quête:re up

L.A.-based soul singer Leela James started out singing backup vocals on Hip-Hop albums in the late 90s and early 2000s. In 2004, she recorded the song "No Tears" on Pete Rock's "Soul Survivor 2", shortly after she signed a deal with Warner Bros Records and released her debut album A Change is Gonna Come, named after her cover of the Sam Cooke song. A true soul singer, with a voice comparable to Mavis Staples and Betty Wright, Leela enlisted Commissioner Gordon to oversee production, which included tracks by Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Wyclef Jean, and Chucky Thompson. The lead single, "Music," is an ode to the soul singers of yesterday, with a Hip-Hop feel. She performs a soulful R&B cover of No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and alternates between funky uplifting tracks like "Good Time" and "Soul Food" with downtempo, soulful ballads like "When You Love Somebody" and "My Joy." Leela James departed from Warner after the release of her debut and went on to release seven more studio albums. It's been twenty years since A Change is Gonna Come was released in June of 2005, and Get On Down is proud to present this underrated gem for the first time on vinyl. The album is pressed on "Golden Pearl" colored vinyl and packaged in a gatefold jacket, limited to 1000 copies. It's been a long time coming, but this is a must-have for neo-soul and R&B music lovers.

While it remains a remarkable achievement, Mavi’s breakthrough debut album Let The Sun Talk was the work of an artist still coming into his own, recorded when the gifted emcee was a teenager attending Howard University. After touring with Jack Harlow and working with artists like Earl Sweatshirt and Pink Siifu, the Charlotte, North Carolina wordsmith returned three years later with the acclaimed follow-up Laughing So Hard, It Hurts, an emotional meditation on life’s complex duality. Embedding his dense flows within lush instrumentation and stuttering percussion, Mavi unearthed new lyrical depth on the album, navigating through joy and sorrow, grief and hope, pain and healing. While many artists have struggled to match the heights of a beloved debut, Laughing So Hard, It Hurts proved that Mavi would only continue to elevate his virtuosic self expression with each new release. Eloquently cascading rhymes reveal an artist searching for truth through a vast scope of thought, floating atop serene production from Monte Booker, Dlyvinci, Ovrkast, and more. After very limited initial pressings, this classic 2022 collection is now receiving its most extensive vinyl release to date.

Finlay Shakespeare is an electronic musician working from the UK and across Europe. A childhood obsession with his parents’ record collection led him to both create his own music and build his own synthesizer equipment throughout his teenage years. After studying audio engineering, he was invited to become in-house engineer for the Moog Sound Lab UK, leading to collaborations with acts as diverse as Suicide, Charlemagne Palestine, The Grid and Mica Levi & Eliza McCarthy, both in live and studio environments. In 2017, Finlay began recording a series of monthly “Housediet'' releases - all improvised and captured at home utilising drum machines, modular synthesis and processed vocals. After several encounters with Peter Rehberg of Editions Mego, a compilation of the Housediet tracks was drawn up by Rehberg and Shakespeare, culminating in the release of “Domestic Economy” in early 2019. “Solemnities' ', a second album for Editions Mego appeared the following year. In the period since Rehberg’s untimely passing, Finlay has recorded for Superpang, Modulisme and his own GOTO Records imprint. “Illusion + Memory”, meanwhile, continues on from where “Solemnities” left off, with Finlay once again aiming to work at the fringes of electronic pop. Alter is proud to present “Illusion + Memory”, the third full length physical LP of Shakespeare’s utterly unique and sophisticated output. Shakespeare’s obsession and knowledge of late 70’s and early 80’s electronic pop music is once again at the forefront of this intense and dynamic release. Alas, this is not some retro throwback. Shakespeare’s deep understanding of his machines breathes new life into a genre of music once defunct. Supporting the likes of Blancmange bolstered his reputation for sublime synth hooks and dark lyrical content. Building on his previous work in the field “Illusion + Memory” is an unabashed pop record, as joyous as it is intense, moving from the brooding opening ballad “Your Side of the River” through the punchy “Theresa” which could be read as a love song to Throbbing Gristle’s United. Elsewhere “Climb” unleashes the opportunity to the dancefloor as wild electronics snake into all manner of schizophrenic shapes. There is a romantic side to this music. In its homage to electronic pop of the late 70’s and early 80’s but also in the emotional punch Shakespeare injects into every second of every track. Shakespeare’s reboot of these musical forms is technically impressive, one rich in feeling and deep in emotion, atmospherically and vocally. The two come together to create a unique visceral sonic experience… today!

