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Brand new Emika EP ‘Frames’ just for RSD25.

* Comes with two remixes from the hugely adored Italian DJ Producer Adiel, and Ukrainian Electronic sound artist Hanna Svirska, who is newly signed to Emika Records.

* Brand new bass-heavy, moody pop songs, taking it back to her Bristolian roots: Emika delivers 4 tracks ‘Frames’ which documents her life in sound, lyrics and minor chords as she transitioned from Berlin after 17 years, to The Black Forest. Having unknowingly let the devil in the back-door, the EP tells the story of how self-taught spirituality and meditation brought no light, and a return to nature saved her. ‘Frames’ is about putting hard experiences into a frame, to respect and remember them. Emika put them here into some heavy songs.

* Emika included an instrumental and vocal acapella like in the good old days.

Previously unreleased; four track 12" with two different vocal takes, each w/ dub. Comes in Bond Export company sleeve.

Another cold case solved! One of DKR's early victories was finding a tape of the drum & bass cut of the legendary dubplate 'Rocks & Mountains.' Rumor had said the artist was the Mighty Travellers, but this didn't really add up chronologically or audibly. More astute listeners mostly agreed the artist was likely the Majesterians, a little recorded group who had made a couple other records for Taxi circa 1980. When we first issued the song on a 10" back in 2011, even Sly himself couldn't recall for sure who sang the tune. Like with other 'mystery' projects which we eventually came to realize, we never gave up digging on this one. There were two mysteries at work here - one, confirming the identity of the group, and two - finding the other cut of the tune, which features fuller instrumentation and a different vocal take. Both cuts were around on dubplate circa '80/'81, and the latter cut can be heard ever so briefly in the infamous UK "Sound Business" documentary film from '81. In the course of a mere 13 years, both questions came to be solved - we obtained a pretty clean plate cut of the fuller mix, and we confirmed the identity of the group. The Majesterians were a vocal trio consisting of Everton Dacres, Roderick Perkins and Paul Mitchell. While the latter two gentlemen don't seem to have done much otherwise, we are sure the roots heads and hopefully all DKR followers know Everton Dacres, who made some fine roots music in the 1970s prior to fronting the Majesterians. We spoke to Everton and he confirmed 'Rocks & Mountains' was their tune, cut in Channel 1 at a Taxi session featuring a host of other artists. Indeed, these were the heady days of 1980 with Channel 1 booked round the clock for locked-in sessions, with the Taxi Gang and the Roots Radics laying down future classic after future classic. All that said, we're happy to re-present this tune now with not only proper accreditation, but also both known mixes and the drum & bass mix in improved fidelity over its previous issue.

Ezra Feinberg's third album Soft Power sees the composer-guitarist enlist an impressive array of fellow musicians including Mary Lattimore, David Moore (Bing & Ruth), Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Robbie Lee and share the life affirming lead single 'Future Sand'.

Defined by its abundance of melodies, repeating figures and ecstatic improvisations, Soft Power exudes an enlightened and transformative spirit to empower the listener. Feinberg, a practising psychoanalyst and former founding member of the San Francisco psychedelic collective Citay (Dead Oceans / Important Records) resides in the artistic enclave of upstate New York's Hudson River valley. Initial recordings emerged in the late summer of 2020, before added synthesis with collaborator John Thayer (Arp, Sunwatchers) during early 2021. Soft Power follows previous albums 'Recumbent Speech' (2020) and 'Pentimento and Others' (2018).

Feinberg artfully transcends the listener to an enriched place, his compositions distinguished by the deep humanity that lies at their core, plugging the listener into a state of wide eyed being, open and alive. Soft Power then is Ezra's own mantra but also one of power giving - a colourful catharsis translated into music.

Feinberg's music always speaks to the listener, but Soft Power, in whispering, speaks loudest.

"Much like everyday life, I wanted to convey these very plain, simple, tranquil, nearly quotidian aspects, but each piece contains this arc in which that form expands, is broken out of, so what starts out like a painting of flowers in a seaside motel turns into a riot of color and sound, or you feel slipped into a dream that feels like it could go on forever"

Surrender to the calming essence of summer with Saturday Chillin’! Allow yourself to unwind and cherish the weekend with the soft rhythms and soulful harmonies of our latest compilation. Transport yourself to a place where time seems to slow down, enveloped by warm sunlight and fragrant flowers, escaping the bustle of city life. Let these soothing melodies set the perfect tone for your ideal summer days.

Many of the greatest artists of all time found inspiration in their dreams... and pdqb is known to be an absolute pro when it comes to creatively exploiting the REM cycles.

Recently, for example, he dreamed of Gunnar, who had witnessed the rise and fall of electronic dance music, which had once held simple-minded creatures in its thrall. The beats had a peculiar effect on them, drawing them into euphoric trances. But Gunnar, allergic to its hypnotic frequencies, stood apart, unaffected. However, eventually, in a hidden enclave in the highlands of Reykjavík, he met Dr. Amara El-Amin, a neuroscientist fascinated by his unique immunity. Together, they discovered that Gunnar's resistance was a gift, offering insights into human consciousness and the power of music. With this knowledge, Gunnar inspired a global movement celebrating frequencies that resonate...differently. Though EDM had become a relic, Gunnar Oliasson remained a legend - a bad taste survivor who embraced a symphony of pure electrical potential, a language of circuits and oscillations beyond sound.

He woke with a jolt, the phantom music still echoing in his mind. He scribbled furiously, equations and diagrams mixing with strange, abstract notations. The dream, he knew, was a glimpse into a world where his inventions would dance, not just function.

For Synaptic Cliffs, it is an extraordinary honor to be able to offer you, dear listeners, the soundtrack of pdqb's world-changing dream: Four beautiful genre-defining Electrocognition tracks, embracing the depths of the human wetware. And three jaw-dropping sonic remodels from a human-like being called The Exaltics.

Brand new Manchester imprint, 160 Street Recordings is excited to announce its first vinyl release, Evolutions EP, by the dynamic production duo of Response and Buda. With a reputation for carving out a distinctive uncompromising sound, the pair return with a gritty, dark collection of tracks that channel the deep, raw energy of early 90s Jungle and Jungle Techno.
Drawing influences from the breakbeat-driven sub-bass and atmospheric elements of that era, the Evolutions EP fuses heavy basslines, classic breaks, and dark, rave-inspired energy.
A1. Evolutions
The EP opens with the title track, ‘Evolutions’—a driving, atmospheric tune full of breakbeat intensity and underpinned by weighty sub bass. Kicking off with a memorable rave stab melody, the track builds with powerful percussion and a haunting, evolving soundscape that moves between light and dark.
A2. Fintons Dub
“Break, show ‘em something, but not too much….” ‘Fintons Dub’ brings a laid-back dubbed out groove, with a selection of classic breaks and a deep sub-bass foundation. An atmospheric pad and cinematic Kung Fu movie sample add depth to this cut, the breaks building gradually with delays as the track rolls out..
B1. Fintons Dub (Double 0 Remix)
No introduction is needed for Double 0, co-founder of legendary London club night Rupture and one of the pioneering figures of the original Hardcore Jungle Techno sound. His remix of ‘Fintons Dub’ takes the track back to his Doncaster warehouse roots, unleashing thunderous bass and breakbeat energy, a twisted mentasm and techno infused stabs. A true dancefloor weapon that embodies the true spirit of Jungle Techno.
B2. Acid Vein
Rounding off the e.p. is ‘Acid Vein’ a 303 led breakbeat bomb that infuses rolling breaks with a pounding sub bass and haunting jazz samples. Slower in tempo than the previous tracks and more reminiscent of the more formative years of rave, Acid Vein will also appeal to the wider breakbeat community.

