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Zooparty sind international betrachtet so etwas wie Spätzünder, wenngleich sie in der skandinavischen Punkszene seit zwei Jahrzehnten eine high credibility genießen (Skrutt Magazine: "So damn good, I really love this group") und Kenner ihre Alben im Plattenschrank schon lange wie einen raren Schatz aufbewahren. Als die Band 2024 ihr Album "No matter what you say" veröffentlichte, bemerkte nicht nur das legendäre "Maximum RocknRoll" US-Magazine, dass "I am, in fact, late to the party with this band. Fortunately, they're still raging. They fucking rock Yay, I love this. Hats off " Die mitreißende Mixtur aus poppigem Punk, englischem 77er-Punkrock, Glam und ehrlichem Streetrock'n'Roll. (Ox-Fanzine) spricht eigentlich für sich selbst und obwohl Punk-Legenden wie Glen Matlock von den Sex Pistols, Brian James/ The Damned und sogar KISS-Gitarrist Bruce Kulick ihr Potential erkannten und Songs mit Zooparty aufnahmen, sind die Schweden einfach immer zu bescheiden gewesen, um sich groß ins Rampenlicht zu rücken. Eigentlich ist jedes ihrer Alben bisher ein Volltreffer gewesen oder wie schon Englands Mass Movement Fanzine 2018 schrieb: "If you like your punk with a pop edge and relish the classic Fat Wreck Chords period, then Zooparty may well have created your favourite album of the year! Pogo, pogo!" Ihr neues Album "XX" zum 20jährigen Jubiläum steht dem in nichts nach. Jede Band bezeichnet ihr neues Album als "Ihr Bestes". Zooparty darf man das aber getrost glauben: "XX" ist voller fesselnder Punkrock-Songs, die Aggression mit Wut, Verzweiflung und der klarer Message mit einem Sound verbinden. Mit Lieder wie "Stop it now" und "An eye for an eye" fassen sie alles zusammen, was Punk seit Jahrzehnten so faszinierend macht, bringen es in die Zukunft und machen daraus ihre eigene, "pogotastische Mischung" aus Tragik und Melodie. Mit dem Black Sabbath-Cover "Never say die" verabschieden sich Zooparty zusammen mit "Nomads"-Gitarrist Hans Östlund auf ihre Art von der Legende Ozzy Osbourne. Apropos Sound: Mastermind Chips Kiesbye (Sator, Nomads, The Hellacopters, etc) hat es sich auch diesmal nicht nehmen lassen, das Album zu produzieren.

„Live in Japan“ ist ein Doppel-Livealbum von George Harrison, das ursprünglich im Juli 1992 erschien. Es
entstand während Harrisons Japan-Tournee 1991 – seiner ersten kompletten Konzertreihe seit den 1970erJahren – und präsentiert eine Mischung aus Solomaterial und legendären Beatles-Songs, alle begleitet von
Clapton und seiner erfahrenen Band. Es war Harrisons zweite offzielle Live-Veröffentlichung nach dem
bahnbrechenden „Concert for Bangladesh“ zwei Jahrzehnte zuvor.

The breakthrough album. Enrico Rava's second solo record, recorded in Milan in January 1973 and released on the German BASF label, is nothing less than a cornerstone of Italian jazz-rock - the record that caught Manfred Eicher's attention and opened the doors to ECM. Rava himself has called it his breakthrough, and history proved him right.

The lineup is killer: John Abercrombie on guitar, Bruce Johnson on bass, Chip White on drums. Four musicians operating at the absolute peak of early seventies fusion energy - electric, cosmopolitan, burning with that particular fire that only existed in that brief window when jazz met rock and nobody knew the rules yet. Abercrombie, already on his way to becoming one of the most distinctive voices in electric jazz guitar, delivers some of his most ferocious early work here. White's drumming is relentless, pushing the music forward with an intensity that never lets up.

If Miles' Bitches Brew-era speaks to you, if Ian Carr's Nucleus gets you moving, if you know Sun Ra's Lanquidity and Don Cherry's Relativity Suite by heart - this is essential listening. Rava's vision was already fully formed: South American rhythms, Mediterranean warmth, free jazz ferocity, rock power - all flowing together without borders or categories. By the early seventies, Rava had absorbed everything - the New Thing, the European free scene, the electric revolution coming out of Miles' studio - and forged something entirely his own.

The seven tracks cover serious ground. "Bunny's Pie" introduces the music with an almost cosmic atmosphere of suspense, hovering in that liminal space before it trails off into the up-tempo vibrant frenzy of "Trial N. 5" - Abercrombie and Rava trading swirling solos at full intensity, the rhythm section locked in tight. "Dimenticare Stanca" moves from Rava's expressive balladic intro into pure funk, guitar and trumpet steering over the rhythmic drive with absolute confidence. The title track carries the lyrical feel and cadence of an Incan-Peruvian folksong - that cosmopolitan spirit made audible. "Fluid Connection" rides a funky bass riff into fusion heaven, with standout trumpet and guitar solos that build and release with perfect tension. "Cheerin' Cherry" pays homage to the great Don Cherry - Rava's spiritual mentor and fellow traveler in world music - exploring a North African soundscape that points toward the global jazz to come. Johnson's "Peace" closes the album with a minute and a half of serene, blissful calm - a moment of stillness after the storm.

This audiophile reissue - cut from the original masters, pressed by Pallas in Germany on 180gm vinyl, housed in a thick laminated hand-glued gatefold - does full justice to an album that remains a collector's holy grail.

Don't sleep on this one. Limited Edition.

It's hard to fathom Martin Bramah's trajectory from his beginnings as a guitarist/writer behind two crazily influential postpunk albums - The Fall's Live At The Witch Trials and Blue Orchids' The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) (vocalist on the latter too, of course) - then nearly three decades of sporadic-at-best activity, offering releases just frequently enough to remind fans of his peculiar brilliance . . . before another stay in the void. Chalk it up to what you want - Mark E. Smith's utter usurpation of The Fall, his split from partner Una Baines after Blue Orchids' debut, the vague collapse of rash experimentation in `underground' music as early `80s nu-pop and American college rock diluted any real spirit, a few failed attempts at working with with Mark again . . . and maybe just life getting in the way. A sense of lost opportunities isn't tough to justify. Inasmuch as Martin was originally the singer for The Fall - Mark began as guitarist but couldn't play! - and given that the group's mythology was born in an era before that gang of Mancunian misfits had even thought of playing, it's high irony that 49 years after The Fall began, Martin has both become wildly prolific and the leader of a band with more rights of inheritance to The Fall's credibility than any other living person could justify . . .yet the band isn't remarkable for that as it is for the range and wealth extent of their collective powers and talent: two great and original guitarists, three of the UK's most daringly-skilled drummers, a genuine bass legend, and a brilliant spare Blue Orchid guitarist. Four albums in, the HOUSE Of ALL is getting ambitious, with each album a subtle improvement on the last, forging a path away from their pasts without denying a thing. Inklings differs from the first three for not having being largely improvised at first, with sounds, rhythm, groove and melody later forged into songs. They rehearsed! They had fun doing it! They're going on an extended tour! There were even extra tracks! We'll leave it to fans and critics to sit down and analyse the specifics of it all, but Steve, Si, Pete, Phil, Karl and Martin have made a bold and powerful album unlike any other you'll hear in 2026 . . . stately, majestic, bold and worthy of a group of real survivors. In perverse form, the album will be officially announced and preceded by a song not on the album!

The timeless brick breaker is back in a completely modernized version! Composed by Xavier Thiry, the game's original soundtrack is adaptive and progressive, and fits perfectly into the game experience offered.

Xavier Thiry is a composer, director and producer working in the worlds of music, TV, advertising and cinema. He has worked on many soundtracks for Pastagames, but also Arte, Darjeeling, DotEmu, Arkedo, and many others. The Arkanoid Eternal Battle soundtrack is his first original creation for Microids.

ESCAPE-ISM — the found-sound dreamdrama— are back in action & out in front. And this time, they’re leading a “Charge of the Love Brigade. ”This “charge” isn’t the traditional scramble across a muddy, bloody field though, like in the days of yore. This one is a furtive insinuation into the senses of the tuned-in listener.
Their fifth record, and fourth “sound” record — (the third one was “A Protest Against Sound”- an entirely silent LP) — “Charge of the Love Brigade” is revolutionary in its own right. Besides being packed with tunes — super-hits such as “Black Gold,” “Last Of The Sellouts,” “The Rebel Outlaw,” & “Fire in Malibu,” for exam- ple, Charge of the Love Brigade proposes a reformation of the traditional notes and scales; an entire new sound alphabet!
That’s right, ESCAPE-ISM —the “act of musical vandalism”— famous for their development of new prototypes for stomping & smashing, are reforming the scales, chords, & notes (e.g. A, B, F#, etc) that comprise musical literacy to achieve the group’s primary aim: the repurposing of music as we know it. Though many musicians of note have operated their instruments with "alternative tunings," up until now no one has obliterated tuning absolutely or abolished letter-notes for the destruction of bourgeois society.
According to ESCAPE-ISM, this will have a very profound effect: “Music will no longer be cordoned off from the rest of experience as a commodified, specialty freak show, but instead be a pastime which can be prac- ticed and enjoyed –not only by non-musicians and amateurs– but also by plant life, wild animals, and even inanimate objects such as rocks.
“The violent overthrow of musical conventions will lead to the reintegration of humanity into the natural order, the reordering of life itself into a cosmic congruity. This means the convention of time itself will be ended.” Like so-called nature itself, the ESCAPE-ISM group is also on a “loop.”
Play “Charge of the Love Brigade” and listen as ESCAPE-ISM go “over the top” against the note-letters of accepted musicality in a world premiere of a new upside-down antiscale.

