Suche:essence inc

Green Sleeve 2026 Repress

The earliest musical memories of young Prince Istari are of his mother beautifying the home with her piano playing. She would repeatedly play the tranquil pieces of Erik Satie. Skipping school and sitting in the sun, young Prince would listen to these catchy, calm compositions.

In the first week of 2024, the older Prince Istari rediscovered himself and found a box containing his mother's old sheet music. He transferred them to his computer and began spinning dub versions from them. It became a tapestry. As his mother used to say: "To weave a net, one must first spin." The form of the pieces dictated the direction each would take. The heavy dub transforms here into a light weightiness until it dissolves into a pure piano piece accompanied by a synthesizer. However, the last piece is much older, from the time when Prince was still known as Istari Lasterfahrer. The ending includes a distorted recording of Huberta, Prince's mother, playing a Gnossienne by Satie. At the end, she turns the sheet music, and the record can be turned back to the beginning.

In the essence of its material, this record rejects the Loudness War. The originality of the compositions guided the dub within their tracks, thereby imparting to each a form descriptive of its essence.

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

The compositions of Colleen, aka multi-instrumentalist CeIücile Schott, are as richly varied as they are precise. Each of Colleen"s albums are shaped by her predetermined distinct instrumentation and parameters, including works composed entirely of music boxes, pocket synthesizers, and antiquated stringed instruments. The connective essence of Schott"s music is in her ability to create pieces within this transcendent specificity that are both expansive and imbued with profound emotions. Libres antes del final is an album that reaches for the hope and desire to be truly freed from unnecessary suffering and harmful thoughts before reaching the end of one"s life cycle. Schott composed and performed Libres on the Moog Matriarch, centering the record on a pulse-driven, bubbling energy with constant momentum. She then reamped the music in one of her favorite spaces in Barcelona, Casa Montjuic, accentuating the album"s sense of movement. The reamping process adds a literal physicality to the album, as carefully chosen and placed microphones (including the famous Neumann KU100 binaural head) capture both the venue"s PA sound itself and the venue"s acoustics. Colleen"s music translates snapshots of Schott"s life into singular pieces, often instrumentally transmuting a dense web of sensations into wondrous sonic terrain. Schott"s deft manipulation of the Moog Matriarch makes each subtle adjustment feel monumental.

The compositions of Colleen, aka multi-instrumentalist CeIücile Schott, are as richly varied as they are precise. Each of Colleen"s albums are shaped by her predetermined distinct instrumentation and parameters, including works composed entirely of music boxes, pocket synthesizers, and antiquated stringed instruments. The connective essence of Schott"s music is in her ability to create pieces within this transcendent specificity that are both expansive and imbued with profound emotions. Libres antes del final is an album that reaches for the hope and desire to be truly freed from unnecessary suffering and harmful thoughts before reaching the end of one"s life cycle. Schott composed and performed Libres on the Moog Matriarch, centering the record on a pulse-driven, bubbling energy with constant momentum. She then reamped the music in one of her favorite spaces in Barcelona, Casa Montjuic, accentuating the album"s sense of movement. The reamping process adds a literal physicality to the album, as carefully chosen and placed microphones (including the famous Neumann KU100 binaural head) capture both the venue"s PA sound itself and the venue"s acoustics. Colleen"s music translates snapshots of Schott"s life into singular pieces, often instrumentally transmuting a dense web of sensations into wondrous sonic terrain. Schott"s deft manipulation of the Moog Matriarch makes each subtle adjustment feel monumental.

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

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

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

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

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

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

DJ Support: Laurent Garnier, Dennis Cruz, Girls Of The Internet, Horse Meat Disco, Stacey Pullen, Elliot Schooling, Solomun,Marco Carola, Joseph Capriati, The Martinez Brothers, Dam Swindle, Soul Clap, Luke Solomon, Riva Starr, Franky Rizardo, Archie Hamilton, Silvie Loto, Fouk, Austin Ato, Salomé Le Chat, Blackchild, Jean Pierre, Black Loops, Kassian, Seamus Haji, Melvo Baptiste, Rimarkable, Sophie Lloyd

In-demand Amsterdam-based duo Makèz step into new ground with the release of their album ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’, via ANOTR’s No Art label. A kaleidoscopic project that moves between deep house, cosmic jazz, R&B, broken beat, and club-ready energy, the record is both a declaration of identity and a dissolution of boundaries - proof of the duo’s rare ability to merge worlds without diluting or compromising their true essence.

Where most albums that span electronic realms lean on functionality, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ reaches for something much more expansive. The project is a true hybrid: half shaped for the intimacy of a headphone listen, half designed for the electricity of the dancefloor. together forming a seamless continuum between reflection and release. Tracks like ‘REARRANGE YOURSELF’, ‘BE REAL’, and ‘LOOKS LIKE IT (SPACE TALK)’ are stripped to the core of house music’s driving pulse, made for bigger systems and peak-time release. In contrast, ‘Dreams’, ‘Fruits of the Universe’ (with douniah), and ‘Without The Sun’ (with Oliver Night) explore lush, textured arrangements where live instrumentation and improvisation carry equal weight to rhythm and groove.

Collaboration is at the heart of the LP, with Makèz inviting a constellation of voices who each expand the project’s palette. Ben Westbeech, Liv East, and SANITY bring soulful intensity; 30/70 and dreamcastmoe connect Amsterdam to Melbourne and DC; Cor.Ece and Oliver Night weave delicate threads of emotion; Goya Gumbani and Javonntte guide the production with their vibey, groove-led performances; while Life on Planets reprises his role as a core creative partner, appearing across the album on tracks including the standout ‘BE REAL’ and the previously released ‘ILLUSIONS’ alongside rising Amsterdam talent AVA LAVÁ. Together, these contributions shape an album that feels less like a singular statement and more like a living, breathing ecosystem.

For Makèz, ‘Arriving Home Elsewhere’ is as much about philosophy as it is about music. The title encapsulates a tension central to their art: the feeling of belonging to multiple worlds without ever being confined to one. Jazz, house, soul, and experimental club sounds are not separate influences but parallel languages, and in merging them, the duo has created a record that mirrors the fluidity of contemporary identity and expression. And while it may speak in many voices, the LP tells one clear story - that of Makèz, arriving, again and again, home elsewhere.

Slippery Yard’s second ecosystem lands with “Induction”, a delicate hypnotic pack from Berlin based producer Danieli. With remarkable tribal sound aesthetics, the EP is an evolution of polimetrics and driving essence. This time Utrecht based fellow producer Vand provide us another trancy perspective of the surface of Slippery Yard biome. Biggest mention to our beloved ecosystem designer @fredonne for delivering such a high quality 3D exploration of the new discovered ecosystem, incredible match!

Straight from Honolulu, Bombye is a newly found Hawaiian soul trio led by Nick Kurosawa, one of Hawaii’s most captivating voices. Known for his rich,
velvet tone and vintage-inspired phrasing, Nick and his band channel the essence of 1970s soul, funk, and R&B into a deeply organic soundscape that feels both nostalgic and new.
The EP features four tracks that showcase the band’s musicianship and emotional depth.
Mixing by Andrew Garma and mastering by Wax Alchemy deliver exceptional clarity and analog warmth, while Shiro Ishihara (SNEA) provides the minimalist yet evocative artwork
that perfectly complements the record’s soulful aesthetics. This limited-edition vinyl includes a bonus “Bombye” sticker exclusive to CONNECT RECORDS. Each copy is pressed with
care for collectors, DJs, and analog enthusiasts seeking authentic, heartfelt soul music with timeless groove and depth.

