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Born in São Paulo, Caetano Malta embodies the vibrant creative energy of one of Latin America's most dynamic cities. A singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, he has spent more than twenty years crafting a distinctive musical universe shaped by Brazil's rich and diverse traditions. Tropicalia, MPB, Afro-Brazilian rhythms, psychedelic folk, and contemporary pop blend seamlessly in his work with effortless elegance.

Over the years, he has become a highly sought-after collaborator. Since 2004, he has performed with numerous leading Brazilian artists, including Lucas Santtana, Bixiga 70, Karina Buhr, and many others. After two decades of international touring, he eventually settled in Paris, where he became the guitarist for Flavia Coelho, Luiza, Guts, among others. As a songwriter, he has also co-written with artists such as Lucas Santtana, Wado, MOMO, Rubinho Jacobina, and Arto Lindsay.

With Eterna Juventude, his long-awaited debut solo album, due for release in autumn 2026, Caetano Malta reaches a new artistic milestone. The record reveals a radiant songwriting style where harmonic sophistication, organic rhythms, and instantly memorable melodies come together naturally. Filled with joyful energy and deep tenderness, Eterna Juventude celebrates imagination, movement, and childhood's unique ability to reinvent the world. It is a remarkably accomplished debut, showcasing an artist whose singular voice and musical identity are already fully formed.

There is a hush most of us only knew as children, the warm drift between familiar household sounds and being carried to bed, a place that belongs to you and to some self you have not met yet. June McDoom’s debut full-length, Follow the Light, lives in that dream space and then keeps walking, slipping out of time and waking somewhere new, barely familiar enough to feel like home yet wholly your own. She came up in a Jamaican household on the edge of the Florida Everglades, an existence built of extended family, communal care, bass and harmonics. Her father, a carpenter and a student of sound, built his own speakers and kept three sound systems going across as many rooms. His low end would rise through her bedroom floor like some wayward cat while she lay above it with folk records, finding harmonies that were new and hers alone. Two musics in one room. Lushness as past and premonition. She found folk on her own, somewhere between the cast recording of The Sound of Music and Simon and Garfunkel, while everyone around her called it sleepy music. She did not mind being the only one. The solitude let her fall for harmony first, before words, before anything else, and harmony is still the thing she reaches for. Generationally speaking, the music was already in the air. Her grandfather, Colin Smith, is a distinguished mento man who played banjo and guitar and built his own rumba boxes, worked to keep Jamaica’s oldest acoustic folk form alive. Mento is the root of all of it: ska, rock steady, reggae, dub and everything after. He is the one who put a guitar in her hands. An inheritance, a gift and a map. Even her name is part of it, though she will tell you she landed on it more by feel than reason. She records as June McDoom, born Alyssa, June being a nickname one of her grandmothers, Joan, went by, a name she thought was cool to carry and simply liked the sound of. An etheric channel that reverberates all the same. A dub all its own.


Made slowly and by hand with her longtime partner Evan Wright, Follow the Light lays the harmony of folk over the rhythm of dub, with Dionne Warwick, Minnie Riperton, Pentangle and the washed guitars of Cocteau Twins haunting its outer edges. Voice and guitar seeking each other out first, then everything else stacked across long days in the studio they keep at home, restraint kept on purpose. The lead single “Without You” is the whole method surfacing, split open and sparkling like a geode in a creek bed. Angelic heroics, and nothing less.


At the heart is family. Her grandmother Aggie, the light behind “Memory,” guiding still. And underneath, the quieter truth the record keeps: none of us are only one person, but a continuum of selves, the ones who shaped us and the ones we have yet to meet. Future you is an ancestor your current self gets to greet. Press play and the same invitation is yours: A few minutes out of time, a place that turns familiar the longer you stay until you surface somewhere new and find it was yours all along

There is a hush most of us only knew as children, the warm drift between familiar household sounds and being carried to bed, a place that belongs to you and to some self you have not met yet. June McDoom’s debut full-length, Follow the Light, lives in that dream space and then keeps walking, slipping out of time and waking somewhere new, barely familiar enough to feel like home yet wholly your own. She came up in a Jamaican household on the edge of the Florida Everglades, an existence built of extended family, communal care, bass and harmonics. Her father, a carpenter and a student of sound, built his own speakers and kept three sound systems going across as many rooms. His low end would rise through her bedroom floor like some wayward cat while she lay above it with folk records, finding harmonies that were new and hers alone. Two musics in one room. Lushness as past and premonition. She found folk on her own, somewhere between the cast recording of The Sound of Music and Simon and Garfunkel, while everyone around her called it sleepy music. She did not mind being the only one. The solitude let her fall for harmony first, before words, before anything else, and harmony is still the thing she reaches for. Generationally speaking, the music was already in the air. Her grandfather, Colin Smith, is a distinguished mento man who played banjo and guitar and built his own rumba boxes, worked to keep Jamaica’s oldest acoustic folk form alive. Mento is the root of all of it: ska, rock steady, reggae, dub and everything after. He is the one who put a guitar in her hands. An inheritance, a gift and a map. Even her name is part of it, though she will tell you she landed on it more by feel than reason. She records as June McDoom, born Alyssa, June being a nickname one of her grandmothers, Joan, went by, a name she thought was cool to carry and simply liked the sound of. An etheric channel that reverberates all the same. A dub all its own.


Made slowly and by hand with her longtime partner Evan Wright, Follow the Light lays the harmony of folk over the rhythm of dub, with Dionne Warwick, Minnie Riperton, Pentangle and the washed guitars of Cocteau Twins haunting its outer edges. Voice and guitar seeking each other out first, then everything else stacked across long days in the studio they keep at home, restraint kept on purpose. The lead single “Without You” is the whole method surfacing, split open and sparkling like a geode in a creek bed. Angelic heroics, and nothing less.


At the heart is family. Her grandmother Aggie, the light behind “Memory,” guiding still. And underneath, the quieter truth the record keeps: none of us are only one person, but a continuum of selves, the ones who shaped us and the ones we have yet to meet. Future you is an ancestor your current self gets to greet. Press play and the same invitation is yours: A few minutes out of time, a place that turns familiar the longer you stay until you surface somewhere new and find it was yours all along

The duo Jolie Gentiane come to us straight from a wild and unpredictable mountain peak, a perched place far from civilization, where the beauty and cruelty of mother nature reign but harmonize the elements. They walk the high, steep paths, looking down on the chaotic and industrial world. This increasingly smoky world, which, from the top of the mountains, looks metamorphosing dangeroulsy, but would only need a few changes to make it less crazy. Or perhaps infinitely more so. Jolie Gentiane is a skilful concoction of sound and daring. Unclassifiable, impalpable, the contemporary embracing the tradition and the acoustic swinging with the electronics. Autotuned/vocoderized vocals, 4th world, kitsch sax, psychedelic arpeggios, acoustic guitar, techno, it's all there: the story told by Jolie Gentiane on this album is rich and complete. Nature, love, celebration, struggle, work. Yes, even work. Because the energy deployed to create this album was surreal, patient, extremely methodical, and the abnegation of the protagonists has been vertiginous: the cliff of the highest peak is finally climbed. This album is like an ode to the earth, to the respect we owe it, an ode also to music in its purest essence, that which does not confine itself to borders, but shout for federation, dance and uprising.