For the first time in more than a decade, Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) presents a solo album – 100% Tiki.

Over his 30-plus year career, St. Hilaire has become one of dance music’s quietly legendary figures. Born and raised in Dominica, he moved to Berlin in 1994 and has lent both his voice and his musicianship to some of the most iconic electronic music from the German capital – and beyond. Renowned for his collaborations with Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus (AKA Rhythm & Sound), he has also appeared on records with Deadbeat, Rhauder, Larry Heard aka Mr. Fingers and Stereotyp (G-Stone Recordings), amongst others.

However, few know the extent of St. Hilaire’s compositional and technical mastery. From his home studio in Kreuzberg, which includes an extensive collection of vintage hardware, self-built instruments and notebooks scribbled with endless lyrics, he has created a vast archive of material spanning ambient dub, avant-jazz, lush techno and lovers rock.

Tikiman Vol. 1 is a heady, downtempo tour de force of patois metaphors on education, displacement and personal vs. global histories, as is evident on slippy album opener “Bedroom in My Bag”: Mister, mister / Where are you going? / I’m heading for a faraway land / What are you having in the bag in your hand? / Help us to understand / He said, I’ve got my bedroom in my bag.

Overall, the album’s lyrics reflect on life between Berlin and Dominica, specifically St. Hilaire’s hometown of Grand Bay, where he has worked with various musicians famous for the island’s different genres of carnival music. St. Hilaire himself always favoured the island’s more “discrete” music, developing a sonic synergy between two different geographical strains of groove and minimalism, and combining them with foundational Caribbean mixing techniques, which provide the basis for his songwriting and distinct
baritone.

Tikiman Vol.1 offers a rare insight into St. Hilaire’s complex artistry, from the eyes-down grooves of “Little Way” and the guitar-heavy digi dancehall experiment “Keep Safe,” to the subtle hypnosis of “Ten to One” and the softly crashing synth waves of closer “Three And A Half”, evoking not only beaches but also coasts and borders. It’s a fitting expression of both the breadth of St. Hilaire’s work, as well as his history as one of the few black, Berlin-based artists who, despite remaining largely overlooked, has influenced the city’s electronic music culture since its beginnings.


Credits
Written & Produced by Paul St. Hilaire
Mastered by Stefan Betke
Artwork by Grant Gibson

Kynant Records was founded in 2015 by Richard Akingbehin, a British-Nigerian radio programmer (Refuge Worldwide), music writer and DJ. Originally specialising in deep techno and featuring artists such as Cio D’Or, Terrence Dixon and Donato Dozzy, Kynant has since launched a sub-label Kynant EX which focuses on ambient, dub and experimental electronics.

Repress!

Legendary NYC house label Strictly Rhythm is celebrating a mammoth 3 decades of cutting edge, roof-raising house music. Truly a benchmark.

Originally founded in 1989 by the dynamic pairing of music industry man Mark Finkelstein and A&R expert Gladys Pizarro, Strictly tapped directly into the fertile New York underground and after hours club scene, helping to launch and bolster the recording careers of dance music luminaries like Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Ultra Nate, Todd Terry, Wamdue Project, DJ Sneak, Louie Vega and many more. Strictly Rhythm is easily one of the most recognisable and respected dance music powerhouses of all time.

Across 3 limited double vinyl offerings, the Strictly catalogue has been expertly picked over to present you with a snapshot of some of the most earth shattering house music to emanate from the streets of New York City. A who's who of producers and artists, all killer and no filler. End to end classics that help to tell the story of one of dance music's most well loved labels. Classic cuts and essentials from DJ Sneak, Wamdue Project, Louie Vega (Sole Fusion), Essence and more all feature on part 2 in their unedited, 12" mix glory.

Fully legit, remastered and selected with love courtesy of Strictly Rhythm and Above Board distribution for 2020. Happy birthday Strictly Rhythm!

Green Arrow Sound System is the DUB sound system from Paris, organising underground parties all around the city and the country. Home-made SUB is the rule here.

The label is directly from DUB DIGGLER, the manager of this project.

StayReo, the official Graphist of Green Arrow, is a major StreetArtist from Montreuil/Paris, as well as a great DJ and party provider

This production is a true Underground Project from Paris defending Street & Sound System Cultures !

Repress!

Legendary NYC house label Strictly Rhythm is celebrating a mammoth 3 decades of cutting edge, roof-raising house music. Truly a benchmark. Originally founded in 1989 by the dynamic pairing of music industry man Mark Finkelstein and A&R expert Gladys Pizarro, Strictly tapped directly into the fertile New York underground and after hours club scene, helping to launch and bolster the recording careers of dance music luminaries like Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Ultra Nate, Todd Terry, Wamdue Project, DJ Sneak, Louie Vega and many more. Strictly Rhythm is easily one of the most recognisable and respected dance music powerhouses of all time.

Across 3 limited double vinyl offerings, the Strictly catalogue has been expertly picked over to present you with a snapshot of some of the most earth shattering house music to emanate from the streets of New York City. A who's who of producers and artists, all killer and no filler. End to end classics that help to tell the story of one of dance music's most well loved labels. Classic cuts and essentials from Danny Tenaglia (Code 718), George Morel, Kerri Chandler (KCYC), Louie Vega and more all feature on part 1 in their unedited, 12" mix glory.

Fully legit, remastered and selected with love courtesy of Strictly Rhythm and Above Board distribution for 2020. Happy birthday Strictly Rhythm!

The Golden Age of southern soul lasted from about 1962 to 1975, when disco ripped the heart out of it. And although it may seem as though the blend of country, gospel and R & B that emerged from the great studios in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in that decade was entirely fresh and new, like any other genre classic, southern soul picked up musical cues and absorbed influences from a whole variety of sources: horn lines from Louisiana's swamp pop, lyrical themes from the blues, songs from country music, and of course so, so much from the black churches. Part of the 'History of Soul' series, this LP reveals the musical antecedents that gave southern soul its inspiration. The music here will tell you the real story - and it will knock your socks off too! Notes by John Ridley.

Freiburgs DAS BLANKE EXTREM meldet sich nach 5 Jahren mit dem dritten Album zurück. Darauf lädt die Band zum wilden Ritt auf dem Dachfirst und zum Wände einreißen im Keller. Bis die Statik bedenklich wankt. PREKÄR ist kein Protestalbum, sondern die in Marmor gemeißelte Einladung zum Untergang. Es ist die Erkenntnis, dass Überfluss und Abgrund die besten Freunde sind. PREKÄR ist durch und durch Post-Punk. Auf ihrem dritten Album folgt DAS BLANKE EXTREM aber der konsequenten Weiterentwicklung ihres individuellen Stils, der so manche Schublade öffnet, ohne jedoch hineinzufallen. Von verträumt-verspielt bis schnörkellos-direkt treffen kantige Basslinien, flirrende Gitarren und ein stoisches Schlagzeug auf Texte, die mal schonungslos persönlich, mal hoffnungslos prophetisch sind. Und trotzdem: Wer sich nach dem Hören von PREKÄR beim Blick in den Spiegel erschrocken wiedererkennt, ist geneigt, die Verzweiflung doch noch einmal an den Nagel zu hängen.

Rising singer-songwriter Hetta Falzon announces her debut EP ‘Henrietta’, due for release on March 13th. Marking a new chapter for the Manchester-based artist, the EP captures Hetta at her most self-aware and emotionally articulate yet - balancing tenderness, humour and quiet self-reckoning across a collection of deeply personal songs. Following recent releases ‘Thank God It’s Mum’s (Live at Mum’s)’, ‘The Rabbit Hole’ and ‘I Hope You Notice Me’, Henrietta expands Hetta’s soft, soulful world while keeping its emotional core intact. Where earlier releases leaned into stillness and vulnerability, the EP introduces moments of lightness and observational wit - songs that don’t shy away from heartbreak, but aren’t afraid to smile at it either.

