Buscar:one touch

File under house, breakbeat, techno and warehouse rave music. The Mental Groove Classic series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard to find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene.



The compilation is inspired by a moment in time when musical boundaries were being redrawn in a wave of carefree optimism and the freedom that fueled new rave scenes across Europe and beyond.

The Mental Groove Classics series returns with a treasure trove of rare and hard-to-find tracks plucked from the personal collection of label founder Olivier Ducret, a pivotal figure in Switzerland's acid house and rave-era party scene.



On Volumes Two and Three of the series released last year, Olivier Ducret (founder of Mental Groove and Musique Pour La Danse, half of WRWTFWW) takes us back to the turn of the '90s. It was a time when he was promoting parties in fields, squats, forests, warehouses and former factoriesin and around Geneva, all while working behind the counter of a record shop called Mental Groove. While others in Switzerland's emerging dance music scene gravitated towards trance and garage, Olivier and his crew opted for a sound focused on bass, breaks, and techno. This unique approach was inspired by their regular trips to clubs, raves, and record shops in the UK. Drawing directly from his own record box and a memory bank full of euphoric dancefloor moments, this fourth installment sees Olivier reaching for more cuts of near-mythical rarity, genuinely overlooked gems, and undeniably brilliant classics - each selection has left a long-lasting impression on the local raving landscape. It's an autobiographical audio document, a historical archive, and a personal musical statement all rolled into one. The compilation is inspired by a moment in time when musical boundaries were being redrawn, if not exploded, in a wave of carefree optimism and thefreedom that fueled new rave scenes across Europe and far beyond.



Original artwork by Mark Wigan, co-owner of Soho's Brain Club and an artist of early British club culture.

Gong's Gang , a one-off project for the unique family of true musicians: Giuseppe, Lino, and Rossana Nicolosi; brothers and sisters who knew ''something'' about the Italo-boogie-funk of the early '80s, uncontaminated by the increasingly invasive electronic sound of a yet unappreciated Italo-Disco. Gimme Your Love is a gem, with Rosanna Nicolosi leading the way on vocals and cascading synths and bass blending into an intoxicating mix that should make any funk detective froth with approval. And investigating how it sounds, one discovers a certain similarity to a Charades track; strings sound a bit like Gimme The Funk (written and produced by poet Lotti Golden and Richard Sher both with Chuck Wansley and Kathrine Joyce on Warp 9), mixed in 1982 by John "Jellybean" Benitez, a very close friend of Tony Carrasco, who in 1983 produced, arranged, and mixed 'Gimme Your Love'. The two always kept an eye on each other, even from a distance, staying in touch. However, these assumptions do not detract from this stellar song: whether you prefer the vocal hit or the subtly voiced instrumental, that you can dance at any nighttime party and that absolutely deserves a second chance in the spotlight.

World of Echo unites with the confounding genius of TRii for a highly limited first time vinyl run of 2020's Music For Desert Reboot tape, first released as TRj on the TRjj Musik label and then again as a second cassette by Mascarpone earlier this year.

As with all the sounds produced within the TRjj/TRii /TRj/TRi universe, strange illusion is part of the process, and this is certainly music that befits such smoke and mirror nomenclature, a kind of gamelan Werkbund re-programmed via the isolationist sounds of DIY home electronics conceived for a film that might or might not actually exist. Consider this time-dilation rug-pulling that's well in touch with its own mythology, so much so that it's hard to think of any obvious contemporaries, but if you've ever enjoyed the minimalist murk of Civlistijavel, the private quarters confessionals of Thomas Bush's first LP or any one of Guy Gormley's projects, you'll not got too far wrong here. Is further clarification required? That perhaps misses the point, though there is a track that features around two-thirds in entitled 'First Time Realizing the Clock Was Absent' that might function as a form of instruction to the listener. Namely, where does the time go? Music For Desert Reboot might not provide the answer, but it certainly knows how to ask the question.

NOW Music proudly presents the next release in our “NOW That’s What I Call An Era” series - Such A Good Feeling: 1988-1995 – a euphoric celebration of a truly transformative time in music.

This stunning 3LP set pressed on blue, white and yellow vinyl showcases 46 essential tracks that soundtracked the dancefloors, charts, and airwaves from the late ’80s through the ’90s — an era when dance culture reshaped the mainstream, soundtracked a generation, and lit up the charts across the UK and beyond

LP1 – Side A opens in style with ‘Such A Good Feeling’ from Brothers In Rhythm, this collection’s inspiring title…followed by Black Box with ‘Ride On Time’ — the best-selling UK single of ’89, and one of dance music’s defining tracks. Massive club classics continue with C+C Music Factory’s ‘Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)’, house anthems from Inner City with ‘Good Life’, and ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’ from Adventures Of Stevie V, plus dance-pop gems ‘Not Over Yet’ from Grace, and Billie Ray Martin with ‘Your Loving Arms’…Flip the LP over for the pioneering ‘Theme From S-Express’, a chart-topper from 1988, before dancefloor earworms from Kenny “Dope” Presents The Bucketheads with ‘The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind)’, Nightcrawlers with ‘Push The Feeling On’ and ‘People Hold On’ from Coldcut and Lisa Stansfield. The influential ‘Beat Dis’ from Bomb The Bass is up next ahead of Tony Di Bart’s #1 ‘The Real Thing’, Saint Etienne’s sophisticated dance-pop nugget ‘He’s On The Phone’, and LP1’s closer from D:Ream with the Perfecto radio remix of ‘U R The Best Thing’.

LP2 – kicks off with a run of electrifying Eurodance – all massive club anthems. ‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’ from SNAP! leads off; a UK No. 1 and another defining track of the decade – followed by smashes from Corona, Real McCoy, Dr. Alban, Haddaway, KWS and Cappella, before the side closes with the techno-pop of Opus III with ‘It’s A Fine Day’… The party continues on Side B with an irresistible lineup led by Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, their brilliant fusion of funk, house and pop that continues to be a massive floor-filler… as is ‘Dreamer’ from Livin’ Joy, a 1995 No. 1 smash, and vocal house classic ‘Finally’ from CeCe Peniston. Urban Cookie Collective scored a huge hit with ‘The Key, The Secret’, which is followed by the rave energy of Oceanic, N-Trance, Felix – and Utah Saints who sign-off LP2 with the epic ‘Something Good’.

Kicking off the final LP, Side A explodes into life with massive feel-good tunes:- Yazz & The Plastic Population’s ‘The Only Way Is Up’ – a 1988 No. 1 and landmark UK house hit ahead of 49ers with ‘Touch Me’ and Baby D with their #1 ‘Let Me Be Your Fantasy’. Another run of floor-fillers from Rozalla with ‘Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)’, JX with ‘Son Of A Gun’, Blue Pearl’s ‘Naked In The Rain’ and ‘U Sure Do’ from Strike follows and the side closes with the electronic acid house of ‘Killer’ from Adamski that hit the top of the charts and introduced Seal… and over on the final side, the collection moves toward it's close with stunning and enduring tracks of the era – opening with Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler’s #1 ‘Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)’ blending soul, R&B and club rhythms to perfection, while Beats International’s fusion of dub reggae and house: ‘Dub Be Good To Me’ (another chart-topper) follows with its iconic bassline and leads us into the stylish and smooth ‘Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out’ from Freak Power. The journey through this incredible era is completed with genre pioneers The Prodigy with ‘Charly’, ‘Infinity’ from Guru Josh, and closing with ambient house, ‘Pacific - 707’ from 808 State, and the timeless ‘The Sun Rising’ from The Beloved.

An unforgettable journey through the sounds that defined an era:- NOW That’s What I Call An Era - Such A Good Feeling: 1988-1995 — the definitive celebration of a golden age of dance music.