Visionary producer Ilija Rudman confidently lands into the Black Jukebox catalogue with a truly mesmeric 2-tracker.

Based in Zagreb, Ilija has carved a legacy over more than two decades in the game throughout which he's released over 100 vinyl EPs and 8 studio albums, collaborating with the likes of Robert Owens, Greg Wilson, Faze Action and Ron Trent.

'Euphonia' opens up with a suave slice that melds deep Detroit shades with the flexible Electro funk of Morgan Geist and Clatterbox. A sawtooth bass climbs steps in the low end while gorgeous synths bend and glide at the groove's core. Crisp, delicate drums kick, snap and shuffle as they guide a low-slung, retro-futuristic trip to the moon.

'Late Checkout' draws for a similar sound palette as rich analogue pads form a magic carpet for Prelude-era synth phrases and another sneaking bass line. The tone is elegant and nothing feels forced as Ilija Rudman traverses the vast sonic territory between Salsoul-era Disco and modern Electro-funk in the most fluent and stylish manner.

“Tubby did three original dub albums, ‘Dub From The Roots’. ‘The Roots of Dub’ and the third is ‘Brass Rockers’ with Tommy McCook ‘pon the flying cymbals. Where he mixed it with the horn going in and out in a dub way and one named ‘Shalom Dub’ you can call Tubby’s too because he mixed the versions as they were off forty fives’’

Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee

King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music. After discovering a mistake that made a ‘serious joke’ (more of which later...) they went on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely ‘Dub Music’. Tubby’s vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the foundations of what today is taken as a standard... the Remix / Version cuts to an existing vocal tune.

Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 28th January 1941 and grew up in the High Holborn Street area of downtown Kingston. He studied electronics at Kingston’s National Technical College and also on two correspondence courses from the U.S.A... When he had qualified Tubby began repairing radios and other electrical appliances in a shack in the back yard of his mother’s home. His work in the early days included winding transformers and building amplifiers for Kingston’s Sound Systems. Tubby built his first Sound System in 1957 playing jazz and Rhythm & Blues at local weddings and birthday parties. His reputation as a man who knew and understood both electronics and music grew steadily and as the sixties drew to a close. Tubby
purchased his own basic two track equipment. He installed this alongside his dub cutting machine, a home-made mixing console, and his impressive collection of jazz albums in the back bedroom of his home at 18 Dromilly Avenue which he christened his music room.

Tubby and Striker were at Treasure Isle Studio’s one day while Ruddy from Spanish Town was working with the engineer Byron Smith....

“Tubby and myself was talking when Ruddy was cutting some dub but Smithy (engineer) made a mistake through we were talking and forgot to put in the voice. It was two track recording in those days. Ruddy said ‘No Man! Make it stay! and so they cut the rhythm. When I went over to Ruddy’s that Saturday night a dance was in progress and when they played the vocal to the tune... then he said we’re going to play ‘Part Two’. They never called it ‘Version’..and then he played the rhythm track. The song was a catchy song and everybody started to sing along and the deejay started to toast so everything went down well. On Monday morning I went up and I said ‘Tubbs the mistake we made was a serious joke.It mash up Spanish Town! The people went wild. So you have to start to do that now ‘cause when the man put on the ‘Part Two’ everyone start singing this song. It played about twenty times. I said you try Tubbs!’...Well the next Saturday night now when Tubby strung up down the farm U Roy said he’s going to play ‘Part Two’ but Tubby did it different now. He started with the voice then dropped it out and let the rhythm run and then he brought in the voice in the middle and from there Tubby started to get really popular.’’
Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee

Dynamic Sounds upgraded to sixteen track recording in 1972 and Tubby purchased, again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee. The old four track equipment and the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him far wider scope to work with and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby’s dub plate experiments began to make it on to vinyl and the first ever long-playing King Tubby releases would feature a collection of his mixes to a selection of Strikers rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy this historic set of sounds. Lovingly restored and with a few extra gems added to the CD Editions. These releases were the first to carry the name of King Tubby and the first to credit the great musicians that contributed so much to the rhythms that made these albums possible.

