Search:player one

The Brooklyn Players’ track “Hypnotized” was originally recorded in 2003 by a group of session musicians for a UK newspaper’s CD series free giveaway, featuring classic disco and funk. Despite efforts to identify the band members, their identities remain unknown.
A sublime boogie track with wonderful vocals, “Hypnotized” will be loved by the dancers!!
The track is now available for the first time on a limited edition 7-inch vinyl (400 copies), released by Home of The Good Groove Records (Catalog No: GG004) on March 6, 2026.
The B side “Hypnotized (Timberman Bass Groove),” includes a fantastic underlying bass line groove laid down by one of East London’s finest bass players, Timberman, enhancing the original synthesizer-bass sound.
Enjoy!!

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!

Repress!

Recorded live at The Village Vanguard in New York on June 25, 1961, this was the fourth album by the Bill Evans Trio, composed of pianist Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Paul Motian. Scott LaFaro was one of the supreme jazz bassists, a virtuoso player whose playing changed the very conception of his instrument. This album unfortunately also represents one of LaFaro's last performances, recorded just days before his tragic death at the age of 25 by automobile accident. Interestingly the album also contains tracks that Evans had recorded prior to working with LaFaro, so that this recording provides a very accurate index of the bassist's great contribution to the trio.

Numbered first pressing limited to 500 copies.

Scott Pilgrim EX, the newest video game from the Scott Pilgrim franchise developed by Tribute Games, is out now with an all new original soundtrack from Anamanaguchi. The sprawling soundtrack, which accompanies a brand-new storyline co-written by series creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, perfectly connects the band's legendary electronic past with their fuzzed out garage rock present while maintaining their unmistakable punchy style. Known for resonant world building across past projects, the depth of emotion and the range of styles displayed on Scott Pilgrim EX are uniquely Anamanaguchi while delivering a host of melodically anthemic and new energetic hooks that are sure to pack a punch for both newcomers and old school fans of the band alike.

Anamanaguchi's collaborative relationship with the Scott Pilgrim universe goes back to the early days of the band. After cutting their teeth programming music with playable Nintendo cartridges and helping to bring a wider audience to a largely internet based 8-bit chiptune scene, the band was brought in to score the fan-favorite soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game. The success of this game soundtrack would help them to launch an early crowdfunding success story with their campaign for their debut album, 2013's Endless Fantasy. From there the band would go on to collaborate with virtual pop star Hatsune Miku (resulting in the perpetually viral, Fortnite featured hit, “Miku”), and later develop the intricately soundscaped compositions displayed across their second album, USA, but throughout it all the connection between the band and the Scott Pilgrim universe would remain a pivotal source of inspiration.

After being brought in to score the animated Netflix series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, in 2023, band members Peter Berkman and Luke Silas would credit the live kinetic energy they channeled when writing songs for the in-universe garage band Sex Bob-Omb with helping them get back in touch with the roots of how they learned to play music even before Anamanaguchi's earliest releases.  This process would eventually lead to Peter and Luke alongside the remaining two band members — Ary Warnaar and James DeVito — flipping their typically meticulous digital writing process for the more collaborative, straight to tape, distorted angst that can be found on 2025's Anyway, marking another significant evolutionary turn for the band to come out of their relationship with Scott Pilgrim.  

Now fresh off the heels of a nationwide tour in support of Anyway, Anamanaguchi have returned to the 8-bit beat em up world of Scott Pilgrim with a relentlessly high energy and genre defying original soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim EX.  A return to form that comes with a depth of knowledge and innovative skills that have allowed the band to continue to evolve and grow alongside the characters in the Scott Pilgrim universe and the multi-generational fanbase that continues to follow along with them.

The new soundtrack for the latest installment in the Scott Pilgrim franchise, Scott Pilgrim EX

MOTORSLICE is the original soundtrack to the viral hit indie video game of the same name, composed and produced by Pizza Hotline. Built around high-speed movement, razor-sharp parkour, and a blue haired girl slicing machines in half with a bad ass chain saw, the album pushes Pizza Hotline’s video game-inspired sound into a harder, faster, and more cinematic space.

Blending jungle, drum and bass, sci-fi ambient pads, and Y2K game soundtrack nostalgia, MOTORSLICE captures the feeling of launching yourself across gaps, slicing through enemies, and chasing perfect momentum over huge post apocalyptic vistas. The soundtrack draws inspiration from games like Mirror’s Edge, Prince of Persia, and Shadow of the Colossus while maintaining a glossy electronic character that defined that era.

To celebrate the release, MOTORSLICE is being pressed as a full length vinyl LP featuring the complete soundtrack on striking orange vinyl, chosen to match the main character’s iconic outfit. It turns the soundtrack into a proper physical artefact from the game's palpable world, tying the music directly to the visual identity of the game.

Where albums like Level Select and Dream Select explored imaginary game worlds, MOTORSLICE is the sound of a real one: a breakout indie game that has already made a huge impact online through viral gameplay clips and a growing community of players. The result is a soundtrack that feels both nostalgic and immediate, built for speed, precision, and impact while still carrying the melodic, emotional, and playful qualities that define Pizza Hotline’s music.

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Dalbergia Retusa, an extensive double LP selection of the solo guitar music of Hans Reichel, compiled by Oren Ambarchi. Last heard on Black Truffle as one quarter of the joyously anarchic Bergisch-Brandenburgisches Quartett, Hans Reichel (1949-2011) is one of the great figures of experimental guitar music. Though perhaps lesser known than peers like Derek Bailey, Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, Reichel’s rethinking of the instrument was in some ways the most radical of all. Early on, he dispensed with existing guitars to build a series of his own that explored the use of additional strings and fretboards, moveable pickups, extra bridges, special capos, and other innovations documented in the extensive booklet accompanying this release.

Reichel was a long-term resident of Wuppertal, the small Western Germany city that became an unlikely centre of European free jazz in the late 1960s, also home to Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald. His solo debut Wichlinghauser Blues was an early entry into the FMP discography and began a relationship with the label that stretched into the 1990s; all the solo performances heard here were first released on FMP. As Reichel says in the charming archival interview with Markus Müller included here, he was ‘always a cuckoo’s egg at FMP’, a label that began as an outlet for roaring European free jazz. What strikes the listener right from the opening selection on Dalbergia Retusa—‘Return of the Knödler show’, from 1987’s The Dawn of Dachsman—is the extraordinary beauty of Reichel’s music, at once alien in the shimmering sonorities and unconventional pitch relationships made possible by his invented instruments, and deeply lyrical, even romantic in its harmonic content. Growing up in West Germany in the 1960s, Reichel’s formative influences were mainly British and American rock bands, a background that shines through in many of the pieces included here: ‘An old friend passes by’ is haunted by the ghost of Hendrix’s rhythm guitar, and the wild closer ‘Heimkehr der Holzböcke’, taken from a rare 1975 7” and the only piece to use overdubbing, layers errant hammer-on and slide tones over a Canned Heat boogie chug.