Rather than yielding to despair in these troubled times and offering listeners a rope to hang themselves, Zimmermann (trombonist for Claude Nougaro, Manu Dibango, and Tony Allen) playfully grants them another option - a humorous sarcasm! He mocks the vain shelters of the powerful with the tune "My Little Sweet NZ Bunker", denounces the manufacture of one- track minds with "Les maximiseurs de PI", and escapism with the classic satirical Mose Allison's song "Stop This World (let me off" (translated and sung in French) In more tender moments, he reflects on the intimate consequences of this global unraveling.

Daniel Zimmerman's style, both as a composer and soloist, is that of a melodist above all else; disregarding concepts, he sings and seeks to go straight to the heart. He was voted 'Trombonist of the Year' by Jazz Magazine (Frances most influential jazz publication) in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

B. Chamber (Stratum A), by B. Close, is the first full length solo release by Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary artist Brian Close. The first of two volumes assembled from some thirteen hours of music produced by Close while residing in Connecticut from 2021-2025, B. Chamber (Stratum A) offers a vivid, fractal afterimage of a prolific, specific time and space in the artist’s oeuvre.

After leaving New York City early in the pandemic to a farmhouse in the countryside with dedicated spaces for multiple sound stations, Close developed an intensive daily practice of melding with the machines. The vast, pastoral backdrop of rural CT provided inspiration and contrast for his ongoing investigations into dynamic, poly-rhythmic electronic music. The sounds on B. Chamber (Stratum A) range from the machine-modeling of acoustic instruments and natural environments to the utterly unhuman, spinning on the axis between crystalline, pointillist precision and shifty blown-cone distortion. Close’s atypical interpretations of rhythm, noise and other undefined musics land in a hybrid zone of their own.

Throughout B. Chamber (Stratum A), Close’s productions are in perpetual motion. Foxtrot’s shifting hi-hats and disembodied voices rise like cicadas propelled by glitching machines and tangled rhythms, Many Drive draws momentum from dubby stabs and twinkling atmospherics. Character Community’s nimble, drifting snares and erratic static are uplifted by swelling synths, and Mpan’s modular mining forgoes drums but is no less propulsive for it. Acre Voices’ seasick pads and deft drum patterns tap an energizing nerve, and closer 5D Bow’s ambush of pummeling machine gun fire spirals into the tryptamine palace and emerges completely rinsed and refreshed.

Equally powerful in the club as in the outdoors, in the headphones eyes closed or on the move, B. Chamber (Stratum A) grants an immersive temporary trip on B. Close’s unique wavelength, with Stratum B to complete the picture in the summer of 2026.

RIYL - Mark Fell, muay thai, Vladislav Delay, gaming, Errorsmith, modular synthesizer.

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Brian Close (b. 1979, NYC) uses the cold logic of mathematics to trigger states of total sensory displacement. Close co-founded multiple AV studios to explore the "hypnotic"—a ritualistic practice of motional-graphism and improvisational sound. His work is a study in synesthesia and the architecture of trance, using geometric precision to dissolve the sense of time. It is a digital-visceral experience built on heavy logic, designed for large-scale immersion and timelessness.

Close is one half of Georgia who have released records on Palto Flats, Firecracker Recordings, Meakusma, Youth, OOH-Sounds and EM Records, and have a long-running residency on NTS.

B. Chamber was written, produced and mixed by Brian Close.
Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Artwork by Brian Close.

Die 1993 in Oxford gegründete Band Supergrass, Gewinner der BRIT Awards, Q Awards, NME Awards
und des Ivor Novello Awards, zählt zu den einflussreichsten Bands der 1990er Jahre. Sie verkaufte mehrere
Millionen Tonträger, landete sechs Top-10-Alben und zehn Top-20-Singles in Großbritannien. Ihr für den
Mercury Prize nominiertes Debütalbum „I Should Coco“, das Platz 1 der Charts erreichte, katapultierte
sie ins Bewusstsein der Öffentlichkeit, nicht zuletzt dank ihrer Nummer-eins-Single „Alright“ aus dem Jahr
1995. Die Band feierte das 30-jährige Jubiläum ihres legendären Albums „I Should Coco“, das neben dem
Welthit „Alright“ auch die Fanfavoriten „Caught by the Fuzz“, „Lenny“ und „Mansize Rooster“ enthält.
Um dieses Jubiläum gebührend zu feiern, kam die Gruppe für eine Welttournee wieder zusammen. Im
Mai 2025 spielten sie unter anderem eine ausverkaufte Tournee durch Großbritannien und Irland (mit drei
Konzerten im Londoner Roundhouse) sowie Konzerte in Australien, Südamerika und Nordamerika. Sie
traten auch auf mehreren großen Festivals auf, darunter dem legendären Glastonbury Festival.
„I Should Coco“ ist jetzt als schwarze LP mit bedruckter Innenhülle erhältlich.

Placid aka Paul Wise is the operator in chief at ‘We’re Going Deep’ – an online community and record label born out of a lifelong love affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm, and an obsession for collecting records since 1988. With a mission to share and release new music via his We’re Going Deep and We’re Going Back imprints, you’ll find only the best in underground Acid, Electro, IDM, Techno and House for the dance floor and your listening pleasure.

Up next in the label series, We’re Going Deep is excited to welcome 4 tracks of fresh material from pivotal electronic music maker Gerard Hanson, under his much prized E.R.P. alias. Renown for keeping his profile below the radar and letting the machines do all the talking for him. Hanson’s work as a producer has been much coveted since his debut back in the mid 90s as Convextion. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, he has become something of a hero in the underground Electro community. His work as E.R.P. has left a huge impression on labels such as Frustrated Funk, Bleep43 and Semantica over the years. Renown for his distinctive shimmering machine funk aesthetic, he ably summons the outer reaches of deep space listening thanks to his innate mastery of brooding, sci-fi soundscapes that few can equal.

Following releases for Apnea and Synchrophone, Hanson lifts off with a heartfelt tribute to our recently departed friend James Baker on ‘One4ReKab’. Ascending with the pulse of a steady kick drum, precision snares take hold as whispered vocals seep in and out of consciousness. Underpinned by trademark angular bass tones, soaring strings inject a deep sense of foreboding as all the parts fuse with a fierce glow. Stepping things a notch back as the sonic trajectory levels out, ‘Onward’ takes a more contemplative stance in a fusion of hypnotic drum programming that leads the fray whilst subtle arpeggios flow, all whilst wistful melodies wind you in.

Over on the flipside, Hanson revisits his 2008 composition “Multipole Vector” to launch yet another interstellar cruise by mission in the shape of “Multipole Vector II”. Leading with the simplest of bass progressions and metronomic beat programming, twinkling synth elements reach across the void as chords sweep to and fro to powerful effect. Ending out on the uplifting yet almost IDM inflected tones of “Self Unemployed”, this low tempo air rounds the EP off on an equally captivating note filled with playful charm, that makes this collection of music all the more pleasing.

Repress.

Just one week after the outbreak of the First Intifada in 1987, Riad Awwad brought his sisters Hanan, Alia and Nariman together in their living room and began recording The Intifada album on equipment he had made himself. One of these was co-written with their friend, the acclaimed Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish. Riad printed 3000 copies of the cassettes which he began distributing in the Old City of Jerusalem and across the West Bank. The Israeli Army immediately confiscated all the copies they could find, the vast majority of which remain in the military archives to this day. Riad was arrested, interrogated and detained for several months. Straight after his release, he formed a band, Palestinian Union, and put out a new album. He then founded a school, offering kids in the West Bank an alternative musical education, teaching them how to create their own electronic equipment. In 2005, Riad was tragically killed in a car accident. His legacy lives on through his family, his timeless music and his powerful story, which continues to inspire to this day.

Over several years, Mo’min Swaitat has amassed an archive of rare tapes and vinyl from Palestine and beyond. Many of these were acquired from a former record label in his hometown of Jenin, in the north of the West Bank. The Majazz Project is a research project and record label borne out of the archive, focused around sampling, remixing and reissuing vintage Palestinian and Arabic cassettes and LPs, shedding new light on the richness and diversity of Arabic musical heritage.

Green Arrow Sound System is the DUB sound system from Paris, organising underground parties all around the city and the country. Home-made SUB is the rule here.

The label is directly from DUB DIGGLER, the manager of this project.

StayReo, the official Graphist of Green Arrow, is a major StreetArtist from Montreuil/Paris, as well as a great DJ and party provider

This production is a true Underground Project from Paris defending Street & Sound System Cultures !

Triple J refers to him as "the multi talented creative whose chaotic and sweet energy has coined him as a force to be reckoned with both on and off the dancefloor."

In collaboration with Method Music, Impressed are proud to present STÜM's EP's SONS OF THE FOREST/ FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE, pressed together for the first time ever on limited edition vinyl. 