Emerging from the dark Olympic forests with a new album and a full bag of chanterelles, fish narc's Ben Funkhouser has shifted the damp melancholy characteristic of his earlier work towards the sun. Uncle is at once a cry of resignation ("say uncle!") and a declaration of seniority, a set of observations steeped in the blues of youth, delivered with Westerbergian inclination. Recorded and produced by Alex Farrar, the album's 11 tracks bear the hallmarks of his style: textured rock `n' roll somehow both raw and polished. Neither waxing pathetic nor sugarcoating, fish narc and the band are at peak form on Uncle, strumming out the complexities of aging with the conviction of a group that's fully found its footing in well-crafted rock and powerpop. Uncle KLP313, is a culmination of the punk rock musical work fish narc has done in his native Northwest environs. Says Funkhouser, "I feel like Uncle is the best record I've ever made. The songs grew without changing, the textures are spot on, and Alex [Farrar] and I saw eye to eye about almost everything. The album represents what I want for my band and songwriting and is the touchstone on which all my future work will be based." fish narc is a rocker and producer from the Pacific Northwest, recently relocated to Los Angeles. As a member of GothBoiClique, his innovative guitar playing became iconic of the group and helped shape the style of the movement that they pioneered. As a songwriter, fish narc leans more on influences from SST, K and the diy scene he grew up in. Catch him with a full band for the true intended experience. Previous records include WiLDFiRE in 2020, Camouflage in 2022, fruiting body [KLP295] in 2023 and frog song [KLP298] in 2025. This autumn fish narc will tour the United States with his punk horde.

Over & Even was a breakout album for Joan Shelley. Originally released in 2015 and recorded in Louisville, Kentucky - with Shelley and her then neighbor Nathan Salsburg on guitar. The record was an album of the year at NPR Music and in The Los Angeles Times. Rolling Stone called it, "a masterfully turned set of folk reflections" in their 4 star review. This expanded edition features 8 never before heard demos, performed and recorded solo by Shelley who shared them only with Salsburg so he could learn the songs.

Superfan is the songwriting veil of Kali Priya Flanagan, the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and producer. While initially imagined as a solo act, ambitious string arrangements crafted in collaboration with cellist Omeed Almassi have come to define Superfan’s noisy and magnetic pop soundscape.

Today, Superfan announces their forthcoming album ‘My Piledriver Heart’ (MPDH), out October 16 via new label home AD 93 (Joanne Robertson, Dagmar Zuniga, YHWH Nailgun). Along with the announcement, Superfan presents his new single “In the Gold Room” paired with the live version filmed by Garrett Winston inside Agger Fish Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

MPDH marks the first release outside of the record deal Flanagan signed at age 14. The album finds Flanagan embracing a more expansive, experimental vision of indie rock - melding deeply tuned acoustic guitar, cello, and Eastern musical influences into what he calls his “Acousticello” sound. Recorded largely live with cellist Omeed Almassi and producer Hudson Pollock, the record explores heartbreak, independence, and hopeful melancholia. Kali says “This time around it was about being (myself) versus becoming myself. This album was made to acknowledge the ebbs and flows in chugging along with life and love, from a place of comfort within the self that opens you up to the beauty in everyday life.” He does so through intimate performances that blur the line between folk, chamber music, pop-rock ballads, and alternative rock. Last year, he released the singles “Apeiron (Fantasy Football)” and “Miss W Jones” and earlier this year he released “Picture of Return.”

Following his acclaimed debut Tow Truck Jesus, Flanagan opened for The Strokes at Red Rocks, and has quietly become a fixture of New York’s DIY scene, performing alongside artists like Horsegirl, Knifeplay, and Quiet Light, while also playing support shows with King Woman and Victoryland this summer. He is also in the rising emo band Holidays in United States.

Before Superfan, Flanagan found success during the pandemic under his first moniker, “KALI.” His initial releases garnered millions of streams and led to collaborations with seasoned high-profile producers and industry teams. Despite his budding career as an indie-pop star, Flanagan was dissatisfied with the conditions of his artistic output and community as he reached adulthood. His coming-of-age years in Los Angeles were marked by an ever-present new-wave pop music oblivion: “hits” made in 5-hour sessions with strangers, a social life suffocated by others’ aspirations for fame, and an absent audience for live music that pushed past the prescriptions of recorded music. On MPDH, Kali says “I can’t help my urge to write these pop-rock ballads, but we really wanted to push the boundary of genre and expressing the sentiments of the songs through experimentation.”

After a long-awaited break from the format, Smokin’ Sessions returns to vinyl with a very special limited-edition pressing of Rowl’s Signal EP.

Since launching in 2007, Smokin’ Sessions has built a reputation for deep, bass-driven music and a vinyl catalogue that has become an important part of the label’s history. After quite some time away from pressing records, SMOKE046 marks the label’s return to wax — presented on limited-edition transparent blue vinyl.

At the centre of the release is longtime Smokin’ Sessions and Deep Heads artist Rowl, returning with four cuts rooted in the deep 2-step, garage and bass sound that has defined both his own productions and the label over the years.

Opening the record is Versa & Rowl – “If You (Rowl’s Grey Skies Remix)”, a weighty reworking of an unreleased Versa & Rowl dub. Raw, swung drums, deep sub pressure and a distinctly old-school UK garage atmosphere run throughout — a sound described in early feedback as a “future retro garage classic” with that early deep dubstep / 2-step crossover feeling. The remix has also picked up support from Mat The Alien, BunZer0, Deep Tempo and Richard Dorfmeister, amongst others.

“Signal” follows — a heavy, stripped-back 2-step roller built around swinging drums, commanding low-end and Rowl’s unmistakably deep production style. The track represents the classic Smokin’ Sessions sound while pushing it forward with the precision Rowl has developed over more than a decade of production. The track has received strong DJ support, including J:Kenzo, who called it a “Great track”, Synkro, BunZer0, Mat The Alien and others.

On the B-side comes “Sierra” featuring Bristol lyricist and vocalist P.A.B MC. Written and recorded together in Bristol, Sierra takes things into warmer territory: chilled two-step garage rhythms, dubstep-weight low-end and an almost astral atmosphere underpin P.A.B MC’s melodic, conscious vocal delivery. It sits somewhere between soundsystem music and reflective storytelling — equally suited to a late-night system or headphones.

Early response to “Sierra” has already included Synkro, who described the track simply as “Killer”, alongside further underground DJ support.

Exclusive to the vinyl is the instrumental version of “Sierra”, giving the full production room to breathe and making this pressing an essential version of the EP for DJs, collectors and anyone wanting to hear the depth of Rowl’s production without the vocal.

