quête:g transition

Limitierte Neuauflage zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum des mit Gold ausgezeichneten Debütalbums von Hawthorne
Heights, The Silence in Black and White.

Dieses 2-LP-Set ist in einem Klappcover mit zwei bedruckten Innenhüllen und alternativem Artwork untergebracht. Die Band reflektiert das 20-jährige Jubiläum des Albums auch in erweiterten Liner Notes. Das elektrisierende Debütalbum der Hardcore-Giganten enthält den Gold-zertifizierten Track „Ohio is for Lovers“ und Fan-Favoriten wie „Niki FM“, „Silver Bullet“ und mehr.

After Denzel’s debut EP ‘Techniques 4 Life’ last year, the quest for finding those approaches continues. The Helsinki night owl draws from a range of influences here on his sophmore EP ‘Glorified Intake’, taking things into a murkier territory than his previous, made during a transitional period of his life between two cities, H & B.

The first track HKI 13 is an ode to roots. The track is held together by a swerving astral arpeggio combined with chants from a village dance off and stabs that liken to that one Balearic house anthem… The Sun is well on its way below.

Nightrun reduces things to a darker core, howling into the night, embodying a state rather than telling a story. Time goes by, how is it already tomorrow? An after hours tune with a bassline for a hook. Doesn’t get much sleazier than that. Getting down, getting low.
On the flipside, we’ve made it to the beginning of the end, phased out the doubts and gathered up the strength to go on — things are looking brighter. A voice inside your head — trust only yourself.

Finally on the last stretch, light has subsided and darkness has landed once again. We’ve thrown out any notion of what, where and who. Those things don’t matter anymore: we’ve perfected “the state”. It’s go time.

Five Five is the second studio album from the Miami-born underground rap pioneer, Pouya. Marking a slight transition into a more mature sound, Five Five showcases Pouya’s evolution as an artist while maintaining the raw authenticity that has endeared him to his fans. With tracks like "Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac Pt. 2" and "Handshakes," Pouya delves into themes of struggle, resilience, and personal growth, offering listeners a glimpse into his journey. In what became truly a solo effort, Five Five is limited to one feature in Night Lovell, with production primarily handled by Mikey The Magician (Track 4 produced by Chevali). The album draws from elements of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, yet remains uniquely rooted in Pouya’s own style. Over the years, Pouya has developed a long lasting core fanbase, first bubbling up in Miami alongside artists such as Denzel Curry, and then becoming a nationally celebrated artist. Back in print for the first time since originally released in 2018. Pressed on Wire Wheel Picture Disc Vinyl and cut at 45 RPM.

“Music is my forever cove,” writes Portland, Oregon’s Luke Wyland of the ideas that give shape to Kuma Cove, his latest album under his own name. Though named after a real place on the Oregon coast, Kuma Cove casts its gaze far beyond the sightseer’s line of vision. Recorded live in the studio and blurring obvious lines between computer-based composition and electro-acoustic instrumentation, it is an album about flow, borders, transitory states, and shelter. Composed of discontinuous ripples and repetitions (“I’m forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse,” Wyland says), shaped into richly emotive arcs, and informed by his experience as a person who stutters, it is also an album about identity, self-expression, and the energies that sluice through and across what we perceive as linear time—like floodwaters seeking an exit, like streams running into the sea.

Artist’s Statement:
I made this record while spending significant time in the woods by the Sandy River in Corbett, Oregon,
where I've had my studio for the last five years. It is a diary of spontaneous live recordings edited to highlight the moments of clarity that emerge from long-form improvisations. These compositions express a slowing internal rhythm. An unwinding. A somatic recalibration as I enter middle age. A newly empowered vulnerability.

Here are the internalized cadences of my stutter, flowing freely from my fingers. The musicality of my disfluency is revealed in its frictions, elongations, and foreshortenings. Disruptions in linear time, where the bubbling cadences of my stutter find unexpected pathways, reveal the elasticity of the present moment. This is my idiosyncratic language, shaped and inspired by my disability. Subliminally mirroring internal processes, neural firings, cognitive entanglements...

The title, Kuma Cove, refers to a beloved cove on the coast of Oregon my wife and I return to yearly. There has always been something so magnetic about coves. The way they cradle one from the overwhelming enormity of the ocean beyond, muting a primordial fear. I experience these improvisations as ecosystems I'm able to inhabit for stretches of time, embodying the particular rhythms and sensorial textures within each. Music is my forever cove. Everything you hear is created live in Ableton on a setup I've been honing for 15 years. I celebrate MIDI and computer music as an extension of self and strive to make it as expressive as any analog instrument. I was a visual artist for the first half of my life and quickly adapted those skills to composing and producing on a computer. The transition felt natural within the landscape of DAW's interfaces, especially as a synesthete. Ableton and its community of Max creators continue to surprise me with its expansiveness.

I'm forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse. I envision sonic loops as tangled masses of time, three-dimensional knots spinning on tilted axes, or overlapping wreaths refracting out a myriad of colors. My practice is continually refocusing my ear to what is revealed in the repetitions, searching for the fingerprint of each. I find it incredible how technology lets us manipulate time like this. Nothing on this record is quantized or locked to a universal bpm. Experiencing numerous tempos at once feels important. Recordings as mirrors. Freedom from expected (conversational) flow as we hold time for each other.
-Luke Wyland, August 2024

Artist Bio:
Luke Wyland is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and performer based in Portland, OR (USA). Wyland has been releasing critically acclaimed records for the past 20 years in the groups AU and Methods Body, as LWW, and under his own name, working with such labels as New Amsterdam, Beacon Sound, Balmat, The Leaf Label, and Aagoo Records. As a person who stutters, Wyland’s approach to music is informed by his idiosyncratic relationship with language. Wyland believes deeply in the cathartic power of live performance as a means for collective healing. Through an interdisciplinary art practice that focuses on improvisation, somatic embodiment, bespoke tuning systems, the cadences of disfluent speech, and time manipulation technologies, he’s collaborated with choreographers, high-school choirs, filmmakers, sound designers, and renowned musicians such as John Niekrasz, Holland Andrews, Colin Stetson, and Abraham Gomez-Delgado. He’s also the co-creator of the “It’s A Fucking Miracle” dance class with Tahni Holt.
Wyland has toured nationally and internationally and performed at the Whitney Museum, Ecstatic Music Festival, Issue Project Room, PICA’s Time-Based Arts Festival, End of the Road Festival, and Les Nuits Botanique, among others.

"In 1971, Dr Tree emerged as a highly innovative jazz-fusion ensemble from Auckland, formed by two of New Zealand's most seasoned session musicians, Frank Gibson Jr. and Murray McNabb - the pair had jammed together since grammar school. Drawing sizable crowds while working the Auckland circuit, the band caught the attention of EMI scout, Alan Galbraith, who wasted no time signing them up for an album. Galbraith, a trained musician and adventurous producer, brought in additional support from Julian Lee, an internationally acclaimed arranger and producer (who had recently returned to New Zealand after a decade Stateside on Frank Sinatra's insistence).

The album's an all-instrumental excursion into territory mapped out by the likes of Return To Forever, Weather Report and Tony Williams Lifetime - all acolytes of Miles Davis's late- 60s explorations. The session combines experimental studio techniques with blazing artistry, juxtapositioning trippy electronic textures and improvised jazz, creating a hypnotic kaleidoscope of sound."

Double LP featuring previously unreleased recordings and outtakes.
Restored and remastered at�Abbey Road Studios by Grammy award-winning engineer Sean Mage.
Heavyweight tip-on gatefold sleeve featuring archival band photography.
Restored and newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios.
Limited edition of 600 copies (300 in New Zealand, remaining 300 worldwide).