GG Allin singles compilation reissued on vinyl. If you had an immense amount of courage (as well as a strong stomach), then you may have been 'lucky' to have experienced G.G. Allin the way he was meant to be -- on-stage. In the studio, G.G.'s recordings more times than not did not match the fire of his live performance (and after watching some of his brutal shows on video, how could they'), as they were issued on a variety of little-known indie labels, and of varying quality. One of the first compilations to truly pull tracks from throughout G.G.'s controversial career is 2004's Expose Yourself: The Singles Collection 1977-1991. A few selections have been impossible to find for years, such as the early G.G. single "Love Tunnel" b/w "Devil's Triangle," which makes its first appearance in years here. Elsewhere, you'll find tracks that have appeared elsewhere -- "Snakeman's Dance," "When I Die," "Gypsy Motherfucker," etc. -- but are among G.G.'s best. Since it touches upon most of his different eras, Expose Yourself: The Singles Collection 1977-1991 is easily one of the better G.G. comps to appear. ~ Greg Prato

Shhh. The command to be quiet is not just part of the title of one of the two sprawling compositions on this pioneering album. It's also an apt metaphor for the relaxed hypnotism and spaced-out atmosphere that define In a Silent Way, a record that pushes the boundaries of studio possibilities, artist-producer relationships, and rock-jazz chasms. Recognized as Miles Davis' first full-on fusion effort and part of his "electric" era, the 1969 landmark claims a Who's Who line-up that sends the music into an ethereal stratosphere.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, this unsurpassed 180g LP edition lifts the veil on the cutting-edge assembly process that created the pair of lengthy suites. Helmed by three electric instruments, the bevelled compositions melt away all preconceived notions of "jazz," ˜rock," and "ambience," following a loose theory Davis dubbed "New Directions."

Few albums are so delicately textured. And on Mobile Fidelity's meticulous reissue, such sulcate elements pour over ink-black backgrounds on a canyon-wide soundstage. In particular, Tony Williams' inventive percussive touch – he causes the cymbals to shimmer as a pieces of silver tend to do when exposed to sunlight – is broadcast with lifelike three-dimensional qualities, the panoramic view extending to Davis' nocturnal trumpet, Wayne Shorter's ribbon-unfurling saxophone, Dave Holland's extrapolative bass, and the mosaic of keys.

If the record's only accomplishment is its introduction of guitarist John McLaughlin to the world, it alone would be enough. Yet In a Silent Way continues to bedazzle, puzzle, and inspire for myriad reasons – not the least of which is the seemingly telepathic communicative methods employed by the group's members. The line-up is great on paper, but, if it's even possible, the octet sounds even better in practice, with the instruments and tonalities conjoining in avant-garde communion like hyper-sensitive tentacles exploring the stippled landscapes of an undiscovered planet.

Diverting from expectation, tubular grooves twist, turn, and spin, sometimes piling atop of each other, always shying away from structure and melody. Ellipsoidal solos provide hesitant guidance, ranging from Chick Corea's Fender Rhodes phrases to Davis' decorative spirals. And as colour is the primary unit of currency on Davis' Sketches of Spain, laid-back episodes, geometric spaces, and quiet sensuality reign here, with the set's maverick reputation attained via musings on solitude rather than explosions of noise.


Controversial for the period, the heavily edited production of In a Silent Way blew open the once-locked doors on what producer's could attempt – and how artists could assist them. Knitted together as one would construct a cross-hatched quilt, songs contain grafts of repeat passages that provide unifying structure and experimental continuity. What a statement.

GG Allin singles compilation reissued on vinyl. If you had an immense amount of courage (as well as a strong stomach), then you may have been 'lucky' to have experienced G.G. Allin the way he was meant to be -- on-stage. In the studio, G.G.'s recordings more times than not did not match the fire of his live performance (and after watching some of his brutal shows on video, how could they'), as they were issued on a variety of little-known indie labels, and of varying quality. One of the first compilations to truly pull tracks from throughout G.G.'s controversial career is 2004's Expose Yourself: The Singles Collection 1977-1991. A few selections have been impossible to find for years, such as the early G.G. single "Love Tunnel" b/w "Devil's Triangle," which makes its first appearance in years here. Elsewhere, you'll find tracks that have appeared elsewhere -- "Snakeman's Dance," "When I Die," "Gypsy Motherfucker," etc. -- but are among G.G.'s best. Since it touches upon most of his different eras, Expose Yourself: The Singles Collection 1977-1991 is easily one of the better G.G. comps to appear. ~ Greg Prato

Q.A.S.B.'s Debut Album Finally Released on LP!

Before the release of “The Mexican” (produced by RYUHEI THE MAN), Q.A.S.B.'s self-titled debut album "Q.A.S.B" was originally released in 2009 on CD only, during the late Deep Funk movement. Now, in 2025, as the band celebrates its 20th anniversary, the album is finally available on vinyl for the first time!

Recorded in a single take with no edits using analog tape to recreate the sound of the 1970s, the raw and vivid energy of the album remains intact even after 16 years.
This album captures the essence of Q.A.S.B., featuring passionate performances by the original members, including the first vocalist amy-A (at the time). Most of the tracks were composed by Rob.T, who is now known as the sound producer for Hannah Warm. The 7-inch single “The Key” received high praise both domestically and internationally. Its explosive power on the dance floor was undeniable. I was really looking forward to the full album release from Q.A.S.B., and honestly, it blew me away. This is not imitation or homage—this is authentic, homegrown Japanese soul and funk music.

— Yusuke Ogawa (universounds / Deep Jazz Reality)

Japan’s proud funk band Q.A.S.B. finally releases their long-awaited debut album! About six months after their sensational debut single “The Key” took the world by storm, this much-anticipated album is here! With uptempo danceable tracks, heavy mid-tempo grooves, and soulful tunes that evoke the golden era, the album showcases both musical depth and confidence. Vocalist amy-A’s passionate singing and the band’s rock-solid performance come together in a stunning fusion of future funk. This is the crystallization of music sung and played from the heart!
— Ryuhei The Man (universounds)

It’s finally coming out! I’ve been waiting!

Sometimes gentle, sometimes powerful—amy’s voice breathes life into each track. Singing really is a wonderful thing.
By the way, does Q.A.S.B. stand for something? Whisper it in my ear next time.

— Naoichi “Bobsan” Kobayashi (MOUNTAIN MOCHA KILIMANJARO)

Bushwacka! returns to Nu Groove with ‘House Sounds, Vol. 2’, continuing his acclaimed series on the pioneering NYC label. This four-track vinyl release sees the London underground stalwart dive deeper into his expansive sound to deliver another set of expert cuts for discerning selectors.

On the A-side, ‘Jack The Groove’ opens with a driving rhythm and irresistible bassline, while ‘Middle Channel’ flows with hypnotic polyrhythms, fusing vintage Nu Groove influences with Bushwacka!’s unmistakable touch.

Flip it over and the aptly named ‘House Muzik’ is an unfiltered homage to the genre’s raw essence. Closing this eclectic selection is ‘Two Times’, with its punchy percussion and deep synths creating a groove-laden record that’s equal parts nostalgic and forward-thinking. With ‘House Sounds, Vol. 2’ Bushwacka! delivers another essential collection for crate diggers and dancefloor newcomers alike, reaffirming his status as one of house music’s true craftsmen.

Since 2017, Cosmic Reaper has carried a black-flamed torch of tradition, forged in the long lineage of doom and sludge. Emerging from the shadows of Charlotte, North Carolina, the band blends a raw, southern swing with the full circle of heavy metal-creating a sound as steeped in American mysticism as it is overloaded saturation of amplifier worship. "Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned is an album we poured our hearts into. With our sophomore LP, we wanted to take our sound to a new level, but also call back to the roots of doom, with a touch of 90s angst. Lyrically, it touches on everything from standing up to tyranny, to revenge, to sacrifice, to love, lust and betrayal- all wrapped in themes of horror, science-fiction, and history. For the best listening experience: light one up, and turn it up loud."

gold nugget vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Since 2017, Cosmic Reaper has carried a black-flamed torch of tradition, forged in the long lineage of doom and sludge. Emerging from the shadows of Charlotte, North Carolina, the band blends a raw, southern swing with the full circle of heavy metal-creating a sound as steeped in American mysticism as it is overloaded saturation of amplifier worship. "Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned is an album we poured our hearts into. With our sophomore LP, we wanted to take our sound to a new level, but also call back to the roots of doom, with a touch of 90s angst. Lyrically, it touches on everything from standing up to tyranny, to revenge, to sacrifice, to love, lust and betrayal- all wrapped in themes of horror, science-fiction, and history. For the best listening experience: light one up, and turn it up loud."

Released in 1996 at the height of Britpop’s cultural takeover, Free Peace Sweet saw Dodgy break into the mainstream with a sun-drenched sound that set them apart from their more angst-ridden peers. Bursting with optimism, melody, and a touch of psychedelic sparkle, the album became the band’s biggest commercial success. Its lead single, "Good Enough", was a bona fide anthem, climbing to No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart—Dodgy’s highest-charting track to date. Follow-ups "In a Room" and "If You're Thinking of Me" also struck a chord with listeners, hitting No. 12 and No. 11, respectively. Even "Found You", the album’s final single, secured a strong No. 19 spot, solidifying the band’s chart credentials. Free Peace Sweet reached No. 7 at the UK Albums Chart and later achieved certified platinum. Dodgy's Free Peace Sweet includes a 4-page booklet.

