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As one of the most enigmatic figures of the 1970's Italian soundtrack and library music network Emma De Angelis and her short recording career provides thirsty fans of speedball psychedelic rock and drum heavy instrumental funk with a tight discography rivalling many of the long-standing bastions of the otherwise male-orientated business. * Strictly limited to 1000 copies.*
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Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, into a flourishing musical environment Emma was the younger sister of future award-winning composers Guido And Maurizio De Angelis, a duo, who under names like Oliver Onions and Dream Bags, would write chart-topping lyrical theme tunes for a wide range of Italian crime, Giallo and Spaghetti Western films featured alongside full scores by Ennio Morricone and the Magnetic System composers (Bixio Frizzi Tempera).
With encouragement from her brothers, Emma, who would also write music under the pseudonym of Juniper, would record a tight clutch of solo-penned material and seldom credited studio contributions to Guido And Maurizio's film commissions, such as the score for Giuliano Carnimeo's Simone e Matteo: Un gioco da ragazzi (aka Convoy Buddies). While simultaneously pursuing a career as an illustrator and set designer the De Angelis family contacts would lead Emma to the offices of Romano Di Bari, whose up-and-coming Flirt label was finding success providing custom built mood music for use in TV and film. Alongside important composers like Alessandro Alessandroni, Gerardo Iacoucci and A. R. Luciani, the young Emma Di Angelis would record a small number of tracks for a compilation called Underground Mood (credited in the small print to E De Angelis - not to be confused with Italian singer Edoardo De Angelis). It is from this rare LP that the record you are now holding is compiled. Within the Flirt family of labels Emma De Angelis would also share schedules with other important female composers such as Daniela Casa and Giulia Kema' De Mutiis - both of whom have appeared on dedicated Finders Keepers releases.
The tracks on this record provide us with a rare glimpse into Emma De Angelis' short musical career before she became a full-time visual artist. With an unknown personnel or studio date it is easy to speculate a potential family jam in Piero Umiliani's Sound Workshop studio in 1972. One only has to take a listen to Guido And Maurizio's instrumental theme Gangster Story from Enzo G. Castellari's 1973 thriller High Crime (which later appeared on Tarantino's Death Proof soundtrack) or the trippy title theme to Paolo Poeti's kinky 1976 drama Inhibition to spot the family resemblance

Comes with insert and download coupon.

Imagine a Latin remake of Back to the Future. The mad scientist is Arsenio Rodriguez (the godfather of salsa) and the young student who travels through time with him is Eblis Alvarez (Meridian Brothers). This album can only be described as the perfect soundtrack for that movie that never was.

After the massive buzz generated by his first solo album, Mentallogenic, Alex Figueira got back in the studio to work in a more collective fashion this time, carefully assembling the second album of his largest project to date, Conjunto Papa Upa; a team of 6 musicians, spanning 3 generations of some of the best talent in the Latin and avant-garde scenes.

In an era where tropical music is dominated by purely electronic and rhythmically uniform sounds, the ten songs encompassed in “Fruta Madura” (“Ripe Fruit”) wander through the most diverse tempos, rhythms, and motifs effortlessly. A real breath of fresh air that gracefully incorporates soul, funk, jazz, psychedelia, and electronics into a solid tropical, irresistibly polyrhythmic foundation, without ever succumbing to the many genre clichés.

The distinctive production and catchy songwriting of Figueira shine in a very distinctive light on this second full-length. Living up to his reputation (Miles Cleret, founder of Soundway Records, called him “one of the scene's truly authentic and eccentric producers”), he takes the opportunity to show he’s not afraid to keep walking his own path.

Taking the band for a wild ride through the traditions of Africa, America, and the Caribbean; contrasting them with a ridiculously wide plethora of vintage, contemporary, and futuristic sounds, and pivoting on the exuberant musicality displayed by his musicians; the result leaves no doubt: this album is destined to be considered a future classic of the exciting tropical psychedelic music of the 21st century.

Addressing the most diverse themes in this new collection of songs, things take on a much more mature tone, as the title clearly suggests.

The opening track “El segundo es más sabroso” (“The second one is tastier”) sets the tone in the most assertive way imaginable, with the band boldly declaring, through multiple metaphorical references (laid upon a crazy mix of Dominican merengue, Detroit techno, classic and free jazz, dub, and electro), that the bar will be set higher with this second album.

The remaining compositions touch upon the most diverse subjects, with a fair dose of humor, sarcasm, and postmodern “magic realism”. “El Algoritmo” (The Algorithm) is a parranda-cumbia hybrid (for lack of a specific term) about the omnipresence of technology in our lives. The sophisticated Latin soul of the titling track “Fruta Madura” makes a case for the beauty of the maturity process. Some key philosophical teachings of Marcus Aurelius (the role of causality, the impositions of “the logos” and the importance of self-control) get a twisted cumbia treatment on “Reos del Deseo” (Prisoners of Desire). “No le pongas Coca-Cola” (“Don’t put Coca Cola in it”) shows us the most satirical side of the band, accusing those who mix Coca Cola with Rum of committing "sacrilege", on a powerful base of Dem Bow (the grandfather of Reggaeton), intertwined with touches of soul, salsa, and Cuban comparsa.

"Háblame Claro" (“Talk to me clearly”) is a story of heartbreak that evokes in its first part the spirit of the erotic salsa of the 80s (a subgenre deeply despised by purists), and after an unexpected samba interlude, leads to the hardest salsa of the 70s (a subgenre adored by purists), to end up in the surprising form of pure Afro-Cuban ceremonial music.

“Tu mamá tenía razón” ("Your Mom Was Right") is an attempt to exalt the spirit of the Latin American soap opera in the key of “acid bachata”, to recount a real-life case, witnessed by the band on countless occasions: the partying woman who arrives at the show accompanied by her bitter husband, who obviously does not like to dance. A very cheeky song to talk about the very serious and pertinent topic of female empowerment.

“La misma vaina” (“The same thing”) with its indescribable blend of bantú, candomblé, and Mozambique rhythms with abstract synthesizers, is an ode to adventure in favor of the aversion to taking risks and seeking predictability.

“Amigas picadas” (“Salty friends”) is another humorous song recounting another real-life case witnessed by the band on countless occasions: a love encounter sabotaged by the girlfriend's friends, who all happen to fancy the same guy. A jazzy take on the ancient Dominican rhythm of pambiche (grandfather of merengue), with generous psychedelic touches, resembling the classy late 60s releases of Guadeloupe's legendary producer / label owner Henri Debs.

“Vinimos a hablar” (“We came to talk”) takes sarcasm to the highest level, to ridicule the absurdity (also experienced by the band firsthand) seen in live music venues where people pay a ticket to go and have conversations that could be carried out much better on any bar, where no band is playing. The music alternates between a delicate melody with loose, sparse percussion and a full-on, pumping Angolan semba, with a techno kick drum included; bringing things to an apotheotic grooving finale, where the peculiar swing of Venezuelan calypso from the Callao region is thrown on top of all the precedent elements; closing the album in the most uplifting, “end of the carnival parade” feel.

The artwork is a delicate and impactful oil painting by Colombian artist Kevin Simón Mancera, who has collaborated many times with the label before (“Maracas, tambourines and other hellish things” tape and the Lola’s Dice LP).

What the experts are saying:

“Alex (Figueira) dove into this work with a brutal cohesion between lyrics and synths. Timbre poetry, sound poetry (you name it). And that, superimposed on his always impeccable percussive base, confirms the title of “avant-garde visionary of our beautiful Latin music”".
EBLIS ALVAREZ (MERIDIAN BROTHERS)
“Papa Upa's infectious quirkiness is a balm against boredom. A mature album, but without an expiration date”.
GLADYS PALMERA

“Here there is a lot of strength, drum, cadence and psychedelia, lost dance rhythms, united in an intercontinental Latin/African/and Caribbean journey, a unique winning combination that we could consider the new “Ritmo Figueira”.
DISCODELIC

Conjunto Papa Upa are: 



Alex Figueira - Timbales, percussion, vocals. 

Gerardo Rosales - Congas, percussion, vocals. 

Ramón Mendeville - Bongos, percussion, vocals. 

Randy Winterdal - Bass.

Andrew Moreno - Guitar.

Nico Chientarolli - Organ, piano, synths.



All songs written by Alex Figueira. 

Arranged and performed by Conjunto Papa Upa. 

Recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Figueira at Heat Too Hot, Amsterdam.


Much time has passed since the Queer Australian/Italian-Armenian, multifaceted artist, Kristian Bahoudian aka Kris Baha, swapped the parched red earth and searing midday sun of the Australian landscape for the brutalist communist-era apartment blocks and slate-grey skies of former East Berlin. Kris is now a fixture in Berlin’s club scene and has toured most of the world as a DJ & live artist with his own unique production style of cyber industrial, EBM, wave, post punk, and early ‘90s IDM mutations. Remixing some of the scene’s most notable artists such as Boy Harsher and techno pop lord Boys Noize, Kris has garnered respect and trust in the electronic music scene for the last 13 years. To respond to the current AI revolution, Kris uploads himself to the cyber ether through his latest project: GHOSTS IN THE MACHIИE.

