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Radiohop are a four-piece jazz / hip-hop band from Amsterdam, exploring the boundaries between groove, texture and improvisation. Hard to Handle is their second album and the first drop on Melting Pot Music. As the title suggests, Radiohop are going hard on this one.

Radiohop are Joshua Lutz (keys), Euan Jenkins (drums), Johnny Biner (guitar) and Joel Svedberg (bass). All four of them moved to Amsterdam around 2020 to study jazz and quickly plugged into the city’s bubbling scene.

Each band member plays an equal role in shaping the music as a single organism, emphasising feeling and atmosphere rather than ego or individual spotlight.

The compositions arise from experimentation, intuitive collaboration and deep listening, an approach that has as much to do with their backgrounds as improvisers and beat-makers as it does with their roots in jazz.

Radiohop have performed as the rhythm section for artists like Soul Supreme and Juju Rogers. Beat-heads might be familiar with Joshua’s solo project, Halfpastseven, which has collaborated with FloFilz and Jake Milliner

A glorious dirty little gem in Los Angeles finally rears its four heads again. Love Fiend have been slaying sine waves and bashing bongos boldly for a while now in the dusty dens of the unkempt underground. Good news for you, you can get an injection in your own home soon enough, you Fiend! Hooks for days, these young humans are now leaning fast forward into the reverse-future with Handle With Care out soon on OG In The Red Records. Perhaps they can join the upper echelons of Tik Tok barf famous good feelin’ peddlers like some of their label mates or perhaps they can just wear you out on the dance floor. One can dream anyhow. Either way this is gonna get stuck in your ear hole eyes, thank heavens. Deffo some neon drizzled ’80s synth punk highway tunes here. Just the right amount of this and just a bit of that in the roux to make you forget that we are teetering on the edge of………..for 30 minutes or so at least. Whew close one. Really all you need to get on. All hail the medicinal extra strength over these counter pop pills. For fans of Nick Lowe, The Cars, Gary Numan, Blondie, The Nerves. I could go on but why reveal everything in the trailer. Twist! Enjoy.” —John Peter Dwyer

The American-based funk/disco band Heatwave formed in 1975 and its lineup originally consisted of Johnnie Wilder Jr., Rod Temperton, Roy Carter, Mario Mantese, Ernest (Bilbo) Berger and Eric Johns. Their most popular hits include “Boogie Nights” and “Always And Forever”, which both feature on the 1976 debut album Too Hot To Handle. “Boogie Nights” charted at #2 on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The track was covered many times, including by KC and the Sunshine Band, Will To Power, 911 and The Weather Girls. The album Too Hot To Handle is produced by Barry Blue, who also produced for Andrea Bocelli, Diana Ross, Celine Dion and The Wanted amongst others.

Too Hot To Handle is available on vinyl for the first time as a 2LP expanded edition, featuring 8 bonus tracks, including 2 alternative versions of their disco classic “Boogie Nights”. This 2LP-set is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on pink & purple marbled vinyl.

Heavy Roots dub ! LOUD sound !

A true funk-soul masterpiece. Sampled by Madlib, Homeboy Sandman, Ghostface Killah, Black Milk, Roc Marciano, 9th Wonder, and more.

Beautiful, golden-era soul written by Leon Sylvers III, produced by Jerry Butler and Keg Johnson.

The Sylvers were a family from Los Angeles who were very successful during the 70's and into the early 80's, with chart hits - deep into pop-disco territory - including 'Boogie Fever', 'Hot Line' and 'High School Dance'. This is the group's second album, from 1973, and is one of their strongest.

Opening with the awesome mid-tempo 'We Can Make It If We Try' the record moves through funk, boogie and deep soul moods, finishing on a hazy, acapella version of The Beatles 'Yesterday'.

Official reissue in replica of original artwork.

The long established and critically acclaimed DJ-Kicks series kicks off 2017 with suitably accomplished DJ, producer, vocalist and instrumentalist Matthew Dear at the helm.A man of many musical hats, Texas born, Detroit raised Dear has a wide reaching discography that takes in face melting techno as Jabberjaw, dark avant-pop under his own name and intricate minimal as Audion.Often with a gothic slant and full of curiousness, his pensive but playful music is an intoxicating distillation of many different influences, often withhis own stylised vocals at the centre.

Unbroken Dub gives his debut on DUBWAX!

Respectful edits from NYC's finest JKriv (Razor N Tape)

One year has passed since the last release in this series and, as always, the Tramp Records crew have been working hard during the last 12 months to come up with an equally fine selection of tunes for this brand new volume. Our aim is to keep up with the quality of each release, a task which certainly does not get any easier as we step forward into the twenty first century.

There is no need to praise this selection of tracks. It is larger-than-life. And those who do not recognize the distinctiveness of it should better seek medical advice. The most astounding fact is certainly that 99% of the record buying public have never heard any of these tunes, most likely not even the artists. And we are not talking of people who solely listen to mainstream music. No. Even music lovers who believe that they have a good portion of knowledge when it comes to jazz and soul music will be left speechless.

You can skip to any song on this album and you won't be disappointed. The only premise is that you are a fan of raw, earthy soul and jazz music. If this is the case then you can't go wrong. Rene Bailey, Matilda Haywood, Lee Mitchell, Nu Art Quartet, to name a few. It is high time to introduce all these names to a broad audience and to prevent that they vanish into thin air. The Movements series was coined to introduce music lovers to so far unheard musical treasures. Tunes which only hardcore record collectors have had the privilege to enjoy it...until now.

Jordan Peak back on Robsoul with Club Cuts Vol.3

For her new and most radical album »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone«, Martina Bertoni used the electronic instrument at EMS Stockholm to create four pieces that are massive in scale and incredibly intimate, sonically restrained and emotionally overwhelming—almost ambient and always demanding your full attention.

