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Owners Club call themselves a "pub rock four piece" - but they are so much more than that. There's a through line in their taut, visceral guitar sound going from British greats like Roxy Music and Marc Bolan, through The Buzzcocks and The Jam before taking a detour off to NYC and nodding towards The Strokes and The Walkmen. The Dorking-based four piece are a blistering live act, with songs that range from singing about the long discontinued Double Diamond beer to vampires, the occult and an England that feels like a distant memory.

This EP will be the band's debut release on vinyl. Recorded at Small Pond Studios in Brighton in April this year, and produced and mixed by Matt Gleeson of WELLY fame, it presents three songs that brilliantly demonstrate what a ferocious, tightly-wound sound this Dorking four-piece can produce.

The lead single will be Double Diamond - a song that came about after a chance purchase of a Double Diamond-branded ashtray from a car boot sale by Dorking train station. The song is a romantic and messy vision of the life the ashtray’s lived, the pub it came from, the punters who left their fag ends in it and the messy nights and bar fights it’s witnessed. With sprawling synths, punchy guitar lines and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, the song is an anti-advertisement for a drink which no longer exists, as well as a look through rose-tinted beer googles at what Britain's night life - for better or (almost certainly) for worse - was once like. As the advert used to state: you know where you are with Double Diamond. It works wonders.

Die Heavenly Remixes-Reihe präsentiert weiterhin die besten Remixe, Versionen, Meditationen, Re-Rubs und Dubs von Künstlern aus der ganzen Welt, die auf der Liste des aufregendsten Plattenlabels des Landes stehen. In den meisten Fällen handelt es sich bei den Alben um die erste physische Veröffentlichung eines Remixes, die sie von den Streaming-Playlisten in ihr rechtmäßiges, spirituelles Zuhause auf superschwerem Vinyl (oder glänzender, supergepackter Compact Disc) befördert.

Heavenly Remixes Volume 7 führt nach Belfast, wo David Holmes - ein Produzent, der 1994 zum ersten Mal auf Heavenly auftauchte und den Acid von Saint Etiennes Like A Motorway aufpeppte - als Solokünstler und als ein Drittel von Unloved auftritt, die von Horse Meat Disco direkt in das Herz eines Vauxhall-Schwitzkastens befördert werden.

Northern California psychedelic sorcerers Carlton Melton are brain surfers, mind trippers, … “psychlists,” if you prefer. The band will take your head for a ride, occasionally rushing at superluminal speeds through a wormhole or gliding softly on a gentle breeze in a leafy glade. Sometimes your brain needs to rage, and sometimes it needs to repose. For a decade and a half, the band has yo-yo’ed, almost schizophrenically, between these two modes: walloping space jams with furious guitar solos in one hemisphere of the brain and ethereal, feather-light splashdowns in the other. Not to mention a track here and there that builds from the latter into the former. But with two new releases in 2023, the band has evolved. Whether psych rock or ambient trance, their sound remains driving, organic, and flowing. With the addition of Anthony Taibi (White Manna, DDT), however, the group’s metal freak-outs are Hawkwindier and their droning kraut trances are Spacemen 3-er. In January, the quartet released the playfully spacey Resemble Ensemble, recorded in Taibi’s home studio 3D Light. October now sees the band Turn To Earth, a work with scents of Autumn, a season of death and transition. The cover art evokes a vine-covered, electric crucifix. The sound is, well, earthy but also gritty and striving towards change. The album was recorded in Fall 2022 and now harvested in Fall 2023. Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins Of Light) contributed drums and percussion to a few tracks on Turn To Earth, recording the album at El Studio in San Francisco.

With Becker at the helm, the synths have become more prominent (“Cosmicity,” “Roboflow,” “Migration”) and the tone heavier on the doom (“Cloudstorming,” “Unlock The Land,” title track): several moments could even serve as background music for epic dark fantasy films like Conan the Barbarian, Fire and Ice, or Heavy Metal. As exquisite as Turn To Earth is, Melton are best appreciated as a live act: their recordings as well as their gigs are largely improvised – not so much composed as birthed. And yet their most recent tour ended abruptly and perilously. The group had to cancel its final three shows once members were admitted to Arnhem hospital in the Netherlands. Five years later, reinforcements have strengthened the band and restocked its arsenal of great tracks. After the rockus interruptus of that 2018 tour and the tantric tease of the intervening Covid lockdown, Melton have some unfinished business. An October 2023 tour is poised to set the freshly minted quartet back onto the stages of Europe and within the cerebral folds of its fans. Turn To Earth, sure … but keep your head in outer space. Carlton Melton is: andy duvall – drums/gtr; clint golden – bass; rich millman – gtr/synth; and anthony taibi – synth/gtr.

From small beginnings in 1974 as a local cinema and university event, Film Fest Gent has grown yearly in stature and is now recognised as one of the major destinations for the film industry. A vital component is the celebration of film music in the shape of the World Soundtrack Awards which honours the very best composers at work in the world of cinema. In 2016 the award went to one of the most brilliant composers of his generation, Ryuichi Sakamoto. This is the first overview of his remarkable catalogue of film scores, fully approved by the composer and performed by the masterful Brussels Philharmonic under the baton of Dirk Brossé. Sakamoto was already a celebrated pioneer in electronic music and composer/pianist/singer in Japan when director Nagisa Oshima asked him to write the score for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence in 1983 and also to star alongside David Bowie. In a 30 year plus career since then he has worked with the cream of film directors including Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor), Brian De Palma (Snake Eyes), Pedro Almodovar (High Heels) and most recently Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant). This compilation is a fitting tribute to his status as one of the greatest living musicians and film composers.

My ZEITGEIST. (in the words of The Legendary Tigerman)

Musically, I tried to follow the path left behind by early modular synths explorers like Suzanne Ciani or Wendy Carlos, mixing it with the raw & powerful energy of early punk explorers like The Cramps, Suicide or The Sonics (my teenage heroes!) and the orchestral universe of people like Lee Hazlewood or Scott Walker, looking back at the past while keeping an eye out for the future.
Zeitgeist is also the point where my work as a soundtrack composer meets my life as a punk Rock’n’roller.

The Legendary Tigerman is the artistic name of Portuguese musician and composer Paulo Furtado. With a solid career stemming from the DIY movement and characterized by the reinvention of genres such as blues, rock, and garage rock, while always maintaining a punk attitude, The Tigerman's recognition is founded on a galloping international career, marked by the release of the iconic album "Naked Blues" in 2001. In a few years, he goes from a cult artist to a reference name and with the acclaimed "Femina" (2009), he writes his name in the pantheon of the most creative rock made in Europe.
With "True" (2014) and "Misfit" (2018), he consolidated his position in the international rock scene with two albums that explore the dense soundscapes of a rock 'n' roll that moves away from common places. Live, the unstoppable and infernal rock machine, consisting of Paulo Furtado on vocals and guitar, Filipe Rocha on bass, Mike Ghost on drums, and Cabrita on saxophone, makes concerts unpredictable and explosive, exactly as expected from a rock 'n' roll act.
The success of The Legendary Tigerman goes beyond the borders of Portugal, thanks to tours in various countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In addition to his work on stage, Paulo Furtado has become notable for his prominent career in theater, cinema, soundtrack creation, photography, and film direction.
Focused on being a catalyst for unique and authentic music, The Legendary Tigerman is one of the main European rock names, renewing himself with creativity and innovation with each album. In 2023, there will be a new album, featuring more ethereal and intimate sounds alongside rock 'n' roll, but always keeping it punk.