Freddie McKay’s self-produced 1977 LP Harsh Words has finally returned to circulation. Initially released in Jamaica on Gorgon Records, a subsidiary of Sonic Sounds, it was issued in the US by Salsoul Records’ sister label Salsoul Salsa Series in 1982. The album includes 10 tracks, featuring previously issued singles from the ’70s along with exclusive songs like the title track Harsh Words, Feel So High, and Travelling. McKay’s gritty, soulful voice is backed by top-tier musicians, including Sly & Robbie, Fish Clarke, Flabba Holt, Bingi Bunny, Ranchy McLean, Ansel Collins, Winston Wright, Bobby Ellis, Don D Jr, and Sticky.

The nearly simultaneous reissue of Freddie McKay’s LP Harsh Words by France’s Only Roots under McKay’s Amethyst label and Switzerland-based Reggae Fever under the Kismet label raises some eyebrows. France’s Only Roots claims a licensed release from Freddie McKay’s estate, while Switzerland-based Reggae Fever acknowledges Patrick Harty as the producer behind their release. Harty owns Jamaican label Kismet, known for its unofficial releases.

After more than two decades of captivating fans with their signature harmonies and timeless love songs, 98 Degrees returns with Full Circle, an album that marks a new chapter in the group's storied career. This highly anticipated release features five brand new tracks that showcase the evolution of the band’s sound, while still staying true to the essence that made them icons of the '90s and 2000s. Collaborations with powerful vocalists Katrina Velarde and Janine Teñoso bring fresh, dynamic layers to the album, with each artist adding their unique touch to these modern pop-soul anthems. In addition to the new material, Full Circle includes five of 98 Degrees' classic hits, re-recorded and remastered for a new era. These beloved tracks have been given a polished, contemporary update, with richer instrumentation and renewed vocal energy, offering both longtime fans and new listeners a fresh experience of the band’s greatest hits.

From the soulful ballads to the infectious up-tempos, Full Circle perfectly blends the familiar smooth melodies that fans know and love with a more contemporary edge. The title Full Circle reflects the journey the group has taken—from their meteoric rise in the late '90s to their ongoing passion for making music together. With their signature harmonies stronger than ever, Full Circle is a testament to 98 Degrees' enduring legacy and their commitment to creating music that resonates across generations.

"In a world where there are no more heroes, the Fleshtones walk the earth like Roman gods. Since their inception in 1976 in Queens, New York, and their sweaty, boozy gestation at legendary venues such as CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, and the storied Club 57— recently feted at the Museum of Modern Art, where their proto-video underground film “Soul City” was unspooled for art stars, glitterati, and a raft of punk rockers who managed to get past the front gate — they have perpetrated their proprietary brand of SUPER ROCK, a frenetic amalgam of garage punk and soul, punctuated by the big beat and unleashed with the spectacular show business majesty which has kept them on the road for over forty years, adored by audiences whose love for them borders on religious fervor.

It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves) is a smash that could have dropped at any point in their epic career — it is an outburst, and a celebration of the SUPER ROCK sound. Unlike their contemporaries, they have not dialed down the tempos to compensate for osteoporosis, they have not lost anything on their fastball, and continue to throw it for strikes. The hardest working band in garage rock has never sounded better, and now you see why they've been your favorite band's favorite band for decades."

Full throttle from Vancouver, BC to wherever the open road takes them The Vicious Cycles are BACK with their new LP Get Wrecked on Pirates Press Records! Before you even get the shrink wrap off the gatefold jacket, you can guess what kind of party you're in for. "Our pal Shakey Deal is the cover model," says Cycles head honcho Billy Bones. "A tuff looking scrub on a minibike says a lot about who we are." And who is that exactly? "We play garage/punk rock and roll songs about motorcycles. We like to have a good time." The promise of debauchery carries over into song titles like "Naked On a Beach," and "On Fire in the Hot Tub." As rip-roaring, danceable party music goes, it's second to none, and rest assured there's plenty of bike enthusiast inside baseball, but the lyrics often go deeper than a superficial glance might indicate. For example, the lead single, "Hold On Tight," is about, as Billy puts it, "the physical feeling of riding with your favorite person on the back of your motorcycle - easily one of the best feelings a human can have." So, a classic biker anthem? "But also," he's quick to add, "a metaphor for life and relationships. We're gonna make it." Waxing philosophical with motorcycles as allegory over chrome-plated punk rock 'n roll? That's The Vicious Cycles' songwriting in a nutshell. Another album highlight, "Daddy Was a Gambler" references Billy's father - an ex-preacher who regularly hauled his kids to Circus Circus in his '57 Chevy - and his mother, a nurse and, as Billy puts it, "as close to an actual saint as anyone in the world. The song is an appreciation for the two of them, and how their differences made me who I am." "Naked On A Beach" sounds like a party, but Billy explains it's "a critique of capitalism and the tiny lives we're expected - and sometimes content - to live." Even the title track, "Get Wrecked," is more than just a statement of defiance; it's a message to Billy's son about dealing with the conformist naysayers of the world. Longtime fans & newcomers alike will be stoked for the straightaways, but stick around for the twists and turns, just like any good ride. The band brings in pals on strings & saxophone for a 60s Wall of Sound-inspired production on "Black Boots, Black Leather Jacket," and try their hands at their first murder ballad on "Pretty Hands." There's an instrumental tune ("Blowing Smoke") and hell, there's even a deep cut cover of "Trouble Again" - originally performed by Stewart Copeland of The Police - which only the biggest nerds of a certain age will recall as the theme song to the 80s Star Wars animated series Droids! In the end, no matter the detours, the band - along with Jesse Gander (Territories, Comeback Kid), & Mariessa McLeod at Rain City Recorders - kept their eyes on the prize: sing-along choruses, handclaps, and short songs that get the job done and don't overstay their welcome. "I didn't want us to write a record that you could dance to." quips Billy. "I wanted us to write a record that you couldn't not dance to."

Die griechischen Progressive Rocker King Garcia präsentieren ihr Debütalbum 'Hamelin'. Wenn Ennio Morricone eine Band mit Russian Circles gründen würde, würde sie wahrscheinlich genauso klingen! Eine Empfehlung für Fans von Bands wie Russian Circles, V.I.C. und Mogwai.