At the start of this summer, following a three-year hiatus for Daphni (punctuated only by his first ever collaborative Daphni track ‘Unidos’ alongside Sofia Kourtesis), he dropped ‘Sad Piano House’. The track represented something of a continuation in the Daphni catalogue, its roots growing from Cherry’s ‘Cloudy’ and its subsequent Kelbin remix, something in that song’s makeup having a profound effect when played on dancefloors by Snaith and countless others. ‘Sad Piano House’ deployed more intangibly irresistible bendy piano to equally satisfying effect and continues to achieve similarly rhapsodic dancefloor saturation.
Though a sizeable gap for Daphni releases, between Cherry and Butterfly however of course sits Honey, the latest Caribou album and one that saw the more instantaneous and dancefloor leaning traits of Daphni peaking through the cracks more than ever before. This blurring of the lines leads to an intriguing collaboration in Butterfly’s lead single ‘Waiting So Long (feat. Caribou)’. An unlikely duo - in that both artists are the same man, Dan Snaith - ‘Waiting So Long’ is not so much an identity crisis, ego trip, or the result of a chemical spill in the Snaith laboratory. It’s simply a track that Snaith felt for the first time belongs to both aliases, and might appeal to fans of both. He has never sung on a Daphni track before, and did not set out with the intention to do so this time, and yet this strange billing was born.

Daphni music has always been Snaith’s way of hitting directly to the core of the dancefloors he spends so much of his time playing to, and those dancefloors have been steadily expanding as his name grows, with the music following suit. This album however also draws from further back with a definite kinship to the very first Daphni album, the invigorating bag of ideas that was Jiaolong.
Butterfly is a showcase of the wonderful variety and surprising twists and turns that made that album such an exciting new prospect and that still to this day make Snaith such an intriguing DJ. There are more heavy hitters here, tracks that fill those dancefloors better than anyone, like ‘Clap Your Hands’ which picks up the energy of ‘Sad Piano House’ and flips it, exposing the gritty and intoxicating underbelly of Snaith’s hitmaking side, while retaining the playful urgency that runs through all of his work of late. Meanwhile ‘Hang’’s comic-strip horns are unpinned by gleeful force, unrelenting and thrillingly unshakeable. Elsewhere though comes a clutch of other tunes that might creep out somewhere more off the beaten path, a path Snaith has never stopped seeking in amongst his larger billings. ‘Lucky’ is squirmy and elusively intoxicating, ‘Invention’ skitters down meandering, inviting corridors, ‘Talk To Me’ grumbles and broods in the murk, and ‘Miles Smiles’ could roll on endlessly, so confident in its groove. There are no obvious peaks in these tracks or unifying moments, in fact many of them really have no business being on the dancefloor at all, and yet in the right setting, they could be the most fun to be had all night.

One such club is a good microcosm for the ethos of Butterfly as a whole. “Around the time I was finishing up this album I played a long set in a club called Open Ground in Wuppertal, Germany.” Snaith recalls, “It’s kind of, in one sense, the platonic ideal of the kind of club I’d want to play in. Every single decision has been taken, at great expense, with the aim of making the perfect sounding medium sized club room. But on top of it being the perfect acoustic environment it also is run by an amazing collection of people in a way that gives it a sense of community that dance music at its best provides. It is an absolute pleasure to play in that room to a crowd of people who come from all over. Playing in there you feel like you can play anything, and I played works in progress of pretty much every track on this album in my set there. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing a short set at a festival or in a more raw warehouse kind of club where you bang it out and only really functional music works but on record I guess the point of these Daphni records is to keep in mind a more expansive idea of dance music where the parameters are broad and the church is broad. I think that actually, putting really functional stuff next to weirder tracks (both on an album and in a dj set) might be the thing that’s still most interesting to me.”
This is the feeling that’s most palpable on Butterfly, and in every single time you see Snaith DJ. Right from the inception of the Daphni alias - and even before that – the thrill of trying stuff out, pushing at the boundaries has always been there and on Butterfly is present in all its twists and turns. It leaps all over the place and yet it hangs together, never feeling like a grab bag of dancefloor utilities but rather a distillation of all the strings to Snaith’s bow, exhilaratingly human and unified by one singular concept – simple and joyful exploration.