Rowl first appeared on Smokin’ Sessions in 2011 and has remained closely connected to both Smokin’ Sessions and Deep Heads ever since. His catalogue includes collaborations with Versa such as Lunar, Jupiter and Solstice, alongside his 2013 Cosmic Visions EP. His music has previously received support from Don Letts on BBC Radio 6 Music, Tim Parker on NTS, Synkro and J:Kenzo.

For the physical release, no corners have been cut. The record has been vinyl cut and mastered by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven (Ten Eight Seven Mastering) — one of the most respected engineers in UK bass music and someone whose experience with low frequencies and vinyl makes him the perfect choice for a Smokin’ Sessions pressing.

Major figure in electronic music and pioneer of cosmic disco, Space was founded in 1977 by Didier Marouani.
"Magic Fly", its first single, embodies its futuristic DNA (a melodious, cosmic and disco-inspired composition). Following its worldwide success, 3 albums were released in 2 years :

- "Magic Fly" (1977), blending melodic richness with synthetic innovation, delivered both dancefloor hits and midtempo tracks.
- "Deliverance" (1977) is a typical 70s concept album, ranging from disco to cosmic electronic music.
- "Just Blue" (1978) is a more melancholic album featuring broader orchestrations and complex harmonies.
These 3 records sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

"The Art Of Space Disco (1977-1978)" presents Space's most iconic tracks and sums up two fruitful intense years of musical innovation.

- The Vinyl comes in as 1LP Crystal Clear. It includes 4 edits : Carry On Turn Me On, My Love Is Music, Deliverance & Running In The City.
- The Double CD features original versions . It includes 2 additional tracks (Symphony, Velvet Rape) and 8 remixes (never released physically before) produced in 2026 by artists whose musical careers were shaped by Space.
- CD & Vinyl Exclusive liner notes by Jean-Yves Leloup.
- All tracks have been remastered by Alex Gopher

Cut Rate is the debut LP from Detroit-based techno punk band Decliner. Written and recorded over the span of several years, the music reveals a sludgier, darker, and more industrial sound, representing a marked departure from their raw and thrashy roots.

Cut Rate is an album that lives at the edge of potential… a fever-dream where danger, uncertainty, and reckless hope collide. With dark humor, underdog grit, and flashes of raw beauty, it moves like someone risking everything — bravely, boldly, sometimes foolishly.

Intimate yet volatile, Cut Rate balances vulnerability and strength, chaos and tenderness. It unfolds like a roll of the dice, a shot in the dark, a chance that you can’t walk away from.

Produced by Steven Stavropoulos, the record delivers hellish, intricately designed soundscapes that establish the bedrock of each track. Tim Barrett’s guitar adds a dense layer of emotion throughout, elevating the music and further establishing the record’s stylistic ambiguity. Rob Luzynski’s vocals are at once tortured, brazen, and ridiculous, an anti-hero winking at the abyss, telling stories that no one should live by but that we all may learn from.

On Oath's latest, the imprint keeps the jazz-fuelled atmospheres going with 'Seven Dogs', an EP that serves up an astonishing excursion through deeply hypnotic melodies and idiosyncratic grooves, courtesy of an iconic link-up between Rteph88 aka Robin Taylor-Firth and Steve Cobby.

Taylor-Firth and Cobby are musicians whose careers are so richly storied, broad-ranging, and impactful that it's difficult to summarise their output and impact in so few words. Both Taylor-Firth and Cobby firmly established themselves in the 90s, being involved in some of the era's most prominent and celebrated groups and for releasing some truly era-defining records. As such, their discographies reach far and wide, from house and techno cuts through to downtempo, drum'n'bass and leftfield, there is little that is left uncovered, and this spirit remains with them both as they continue to explore the outer parameters of their sounds.

Taylor-Firth, a songwriter, arranger, and producer, is perhaps best known for his long association with Warp Records and its sublabel Nucleus, and for his work as a member of Nightmares on Wax, where his signature keyboard playing style became a staple of the group's legendary sound. Alongside this, he has hundreds of songwriting and arranging credits on a dizzying array of records, and was a member of house music group Anon and Pio Bo alongside Richard Barratt - to name but a few selected highlights of his extraordinary career. Cobby's career is distinguished by his multitude of releases under a variety of aliases, along with his helming of a number of imprints, including Pork Recordings and his most recent label Déclassé. Experimenting with a wide variety of genres and sounds, perhaps his best-known work was with the duo Fila Brazillia alongside Dave McSherry, who released a plethora of immersive and innovative records in the 90s and beyond.

'Seven Dogs' represents a shared passion, vision, and musicality, two languages borne of similar spaces but reaching through time, space, and existence in creating a richly veiled musical experience that draws from lifetimes spent within the nucleus of music's soul. The EP speaks of the present as such as the past and indeed future, hinting with motifs that feel right at home within sun-kissed skies and within the walls of the chill out rooms. 'Early Doors', the EP's opener, displays the core fundamentals of the unfolding experience, namely the intrinsic relationship between keys and drums and how they express tone and mood. The piano gently caresses, ethereally floating with space to grow, as the drums lightly swing into life, providing an engrossing and rhythmically diverse groove that nods as much as it dives. The title track lands next and leads with a more driving feel. Sonically, the track leads with an oozing bass sequence that worms through the mid range before retreating under an array of compelling piano chords. The drums once again provide a strong backbone, allowing the melodic elements up top to fully express themselves - in a myriad of ways, murmuring and clamouring all at once.

'Visiting Hobo' brings the groove down a few notches. Slightly sombre in its delivery, the piano and bass interchange above a sparse yet hard-hitting groove, with as much emphasis placed on the emptiness as on the melodically full sections. The piano has a certain tonality here, with the notes containing a large amount of textural reverb that helps the track feel alive, almost growing out of the speakers. Wrapping things up is 'Titled', which begins with the keys and an array of whimsical features. The drums allow themselves time to grow into being, but when they do, they simmer within an enriching melange. It's a fitting end to a record that abounds with sonic consideration, environmental and emotive feeling, where two technicians bring their best and serve up four tracks of such sublimeness and thoughtfulness. One to drift deep within, on those hot summer days….

The Mannheim homie ManooZ has been releasing some fab tunes for over a decade on labels like Chiwax, Selections, Local Talk or just recently Chicago’s own Star Creature, but there’s no stopping. A true house lover, ManooZ dedicates his „Rhythm of motion EP“ to Chicago House! The a-side represents the jacking side of Chicago with raw and hypnotic grooves and stripped-back basslines. Just listen to „rhythm of motion“ and „mode six“! The b-side goes deeper with a more soulful approach and strings and melodies all over! A perfectly balanced release by the one and only ManooZ!

In the begining there was jack! And in 2026 there’s still jack!

DJ Support: Dj Harvey, Bicep, TEED, Sarah Story, Joe Goddard, Make A Dance, Dj Subaru, Demi Requismo, Horsemeat Disco, Greg Wilson, Crazy P, Justin Strauss, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), Masilmiliano Pagliara, Red Rack’em Jordan Nocturne , Gina Breeze, Heidi Lawden, Eugene Whang, Neil Diablo, Gina Breeze, Marcel Vogel.