Reichel was an important source for the development of Oren Ambarchi’s own extended approach to the electric guitar. Appropriately enough, his selection opens with the very first piece by Reichel he ever heard, on a flexidisc included with a 1989 issue of Guitar Player magazine. Though Reichel collaborated with others extensively in many settings and also performed on violin and his other major contribution to instrument invention, the daxophone, his music for solo guitar remains at the core of his oeuvre. Focusing exclusively on solo pieces recorded between 1973 and 1988, the 23 pieces on Dalbergia Retusa showcase the range and consistency of Reichel’s work, allowing the listener to see how his performances developed hand-in-hand with his instrumental inventions. On a piece from his very first LP, played on an 11-string instrument (partly strung with piano strings and using a schnapps glass a slide), we hear his intensive exploration of fret-hammering to create zither-like, chiming tone, which Reichel would hone further in later years with a double fretboard guitar specifically designed to be hammered rather than fretted and picked. On a piece from 1979’s Death of the Rare Bird Ymir, Reichel uses two steel-string acoustic guitars at once, with beautiful results: ‘some even say too beautiful’, he jokes in the interview included here. Many of the pieces from the 1980s make use of varieties of the ‘pick behind the bridge guitar’, instruments of uncanny harmonic richness primarily designed to be played on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge. At times the unexpected behaviour of attacks, resonance, and decay can almost seem electronic, conjuring up the technology-assisted work of Henry Kaiser or even Fennesz, but realised solely through Reichel’s unorthodox techniques on his invented instruments. Extensively illustrated with photos and Reichel’s own plans and drawings of his instruments, Dalbergia Retusa is an essential introduction to the unique world of Hans Reichel. Rarely has music been at once so strange and so beautiful.

JOCELYN VIRAPIN is one of the master of the Guadeloupean Gwoka percussion.
Born October 17th, 1957 in Basse-Terre, he’s an author, composer, producer and a vinyl digger.
His Gwoka is a pure tribute to the traditional combination of responsorial singing in Guadeloupean creole, rhythms played on the Ka drums and dancing.
He started to play in the 90’s with his band Gwaka. He opened and collaborated with prestigious band such as Kassav or Zouk Machine.
He has a massive discography as arranger and musician: he appears on more than 78 albums! The track "Pasyon" was originally released in 1994 on a rare vinyl , but with the artist we decided to do an edit, so we invited the super talented jazz player Florian Pellissier for a Rhodes improvisation on the original take.
The track "Respè Pou Fanm" was originally released with his band BELOKA in 2010 and was only pressed on a Cd format at a very limited quantity. This beautiful song is a blend of Ka, fantastic jazzy keys on Rhodes, hypnotic bass, sublime creole spiritual chants. With an incredibly joyous feel, the lyrics gave a timeless advice to men: Respect Women .
It definitely deserves a vinyl version for all the music lovers, Dj’s and diggers from all over the world !
Kenbé red pa moli !

Originally released in 1994.

The legendary album from South Africa’s House and Kwaito master Doctor House being reissued for the first time with a full remaster from the original DAT tapes. Nelson Phetole Mohale released a series of albums as Doctor House. Cutting his teeth in the 80s as a session player for a host of big names like Volcano, Senyaka and Obed Ngobeni, he moved on to programming for acts like La Viva and Jivaro, also contributing to Carlos Djedje and others. Still barely out of his teens he became one of South Africa’s first rappers as part of PT House, co-written and produced by Danny Bridgens. Their debut album Big World was released in 1991 and followed by Big City Taste a year later.

Cold, Bold & Together (CBT) CBT was founded in Bellingham, Washington in 1971 by percussionist Tony Gable and musicians Solomon Harris, Keith Hooks and twin brothers TC & Jamar Jenkins. It soon became evident that Bellingham was not a particularly welcoming environment for R&B music, so they moved to Seattle to try their luck and plumb the rich supply of venues, which they successfully did until disbanding in 1978. They spent their early Seattle years playing a combination of covers and originals in clubs, later becoming the "go to" opening act for various nationally known artists, such as Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire. While they were paying their club circuit and opening act dues, they squeezed in recording sessions whenever they could and released their own material, which was well-received and got strong regional airplay. However, because of the feudal nature of the music business at the time, they just couldn't break out, and like a lot of Northwest bands with great potential, they inevitably broke up and went their separate ways. Upon disbanding, they left behind a collection of original recordings at Seattle's legendary Kaye-Smith studios.

Unfortunately for CBT, the studio passed through several owners and at some unknown point in time, one of them did the unforgivable and destroyed the storied studio inventory of two-inch tapes and quarter-inch masters. Unknown to the band, a copy of their masters was smuggled out by their producer who added them to his legacy collection of cloned quarter-inch masters. After several years and many moves, he became concerned about the tendency for magnetic tape to deteriorate over time.

He sent the tapes to a Seattle lab to be restored and digitized, with the hope that perhaps, some day, they might be made available for the listening pleasure of R&B fans. The hoped-for day has finally arrived. Russell Paine and Super Disco Edits has pressed two of the Kaye-Smith CBT tracks: "Go For It", a jazz-influenced instrumental, featuring Kenny G, and "Unity", sung by the group en masse with Tony Gable singing lead. The musicians on these tracks are: Tony Gable, leader, vocals and percussion Harry Alexander, drums Kenny Gorelick (now world-renowned "Kenny G"), sax, flute and horn arrangements Chris Ishi, trumpet Michael Young, Trombone Jamar Jenkins guitar, vocals TC Jenkins bass, vocals 1 Philip Woo, keyboards Footnotes: CBT gave legendary saxophonist Kenny G his start in the music business. Kenny was still in high school when he was recruited to play sax and write horn arrangements. Kenny co-wrote, arranged and played sax and flute on the instrumental "Go For It." He rips a smoking tenor sax solo in the middle, which showcases his already masterful technique and solidifies his R&B bona fides. He went on to have a spectacular career recording for Clive Davis and Arista Records. Before his untimely passing in 2016, Tony Gable went on to found contemporary Jazz group, "Tony Gable and 206" (206 being Seattle's then only area code). With songwriting, performance and production help from Kenny G.

It Goes Further...IDREN NATURAL & THE UK PLAYERS reissue! The original version of 'Further' was recorded by the INI Oneness, Idren Natural & The UK Players on analogue tapes at the Jah Works '7th Sense' Studio in UK in the late 90's. The tune went on to have great success on sound systems around the world and since became a highly sought after collectible.

Jah Works & The UK Players are reconvening at Earth Works Studio in Amsterdam to record more music together in tribute to their mutual friend and musical collaborator, Idren Natural, who is sorely missed by many in our musical family & those that worked with him intend to make sure that his music and message lives on! This 10" has an alternative vocal mix & alternative dub cut to the original 7", carefully remastered from the original tape mixes & now presented on 10" at 45RPM.

A ferocious beat struck out by Takeo Moriyama, a treasure of the Japanese jazz world and one of its most powerful drummers.

This important work, recorded in April 1994 and serving as the catalyst for Takeo Moriyama’s revival, is being released on analog for the first time.

Together with a rock-solid lineup of players including Fumio Itabashi (P), Yoshihiko Inoue (S.Sax & T.Sax), Eiichi Hayashi (A.Sax), and Hiroshi Yoshino (B), Moriyama delivers an overwhelming performance that condenses the entire universe of his fighting spirit into what became “Moriyama’s body.”



The original liner notes by Kazutomi Aoki from the album’s first release in 1994 are also reprinted for this LP edition.

M.C.’s/How Many Miles? is the follow-up solo single and arrival proper of MC D. With DJ Fusion once again handling production and scratch duties, this extended player is no less uncompromising than its predecessor. Benefitting a full release with the now iconic Mendoza green labels, it cemented the young MC in the annals of UK rap history. MC D (aka Darren James) cut one more record for Mendoza as part of his Silent Eclipse project before moving on to future collaborations with the likes of The Principle (Caveman), Deckwrecka, Rodney P and Skinnyman. M.C.’s/How Many Miles? is ranked amongst Mark McDonald’s Top 100 UK rap records in the essential Megablast book published in 2024.