The Meth Lab returns for its third instalment with “Meth Lab Season 3: The Rehab,” a sharp, hard-hitting chapter that cements Method Man’s place as one of hip-hop’s most consistent and enduring voices. Executive produced by longtime collaborator Handz On, this project finds the Wu-Tang legend in rare form—polished, precise, and laser-focused.

“The Rehab” pulls listeners back into the world Meth has been building since the first Meth Lab sessions: a mixtape-style showcase blending razor-sharp lyricism with streetwise storytelling, packed with energy and attitude. Method Man’s flow remains timeless, weaving between gritty boom-bap, polished modern production, and the unmistakable Wu-Tang aesthetic. A strong lineup of guests brings extra fire to the set—Cappadonna, RJ Payne, Redman, KRS-One, JoJo Pellegrino, Jadakiss, Carlton Fisk, Hanz On, Intell, Iron Mic, 5th Pxwer, Chunk Bizza, Eddie I, Cortez, and more—each stepping into Meth’s world with their own hard-edged energy. Behind the boards, producers like P. Version, Rockwilder, Eric Sermon, Adam McLeer, Daniel C. Wells, Darnell Norman McConnell, and Joshua D. Zimmerman craft a gritty yet refined sonic framework that elevates every performance.

More than just another chapter, Season 3: The Rehab feels like a victory lap: a culmination of decades of craft, a celebration of the Staten Island movement, and a reminder that Method Man still out-rhymes rappers half his age. It’s a must-own for Wu-Tang fans, East Coast purists, and anyone who appreciates sharp writing and decades-deep mastery.

Reggae music in many ways reminds us of America’s Motown records. The music comes out of its stable fast and furious we tend to know the songs, the artists, the
studio but who? are the players. The unsung heroes that in many cases, cut most of our favourite tracks One such band this applies to in the Reggae field is the Soul Syndicate Band.

Each Jamaican record producer would have their favourite set of musicians they would use, availability permitting. Although several musicians crossed over into different named bands. For example, a set of players working with Producer Bunny 'Striker' Lee would go under the guise of The Aggrovators. The same group working with Producer Joe Gibbs would work under the name The Professionals. Soul Syndicate were the band of choice for Producer Niney the Observer, who used them for his own recordings and when you put that aside the other artists Niney produced, Dennis Brown, Max Romeo, Michael Rose, I Roy, The Ethiopians, Barry Brown, Gregory Issacs and Freddie McGregor.  To name a few and not necessary all, you begin to see the amount of material this set of musicians played on.

Built around the rhythm section of Calton 'Santa' Davis and George 'Fully' Fullwood, drums and bass respectfully. They were usually accompanied by Earl 'Chinna' Smith, Tony Chin on guitars, Keith Sterling, Gladstone 'Gladdy' Anderstone, Bernard 'Touter' Harvey, organ/keyboards and Noel 'Skully' Simms, percussion. Niney's tracks tended to be rhythm heavy and thus Sound System favourites.But when brass was needed/called for ,this was provided by the likes of Tommy McCook, Bobby Ellis, Felix ' Deadley Headley' Bennett. Niney not having a studio of his own at the time used most of Kingston's studios, again availability and money providing. But most of these cuts
selected for this release were cut at Channel 1 and a few exceptions at Randy's Studio 17 and at Joe Gibbs studio at Burns Avenue.

Niney also worked closely with King Tubby on his dub plates, so tracks after the recording sessions were taken to King Tubbys for reconstruction and sometimes
re-voicing over an existing rhythm. These were then used as version sides to the vocal cuts, but most importantly used to nice up the dances, being played out on King Tubbys Hometown Hi-Fi Sound System. We have pulled together a selection of such dub plate specials cut by the Soul Syndicate band for this release. Dub sides that emphasise how well the band worked together, and with Niney at the reigns and the added bonus of some Tubby magic sprinkled on top. Please see our Niney the Observer at King Tubbys 1973-1975 (JRO11) for further examples of this work.