After a mysterious hiatus, one of The essential edit labels of the 2010’s has returned just as inexplicably as it disappeared..

The previous 4 volumes now change hands with private collectors for $$ .. These limited run edits will no doubt sell out in similar fashion..

The A side see’s the most dance floor oriented but often over looked track from Bjork’s album Debut receive the DJ edit it always needed . A2 a unique rework of a very rare nrg record that started out like as Aerobics accompaniment album..

On the Flip B1 take Turn toward the Funk , PBR giving the heavy dub treatment to one of The Whispers most criminally ignored tracks. Rounding things off the B2 drifts into the work of wonky, sleazy Italo.. Magari uses the little understood “wrong speed” technique to sublime effect, combined with some extra synth work it delivers a an entirely different track…one for the heads..

Seven years after 2019’s ‘The Dusk Loom’, Petrels returns with a pair of new albums, Infangthief and Outfangthief. The first of these releases, Infangthief, was originally written and recorded in 2022, before being reworked in light of a subsequent album, Outfangthief, due to be released later this year.

The two albums act as companion pieces, mirrors revealing facets of the other, overlapping in sound and subject matter. Though Outfangthief may have been written after Infangthief, it is no mere follow-up, with it's own creation causing a re-visiting and re-working of the earlier album, which in turn informed the writing of its twin.

Taking their titles from Old English legal terms ("thief seized without" and "thief seized within”), the central thread running through both albums is the illusion of assumed human authority - that which is given and that which is taken by force. With Western society seemingly hellbent on willingly embracing a brutally destructive economic model (even in its death throes), these albums attempt - in their own small way - to undertake the essential task of imagining alternative ways of being.

Petrels is the solo project of musician and artist, Oliver Barrett. Since releasing his debut, Haeligewielle, in 2011 (#9 in A Closer Listen's Best Albums of the Decade), Petrels has toured across Europe and shared a stage with the likes of Jóhann Jóhannsson, Tim Hecker, FIRE!, Nate Young (Wolf Eyes), Trouble Books, Demdike Stare, Nadja, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster). Working from his home in Somerset, UK, Barrett has released numerous albums through his Floating Limb imprint, as well as mixing and/or mastering hundreds of releases for the likes of Keiji Haino, Loren Connors & Alan Licht, Judith Hamann, Incapacitants, Mette Rasmussen & Sofia Jernberg, Yasunao Tone and more

“Petrels sidesteps the chilliness found in much of the music of his peers, replacing it instead with an almost spiritual ecstasy, his ravishing synths and almost choral vocal treatments calling out in cosmic, wide eyed wonder at the universe.” – Paul Margree, Louder Than War

A new producer-led project from musician and composer Nitzan Dana, Islands on Tape arrives with Dust Conspiracy, a cinematic and deeply textured three-track EP balancing vintage exotica, library music, psychedelic groove and modern beat culture.

Previously known for his work with psychedelic post-rock outfit Meuban, Dana created Islands on Tape as a separate artistic identity, a space to explore instrumental composition and studio experimentation through a more personal lens. Across the EP, he draws on a wide palette of influences, from Sven Wunder and Maston to exotica pioneer Les Baxter, alongside the sample-driven worlds of Madlib and MF DOOM. The result is a record that feels loose and organic in spirit while remaining intricately arranged and carefully constructed throughout.

Recorded across just three sessions with a close circle of collaborators, Dust Conspiracy draws together live drums, flute, percussion, surf guitars, Farfisa organs and atmospheric textures into a sound equally indebted to 1960s soundtrack music, dusty hip-hop production and classic exotica records.

Opening track “Dust Conspiracy” began with a bassline inspired by late-night listening sessions and crate-dug hip-hop production. Initially built around sampled drums, the piece evolved into a fully live recording featuring drummer Lotan Yaish (El Khat, Şatellites) and percussionist Ron Avidan. Swirling organs, creeping rhythms and heavy cymbal work give the track the feel of a lost 1970s espionage soundtrack, smoky, hypnotic and cinematic.

Blending cinematic soul, psychedelic groove, exotica and rhythm-heavy instrumental production, Dust Conspiracy introduces Islands on Tape as a richly detailed new studio project, equally suited to late-night headphone listening, imagined film sequences and dusty, atmospheric dancefloors.

Norman Gervais and Charles Bals return after last year’s Transcoastal compilation with their first project for the Italian label Periodica Records and its newly founded imprint, Periodica International.
The concept behind SiRENE 89 is quite particular and took six years to develop. It is presented as the live recording of one long evening, with different bands taking the stage one after another on the terrace of a Mediterranean holiday resort in 1989, inspired by the places Charles and Norm remember from their summer holidays around that time.
The songs were recorded between 1982 and 1993 and gathered from small-time artists, beach-club vagabonds, local micro-labels, library records and privately released tapes. The music moves lightly between mystical ballads, digital samba and loose, sunburnt dance songs, carried by drum machines, not-quite-tuned guitars and college-band voices.
The audience on the terrace remains quietly present throughout, joining the tracks into one continuous, partly improvised set. By the end, it feels less like a compilation and more like a place where you have spent the night, proving that charm can carry further than perfection.

Helene Rikhard had remained a hidden gem in the Norwegian electronic music underground for years, before she fully emerged on the international scene with these two critically acclaimed albums. Her sound is an ingenious mix of psychedelic disco, 80’s wave music, techno, krautrock, ambient and it truly operates in a world of its own. Drawing inspiration from the cosmic disco of Daniele Baldelli, the jazzy depths of Detroit techno and the esoteric dreamscapes of Laraaji, it’s astral music for astral people! Psychedelic to the core, but also warm, adventurous and highly original.

Her debut album Unpredictable Express is a dark, brooding masterpiece combining elements of cosmic disco, electro and techno Everlasting High serves as a beautiful, atmospheric counterpoint to its moody and mysterious predecessor, Feeling like a blissed out, hazy summer day, echoing childhood memories from Helenes youth, in the beautiful southern part of Norway. Everlasting High also sees Helene’s vocals coming more to the front. Mad Girl and Lions Eye are both beautiful, dubbed out synth pop with traces of 80’s synth, shoegaze, and reveals a fine-tuned pop sensibility, with a vocal style that’s sits somewhere between Kate Bush, Enya and Fever Ray.

Both as a producer and DJ, Helene’s style is easily recognized for her bold, genre-blending approach to electronic music. Mixing elements of ambient, techno, and experimental sounds, creating immersive, intricate and psychedelic tracks. Her DJ sets work the same way, blending Italo, High Energy and synth nuggets, effortlessly with strange, modern club sounds.