"a rising prospect who’ll be sound tracking so many euphoric moments in your life." JJJ

First-ever official reissue - 180g black vinyl edition

In the late 1960s, a distinctive musical movement began to flourish in Italy—while also gaining momentum abroad, particularly in France and the United Kingdom. Known as library music (or sonorization), this genre consisted of genuine music libraries created specifically to accompany audiovisual productions such as television programs, commercials, documentaries, and films.

Produced under conditions of complete artistic freedom, these recordings often defy clear categorization, as they are not tied to any single musical genre. This creative independence allowed composers—frequently working in total anonymity—to experiment boldly, crafting avant-garde and forward-thinking sounds that, in many cases, anticipated musical trends that would only become widespread years later.

Oronzo De Filippiis known not only for his contributions to library music, but also for being part of the projectThe Braen's MachinealongsideAlessandro Alessandroni, one of the most significant figures in this field.

Meccanizzazione is a fully instrumental album—as is typical of the genre—literally dominated by the distinctive sound of the harpsichord. The record essentially alternates between two main compositional approaches: on one hand, more accessible and "friendly" tracks with a refined jazz-lounge and bossa nova flavor; on the other, darker and more hypnotic pieces, whose repetitive structures vividly evoke the rhythms and mechanical pulse of the industrial world.

Soul Quest Records present the second edition of their Quest Series, a vinyl compilation featuring tracks that have previously only had digital releases.

Including music from label head, Max Sinàl & KingCrowney, Colm K alongside label co-founder Slxm Sol, Real Love Seeker x BB James & Berkely Hunt with a killer remix from Atlanta’s Stefan Ringer!

Soul Quest present the second edition of their Quest Series, a vinyl compilation featuring tracks that have previously only had digital releases. First up, label co-founder Max Sinàl once again teams up with label mainstay KingCrowney with ‘All Night’, a bumpy dance floor friendly groover featuring Yasmin on vocals. The track also samples an extract from Moodymann’s famous Red Bull interview, with clearance and blessings from the main man himself. Next up we have a track taken from Colm K’s ep released in the summer, ‘A Red Line In A Blue Sky’ remixed by another of the labels co-founders, Slxm Sol.

Deep, sexy grooving house with well placed vocal samples that keeps you zoned in from beginning to end. Flipping over to the b-side, we start off with Real Love Seeker x BB James with ‘I Want You’. Distinctive London flavours spoken through broken beat grooves and BB James’ captivating lyrics, ending with a gorgeous synth solo. Finally Stefan Ringer brings some ATL flavours to Berkeley Hunt’s ‘Wicked Sins’. Stefan twists the original in to a dark, enchanting roller, using the haunting vocals over a percussive groove with perfectly placed synths weaving themselves in and out.

With Motions, Black Flower presents a unique EP, a compact collection of musical organisms that simply insisted on coming into the world. During the creation of their latest LP Kinetic, an abundance of ideas emerged, far more than could fit on the album. Among these half-formed sketches were a few striking pieces with such a strong character that they refused to be left behind, and some even grew into band favourites.

Diagonal Walk, for instance, has long opened the Kinetic live set while on tour in Europe, despite not appearing on the record itself. The band loved playing it so much that they decided to bring it to its full potential: mixing it, mastering it, and ultimately giving it a physical release. The result is a track where energy swells and breaks in waves, offering groove, colour and deft counterpoint.

That momentum also elevated Out of One, Many, a meditation on polyrhythm and shimmering harmony, as well as Trip to the Store. Both pieces were further developed and now complete this new collection of tracks. The time between full studio albums has proved creatively rich for Black Flower. Motions stands as a vibrant statement of kinetic energy, and the band is thrilled to finally share it with the world.

Since 2020, 12 Inch Lovers have been releasing new samplers every year, eagerly anticipated by collectors. These samplers have now become a staple and are easily added to vinyl collections across Europe. They offer timeless classics and rare tracks that are often hard to find elsewhere.

With Samplers 11 & 12, they surprise again with a mix of modern classics and tracks that have never been released on vinyl or are difficult to find. By adding unique and exclusive tracks, the 12 Inch Lovers samplers remain innovative and high-quality. They are a must-have for DJs, collectors, and fans of contemporary classics!

SAMPLER 11

A1) Paul Kalkbrenner - No Goodbye (2019)

Berlin techno producer Paul Kalkbrenner became world-famous with his 2008 hit Sky & Sand. Since then, he has released one record after another and performed all over the world in the biggest venues and at the most renowned festivals. No Goodbye is one of his more recent hits, released in the summer of 2019.

The track was created using an a cappella he received on a demo tape while on tour. He was immediately inspired by the vocal and built his own sound and production around it. Interestingly, Kalkbrenner rarely uses vocals, but for No Goodbye he collaborated with Australian singer Chiara Hunter, giving the track a unique and instantly recognisable character. The result is a stylish, dance-floor-friendly track with a rolling house groove that quickly became a modern classic on dance floors worldwide.

A2) Water World - Give Me Love (2000)

This trance classic by Water World appeared in 2000 on the French label Adequat Records and is the perfect tune for a sunny summer evening. Warm melodies and pulsing beats instantly create that beach feeling, as if you were dancing with your feet in the sand. The record recalls Beachball by Nalin & Kane, sharing the same dreamy, sun-drenched vibe.

Behind Water World were producers Laurent David and Frédéric De Backer-names well known to many trance fans. In the nineties De Backer was active with projects such as Global Trance Mission (Dream Mission) and Y-Traxx, the trio that released the 1997 classic Mystery Land.

Give Me Love clearly bears their combined signature: euphoric, warm and melodic, with a timeless build that perfectly balances emotion and energy. The track was released on vinyl as part of Trance E.P. Vol. 01 and remains a fixture in retro-trance sets to this day.

B1) Panoramic - Colors (1996)

Colors by Panoramic is a Belgian trance classic released in 1996 on the legendary label XTC Records, a sub-label of Bonzai Records. Panoramic was a collaboration between Belgian techno icon Marco Bailey and Mauro Mirisola. The duo, also known under playful aliases such as The Coke Man & Sniff, released an EP featuring two powerful trance tracks.

We chose Colors, a tune with pure Belgian trance DNA: driving rhythm, dreamy synths and a catchy female vocal. The combination of Bailey's production expertise and Mirisola's creative touch resulted in a timeless track that still appears in many classic playlists.

B2) Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful Of Sunshine (StoneBridge Club Remix) (2008)

British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield released the album Pocketful of Sunshine in 2008, featuring the title track as a single. The original pop version became a major hit in North America, reaching the Top 5 in the US. Swedish DJ and producer StoneBridge (Sten Hallström) reworked the song into a groovy house version, released in the summer of 2008.

StoneBridge gave the upbeat pop tune a club-ready beat and an infectious piano riff that made it shine on dance floors worldwide. It was not his first time transforming pop into house gold-he had already achieved global fame with his remix of Robin S - Show Me Love (1992), one of the greatest house anthems of all time. He also remixed Sia - The Girl You Lost to Cocaine in 2008, another club favourite.

The StoneBridge Club Remix of Pocketful of Sunshine appeared on a special remix EP in July 2008 and was played endlessly in clubs-by us too, in the venues where we performed. The result is a timeless, sun-soaked house classic thatmakes sitting still impossible.

C1) Y-Traxx - Mystery Land (Fred Baker vs Mr Sam's Magical Mystery Dub Mix) (original release 1995)

Y-Traxx was a nineties trance project by DJs Laurent David and Fred Baker. This trance classic first appeared in 1995 as a B-side but gained real attention when it featured on a Paul Oakenfold mix album. Thanks to that success it received an official re-release in 1998 on the respected French label FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recordings).

In 2003 an excellent remix by Mr. Sam & Fred Baker followed on the Nebula label. That version is highly sought after on vinyl by trance collectors, and we are proud to feature it on our new sampler.

C2) Weiss - Feel My Needs (2018)

Feel My Needs by British producer Weiss (alias Richard Dinsdale) is the tune with that unmistakable old-school piano and catchy vocal that instantly pulls you onto the dance floor. Released in May 2018on the UK label Toolroom Records, the track is pure feel-good house with a modern touch. From the very first piano riff, hands go up in the air.

Toolroom even called it a "future anthem" for the summer of 2018, and indeed Feel My Needs became a huge floor-filler. The record charted high on global dance lists and gained massive popularity at festivals and clubs that year. With its warm piano chords, tight beat and soulful vocal, this is a modern house classic that will stay in the collective club memory for a long time.

D1) The Killers - Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) (2005)

American band The Killers formed in 2001 and scored a massive hit a few years later with Mr Brightside. Taken from their debut album Hot Fuss (2004), it became their biggest and best-known track-a true rock-pop anthem.

In 2005 the song was given an electronic twist when renowned producer and remixer Jacques Lu Cont (the alias of Stuart Price) created an eight-minute dance version titled Mr Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix). This remix replaced the raw rock energy with a more progressive and electronic vibe, driven by a steady beat and long build-up.