Chicago legend K. Alexi returns to Dark Entries with K.A. Posse’s Strkes Again, an EP of preleased unreleased acid and house mayhem. K’Alexi Shelby’s illustrious career has included releases on legendary labels such as Trax, DJ International, and Transmat, as well as collaborations with high-profile artists like Marshall Jefferson and Pet Shop Boys. But his musical journey began at the young age of 12, when he befriended Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles while frequenting the Music Box and Warehouse. In high school, he began to write songs and hone his poetic craft. “I recognized I had a gift to say what I was thinking. I would study Prince and Marvin Gaye, figure out what they meant and put my spin on it. The power of the word. I was writing love notes for all my boys in high school and making a killing. I would know what to say and what they should do.”

Dark Entries previously reissued Shelby’s debut record, Essence of a Dream, which was recorded under the name Risque III in 1987. Strikes Again brings us six tracks recorded in Chicago between 1988 and 1990, which come courtesy of Mike Dunn’s personal archive. This record showcases the rawer, more immediate side of Shelby’s sound, with tracks full of overdriven 808’s, careening sirens, and dangerously funky breakbeats. “Imported Taste” brings Shelby’s signature deep pads to the front of wild congo-laced percussion. “Suckas Be Ready” is a slamming hip-house cut featuring vocals from MCD-TA, while disco-samples duel with crunchy 909s on the jacking “Muzic Box.” Strikes Back showcases the real underground sound of Chicago, where sonic abstraction meets full-body kinetics. The record comes housed in a retro-styled sleeve designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh.

Chicago legend K. Alexi returns to Dark Entries with Warehouse Trax, an EP of previously unreleased acid and house mayhem. K’Alexi Shelby’s illustrious career has included releases on legendary labels such as Trax, DJ International, and Transmat, as well as collaborations with high-profile artists like Marshall Jefferson and Pet Shop Boys. But his musical journey began at the young age of 12, when he befriended Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles while frequenting the Music Box and Warehouse. In high school, he began writing songs and honing his poetic craft. “I recognized I had a gift to say what I was thinking. I would study Prince and Marvin Gaye, figure out what they meant and put my spin on it. The power of the word. I was writing love notes for all my boys in high school and making a killing. I would know what to say and what they should do.”

Dark Entries previously reissued Shelby’s debut record, Essence of a Dream, which was recorded under the name Risque III in 1987. Warehouse Trax follows with six tracks recorded in Chicago between 1991 and 1994. The material here has all the hallmarks of classic K’Alexi. Salsa-inflected rhythms, emotive basslines, and hip-house vibes are displayed on tracks like the high-octane “Jungle Line” or the low-key tearjerker “Protect and Survive.” There are also some unexpected surprises in store. “Aaaah” comes out of the gate swinging with hard-hitting beats and apocalyptic ravey vocal pads evocative of the edgier material on Saber Records or Djax Up Beats, and the surprisingly contemporary-sounding “Klub Dred” delivers half-time dub with stuttering vocal samples. Warehouse Trax comes in a retro-styled sleeve designed by Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh. This is essential material for devotees of classic house sounds.

Denmark s forward forward-thinking trio Human Being Human return with a luminous new collaboration featuring acclaimed American saxophonist Chris Cheek. Rooted in lyricism, groove, and connection, Being captures the essence of what it means to create music as a shared act of humanity. Formed by bassist Torben Bjornskov, pianist Esben Tjalve, and drummer Frederik Bülow, Human Being Human have quickly earned a reputation as one of Europe s most distinctive piano trios. Their blend of Nordic lyricism and modern rhythmic vitality has drawn international acclaim for its compositional voice and cohesive ensemble sound. On Being , the trio expand their world through the unmistakable voice of Chris Cheek - a player known for his warm tone and intuitive lyricism, whose credits include work with Paul Motian, Brad Mehldau, and Charlie Haden. A long long-time admirer of Cheek s work and humility, Bjornskov reached out and invited him to Denmark to collaborate with the trio. In the studio, the chemistry was undeniable, as most of the album s tracks were captured in just one or two takes, preserving a sense of immediacy and spontaneity. Reflecting on what it means to be human, our capacity to make decisions and shape the world around us, as well as the damage our species has done to our planet, the quartet channels a spirit of contemplation and rediscovery through elegant, organic compositions. Tracks like Human Rights showcase the group s deft interplay and melodic clarity, while the tender ballad Being highlights Cheek s burnished tone and Tjalve s spacious harmonic sense. On Filia , a duo between bass and saxophone, the music unfolds in weightless dialogue and pure musical empathy. True to the group s name, Being reflects on what it means to live, connect, and create as humans in a complex world. The essence of music is working together, being open, being positive, and wanting to experience new things, things," says Bjornskov. That s essentially what jazz is - it s influenced by any and every culture in the world, every kind of music and race, and every person is part of it.

Alex Rex, the project of acclaimed musician and former Trembling Bells bandleader Alex Neilson, is set to release his fourth and final studio album, The National Trust, on March 28th. Written in the wake of the sudden death of his younger brother, Alastair, the album is a poignant reflection on loss, love, and renewal, deeply rooted in the landscape of Carbeth—a cabin community in the Scottish countryside that Alastair called home. For Neilson, the cabin became both a physical and emotional project, a symbol of restoration and reconnection.

"For the first four years after Alastair died, his cabin lay empty and exposed to the remorseless Scottish weather. It came to look like a rotten tooth in a beautiful mouth. Cladding was dropping off its veneer, the ashen baubles of dead wasps nests clung to the rafters, all his possessions were just as he'd left them but eaten by mice, moths and time. Ashtrays still carried the crushed centimetres of his old tab ends. The cabins are so joyfully animated by their host's specific personality and this one looked like a haunted house. Guilt, unrealised hopes and encroaching nature yoked together in a wandering sadness. Combined with the fact that I didn't know the right way round to hold a hammer made the project of its restoration seem hopeless.”

Neilson, however, gradually began chipping away at the task, determined to transform the cabin into something he hoped would resemble “a National Trust site occupied by a psychopath,” with a little help from some friends, including Lavinia Blackwall and Marco Rea.

“They poured love into the cabin and helped restore Alastair's original vision. The project also helped restore my relationship with Lavinia which had fractured after Trembling Bells broke up in 2017. Alongside long-term Rex lieutenant Rory Haye, we applied the same intensity of dedication that we did in renovating the cabin, into creating The National Trust.”

As with Neilson’s previous albums, the recording process was intentionally unpolished, with songs presented in the studio with no rehearsals and captured in just a few takes. This raw, immediate approach amplifies the emotional weight of the album, which Neilson describes as being at a “personal apex of sour self-reflection, mock misanthropy, and self-exposure.” Longtime collaborators Lavinia Blackwall, Marco Rea, and Rory Haye return, alongside guest musicians like Jill O’Sullivan (Jill Lorean) and Trembling Bells guitarist Mike Hastings, to bring Neilson’s vision to life. The result is a deeply personal and multifaceted work, blending acid wit with haunting introspection.