With an eccentric, poetic line in minimal rock, London bass & drums duo Most Things release their debut album Bigtime 23/05/25 on tastemaker label So Young Records. Marrying the compassionate observational wit of Richard Dawson with a sound somewhere between Minutemen and Television Personalities, the album’s ten songs explore family relationships, mental health and life in the city. The project of London-born bassist/vocalist Tom Phillips and New York-born drummer Malachy O’Neill, the pair met as students in London after being introduced by Phillips’ then housemate Sabrina Fuentes – singer in acclaimed punk band Pretty Sick. Bigtime is a London album. Chronicling Phillips’ experiences growing up in the city, as the only child to his single mother, it illustrates its shops, pubs and bustle with humour and warmth, but also considers its troubles: from violence to threadbare public services.

Das Debütalbum des britischen DJs, Produzenten und Multiinstrumentalisten Lawrence Hart.

Harts Stil verbindet seine technisch versierten Fähigkeiten mit emotionalen Vibes und Dancefloor-Treibstoff und schafft so einen Sound, der sowohl für den Club als auch für das Eintauchen in die eigenen vier Wände geeignet ist. Das 12-Track-Album ist emotional ein Garagenalbum, euphorisch und therapeutisch. Es ist eine Reise durch cineastische Melancholie, schwebende Synthies und Momente der Zerbrechlichkeit, gespickt mit Sprachsamples. Tech-Wizard Lawrence Hart, der allein schon durch seinen Großvater, den berühmten Computerpionier Geoff Tootill, eine wissenschaftliche DNA hat, wurde schon als Kind zum klassischen Musiker ausgebildet. Bereits mit 15 Jahren sprach er an einigen der renommiertesten Musikschulen New Yorks vor und studierte dann Jazztrompete am SUNY Purchase College bei berühmten VertreterInnen des Fachs. Er spielte an der Seite von Größen wie Bob Mover (einem ehemaligen Kollegen von Charlie Mingus und Chet Baker) auf den Bühnen der Jazzclubs New Yorks. Bald entdeckte Hart die elektronische Musik und das Clubbing für sich.Seine Fähigkeiten als Produzent entwickelte er während der Zusammenarbeit mit dem Double Six/Domino-Künstler George FitzGerald, mit dem ihn eine langjährige musikalische Beziehung verbindet. Bis heute hat Hart Solo-Singles, EPs und Remixe auf Hotflush, Attack Decay Sweet Release, LG105 und seinem eigenen Label SSEM veröffentlicht.

Ground-breaking afro-rock and jazz with Memphis soul roots on this lost 1972 gem. Lovingly restored and reissued by Matsuli Music


'Black Soul' from 1972 is the third and last known album by The Anchors, a soul group originally formed in Johannesburg's Alexandra township in 1968. Their first two albums, 'Soul Upstairs' from 1969 and 'Everything' from 1971, were issued on Teal's City Special label alongside other prominent South African soul groups of the era like The Beaters, The Movers and The Flaming Souls.

On 'Black Soul', The Anchors undergo a notable shift, moving away from their early Memphis soul influences towards a pioneering African-driven sound. These changes laid the foundations for an emerging afro-fusion scene in the years to come from groups like Batsumi, The Drive and Harari.

'Black Soul' features a who's who of intergenerational musicians from great South African bands over the decades. In addition to Zacks Nkosi, the renowned bandleader of the Jazz Maniacs and long-time member of the African Swingsters in the 1940s and 50s, this album includes kwela star Little Kid Lex Hendricks, known for his Columbia recordings of the late 1950s; as well as Zack's son Jabu Nkosi who would go on to play with The Drive, Roots and Sakhile; and Banza Kgasoane later a member of The Beaters, Harari and then Mango Groove.

Now remastered for its first release since the original 1972 pressing, this lost gem offers a revealing glimpse into the evolution of South African music during a transformative era.

Zacks Nkosi (Sax), Patrick Jabu Nkosi (Organ and Flute), Anderson Nkosi (Lead Guitar), Given Sabela (Bass Guitar), Kid Lex Hendrix (Sax), Banza Kgasoane (Trumpet), Peter Morake (Drums), Hamilton Nzimande (Musical Director).
Original LP issued in South Africa on GRC’s CBS label (LAB 4037) in 1972.
Produced for reissue by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple at Matsuli Music, and Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Original vinyl sourced from the Flatinternational Archive.
Artwork restoration and design by Siemon Allen.
Audio restoration, mastering and lacquers by Frank Merritt at The Carvery.
Manufactured at Pallas, Germany.

Carlos Santana ist der große musikalische Kollaborateur, der seinen einzigartigen Gitarrenstil und seine weitreichende musikalische Vision mit einer großen Vielfalt von Künstlern verbindet, um etwas Neues, Einzigartiges und Transzendentes zu schaffen. Santanas Vision für Sentient war es, seine jüngsten Kollaborationen aus einer neuen Perspektive zu betrachten und sie zu einer klanglichen Pilgerreise durch Jazz, Hip-Hop, Soul, Rock und lateinamerikanische Rhythmen zu verweben. Er hat die Songs nicht nur so arrangiert, dass sie seiner Vision entsprechen, sondern viele von ihnen auch neu interpretiert und einige Aspekte der Tracks verbessert, um ein kohärentes Hörerlebnis zu schaffen. Die Songs auf Sentient reichen von aktuellen Hits und Kollaborationen mit Superstars bis hin zu seltenen, unveröffentlichten und übersehenen Tracks, die Carlos in einem neuen Kontext präsentieren wollte. Das Ergebnis ist eine spirituelle Reise durch die unendlichen Möglichkeiten der Musik, geführt von Santanas kompromissloser Muse.

Synths Below Sea Level is a new collection of tracks from the mystic and arcane tape archives of Danny Wolfers, best known as Legowelt. This release collects rare and unheard Legowelt tracks from 1994 to 2005, mastered by Mattias Fridell to sound as vibrant and unique as the artwork painted by Mr. Wolfers himself.

Emerging from the Minneapolis underground and heading straight towards the sky, IE arrive on Quindi with a full-length album of sparkling, sophisticated wonder. Touching on kosmische grandeur, Riley-esque cyclical patterns, lounge pop and dubbed out psychedelia, the five-piece allow their songs to unfurl with a natural, hypnotic elegance which can take many different forms.
There's a loose, live quality to the recordings IE's members commit to record, which reflects their steady presence gigging in Minneapolis and the surrounding area. Since putting out their first release in 2016, they've glided from drone and synth-led jam band ambience (2018's Pome) to strung out, stoner-tinted slowcore (on 2023's outstanding Junk Body). For Reverse Earth they strike a smoky note that wraps itself around your skull across extended run times that evolve with a meditative poise.
From the deceptively driving 4/4 thrum of the opening title track through 'Divination Bag's snaking tryptamine mantras on to 'Simplify's slow and smouldering indie-soul, IE's sound is bathed in a sumptuous warm glow that rounds out the lows and the mids, creating a nocturnal shroud in which their nebulous song structures can feel deliciously endless.
Meredith Gill's drums provide rolling and tumbling undercurrents for the slowly shifting phases of the instrumental players, as Michael Gallope and Travis Workman trade keyboard parts and Workman and Sam Molstad chop and pick at their six-strings. Atop the thrum of her bass, Mariel Oliviera's vocal adapts to the scenery, from a distant, dreamlike siren song on 'Reverse Earth' to a spoken word meditation on 'Babel'.
There's space in each track for every instrument to cut through and have its moment, from a spiralling key vamp to a chicken-scratch guitar flex. The gently twisting, head-feeding groove exercises of the first four tracks give way to a slow and powerful march on 'Dark Rome', closing the record on a noirish anti-ballad fit to peal out in the closing slot at Twin Peaks' Roadhouse (circa season three).
As much as the tracks teem with composition, musicianship, and production to savor, a sound like IE's has a soporific quality that soaks in unconsciously. It's an evocative portal where the band feel as if they could just play on each piece ad infinitum - where the time itself seems to dislodge from its moorings.

