagschs Stimme bewegt sich zwischen Stärke und Zerbrechlichkeit und steht im Zentrum eines Sounds, der elektronische und organische Elemente fein miteinander verwebt.
Persönliche Erfahrungen, geprägt vom Leben mit Endometriose, treffen auf die Unsicherheiten unserer Zeit. Produziert von Peter Paul Aufreiter mit Gernot Scheithauer, Lukas Lauermann und Gästen wie The Zew, Oskar Mayböck und Paul Szelegowitz, ist ein Album entstanden, das berührt, tröstet und verbindet.
"What If" erinnert daran: Was auch kommt, wir sind nicht allein.

EN

"What If" is the new album by MAIIJA - a powerful exploration of vulnerability, courage, and the emotions that connect us. At its heart is Marilies Jagsch's voice, moving between strength and fragility, framed by a sound that blends electronic and organic elements.
Personal experiences shaped by living with endometriosis meet the uncertainties of our time. Produced by Peter Paul Aufreiter with Gernot Scheithauer, Lukas Lauermann, and guests including The Zew, Oskar Mayböck, and Paul Szelegowitz, the album is both moving and comforting.
"What If" is a reminder: whatever comes next, we are in this together.

B' ROOTS SOUND SYSTEM presents the first release of its record label -NORTH&SOUTH Reggae Label-. A 12inch worked with Sergio López aka Japu, from Lana Studio in Linares (Jaén-Andalusia-Spain).

A version of the original riddim by N. Bailey with the voice and lyrics of Natty Nature. 'Keep up the vibe', a song full of powerful melodies, where the lyrics refer to creating a harmony between the music and the listener through the vibration of the instruments, the voice and each sound element. That is, keeping the energy and creativity awake in perfect balance.

On the other side, Jorge Dopico contributes his art in 'Trombone vibe', to keep the energy at its highest until the end of the album. A trombone line that delights anyone who loves the most melodic and instrumental reggae.

All this, supported by the respective Dub Versions, by Sergio López aka Japu, from Lana Studio. Providing the riddim, production, mixing and mastering of this sensational first work.

Explosive Ukrainian metalcore force SPACE OF VARIATIONS returns with Poisoned Art, out on February 13, 2026 via Napalm Records. Blending furious brutality with heartfelt emotion, the four-piece band sheds their skin and continues to push the boundaries of modern metal, their new record showing a new facet of their ever-evolving sound—a new era. Twice crowned Ukraine’s best metal band, and former tour partners of genre giants Jinjer, SPACE OF VARIATIONS are raising the bar for metalcore with the twelve new tracks of Poisoned Art. Mercilessly honest, the opening track “TRIBE” sees the band battle existential fears in both English and their native Ukrainian. Driving in the urgency are diverse stylings, ranging from djent in “HALO” to fitting sirens in “MAYDAY”, showing that SPACE OF VARIATIONS doesn’t shy away from adding a certain edge to their catchy choruses. “PARALLEL REALITIES” cleverly combines soft melodies with brutality, staging captivating desperation and neck-snapping breakdowns as parallel realities. Explosive outburst “DOPPELGÄNGER” powerfully blends groovy distorted guitars and unrelenting intensity, contrasted by haunting melodic passages and subtle electronic textures, making this song especially hard-hitting. The mix of pummeling ferocity with emotional depth continues throughout “GODLIKE” and “GHOST TOWN”, before “COLDHEAVEN” stands out from Poisoned Art through its exploration of hip hop elements and cold industrial grain. “BACK TO DIRT” continues the djent vibe, while “SNAKE SKIN” delves into electronic territory.

Portland, Oregon dark rock trio HOAXED return with their stunning new album Death Knocks. Three years in the making, the group—featuring vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo, drummer Kim Coffel, and new bassist/vocalist April Dimmick—have honed their stygian craft to perfection. "We've added another element to the writing and collaboration process," says the band. "April comes from a classic heavy metal background, and her influence is in these songs. We've also had experiences on tour that have helped shape these songs. You can hear influence from the bands we toured with and learned from. We played together for three years as we wrote this album, and we learned a lot about our styles, and our sound evolved naturally together on stage. So, when we sat down to write this album, it didn't feel like a departure or a change." Anchored by the witchy spell of opener "Where the Seas Fall Silent," the rock-hardened groove of "Kill Switch," and the dimly lit power pop of "The Family," HOAXED upped the tempo, sawed the edges (Dimmick's raspy menace intimidates), and strengthened their ties to the golden gods of heavy metal. Indeed, cyclical riffs, dynamic rhythms, and bottom-heavy bass propel Death Knocks through its filmic, hard-nosed gloom, but Keo's sorcerous vocal hooks seal the deal. Often smartly paired with Dimmick's angels' n' demons, her performance effuses fragility and potency across the album's alluring expanse. HOAXED recorded Death Knocks at Falcon Recording Studios with producer/engineer Gabe Johnston (Unto Others, Vintersea) and enlisted Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Kreator, and more,) for mixing and mastering. In total, the group spent eight days in February and March tracking Death Knocks. While most bands spend months ironing their metallic mettle, Hoaxed's expeditious time at Falcon engendered a polished, big-sounding force befitting their larger-than-life songs. Short: Portland, Oregon dark rock trio HOAXED return with their stunning new album Death Knocks. Three years in the making, the group—featuring vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo, drummer Kim Coffel, and new bassist/vocalist April Dimmick—have honed their stygian craft to perfection. FFO: Ghost, Tribulation, Bloody Hammers, Khemmis, Unto Others, GGGOLDDD, Katatonia. Pallbearer

Notti Senza Fine is the second album by the post-avant-garde theater company Magazzini Criminali, released in 1983 on the independent label Riviera Records and now reissued for the first time by Soave Records in a very limited edition of 200 copies. This work breaks away from linearity and meaning, creating a dizzying collision of voices and sounds that blend theater, punk, and experimental elements. Through montage and collage techniques inspired by the visual arts and poets such as Antonin Artaud, the album explores a dense and layered soundscape.

Composed by Federico Tiezzi, Sandro Lombardi, and Marion d'Amburgo, “Notti Senza Fine” uses sounds and fragments to create an experience that transcends conventional music. The song titles evoke geographical spaces without clear definition, while the sound textures, which include tribal percussion and synthesizers, intertwine without resolution. The album is a “meaningful object,” a musical vehicle that challenges conventions and rejects institutional distribution channels, remaining a rarity appreciated by collectors for over forty years.

The cover, designed by Mario Schifano, adds another layer of meaning to the work, making it a timeless sonic and visual experience.

For the first time, all the 1978 recording sessions of Lino Capra Vaccina's legendary Antico Adagio - including Frammenti da Antico Adagio and Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio - collected in one definitive deluxe edition. Minimalism, and so much more. Sheets of resonance, stunning harmonic interplay, intricate rhythms rising as one. Sidelong works of pulsing, hypnotic, ritualistic drone built from vibraphones, marimbas, gongs, bells, and cymbals, threaded by the sustained vocal tones of Juri Camisasca and Dana Matus. A trance-inducing, meditative, cosmic world of sonic interplay - the world beyond, joined with that which lays within.