Martina Bertoni returns to Karlrecords with »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone,« her most radical album yet. The foundation for the four electroacoustic pieces was laid during a residency at Stockholm’s legendary Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) that the Berlin-based cellist and composer used to explore the curious instrument, originally designed by Halldór Úlfarsson in 2008, as an algorithmic system in order to examine tunings and the mathematical relationships between Aiming to analyse and understand their interaction beyond the composer’s control, Bertoni sought to engage more deeply with the concepts of time, tuning, and, most importantly, control. Accordingly, her four »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone« seem both massive in scale and incredibly intimate, sonically restrained and emotionally overwhelming— almost ambient and always demanding your full attention.

While the halldorophone—famously used by Hildur Guðnadóttir for her »Joker« score—roughly resembles a cello and can be played like one, it is an electronic instrument. The vibration of its strings is being picked up, amplified, and then routed through a speaker. This creates a feedback loop that becomes increasingly complex depending on how much gain is added to individual strings. Úlfarsson gave Bertoni a carte blanche for how to handle the instrument, but she stresses that she relied on »minimal interventions—some string strumming and plucking« that set the interactions of different sounds and frequencies into motion. »I decided to not approach it like a cellist would,« she explains. »Instead I used it as a kind of generative organ by turning it into a feedback machine, with tuned feedback triggering more feedback depending on the tuning, which was based on tetraphonic scales that I could apply on the four main strings as well as the sympathetic group of strings.«

Bertoni recorded the material in the EMS studio, later composing and arranging the four complex pieces in her home in Berlin, after which they were mixed and mastered by Ciaran O’Shea. While this can be considered a compositional abstraction process, traces of her concrete work as a performer are firmly ingrained in the music. »The halldorophone doesn’t have a line output, just a double set of speakers, which is why I recorded all sounds with two microphones in the EMS studio,« she explains. »That’s why there’s plenty of breathing sounds here and there—label owner Thomas Herbst and I jokingly refer to the album as my ›chamber music record‹.« And indeed, there is a striking sense of intimacy to these four pieces throughout which individual sounds, harmonic frequencies, and even subtle rhythmic figures seem to move both on their own accord but also according to a underlying vision that steers their interplay.

Indeed, »Electroacoustic Works for Halldorophone« is an album built on and marked by contrasts. The soothing polylogue of single sounds in the higher register on opener »Omen in G« is counterpointed by massive bass drones, while the second piece, »Nominal in D,« plays a cunning game of repetition and difference by combining thick textures with all kinds of rhythmic elements. »Fades in C«—the longest of the four pieces, clocking in at 17 minutes—unlocks the emotional potentials of the sonic qualities of the halldorophone, sounding at once serene and anthemic, and »Organon in D« closes the album by underscoring how Bertoni’s unconventional approach allows her to seamlessly transform simple, quiet tones into complex, towering walls of sound.

Jazzbois is a jazz-hiphop fusion trio from Budapest, Hungary. Their studio albums and live shows are all equally heavily rooted in improvisation and momentary self expression, each performance is absolutely unique and daring.
In the past 3 years Jazzbois has played SOLD OUT headline shows in: Melkweg Amsterdam NL, Jazz Café London UK, Village Underground London UK, Duc des Lombards Paris FR, La Hasard Ludique Paris FR, Gretchen Berlin DE, Knust Hamburg DE, Ekko Utrecht NL, Simplon Groningen NL x 2, Jassmine Warsaw PL x 2, AKvarium Budapest x 3
Played on festivals like: Montreal Jazz Festival CAN, Montreux Jazz Festival CH, SZIGET HU, X the Tracks London UK, Brick Lane Jazz festival UK, Jazz á Vienne FR, Istanbul Jazz Festival TR, Jazz Open Stuttgart DE, Blue Summer Festival PL, Jazz Around PL, Jazz in the Park RO, JAZZx RO…

In June 2025 Jazzbois performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada. The boys were approached by Rémi Hermoso to record a live session video in front of a small audience in Studio Fast Forward. The session was planned for 4 hours to have time to record with a small live audience, but Jazzbois went in and played 5 songs in only one take without any pause and were done with the material. They handled this recording session like all of them, do one take and be done with it. This way they can get the essence of the moment and not have to worry about making a mistake and starting over. All of these are part of the song, it's honest and raw as it was born right in the moment.

“We did all this for the passion of it, for the music and for the culture, thank you to old and new friends who took part in this intimate gettogether” - said Viktor Sági ‘Vanis’ bass player of Jazzbois.

Following two 12-inch singles released via the self-run label Plastic & Sounds, which launched unexpectedly this past July, the culmination of their work to date—the album Silent Way, comprising ten tracks—will be released on 27th March as a coloured vinyl 2LP (gatefold sleeve/33RPM/limited press) and digitally.

Mastering and record cutting by Rashad Becker in Berlin. The artwork centres on photographer Yusuke Yamatani's work, with Satoshi Suzuki—who handles all P&S releases—constructing the overall aesthetic.
Last October, they appeared on Resident Advisor's popular series “RA Podcast”, with audio from their world premiere live performance in April 2023 released. They held the “Plastic & Sounds” label launch party at Shibuya. In January 2026, they performed a live set of their acclaimed album “Haet” at the venue's New Year's party.

This release comes amidst growing international acclaim, with their previous album ‘Discipline’ featured in Pitchfork's ‘The 30 Best Electronic Albums of 2025’, and one of their signature tracks, ‘Butterfly Effect’, selected for RA (Resident Advisor)'s ‘The Best Electronic Tracks of 2000-25’.