The songs on The National Trust traverse a wide emotional and thematic range. The title track opens the album with a sharp and confessional edge, exploring love, loathing, and cultural critique with Neilson’s signature wit. “Boss Morris” pays tribute to the all-female Morris dancing troupe that reinvents British folk with vibrant energy, while “Two Kinds of Song” turns self-referential humour into an avalanche of remorse, culminating in the unforgettable chorus: “I’ve got two kinds of song. Which one will it be; one where I hate myself or one where you hate me?” Elsewhere, tracks like “Psychic Rome” draw from the decadence and hysteria of ancient Rome, while “The Coward in the Tower” breaks new ground as the only song Neilson has composed on an instrument before recording.

Throughout the album, Neilson’s lyricism is as vivid as ever, transforming personal tragedy into poignant and often darkly humorous art. Yet, there is a sense of finality to this work. "Songwriting has encouraged me to see the whole world as a resource. The things people say and throw away can be chiselled and polished and plopped into a lyric. It’s the same with building the cabin- scouring the edges of society for pallets, discarded wood, ornaments for the garden. But while song writing brings to life orphaned parts of my personality, the cabin is a synthesis of all my interests – nurturing my emotional health instead of exploiting it. With that in mind, I think this will be my last album as Alex Rex.”

With The National Trust, Neilson closes a significant chapter of his career, blending masterful musicianship with deeply personal storytelling. Known for his collaborations with artists such as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Shirley Collins, and Current 93, as well as his decade-long tenure leading the psych-folk outfit Trembling Bells, Neilson has long been celebrated for his eclectic and uncompromising vision. This final album serves as a fitting culmination of his journey as Alex Rex, capturing the essence of his artistry while offering a profound exploration of loss, renewal, and the enduring power of love.

They disbanded in 2015, much to the chagrin of their dedicated fanbase, leaving behind a highly influential body of work, including two gold- selling albums (United Paper People and Hymns for the Nonbeliever) and a slew of hit singles such as "Opinions Won't Keep You Warm at Night," "Do-Do's and Whoa-Ohs," and "Dinosaur." In mid-2025, alongside the vinyl reissue of Hymns for the Nonbeliever-- which reentered the Australian Album and Vinyl charts at #1-- Kisschasy released their first new music in sixteen years. "Lie to Me" and follow- up single "Parasite" both offer a modern edge to the band's trademark sound: blistering guitars, hammering drums, razor-sharp lyrics and, of course, irresistible hooks. It can now be revealed that these two songs form part of a larger body of work: a long-awaited fourth album.

Titled The Terrors of Comfort, the collection of ten brand-new songs finds Kisschasy at the peak of their creative powers. Band member Daz Cordeux describes the album as "raw, alive and commanding" and "the closest you're ever going to get to the true essence of our band." The Terrors of Comfort, Kisschasy's first new album since 2009, will be released on February 13, 2026

A rising and genre-defying figure in the French electronic scene, Goldie B continues her ascent with Who Says Night’s For Sleeping?, a five-track EP that asserts her distinctive signature: an instinctive blend of club energy, cinematic storytelling and UK rave influences. Conceived as the soundtrack to a night lived in full intensity, the record moves through the fire of the dancefloor, the collective trance, and those suspended moments where one floats between dream and wakefulness.

“I imagined this EP as the soundtrack to a night experienced in its entirety. From the first rush of adrenaline on the dancefloor to that floating walk home, still carried by the music. My influences range from Moby and Air to Floating Points and Joy Orbison, artists who know how to combine power and emotion. I love connecting the raw energy of the club with more dreamlike textures, because you can absolutely dream while dancing. Each track is an instinctive snapshot of my inner world.” Goldie B The EP’s opening act, “The Space Between” blends ethereal pads, organic strings and a steady crescendo, recalling the elegance of Air or Moby. It opens a suspended space, equally suited to inner drift or physical release. “I wanted it to feel like a threshold, a gentle hand pulling you into a trance state.”

On “U Make Me Feel So Good”, a sensual and narrative breakbeat track, a flowing bassline gradually tightens into trancier energy. Seductive female vocals weave through broken rhythms, creating a piece that is as tactile as it is hypnotic. “It’s about contrast, the softness and caress at the start, then a tension that rises and electrifies.”
Instagram | Youtube | TikTok | SoundCloudAt the heart of the project, “Rêve de Rave” channels 90’s breakbeat spirit with old-school samples, an euphoric central break and voices urging to move your feet. Urgent and liberating, it embodies the dreamlike essence of the rave. “It’s how I imagine the rave: a lucid dream where joy and collective energy feel almost unreal.”

Next comes the most incisive cut of the EP, “Purple FX”, driven by a grating central bassline that evolves relentlessly until its explosive drop. Minimalist yet implacable, it captures the sheer force of a peak-time track. “I wanted a track purely designed for the club, where the tension just keeps rising until it explodes.”

Closing in chiaroscuro, “Snake Waves” shifts from breakbeat into a half-house, half-techno 4/4 groove, carried by a sinuous, hypnotic bassline. The track plays on tension and release, with a rich harmonic break before fading like a suspended farewell, where the party recedes but the energy lingers. “It’s a farewell piece that keeps the intoxication alive, like a final vertigo before slipping back into the night.”

Goldie B is a multifaceted force on the French electronic scene. A producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, MC, DJ, and co-founder of the label Omakase Recordings, her sets blend bass, jungle, UKG, and breakbeat, captivating audiences with their contagious energy. Based in Marseille, she has released music on renowned labels such as D.KO, Banoffee Pies, and YUKU, and has performed on some of the biggest French stages and festivals: Peacock Society, Astropolis, NDK, Marsatac, Delta, Le Bon Air, and even the Festival d’Avignon. In 2024, she was selected by Apple Music for its Women In Electronic series. Her new Who Says Night’s For Sleeping? EP confirms her status as an instinctive and distinctive artist to watch on the French electronic scene.

Islaja presents her new album ”Angel Tape”, her debut release on the new Helsinki-based label Other Power. Drawing inspiration from childhood epiphanies while listening to an alleged recording of angels singing, Islaja has crafted an album that stands out as a major work in her expansive and celebrated catalogue, which includes previous releases on labels such as Ecstatic Peace!, Fonal and Svart.


Islaja, aka Finnish artist Merja Kokkonen, describes her new album as a “counterwork” to her most recent albums, where the mode of composing was more song-based. This time around, she goes more in the direction of vast fields of sound where the human voice is a key ingredient of music that breaks free of strict stylistic guidelines and traditional song forms. Rough around the edges, atonal and otherworldly, "Angel Tape” is the result of a lifetime of inspiration from something beyond the immediate realm of our experience, an attempt to catch the elusive essence of musical otherness.


”As a child, I listened to the ’angel tape’ my mother played, and I never thought that the human voices I heard on it were angels singing. Instead, all the aural debris lying just beneath the surface caught my attention as I thought it was mysterious and something from a different world than ours, and so that was probably what was referred to as the ’angels’ so miraculously caught on tape”, Kokkonen explains. ”I think this was one thing that led me on this lifelong quest to find new sounds and forms in music.”