Before an aberrant idea of progress ludicrously sped up our daily lives, even in hectic Milan it was possible to "play slowly" - with no pressure, simply following the path your art was showing you. This music moves between modal fascinations, ritual evocations, and states of hypnotic trance, evoking the acoustic environment of Tibetan and Zen Buddhist ceremonies and the temporal structures of Noh theatre, from which Vaccina took the name of his original label, Nō. Now, fittingly, this complete collection appears on Ubi Kū, the label of the Italian Buddhist Union.

Lino Vaccina (1953) first gained note as a member of Aktuala, creating a hybrid of rock, avant-garde, and ancient musics while incorporating sonic traditions from across the globe. After leaving in 1974, he studied at Milano's Civica Scuola di Musica, collaborating with Franco Battiato and Juri Camisasca, and forming Telaio Magnetico in 1975. In 1978 he self-released Antico Adagio in a tiny edition and wouldn't be heard from again until 1992. From 1979 to 1985 he was percussionist with the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala under maestros such as Abbado and Ozawa. His career has been marked by an incredibly high bar of quality and a tragically slim recorded output - a rigorous and sensual language fusing Oriental, Mediterranean, and African influences with ritual elements and a cosmic sense of time.

As Massimo Torrigiani writes: "Lino Vaccina's music captivates through its internal coherence and its ability to generate states of suspension and deep listening - through undulations, small melodic fragments, dialogues between acoustic instruments and resonances that seem to evoke a phantom orchestra. An example of personal exploration, discipline and openness that speaks across time to anyone willing to be drawn into its sound."

Frammenti da Antico Adagio and Echi Armonici da Antico Adagio contain material from the original sessions, restored and issued by Die Schachtel in 2014 and 2017. The new masters, prepared by Giuseppe Ielasi, are based on those restorations and the original material. The package includes previously unpublished photographs from the May 1978 sessions and liner notes by Mauro Radice in Italian, English, and French. Cover art by Dana Matus. Printed by Legno, Milano & Mother Tongue, Verona.

Personnel: Lino Capra Vaccina (vibraphone, marimba, tablas, wooden drums, darbuka, cymbals, gong, metal sheets, bells, bass drum, tom, snare drum, piano, voice), Dana Matus (voice, percussion, cetra), Juri Camisasca (voice), Mario Garuti (violin), Roberto Mazza (oboe). Original production by Massimo Villa & Lino Vaccina with Piero Cannizzaro. Recorded May 1978 at Circle Studios, Milano.

The heights of the Italian avant-garde, at their very best.

The Light Below's "Georgia" d eröffnet eine Serie von Veröffentlichungen, die die Grenzen zwischen Rock, Tradition und globaler Musikkultur neu ausloten. Eein außergewöhnliches Post- Rock-Album, das instrumentale Klanglandschaften mit jahrhundertealter georgischer Gesangstradition verbindet. Für "Georgia" kooperiert die Band mit dem georgischen Frauenchor Akhla, dessen überlieferte Volkslieder aus unterschiedlichen Regionen Georgiens stammen. Diese traditionellen Songs wurden in Zusammenarbeit mit THE LIGHT BELOW neu interpretiert und so arrangiert, dass sie auf besondere Weise mit den instrumentalen Post-Rock-Elementen verschmelzen. Ein herausragender Moment des Albums ist "Tsinskharo" - ein ursprünglich von Männern gesungenes Lied, das durch Werner Herzogs Nosferatu (1979) weltweite Bekanntheit erlangte. Die neue Version wird als erste Single ausgekoppelt und von einem zweiteiligen Musikvideo begleitet. Der instrumentale Teil des Albums wurde noch von dem 2024 verstorbenen Steve Albini aufgenommen. Seine unverkennbare, rohe Produktionsästhetik verleiht ,Georgia" eine unmittelbare Klarheit und Intensität. Die Gesangsaufnahmen des Chors Akhla entstanden 2022/23 in Berlin. "Georgia" entfaltet ein unverwechselbares Klangbild aus monumentalen Gitarrenwänden, introspektiven Passagen und epischen Crescendi. Es verbindet die Emotionen und Geschichten georgischer Volkslieder mit der Dramatik des Post-Rock - ein Album, das Brücken zwischen Kulturen schlägt.

The Light Below's "Georgia" d eröffnet eine Serie von Veröffentlichungen, die die Grenzen zwischen Rock, Tradition und globaler Musikkultur neu ausloten. Eein außergewöhnliches Post- Rock-Album, das instrumentale Klanglandschaften mit jahrhundertealter georgischer Gesangstradition verbindet. Für "Georgia" kooperiert die Band mit dem georgischen Frauenchor Akhla, dessen überlieferte Volkslieder aus unterschiedlichen Regionen Georgiens stammen. Diese traditionellen Songs wurden in Zusammenarbeit mit THE LIGHT BELOW neu interpretiert und so arrangiert, dass sie auf besondere Weise mit den instrumentalen Post-Rock-Elementen verschmelzen. Ein herausragender Moment des Albums ist "Tsinskharo" - ein ursprünglich von Männern gesungenes Lied, das durch Werner Herzogs Nosferatu (1979) weltweite Bekanntheit erlangte. Die neue Version wird als erste Single ausgekoppelt und von einem zweiteiligen Musikvideo begleitet. Der instrumentale Teil des Albums wurde noch von dem 2024 verstorbenen Steve Albini aufgenommen. Seine unverkennbare, rohe Produktionsästhetik verleiht ,Georgia" eine unmittelbare Klarheit und Intensität. Die Gesangsaufnahmen des Chors Akhla entstanden 2022/23 in Berlin. "Georgia" entfaltet ein unverwechselbares Klangbild aus monumentalen Gitarrenwänden, introspektiven Passagen und epischen Crescendi. Es verbindet die Emotionen und Geschichten georgischer Volkslieder mit der Dramatik des Post-Rock - ein Album, das Brücken zwischen Kulturen schlägt.

Me vs Me, Vol. 1 is the debut album by Joe Allotta, a drummer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist active as a session musician for various
artists (Davide Shorty, Johnny Marsiglia, Funk Shui Project, Mario Biondi, Nick The Nightfly, etc.). The album was conceived in London,
Trapani, and Bologna and features performances by various musicians Joe has worked with in recent years.
The EP embodies a sound rich with emotion, expressed through four tracks that blend jazz with cutting-edge urban rhythms, with drums as
the central element of his compositions.
The four tracks on the EP thus have distinct personalities inspired by soul, breakbeat, and funk, souls that coexist in the artist's emotional
experience: the song "Lullaby" is a hip-hop beat with a funk flavor, while "The Mess You Left" moves through dreamlike sounds that crystallize
into a drum 'n' bass storm. House Party is very reminiscent of UK club sounds, it is full of synths and with a square drumming, it closes the
EP She Sad, a sort of skit that leaves room for an improvisation of guitar and drums.