Label head Len Faki joins forces with Icelandic dub techno pioneer Exos for Infinity In Loop, a joint exploration into cavernous depths and shifting tonal landscapes.
Two versions of the title track fill the entire A-side, each unfolding with patient intent. Drifting across icy atmospheres and static hums, Infinity In Loop’s first incarnation slowly builds into a mesmerizing, minimalistic loop—punctuated by delicate percussion and a faint, comforting sprinkle of melodic warmth amidst the arctic chill. The second iteration leans more into a classic 90s dub techno framework, launching straight into a steady pulse anchored by echoing chord pairs and crisp, high-energy percussion.
On the B-side, the duo shifts towards raw, dancefloor-driven territory. Aurora delivers impressive tension with dry, jacking rhythms, snappy percussion, and haunting vocal fragments cut up to drive the groove forward. Closing out the EP, Circuit Flux pairs sub-heavy low-end with unpredictable rave energy. Nostalgic 90s vocal cues, pitched-up hooks, and fidgety FX swell and recede over staunch synths—creating a dynamic, deeply layered track that constantly shifts between space and peak-time momentum.

Limited White Label reaches a milestone with LTDBLBL025 – our first ever LP. For the occasion, we’re handing the catalogue over to Boris Graus aka Borka & The Gang for a 12-track journey through House, Jazz-House and Deep House Electronica. The double LP brings together years of Boris’ work and collaborations, connecting electronic production with the feel of live musicianship. Across the record, House grooves meet jazz, disco, funk and deeper electronic textures, moving between warm, rhythmic cuts and more atmospheric moments. Boris plays the keyboards, glockenspiel and percussion himself, while the record features contributions from a wide range of musicians from both his local circle and further afield – including Malou de Sel on vocals, Jürgen Leutnant on saxophone, Bruno dela Rosa on bass, Dario Cei on flute and Bruno Freitas on guitar.

Pressed on double 12” white vinyl, LTDBLBL025 is not only the first LP in the Ltd, W/Lbl catalogue, but also a milestone for Borka & The Gang – bringing together a body of work that reflects Boris’ long-running connection between electronic music and live musicianship. LTDBLBL025 – 2×12” White Vinyl / 12 Tracks

Injury Reserve was originally a trio, consisting of rappers Ritchie With a T and Stepa J. Groggs and producer Parker Corey. Their mixtapes Live From The Dentist (released in 2015) and Floss (2016) earned them underground buzz, and they capitalized on the attention with their debut album in 2019, the eponymous Injury Reserve.

The group's momentum was put on hold when in June of 2020 Groggs tragically passed away. By the Time I Get to Phoenix was largely completed ahead of Groggs' passing with his contributions, and will be the first Injury Reserve music to be released since their eponymous debut album. Ritchie and Corey took the past year to complete the record, and the title has meaning past simply referencing Injury Reserve's hometown. It's an homage to a song that has been covered countless times, which is in line with Injury Reserve's ethos and approach when it comes to creating music. The group pulls from several styles and eras of hip hop, but runs each one through the Injury Reserve lens, putting their own distinct and cohesive sound across their references. Nowhere is that dynamic more present than on By the Time I Get to Phoenix.

After years of building around techno, Genex is moving somewhere else.

The shift has been happening for a while. The music is becoming less about the expected function of a techno record and more about groove, movement and the details that make a track feel alive.House has always been part of the picture, but now it takes a much bigger role. Weeks & Weeks EP marks the first release from this new chapter.

It also opens the catalogue of Concrete Soul, a new label built around house and techno with soul. A place for music that can be raw without losing its character, and functional without losing the feeling behind it. Concrete Soul is about the contrast between the hard and the human, the concrete and the soul.

"For those who feel the ground"

2026 Repress

Folksongs and Ballads by Tia Blake & Her Folk-Group, is more than just a “lost classic”. As clear and honest as can be, Folksongs and Ballads is a magnetic record, a refuge like only Nick Drake, Nico, and a few others have been able to create. A graceful, delicately minimalist approach to classic Appalachian and British folk songs.The perfect balance between melancholy and daydream. Originally released only in France in 1971, Ici Bientôt is very pleased to present the first-ever reissue on vinyl.

When she recorded her only album, Tia Blake was nineteen years old and had just arrived in Paris a year and a half beforehand. She spent most of her time at Disco’Thé, a record shop in the Latin Quarter, a free space, peaceful and inspiring, a hub for students as well as the local artistic community.

There, Tia would occasionally sing—when she managed to overcome her shyness. Two young guitarists who were passionate fans of folk music and regulars at the shop began to accompany her, forming “Her Folk Group.” One year later, they cut 11 tracks at Pierre Barouh’s Studios Saravah.

Folksongs and Ballads is composed of traditional tunes that have been covered many times, but they’re not the best-known folk standards. A collection of stories ranging from the Middle Ages to the 1960s, bringing together sublimely doleful ballads, lamentations for a lost lover, and an unexpected, brilliant version of the road anthem “Plastic Jesus.”

Tia Blake's haunting, unaffected voice captivates and comforts us, wrapping us in its cool embrace. Meanwhile, the tasteful, stripped-down, mellow acoustic arrangements provided by the guitarists, reminiscent of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, occasionally supported by a kena flute, have created the space Tia Blake needed to reinvent these traditional songs.

Folksongs and Ballads is a timeless record, deep and unique, a longtime companion for repeated listening, in the vein of works by Sibylle Baier, Bridget St. John and Vashti Bunyan.

After decades contributing to records where a single riff could transform a dancefloor, Charlie May turns that instinct inward on Trusted Farms.
For over thirty years, Charlie has occupied a position that seems increasingly rare in electronic music: the musician’s musician, the person behind the machines, the extra pair of hands in the studio, and quite often, the person responsible for the melody you end up carrying around in your head for weeks on end. 
Alongside Duncan Forbes as Spooky, Charlie helped shape some of the most important electronic music to emerge from the UK in the early ’90s. That partnership would also sow the seeds for one of Sasha’s defining records: the central riff behind Xpander began life in Spooky’s live material, before Charlie brought the idea into the studio with Sasha and helped transform it into one of electronic music’s most enduring anthems.
Listen closely to Charlie’s work and there’s a particular instinct that keeps returning: knowing when a simple synth line is enough. Knowing which note needs to change. Knowing when repetition stops being repetition and starts becoming the entire reason a track works. More recently, as one-third of Quiet Places on ASIP, he’s taken those same instincts somewhere looser — beatless, gridless and led by improvisation.
Trusted Farms puts those instincts front and centre.
Tiny melodic phrases appear and refuse to leave. Synth lines repeat just long enough to become lodged in your head. Parts rub against each other without being tidied into submission. There’s a sharpness and directness to it all amongst the purposeful analogue warmth.
Some of these tracks feel almost ridiculously simple at first. But simplicity is difficult when you’ve spent decades learning every possible way to complicate something. Many of the parts on Trusted Farms were performed live with minimal editing. A synth line might be doubled, distorted, re-recorded and pushed back through another piece of equipment, but it remains the same idea. Instead of filling the gaps, Charlie works on the weight and character of what is already there. The melodies become physical; slightly worn around the edges.
For someone whose fingerprints can be found across some genuinely monumental moments in electronic music, Charlie has spent decades knowing what to add. 
Trusted Farms is about knowing exactly what to leave alone.
Available on black 12”, mastered by Andreas Lupo LOOP-O Lubich and featuring artwork by Peter Skwiot Smith,

Cooper Saver joins the Dream Space family for his first solo EP in 6 years, which was well worth the wait.