Limited Edition of 200 copies incl. Dolphins Remix (DALO, Benedikt Frey and Menqui).

Hot seducers. Two of them. On one 7inch. A/B Side business, hard to choose a fav, as both so fab. The A-Side is called "Happen". It comes from prolific Tokyo based DJ and producer Hoshina Anniversary. A simple drum machine groove, a manic melody, witching siren sounds, psychedelic voices, some soft chords, and soulful high-pitched singing, somewhere between Dam-Funk coolness and Ian Svenonius-The-Make-Up sixties pop longing. One for warm sexy nights under neon lights. Out there in psychic realms. The flip brings a Dolphins interpretation. Yes, that feverish trio behind R.i.O., consisting of Nadia D'Alò, Benedikt Frey and Menqui. Their freshly recorded version comes with haunting nonchalant singing, displaying the tunes core melody as a more prominent actor of the play. Michael-Mann-Pop-Nostalgia with a baroque touch, that waves dark-ish. Even some Jon Hassle feeling is in there. Hoshina Anniversary disclosed, that the original song is inspired by jazz musicians like Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius and Keith Jarrett. None of them is directly stylistically audible. But their kind of blue is all over. On the A as well as on the B. Twice soul music for the free.

Aer making everyone dance with "I'm Gonna Dance," Muzic Family Vs. Stylóo is ready to ignite the
dancefloors again with "Sweat," an adrenaline-fueled track that unites the tradi!on of Italo Disco with a
modern pop-dance sound.
At the helm of "Sweat" is Roberto Tura, one of the most influen!al producers in the Italian and
interna!onal dance scene. A key figure of 80s Italo Disco, Tura( has shaped !meless hits for ar!sts like Den
Harrow, Joe Yellow, Albert One, and Stylóo themselves, helping to define the sound of an era that s!ll
makes fans' hearts beat faster all over the world. With "Sweat," Tura( once again proves his ability to
merge the magic of those years with a modern, powerful sound, capable of winning over new genera!ons of
listeners and ge(ng everyone dancing.
By his side is Silvio Melloni, a top-level musician and arranger, who is now part of the historic band Ma"a
Bazar. Melloni brings his experience and musical sophis!ca!on to the project, cura!ng arrangements rich in
detail and nuance, where every element is calibrated to maximize the emo!onal and rhythmic impact of the
track. His ar!s!c sensi!vity perfectly matches Tura('s energy, crea!ng a winning combina!on of technique,
passion, and crea!vity.
The release of "Sweat" doesn't stop at the original version: two exclusive remixes are included to enrich the
project, promising to make the track explode on the most demanding dancefloors.
 Italoconnec"on Remix – The duo formed by Fred Ventura and Paolo Gozze( (aka Italoconnec!on)
transforms "Sweat" with their characteris!c touch: sonic elegance, pulsa!ng energy, and a refined
sound that blends dance-pop rhythms with the vibrant nostalgia of Italo Disco. It's an interpreta!on
that leaves no room for rest and pushes you to listen and move.
 A.P. Mono Remix – A.P. Mono infuses an 80s-flavored electro-disco soul: funk syncopa!on,
enveloping synths, and an irresis!ble groove. His reinterpreta!on turns the track into a true
energe!c vortex, perfect for making anyone who dances to it sweat.

Percussive P (who has previously released on the label with FR037 & our remix on THCFR001) is a top quality producer who I wish had more music/releases out there. I used to play a tune of his called "Gunsmith" a lot in sets, as well as a lot of his collabs with Kid Lib which I was a big fan of. I'd previously collaborated with him on a tune for Dublinquents a few years ago and I was quite keen on doing a new collaboration with him for Meeting Of The Minds, so he sent me some tracks he had started, I picked my favourite to work on and that led to "Impatience".

Fluid Haunts is a solid producer who I was familiar with, but it wasn't until his music was drilled into my head by Dwarde who was playing a few select tunes from him in every single b2b set we had together, that I started to really appreciate his skills. Dwarde would play "Not Your Ordinary Love Song" without fail, in any given moment and time, and it would always get a great reaction from the crowd, so I had to get in touch to see if he'd be up for working with me & thankfully he was! We ended up making "Pineapple Soup" together & I can't remember why it's called that, I think he named the tune ????

Hobzee is one half of Silent Dust (him & Zyon Base) & I used to chat regularly with him and trade music with him on AOL Instant Messenger (showing my age here!) a long while back. He got back in touch with me about wanting to work on music together and he had an early version of "Sunspots" done. It was very promising sounding so I was quite keen to get involved with him on it and I'm grateful that I was able to get him on Future Retro London after many many years of IM chats!

Usually, I limit my collaborations on Meeting Of The Minds to producers that are fairly established and already somewhat known to other people, but for those who don't know who Eff is, she is a potentially familiar face to anyone who has attended a Future Retro London event, as she has been on the door for every single one. One day after a Distant Planet event in Bristol, she mentioned to me that she had an idea for a track inspired by a PFM tune and she already had the title in mind for it, which is "Wavebreak". I was curious about how this would sound in reality, so we met up to work on the tune & she said it was pretty much like how she had envisioned it & I liked how it sounded, so I thought it would be worth putting out on a future Meeting Of The Minds release, which ended up being this one.

Big up to all the artists involved on this edition of Meeting Of The Minds, it's quite a long and arduous task putting together each one, which is why there was such a gap between Vol. 9 & 10 and Vol. 11 & 12. I plan on getting the series back into something more regularly occurring, so hopefully I can actually stick to that plan!

In 2024, Kyoto Jazz Massive released their third album as a digital-only project, 30 years after their debut. It now receives the honor of a special vinyl edition, featuring brand-new exclusive mixes by Young Pulse—elevating these already great tracks to even greater heights, for both your ears and your feet.
This marks the first and exclusive collaboration between KJM and Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra (aka Jéroboam), the unique Parisian band that has been performing live with KJM across Europe for the past three years. On this occasion, KJM recorded four new tracks with EOANDO, including three original songs ("Power", "Love Wars", and "Impulsive Procession") and a new rendition of “Stand Up”, a previously released composition. To complete the album, you'll also find a stunning cover of KJM’s iconic track "Substream" by EOANDO, as well as their signature piece, “EOANDO's Theme”.
"Power" and "Stand Up" were recorded with Vanessa Freeman, while "Love Wars" features Bembe Segue. This London-based duo has been singing live with KJM since 2004.
"Power" is a crossover anthem, blending jazz-funk and French disco with a gospel touch. Vanessa Freeman’s uplifting lyrics call for collective awareness and energize audiences. "Love Wars" is a live-band interpretation of broken beat with a boogie spirit, enhanced by Bembe Segue’s sharp and spiritual vocals. “EOANDO’s Theme” was specially composed by Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra for KJM, capturing the Okino Brothers' love for boogie-funk jams with Brazilian and Balearic influences reminiscent of Azymuth.
“Impulsive Procession” fuses Afro, funk, jazz, fusion, soul, rock, house, and techno—drawing inspiration from several of KJM’s most respected musical heroes. A brand-new version of “Stand Up”, originally released in 2008, was re-recorded live in the studio with EOANDO and fresh vocals by Vanessa Freeman.
The album closes with a reimagined version of “Substream”, one of KJM’s most beloved tracks, covered by EOANDO for the official Tokyo Crossover/Jazz Festival 2023 compilation. This new version was recorded as an organic disco interpretation at Danilo Plessow’s studio in Paris.

Charles D has got the touch right now. Following ‘The Bouncer’, his blistering collaboration with Space 92, he returns with another slice of peak-time perfection, ‘Control’. The New Yorker has become one of the most promising artists to emerge on Drumcode in recent times; from his terrific body of remixes, led by Adam Beyer & Bart Skils ‘Your Mind’ and Mike Macaluso’s ‘Final Chapter’, to cuts on the label’s A-Sides compilation (‘Traction’ and ‘Yantee’), right through to his breakthrough EP release in 2023 ‘Don’t Stop’. With a recent standout collab with Space 92 ‘The Bouncer’ under his belt, you can always rely on the artist to craft captivating, big-moment productions.