As WARNING prepares to release Rituals of Shame - their first new music in twenty years,vocalist/guitarist Patrick Walker is self-effacing about what led to this moment. Over the last two decades he continued to write and release music, satisfied that he had achieved what he set out to do with WARNING. In those intervening years, interest in WARNING swelled, organically gathering an ardent fanbase. In particular, the 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, has gained a cult following. In response to a transformative period in his life, Walker turned towards writing new songs, and it soon became apparent that these belonged to WARNING. In early January 2025, he started with a completely blank canvas, and piece by piece, he started to fill it with ideas that evolved to become the songs that make up Rituals of Shame.

His immersion in the project became a full-time pursuit. After successfully demoing the five songs, Walker retreated to a remote house on a hill outside Florence, Italy, to refine the lyrics. Recording took place at The Arch Studio, a 140-year-old former church in Southport, UK. Chris Fullard (Idles, Sunn O))), Ulver) handled the recording and mixing. Walker's lifelong musical inspirations can be traced through Rituals of Shame. The ambitious structural arrangements harken to Marillion’s complex but soaring episodic songs. They retain a sparsity that is reminiscent of June Tabor’s economic arrangements; thick with melody but with a diaphanous air to them. Citing John Brenner of Revelation as an enduring inspiration, Patrick credits him with introducing the idea of how to infuse heavy music with significant emotional depth. Often reluctant to discuss the minutiae of his lyrics, Walker does acknowledge that making this album was a direct response to the immediate concerns of his current life period. Rituals of Shame also echoes the enduring themes and fixations that have marked most of his work: guilt, shame, personal failure, obsession, longing, and separation, but, most of all, he says, love. Short: WARNING return with Rituals of Shame - the pioneering Doom band's first new music in 20 years! FFO: My Dying Bride, Candlemass, YOB, Black Sabbath, 40 Watt Sun, Pallbearer, Pagan Altar

As WARNING prepares to release Rituals of Shame - their first new music in twenty years,vocalist/guitarist Patrick Walker is self-effacing about what led to this moment. Over the last two decades he continued to write and release music, satisfied that he had achieved what he set out to do with WARNING. In those intervening years, interest in WARNING swelled, organically gathering an ardent fanbase. In particular, the 2006 album, Watching from a Distance, has gained a cult following. In response to a transformative period in his life, Walker turned towards writing new songs, and it soon became apparent that these belonged to WARNING. In early January 2025, he started with a completely blank canvas, and piece by piece, he started to fill it with ideas that evolved to become the songs that make up Rituals of Shame.

His immersion in the project became a full-time pursuit. After successfully demoing the five songs, Walker retreated to a remote house on a hill outside Florence, Italy, to refine the lyrics. Recording took place at The Arch Studio, a 140-year-old former church in Southport, UK. Chris Fullard (Idles, Sunn O))), Ulver) handled the recording and mixing. Walker's lifelong musical inspirations can be traced through Rituals of Shame. The ambitious structural arrangements harken to Marillion’s complex but soaring episodic songs. They retain a sparsity that is reminiscent of June Tabor’s economic arrangements; thick with melody but with a diaphanous air to them. Citing John Brenner of Revelation as an enduring inspiration, Patrick credits him with introducing the idea of how to infuse heavy music with significant emotional depth. Often reluctant to discuss the minutiae of his lyrics, Walker does acknowledge that making this album was a direct response to the immediate concerns of his current life period. Rituals of Shame also echoes the enduring themes and fixations that have marked most of his work: guilt, shame, personal failure, obsession, longing, and separation, but, most of all, he says, love. Short: WARNING return with Rituals of Shame - the pioneering Doom band's first new music in 20 years! FFO: My Dying Bride, Candlemass, YOB, Black Sabbath, 40 Watt Sun, Pallbearer, Pagan Altar

Over the course of more than a decade, the French quartet Lost in Kyiv have refined a sound that fuses cinematic ambition, electronic precision, and visceral live energy into something unmistakably their own. With their new album, `We're All Going To Be Fine', they push that identity further than ever; sharpening their production, intensifying their dynamics, and embracing a darker, more immersive sonic architecture. Lost in Kyiv's music has always thrived on tension between the organic and the synthetic. On `We're All Going To Be Fine', that integration reaches a new level of clarity and depth. The writing and production process was long and exacting, allowing the band to refine every transition and tonal detail. Songs unfold with architectural precision, motifs are introduced subtly before expanding into vast, multi-layered climaxes. Dynamics are handled with patience and control, silence and minimalism are deployed as strategically as explosive crescendos. This careful pacing gives the album a cinematic flow and larger narrative in which struggle and compassion coexist. Guitars surge and recede in wide, panoramic arcs. At moments they shimmer and support, at others they thrash violently, accumulating layers of distortion and harmonic overtones. Acoustic instrumentation is interwoven with sequenced synth lines, pulsing arpeggiators, and carefully sculpted electronic textures that give the band's sound a sense of forward propulsion. Rhythm plays a central role in Lost in Kyiv's identity. The drums provide impact and structure, locking into intricate patterns that interact with bass-driven synth pulses. At times the groove feels almost mechanical, echoing the steady insistence of electronic music; at others, it breathes and swells with human elasticity. This interplay creates a powerful sense of movement, an impression that the music is always advancing, even in its most introspective passages. "We almost consider this album as the first record of a new version of the band. That's why we decided to use the name Lost in Kyiv now. We don't want to erase the past, but it really feels like a new direction. Artistically, I think this album marks the beginning of a new direction, louder and more metal-oriented than what we did before." (Lost in Kyiv) FOR FANS OF Russian Circles * P.G.Lost * The Ocean * Cult of Luna * Brutus * This Will Destroy You