Santa Maria Electronics is a new label born in Italy. In the first EP, Giulio Gastaldello, the mind behind the project, tried to best express the key concepts of the label: eclecBcism, alchemy and freedom. These elements are not only present in the musical production, but can be also found in the party series by Santa Maria. The desire to merge various genres of electronic music to achieve a new sonic experience is a formula that has been happily welcomed.
We firmly believe that an artist's vision should always be as broad as possible, and this is why in our future releases, as in this one, we will consistently try to push ourself into having an open mind in order to achieve the best outcome for the listeners, besides the genre.
In more depth, side A of this Ep is opened by a DnB pitched down beat combined with an ethereal techno pad. A2 is instead a fusion of house and trancy elements.
Side B1 track, ‘Collapse’, consists of 2 basslines, synth lines, pads and stabs that come and go for the whole length of the track. B2, by contrast, is a more clubber tune with acid elements, groovy kick-sub combination and a catchy vocal.

London-based DJ and producer Steven Julien’s career has always been about contrasts. Across a decade of releases on labels including Eglo and his own Apron Records, as well as club sets around the world, he’s consistently mixed light and dark, soft and heavy, yin and yang. From rough-edged house and techno to laid-back soul and boogie, or meditations on his familial and musical heritage with 2018’s Bloodline LP Julien’s music has always moved between moods, styles and emotions.

That eclecticism also defines Julien’s upcoming instalment in !K7’s iconic DJ-Kicks mix series. Featuring a broad spectrum of artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto, DāM-FunK and Todd Edwards, alongside a selection of his own exclusive productions, Julien takes us on an imagined journey from day to night: from a bucolic afternoon in nature to heady domestic vibes before a big night out, and finally the euphoric embrace of the dancefloor itself.

Julien describes his creative approach to DJing in general, and this mix in particular, as letting his energy and intuition guide him - it’s only on listening back to the finished session that he realised how often he mixes tracks in key, creating smooth transitions from one moment to the next.

That instinctive approach, where seamless mixing becomes second nature, speaks to Julien’s decade of appearances in DJ booths around the world: he cites sets at Ormside Projects in London, Doka and De School in Amsterdam, or Mitsuki in Tokyo as specific inspirations for this mix. Julien describes the feeling he’s tried to capture on tape as an out-of-body energy: just letting loose, and being yourself. “When you get in that position of doing what’s true to you, playing what’s true to you” he says, “people just resonate with that.”

Jonas Munk closes his ambient trilogy with mammoth drone pieces, multi-layered guitars and hymnal krautrock. "Mirror Phase" concludes a trilogy of minimal ambient albums in Munk's (Causa Sui) own name. These eight compositions, based on guitar and synthesizer loops, marks a return to the warmer sounds Munk is often associated with. Sonic structures that slowly and gradually evolves and changes, like cloud formations in the sky. The title track, "Mirror Phase", is Munk's most expansive drone opus so far. It's a carefully arranged piece where sounds that oscillates with the same interval, but at different phases, are continuously added, hence creating shifting patterns throughout the track's nearly 18 minute duration. Elsewhere, in "Transition", multi-layered guitars creates the sonic equivalent of waves gently splashing on the shore. "At a Distance" creates a haunting, and hypnotic, soundscape by using slightly out-of-tune analog synthesizers, summoning the transcendent krautrock of Popol Vuh. And "Rise", as well as the closing track, "Return to Nowhere", recalls the glistening sounds of his Manual releases. "Mirror Phase" might just be Munk's ambient oeuvre reaching its zenith. The CD edition comes with an extra CD with Jonas Munk's 2021 album, "Altered Light", which has previously only been released on digital download and streaming.

Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan’s debut album “dear alien” is a constellation of radiant improvised impulses, imagined in lucent fragments of cello, guitar and voice. Spacious, tender and glistening with rich electronic distortion, the record melds a spectrum of processed and natural sound as the artists invite listeners into their dreamlike world of synergetic introspections.

Cultivated through a shared spirit of resourcefulness and play, “dear alien” emerges as an organic meeting place in the compositional output of British-German experimental cellist Lili Holland-Fricke and Manchester-born guitarist and producer Sean Rogan. Having studied their respective instruments at the Royal Northern College of Music, both artists have flourished in eclectic solo and collaborative projects, creating intricate and intimate spheres of sound with a deep appreciation for songwriting and improvisation.

Holland-Fricke’s transition from the classical world to writing her own material, and later vastly expanding her palette with electronics, first converged with Rogan’s distinctive flair for production in 2022 on her EP “birdsong for breakfast” and single ‘draw on the walls’. Now, the duo present an album envisioned through true ‘50/50’ collaboration during the summer of 2023, written across two intensive weeks of improvising and experimenting at Rogan’s Greenwich home studio. A convergence of the artists’ sounds and influences, the music was fostered by the idea of making an album with ‘no plan’ and their shared recent discovery of Arthur Russell, to whom the final track is dedicated.

“dear alien” assembles eight compositions that emerged naturally as the duo created sketches with cello and pedals, guitar, tape loops and poetic vocal musings, forming songs that explore themes of waiting, circling back around, and glitchy communication. Moments of drifting through pillowy layers of sound contrast with saturated visions of electronic modification, where the record’s glowing instrumental contours are pushed to the extremes.

The plaintive shades of ‘half blue’ and meandering deliberations of ‘slow thing’ are teased by the friction of static signals and a sense of ever-mutating sonic mass – a sensibility most acutely realised in ‘dawning’, where cello-vocoder eruptions grow in magnitude, the absence of sound between them burdened with something sinister and unspoken. As the artists expand on this piece, ‘It’s the sound equivalent of squeezing your eyes shut to shield against the brightness of something you don’t want to see, only to find that each time you open them again the world is not softening but getting more relentlessly overwhelming, to the point of being totally blinding.’

Three tracks with lyrics – ‘at first’, ‘dear alien’ and ‘seem asleep’ – refract the album’s wistful and melancholic colours into poetic imagery and metaphors, ushering in reflections on relationship tensions and someone close feeling unknown, with hints towards wider unsettled feelings about climate change. In the spirit of lyrical improv, ‘seem asleep’ compiles lone lines from Holland-Fricke’s journals into a cut-and-paste collage around hopeful patience or futile lingering – either way conjuring a softness that welcomes the hazy ambience of ‘for a. r.’, the final composition which soundscapes the summer days spent making the album. As the artists describe of this track, ‘The music kind of leads somewhere, but then kind of leads nowhere, and just meanders around where it is, content to just be walking in a circle back to where it started.’

Ben Kaczor and Niculin Barandun reveal their debut album on Dial Records, dedicated to the healing properties of sound. »Pointed Frequencies« contains six mesmerizing compositions. The collaboration between Niculin Barandun and Ben Kaczor started in 2022 with a carte blanche for an audiovisual show at Digital Art Festival Zurich. While working on the performance, a common understanding of sound aesthetics emerged and the foundation for the duo’s project was laid. At that time Ben Kaczor studied sound therapy. Niculin Barandun was intrigued by the concept, and it became subject of the album's creation.

The intention behind »Pointed Frequencies« is to explore the therapeutic potential of binaural beats and solfeggio frequencies, providing listeners with a healing experience. These elements are subtly integrated into the recordings, becoming a freeform blend of experimental and ambient music. A contemporary approach suspends the esoteric background common in this field. Instead, the focus is on crafting a unique sound that is appealing to those seeking a more accessible form of musical recreation. With the dynamics of free improvisation, Ben Kaczor and Niculin Barandun create virtuosly interwoven sound structures. Ambient timbres evoke the presence of the room and create an experience of wordless thinking. An immersive journey invites the listener to sense of intimacy and movement. Calmness and contemplation, beauty and melancholy meet unconventional and stochastic scenes of dramatic character.