The tape she is referring to, a mid-80s church recording, was passed around in religious circles. Each time the tape was copied, it became slightly more distorted. It was believed that this recording of religious music had accidentally captured for the first time the voices of actual angels singing. The tape was rumoured to have originated in Kansas City and to have made its way to Finland.


Whereas Islaja has often thought of albums as being collections of recent songs presented together, ”Angel Tape” has a strong sense of conceptual coherence. The music comes from a place. That doesn’t mean that one must take a single path from one place to the next, as close listenings of the album reveal layers upon layers of not only sound but also of mood and meaning. From the human voice in its barest form, to the rising dense walls of sound moving and reshaping, ”Angel Tape” is a captivating album that unveils new contours with each repeated listening.

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

Super Mazembe's "Greatest Hits," serves as a definitive collection celebrating the band's remarkable contributions to East African music. Released in 1986, this compilation features a carefully curated selection of the band's most iconic tracks, encapsulating their vibrant sound and the infectious energy that made them a household name. Highlights include fan favorites like "Shauri Yako" and "Kasongo" each track showcasing the band's skillful musicianship and unique ability to blend traditional rhythms with contemporary styles. "Greatest Hits" not only pays homage to their illustrious career but also introduces new audiences to the timeless music of Super Mazembe, solidifying their legacy as significant figures in the African music scene. This LP remains a cherished collection for both long-time fans and newcomers alike, capturing the essence of a band that defined an era and continues to inspire musicians and music lovers across generations.

"Brooklyn-based pianist Eva Novoa returns with The Freedom Suite: Novoa / Carter / Mela Trio, Vol. 2 — the second radiant release from her compelling trio with saxophone icon Daniel Carter and celebrated drummer Francisco Mela. This marks Novoa’s sixth album with 577 Records. The trio first came together live in 2021, followed by a series of performances, including appearances in Cambridge (Boston) and later at the Brooklyn edition of the NY Forward Festival.
"The Freedom Suite is an homage to jazz titan Duke Ellington — particularly his masterful big band suites and legendary orchestra featuring Johnny Hodges and other luminaries who helped define an era of jazz greatness. In contrast, Novoa presents her Suite in a more intimate format: the piano trio. The album comprises twelve pieces — mostly brief — with a few extended tracks such as Free to Be Free and Cyborgs.
"For this recording, Novoa also steps in as a vocalist on several tracks, including Mainstream Media, Big Grande, Global, Free to Be Free, Dream, and Cyborgs. These pieces often feature a vocal dialogue between Novoa and Mela, whose expressive, word-infused style draws from rich Cuban traditions.
'Words are powerful,' says Novoa. 'They define who we are, where we come from, and who we hope to become. Without words, there is no conversation — and without conversation, there is no real sense of time, space, or connection.'
The Freedom Suite emerged from deep philosophical and creative conversations — spoken, written, and improvised — between Novoa, Carter, and Mela. In the studio, Novoa introduced printed texts that served as thematic foundations for spontaneous, in-the-moment musical interpretation. The result is an urgent and organic interplay, where instruments speak to one another in a language as fluid as it is fearless.
"Standout track Cyborgs begins with Novoa’s percussive piano, exemplifying the trio’s dynamic, conversational energy. Creative Destruction features Novoa on electric harpsichord in a wild, electric exchange. While Free to Be Free stands out as the album’s leading single, it also captures the essence and message of the entire Suite.
"Recorded in 2021 at New York City’s legendary Sear Sound Studio, the album captures a creative explosion of sound and spirit. Novoa dazzles on piano, Fender Rhodes, electric harpsichord, Chinese gongs — even whistle — showcasing her expansive sonic palette. Together, the trio embodies the power of free improvisation and emotional storytelling.
"Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Eva Novoa has been cultivating her distinctive voice since childhood. Now a staple of the New York creative music scene, she has performed across the globe and collaborated with some of the most adventurous voices in jazz and beyond."

Bert At the BBC is a comprehensive collection of Jansch’s appearances at the BBC, featuring over eight hours of rare and unreleased recordings, including live-on-air spots, studio sessions and full concerts straight from the BBC vaults, delving further into this legendary performer’s canon. Bert Jansch was the very essence of folk music, providing inspiration for everyone from Paul Simon and Neil Young to Led Zeppelin and countless folk revivalists. This unparalleled limited-edition compendium is available as a 4xLP and 8xCD set, housed in a coffee-table book set with a lavish 40-page book tracing the recordings from Bert’s earliest moments at the BBC. It includes interviews and insights from Lauren Laverne, Jools Holland, Johnny Marr, Jacqui McShee, Bob Harris, Bernard Butler, Mark Radcliffe and many more. Twenty broadcasters, producers and collaborators contribute at length to the booklet, with great affection for this gentle, maverick genius. Bert’s BBC legacy remains the most significant and exciting untapped reservoir of his music. The undeniable advantage of recordings made for broadcast is that they were, by their nature, created for public consumption and, barring live-on-air appearances – which might go well or go badly, but were going out either way – were explicitly signed-off by the artist as representations of his art that were good enough to be heard. The set is compiled by Colin Harper, author of Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British folk and blues revival (Bloomsbury, 2000), who contributes detailed liner notes to the package. The release is mastered by IFTA award-winning engineer Cormac O’Kane. The vinyl release features 48 tracks on LP and is accompanied by a download card with over six hours of extras spanning 1966–2009, including BBC4’s St Luke’s concert (2003), and a complete Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh concert (2004) for BBC Radio Scotland. It is also available as a special 8xCD set containing all 147 tracks and encased within a coffee-table book. Bert Jansch At The BBC is an epic and enduring trail, 45 years in the making. “He was that rarity, a musician who really did deserve to be regarded as a legend.” The Guardian // “As a guitar player there was no one like him. He was jazz and blues and folk but there was a whole world in there that was just him, esoteric”

‘Clyppan’ is an Old English verb meaning “to embrace” or “to clasp.” It also referred to an ancient ritual in which people gathered in a circle, singing together around a sacred shrine. It’s a fitting title for the latest release from Newcastle’s Smote – a visceral document of the band’s electrifying live set, captured within the walls of London’s Bear Bites Horse recording studio.
Following the release of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘A Grand Stream’, Smote embarked on an intensive tour schedule, refining their live performance along the way into something transcendental – a full-spectrum psychic voyage. Anyone who caught them at Supernormal, Supersonic, or this year’s Roadburn Festival can attest: Smote are an unforgettable sonic presence, a near religious experience.
Recognising the urgency and potency of the band’s current live form, Rocket Recordings encouraged Smote’s founder and sonic architect Dan Foggin to document their live set in the studio. It was a sound too powerful to be left undocumented – it was something that needed to be clasped for future generations.
On January 22, 2025 – the day before their thunderous performance at London’s ICA alongside labelmates Teeth Of The Sea – the four members of Smote entered Bear Bites Horse studio. With producer Wayne Adams at the controls, they laid down a live set brimming with raw, elemental power.
What emerged is ‘Clyppan’ – four drone-and-repetition driven incantations, distilled from the primal essence of Smote’s sound. These tracks channel something ancient and urgent, summoning spirits and revelations in their wake. It’s music as ritual, as invocation – pure aural sorcery.
So gather together. Form a circle. Join hands. And embrace the ecstatic, untamed energy of Smote in their most untethered and primal form.