Across Dual Timelines —
” GHOSTS IN THE MACHIИE ” unfolds as a sci-fi cyberpunk concept project inhabiting dual timelines. In one, we glimpse a trans-humanist future where human consciousness exists as intricate sequences of binary code, entwined and controlled by omnipresent AI systems. In this coded future, a profound awakening stirs among a select few who manage to mutate the code they were governed by, unlocking memories of their history that was erased by the AI. Through this discovery they realize they can traverse temporal boundaries and utilize this power to send warning messages back in time to their former fully human selves. These eerie missives carry a dire warning for humanity, urging them to rectify the course of society before the relentless march of artificial intelligence deprives humanity of its essence. In this terrifying future, humans are rendered mere specters within the digital expanse, stripped of their souls, to become Ghosts In The Machine.
Collaboration with the future self —
The cyber odyssey unfolds from a unique perspective— Kris’s very own future self (his future ghost): a spectral entity endeavoring to caution its present incarnation against the ominous path it treads, attempting to avert a dystopian future.Sonic Alchemy —
A fuse of cybernetic synth waves, hyper-punk, and pulsating drum and bass laid out against the dystopian, industrial sonic landscape of this grim future “civilization”. Each track recounts a new chapter in the gripping narrative, drawing listeners deeper into their own story and the role we all play as a collective society with the future possibilities of unregulated AI.Recorded in Berlin with software and hardware synthesisers. AI was used to assist me with lyric themes, concepts and ideas. I also used a trained AI model of my own voice as backing vocals in ‘Haunting Me’.ll music, words & concepts by Kristian Bahoudian aka Kris Baha and his future ghost,
GHOSTS IN THE MACHIИE

Remastered edition on 180 grams double vinyl of 'Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash', released by Talka Records & Films in 2006. To the 12 tracks that appeared in the original CD edition we have added 5 remixes made by producers as renowned as Xabi Pery, Rob Smith, Neil Perch, Peter Rose or Nebukhednezzar and Daniel Díaz. DESCRIPTION "On the wall of the toilet a freshly made graffiti, "Get out of the ghetto, organize the hate", reminded me of the rage we owe to this society. However, I was also at ease, savoring our Original Soundtrack: "ROOTS, ROCK, RAP, REGGAE". This phrase belongs to the song "B.S.O." from the album "Gure Jarrera" by Negu Gorriak. For music fans, the real ones, the ones who spend their fingers searching for rare vinyls in second-hand shops, there are records that have a special meaning. That record has special meaning for me for several reasons, but one of them is singular: it has helped me to discover a multitude of music. It turns out that the credits of that album were full of fundamental names in rock, hardcore, funk, Hip Hop, soul, ska, Latin music... a good guide for the young man of musical discoveries that I was fifteen years ago. But there was also that song, "B.S.O.", with the word "REGGAE" at the end of the chorus. A genre that I had never paid much attention to and that since then, slowly, I have been tasting... from classic figures to new trends, from Jamaican reference records to admirable peninsular formations (Basque Dub Foundation, Lone Ark or The Starlites). A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview Fermín Muguruza and in one of his answers he said: "It's clear that the basis of reggae is going to remain firm, because it's been a constant since Kortatu's first album. Reggae will be there in any of its expressions or derivations, of which there are already many". And it's true. Going through Fermín Muguruza's discography, and his groups, forwards or backwards, we come across reggae in different doses, proportions and orientations, but it has been present in all his albums. And in his "solo" stage, in a more prominent way. Now he releases "Euskal Herria Jamaica Clash", a coherent link in his chain of albums, where he accentuates that proportion of reggae, looking more than ever at the classic conception of the genre, but with some mestizo nuances present (rock strength, some Hip Hop drums or the sound of the trikitixa). The album has been recorded in Jamaica and has featured some renowned figures from those lands: U-Roy, Luciano, Lisa Dainjah, Masta Blasta, Yacine, Toots and the I-Threes (the usual female vocal trio in Bob Marley's albums, to which Rita Marley belongs). The new album offers twelve tracks, where, apart from reggae, one can also feel the optimism of the new lights that illuminate the future of the Basque Country ("Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash")... an optimism that is intertwined with descriptions of local customs ("Azoka Eguna"), rebellious spirit ("Mongolian Barbecue", "Basque Xamuraia", "La Fille Du Quartier Populaire"), songs of hope ("Yalah Yalah Ramallah"), a snapshot of a symbolic triumph ("Beamon Jauzia"), criticisms of alienation ("Askatasun Parabolika"), to the dictatorship of the empire ("Plastic Turkey"), a poetic air of rest on music and feelings ("Baxua eta Lurra"), a final instrumental ("Le Mouv Dub") and a luminous and hopeful revision in reggae key of an old song by Kortatu ("La línea del frente"). "Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash. The soundtrack of the present: DREAMS, HOPE, ROOTS, REGGAE." FM-Hop (2006)

Girl On Fire features powerful anthems and intimate ballads, led by Keys' signature soulful voice and personable and relatable lyrics. Keys collaborated with acclaimed and emerging talents, including longtime song writing partner, Krucial, Grammy Award-winner Babyface, renowned writer and vocalist Jeff Bhasker, critically-acclaimed artist Gary Clarke Jr., up and comers, Pop and Oak, as well as emerging talent from the U.K., Emeli Sandé and Jamie XX, among others. The songs on Girl On Fire are anchored by Key's powerful vocals and trademark piano, but are sonically broadened by heavy drums, electric sounds, reggae and future soul, which gives the album an evolved, modern-day feel while simultaneously sounding like a classic body of timeless music. The album features an inspirational mix of the rich sounds Keys discovered while recording and travelling the world, particularly time she spent in London and Jamaica, layered within her New York City roots.

Antoni Maiovvi Has Established a Distinguished Career Spanning 15 Years, Boasting an Extensive Discography Featured on Labels Including Tusk Wax, Vivod, Omnidisc, Giallo Disco, Italo Moderni, and Bordello a Parigi. Profoundly Experienced in Music Production, He Channels the Enigmatic Facets of Disco, Synthesizer-Driven Beats, and the Captivating Allure of Italo Disco, Creating a Sound Steeped in Vintage Analog Essence. His Latest Ep Represents a Masterful Fusion of Diverse Influences. We Extend a Warm Welcome as He Returns to Our Specialized Sub-Label, Cosmic Club, Tailored for This Genre. His Work Is Undeniably Destined to Become a Future Classic, a Testament to His Auditory Craftsmanship. the Tracks on This Ep Offer a Captivating Journey Through a Diverse Spectrum of Electronic Music Styles. on the A-Side, "Lucidario" Introduces Us to a Meticulously Crafted Blend of Moroder-Esque Soundscapes, Offering a Profoundly Cinematic Experience. Following This, "Cenotaph" Presents a Beguiling Mix of Pop Sensibilities, Echoing the Spirit of Legowelt. Closing the A-Side, "Cyberia" Enigmatically Concludes This Part of the Record With Its Electronic Allure and Sonic Intrigue. on the B-Side, We're Met With the Remarkable "Ghosted Again," an Explosive Dark Italo-Disco Gem With Undeniable Dancefloor Appeal. "Levitation Technique" Continues the Sonic Journey, Delving Into Ethereal Realms of Electronic Music, and "Today Is Yes" Provides a Fulfilling Conclusion to the Ep. Each Track Is a Unique Sonic Exploration, Showcasing the Artist's Ability to Weave Diverse Influences Into a Coherent and Engaging Musical Journey. Antoni Maiovvi's Musical Universe Harmoniously Resonates With the Enigmatic Gesloten Cirkel and the Enchanting "Gesamtkunstwerk" by Dopplereffekt, Solidifying His Status as a Future Classic in the Making....

Magic Combo is a vinyl-only label that specializes in limited edition edits of iconic original tracks, symbolizing the rich diversity of musical genres such as Afro, Funk, Jazz, Blues, R&B, and Classic House. This label is a melting pot of emotions, love, and musical improvisations, brought to you by a dynamic combination of emerging Italian and international musicians, DJs, and producers. Each release is a carefully curated selection that represents the soul of its genre, offering a unique listening experience that transcends the ordinary.

The Magic Combo label is not just about music; it’s about creating a connection between the listener and the sounds that have shaped generations. Our limited edition vinyl are a testament to the enduring power of music and the magic that happens when different cultures and sounds collide. It’s a celebration of the past, present, and future of music, encapsulating the essence of each genre while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Join us on a journey through sound with Magic Combo, where every record is a story, every beat a heartbeat, and every spin a new discovery. This is where the magic of vinyl comes alive, and where the love for music is immortalized in every groove.

Skylax Records Is Overjoyed to Introduce the Exceptionally Talented Irish Producer, Hammer, to Its Esteemed Roster. This Rising Star, First Brought to the Forefront by the Influential Bicep Crew, Has Been Making Waves in the Electronic Music Scene With Numerous EPs Released on Renowned Labels Such as Optimo Music, Sulta Select, Shall Not Fade, And, of Course, Feel My Bicep, Among Others. Hammer's Distinctive Style Has Gained Him a Dedicated Following Within the Leftfield and Italo-Disco Communities, and His Upcoming 12-Inch Release Is Poised to Set Dance Floors Ablaze. the Ep Kicks Off With "Swerve," a Track That Effortlessly Channels the Pure Essence of Bicep's Iconic Style. the Rich, Immersive Soundscapes and Dynamic Composition Capture the Spirit of the Duo's Renowned Productions, Delivering a Nod to the Genre's Roots While Propelling It Forward. Next Up, We Encounter "Swivel," a Genuine Italo-Disco Gem. With Its Lush, Retro-Infused Synths and Irresistible Basslines, This Track Pays Homage to the Italo-Disco Era That Continues to Influence and Inspire Contemporary Electronic Music. "Swivel" Is a Sonic Time Capsule, Transporting Listeners to the Heyday of This Beloved Genre. Flipping Over to the B-Side, We Have the Outstanding "Tbilisi," a Probable Tribute to the Vibrant and Ever-Evolving Electronic Music Scene in the Bustling City of Tbilisi, Georgia. Hammer Masterfully Crafts a Sonic Narrative That Captures the Essence of the Scene, Incorporating Elements of Techno, House, and the Avant-Garde. This Track Is a Testament to Hammer's Versatility and Ability to Seamlessly Navigate Different Musical Landscapes. the Ep Reaches Its Conclusion With "Push Repeat" Takes Center Stage. This Electrifying Track Promises to Be a Sensation on the Most Discerning Dance Floors, With Its Driving Beats, Infectious Melodies, and Undeniable Energy. Hammer's Mastery of Groove and Rhythm Is on Full Display in This Opening Number, Setting the Tone for What's to Come. in Sum, Hammer's Upcoming Release on Skylax Records Is Nothing Short of a Masterstroke. It Not Only Solidifies His Position as a Standout Talent in the Electronic Music Realm but Also Highlights Skylax's Commitment to Delivering Innovative and Genre-Defying Sounds to Discerning Listeners. This Ep Is Poised to Become an Essential Addition to the Collections of Music Aficionados and a Testament to the Ever-Evolving and Boundary-Pushing Nature of the Contemporary Electronic Music Landscape. Get Ready to Embark on a Sonic Journey Through the Mind of Hammer, and Experience the Future of Dance Music....

