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180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.

Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.

Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”

After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.

This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.

Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.

Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.

"Every day, the skies of New York City fill up with unseen clouds of radio signals spreading over immigrant neighborhoods. These culturally charged clouds of radio energy burst with a flow of content that continually shifts and transforms, following the lifecycle and rhythm of the streets.

In Gianfranco Rosi’s portrait of Naples, Sotto le Nuvole, the ground shakes periodically. Between Mount Vesuvius and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the fumaroles of the Phlegraean Fields hiss volcanic gas and steam. Below the sleeping volcano, modern day Naples emerges in black and white and fills with voices, with lives. From the traces of history and the concerns of the present, Rosi documents a city immersed in its continuous past, with Daniel Blumberg’s minimal soundscape hovering in a sonic space between liquid and air.
Tasked with creating a soundscape that would suspend space within Rosi’s film, Blumberg called upon the extended technique of saxophonists Seymour Wright and John Butcher to create a gossamer fabric of traces and sounds abstracted from their instruments. Having transitioned from theoretical physics to the saxophone, John Butcher has always deeply considered space in the context of his playing. His concerns are with flow, density and how the saxophone is situated in the living world. Zeroing in on the core sonic properties of the mechanical and acoustic components of the saxophone, Seymour Wright has integrated its every breath, reed vibration, keypad clatter and hissed microtone of his alto into his own, unique improvisational language. In his work with these two seminal players, Blumberg makes his most concentrated soundtrack to date - reinforcing the film's sense of overlapping time and space, and pushing at the limits of experimentation.

Initially recorded in Daniel’s flat in London, Butcher and Wright centre themselves around long, consistent tones, so soft that it seems breath is being gently pulled from the saxophone's bell by an invisible hand. Blumberg himself adds haunting bass harmonica, and recordings of Wright’s launeddas - a traditional and ancient triple pipe polyphonic reed instrument from Sardinia, Italy. Blumberg then travelled to the volcanic region of Baia, next to Pompeii. Once a flourishing classical Roman city loved by Nero, Baia slowly sank under hydrothermal pressure, leaving the city in a kind of geological purgatory. Using specialised geophones and hydrophones, Blumberg took those initial recordings and amplified them underwater, sending them calling out across the ruins of Baia’s mosaics, Nymphaeum statues and villas.

“It was important to me that the music was whispered in the same landscape that Gianfranco has worked for the past three years, so that you can hear the volcanic air gulping, the lapping of the waves, the steam and bubbles popping against John and Seymour’s saxophone breaths – an echo from a suspended time.”
What emerges is deeply melancholic, tender, subtle and right at the edges of audio technology. Submerged in an aquarian mausoleum, the mysterious vibrations of the saxophone and its bell become an echo of an echo, wading from the future into the past. ‘Sotto le Nuvole’ is less a soundtrack than a process of aeration - a sonic puncture in the material of the film which allows its central message to breathe, and a remarkable experiment at the limits of the saxophone’s possibility.

NOSUCHKEY makes a bold debut on the Art of Memory label with a deadly four track EP of masterfully reduced but stylish and evocative minimal techno. NOSUCHKEY is actually a side project from Nico Purman. He served up the first two releases on the label and this new alias is focused on straight forward techno. Over more than a decade Purman has established himself on Vakant, Crosstown Rebels and Curle, and now heads in an exciting new direction designed to make a huge impact on the floor. Opener 'Stages' is post minimal techno with a focus on mind melting melodic riffs that ripple over the rooted drums. It is sci-fi in style with a hint of Detroit greats like Jeff Mills and really takes you into the future. The excellent 'FMFMFM' is another fluid bit of deep techno that is wired up with languid synths constantly wrapping and warping round the drums. Keeping up the pressure is 'Lunch', with a stripped back but impactful techno style built on rubbery kicks and with modulated synth lines constantly shapeshifting throughout the mix. Direct but dynamic, it is excellently timeless techno that leads on to closer 'ACD RDFN'. There is urgency, paranoia and cyber tension in this one that really keeps you locked as it journeys deep into a blackened yet cinematic cosmic abyss. NOSUCHKEY is a false address, a lack of a word, a character or sign that makes a whole code unable to find its final path: The Specified Key does not exist.

Xzibit – Kingmaker markiert die lang erwartete Rückkehr der Westcoast-Legende, sein erstes Album seit 2012. Vollgepackt mit Heavyweight-Kollaborationen präsentiert Kingmaker Branchengrößen wie Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Redman, Royce Da 5'9", Ty Dolla $ign und viele mehr. Mit einer knallharten Produktion und Xzibits charakteristischer, messerscharfer Darbietung verbindet dieses Album rohe Lyrik mit erstklassigen Beats und bekräftigt Xzibits Status als Hip-Hop-Powerhouse. Kingmaker ist ein Muss für Shops und Fans gleichermassen und wird in der gesamten Kulturszene für Aufsehen sorgen.

Van Morrisons neues Album 'Remembering Now' markiert seine Rückkehr zu Original Music mit einer reichen Mischung aus Soul, Jazz, Blues, Folk und Country und enthält die lang erwartete Single 'Down To Joy'.

Van Morrison, blue-eyed Soul-Shouter und wild-eyed Dichter-Magier zugleich, ist einer der wahren Erneuerer der populären Musik. Er ist ein rastlos Suchender, dessen beschwörender Gesang und alchimistische Verschmelzung von R&B, Jazz, Blues und keltischem Folk das vielleicht spirituellste Werk im Rock'n'Roll-Kanon hervorgebracht hat. Seine Aufnahmen, die nur den Launen seiner eigenen Muse unterworfen sind, decken ein außergewöhnliches stilistisches Terrain ab und bewahren doch eine Geschlossenheit und Reinheit, die unter seinen Zeitgenossen nahezu unerreicht ist. Was sie verbindet, ist die mythische Kraft seiner einzigartigen musikalischen Vision und seines feurigen Gesangs: spiralförmige Wiederholungen von Klagen und Flüstern, die die Grenzen der Sprache umgehen, um emotionale Wahrheiten zu artikulieren, die weit über den Rahmen der wörtlichen Bedeutung hinausgehen.

A fragile sense of time and memory runs through 'Thrill', the third collaborative album from Yana Pavlova and Pavel Milyakov. Recorded across four years and completed shortly before Pavlova's passing in February 2025, the collection expands the delicate language they introduced on Blue. The 14 scratchy, diaristic pieces move between ambient drift, field recordings and loose jazz inflections where haunted vocals, blurred guitars and faded textures surface then dissolve again. Rather than settling into fixed forms, the music unfolds patiently, revealing quiet emotional weight and space. It makes for a fitting closing chapter and a great document of Pavlova's singular, ethereal voice.

Shimmering Xhosa traditions and deep electronic futures vibrate as South African sonic poet and composer Dumama unveils her groundbreaking debut solo album, Towards An Expanse. Sometimes gospel, sometimes electro-psychedelic space travel, Towards An Expanse unfurls from a languid lament into an ever-expanding sonic universe. Dumama defies conventional genre boundaries while excavating deep personal and cultural histories in this concise but boundaryless collection, recorded between New York, Johannesburg and Berlin. Dumama first gained international attention with her acclaimed 2020 collaborative album, Buffering Juju, created with fellow South African musician and artist Kechou, and lauded as Global Album of the Month by The Guardian. Her new solo work draws on a rich lineage of South African voices. Gugulethu Duma (aka Dumama) is a musician / composer / sonic poet / creative producer from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Dumama is one of the few uhadi players in the world. Her use of the traditional Xhosa bowed instrument guides her profound story-telling, blending ancestral roots into an urgent electro-acoustic palette. The album was born out of sessions with acclaimed musician and producer Shahzad Ismaily in New York and South African powerhouse Nandi Ndlovu in Johannesburg.

Highscore is one of the newest-and quite sensational-discoveries in funk of the 1980s out of Germany. Two tracks Breakin' Out and Girls So Fine, both recorded about 40 years ago and shelved ever since, are finally receiving a long-overdue 12" release.

Label founder DJ Scientist tells the story of how the tracks were uncovered:

"Several years ago, while researching the Crea label-after we had already licensed 'You're Not The One For Me' by Peter Patzer-I also wanted to find out more about another band on the label: Nuages, who had released the stunning jazz-funk/fusion album Cumulus.