Host of the popular Synthesized Radio and soon to be launching his own label project KONKRTE, Charles D says the writing process for ‘Control’ came quickly, with the first ideas coming together on the plane home from an energising weekend of gigs. “I'm really inspired by a lot of the new music out there, and wanted to make something that felt peak time, but had some melodic techno and tech house flavor to it. I made several versions of it, but the very first version was the one that made the cut. When I heard Adam play it at Drumsheds and Resistance in Miami and saw the crowd’s reaction, I knew not to mess with it too much.” – Charles D ‘Control’ is a high-octane trip and deliciously dynamic. Framed by the producer’s trademark plump basslines and crisp percussion, it makes a statement via a torrent of head-scrambling riffs and effects.

Sticking a dirty thumb in the eye of fate, our third collaboration sees this marrow deep family malarky turn official as Pace Yourself teams up with YS’s own imprint ERF REC for a split release. As if our status as minor celebrities and footnotes of the underground could level off no further: the unification no one asked for is here. Sticking it to the man, handing your arse to ya on plate; cauterising infected suburban minds world over.

Burn is the second YS album and written as a direct follow-up album to Brutal Flowers. If their first album was an exercise in the incremental, a construction of poise and patience, Burn, should be taken way the fuck at it’s word: it quite literally finds catharsis in twisted reverse. Birthed out the malignant kick found in deconstruction and chaos. Evil twin, psychotic younger sibling, call it what the hell you like. It might take you a moment to get the lay of the land in this darkly mutated world. Like a bug eye’d native first confronted with a zippo, the hit is radical and instant: a new way for the world to go up in smoke.

Splice the Seattle slacker scene with the spliffhead soundsystem culture of the 90s Bristol trip-hop scene, then cross-breed that with the DIY optimism and glee in creation found in the cut-and-paste worlds of skate, graffiti and hiphop, now run that through the skitzo basement mind of John.T. Gast and you’re close to the kind of scorched earth and spiked suburbia that birthed Burn.

Dunno quite what YS have been ingesting of late but this massively twisted LP touches on a host of gloriously fucked totemic underground sources while not sounding much like any of them. It has the ballsy swagger and hard flipping of the script as Massive Attack’s seminal Blue Lines. Indeed, the eponymous album tracks sound similar - the opener ‘Burn’ is like a hard nosed jammed out redux of ‘Blue Lines’. Getting into a kind of slow-spinning overdubbed maximal euphoria ending with mumbled downer vocals, struggling to conceal their tongues in their cheeks there’s an air of paranoia and proto-conspiracy theory. It’ll leave you scratching your head, feeling like you’ve stepped into a New World Order governed by a cacophony of drop outs, dope fiends and apocalyptic stoners. A cracked out world somewhere between Richard Linklater’s movie Slacker (1990) and Marc Singer’s Dark Days (2001).

The rest of the album parts like a tongue on a wine glass: Smith and Mighty, Bandulu, ambient Luke Slater records, Wah Wah Wino, Nurse with Wound, Land of the Loops, Placid Angels, Adrian Sherwood, Urban Tribe and DJ Shadow can all be heard in momentary splatters - but Burn like other works by YS, is its own ritual beast. ‘Moth’, a track which has been knocking about the underground deejai circuit for many moons, is a real raw chopped and screwed slice of stoner erotica that reeks of obsession and unrequited desire. Elsewhere, on tracks like ‘Switch’, ‘Trying’ and ‘Drift’ the throughline from Brutal Flowers can be heard. Underneath the driving heavy gravity the trademark emotional intimacies of YS linger: eternal recurrence, ghosts of static and shortwave, worn memories of the playful and painful sort. The brief moments where flashes of orchestral ambience get out from underneath the swagger are so pure, personal and unguarded that for a moment they leave you completely lonesome. In the album’s closer ‘End’, you can hear the fleeting promise and DIY possibilities of an analogue world and embers of ash that flutter in its wake: where it seemed, for a brief moment, that collective of DJs, engineers, rappers, graffiti artists and skate crews were emerging from the streets, giving the middle fingers to the system, before just as quickly disappearing back to the doldrums of obscurity. ‘End’ is a bittersweet ode to early soundsystem culture, MCs and pirate radio - an out of step time where for a moment the underdogs and weirdos seemed to be kicking on the door of something bigger.

A veritable teenage doof suite dosed with desire, claustrophobia and deviance. Burn is a good old howl at the moon: lonely, raw, and out for blood; basement style exegesis at its best. A thump to the gut, a stud through your blood. A dubbed-to-death classic straight out of the annals of nowhere. A perfect post card from oblivion. A bleak, bold and personally ferocious vision of tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.

This is everything that record collectors skip dates for. Fuck the scene and keep that shit underground. That’s what it is all about. Know what I mean, if you do? You’re in…

Phantasy are delighted to introduce Greek duo Boys' Shorts for their debut EP on the label, ‘Athena’. The project of music obsessives Vangelis and Tareq, the Boys’ Shorts sound has helped redefine timeless strains of disco, house and Italo for Europe’s queer club underground, with similar charisma spilling into their collaborative productions on labels including Live at Robert Johnson, Permanent Vacation and Polari.

Boys' Shorts appearance on Phantasy is coupled with their most ambitious and fulfilling songwriting to date. Featuring a rare vocal performance from beloved selector and cosmic disco expert Budino, appearing alongside Elisa Paradiso, the instantaneous lead cut ‘Summer’s Here and Summer’s Missing’ recounts a sun-drenched romance cut short. The duo’s soft, bittersweet synthesis mingles with Budino’s Italian-language lyrics, gently pulsing to find closure, or at least further pleasure, while up late in a Balearic discoteque.

Under those same hot lights, Boys' Shorts go deeper still with the leading oscillations of ‘Stereo on Acid’, in which classic, wobbly-hearted 808 sounds flirt playfully with a bassline that bumps like downtown traffic on a sweltering Athens afternoon. Reflecting the hidden pleasures and true underground culture of the city after nightfall, title track ‘Athena’ is a sensual and sophisticated groove with an epic yet understated touch, that one can imagine soundtracking a future soiree or centuries of ancient history alike.

Within the nine carefully composed tracks of Young Bones, Mel D’s characteristic voice stands out in all its facets, varying from fragile to powerful, haunting to playful, but most of all soulful. With a voice that’s both extraordinarily clear and melancholic, Mel D is something surprisingly rare: a singer whose artistic expression goes beyond the mere use of her voice. On Young Bones, Mel D uses contemporary figures, rephrasing them into timeless formulas. Her unique musical language embodies references to genres like Indie or Alternative. In other moments, her sound leans baroque, then jazzy, soulful, and contemplative. Each song represents an ode to being connected: to the world, other people, and most of all to the beauty of music. Mel D draws her inspiration from struggles felt in the current world climate: “I have felt overwhelmed by the world we live in and its countless challenges,” said Mel D. “As if we’re all a bit directionless in our own lives.” Nevertheless, Mel D uses her musicality as a tool for resistance - using it to transform sadness and anger into creativity, and to give world-weariness a voice that seduces, comforts, and inspires. On Young Bones, Mel D sings us to a place where we might find hope - with songs rooted in concern, solidarity, humanness, and empowerment, inviting the listener to lean into those feelings. Bring the Witches Back, a hymn to witchcraft, is a quiet song that summons the return of witches with feminist urgency, for more love and magic to open ourselves towards each other and the world. Soft, a soulful song with a tender melody, gently lulls the listener into an in-between dimension, full of opportunities. Meanwhile, in the coming-of-age ballad, Slowly Growing, she raises questions about belonging and identity, pointing directly at our emotional core. Where Do You Look When It Hurts? speaks to the sensation of exhaustion and emptiness, offering musical warmth and a sense of community in moments of lethargy. Finally, listening to the album, one always feels in good company. Playfully working in folk and electro-pop elements, Mel D takes us on a ride toward love and a sense of belonging, particularly on the track We win. Young Bones was recorded in Zurich and Paris with two outstanding producers of our times: Renaud Letang, who has previously collaborated with Feist, Chilly Gonzales or Lianne La Havas, and Dino Brandão. The latter recognized Mel D’s artistic uniqueness during their first meeting, inviting her to a recording session in his studio and bringing her into the band of Swiss superstar, Faber. Mel D’s solo project was more a product of coincidence than planning, as she says, even though an undisputed talent and passion for music had always been apparent throughout her youth. During her studies in fine arts in Zurich, she founded the electronica-duo mischgewebe, and composed soundtracks for theater and movie productions, as well as for exhibitions. Long before forming her current artistic identity, she went by the nickname Mel D, in a humorous reference to the Spice Girls. Although her personality and musical language suggest thoughtfulness and a melancholy touch, Mel D acknowledges that an honest laugh is never out of place, making her sympathetic and approachable.