Synth-heavy-disco dancefloor killers for this Italian Affair. Fabio Monesi teamed up with the Iconic Disco duo Tiger & Woods and with Retro-Future duo Voodoos & Taboos for this new Wilson Records Release.

In The face of adverse clubbing conditions the irrepressible deejay harvey releases volume three of the mercury rising compilation triptych. Representing what could’ve been and what shall be in the hallowed hall which is Freddys nightclub pikes Ibiza in the future.

Put it on, turn it up, feel the magic till we meet again.

Released in 1999 on Taylor Deupree’s 12k label, »optimal.lp« was the debut album by Dan Abrams under his Shuttle358 moniker. For its 25th anniversary, Keplar presents it on vinyl for the first time with three previously unreleased tracks—the digital version also includes a alternative version of »Tank«—as well as a new artwork recreated by Daniel Castrejón and a remaster by Andreas LUPO Lubich based on the original pre-masters that were been restored and cleaned up for the reissue project by Abrams. »optimal.lp« was inspired by the rich tradition of ambient music and the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica while also sharing many traits with the then-emerging clicks’n’cuts movement, making it a true sui generis piece of work—both informed by tradition and visionary, idiosyncratic and seminal for many artists after him.

Abrams developed an interest in ambient music when he was still a child, scouring through cassette tapes of environmental sounds, new age music, and world percussion. Discovering Brian Eno’s »Thursday Afternoon« as a young teenager marked a turning point for him. »It gave me the idea that ambient music could be an intentional creative act, that tone itself is a legitimate form of expression,« he says today. During the 1990s, he increasingly immersed himself in the electronica scene and the output of labels such as Instinct, where Deupree worked as an Art Director and released his first records as Human Mesh Dance. Abrams found a home on 12k after sending Deupree a demo tape that would later evolve into »optimal.lp,« released as the label’s fifth catalogue number.

Abrams was still in college when he started experimenting with a sound module, his laptop and a mixer as well as a MIDI card and a small controller. »Each note was composed in MIDI and played back when I was ready to record,« he explains his working process at the time. »The tracks could be replayed, but the sound interactions with glitches and noise would be a little different each time. I decided to base the concept of the album on these interactions.« Each piece started with a single sound or tone that, as Abrams puts it, already contained the entire composition: »I let these interactions guide me, and tried to complement them as I added sounds. It’s a conversation of sorts with the medium.«

While refining this technique that he would go on to use on every album until 2004’s »Chessa,« reissued by Keplar in 2021, he also used the first-ever Native Instrument product, the Generator soft synth, to write the record’s title track—possibly making it the first album on which it was being used. »optimal.lp« is marked by this curious interplay of cutting-edge technology, the limitations with which every college student with a small budget is faced, and boundless creativity. »I’ve talked with other artists about how we feel about our early work,« Abrams says today. »We all agreed that there were elements that remain a part of us in a timeless way, despite our techniques—or lack thereof—at the time. ›optimal.lp‹ has a lot of things that will always be with me, that are me. I think I left some clues in there for my future self.«

This sense of timelessness remains tangible after a quarter of a century after the album’s original CD release and is even being expanded upon by the vinyl reissue, which is complemented by three pieces that were made while Abrams was working on the album. The digital release even features an entirely new take on the original album’s final piece, »Tank.« While Abrams let one of the masters go through his customised reverb unit when preparing the reissue, he started recording the results of this accidental dialogue between past and present. It’s a fitting tribute to an album whose delicate circular rhythms, rich textures, and ethereal melodies are precisely so exhilarating because their interplay seems to suspend the passing of time altogether.

First released over 30 years ago, this EP is where The Future Sound Of London started before “Papua New Guinea” later in 1991. All four tracks were instrumental in establishing a new genre of electronica within dance music. They were ahead of their time and extremely progressive, and here three decades later they are making an impression. “Pulse State” has been described as the ‘best bleep track ever made’, and at the time dominated the airwaves on London pirate stations.

First reissue in original format since 1991!!

First released over 30 years ago, this EP, as with Volume 1, is where The Future Sound Of London started before “Papua New Guinea” later in 1991. All four tracks were instrumental in establishing a new genre of electronica within dance music. They were ahead of their time and extremely progressive, and here three decades later they are making an impression. “Stolen Beats” is a hypnotic roller with all the jazz, bleeps and bass you could want, still a regular Radio 1 ‘Essential Mix’ track, and “I’ve Become What You Were” pure hard hitting UK techno from the heyday of this music in the early 90s and the blueprint for the deep jungle sound to emerge later.

This edition of The Pulse EP is the first reissue in its original vinyl form since 1991, those initial pressings now expensive on Discogs.

Session Victim need little by way of introduction having been releasing on Delusions consistently for the last 10 years and becoming the undisputed poster boys for the label in the process. Despite their regular appearance however, it’s always a real treat to announce a new record from the German duo and we have to say, the Screen Off EP may well find them in their finest form to date! Coming hot off their latest downtempo LP entitled Low Key, Low Pressure for Night Time Stories, you can tell Hauke and Matthias were ready to take things back to the dance-floor and have delivered an EP which looks set to become a future classic and no doubt big in the box of discerning DJ’s the world over.

Screen Off is really it’s own thing, living somewhere on the long and winding road between the Bar Kays and the Bad Brains, suffice to say that what it lacks in easily definable attributes it makes up for in sheer energy and raw attitude. Hauke and Matthias re-invite Jamaican poet and vocalist Ras Stimulant, who contemplates our screen addictions and urges us to disconnect and be present in the moment. Matthias’ rolling bassline provides the backbone, whilst hints of crunchy Moog and chopped guitar samples all bring a sense of urgency to the track.

Light The Way acts as an antidote, bringing a sense of calm melancholia in contrast to the title track’s low-end, funked-up fervour. A soft focus and almost distant drum groove draws us in whilst arpeggiating synths add a sense of optimism, reinforcing the tracks title.

Closing out the release we have Session Victim’s studio partner, good friend and all-round top producer Iron Curtis in for a remix of Light The Way. Johannes takes an interesting approach for his Illuminati interpretation, enhancing the breakbeat feel and mixing up chopped samples with classic 808 drums. A muscular bassline adds extra weight to his remix but without losing the subtle musicality and positive vibe of the original.

Being the vinyl purists they are, Session Victim and Iron Curtis top up the physical 12“ EP with the exclusive Screen Off Acapella and an additional Iron Curtis Remix Reprise.

"The new avant-garde isn't about creating something that doesn't yet exist, it's about abandoning and confusing rigid genres. I want to open up, in order to both abolish and reconstruct the musical past." — Noémi Büchi

Noémi Büchi's album 'Does It Still Matter' completes a series of releases whose titles - 'Matière', 'Matter', and 'Does It Still Matter' - place the physicality of music in the center of attention. Büchi's specific sound structures and aesthetic choices question the state of materiality in a world that is becoming more and more fluid and intangible.

From 'Matière' to 'Matter', Büchi subtly transferred from a focus on substance to questioning the enigmatic core of

being, passing from a noun to a verb, and from a single word to an inquiry. 'Does It Still Matter' weighs in on the importance of questioning. Her pieces juxtapose multi-layered analog synthesizer textures, crystal clear sounds and almost brutalistic noises, while they unfold in compositional structures akin to pop songs. Driven by an orchestra of myriad parts, her music creates transcendent intonations that resonate deeply with the listeners' bodies. A daring blend of complexity and accessibility are molded into captivating sound sculptures that challenge and intrigue listeners alike.

Deviating from conventional time divisions, 'Does It Still Matter' immerses listeners in a discordant succession of elements, and guides them towards an eternal present that erases the past with each new revelation, while maintaining it through recurring themes that serve as intimate memories. Büchi's electronic maximalism questions our linear perception of time, offering a glimpse into a world where the past, present, and future converge into a singular moment. Her avant-garde approach rejects predictability, inviting listeners to immerse themselves fully in the present. Everything starts anew at any given instant. Each musical idea exists for one precise moment, rendering the future unpredictable.

'Does It Still Matter' unfolds against a backdrop of collective disaster and biocidal urgency, challenging the very essence of time. Büchi explains: "The world appears to have gone mad. It's all but impossible to reflect on the meaning of avant-garde in music, considering the future in this sepulchral kind of stability of the human condition." Her compositions resonate like an infernal machine, questioning the instantaneous dissipation of everything. Finally, echoes and fragments of sounds remain, haunting memories like ghostly companions.

'Does It Still Matter' is an immersive experience that invites listeners to contemplate the impermanence of our world and the enduring power of sound.

First time on vinyl!
Newly remastered. LP housed in a gatefold jacket.
Featuring Herbie Hancock, Martha Reeves, Alphonse Mouzon, Chuck Rainey, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks, Carlos Morales, and members of The Pointer Sisters.

In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music – a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said “funk you” to the music industry and social norms.

In 1979, when Davis entered an L.A. studio to record her fifth and final album, she was reeling from a series of setbacks. Three years earlier, after recording her fourth album, Is It Love Or Desire, Davis was dropped from her label and the LP was subsequently shelved. In 1978, her beloved band Funk House went their separate ways. Looking for a fresh start, Davis relocated to Hollywood to focus on songwriting. Before long, British manager Simon Lait (Toni Basil), offered to fund her next project.

With renewed vigor, Davis reunited with former Funk House guitarist Carlos Morales and brought together industry veterans like fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon and session bassist Chuck Rainey. Old friends Anita and Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) and Patryce “Choc’let” Banks joined Davis on vocals, as did Motown legend Martha Reeves. The resulting album, Crashin’ From Passion, was her most musically diverse, blending elements of reggae and calypso (“I’ve Danced Before”), jazz (“Hangin’ Out in Hollywood,” “Tell Me a Few Things”), dark synth-pop (“She’s a Woman”), and even disco (“All I Do Is Think of You”). Equally exploratory are Davis’ vocals, as she trades in her signature sass and snarls for more nuanced stylings.