Over the course of more than a decade, the French quartet Lost in Kyiv have refined a sound that fuses cinematic ambition, electronic precision, and visceral live energy into something unmistakably their own. With their new album, `We're All Going To Be Fine', they push that identity further than ever; sharpening their production, intensifying their dynamics, and embracing a darker, more immersive sonic architecture. Lost in Kyiv's music has always thrived on tension between the organic and the synthetic. On `We're All Going To Be Fine', that integration reaches a new level of clarity and depth. The writing and production process was long and exacting, allowing the band to refine every transition and tonal detail. Songs unfold with architectural precision, motifs are introduced subtly before expanding into vast, multi-layered climaxes. Dynamics are handled with patience and control, silence and minimalism are deployed as strategically as explosive crescendos. This careful pacing gives the album a cinematic flow and larger narrative in which struggle and compassion coexist. Guitars surge and recede in wide, panoramic arcs. At moments they shimmer and support, at others they thrash violently, accumulating layers of distortion and harmonic overtones. Acoustic instrumentation is interwoven with sequenced synth lines, pulsing arpeggiators, and carefully sculpted electronic textures that give the band's sound a sense of forward propulsion. Rhythm plays a central role in Lost in Kyiv's identity. The drums provide impact and structure, locking into intricate patterns that interact with bass-driven synth pulses. At times the groove feels almost mechanical, echoing the steady insistence of electronic music; at others, it breathes and swells with human elasticity. This interplay creates a powerful sense of movement, an impression that the music is always advancing, even in its most introspective passages. "We almost consider this album as the first record of a new version of the band. That's why we decided to use the name Lost in Kyiv now. We don't want to erase the past, but it really feels like a new direction. Artistically, I think this album marks the beginning of a new direction, louder and more metal-oriented than what we did before." (Lost in Kyiv) FOR FANS OF Russian Circles * P.G.Lost * The Ocean * Cult of Luna * Brutus * This Will Destroy You

The Mexican band The Survival created a blend of blues and acid rock influenced by the U.S. West Coast movement and British blues, captured on this 1971 album-the only one they recorded. They are often described as a combination of Country Joe and the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, and Ten Years After. One of the rarest records ever released in Mexico, it stands as a significant testament to the "onda chicana," a historical moment when Mexican youth took up instruments to express their reality. The group formed in August 1970 and recorded a single album, "La onda de The Survival" (1971), which combined laid-back blues with distortion. One distinctive feature was that lead vocals were handled by drummer Andrés Lusher-an unusual choice that gave the band a unique sonic identity. The album captured the spirit of the time, portraying generational shifts, repression of youth, fraternity, pacifism, and the influence of drugs. Despite their brief existence, The Survival and their sole album remain a significant testament to the "onda chicana", a lasting mark on the history of Mexican rock. Includes an insert with liner notes.

“As always the darkest moments of human existence
have a shadow of sheer light

But it’s never to be found while sitting still

even when we want to

It’s to be found in scraping ourselves up and doing . . .

Not overthinking about

Just doing

Just making a permanent mark

Leaving a permanent reminder

for our future selves to revisit and learn from when the times right

If that’s ever comes

So many milestones . . . ?”

Jorge Gamarra and D’Marc Cantu - two true hardware heavyweights - come together for a split EP, marking the sixth release on Zonate.

Jorge Gamarra takes the A-side with two emotion fuelled productions. Eleven Minute Shrink opens - an instantly memorable, ear-worm melody underpinned by driving electro. A standout production with real versatility. This is followed by Prolonged Grief Disorder, a more textured and immersive piece, with tension conveying a real sense of raw emotion. D’Marc Cantu handles the B-side. Based on the outskirts of Detroit, and with over two decades of stellar releases behind him, he delivers two tracks written between 2019–2020.

Haystack explores the proverbial needle-in-a-haystack - a peak-time weapon that toys with chaos through rising energy and chopped vocals, before pulling itself back into tightly controlled club pressure. Closing the record is Madripoor, a deeper cut built around floating synth lines, capturing the essence of electro’s golden era.

Le Ceez is one of those OG Chicago House heads that we all know, admire and respect. As a kid, he was soaked in a huge serving of WGCI and WBMX, learning the chops with a mad famous house music cousin and religiously studying Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles’ edits.

He’s done a few things out there, but nothing beats his edits, his DJ skills, and his knowledge. Maybe you’ve heard similar tunes before, but don’t be fooled—this is the real deal to all of us who know a thing or two in the Windy City. So, here at Stilove4music, we stick together around Le Ceez and are proud to share his first batch of disco goodies.

Building a temple of sound from reduced elements, Decoder's Alchemy EP on T3R allows selected components to generate a strong and steady drive. Using a distinctly organic sound palette, the tone of the release is wordly, sometimes almost wooden with space taking the role of an active element. When melodies or chords appear, they introduce a subtle sense of melancholy, adding emotional weight without pulling the music away from its physicality. In its unfolding storyline, the EP suggests a broader narrative. While each piece explores a slightly different soundscaping approach, a consistent DNA runs through the release - reinforced by Sanskrit and Hindu references as an underlying conceptual thread. Percussion is handled with precision and imagination: Grooves shift, evolve, and reconfigure. Dark, driving sequences are softened by airy pads and atmospheric layers, creating a dual feeling of intensity and serenity. Filters and reverbs are applied with restraint, giving the music a sense of movement and breath. Alchemy showcases an emerging artistic voice driven by aspiration and exploration. Through confident craftsmanship, genuineness and self-reflection translate into a perfectly balanced, inspiring release. ? 2026 The Third Room Written and Produced by Gautham Gaug Mixdown and Mastering by Ahmet Sisman (The Third Room Studios) Artwork by Daniel Bornmann & Lennard Makosch (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