One of the Most Exhilarating Live Albums Ever Released: Santana’s Lotus Documents 1973 Performances Distinguished by Passionate Soulfulness, Chemistry, and Inventiveness

Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 33RPM 3LP Set Features Reference Sound and Deluxe Trifold Packaging Faithful to That of the Original Japanese Import: Strictly Limited to 5,000 Numbered Copies, Includes Four Photo Inserts and Two Fold-Out Posters

The bizarre legacy of Lotus transcends its status as both the definitive onstage document of Santana’s career and one of the most spectacular live albums ever released. Originally issued in 1974, the triple LP contains exhilarating performances of the band recorded at two shows in early July 1973 at the 2400-seat Osaka Kosei Nenkin Kaikan concert hall. It bears witness to the eight-piece collective playing with a chemistry, inventiveness, cohesiveness, and soulfulness no other Santana lineup would ever surpass. Featuring seven previously unreleased tracks as well as remarkable renditions of material from Santana’s first four albums and the Carlos SantanaJohn McLaughlin collaboration Love Devotion Surrender, Lotus simultaneously suggests and inspires, dreams and delivers.

Transferred by original engineer Tomoo Suzuki, strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, and housed in deluxe trifold packaging faithful to that of the original pressing, Lotus benefits from reference audiophile treatment on Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 3LP set. Featuring rich tones, smooth dynamics, excellent separation, deep soundstages, and involving presence, this reissue pays tribute to both the virtuosic lineup and the magnetic fusion of Latin- and Afro-Cuban-influenced jazz, rock, psychedelia, R&B, and blues. The complexity of the spiritual passages, demands of the crescendos, delicacy of the calm transitions, electricity of the solos: everything is rendered with superb balance and free of the harshness, compression, and fatiguing peaks that would otherwise distract from the presentations at hand. Black magic, indeed.

The Boysnoize Records catalogue contains more than a decade of milestones in the life of Angeleno DJ and producer PILO. His signatures—a focus on sound design, and a digital crunch evocative of hardware rather than software—are present from the very beginning, but the evolution of Pilo’s skill and sophistication is clear as he stretches from electro to experimental to techno and back again in a slowly oscillating gradient. Yet despite his dozen or so releases in just as many years, G.L.A.M. (dropping November 8th, 2024 from BNR) is Pilo’s first proper album. That the record embraces the cyclical nature of time is apropos; the artist’s journey towards self-actualized mastery always ends with a new beginning.



Over the eight tracks of G.L.A.M., Pilo reaches deep into the dream that first ignited the passion that has driven him since. For a chosen few internet-connected American teens in the aughts, the sounds of European electro (and electroclash) trickled down their ethernet cables and instilled a fantasy of exotic, sartorial, sexually-fluid hedonism that felt a world away from the hard-edged masculinity of the hip-hop and skate cultures dominant at home. Pilo opens G.L.A.M. expressing this idealized fantasy with the track “Superstar DJ,” channeling the tongue-in-cheek self-celebritizing of Miss Kitten and The Hacker’s seminal work. “I’m a superstar, come meet me at the bar,” hiss Pilo’s heavily effected vocals, over a bassline of chopped mentasm synths driven by a swift, club-ready rhythm. The fingerprint of 2000’s electro a la International Deejay Gigolo Records is recognizably present, yet Pilo is too adept, too confident in his studio abilities to let his tracks rely on the retro. A great joy of this album is the future-facing richness of its production, always nodding to its spiritual guide of the past, while constantly breaking new sonic ground.



G.L.A.M. continues with “Girls Rule The World,” its vicious, droning bassline and sticky, titular hook making it the perfect electroclash soundtrack for a revenge plot on an ex-boyfriend. “What you Want” offers an instrumental exercise in “synthesizers are the new guitars,” and Pilo’s FX chops really shine as he warps and distorts his sounds into an undiscovered dimension existing somewhere between both. “Loverboy” enters the more melodic, Legowelt-inspired realm of electro, pushing above and beyond the foundation of analogue minimalism with flourishes of impressive sound design to construct something both climactic and cathartic. Scopa lends her perfect coldwave sprechgesang to titular track “G.L.A.M.,” with Pilo’s vocal processing offering surprises throughout and his FX chains wielded as instruments unto themselves.



On the track “A Slow Thinning Halo,” Pilo might be conjuring the haunting vocal chops and chiptune simplicity of early Crystal Castles, but the whiplash snap of his drums and sizzling production are all his own. “Spend the Night” is G.L.A.M.’s least nostalgic—and most unashamedly pop—offering, with the mic being passed between Sana and DEEVIOUS (previously featured on Pilo and Boys Noize’s 2023 track “Pvssy.”) DEEVIOUS’ sultry singing rides atop the bassline as it hypnotically struts across the floor, while Pilo’s skillful arrangement, deft rhythm programming, and atmospheric control elevate the songcraft into full-spectrum worldbuilding.



As the penultimate track, the contemporaneity of “Spend the Night” serves as transition away from the album’s previous, past-leaning exercises, allowing Pilo to step fully into the future with “One Last Embrace.” The closing track still references aughts sounds, but it borrows so widely and prolifically that Pilo’s reassemblage can only be described as singular. Here, Pilo pushes his engineering into psychoacoustic territory, as the eerie, beautiful melancholy of “One Last Embrace” explodes into a thrashing bassline that warbles like a drowning memory, struggling against the sinking weight of time. Pilo allows it to survive for 16 electrifying, gut-wrenching bars before letting go. In G.L.A.M., as in Pilo’s career, as in life, every ending can only be a new beginning.

Disco-Soul-Funk Album With Mixed From The Original Multi-Track Tapes By Kenny Dope! Tucked in the back corner of a linen closet in Macon, Georgia since 1979 sat a box that very few people knew existed. Lost and presumed forgotten, this box contained reel-to-reel tapes of the lost album by the band that issued the lauded Black Gold as The Mighty Chevelles in 1977. By 1979, while transitioning to the name Music Makers Band, the band entered Capricorn Studios and recorded this disco funk opus, finally issued as You Can Be.Nearly all songs have been remixed from the original multi-track masters by Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez.

Ltd White Vinyl, DL card. 1992's 'Untitled' brought the band's third album that re-cemented the duo once again as the progenitors of the "lo-fi" genre. This breakthrough set transitioned "The Trux" into a never ending all-inclusive rotating cast of musicians. Continuing Fire Records' series of classic remastered albums from Royal Trux, 'Untitled' is released on white vinyl and features updated monochrome and silver artwork. As unpredictable as ever, Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema shook off the next level layering and noise of 'Twin Infinitives' to embrace the history of rock 'n' roll in all its deformed grandeur. Utilizing their ever present mind set of macro-inclusivity, they allowed the subconscious "radio stations" of their lives to infiltrate, lead, and dictate. Culling from their collective minds and memories twisted tunes that touched them. After the blood rush of their much-hailed avant-garde masterpiece 'Twin Infinitives' (1988), this eight-song opus added to the lo-fi genre that originated on 'Twin Infinitives'. On 'Untitled' Hagerty uses his 5-string blues roots and hails rock's twisted potential, while Herrema slurs and snarls in ecstasy. They sound like they're locked in a fourth-floor boudoir at the Chelsea Hotel; bottles clink, an album clicks on its run-out groove, the band plays on. In the mix are the characters and casualties of the 90s, a roll call of swaggering misfits. These aren't superficial sketches, the Trux cut much deeper than that_ "'Junkie Nurse' isn't just about addiction; it's about the twisted hope that even the most broken people can somehow mend others, even when they're falling apart themselves." Jennifer Herrema, Royal Trux. With 'Untitled' Royal Trux justifiably increased their coterie of convicted followers, becoming the cult heroes for a transgressive generation, and the Rosetta Stone for male/female duos (ie:The White Stripes, The Kills etc... ) over the years inspiring everyone from The Silver Jews (David Berman) & Sonic Youth through to melodic blue-eyed soulsters like Hot Chip - "I urge and encourage you to enter the harmolodic multiverse of their music." Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip. "Royal Trux were nothing if not fearless." Pitchfork.