Among the album’s few funk tracks is “Quintessence of Hip,” in which Davis hails musicians like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane, while deftly integrating elements of their work. The song also offers a moment of stark vulnerability, as she sings, “Isn’t rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing so late in my career.” It would prove to be a prophetic line in the months to follow.

The mixing process was mired by artistic differences and then cut short, amid the death of Davis’ beloved father. Bereft and exasperated, Davis returned home for the funeral, setting into motion her retirement from the music industry. Crashin’ From Passion, meanwhile, would be shelved for 15 years and licensed for a CD-only release, without Davis’ consent, in the ‘90s. This 2023 edition of the album, made with Davis’ full approval and cooperation, marks its first official release and first time ever on vinyl. The package was designed by GRAMMY®-winning artist, Masaki Koike, while the album cover features an incredible shot of Betty captured in London in the mid-1970s by renowned photographer Kate Simon.

Crashin’ From Passion was remastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters and pressed on vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI). The accompanying booklet includes a treasure trove of rare photos from the era, plus lyrics, and new liner notes by writer, ethnomusicologist, and Betty’s close friend, Danielle Maggio, who integrates interviews that she conducted with Davis, marking her last ever interviews.

First time on vinyl!
Newly remastered. LP housed in a gatefold jacket.
Featuring Herbie Hancock, Martha Reeves, Alphonse Mouzon, Chuck Rainey, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks, Carlos Morales, and members of The Pointer Sisters.

In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music – a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said “funk you” to the music industry and social norms.

In 1979, when Davis entered an L.A. studio to record her fifth and final album, she was reeling from a series of setbacks. Three years earlier, after recording her fourth album, Is It Love Or Desire, Davis was dropped from her label and the LP was subsequently shelved. In 1978, her beloved band Funk House went their separate ways. Looking for a fresh start, Davis relocated to Hollywood to focus on songwriting. Before long, British manager Simon Lait (Toni Basil), offered to fund her next project.

With renewed vigor, Davis reunited with former Funk House guitarist Carlos Morales and brought together industry veterans like fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon and session bassist Chuck Rainey. Old friends Anita and Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) and Patryce “Choc’let” Banks joined Davis on vocals, as did Motown legend Martha Reeves. The resulting album, Crashin’ From Passion, was her most musically diverse, blending elements of reggae and calypso (“I’ve Danced Before”), jazz (“Hangin’ Out in Hollywood,” “Tell Me a Few Things”), dark synth-pop (“She’s a Woman”), and even disco (“All I Do Is Think of You”). Equally exploratory are Davis’ vocals, as she trades in her signature sass and snarls for more nuanced stylings.

Among the album’s few funk tracks is “Quintessence of Hip,” in which Davis hails musicians like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane, while deftly integrating elements of their work. The song also offers a moment of stark vulnerability, as she sings, “Isn’t rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing so late in my career.” It would prove to be a prophetic line in the months to follow.

The mixing process was mired by artistic differences and then cut short, amid the death of Davis’ beloved father. Bereft and exasperated, Davis returned home for the funeral, setting into motion her retirement from the music industry. Crashin’ From Passion, meanwhile, would be shelved for 15 years and licensed for a CD-only release, without Davis’ consent, in the ‘90s. This 2023 edition of the album, made with Davis’ full approval and cooperation, marks its first official release and first time ever on vinyl. The package was designed by GRAMMY®-winning artist, Masaki Koike, while the album cover features an incredible shot of Betty captured in London in the mid-1970s by renowned photographer Kate Simon.

Crashin’ From Passion was remastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters and pressed on vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI). The accompanying booklet includes a treasure trove of rare photos from the era, plus lyrics, and new liner notes by writer, ethnomusicologist, and Betty’s close friend, Danielle Maggio, who integrates interviews that she conducted with Davis, marking her last ever interviews.

My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, ANOHNI"s sixth studio album, expresses a world view by shape-shifting through a broad range of subject matter. Through a personal lens, ANOHNI addresses loss of loved ones, inequality, alienation, acceptance, cruelty, ecocide, devastation wrought by Abrahamic theologies, Future Feminism, and the possibility that we might yet transform our ways of thinking, our spiritual ideas, our societal structures, and our relationships with the rest of nature. On her first full album since 2016"s HOPELESSNESS, she explains the creative process was painstaking, yet also inspired, joyful, and intimate, a renewal and a renaming of her response to the world as she sees it. "Some of these songs respond to global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago." ANOHNI"s approach since her last record has shifted from someone tasked with challenging global denial, to an artist seeking to support others on the front lines. "I learned with HOPELESSNESS that I can provide a soundtrack that might fortify people in their work, in their activism, in their dreaming and decision-making. I can sing of an awareness that makes others feel less alone, people for whom the frank articulation of these frightening times is not a source of discomfort but a cause for identification and relief. On "It Must Change," ANOHNI soulfully describes systems in collapse with a note of compassion for humanity: "The truth is I always thought you were beautiful in your own way // That"s why this is so sad." ANOHNI"s voice is sensual and smoothed, selectively reaching to the edges of what it can contain. "We"re not getting out of here // No one"s getting out of here // This is our world," she murmurs. A portrait of legendary human rights activist Marsha P. Johnson taken by Alvin Baltrop features on the cover, reflecting a 25-year relationship with the memory of Johnson that ANOHNI has held space for in the presentation of her own work. Elsewhere, the album artwork states "IT"S TIME TO FEEL WHAT"S REALLY HAPPENING". In some ways it feels as if she is reaching across her life"s expression, and has found a moment of unique composure, wearing her long exploration of disarming intensity, with the maturity of a painter carefully choosing her colors. "I want the work to be useful, to help others move through these conversations we are now facing, to move with dignity and resilience through this bitter dawning."

Pitch Dark is a new VA series brought to you by Berlins Pure Hate Trax. For this the 1st in the series they invite 3 new Artists to the label but by no means new to the scene in Codex Empire, Maedon & 7CIRCLE. Also making a welcome return after his debut on VHXX1 is STRISC. Codex Empire – Since 2014, British born, Vienna based Codex Empire has built an international reputation for dark and intense techno productions and live shows. Combining this background in dark electronic music with heavy rhythmic elements makes Codex Empire an intense and simultaneously danceable experience both live and on record. Codex Empire has performed over 100 live shows across Europe, Japan, Korea and Canada, as well as numerous appearances in Berlin at Berghain, Tresor, Arena Club, Suicide Circus and BoilerRoom. Maedon – A native of notoriously grimy Baltimore who spent some seasons in filthy Philadelphia learning the craft, her arrival in New York City circa 2018 signalled a shift in development, one confirmed by the emergence of her Maedon moniker and her partnership with Brooklyn/Berlin techno powerhouse Sonic Groove and its head Adam X. Fast forward three years to Berlin, two albums, a residency at Tresor and an entire world later, Maedon forges ahead to the next phase of a rapidly building career. Assuring her future as the world falls apart, Maedon’s bracing sound and undeniable skills are a story now unfolding, with its beginnings already written in grit.
7CIRCLE – At the helm of Destroy to Rebuild, 7CIRCLE is a musical project without boundaries. Drawing from post punk and metal roots, 7CIRCLE navigates across all genres including Techno and Industrial without compromise or frills. The journey through the discography of 7CIRCLE is a fascinating path filled with darkness and aggressive sounds which are sometimes embellished with a melancholy touch to satisfy lovers of strong emotions. STRISC. – Hailing from the East Midlands, UK and residing in Berlin for the last 8 years, STRISC. is an Artist, DJ & Label Owner who has been making waves due to a relentless output of no-compromise productions that have garnered him the respect and attention of Techno aficionados and peers alike.

Known for her powerful vocals, dynamic stage presence, and diverse musical influences, LA-based soul and funk singer Nikka Costa returns from a musical career break with future-forward disco-inspired sounds on ‘Dirty Disco’.

The lyric “Everyone is welcome, everyone’s an Avatar” denotes a place where anyone can go to be themselves and let their freak flag fly! and sets the tone for her disco and soul fused, progressive album, which is recorded with and produced by Justin Stanley (Prince, Jamie Lidell, Beck etc). Along with the talents of versatile musicians such as Brandon Coleman (Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Donald Glover, Flying Lotus), Greg Phillinganes (Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder) and Kaveh Rastegar (John Legend, Beck), Nikka Costa invites you to immerse yourself in her “Dirty Disco” world.

“Dirty Disco is about a place anyone can go to be themselves and let their freak flag fly! It’s about a place where no one is looking, no one cares what you're doing or what you're into. It could be a disco, but it could also be another planet or headspace or vibe. It's dark and sparkly, blue and purple. Gritty, raw and sexy. Whatever you want it to be.” - Nikka Costa

"Known for her powerful vocals, dynamic stage presence, and diverse musical influences, LA-based soul and funk singer Nikka Costa returns from a musical career break with future-forward disco-inspired sounds on ‘Dirty Disco’.

The lyric “Everyone is welcome, everyone’s an Avatar” denotes a place where anyone can go to be themselves and let their freak flag fly! and sets the tone for her disco and soul fused, progressive album, which is recorded with and produced by Justin Stanley (Prince, Jamie Lidell, Beck etc). Along with the talents of versatile musicians such as Brandon Coleman (Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Donald Glover, Flying Lotus), Greg Phillinganes (Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder) and Kaveh Rastegar (John Legend, Beck), Nikka Costa invites you to immerse yourself in her “Dirty Disco” world.