We at Jamaican Recordings hope we are not alone in saluting the musicians, that played such a big part in producing many of our favourite Reggae Sounds. Having released titles by The Revolutionaries (JR003), The Aggrovators (JR005), Sly and Robbie (JR006), we are now pleased to release a selection of rare Dub cuts by another one of Jamaica's finest, the Soul Syndicate band to our catalogue...

Respect Jah Floyd.

Minority Records is releasing a unique boxset Politique du silence with three early albums from Sylvain Chauveau, French composer of minimalist neoclassical music.
“When I made my first albums as a composer, I was obsessed with minimalism, and this quote from the film director Robert Bresson summed up my state of mind. I set myself three principles: 1) Use silence as a starting point, 2) Only add sound when it's absolutely essential, 3) Don't imitate the Anglo-Saxon musicians I admired, but draw on the musical culture of my country, France which lead me to listen intensively to Satie, Debussy and Ravel.” Chauveau explains the background to his work.

The collection Politique du silence contains the recordings of Des plumes dans la tête (2004), Un autre Décembre (2003) and Nocturne impalpable (2001) on coloured 180 gram vinyls. The cover features artwork by French photographer Valéry Lorenzo.

“When I discovered the simple and powerful black and white pictures by Valéry Lorenzo, in the 90s, I immediately fell in love with them. We became good friends and since then I ask him to let me use one of his photos for most of my album covers, or to make my portrait for press shots. It has become a real collaboration, music and images, for more than 25 years. It was then logical to ask him again for the cover of this boxset, like a gentle reflection on my piano and strings era. It's a true honour for me to see my early music recollected, repackaged, remastered after all this time. Which gives me hope that this music, in which I've put all my soul and heart during the years 2001 to 2003, is maybe not forgotten yet.” Chauveau himself adds of his collaboration with Valéry Lorenzo.
Nocturne impalpable and Un autre Décembre were re-issued by Minority Records in 2014 and 2015 and both titles completely sold out. This year’s release also includes the album Des plumes dans la tête in its world premiere on vinyl.

Nocturne Impalpable is a world of minimalism, abstraction, and contemporary rendition of classical music with variations for the piano, clarinet, strings, and accordion which are often compared to the compositions of composers Harold Budd and Claude Debussy. Here, Chauveau partially reveals his versatility as a composer by connecting electronic elements, noises, and ambient planes with monumental strings and piano preludes. The
album of piano variations Un autre Décembre is interspersed with field recordings and electronic noises. The inspiration for the recording of the album and for its name was the song Jaurès by the Belgian singer and composer Jacques Brel. This song tells the story of the grandparents’ generation who toiled in the mines. “Comfort and health won’t protect our generation from sadness and discontent. We also live through winter times, even if these are slightly warmer due to the current climate.” An album of 20 short instrumental sketches with several delicate intermezzos for the piano, string quartet, and the clarinet, Des plumes dans la tête, was composed for the eponymous film by director Thomas de Thier.
Sylvain Chauveau was born in 1971 in the French town of Bayonne and currently lives in Barcelona. His extensive discography of mainly meditative neo-classical recordings for the music labels FatCat, Sub Rosa, Sonic Pieces, and Flau is enriched by several collaborations and his participation in the Ensemble 0, Arca, and On projects. Chauveau has also composed many film soundtracks as well as music for the theatre. He has presented his works in Prague several times, most recently in the spring of 2024 at the Spectaculare festival. His compositions get tens of millions of streams on streaming services, and he’s been called the French king of minimalism.

2026 Limited Repress

Twisted Utopia is jeku’s first solo release on Harmony. The EP is a funky and eclectic synthesis dedicated to rhythm lovers. Twister Utopia’s progressive roller weaves high-energy elements with a splash of sonic psychedelic textures.

Side A kicks off with “Rhythm Circuit” galactic, drum-driven tunes, followed by “Frantic Antics,” whose rich chord progression is paired with airy vocals and wiggly basslines.