Highly polished, cinematic “hypernoise” melded with industrial metal /rock. Follow up to 2019’s industrial noise classic, The Origin Of My Depression. Uboa’s fifth album Impossible Light almost never made it out of the dark. From its initial conception in 2018, this record went to hell and back, dragging its immensity and too-big-to-hold emotion through the torturous process of translation to sound and returned triumphantly as a full-bodied record in a distinct new style. Impossible Light begins where Uboa’s 2019 breakout album The Origin Of My Depression left off—and ends somewhere entirely different. The Origin stunned with its methodical use of doom, harsh noise, and ambient soundscapes while documenting a raw, unhindered account of Xandra Metcalfe’s experiences with her transition and her struggles with mental health. Over time The Origin steadily grew a cult-like following which developed into a full-fledged internet community focused around noise, neurodiversity and transness. While Uboa’s signature style of highly polished, cinematic “hypernoise” is front and center in Impossible Light, there is also a daring departure into the genres of industrial metal / rock, setting it apart from any other Uboa release thus far and distinguishing it from other contemporary noise records. Metcalfe kept the lyrical content of this record as a time capsule of the catastrophic ups and downs and rapidly changing environments within herself and in the world from 2018-2023. Key collaborators include Blood Of A Pomegranate, Otay:onii, Charlie Looker and Haela Hunt-Hendrix of Liturgy. Impossible Light dives fearlessly into queer sexuality, trans embodiment, grief for those who couldn’t make it, solidarity for those facing unimaginable discrimination, the toxic spread of transphobic hatred and misinformation, and the ultimate hope of recovery from trauma and mental anguish. This is a record about the light at the end of the tunnel and the power it takes to keep moving towards it

You Are The Morning was formed amid personal upheaval in 2021. "I came out as trans to my nearest and dearest," she says, "Some did not accept me, but some did." Jasmine got divorced, and a difficult home life meant she was writing while experiencing homelessness and precarious housing, sleeping on friend's couches and relying on community support. Despite the pain of some of its background, the record is an uplifting look at t4t love. Jasmine describes her first trans romance as the first time she experienced joy in a deep sense, because of her experience of living as a woman. First single `Skin on Skin' explores the new joy of physical touch. Usually a quick writer, it's a rare song that grew over time, during which a close connection with a friend began to form. "Sticking to the physical boundaries we wanted to have with each other became increasingly difficult. We were spending lots of time together, then falling in love. This song became a celebration of healing and physical catharsis found through unrepressed queer love." The first UK signee on Saddest Factory Records, the album was produced by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Jasmine and her band travelled to L.A. to record at Sound City Studios. It was made across 12 days in a highly collaborative and emotional process, and because Jasmine sees her songs as fluid and ever-changing, the recordings carry that free and spontaneous spirit. jasmine.4.t is supported by an all-trans band, Phoenix Rousiamanis contributes piano and strings, with Eden O'Brien on drums and Emily Abbott on bass. With Jasmine's voice and songwriting at the centre, the record incorporates a wider cast of voices. `Best Friend's House' features a chorus including her bandmates, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus ("the girls and the boys"), Saddest Factory Records label-mate Claud, Becca Mancari and E.R. Fightmaster. The song carries the communal spirit of the record's creation. On the closing track, `Woman', she is backed by the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, a cross-generational group of trans singers who, like Jasmine, use their voice as a source of communal power. The song blossoms from solo performance to wider group catharsis. All the while, Jasmine sings unwaveringly about the power of knowing yourself at a core level: "I am, in my soul, a woman". The writing of You Are The Morning pulled from dark moments to tell its story. Surrounded by friends, the recording process was full of light. Through her performances, activism and artistry, jasmine.4.t is ushering in a new dawn.

Next up on Feral Child, sees not only a second ever release from New Zealand based VOR-STELLEN but a teaming up with one of label head dom’s favourite ever labels, the mighty Flying Nun. Despite some patchy European distribution the first VS release “Parallelograms”, was a constant player at FC HQ; 4 superb tracks of super laid back, kraut flavoured slow burners, (lead track “Voyager” especially, comes hugely recommended with its accompanying film clip), so when the band OK’d a second release for Feral Child, we were stoked. Vor-stellen is the experimental project of Brendan Moran, which blends fixated guitars and drums with ad-hoc electronic layers producing perforated waves of sustain which echoes off the fourth wall. Brendan has released work previously as part of avoid!avoid (their album “Particle and Wave” was released by Flying Nun in 2016) and The Subliminals, of which Flying Nun re-released -in 2021- a vinyl edition of their highly acclaimed album “United State”. With Vor-stellen he picks up where those other projects have left off as a foray into 'kraut' inspired compositions “which seek to transform pre-determined ideas of music into open-ended sound objects, untethered from any sense of conventional outcomes”. On this, second VS record, he teams up with his Subliminal buddies once again to continue on an exploration, “folding the weird and the eerie into a dark ecology of long-sound via indefatigable environments of modulation and improvisation, creating sonic counterpoints that hinge on a reanimation of musical gestures”. The record features two side long slow builders and are released in a beautiful Brendan Moran designed sleeve.

Red Vinyl. Listening to Fashion Club's self-produced second album A Love You Cannot Shake feels like being caught in the crossfire of a profound beam of light. You can't help but feel both enlivened and exposed as its aberrant synth lines, artful strings and disfigured guitars swell into larger-than-life crescendos, which evoke a divine yet probing spotlight. Pascal Stevenson, the Los Angeles-based musician behind Fashion Club, likens the experience of hearing A Love You Cannot Shake to staring into the sun, and though the record wasn't written with religion in mind, its heavenly sonics and emotional sagacity also make it feel like a prophetic encounter. The album was shaped by Stevenson's gender transition and sobriety journey and parses her fluid emotions surrounding these events and other personal trials and tribulations. But as much as it's a dialogue between Stevenson's current and former selves, it's also an invitation for listeners to join her in the work of discarding bitterness and re-centering hope, especially when such efforts feel futile. Musically, A Love You Cannot Shake is an unshackling of expectations, as Stevenson's previous stint as bassist in the L.A. post-punk outfit Moaning and her first record as Fashion Club, 2022's Scrutiny, didn't necessarily reflect the full range of her taste, which includes ambient, pop, classical and dance music, or embody her sensitive tenderness and femininity. A Love You Cannot Shake also thrives on a fluid sonic palette. The album's magnetic immersiveness hinges on its strange dynamic shifts, jagged production and ambitious song structures with parts that don't repeat_choices influenced by her love of left-field electro-pop and her classical music background. While Stevenson handled most of the instrumentals on Scrutiny, this LP is much more collaborative, featuring an array of contributors who lent strings, piano, pedal steel and more. Plus, this album boasts country harmonies from Perfume Genius ("Forget"), high-pitched coos from Jay Som ("Ghost") and gauzy whispers from Julie Byrne ("Rotten Mind"). Stevenson's vocal evolution is also on display with this record, embracing a softer delivery that's more reflective of her personality and identity.