Unter Präsidentschaftskandidaten und zukünftigen Astronauten, war die North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Universität in Greensboro eine Brutstätte für schwarze Spitzenleistungen, Aktivismus und Talent. Unter einem halben Dutzend Labels versammelte der lokale Tölpel Walter Grady eine wechselnde Besetzung von Städtern, Homecoming-Queens und großen Männern auf dem Campus um einen schillernden Sound zu manifestieren, der sowohl einheimisch und revolutionär war. "Eccentric Soul: The Linco-Label" versammelt melodische Meilensteine aus dem Geburtsort der Bürgerrechtsbewegung.

Unter Präsidentschaftskandidaten und zukünftigen Astronauten, war die North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Universität in Greensboro eine Brutstätte für schwarze Spitzenleistungen, Aktivismus und Talent. Unter einem halben Dutzend Labels versammelte der lokale Tölpel Walter Grady eine wechselnde Besetzung von Städtern, Homecoming-Queens und großen Männern auf dem Campus um einen schillernden Sound zu manifestieren, der sowohl einheimisch und revolutionär war. "Eccentric Soul: The Linco-Label" versammelt melodische Meilensteine aus dem Geburtsort der Bürgerrechtsbewegung.

Lac Noir - La Serpente is part of Emmanuel Raquin-Lorenzi's Lac Noir, a composite work inspired by a serpentine female creature or 'snake-woman' that he saw in Transylvania in 1976, with a total of 33 pieces using various media, 24 by himself and 9 by other artists. All the materials used in Lac Noir were gathered on the land of the snake-woman between 1990 and 1992. The first coordinated broadcast ran from June to October 2019, like a theatrical display of media. Parmegiani has been cited as a major influence by younger experimentalists like Aphex Twin, Autechre and Sonic Youth. Works of his were performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festivals

Neon Pink Vinyl. For their tenth LP in a career spanning more than two decades, Tulsa's Unwed Sailor deliver their heaviest riffs, loudest squalls, and most deeply textured arrangements yet. Cruel Entertainment is a catalogue of contrasts - dissonance and harmony, hardcore crunch and post-rock grandeur, complexity and catchiness - that adds a vibrant new dimension to the second phase of their discography, spanning thus far from 2019's landmark Heavy Age up to the "vivid, starry-eyed psychedelia" (AllMusic) of 2024's Underwater Over There. Opener and lead single, "Rock Candy", roars in with a gale of feedback, pounding drums, and nimble bass, until a latticework of howling guitars ushers us into a more goth-tinged space. It's a characteristically intricate, energetic composition that flows with remarkable ease between its parts, and wastes not a moment of its three minutes. "Monster Collecting" brings a rare combination of melancholic and driving energy, reminiscent of avowed heroes New Order, but ups the ante with a tight, fastpaced rhythm section and litany of guitar lines, until opening up into a cascade of reverberating textures and tenuous sweetness. According to Ford, the title Cruel Entertainment refers to "the hardships of being an artist and musician in the crowded, imbalanced world of social media and streaming," where the completion of a new work demands that the creator also be a promoter, content strategist, and agent, among many other intensifying challenges. Pointedly drawing inspiration from noisier, rowdier bands - including Fugazi, Quicksand, and Cherubs - here they seek a much-needed catharsis in the ongoing fight to keep the creative soul intact. Second side standout, "Monty Donahue", typifies this form of release, as massive, mid-tempo percussion leads a fluid low end theme - inspired by the dual bass assault of Dianogah - and Swatzell's chords burst into shimmering nebulas across a labyrinthine arrangement that's equally loud and beautiful. Title track, "Cruel Entertainment", is a mosaic of sound for which Ford's bass provides the mortar: taut drums list between the channels, washes of guitar stretch to the horizon, and metallic heaviness punctuates the drift. There is a confident immensity here, proving that, although Unwed Sailor have witnessed a wild amount of changes in the music industry, their knack for creating complex, vital, and masterfully produced work remains untouched.

Berlin-based French-Irish multimedia artist Zoe Mc Pherson levels up on their third full-length "Pitch Blender", mangling years of experience DJing and performing live into a tight set of cybernetic soundsystem experiments that flicker between the rave and the art space.

Cast your mind back to February 2020 for a moment, when Mc Pherson released their last album "States of Fugue". The world seemed less tangled somehow, and yet Mc Pherson's precision-engineered fusion of exploratory sound design and visceral club pressure seemed to hint at a cataclysmic event none of us were really expecting. Only a few weeks after its release the world changed forever, and the majority of us were grounded - forced to consider our lives and the movement (or lack thereof) surrounding us. The philosophy of this extended time period is welded into the bones of "Pitch Blender", Mc Pherson's supple third album. They have learned plenty in the last two years, and infuse all of that anxiety and spiky emotionality into a spread of tracks that sound as powerful in headphones as they do over a well-tweaked soundsystem, soldering vocals, environmental recordings and instrumental flourishes to unpredictably pneumatic, cybernetic beats.

Anyone that's caught one of Mc Pherson's energetic live performances over the last few months will have an idea of what "Pitch Blender" is made of. They're an artist who's somehow able to match the raw energy of post-punk and no-wave music with the brain-altering potential of the best experimental club tracks, vocalizing an incongruous post-lockdown reality over beats that sound as if they're in a permanent state of flux. 'On Fire' splutters to life in a frenetic patter of drums that blur into oddly soothing hoover sounds, snaking lysergically towards a drop that's teased constantly, and never comes. We're forced to wait until 'The Spark' for that, fighting through choppy, pitch-mangled guitar and rolling beats until a gruesome kick drum forces its way through the psilocybin mists and heaving Bristol-inspired bass clonks. Backed up with just the inverted traces of recognizable breaks, this vigorous pulse lies at the heart of "Pitch Blender", the driving force that powers Mc Pherson's sound even when it's only hinted at.