Editions Mego presents Bosko, landing exactly 30 years after the initial General Magic flights into the fantastic; the legendary first Mego release, a collaboration with Pita whereby all sounds were harnessed from the buzzing, drinking, humming sounds of fridges MEGO 001 General Magic & Pita and a 12” with Elin called Die Mondlandung (The Moon Landing) MEGO 002 which embarked on a minimal techno template so austere and strange it was one of the historic progenitors of austere and wonky rhythms alongside Sakho and other European explorers.

The initial return of the playful and mystical Austrian outfit General Magic came with the 20th year anniversary vinyl reissue of their classic debut Frantz eMEGO 010. A record so audacious and playful it still baffles as much as it entertains. At some point whilst working on this reissue GM’s Ramon Bauer and Andi Pieper were spurred on to rummage around with ideas and tools once more and after more than two decades of inactivity sonic sorcery was conjured once again. Live shows in honour of Peter Rehberg were performed in Vienna and London. Softbop, a limited risograph collaboration with Tina Frank came with the first new recordings as a digital download came out discreetly online. The first full length album following Rechenkönig in 2000 MEGO 032 “Nein Aber Ja” released in 2023 on Finlay Shakespeare’s GOTO Records on CD and cassette. An ongoing series of mix tapes online further highlights their interests encapsulating a new found angle on electronic mayhem. All of these elements retain the wildly eclectic and ecstatic glow that only they can harness and hand out to an unprepared world.

Now, we have General Magic’s second official full length comeback recording, Bosko. The new album is initially notable prior to the needle hitting the wax or the cursor identifying a track due to the artwork. Made by long term collaborator Tina Frank, this is Frank’s first analogue artwork, with a painting of a happy/nervous machine thing hovering in a landscape of no discernible identity. It’s quasi science fiction hovering amongst the potential for fun. Suited to the music? Natürlich.

Bosko sees Bauer and Pieper update and reframe their original investigations with a fresh supply of head scratching, heart racing tunes that hit the inexplicable with a wild mesh of drums, pianos, synthetic voices and all manner of immaterial sonic play. Startling sonics shock the ears on Club Duchamp which sounds like a conversation between synthetic adult ants in an environment still in development. Elfer features vocals supplied by a female-ish voice who, whilst grappling melody, has trouble executing a firm identity. Noorenhalt catapults along a mainframe of syncopation so unwieldy it feels like the voice, which is utterly alien, provides the only comfort. Seite 5 inhabits a fuzzy zone where a synthetic Horn of Jericho type ambience competes with rhythms never quite sure of who they are. Rise of the Ombré raises the spectral dread. Is this Science Fact? Absolutely nothing within Bosko is predictable.

The amount of change in the miasma of existence and the things we touch in order to make things has shifted so exponentially we are at the point where minds are starting to glaze over. All of this makes the return of the always original, always surprising, always fresh and exciting General Magic totally in tune with the artificial intelligent apocalyptic age we currently inhabit. The tools may have changed but the wonderfully warped gaze of Bosko offers a fresh new vision of perplexing funk and robotic punk.

"We're The Meatmen.And You Still Suck" wurde 1988 "live" aufgenommen und war zur Zeit ihres Releases das definitive MEATMEN Album. Unglaublich gut in der Qualität, wenn man bedenkt, dass es sich hier (hust, hust) um ein reines Livealbum handelt, ist "We're The Meatmen." der Sound der Band wie sie immer klingen sollte. Ohne sich auch nur einen Deut zurückzuhalten, ist dies hier aufgedrehter Punk/Metal mit dem männlichsten Mann aller Zeiten, Tesco Veer als Zeremonienmeister der Apokalypse. Die Songs sind ganz vorn mit dabei, wo die Originale "Tooling For Anus," "One Down Three To Go," "Lesbian Death Dirge" und so weiter mit fabulösen Coverversionen von "Razamanaz" von NAZARETH und "Rebel Rouser" von SWEET. Fünf Bonustracks geben dem Ganzen den letzten Schliff, der auch noch Material von 1986 mit Lyle Preslar (MINOR THREAT) in den Topf wirft.

First time vinyl reissue, expanded and deluxe double gatefold 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork and fresh liners written by Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours)
Alan James Eastwood's glorious Seeds is a certified folk-funk lost-classic.

But who was Alan James Eastwood? He had never hit the big time and commercial success eluded him. By the mid-1970s, his musical career was pretty much over and he was almost unknown except among deep heads, amongst whom he would gain cult status.

Original copies of the 1971 vinyl release of Seeds exchange hands for high sums, if you can find one. This expanded 2LP contains an extra record, collecting 9 rare non-album singles and is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned liner notes courtesy of Paul Hillery (Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours).

With the long overdue deluxe reissue of this prized artefact, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Alan James Eastwood. RIYL Nick Drake, Rodriguez, Richie Havens.

Alan James ‘Bugsy’ Eastwood was a renowned musician and singer who came to prominence in the late 1960s with The Exception, an unsung but excellent band from Birmingham. The Exception released many singles, the first featuring friend Robert Plant on tambourine, before an album, The Exceptional Exception. However, by this time, Bugsy was feeling constrained and restless; he left the band within weeks of the release.

Having vanished from the scene, he was honing a deeper, introspective edge to his songwriting. His demos found their way to the sound engineer and producer Mike Cooper at Pan Music Studios in Denmark Street. Loving what he heard, Eastwood soon entered a recording session with Cooper. The session was just Alan, his guitar and harmonica and - by all accounts - it was remarkable. With the songs, the voice and such an exceptional talent, it was hard to go wrong. Says Mike: "We had John Hawkins do the big string arrangements and Richard Hewson arranged the string quartet. We overdubbed the orchestrations on Alan's original session recordings, adding Chris Karan on tabla and various percussion. We considered re-recording the vocals but found that the magic on that original session was so exceptional overdubbing would not be as good as the atmospheric 'live' performance."

Mike and Alan viewed each track as a different entity, giving the album a diverse sonic palette. Assessing each song individually, they decided which would be suitable for each arranger. Top-flight session musicians were added to the roster to complete the sound, with Byron Lye Fook (father of musician Omar) on drums, bassist Mike Ward, Brian Pickles on marimba and jazz drummer Chris Karan on tabla and percussion. Recorded in a matter of days in Pan's small 8-track studio, they carefully added overdubs, rhythm sections and four string sessions arranged by Hawkins, with Hewson's arrangements recorded at Trident Studios.

Seeds was Alan James Eastwood's debut solo album – indeed, his only solo album - and was originally issued on President in 1971. It melded Eastwood’s impressive rock sensibilities with a folk thread to superb effect. His arresting voice - its deep, rough-hewn soulfulness - coupled with gorgeous string-drenched backing, make this a phenomenal listen. It really is a great 70s singer-songwriter record - with touches of acid-folk and folk-funk throughout.

It opens with "She's Getting Married In August", a mellow tune with Richard Hewson's strings arranged around Alan's straightforward guitar structure. Up next, the joyous, sun-dappled guitar and strings workout "Evenin' Rain" glides by before the fragile, accordion-enhanced "Les Papillons" breezes out of the speakers. The bluesy "Zeena" follows, featuring vocals and acoustic guitar and showcasing Eastwood's effortless harmonica. Starting out as a ballad, "Virgin Morn" builds with soaring strings and gospel-tinged backing vocals from Marilyn Powell and jazz singer Josephine Stahl. The A-side closes with the title track, "Seeds". With a chugging mid-tempo beat, soulful vocals and a beautiful Bacharach-esque string arrangement, it truly is stop-you-in-your-tracks spectacular.

Side B opens with "Crystal Blue", gilded by Lye Fook's marimba, lush gospel-esque backing vocals and handclaps. Eastwood's acoustic guitar begins "Lady Carole", which starts as a bluesy ballad and builds with more string arrangement, lifting the track to another height. A towering highlight of epic proportions, "Lotus Child" is a true masterpiece of arrangement. It opens with simple yet stunning do-do-dah vocal harmonies blended with John Hawkins's strings, bass lines and rhythmic beats, forming a vibe very much in conversation with the sounds coming from LA's Laurel Canyon. Next up, the heartwarming "Last Prayer", dedicated to Alan's first and last love, contains a melancholic vocal with a wistful string-drenched arrangement that would sit comfortably in a Federico Fellini score. Bringing the album to a close, "Hymn For Today" is a melodic raga with tabla, strings and a soft-psych feel. Eastwood's prophetic whisper - "I am real. At last, I am real" - profoundly hits home.