We Jazz Records presents "Pu:", the boundary-breaking solo debut of bass player Ville Herrala, to be released on 21 February 2020. Utilising only the double bass but looking at the instrument from various different perspectives. The end result is an inspired set of 14 miniatures, each pushing the concept forward in a highly personal way.

The first single "Pu: 12" presents a rhythmic approach with echoes of from the world of minimal classical music and electronic music. Bowed tracks such as "Pu: 2" offer another perspective, as does the second single "Pu: 10", going back to the essence of the instrument and opening new doors while doing so. Each of the tracks is a compact musical adventure unto its own.

Ville Herrala (b. 1979) is one of the most higly-regarded bass players working in the Finnish scene. He's known from the ranks of such top ensembles as PLOP, Jukka Perko Jazztet, U-Street All Stars, Jukka Eskola Orquesta Bossa and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, to name but a few.

Concrete City's two residents re-emerge with 'Serious Coin', the second long-player from label head DJ Superherb and long-time collaborator Ten Years Lost. Where their 2023 debut basked in heat-hazed hedonism, this follow-up sharpens the focus. At times deeper, and consistently drawing from the pair's shared language, Serious Coin is an unmissable entry in the Full Dose catalogue.

Across eight tracks, the duo lean further into their soulful instincts, balancing weighty low-end pressure with a distinctly human emotional warmth. Vocoded vocals, coalescing with dungeon synths, being carried by heavily swung rhythms represent a new strand in the pair's musical DNA.

The album captures the stillness of early morning city streets, yet still manages to push rhythmic elements forward. Barely-present samples and subtly detuned synths give the tracks a lived-in feel, as if they’ve already soundtracked a hundred late nights before reaching your speakers.

Like the first, this album has one foot firmly in dancefloor utility and the other in headphone introspection. Don't miss this dustier and deeper evolution to the Full Dose sound!

‘Açid Blüüs Räägs Vol.2’ is the latest evolution of the sound of last year’s Volume 1. The debut album was described by Joe Banks for Shindig! Magazine as; “Shivering slabs of drone blues transcendentalism…a burning junkyard of sheet metal blues… Hot stuff.” Volume 2 builds on the skronk blues guitar, sax and electronic drones of it’s predecessor, to explore cosmic free jazz, concrete exotica and dub, channelling influences of Moondog, Terry Riley, 75 Dollar Bill and Wolf Eyes. Playing like the imagined film soundtracks to a dystopian, re-wilded, post eco crash world in the style of Tarkovsky's ‘Stalker’ and ’Solaris’, Jodorowsky's surreal desert western ‘El Topo’, or the early novels of JG Ballard. This new collection sees the addition of minimal analogue drum machine loops as well as live instrumental contributions from the new players of the ever evolving Invocation band, plus some superstar guest contributors.
Featuring five brand new tracks, including the forthcoming single; ‘Cosmic Fanfare’, has already picked up BBC 6 Music support from Gideon Coe. The new album was mixed by Alex McGowan (aka Captain Future) of Space Eko Studios and features Invocation band regulars Rick Jensen of Apocalypse Jazz Unit, Skronk and Oneirologist on sax and bass clarinet, Will Emms aka Tiki Eerie on melodica, horns and claviola, plus special guest appearances from Duke Garwood on clarinet and Mikey 'Moondog' Chestnut of Snapped Ankles on bass synth. “….Acid fried kosmiche blues meets drone raag transcendentalism”. Jonny Halifax is a primitivist free blues outsider, sonic shaman of the acid fuzzed lap steel guitar, demented blower of the howling harmonica of doom. His new band project now combines avant swamp blues heaviosity with kosmic free jazz experimentalism in a fluid collective of godless raag brut improvisations - sonic visions of an hallucinatory apocalyptic near future. Inspired by Henry Flynt’s avant bluegrass experiments fusing country blues with eastern acoustic musical stylings, Spacemen 3’s contemporary sitar music, and the monolithic drone doom immersion of Sunn 0))), THE JONNY HALIFAX INVOCATION build hypnotic instrumental soundscapes using lap steel and homemade slide guitars, harmonica and alto sax. Underpinned by layers of acoustic and electronic drone instruments and fed through an arsenal of pedalboard electronics that would make Kevin Shields weep, the blues are transmogrified, unhinged, reduced and re-imagined as intoxicating, trance-inducing, feedback-drenched noise paintings. THE JONNY HALIFAX INVOCATION follows Jonny’s junkshop skronk blues one man band Honkeyfinger, and the Julian Cope endorsed gospel fuzz psychedelia of Jonny Halifax & The Howling Truth, whilst not forgetting his ambient drone metal side project; Deathenteredinerror. His musical CV also includes studio contributions to tracks by Andrew Weatherall’s Two Lone Swordsmen, UK metal behemoths Orange Goblin, Heck and Melting Hand.

Pharoah Sanders has been described as ‘probably the best tenor player in the world’, emerging as a star from playing saxophone with John Coltrane in the 1960s. As a solo recording artist he is best loved by fusion fans for the jazz dance classic “You’ve Got To Have Freedom”. It’s taken from his 1980 album “Journey To The One” featured here for the first time on the complete side of a 12” single.
“Got To Give It Up” is Pharoah’s outstanding rendition of the Marvin Gaye classic. It has previously been on 7” but never until now in its full length version on 12” single. It was originally a feature on the 1978 album “Love Will Find A Way” produced by Norman Connors. To have both of these masterful recordings on one 12” single is something special.

With centuries of history, traditional instruments carry physical vibrations shaped by human breath and touch. In contrast, electronic music generates vibrations through inorganic principles such as electrical signals and circuits. When the subtle tremors of traditional instruments resonate with the intricate tones of electronic sounds in an improvised dialogue, performers from distinct realms expand each other’s languages, creating a new sensory experience. The project album Ancient Moment marks the first collaboration between the Korean contemporary music ensemble WhatWhy Art and the Seoul underground electronic music collective vurt.. It is a record of a free journey where two different worlds collide and merge,

In Part 1 of the album, you will hear boundless performances by daegeum player Hong Yoo with electronic musician Unjin, and gayageum player Hwayoung Lee with ambient duo Hosoo. The recording was done in an improvised one-take format at STUDIO Y in Seoul, and Giuseppe Tillieci mastering enhanced the sonic quality.

From out of the dark, sparks of feedback birdsong signal a return to the singular sonic environments of Rafael Toral"s sound-world. A year after Spectral Evolution, his acclaimed album of electric guitar conceptions, comes the companion work Traveling Light. Sharpening his focus around a set of jazz standards, his move from abstract form to solid song elicits glints from beyond time and space, crafting a unique listening lens for deep listeners. In the early years of his practice, Toral used the guitar as a generator to create discreet texture and droning tones. Later, he abandoned the guitar entirely, focusing on self-made electronics to render his music with a post-free jazz perspective. For the music of Spectral Evolution and Traveling Light, Toral has combined his methodologies: radically expanding the space within their harmonies with his self-made machines, while engaging directly with his instrument and the chords of the material. In addition to Toral"s proxy orchestra of guitars, sine wave, feedback and bass guitar, Traveling Light features the sounds of clarinetist José Bruno Parrinha, tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, flügelhorn player Yaw Tembe, flautist Clara Saleiro, who each guest on one song. In every contour of Traveling Light"s path - arrangement, improvisation and production - the spring of the old pours through the new in an unstoppable flow. The result is a listening experience of these standards that remains "in the tradition", even as the elongated harmonies seem to alter time such that, as Toral notes, "the chords become events on their own."