The track found a second life in club culture and quickly became a dance-floor favourite. For vinyl collectors it was an instant must-have, and to this day it stands as the perfect party closer. The Killers themselves loved it so much that they often used the remix live as an outro, followed by the original version. A remix that perfectly bridged rock and club culture-and has since become a genuine classic.

D2) Sia - Drink To Get Drunk (Different Gear Remix) (2001)

The legendary ice-cube sleeve says it all: Drink to Get Drunk was a huge club hit in the early 2000s. Released in 2001 on the UK label INCredible, a sub-label of Sony Music, it was a collaboration between British DJ duo DifferentGear (Gino Scaletti & Quinn Whalley) and singer Sia.

The producers took Sia's original song Drink to Get Drunk from her album Healing Is Difficult and gave it a complete transformation, keeping her distinctive vocal and placing it over a hypnotic progressive-house groove.

The combination of Sia's unmistakable voice and the deep, driving production hit hard: the track became hugely popular in Belgian clubs and turned into an anthem of its time. In Belgium it even reached number one in the dance chart in early 2001, and it also performed strongly in the UK and the Netherlands.

To this day it remains a nostalgic crowd-pleaser that perfectly captures the atmosphere of the early 2000s.

Following a triumphant first release, Archivio Records returns with another slab of golden era UK Techno House from a true master of the sound: Mark Ambrose

This versatile three track EP made up of 2 previously unheard and unreleased lost DAT productions, paired with a monstrous modern creation, from a man known for his uniquely trippy and boundary pushing take on the genre, presents the listener with a smorgasbord of peak time Tech House, hypnotic Techno and emotive Acid House.

The A side Mountain Storm is nothing short of an epic, instantly recognizable future classic! Punchy, percussion laden drums set the tone upfront, before a titanic, rumbling bassline blows the doors clean off! Disorienting vocals drift in and out before an eerily familiar string arrives by special delivery directly from the State of 808, building the tension required to set the stage for the main event: a haunting, poignant and highly relevant monologue for the times we find ourselves in today, delivered by a renowned, yet uncredited Jamaican poet.

B1 Get On Down takes the listener to the middle of the dancefloor, mid-set at a Techno-leaning after hours. Think Christian AB in a mischievous mood…

Obscure, industrial, fizzing drums start the show, followed by a stomping yet playful bass line, hip hop vocals urging you to get busy on the floor swirl around you, before a piercing arpeggio sends the listener to the cosmos, as the track peaks.

B2 Deep Sea couldn’t have a more appropriate name if it tried. A chugging, melancholy, submarine journey to the bottom of the Atlantic, presented at a lower BPM, making it equally perfect for the very beginning or very end of a set.

The Brooklyn-based record store proves their record label is no one hit wonder with this outstanding release from the Crayon Records head honcho. Unmissable.

Have Isaac Carter & Callum Asa made the most tasteful tech house EP of recent memory? The short answer is
yes....

Isaac and Callum, known for their respective club nights: OCHI and Planet People have been quietly chipping away at the coalface of underground dance music for quite some time now.

Isaac - perhaps known more widely as a regular at Circoloco & Phonox has shared bills with the likes of Moodyman, DJ Bone, Kai Alce, Laurent Garnier and Marcellus Pittmann whilst being championed by Joy Orbison, Ben UFO, Moxie, Seth Troxler, Raresh and Floating Points to name but a few. With such an impressive CV and wide ranging support, it’s wild to note that the first EP released on his own label, OCHI only came out in 2023. His star is clearly ascending with rapidity - so when we throw long term collaborator Callum Asa into the mix, things start to get really interesting. Calum has been running Planet People for the last couple of years, welcoming incredible names such as Shed, Surgeon, Willow, Ploy, Cooly G, Rroxymore and so many more. Steel sharpens steel and having been surrounded by such esteemed talent, it’s clearly rubbed off on the pair who present 4 polished, meticulously constructed, club ready masterpieces, each with their own distinct feel and an insatiable groove.

‘Feel Me’ sets the scene with a descending baseline that would eek a wiggle out of the most reluctant spectator. The twisted dub eeks out even more groove, locking in a more sinister bounce for the heads. By The time ‘Understand’ get’s into full swing, we’re already under the spell of Carter & Asa, this is the kind of roller that could go on forever and ever. The synth embellishments and washes of analog synth pull us deeper and deeper in, prepping us for the finale , ’Try You’ which simmers with deep, brooding intensity.

The magic of the dup’s appeal is that this EP will find its way into the bags of the deepest diggers and also appeal to a new generation of house fans. Elements of it are accessible , but in the right hands - the EP will open a portal to new worlds.

8-page lyric / drawing booklet, glossy poster, download card (inc. mp3s), white inner paper bags, sticker on cover.

After 7 strange years of relative silence, and 13 years of being a band, Dog Chocolate have returned with ‘So Inspired, So Done In’. Their fourth album is their most focused, cohesive and song-y yet. They still sound like a bin full of wasps, but now the bin has double-cream or a Viennetta or something at the bottom. While many of the 16 songs on here barely make it past the 3-minute mark, each one is bursting with all the textures and colours of an office cupboard: full of old sweets, fluorescent markers, and multiple ways to fix paper together.

Thematically, a lot of ground is covered, with songs tackling subject matter as diverse as overheard conversations, healing fungal toenails, the Rogerian concept of the Actualising Tendency, bronze age living conditions, dreaming songs into being and human-plant relations. Work (and anti-work) is a recurring theme, as is artistic inspiration and burnout. Dog Chocolate revel in the mundane and incidental, to explore bigger, existential questions. Recorded and mixed by POZI’s Toby Burroughs and mastered by Sofia Lopes, ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ charts a long and confusing period in the band’s collective life, marked by major life changes, losses and shifts, colouring the band’s trademark frantic, daft and anxious energy with a contemplative glaze. Dog Chocolate continue to investigate their internal and external landscapes with playful curiosity, frustration, silliness and empathy.

Pre/history of the band: In the early 2000’s Andrew (vocals), Rob (guitar, vocals) and Matthew (guitar, vocals) played together as teenagers in South-East London-based maximalist, costumed surrealist punk band Yeborobo. They met drummer Jonathan playing with his instrument-swapping masked band Limn at art space Utrophia in Deptford. Later, when both bands had split, Dog Chocolate formed with a shared desire to make a band that was simpler than their theatrical past: small amps and light guitars, no more than 2 drums at any one time, a keyboard no longer than a ruler and a shared ethos… “it’s about giving a shit, but at the same time not giving a shit, but not ‘whatever’, not giving up never!”. The band floated the term “pencilcase punk” to describe their jumbled, colourful, dense and instant music.

Dog Chocolate built on this early scrappiness, bedding into their sound over several albums. Their first “Or” (2014) was a split with Ravioli Me Away, soon followed by “Snack Fans” (2016) and “Moody Balloon Baby” (2018). Along the way they played gigs with bands as wide ranging as Deerhoof, No Age, Dry Cleaning, Palm, Daniel Wakeford, Shopping and Pozi.

With a tendency to converse with each other both lyrically and musically cultivated over many years, the members of Dog Chocolate bounce off each other, respectfully disagree, try to make each other laugh and share some of their most vulnerable feelings with each other. ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ is their own unique offering during these unsteady times: a language of friendship translated into songs.

- Limited edition Orange 2x12” vinyl LP.
- Housed in PMS printed inner sleeve, featuring custom fonts by No Format and spot gloss abstraction of the original album artwork.
- Accompanied with a double sided 2-panel insert and double sided 4 panel poster.
- All sleeved in a custom PMS reverse board outer sleeve with die cut square centre panel and belly band.

The Boy and the Tree was composed after a visit to Yakushima Island, an outstandingly beautiful world heritage site off the southern tip of Japan, scored by a deep, lush and ancient ravine, home of the ancient 7000-year old ‘Jōmon Sugi’. Tree. Also the inspiration for Miyazaki's epic anime Princess Mononoke, a conflict between the rampant greed and destructive force of humanity, and the stoic, mysterious fragility of nature.

This fleeting immersion in nature lent the album a profound introspection and mystery, and the its twelve tracks unfold in dream sequence, each drifting seamlessly into the next while still managing to steer the listener in myriad directions, from eerie butoh atmospheres, to ebullient raga, to desolate, cavernous chanson. The Boy And The Tree is definitely one of, if not the most, visually evocative and cinematic Yokota releases.

Svarta Havet's sophomore album out in February via Svart Records Hailing from Turku, Finland, SVARTA HAVET are set to release their sophomore album Månen ska lysa din väg for the European market via Svart Records on February 27th, 2026. Originally released by the US based Prosthetic Records in May 2025, Månen ska lysa din väg casts a critical eye over the negative effects of Western colonialism, capital greed and convenience at the cost of sustainability, presenting a rallying cry for change whilst never losing sight of the light that this world has to offer. Formed in 2018, SVARTA HAVET is a self-described dyster (gloomy) post-hardcore group born from the Finnish DIY punk and hardcore scene, with the members bonding over a shared affinity for punk music and community-first ideals with a focus on antifascist, feminist, trans and queer politics.