Wishbone Ash's self-titled debut album, released in 1970, introduced a distinctive sound that would become highly influential in British rock. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original UK release in it's gatefold sleeve and is pressed on 180gm vinyl. Blending blues-rock, folk melodies, and emerging progressive elements, the album is defined by the bands signature twin-lead guitar approach, with Andy Powell and Ted Turner weaving melodic, harmonized lines rather than relying on a single dominant lead. Tracks like Blind Eye and Queen Of Torture balance hard-edged riffs with spacious, reflective passages, while acoustic moments add a pastoral, almost medieval atmosphere. The rhythm section, understated yet precise, allows the guitars to breathe and develop organically. Rather than chasing commercial immediacy, the album favours mood, texture, and musical interplay, giving it a thoughtful, exploratory character. As a debut, Wishbone Ash feels confident and forward-looking, laying the groundwork for the bands later classics and helping to shape the twin-guitar sound later adopted by countless rock and metal acts.

Santa Somnia is an imaginary saint, shaped like a medieval folktale figure, who steals the sleep and childhood creativity of his victims to feed a kingdom of oblivion and torment. The album's lyrics follow the journey of a protagonist stripped of rest and innocence, wandering through a decaying dreamworld reminiscent of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. Santa Somnia becomes an allegory of lost hope and the crushing weight of adulthood, drawing further thematic influence from the bleak darkness of Kentaro Miura's Berserk. Santa Somnia is a sonic trip through a crumbling psyche-- drenched in despair and shadows-- ruled by the struggle against madness brought on by sleeplessness, the inner torment of depression, and the inevitable, sometimes merciful, pull of death.

The influence of FromSoftware and Berserk emerges through the album's cryptic, oppressive storytelling, where the line between nightmare and reality barely exists. While rooted in the band's earlier works, the sound of Santa Somnia blends the crushing weight of doom metal with classic and thrash metal elements and injections of punk- rock melody, mirroring the emotional instability and mental agony woven throughout the lyrics.

Santa Somnia is an imaginary saint, shaped like a medieval folktale figure, who steals the sleep and childhood creativity of his victims to feed a kingdom of oblivion and torment. The album's lyrics follow the journey of a protagonist stripped of rest and innocence, wandering through a decaying dreamworld reminiscent of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring. Santa Somnia becomes an allegory of lost hope and the crushing weight of adulthood, drawing further thematic influence from the bleak darkness of Kentaro Miura's Berserk. Santa Somnia is a sonic trip through a crumbling psyche-- drenched in despair and shadows-- ruled by the struggle against madness brought on by sleeplessness, the inner torment of depression, and the inevitable, sometimes merciful, pull of death.

The influence of FromSoftware and Berserk emerges through the album's cryptic, oppressive storytelling, where the line between nightmare and reality barely exists. While rooted in the band's earlier works, the sound of Santa Somnia blends the crushing weight of doom metal with classic and thrash metal elements and injections of punk- rock melody, mirroring the emotional instability and mental agony woven throughout the lyrics.

MOVIE MOVIE is based out of NYC and features members of the bands TWIN GUNS, THE ELECTRIC MESS, and THE ABOVE. The band combine elements of power pop, '60s, '70s and '80s garage, classic, alternative and glam rock, but they have a sound all their own, with a focus on strong hooks and melodic vocals. "After Hours" is a 1980s New Wave comedy about a party girl on the downtown scene whose claim to fame is a bit part in a popular movie, where she uttered the immortal line, "Won't you look at the time," but she wouldn't give you the time. "Wasting Time" is an existential road picture in the mind of the protagonist, set across heartland America and a sunny beach in the Caribbean, but in reality he never leaves the girl, or town, and in the end ponders his wasted years. "First Love (Never Dies)" is a romantic drama that spans decades, about an aging rocker who reflects on his first teenage love, a girl he has never stopped thinking about. He tries to track her down and reconnect after all these years, only to find she is now married to his old childhood rival.

"Photograph" is a future arthouse hit, shot in stark black white, about the disintegration of a relationship seen from two different perspectives, captured in an old photograph, in which the truth is revealed in the looks on their faces. "Coming Attractions" is MOVIE MOVIE's second EP, after their debut six track EP, "Now Playing" (2022), on Ghost Highway/ KOTJ Records, and they have two full LPs, "Storyboards" (2023), and "In 4-D!" (2024), both Topsy-Turvy Records.

Die legendäre Trance-Hymne „Traumwelten“ kehrt zurück – kraftvoll neu interpretiert von Talla 2XLC und Das Licht (aka DJ Dean). Diese farbige Maxi-Vinyl liefert zwei kompromisslose Club-Versionen eines absoluten Kulttracks.

Side A – Traumwelten (Recreate Mix): Mit einem pulsierenden Tempo von 140 BPM entfacht der Recreate Mix ein wahres Feuerwerk aus tiefen Basslines, treibenden Drums und schimmernden Melodien. Die gewagten Breakdowns steigern die Spannung und treiben die Energie bis zum Höhepunkt. Eine hypnotische, gesprochene weibliche Stimme sorgt für mystische Vibes, bevor er in einen euphorischen Rausch aus aufsteigenden, mitreißenden Melodien übergeht.

Side B – Traumwelten (RRAW! Mix): Dunkler, härter, kompromisslos: Der RRAW! Mix startet als druckvolle TechnoTrance-Fusion, die mit massiven Basslines und satten Techno-Kicks beginnt. Dunkle, deutschsprachige Vocals und atmosphärische Effekte fügen dem Track eine immersive, mystische Tiefe hinzu. Der zweite Drop überrascht mit einer euphorischen Melodie, die von technoiden Rhythmen in ekstatische Trance-Elemente übergeht. Dieser Mix glänzt durchseine Vielseitigkeit und eignet sich sowohl für Techno-DJs als auch für Trance-Crowds.

Ein starkes Comeback eines Klassikers – zeitgemäß, druckvoll und ein Must-Have für alle Vinyl-Liebhaber.

Lovski, alias Igor Sekulović, is redefining the Balkan musical landscape. A master guitarist and erstwhile “Projekt Rakjia” band member, he forges an uncanny blend of traditional folk melodies with dance, electronic and rock energy.
His debut solo album, Discoteka Jugoslavija—produced in collaboration with Napoli’s producer Raffaele “Whodamanny” Arcella—ventures through Italo-disco pulses, reggae grooves and psychedelic swirls, all anchored by the call-and-response warmth of Balkan traditional instruments. Each track feels like a borderless road trip: hypnotic rhythm sections give way to soaring guitar solos that nod to ancestral folk tunes, while propulsive synth arpeggios push listeners into tomorrow’s club.
Lovski’s signature lies in his seamless genre alchemy. He honors regional roots without succumbing to nostalgia, instead reframing folk elements as raw material for global dancefloors. As a performer, his live shows pulse with communal ecstasy—drawing dancing crowds around campfires of light, smoke and bass.
In a scene ripe for innovation, Lovski stands out as both torchbearer and trailblazer—proof that the Balkans still have surprises to offer, and that the old and new can coexist in brilliant harmony.