“Dirty Disco is about a place anyone can go to be themselves and let their freak flag fly! It’s about a place where no one is looking, no one cares what you're doing or what you're into. It could be a disco, but it could also be another planet or headspace or vibe. It's dark and sparkly, blue and purple. Gritty, raw and sexy. Whatever you want it to be.” - Nikka Costa"

INEX016 takes you on a magical journey through the mellow realm of house music. Veteran Eddie C delivers a disco-infused belter that will make your hips shake. Tilman presents a juicy nu-groove track that transports you back to May 1st, 1992. Making his wax debut, Julius Renner offers a soulful voyage to the peak of the dance floor. Toomy Disco, a newcomer on InEx aswell, delivers a shuffling and groovy bomb, pondering the future of DJs. Ron Brown collaborates on a deep, almost Latin-spiced organ track with moments of melancholy and hope. Lastly, Meeshoo touches our souls with strings and disco excellence.

Mitos & Ritos, the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. The hostile times humanity is going through have awoken a need to get back to our roots, reclaim ancestral knowledge, and question where the excessive exploitation of natural resources has led us. We have heeded that urgent call to care for everything that seems unlimited but which is increasingly scarce. And so we have looked to the past to understand our relationship with what surrounds us and establish a dialogue between the past, the present and the uncertain idea of the future. Applied to music, this has aroused the interest of artists and producers who use the rich folklore and traditions of Latin America to replicate that dialogue between what was and what will be. With this in mind, Mitos & Ritos ("Myths and Rites"), the debut EP by the Ecuadorian group Cruzloma, consolidates in its six songs a spirit of promoting traditional rhythms in contemporary styles, a process of reinvention and self-discovery in homage to the indigenous peoples of the Ecuadorian jungle and the riches of ceremonial music, based around the bambuco style from Esmeraldas on the northern coast, and the bomba del chota and the san juanito from Imbabura province. On this EP there are also sacred prayers of the Shuar nation, called Ujaj and Anets, including ceremonies like the taking of ayahuasca and of the tzan tza, all in a mix featuring electronica, global bass and dembow. It is a journey into mysticism, the jungle and the dancefloor, reflecting a search for musical identity that is at once contemporary and futurist.

‘Empires into Sand’ is the first album of new material from Normil Hawaiians in 40 years. The group first refined their sound during the early 80s, hitting on a pastoral experimentalism that drew on ambient drone, motorik impulse and post-punk pep.
‘Empires into Sand’ came together in the familiar manner of their original three albums, with improvisation and nuance informing the blueprint of the tracks. It was with the official release of this last record ‘Return of the Ranters’ (originally recorded in 1984/85, but then unconsciously shelved) in 2015 by Upset The Rhythm that led to the group reconnecting with the intention of playing music together again. Normil Hawaiians played a launch show for that ‘lost album’ and followed that up with more concerts, including an appearance at Supernormal, a residency at the Edinburgh Festival, gigs at Cafe OTO. They were even chosen by Richard Dawson to perform with him in London.
Throughout this time, Normil Hawaiians revisited their original songs for live performance. However for a group always so interested in evolving their sound, it came as no surprise that they shirked at the idea of a faithful retread. The band pushed their songs into new inventive dimensions, still progressive at core, but now imbued with a cosmic uncanny. A cinematic approach that was always quietly present has come to the fore. The quaint weirdness of folk song, the humanity of communal practice and the group’s ecological mindedness have all found a place in Normil Hawaiians’ current sound world.
When Normil Hawaiians write and record music they prefer to gather in a remote location and live together for a while, such is their communal ethos. Being far-flung across the UK, the Family Hawaii (numbering seven key members) decided to encamp to Tayinloan, a small village on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. They set up their own studio in an isolated, windswept house overlooking the sea and started the tape rolling. Noel Blanden from the band explains the process neatly: “we set up and began playing, slowly and patiently, allowing the music to take its own shape based on where we were staying and our ongoing friendship. We recorded for days, capturing everything. A lot of new and rich ideas began to emerge”.
Normil Hawaiians took their time to develop these threads at their own pace, allowing songs to mutate and settle over months. Simon Marchant deftly produced and recorded the album whilst also performing in the band, this marked the first time the band had total control of their own sound. The last few years has seen the band reconvene in Herne Bay, Faversham, London and Leith to record new parts, constantly responding to the changing form of these quietly spectral songs of defiance.
‘Empires into Sand’ incorporates samples from old rehearsals and live music into the new finished pieces, this is in continuum with their previous records. Snippets of sound from the static of short wave radio and satellite transmissions also embellish the work. In fact the whole album is stitched together with interludes, creating an acutely immersive 45 minutes. ‘Exiles’ opens the album amid swirling atmospheres, synth flights and recordings of Vilnis Egle (father of Zinta Egle from the band) retelling his experience of fleeing his home in Latvia during Soviet occupation in 1942. George Bikandy also features on this track talking about his flight from Syria in 2014. ‘Ghosts of Ballochroy’ is a winding river of a song featuring a lively discourse in Scots courtesy of Rodney Relax. There’s a commitment to truth telling present across this hopeful album populated with angels, incoming tides, long shadows and the rose-washed sun. “From our broken windscreen, we feel the breeze” soars Guy Smith triumphantly over the driving beat of ‘Waterfalls : Bedford 330’. ‘Big City Sky’ flutters and sparkles with rapid synth runs, tape-looped drums and Jimmy Miller’s commanding vocal. With ‘In The Stone’ Zinta’s melody is deliberately jagged and blunt, exaggerated by octave-layered vocals and interjections from Guy.
This is thought-provoking, boundary-bothering music. Honest in intent, a solidarity of vision. The album’s title is derived from a poem by band member Mark Tyler, who sadly passed away during the recording process and the transience of life is felt heavily throughout. Noel best coins the group’s wish for the album: “we wanted to create an album that acknowledges our history and also reflects who we are today. We remained true to ourselves and we wanted to make something beautiful without removing the edges.” ‘Empires into Sand’ certainly does that, it’s an echo from the past, an echo from the future.

Introducing "Uprising Volume 2" by Zaratustra, the Highly Anticipated Second Installment of the Acclaimed Series on Skylax Records. Following the Groundbreaking Success of "Uprising Volume 1" in the Indie Dance Scene, Zaratustra Returns With a Collection of Tracks That Push the Boundaries of Genres, Inspired by Indie Dance, Italo Disco, Ebm, New Beat, Acid, and Ethnic Music. Prepare to Be Captivated by the Infectious Energy of "Uprising Volume 2." the Ep Opens With the Mesmerizing "Dark Clouds" (Club Mix), Reminiscent of the Futuristic Vibes of I-F's "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" and the Early 2000s Brilliance of Tiga. the Instrumental Version of "Amours Electroniques" Takes You on a Nostalgic Journey, Evoking the Spirit of Miss Kittin & the Hacker's Iconic Sound. Emilio Van Rijsel Delivers an Astounding Acid Trance Techno Remix of "Dark Clouds," Surpassing Expectations and Becoming an Undeniable Highlight of the Ep. for an Extra Treat, Those Who Purchase the Vinyl on Our Bandcamp Will Receive the Full Instrumental Version of "Dark Clouds," the Vocal Version of "Amours Electroniques" (Feat. Angst for Greta), and the Vocal Version of Naranja's Remix. Speaking of Naranja, the Ep Features a Dynamic and Uptempo Remix of "Amours Electroniques" (Instrumental) by the Talented Producer. Naranja's Remix Infuses the Track With a Pulsating Rhythm and Compelling Grooves, Elevating the Energy to New Heights While Maintaining the Essence of the Original. It's a Captivating Reinterpretation That Will Ignite Dancefloors and Leave Listeners Craving More. "Uprising Volume 2" Is a Powerful Testament to Zaratustra's Ability to Revive the Spirit of the Early 2000s New Wave and Electroclash Era. Each Track Encapsulates the Essence of That Time, Infusing It With a Modern Touch That Will Leave Listeners Craving More. Join the Uprising and Immerse Yourself in the Electrifying Soundscapes of Zaratustra. This Vinyl Release Is a Must-Have for Any Music Enthusiast Seeking a Sonic Adventure That Defies Genres and Rekindles the Spirit of a Bygone Era. Grab Your Copy of "Uprising Volume 2" and Witness the Evolution of Zaratustra's Artistic Prowess, as He Continues to Shape the Future of Electronic Music....

The phenomenal three-piece band includes members of Oranssi Pazuzu, K-X-P, Grave Pleasures and Aavikko


Svart Records is proud to release the debut album, I, from Haunted Plasma, a powerhouse of futuristic synth in symbiosis with the super violent atmospherics of kosmische Black Metal. Haunted Plasma is “man meets machine” in a cybernetic wasteland, set to a conceptual backdrop of William Gibson and Phillip K. Dick style mind-melt. The highly evolved creatives at the heart of Haunted Plasma’s sound, cite Terry Riley, Massive Attack, a contemporary take on Krautrock hypnosis, psychedelic Black Metal and 90s Techno, resulting in an orgy of mutant sound.



The phantoms at the beating nucleus of this unearthly machine are Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Grave Pleasures), Timo Kaukolampi (K-X-P, Op:l Bastards) and Tomi Leppänen (Circle, Aavikko, K-X-P), transmitting a music form evolved from a life of redefining sonic boundaries in their respective projects. Also featuring guest vocals from Mat McNerney (Hexvessel, Carpenter Brut, Grave Pleasures/Beastmilk), Pauliina Lindell (Vuono, Dust Mountain) and Ringa Manner (Ruusut, The Hearing). Haunted Plasma promises an extraterrestrial experience from some of the foremost contemporary musicians at the heart of the Finnish heavy and avant-garde musical underworld.