WRWTFWW Records is pleased to announce its fifth collaboration with NY-LA ambient / jazz / downtempo musician Danny Scott Lane with the first ever vinyl release of his 2022 full-length album Holy Goodnight, available on limited edition LP (500 copies worldwide) housed in a heavyweight sleeve.
After Home Decor, Shower, Caput, and Songs For Sex, here’s another Danny Scott Lane classic. On Holy Goodnight, he handles synths, keyboards, bass, guitar, percussion, and field recordings for a smooth nightride through city pop, contemplative jazz, vaporwave, slow funk, cozy ambient, library music vibes, and relaxed moods.
Holy Goodnight feels like cruising through a half-asleep city with the windows down and the radio low—lush harmonies and soft grooves guiding the way. It’s warm and hazy music for late hours and early mornings, introspective, comforting, cinematic, intimate…
Following the release of chillout staples on WRWTFWW, Danny Scott Lane further cements his unmistakable sonic universe. Complete the collection and sink deeper into the night.
Points of interest
For fans of ambient jazz, city pop, downtempo, smooth funk, vaporwave, library music, night drives, neon lights, quiet introspection, cozy late hours, and peaceful goodnights.
Super limited edition vinyl (500 copies worldwide) of Danny Scott Lane’s Holy Goodnight, available on vinyl for the first time ever.

Numbered 150 copies on green vinyl.

The duo Sławek Pezda & Witek Ryć is a project by Krakow-based musicians, a hybrid of ambient, noise, experimental music, jazz, trance, electronica, and ethnic music. The two musicians' musical paths were united by the practice of meditation, which also significantly translates into their musical language and the need to share the peace that flows to the listener through sound.

In their recordings and live performances, the musicians utilize tenor saxophone, modular synthesizers, electronics, drums, flutes, drum pads, Tibetan bowls, gongs, and a wide array of percussion instruments. They have played together in improvised concerts, relaxation concerts, chamber sessions, and even spiritual jazz.

"Kardamon" is the result of one of the live sessions, where the rhythm, based on a simple pulse flowing from a frame drum, accompanied by Ankle Bells (Indian janissary bells played with the foot), is enriched by Sławek's tenor saxophone. In addition to the aforementioned instruments, a synthesizer and a Roland HPD 20 drum machine were also used, accompanied by various percussion instruments (shaker, chimes, bells, etc.), as well as a fragment of Witek's own field recordings from the Polesie National Park.

The remix on the B-side was created by DJ PLASH, who gave the duo's original sounds a completely new dimension. Plash (Marcin Przeplasko) is arguably one of the most sought-after DJs playing for b-girls and b-boys worldwide, a feat culminating in his official performance behind the turntables at the last Summer Olympics. PLASH is Witek's neighbor from Krakow's Nowa Huta district.

The front cover artwork is a painting by Witek Ryć, and the entire album was assembled and framed by Animisiewasz. Mastering was handled by Eprom. The single is limited to 150 copies and is being released by Funky Mamas and Papas Recordings, a label specializing in seven-inch singles since 2008.

Rocksteady Disco returns with more heat for the heads, this time from Glenn Echo & Daniel Meinecke delivering a stunning 7" that bridges various eras of dancefloor magic. Their take on Sylvester and Patrick Cowley's 'I Need Somebody To Love Tonight' is pure cosmic seduction with New Orleans vocalist Mark-Anthony Thomas channelling Sylvester's spirit while Meinecke's synth work and Glenn's rich production elevate the classic into a shimmering modern anthem. Flip it and Lucky 7s takes a left turn into dub-funk psychedelia with chunky drums, low-slung bass, wild time signatures and futuristic vocoder texture. Red hot so handle with care.

Originally released in 2004, this record now fetches up to 50 euros for a used copy on Discogs. It has recently regained attention and support from current DJs and featured on Paramida’s mix for The Mudshow.
Da Sunlounge handles the A side with a funky, jacked-up track, while the B side features a collaboration with Office Gossip (Winding Road / Urban Tourq) for some deep, twisted tech house music. This release was initially supported in 2004 by Inland Knights, The Lawnchair Generals, Hipp-e, The Littlemen, and David Duriez.

Gatefold Sleeve

M’Bamina – African Roll (1975)
The story of an album born between Africa, Italy, and the nightclub culture of the 1970s
In the heart of 1970s Italy — a country undergoing profound social change and a music scene just beginning to open itself to distant sounds and cultures — an extraordinary, almost improbable story took shape. It is the story of a group of young African musicians who found their way to Europe, of a Turin nightclub that became a crossroads for communities and experimenters, and of an album which, released in small numbers and largely unnoticed at the time, is now considered a rare jewel of Afro-fusion.
The band called themselves M’Bamina — an ensemble of musicians from Congo, Cameroon, and Benin, who arrived in Italy in the early Seventies. Settling between northern Italy and the Pavia area, they began performing in small clubs and community events, bringing with them a vibrant rhythmic heritage: African polyrhythms, call-and-response vocals, funk-infused bass lines, and Caribbean or Afro-Latin colours absorbed along their musical journeys. Their raw, contagious energy on stage quickly drew attention.
Meanwhile, in Turin, another story was unfolding. There was a venue becoming almost legendary: Voom Voom, one of the city’s liveliest nightclubs, run by Ivo Lunardi. The club attracted an eclectic crowd — students, artists, foreigners, night owls — and Lunardi quickly understood that the dancefloor wasn’t just a place for music, but a melting pot for a new kind of cultural energy. Out of this vibrant atmosphere came his idea: to turn the club’s name into a small independent record label, Voom Voom Music, capable of capturing the spirit of those years and giving voice to unconventional projects.

When Lunardi heard M’Bamina, he immediately sensed that this was the sound he had been searching for: fresh, different from anything circulating in Italy at the time, and capable of blending African tradition with funk and European sensibility. He brought them into the studio.
Production was handled by Lunardi along with Christian Carbaza Michel, while the engineering was entrusted to Danilo Pennone, a young sound technician with a sharp, intuitive ear.
The recording sessions — held in Turin in 1975 — produced a remarkably warm and direct sound. The music feels almost live: grooves rooted in African tradition, but open to funk-rock structures and modern arrangements. It is a natural fusion, never forced. Tracks move between tribal rhythms, funk basslines, light electric guitars, congas and Afro-Latin percussion, with call-and-response vocals and melodies that echo both Congolese tradition and the lineage of Latin jazz. Not by chance, one of the album’s most striking tracks, Watchiwara, reinterprets a Latin standard through M’Bamina’s own rhythmic language.