'Blender' is the moment where Mc Pherson show their full hand, using crackling sound effects, ghost vocals and uneven rhythms to build a textural landscape that's so evocative you can almost taste it. Squealing modular synth effects sound like gameshow buzzers being triggered in another dimension and propel the track forward - it's club music, just about, but Mc Pherson's motivation is world-building, and their world is colorful, abstract, and dizzyingly surreal. "Obsolete user," their voice echoes over driving airlock kicks. But they take a swift left turn with 'Lamella', reducing the kinetic club rhythms to a longing simmer and letting loose with powerful vocals, intoning with robotic, gender-fluxed intensity. On 'Wait', New York City's clacking crosswalk signal - already an effective club track on its own - is transformed into a reminder to slow down, juxtaposed with booming sub-heavy kicks, acidic synths and effervescent percussion that rattles in time with the vibrations. It's foley rave, built for pure psychedelic intensity to blur the line between real life and sonic fiction.

One of the album's most galvanic tracks, 'Power Dynamics' curves a double-time rhythm around breathless HQ sound design squiggles until it hits a polyrhythmic crescendo, striking a queasy balance between rave hedonism and ritualistic hand drum energy. It all builds towards eerie closing track 'Outside' that acts as an important wind down, spotlighting Mc Pherson's ability to operate outside of the rhythmic spectrum, using cinematic scrapes and flickering neon synths to create music that's tense but never terrifying. The track feels like the end credits of a particularly bewildering movie - something between the cyberpunk dystopia of "Ghost in the Shell" and the vivid, sky-scraping beauty of "Koyaanisqatsi". Mc Pherson has managed something special with "Pitch Blender": mashing together genres with rare focus, and sharpening their engineering skills to a fine point, they've concocted an antidote to contemporary malaise - a wakeup call that's begging us to loosen our limbs and move.

The Freedom Affair hat von Anfang an tiefe Wurzeln in der Soulmusik geschlagen, aber nach fast einem Jahrzehnt gemeinsamer Arbeit konzentriert sich der Sound der Gruppe auf ihrem selbstbetitelten zweiten Album genau dort, wo Muscle Shoals und Memphis Soul aufeinandertreffen. Es ist eine Meisterleistung an leidenschaftlicher Message-Musik, die zeitlose Themen wie Ungerechtigkeit, Liebe und Zusammengehörigkeit erforscht. Eine schicksalhafte Begegnung mit dem Grammy-prämierten Toningenieur Boo Mitchell (Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars, Al Green) in den Royal Studios im Februar 2023 löste einen Funken aus, der die Band mit neuer musikalischer Überzeugung zurück nach Kansas City schickte. Im November kehrte die Band zurück, um in dem legendären Studio in Memphis völlig neue, vom Southern Soul inspirierte Songs aufzunehmen. Das stets starke weibliche Trio an der Spitze der Band - Paula Saunders, Seyko Groves und Shon Ruffin - ist das Markenzeichen des Sounds und der Identität von The Freedom Affair, und ihr kollektives stimmliches Können ist in vollem Umfang zu hören - von hart bis zart, von Herzschmerz und Hoffnung. Die Erfahrung in den Royal Studios hat die Band davon überzeugt, dass es keinen besseren Raum gibt, um Bläser aufzunehmen. Die ,One-Take"-Bläser von Pete Carroll an der Trompete und Brett Jackson am Saxophon beweisen, dass sich ihre jahrelange Zusammenarbeit mit ihrer Präzision und den perfekt auf die Stimmung abgestimmten Linien ausgezahlt hat. Das Personal der Rhythmusgruppe ist das gleiche wie auf dem Debütalbum "Freedom is Love", aber Chris Hazelton wechselt vom Bass zu seinem Hauptinstrument, der Hammond B3-Orgel, sowie zu verschiedenen Keyboards. Branden Moser tauscht den Bass, der auch sein Hauptinstrument ist, mit seiner früheren Rhythmusgitarre aus. Cole Bales greift an der Leadgitarre weiterhin zu zeitlosen Riffs, und Dave Brick sorgt am Schlagzeug für das Rückgrat mit dem schweren Boom-Bap. Dieses Album hat den Sound von The Freedom Affair zementiert: beständige Melodien mit reichhaltigen Arrangements, unterstützt von einem düsteren Puls. Royal war der perfekte Ort für dieses Album, und die Band nutzte die Geschichte des Studios in vollem Umfang, indem sie Studiogeräte und Relikte während des gesamten Prozesses einbezog. Da die Band nur vier Tage Zeit hatte, um das zehn Songs umfassende Album aufzunehmen, bestand sie darauf, das gleiche Ampex 1"-Bandgerät zu verwenden, mit dem alle Hi-Record-Hits von 1974 und davor aufgenommen wurden, um die Authentizität zu wahren. Es war das erste Mal seit 1974, dass dieses Gerät für ein Album verwendet wurde. Die Einschränkungen und Macken, die sich aus der Verwendung alter, analoger Geräte ergeben, machten Platz für magische Momente, die den Charme des Albums ausmachen. Die Platte erweckt den klassischen Southern Soul zu neuem Leben, mit all der Gemütlichkeit und Wärme, die man erwarten würde, wenn man Al Green oder Ann Peebles Aufnahmen aus dem selben Raum hört. Abgemischt von Vince Chiarito (Hive Mind, Jalen Ngonda, Charles Bradley) und gemastert von JJ Golden (Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The James Hunter Six, Antibalas), ist dieses Album eine wahre Lektion in Sachen Soulmusik.