"""Population Four"" is the fourth studio album by the British alternative rock band Cranes, released in 1997. This album marks a major change in the lineup. With bassist Cope leaving the band, Jim Shaw took on the role of lead guitar, Francombe transitioned to bass, and new member Manu Ros joined as the drummer. The album showcases a more traditional sound, as Cranes move away from stark and mysterious vocals toward acoustic guitars and standard drums, while maintaining their distinctive ethereal blend of dream pop and gothic rock. Alison Shaw's haunting vocals continue to take center stage, as the band embraces a more mature and refined sound. Tracks such as ""Brazil"" and ""Angel Bell"" demonstrate their ability to blend lush melodies with introspective lyrics. The single “Can’t Get Free” is a haunting and atmospheric track that encapsulates the band's unique ethereal style, cementing their status as a cult favorite. This re-release comes as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on silver & black marbled vinyl."

Onsloow burst onto the Norwegian indie scene in 2022 with their self-titled debut album. They quickly transitioned from obscurity to performing concerts nationwide, garnering rave reviews, playing at festivals, and receiving increasing radio play with each new single. As is the case for many passionate amateurs with families and day jobs, this couldn’t last indefinitely. Vocalist Johanne Rimul became busy with her master’s degree and growing family, Mathias Nylenna returned to his regular job at national radio, and drummer Morten Samdal and bassist Lasse Berg pursued their own musical projects. But Onsloow wasn’t finished. They soon returned to their practice space in Trondheim, working tirelessly on new songs for over two years. The result is their second album, aptly named Full Speed Anywhere Else.

With Rimul’s commitments making further band activity impossible, Onsloow had to search for someone who could continue the band's signature sound—distinctive, melodic vocals atop jangly pop guitars and driving drums. Fortunately, Helene Brunæs, frontwoman of the emo/pop-punk sensation Lille Venn, jumped on board without hesitation. Despite her busy schedule with regular releases, a US tour, and gigs alongside pop stars like Sigrid, she found time to join Onsloow's ambitious plans. Her warm, airy vocals perfectly match Onsloow's universe of catchy power pop, quirky indie rock, and energetic pop-punk. The new album even features hints of country and Americana. Over several sessions with producer Marius Ergo, the album took shape, with the band focusing more on details and arrangements than ever before. The goal was to elevate their music beyond their self-titled debut album.

Full Speed Anywhere Else’s ten meticulously crafted tracks form a cohesive unit, allowing the band to explore various directions, moods, and expressions without losing their essence: straightforward, catchy power pop that sticks, with plenty of nuances for those who appreciate the finer points.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce a tenth anniversary reissue of Oren Ambarchi’s Quixotism, originally released on Editions Mego in 2014. Recorded with a multitude of collaborators in Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA, Quixotism presents the fruit of two years of work in the form of a single, LP-length piece in five parts. Quixotism takes the driving rhythmic aspect of works such as Sagittarian Domain to new levels, with the entirety of this long-form work built on a foundation of pulsing double-time electronic percussion provided by Thomas Brinkmann. Beginning as almost subliminal propulsion behind cavernous orchestral textures and John Tilbury’s delicate piano interjections, the percussive elements (elaborated on by Ambarchi and Matt Chamberlain) slowly inch into the foreground of the piece before suddenly breaking out into a polyrhythmic shuffle around the halfway mark, and joined by master Japanese tabla player U-zhaan for the piece’s final, beautiful passages.

The pulse acts as thread leading the listener through a heterogeneous variety of acoustic spaces, from the concert hall in which the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra were recorded to the intimacy of crys cole’s contact-mic textures. Ambarchi’s guitar itself ranges over this wide variety of acoustic spaces, from airless, clipped tones to swirling, reverberated fog. Within the complex web Ambarchi spins over the piece’s steadily pulsing foundation, elements approach and recede in a non-linear fashion, even as the piece plots an overall course from the grey, almost Nono-esque reverberated space of its opening section to the crisp foreground presence of Jim O’Rourke’s synth and Evyind Kang’s strings in its final moments. Formally indebted to the side-long workouts of classic Cologne techno, the long-form works of composers such as Éliane Radigue and the organic push and pull of improvised performance,
Quixotism is constantly in motion, yet its transitions happen slowly and steadily, often nearly imperceptible, the diverse elements which make up the piece succeeding one another with the logic of a dream.

At the time of its first release, Quixotism was clearly a summation of Ambarchi’s work in the years leading up to it. Now, listening back a decade later, it also seems like an arrow pointing to the future, suggesting paths that would be explored further in works to come: the pulsating guitar layers of Hubris, the album-length collaboration with Jim O’Rourke and U-zhaan on Hence, Shebang’s joyous layering and percussive drive. Now sounding better than ever in a new remaster by Joe Talia, the time is ripe to rediscover its quixotic charms.

Boudica is proud to present their first record of 2024, featuring an artist who holds a special place within the platform - none other than DJ and producer Wallis.
DJ, live-act and former mastering engineer, Wallis speaks for a generation searching for novelty and emotion in the electronic music realm.
Sharp engineering skills coupled with a unique approach to sound design allowed her to develop a trademark sound. Using an array of synthesisers, effects units, and experimental studio techniques, Wallis produces melancholic electronic music rapidly shifting between different patterns and atmospheres.
She tours as a DJ and Live Act around the world, having played large festivals such as DGTL or renowned clubs like Berghain, and will happily play at a large stage one day but at a small intimate sweaty basement the next.
In 2024, she started producing music for fashion shows and debuted that project by creating the music for the entire Natasha Zinko runway show at London Fashion Week February 2024.
The EP's opening track, "Hell is a Girl from Before (Rainy Summer Mix)," introduces a stirring blend of emotions. Starting with an emotional melody, accompanied by synths and a plucked instrument, it swiftly transitions into energetic segments driven by the drums. Vocals emerge, their words almost imperceptible, adding an intimate layer to the experience. The track maintains a steady pace, evoking the ambience of a rainy summer day. This creates a melancholic yet hopeful mood, transporting listeners through a journey of introspection.
As "Protect Me From My Friends" unfolds, it feels like being whisked away to a new dimension, greeted by otherworldly, robotic sounds. The introspective journey of the previous track mutates into raw emotions, driven forward by a relentless bassline. Clear vocals take the forefront, guiding the listener through the sonic landscape, only to be interrupted by the commanding presence of the bassline, which assumes the main character role.

In "Sleeping Pills Are Gone," an atmospheric and gloomy introduction is abruptly interrupted by an acid and hefty bassline that dynamically evolves throughout the track, plunging the listener into an eyes-open dream born of a sleepless night. The vocals echo the track's title, creating a haunting repetition. Wallis strategically grants brief breaks, constructing a powerful crescendo that heightens the experience. These are momentary escapes before immersing the listener once more into the hypnotic trance induced by the solid four-to-the-floor march.
Closing the EP with a striking finale, "Teenage Apocalypse" introduces a clunky melody that encapsulates the signature sound of the record. Characteristic vocals weave throughout, guiding the listener towards the track's crescendo. Driven by a flawless fusion of drums, the song transitions seamlessly into a powerful breakbeat moment, accompanied by yet another impeccable bassline. True to its title, it evokes the intensity of a day of judgment, leaving a lasting impact as the EP draws to a close.
This EP is a testament to Wallis's growth as a producer and her fantastic storytelling ability through sound.
In the artist's words: "Sometimes life takes a weird turn. Angry, confused and dealing with moral: this EP targets the pain and absurdity of attachment and strongly themes Gregg Araki's teenage apocalypse trilogy. The artwork poem plastered on the wall was written by wallis."