"I imagine myself playing these songs in a small club that is slowly burning," says A. Savage of his second solo record, Several Songs about Fire. After more than a decade in New York, the co-frontman of Parquet Courts has left the city, marking his exit with a masterpiece of maturity and a worthy corollary to his first solo venture, 2017"s Thawing Dawn. "Fire is something you have to escape from. This album is a burning building, and these songs are things I"d leave behind to save myself." Produced by John Parish on a 1" 16-track in just ten days in Bristol and studded by the support of Cate Le Bon and Jack Cooper (Modern Nature, Ultimate Painting) as well as saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon), drummer Dylan Hadley (Kamikaze Palm Tree, White Fence), and violinist Magdalena McLean (Caroline), Savage"s outsize gifts as a lyricist and observer - a quality Parish calls "an emotional openness guarded by a laconic wit" - shine. Worrying questions of wealth and poverty, self and other, Savage displays the poet"s gift of knowing when to narrate and when to vanish, leaving the listener to their own emotional privacy rather than instructing them how to feel. The end result is tantamount to psychic odyssey, with "Elvis in the Army" placing us in a subterranean venue where the livid, ratifying cymbal raises the room"s blood pressure and "Mountain Time", evoking an austere waltz playing in a desolate house, returning those listening to life. Influenced by Sybille Baier and Townes Van Zandt, Savage joins a canon of songwriters constantly dilating aperture and perspective. In rendering the signage of laundromats and threats of debt collectors as glistering and totemic as the scope of mountains, rivers, seas, and skies, Savage finds hopes and curses in equal measure.

Prolific songwriter and guitar virtuoso David
Tattersall presents 11 new songs on themes of
memory, dreams, loneliness and love, featuring
nylon string guitar improvisations in the vein of
gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt.
 The David Tattersall Group are old friends who
rehearsed together for months in a small, smoky,
sweaty room, before recording the album on a
huge red boat moored on the River Thames, all
vintage microphones and wooden walls inside.
Friendship is a vital part of the record’s magic.
 Stylistic influences include Ronnie Lane, after
whom one song is named, and the nylon-string
guitar work of Jonathan Richman and Willie
Nelson. A pastoral mood prevails, with swells of
melancholic violin and Spaghetti Western
harmonica, backed by honky-tonk piano and the
dry drum sounds of Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ period,
while the golden voice of Holly Holden adds a
touch of glamour to proceedings.
 David’s process includes much musical
improvisation and stream of consciousness writing,
but his end goal is to couple classic songwriting
with the collective chemistry of musicians playing
live in the studio. His lyrical influences include Tom
Verlaine, John Cooper Clarke and the New York
School of Poets, particularly James Schuyler.
 Pressed on 140g white vinyl with OBI strip.
 Includes digital download code

Acclaimed NY-based singer songwriter Jordan Lee aka Mutual
Benefit announces ‘Growing At The Edges’, on Transgressive
Records, his first record since 2019.
 ‘Growing at the Edges’ is sonically expansive, artfully blending
genres from country to classical with the help of multifaceted
co-producer Gabriel Birnbaum (Wilder Maker) and critically
acclaimed string arranger Concetta Abbate. The band,
alongside Lee and Birnbaum, was made up of Wilder Maker
members Sean Mullins (Andy Shauf) and Nick Jost (Baroness)
and features help from Jonnie Baker of Florist and Eva
Goodman of Nighttime among others.
 “I approached ‘Growing at the Edges’ as an act of worldbuilding. It was a place we visited often over the past 5 years
collaging and sonically redecorating until it reflected the joy and
the pain of being human in a universe that will always be
changing. I wanted to make music that could simultaneously
mourn versions of the past but still find hope in the seedlings
which could, perhaps, bloom into better futures” - Jordan Lee
 The album cover is a purposefully ‘unfinished’ weaving by fibre
artist Natalie Phillips.
 “I had this theme for ‘Growing at the Edges’ where I was
thinking about the first little life forms that pop up after
something natural like winter or less natural like a disaster and
kind of channeling their spirit for the art and music. That got me
imagining one of Natalie’s beautiful weavings but in-process
with stray yarn and loom still visible. Incomplete yet still
beautiful. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”
 Mutual Benefit’s live shows are known for their rotating cast of
wide-ranging musicians leading to inspired interpretations of the
extensive catalogue on notable stages like MoMA’s sculpture
garden or UK’s Green Man Festival as well as the occasional
surprise park or basement show at home in Brooklyn.
 Throughout the years Mutual Benefit has been in Album Of The
Year lists among Pitchfork and Stereogum, as well as Folk
Musician Of The Year by New York’s Village Voice.

Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) is the latest entry in Rhino’s ongoing, GRAMMY-winning series exploring the vast untapped archives of rare Joni Mitchell recordings — a project guided inti-mately by Mitchell’s own vision and personal touch. Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972-1975) will be available as a 4 LP with an accompanying book featuring photos and a conversation about this period between Joni Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe.

The collection begins with an early cut of “Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire,” one of two songs (along with “For The Roses”) test-driven during a visit to a Graham Nash David Crosby recording session at Wally Heider’s in Hol-lywood.

From there, listeners are treated to early demos and alternate versions from sessions from For The Roses, Court & Spark, and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns; historic live show recordings, including the entirety of Mitch-ell’s triumphant 1972 return to Carnegie Hall and a definitive gig with her Court And Spark backing band Tom Scott & the L.A. Express; and tracks from sessions cut alongside James Taylor, Graham Nash, and Neil Young.


















q 5. Sunrise Raga [3:41]

The Darkness announce Permission To Land… Again; a special 20th Anniversary reissue collection, to be released on October 6th 2023 via Warner Music. Britain’s beloved rock band celebrate this landmark with a special 5LP release including the full original album, rare B-sides, bonus unreleased demos, as well as live albums from their iconic shows at London’s Astoria (2003), Knebworth (in support of Robbie Williams in 2003) and Wembley Arena (2004).

Permission To Land was originally released in 2003 via Atlantic Records and stormed to the top of the UK Albums chart, where it remained for four weeks, and spent 53 weeks in the Top 100. It achieved the band three BRIT Awards, including British Album Of The Year, British Group and British Rock Act, where they fended off competition from the likes of Blur, Radiohead, Sugababes, Muse, Primal Scream and more. The record has sold over 1.4 million copies to date.

The release will be supported by a promo campaign with interviews featuring lead singer Justin Hawkins. TV, Radio, and Press opportunities are being discussed. For announcement Justin will be interviewed on Planet Rock and Kerrang! Radio. Heavyweight digital marketing campaign across socials and banner advertising.