It's time for the next instalment from our gracious Spiritual Vibes label to bring some joyous musical upliftment and what better way than to introduce an inspirational piece we entitled 'Hands of Moses'; a revamp from the vaults of Bushman's works from the 80s and known to many as a one-away dubplate called 'Moses' in which we have now brought up to speed inna 2025 style with some exceptional musicianship involvement from the Spiritual Players of Instruments bringing emphasis to the majestic soundscapes on this project! ????

As it's the 2nd edition on Spiritual Vibes and to keep the theme of the release - we have decided have the main run in a special luminous red colour disc pressing and if that wasn't enough we are also giving away an EXTRA DUB CUT as a digital download to the first 100 copies sold via Bandcamp as a token of appreciation for all the support for both Ashanti Selah & Bushman's works over the years!

This vinyl comes complete with 4 stomping cuts mixed down in the Selah Dub studio with precision and quality ensuring to bring the right energy to the sessions through the sound-system style selection!

Originally Written by S. Richardson (Bushman) & Re-worked by both Bushman and Ashanti Selah for Spiritual Vibes recordings!

“From Birmingham and centred around the extraordinary songwriting talent of James and Patrick Roberts – initially as The Sea Urchins and since 1993 as Delta – they’ve only just got round to releasing their debut album, Slippin’ Out. It is a work of some beauty”. 9/10 NME ALBUM OF THE MONTH, 2000

“It’s classicist for sure, shot through with the influence of The Beatles, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. In James’ downright beautiful closing ballad ‘I Want You’ one can also discern the school of ambitious English balladry that peaked in about 1968: The Casuals, Love Affair, Barry Ryan. The impression of accomplished old-schoolery is only furthered by the dizzying string arrangements penned by Louis Clark Jnr, son and namesake of the one-time orchestral chief of Electric Light Orchestra” – Mojo lead review, 2000


Having ended the 90s with the spirited ‘Laughing Mostly’ compilation of singles and demos (Guardian Album Of The Week) Delta finally released their debut studio album of twelve songs in the summer of 2000 on the Dishy Recordings label. Accepting that this might be their sole studio album the band threw everything at these recordings allowing it to exist in its own sphere, unbothered by their contemporary generation and disregarding the idea of even releasing a single.

Recorded at DEP International there was a notable difference to the scruffier, looser charm of their 1990s recordings, a tighter focus developed by having the experienced Lenny Franchi mixing the LP with them. Lenny had been working with a number of Island artists including My Bloody Valentine and Tricky so knew his way around a desk. There was also the question of budget (a few months passed between recording and mixing whilst funds were raised) so every day counted. Ultimately though you can hear the joy in the recordings, even amongst the melancholy and angst. As James recently recalled in an interview in Shindig! Magazine: “It was such a big deal for us. It’s one of my fondest memories doing that record. Everyone was happy. If there’s anything that I’d stand by, I think it would be that”

Louis Clark Jr joined the band towards the end of the ‘90s and brought a classically-trained element to the recordings particularly with his string arrangements. For ‘Cuckoo’, ‘I Want You’ and the prophetic ‘We Come Back’ Louis brought in eight players from the Birmingham Conservatoire; the baroque style is partly why the record often receives comparisons to Love’s ‘Forever Changes’.

On release ‘Slippin’ Out’ was a big favourite with writers at the NME, Mojo and The Guardian again and before long the band were signed to Mercury/Universal for their second studio album ‘Hard Light’, a far more expensive and expansive love affair. It was a temporary palatial home where things quietly fell apart again, but that’s another chapter.

“If long-term memory is nothing more than selective editing and only pop’s most weighty visceral works are built to last then it’s quite possible that in 50 years the Britpop era will be best recollected for the two bands it ostracised. Earlier this year we met Shack and thought their story of mercurial brilliance indicated the biggest music biz oversight of the 90s. We were wrong because we hadn’t met Delta yet. This is richer and more engrossing than anything by Shack” 

2025 Repress

Repress of original 1996 classic which has built up over recent years to be a cult house classic with select headsy DJs and players, especially championed by Chris Stussy whose set spins have pushed copies up to £100 on Discogs, support from Saint Lukez on his Instagram channel who now offers an exclusive bonus edit. This will be strictly limited with pre-sales essential. Buy of cry.

Vibe Ride is the sixth release of Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational project and marks his 60th release as a leader or co-leader. Comes with insert and download code.

“With every record, the goal is to explore new creative territory,” explains Rudolph. Vibe Ride continues a deeper exploration of a trance-like groove and a conceptual framework known as Sonic Mandala. This album marks the most complete realization of that idea, partly due to the group's experience touring beforehand. That time on the road helped to refine ideas and strengthen musical chemistry. The recording process unfolded organically—likely due to the long-standing collaboration within ensembles like Go: Organic Orchestra and Moving Pictures, where the musicians have developed a deep familiarity with the shared musical language.

Sonic Mandala refers to a musical approach distinct from traditional linear structures of theme and development. Found in cultures across the globe, it may represent one of the oldest forms of musical expression—predating written history by tens of thousands of years. Today, it is most vividly preserved in the music of the Ituri Forest peoples (Aka, Baka, Ba Benzele, Mbuti), whose sound traditions revolve in cyclical, orbit-like patterns. Vibe Ride seeks to bring that ancient sense of circularity into a contemporary—and perhaps even futuristic—context.

The ensemble of Vibe Ride—Alexis Marcelo, Jerome Harris, Harris Eisenstadt, Neel Murgai, Tim Kieper, and Tripp Dudley—brings exceptional creativity and skill to the project. While grounded in the sonic languages of today, their performance channels an ancient vibrational lineage, connecting with ancestral sound makers who were attuned to the rhythms of the sun, moon, stars, and seasons. Human beings have always been deeply responsive to natural cycles.

Like a mandala, where the circle reveals itself as a spiral—always returning, but never to the exact same point—the Sonic Mandala musical experience spirals through motion. Refined signal patterns emerge through overtone-rich instrumentation. The groove becomes a threshold, shifting the listener from passive observation into active, even transcendent, participation. With open ears and an open mind, the sound spirals inward—toward a primal center—and outward into the cosmos. When this elevated state is shared among participants, it creates what mystics describe as resonance.

Vibe Ride thrives on the distinctive sonic voices of its players, interwoven with care and nuance into the compositions. Hu Vibrational merges elements of world music, electronica, and improvised jazz into something both funky and spiritual, intense and soothing.

Using signature techniques of organic orchestration, layered arrangement, and electronic processing, the compositions are sculpted from percussion, electronics, and ethereal textures. Rhythmic foundations drawn from diverse traditions serve not as endpoints, but as building blocks. As the saying goes, “Orchestration is the key.” In shaping the sound, the aim was to discover fresh ways of balancing structure and sonic color. As Don Cherry once said: “The swing is in the sound.”

The audiophile LP was carefully recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Dellatacoma—longtime engineer for both Bill Laswell and Rudolph—at Laswell’s Orange Studio.

“This crew artfully blends together to create a seamless tapestry of rhythm… the end results are mesmerizing. Hu Vibrational is all about communing with the groove spirits and creating worlds where earthy rhythms and other-worldly sounds are one.”
— Dan Bilawsky, All Music Guide

“You can be sure that when Adam Rudolph and an ensemble of breathtaking drummers get together mystical and wonderful things will happen.”
— Raul da Gama,

“A stunning effort, enjoyable and grows with repeated listening.”
— Stefan Wood, Freejazzcollective

The complete collection of her elementally inspired series channelling Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Scotland’s own Mha Iri completes her elemental journey with the announcement of her first long player, the Four Elements album – a special vinyl collection bringing together the full force of her Earth (Leader of the Pack), Fire (Elements of Dance), Water (Come With Me), and Air (Fury) EPs. Out on vinyl on December 5, the album marks the culmination of an 18-month sonic and creative exploration through the natural elements that have defined her rise as one of techno’s most commanding new voices. The vinyl release will feature eight stand-out tracks and is pressed on black vinyl and presented in a spined single outer sleeve with printed inner.