At the end of the Sixties, the production of soundtracks for small and big classics of Italian cinema is now joined by another business which has proved to be less profitable but more creative and, in best case, free from the constraints imposed by clients on duty: the composition of music libraries. Almost all of the artists for the eighth art have finalized at least one or more music libraries. Names famous and not, old and young composers, real outsiders and meteors, usually hidden behind pseudonyms: this is the case, for example, of Braen and Peymont. The first needs no introduction, it was the one adopted by the former arranger, multi- instrumentalist, singer and composer Alessandro Alessandroni. The second is closely linked to the mysterious American composer, but resident in Italy, David Hoyt Kimball. The two are authors in different measure of an interesting album with an experimental background, “Paese Sotto Inchiesta” (1971), originally published by Flirt Records.

The titles of the tracks appear in connection with the socio-cultural climate of Italy after 1968 and can be relocated as a background for journalistic-like images. The latter is a hypothesis not supported by facts, but some titles seem to be referred to the perception of a subsisting economic backwardness of the southern regions compared to the other ones; to a situation of collective tension, thanks to the global revolutions; in addition to the new concerns with an ecological background. Overall, the seventeen tracks on the album are mostly 'dirty', characterized by an even atonal setting, with long repetitions in a noisy key, more fundamental reverbs and echoes for the different keyboard instruments. In a few words, abstract sounds, some guitar notes, echoes of Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, flute melodies and proto- ambient intuitions. Composers like Alessandro Alessandroni and David Hoyt Kimball deserve to be rediscovered.

*Following the essence of the work, for this press, MPI release a 100% recycled vinyl that reduce waste, minimize environmental impact and support the planet*

Rochelle Jordan is proudly stepping into her diva era. To those in the know, the Los Angeles-based British-Canadian singer and songwriter has long been an underground force coaxing together the mutually flirtatious scenes of daring alt-R&B and heart-pumping electronic music. With her longtime creative director/producer KLSH, she’s cultivated a singular marriage of sound — mixing soulful sensuality, house bump, DnB wildness, hip-hop swagger, and pure experimentalism — that’s spread not only through certain circles, but also to the mainstream. At the same time that her gauzy 2014 single “Lowkey” was going viral in 2023 — racking up 21 million streams on Spotify alone — she was in the studio cooking with tastemaking beatsmiths like KAYTRANADA and Sango, quietly preparing to melt dance floors and headphones alike.

Now, as the timelines merge, Jordan is approaching success with the sparkle of a brand new star and the stance of someone who’s earned everything she has. Her new musical chapter aims to carry forward the magic that fans feel in her coquettish vocals and bold soundscapes even as she reaches deeper into her pop bag. The fact that her first single of 2025, the darkly dazzling “Crave,” was produced by Chicago house legend Terry Hunter (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé) speaks volumes to this exact moment in Jordan’s ascendent trajectory.

“My goal when I first started making music was to bring back something that I felt had started to fade away for me,” says Jordan. “That certain essence or sound that would give me butterflies in my stomach when I’d listen to music — it would unleash some kind of chemical that would make me feel happy and excitable and curious, something that would make my soul shine. My number one goal is always: How do I give people that feeling when they listen to my music?”

Jordan grew up in Toronto raised by British-Jamaican parents. She remembers hearing one of her older brothers cycling through a variety of music at maximum volume in the room next to hers. “Reggae to soul to drum and bass to garage music to gospel,” Jordan recalls. “It was all intertwining for me at such a young age.” She developed her own sound quietly, and soon met KLSH through MySpace. They traded multiple songs back and forth daily until he flew her out to L.A. to record what would become her debut project, 2011’s R O J O. That collaboration hasn’t faltered since, resulting in sonically surprising, subtly infectious sets like Jordan’s breakthrough 2014 album 1021 (with “Lowkey”) and 2021’s dance-steeped revelation, Play with the Changes.

“If you’re talking about Rochelle Jordan, you’re talking about KLSH,” she says. “It’s one and the same. We come from the same inspiration source.” With him at her side to this day, Jordan is crafting new listening experiences as radiant as refracted light glimmering through a prism — an incredible space from within which to explore love in all its iterations — from romantic infatuation to self-affirmation, and strength in womanhood to pride for what she’s accomplished thus far.

More than a decade into her career, Jordan has arrived at a new stage of life and creativity — she’s a seasoned professional, a fully realized woman, and she’s excited to continue growing. “I know my story isn’t necessarily a new one,” she says. “I look at 2 Chainz, who became 2 Chainz way later on in his life. I look at Tina Turner, who became Tina Turner at 40. I want to be another story of resilience for people.” As she prepares to unveil more of her vision, and fans clamber for a long-awaited fourth album, Rochelle Jordan is casting aside self-doubt, and appreciating and underlining her status as a verifiably influential reigning diva in her one-of-one sonic space.

PAWSA & Adventures of Stevie V’s ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’ Extended Mix marks an exciting evolution of the iconic dance track.

With PAWSA’s innovative production skills and Adventures of Stevie V’s timeless vocals, this release captivates both longtime devotees of the original and a new audience discovering its energetic essence.

On the flip is the classic Sold Out 12 Inch Mix had additional production, and the mix was done by David Morales.

Whilst YTM is at home presenting dancefloor focussed material, we see him explore the other side too, with "Memory Is A Clock" like the earlier "Vortix", he ditches the 4x4 for breakbeat territory. Whilst the bass keeps the solid metronome you would expect, "Memory Is A Clock" is a track that takes a few moments, contemplative melody and trademark arpeggios take the lead. When it comes to the other collaborations on the record, the appearance of Brame And Hamo on "Raver's Heart Is A Mess" sees them lean into the Progressive nature both artists love so much. Then Pablo Bozzi lends his own unique outlook to "We Don't Know The Way, We Just Stay" in one of the standout tracks, epitomising Younger Than Me’s ability to create profound experiences.

The album concludes with "Music Will Never Stop, Heartbeat Will Never Fade, Party Will Never End", less of a title and more of a personal philosophy – the perpetual essence of rave culture and its timeless impact on music. A rhythmic belter, juxtaposed with incendiary synth-lines and staple catchy sequence work, finishing the record with one of the true highpoints. In addition the release also features four digital bonus tracks, including "The Other Face Of Loneliness" and a Prog Dance Reshape of one of the records more eclectic cuts "Zarathustra Dance" all offering an extended exploration into the creative landscape YTM inhabits.

A record label born in Madrid in 2025, with the intention of physically producing electronic music, without pretensions of musical genre or trends. We seek to reveal unpublished talents and release with artists who share our sonic aesthetic. The purpose is to showcase a pure and authentic expression in every work. DEFENESTRE RECORDINGS presents its first release: ALARMA 2ØØØ, produced by RØBØT CITY (alias Salvador Rojo). The album consists of eight tracks, materialized in a 12-inch vinyl record that has been hand-treated and screen-printed on each copy, reflecting the project’s human and sentimental essence. Composed and produced entirely in analog by Salvador Rojo in Lugo (March-June 2025), the record is a journey into the artist’s sound universe: Side A delivers 4 tracks of pure, hard-hitting electro (paranoid, industrial, powerful beat), achieving a harmonious and emotional sound; while Side B presents cuts that take us from more ambient soundscapes to organic, astral, and liberating techno. ALARMA 2ØØØ is the first declaration from DEFENESTRE RECORDINGS, a label committed to hardware sound and pure, unfiltered expression.