The album was titled African Roll — a name that was already a statement of intention. It is African music that “rolls,” that moves, adapts, transforms within a new geographic and cultural setting. It is not strictly Afrobeat, nor Congolese rumba, nor Western funk: it is a spontaneous, hybrid blend, shaped more by lived experience than by any calculated aesthetic program.
When African Roll was released, the world around it barely noticed. Distribution was limited, and 1970s Italy had yet to develop a cultural framework for receiving such music. The national music press rarely paid attention to African or “world” productions. The album slipped into silence — though the band’s own story did not.

M’Bamina continued performing across Europe and Africa, even sharing a stage in Cameroon with none other than Manu Dibango. By the late Seventies, they moved to Paris, signed with Fiesta/Decca, and recorded a second LP, Experimental (1978). Meanwhile, the peculiar record they had made in Turin began to resurface quietly among vinyl collectors, Afro-funk enthusiasts, and DJs hunting for forgotten grooves.
That is when the album’s fate began to shift.

Over the decades, African Roll emerged as an almost unique document: a snapshot of an intercultural Italy before the word “intercultural” even existed, a fragment of migrant history, a spontaneous experiment in musical fusion born far from major industry circuits but rich in authenticity. Original copies began commanding high prices on the collector’s market, and the album became recognized as one of the hidden classics of European Afro-fusion from the 1970s.
Today, more than fifty years later, this reissue finally restores visibility and dignity to a project that deserves to be heard, studied, and celebrated. It is not simply an album: it is the testimony of a rare cultural encounter, born in an Italy unaware of how fertile such exchanges would one day become.

It is the story of a visionary producer, an extraordinary band, and a fleeting moment in which music, migration, and nightlife came together to create something genuinely new.
African Roll is — now more than ever — the sound of a bridge: between continents, between eras, between cultures. A record that, after rolling far and wide, has finally come home.

Somewhere long ago in a vinyl galaxy near you We Play House Recordings released an E.P. called ‘This Is Still Belgium Vol 1’. The release was called like that because the music on it could only have been made by Belgians. Vol 2 never happened…until now. Label boss Red D has always been inspired by the rich Belgian club music of the 90’s and inevitably those influences have sneaked into his own productions, but never as clear as on the three tracks you are reading about now.

And so the original WPH series has been revived with WPH 024.5, aptly called ‘This Is Still Belgium Vol 2’. The music is situated somewhere between house, progressive house and early trance music, basically club music with soul & melody at its core.

On the A-side we find Red D teaming up with his friend Mona Lee, a soul sister who has been making waves in recent years in soulful house circles and who comes up with the vocal prowess to match Red D’s emotional trip of a track and heartfelt lyrics. Can you handle the break?

The B-side opens up with ‘Tides’, a deep hypnotic builder for late night eyes-closed dance floors and closes with ‘Papillon’, a track that came to life long ago in the minds of Telepaticos (Marcos Salon & Sandro Valcke). When Red D heard a demo version of this one the melody got stuck in his head and never really left him. Many moons later he rediscovered the parts of this one on a hard drive and got to work on his interpretation that features on this E.P. Safe to say the track holds a special place in Red D’s heart and we’re sure you’ll feel it as well!

Electro as its best! SS001 marks the first transmission from Serpiente Sounds, a debut 12" split that keeps it lean, direct, and floor-focused. Viewtiful Joe handles the A-side with two cuts that balance Electro snap and Detroit discipline: clean drum architecture, crisp low-end, and synth lines that feel both futuristic and functional. On the flip, Subversive brings two late-night weapons with a colder edge and a deeper swing. SS001 is a debut statement with zero filler, a compact toolkit of Electro/Detroit tools for the booth.

DJ support: Soul Clap, Walla P (Voyage Funktastique), Moniquea

The first lady of MoFunk Records is also considered by many to be one of the queens of modern funk music. Her latest, “Womp In My Spirit,” fuses a wide range of styles within its ten tracks and shows the true versatility of funk music. On one end, the deep g-funk bounce of songs like “Womp In My Spirit” & “However You Are” show you Moniquea's west coast roots clearly, while uptempo boogie bangers like “Get It Together” sit in the lane that MoFunk is best known for. Tracks like “Red Light” go in a more dancey direction, welcoming the sleekness of house music to mingle with g-funk whistles and rubbery synth bass, a track that recently caught the ear of Soul Clap and was remixed by them on their recent “Soul Clap vs. MoFunk” EP. The majority of production on the album was handled by MoFunk head honcho XL Middleton.

New 12” from WEorUS Records, catalog number WU009, is titled "First Dip" by Wetsuit. The record is written and produced by Vincent Lemieux and Ohm Hourani, two acclaimed figures known for their contributions to forward-thinking electronic music. This fresh EP features three tracks: “It’s OK” on one side, with “Believe it” and “Papapi Papapa” on the other, promising a genre-blurring journey ideal for discerning selectors. Jazz infusion and eclectic electronic production is the best way to identify this masterpiece.
Mastering is handled by Cristobal Urbina, ensuring high-fidelity audio.

BYAMM (pronounced 'bye-yam') is a retro soul studio project that was born during the 2021 lockdown. The focus is on soul music with strong themes, memorable melodies and catchy hooks layered with synthesizers, grooving bass lines and a hint of 1980s influences.
Central to BYAMM is a strong song-writing etiquette and a classic and timeless appeal to all ages.