Born in LA and now residing in Squamish BC, Cooper ran the infamous Far Away parties in his home city through the mid-to-late 2010’s. Over the past decade, he has released exceptional music and remixes on labels such as Hivern Discs, Permanent Vacation, Internasjonal, DFA and more.

Working often as a collaborator, his recent projects alongside Chris Macintyre as Inner Flight and Night Cycle, and as part of hardcore punk band Self Arrest, all hold up to the same high quality output.

After being in contact with each other for years, it feels like a full circle moment to be working with Cooper and sharing more of his music with the world.

Across all four tracks he dives deeper into the new progression of his sound. From the peak time energy of Depths Of Reality and cosmic radiance of Be Alive, to the understated and shimmering B side of Glider / Running In Circles, this one’s an essential.

2026 Repress

Supported by Cio D'Or, Deepbass, Etapp Kyle, Mattias Fridell, Ness, Samuli Kemppi, Svreca, Takaaki Itoh, Unam Zetineb, Exium, Alessio Pili, Antonio de Angelis, Artefakt, Edit/Select, Jonas Kopp, Kwartz, Mod21, Reggy van Oers, Juho Kahilainen, Eric Cloutier, Johanna Knutsson, Tom Bonaty, Arnaud le Texier, Brando Lupi, I/Y, Iori, MTD, Nima Khak, Par Grindvik, SNTS, The Noisemaker, VSK, Attemporal, Casual Violence, Rasmus Hedlund, Sleeparchive, Terence Fixmer, Eastern Renaissance, Victor Martinez and many, many more.
Luigi Tozzi / Deepbass / Claudio Prc - Deep Blue

2026 Repress

Few producers embody the soulful heart of House Music quite like Move D. Being a mentor of the label since day one, All That Jelly brings together two defining and desirable cuts from David Moufang’s recent history to one record.
'To The Disco ’77' 2013 original version for the A-side and the 2017 live rework finds its way to the B-side, both freshly remastered by the amazing and sought after Andreas Kauffelt. 'To The Disco ’77', opens with a clean, electro-styled beat that has a restrained power and a controlled tension that gradually blooms as the keys start to lift the mood into something lighter. When the iconic 'to the disco' vocal sample cuts through, it’s like a wink
from the past, threading disco’s golden exuberance through the disciplined swing of classic house. The track is a seamless blend of Funk, Disco, House and Electro with each element raw yet playful, woven into a groove that never stops urging you forward. It’s a masterclass in balance: sleek but deeply human, nostalgic but alive in the moment. It's like listening to the history of dance music in one special track.
'To The Disco ’77 (Move D Live Rework)' stretches the idea out into something even more fluid. The groove loosens, the funk rises to the surface and the extended runtime gives space for guitar and bass lines to share center stage, riffing around each other with organic warmth. The 'to the disco' mantra remains, grounding the track in its celebratory intent. It’s the kind of tune that closes a night perfectly and makes you not want to leave the dancefloor. Reissued together, these versions show Move D’s masterful ability to bridge eras and genres, reminding listeners that the dancefloor is as much about emotion as it is about motion.

Pulsinger & Irl is the collaboration between Austrian producer and techno pioneer Patrick Pulsinger and Bavarian producer and sound engineer Sam Irl.

After ten years of dub-driven live explorations, Pulsinger & Irl are now focusing on a raw, uptempo, and sample-driven take on techno.
Their new album and live set is stripped to the essentials — two classic samplers, the SP-1200 and MPC2000XL, and a 16-track mixer. By pushing these machines beyond their intended boundaries, they craft a gritty and textural sound.
This is first of two 4-track EPs that will make up the entire album („AALLIIAASS“).


The duo met in 2012 at Pulsinger's Feedback Studio in Vienna, where Sam began as his assistant engineer before becoming a studio partner.
Coming from different musical backgrounds, they found common ground in experimental techno, dub, sampling culture, and analogue gear.

Since their debut album Mud (2016), they've released the EPs Function Creep/Woodpecker (2017), Exu (2018) and Retrieval (2019), along with several remixes — most recently a rework of iO's 1994 classic Claire (2024). Their music has received support from Move D, Gilles Peterson, Mr. Scruff, Lefto, among others.

They've performed at Berghain/Panorama Bar (2016–2018), Sonar Barcelona, ://about blank, Golden Pudel, Blitz, Sziget, Elevate Graz, Lighthouse Croatia, Rote Sonne, Ars Electronica Linz, Zukunft, and more.

Over the past three decades, Patrick Pulsinger has released music on his own label Cheap Records as well as R&S, M Plant, Disko B, Compost, and has produced for DJ Hell, Hercules & Love Affair, Elektro Guzzi, Fennesz and others.
Sam Irl has released music since 2007 on labels such as Freerange, Jazz & Milk, Brownswood, Pulver and Frank Music.

"Acid Morning" by Toni Rios, remixed by Andreas Henneberg, is a captivating track that skillfully blends elements of techno and house, creating a nuanced auditory experience. Andreas Henneberg is known for his ability to infuse tracks with a distinct energy, and his remix of "Acid Morning" is no exception. Henneberg transforms "Acid Morning" with his signature style. The "Toni Rios and Andre Walter Remix" for Nicoleta is a track that brilliantly blends elements of classic electronic beats with modern production techniques. Toni Rios alongside Andre Walter (Stigmata) brings a refreshing twist to the original composition through this remix. These are two more gems from Toni Rios

The third chapter of The Third Room's curator-led series is shaped by Verraco, one of the key voices behind a new generation of artists reshaping contemporary club music. Through his productions, DJ sets and his work with TraTraTrax, he has helped define a sound where hybrid forms, rhythmic experimentation and cross-cultural influences are pushing the genre into new territory. Structured across two distinct sides, the release draws a clear connection between past and present. The A-side leans into a deeper, more classic space, while the B-side moves towards a more forward-facing, hybrid sound. It opens with Libration (Stone Version) by Substance & Vainqueur, a revisiting of their landmark 2007 release, a track that helped define the language of Dub Techno as it is understood today. Reduced, deep and spatially precise, it established a blueprint for how rhythm, delay and tone could function together. It's presence here acts less as a nod to the past and more as a reminder of a foundation that continues to shape the genre. Skee Mask's Clear Sky 909 continues this thread, softening the edges without losing depth. Warm, enveloping textures and fluid movement give the track a sense of openness, balancing clarity with emotional weight. The B-side shifts perspective. On Untitled (Teamgeist Mix), Verraco, joined by Tils, delivers the record's defining moment - a dense, intricately designed piece built on a driving low-end and evolving rhythmic patterns. Elements from Techno, Bass and Leftfield House converge into a detailed, forward-moving structure that actively bridges cultural contexts. It results in a form of dance music shaped by technical precision, but drive.n by a clear sense of intent, marking a distinct expression of Verraco's current sound. Untitled by 1morning introduces a rolling, tribal-infused groove with a strong sense of depth, while PatumPa by Regal86 closes the record with a bright, loop-driven energy that leans into pure motion. Across both sides, the release moves between reference and progression. Rather than separating old and new, Verraco connects them - tracing a line from foundational Dub Techno to a more fluid, contemporary club language. Copyright 2026 The Third Room A1 Written and Produced by Peter Kuschnereit & Rene Loewe | A2 Written and Produced by Bryan Mueller | B1 Written and Produced by JP Lopez & Jakob Ferdinand Tils and mixed by Lurka | B2 Written and Produced by 1morning | B3 Written and Produced by Regal86 Mastered by Andreas Kauffelt (Schnittstelle Berlin) Artwork by Charlotte Ernst Design by Daniel Bornmann (STUEDIO.XYZ) Distribution by Clone Pressing by Matter Of Fact