"I imagine myself playing these songs in a small club that is slowly burning," says A. Savage of his second solo record, Several Songs about Fire. After more than a decade in New York, the co-frontman of Parquet Courts has left the city, marking his exit with a masterpiece of maturity and a worthy corollary to his first solo venture, 2017"s Thawing Dawn. "Fire is something you have to escape from. This album is a burning building, and these songs are things I"d leave behind to save myself." Produced by John Parish on a 1" 16-track in just ten days in Bristol and studded by the support of Cate Le Bon and Jack Cooper (Modern Nature, Ultimate Painting) as well as saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon), drummer Dylan Hadley (Kamikaze Palm Tree, White Fence), and violinist Magdalena McLean (Caroline), Savage"s outsize gifts as a lyricist and observer - a quality Parish calls "an emotional openness guarded by a laconic wit" - shine. Worrying questions of wealth and poverty, self and other, Savage displays the poet"s gift of knowing when to narrate and when to vanish, leaving the listener to their own emotional privacy rather than instructing them how to feel. The end result is tantamount to psychic odyssey, with "Elvis in the Army" placing us in a subterranean venue where the livid, ratifying cymbal raises the room"s blood pressure and "Mountain Time", evoking an austere waltz playing in a desolate house, returning those listening to life. Influenced by Sybille Baier and Townes Van Zandt, Savage joins a canon of songwriters constantly dilating aperture and perspective. In rendering the signage of laundromats and threats of debt collectors as glistering and totemic as the scope of mountains, rivers, seas, and skies, Savage finds hopes and curses in equal measure.

Horros, the third album by Finnish sonic voyagers Virta, is issued in September 2023. With Horros, Virta build on and take into new terrain the questing, jazz-tinged electroacoustic adventures of their last album, December 2016’s Hurmos, and its predecessor, their November 2012 debut Tales From Deep Waters. Still recognisable as who they were, the Virta of 2023 now delves further than ever before into their inner world to craft their most affecting, most atmospheric and most cinematic music to date. Even so, Horros does not need to be accompanied by images – it envelops so much that signposts are unnecessary. The music itself is the guide through this sound world. The creators of this environment are Antti Hevosmaa (electronics, flugelhorn, trumpet, vocals), Erik Fräki (electronics, drums, percussion, vocals) and Heikki Selamo (bass, electronics, guitar, lap steel, vocals). Together as Virta – which translates from Finnish as electricity, energy or stream – the trio were acclaimed as a “cornerstone of Finnish experimental music” by Finnish daily by newspaper Savon Sanomat in 2016. Horros will ensure this status becomes the case internationally. Beyond Finland, Virta already have dedicated listeners in Canada, France, Germany, Poland, the United States and the UK. Reflecting on Horros, Antti says “We’ve always made music we want to listen to ourselves. We’ve asked what is the sound we want to listen to? We are digging deeper now, with new elements – more vocals. Lyrics too, which we haven’t done before.” Without sacrificing who they are, Virta now have a wider scope than ever. “A key idea with Virta is to make the music you hear in your head and share it with people,” adds Heikki. “Yes, to share what is in our heads,” agrees Erik. “But also, it becomes live music, that’s the point

Sermon On The Rocks is Josh Ritter's eight studio album, released in 2015. Singles from the album include "Getting Ready To Get Down" and "Homecoming." According to Ritter, the album is "messianic oracular honky-tonk." Produced by Trina Shoemaker and Josh, the 12-song album was recorded over two weeks at New Orleans’ The Parlor Recording Studio and features Matt Barrick from The Walkmen on drums, Zachariah Hickman on bass, Josh Kaufman on guitars, and Sam Kassirer on keyboards. Josh Ritter is the definition of an experienced songwriter. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1999 Ritter devoted his life to a songwriting career, releasing albums independently and garnering word-of-mouth popularity. He eventually caught the attention of Irish- songwriter Glen Hansard (writer of the song 'Falling Slowly' from the movie Once) and was invited to be the tour opener for his band The Frames. This then resulted in Josh gaining international success, with his third record 'Hello Starling', becoming a charting hit in Ireland. His songs have been featured on the TV show Parenthood, and in movies like The Other Woman and Typeface. Josh Ritter has so far released 7 studio albums, is an author, husband, father, and is considered one of the best living songwriters by Paste Magazine.

The greatest dance hits from the past decades now again available on coloured vinyl! This series only contains the greatest dance hits from the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and 10’s, in the original versions. Collected by decade on a seperate vinyl.

A ‘must have’ for any true dance-music lover!

Indonesian trio Grrrl Gang builds on their considerable worldwide buzz with Spunky!, their full-length debut album. Released on 22 September 2023 by Green Island Music in partnership with exclusive licensees Kill Rock Stars (United States), Trapped Animal Records (United Kingdom) and Big Romantic Records (Japan and Taiwan), the album is preceded by its title track and first single dropped on May 30, featured from the same title of the album, 'Spunky!' Spunky! arrives following some major life changes for Angeeta Sentana (vocals, guitar), Akbar Rumandung (bass, vocals), and Edo Alventa (guitar, vocals), including a switch in locale from Yogyakarta, the city where they formed the band while still in college. “This is Grrrl Gang’s first release after we graduated and got day jobs that made us have to move to Jakarta, which is undeniably 180 degrees compared to Jogja,” says Rumandung. “But moving to Jakarta enabled us to work with Lafa on Spunky! from start to finish.” The song itself essentially describes Sentana's experience during a manic episode. “I feel like I’m on top of the world, untouchable. I do things without thinking, always chasing after that feeling of instant gratification. I feel extra confident in myself to a point of grandiose thinking and that I could do anything,” Sentana explains. That would be Lafa Pratomo, the in-demand producer brought in to help shape the ten tracks that make up Spunky! With a resume that includes the likes of the chanteuse Danilla and legendary singer-songwriter Iwan Fals, Pratomo might not seem the obvious choice to take the Grrrl Gang producer’s chair. But according to Rumandung, “In terms of production, this was something new for us by working with someone outside of Grrrl Gang’s comfort zone.” Indeed, Pratomo considerably beefs up Grrrl Gang’s sound particularly Alventa’s guitar tones, Rumandung’s rumbling bass, and touring drummer Muhammad Faiz Abdurrahman’s muscular beats while preserving the band’s signature raucous energy, catchy melodies, and Sentana’s attitude-filled, equal-parts-honey-and-vinegar vocals. The music video for Spunky! premieres on the Grrrl Gang YouTube channel on the same day as the release of the song. The video, directed by Bathroom Girls, is part of a continuous movie, with Spunky! being the second chapter. It tells the story of an introverted girl who goes to a house party to validate herself among her peers. Despite facing challenges to her self-esteem, she manages to overcome her discomfort to survive the night. During the party, she watches Grrrl Gang perform Spunky! and is mesmerized by the confident performance of Angee, the lead singer. The girl imagines herself as Angee, a confident and cool person that she will never be. Hailing from the cultural city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Grrrl Gang is a rising force in the independent music scene with their infectious melodies, anthemic songs, and electrifying live performances. The power trio, composed of Angee Sentana on guitar and vocals, Akbar Rumandung on bass, and Edo Alventa on guitar, has been making waves in the Southeast Asian music scene since their formation in 2016. Grrrl Gang's music is a celebration of their collective roots and a testament to the power of pop music to connect people across cultures and borders. Their lyrics touch on themes such as feminism, mental health, and relationships with a raw honesty that speaks to a generation of young listeners. With their infectious energy, socially conscious lyrics, and unique sound, Grrrl Gang is poised to take the global music scene by storm and become a voice for a new generation

La Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is the new all-star project from producer Emmanuel Mario (Astrobal). 11 evocative and exhilarating instrumental tracks, ranging from synthetic to acoustic, from detailed pop writing to sonic experimentation. He is accompanied here by his companions Julien Gasc, Nina Savary and Vincent Guyot (as Ulysses' companions were known). Each contributes to the composition, arrangement and instrumentation of this colourful and enchanting odyssey. Mario and Savary have been living for years in an isolated former sheepfold in the South of France and have gradually gathered around them a band of artists and musicians who have come to escape their daily lives. The compositions in La Bibliotheque De La Bergerie were born of this timeless space of freedom. Each musician's musical obsessions can be found on the album, as they travel from one track to the next: soundtracks like the ones of De Roubaix or Alessandroni (Le Fleuve De La Nuit), experimental and classy pop like Stereolab/High Llamas (Loterie Solaire) or primary and repetitive electronic music (Tous A Zanzibar tome 3). The choirs and mixed voices of Nina Savary and Julien Gasc add a sunny, melancholy touch to the whole (En Attendant L'Année Dernière). The name Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is a double nod to Library Music, a trend in musical illustration for TV and radio that had its heyday in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And to the aforementioned bergerie, a living space and creative studio. The more observant may also have noticed the titles of the tracks, taken from the novels of the golden age of science fiction. Emmanuel Mario and his friends invite you to escape to another time. The album will be released on vinyl on the Freaksville label on October 6, 2023.Tracklisting: 1. L'homme qui n'existait pas 2. En attendant l'année dernière 3. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 1) 4. Loterie Solaire 5. Une porte sur l'été 6. Le fleuve de la nuit 7. Le manuscrit Hopkins 8. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 2) 9. Le Voyageur de l'inconnu 10. Terminus Tel-Aviv 11. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 3) freedom. Each musician's musical obsessions can be found on the album, as they travel from one track to the next: soundtracks like the ones of De Roubaix or Alessandroni (Le Fleuve De La Nuit), experimental and classy pop like Stereolab/High Llamas (Loterie Solaire) or primary and repetitive electronic music (Tous A Zanzibar tome 3). The choirs and mixed voices of Nina Savary and Julien Gasc add a sunny, melancholy touch to the whole (En Attendant L'Année Dernière). The name Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is a double nod to Library Music, a trend in musical illustration for TV and radio that had its heyday in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And to the aforementioned bergerie, a living space and creative studio. The more observant may also have noticed the titles of the tracks, taken from the novels of the golden age of science fiction. Emmanuel Mario and his friends invite you to escape to another time. The album will be released on vinyl on the Freaksville label on October 6, 2023

It is with great fanfare that we proudly announce the return of the esteemed improvisational chainsaw blues trio Young James Long. Young James Long formed in Dallas in 2003 with a weekly residency at a local (and appropriately named) dive bar called Muddy Waters. PW Long (guitar, vocals) and Kirkland James (guitar) had known each other socially since the 90s when Long was fronting Quarterstick Records’ Mule, and James was playing with Tenderloin. Long would go onto make a series of incredible solo records under his own name and that of PW Long’s Reelfoot and James would play with Alejandro Escovedo (among many others) before their paths finally crossed again. They recruited Taylor Young (Hi-Fi Drowning, Young Heart Attack, The Polyphonic Spree) on drums and a raw, blues-punk-rock-and-roll band emerged fully formed, songs flying out of them with enthusiasm and ease. They recorded the You Ain’t Know The Man EP with their friend (and eventual Grammy winner) Stuart Sikes not long after. The EP came out via Southern Records in 2007, and thanks to the tasteful ears of the people this side of the pond, a European tour followed. If you saw that tour, you’ll agree that it felt like the band were really hitting their stride. However, here we are in 2023, so what happened? Answer: geography - the age-old enemy of creativity. One member left Texas and the others (being the extremely able and skilled musicians that they are) were perpetually wooed away to play in other bands. Everyone’s got bills to pay, right? And with that, things just kind of fizzled out. Long even insists he quit playing music around 2010. One of the most recognisable voices in underground music: out of the game. Incredible. Inconceivable.
Then, last year we at Wrong Speed got an email asking if we’d be interested in some new music Young James Long had been working on. We thought it might be a joke. They sent some mixes through, and it became very quickly apparent that it was anything but. Turns out the trio had started chatting about music again in 2020 (before the world had other plans) and had finally made their first full-length album Orogeny in the summer of 2021. Orogeny sounds live and thrillingly immediate, as though all obstacles between their delivery and your ears have been removed and discarded as irrelevant. There is no filler, no treading of water at any point. Amps buzz, songs teeter on the edge of collapse, you feel like you’re sitting in the middle of the band as they play and it’s a pretty sweet place to be. The album contains a whopping 17 songs, most under 2 minutes long. They don’t want to waste your time, or most importantly (after sixteen years away), theirs. If you’re familiar with Long’s previous bands, you’ll know he has a rare gift for pairing extreme volume with extreme tenderness and it’s thrilling to find that gift present and correct after over a decade away. And that voice – holy shit, that voice. He can go from a Beefheart howl to the sweetest country baritone in the space of a single line. In James and Young he’s found the perfect foils, a power trio of instinctive and soulful musicians able to conjure shining gems of magic out of the grit and the dirt. Young James Long is risen from the ashes – it’s a miracle!

"We Will Live On" by Deru was made with a Disklavier (an acoustic piano outfitted with solenoids that allowed it to be digitally controlled) and custom made software to sequence it. This made the piano appear to play itself. Technology seemingly embedded with humanity.

2023 Repress

2001, the first year of the 21st century, but especially for many born in the 60's, 70's and 80's, the year that was surrounded with an aura of "the Future" and which became symbol of the new and unknown things that life has in store, the starting year of a new transgression period in both scientific, cultural and spiritual evolution. In that year Transllusion recorded music in the Dimensional Waves Productions studio of which till date two known productions saw a release: "The opening of the Cerebral Gate" and shortly after that the mysterious "L.I.F.E." album on Rephlex. More than 15 years later, an unknown wave resurfaced, washing up an incomparable emotional state of electronic depth. Music from the Future rooted in an underwater Afro-futurist realm and the grandiose cosmological truths. This time rushing over us in a much more personal, reflective and more introspective way, yet leaving behind sonic confusion. We now know who was responsible for all these futuristic recordings perfectly reflecting what the year 2001 stood for, James Stinson can be seen as one of the last few techno musicians from his generation that lived up to the high expectations of moving forward, finding the unknown and embracing the future without reliving the past. This recently discovered DAT-tape, using his Transllusion alias, is the 3rd outing of the project and, surrounded with an even brighter aureole than the previous recordings, confirms the status of its producers mastermind. No further details are known, except for the project name written on the tape, but these intimate moments in the studio tell us what the future sounds like according to James Stinson!