Mayday is the third LP by Montreal-based artist, Myriam Gendron. It follows her earlier, critically acclaimed albums, Not So Deep As A Well (2014) and Ma délire - Songs of love, lost & found (2021). Myriam began exploring the complex folk traditions of Quebec (and beyond), with Ma délire, which combines traditional and original songs with arrangements that make space for avant-garde musical interludes by such folks as guitarist Bill Nace (Body/Head) and renowned jazz percussionist Chris Corsano. Mayday presents an even more syncretic fusion of the elements Myriam uses to create her sound. Most of the songs are original, sung in both English and French, and they blend traditional and avant elements with abandon. She is often accompanied on this album by the guitarist Marisa Anderson and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White), whose work provides a quietly aggressive sort of free-rock base. Additional players include Montreal bassist Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Bill Nace and saxophonist Zoh Amba. Mayday is a thoroughly thrilling effort that manages to create new vistas of sound while maintaining a feel that is both intimate and familiar. The music here certainly possesses a richly serious tone, but Myriam Gendron (like Leonard Cohen) is able to infuse her darkness with a subtle, powerful light that reminds us that even the most pitch-black night is but a transitional state. Beautiful work.

Ten years after the release of his last project, Jaco returns with a 12-track solo album, signed to Stone Milk Records. Reflecting his last five years of travel and creation, this album bears witness to major transitions. A Brazilian singer-songwriter, Jaco offers a collection of nuanced, musically rich songs, where his poetry takes us into a gentle dream world. Imbued with a certain melancholy, we also find the joyful aesthetic influences of his world music project La Macchina Volante. Triste Alegre echoes the paradoxesoftheworldandofeachindividual,asoothingandoriginaljourneyofferedbythisartist-philosopherfullofmythsandtangents.

Behind the deceptive veneer of the demure monotone artwork, something unassuming lies within this long-play waiting to be explored. Intrigued by the ironic title, enticed by the elegant text positioned alone on the beautifully tactile matte canvas, the listener will experience musical wonderment at odds with the presentation and discover that the 1976 album Colours is a powerful yet sophisticated set of electric soul-jazz. An inspired recording that bursts with warmth and texture, the pivotal recording from an exceptional jazz musician. HER name - Judy Bailey.

Over the course of a 70 year career, the pianist and composer established herself as one of the central figures of Australian jazz. Her crowning achievement Colours is a spirited and ambitious recording that captured the maturation and shifting jazz landscape of the mid 1970s Australia. Alongside other notable albums recorded mid decade including the 1975 self titled album by Melbourne's Arena (see Roundtable SIR014)) and Jackie Orszaczky's Beramiada (1975), the album signalled the countries transition from semi-acoustic jazz to electric jazz-funk. Regularly compared to the albums released on Creed Taylor's CTI label, Colours parallel these recordings with their clean production and spacious soul-jazz arrangements. In particular the crisp drums and processed bass heard on Bob James and Joe Farrell albums, the sprightly flute of Hubert Laws or perhaps the more sensual side of Flora Purim's vocals could all be suggested as a source of influence.

Continuing to celebrate and re-document Australia's jazz music legacy, The Roundtable are pleased to offer the first vinyl reissue of this seminal Australian Jazz recording. Presented in a replica gatefold sleeve with new liner notes, the full palette can once again be appreciated including the moody funk of Fall Down Dead, the Iberian Waltz Toledo, the Jazz-Dance anthem Colours Of My Dream and the spacey impressionist piece The Eleven Eight Song.

The archeological excavations into the cult Interactive Test label continues with a 4 track EP originally released by the label's Don, Franco Falsini, in 1991. Generously brought back to the bins, 3 decades later and still highly applicable to any tasteful dancefloor, a timeless expression of early italo-house.

Parisian label Chuwanaga is proud to present their latest 12-inch series release from Jéroboam, "Brexit Funk / Peckham Night". The band, also known in the streets of Paris and Montreuil as Echoes Of, is celebrating Britfunk and the rich musical heritage of Greater London, reflecting their deep appreciation for the iconic Britfunk sound. After several successful collaborations celebrating the genre with the label at the infamous New Morning venue in Paris, Jéroboam has crafted two brilliant compositions for this EP.

"Brexit Funk" is an electrifying homage to the classic London Jazz-Funk scene of the late seventies and early eighties. It is a tremendous track, reminiscent of the early sounds of Incognito and Freeez, infused with the energy of Hot Cuisine and Hi-Tension. It features a standout brass section, amazing solo performances, and a strong rhythm section. Having played in London and now across the whole UK, the band decided to ironically name this track as a musical memory of this strange transition.

On the B-side, you’ll find "Peckham Night" and its dub version, an outstanding composition that perfectly emulates the late seventies soul-jazz vibe. Beautiful vocals by singer Agyei blend seamlessly into this perfect composition. All along, you really feel the band coming together, bringing out the best of their soul. It really is the work of passionate and experienced musicians who have built strong confidence playing together for years.

Jéroboam is a group of 10 Parisian funkateers recognized as one of the biggest funk outfits on the current French scene. They already boast extensive live experience and a solid reputation between Paris and London. In addition to their original and popular tributes to American funk cities of the 70s-80s, they have also gained attention as a formidable backing band for Howard Johnson, Junior Giscombe, and Kyoto Jazz Massive. Having also released two highly acclaimed EPs on the Space Grapes label, they continue to work on their own original compositions under the name Jéroboam, with their debut album scheduled for release in 2025.

UK's Will Hofbauer, who has released on his own Third Place and other popular labels such as Wisdom Teeth, Rhythm Section International, Rinse Recordings and Aus Music, appears on Ladybug split series 'SF Traxx' These 3 dance tracks are made up of delicate rhythms and Will's unique sound.

A is Will's side, 'Cricket' transitions from breakbeats to 4/4, the experimental dance track 'Clod', and 'Cocodrilo' trips with unsettling synth and unique sound design.
All are wonderfully balanced dance floor tracks, uniquely distorted and loose.

On the flip side is Igaxx, a well-received release on Macadam Mambo and Angis Music.
It features the funky synth track '4.5 SL Trip', the floating breakbeat of 'Liquefy' and the mysterious downbeat cut with swirling bass and raspy distorted guitars 'Ray In Space'.

A split EP then, but one which highlights the individuality of both artists.

Episode three for Leeds-Barcelona collective MASS connects both cities at the heart of their project with two artists from each scene.

A1 features the talented Leeds-based producer Ollie Burgess aka Zuul/R.O.E as he adds another alias to his belt, AS Groove. He is joined by Barcelona-based Driahn, a seasoned artist in the heart of the city and one-half of the DJ Service project.

Monile brings her dreamy visions to the B-side, an artist who continues to blossom with her infectious and spirited taste. Resident Nikol concludes the EP with a timeless breakbeat cut to finish this Leeds-Barcelona connection.

We welcome Torn back to Samurai Music for a full length return trip.
Immortal ventures back into the abyssal realms that Ivans music inhabits with 13 meticulously crafted solo works. Meditative, brooding and hypnotic, it's a hauntingly immersive journey that shines a light on his singular vision and artistry.
From the outset, Torn descends into the subterranean with unmatched precision. Each track on Immortal is an intricate colage of raw, sinewy textures and eerie melodies,meticulously woven to create an intensely intoxicating experience.
Standout pieces like the title track 'Immortal', 'Into The Abyss', Unending Rails' and'Glacier' display the inimitable Torn style in its full glory. Immaculate rhythms and layered atmospherics, forever evoking a sense of inexorable momentum
What sets Immortal apart is its ability to maintain a cohesive narrative while exploring diverse sonic and rhythmic territories. Torn seamlessly transitions from the minimalist, almost meditative ambience of tracks like Reckless and I Dare to the more aggressive, beat-driven attacks of Inner Battle and Invisible Turmoil. Each piece contributes to the overarching foreboding atmospheric journey.
For aficionados of deep, shadowy atmospheric drum and bass, Torn's Immortal is indispensable, a tenebrous soundscape that is equal parts innovative, disquieting and enthralling.