Interestingly, a Discogs user had uploaded a hand written promo letter from one of the band members along with the LP. In it, drummer Mike Bach mentioned plans for a second album, as well as a single featuring a 'coloured singer'-which caught my attention. (A note on language: the original letter from 1985 uses the term 'coloured.' We've chosen to quote it directly as a historical document, but want to be clear that this reflects the terminology of the era and not language we would use today.)

Digging deeper, more information was found on Bach's own website, where a project called 'High Score' was mentioned. I immediately got in touch and asked if the recordings from that project still existed. Unfortunately, Bach couldn't locate any of the material at the time.

Years passed before we reconnected, when we featured 'Strange Weekend' by Nuages on our recent yacht rock compilation. I still had the Highscore project in mind and asked again. Once more, Mike had to deny-but he made another effort and reached out to former collaborators. A few weeks later, guitarist and composer Hermann Behrens discovered cassette tapes containing tracks from the Highscore project. I couldn't wait to hear them…"

To go back a bit: Nuages were a jazz-rock band from Bremerhaven, originally formed by guitarist Joachim "Fussy" Fuß in 1982. The lineup included Mike Bach (drums and percussion), Klaus Hinners (bass), and Frank Fischer (keyboards). In 1984, John Dillard, a U.S. GI stationed in Germany, joined Nuages for several live performances as a soul singer.
Around 1985/1986, Dillard and Bach then teamed up with Hermann Behrens with a new focus on electro funk and disco: Highscore was born.

When the three demo recordings were finally sent to us, they immediately blew us away. Breakin' Out stood out as an incredible electro-funk boogie gem-exactly what we had been looking for. What's more, it didn't sound like a rough demo at all, Breakin Out was a well-arranged and almost perfectly recorded track, driven by fresh, vibrant synths, drum machines and guitar. The cassette mix wasn't entirely final, but the remaining details could be refined during mastering.

The B-side, Girl So Fine, impressed just as much-equally strong and just as captivating as the A-side. Our reaction was immediate: this had to be released without delay!

Most importantly, there are a few more recordings from Highscore. However, these only exist as multi-track studio reels, which currently cannot be transferred. In the best case, more material from the band may surface soon-hopefully without another long wait.

The 12" release Breakin' Out / Girl So Fine" comes with a newly designed picture sleeve, featuring an original photo of the band members, including background singer Ruben Hopkins who does not appear on these two recordings.

The vinyl edition is limited to 400 copies.

“L’École de la nuit” marks Versatile Records’ 30th anniversary with a musical découpage by label founder Gilb’R. The album’s 12 songs and numerous collaborations form an adroit exploration of life and music, all threaded together by lifelong “partner in crime” I:Cube’s signature mixdowns.

“Hà mar” represents the peak of the album’s organic spectrum—an instantly captivating melodic and percussive Brazilian song featuring Alvaro Lancellotti on guitar and vocals—while “White Light” serves as its electronic counterpart, with a classic pop feel, featuring Swedish singer Monica Tormell

Musically, “L’École de la nuit” moves across many different landscapes and languages, intersecting rock, shoegaze, ambient, electronica, and, of course, jazz. Gilb’R collaborates with a rich arsenal of guest musicians: saxophonist Quentin Rollet; guitarist and producer Maxime Delpierre; French artist Judah Warsky, with whom Gilb’R previously released an album; Jonny Nash, producer and guitarist; as well as Ben Shemie. Not least, father and son Julio and Julinho Pimentel contribute their distinctive percussion, alongside François Creamer on bass clarinet.

“L’École de la nuit” is the 50th album release on Versatile Records. It was initiated in Amsterdam, then entirely reimagined and rebuilt in Paris. It stands as a manifesto for the album format and a tribute to the listener.

For his sixth solo album, Ezéchiel Pailhès returns with a new collection of songs infused by a sunny wandering spirit.
Within each of the twelve songs on SOL is a thread of melancholic happiness that has permeated much of Pailhès’ music and songwriting. He addresses love, the passing of time, hope, lost illusions, fleeting moments of grace, the temptation of forgetting, a need to escape, and desire. All this is
insulated by understated orchestrations that blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation with deft confidence.
The Portuguese and Brazilian concept of saudade—a form of melancholic longing and nostalgia— pervades, thanks in part to Pailhès decision to record the album in Rio de Janiero and to reinterpret some of the finest works of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). In particular, he revisits a handful of
lesser known classics from the mid-century samba and bossa nova era—originally written or performed by talents including Vinícius de Moraes, João Gilberto, Tom Zé, Dorival Caymmi, João Donato, Os Tincoãs, and Ataulfo Alves.
The shift from Brazilian Portuguese to French and the decision to adapt rather than perform a straightforward cover versions, allows Pailhès to invent a form of prosody and euphony (the musicality and harmonious combination of words) that feels vibrant and unlike anything else in today’s French
chanson landscape.
“Some lyrics are simple translations from Portuguese, in what I’d call an expanded version. For others, I started from a single word or a single phrase and embroidered an entirely new text that carried me elsewhere,” explains Pailhès. “I allowed myself great interpretive freedom, while preserving the humanist dimension of the original songs. I’ve always been deeply moved by the way Brazilians transfigure reality through heightened emotion. I love this visceral and spontaneous country, which always seems to live through emotion. And above all, I love its music both popular and unifying,
bringing together all social classes. In that sense, it’s very political music, but even more so utopian, made by the people and for the people.”
On this new album, however, the French artist was keen to avoid cliché. Each song is therefore built around a carefully balanced interplay between Pailhès’ piano and synthesizers, alongside restrained arrangements of percussion, brass, bass, and cavaquinho (a small four-string plucked guitar). These parts were recorded in Rio de Janeiro with two musicians who regularly perform alongside the legendary Caetano Veloso—Kainã Do Jêje and Alberto Continentino—joined by Thomas Harres, Antônio Neves, Eduardo Neves, and Gabriel Loddo.
Since the 1960s, France and Brazil have shared a long-standing cultural and musical relationship. Some Brazilian artists, most famously Gilberto Gil, took refuge in France during the dictatorship years (1964–1985). But above all, French chanson quickly fell in love with the richness and ingenuity of
bossa nova and samba, translating and reinventing them in the language of Molière. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, albums and hits by Henri Salvador, Georges Moustaki, Pierre Barouh, Pierre Vassiliu, and Claude Nougaro all drew from the MPB repertoire.
Fifty years later, with SOL, Ezéchiel Pailhès reinvents this rich Franco-Brazilian musical legacy, bringing to it a personality and modernity that stand confidently alongside those of his forbears.