After nearly five decades of relentless innovation, Truus de Groot's Plus Instruments project shows no signs of slowing down. The ninth album, Unnoticed, finds the `dutch Pioneer diving deeper into the experimental synthesiser palette than ever before, delivering 12 tracks of minimalist, analogue noise and her signature vocals.

Recorded at The Ranch in Escondido, Unnoticed showcases her continued evolution as an artist. Often referred to as the "Queen of the Dutch Underground," de Groot has is a stalwart of the experimental underground music scene since establishing Plus Instruments in 1978 in Eindhoven. Her journey has taken her from the punk rock explosion of the late '70s Netherlands to the No Wave scene of early '80s New York.

The Plus Instruments project has always been characterised by its ever changing nature and collaborative spirit. She has worked with an impressive roster of artists over the years , spanning continents and genres, including James Sclavunos (Nick Cave), Jim Duckworth (Gun Club), most recently, Miguel Barella and Cosmo Vitelli, who co-writes, produces and adds programming to standout track "Sexy Machine." This creative partnership has opened new avenues for de Groot's explorations, as she continues to plough yet another field of creativity.

Now based back in the Netherlands, she continues her work while maintaining the core elements that have made Plus Instruments a touchstone for electronic music innovators. Her influence can be heard in everything from Electroclash to Cold Wave, with younger artists regularly seeking collaboration with the veteran experimentalist. Unnoticed arrives as de Groot enters her sixth decade of music-making, proving that true artistic vision only grows stronger with time.

DJ Maestro, geboren als Martijn Barkhuis in Nederland, is een gerenommeerde Nederlandse DJ, producer en componist, vooral bekend om zijn werk aan de fameuze Blue Note Trip-compilatieserie. Met een diepgewortelde passie voor jazz en een scherp oor voor eigentijdse grooves, verwierf Maestro naam door klassieke jazzopnames te combineren met moderne beats, wat resulteerde in een verfijnde fusie die zowel traditionele jazzliefhebbers als een nieuwe generatie luisteraars aanspreekt. Zijn vermogen om naadloze, atmosferische en muzikale verhalen te creëren leverde hem erkenning op van het prestigieuze Blue Note Records-label, dat hem het vertrouwen gaf om hun klassieke catalogus te gebruiken voor moderne, genre-overstijgende mixes. Met de lancering van de Blue Note Trip-serie in de vroege jaren 2000 hielp DJ Maestro de interesse in klassieke jazz nieuw leven in te blazen door tijdloze tracks te koppelen aan subtiele elektronische elementen en soulvolle interpretaties. De serie werd een vaste waarde in lounges en hi-fi luisterruimtes over de hele wereld. Elke release weerspiegelt Maestro’s respect voor muzikaal erfgoed en zijn talent om verhalen te vertellen via geluid, waarbij hij luisteraars meeneemt op een muzikale reis die zowel nostalgisch als vooruitstrevend is. In 2015 begon DJ Maestro aan een opmerkelijk project: Little Girl Blue Remixed, een eigentijdse herinterpretatie van Nina Simone's iconische debuutalbum uit 1958. Het album werd geprezen om zijn respectvolle, maar inventieve remixes. Dit project onderstreepte Maestro's vermogen om de brug te slaan tussen klassieke jazz en hedendaagse muziek, en verstevigt zijn status als visionair binnen de jazz fusion scene. Naast deze albums heeft DJ Maestro samengewerkt met een breed scala aan artiesten, bigbands en jazzmuzikanten. Hij heeft zijn repertoire ook uitgebreid naar filmmuziek, liveoptredens en remixes – allemaal met behoud van zijn kenmerkende stijl geworteld in jazz, soul en downtempo. DJ Maestro blijft een culturele brug slaan tussen tijdperken, waarbij hij de rijkdom van jazz viert en tegelijkertijd innovatie, dansmuziek en moderniteit in zijn mixen verwelkomt. Na zijn geprezen reeks genre-overstijgende compilaties keert Maestro nu terug met Deep Trip – een gloednieuwe mixcompilatie die zal verschijnen op Black Hole Recordings. Deze keer kiest hij voor een meer house-georiënteerde richting, met warmere grooves, diepere ritmes en een weelderige sfeer, maar altijd met Maestro’s onmiskenbare signatuur. Deep Trip verschijnt zowel als een mixed CD als in een triple vinyl set met alle tracks in ongemixte versie. Het is een reis door hedendaagse deep house-texturen, met soulvolle percussie en een hypnotische opbouw. De compilatie laat Maestro’s muzikale evolutie horen: trouw aan zijn jazzwortels, maar volledig omarmend wat de moderne house te bieden heeft.










h 4. I Hadn't Known I Only Heard








h 4. I Hadn't Known I Only Heard








[h] 4. I Hadn't Known [I Only Heard]








[h] D2 | Herbert - I Hadn't Known [I Only Heard] (7 15)

London-via-Accra artist BLACK FONDU shares his seven-track debut EP ‘BLACKFONDUISM’, following the underground momentum of singles ‘im not sleeping’ and the Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music-premiered ‘holla back girl’. Available on vinyl, and with a self-directed video for ‘#music’, the project marks the first full expression of a voice emerging as one of the UK’s most uncompromising new forces.

‘BLACKFONDUISM’ captures that evolution in its rawest form. The EP came together quickly through instinct and freestyling, recorded between his room in London and a short period in Paris. Each track reflects a world he understood only after living through it. ‘IN D4 CLUB’ channels the exhilaration of acceleration, ‘BOYS’ explores the foundation provided by maternal love, ‘im not sleeping’ confronts denial after more than twenty revisions, ‘C00N V2’ marks a moment of creative rebirth, and ‘BLACK1E’ navigates the tension between self-perception and the world’s gaze. Closing track ‘#music’ distills the entire project into one statement.

Working alone has brought challenges, but he has learned to trust the emotional volatility that fuels the work. “I care so much and would die for this, but I cannot let it kill me. I have to trust myself the same way I trust myself when I make music.”

At 21, BLACK FONDU has carved out a sound that collides hyperpop, noise, rap, punk energy and abstract grime into something instinctive and volatile. Influenced by everything from Rachmaninoff to MF DOOM to Xiu Xiu, he writes, produces and performs every element, including the fractured visuals that accompany his tracks. Praise from BBC 6 Music, Pitchfork, NME, The Quietus, Pigeons & Planes, METAL and Line of Best Fit has positioned him as one of the most intriguing new voices in the UK underground, with explosive live shows across London, the UK and Europe.

With BLACKFONDUISM, he introduces a universe that refuses to sit still. “I wanted this EP to act as an introduction to my worlds. It felt important to put this out so I can do anything after.” He hopes listeners feel alive when they hear it, and jokes that he wants the record to “evolve music, even just a little.”

BLACK FONDU’s sound remains a paradox, abrasive and fragile, chaotic and meticulous, always guided by instinct. Or, as he puts it, “A bit fucked. But alive.”