Where their 2021 debut full-length, JORD/VATTEN, served as an introduction to SVARTA HAVET’s amalgam sound of post-metal, hardcore punk and black metal, Månen ska lysa din väg is a deftly woven together panorama of their respective influences and a captivatingly urgent political and compassionately personal case for humanity’s course correction. With communities residing at the heart of their purpose, on a localised and a broad scale, SVARTA HAVET are not ones to lay idle in their hopes of a better world. 2026 will continue to see the band both touring their home country and beyond, as well as being deeply involved in organizing gigs and events through the collectively-run venue, Kirjakahvila ("Book Cafe") – a queer feminist, anti-capitalist DIY community space in Finland. In addition to hosting local acts, the group’s tireless efforts to support international bands will continue to see SVARTA HAVET helping to foster a vibrant underground scene in the process. SVARTA HAVET is: Lotta (she/her) - vocals Joakim (he/him) - guitar Anders (he/him) - bass Jara (she/her) - drums

From out of nowhere comes a unique collaborative album from Edvard Graham Lewis (WIRE) & Mark Spybey (ZOVIET FRANCE). Mixing lush electronic rhythms, sonic collage, ambient soundscapes and manipulated field recordings, these six compositions form an album with a strong identity. That this is such a vital and fertile partnership should come as no surprise. After all, both men have made careers out of creating confidently questing musics. Lewis with Wire, He Said, Hox, Dome etc. and Spybey with Dead Voices on Air, Beehatch, Altered Statesmen, Zoviet France and so on. This new album however, is something different again: experimental, yet tightly focused, and not averse to the groove or the sly hook. The pair met via an appearance on a podcast in November 2022, hosted by cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy. They hit it off immediately. “We did a live chat with Graham - which I think, went on for about three days” jokes Spybey. It was Spybey who first broached the idea of collaboration. “It was a bit like shy bairns get nowt: I just said ‘maybe we should make something together.’” And so, with no plan other than to see what might develop, the duo began to assemble the compositions at long distance. Indeed, Lewis and Spybey only met in the real world after the album had been completed. “Mark sent half a dozen tracks in a stereo mix,” says Lewis. “And I looked at the ’topography’, to see where the spaces might be. So then I’d add to those areas. But then, when do you take it away? Sometimes you let it drop off a cliff, land in the shingle, and it gets washed out to sea again.” The process moved at a pace. “Almost everything each of us brought, ending up being incorporated in some way.” Says Spybey. “We didn’t really go down any cul-de-sacs.” As Lewis observes “We have such a sympathetic tone.” Full of inventive sonics that draw on both men’s previous work, ‘Lewis/Spybey’ offers up a richly detailed soundworld

Seit etwas mehr als einem Jahrzehnt hat sich EXEK ganz leise zu einer der faszinierendsten Bands der Welt entwickelt, die sich von Album zu Album verändert und weiterentwickelt und sich nach und nach geöffnet hat, ohne jemals diese seltsame, unergründliche und insgesamt essentielle Eigenschaft zu verlieren, die sie so großartig gemacht hat - so EXEK-mäßig. Nun bringt die Post-Punk-Band aus Melbourne - Sänger und Chefarchitekt Albert Wolski, Gitarrist Jai Morris-Smith, Schlagzeuger Chris Stephenson, Synthesizer-Spezialist Andrew Brocchi, Trompeterin und Sängerin Valya YL Hooi und Bassist Ben Hepworth - ihr siebtes Album und erstes für DFA raus: ,Prove The Mountains Move". Es ist, wie Wolski sagt, ,ein bisschen epischer" als alles, was er bisher aufgenommen hat, ein üppiges und unverhohlen melodisches Set surrealistischer Popmusik, das sich in Widersprüchen suhlt. ,Dieses Album ist in seiner Machart experimentell", sagt Wolski, ,aber es klingt nicht unbedingt experimentell." Dafür gibt es einen guten Grund. Die Arbeit begann an einem kalten Nachmittag im Juni 2023, als Wolski und Stephenson sich in den Pelican Refill Studios in Melbourne trafen, um die Drums aufzunehmen - das erste, was sie immer machen. Danach ging Wolski alleine nach Hause und fing an, die aufgenommenen Beats und Breaks durchzugehen, wobei er sich von den Drum-Sounds zu Melodien und Basslines leiten ließ, Loops und Layers erstellte und so die Grundlage für ,Prove The Mountains Move" schuf. ,Ich fühle mich wohl dabei, alleine wie ein verrückter Wissenschaftler herumzutüfteln", sagt er. ,Ich habe es auch genossen, ohne klare Absicht auf Aufnahme zu drücken. Meistens führte mich das in eine interessante Richtung, die mein Bewusstsein wahrscheinlich nicht gesucht hätte." Und doch gelangte Wolski irgendwie zu seinem direktesten Werk seit Beginn des Projekts, neu inspiriert von der Klarheit und Prägnanz des Mainstream-Pop, der starken und unbestreitbaren Anziehungskraft einer einfachen Gesangsmelodie. Nachdem die berühmt-berüchtigten strengen COVID-Lockdowns in Melbourne beendet waren, wollte er einfach draußen bleiben. ,Die Arbeit an neuer Musik trat gegenüber dem Feiern mit Freunden in den Hintergrund", sagt er. ,Und diese Partys waren voller großer Hits als Soundtrack - Sachen, die ich selbst nicht wirklich hörte, Sachen, denen ich seit meiner Jugend nicht mehr begegnet war. Aber in den frühen Morgenstunden des Sonntags klingt ,Alive" von Pearl Jam, als würde man mit Gott sprechen. Genauso wie ,All I Wanna Do" von Sheryl Crow und ,Feel" von Robbie Williams. Krautrock und Dub waren immer noch in meiner DNA, aber die Musik, die ich zu machen begann, war vielleicht etwas unbeschwerter und vielleicht auch etwas emotionaler." Das heißt nicht, dass man hier Spuren von Eddie Vedder in Wolskis Gesang erwarten sollte, aber die Einsätze fühlen sich auf ihre eigene Weise ähnlich an - so klingt es, wenn EXEK wirklich alles geben. Nimm zum Beispiel die schwebenden Synthesizer des Openers ,Sidestepping" oder die gewaltigen Gitarren von ,Arriverderci Back Pain", die pyrotechnischen Klavierklänge von ,Don't Answer (When They Call)" oder die Bowie-artige Melancholie von ,You Have Been Blessed". Die Arrangements wirken offener, der Sound fokussierter. Es fällt nicht schwer, Wolski zu glauben, wenn er sagt, dass er viel Zeit damit verbracht hat, seine Mixe von ,Prove The Mountains Move" mit einigen der wichtigsten Alben, die je aufgenommen wurden, darunter ,Abbey Road", zu vergleichen. Aber alles ist relativ. Und textlich bleibt Wolski weiterhin verschlüsselt. ,Jeder Song ist eine Vignette in einem abstrakten Milieu, sei es ein experimentelles Chiropraktik-Geschäft am Flughafen oder spärlich bekleidete Kreaturen aus Staub in einem Food Court. Egal wie verrückt das auch sein mag, es gibt Themen und Motive auf dem gesamten Album, sowohl textlich als auch musikalisch, die sich in verschiedenen Songs widerspiegeln und aufeinander Bezug nehmen." Diese Dissonanz zwischen direkt und indirekt, glatt und strukturiert, schattig und glühend, verrückt und ausdruckslos ist die treibende Kraft im Herzen dieser Songs, seiner bisher besten.