After a brief hiatus, Lay Down The Groove is thrilled to be back with its 10th release, an EP that captures the essence and evolving spirit of the label.

Transcend EP marks the debut production of Palazzo, an Argentinian DJ and now Melbourne-based artist. This five-track release is the result of a deeply personal creative process, reflecting his transition from DJing to music production. Inspired by a broad spectrum of influences, the EP weaves together elements of House, Balearic, Tribal, and Latin rhythms, a rich and textured showcase of Palazzo’s unique musical vision.

To round off the release, the EP includes a deep and spacious Dub version of the track “Turquoise”, reimagined by label heads Lay Down The Groove, adding their own signature touch to the project.

Following three acclaimed albums, a string of sought-after 45s, and collaborations with vocalists including Yurika and Sophia Solompon, championed by esteemed tastemakers such as Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, and Jeremy Sole, "Nadir" finds Sababa 5 at their enigmatic and irresistible. Sababa 5"s latest album, "Nadir", delves into a darker, more sophisticated, and cinematic fusion of psychedelic soul and Middle Eastern rock. The title, Nadir, is an astronomical term referring to the point on the celestial sphere directly beneath an observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. Metaphorically, it signifies the lowest point or a moment of adversity. This duality resonates with the band"s exploration of contrasting musical themes-melding the cosmic and the terrestrial, the ethereal and the grounded. The name encapsulates the album"s essence, reflecting a journey through deep, introspective soundscapes that are both otherworldly and rooted in raw, earthly grooves.

GATEFOLD VINYL 2LP - TRANSPARENT BLUE + ORANGE, A2 Colour Poster, 5x Film Set Photos, Flexi Disc, Sticker Sheet

Blurring the lines between fiction and documentary, the seminal film Wild Style, directed by Charlie Ahearn and developed alongside Fred Braithwaite aka Fab Five Freddy, offered an iconic snapshot of the emerging New York hip hop scene in the early ‘80s. Considered one of the first hip hop films, it documents the styles, culture, attitudes, and most importantly, the music of this evolving era. The accompanying soundtrack remains one of the most influential in hip hop history, featuring a who’s who of artists who stood out during the movement’s nascent block party days.

“Making hip hop’s first and most beloved feature film, Wild Style, with Charlie Ahearn and creating the original music is one of my proudest accomplishments.” - Fab 5 Freddy

In celebration of Arrow Films restoring the original Wild Style film in 4K, Mr Bongo is proud to present this special-edition reissue package. The release comes as a double LP pressed on transparent blue and orange vinyl, offering a freshly curated tracklist that brings together the finest songs from previous editions, the full sought-after instrumental album, and Kenny Dope’s top edits. Also included are an A2 colour poster, five film set photos, a flexi disc containing Fantastic Freaks Live at the Dixie, and a Wild Style sticker sheet.

Originally released on Animal Records, founded by Chris Stein of Blondie fame, the soundtrack focuses on the hip hop scene as it evolved from the streets to the recording studio. Co-produced by Stein and Braithwaite, it features the Double Trouble pairing of Rodney Cee and KK Rockwell, The Chief Rocker himself Busy Bee, and the mighty line-ups of both The Cold Crush Brothers and The Fantastic Freaks, to name but a few. The music offers a transportive glimpse into the streets of the South Bronx, capturing the free-form, roaming nature of the film - it’s rough around the edges, but utterly absorbing.

Behind those foundational voices of hip hop’s first wave was a selection of backing beats that have underpinned and influenced the genre ever since. Easily mistaken for lifted breakbeats from old records, the songs on the Wild Style soundtrack are all unique creations. Overseen by Braithwaite and Stein, with Stein also on guitar and effects, they were intended as a homage to those early breakbeats. Drummer Lenny “Ferrari” Ferraro, who played for Aretha Franklin before emerging on the punk scene, and bassist David Harper laid down many of the iconic grooves, two somewhat forgotten participants in shaping a legendary sound.

Over time, the Wild Style soundtrack, with its Charlie Chase and Grand Wizard Theodore scratches, recurring sounds and motifs, and indelible lyrics, has become a hip hop touchstone: endlessly sampled and referenced, the bedrock of so much music to follow. It perfectly encapsulated the essence of the film, the scene, and hip hop’s emergence from the Bronx to the attention of the wider world. It was, and remains, the blueprint.

In March 2025, "On the Love Beach" held a highly successful solo concert in Shanghai and Beijing with Toushi Naoki.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of their memorable debut album, "On the Love Beach," and the band's three first albums will be reissued on CD and vinyl!

All three albums are made using the original master tapes, and each has been thoroughly remastered under the supervision of Shinji Shibayama for high-quality
sound!

Shinji Shibayama, who played drums for IDIOT O'CLOCK, a stalwart band in the Kyoto underground scene in the early '80s, founded Orgu Records in 1986
and released "Eat Meat, Take a Vow" under the name "Hallelujahs," formed "On the Love Beach" in 1992. This 1995 debut album by "On the Love Beach"
deserves to be passed down to future generations.
"On the Love Beach," which took approximately three years to complete due to its 24-channel multi-track recording, truly marks the origin of "On the Beach"

It was during the production of this album that Shibayama met his partner, Masako Takeda. Starting with the classic song "Nagisa no Watashi," born from that inspiration,

this masterpiece, with its kaleidoscope-like polyhedral structure, is the result of a meticulous reconstruction of the musical essence of Shibayama's

personal history, including GS, Showa-era pop, progressive rock, contemporary music, and psychedelic influences. The album also features a superb cast of

guest appearances, including Naoki Toshi, Kenichi Takayama "IDIOT," Chie Mukai, and Fuyuri Kudo.

While the 1995 album LP was a low-sounding cut due to its 54-minute running time, this analog reissue features a 2LP cut for superior sound quality.
The D-side includes the obscure classic "Woman," which was only available on CD at the time, and the album has been reborn as a timeless, complete version
worthy of the 30th anniversary of its release! Of course, the CD released at the same time is also a high-quality version with the same remastering!

„Good things take time“; this saying fits perfect for the new and fifth studio album „High On Fire“ of the inernational Classic Hard Rock group SAINTED SINNERS, featuring vocalist Jack Meile (Tygers Of Pan Tang), founding member and guitar player Frank Pané (Bonfire), Ernesto Ghezzi (Gotthard) on Keyboards, Samy Saemann (ex-Fredom Call) on bass and Berci Hirleman on drums. With almost three years in the making, the band returns with their newest collection of songs under the bands own motto: The Essence of Rock’n’Roll. „High On Fire“ delivers a feeling of good time Rock’n’Roll vibes! Let‘s forget and escape from all the bad things in life and enjoy life to the fullest with freedom of expression and a overall positive attitude. With „High On Fire“ you should feel uplifted by music. The album features ten new tracks, including a surprise The Who cover-version, done in the SAINTED SINNERS style!

Played out a couple of times by the KM crew, and eagerly anticipated by the community, &ME's remix of UNKLE's already classic tune „Only You" is available now. The original track taken from UNKLE's 2019 album The Road: Part II / Lost Highway features regular UNKLE collaborators including West London's Miink on vocals and celebrated composer and arranger Wil Malone on strings, famed for his work on Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy and The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony. Here we once again witness &ME feeling through the source material just to do what he does best: adopting the emotive essence of a track and moulding it into a reduced and unpretentious, yet highly compelling club-weapon of anthemic magnitude. This one will be all over the place, that's a given.