For this album Ghetto Kumbé has enlisted an all-star roster of artists from four different continents, they’ve put together a fresh version of their debut album that’s been specifically geared to the world’s diverse slate of dancefloors, whether at home or in the club, this double 12” 45 RPM is the perfect format to experience this music. There's no denying the power of the drum. It's primal, it cuts across borders and most importantly, it makes you want to move. Ghetto Kumbé don't just understand that they celebrate it, and it's why the tambor was at the heart of the Bogotá-based trio's 2020 self-titled debut album. Rooted in mysticism and the Afro-Caribbean rhythms they'd grown up with all their lives, the critically acclaimed LP thrillingly updated the traditional Latin template, folding in elements of modern hip-hop, house and bass music while also delivering a transportive Afro-futurist vision. On Clubbing Remixes, that vision has been further amplified, as Ghetto Kumbé who were already one of Colombia's most prominent alternative acts have now gone fully global; enlisting an all-star roster of artists from four different continents, they've put together a fresh version of their debut album that's been specifically geared to the world's diverse slate of dancefloors. As the title implies, the new LP is meant for the club, which is why Ghetto Kumbé have turned to Latin music heavyweights like Trooka a multiple Grammy winner whose resume includes work with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Residente and Monte (a.k.a. Bomba Estéreo founder Simón Mejía), along with top-shelf DJs like Nickodemus and Uproot Andy, two NYC artists who've spent decades championing Afro-Latin rhythms. True to the LP's global spirit, the record also includes reworks from batida maestro DJ Firmeza, fellow Afro-Portuguese outfit Studio Bros and Parisian house groovers Les Enfants Sauvages, plus genre-blurring remixes from sonically adventurous Colombians Montoya (himself another ZZK artist) and Cero39. Even the artwork on Clubbing Remixes is a remix, as Ghetto Kumbé have tapped Uganda's Denzel Muhumuza to transform the cover of their debut album into a new, explicitly Afro-futuristic illustration. Depicting a strong Black face and glowing neon fauna beneath a sparkling moonlit sky, the fantastical image speaks to both the ritual magic and Afro-indebted heritage of Ghetto Kumbé's music, and thanks to Clubbing Remixes, the group's passionate, drum-fueled sounds will soon be blasting out of soundsystems around the globe.a

After the success of Cruise Control repress, Les Disques Bongo Joe are proud to announce the official reissue of Polymood, second album of L"Éclair and maybe their most renowned project for the moment. Recorded live in Amsterdam by the wizard Japser Gelük (Altin Gün, Allah Las, Jacco Gardner, this library-groove-oriented album goes deep into L"Éclair influences back in the days : Piero Piccioni, AIR, Sly Stone or Can.

In a realm where the threads of fate intertwined with the tapestry of existence, there existed a timeless construct we call “MENG”. This transcendental domain pushed a sanctuary where an unholy wisdom was safeguarded. Within its twenty-two walls, the experiences of countless sages and seekers resided, forming a reservoir of enlightenment, of vision and of identity.

Among the enigmatic texts that adorned the shelves of The Memory Palace, one stood out—the "Tubular Heaven," a chapter that held the essence of the universe's patterns and transformations. The book we speak of is the Book of Change - I Ching. Legend has it that the Memory Palace embodied the vibrations of those who sought its wisdom, guiding them to the Slow-Chain’s pages where hexagrams unveiled the secrets of existence.

Amidst this cosmic dance of knowledge, there lived a young wanderer whose name we do not say out loud. Driven by a deep yearning for understanding, this Warrior ventured into the city of Tanoy. With every step, he felt the resonance of centuries long gone, as if the walls whispered to him the essence of reality itself - “you may fall as long as you stand up again. Repeat this 1000 times and you will understand me. Only then can we control the sound.” As he reached for the illuminated Book of Change, a light was cast onto a newly fabricated realm of questions.

One hexagram, in particular, was essential. The cryptic symbolism was perplexing. Upon meditation, we slowly begin to realize that life is indeed a tapestry of imperfections, yet from these glitches we arise with profound growth and transformation.

As our curiosity spikes, we delve into the pages that follow, discovering an unexpected connection between I Ching and the world of Jeans, no denim. In ancient times, the craft of weaving denim mirrored the wisdom of these hexagrams. Just as threads interwove to create a durable fabric, I Ching reveals how life's experiences intertwine to form a meaningful existence. Denim, like life, is sturdy yet adaptable - a true testament to the harmonious balance between falling and standing.

As this journey comes to a gentle end, we must stress that hexagrams prove that other divination systems exist. It has become clear that the patterns hitherto observed are not confined to one culture, tradition, mind or body. Instead, they echo throughout history, manifesting in various divination systems across our globe. Hexagrams are a universal language, transcending boundaries and demonstrating the interconnectedness of humanity's pursuit of higher understanding.

We can now truly emerge from the Memory Palace, carrying the wisdom of everything above us. It’s time to Drag A Friend into this Made Up Reality. Or is it? We now understand that life's glitches are the catalysts for growth and that just as threads wove together to create denim, experiences wove together to create a meaningful existence.
As we walk beneath the open sky, we whisper into the wind, "Hexagrams are the echoes of universal truths, proving that the search for wisdom knows no bounds."

The chimes tingle in the deep subset of your imagination. As the pages of the Book of Change unfurl one last time, the shimmering tapestry of our shallow minds unravels.

We have revealed the kaleidoscopic corridors where perceptions dance in hallucinogenic symphony to the hymns of our rich minds.

Lower-case and higher-vibes, loket is the saxophonic alias of Tahl Klainman, a versatile presence in Berlin’s alternative and underground scene, whose diverse productions have traversed ambient, trance, techno and jazz on labels such as Mama Told Ya, Hot Concept and Tax Free Records. More recently loket also guested on Massimiliano Pagliara’s LP ‘See You In Paradise’, which received the 2023 German Record Critics’ Award, as well as establishing Klainman as one of the few saxophonists to have jammed live to a peak-time Panorama Bar dancefloor.

Reigniting the languid futurism of trip-hop and downtempo, ‘All Ages’ ably delivers the most inclusive distillation of loket’s sound thus far, paying respect to the influences such as William Orbit and Moby, as well as fourth-world innovator Jon Hassell’s philosophy of blending traditional instrumentation with contemporary electronic experimentalism. Mixed in collaboration with Angus Finlayson, aka Minor Science, each of ‘All Ages’ four pieces transmit the wonder and free-spirited optimism reflected on photographer Jordan Kirk’s wide-eyed cover art.

Title track ‘All Ages’ prizes open a saxophonic wormhole to beckon an infectiously baggy groove, unexpectedly referencing the optimistic rhythm of acid-house inflected Madchester, only with gnarlier guitars to contrast a seriously insistent bassline. ‘Afternoon at Bärenquell’ boldly teases out sonic pleasure from even more idiosyncratic means, melding baroque strings and twinkling new-age melodies to loket’s emotive brass, culminating in a neo-classical finale that seems to suspend itself mid-air.

‘Sanders Groove’ sees loket’s sax step back on a bed of soft, jazz-inflected percussion and unpredictable electronics, melting as one into a slow-motion riff that’s equal parts indie jam and musique concrete. Finally, ‘Soft as Moonlight’ makes good on its romantic namesake with a swelling arrangement that free floats into deft percussion, dreaming and teeming with positive energy.