A DJ, producer and prolific collaborator, Greg Paulus’s musical career has led to a truly enviable discography. Born in Minnesota and now an essential part of New York’s sprawling musical landscape, Paulus has taken the foundations of an organic childhood education by his father, the composer Stephen Paulus, and seen it blossom into an unpredictable musical journey encompassing house, soul, jazz and hip-hop.

While touring as a trumpet player with indie band Beirut, as well as in Matthew Dear’s live ensemble, back home he was helping to redefine New York’s underground dance scene as one half of No Regular Play. Alongside childhood friend Nick DeBruyn, the pair brought their deeply musical sound to no less than fifty countries across the world. A decade on, and Paulus arrives on Seth Troxler’s Slacker 85 imprint for his long-awaited debut solo LP, ‘Close To Home’, a deeply felt long-play celebration of his personal cornerstones; family, trust and hope.

From the opening, organic swell of ‘Perot’, arranged with Seth Troxler himself alongside John Camp, ‘Close To Home’ introduces itself as a focused, conscious trip, it’s languid trumpet spilling over into the reflective ‘World Keeps Changing’, which introduces Paulus’s philosophy of music as a constant. ‘Midtown Mirage’ meanwhile leans into the idea of the city itself as a collaborator, resisting pressure and finding its own restful groove. Back over the river, ‘Bond’ roots itself in Brooklyn with a contribution from resident Dillon Cooper, flipping rap standards amid psychedelic flourishes.

Paulus nods toward his dancefloor form on ‘NRG’, a slinky, lo-slung club groove that seamlessly evolves to meld the artist’s nocturnal and studio instincts. In contrast, ‘Real Job’ switches the tempo on Paulus’s MPC to embody an old-school, beatdown flavour, subtly teased out alongside composer and sound designer, Taylor Bense. Doubling down on this languorous groove, ‘Hat Down’ introduces a full-scale No Regular Play reunion, the first of two collaborative tracks that recall the duo’s imperial phase of confidently minimal productions, while evolving their craft.

Following a few missed calls made with love taken from Paulus’s answering machine on ‘$1000’ the minimal, reflective arrangement of ‘Hold Dear’ finds the artist stripping back his layered sound for a skittering, vulnerable exploration of intimacy and life’s devotions.

For a memorable finale, Paulus recruits jazz prodigy Michael Feinberg to deliver upright funk on the deliciously rich ‘Sometimes It’s About Us’. A purely celebratory collage of bopping rhythms and vocals, sharply plucked guitars and archive samples, ‘Close To Home’ concludes with Paulus leading his friends, ensemble and many influences in rare harmony.

“The high priest of country cool” - Rolling Stone

“I like him very much. He’s very special. He’s singing with a voice I never heard before” - Townes Van Zandt

“A conscious, soulful brother” - Horace Andy

“He’s a brother to me - one of the best singer/songwriters I’ve ever met” - Adrian Sherwood

“Unearthed mine of gems from inner Wales - a songbook of ideas - that's Jeb!” - Gilles Peterson

Jeb Loy Nichols is a bonafide Country (Got) Soul legend. The Music Maker presents 21 incredibly deep, grooving and soulful songs from the cream of Jeb's catalogue; from its earliest days to his latest unreleased gems via countless rare and unbelievably good lost-classics. This 2LP set is presented in a gatefold sleeve complete with freshly commissioned artwork courtesy of Jeb himself.

In collecting these uncut, under-heard gems, we hope to do justice to Jeb's jaw-dropping artistic brilliance. A man who, in working with Adrian Sherwood, Dennis Bovell, Dan Penn, Larry Jon Wilson and countless other legendary characters, has crafted some of the most deeply affecting folk, country, soul, funk, blues, dub, reggae, gospel, rap and electronic music, ever heard.

The first music Jeb really felt a connection with was southern soul: "I used to listen to the radio at night and fell in love with Bobby Womack and Al Green, The Staple Singers and Joe Simon – that whole Nashville/Memphis/Muscle Shoals thing.” But Jeb was so much more than a soul boy, Indeed, he "went to bluegrass festivals with my dad and come home and listened to jazz records with my mother.” And, when he was fifteen, he heard his first punk record: "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols. “That and The Ramones completely changed me.” In 1979 he got a scholarship to go to art school in New York: “A great time. Punk was over but hip-hop was starting and I got into that in an obsessive way.”

His first recording, in 1980, was an unreleased rap song called "I’m A Country Boy". If that isn't an insight enough into Jeb's kaleidoscopic path through music, in 1981 he visited friends in London and found himself living in a squat with Adrian Sherwood, Ari Up (from the Slits), and Neneh Cherry. “Adrian put me to work immediately, moving boxes of records all across London. It was Adrian that was and is my biggest influence – in his complete disregard for genre purity.” So, presumably you're getting the picture? A veritable musical magpie with a voracious appetite and unimpeachable taste.

"Mine has always been a meandering career. I've done what I've done, and made the music I've made, due to chance meetings. I'm not particularly ambitious; it's more important to me that I work with friends and like-minded people. I've been a big fan of Be With for years. Everything they release is essential. When they asked about rereleasing "Countrymusicdisco45" I was both pleased and flattered. We began talking about how we'd do it; two years and twenty-one tracks later, here we are. I've always thought of the music I make as Country Music. Music conceived in the country, written in the country, recorded in the country. I left London and moved back to the country so I could live among the trees, the grasses, the animals, those things that don't go to war and get greedy. This compilation is the story of that life. Hand made, lo-fi, ramshackle, stripped down, real deal music. Heartworn and funky. Music made in the kitchen, not in the studio. As the great Skip Mcdonald said, Perfect ain't perfect. It's great to see all these tracks gathered together. It feels like a family reunion. Some older members of the tribe, some newer arrivals."

Opener "countrymusicdisco45" is a song Jeb wrote about how his crew lives, tucked up blissfully in the hills: "House parties full of country folk dancing to disco, reggae, soul, country, hip-hop. All night. I recorded it at home under the influence of Stevie Wonder." It's one of the funkiest records you'll ever hear. "Sometimes Shooting Stars" was recorded in Nashville and mixed by the legendary Dennis Bovell. It's deep, dubby, majestic. A thing of fragile, melodic beauty. The party ramps back up again with the undeniable groove of "Short Cut Home" before the profoundly moving "Disappointment" arrives. One of many songs he's recorded with good buddy Benedic Lamdin (aka Nostalgia 77): "We were going for a Leon Thomas meets Richard Brautigan meets Alice Coltrane kind of thing". We think they nailed it. "Days Are Mighty", like a lot of the tracks on this collection, "started life as a demo, an attempt to get something down while it was fresh. No frills, nothing fancy, just feel." And what feels!

The irrepressibly funky "Don't Dance With Me Tonight" is a deeply moving, slow-mo organ-drenched head-nod-funky country-ballad. Next up, the breezy "You Got It Wrong" was recorded in Wales with some of Jeb's good friends and neighbours, The Westwood All Stars, featuring Clovis Phillips and Will Barnes. Skanking fiddle-flecked gem "Ring The Bells" was the first thing Jeb recorded when he moved to Wales. A combination of all his loves; country, reggae, soul. It's followed by "Let's Make It Up", a truly sumptuous string-drenched emotional groover. "When Did You Stop Loving Me" is another Nashville track, written and recorded during a time Jeb was spending a lot of time with the Muscle Shoals crew, Donnie Fritts, Spooner Oldham, George Soule and Dan Penn: "It shows, I'm sure, their influence." Oh, you bet it does!