Formerly one third of the much-loved trio Black Box Recorder, alongside The Auteurs’ Luke Haines and Jesus and Mary Chain guitarist John Moore, the British singer-songwriter Sarah Nixey has steadily gained acclaim as a solo artist who makes savvy, sophisticated and poised pop.

Delivering vocals with a detached elegance over opulent tracks, any perceived nonchalance in Nixey’s luxe, cut glass voice belies her empathy, where social commentary serves as protest, both explicit and implied. Like Billy Bragg deepfaked as prime Julie Andrews, this strange but effective juxtaposition radiates soft power. ‘Lies of the Land’ depicts a corrupt post-Brexit and Covid-19 world where inequality and division flourish. ‘England's On Fire’ delves into the nuanced concepts of patriotism and nationalism, and ‘Pleasure Bay’ narrates the story of a love affair with a deprived yet beautiful English seaside town, written after Nixey left London, drawn back to the Dorset coast.
More than just a political record though, Nixey was drawn to the poetic elements of living too, telling stories of life and death, love and loss, conflicts and symmetry, in an intimate and close-up way, as if whispering secrets to her listeners.

“Sea Fever explores the bittersweet beauty of human life amid a volatile world of changing seasons and brutal elements,” says Nixey. “These are songs of deep sorrow, remembrance, birth, and change, set against a backdrop of the sensuous natural world.”
‘Rolling Waves’ explores profound grief following her beloved grandmother's death, while ‘Spring Equinox’ celebrates the joy and awe of life after welcoming her first grandchild. ‘At the Edge of the Forest’ is a poignant story of someone losing their memory, and ‘On This Wide Night’ recounts the early hours return home of a teenage runaway.

Predatory Void returns with their third record, an EP titled `Atoned in Metamorphosis`, a concentrated statement of intent that compresses the band's restless energy into four precise movements. The music negotiates extremes: patient, reverb-saturated passages give way to sudden, metallic eruptions; subterranean basslines provide narrative weight beneath volatile guitar textures, vocals growl, wail and lament as drums alternate between measured architecture and volcanic release. The result is an austere, immersive sound that is both incandescent and violently sharp. Conceptually the EP takes on the ugly shadow of the unconscious and cathartically wrestles the demon onto canvas. Calling on elements from sludge, doom and black metal, as well as the unrelenting energies of hardcore and contrasting slower, haunted atmospheres, Predatory Void's signature sound is as volatile and piercing as ever. Concise, tight compositions that hook you in melody and then rage in filthy agony. The music can be confrontational, but it is never gratuitous_force is deployed to clarify rather than to overwhelm as emotional depth is at all times the compass. The production aesthetic prioritises fidelity to performance: takes are preserved for their immediacy, dynamics remain uncompromised, and the mix privileges contrast so that quiet moments carry as much dramaturgical weight as full-band climaxes. `Atoned in Metamorphosis` consolidates Predatory Void's forward motion and stakes a claim for a sound that prizes architectural heft and textural nuance in equal measure. Listeners should expect an immediate physical response in what is undeniably an ardent expression, and enjoy the reward of cumulative detail, for the EP dares you to listen closely: to feel transitions as processes, and to accept tension as a pathway to release. Predatory Void invites engagement, not escape, and demands to be met on its own terms, boldly. RIYL Hexis * CELESTE * Wallowing * LLNN * Downfall of Gaia * Witching

Predatory Void returns with their third record, an EP titled `Atoned in Metamorphosis`, a concentrated statement of intent that compresses the band's restless energy into four precise movements. The music negotiates extremes: patient, reverb-saturated passages give way to sudden, metallic eruptions; subterranean basslines provide narrative weight beneath volatile guitar textures, vocals growl, wail and lament as drums alternate between measured architecture and volcanic release. The result is an austere, immersive sound that is both incandescent and violently sharp. Conceptually the EP takes on the ugly shadow of the unconscious and cathartically wrestles the demon onto canvas. Calling on elements from sludge, doom and black metal, as well as the unrelenting energies of hardcore and contrasting slower, haunted atmospheres, Predatory Void's signature sound is as volatile and piercing as ever. Concise, tight compositions that hook you in melody and then rage in filthy agony. The music can be confrontational, but it is never gratuitous_force is deployed to clarify rather than to overwhelm as emotional depth is at all times the compass. The production aesthetic prioritises fidelity to performance: takes are preserved for their immediacy, dynamics remain uncompromised, and the mix privileges contrast so that quiet moments carry as much dramaturgical weight as full-band climaxes. `Atoned in Metamorphosis` consolidates Predatory Void's forward motion and stakes a claim for a sound that prizes architectural heft and textural nuance in equal measure. Listeners should expect an immediate physical response in what is undeniably an ardent expression, and enjoy the reward of cumulative detail, for the EP dares you to listen closely: to feel transitions as processes, and to accept tension as a pathway to release. Predatory Void invites engagement, not escape, and demands to be met on its own terms, boldly. RIYL Hexis * CELESTE * Wallowing * LLNN * Downfall of Gaia * Witching

Here’s an expanded edition of one of Nurse With Wound’s most intense, unique opuses, so unique that for long-time fans it was a strange, chaotic loundge bizzarie when it first came out. For the first time, all four audio sides are complete (originally, there were only three sides). And to crown it all, a magnificent new cover by the great and talented Babs Santini, who is none other than Steven Stapleton behind his pseudonym of plastic artist, still in the luxurious tradition of the “silver collection” at Rotorelief Records.

Nurse with Wound’s album Huffin’ Rag Blues is unique in NWW’s discography. Stapleton teams up with composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles, his co-creator of musical terrorism, to tackle the exotica and lounge genres, crushed into a cacophonous mess. Long-time NWW friends Colin Potter and Matt Waldron are also on board. Blues, jazz, crime films, bachelor pads and soap opera music are processed and discarded, then chopped up and recycled in a mix that contains a ton of space, but also overflows with dynamic tension, hilarious asides, sexually suggestive poetry and a certain rock & roll abandon.

This is a very surprising opus for long-time fans, is like a soundtrack that could illustrate a David Lynch film It’s brilliant, maddening, hilarious and sinister enough to earn a place in any collection with a little quirkiness and eccentricity. Huffin’ Rag Blues incorporates more familiar musical elements – including instruments (played live, even), rhythm and vocals – than almost any other Nurse With Wound album to date. The album’s main concern is, as always, to create environments for lucid dreaming rather than to create music as such.

Brooklyn based baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson presents his new work "Imagine Giving Up" on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 17th January of 2020 sees Parzen-Johnson move into new domains of sound as he uncovers newfound energy and pulse in his music.

In addition to the sonically rich analog synth elements that accompany his earlier solo saxophone work, Jonah has layered heavily sound designed samples of his own saxophone to create truly one of a kind percussive snaps, reverberant basses, and warbling leads. At it's core, the music remains deeply devoted to almost vocal sounding melodic lines and patiently developed compositional ideas.