Der Mittlere Westen, insbesondere der Teil, aus dem Eric D. Johnson stammt, ist eine weitgehend flache Weite. Wenn man auf der Autobahn hindurchbraust, sieht man Städte und Ortschaften in der Ferne aufragen, doch wenn man blinzelt, verpasst man andere von Menschenhand geschaffene Gegenstücke zum Leben in der Ebene, die die Landschaft prägen: Hügel um Hügel, erbaut aus den Abfällen der Vergangenheit: Mülldeponien. Einige dieser Hügel eignen sich hervorragend als Schlittenhügel, Parks und Wanderwege. Andere verwandeln organische Abfälle in Kompost. ,The Landfill" ist etwas ganz anderes: ein Berg, der die Landschaft in Johnsons Herzen dominiert. Im Laufe seiner mittlerweile 25-jährigen Karriere unter dem Namen Fruit Bats war der Großteil von Eric D. Johnsons Schaffen das Ergebnis von Geduld und Feinschliff. Seine Songs sind, um einen Ausdruck zu verwenden, Langzeitprojekte, die auf Alben zum Leben erweckt werden, welche lange Zeiträume und Erinnerungen umfassen. "Baby Man" änderte das - er verbot sich, auf Material zurückzugreifen, an dem er vor der Aufnahme des Albums gearbeitet hatte. Es war sowohl ein atemberaubendes Dokument von Johnsons Können als Singer-Songwriter als auch ein ungeschönter Bericht über die zwei Wochen, in denen er das Album aufnahm. "Diese Session war vorbei", erklärt er, "aber es gab noch viel mehr zu erkunden. Mir gefiel die Unmittelbarkeit davon, und ich wollte sehen, wie sich das auf ein Fruit-Bats-Album mit voller Bandbesetzung übertragen lassen würde." Innerhalb weniger Wochen war er wieder im Studio, diesmal mit seiner Band: David Dawda (Bass), Josh Mease (Gitarren, Synthesizer), Frank LoCrasto (Klavier, Synthesizer) und Kosta Galanopoulos (Schlagzeug). Wenn man sich "The Landfill" anhört, stellt man fest: Diese Band rockt. Johnson produzierte die ersten Aufnahmesessions in den Bear Creek Studios in Washington und machte sich daran , "den Sound dieser Band einzufangen, die mich immer wieder in Staunen versetzt - das Gefühl, in einem Raum mit Musikern zu sein, die man liebt und denen man genug vertraut, um sie einfach machen zu lassen." Sie nahmen das meiste davon in einem Durchgang auf - ohne Click-Tracks, ohne zusammengestellte Gesangsparts und mit minimalen Overdubs, wobei der häufige Mitwirkende Thom Monahan zurückkehrte, um zusätzliche Produktionsarbeit zu leisten und den finalen Mix von ,The Landfill" zu erstellen. "So machen wir es auch mit meiner anderen Band, Bonny Light Horseman, und ich war neugierig, wie es bei den Fruit Bats funktionieren würde", bemerkt Johnson. "Es ist sowohl ein sehr persönliches Album als auch mein bisher kollaborativstes." Es ist zudem das live-orientierteste Album der Fruit Bats seit "The Ruminant Band" aus dem Jahr 2009, und durch die Reduzierung der Spuren, die einen Song einer kompletten Band normalerweise ausmachen, ist die psychedelische, technicolorartige Verträumtheit ihres Sounds lebendiger denn je. Die Songs auf "The Landfill" zeichnen sich sofort als einige der besten in Eric D. Johnsons Werk aus, Suchende und Hymnen gleichermaßen. Es ist der bisher gewaltigste Gipfel, den er erklommen hat.

Der Mittlere Westen, insbesondere der Teil, aus dem Eric D. Johnson stammt, ist eine weitgehend flache Weite. Wenn man auf der Autobahn hindurchbraust, sieht man Städte und Ortschaften in der Ferne aufragen, doch wenn man blinzelt, verpasst man andere von Menschenhand geschaffene Gegenstücke zum Leben in der Ebene, die die Landschaft prägen: Hügel um Hügel, erbaut aus den Abfällen der Vergangenheit: Mülldeponien. Einige dieser Hügel eignen sich hervorragend als Schlittenhügel, Parks und Wanderwege. Andere verwandeln organische Abfälle in Kompost. ,The Landfill" ist etwas ganz anderes: ein Berg, der die Landschaft in Johnsons Herzen dominiert. Im Laufe seiner mittlerweile 25-jährigen Karriere unter dem Namen Fruit Bats war der Großteil von Eric D. Johnsons Schaffen das Ergebnis von Geduld und Feinschliff. Seine Songs sind, um einen Ausdruck zu verwenden, Langzeitprojekte, die auf Alben zum Leben erweckt werden, welche lange Zeiträume und Erinnerungen umfassen. "Baby Man" änderte das - er verbot sich, auf Material zurückzugreifen, an dem er vor der Aufnahme des Albums gearbeitet hatte. Es war sowohl ein atemberaubendes Dokument von Johnsons Können als Singer-Songwriter als auch ein ungeschönter Bericht über die zwei Wochen, in denen er das Album aufnahm. "Diese Session war vorbei", erklärt er, "aber es gab noch viel mehr zu erkunden. Mir gefiel die Unmittelbarkeit davon, und ich wollte sehen, wie sich das auf ein Fruit-Bats-Album mit voller Bandbesetzung übertragen lassen würde." Innerhalb weniger Wochen war er wieder im Studio, diesmal mit seiner Band: David Dawda (Bass), Josh Mease (Gitarren, Synthesizer), Frank LoCrasto (Klavier, Synthesizer) und Kosta Galanopoulos (Schlagzeug). Wenn man sich "The Landfill" anhört, stellt man fest: Diese Band rockt. Johnson produzierte die ersten Aufnahmesessions in den Bear Creek Studios in Washington und machte sich daran , "den Sound dieser Band einzufangen, die mich immer wieder in Staunen versetzt - das Gefühl, in einem Raum mit Musikern zu sein, die man liebt und denen man genug vertraut, um sie einfach machen zu lassen." Sie nahmen das meiste davon in einem Durchgang auf - ohne Click-Tracks, ohne zusammengestellte Gesangsparts und mit minimalen Overdubs, wobei der häufige Mitwirkende Thom Monahan zurückkehrte, um zusätzliche Produktionsarbeit zu leisten und den finalen Mix von ,The Landfill" zu erstellen. "So machen wir es auch mit meiner anderen Band, Bonny Light Horseman, und ich war neugierig, wie es bei den Fruit Bats funktionieren würde", bemerkt Johnson. "Es ist sowohl ein sehr persönliches Album als auch mein bisher kollaborativstes." Es ist zudem das live-orientierteste Album der Fruit Bats seit "The Ruminant Band" aus dem Jahr 2009, und durch die Reduzierung der Spuren, die einen Song einer kompletten Band normalerweise ausmachen, ist die psychedelische, technicolorartige Verträumtheit ihres Sounds lebendiger denn je. Die Songs auf "The Landfill" zeichnen sich sofort als einige der besten in Eric D. Johnsons Werk aus, Suchende und Hymnen gleichermaßen. Es ist der bisher gewaltigste Gipfel, den er erklommen hat.

To Cherish zeigt Northcote, das Projekt des kanadischen Singer-Songwriters Matt Goud, in einer Phase persönlicher und kreativer Erneuerung. Seit 2008 bekannt für seine warme Stimme, seine aufrichtigen Texte und energiegeladenen Live-Shows, hat Northcote durch Touren in Nordamerika und Europa sowie gemeinsame Auftritte mit Künstlern wie The Gaslight Anthem, Frank Turner und Hot Water Music eine treue internationale Fangemeinde aufgebaut. Das Album entstand in den Rain City Studios in Vancouver unter der Leitung von Produzent Jesse Gander, der den Songs eine kraftvolle, unmittelbare Klarheit verleiht. To Cherish spiegelt eine Zeit des Umbruchs wider - das Ende einer langjährigen Beziehung, eine wichtige spirituelle Übergangsphase und die kreative Aufbruchsstimmung nach der Rückkehr auf die Bühne. Musikalisch knüpft das Werk an die intime Dynamik der Duo-Tourneen an. Langzeitpartner Stephen McGillivray trägt mit seinem charakteristischen Gitarrenspiel maßgeblich zur Atmosphäre bei, unterstützt von Paul Rigby, Percussionist Mike Battle und Bassist Eric Paone. Die Songs vereinen lyrische Tiefe mit emotionaler Intensität und laden dazu ein, die Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens bewusst wertzuschätzen.