The swaggering country-funk of "Just Beginning" should grace many groove-focused DJs' sets whilst "Wintering Of The Year", again made with Clovis, is pastoral, campfire soul. The glacial, gorgeous "Let It Rain" is from an unreleased record Jeb made with the great British jazz bass player Andy Hamill and "We Tell Each Other Who We Are" is freaky country-soul made by a man with a love for strutting, wonky hip-hop stylings. Rounding out the side, "Trip To You" is pure, uncut amphetamine-propelled drum-machine soul.

The spare, beautiful "Dirt" is from an EP Jeb made with Julian Moore in his house in South London: "All first takes, straight to tape." Swoon! "Heaven Right Here" was a very minor league hit in America: "It was produced by the brilliant and much missed Wayne Nunes. It was started in the countryside of Missouri, finished in the countryside of Wales, and recorded in the countryside of Sussex." Double swoon! "If Later Ever Comes" is electronica meets J.J. Cale business whilst "Remember The Season" is truly wonderful and breezy guitar soul. "A Little Love" was made with Wayne Nunes as well, after a night of listening to Studio One and Northern Soul. Bouncy dub closer "Weary Traveller" was written by Bill Monroe, the hero of Jeb's youth: "Monroe's music was heavily influenced by black southern churches; I've tried to keep some of that feral feel." This was the final recording by Jeb's 1990s Country-Dub band, Fellow Travellers.

The name of this compilation comes from a time when Jeb lived in Peckham, south London and he used to DJ and sometimes perform at a local bar: "The owner of the bar, a Jamaican named Count Percy, once asked me what I called my music. I told him I wasn't sure, I guess just pop music. He thought about it for a minute and then said, 'no, more like mom and pop music'. Rather than call me a country singer or a folk singer he always referred to me as The Music Maker."

With the long overdue deluxe overview of his beloved music, we hope to finally shine a light on the unheralded genius of Jeb Loy Nichols. RIYL Larry Jon Wilson, Townes Van Zandt, Bobby Charles, country got soul artists, dub, deep soul, disco, dancing, heartbreak. This deluxe collection, spellbinding from beginning to end, should hopefully go some way to ensuring Jeb reaches an ever bigger, ever more appreciative crowd of followers. 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 artwork has been lovingly put together by The Music Maker, himself, Jeb Loy Nichols. "Be With is the perfect home for this mongrel music. I am forever in their debt." The pleasure is all ours, Jeb.

Mellonius One’s blend of cinematics and downtempo breaks gets fully captured in all its emotive brilliance for his first long player vinyl LP.

Founded in early 1995, Grow! quickly established itself as a key player in the underground house music scene. The label was created by Christian Mahringer (aka Jeremiah) along with Michael Peter (Duke) and Martin Retschitzegger (Tin). Together, they released a steady stream of 12" records, often under various pseudonyms, focusing entirely on the music rather than individual profiles.

While Grow! remained their main creative outlet, the founders were also active beyond the label: Mahringer released music on Chez Damier’s Balance Alliance and the renowned Chicago label Guidance, while Peter and Retschitzegger collaborated on records for Daniel Bell’s 7th City and Robert Hood’s influential M-Plant label, and also launched their own imprint, Central.

This new compilation presents a first carefully curated selection of the most notable tracks from the label’s catalog, alongside previously unreleased versions. All tracks were edited and remastered from the original tape recordings. It offers a deep dive into the raw, analog-driven sound that defined Grow!’s identity.

With its consistent focus on quality, anonymity, and artistic integrity, Grow! Records has left a lasting impression far beyond Austria’s borders. This release is both a celebration and a rediscovery of one of the country’s most respected underground imprints.

Aitcher Clark steps out from his work as one half of LOFN (Veyl, 2021) with a first solo long-player that draws a sharp line between the club and the cinema.
The 6-track LP moves with intent across ambient space, industrial techno frameworks, and restrained neoclassical harmony. It favors patience over peaks, detail over spectacle, and a narrative arc that rewards a
start-to-finish listen.
The campaign begins September 19th with the lead single “Improperly Planned Experience”, an industrialleaning cut driven by a relentless drum pattern and an eerie, immersive atmosphere. Stark and physical, it sets the tone for the album with its focus on tension, texture, and shadow rather than melody. On the same day, Clark will debut a new live and visual show at Lunchmeat Festival in Prague in collaboration with visual artist OXOO, translating the record into an immersive set where sound design and reactive visuals lock to the micro-gestures that run through the album. The performance is built around custom stems, live resampling, and dynamic lighting cues that mirror the music’s push and pull.
Across the LP, Clark threads field-recorded texture with precision drum programming and layered harmonies, avoiding predictable drops in favor of pressure that accumulates over time. The palette is cool and tactile: detuned pads, clipped low-end, and percussive details at the edge of audibility. Moments of clarity, strings, voice-like synths, negative space, arrive as structural markers rather than ornaments.
For Veyl, the album sits comfortably within a catalog that values forward motion and atmosphere, while opening a more composition-driven lane. For listeners who followed LOFN’s 2021 release, this solo debut widens the frame: less collaborative call-and-response, more solitary architecture, with the same focus on tension and timbre. The live show with OXOO extends that idea beyond the record, using visual rhythm and color to render the music’s internal logic in real time.

The Chisa Years: 1965-1975 (Rare and Unreleased) is a compilation album by South African jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela. The album consists of 14 rare or forgotten tracks recorded by Stewart Levine and Hugh Masekela from 1965 to 1975 when they ran their own Chisa Records label.Thom Jurek of Allmusic wrote 'In sum, there isn't a weak moment on this entire collection. It's appeal is wide and deep and one can only hope this is the first of many volumes of this material to appear. BBE Records has done a stellar job in making this slab available.' Dan Nishimoto of the Prefix Magazine stated 'The compilation focuses on Masekela's original idea of 'African American Music.' From the early experiments of the Zulus (a group featuring M'Bulu) in mixing doo-wop, rhythm & blues and South African gospel and the mbaqanga/'Grazing in the Grass'-style work of the generically named Johannesburg Street Band to the clearly Fela-influenced Ojah (Masekela's band in the mid-'70s, consisting of players from Ghana and Nigeria) and the readyfor-primetime belting of M'Bulu, each track reveals a multi-pronged effort to find and challenge the notion(s) of how African and American cultural forms could interact.'

Bringing together the elder statesman of the Zulu guitar Madala Kunene and internationally acclaimed Sibusile Xaba, kwaNTU pulls two generations of South African guitar mastery into a single point of focus. Under-represented on recordings outside of South Africa, Madala Kunene (b. 1951), the ‘King of the Zulu Guitar’, is revered as the greatest living master of the Zulu guitar tradition. Sibusile Xaba, whose collaboration with Mushroom Hour Half Hour reaches back to his first recording in 2017 (Open Letter To Adoniah/Unlearning), has garnered international acclaim for his unique voice and virtuoso guitar stylings, which bring together multiple South African guitar lineages in an original, spiritualised fusion. Collaborating with Mushroom Hour and New Soil for kwaNTU, the two players come together to weave a filigree sonic fabric which reaches down to the heartwood of Zulu guitar music but moves resolutely outward, building on the past to create a deeply rooted statement about present conditions and future travels. kwaNTU – which can be roughly translated ‘the place of the life-spirit’ – is also conclave of teacher and student, as Xaba has been taught by Kunene for the last decade. Meditative, rich and sonically sui generis, kwaNTU finds these two musicians linking up within the inimitable space of sound and spirit that they share through Kunene’s teaching.