Mind Against launch their eagerly awaited imprint Habitat with a 15-track compilation titled “METAFLORA”, available as a deluxe transparent vinyl 3LP box set including a 24x12” fold-out poster.

Suitably, the compilation features new and emerging artists with whom Mind against have relationships, and recurrent motifs of subtly unsettling melodic house/techno building alternate worlds in soundscapes.

Mind Against & Sideral – ‘Criseide’ heralds this new world with portentous pounding beat/bass, the melodic synth singing beneath like beauty surviving under threat, the vocal/lyrics with an edge of alarm: ‘if you think it couldn’t happen to you…’

‘Talk To Me’ by Dyzen (who also collab’ed with Mind Against on their fabric presents compilation) has stately chords riding a prancing beat while sombre piano and sweet high vocal create a heraldic, post-apocalyptic nu-medieval world, whereas Sam Shure’s ‘Plus Ultra’ has rattling percussion, with melody like a coded message from an abandoned spaceship to which something replies in stark tones…

Marino Canal, whose debut album was released by Nicole Moudaber’s MOOD, and who has support from many big names including fabric’s founder Keith Reilly, features plangent notes veering up, down and off the scale for a disturbing effect in ‘Ample’, while Swiss duo Read The News in ‘A Place’ set a fast, kicking beat against a female voice yearning for ‘a space where I can just be’.

Remcord, often played by Black Coffee, Tale of Us and more besides MA, show us why in ‘Entourage Effect’ while Laroz gives a lively melody and raucous chords in ‘Don’t Touch’ feat. Sheera as her cool, raunchy, layered vocals come to the fore.

The inaugural release on KMRU's own fledgling OFNOT imprint, 'Dissolution Grip' is an ambitious project that emerged from his studies at Berlin's prestigious UDK. The Kenyan composer and sound artist is best known for his field recording work, and as he traveled across Europe and the wider world for regular live performances, he made a point to snapshot each city. But the more he studied and the more he examined his practice, the more KMRU began to wonder what the purpose of these recordings were, and what bearing they might actually have on his self-expression. Simultaneously, he'd begun to dive more wholeheartedly into the world of synthesis. In a way, synthesis is the most basic form of sound, and KMRU started to wonder not just how he could harness these sounds but how he might be able to more dynamically combine them with field recordings.

Guided by Jasmine Guffond at Berlin's Universität der Künste (better known as UDK), KMRU looked at waveforms - the visual representation of sound itself - and embarked on a process where he would write scores from the shapes, gradually turning the scores into raw synth sounds. Considering the spaces he was inspired by and shuttled through, KMRU decided that instead of using environmental recordings as an aesthetic marker, he would use these captured moments to guide the waveforms. So each sound is birthed from a field recording, but none of those recordings are audible in their original form. For example, on the digital bonus track 'Along A Wall', KMRU recorded in an old shack on his family's compound in Nairobi, where wind was shaking the building to its foundations. Listening to the finished piece, we can hear subtle electronic tones that rub and vibrate against each other, slowly saturating and mimicking the erratic motion of the wind. The original recording has been removed, but the feeling remains.

The album's opening side 'Till Hurricane Bisect' is a 15-minute epic that evolves at its own glacial pace, carefully transforming blustering wind sounds into gasping drones, glassy oscillations and choked distortion. Cosmic and meditative, it's a testament to KMRU's skill as a sound engineer and patience as a composer, combining the gentle world building of his acclaimed Editions Mego album 'Peel' with the rumbling energy of 'Limen', last year's collaboration with Aho Ssan. On the title track, KMRU takes the opportunity to flex his orchestral muscle, conducting a cast of warbling synth tones into a durational symphony. Starting as quietly as a whisper, 'Dissolution Grip' expands at its own pace until it's a dense wall of harmony, powerful but never completely overwhelming. It's music embedded with a rich sense of place that informs us of KMRU's past and present, and signals where his musical philosophy might take us in the future.

Félicia Atkinson: »Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O’Keeffe)« (2021)

Félicia Atkinson’s Ni envers ni endroit que cette roche brûlante (Pour Georgia O’Keeffe) is approached as a meditation, not as meditative music, but as a reflection on the art of creation: how to inhabit one’s creation, how to convey it, domesticate it and live with it. Drawing inspiration from the artist Georgia O’ Keeffe, both in her work as a painter and in the houses in which she lived in New Mexico, and even in the landscapes that surround them, Félicia Atkinson has composed a piece that evokes and celebrates, in a poetic and holistic way, the mystery of art, the somnambulic oscillation that accompanies the act of creating. Blending fragmentary voices, islands of piano, electronic textures and patterns, and field recordings, Félicia Atkinson’s music is sincere and inspired, a meditation, then, but also a lesson we sometimes forget: being an artist is not an activity, even less a profession, it’s a singular way of approaching the world and, in so doing, densifying it.

Richard Chartier: »Recurrence.Expansion« (2020)

Richard Chartier’s music takes up residence at the frontiers of the audible, on the edge where sound diffracts into an inter-dimensionality where sounds, space, listening and silence recombine in an arborescence of becomings that present themselves to us and then disappear. The space-time in which Richard Chartier’s music unfolds is a stretched space-time, barely emerging in the world of sound. The delicacy, precision and accuracy of the composition Recurrence. Expansion lies precisely in this dialogue between a shape that is exposed and developed in an inspired and masterful way, and the sonic biotope in which this shape develops. It is from such an encounter that the singularity of Richard Chartier’s music emerges, music of attentive listening, but also sensitive, inhabited music, a music of discreet metamorphosis.

KID FRANCESCOLI, leader of the French Riviera Touch is back with the stellar album SUNSET BLUE out Sept 22nd 2023.

After a first sold-out world tour (over 200 concerts in Europe, USA, Asia...), and successful hits such as Nopalitos, Blow Up or Moon (now certified diamond, with more than 200 millions streams), the Marseille-based producer, crooner and multi-instrumentalist, Mathieu Hocine, is eager to share his most accomplished LP ever. This fine collection of soulful songs honor his Mediterranean roots, with elegant and pop melodies. His most recent success and the creation of his first original soundtrack with AZURO, installed him as one of the best French songwriters of his generation, with a unique signature sound.

"I live in Marseille, I spent my childhood in Corsica, I have Algerian origins, my first vacations with friends were in Barcelona, vacations with my first girlfriend in Roma,... Then, I had the chance to perform in Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Egypt: each time I spent time in the Mediterranean region, the people I met there made me feel like I was part of the same country. This shared multiculturalism is really comforting, it has its own poetry and strength, bringing uniqueness and empathy to the people. It is essential for me. I love my city: it’s the perfect place to feel good with sun, sea, family, friendships, love... It gets me emotional, bringing tears with a smile".

With his new musical gem, Mathieu Hocine unveils 11 elegant tunes of his finest craft: sunbathed French Touch (Run Run, 1986), romantic chillwave (Corsica), uplifting synthpop (You Are Everywhere, Like Magic), electronic-soul (Casino Soul), cinematic disco (Solaris), cosmic R&B (Sweet and Sour, Take Time), … Everything is in this record.