A reissue of a cassette that was originally released on Uramado in 2020, this is the first time this live session appears on vinyl. The performance, featuring Kudo on piano and 3C123 on clarinet, was recorded on October 18, 2009, at the Uramado venue in Shinjuku. A beautiful and quixotic forty-minute set, that reconnects both Kudo and 3C123 with various musical histories, including those of classical composition and free improvisation.

The performance documented on Tori Kudo & 3C123 is a curious one. While they both appear to slip into improvised ruminations at times, for the most part, Kudo performs pieces by Erik Satie on the piano, over which 3C123 teases an excoriating stream of improvisation from the clarinet. His playing here is wild in its poetry: sometimes lushly nestly alongside Satie’s melodies, elsewhere loosing Ayler-esque squalls from the instrument, it’s a bravura performance that is matched, in an indirect manner, by the poise and pacing of Kudo’s generous, fluent recital.

When asked about the thinking behind the performance documented here, Kudo explains by describing the historical juxtaposition of Satie with Takehisa Kosugi’s improvised violin as “an essence of the Japanese art of collective improvisation.” The playing here, as within Japanese collective improvisation, is about sitting ‘alongside’ each other, not necessarily in direct (or even indirect) reference, but rather sharing the space; “just being there together,” Kudo says, and letting go of the need for performers to engage in interplay.

Tori Kudo & 3C123 is certainly part of that tradition, and this is where its curious poetry resides; in that ‘third space’ that sits in between, but not directly connecting, the two performers. Kudo makes an analogy with Fluxus, which is appropriate. But you can also hear their shared history here, somehow, as Kudo and 3C123 have known each other since the eighties, when they shared a house in Kunitachi City, Tokyo. Their musical paths have been multiple – Kudo, of course, best known perhaps for his Maher Shalal Hash Baz ensemble; 3C123 as a member of Vedda Music Workshop, and with other Japanese musicians like Koichiro Watanabe.

Unlike anything we have heard from her before, Okkyung Lee returns to Shelter Press with "Just Like Any Other Day: Background Music For Your Mundane Activities", a deeply intimate body of recordings at the juncture of ambient music, minimalism, and the baroque, that stands as radical intervention with what experimental music can be, and the place that organisations of sound occupy in our lives. For more than two decades, Okkyung Lee has stood at the forefront of the most radical trajectories of experimental music: a virtuosic cellist and improviser, renowned for her creative rigour and emotive depth. Particularly noteworthy for her range, dexterity, and adaptability, over the last five years Lee's output has revealed unexpected shifts and developments that move far afield from the realms of free improvisation for which she is most well known. 2020's "Yeo - Neun", a heart-wrenching, ambient chamber work - drawing inspiration from the Korean popular music of her youth - was issued by Shelter Press to great critical response, followed closely by "Teum (The Silvery Slit)" - one of a series engrossing electroacoustic works created at Groupe de Recherches Musicales in Paris - on Portraits GRM, and then "Na-Reul" in 2021, regarded by Lee as a closing statement of more than two decades living in New York, which set the precedent of her allowing her emotions to fully occupy the forefront of the music for the first time. Marking her return to Shelter press, "Just Like Any Other Day": Background Music For Your Mundane Activities", encounters Lee upturning the apple cart once again, weaving a profoundly intimate artistic statement on completely unexpected terms. Like its three aforementioned predecessors, "Just Like Any Other Day" belongs to broadening shift in Lee's approach to composing that roughly aligns with her return to her native South Korea, having lived in the United States since her late teens. Infused with a deep reengagement with her own culture and relationship to memory, it is equally a response to those critical challenges and questions provoked by significant life change. Worked on in isolation, and continuously returned to, over the course of four years, the album's nine pieces began with a simple recognition that experimental music is not always what we imagine it to be. It is a practice and a pursuit - a music for which, at its inception, the outcome is unknown - rather than an idiom defined by certain syntaxes, approaches, and qualities of structure and sound. From this departure point, Lee began to inquire after the utility of music itself: what is it for, what does it do, and what place does it (or can it) occupy in our lives? This solitary and durational journey, each composition gradually moving through different phases and evolutions over years, led Lee toward uncharted ground: a music that is not only playful, introspective, and seductive, but also intended to provoke a relationship to experimental music beyond its normative expectations. Rather active or deep listening, it pursues passive listening. Rather than a grand statement, it is discreet. Rather than virtuosity, it embraces the elegant and direct. Even more strikingly, for the first time, the music of "Just Like Any Other Day" encounters Lee leaving the cello entirely behind. Created at home on keyboard, computer, and an inexpensive cassette recorder, "Just Like Any Other Day" presents a remarkable form of ambient music - organisations of sound that become their own environment, to be occupied - intended, as the album's subheading infers, as Background Music For Your Mundane Activities. An expansion of the creative pathways opened by the Korean pop imbued compositions of Yeo - Neun, aspects of electronic process explored by "Teum (The Silvery Slit)", and the emotive foregrounding of "Na-Reul", each of the pieces presented across the two sides of "Just Like Any Other Day" implies something far greater than the limits of its own temporarily: a mood, provocations of memory and place, mirrors for the solitude within which it was made, and palpable emotion lingering just out of grasp. For Lee, each of the album's compositions could be continued or looped for an indeterminate duration: straddling a ground between the minimal and the baroque, enveloping the listener in endless cycles of appreciating, repetitive and rhythmical notes, flirting with the melodic and implying a disembodied imagism that borders on the profound. Remarkably beautiful and direct, Okkyung Lee's "Just Like Any Other Day: Background Music For Your Mundane Activities" - issued by Shelter Press on vinyl - represents a radical reconfiguration of experiential music, stripped to its bare essence in defiance of the widely presumed aesthetic signifiers. Unlike anything we've heard from her before, this immersive body of intimate recordings not only reveals new dimensions of Lee's striking range as an artist, but also of how we might regard and occupy music itself: an ambience to lived and felt like a second skin.

Cassette
Earth Sounds Now is a collective made up of community activist and musician Stefan Christoff,
drummer, composer, scholar, and bandleader Asher Gamedze, music producer Nicolás Jaar, pianist
and composer Büsra Kayikçi, and novelist, poet, and sound performer Kaie Kellough.

Over 13 months, they met online to share sounds, readings, writings, and drawings, resulting in
Convergence—a project reflecting their collaborative process. Each member submitted different
works, including paintings, poetry, field recordings, and musical experiments, taking turns responding
to each other's contributions.

Member Stefan Christoff highlights the importance of listening in these sessions:
"Sometimes we would listen all together, so there was also silence on the online call as we all listened
on headphones to the sounds from our respective places. I am underlining listening here, which the
world needs much more of."

These submissions were organized into a sound library and finally mixed into record format by Jaar,
capturing the essence of their exchanges across global soundscapes.

Curated by DJ Simas Slabačiauskas, this double LP introduces a fresh and distinctive sound: Baltic Balearic.

Born on the shores of the Baltic Sea, it’s a sun-soaked yet soulful journey—blending ambient textures, downtempo rhythms, and Balearic-inspired grooves with a heartfelt Baltic touch.