Growing up is painful, brutal, and sometimes beautiful _ something Brooklyn-based indie-rock band Bedridden knows all too well. The band's name is even a nod to that ineffable period between childhood and the jagged edges of the real world. "When I was 21, I kind of lost my home," says frontman/guitarist Jack Riley. "I was couch-surfing. I was having a hard time.The next iteration in the band's maturation, then, is their debut, LP Moths Strapped To Eachother's Backs, 10 fuzzed-out (and sometimes gnarly) ruminations on dating, drugs, and survival out April 11 on Julia's War. The title came from a mysterious missive Riley received on astrology app Co-Star. "Last year I was way too reliant on other people _ my partner at the time, my friends," he says. "I was strapped to them in a weird way _ and flying in circles. This album is about that time."The current incarnation of Bedridden encompasses a patchwork of styles, influences, and friends Riley accumulated over the years. A Chicago native who first started making music at age five on a thrift-store guitar emblazoned with Kurt Cobain's name, Riley moved to New Orleans for college where he dabbled in punk before falling in love with shoegaze. There, he launched the first version of Bedridden. Sebastian Duzian (bass) _ a jazz musician and Pasadena native _ linked up with Riley in NOLA along with his bandmate, drummer Nick Pedroza. Pedroza, from Claremont, grew up on rock, metal, and jazz, honing his style after joining the band. Wesley Wolffe _ a guitarist fed on a steady diet of New Wave and `90s alt _ rounded out the crew just a few months back. Bedridden's previous lineup released their first EP, Amateur Heartthrob, in 2023 _ a noise-washed blend of shoegaze, DIY, and indie that Riley says is a "coming-of-age EP _ these formative stories about not having a bed, dating, being kind of a jackass. I was making fun of myself a lot." That release caught the attention of Douglas Dulgarian from Philly Label Julia's War (and TAGABOW), who signed them for Moths."Some of these songs have been around for years," says Riley, adding that they were recorded last February at Studio G Brooklyn; the album was produced by Aron Kobayashi Ritch (Momma). "As opposed to Amateur Heartthrob, we attempted to blend more clean guitars into a driving sound to capture more clarity _ one that also sounds live_ and raw," Riley says. That rawness thrums through the record, which kicks off with the thrashed "Gummy," about an incident when Riley had to gently fend off a co-worker's unwanted advances while both drunk and high on an MDMA gummy. And then there's mournful rager "Etch," which sees Riley daydreaming about beating up a meddler in his personal life _ in the minor key.The annihilating "Chainsaw" revs in next, a lightning-fast Lemonheads-inspired track that recalls Riley moving in with new roommates who were unnaturally obsessed with purchasing a lamp. "For some reason that pissed me off," he laughs; that rage is evident in the album cover, which shows said power tool demolishing a lampshade. Heavy-shredding "Heaven's Leg" showcases the band's affinity for `90s mainstays like Smashing Pumpkins while telling the tale of a gig at a local church. "The lyrics are about a pastor I had met that had lost his leg," Riley says. "The church had signs about not cussing and I had a feeling that neither of us had anything to talk about without potentially offending the other."The band's not afraid to get confrontational, though, on the anger-fueled, drum-heavy "Philadelphia, Get Me Through," which deals with a dead-end relationship and the mistaken assumption that getting drunk in the titular city would be a balm against the pain. And the nasty, brutist, and short hardcore-adjacent "MainStage"? "It's about being disrespected at a show on New Year's and how I lashed out," Riley says. "I then began to take it out on other people, which was a quality that I despise."Things get contemplative and mournful from here on out _ the emo-edged "Snare" is about bringing flowers to a hospital room where you're not welcome, while the Smiths-inspired "Uno" wrestles with self-loathing. "I guess the big finale of that song was my response to dealing with this recurring experience of feeling like I wasn't good enough by getting really into whippets," Riley says. Nu-metal bop "Bonehead," then, recalls an embarrassing dinner that turned into an argument _ the name applies both to that incident and the delicious simplicity of the guitar parts.After all that turmoil and pain, the band caps everything off with their eyes to the future on the jangle-pop "Ring Size." "All my friends are getting married _ do I follow in their footsteps? Or is it all a waste of time?" Riley says of the song. "At the end, through it all, I guess that's what I've been trying to figure out _ how to grow up, how to move on. I'm trying to navigate things as an adult and I'm not very good at it. But this is just the first record. This is just the beginning."And, hey, at least now he has a bed.

Since 2020, and from coast to coast, indie-rockers Fib have been rewiring brains with their singular, jangly sound and furiously tight live performances. Fib's members connected in Portland through their love of punk, friendship, and their shared exceptional musical abilities. After releasing their debut self-titled tape in 2021 and touring the US, the band picked up and moved across the country after falling in love with Philadelphia. The city quickly warmed to Fib's controlled mania- the band putting on the tightest show imaginable, and then, at the end of the set, destroying their instruments in total chaos mode. They matched Philadelphia's freak- fitting like a fingerless glove. Now, connecting with Philly label Julia's War, the group is releasing their debut full-length record Heavy Lifting- a musical odyssey exploring arty pop, punk and progressive rock- while simultaneously breaking free from genre and giving the listener a vividly surreal auditory experience. With Heavy Lifting, Fib shed their early, scrappy, lofi limitations, and embraced a new, expansive and warm recording capture. This bigger sound allows the group to put their technical skill, harmonious vocals, and hyper-infectious songwriting on full display. Songs like 'Mutuals' and 'Say' are frenetic and bouncy- shifting through virtuosic arrangements held together with intermittent, powerful hooks. With tunes like 'Dotted Line' and 'PS,' the band settles deeper into the grooves and songwriting allowing the listener to zone in and bob their head a bit more. While the nine tracks that comprise Heavy Lifting are equally unique and invigorating showcasing the members' intricate guitar tangles and polyrhythms, the album is holistically composed- a greater sum than its parts. The release would easily sit well for fans of new bands like Palm, TAGABOW, and Water From Your Eyes, but would just as easily be a welcome addition for record heads who love bands like This Heat, Television, and Psychic TV. While this might all be hard to believe, and their name is Fib- it's no lie. Fib's Heavy Lifting is a vibrant, moving and endless sonic rainbow. Pick it up and step into their wild and ecstatic void.

Originally released on Ben Chasny's own Pavilion imprint in 2011.

"I was invited by the Incubate Festival and the city of Tilburg to participate in an artist residency where I would explore the region’s unique chapels built for the Virgin Mary. After writing the music for about six months by drawing on memories of the encounters with the chapels and using techniques inspired by Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics Of Reverie, I flew back to Tilburg to perform the music at the Incubate Festival. We recorded the evening and I released the result on my Pavilion label. Each cover was hand painted white on white in the old Pavilion style. I created a stencil and used graphite powder to make the design that is inspired by the sun imagery in Athanasius Kircher diagrams."

Roadside chapels express the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant, a Dutch province, bordering on Belgium. Roman Catholicism has been the dominant religion in this southern part of the Netherlands since the eighth century. For about a century and a half this religion was strongly suppressed. Only when the French revolutionaries preached freedom of belief around 1800 could the people of North Brabant exercise their faith again. This was the start of a very strong emancipatory development from which a special form of the Roman Catholic faith arose that fully determined everyday life of the people here. This faith was the determining factor in life and the measure of all things. After the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the reins of the catholic faith in Brabant were loosened as well. This was the start of a revolutionary process of secularisation. Within a decade hardly anything was left of the almighty influence of the Roman Catholic Church and this situation has lasted up to the present day.

In spite of the almightiness of the official, Vatican ruled, Roman Catholic faith, North Brabant has always and perhaps notoriously fostered an undercurrent of popular belief as well. This is a kind of belief in which elements of the official faith and age-old pre-Christian traditions are combined. Worshipping relics, holding pilgrimages and processions, the use of water from holy wells, popular art, recitations and songs, festivals, rituals, folk traditions, superstition and the like are all examples of popular devotion. These matters have strongly influenced and formed the identity of the present-day population of North Brabant. It is part of their immaterial heritage.

An obvious and still very much visible form of popular devotion are the roadside chapels. In Brabant some 400 can be found, most of which have been devoted to Mary. Chapels are small buildings in which Mary or other saints are worshipped. They can be found within villages or towns or in natural surroundings. Always at the finest spots! The beauty of the environment adds a primary religious or mystical feeling to the visitor. Local people attach great value to their chapels. In spite of the overall secularisation in society they are still at the centre of cultural and social life. Where people in North Brabant can hardly be found in the churches nowadays, this doesn’t mean at all they are no longer religious. On the contrary, religious feelings are perhaps stronger than ever, but now people have to find their own expression of them. That’s why they fall back on the age-old popular belief in which chapels play an important role. We can even witness new forms of popular belief with chapels as their focal point. An example of this is the scattering of ashes of people who have been cremated. Chapels clearly also play a role in the lives of young people. On an average five new chapels are added every year.