Als MONO ihr vorheriges Album OATH 2023 gemeinsam mit ihrem langjährigen Produktionspartner und Freund Steve Albini aufgenommen hatten, konnten sie sich nicht vorstellen, dass es das letzte Studioalbum sein würde, das sie zusammen machten. Albini starb im darauffolgenden Jahr tragisch, und dieser Verlust hinterließ eine unermessliche Leerstelle - nicht nur im Leben all jener, die Steve persönlich kannten, sondern bei jedem, der eine emotionale Verbindung zu einem der Tausenden von Alben hat, an deren Entstehung er in den vergangenen vier Jahrzehnten beteiligt war. Er brachte Klarheit in das Chaos und eine selbstlose Hingabe an die Kunst und die Künstler, die ihresgleichen suchte. Auf persönlicher wie auf praktischer Ebene stellte sein Tod MONO vor tiefe Trauer und große Unsicherheit. Albini war zu einem grundlegenden Bestandteil des unverwechselbaren MONO-Sounds geworden, und allein der Gedanke daran, ihn ersetzen zu müssen, war mehr als entmutigend.Und dann kam: Brad Wood (Touché Amoré, The Smashing Pumpkins).Ausgewählt aufgrund seiner Vertrautheit mit MONOs kreativen und technischen Arbeitsprozessen - ebenso wie seiner jahrzehntelangen Freundschaft mit Steve Albini - betrat Brad Wood im September 2025 das legendäre Electrical Audio Studio, um aufzunehmen, was schließlich zu Snowdrop werden sollte. Gemeinsam mit dem in Chicago ansässigen Dirigenten und Orchesterleiter Chad McCullough verpflichteten MONO ein zehnköpfiges Orchester und einen achtköpfigen Chor für die acht monumentalen Stücke, aus denen Snowdrop besteht. Die Band spielte, und Wood nahm in demselben heiligen Raum auf, in dem die meisten MONO-Alben ihrer 25-jährigen Geschichte entstanden waren - die Songs auf Snowdrop tragen daher ein besonderes Gewicht. Abgemischt wurde das Album von Wood in seinem Seagrass-Home-Studio in Los Angeles; es klingt zugleich intim und umhüllend.Wo leicht ein Schatten über Snowdrop hätte liegen können, findet sich stattdessen eine außergewöhnliche Atmosphäre der Dankbarkeit. Statt in Herzschmerz zu verweilen, entsteht eine eindringliche Wertschätzung für das gut gelebte Leben mit einem geliebten Freund - und eine Sehnsucht danach, was noch kommen mag. Snowdrop ist der Klang einer Band, die Schock und Trauer in Hoffnung und Staunen verwandelt - und neue Klarheit im befreienden Gefühl des Nichtwissens findet.

Als MONO ihr vorheriges Album OATH 2023 gemeinsam mit ihrem langjährigen Produktionspartner und Freund Steve Albini aufgenommen hatten, konnten sie sich nicht vorstellen, dass es das letzte Studioalbum sein würde, das sie zusammen machten. Albini starb im darauffolgenden Jahr tragisch, und dieser Verlust hinterließ eine unermessliche Leerstelle - nicht nur im Leben all jener, die Steve persönlich kannten, sondern bei jedem, der eine emotionale Verbindung zu einem der Tausenden von Alben hat, an deren Entstehung er in den vergangenen vier Jahrzehnten beteiligt war. Er brachte Klarheit in das Chaos und eine selbstlose Hingabe an die Kunst und die Künstler, die ihresgleichen suchte. Auf persönlicher wie auf praktischer Ebene stellte sein Tod MONO vor tiefe Trauer und große Unsicherheit. Albini war zu einem grundlegenden Bestandteil des unverwechselbaren MONO-Sounds geworden, und allein der Gedanke daran, ihn ersetzen zu müssen, war mehr als entmutigend.Und dann kam: Brad Wood (Touché Amoré, The Smashing Pumpkins).Ausgewählt aufgrund seiner Vertrautheit mit MONOs kreativen und technischen Arbeitsprozessen - ebenso wie seiner jahrzehntelangen Freundschaft mit Steve Albini - betrat Brad Wood im September 2025 das legendäre Electrical Audio Studio, um aufzunehmen, was schließlich zu Snowdrop werden sollte. Gemeinsam mit dem in Chicago ansässigen Dirigenten und Orchesterleiter Chad McCullough verpflichteten MONO ein zehnköpfiges Orchester und einen achtköpfigen Chor für die acht monumentalen Stücke, aus denen Snowdrop besteht. Die Band spielte, und Wood nahm in demselben heiligen Raum auf, in dem die meisten MONO-Alben ihrer 25-jährigen Geschichte entstanden waren - die Songs auf Snowdrop tragen daher ein besonderes Gewicht. Abgemischt wurde das Album von Wood in seinem Seagrass-Home-Studio in Los Angeles; es klingt zugleich intim und umhüllend.Wo leicht ein Schatten über Snowdrop hätte liegen können, findet sich stattdessen eine außergewöhnliche Atmosphäre der Dankbarkeit. Statt in Herzschmerz zu verweilen, entsteht eine eindringliche Wertschätzung für das gut gelebte Leben mit einem geliebten Freund - und eine Sehnsucht danach, was noch kommen mag. Snowdrop ist der Klang einer Band, die Schock und Trauer in Hoffnung und Staunen verwandelt - und neue Klarheit im befreienden Gefühl des Nichtwissens findet.

Zwei wahre cineastische Juwelen auf einer 7"-Single. Eine Auskopplung aus der beliebten Vinyl-Compilation-Reihe "The Tape Masters", die laufend seltene Rare Groove-Schätze und unveröffentlichte Aufnahmen aus den Archiven des Filmkomponisten Peter Thomas zutage fördert. Exklusiv auf dieser Single – und überhaupt zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich – ist die rare deutschsprachige Version des Tracks "Black Power", gesungen von einer gewissen Donna Gaines. Später natürlich weltberühmt geworden als Donna Summer, markiert dieser Song ihre allererste Aufnahme als Solokünstlerin im Alter von gerade einmal 20 Jahren. Zugleich war es ihr erster Auftritt vor der Kamera – prominent platziert im ZDF-Krimi-Dreiteiler "11 Uhr 20" (1969). Sowohl der Film als auch bisherige Sampler verwendeten die englischsprachige Version; der Mono-Mix der deutschen Fassung wurde erst vor Kurzem in Peter Thomas’ Bandarchiv wiederentdeckt. Ein weiteres vokales Highlight aus einer deutschen Krimi-Trilogie ist Senta Bergers frech-laszives "Vergiss mich, wenn du kannst" (aus dem ZDF-Krimi-Dreiteiler "Babeck", 1968). Das Lied basiert auf dem Titelthema der Serie und wird von der Sängerin in ihrer Rolle als geheimnisvolle, vamp-artige Barchefin interpretiert. Unter Liebhabern europäischer Filmmusik hat sich der Titel längst zum Kultstück entwickelt und wurde bereits mehrfach gecovert. Das Original feiert nun endlich hier seine Vinyl-Premiere. Achtung: Ein absoluter Doppelseiter!


[a] a1: Black Power (German version) [feat. Donna Summer]

Das Debüt des transzendentalen Gitarrenmeisters aus dem Jahr 1971, remastered für all eure Sabbat-Bedürfnisse. 37 Minuten ambienter Gitarrenzauberei und der perfekte Soundtrack für das Erwachen des dritten Auges, Lichtalchemie oder Menschenopfer. Mit diesem Werk könnte man eine Sekte gründen. Der kalifornische Versandhandelsmystiker Master Wilburn Burchette wurde erstmals durch seine Anzeigen bekannt, die auf den hinteren Seiten des ,Fate Magazine", von ,Beyond Reality" und ,Gnostica News" versteckt waren. Im Angebot: Burchettes siebenteiliger, im Blockdruckverfahren hergestellter ,Psychic Meditation Course", der den Menschen beibringen sollte, wie man Musik hört. Passend zu seinen Lektionen verkaufte Burchette eine Reihe von Instrumentalplatten mit Gitarren- und Elektronikmusik, die mit kunstvollen, handgezeichneten Cover-Motiven versehen waren und Höranweisungen vom Meister selbst enthielten. Bereits seit seinem zwölften Lebensjahr war Burchette von der Parapsychologie fasziniert und verbrachte ebenso viel Zeit mit dem Lesen von Büchern über die Grundlagen der tibetischen Mystik wie mit dem Üben auf der Gitarre, deren Schwingungen er nutzte, um Klangbilder und -muster zu erschaffen. Nachdem er eine Zeit lang klassische Gitarre unterrichtet hatte, veröffentlichte Meister Wilburn Burchette in den sieben Jahren von 1971 bis 1977 sieben Alben, bevor er abrupt alles, was mit seinen musikalischen Erkundungen zu tun hatte, verbrannte und wegwarf.

MEGAPTERA, the scientific name of the humpback whale, is also the title of the new album by French producer and composer Rone.


Born from an ambitious film project, the record was largely composed at sea, off the coasts of Brittany and Réunion Island, using a modular synthesizer and melodic sketches developed for an almost unreal proposition: attempting to resonate with whales through music.