Send Noods Records is a new label from South Africa's Reagan Ruler, who makes house so sensuous it should come with an 18+ age rating. 'Cosmic Desire' is his latest saucy number and it's buttery deep house with a cooing vocal that swirls through the mix like caramel in a galaxy bar. 'Fly' has a more jazzy, ougnehy melodic vibe to it but the drums remain cuddly warm and 'For A Moment' dials up the energy just a touch. The drums are more upright here, but the chords are still resolutely molten and the vocals are soulful accents in the mix. Gorgeous stuff that's got us keen to hear more from this label already.

Step into the backroom of the Bordello, the lights dim and the soundtrack adopts a different tone. L.F.T. leans against the wall. Nestled under his arm, Sonic Boom: four tracks of acid-inflected electro disruption. Love, Fist, Tears is no stranger to the more gnarled side of the machines, and that unadulterated rawness is evident from the needle drop of “Locked in My Head.” From its bent and buckled intro, the track launches a beat that punches before drawing the listener in for more. Vocoder lyrics are mangled with distortion, static soaked chords blighted by corrosive chemicals and industrial decay as the knives are drawn from the outset (and this is only the beginning). Blistered and cracked beats are doused in a pestilent haze for “Las Plagas” and a message of intent is firmly stated: there will be no let up on Sonic Boom, no reprieve. “Ningen” opens the flip. Grisly, petrol smeared beats splutter below a juddering synthline that coils and twists with serpentine menace. A probing tom is lanced before being set alight in the finale. Sinister and unsettling, “Schmutzig Personality” is as physically powerful as it is psychologically gripping. Barrages of drums rain down, barbed snares and sharpened claps, as an assault of acid is further weaponised by machined vocals. L.F.T. doing what he does with an EP that will leave bodies and speakers broken.

Charles Webster was one of the architects of the early UK house scene but has never got the flowers he deserves. Maybe this first win a new series of reissues from his incredible vaults, will change it. Unreleased Stuff comes on Remote and opens with a louche tech house sound that's deep and emotionally dialled in. 'Don't Work' is great advice for anyone as well as being a humid house roller for the backroom. 'How To Live' brings more of a steamy energy that encourages you to get up on your toes and then 'Bad Year' slows it down and layers in some lovely liquid West Coast chords. Two more brilliantly vibey cuts close an EP that must not be sniffed at.

Mihail A. Popov is a Russian with two decades in the game behind him, partly under his given name, but half of that time has also seen him work as I Gemin. Now he lands on Deeppa Records with a conceptual EP "built around depth, patience and underground exploration." The aim is to explore all new musical ground and follow newly emerging paths, and the result is a fine four-tracker. 'Like The Star' is a lush, deep nu-disco jam, 'Love Undercover' has a seductive slide to the live-sounding drums and playfulness in the horns, while 'Terra Incognita' brings jazzy chords and a balmy late-night warmth. 'Melancholy' gets more heavy and roughed up with smudged neo-soul and r&b samples, making it a romantic affair. Kid Sublime and 6th Borough Project drop remixes that bring more club-ready grooves and complete a superb EP.

Galcher Lustwerk's 'Vestibule EP' is one of the best of the year if you ask us, (and the remix package by some genuine heavyweights is also worth seeking out). That the leftfield US producer is now back with another outing is literal and metaphorical music to our ears. This one strips away his usual muttered vocals and opens with the stuttering, dubby rhythms of 'North Coast Nostalgia' before 'Cat Video' suspends you in uneasy synths and a skeletal minimal rhythm. 'Thick Description is a deeper, more insular sound for the afters and 'Mock Tudor' is dusty, beautifully imperfect analogue house that is scuffed up and soulful in Lustwerk's signature low-key style.

We a re happy to welcome back the wonderful Lis Sarroca! After her heavy debut on CHIWAX
5 years ago, it was more than about time to bring this great artist back to out label pool.
This upcoming release on RAWAX shows again Lis' big range of music. Future -Retro-Techno at it best!
Highly recommended!

ICE CASTLES, Larry Heard's downtempo ambient, deep house masterpiece available on vinyl again. After nearly three decades out of print, Larry Heard's Ice Castles is finally getting the reissue people have been asking for. Originally released in 1995 (as Sceneries Not Songs - Volume Tu), Ice Castles stands out as one of the most overlooked, but essential records in deep house and downtempo. A hazy, RnB, jazz-inflected suite of tracks from the genre's original architect. Forming a blueprint for his release in the decades to come. From the shimmering ''Crystal Fantasy'' to the aching title track, this is Heard at his most intimate: less dancefloor, more personal. Now, for the first time since 1998, it's back on vinyl. Remastered and expanded to a full double LP with all tracks.

Paraiso has been doing vital work in Portugal - documenting the underground dance scene's history and pioneers in various mediums while also showcasing equally brilliant artists from newer generations. And they've been doing it for a decade now: we all know that a label dedicated to its local scene through and through is something rare and should be celebrated. This compilation 'X - 10 Years of Underground House Music from a Paradise Called Portugal' is a manifestation of that cross-generational spirit, with ten never-before-heard pieces of music by initiators and legends like The Advent alongside more recent veterans like Roundhouse Kick and Vil or younger talent like Phoebe or Van Der. Things start off with Salbany's 'Trax 10', oozing a techno elegance and irrefutable groove that wonderfully portrays the spirit of the Lisbon sound: raw yet ethereal, disarming in its simplicity while containing rave, romance and rhythmic complexities. Label founders Maria Amor & Shcuro firmly carry on the torch with 'Intracellular', gelled by dubby washes, syncopated drums, infectious rhythmic sense and layered with a melodic vocal motif. Vil's 'Cave' brings in stone-cold tight percussion offset by rich, evocative pads and technoid know-how for days. The Advent steps in with an ode to acid-minimalism, raw and slow-burning, with curious and twisted moments peppered with the skill of an expert. Van Der storms in with a piece of hybrid qualities, impeccably blending a swing onto industrial territories for a hypnotic-yet-banging hands in the air dancefloor moment. Scam Dust (the duo of Tiago and Shcuro, from adjacent generations) picks up on the industrial flavours, adds furious jacking rhythmics and live sonic experimentation that takes us to peak-quality effect and noise manipulation. 'Subvert' follows and goes deeper, as if into the depths of the ocean, with aquatic arpeggios and sparse drums that morph into an 303-driven state of mysterious oceanfloor mania - Roundhouse Kick sending us messages from the South. Violet and her 'Dream Machine' emerge with its mutant noisy motif, delay-drenched percussion and steady beat interrupted by keys, drum variations - and a u-turn to its paranoid loopy beginnings. Phoebe enters the chat and brings sonic sun rays in 'Galaxia 2000', a wide-eyed moment lead by colourful, open synthesisers with gates and filters taking us on a beautiful ride on tense, swingy drum patterns. The tenth track comes from Lisbon's rkeat and is full of closing act ear-candy with its beautifully chiseled, groovy as hell percussion, organic sonics and metallic instruments that seem to announce that the next decade is about to be just as good, if not better than this lovely 2016-2026 stint of boundary and scene-pushing.