For the first time ever, Kid Francescoli paid tribute to his mixed origins with his collaboration with world-renowned lute and mandolin player Hakim Hamadouche (Rachid Taha, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Tricky...), whom added Algerian patterns to the introspectives songs Drift in Blue and The Morning After.

"My ambition is to create pictures in people's heads with music, to transport them instantly into a movie"

SUNSET BLUE is an instant-crush album: crystal-clear, strong, personal but universal at the same time.

It's an ecstatic soundtrack for this moment when time is suspended, the golden hour when everything seems possible. It feels like Love is in the air, you're living your best life and you're at the right place at the right time. This album embodies this magic moment where we would like to last forever… Like an epiphany, Kid Francescoli's new album is a moment of pure pleasure, a soothing way to escape reality.

"I see myself as a melodist.I would like my music to feel like velvet. There's something cinematic, classy about it, and yet comforting. It's very simple, popular and synonym of love and passion"

His friend French 79 co-produced the album, while the american rapper Bamby H2O brought his NYC swag (on Sweet & Sour), Stan Neff (Polo & Pan, Kungs, Christine and the Queens...) took care of the mix and Alex Gopher (Daft Punk, The Blaze, Bon Entendeur...) added a final touch of magic when mastering. Nicolas Despis (known for his work with Etienne Daho, Hoshi, Juliette Armanet... and many famous French rappers) later joined this dream-team to craft custom-made artworks. SUNSET BLUE is a deeply personal quest, a human adventure for Mathieu Hocine (whom explores his maghrebian origins, his feminine side, his subconscious space, ...). It's a male's work, but don't get it wrong, this LP would be nothing without women’s touch : Julietta (on Run Run and Take Time), Sarah Gaugler from Turbo Goth (on You Are Everywhere and Like Magic), and iOni (on Drift in Blue).

“Music has this magical power to broaden your vision of the world. It's fascinating because, like dreams, it's the kind of irrational things science can't explain and that makes life exciting."

Planets aligned perfectly on this project and thanks to this five-star cast of collaborators, Kid Francescoli achieved his personal holy grail : he orchestrated a great 21st century pop-music album.SUNSET BLUE is a new turning point between organic and electronic, both a mediterranean travel and a Californian dream, a bridge between Ennio Morriconne and modern electronic music.

Also, while it might be called SUNSET BLUE in honor of the sea and the Portuguese / Brazilian concept called “saudade”, but it is a really optimistic album, whose true colors would rather be "yellow-orange-red" in nod to the sun.

Created in the midst of the world tour, SUNSET BLUE is a direct result of the lives’ energy and fans’ joyful vibes: going back in the studio after smiling, singing and dancing with people all around the world inevitably gave Kid Francescoli the desire to retranscribe this ecstatic feeling in music. This album is a sensitive experience, from sunrise to sunset, from first track to last one. It’s an exploration of an everlasting summer, reaching its climax in the very final seconds of the track Corsica, making us want to press play and dive into this jewel all over again.

A beautiful cosmic trip, whether you like to stay in bed cocooning, to travel far, far away or to dance ‘till dawn, to catch the first rays of light.

Make sure to catch Kid Francescoli on his next world tour to have a good time.

Previously unreleased live soundboard recordings from this groovy group from the '60s San Francisco Bay Area scene. Along with The Sopwith Camel, The Beau Brummels, The Mystery Trend, The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, The Warlocks and The Grateful Dead, The Final Solution were part of the first wave of San Francisco rock bands having formed in 1965. They were very popular all over the Bay Area and appear on countless early posters of the period, but they never released anything. If you dig The Great Society and The Warlocks 'Emergency Crew' demos, this is for you!

"Every Mile" was recorded during a particularly tumultuous time in the life of the band, and of the band members - There were record deals won and lost, tours that were equal parts triumph and tragedy, and relationships that bit the dust
And, yet, we remained hopeful, we remained friends, and we remained committed to the songs you find here. Jon Nolan once called this record "pain with a hope chaser," which about sums it up. In a quintessential Say ZuZu moment, we recorded "Every Mile" in Memphis because we broke down there mid- tour and
tried to make the best of it. We had more songs than would fit on this record, so we curated 12 songs that belonged together, and we intended to record the others on a follow- up record that never happened. Some of those tracks found their way onto Jon and Cliff's solo records, and some have yet to see the light of
day. Either way, "Every Mile" emerged from a remarkably fruitful chapter in the band's songwriting history, and their treatment here is seasoned with the grit of
our lives at that time.

As every year anniversary, Bonkers has the tradition of the special annual compilation, bringing a bunch of new extraordinary artists to the label. This VA is the sound that Bonkers represents, a sound to trip, to listen, to dance and to enjoy, now for year IV we have on board: Sobek, Colossio Feat Animales Nocturnos, Ludviq & Radial Gaze, Moisees & ZEA, ID_UA and Oblako Maranta.

For the first track of the VA, debuting on the label, the Hungarian producer Sobek ,named after the Egyptian crocodile god, resident of Aether club, with releases on TAU, Get Physical, Borders of Light, and owner of Complaint Kulture.“Conscious Raveness” is a harsh and enjoyable journey, with a rough bass and drilling mind synths, his sound simple has no boundaries.

Talking about sick collabs, “Retaliation” definitely is one of them, also is the first collab between the head of the label, Luis(Ludviq) and Andrey (Radial Gaze), this track has a great power in it, with a lot of trippy Fx, home-made recorded percs, mind-blowing leads and a massive bass line. Just listen and enjoy the ride.

Igor Dyeyev mostly known as ID_UA, is an Ukrainian producer, with releases on labels like Calypso and Duro, now debuting on the label with “Crucial Moment”.

This track was made during the escalation of tension on the borders of Ukraine, what happened next is known to the whole world.

With releases on Exit Strategy, Duro and Scatcity Fernando Luna aka Colossio, presents his track “Reflejos” featuring Animales Nocturnos, is inspired by the Spanish electro-trash scene where the beat and the lyrics evoke the most hidden and dark feelings that spring up at night, inviting you to enter the trance that provokes the dance.

For the first time have the pleasure to have one of the Duro Label bosses Moisees, joining forces with ZEA with “Recuerdo Futuro” is a flash of the forgotten rave parties of the nineties, the nostalgia of a past that was not lived.

To close this VA we have the honor to have, a new fresh and visionary project called Oblako Maranta, is the fusion project between the Italian Producer A-Tweed and the Russian producer Radial Gaze. “Viper Attack” is special track ,weird, slow and raver, with psychedelic nuances, definitely a trippy journey.

Explorations was born from the inquisitive spirit that Hypnotica Colectiva has always had for the world of experimental music. We can classify it as an ambitious project, based on the fact that it is the first official sub-label of HC Records, but also pointing to the musical section both on the publishing side and on the live art side. The main objective is not to adhere to any pigeonhole, seeking to cover a wide range of unconventional sounds and rhythms without straying too far from recognizable and danceable patterns. That is why we want to create space for this project on and off the track, without barriers, and with our eyes mainly set on the future.