Ever-evolving the mythologies and magic of Dialect's sonic sphere, Andrew PM Hunt returns with Atlas of Green, elegantly molding unexacting details of memory and mistranslation into the framework of the British musician and composer's creative pursuit. The album imagines a young musician named Green working in a future dawning era where lost signals and enduring impulses are unearthed from the sediments of technology and time. Across twelve compositions, Green becomes the compass in an epoch of transition; one shaded with pastoral patinas and studded with the fragments of allegorical ruin. As tattered as it is tender, Atlas of Green is a patchwork of scavenged relics and bygone hues, cast through the iridescent shimmers of a mid-future in flux. Growing up on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England, Hunt was surrounded by stone age landmarks and rock carvings that infused the landscape with legend. It was beside those carvings on a residency at Bidston Artistic Research Center where he began the journey of Atlas of Green, experimenting with tape loops and exploring the center's library of sci-fi. Here Hunt also encountered the work of Italian philosopher Federico Campagna, a writer who believes we're at the end of our current world. This encouraged Hunt's exploration of how the fabric and fantasies of our current era might endure into the future of Green, as they try to make sense of the riddles of the past, utilizing broken electronics and simple acoustic instruments to create new mythic forms. This question of endurance led Hunt to inscribe Atlas of Green with its own lucid markings - sometimes almost anthemic adornments - which unfurl through the album's melancholic air as possible new metaphors for how the human spirit might persist through dark days and regain lost wisdom. As Hunt reflects, "We're not just on an endless procession through constantly better worlds. Our lack of action (on climate and inequality) feels hopeless at times. I find some comfort in the idea that maybe the world needs a new song in order to tell a new story about itself". The image of Green as a journeying adolescent in-between eras developed out of a burgeoning interest in the fantasy writing of Ursula K. Le Guin and Gene Wolfe and occurred at a point in Hunt's life where the question of starting a family was looming. Green became a device for thinking about the future, or futures, putting someone in another world and granting access to a slightly longer timeframe than one's own life. What would this person, in this as-yet-unsung world do with something as powerful as music? As Hunt notes, "I imagined them doing what we've always done with music - using it to build a map of feeling, providing boundaries and tracing the edges of our emotions, defining a space of possibility and giving voice to our intuition. This is an alternative future to the one of endless growth but one which still holds space for hopes and dreams." Mapping new folds in the passage of time, Atlas of Green is traced with an aura of sonic urgency which arises through its process-led construction. Following a series of live shows in early 2023, the record was created with an assemblage of analogue electronics and acoustic instruments, including scratched records and a broken four track, collaging studio work with recorded live recordings featuring work in progress. Where the indeterminate energies of Under~Between (2021) appeared through digital processing, Atlas of Green embraces chance encounters within the malfunctions of physical media and glitching gear. Within these interwoven clusters of organic and blemished sound, Dialect reclaims the joyfulness of the inner amateur and creates a soft landing for new seeds of magical possibility - rooted in the bounds and abundance of realism. "As a planet of people we have to deal one way or another with our finite existence. We have to deal with that loss with hope still in our hearts - our capacity to love cannot be contingent on things lasting forever, and so this image of Green is not a vision of dystopia, nor utopia but an expression of trust and an acceptance of limits."

Mariachiara Troianiello, the force behind Katatonic Silentio, continues her exploration of spatial and sound design, slicing various forms of dub while following her instincts and storytelling through each work.

Troianiello's music and live sets are known to be meditative, with each transition subliminally serving a purpose. As 'Axis Of Light' delves into five pieces for this EP, one can experience the drops and transitions connecting, gradually uncovering hidden meanings.

Written and produced by Mariachiara Troianiello
Artwork by Apolo Cacho
Layout by Takashi Makabe
Digital Master by Paul Mac
Mastered and cut by Simon at The Exchange

Mark Templeton is a Canadian media artist and the founder of Graphical, an audiovisual label dedicated to publishing his own musical and image based experiments. Mark’s audio compositions are constructed from reel-to-reel tape loops and sampled cassettes that are contrasted with contemporary sound techniques. In his published photobooks, he incorporates his own 35mm pictures and found images, focusing on intangible fantasies and realities. During his audiovisual performances, he utilizes digital instruments while projecting his own photographs, VHS footage, Super 8 film, and other sampled video.


Mark Templeton’s reinterpretation of outdated media as musical instruments makes him a compelling artist for the Faitiche label roster. For his debut on Faitiche, he browsed his old hard drives and invited Andrew Pekler to listen through and co-produce a selection of Mark’s unreleased works. The compositions act as a series of snapshots: a look back at a decade of archived sounds, re-envisioned and re-imaged for Faitiche.
The album contains nine tracks that follow an AB song structure. Each piece begins with verse A, transitions into verse B, and then ends. This simple formula creates a dichotomy that is also present in Mark’s diptych photographs, featured in the artwork. Throughout the album, both juxtaposition and inherent connections are simultaneously at play. One way or another, Two Verses provides a beginner’s guide to Mark Templeton's highly idiosyncratic catalog.

The relationship between our star, the source that gives us life and the land we occupy during this transcendental process is one of sensitivity and compassion. Topography and rock settlements are positioned as conductive posts of energy. An energy line wrapping around a planet that straddles between the past, the present and the future. And on this land, exists an engineered string of energy called the 37th Parallel. Time Travel, multi-dimensional activity, healing, spiritual transition and rejuvenations in the supernatural respect and other powers we've yet to discover and realize.

Over a catalog of six albums, Native Harrow have produced a discography of “rich, engrossing records” and “instant classics” while single-mindedly following their own artistic code, acquiescing only to the exigence of the song: each song its own world with its own rules.

Formed a decade ago, Native Harrow spent their first five or six years crisscrossing the United States and Canada on numerous tours, averaging more than 150 concerts per year in 47 states and 4 provinces, on the back of two self-released albums, Ghost (2015) and Sorores (2017). In 2019, they released Happier Now, partnering with London alt-country stalwarts Loose Records. The record garnered glowing reviews, with Rough Trade selecting it for its album of the month, writing “Beautifully soaring... rolling grooves ground languid and dreamy clearwater shimmers of sound.” The critical acclaim and Americana chart success of the album prompted three back-to-back UK tours in 2019 and early 2020, ultimately leading to a three-year stint living and touring in the UK and Europe. In this time, Native Harrow released two more critically acclaimed records with Loose; Closeness (2020) and Old Kind of Magic (2022), playing for audiences ranging from rock clubs in Norway and Sweden to opera halls in Portugal, and every stop in-between, as well as performing at festivals such as BST Hyde Park (supporting the Eagles and Robert Plant & Alison Kraus), Greenman Festival, Black Deer Festival, The Great Escape, Celtic Connections, Moseley Folk Festival, SXSW, and many more.

Following the eruption of its title track, Side A of “Divided Kind” transitions nimbly through hazy tremolo-laden dusty canyons, past an intimate soulful love letter, and towards a moody anthem of devotion buoyed by propulsive grooves, before ultimately settling on a gentle bird’s-eye-view of love and transcendence. Side B opens with the debut single, “Goin’ Nowhere” a soul transmission over incendiary bass and undulating layers of guiro, congas, tambourines, shakers, and handclaps that sidesteps into moments of infinite dial-toned burnished, Rhodes-propelled soul-jazz and self-assured blues rock à gogo before ending in a spectral folk reading on celestial meditation.

“Divided Kind” was produced and recorded by the pair, in their home studio surrounded by the vintage acoustic and electric guitars, dusty semi-functional amplifiers, and out-of-date Rhodes, B3, piano, and assorted percussion they’ve grown accustomed to. Chicago-based Alex Hall was again drafted to add drums and to mix, and Philadelphia drummer and engineer Joshua Friedman mastered the record. London-based musician Joe Harvey-Whyte added the pedal steel to “Borrowing Time”, with all other voices and instruments being performed by Tuel and Harms.