Haunted Plasma reveals:

“We are liberated futurists, embracing free-form and natural composition, mirroring the merciless forces of cosmic creation. We have a motto to stay true to our feelings, to spawn a sound that’s never been heard before. Servants of music. Energizing, radical and pure”


The first single from Haunted Plasma’s cascading debut, Reverse Engineer, is a creepy, slowly erupting, synthetic nightmare, of a downloaded being waking up in the wrong future. Ghostly vocals demand the listener to “give us what we want” in an Orwellian glimpse into the current dystopia we live in, where information is controlled, and thoughts are bought and sold. As McNerney intones the words “technology of power” he describes the threat of a malevolent and omnipresent artificial intelligence, as much as describing the oppressive and electromagnetic sonar pulse of Haunted Plasma’s sound itself. Psychedelic guitar hypnosis from Vanhanen snakes around Kaukolampi’s molten and morphing synths, while Leppänen’s uncanny man/machine rhythms pull our strings and animate their other-worldly mechanisms. Have a look at the official visualiser of "Reverse Engineer" on the Svart YouTube channel here


Culminating in the full-blown fast Krautrock of the final self-titled track, oozing with blistering noise elements and enigmatic vocals from Ringa Manner, the album's journey reaches its zenith, taking you to unknown territories on a Kubrikian space trip. I is a rare record of talented musicians coming together to create a completely new sound, which is entirely their own, boldly glowing, where no light has shone before. From the dreamy psychedelia of Echoes to the discombobulated Spectral Embrace, Haunted Plasma is a willful force of deliberate sound contortion.


Whether you want to give in to Haunted Plasma’s sound or not, you are being watched, you are being recorded and your every move is monitored. Haunted Plasma will enter your system on the 31st of May 2024. Turn on your phantom circuits and be prepared for an interdimensional excursion into Haunted Plasma’s alien dreams.

The debut album from Haunted Plasma will be packaged in a beautiful tip-on sleeve, swirling fog artwork, complete with 12” booklet and pressed on 3 exclusive vinyl colours: 300 copies on Standard Black Wax, 500 copies in Amber + Black Smoke and 200 copies of Svart exclusive Turquoise/Black Marble. The album will also be available on CD and digital platforms.

Released only eight months after his exhilarating debut, Bruce Springsteen's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle contains rousing dispatches from the boardwalk, the street, the beach, and the bedroom. It explodes with energy, dares to dream, teases with humour, crackles with tragedy, clings to hope, and overflows with discovery, youthfulness, and personality. It features an unforgettable cast of characters — corner boys, teenage hustlers, doomed lovers, jazz men, junk men, factory girls, fortune tellers, alley cats, pimps, escorts, and more — illuminated by vivid colour, breathtaking detail, and poetic action.

Musically, the heartfelt 1973 record is inhabited by sympathetic vignettes and cinematic arrangements steeped in rock 'n' roll, soul, jazz, and R&B. It finds the New Jersey native looking beyond the parameters of his preceding record and seeking to move on from environments he knows well (and chronicles here) by rushing headlong toward unknown territories, adventures, and people. Underpinned by the singer-guitarist's ambitious poetic enterprise and will to succeed, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the album on which Springsteen becomes the Boss.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's renowned mastering system, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 7,500 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set is the definitive-sounding version of Springsteen's sophomore record. Benefitting from SuperVinyl’s nearly non-existent noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle plays with a clarity, energy, presence, and openness that complement the expressiveness, dynamics, and scope of the seven restless songs that comprise a work Rolling Stone ranked the 345th Greatest Album of All Time.

Beyond the audiophile sonics that practically place you behind the console at 914 Sound Studios — listen to the separation between the instruments, natural decay of the notes, interplay within the widescreen soundstaging, and nothing-to-lose youthfulness of Springsteen’s voice — this reissue takes seriously this record’s influential merit by presenting it in packaging that underlines its status. Tucked in a beautiful slipcase, the LP is housed in a special foil-stamped jacket with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This reissue is made for listeners who prize sound quality and who want to engage themselves in everything involved with the invigorating set that busted Springsteen loose from the club circuit and landed him on the radio

Determined to liberate anyone within earshot and unafraid to come on strong, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle serves as the debut of the E Street Band — not only heard but seen for the first time by most of the public courtesy of the back-cover photograph. This is where saxophonist Clarence Clemons, organist-accordionist Danny Federici, and pianist David Sancious step out of the shadows — and drummer Vini Lopez and bassist Garry Tallent again stoke a fiery rhythmic engine that helps drive the untamed, reimagined big-band swing of “Kitty’s Back,” breathless R&B thrust of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” and carefree dance steps of the funky “The E Street Shuffle.”

Of course, the main attraction remains a then-24-year-old visionary on the precipice of becoming a sensation and turning a then-bloated rock scene on its head. Recorded over three months while Springsteen and company were busy touring his debut LP, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle reflects the high-octane approach the vocalist embraced onstage and drifts away from the label-dictated acoustic-based frameworks of his debut. The set also witnesses Springsteen deepening his observational skills, with narratives such as the romantically tinged “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” and redemptive epic “Incident on 57th Street” mirroring changes taking place in the singer’s own life, small towns, and America at large.

A thrilling collision of memories, reflections, and composites — Sandy, Rosalita, and the latter’s parents are all based on actual people Springsteen knew, as is the community depicted in the opening track — the aptly titled The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle resonates decades on due to its truths, authenticity, and spirit. Those characteristics — as well as the fact that many of its lengthy songs come on as the equivalent of sweaty, feverish soul revue that won’t stop until you’ve been exhausted — also explain how this now-iconic album triumphed over the reservations of industry “experts” that both demanded Springsteen re-record it and instructed deejays not to play it.



Yet there’d be no stopping a record that saw the past, present, and future, a band whose will would not be denied, and a phenomenon who was born to run. A never-ending invitation to act real cool and stay up all night, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle always feels alright.

"Neutrals are a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area, channeling a wide range of '70s and '80s punk, post-punk, and DIY indiepop influences. Their spare, angular songs don't skimp on melody or intimate storytelling and represent an appropriate intervention in these tense, atomized times. Their debut album ""Kebab Disco"" came out in 2019 on Emotional Response Records and garnered universal acclaim as ""an excellent collection of terse melodies, unique storytelling, and scraping pop. (AllMusic)"".

Following up their ace 2019 debut LP and a string of future-classic singles, Neutrals are now back with ""New Town Dream,"" a 13 song dispatch that takes on modern life and politics (both micro and macro) and situates their scrappy Jam-meets-Television Personalties sound firmly in 2024. Now featuring the sprightly bass and deadpan harmonies/backing vocals of bassist Lauren, Neutrals have turned in their catchiest, sharpest set of tunes yet."

Andrea has his roots in the independent musical scene in the first decade of the 2000s. In addition to his compositional and live experience as the first Nadàr Solo drummer, he is one half of the Turin duo Anthony Laszlo with Anthony Sasso, ex guitarist and singer of Milena Lovesick. Andrea Laszlo De Simone made his debut in 2012 when he released his first homemade album, Ecce Homo. Recorded at home by makeshift means and accompanied by the following videos: Solo un uomo, 11:43, I nostri piccoli occhi, Perdutamente.

At the beginning of 2014, he met some experienced musicians from Turin’s underground scene that later, after a few months in a rehearsal room, became his band: Damir Nefat (guitar/backing vocals), Dani C (bass guitar/backing vocals), Filippo Cornaglia (drums/backing vocals), Zevi Bordovach (keyboards/backing vocals) and Anthony Sasso (keyboards/backing vocals/percussions).

Anticipated by the individual tracks Uomo Donna, Vieni a salvarmi and La guerra dei baci on June 9, 2017 - for 42Records - Uomo Donna came out. It’s Andrea Laszlo De Simone’s first real album, a well received work by both audience and critics. It also was pointed as one of the best albums of 2017 by several national music magazines.

Uomo Donna is a complex, articulate and vital album that lives in its own time - where past, present and future coexist. It’s a time in which a sonic world takes shape blending classic and modern, Italian songs with psychedelia, Battisti and Radiohead, Modugno and Verdena, the Beatles and Tame Impala, the magical flight of Claudio Rocchi and the earthly flight of IOSONOUNCANE.

The album was self-produced and then post-produced by Andrea in collaboration with Giuseppe Lo Bue, a sound engineer from Bologna. The recordings were made between October 2014 and the end of 2016 with experimental techniques straddling digital and analogic.

After playing in some important Italian festivals as Siren Festival and TOdays -- that earned him a special mention in the live scores by Rolling Stones -- on October 28, 2017 the first Uomo Donna album tour started in the clubs of the major Italian cities.

On November 30th 2017, Andrea Laszlo De Simone presented his video, Sogno l'amore, during the Torino Film Festival as a short film, shot in Sicily and directed by Francesca Noto and Andrea Laszlo De Simone.

On March 15th 2018 the music video of Gli uomini hanno fame was released, the most political song of the album, an overlook through ferocious human emotions, an eleven and fifty minutes trip within human nature portrayed even in its most ferocious instincts. The music video was directed by Andrea Laszlo De Simone and the mysterious duo Sans. The official cycle of Uomo Donna ends on 31 December 2018 with the music video of Sparite Tutti created by the creative collective Irene&Irene.

2019 was a year of new goals for Andrea, in fact, the album Uomo Donna leaves national borders and got a special mention on social media by the famous American band The Lumineers which included Andrea Laszlo De Simone and Uomo Donna among the most interesting discoveries of the international musical underground and inserts Solo un Uomo in the Spotify playlist “Inspirations”. A few days later, Solo un Uomo was broadcasted by KEXP Radio. On November 4th Andrea and his band were chosen to open for The Lumineers’ only Italian show at Alcatraz, in Milan.

On November 8th Andrea released a brand new work, digitally and on vinyl for 42Records, Immensità, a ‘suite’ of four singles: Immensità, Conchiglie, Mistero and La Nostra Fine. Turned into a medium-length film using Immensità as the soundtrack.

Immensità was presented with four special sold out concerts in Rome, Turin, Padua and Milan. For these shows Andrea Laszlo De Simone was accompanied on stage by a mixed orchestra composed of synths, electronics, choirs, strings and woodwinds. Classic and modern instruments that are intertwined in a nine elements formation: an immersive concert, a contemporary version of chamber music.

In March 2020 Immensità was released also in France, UK, Canada, Belgium and the United States with Ekleroshock/ Hamburger Records (Roster: Benjamin Clementine, Polo & Pan, Limousine and many others). The response of the transalpine press and media, sector and not, was unexpected: major French newspapers and magazines - from Le Monde to Liberation, Vanity Fair and Les Inrockuptibles - dedicated entire pages and rave reviews to Immensità and Andrea Laszlo De Simone. The track Immensità entered, after a few days, at the fourteenth rank of Spotify’s Top viral 50 playlist and broadcasted on France Inter and Radio Nova.