I have studied the popular culture and belief and the identity of the inhabitants of North Brabant for over thirty years. I have published over forty books on these subjects. In 2010 I was approached by the organisation of the Incubate Festival in the North Brabant town of Tilburg. Their request was for me to lead the American composer and guitarist Ben Chasny around a number of chapels in the province devoted to Mary. He had been invited to North Brabant to write some new compositions. Ben Chasny then chose to be inspired by these chapels and that’s how we met. I was especially curious how an American would react to something as specific and small as a roadside chapel in North Brabant, since we tend to think here of (people in) America in terms of ‘big-bigger-biggest’. Would an inhabitant of this enormous country with this prevailing culture be able to grasp and respect the identity of some 2.5 million people in North Brabant with their chapels? The answer to this question lies hidden in the compositions he made and that can be listened to on this album. Yes, Ben Chasny has been able to convert the phenomenon of a simple chapel devoted to Mary into music. The physical and the spiritual have found each other. What a beautiful world…just listen! - Paul Spapens

Beyond the Bridge proudly presents the latest EP from Dutch sonic architect Spekki Webu, titled "Neural Network," set to release on April 15, 2025. As the founder of Mirror Zone, Webu masterfully conjures a spectral world where time collapses and frequencies bend, inviting listeners on a mind-expanding journey through sound. His ritualistic compositions transcend conventional boundaries, merging past, present, and future into a singular, fluid moment. The eight-track EP delves into an abstract landscape of high-intensity frequencies and textural flux. Webu's sonic manipulations challenge linearity, evoking cyclical movements that oscillate between chaos and order. Each track serves as a kinetic force, pulsating with raw energy and enveloping the listener in immersive sonic architecture. The release also features two transformative remixes from Beyond the Bridge label head K.O.P. 32 and acclaimed producer Feral, each expanding the boundaries of interpretation into new dimensions. credits releases April 15, 2025 All tracks written, produced, and mixed by Spekki Webu at Into The Unknown in The Hague. Additional production by Feral and K.O.P. 32. Mastering by K.O.P. 32 at Pacific Sound Network in Seoul. Visuals by Anton Braun. ? Beyond the Bridge 2025.

Extending the melodious and mad, three-decade story of Super Furry Animals projects by adding another bombastic and beautiful chapter, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Daf Ieuan and Guto Pryce reconvene to announce the release of their second album, Pando.

Meeting every pummelling motorway mile with the beat of their psychedelic-soul-house blend since the release of their debut, Official UK Breakers Album Chart No.1 album, DK.01, in late 2023, Das Koolies’ energetic return to festival fields, intimate venues and service station shopping has affected no distraction from their mission. Committing to more time on the road at the same time as sharing rich spoils from the studio, Das Koolies include Newport, Nottingham, London and Manchester in their live plans. Determinedly exploring capability and ambition, the band’s continued, restorative return to wired and wonderful, man-and-machine-based music, following years of psych-folk-rock experimentation as four Furries, hasn’t meant forgetting the past. Som Bom Magnífico’s tour story, combining wistful and weary memory, rests the band’s case.

Taking on the lead lyrical and vocal role, Daf Ieuan, says: “Hindsight and rose-tinted glasses. It’s a song about a time when it was normal to order a veggie breakfast in hotels as a concession to a healthier life style, then following up by requesting to see the ‘Breakfast Wine Menu’. As Lou Reed sang: "Wine in the morning!".
Everyone should live like that for a while. Could be for a couple of days or a couple of decades. We’ve never laughed so much, but never again.”

Extending the melodious and mad, three-decade story of Super Furry Animals projects by adding another bombastic and beautiful chapter, Huw Bunford, Cian Ciarán, Daf Ieuan and Guto Pryce reconvene to announce the release of their second album, Pando.

Meeting every pummelling motorway mile with the beat of their psychedelic-soul-house blend since the release of their debut, Official UK Breakers Album Chart No.1 album, DK.01, in late 2023, Das Koolies’ energetic return to festival fields, intimate venues and service station shopping has affected no distraction from their mission. Committing to more time on the road at the same time as sharing rich spoils from the studio, Das Koolies include Newport, Nottingham, London and Manchester in their live plans. Determinedly exploring capability and ambition, the band’s continued, restorative return to wired and wonderful, man-and-machine-based music, following years of psych-folk-rock experimentation as four Furries, hasn’t meant forgetting the past. Som Bom Magnífico’s tour story, combining wistful and weary memory, rests the band’s case.

Taking on the lead lyrical and vocal role, Daf Ieuan, says: “Hindsight and rose-tinted glasses. It’s a song about a time when it was normal to order a veggie breakfast in hotels as a concession to a healthier life style, then following up by requesting to see the ‘Breakfast Wine Menu’. As Lou Reed sang: "Wine in the morning!".
Everyone should live like that for a while. Could be for a couple of days or a couple of decades. We’ve never laughed so much, but never again.”

Lisa Wilhelms neues Album SO CLOSE erscheint am 9. Mai 2025 bei BERTHOLD records und bringt eine spannende Weiterentwicklung ihrer Musik. In Zusammenarbeit mit Lukas Wögler (Saxophon), Moritz Langmaier (Klavier), Franz Blumenthal (Bass) und Lisa Wilhelm (Komposition und Schlagzeug) kombiniert sie lyrischen Jazz mit verträumten Pop-Klängen. Das Album erweitert das ursprüngliche Jazz-Quartett um Gesangseinlagen von Mareike Riegert, Nate Dailey und Nico-Alexander Wilhelm sowie ein Streichquartett. Wilhelms Kompositionen sind tief von persönlichen Erlebnissen und literarischen Entdeckungen inspiriert. Die Reise von SO CLOSE führt die Hörer durch intime Erinnerungen und emotionale Momente, die in Klänge übersetzt werden. Lieder wie "Change the Game", geschrieben für ihren Bruder, sprechen von den Herausforderungen von Druck und Erfolg, während "Four Voices" die inneren Kämpfe junger Frauen thematisiert. Mit SO CLOSE setzt Wilhelm mehr auf arrangierte Kompositionen, während sie ihre jazzigen Wurzeln und improvisierten Elemente beibehält. Die Klanglandschaften des Albums, inspiriert von unerwarteten Begegnungen und Geschichten, bieten eine tiefgründige emotionale Reise, die Pop, Folk und Jazz vereint. SO CLOSE stellt Lisa Wilhelm als Komponistin und Schlagzeugerin auf ein neues kreatives Niveau und verspricht ein berührendes und vielschichtiges Hörerlebnis.

Solo artist debut album for Vidar Landa, mostly known as guitarist and co-founder of the Norwegian rock/metal group Kvelertak and the powerpop outfit Beachheads. For his solo work he record and performs under the name King Hüsky.