The great masters of South African music have not all had equal exposure. For many years the generation of musicians who were exiled during apartheid took centre stage, as the regime made it very difficult for those at home to be heard. More recently, a new cohort of important voices, especially in jazz, has broken through to international consciousness. But for the generation of musicians in between – those who shone like beacons in the most difficult final years of apartheid and immediately afterward – international recognition has been slow in coming.

Madala Kunene, ‘the King of the Zulu Guitar’, is among this number. A revered figure for current generations of South African musicians, Kunene began his recording career in 1990, at the bitter end of apartheid, with a now classic self-titled LP for David Marks’ storied Third Ear imprint. Born in 1951 in Cato Manor, near Durban, he had determined to be a musician from early childhood, and by the time he first entered a recording studio he had already had a long career as a popular performer. His virtuoso absorption and transformation of the venerable Zulu maskanda guitar tradition and his richly spiritualised approach to music immediately marked him out as someone special, and in the years that followed, Kunene cemented his position as one of South Africa’s musical elders. He is without doubt the grand master of the Zulu guitar tradition, but his sound and sensibility ranges far beyond it into varied sonic terrain, and he has collaborated with a wide range of musicians both at home and abroad. Now in his mid-seventies, he remains a shining light for those that are making music in contemporary South Africa.

‘He is really an amazing person,’ says the guitarist Sibusile Xaba, who has been mentored by Kunene for over a decade, and now invites a collaboration with him on kwaNTU. ‘As a mentor, he's really powerful in showing us the way. For us to have this opportunity to make music together and have a project together is really a blessing to me.’

Xaba himself grew up in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, where his mother had been in a band and his father sang in a church choir, and from early childhood Xaba played homemade tin guitars. He only later realised that music was his calling. ‘I just loved music. I was fortunate. My parents loved music. And when it was time for me to leave home and go to study outside Newcastle, I knew that music was what I wanted to do. There was no second option. It was just music.’ Moving to Pretoria to study music formally, Xaba committed himself to his craft, developing a unique style that draws on both US jazz masters such as Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall, and the rich and varied heritage of the South African guitar, from inspirational jazz players such as Allen Kwela and Enoch Mthalane, to the music of the Malombo groups and Dr. Philip Tabane (Xaba has previously collaborated with Dr. Tabane’s late son, Thabang), and the Zulu guitar tradition embodied by Kunene.

‘I was really in love with the jazz guitar, I really admired it, and I was digging a lot in that direction,’ says Xaba, recalling his first encounter with Kunene’s music, over a decade ago. ‘And then one day on my timeline, Kunene popped up, and I was like – “What's this sound?” I was so connected to it. It really touched me deep. I started checking out his records, and then I found out he's from the same region as I am, which is Zululand.’ After Kunene played a show at the Afrikan Freedom Station in Johannesburg, Xaba make contact with him, and visited him at home in Durban. They struck up a friendship, and Xaba became the elder’s student, as Kunene began to pass on his knowledge and his inimitable way of playing.

kwaNTU is a tribute to this relationship and the deep learning that has defined it. The album was recorded in Zululand in the town of Utrecht, at a cultural centre called Kwantu Village, which gives its name to the album. ‘It's such a broad word,’ Xaba says, ‘but the elders teach us that Ntu is basically an energy, almost chi, an energy, a force that all living beings have within them. It's a living energy, so kwaNTU is like, almost the place of this energy.’ The two men sequestered themselves for five days of jamming, improvising and planning, and then the session was recorded in one take over a single night, with Gontse Makhene joining on percussion and backing vocals and Fakazile on vocals. Other voices and overdubs were later added in the studio in Johannesburg.

The result is a rich and meditative recording that finds two generations in a deeply engaged dialogue. Teaching and passing on his knowledge, the elder Kunene has brought Xaba into a space of sound and knowledge that they now share; Xaba’s own practice of deep communion with nature and his dedication to his musical craft make him the perfect interlocutor for Kunene. The result is an album that foregrounds the two musicians engaged at the highest levels of responsive listening, sympathetic unity, and collaborative concentration. Bringing an elder statesman of South African music to an international listening audience for the first time in decades by pairing him with one of South Africa’s most important new voices, kwaNTU is a meeting of generations and a powerful demonstration of musical lineage and continuity.

‘Before music, there is sound,’ Xaba observes, speaking of Kunene’s unique approach to music. ‘And sound is like a common compartment…it's not restricted to particular people or particular geographic places, you know what I mean? It's sound. Everybody can hear it. So when he constructs that sound into music, I think everybody resonates with the energy behind his construction of sound into song. Here at home, we really love him for preserving our history through the guitar, through his stories as well the music, the songs that he writes. We really, really admire him.’

CEPX003 continues the X-Series on CEP Records with a four track release by Elyas. As a long standing figure in the international techno scene, he has built a strong name through many years of dedication. Known for releases on labels such as Soma Records and Player, Elyas stands for raw and uncompromising techno with influences from ghetto and acid. Alongside vinyl and digital releases, he also runs two own labels and continues to shape the scene with a clear and functional sound. A1 'Cabale' and A2 'Bop Gun' move in a similar direction. Bouncy kicks meet acid lines and atmospheric pads that give both tracks a deep and driving feeling. Straight forward 4 to the floor techno for sweaty warehouse mornings. Small twists, rough transitions and unexpected moments keep the tracks moving from start to finish. On the B side, 'Gimme The Loot' and 'Ghetto Sneak Assault' bring a strong ghetto influence. Playful arrangements, raw vocals and sharp one shots create a loose but powerful groove. The tracks feel direct and slightly chaotic in the best way, while still keeping full control.

With centuries of history, traditional instruments carry physical vibrations shaped by human breath and touch.
In contrast, electronic music generates vibrations through inorganic principles such as electrical signals and circuits. When the subtle tremors of traditional instruments resonate with the intricate tones of electronic sounds in an improvised dialogue, performers from distinct realms expand each other’s languages, creating a new sensory experience.
The project album Ancient Moment marks the first collaboration between the Korean contemporary music ensemble WhatWhy Art and the Seoul underground electronic music collective vurt.. It is a record of a free journey where two different worlds collide and merge, breaking cultural boundaries and dismantling aesthetic hierarchies.In Part 2 of the album, you will hear boundless performances by haegeum player Jieun Kang with electronic musician Djilogue, and Whatwhy Art with electronic musician Siot.
The recording was done in an improvised one-take format at STUDIO Y in Seoul, and Giuseppe Tillieci mastering enhanced the sonic quality.
Credit
Jieun Kang / Haegeum
Hong Yoo / Daegeum
Hwayoung Lee / Gayageum
Woongsik Kim / Korean Traditional Percussion
Djilogue / Electronics
Siot / Electronics
Produced by Hong Yoo, Yoojun
Executive Produced by Jieun Kang
Designed by Yoojun
Motion Graphic Video Created by Nahsol
Live Sound Recorded by Jeong Morgan at STUDIO Y
Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at Enisslab
Supported by Arts Council Korea (ARKO)
Distributed by Space Cadets
Released by WhatWhy Art & vurt.

An’archives is proud to present Hanabi, a compilation of material from legendary Japanese folk singer, actor and writer, Kazuki Tomokawa. Hanabi draws from Tomokawa’s three most recent albums, Vengeance Bourbon (2014), Gleaming Crayon (2016) and Going To Buy Squid (2024), all released in Japan only on the Modest Launch imprint. Pulling together highlights from these three extraordinary albums, Hanabi collects ten songs of shattering intensity, with Tomokawa performing at an ecstatic peak, a mere six decades into his musical career.