Kicking off the extra disc is the sparsely funky and country-tinged "Boston", released as the flip to the astonishing "Seeds". Next up are the two tracks that comprised Alan’s debut solo 7" single from 1968. The laconic, Bobby Charles-esque "Blackbird Charlie" evidences a real depth and charm in Eastwood's songwriting whilst the starkly brilliant flip, "My Sun", was a horizontal, atmospheric folk-tinged soundtracky precursor to his later work on Seeds.

In 1972, two further standalone singles followed. The first was the evergreen flute-driven folk-funk bomb, "Closer To The Truth", backed by the funky blues of "Strange News". The second, a deeply moving Havens-inspired "Moonchild" - rightly fawned over to this day - was flipped with "Red Shoe Truckin'", a groove-infused track. Eastwood also paired up with Marilyn Powell for a single produced by Powell's partner, Mike Cooper. Under the name Eastwood & Powell, they released their staggering rendition of "Beautiful", a rock-blues-pop song arranged by Ivor Raymonde and written by Carole King. Over on the flip, a funky Eastwood original "Opal Blue Sunday" lurked. This is not to be overlooked.

Over the years, Alan remained active on the music scene, but problems with alcohol and health complications from diabetes severely impacted his career. He spent his latter years living in London until his untimely death from heart failure on 25 October 2007, just one day before his 62nd birthday and without his music having received the real acclaim it so dearly deserved.

This deluxe reissue, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to rectifying this tragic fact. Mastering for this special double vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life at Be With HQ, with the addition of passionately written liner notes specially for this landmark reissue by none other than Paul Hillery.

Students of Decay presents The Dip, a new full-length recording by Berlin-based artist and composer Thomas Ankersmit, marking his debut with the label and sixth album to date. Comprised of two expansive, sidelong pieces composed entirely on the Serge Modular synthesizer, it signals a subtle yet significant shift in Ankersmit’s trajectory, imbuing the hyper-physical, psychoacoustic intensities of his live performances with introspective, atmospheric, and even melodic elements.

Primarily known for a site-responsive approach to sound, often realized in the moment of performance, Ankersmit’s turn toward the studio in the last few years has opened up a new dimension within his practice. It is in this quiet rupture that The Dip emerged, a study in internality and suspended states, rich with cinematic undercurrents and ghostly spatial suggestion. Here, electricity itself feels transfigured – becoming supple, even organic – within an environment shaped entirely by analog signals.

Over the past two decades, Ankersmit has established himself as one of the foremost practitioners of the Serge, the notoriously idiosyncratic and expressive instrument that has remained central to his work. On The Dip, he harnesses its potential not for brute force or disorientation, but for spaciousness, resonance, and lyrical abstraction. Without resorting to additional processing or effects, he draws out tones that feel simultaneously raw and refined, articulated and blurred – intricate structures that seem to breathe and evolve of their own volition.

The result is a kind of auditory hallucination, a “cinema for the ears,” wherein impressions, emotional arcs, and imagined topographies unfold. Each side of The Dip plays like a single gesture unfolding in time – a spatial narrative constructed through vibration, density, and the movement of air.

The Dip follows acclaimed works on PAN, Touch, and Shelter Press, and reaffirms Thomas Ankersmit’s position as one of the most focused and probing voices in contemporary experimental music. Quietly radical and meticulously constructed, it is less a departure than a deepening – a descent into a more private sonic world, where the boundaries between perception, memory, and pure signal dissolve.

White LP. Born out of the early 1980's Austin noise punk scene, Scratch Acid deliberately eschewed the loud, fast rules of hardcore as everything they didn't want to be and embraced a weirder, artier sound. Prior to the release of their 1984 debut S/T EP, someone gave Touch and Go Records owner Corey Rusk a cassette of the recording, and he was instantly a huge fan. Rusk was immediately interested in releasing the EP and contacted the band to express his admiration. At the time, Scratch Acid had already committed to working with Rabid Cat Records, who released the band's debut release S/T EP (1984) and their only full-length album, Just Keep Eating (1986). The group quickly developed a riveting performance aesthetic, and, as the debut S/T EP made its way around the country via fanzines, college radio, and word-of-mouth, the band mounted short tours to the Midwest and the East Coast. After playing a total of 146 shows, Scratch Acid broke up after the long tour that followed the release of the Berserker EP (Touch and Go Records, 1987). Since that time, the band have had many imitators, and many alternative bands have cited Scratch Acid as one of their influences.

When we did the first ever vinyl reissue of this 1972 masterpiece back in 2012 it sold out so fast and so many lost the chance to grab a copy has translated into continuous messages asking us to do a repressing of this marvel - which we did and, again, it sold like hot bread. So here is a new edition of this UK jazz masterpiece, this time with a twist :

- Silk-screened cover art : we respect the original design, but have upgraded the printing from regular offset to silk screen to give it an artistic touch!

- In adition to the limited black vinyl edition (400 copies), we offer an ultra limited clear vinyl version (100 copies-only!)

One of the big names in UK Jazz, Neil Ardley was offered the leadership of the seminal New Jazz Orchestra in 1964. Under his direction the Orchestra moved though different styles and changes of personnel, bringing in musicians such as Mike Gibbs (trombone), Harry Beckett andHenry Lowther (trumpets) or even Jack Bruce (bass), some of them also contributed with the writing of some original compositions, making the NJO the root from which the UK's 70's jazz scene was to blossom.

By 1972 the NJO was already defunct, but his legacy remained in the works of its members. Ardley's 'A Symphony Of Amaranths' is a perfect example of what was boiling in the UK jazz scene. It was Ardleys tribute to his idols Duke Ellington and Gil Evans, and featured the skills of some great musicians of the scene including Don Rendell,Stan Tracey, Henry Lowther, Harry Beckett, Jeff Clyne & Jon Hiseman. Side B is inspired by the words of Edward Lear, W. B. Yeats, James Joyce and Lewis Carroll that are musicated by Ardley and feature, among other highlights, Ivor Cutler's narration of 'The Dong With A Luminous Nose' and Norma Winstone's vocals on 'Will You Walk A Little Faster'.



Musicians that participated in the recording session :

- Derek Watkins, Nigel Carter, Henry Lowther, Harold Beckett (trumpets)
- Derek Wadsworth, Ray Premru (trombones)
- Dick Hart (tuba)
- Barbara Thompson, Dave Gelly, Don Rendell, Dick Heckstall-Smith (woodwind, saxes)
- John Clementson (oboe)
- Bunny Gould (bassoon)
- Dave Gelly (glockenspiel)
- Neil Ardley (prepared piano)
- David Snell, Sidonie Goossens (harp)
- Stan Tracey (piano, celeste)
- Karl Jenkins (electric piano)
- Alan Branscombe (harpsichord)
- Frank Ricotti (vibraphone, percussion)
- Chris Laurence, Jeff Clyne (bass)
- Jon Hiseman (drums, percussion)
- Eric Gruenberg, Jack Rothstein, Kelly Isaacs (violin)
- Ken Essex (viola)
- Charles Tunnell, Francis Gabarro (cello)
- Ivor Cutler (narrator)
- Norma Winstone (vocal)
- Jack Rothstein, Neil Ardley (conductors)

Welcome to a whole new stage from Akasha Records, introducing the label into the analog world.

To begin with, Delazar brings us three delightful dancefloor dishes together with an ambient mix from the timeless gem "Memory Access", released in the first Akasha's digital appearance.

Monkey Slayer, this new EP, brings us so much flavour with acid touch, funny percussive bounces and synth sounds. A1 brings the perfect mood. It's remix version from master Deep Mariano takes us to an intense and happy trip, so that alter on, "Reincarnation" makes us close the stadium. "After" well... You already know when to play this one. And to come back to Earth at some point, as dessert, you can delight with an ambient masterpiece.