A self-annointed ‘over thinker’, nudged into sociability with dark humour and most comfortable in the silent company of books, Landa’s sidewards step into the realms of subtle, honeysweet songcraft peaks with the release of the first, self-titled King Hüsky album Nine tracks are set to offer listeners the same loosely-assembled, yet graciously insistent sonic experience inherent to not only the single Lately I’ve Been Thinking Of Your Mother, but also King Hüsky’s skip-a-long, late-2024 teaser Running

Little Blue, the latest album from Nashville artist Kristina Murray was recorded with producers Misa Arriaga and Rachael Moore. The collection grapples with loneliness, desperation, and existential crises through a series of cinematic snapshots of small-town burnouts and last call lovers. Murray is a country artist in the truest sense, a genuine craftswoman with a keen eye and ear for the little details that bring her working-class characters to life, and her delivery is timeless, blurring the lines between the old school honky-tonk, swampy Americana, and R&B-infused southern rock she grew up on in her home state of Georgia. If Murray sounds like a seasoned vet on Little Blue, that’s because she is. While the album marks her Normaltown debut, Murray’s spent the last decade since moving to Nashville paying her dues in an endless series of dive bars and juke joints, and the result is an electrifying introduction to an artist only just beginning to get the kind of wider recognition her talent has long warranted. “I’ve been to some pretty low places these last ten years,” Kristina Murray confesses. “Faced a lot of heartbreak and loss and grief, but you have to learn to live with those things if you’re going to survive. You have to persevere.” That spirit of perseverance forms the bedrock of Little Blue.

Released in 2000, Soundphiles is the debut album by British electronic duo Kinobe. Known for their smooth blend of downtempo, chillout, and trip-hop, Kinobe crafted an atmospheric and cinematic sound that became a staple in lounge and ambient music scenes. The album features the iconic track "Slip Into Something", which gained widespread recognition through its use in commercials and compilations. Other standout songs like "Skyscraper" and "Bopalong" showcase Kinobe’s signature mix of mellow beats, lush instrumentation, and soothing melodies. Soundphiles captures a relaxed yet sophisticated vibe, making it a go-to album for fans of chilled electronic music. Its seamless fusion of organic and electronic elements solidified Kinobe’s reputation in the downtempo genre, earning them a dedicated following. Ideal for laid-back listening, Soundphiles remains a defining release in early 2000s chillout music. Soundphiles is available as a 25th anniversary edition of 500 copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl.

Comes on Black & White Marbled Vinyl, complete with a printed inner sleeve featuring insightful liner notes. CHARLY RECORDS present the first ever reissue of the sought-after cult New York, gospel street opera, Free The Black Man’s Chains. The most intriguing, and certainly the most ambitious project on the city’s GSF label (see more stunning titles on GSF exclusively from Charly). The project had its roots in a trio of singles released by the mysterious Broad Street Gang in 1971. The first, on the Cougar label called “Fair Skin Man” and its two follow-ups “L-o-v-e Love” and the title track from the album “Free The Black Man's Chains”. Celebrated musicians on the sessions were Mitchell Rowe, Bobby Eli, Len Pakula, Daryl Hall, Ron Baker, Norman Harris, The Raelettes and strings arranged by Richie Rome. A project like Free The Black Man's Chains should have been perfect for the multi-media nature of GSF. The album could have led to a film in the way that it had for Jesus Christ Superstar, but instead like so many of the label's releases, the album failed to make its mark due to a lack of promotion. GSF would barely reach its second birthday before it – and its parent company – shut down. A Black Opera…

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois.

When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

Die Saarbrücker Singer-Songwriterin Colletti, bekannt als Gastsängerin bei PASCOW, meldet sich mit "Cabin In The Woods" solo zurück. Die Single ist eines von zehn Liedern ihres Debütalbums "Anything That Burns", die sie - wie auch schon die 2022 erschienene EP "Searching For Former Solace" und die 2023 veröffentlichte Single "Weeki Wachee (ft. Bo)" - mit Marco Kallenborn aufnahm. Kallenborn, selbst als Solo-Künstler Citizen Tim auf Barhill Records unterwegs, übernahm auch erneut das Mixing und Mastering des Albums.

"My Last Star" began as a dream that Greg Lee of Hepcat had the week before his death in March of 2024. Greg dreamed of a Slackers song. The Slackers have completed this song, and now the world can hear this truly one of a kind collaboration. In Greg's dream, an old neighbor picked him up in a classic car, turned on the stereo, and played a Slackers song that - at the time - did not exist on our plane of reality. It sounds like the stuff of myth, but the song was so crystal clear in the dream that when he awoke around 2 or 3 in the morning, he immediately wrote down the lyrics he had heard, still humming the tune. "I hadn't seen Greg so excited about a new song in a very long time," says Lee's longtime partner, Mandie Becker. "I found the lyrics when I was organizing his things. I knew he had a voice recording on his phone, too. I decided the best situation was to offer it to The Slackers so we could all hear the song on the stereo from Greg's dream." "I was floored when I received Greg's vocal demo with the lyrics and I vowed to finish the song and make the dream a reality," says Slackers saxophonist Dave Hillyard. "I took the vocal demo to The Slackers, Vic Ruggiero harmonized it, and we wrote music around the words. With this song we came full circle. Greg had given us a gift and we needed to give it back to his family, friends, and musical community. We are the medium for his message." The longer history behind this collaboration is a story of decades of friendship, collaboration, artistry, and mutual respect between LA's Hepcat and NYC's The Slackers, who although from opposite coasts, have both been leading lights and creative forces in the underground ska scene since the early 1990s. Both Hepcat and The Slackers concerned themselves with timeless songwriting that paid homage to the longstanding roots of the music. It is an extraordinary final work envisioned by a beloved and thoughtful musician of the highest caliber and completed by longtime friends and collaborators he knew from the moment of inspiration were the ones that would play it. It is literally a dream come true. "My Last Star" is available as a 12" UV Printed Vinyl Single from Pirates Press Records, with art by The Slackers' in-house artist Catt Gould. The 12" also includes instrumental and dub versions of the song. As a matter of fact, snippets of Greg's original vocal demo from his phone are subtly mixed in toward the end of the instrumental version, underscoring his posthumous presence on the record. Greg's songwriting royalties, as well as a portion of the proceeds from the sales of "My Last Star," will be passed on to his four daughters.

Parisian mambo " is the second album by " Cecilya & the Candy Kings ". The entire LP is an homage to the city of Paris, that has made musically grown up the catalan singer since she settled down in the capital of love. The 11 songs of the album take you to a musical journey back to the 1950"s by the hand of a woman with a powerful and luminous voice committed to the causes of her time. Cecilya"s lyrics, intimate and universal at the same time, not only speak about love and celebrationas the old rhythm"n"blues did. She speaks about dreams (broken or not), internal struggles, healing,emigration, her native Mediterranean sea, the chance to be a freewoman, the superficiality of the world we live in and the nostalgia for better times.The music, signed Rodolphe Dumont, has been carefully created and produced to sublimate Cecilya"s personal universe. The retro sound ambiances and catchy melodies truly take us back to the times of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. "Parisian mambo" captures the essence of the cream of rhythm"n"blues from the golden era: a mix of blues,rock"n"roll, boogie-woogie, mambo and far more.The musicians on the album are:Cecilya Mestres on vocals, Rodolphe Dumont on electric guitar, Sax, Gordon on tenor and baritone saxophones, Olivier Cantrelle on piano, Abdell B. Bop on double bass and Denis Agenet on drums.