BYAMM stands for Barima Yaw Asante Making Music. Barima is the songwriter, keyboard player and producer. Lead vocals are handled by the seasoned Ade Omotayo, whose credits including working with the late Amy Winehouse, the original members Amy Winehouse Band and the Gorillaz.

BYAMM is supported by a collective of professional session musicians recruited from around the world.

The Éthiopiques series returns! Essential archive recordings from an extremely fruitful period in Ethiopian music.

Before “Swinging Addis” took over the world, there was Moussié Nerses Nalbandian — the Armenian-born composer who shaped modern Ethiopian music. Mentor, arranger, and pioneer, he laid the foundations of Ethio-jazz.

This Éthiopiques volume revives his forgotten legacy, recorded live by Either/ Orchestra First issue ever with new exclusive photos and in depth liner 8-page insert.

“Ethiopian jazzmen are the best musicians that we have seen so far in Africa.
They really are promising handlers of jazz instruments.”

Wilbur De Paris
(1959, after a concert in Addis Ababa)

አዲስ፡ዘመን። *Addis zèmèn* **A new era.**
The time is the mid-1950s and early 1960s, just before "Swinging Addis" bloomed – or rather boomed – onto the scene. Brass instruments are still dominant, but the advent of the electric guitar, and the very first electronic organs, are just around the corner. Rock’n'Roll, R’n’B, Soul and the Twist have not yet barged their way in. Addis Ababa is steeped in the big band atmosphere of the post-war era, with Glenn Miller's *In the* *Mood* as its world-wide theme song, neck and neck with the Latin craze that was in vogue at the same period. Life has become enjoyable once again, with the return of peace after the terrible Italian Fascist invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1941). The redeployment of modern music is part and parcel of the postwar reconstruction. *Addis zèmèn* – a new era – is the watchword of the postwar period, just as it was all across war-torn Europe.
The generation who were the young parents of baby boomers** were the first to enjoy this musical renaissance, before the baby boomers themselves took over and forever super-charged the soundtrack of the final days of imperial reign. Music is Ethiopia's most popular art form, and very often serves as the best barometer for the upsurge of energy that is critical for reconstruction. Whether it be jazz in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the *zazous* who revolutionised both jazz and French *chanson* after the *Libération*, be it Madrid's post-Franco Movida, or Dada, the Surrealists and *les années folles* that followed World War I, the periods just after mourning and hardship always give rise to brighter and more tuneful tomorrows. Addis Ababa, as the country's capital, and the epicentre of change, was no exception to this vital rule.

**Two generations of Nalbandian musicians**
Nersès Nalbandian belonged to a family of Armenian exiles, who had moved to Ethiopia in the mid-1920s. The uncle Kevork arrived along with the fabled "*Arba Lidjotch*", the** "*40 Kids*", young Armenian orphans and musicians that the Ras Tafari had recruited when he visited Jerusalem in 1924, intending to turn their brass band into the official imperial band. If Kevork Nalbandian was the one who first opened the way of modernism, pushing innovation so far as to invent musical theatre, it was his nephew Nersès who would go on to become, from the 1940s and until his death in 1977, a pivotal figure of modern Ethiopian music and of the heights it. Going all the way back to the 1950s. Nothing less. And it is Nersès who is largely to thank for the brassy colours that so greatly contributed to the international renown of Ethiopian groove. While the younger generations today venture timidly into the genealogy of their country's modern music, often losing their way amidst a distinctly xenophobic historiographical complacency, many survivors of the imperial period are still around to bear witness and pay tribute to the essential role that "Moussié Nersès" played in the rise of Abyssinia's musical modernity.
Given the year of his birth (15 March 1915), no one knows for sure if Nersès Nalbandian was born in Aintab, today Gaziantep (Turkiye/former Ottoman Empire) or on the other side of the border in Alep, Syria... What is certain is that his family, like the entire Armenian community, was amongst the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Turks. Alep, the place of safety – today in ruins.
Before Nersès then, there was uncle Kevork (1887-1963). For a quarter of a century, he was a whirlwind of activity in music teaching and theatrical innovation. *Guèbrè Mariam le Gondaré* (የጎንደሬ ገብረ ማርያም አጥቶ ማግኘት, 1926 EC=1934) is his most famous creation. This play included "ten Ethiopian songs" — a totally innovative approach. According to his autobiographical notes, preserved by the Nalbandian family, Kevork indicates that he composed some 50 such pieces over the course of his career. This shows just how much he understood, very early on, the critical importance of song as Ethiopia's crowning artistic form. Indeed, for Ethiopian listeners, the most important thing is the lyrics, with all their multifarious mischief, far more than a strong melody, sophisticated arrangements or even an exceptional voice. (This is also why Ethiopians by and large, and beginning with the artists and producers themselves, believed for a long time — and wrongly — that their music could not possibly be exported, and could never win over audiences abroad, who did not speak the country's languages).

Last but not least, one of Kevork's major contributions remains composing Ethiopia's first national anthem – with lyrics by Yoftahé Negussié.
Nersès Nalbandian moved to Ethiopia at the end of the 1930s, at the behest of his ground-breaking uncle. Proficient in many instruments (pretty much everything but the drums), conductor, choir director, composer, arranger, adapter, creator, piano tuner, purveyor of rented pianos,... he was above all an energetic and influential teacher. From 1946 onwards, thanks to Kevork's connexion, Nersès was appointed musical director of the Addis Ababa Municipality Band. In just a few years, Nersès transformed it into the first truly modern ensemble, thanks to the quality of his teaching, his choice of repertoire, and the sophistication of his arrangements. It was this group that would go on to become the orchestra of the Haile Selassie Theatre shortly after its inauguration in 1955, which was a major celebration of the Emperor's jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his on-again-off-again reign.