The Ancient Greeks & Romans sure had that "classic" touch. Before their empires crumbled into ruin, they set the standard with their classical forms, in art, buildings, and philosophy. They've set the pace ever since with pretenders and imitators making "classical music," "neo-classical architecture," and of course "classic rock" _ Once something is a classic, it's untouchable. No one would dare attempt to improve it. That would be sacrilege! After all, who could do better than Ovid, Homer, & Virgil? Or the classic tunes of Rolling Stones, the Stooges, et al? They're the gold standard of perfection; no one would dare try to improve upon them_ until XYZ that is! That's right, XYZ -- those little-known legends -have achieved the impossible; they've taken the classics and made them even better! More relevant, more updated, more "now," more _ wow! They improved the classics using all the latest sensibilities, technologies & innovations. On "XYZ PLAYS THE CLASSICS," the XYZ band - the twosome that sang "Bubble Gum" - take the beloved but tired tunes of the classic rock canon - The Rolling Stones, VU, Neu!, The Seeds, Stooges, & the other Hall of Famers - and resuscitates them, pumping new blood into worn-out veins, revitalize them with new themes, new lyrics, and new riffs to make them new again! This is the record that merges the old with the new, that completes the circle of life; it's the cosmic record that everyone needs right now!

2025 Repress

Loose Grooves & Bastard Blues is Tommy Guerrero's sublime debut. Of this beloved masterpiece, the legendary skater himself says: "my 1st album. It was never meant to be released. I was just recording for the fun of it.. still my fave. Oh so naive..." And you know what? It's definitely Be With's fave too. An astonishingly great record. A chill, blissful, deeply moving album, it was rightly garlanded as an instant classic.

A laidback, fusionistic ride replete with loopy drum tracks underpinning Tommy's trademark reflective guitar stylings, Loose Grooves & Bastard Blues remains powerfully evergreen. Originally released in 1997, there's elements of jazz, trip hop, rock and downtempo groove. All shot through with a heavy dose of soul. Thirteen tracks of lo-fi (mostly) instrumental freshness fused with Cuban, Latin and blues, it's a must for fans of Money Mark, J Dilla, RJD2, DJ Shadow and Pete Rock. As ever with Tommy's records, the title sums up the music contained within most aptly. And writing about his songs, his vibes, is one of the trickier things to do, it has to be said. It's just all gorgeous!

A total vibe throughout, to blast Loose Grooves & Bastard Blues is a majestic experience, one that suits a start-to-finish listen and renders the picking out of highlights totally redundant. Featuring nagging, deeply melodic guitar lines - both electric and acoustic - over simple rhythms with such sumptuous elegance, the hypnotic playing against unrushed percussion releases a crystal clear stream of healing frequencies. It's ust divine. This album laid the blueprint from which Tommy Guerrero would subsequently explore further on A Little Bit of Somethin' and Soul Food Taquiera.

Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland. The original and iconic sleeve, designed by Natas Kaupas, has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

CATCHY, MESMERIZINGLY BEAUTIFUL, DREAMY CHAMBER POP WITH A FOLKY TWIST

Music can have a multitude of emotional impacts and can create inner worlds out of voices, sounds, and moods.
If you open heart and ear to the mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful soundscapes of AURI, you might find a beacon of light inside a sonic realm untouched by today’s often scary, grim realities; a dreamscape that can be profoundly uplifting.
On their third studio album, III - Candles & Beginnings’ the stars have aligned yet again. Propelled by the unique and celestial voice of Johanna Kurkela, the magical textures of Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen and the almost unlimited musical palette of Nigtwish multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, Auri have presented a world to be unlocked with the senses, blending folk, progressive and symphonic elements, world music, pop and avantgarde.
Right after completing Nightwish’s 2024 monument Yesterwynde, the songwriting for the third chapter in Auri’s musical adventures started in 2023, with Troy writing in Yorkshire and Tuomas and Johanna working their creative magic in Kitee, Finland. By Autumn 2024, a 10-song demo was complete, setting the stage for what would become another breathtaking Auri journey. The band and their trusted engineer Tero “Teecee” Kinnunen took the mixing process to sunny Spain, letting the Andalucian vibes infuse the music whereas in March 2025 mastering was wrapped up by Tim Oliver at the legendary Real World Studios - a ground-breaking recording complex started by Peter Gabriel in 1989.
The album is a tapestry of emotions - each song a world of its own, touching on childhood memories, vivid life experiences, and even a nod to one of the group’s most beloved places on Earth - The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge, a historic spot nestled in the North York Moors and one of the most remote pubs you will ever find.
Visually, the cover artwork by Pete Voutilainen, layout and watercolors by Mikko Pankasalo plus calligraphy by Johanna Kurkela provide wonderful illustrations perfectly capturing Auri’s unique musical visions.
With guest musicians like Frank Van Essen (strings), Jonas Pap (cello), Juho Kanervo (basses), and the incredible drumming and percussion courtesy of Nightwish’s Kai Hahto, Auri III - Candles & Beginnings is as lush as it is atmospheric and provides astonishing dynamics.
Having been a studio endeavor in the past, Auri is finally going on tour with their first-ever live European trek kicking off in August 2025, followed by summer festivals in 2026, allowing you to hear, see and feel songs from their previous two albums, as well as brand new pieces from III - Candles & Beginnings.

Musique de Niche Vol.1 barked for a Vol.2. The second opus of any relevant trilogy (did I just spoil a Vol.3?) undergoes always the hardest trial by fire: but the bois, Pierre Marty and Admo, once again delivered these flavors you didnt know your collection was missing.

Same city, different district and new inspirations: following the world premiere in Berlin of their Liveset, they hit the home studio, refining the last bits of this new EP and giving it a new twist while still echoing the first volume.

Tech-house yes, but is it really ?

Indecisiveness feels like we could've said maybe yes but no but...
Well: Alpyren did the quite impressive feat of pressing this feeling on a record - that's A1. The haunting voice sample is this sassy inner self trying to tell you whats up. At least, you're not alone: the quirky bleeps and the punchy bassline are there lending you a hand to make that surely bad decision.

By flipping the record or the usb, you get to the two tracks where they let their new inspirations hit the speakers.

B1 is out before GTA VI, but it could've been in the soundtrack if the game was actually happening between Los Santos and Marseille.G-funk with the Alpyren touch: for the floor, a tune that will make you sway. Broken beats, almost broken legs.

B2 is the freaky one of the bunch: starts with the gloomy sound signature of the duo, but we're back with more 80's inspirations.Darker synth pop with a twist: you end up following the kick with the head bobbing in sync, while all the FX sounds bring to the track this extra spice.

It's 5pm here at the Ordinateuf HQ and we've just finished listening to the latest masters of the new E.P by Alpyren 'Musique de Niche vol2'. Before we're back to more phone calls, we'd like to thank all the friends that bought the first volume: the support has been quite amazing so far.

Enjoy this new one - its got our paw of approval.

A captivating deep cut from the golden age of Italian library music, Il Ponte Dell’Asia stands as one of Piero Umiliani’s most evocative and exotic soundscapes. Originally released in 1967 as a private pressing for Italian the TV documentary by Corrado Sofia, this elusive gem blends Far Eastern motifs with the elegance of mid-century European jazz and the textured experimentation that defines Umiliani’s best work.

On Il Ponte Dell’Asia, Umiliani constructs a cinematic bridge between continents, layering modal melodies, sinuous flutes, shimmering vibraphones, and richly orchestrated strings over hypnotic rhythms and subtly psychedelic touches. The result is a masterful fusion of East-meets-West that channels both travelogue fantasy and avant-garde sophistication — a rare synthesis of traditional instrumentation and modernist sensibility.

Exported from the original tapes, pressed on high-quality vinyl and with faithfully restored artwork, this reissue offers a long-overdue return to one of Umiliani’s most immersive sonic journeys, an essential for fans of Italian library music, film scores, and genre-defying jazz.

Rediscover a lost jewel from the vault of one of Italy’s most visionary composers — where bamboo forests, smoky clubs, and dreamlike landscapes converge in sound.

©℗ 1967, Liuto Edizioni Musicali / Licensed to Holy Basil Records by Liuto Edizioni Musica

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & The Upsetters’ classic Return of Django. Lee Perry had already been making name in the Jamaican music scene for about a decade before Return of Django hit the UK charts in 1969. It was released after Trojan released
a hugely popular collection of Perry’s biggest instrumentals. This album is a must for everyone that enjoys that good old vintage reggae sounds.

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry was a pioneer of dub music and worked together with artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Clash and The Beastie Boys.

Return of Django is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on white coloured vinyl.

Naarm/Melbourne-based rock powerhouse Shepparton Airplane are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of their fourth album, Forecast, set for release on August 8th via Wing Sing Records.

The highly anticipated follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2020 LP, Sharks, Forecast marks a compelling evolution for the band, leaning into a more song-oriented approach while still retaining the raw energy their live shows are celebrated for. While previous albums embraced extended jams, Forecast showcases a collection of more traditionally structured songs, with only one instrumental track, the epic slow-burner "Thursday, Simply."