Following Room With a View—a soundtrack to a performance created with the alternative dance company La Horde, exploring collapse and rebirth—Rone continues his investigation into new imaginaries. If that earlier work emerged from reflections on ecological, social, and technological tipping points, MEGAPTERA marks a shift: away from the city, toward the sea.


Gradually, he moved away from performance toward a more craft-based approach, extending his practice beyond the studio into a wider space of listening, exchange, and fieldwork. Early footage of sailors broadcasting his work into open water—seemingly answered by whale presence—circulated online, generating fascination, but also a growing unease for the artist regarding what these projections might imply.


This tension became the starting point for a longer period of field experimentation, developed in dialogue with scientists, environmentalists, sailors, and bioacousticians. The resulting 15-track album reflects this open-ended inquiry — not only into whether human-made sound can reach whales, but also into how this process can shape a new form of electronic music, and open it towards new deep-sea soundscapes.


Rather than seeking imitation, Rone works with reduction. Drawing on research into cetacean vocalisation, he pares back his language—focusing on frequency bands, repetition, and suspended structures. Minimalism appears less as reference than as natural convergence.

Parra for Cuva returns in 2026 with a new LP – Nacar – and world tour, marking the next step in his ongoing artistic evolution. Known for creating immersive electronic soundscapes that combine organic instruments with detailed, emotive production, he now extends his vision with a renewed visual language and live experience that deepen the connection between sound and space.

Following the exploratory framework of Closer Now, Everlasting Flame sees Bartosz Kruczyński aka Earth Trax moving further into introspection, embracing a more experimental language that drifts between ambient abstraction and rhythm-driven forms.

The album unfolds through cold, shimmering atmospheres and submerged low-end structures, navigating a subtle tension between melancholy and propulsion. Its sonic palette remains fluid, shifting between hazy ambient passages, dub-inflected textures and more fractured, bass-driven moments, while maintaining a strong sense of cohesion throughout.

A defining element of the record lies in its contrasts: low, brooding pads and diffused beats are set against piercing high-end details, distant vocal fragments and flashes of raw, distorted intensity. This interplay creates a sound world that feels at once fragile and forceful, intimate yet expansive, with a persistent sense of longing running beneath the surface.

With Everlasting Flame, Earth Trax continues to move beyond strictly club-oriented structures, shaping a body of work that exists in a liminal space between functionality and free-form expression — immersive, textural and emotionally resonant. A record that lingers in the in-between, where rhythm dissolves into atmosphere and emotion takes the lead.

Strictly limited to 150 copies. DJ use only.

By popular demand, almost two years after its original release, we're finally pressing one of MM Discos' most iconic records to vinyl. A record that, in many ways, captures the label's vibe, spirituality, and sonic identity.
Daichi landed in 2024 with standout versatility, effortlessly pulling almost any genre into a balearic universe, bending it to his own language.
From the proto-tropical trance of "See of Cosmic" to the loose, hard-to-pin-down house of "Dampness," somewhere between Madchester moods and an Arthur Russell-esque swing. Late-night energy runs through "You Got Me" and "Aja Aja" - the former riding a garage swing, the latter drifting further into that signature cosmic space. To close it out and ease the tempo down, Daichi moves into more disco-leaning territory with a pair of understated but heavyweight edits.

Mission of Mercy, the fourth full length album from celebrated guitarist and songwriter Mike Campbell (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac) and his band The Dirty Knobs, is due June 12 via Soundly Music/Thirty Tigers. The album features appearances from the B-52s’ Kate Pierson and Morgane Stapleton alongside the Dirty Knobs’ Chris Holt (guitars, keys), Lance Morrison (bass) and Campbell’s fellow Heartbreaker Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion). Mission of Mercy displays Campbell’s full songwriting range, with tracks ranging from the unbridled rock & roll of “I Remember” to the Americana ballad “More Than Gold” and even the Brian Wilson-inspired psychedelia of the title track. Campbell states that “Mission Of Mercy is an action-packed collection of tunes that continue the vibe we established as well as some new directions in the songwriting. It’s full-throttle Knobs from start to finish and we look forward to playing these live this year.” Last year saw the release of Campbell’s New York Times Best Selling memoir Heartbreaker, which Rolling Stone hailed as “essential…a vividly told new autobiography,” while the Los Angeles Times praised its “tale of endurance and patience rewarded” and No Depression proclaimed it “does what the best music memoirs do: encourage readers to listen once again, or for the first time, to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and to Campbell’s solo works.” The Dirty Knobs (named after tech slang for a broken amp dial) were founded in 2000 by Campbell as a writing and club-date project outside the Heartbreakers. The group finally got on record with 2020's Wreckless Abandon and 2022's External Combustion. Those LPs, Campbell says, were the Knobs “trying to find our way as a rock & roll band.” “Now it’s down to great songs,” adds Campbell, “the depth in the lyrics and chords.” He recalls something Petty once told him: “Tom said, ‘I love the English language. There’s so much you can do with it.’ I'm discovering that, too. Looking for rhyme schemes, the right word. At first it was a struggle. Now that door has opened,” Campbell says. “I’ve turned a corner.” The Dirty Knobs are “still a rock band but growing into different feels.”

"4EVER" is a complete and eternal album.
It celebrates friendships, connections, discoveries, travels, and experiences that Buvette has honored over more than ten years of activity around the world. Through 4EVER, he pays tribute to those without whom nothing would exist: loved ones, those who have passed, love itself, and this life, which must be lived as fully as possible. Music remains the universal language, and 4EVER is a kind of Buvette DNA, one he invites you to incorporate into your own.

Few artists arrive as compellingly yet elusively as did Stuart Moxham upon the startling debut of Young Marble Giant's sole studio album, Colossal Youth. Initial excitement was thrust upon the young Alison Statton, who sang songs written by Stuart with a couple of exceptions. The unaffected tone of her voice was in steep contrast to the typical goings-on in that still quite punky time, but it was what she sang that fully sold it. Moxham's lyrics were both intensely personal and woefully oblique. There seemed to be a sort of story in there. Confusingly, that story often felt like it was Alison's rather than the fellow who'd penned it. The unexpected miracle a deal with Rough Trade and the album's subsequent success had the band stymied for a second act and it wasn't long before the group disintegrated, although circumstances often brought members and a few of their peers - among them Debbie Pritchard, Spike Williams, and a third Moxham brother, Drew. - Phil Moxham was the band's bassist - together in odd combinations and pairings. None of the three YMG members have been especially prolific, but it's Stuart's career that has seemed the least straightforward, as if he'd wondered, "What to do when your debut is a nearly perfect artefact?" In the case of his first "solo" full-length in thirty years, Stuart took the unusual step of entering an alien studio with American producer Dave Trumfio (who's also the leader of Pulsars and bassist for Mekons) and allowing him to decide what tracks (of a large number submitted by Stuart) to record, and how they'd be orchestrated. Or not. In this case - save for the writing and composing - it's really Dave's album as much as Stuart's. The tracks went with Dave back to LA, where they were mixed, a few parts added (including subtle backing vocals from the incredible Linda Smith) . . . then later unmixed and reworked by John Henderson and Roni Ayala back in Valencia. Both versions will be made available, and both have a compelling cohesion missing from some of Stuart's work since YMG. Stuart's minimalism is quite intact, the range of emotions quite wide. There are few artists operating today like Stuart Moxham, a composer of the upper echelon of innate talent who combines avant-garde ideas with deceptively forthright personal lyrics, solid hooks, ambience and vaguely off-centre instrumentation which defies the casual marketplace as confoundingly as it ever did to the underground, whatever that is these days. His songs have been admired and / covered by everyone from Lush to Kurt Cobain, adaptations in Japanese and even a French-language hit by Etienne Daho, adaptations by Hole, Galaxie 500, Magnetic Fields, Belle And Sebastian and many others - but a new Stuart Moxham album is a special kind of joy.