A compact set of 6 originals, "Imagine Giving Up" is Jonah Parzen-Johnson's most ambitious album yet. While taking a step away from the previous world of "ambient jazz", his new music stems from the use of drone-like sounds for baritone saxophone, a style which is uniquely his own. Electronics are blended in for good measure, creating a coherent vision of abstract jazz with depth. As with all of Parzen-Johnson's releases, the music comes with a deeper narrative which he will continually explore in live performance.

The manifesto for the album reads as follows: "Only a few people can really start over. Everyone else is left to struggle down the path they were assigned. The option to give up, to choose your own path, is power, and, hopefully, a call to action: take a risk to help someone." "Imagine Giving Up" by Jonah Parzen-Johnson, will be available via 'We Jazz Records' on violet and black vinyl versions, CD and digitally.

Fictional Reality is the new EP from Elektrotechnik, joining us for our first release in 2026. The EP contains five original tracks and one remix by LDI Records label head Lloyd Stellar. Track “Delta” sets the right mood straight away with its nice warm and atmospheric pads, while “Options” already brings in the energy for the dancefloor. The A Side closes with the track “Electro”, a real old school style Electro hymn. For his remix of “Electro” on B1, Lloyd Stellar focusses on a few elements of the original track and creates a totally new groove. The tracks “A.I.” and “Primate Dance” are both energetic, eclectic and round up the EP in a perfect way.

Liverpool-born, Glasgow-based electronic artist KAVARI announces PLAGUE MUSIC, her debut EP for XL Recordings. Having earned early and enduring support from Aphex Twin, Ethel Cain, Ninajirachi, Flume, and Yeule, the EP marks KAVARI’s most focused and uncompromising body of work to date; a release that sharpens her sonic signature, deepens her world building, and signals her arrival on XL with clarity and intent.

Building on the foundations of her 2022 EP Suture, PLAGUE MUSIC pushes further into darker, more uncompromising territory. Drawing from drum & bass, dubstep, and noise, the EP imagines a world in decay, reflecting a sense of global instability and emotional unease. KAVARI deliberately sidesteps EDM conventions, emphasising the genre’s intensity and impact while stripping away any sense of escapist lightness. Across the four tracks, sound design becomes a narrative tool: traces of human presence - breath, movement, and spatial textures - collide with abrasive electronic elements that blur the line between rhythm and experimental.

With PLAGUE MUSIC, KAVARI announces herself as a bold, visionary force in electronic music, pushing the boundaries of genre while creating work that is as emotionally gripping as it is physically powerful

Rotterdam Electronix continues their journey in the realm of Electro teaming up with profound producer and city inhabitant Versalife. The Crack City EP contains four versatile Electro tracks with each a distinct mood that covers the different elements of the harbour city in presents times. hard, rough to playful and joyful. inspired by the likes of E.R.P. and Ectomorph, and for lovers of Der Zyklus and DJ Stingray.

Dark Chisme is a Seattle-based dark wave band started by Chicago-raised Latina DJ and Producer Christine Gutierrez (Vocals, Synths) and E (Bass, Synths). Dark Chisme brings dark wave influences to their music, with latin, house, and techno elements.

Loaded with tension and anchored by bold textural and stylistic contrasts, Sam Slater’s third solo full-length finds the British sound artist, composer, and engineer grappling with his creative contradictions head-on.

Having spent a life time in bands and producing records, Sam transitioned somewhat by accident through his work with Johan Johansson into working as a composer on high profile projects such as his collaboration with Hildur Guðnadóttir on the Grammy Award-winning Joker and Chernobyl, and with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov on the soundtrack to the lauded 2000 Meters to Andriivka. Having a vast set of interests and influences is an asset when helping realise a directors vision for a soundtrack, but one's own musical voice can end up being constrained. In Lunng, Slater has gone back to his wildly divergent range of influences and rather than shy away from the extremes, he's used them to create a singular vision.

Take the opening track “Heatsick”: Slater imagines an extravagant fusion of 2000s drone metal and vintage British brass, welding ear-splitting overdriven drones and blown-out choral vocals to stirring trombone swells from veteran player Hilary Jeffery. On paper, it’s hard to imagine—but Slater’s intentionality conducts these polarizing elements into a surreal blur of sonic extremes, with the guitars’ relative harshness softened by Jeffery’s eerily nostalgic colliery echoes.

His last solo album, I do not wish to be known as a Vandal (Bedroom Community, 2022), showcased this breadth by assembling a team of collaborators including Sam Dunscombe and Yair Elazar Glotman. On this record he’s linking up with acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Maria W. Horn, idiosyncratic sax virtuoso Bendik Giske, versatile percussionist Adam Betts, and the aforementioned Jeffery, Slater ushers these players toward a lattice of calculated confutations.

Working to explore the tension between the divergent practices of his collaborators—Lunng was meant to be challenging. On “Praya”, Giske’s familiar overblown horn phrases are almost vaporized, vanishing among Slater’s weightless synths and Horn’s chillingly hoarse vocals. There are traces of Horn’s Funeral Folk project, but Slater shifts the emphasis, letting her voice brush past the other elements like a hallucination.

Slater’s use of extremes isn’t just in the micro; dynamics drive the album’s overall flow. “Praya” sets the stage for the record’s heaviest, most prickly moment: “Passengers”. Here, Horn’s voice cracks, rasps, and gurgles over serrated synths and Betts’ ritualistic drums. Slater turns an industrial symphony into a folk opera—dark, dramatic, and strangely beautiful—etched with Giske’s fluttering phrases.

But the mood soon shifts. Slater careens toward chaos, unleashing double-time rhythms and piercing textures familiar to anyone with a soft spot for classic black metal. These grotesque incongruities are deliberate; Slater surveys years of musical conflict and leans in, using dissent as fuel to build kinetic energy.

The weight of sentimentality bears down on “Black Metal Rewind (Night Drive Astra, 2006)”, melting teenage memories into hypnagogic ambience—shoegaze dreams whirled with angelic choral delusions. On “Death by Nostalgia, 1688”, he ventures further into polarizing territory, distorting AutoTuned voices with cryptic strings and medieval tonalities, unsettling any stable sense of past or present.

In this record Slater focuses on pure energy, color, and mood. Lunng distills years of listening into a bracing brew—boiling each sound down to its essence, then serving it with unflinching intent.

John Twells, 2025

Gatzara Records presents its second vinyl single.

This record is a tribute to Jackie Mittoo, a key figure in the development of reggae, ska, and rocksteady. Known for his work at Studio One and his role as keyboardist for The Skatalites, Mittoo left a profound mark on Jamaican music with his melodic style and rhythmic approach to the keyboards.

The track is built on a classic reggae foundation produced by Sergio Caño, with a restrained rhythm and simple structure. The focus is on the organ, played by Joan Sobrevals, who carries the main line with a sober, respectful sound clearly influenced by Mittoo's school. Without seeking to imitate, the performance takes characteristic elements of his style — melodic phrasing, spaced chords, marked beats — to shape a coherent piece that remains faithful to the style.