“Immensità” is a complex cross media work of music and images. A project divided into four chapters (the songs) for nine tracks (each chapter has a prologue or a conclusion). A true suite, using the classic term that best describes an instrumental composition in several stages, that can be enjoyed in its entirety only by listening to vinyl or digitally in the innovative single track format, without pauses: a single symphony of 25 minutes and 6 seconds.

In September 2020, Dal giorno in cui sei nato tu was released on all italian platforms, a song dedicated to Andrea’s children, a real love letter in the form of a small speech, where he tries to give them the three keys to approaching life: fantasy, music and irony. Martino, 8 years old, replies to his father’s love letter by making the video accompanying the song, created in Super 8. It's the story of the world through the eyes of the child. It is also an homage to the new little girl in family, Lucia.

rush2theUnknown is a project born in pandemic-era provincial New Zealand, developed in the hills of Izu Peninsula, Japan, but forged in the fire of potent teenage memories — the flames of the future sounds of jungle and drum 'n' bass that exploded onto dance floors across the urban centres of New Zealand in the mid 90's. Two old friends, both who played pivotal roles in the development of New Zealand's own jungle and drum 'n' bass scenes in the 1990s, estranged for decades, reunited amidst the isolation and chaos of covid. They began an experiment, attempting to recapture the feeling of having their heads overwhelmed by sounds they couldn't quite comprehend as adolescents — in particular, channeling the energy, spirit, and vibe of 1995 to 1997, where the ever-mutating evolution of jungle intersected with the dawning of drum 'n' bass to create a utopian future vision, before the latter genre changed course and moved increasingly darker.

By weaving in the influences that these two long-lost friends had accumulated over the decades, most notably from ambient, kankyõ ongaku, new age, minimalism, and some of the deepest research into the history of Japanese video game music ever conducted, the pair attempt to discover new terrain from an specific era of dance music that was never fully explored.

Deluxe 180g vinyl. Art Edition LP includes set of six 12”x12” art cards.



The follow-up to Kee Avil's acclaimed 2022 debut Crease: "A stunning debut" (The Quietus); "A whiplash style of uninhibited exploration" (The Wire); "Kee Avil's debut is a force" (Foxy Digitalis); "A work of Frankensteinian wonder" (Electronic Sound); "A tightly coiled, finely wrought vision of avant-pop" (Exclaim); "A debut of fiendish creativity" (Bandcamp Album Of The Day / Albums Of The Year) Kee Avil's music is both adventurous and intimate, intellectually challenging and emotionally resonant. The Montréal guitarist and producer's 2022 debut LP Crease garnered plaudits from outlets like The Wire, The Quietus, Mojo and Foxy Digitalis, picking up a Canadian Juno Award nomination and Bandcamp Album Of The Day and Albums Of The Year along the way. Its intricate construction, unnerving atmospheres, and knife-edge take on avant-pop prompted comparisons to early PJ Harvey, This Heat, and Gazelle Twin. A remix EP with work by claire rousay, Ami Dang, Cecile Believe, and Pelada brought collaborative perspectives to four Crease tracks, offering new pathways within those songs. With Spine, Kee Avil strips back her heavily textured compositions, opening up a much rawer sound. She calls it folk… and while traditionalists might scoff, this is urgent music that reflects the precarity of modern life, as well as the jarring mixture of electronic and real-world interactions that have become the fabric of our day-to-day experiences. There's a hypnotic post-punk somnambulance to it all, using the repetition and fracturing of melodic phrases interwoven with delicate electronics to create curious and persistent hooks. While not a concept album, themes of time's passage, remembrance, and decay crop up across multiple tracks. Each track intentionally only has four elements - guitar, electronics, and two other instruments, with Kee's voice and guitar pushed to the front. Within this minimalist framework, the juxtaposition of beauty and discomfort that is key to the Kee Avil sound stands out in skin-prickling relief. "We're shaped by many versions of ourselves," says Avil. "I was looking back at these versions of myself and what could have been, what didn't end up being and what did end up being, and going back like that through time. Seeing the future, the past." Spine was written in Kee Avil's home studio after a lapse in writing while touring Crease and working on other projects. She is a well-known and respected member of the Montréal experimental scene, and formerly ran Concrete Sound Studio with Zach Scholes, who continues to work with her as a producer on Spine. Compared to the three years that went into making her debut, Spine emerged in a matter of months - a process that may also be a factor in its intensity and sharpness: "This record was much harder, like it was really discovering everything from scratch." In her desire to not simply replicate or extend the sound of Crease, she felt she had to rip up the rule book, write in a different way, and pare back songs against her usual instincts. Sometimes, when we work against our ingrained habits, we get to the core of who we really are. Spine is an exercise in that process. Without over-intellectualizing or being didactic, it hits immediately and emotionally, especially if you are a person who has spent much time in the process of self-examination. Kee's voice hisses, whispers, and chants; her guitar bends and rings; electronics skitter and crackle; violin creaks like a door in the wind. There is something so evocative about the atmospheres she creates that it's easy to overlay one's own feelings onto her work, but to do that wholly would be to overlook one of the most important things about Spine: Kee Avil's clear and thoughtful vision. This isn't just the next step forward in her artistic trajectory; it's a stunner of a record that stands on its own, a bracing and thrilling listen that has much to reveal about the contradictions inherent in being human. - jj skolnik

Look through any self respecting quality music publication or web site and peruse through a list of the most important and influential psychedelic albums of all time and you can be pretty sure to see KALEIDOSCOPE'S 'Tangerine Dream' ranked high up there, along with your 'Sgt Peppers', your 'Forever Changes' 'Satanic Majesties Request' 'Axis Bold As Love' 'Odyssey & Oracle' and 'The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators'........

This seminal album of quintessential English psychedelia is one of the most highly prized artifacts that define the psychedelic genre and like some of the most highly collected and prized albums from that time, mint copies can now go for way in excess of £1000.

Thus given the record`s rarity & collectability, matched to the recent explosive interest in all things psyche, garage & underground, you would be excused for thinking that this slice of perfect late 60's progressive underground pop would have been given the full reissue and remastering treatment already. Surprisingly though, you would very much be mistaken. But to those of you who know the checkered history of Kaleidoscope this will perhaps come as no surprise!!!

Thankfully after 3 years of painstaking detective work, chance encounters with Universal archivists, heavy negotiations with major label legal executives and some good fortune, we are delighted to announce that this record will finally not only get its first proper official reissue in over 5 decades, but thanks to a lot of pure persistence it can now be presented to its listeners in the manner in which it was supposed to have been heard, following the discovery of a batch of the original master tapes that were languishing in the vaults of Universal that have laid largely unheard for 50 years!

Furthermore following a couple of shared festival billings at Austin and Copenhagen Psyche Festival, with another legend of the scene, Mr Pete Kember aka SONIC BOOM of SPACEMEN 3 fame, Sonic has been holed up in his Lisbon studio, painstakingly remastering the album from the original ¼' tapes.

The remastering of these ¼' tapes though is only part of the story, as along with the discovery of these a significant number of ½' tapes and other material was also discovered which is penned for a future release when the band`s entire works will be presented in a definitive boxset of all four of their studio albums (including all their Fairfield Parlour recordings) plus BBC Sessions, live recordings, alternative takes, new mixes, unreleased tracks and material from the band`s own archive including pre-Kaleidoscope demos when they were known as both The Sidekicks and The Key.

For now though, this 50th Anniversary release comes with a flavor of what is to come, with the inclusion of two unreleased out-takes tracks from 1967 on a bonus 7' housed in a replica original paper thin Fontana sleeve which, includes an early version of the track that gave the band their name, the suitably titled: 'Kaleidoscope'. Whilst the flip presents an alternative earliest known recorded version of the album's follow-up single: Dream For Julie'.

The album itself, has been cut onto 180g heavyweight vinyl, housed in a deluxe high-end gatefold tip-on sleeve with the lyrics printed and new artwork. The first 1000 copies of the album will be hand numbered by the band & pressed on 'Tangerine' orange vinyl housed in an inner sleeve with attractive new artwork + download code.

Sugar Honey Iced Tea! is the highly anticipated debut album from musclecars, set for a May 2024 release on BBE Music. Having already established their presence in the club scene, from the joyous atmosphere of their Coloring Lessons parties to their residency at Nowadays in NYC, and with genre-bending performances worldwide, musclecars are eager to unveil this new world they've intentionally crafted. This forthcoming album comprises 13 tracks that sonically come together to offer a profound lens into the Afro-American experience. Themes range from joy, to loss, intimacy, helplessness, perseverance, and all the facets that lie in between. From the very first tune, musclecars set the tone with an exploration of afro-dystopia, carrying listeners through the entire album whilst creating imaginary futures born out of self-preservation and self-discovery. Through their practice of sonic storytelling, native New Yorkers Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield use this album to speak to the nuances of their daily lives and their environment. Join them on this musical journey as they delve into a collection that captures the essence of the black experience with authenticity, emotion, and rhythm. This album stands as one of their favorite bodies of work in recent memory, and they're so excited to share it with you.

Recording technology was completely revolutionized in the 80s by the multitrack recorder, with the popularity of 24-channel SSL consoles sweeping the world. Japanese pop music created during this wave of digital improvement is now recognized worldwide as ""City Pop."" Techno Pop was another offshoot born of the same revolution. Precise, computer-controlled beats produced by groups like Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) introduced a different type of sound to the masses. By now, these works have been brought into the international limelight and continue to be a major influence on today's music.

At the center of Tokyo’s Techno Pop scene was ALFA/YEN Records. The label left behind an impressive body of work, but much of it wasn't made widely available... until now! This new, definitive compilation focuses on the music archives of the YEN Records catalog, available for the first time exclusively at Light in the Attic. This is a true celebration of Japan's Techno Pop scene of the 80s, reissued with the intent that future generations, internationally, will be able to discover, enjoy, and appreciate ALFA/YEN and its significant contributions to the sonic landscape of the 80s and beyond.