Almost exactly one year after their debut album on Sdban Ultra (2023), the pan-European trio KAU continues their energetic trip with a double single release. This release, packed with intricate synthesizer arrangements, rapid drum patterns, and deep resonant basslines, is once again focused on capturing and translating their infectious live sound to tape.

Fully playing off their energetic band dynamics, the trio draws on elements of jazztronica, combined with familiar jam sounds from acts such as Yussef Dayes and corto.alto, transitioning into a groove atmosphere reminiscent of Flying Lotus. Imagine the fusion of British jazz with the innovative, vibrant 'Brussels sound'-that's where KAU sits.

"Kaugummi" (chewing gum) is the latest original track produced by the trio. The idea evolved by combining a 'dub' bassline with an intricate drum pattern. The melody is reminiscent of the EP's other side, "Mad Kau," as it uses similar unapologetic, richly diverse, and grooving elements. Both tracks culminate in highly energetic moments distinguished by aggressive arpeggiators and synths.

"Mad Kau" is a present-day remake of their previous 2022 release "Mad Max." It's a true representation of how the track is played by the trio on stage, with its iconic melody as the heartbeat of the song. It evokes moments of madness both within the musicians and the listener, hence the title.

Comparsa is the third studio release by the musical group Deep Forest. The group consists of the duo Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet and are known by composing a style of world music, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and beats. Comparsa features a pronounced focus on Latin and Caribbean grooves, provided by musicians from Cuba, Belize, Mexico and Madagascar, among other places. It became #8 French export album of 1998 and was certified Platinum by SNEP Export Awards, with more than 500,000 albums sold outside France.

If there's one musician in the last decade that you may hear in wildly diverse musical contexts it is Belgian electric bassist and sound sculptor Farida Amadou. Not only can you enjoy the unerringly skillful command she has over her instrument but also the transformative power to reinterpret and expand her material in spontaneous and unconventional ways.

Amadou is self-taught and radically aware of her idiosyncratic relationship with the bass guitar. She neither emulates the virtuosos of the electric bass, nor does she use the instrument as a pure sound generator that merely emits humming and feedback. She takes a completely independent and unique approach. This freedom enables her to create an overwhelming wall of sound, as well as simple, clear structures that are rhythmically concise yielding a wide associative space that lands somewhere between free jazz and noise.

Her work is often concentrated and circular where motifs are established and developed outward. It is an organic sound in the literal sense of the word, constantly in motion, yet resting in itself. The three solo pieces she has recorded for Week-End Records emphasize her impressive ability to ignite ecstasy from tranquility, to fan out a whole range of moods from a few potent ideas.

These attributes make her a musician who enriches every group she plays in, because she is present with her assured and crystallized sound but refrains from being domineering. However, her strengths are even more apparent when she plays solo: the contrasts between the dark, heavy clouds of sound and the rhythmic passages, and the transitions between movements which always sound "logical" yet surprising.

Her new solo album, "When It Rains It Pours" presents Amadou as an inspired improviser who follows her musical intuition and acumen to create a truly unique soundworld. Rarely has improvised music sounded so succinct and compelling.

Wenn es in den letzten zehn Jahren eine Musikerin gegeben hat, die man in den unterschiedlichsten musikalischen Kontexten immer wieder hören will: nicht weil sie eine passable Mitspielerin wäre, sondern weil sie diese Kontexte jedes Mal bereichert und auf spontane, unkonventionelle Weise erweitert, umdeutet, in neue transformiert, dann ist es die belgische E-Bassistin und Klangskulpteurin Farida Amadou.

Sie ist Autodidaktin - und sie versteht diese Selbstaneignung des Instruments radikal. Weder eifert sie den Virtuosen des E-Basses nach, noch verwendet sie das Instrument als reinen Klangerzeuger, der bloß Brummen und Feedbacks von sich gibt. Sie geht von einem völlig eigenständigen Ansatz aus. Der ermöglicht es ihr, eine überwältigende Wall of Sound zu kreieren genauso wie einfache, klare Strukturen, die rhythmisch prägnant sind und einen weiten Assoziationsraum zwischen Free Jazz und Noise eröffnen. 

Ihre Musik ist konzentriert, hat einen langen Atem, kreist um Motive, entwickelt daraus neue Linien, die Amadou im Spiel weiterverfolgt. Es ist ein im Wortsinne organischer Sound, ständig in Bewegung, dabei in sich ruhend. Die Stücke, die sie für Week-End Records aufgenommen hat, unterstreichen ihre beeindruckende Fähigkeit, aus der Ruhe die Ekstase zu entfachen, aus wenigen Ideen eine ganze Palette an Stimmungen aufzufächern.

Das macht sie zu einer Musikerin, die jede Gruppe, in der sie spielt, bereichert, weil sie präsent ist, ohne zu dominieren, weil ihr Sound so prägnant ist, ohne die anderen zu übertönen. Im Solo treten die Stärken ihres Spiels aber noch stärker hervor: die Kontraste zwischen zwischen dunklen, schweren Klangwolken und den rhythmischen Passagen, vor allem die Übergänge, die immer „logisch“ klingen, aber zunächst unerwartet kommen und ihren eigenen Weg einschlagen. Ihr neues Solo-Album, “When It Rains It Pours” zeigt sie als inspirierte Improvisatorin, die sich nie bloß ihren Einfällen hingibt, sondern die Ideen zu Ende denkt, oder besser: spielt. Selten klang improvisierte Musik so kompakt und zwingend.

WWM012 is Brenko's long-awaited release, a mini album that takes you on a musical journey through various emotions and soundscapes.

The project maintains a consistent feel, making it a cohesive work of art.
Brenko showcases a great talent for blending electronic and ambient elements, creating an album that’s both innovative and deeply engaging.

The album opens with "Alpha Wave," pulling you into a hypnotic electronic vibe with its pulsing rhythm and layered sound waves, creating a calming, introspective sonic landscape. This sets the tone for the whole release, offering a deep, meditative listening experience.

The next track, "Lisolia's Voice" introduces a more structured and dynamic melody. Here, Brenko plays with complex rhythms and diverse sound textures, striking a balance between energy and melody. The smooth transitions and use of synthesizers evoke a sense of journey and discovery.

"The Sky Vanished" takes the album to a darker, more intense place. The aggressive beats and distorted sounds create a stark contrast with the earlier tracks, exploring themes of tension and release while maintaining a constant energy that keeps you hooked.

With " Subconscious Activity" the album shifts back to a reflective tone. This track features a slower rhythm and ambient sounds that float freely in space. The skillful use of sound effects and pauses creates a sense of depth and mystery, inviting full immersion in the music.

" Beginner's Luck" changes the pace significantly with its mix of precise percussion and enveloping melodies, making it more dancefloor-friendly while still fitting the album's overall vibe.

"Sirius" experiments with organic sounds and vocal samples, adding a human dimension to the album by blending elements of concrete music with electronics.

The album concludes with "I Stayed Motionless In Air" a track that captures the project's essence perfectly. The ambient sounds and ethereal melodies create a peaceful and conclusive atmosphere, inviting reflection on the journey you've just experienced.

ESCHR001 marks the debut vinyl release from eschr, featuring a collection of four tracks, resonating with aficionados of minimal, house, and techno. "routine" offers a hypnotic minimal house groove with a captivating pad hook, engineered to ignite dance floors.

"recall" stands out with its emphasis on syncopated rhythm, gradually constructing an intricate bassline that embodies the essence of the track. "breathe" transitions into techno, with meticulously sequenced hi-hats and a sharp electronic precision against the backdrop of raw textures of natural sound.

"Ki" pays homage to a cherished friend, uniting the EP with simple yet evocative melodies and a drum treatment that adds an organic texture to the structured canvas."eschr 001" is a testament to authenticity in the domain of electronic music.