The production maintains a minimalist aesthetic, without overloading, leaving space for each instrument to breathe and fulfil its function. The result is a serene, mid-tempo piece that invites you to listen carefully, without virtuosity, but with a clear intention: to pay tribute to a great musician who defined a sound, an era, a style.

Thank you, Jackie!

Big Sigh brings together the best of Marika's previous works as an indie musician and adds a new layer of epic sounds and full-bodied production. Big Sigh is the "hardest record" Marika has ever made. As the title suggests, it is a relief of sorts - of sadness, of stress and lust, but mostly relief. Co-produced with Sam Petts Davies (Frank Ocean, Radiohead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers) & Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Wolf Alice, London Grammar). Lyrically there's always romance a longside grief, with elements of vulnerability and feeling trapped. "This album took a long time I got to the end of it I was quiet. I wanted to be away from it and let it sit in its own space. Now the dust has settled and I've got to re-enter the world of big sigh, and I'm excited." Stepping into a new world, moving forward, chipping away. Breath in, breath out. Big sigh."

A Vega Records special edition 7” by Elements Of Life with sneak peaks of two new Elements Of Life tracks from the forthcoming 2026 album “Dreamer”.

Side A is a brilliant cover of the famed Brazilian band Black Banda Rio’s “Maria Fumaca”.

Side B an energetic Latin jazz infused cover of John Coltrane’s ultra class “Giant Steps” done up Rumba style tributing the great Tito Puente with special guest, the maestro Christian McBride on upright bass. Elements Of Life are on Fiyaaah and it’s just the beginning!

2026 Repress

Dam Swindle's new 'Backyard Galaxy' EP is an ode to house music and the classic Swindle sound.

It's only been a few months since Dam Swindle released their highly acclaimed album "Open" and already the boys are back on Heist with a new release that takes you right back to the dancefloor. Where they've spent the better part of the last 3 years writing their album with all its sonic explorations and collabs, this new EP sees the duo return to their roots of club-ready house music. The 'Backyard Galaxy' EP comes with 4 high-energy house tracks made in their Amsterdam studio that have been road-tested all summer.

EP opener "Feel it much?" has all the ingredients of a classic Swindle heater, with warm pads, rich organic percussion and tons of soul. There's a simple and effective vocal running throughout the track that blends nicely with the classic house elements and electronic textures that are layered throughout the track. There's an effortless flow to this track and it comes as no surprise that it has been a highlight in their sets this summer.

The EP title track 'Backyard Galaxy' is an up-tempo Latin-themed jam with a hint of old school techno. The synth stabs hit you just right and the modulated vocal chops are a lovely boost for the build ups and add a touch of swing to a track that already has a tight groove. Add to that a huge breakdown and drum roll and you've got yourself a track that'll light up any dancefloor.

On the flip, we're moving into garage territory with the shuffling vibes of 'Rhythm Baby'. The current popularity of the genre is not missed on Dam Swindle, but when you look closely, you'll see this track is full of elements that the duo have built their legacy on. The vocal chops, transposed key samples and swing are all on point and work just as well below, as above 130 bpm if speed is your thing.

The EP closes with the NY-style house cut 'What you give', which reminds us of Dam Swindle's remix of Cinthie's Heist hit 'Won't U take me' with its lush organs and moody keys. It's perhaps the most classic house track they've made in a long time and you can hear they had a great time recording this. It's playful, vibey and catchy. Just the way we like it.

Dam Swindle might have delivered one of the standout cross-over albums of 2025, but on this EP the message is clear: Once a househead, always a househead.

As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!

Much love,
Heist HQ

In der Evolutionsbiologie beschreibt der Begriff ,Spandrel" die Merkmale eines Organismus, die nicht fürs Überleben wichtig sind und keinen offensichtlichen Zweck haben. Das Wort kommt aus der Architektur und bezeichnet die dreieckigen Räume in den Ecken eines Bogens: kleine ästhetische Elemente, die für Symmetrie sorgen und Grenzen markieren. Die Musikerin und Sängerin Evita Manji stellt auf ihrem Debütalbum eine undurchsichtige Frage und fragt sich angesichts eines großen Verlusts, welche Teile von uns zum Durchhalten beitragen und welche vielleicht nur Deko sind. Ihre Tracks, die aus den Dämpfen zeitgenössischer Clubmusik, Barock-Pop und experimentellem Sounddesign zusammengesetzt sind, sind für Manji eine Möglichkeit, ihre Beziehung zur Welt im Allgemeinen und zu sich selbst im Besonderen zu untersuchen, Kontrollsysteme zu zerlegen und die Vernetzung hervorzuheben. Manji ist seit einigen Jahren eine ätherische Präsenz in der Szene und arbeitet als Soundkünstler und Kreativdirektor mit zahlreichen Künstlern zusammen. Letztes Jahr starteten sie ihre eigene Plattform myxoxym, wo sie zwei Singles aus ,Spandrel?" veröffentlichten und eine ambitionierte Fundraiser-Compilation mit Rainy Miller, Palmistry, Cecile Believe und anderen zusammenstellten, um Geld für den griechischen Tierschutzfonds ANIMA zu sammeln. Manji trat weltweit auf Festivals wie Unsound, Lunchmeat und Rhizom auf, spielte in Clubs in Berlin und London und wurde ausgewählt, die Plattform Shape+ im Jahr 2022 zu vertreten. Diese Erfahrungen fließen in ,Spandrel?" ein und helfen ihnen, ein komplexes künstlerisches Gewebe zu weben, das weit unter die Oberfläche des Daseins blickt und versucht, das Unheil des globalen Klimawandels mit Themen wie Selbstverwirklichung, Liebe und körperlicher Autonomie in Einklang zu bringen. Das Album beginnt mit dem Titeltrack, einer einleitenden Zusammenfassung, die die Zuhörer auf das vorbereitet, was sie gleich hören werden. Manjis Gesang schwingt mit einem eingestöpselten Gefühl kybernetischer Melancholie und filtert die Flut von Rhythmen und harmonischen Themen der Welt zu geschmeidigem, clubtauglichem Pop, der von ihrer fortschrittlichen Klangwelt getragen wird. Von dort aus werden wir in die Traurigkeit des atmosphärischen Klagelieds ,Pitch Black" hineingezogen, einer Meditation über den Tod, die tiefe Bässe unter Schichten von choraler Glückseligkeit versinken lässt und an die Kirche und die Tanzfläche erinnert, ohne die Kraft der beiden gegensätzlichen Elemente zu opfern. Ihre Dunkelheit wird in ,Oil Too Much" von innen nach außen gedrängt, einem Kommentar zur Ölindustrie aus der Perspektive des Tierreichs, der gleichzeitig als neonfarbener Ausdruck der zeitgenössischen Depression dient. Aber in ,Body/Prison" klingt Manji am offensten, spricht ehrlich über die dunkelsten Momente ihres Lebens und gesteht ihre tiefsten Gefühle über sengende, von Trance inspirierte Synthesizer und groteske Percussion. ,Spandrel?" ist ein Album, das Zeit braucht, um sich zu entfalten, und Manjis Themen hallen durch eine Geschichte wider, die älter ist als die Popmusik. Es ist tragisch, romantisch und poetisch und weigert sich entschieden, sich von den drängendsten Themen unserer Zeit abzuwenden.