Both Tymon Dogg and Richard Dudanski had musical roots playing in The 101'ers with future Clash singer/guitarist Joe Strummer. All three shared a deep love for southern Spain, due perhaps to the influence of the Romero sisters, Paloma (later "Palmolive" of The Slits) and the artist Esperanza, who were among the first Spanish punk refugees in London. Tymon's career began with beguiling interactions with Apple Records, The Moody Blues and future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page before he discovered his true musical self as a punk / folk experimentalist, opening shows for the likes of The Slits, Raincoats and Pop Group and becoming the longest-running musical foil in Strummer's career, continuing into The Clash and Mescaleros. Similarly, Richard played in Basement 5, Public Image Ltd, The Raincoats and others before following Esperanza back to Granada...which subsequently became second home to Tymon and Joe. Spain is not without its own punk heroes, and chief among them was Granada's Antonio Arias, another pal of Joe's and leader of Spain's musical heroes, Lagartija Nick, which also included Dacoits members Juan Codorniu and JJ Machuca. Antonio sings the albums two Spanish-language songs. while Tymon sings the other nine...and there's an instrumental, "Mongols", which the band considered too epic as a stand-alone instrumental to mess with! Tymon sings three songs from his past: "The Wheel Of Life And Death" has been heard before as a live bonus track on the expanded reissue of "Battle Of Wills", "Conscience Money" was heard in a very different version on the impossible-to-find "Made Of Light" album, and an embryonic take of "Something To Prove" turned up the even rarer 1989 solo album, "Relentless". If you imagine the playful elasticity of "Sandinista!" recast into a more straightforward record, with Tymon taking the lead on something more than that album's "Lose This Skin", you're halfway there. Guests include Killing Joke bassist / famed producer Youth and Dr Robert from The Blow Monkeys

Step into a time machine and groove back to the electrifying era of the mid-80s, where undiscovered US tracks found their sonic sanctuary on Morgan Kahn’s groundbreaking Street Wave record label. The reverberations of this musical revolution rippled from the gritty streets of NYC, transcending borders to captivate the entire globe. Picture it: 808s pulsating, synthesisers painting the airwaves with vibrant hues of rhythm and nostalgia. In the heyday of the eighties, rap wasn’t just a genre – it was a movement, a cultural force with a message that resonated through the beats and break moves. The lyrical poets of the time wove tales of real-life struggles and triumphs, creating a tapestry of sound that still echoes with relevance today.

Fast forward to the present, and the spirit of the 80s lives on in a classic track that encapsulates the magic of that unforgettable era. The torchbearers of timeless tunes, High Fashion Music, recognised the gem that was waiting to be polished. Enter Ben Liebrand, a musical maestro tasked with breathing new life into this iconic piece. Liebrand, has conjured three versions of this classic anthem. First up, the Nu-Disco funk-boogie rub, a groove so infectious it’ll have you hitting the dance floor in a heartbeat. Then, there’s the percussive-led Funk Mix – a rhythm-driven journey that takes the original to new heights. And for the pièce de résistance, the outrageously good nu vintage Electro Mix, a sonic masterpiece that bridges the gap between the past and the present with unmatched finesse.

Join us on this sonic voyage, fast forward into the future, as we celebrate the resurgence of an 80s cult classic, transformed by the wizardry of Ben Liebrand.

Kee Avil's music is both adventurous and intimate, intellectually challenging and emotionally resonant. The Montréal guitarist and producer's 2022 debut LP Crease garnered plaudits from outlets like The Wire, The Quietus, Mojo and Foxy Digitalis, picking up a Canadian Juno Award nomination and Bandcamp Album Of The Day and Albums Of The Year along the way. Its intricate construction, unnerving atmospheres, and knife-edge take on avant-pop prompted comparisons to early PJ Harvey, This Heat, and Gazelle Twin. A remix EP with work by claire rousay, Ami Dang, Cecile Believe, and Pelada brought collaborative perspectives to four Crease tracks, offering new pathways within those songs. With Spine, Kee Avil strips back her heavily textured compositions, opening up a much rawer sound. She calls it folk—and while traditionalists might scoff, this is urgent music that reflects the precarity of modern life, as well as the jarring mixture of electronic and real-world interactions that have become the fabric of our day-to-day experiences. There's a hypnotic post-punk somnambulance to it all, using the repetition and fracturing of melodic phrases interwoven with delicate electronics to create curious and persistent hooks. While not a concept album, themes of time's passage, remembrance, and decay crop up across multiple tracks. Each track intentionally only has four elements—guitar, electronics, and two other instruments, with Kee's voice and guitar pushed to the front. Within this minimalist framework, the juxtaposition of beauty and discomfort that is key to the Kee Avil sound stands out in skin-prickling relief. "We're shaped by many versions of ourselves," says Avil. "I was looking back at these versions of myself and what could have been, what didn't end up being and what did end up being, and going back like that through time. Seeing the future, the past." Spine was written in Kee Avil's home studio after a lapse in writing while touring Crease and working on other projects. She is a well-known and respected member of the Montréal experimental scene, and formerly ran Concrete Sound Studio with Zach Scholes, who continues to work with her as a producer on Spine. Compared to the three years that went into making her debut, Spine emerged in a matter of months—a process that may also be a factor in its intensity and sharpness: "This record was much harder, like it was really discovering everything from scratch." In her desire to not simply replicate or extend the sound of Crease, she felt she had to rip up the rule book, write in a different way, and pare back songs against her usual instincts. Sometimes, when we work against our ingrained habits, we get to the core of who we really are. Spine is an exercise in that process. Without over-intellectualizing or being didactic, it hits immediately and emotionally, especially if you are a person who has spent much time in the process of self-examination. Kee's voice hisses, whispers, and chants; her guitar bends and rings; electronics skitter and crackle; violin creaks like a door in the wind. There is something so evocative about the atmospheres she creates that it's easy to overlay one's own feelings onto her work, but to do that wholly would be to overlook one of the most important things about Spine: Kee Avil's clear and thoughtful vision. This isn't just the next step forward in her artistic trajectory; it's a stunner of a record that stands on its own, a bracing and thrilling listen that has much to reveal about the contradictions inherent in being human. — jj skolnik.

Holland, Dozier and Holland are arguably the greatest songwriters ever. More prolific than Lennon and McCartney, they shaped “the Sound of Young America” and propelled the Motown sound in the mid-1960s into a creative stratosphere unmatched by any other independent music label. Their trademark catchy teenage love songs were delivered energetically by previously unknown Detroit groups like The Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas & Marvin Gaye. Although synonymous with Berry Gordy’s Motown, it was their departure from Motown after a stand-off strike in 1967 and a brutal legal battle that led them to run their own group of labels, Invictus, Hot Wax and Music Merchant. This compilation is a definitive look at this period in history, exploring how H-D-H, under a new guise ‘The Creative Corporation’, drove the next generation of soul music in a myriad of different ways, towards funk, underground disco and jazz. Featuring 55 tracks, this collection documents HDH’s creativity and growth over this seminal 8 year period. During this time the trio developed new artists to rival Motown’s success such as Chairman Of The Board, Freda Payne, Honey Cone, Glass House, Flaming Ember, 8th Day, Laura Lee & Eloise Laws. The collection is complete with a detailed depiction of this period in history by award winning author Stuart Cosgrove who wrote the Soul Trilogy, a series of books on soul music and social change - Detroit 67: the Year That Changed Soul, Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul which won the Penderyn Prize, as Music Book of the Year in 2018, and Harlem 69: the Future of Soul. Stuart’s notes detail the relationship with Motown in the final days, the immediate fall out after the trio left Motown and the creation of the new labels Hot Wax, Invictus & Music Merchant

Neuauflage des Jubiläumsformats anlässlich des 15-jährigen von Of Montreals bahnbrechendem Album "The Sunlandic Twins" (2005) mit seinem erratischen Indie-Disco-Sound, das 2020 als erweiterte 2LP-Auflage auf rotem und orange-farbigem Swirl-Doppelvinyl im neu gestalteten Gatefold mit 5 zusätzlichen Bonustracks auf Seite D (die vorher nur geedged war) erschien. Ein superlatives 23-Track-Format.

Channeling a love affair with classic '90s hip-hop, an affinity for otherworldly themes and an ear for raw funk, Barclay Crenshaw uses his given birth name to bare his soul and deliver a slowed-down, emotive collection of collaborations and instrumentals. This self-titled debut album is a left-field departure from his better-known alias, Claude VonStroke, but the quality is undeniably the same. The themes of ancient alien abductions and exploration of time and space are discovered and brought to life over ten tracks that sound like a mixture of gold rope chains and new age enlightenment. Modern organic beats mixed with gorgeous melodic moments and underlying grittiness create an experience that is eclectic, expressive and expansive. Coded art furthers the sense of mystery and the unknown, harking back to the past while gazing into the future.

For our 50th release on Delusions Of Grandeur we're pleased to bring you seven exclusive tracks from a mighty-fine collection of both existing DOG artists and veritable newcomers alike.
Part Two opens with Underground Quality key player Son Of Sound who brings a bucketful of attitude on Under The Son, laying down a rough-edged groove and getting on one with his vintage keys.
Up next we have Sebastien Vorhaus & Ponty Mython who bring us the beast that is I'm The Slime. Easing us into things with gentle rhodes samples and a skippy groove, Vorhaus (of Soul Of Hex fame) and Mython soon develop things with hints of acid before unleashing a jazz piano riff that can be best described as unhinged.
Flipping over the mysterious Zepp001 hunt and gatherer brings us Enemy. There's elements of disco with bouncing syndrum fills and a mysterious mood prevails as shakers rattle, bells chime and congas slap but when the bassline drops it's clear we're into some serious future s**t here.
Finally, we have our very own Norm De Plume who lays down a bad-boy groove with a rocking bassline, clattering cowbells and tension-building pads bringing an intense build and rounding off our 50th release in fine fashion, we hope you agree.