Als Nachfolger von ,High Art Lite" ist ,Ruins" ein Album, das von Trauer, Reflexion und Transformation geprägt ist; eine Platte, die sowohl die Schwere des Verlusts als auch die seltsame Schönheit, die damit einhergeht, einfängt. Geschrieben nach einer selbst auferlegten Pause vom Songwriting, repräsentiert es eine Veränderung im Fokus und in der Perspektive von Joseph Oxley aka TVAM. ,Ich wollte mich von dem entfernen, was ich dachte, dass ich machen sollte", erklärt er. ,Der schlechteste Rat, den man geben kann, ist: ,Was nicht kaputt ist, muss man nicht reparieren.` Es ist immer kaputt. Es muss immer repariert werden." Im Kern beschäftigt sich ,Ruins" mit Verlust nicht als Leere, sondern als Präsenz, als etwas, das die Welt um einen herum neu gestaltet. Auf dem Album ringt Oxley mit den Dualitäten der menschlichen Erfahrung: der Spannung zwischen Gesagtem und Ungesagtem, zwischen Humanismus und Nihilismus, Öffentlichkeit und Privatsphäre, Verzweiflung und Akzeptanz. ,Hoffnung und Verzweiflung heben sich nicht gegenseitig auf", sagt er. ,Sie können nebeneinander existieren - das macht es real." Irgendwo inmitten eines Lebens voller Wiederholungen, Wiederaufführungen und Neustarts lebt TVAM und schafft Werke, die unsere Erinnerungen berühren und gleichzeitig mit unseren Ängsten spielen, und schafft eine Welt, in der Rundfunk zu Performance wird. Seit seinem Debütalbum ,Psychic Data", das aus einem kleinen Schlafzimmerstudio in Wigan hervorgegangen ist, hat TVAM den Sound und das Spektakel der Nostalgie im modernen Leben definiert, vom Slogan ,Porsche Majeure" bis zum Wahlkampf ,Semantics". Seine Musik wurde in die Tagesplaylist von BBC 6 Music aufgenommen und in Fernsehsendungen wie der bahnbrechenden Serie ,Succession" vorgestellt. Musikalisch ist ,Ruins" expansiv und immersiv. Dunkel, aber magisch, ist es voller hallgetränkter Synthesizer, zerbrochener Texturen und hämmernder Snares. Gitarren verweben sich mit neu entdeckter Zurückhaltung durch den Mix und schaffen Raum für Atmosphäre und Emotionen, die im Mittelpunkt stehen. ,Broken Reality"-Texturen kollidieren mit treibenden Rhythmen und erinnern an den cineastischen Puls von The Sisters of Mercy aus der ,Floodland"-Ära und die melodische Melancholie von The Cure aus der ,Disintegration"-Ära. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das Schönheit in Dissonanzen und Licht in Trümmern findet.

2026 Repress


Another Thought was the first collection of Arthur Russell’s music to be released after his death in 1992. Released in 1993 on Point Music it marked the beginning of nearly 30 years of work to let the world hear the enormous archive of unreleased recordings Arthur left behind. Be With revisits this first compilation for a new gatefold double vinyl version and a triple-fold digipak CD reissue.

Both versions of Be With’s 2021 reissue of Another Thought have been mastered by Simon Francis and the vinyl cut by Pete Norman. The original artwork has been restored and tweaked at Be With HQ for the gatefold sleeve and the triple-fold digipak, with the essential help of Janette Beckman. Each version comes with an insert reproducing the liner notes and lyrics from the original CD release.

Together with Calling Out Of Context, Soul Jazz’s World of Arthur Russell, and much of the ongoing work of Audika, Another Thought is absolutely essential for even the most casual Arthur Russell collection. In fact we’d argue it’s essential for any fan of non-obvious pop music. This is the only place where you can hear some of Arthur’s most recognisable tunes and it’s an album that absolutely deserves to be kept in press.


We’ll assume that by now you’re all at least a little familiar with the story of Arthur Russell, the farm boy from Iowa who moved to 1970s New York. Arthur Russell the genuine musical genius who died just 40 years old, leaving behind a wealth of music that dwarfed the few 12"s and LPs that were released during his short life.

Although Arthur had been working on an album for Rough Trade during his last years, with the label no-longer operating it was Point Music (Philip Glass and Michael Riesman’s label set up together with Philips) who stepped in to help Arthur’s partner Tom Lee start working out exactly what Arthur had left behind.

Tom suggested that Arthur’s friend Mikel Rouse was the right person to make the first catalogue. Working in Tom and Arthur’s apartment he had only two weeks to go through what turned out to be around 800 tapes.

As Tom explained “at the end of each day he would generally wait for me to come home and I would, to the best of my knowledge, name and identify pieces in question from that day’s work. As he worked Mikel compiled about a dozen cassettes that he thought would present the most finished sounding songs for Don/Point to use. As Don listened he would then suggest and ask me and thus we collaborated on the choices.”

Don is Don Christensen, Another Thought’s producer. With a final selection of songs from recordings made between 1982 and 1990, including sessions with some of Arthur’s regular collaborators Peter Zummo, Steven Hall, Mustafa Ahmed, Elodie Lauten, Julius Eastman, Jennifer Warnes and Joyce Bowden, it was then Don’s job to turn these into a finished album.

Another Thought is a little different from the compilations of Arthur’s music that came out since. In our conversations with Steve Knutson (who founded Audika Records and who manages Arthur’s estate together with Tom), he explained that “more than any project released by Arthur during his lifetime or posthumously by Audika, ‘Another Thought’ is the most worked over. The material was significantly edited and rearranged from the original source tapes”.

If the aim was to release a comprehensive exploration of every facet of Arthur’s music, from the most avant-garde of his avant-garde compositions through to the most disco-not-disco of his disco-not-disco tunes then the project was a spectacular failure. But as a coherent album of non-obvious pop music Another Thought is wonderful.

Starting with the sparse voice-and-cello of the title track, A Little Lost adds some guitar along with the sneaking suspicion that we’re listening to something nowhere near as simple as it first sounds. By the time we get to This Is How We Walk On The Moon - it could be the moment you notice the congas, or the percussion that’s been building behind them, or maybe it’s that blast of trumpet and trombone - we realise we’ve gone from splashing around to being completely submerged in the musical world of Arthur Russell.

From here the album heads off on its journey around the sounds of the left-field contemporary classical music of the time, re-directed towards pop ears, with minor detours through the swirling woozy disco of the half-remembered night before on In The Light Of The Miracle and My Tiger, My Timing. Whether it’s just Arthur, his cello and some bleeps on Just A Blip, or whether he has some vocal help as he does on the bounding Keeping Up, this is difficult music made so, so easy. And through it all is Arthur’s voice and cello. Sometimes drowned in distortion and sometimes clear as a bell, but always there somewhere.

A Sudden Chill finally returns us to the calmer waters we started in and this last track closes the album with a melancholy that’s not surprising given how soon after Arthur’s death the album was put together.

Whilst Another Thought holds together with the consistency of a proper album, there’s still no getting away from the fact that this was put together from audio recorded in different ways, in different places, with different people at different times. Those with keen ears will hear traces of tape hiss, the occasional blown-out note and some digital fuzz, all fingerprints of those original recordings as well as of the 1990s digital equipment that was used to piece Another Thought together.

Add to this Arthur’s obvious pleasure in making music from the sort of sounds that can make microphones, speakers and ears uncomfortable, it’s no surprise that Another Thought isn’t glossy and pristine. Don Christensen’s productions have been careful to not scrub up those original recordings so much that they lose their original vibe, understandable given that Arthur wasn’t around as a guide. We’ve applied a similarly light touch with the mastering for these Be With versions, just working to make sure they sound like they should on both the vinyl and the CD.

Despite the Discogs rumours, Another Thought was never originally released as an LP. So when it came to the sleeve for this Be With vinyl version we took the original CD artwork as a starting point to come up with something that looks like it could have been in the record racks back in 1993.

We have to thank Janette Beckman for helping us reproduce her iconic photograph of Arthur in his newspaper boat hat. One of many photographs she took of Arthur, Janette shot this in her New York studio back in 1986 for a short article in the January ’87 issue of The Face Magazine. Those with eagle-eyes will notice we’ve used an ever-so-slightly different shot from the one that appeared in The Face and then again on the original cover of Another Thought. The original has long since been lost so we’ve worked with what is left in Janette’s archives. And we also have to thank Tom Lee for giving us permission to reproduce his liner notes from the original CD booklet, together with Arthur’s lyrics.

World Of Echo announces the reissue of two remastered albums by Japanese guitarist and songwriter Naoki Zushi, 1988’s Paradise, and 2005’s III. Two classics of Japanese psychedelia, both Paradise and III were originally released on Org Records, the imprint of Shinji Shibayama of acid-folk group Nagisa Ni Te, with whom Zushi has guested on second guitar for decades. Both intimate and expansive, rich with revelatory songwriting and blasted, sky-scouring guitar, these reissues return these albums to print for the first time since the 2000s. It’s the first time III has been officially released on vinyl, with an extra, previously unreleased track, “Under The June Moonlight.”

Recorded in Kyoto’s Townhouse Studios in mid 1987 and released in limited-to-500 vinyl pressing in 1988, Paradise emerged from a scene in Kansai, Japan that was embracing the idiosyncracies of 1970s singer-songwriters, the soaring solos of early seventies psychedelia, and the DIY impulse of 1980s post-punk. While Zushi’s musical history stretched back to the early eighties – he was a founding member of Jojo Hiroshige’s noise outfit Hijokaidan – he found his feet with groups like Hallelujahs, whose dream-pop collection Niku O Kuraite Chikai Wo Tateyo was recently reissued by Black Editions, and Idiot O’Clock.