At some point or other in his long career, Nersès Nalbandian had a hand in the creation of just about every institutional band (Municipality Band, Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, Army Band, Yared Music School…), but it was with the Haile Selassie Theatre – today the National Theatre – that his abilities were most on display, up until his death in 1977. To this must be added the development of choral singing in Ethiopia, hitherto unknown, and a sort of secret garden dedicated to the memory of Armenian sacred music, and brought together in two thick, unpublished volumes. Shortly before his death (November 13, 1977), he was appointed to lead the impressive Ethiopian delegation at Festac in Lagos, Nigeria (January-February 1977).

His status as a stateless foreigner regularly excluded him from the most senior positions, in spite of the respect he commanded (and commands to this day) from the musicians of his era. Naturally gifted and largely self-taught, Nerses was tirelessly curious about new musical developments, drawing inspiration from the very first imported records, and especially from listening intensely to the musical programmes broadcast over short-wave radio – BBC *First*. A prolific composer and arranger, he was constantly mindful of formalising and integrating Ethiopian parameters (specific “musical modes”, pentatonic scale, and the dominance of ternary rhythms) into his “modernisation” of the musical culture, rather than trying to over-westernise it. It even seems very probable that *Moussié* Nerses made a decisive contribution to the development of tighter music-teaching methods, in order to revitalise musical education during this period of prodigious cultural ferment. Flying in the face of all the historiographical and musicological evidence, it is taken as sacrosanct dogma that the four musical modes or chords officially recognised today, the *qǝñǝt* or *qiñit* (ቅኝት), are every bit as millennial as Ethiopia itself. It would appear however that some streamlining of these chords actually took place in around 1960. It was only from this time onward that music teaching was structured around these four fundamental musical modes and chords: *Ambassel*, *Bati*, *Tezeta* and *Antchi Hoyé*. A historical and musical “details” that is, apparently, difficult to swallow, especially if that should honour a *foreigner*. Modern Ethiopian music has Nersès to thank for many of its standards and, to this day, it is not unusual for the National Radio to broadcast thunderous oldies that bear unmistakable traces of his outrageously groovy touch.

Warsaw 480km ist das Debütalbum des irisch/portugiesischen Quintetts pôt-pot, das die treibenden Grooves des Krautrock mit einer phosphoreszierenden Psych-Rock-Ausstrahlung verbindet, unterstrichen von Harmonium-Drones, hypnotischen männlich-weiblichen Gesangsharmonien und tiefen Schichten rauer Texturen. Das Album entstand in erster Linie aus Demos des Multiinstrumentalisten und Leadsängers Mark Waldron-Hyden während einer Zeit der Trauer und des persönlichen Umbruchs und wurde durch eine Reihe von Live-Studio-Sessions in voller Besetzung zum Leben erweckt, die ein außergewöhnliches Spektrum an Talenten dokumentieren, die sich in einer Umarmung der rohen Katharsis mit einer süßlich düsteren Kante vereinen. Ein entscheidendes Element von Warsaw 480km ist die beeindruckende Bandbreite an Einflüssen und atmosphärischen Landschaften. Waldron-Hyden beschreibt: ,Ich habe die ersten Songs geschrieben, als ich noch nicht wirklich an einem Ort lebte, daher denke ich, dass sie sich irgendwie vergänglich anfühlen - sie mit der Band zu entwickeln half mir, eine Zeit zu verarbeiten, in der ich emotional frei war, daher erinnern sie mich gleichermaßen an die schönen Erfahrungen, die wir als kreative Einheit teilten, und an die schwierigen Zeiten, die sie inspirierten." Die Leadsingle ,WRSW" ist ein Beispiel für diese Komplexität, denn ihr robustes rhythmisches Rückgrat trägt Tremolo-Gitarren, ein wummerndes Harmonium und eine halb gesprochene, an Lou Reed erinnernde Gesangslinie, in der Strophe und Refrain wunderbar miteinander verschmelzen. Vor allem ist Warsaw 480km ein Album, das seinen Reichtum und seine Aura durch bewusste Sparsamkeit erreicht, wie Waldron-Hyden erklärt: "Ollie Oliver Smith und Sara Sara Leslie sind Experten darin, das Beste aus einem Pedal, einem beschissenen Verstärker und einer geliehenen Gitarre herauszuholen, ein Ergebnis von angeborenem Talent und jahrelanger Erfahrung; sie verwenden einige Modulationen für dröhnende Passagen, aber es sind ihre Spielstile und ihr Verständnis für ,den Vibe`, die die geheimen Zutaten sind." Diese Art von intuitiver Verbindung und Zusammenarbeit ist unglaublich selten, und mit diesen zehn Stücken vollbringen pôt-pot etwas wahrhaft Entrücktes, indem sie tiefen Schmerz in eine leuchtende Träumerei alchemisieren. Für Fans von Lewsberg, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Velvet Underground, The Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Uranium Club, Night Beats, Goat, Black Lips.

The productions of producer Bunny'Striker'Lee were so extensive in the early to mid 1970's that labels were created just to handle his ever expanding output...
Three labels that came about during this time when Dub was King,were Jackpot,Justice and Attack.
Here we look at the Jackpot label and have compiled a collection of some of its finest dub cuts..
Jackpot records was formed in the early 70's as a subsidiary of Trojan Records to handle the Hitmaker from Jamaica Bunny'Striker'Lee
We have gathered here what we think are some of the best dubcuts from this label and era..
Hope you enjoy the set......

SWIFT005 brings you the latest from Dynamic Bones, the project of Romanian producers Georj & Obrini. Their EP, Coordinates of Silence, reveals a new direction in their sound, with all mixing done by the duo themselves. Vlad Caia handled the mastering at CAW, giving it a clean, precise finish. The record contains three original tracks that explore fresh soundscapes, accompanied by a remix from Kozo. The artwork was created by their friends Bog and Didier, with Didier taking care of the illustration. Grab your copy!