French label Latency presents ‘Estradas (Versions)’ - a dynamic reimagining of the acclaimed collaboration between drummer-composer Valentina Magaletti and Afro-Portuguese producer Nídia. Following Estradas’ recognition as one of 2024’s Best Albums by Pitchfork, The Wire, Resident Advisor, Artforum, Bandcamp, and more, ‘Estradas (Versions)’ invites a diverse lineup of producers and DJs to deconstruct and reimagine the raw percussive language initially crafted by Magaletti and Nídia. Where the original Estradas channeled their distinct rhythmic sensibili- ties into a bold sonic statement, this collection pushes those ideas further - opening the material to radical transformation across tempo, genre, and mood.

One of the leading baile funk innovators from Belo Horizonte, Dj Anderson do Paraíso opens the release by transforming “Andiamo” into a slow-burning, hallucinatory drift. Mexico-based Rosa Pistola and Freebot follow with “Rapido,” infusing it with syncopated, raw heat drawn from the pulse of underground Latin dancefloors. Lebanese-Australian producer Dj Plead pares “Sicilia” down to its core, distilling its essence into stripped-back, polyrhythmic ten- sion. On “Mata,” Brazilian DJ and producer BADSISTA delivers a fierce, bass-heavy version driven by slicing synths and unrelenting club pressure. Multidisciplinary artist FAUZIA sharpens the rhythmic intricacy of “Nasty” with her signature blend of speed and emotion.

London-born DJ, producer, and label founder Sherelle - known for her high-octane 160bpm mix of footwork and jungle - injects “Estradas” with blistering breakbeat energy, reframing its urgency through a razor-sharp UK lens. Chinese musician and sound artist Yu Su offers a fluid, atmospheric reinterpretation of the same track, softening its edges while preserving its momentum. Scottish composer and producer Fergus Jones pulls “No Promises” into hypnotic new rhythmic terrain. Dominican producer and multidisciplinary artist Kelman Duran stretches “Ta A Bater Ya” into a shadowy, reverberant space, while Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist Charif Megarbane and its Cosmic Analog Ensemble reimagines it with layered, cinematic textures echoing vintage library music and psych-jazz soundtracks.

These artists treat Estradas as raw material - reframing its structures and reactivating its rhythmic possibilities through entirely new prisms. What emerges is not a conventional remix album, but a vibrant constellation of versions : a response to Estradas’ percussive provoca- tions, and an extension of its spirit of exploration - all while keeping its pulse alive.

If you’ve been keeping your ears to the ground, chances are this won’t be your first encounter with the glistening, shape-shifting sounds of Yushh. She has spent recent years DJing across the globe and releasing a series of standout tracks and remixes, cementing her status as one of the most vital flag-bearers of the Bristol continuum.

Somehow, it has been three years since her last solo outing. Making up for lost time, we finally welcome Yushh to Timedance for a searing five-track EP, “Full Body AXY”.

Yushh’s sound resists stasis, nothing feels formulaic. Instead, each track moves with an expert sense of detail, striking a rare balance between precision and instinct, dancefloor science and raw emotion. With a natural flair, she bends low-end pressure into something airborne. Heavy sub frequencies dissolve into a feeling of weightlessness that is both physical and elusive.

How can music hit with such precision and still feel like it floats beyond the rules of gravity? Yushh answers in her own language, where tension and release blur, where sounds flicker between density and light, and where the dancefloor becomes a space for both body-centric exploration and emotional catharsis.

May 2026 marks the arrival of TYGAPAW (aka Dion McKenzie)’s first full-length album on Tresor Records, entitled Together You Gather All Power Applied Worldwide. An acronym of its creator’s name, TYGAPAW’s third studio album is a deeply personal collection of music building worlds where Black queer and trans siblings can thrive, while unifying dancefloors worldwide. A proposition that collective wisdom liberates us from the matrix of domination we live within. The album unfolds as the latest chapter in TYGAPAW’s ongoing techno opera opus, continuing to center the voices of Black women, which surface as layered incantations rather than lyrics - powerful, haunting, sensual, activating.
With the process of creating the album starting in 2023, as TYGAPAW (Dion McKenzie) was in the first year of their transition, the music reflects the intensity of that period, where they were experiencing deplatforming as a response to the shift in their physical appearance: Tracks like ‘M32 Riddim’ and ‘Helicopter hovers over my Crown Heights Apartment’ feature high-paced rhythms intersecting with intense siren-like synths to form demanding compositions echoing a heightened sense of alert. Yet throughout the album, relief comes in the form of TYGAPAW’s vocal features, co-conspirators, and chosen family, whose voices are treated with reverb and echo, a sonic fingerprint that leads back to the pioneers in the legendary studios of TYGAPAW’s native land, Jamaica, an important reminder that the past will always inform the future. It is an album for dancers first and foremost, where joy, defiance, and integration with the natural body coexist, and every drop feels less like a climax than a transformation. Expect a bass that permeates your soul and melodic synthesized sequenced phrases echoing the dancehall eras of TYGAPAW’s youth, reshaped into hypnotic melodies that glow over industrial kicks designed to command attention, reasserting Jamaica's pioneering yet often overlooked contribution to electronic music.
In the opening track, ‘Can I Live’, Precious Okoyomon’s words feel like the beginning of a ritual; setting the intentions for the rest of the proceedings. As McKenzie puts it, their “work is about regeneration, resetting, getting integrated into nature, and about rebirth. That’s the tone I wanted to set at the outset of the album.” Ms Carrie Stacks continues this thread of support in ‘Don’t Panic’ with heavily processed vocals on top of a beat that takes inspiration from another important ingredient in the antidote to the oppression of isolation: Ballroom culture. “ I feel like I found my queerness in Ballroom, that’s why this track is very important to me.”
Echoes of NYC Black queer nightlife scene also permeate in the energetic drums of ‘Exorcise the Language of Domination’, in which Julianna Huxtable’s spoken performance complements the various movements and tones of the music. “My producer brain thought this was the one that Juliana’s vocals would be best suited for. I hinted: ‘what do you think of this one?’ She just went into her notes and picked some passages to go with the first section of the track. From there, it was a year-long process of development. It required time and space for this thing to evolve, but I think it’s one of the most powerful tracks on the album.” London’s SUUTOO contributes the album’s only musical collaboration on ‘B2B’, a track that emerged from sessions in McKenzie’s New York studio where the real objective was to connect and have fun; a time out from the demands of life outside.
The album closes out with a double hit of emotion in the form of ‘Effects of Resistance and Black Trans Masculine Experience’. The former features South African scholar Khanyisile Mbongwa drawing connections that exist between Africa and the Black diaspora, whilst looking to the future and calling for a shared sense of community.
The latter piece, an instrumental version of the piece which featured on the IMMIGRANT E.P. of 2025 is a gentle and deeply affecting end to the record, a place of peace and acceptance. This end-of-cycle tone is mirrored in the sleeve photography, which also ties back to IMMIGRANT by finally revealing what was hidden: a portrait of the artist fully self-actualized; a step towards true inner liberation. TYGAPAW is sonically defiant across this album; bass frequencies feel tactile — less heard than inhabited — infectious lead synth melodies remain with you long after the track ends. An overall sound that leaves asserting an urgent need for connection. From Detroit to New York to Berlin to Jamaica, despite geographic distance, this album reminds us that we remain in solidarity, recognising that meaningful world-building requires collective input and action, both personal and communal, if we are to move toward liberation.

Shrouded in mystery when it first appeared, Tiger & Woods’ debut album quickly took on a life of its own. With little more than whispers surrounding the project, the music spoke loud enough: a set of extended disco constructions carefully tuned, remixed, over-dubbed, sliced and diced by the elusive duo of Larry Tiger and David Woods. What began as a cult phenomenon soon caused a stir across dance floors and record bags worldwide.
Now, for the first time ever, that legendary debut finally arrives on vinyl. Through the Green captures Tiger & Woods at the moment their distinctive language of groove first took shape. Rooted in the spirit of disco edits but already stretching beyond the format, the album blends loop-driven funk, house-leaning propulsion and the unmistakable bounce that would soon become their signature.
It’s the sound of two producers refining a craft that would later blossom on albums like On The Green Again, where their approach expanded into a wider palette of boogie, electronica, Italo and uptempo house. But here is where the story begins.
Before world tours, live sets and the creation of their own T&W Records imprint, there were these tracks: hypnotic, playful and engineered with a dancer’s instinct for tension and release. Each cut unfolds like a perfectly extended club moment, full of warmth, swing and that unmistakable Tiger & Woods sense of fun and function.
Years after its original digital release, Through the Green remains a cornerstone of modern disco-house culture. Pressed to wax at last, it finally receives the physical format it always deserved: grooves built for the turntable, the dance floor and the crate.
The mystery might be gone. The magic, however, remains very much intact.