Featuring original tracks and remixes by Simas — including reworks of beloved Lithuanian
bands — the compilation also brings together international contributions from Autarkic, Saphileaum, and Auntie Flo, while introducing a wave of fresh new talent.

This collection is more than music; it’s a reflection of a lifestyle — the calmness of a summer
evening, the beauty of untouched nature, and the sense of community that comes from gathering on the beach to witness the setting sun. It’s an invitation to slow down, take your shoes off, and spend an hour with this music — ideally while watching the sunset, or simply with your eyes closed.

Q.A.S.B.'s Debut Album Finally Released on LP!

Before the release of “The Mexican” (produced by RYUHEI THE MAN), Q.A.S.B.'s self-titled debut album "Q.A.S.B" was originally released in 2009 on CD only, during the late Deep Funk movement. Now, in 2025, as the band celebrates its 20th anniversary, the album is finally available on vinyl for the first time!

Recorded in a single take with no edits using analog tape to recreate the sound of the 1970s, the raw and vivid energy of the album remains intact even after 16 years.
This album captures the essence of Q.A.S.B., featuring passionate performances by the original members, including the first vocalist amy-A (at the time). Most of the tracks were composed by Rob.T, who is now known as the sound producer for Hannah Warm. The 7-inch single “The Key” received high praise both domestically and internationally. Its explosive power on the dance floor was undeniable. I was really looking forward to the full album release from Q.A.S.B., and honestly, it blew me away. This is not imitation or homage—this is authentic, homegrown Japanese soul and funk music.

— Yusuke Ogawa (universounds / Deep Jazz Reality)

Japan’s proud funk band Q.A.S.B. finally releases their long-awaited debut album! About six months after their sensational debut single “The Key” took the world by storm, this much-anticipated album is here! With uptempo danceable tracks, heavy mid-tempo grooves, and soulful tunes that evoke the golden era, the album showcases both musical depth and confidence. Vocalist amy-A’s passionate singing and the band’s rock-solid performance come together in a stunning fusion of future funk. This is the crystallization of music sung and played from the heart!
— Ryuhei The Man (universounds)

It’s finally coming out! I’ve been waiting!

Sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful—amy’s voice breathes life into each track. Singing really is a wonderful thing.
By the way, does Q.A.S.B. stand for something? Whisper it in my ear next time.

— Naoichi “Bobsan” Kobayashi (MOUNTAIN MOCHA KILIMANJARO)

Often touted as a "masterpiece of jazz-funk live albums," The Wooden Glass's 1972 live recording proves it's more than just hype. Featuring vibraphonist Billy Wooten who previously played with Grant Green, this record was recorded at Indianapolis' The 19th Hole club and captures the essence of fusion driven by soulful 60s influences. Wooten's gentle melodies contrast with the gritty, distorted sound of Harold Cardwell's powerful drumming and Emmanuel Riggins' Hammond organ while the energetic performance from the band, including guitarist William Roach, creates a tapestry of intensity and dreamlike vibes. It's raw, electrifying, high-energy jazz.

DJ Support: Laurent Garnier, Archie Hamilton, Radio Slave, Mark Farina, Horse Meat Disco, Ilario Alicante, DJ Harvey, Harri, Ame, Inland Nights, Massimiliano Pagliara

The Netherlands Dennis Quin makes a welcome return to Kaoz Theory this September with ‘New York To Amsterdam’, featuring one collaboration with the legendary Mr. V and accompanied by remixes from Rotterdam’s underground royalty, Benny Rodrigues. Dutch house maestro Dennis Quin returns to Kerri Chandler’s Kaoz Theory imprint with a brand-new EP, reaffirming his position as one of Europe’s most consistent purveyors of groove-led, rhythm-driven house music. With a career spanning acclaimed releases on PIV, Beeyou, Dungeon Meat and on his own label Eardrums, Quin’s work seamlessly bridges deep house heritage with contemporary dancefloor energy.

Opening the EP, ‘New York Accent’ sets the tone with a classic New York house vibe—raw drums, choppy chords, and snippets of street-level vocal samples. ‘Hard Days Work’ dives deeper into house territory with shimmering piano keys, dreamy chord progressions, and crisp percussion layered with twitchy synths, sax flourishes, and soulful vocal hooks. Dennis Quin - New York to Amsterdam ft. Mr V (Incl. Benny Rodrigues Remix)

Next up, ‘My Amsterdam Legacy ft Mr. V’, Quin tells us “My Amsterdam legacy tells the story from hitting the clubs in the early ’90s as a House music loving teenager to rocking stages worldwide right now. Mr. V captures that journey in a track that’s as soulful as it is raw. It’s my past, present, and future all in one”. Rounding off the release, Benny Rodrigues reworks ‘New York Accent’, retaining its essence while injecting his signature rhythmic grit and intricate dynamism.

A unique sonic journey blending jazz, candombe, dub, hip-hop, and electronic music. Written, sequenced, and recorded by Ian Lampel (Uruguay), the album captures Montevideo's vibrant essence with innovative beats and deep roots. Embark on a sonic journey through the rich tapestry of Ian Lampel's multicultural heritage with his debut solo album, "The Parque Rodó Tapes." From the echoes of his grandparents' wartime exodus from Europe's tumultuous past to the rhythms of daily life in Parque Rodó, Lampel's artistic vision was shaped by a kaleidoscope of influences: Science fiction and fantasy books, graphic design annuals, comics, films, early computers and videogames as well as music; the haunting melodies of Russian and Polish classical composers hummed by his grandmother while cooking, the choir and hammond music of the synagogue, his early explorations in club music and dub or the syncopated drumming of candombe and carnaval echoing in the streets of Montevideo. The composer, producer and bass player, wrote, sequenced and recorded practically everything that is heard throughout the album. With meticulous attention to detail, he has crafted a sonic landscape that seamlessly blends elements of jazz and Uruguayan music with the innovative spirit of dub, hip-hop and electronica; from the infectious rhythms of candombe and the raw energy of murga, to breakbeats, moog's and samples. Drawing from a treasure trove of samples collected over two decades, "The Parque Rodó Tapes" weaves together a tapestry of sound that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking, from the haunting voice of Marosa Di Giorgio and the vibrant cacophony of a carnival field recording by Lauro Ayestaran, to the guest contributions from notable musicians including Lampel's wife, singer/songwriter Eco Lopez, multi-instrumentalist Luciana Giovinazzo on flute, and Ferna Nunez on repique drum. Each track is a testament to Lampel's eclectic vision. A debut album with a certain degree of melancholy that works as a soundtrack to the world in which the artist grew up, a world now gone, without cellphones or social networks, in which everything had to be proactively pursued "in the streets".

MOST SOUGHT AFTER & HARDEST TO FIND IN NYC TECHNO/HOUSE/GHETTO HISTORY.

We proudly welcome Frankie Bones to our label with a compilation of what is in my opinion one of the grails of the music for dancing in dark clubs and warehouse raves.

GHETTO TECHNICS is now compiled in 2 volumes for maximum dancefloor damage, remastered for the greatest impact but preserving all the essence and aesthetic, including & unreleased tunes from the time.

FOR TRUE DISC-JOCKEYS & COLLECTORS.
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