Focusing on their craft, staying out of the fray and
holding fast their faith to find new ways to express the
discord and delight of being alive, to turn the duality of
existence into hymns we can share, Low present ‘HEY
WHAT’.
These ten pieces - each built around their own
instantaneous, undeniable hook - are turbocharged by
the vivid textures that surround them. The ineffable,
familiar harmonies of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker
break through the chaos like a life raft.
Layers of distorted sound accrete with each new verse
- building, breaking, colossal then restrained, a solemn
vow only whispered. There will be time to unravel and
attribute meaning to the music and art of these times
but the creative moment looks forward, with teeth.
‘HEY WHAT’ is Low's thirteenth full-length release in
twenty-seven years, and their third with producer BJ
Burton.
Low’s 2018 album ‘Double Negative’ was a critical and
commercial success (including 8.7 / Best New Music
at Pitchfork), introducing new noise / experimentalbased textures and pop elements to their sound and
revitalizing their fanbase.
Founded in 1993, Low are influential pioneers of
minimalist, artful indie-rock.
Low’s track ‘Congregation’ was recently featured in an
episode of FX’s Devs.

Noctourniquet And then everything went black, at least for a while, at least for The Mars Volta. In the months and years following their fifth full-length, Octahedron, Omar kept on at his usual fearsome creative pace. In fact, he ramped up his output considerably, starting up his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions label and releasing a slew of solo albums. It was a practice he’d begun shortly after De-Loused’s release, with his solo debut A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One, but as the decade reached its close, Omar grew to rely upon his solo recordings as an outlet for his prolific creativity, these albums often exploring musical pastures far beyond even The Mars Volta’s wide-ranging parameters. Before choosing to release music under his own name, Omar would always play it to Cedric first, to see if the frontman thought it had potential to become Mars Volta music. Shortly after Octahedron’s completion, Cedric flagged one batch of tracks Omar had cut with Deantoni Parks, a brilliant drummer and composer who’d briefly occupied the Mars Volta drumstool in-between Jon Theodore and Thomas Pridgen’s tenures, and whose volcanic creativity and unique, unpredictable approach to rhythm and composition had quickly made him one of Omar’s favourite artistic foils.

As with the music that made up Octahedron, the new tracks Cedric had optioned for The Mars Volta often veered far from the riotous, Grand Guignol visions of their earlier releases. It possessed the punchy, song-based focus of Octahedron, though this was a considerably darker, more menacing strain of pop, with synthesisers figuring heavily in the productions. Cedric took the tracks in 2009 and set about writing songs to the music. But no more new Mars Volta music would be heard until 2012. The years that passed in-between were nonetheless momentous, and busy, witnessing an unexpected reunion of the members of At The Drive-In, and Cedric joining his own side-project, Anywhere. But there wasn’t any sign of life within the Mars Volta until Omar, Cedric and their bandmates took to the road for a series of live shows in the spring of 2011, billed as The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, debuting the songs that would become Noctourniquet. The album followed the next year, and it remains one of The Mars Volta’s finest, its electronic textures staking out unfamiliar but fertile new ground.

An unsettling, subtly turbulent listen, Noctourniquet found Cedric sketching out a story about “some sort of device that stops the darkness from bleeding”, drawing influence variously from the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy, the Greek myth of Hyacinthus and the song Birth, School, Work, Death by British underground rockers The Godfathers. It was an album of dystopian futurism, signalled by the paranoid cyber-rock of opener The Whip Hand and its unnerving chorus, “That’s when I disconnect from you”. But it was also an album of inspired, unexpected moves and uncanny invention, like how Dyslexicon seemed to eerily evoke Blondie’s Rapture, before rushing headlong into its bruising chorus, tempos shifting restlessly throughout like quaking earth beneath the listener’s feet, or how Aegis put a brave new spin on The Mars Volta’s trademark rewiring of salsa’s overdriven passions, or how Cedric had never sounded as scary as he did on The Malkin Jewel’s mutant burlesque shuffle. Tracks like Molochwalker were sleek and concise in a way The Mars Volta had never really attempted before – which was all part of Omar’s plan.

“It had all been guitar, guitar, guitar, overdubs, everything fighting for space in the same frequency,” he explains. “So for Noctourniquet, it was all about subtracting elements, of sticking to how I made demos.” Deantoni’s presence helped revivify the group, playing against cliché and expectation, and taking each song in unexpected directions. “I’d beatbox a rhythm for him to play, to go with my guitar part, and he’d come back with three or four alternate options. It was so great.” Similarly, Cedric had never sung better than on Noctourniquet, staking out a fearsome spectrum from the chilling Tom Waitsian growl of The Malkin Jewel to the keening, beautiful vocalisation on Vedamalady, rising to match some of Omar’s most deft, most immediately effective and melodic songs yet. Indeed, Noctourniquet is the sound of a band discovering new ways to do familiar things, renewing their commitment to their mission, finding fresh inspiration a decade in, and shaking off any complacency that might have come with ten years of acclaim and success.

Rote splatter Vinyl. Nach über 16 Monaten ohne frische Musik sind KAFFKIEZ zurück und kündigen direkt ein neues Album für den 30.01.2026 an. Noch vor 5 Jahren waren die Shows dieser Band nur von Freunden & Verwandten besucht. Mittlerweile finden die Familientreffen der Rosenheimer Bande in großen Hallen statt und die ansteckende Leichtigkeit der Band verbindet weit über ihre Musik hinaus. Wie die Nachbarsjungs, mit denen man immer noch gerne eine Runde um den Block dreht, stehen KAFFKIEZ für eine durchdringende Befreiung von Alltagslasten und ein Augenzwinkern, das die Sorgen auf morgen vertagt. Die Jungs der Band machen klar, um was es ihnen geht. WIR. Ein Album das Zusammenhalt und Gemeinschaft durch und über die Musik hinaus manifestiert. Eine Einladung an alle Fans von lebenshungrigen Gefühlen, langen Sommerabenden und treibender Leichtigkeit. Wer schon länger Teil der KAFFKIEZ Family ist, wird sich über die gut bekannten und unaufhaltsam nach vorne marschierenden Rhythmen & die schrammelnden Gitarren direkt abgeholt fühlen. Doch der Sound des kommenden & dritten Studioalbums der Band hat an Druck und Kraft gewonnen. Elemente wie Bläser und Synths strecken die Hände in neue Richtungen aus ohne zu vergessen, wo sie herkommen. Ein Familienausflug der Extraklasse.

Lily Allen returns with West End Girl, her long-awaited fifth studio album. Written and recorded over an intense 10-day period, blending raw honesty with infectious pop craftsmanship, documenting elements of her time in New York with piercing clarity and insight.