Tomokawa’s life story is one of change, risk and dedication. He appeared on the Japanese folk music circuit in the early 1970s, performing at such significant events as the legendary 1971 Folk Music Jamboree. Over the second half of the decade, he released five stunning albums that cemented his reputation as an expansive, lyrical singer-songwriter and performer whose music jack-knifed between pensive melancholy and righteous fury. His recorded output slowed in the 1980s as he became immersed in theatre, acting and painting, but his connection with the sainted Japanese label P.S.F. led to a prodigious burst of albums across the 1990s and 2000s.

Some of those albums had Tomokawa playing alongside free jazz musicians, such as his long-standing collaborator Toshiaki Ishizuka (Brain Police, Vajra, Cinorama), and late double-bass improviser Motoharu Yoshizawa. Some of that spirit can be found amidst the songs on Hanabi, leavened by a more romantic sensibility on a song like “Night Play”, where Tomokawa’s impassioned vocals and guitar swim and bob amongst a drifting string arrangement. The ferocity of “To The Dead Man” is reinforced by a guest appearance, on saxophone, by upcoming free jazz player Harutaka Mochizuki; the two spar with each other while Hiromichi Sakamoto’s cello and electronics swarm under the surface.

For those who’ve missed the three albums that Tomokawa has released across the past fifteen years – understandably so, given the relative impossibility of finding them outside of Japan – Hanabi is a welcome re-introduction to one of Japan’s most significant, poetic and quixotic folk singers and songwriters. As Michel Henritzi notes in his typically perceptive liner notes, capturing the oneiric and unique spirit of Tomokawa’s song, he is nothing less than “a poet who cries out, opening the darkness and shadows with his song, throwing handfuls of ashes from lives that have fled into the wind, to us, his fellow human beings.”

This album is not just a homage — it’s a gentle act of remembrance. A way of tuning in to what Lucier showed us: that listening is an art in itself. A meditation on resonance, memory, and the quiet power of pure sound. Or to quote Alvin Lucier himself: “I guess I’m trying to help people hold shells up to their ears, and listen to the ocean again.”

The influence of Alvin Lucier’s work on acoustic phenomena and the interplay between sound and space is difficult to overstate. His legacy continues to echo through the work of countless composers and sound artists today. Lucier’s music is marked by a sense of childlike wonder and sonic simplicity - shifting our perception from what we hear to how we listen.

At the heart of his compositions lies the sine wave: the purest, most elemental form of sound. Clarinetist Dries Tack pays tribute to this master of minimalism with an album centered around two works Lucier composed as intimate ‘In Memoriams’ for friends. Both pieces explore a single, elegant idea: the interaction between an instrumental tone and a sine wave.

Out of that interaction, ‘beatings’ emerge — a pulsating rhythm that accelerates or decelerates as the waves draw nearer or drift apart. Though built on the same concept, the two works are like mirrored reflections of one another: In Memoriam Jon Higgins, the sine wave glides in a slow glissando while the clarinet holds steady tones. In Memoriam Stuart Marshall, it’s the clarinet that dances around a fixed sine wave.

Dries Tack is a clarinetist specializing in contemporary performance practices. He performs with ensembles such as Nadar Ensemble, Curious Chamber Players, and Ensemble Fractales. As co-artistic director of the GLoW Collective, he explores collaborative practices across artistic disciplines in the broadest sense. In addition to his ensemble work, Dries curates solo projects that offer fresh perspectives on existing repertoire or give rise to entirely new works at the intersection of composition and improvisation.

There’s something Stavroz wants to share with you. ‘Take a seat’



Let it all sink in. Let your feet rest. Let your thoughts drift. Stavroz invites you to step away from the noise, from the scrolling, from the pre-packaged nonsense, from the GPT’s doing the thinking for you. It’s a gentle reminder to pause. To breathe. To remember how it feels to simply… wonder.



Stavroz offers their soundtrack to take that step back with them, guided by them. A journey, spanning over one hour, touching different genres while maintaining their signature sound. Stavroz has matured.



14 songs join you in that step, on vinyl no less! All the more reason to avoid skipping to the instant satisfaction part. Just start on side A and end on side D. Pop it on your record player, turn up the volume… and take a seat.

Forgotten Paradise is a new vinyl series from Western Lore, focussed on exploring the full breakbeat hardcore &
Jungle Tekno tempo range through a collection of 12” singles & EPs

After an under the radar, vinyl only bootleg 12” kicked off the series in 2024 (and flew out so rapidly on Bandcamp, none of the ltd run of copies made it to retail), L own, the producer behind the record returns to the series for the first of a two part long player showcasing the depths of his sound.

Deep, musical, textural & blissed out jungle tekno wizardry across a range of tempos.

Damian Lazarus continues ‘Magickal Remixed’ with second instalment featuring Cinthie, Timo Maas, and Anthony Middleton.

With his surprise fifth studio album ‘Magickal’ continuing to resonate across the global electronic landscape, Damian Lazarus now unveils the second half of the project’s ambitious remix series. Out 26th September via Crosstown Rebels, ‘Magickal Remixed (Part II)’ enlists the talents of Cinthie, Timo Maas, and Anthony Middleton, with each of the three celebrated artists bringing their unique perspective to the Crosstown head’s latest long-player. Arriving in both digital and vinyl formats, this three-track package builds on the energy of Part I, which featured takes from Harry Romero, Jonathan Kaspar, and Mëstiza, and THEMBA’s earlier remix of lead single Searchin’, continuing a journey that reimagines Magickal’s most defining moments through fresh, club-ready interpretations.

Opening the release, Berlin favourite Cinthie takes on ‘Y Don’t U’, injecting her signature analogue warmth and groove-driven touch into the album cut, reworking it into a silky, floor-focused workout that radiates her unmistakable house sound. Longstanding innovator Timo Maas steps up next with his remix of ‘Warrior Dance’, Lazarus’ amapiano-inspired collaboration with Ghanaian artist Jojo Abot. Stripping back and rebuilding the track into a hypnotic, low-slung affair, Maas balances subtle percussive detail with deep, pulsating basslines to create an intoxicating new dimension. Closing out the EP, Anthony Middleton, one half of Audiofly, reshapes the soulful ‘So Low’ featuring Zeo Kypri into a textured and emotionally charged journey, weaving its vocal lines through expansive sound design and rolling grooves.

Side A / Double A / Work it Out
Not that it really matters, but, new label artwork alert! For release number 008, Mountain 45s gives its labels a fresh, clean look and goes small hole. It’s a “Double A” sider from the label bawss, Double A. And, like Chuck D said, “brother’s gonna work it out”. Big drums, and a new arrangement give this soul classic a dance floor update. For the b-boys/b-girls (and all the dancers), this one will bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Side B/ Double A / Skewed Down
This one made the rounds for a while as a digital drop but finally get’s its vinyl due. Hoggin’ drums and the funkiest of bass lines make this a hip-hop rework sure-shot. For old school players and new school fools alike.

Australian post-grunge band Silverchair released their debut album Frogstomp when the band members were only 15 years of age. In just 9 days they recorded a fantastic album, in which they show that even young teenagers know how to rock. In the tradition of Pearl Jam and Nirvana they recorded an album sounding like Stone Temple Pilots. Daniel Johns is not only a great vocalist, but also a good guitar player, both playing slow as fast songs. Yes, this is definitely one of the best efforts you can make when you’re still this young. And even now almost 15 years after its release it sounds fantastic.