Mit gerade mal 17 Jahren releaste Joey Bada$$ sein erstes Mixtape "1999" welches den Sound der goldenen Hiphop-Ära der 90er Jahre adaptierte, so authentisch und selbstverständlich als sei er mit dabei gewesen.
Die Kritiker überschlugen sich in ihren begeisterten Rezensionen und es folgten Features mit Asap Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller & Action Bronson. Der junge Brooklynite ist schon längst mehr als nur ein Geheimtipp. Die ersten audiovisuellen Kostproben gab es in den vergangenen Monaten in Form von "Big Dusty" und "Christ Conscious". Am 20. Januar erscheint nun sein Debütalbum, das den Titel "B4.DA.A$$" trägt.

In just five years, The Spy has gone from underground newcomer to one of the most talked-about names in the European electro and EBM dark electro scene. Early releases on Osáre Editions and Mechatronica quickly placed him on the radar of forward-thinking clubs and selectors across Europe. Now landing on Oráculo Records, he presents his most wave-driven and club-oriented material to date: pure, physical electro built for dark rooms and late hours. Driving basslines and sharp machine rhythms—infused with subtle, classic post-punk tension—define a sound that connects the dancefloor with the shadows, drawing clear parallels to artists like L.F.T, Credit 00 or Gesloten Cirkel. This is music made to move bodies without sacrificing attitude—raw, confrontational, and far removed from formulaic club clichés. Five years in, the message is clear: this is not hype, but momentum—an artist fully in command of a modern electro language built for the underground. Presented in ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid BLACK vinyl. All tracks have been specially remastered and mastered for vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios (Germany).

Northern Electronics presents NE112, a collaborative work by Anthony Linell and Evigt Mörker, entitled ’Ett anständigt liv’.
Marking the first alignment between the two artists, the record unfolds as a study in continuity, pressure, and sustained focus. Across four pieces, a steady and tensile sonic language develops, immersive in its repetition and controlled in its ascent. Subtle psychedelic inflections — recalling early trance states — surface within a darker, more restrained framework. The result is neither nostalgic nor decorative, but reduced, deliberate, and directed forward.
All tracks written and produced by AL & KL in Sofia, Sweden, during the winter of 2024 Mixed and mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at EnissLab, Rome

Passages in Time, the third album from Kasper Bjørke Quartet, traces the contours of a blend of spiritual jazz reverence and the calming grandeur of '80s ambient. Inspired by Christopher Nolan's observation that "time is the most fundamental part of our human experience," the compositions are approached as fragments of time and memory. Meditations on the elusive nature of time form the heart of the work, merging freeform jazz improvisations with cyclical synthesizer patterns that mirror its quiet undulations.
Dreamy synths intertwine with guitar, harp, trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophone, and flute, creating a spacious environment for contemplation. The music invites reflection on the choices that shape our lives and the lives of those closest to us, and on the quiet weight of our priorities within the brief span we call life on this planet. Each passage unfolds as a fleeting moment suspended in time. The subtitles hint at fragments from someone's diary, tender observations of love, parenthood, and connection. Together, the passages form a musical memoir of sorts, where memory and emotion are gently woven into the compositions.
Passages in Time does not impose structure or meaning, it reflects them, offering an open space as the instruments drift in and out of focus, tracing time's subtle rhythms and inviting the listener to infuse their own memories and meaning into these passages.
The album also marks a transformation for the Quartet project itself. Langstrakt (Claus Noreen), part of the original ensemble, continues to operate the synthesizers alongside Bjørke, while the wider constellation of contributing musicians has evolved. Strings and piano give way to flute and saxophone by Oilly Wallace, guitars by Danish ambient composer Anna Roemer, trumpet and flugelhorn by Malthe Kaptain, and cascading orchestral harp by Katie Buckley, principal harpist with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra.
The cover painting is by American artist Marcus Leslie Singleton, courtesy of V1 Gallery, and reflects the meditative and timeless atmosphere of the music.
Passages in Time is released on Bjørke's own imprint, Sensitive Records, following the two previous Quartet albums released on Kompakt Records: The Fifty Eleven Project (2018), a debut that introduced Bjørke's ambient and neoclassical explorations, and Mother (2022), which expanded the ensemble's sound with emotive choir compositions and guest appearance by Sofie Birch (Unsound / Stroom). Together, these three albums trace a journey of artistic growth, from introspective experimentation to a fully realized, contemplative expression of time, memory, and human connection.

Evighet proudly presents its sixth release, EVIGHET006, featuring the distinctive sound of Healing Force Project, the long-running creative vision of Italian artist Antonio Marini. For more than a decade, Healing Force Project has explored the intersections between electronic experimentation, free jazz and electroacoustic research. His work unfolds with a rare sense of spontaneity and depth, merging intuition and technical precision into a sound language that feels timeless and deeply personal. Over the years, this unique approach has earned him a cult reputation across the underground and avant-garde music scenes. EVIGHET006 is the result of a free creative process, a series of recordings shaped by intuition rather than concept or structure. Within this collection, elements of jazz, drill-inspired beats and dubstep textures emerge and intertwine. The music alternates between dark tonalities and unexpected shifts toward melodic and almost folkloric moments, inviting the listener into an evolving, immersive experience. A highlight, “Playing Tabla and Smoking Weed with Aliens”, reveals the hypnotic pulse of the tabla, guiding the piece through a steady percussive flow that feels both ancient and futuristic. Elsewhere, rhythmic improvisations and fragmented breaks form intricate layers that dissolve and reform with subtle tension. With this release, Healing Force Project continues to move along his own path, shaping sound as a form of exploration and reflection. EVIGHET006 captures an artist in constant evolution, translating instinct into form and intuition into movement.

Human Tree Records proudly presents Ghost Town, the third EP by Bam Bam’s Boogie, landing on 30 January. Following the exclusive vinyl release on Bandcamp, this marks the digital edition of the record

The project unfolds across four tracks that push the band’s hybrid language into darker, heavier territory, while also marking a new point of departure. Ghost Town consolidates what makes the trio so compelling, a rare alignment of sound, research, and pure energy, sharpened into a focused statement that still refuses to sit inside one genre.

Ghost Town is a collision of drum and bass, funk, breakbeat, and afro inspired grooves, built for maximum impact. Expect pounding rhythms, sharp textures, infectious melodies, and lyrics that cut deep. At the core is Jacopo Aluzzi, producer, bassist, and multi instrumentalist, transforming the bass into guitars, synths, and otherworldly noise through live looping and effects. On vocals, Kiko King delivers haunting words with magnetic presence, while Eric Oder on keys and synths expands the palette and amplifies the band’s live intensity. A visceral soundtrack for nocturnal movement, a chase through neon streets and empty corners, where the ghosts of the title feel uncomfortably close.

With Black Koyo, Mattias De Craene enters a sound world at once intimate and vast. Born from journeys in Morocco and Brussels, the project traces the rhythms, chants, and spirits of the Gnawa tradition, revealing a quiet resonance that echoes De Craene's own search for depth and presence. Guibri, qraqueb, call-and-response chants, saxophone, loops, and electronics come together in a trance-induced dialogue - ritualistic, elemental, and dreamlike - creating a space where listening becomes immersion, tradition meets imagination, and music unfolds as a shared act of reflection and wonder.

About Mattias De Craene
Mattias De Craene's artistic path is marked by rare coherence. As a central voice in Nordmann and MDC III, he developed a physical, rock-inflected jazz language driven by propulsion, volume, and trance-like collective energy. Over time, a period of personal rupture - burnout, tinnitus, depression - shifted his focus inward. The saxophone became a breathing, textural presence, and in his solo work, he weaves saxophone, electronics, loops, and minimal forms into a cinematic, hushed world where repetition, resonance, and silence slow perception. Rooted in ambient and introspection, his music prizes attention over impact, precision over excess - a quiet intensity recognized with a nomination as Musician for the Music Industry Awards (MIA's).