Forecast was written during the endless Melbourne lockdowns, however the music maintains a surprisingly hopeful and, at times, pop-influenced direction.

Lyrically, Forecast delves into the darker facets of the human experience - isolation and introspection - exploring everyday interactions in tracks like "Saw You Coming," "Scribbles and Noises," and "Someone To Blame." These sit alongside apocalyptic observations in songs such as "Forecast," "Septic Dream," and "Hell No," as well as fictional narratives like the tale of a disenfranchised battler in "Angry" and the tragic seafaring love story in "Heaven Will Take Us In." Adding a touch of levity is "Stereo Youth," described by the band as possibly their most feel-good tune to Date.

Forecast promises to impress fans of outsider guitar-driven sounds and followers of the band members' other projects. Ultimately, the album reaffirms that raw, honest, loud rock'n'roll is alive and well in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia.

Kobe Dupree unveils debut album, ‘Voice from the Inside’, arriving 21st May 2025. It lands on fellow Chicagoan DJ Hyperactive’s 4Trk (4 Track Recordings), and features twelve tracks already supported by the likes of Dustin Zahn, Truncate, Korea Town Acid, Amanda Mussi & more, coming out on wax alongside the digital release.

Dupree’s cosmic ambient opener, 'Jacurutu', sinks you into deep, sub-aquatic techno hypnosis before 'Heretics' layers up alien sounds and rolling kick drums. 'Syk' brings edgy, unrelieved loops and muffled spoken words over more mind-melting rhythm. The supple sounds and otherworldly atmospheres continue on 'Forms', which is marbled with static electricity, with 'Interlude of Voice' marking a moment to reset amongst gorgeous celestial synth smears.

The second half of the album takes in the more punchy but still perfectly loopy deep techno of 'Memory Replacement' and psychedelic swirls of 'Tongue of the Unseen'. There is a mystical charm to the harmonic tones of 'Gammu', a moodier vibe pervades the suspensory 'Fogwood', then 'Semuta Music' traps you in tightly coiled drums and hi-hats while a backlit glow soothes the soul. 'One of Many Faces' closes with a heart-aching piano piece that gets deeply emotional.

Kobe Dupree is a techno artist from Chicago with a deep interest in sound design and minimalism. His musical experiments have been released on Trax Research, Double Vision Records and DJ Hyperactive’s 4 Trk, on which he released the ‘Stimulate | Iterate’ EP in 2024. He has a hybrid approach to production, which involves using a modular rig for sound design before moving to a DAW for arrangement and final touches, heard on the sophisticated and cerebral ‘Voice from the Inside’ album.

Emotional Especial reaches a landmark with its 50th release. Started in 2012 as a “dancier & trippier”, club friendly spin off, sub label to Emotional Response, it has gone on to forge a path, releasing a myriad of artists including the opening release by Jamie Paton (Cage & Aviary / ESP Institute) to Richard Sen (Bronx Dogs), the debut of Khidja (Malka Tuti / DFA) and on to unearthing the breaks masters Alphonse (Klasse Wrecks) and Junior Fairplay (Crimes Of The Future), the uplifting Italo influenced Lauer (Robert Johnson), the new wave anthem of Sfire (featuring Sophie), plus perfect remixes bt Kris Baha (CockTail D’amore) and INHALT (Dark Entries), the NYC pop-rave-vox of Kim Ann Foxman, through to showcasing upcoming artists like Berlin’s Giraffi Dog (Aiwo Recs) and the global acid adventures of Akio Nagase (Chill Mountain) to most recently, the slo-mo trance muscle of 53X and post-rave uplighters of Remotif (Space Lab) and DJ 1985.

As with every 10th release on the label, the label present a various artists “Showcase” of what and where the label is. Aptly it is recent signing 53X who opens Gracias Especial with the bounce of Radar. Finland’s Jonne Lydén debut EP on Especial, Zen ’23 came out of nowhere, more than simply riding a zeitgeist of the “Trance Revival”, his all-live analogue symphonies drop the bpms, presenting widescreen beats, darkroom bass, sirens and tripped out vox all mix to propel a singularly driven.

Taking things much deeper has been the hallmark of Jamie Paton’s remixes for the label. As well as providing the opening EP in 2013, designing every sleeve and producing 20 remixes and counting another 2 for the label here, it’s impossible not to associate Especial with Jamie’s music. First, he reworks rising star DJ, but recent break out producer Chez De Milo, with a trademark dub excursion that takes the ethnic origins of Kremer to a space echo wonderland. Space is the place, the lulling beats, see you falling through the gaps, true dub style.

Alphonse makes a rightful return to Especial, with Raze Rave highlighting the allusive producers’ unique understanding of the varied history of rave culture via a techno-suite of soundscapes, perfectly mixing uplifting breaks, memory inducing vocal samples and dub bass, with a nod to the pop sensibility that rave encompassed, while being that allusive “lost chord” moment of man and machine.

The finale returns to the trance acid expanse of 53X, with the mastery of label stalwart Jamie Paton. An apt marriage, Paton takes the title cut from Lydén’s debut EP and crafts a trademark durge-dub, where TB303 and space echo intertwine with the De Witte vocal, hinting at touches of dub, new wave, trance and acid house all in one melting pot of sound the label optimistically termed “Protoid” back at inception of summer 2013.

MIDICRONICA, known as the final legacy of Nujabes and the ending theme of the globally acclaimed anime "Samurai Champloo" and singer Hiro-a-key
(origami PRODUCTIONS), who is also active globally under the name Nenashi, have teamed up to release "Itsumosobani" on 7-inch vinyl.
This work is a split album of songs by Shin-Ski, the poster child of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop, and KO-ney, an official AKAI Professional player and one of Japan's leading finger
drummers, and includes two songs, the mellow and nostalgic "Itsumosobani" based on jazz, and the emotional and laid-back Itsumo Soba n".
Hiro-a-key's pale and fleeting singing voice and MIDICRONICA's unadorned words will touch your heart when you think of someone important.

Blue and orange Stardust vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Since 2016, Indiana's Wraith have been emitting their incendiary brand of blackened thrash and speed metal into the world. Summer 2024 will see them release their debut full length under the Prosthetic Records label banner; prepare for Fueled By Fear. What started as a one-man band many moons ago has evolved into a propulsive beast of a band. Channeling a reverence to classic metal from a bygone era, Wraith incorporate their distinctively blistering sonic signature to create something urgent and contemporary. The band have previously described their collective mission as follows: a war of aggression on the dour confines of the modern metal scene and total sonic annihilation. Fueled By Fear captures the raw punk edge of their previous releases; a sound that will already be familiar to converts who have caught the band live in all their full-throttled abrasive glory. The album was self-produced by the band in Griffith, Indiana -, with engineering, mixing and mastering handled by CJ Rayson. Each member brings their own influences and stylistic flourishes to the table, combining to create a tightly wound, cohesive collection of scorching tracks that reflect their individual personalities and tastes.

* V Recordings and Tim Reaper's Future Retro London have joined forces to unleash "One Stop Mr Driver," a track that channels the raw energy of '90s jungle. This release features both the original mix by the legendary Krust and a fresh remix by Tim Reaper, bridging the genre's roots with its modern resurgence.

* Kirk Thompson, professionally known as Krust, is a seminal figure in drum and bass. Emerging from Bristol's vibrant music scene, Krust co-founded the influential Full Cycle Records alongside Roni Size, DJ Die, and Suv. His innovative approach has produced classics like "Warhead" and "Soul in Motion," tracks that have left an indelible mark on the genre.

* London-based DJ and producer Tim Reaper has been pivotal in the revival of jungle music. Through his label, Future Retro London, Tim has showcased a plethora of talent from the modern jungle scene, earning accolades such as DJ Mag's Best of British Breakthrough Label award in 2021.
* "One Stop Mr Driver" was a coveted dubplate from the '90s, never officially released but highly sought after by enthusiasts. Recognizing its timeless appeal, Tim Reaper has crafted a remix that preserves the original's amen break-driven intensity while infusing it with razor-sharp modern production.

* Bryan Gee, the visionary behind V Recordings, has long admired Tim Reaper's contributions to the scene. This collaboration marks a rare partnership in V Recordings' three-decade history. The fusion of Krust's pioneering sound with Tim Reaper's modern touch honors its roots while embracing the future of drum and bass and jungle music.

* "One Stop Mr Driver" will be available digitally and as a limited edition 12" vinyl release.