To kickstart the project, we look within for answers, paying attention to our mother label. John and Paul Healy hide under the name of Somatic Responses, two Welsh brothers with a long and proven career in intelligent music. We won't say that they are pioneers, but they did manage to forge a characteristic sound and style that has accompanied them since they began their career in the mid-90s.

EXPLORATIONS 01 was not conceived as an LP is usually made. When contacting the artists, they sent us a large number of tracks that they thought would fit the label's preferences. From here, the Explorations team selected the 13 tracks that now come to you, trying to find the balance between the three main styles we bet on for this first release: IDM, Ambient and Drone.

"HC Records is expanding its horizons with a new parallel yet ambitious project. In an effort to broaden its recording legacy from an evolutionary perspective, the Valencian label is venturing into the field of experimental sound. This new direction signifies a rejuvenation and adaptation to a new era, where music fragments and expands towards infinite horizons. Complex compositions, abstract designs, and extreme sound treatments define this innovative approach, pushing music beyond its limits and sacrificing some of its essential properties in the process."

Ximo Noguera @Industrial Complexx

Proudly presenting Nookie’s debut album for Metalheadz – ‘Improvisions’.

A collection of work which Nookie himself calls “the best tracks I’ve ever written”, ‘Improvisions’ embraces the fact that we don’t live in a perfect world. Throughout the project, aided in many parts by Ruth Royall, Nookie expresses his deep rooted love for the music he’s devoted so much of his life to.

Releasing on 13th October on 2x 12” white vinyl, preceeded by a 12” white vinyl sampler on 29th September.

180gr./Gatefold/Pvc Sleeve/Black Vinyl

The Allman Brothers Band was one of America’s greatest Southern rock bands. Both their massive hits as the hidden gems are now all available on the exclusive 2LP Collected release. It covers the music from their late ‘60s to the ‘90s, including hits like "Ramblin' Man", "Jessica" and "Melissa". Besides tracks from the band The Allman Brothers Band Collected also includes songs by the related projects The Allman Joys, The Hour Glass and solo work from Duane & Gregg Allman.

After the famous 1971 live release At Fillmore East, The Allman Brothers Band represented an artistic and commercial breakthrough. With their extended live jam improvisations they became famous all over the world. As one of the pioneering bands in the Southern rock they recorded several successful albums and singles. The group largely infused hints of the blues, jazz, and country into their music.

180gr./4p Booklet/500 Copies On Magenta Coloured Vinyl

Graduated Fool is an album by Anouk, released in 2023. Graduated Fool includes a.o. the following tracks: “Too Long”, “Hail”, “Margarita Chum”, “I Live For You” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, High Quality, Insert pop LP.

UK drummer and sound artist Cameron Graham dances between EDM, joyous calypso colour, cellular Glassian minimalism, and hyperrealist AI on debut album Becoming a Beach Angel, evoking a SNES world of blissful vibrancy.

Creating his dizzying, dayglo MIDI explorations with drumkit triggers, UK musician Cameron Graham conjures a multitude of soundworlds from dense compositional structures. The music of debut album Becoming a Beach Angel touches on neon, videogame digitisation, the finessed, mechanical precision of IDM, even the rhythmic intensity of gamelan, whilst retaining a thrilling and wholly singular energy. The record is an electrifying experience, full of colour.

Becoming a Beach Angel flips and trips through headspinning, hyperspeed effervescence, like an entire rave condensed into a moment. Instantly joyful, its textures - formed in wavetable synthesis triggered by live-performed percussion pads - thread and bob through hyperreal abstract space, millisecond snippets of organ chords and steel pans zooming like stars in a galaxy rocketed past at

lightspeed. “It’s about grabbing and holding a close person going through depression or self-doubt, taking them out the door,” Cameron explains. “Dance music for that moment you need only to find a way to move forward.”

Instrument-swapping London/Margate trio Wicketkeeper create a loose, breezy jangle-rock that’s been likened to Ultimate Painting and Teenage Fanclub. A laid back, fuzzy racket comprised of fizzing guitars interweaving with buoyant basslines and layered harmonised vocals.

They followed a split 12” with Car Seat Headrest with their debut album ‘Shonk’ in 2020. ‘Zambroni’ was self-recorded at home, rather than in a live-room, which enabled the band to play with dynamics and broader arrangements, layering multiple guitar and vocal tracks for the first time, resulting in a more melodic, considered and playful record.

A pungent ooze emanates from the subway. As a sticky drum machine sequence rolls out like thick dark fog, ice cold synth swirls rise from the depths.

Since the debut album Europe By Night, one of the main references associated with Henrik Stelzer and his Metro Riders project has been that of cinema, and particularly the European genre films of the 1980s. With its seedy subject matters manifesting both in visual style and music, the vibe of that era has crystallized over time. Passed down to us from deteriorating video cassettes, it became an invaluable key to decoding our present day reality.

And this is true for this album as well; Stelzer does not hide the fact that he builds heavily on that vibe; referencing it through track titles and utilizing a particular recording setup consisting of a Fostex and a reel to reel in order to achieve and recreate the feeling of those soundtracks — as heard on magnetic tape rather than vinyl.

The motion picture soundtrack as an arbitrary genre definition becomes, in the hands of Stelzer, a pair of X-ray specs for him to envision a kind of music that deals in grains and contrasts rath- er than hooks and choruses. And like Roddy Piper in John Carpenter's 1988 film They Live, he hands those glasses over for us to see the true face of our times.

On Lost In Reality Metro Riders maps out an emotional geography of the cities at night, wherein the cinematic haze becomes a tool by which we can view the cities with new eyes. Not steering away from the darker alleys nor the harsh realities of modern day politics masquerading as progress. Yet escapism, in the end, seems the only viable option. But not as an endgame, but rather a stepping stone for building a new vocabulary for an utopian language.

“Those familiar with my music will notice this album is a lot different from previous releases which were written around the acoustic guitar. I often ask myself if it is a mistake to release an electric album (and a pretty heavy one at that) but in the end I thought what the hell you only live once! “

“Being Generation X these songs are heavily influenced by that period which I consider in pop/rock history, musically arguably the best. I know it will probably be criticized for being too “old fashioned” by some but I can honestly say I’ll take that as a compliment as my musical “D.N.A” is defined by that period in time”.

Written during a year of hedonistic isolation whilst exiled to a forgotten mining village, 'Alecs in Wonderland’ is the debut self-produced rap album by rap enigma and ‘one man band’ Alecs DeLarge.

Alecs navigates ‘Wonderland’ with a bulging backpack of references to 90’s Toonami imports, king skins and rap nerdology, multi-syllable boxing through beats in a smoked out stream-of-consciousness drawl. From the cartoonish braggadocio on ‘Scooby Snax’ and ‘AM To AM’, to proclaiming his love for his anthropomorphic MPC 2000 on ‘Girl Joint’, Alecs emphatically proving that he’s much more than just the man behind the boards.

Merging classic New York rap sensibilities with sarcastic British humour, 110’s and Berghaus coats taking the place of Timb boots and Lo sweaters.

Wonderland is Alecs’ custom built version of The Matrix, a perfect world created to escape the one outside his council flat window, idyllic living in Lynchian reality. A therapeutic outpouring of the lonely man’s psyche, or maybe just a slow descent into madness, polished and delivered to your ears in Long Play form.