About Black Koyo
Black Koyo is a Brussels-based ensemble and one of the most compelling voices of the Gnawa tradition outside Morocco. Led by maalem Hicham Bilali, the group brings guibri, qrraqueb, and call-and-response chants to life with trance-like intensity and ritual precision. Their music is both rooted and contemporary, weaving earthbound rhythms and vocal invocations into ecstatic, immersive soundscapes, creating a space where ancestral resonance meets present-day imagination.

About Jan Bang
Jan Bang is a pioneering Norwegian producer and musician, celebrated for his mastery of live sampling and his ability to merge electronics with improvisation, rhythm, and texture in real time. He mixed the album and occasionally joins live performances, bringing his signature approach to sound as co-founder of the influential Punkt Festivaland collaborator with artists such as Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arve Henriksen, and ECM Records' roster. As a performer and sound architect, Bang creates immersive, trance-like sonic textures where silence and sound carry equal weight. Within Mattias De Craene ftBlack Koyo, his live sampling becomes an organic instrument, weaving saxophone, electronics, and Gnawa rhythms into hypnotic, physically charged soundscapes.

Line-up & credits
Mattias De Craene - sax, electronics | Hicham Bilali - guibri, vocals, qraqueb |Ismael Akhraz - vocals, qraqueb | Marwan Abantor - vocals, qraqueb
All tracks are original gnawa traditionals played by Black Koyo and arranged by Mattias De Craene.
Album produced & recorded by Mattias De Craene in Essaouira, Morocco and hometown Ghent, Belgium 2025.
Text by Hicham Bilali.
Mixed by Jan Bang at Punkt Studio
Mastered by Lieven Van Pee
Artwork by Marina Sviridova
Design by Benoit Van Geel
Manufactured and distributed by N.E.W.S.
Executive production by W.E.R.F. records
Supported by Flemish Government, Jazzlab, nona, HA Concerts, Aubergine artist Management,
KAAP, La Bestia (Wout Van Putten) & mdcmu.sic vzw.
2026 (c) W.E.R.F. records

There’s no direct English translation for the word “hiraeth”. In the Welsh language, it describes a form of longing for an intangible something, somewhere or someone that no longer exists. Sofie Birch and Antonina Nowacka draw on the concept to guide their second collaborative album, a suite of vulnerable, open-hearted improvisations and reflections that attempt to grasp an image of the past that’s chimeric, dissolving almost as soon as it materializes. The duo’s process follows the same distant beacon; unlike Languoria, their critically acclaimed debut, Hiraeth is, at heart, an acoustic record, informed by in-person improvisations with voices and string instruments that gesture to an era before computers, AI and DAWs. It’s just as lush, but Hiraeth is warmer and more muted than its predecessor.
Nowacka and Birch conceived the album in the wake of a slew of collaborative live concerts, spurred on by serendipitous improvisations and an interest in paring down their setup. Unsound arranged a retreat in Sokołowsko, an idyllic village nestled in the verdant hills of Southern Poland, close to the Czech border. Sokołowsko surrounds a large ruined sanatorium that’s rumored to have inspired Thomas Mann’s 1924 novel The Magic Mountain, and has long been a magnet for artists. The two took the opportunity to rethink their approach completely, arriving with just a guitar, a zither and a portable Nagra reel-to-reel machine. Recording directly to tape, they sketched out ideas with just their voices and instruments, reflecting their surroundings without being distracted or mediated by modern technology.
“We wanted to get away from screens as much as possible,” says Birch, “to bring to the world something vulnerable and honest. Without advance preparation, every day we went out into the open air, finding places to sit, during sunset or the midday sun. We discovered new tunings on our instruments, picked up a melody, and started the machine, playing over
and over till we got a take.” In the autumn, they met again in a Copenhagen studio, sparingly and carefully layering old synths and organs to add more depth without muddying the mix.
Both Nowacka and Birch sing throughout, their voices threading the acoustic instruments and tangling with each other, almost becoming one. But it’s the environment of Sokołowsko, “the birds and the light, even the wind playing against the harps,” that’s woven into the music’s lining. Affected by time spent meditating and in nature, as well as the fact that Birch was pregnant whilst recording, the album feels alive and remarkably present. Even the sound quality of the tape machine gives Hiraeth a tactile, organic quality, as Nowacka puts it, “like being in a warm bath.”

They still have the raw recordings from Sokołowsko on old reels, physical souvenirs of their time spent making music in a “habitat for intuitive songs, a little ecosystem, alive and spirited.” The outmoded gear and remote setting helped the duo disengage from the modern world for a few moments and imagine an existence that’s been lost to time and nominal progress. With digital technology receding into the background, Nowacka and Birch had space to make “intuitive connections with frequencies and people,” as Birch explains. Hiraeth is a testament not to nostalgia, but to the power of kinship.

Forest Swords' debut album 'Engravings' is back in print on vinyl and CD for the first time in years, newly remastered by Rashad Becker with previously unheard bonus tracks exclusive to this edition.

Created by electronic producer and composer Matthew Barnes, and originally released via Tri Angle Records, 'Engravings' received instant acclaim from the likes of Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, The Guardian and saw Barnes take his hypnotic live show across festivals like Sonar, Glastonbury, Unsound and Le Guess Who.

While much of British electronica is defined by its inner cities, 'Engravings' was recorded in Barnes' hometown on the banks of an ancient river in Merseyside, the album's earthy, organic soundscape reflected the landscape and climate: all silt and sandstone, woodlands and wind, with the ghosts of Liverpool's pop music and clubbing history echoing in the near distance.

The album was a prototype for a sonic vocabulary Barnes has expanded on over the next few years: in critically acclaimed studio albums ('Compassion' and 'Bolted' via Ninja Tune), collaborations with Massive Attack and Neneh Cherry, remixes for the likes of Bjork, as well as commissions for video games, ballet and film scores - of which he has carved a career as an in-demand composer and sound designer.

'Engravings' is a snapshot of an artist confidently defining their own language: a piece of work that distills influences like dub, ambient, rave, post-rock and psychedelia into an ancient-futurist musical vision that feels timeless and vital.

There is a kinetic energy that binds drummer and producer Karriem Riggins and singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer Liv.e, the spark that happens when instinct meets flow and spirit finds rhythm.

Their collaborative debut as GENA (short for “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and loosely inspired by Gina from Martin), The Pleasure Is Yours feels like a playful, soulful conversation between two kindred improvisers: Liv.e’s smoky, unpolished vocals glide through Riggins’ warm, percussive universe. Rooted in jazz, soul, and hip-hop, Liv.e brings a raw, experimental approach to R&B, while Riggins known for his work with Common, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Madlib, and his close kinship with J Dilla, extends his lifelong dialogue between jazz improvisation and beat science.

Together they create a world that’s analog and ethereal, percussive and poetic, bridging eras without settling in one, the sound of two artists finding a new shared language rooted in rhythm, vulnerability, and exuberance.

Pressed on 180g vinyl, the album comes in an embossed sleeve and is avaible in red and black splatter.

There is a kinetic energy that binds drummer and producer Karriem Riggins and singer-songwriter, rapper, and producer Liv.e, the spark that happens when instinct meets flow and spirit finds rhythm.

Their collaborative debut as GENA (short for “God Energy, Naturally Amazing,” and loosely inspired by Gina from Martin), The Pleasure Is Yours feels like a playful, soulful conversation between two kindred improvisers: Liv.e’s smoky, unpolished vocals glide through Riggins’ warm, percussive universe. Rooted in jazz, soul, and hip-hop, Liv.e brings a raw, experimental approach to R&B, while Riggins known for his work with Common, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Madlib, and his close kinship with J Dilla, extends his lifelong dialogue between jazz improvisation and beat science.

Together they create a world that’s analog and ethereal, percussive and poetic, bridging eras without settling in one, the sound of two artists finding a new shared language rooted in rhythm, vulnerability, and exuberance.

Pressed on 180g vinyl, the album comes in an embossed sleeve and is avaible in red and black splatter.