Paradise appeared two years after that Hallelujahs album and share much the same membership – Zushi’s backing band on several of the songs includes Shibayama on drums and Ken-Ichi Takayama (aka Idiot) on electric guitar, though just as often, Zushi plays all the instruments himself. The coordinates here are wide-reaching – you can hear the volume and intensity of Neil Young & Crazy Horse (on “Hallelujah: Left Side” and “Paradise: Midday”), the slow-motion magic of Galaxie 500, the idiosyncratic spirit of The Only Ones, all mixed up with tender guitar miniatures and stumbling garage-psych-pop moves.

Seven years later, after the transitional album Phenomenal Luciferin, Zushi released III. Perhaps his masterpiece, it’s already been bootlegged on vinyl, but this reissue is the real deal. The album was recorded at Studio Nemu over seven years, and sees Zushi backed by Shibayama (bass) and Masako Takeda (drums), his erstwhile bandmates in Nagisa Ni Te. By this stage, Zushi had started to really stretch out, and many of the songs on III swoon languorously, taking their sweet time to say what they need to say. It’s rich with lovely, melancholy songs, in a similar realm to bandmates Nagisa Ni Te, of course, but you can also hear traces of everything from Syd Barrett’s The Madcap Laughs, through seventies private press loner folk, to the slow-burn meanderings of the likes of early Low or Damon & Naomi.

When interviewed by Shibayama in the mid-nineties, Zushi said of Paradise, “it was a sort of collection of songs that had meant something to me up to that point… it was my paradise. I wanted to create paradise.” That’s something Zushi achieves on both of these albums – visionary Japanese psychedelia, en route to paradise. - Jon Dale

rot/schwarzes Marble Vinyl. Offensichtlich parkverliebt_ eine musikgewordene Parksituation: Du schlenderst langsam durch das zerbrechliche Idyll inmitten der Stadt, die Luft ist kalt und klar, die Arme hinter dem Rücken verschränkt. Hochgewachsene Bäume spannen den Raum auf, gedämpfter Stadtlärm mischt sich mit dem Rascheln der Blätter, mehr oder weniger verwirrte Tiere sehen aufmerksam in Deine Richtung. Du setzt Dich auf eine Parkbank, hältst inne und fängst an Dich darüber zu freuen, wie schön das alles eigentlich ist. ParkWalkers emopop/slowcore sound ist bestimmt durch zwei cleane Gitarren (Hannes & Nicola), eindringliche Basslinien (Arnaud), entspannte Drums (Armin) und der warmen Stimme von Nicola. Melodien, die hängen bleiben, in meist klassischer Songstruktur. Die lieben 90er oder Nullerjahre lassen grüßen, vielleicht fällt einem American Football, Snow Patrol ein oder fühlt sich an Death Cab for Cutie und Weakerthans erinnert. ParkWalker haben sich 2018 gefunden, und leben verteilt in Berlin, Stuttgart und Karlsruhe. Klar in der DIY-Szene verwurzelt haben sie viele Stunden auf Bühnen im In-und Ausland mit verschiedenen Formationen verbracht, u.a. Tidal Sleep. Nach ihrem Debüt "Distant Phenomena" im Jahr 2021 ist für Herbst 2025 das zweite Album "The Extra Mile" bei This Charming Records geplant. Das Album wurde in den RAMA Studios aufgenommen und von Christian Bethge (z.B. Messer) produziert und gemastert

Hamburg is sinking into an ever-expanding landscape of fresh construction ruins born from investor fantasies, concrete monster-bridges and ghostly office spaces. But from secret basements, a Geflecht begins to grow. After the first tape by Hamburg duo Kostenfalle, now comes their second album on vinyl.

The furious electropunk of Kostenfalle has been cut into the matrix at 45 RPM. Nine
songs in the fast lane, driven by sequencers, synthesizers, drum machines, and bass guitar. Despite the electronic machinery, Kostenfalle remain fiercely dynamic, twisting and shifting through intricate structures and sudden turns. Punk and Electronic Body Music lock into a dance; without warning we’re plunged into a psychedelic riff, only to slam angrily into the next guardrail.

With alternating vocals, Christian manning the transistors, Philipp holding the bass, the lyrics emerge dark and oblique, meditating on life as a one-dimensional human and on the spaces between people. Boycott and sabotage. Explode and generate.

Mia Zapata was the greatest rock singer of her time. She may have likely been the greatest blues singer in punk rock history, the woman who married the 78 and the '78. Tragedy did not make this true. Mia Zapata made this true, and the ferocious, spring-loaded shrapnel frame that was built around her by Andy Kessler (guitar: metronomic and furious), Matt Dresdner (bass: fluid, punching, beat-addicted and melodic), and Steve Moriarty (drums: martial and explosive) - who, with Mia, combined to form The Gits - made it true. The Gits were formed at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in mid-1986, grabbing and swapping pieces of art, thrash, noise, punk rock, classic rock, and all the sorts of magical silly and bookish jingle bells that an old-school liberal arts education handed you; for the next few years they worked on turning it all into something tough, sensitive, both brutal and kind. Andy, Matt, Mia, and Steve moved to Seattle in middish 1989, landing in a house on Capitol Hill where they (and fellow travelers) wood-shedded and rehearsed for the next few years. The Gits put out three EPs in 1990 and '91 before signing with C/Z Records and releasing their first full-length album, Frenching the Bully. Seattle quickly claimed the quartet as their own and embraced the Gits blend of ferocious fangs and soft heart, the slug/slap of the guitars, and the gorgeous, soft underbelly of the poetic emotions. These qualities not only fit in with the doe-eyed/sharp-clawed grunge ethos but earned the Gits the respect of their peers, including Nirvana, who tapped them to open a major local show in 1990. Then other stuff happened, and their frantic, confessional barbed-heart snowball began rolling up hill very, very fast; the Gits "quickly" (hah! After half a decade learning to implode and explode hearts and stomping their boots on manifold beer-softened, Marlboro-weeded wood stages!) inspired rapture, awe, and the levitation that happened when peak emotion meets peak grindage in front of amps spitting out something that sounded like the mad marriage of Bolan swagger and Dischord tension_ all fronted by a genuinely incomparable woman who held her heart in her mouth and shared it, in all its celebration and fear, without hesitation. The Gits were an angry, inflamed slinky fully in tune with and tuned by the Bessie Patti Smith of her time, truly the only singer who could summon Joplin, Poly Styrene, Sam Cooke, Iggy Pop and Ian MacKaye all in the same goddamn song. In 1993, less than four weeks after accepting an offer from Atlantic Records, Mia died. I leave it at that, because this is not about death; it's about an extraordinary life. I do not say, "You should have been there," I say, "We are lucky so many of us were, and I am so glad we have this extraordinary evidence of the power and gifts of Mia and the Gits that you now can hold in your hands." And I note that Frenching the Bully, this extraordinary testament to the soul, shock, fury and feeling of the Gits, has been long out of print on vinyl and CD, and this new edition - remastered by legendary Seattle engineer Jack Endino - joyfully rectifies that. -Tim Sommer

Don’t believe your ears - Pepper’s Ghost is the latest offering from NYC project Nuke Watch.

Whatever you think it is - it is not. By the same token it really can be whatever you want - electronica, jazz, improv, noise, new age, ambient - it’s none and all of these. Like the primitive visual illusion it’s named for - Pepper’s Ghost is a projection of a thing, it’s not the thing.

The Nuke Watch method - like that of Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos’ other primary project Beat Detectives - leans almost entirely on live improvisation, with some advanced studio alchemy in post. Where the Beat Detectives palette draws from club music tropes, Nuke Watch blends recognizable tones (hand drums, woodwinds, keys, fretless bass) with sounds of providence unknown, the line between organic and synthesized instrumentation unintelligibly smudged. What is real and what is projection? It’s hard to say. What do our ears tell us? This is where we arrive at Pepper’s Ghost.

Warped as the sounds may be, the playing belies a crew of deeply expressive, learned improvisers who have their craft honed. Their friendship and psychic connection enhances the ritualistic rhythms, mutant modular synthesis, nimble keyboard runs, absurdist sampling and unidentified skronk. They’re wonderfully complemented across several tracks on this set by Cole Pulice’s levitational, sublime saxophone.

As unhinged as this might all appear, once the mind and music meet on the same wavelength this is profoundly moving, energizing and uplifting Alive Music that recalibrates the sense of what music can be.

Nuke Watch is Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos, with an array of friendly guests. They’ve released records as Nuke Watch on The Trilogy Tapes, Commend and Moon Glyph. As Beat Detectives they’ve released records on Not Not Fun, 100% Silk and their own studio imprint NYPD Records.

Pepper's Ghost was written and produced by Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos. Additional instrumentation on these recordings by Cole Police, Leonard King, Eric Timothy Carlson, Chris Farstad and William Statler. It was mixed by Chris Hontos and mastered by Jack Callahan. Painting on the cover is “The Unity Of Being” (2020), by Ry Fyan. Design and layout by Aaron Anderson.

RIYL - Musical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks, downtempo, music of the spheres, good journey, Eddie Harris, Ketron, "world building", orange sunshine, suspension of disbelief.