Two tracks extending towards the 10 minute marker, very much in the unique style of Robert Mononom which was already being refined throughout his previous 3 EPs, now culminating in 2 excursions throughout deep hypnotic/psychedelic machine made sounds. A side is built on an aggressive triple and double beat kick drum with a very dubby "big room" presence upon which waves of other nuances in noise get overlayed slowly transforming the 165+ BPM experience throughout what sounds like an extended live mix. B side goes in more spacial/atmospheric direction where hi hats take control over the kick, capturing the witness in a whirlwind of dubbed out overlaying rhythmic patterns. A sound so raw and pure in its introspection, clearly showing Robert's capacity of developing an aesthetic of his own.

After years of steadily building momentum within the deeper side of drum & bass, Monika now delivers his long-awaited debut album, How We Saw Forever, landing this August on Spearhead Records.

UK-born and now based in New Zealand, Monika has developed a sound that blends deep rolling grooves, soulful textures, delicate musicality and moments of genuine emotional weight. Across the album he moves effortlessly between late-night introspection, euphoric warmth and darker, more experimental territory, showcasing an artist fully confident in his own sonic identity.

Having already made a strong impression through previous releases on Spearhead and appearances across the label’s 20-year anniversary campaign, How We Saw Forever feels like a major step forward creatively. From the haunting beauty of “What Turns Your World” featuring Oktae, through to the nostalgic rave energy of “Mango Pop” and the weightier pressure of “Syndicate”, the album captures Monika’s ability to balance emotion, atmosphere and dancefloor impact without ever feeling formulaic.

At its core, How We Saw Forever is an album about atmosphere, memory and emotion, music designed equally for solitary headphone moments and packed dancefloors at sunrise. There’s a cinematic thread running throughout the project, but also a raw honesty that gives the album its real depth.

Speaking about the album, Monika says:
“This project became a reflection of so many different seasons of life over the last few years. Some tracks came from really emotional places, others were written purely from joy and escapism, but together they tell the story of where I’ve been creatively and personally. I wanted the album to feel immersive, something people could disappear into.”

Released via BCee’s Spearhead Records — a label long celebrated for championing soulful and emotionally rich drum & bass. How We Saw Forever marks another exciting chapter for both Monika and the wider Spearhead family.

Compiled onto one vinyl album for the first time, Landlocked (Numbers, 2026) presents Hallucinator’s 1999 debut album originally released under Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald’s label Chain Reaction. Writing much surrounding the culture of what would be later considered ‘Dub Techno’ and its’ primary distribution center, Hard Wax, leads one down roads of shifting primary sources and decades old overheard smoke break recollections. Maybe brevity primes the listener to the paralinguistic to approach the sound on its terms; focusing on how things are uttered and not what.

This theory will remain unconfirmed. Hallucinator original press release left us with three or so gestures to consider over the years since:

“A new act on CHAIN REACTION”s distinct productional thesis. HALLUCINATOR are 3 people from he UK/London and this their first release ever- that’s all what the artists want to let us know…. This record is dedidacted to the memory of Stephen Lawrence!”

The first gesture is one of personnel. Since ’99, we’ve gotten to learn a bit more about the artists behind the Hallucinator project. All London-based, all writers, composers, and sound-designers— Anna Piva, Edward George, Trevor Mathison. These three seem to flow between parameters as aesthetic tactic and tacit structure to the work itself. For example, other collaborative shapes have come from this lineup including Flow Motion (Piva, George and Mathison) as well as the now defunct Black Audio Film Collective of which George and Mathison are founding members.

The second gesture is in the second line of the previous press release, “distinct productional thesis.” Much of Landlocked’s affect and sequencing seems to suggest an emotional study of entropy at the level of sediment. Rhythms play with space and capacity through polyvalence. The production chose subtractive vertigo, often switching and bringing back in elements that vanished from the track 6 minutes ago. Dubbing out so much of a track, one begins to associate sound akin to memories held in the experience of running your hand across a concrete block as a child. Felt (re)memberance in lieu of narrative tale. Using textures that flicker between colour and percussion, Hallucinator’s 12-tracker of loudspeaker perception music might be a mediation on the psychic wake of the Cold War. Intermittent strata of ambience and groove convects an active margin rifting event underneath a scorched geology of power in Western Europe. Again, this is all grapevine hearsay.

But it’s silence that voices the third gesture. The album’s sparse application of the written word touches on the ennui paradox of being landlocked on an island. Stuck. Trapped in the psychosis of occidental hypercentricism. A looping silence of Black British tragedy: “to the memory of Stephen Lawrence”. 18 year-old Lawrence was stabbed to death at a bus stop in southeast London by six white men in 1993. The rift of grief and implicit reiteration of modern subordination left by this hate act went legally silent for almost two decades until Lawrence’s killers were ultimately sentenced to virtually life in jail in 2012. Only six years removed at the time of Hallucinator’s initial invocation of rememory, the mind-numbing accretion of what Black Studies Professor Denise Ferreira da Silva might call “unpayable debt”, finds demonic ground across Landlocked, forming an aural sense of what continues to be refused.

The album ventures through spaces of overactive non-happenings: ‘Red Angel’’s factory floor dub flashes between smokestack and jungle visions, or the halfway mark’s stilted breath of ‘Dusk’ lending its mood to the sort of sedated dreams built from daily life under colony rule for instance. That linked rhythm links us back to our linked fates across Black and Brown folk is real, thus the syncopated signals through this work behave on the level of transnational radiotelegraphy, sounding out its windswept tension of a body negotiating a meat-grinder schema of linear production and wage for others to know that unspeakable thing can be broadcast in every drum tongue.

As the silence continues to reverb, we return to the sort of meaning-making that cannot be told but felt. Soothing to some, disturbing to others. Landlocked, a Rorschach test for a crumbled empire.