On the B-side, “The Future” delivers prog-infused euphoria beat-matched to perfection. The EP is wrapped up with “Borealia,” a multi-layered symphony of transcendence and tempo shifts.

Original 1996 3 x 10” albums unplayed, mint condition (have been stored in boxes since ‘96). Not shrink-wrapped – never were…

Die lang erwartete Neuauflage des von Kritikern gefeierten Meisterwerks der japanischen Singer-Songwriterin und Multi-Instrumentalistin – das Album, mit dem sich Ichiko Aoba endgültig
auf der internationalen Bühne etablierte.
Windswept Adan, Aobas siebtes Studioalbum, wurde ursprünglich 2020 veröffentlicht.

Die ersten Vinylpressungen sind seit über 18 Monaten vergriffen und mittlerweile
auf dem Sekundärmarkt sehr gefragt.
Diese Neuauflage wurde auf schwarzem Eco-Mix-Vinyl gepresst,
um so nachhaltig wie möglich zu sein.

In einer deutlichen Abkehr von ihren früheren, eher einsamen Werken arbeitete Aoba
mit dem Komponisten Taro Umebayashi zusammen, um ein faszinierendes und fantasievolles Konzeptalbum zu schaffen,
das fließend zwischen Ambient-Psych-Folk,
Kammerklassik und jazzigen Kompositionen wechselt.

Windswept Adan wurde als Soundtrack zu einem imaginären Film konzipiert und handelt von einem
jungen Mädchen, das aus seiner Heimat auf die mythische Insel Adan verbannt wird – einen üppigen,
fremdartigen Ort voller seltsamer Kreaturen, reichhaltiger Flora und Fauna und ohne
gesprochene Sprache.
Die orchestralen Texturen und das lebendige Sounddesign schaffen eine
immersive, filmische Welt.

Malena Zavala is an Argentinian-born, London-based artist, producer, and filmmaker, known for crafting ethereal, genre-blending music that navigates the space between her Latin heritage and her British upbringing. With the forthcoming album If This Life Could Start Again set for release on 30 January 2026 on Paraná Records, Zavala presents her most intimate, cohesive, and accomplished work to date, marking a significant evolution in her artistic journey.
With her new album, Malena creates an atmospheric dream pop world, weaving singer-songwriter intimacy with synth pop, Argentine folk, indiepop, rock and experimental music, threaded together by her blissful vocals and dreamy guitar work. Gorgeously warm and vivid, If This Life Could Start Again charts the journey from pain to acceptance, mapping out the non-linear nature of healing through a sonic landscape. Each song embodies a distinct emotion within that journey, from grief and chaos to feeling lost, seeking refuge, finding confidence, and finally acceptance and letting go. Drawing on her Argentinian roots, Malena uses the Andes mountains as both a visual and thematic anchor – the difficult climb towards higher ground becomes a metaphor for healing, whilst being lost at rock bottom reflects the darkest moments of the journey. 
Completely composed and performed by Malena herself, the album was recorded in Girona’s L’Empordà countryside in Spain with producer Luke Smith. As a professional producer and audio engineer, this was Malena’s first time relinquishing production control – an intimate creative shift that allowed their shared vision to shape the album’s rich, enveloping sound. 
However, Zavala’s career to date has been a testament to self-sufficient artistry. Her critically acclaimed debut, Aliso (2018), was written, recorded, and produced alone in her parents’ garage, which honed her dreamy bedroom pop sound. The album, praised by The Guardian for its “gently warped and beguilingly melancholy guitar pop,” ****, immediately catapulted her from DIY beginnings to prestigious stages, supporting acts like Lord Huron at London’s Roundhouse and Men I Trust at Village Underground and subsequently continuing on their UK/EU tours. Later with standout performances at Latitude, Green Man, and All Points East. Her consistent radio support from key influencers including BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens, and Steve Lamacq has solidified her presence on the airwaves.
Her second album, La Yarará (2020), saw Zavala delve deeper into her roots, exploring Latin traditions like Cumbia and Bolero. This exploration of identity continues powerfully on the new album, but with a newfound lyrical depth and sonic confidence. The new album, If This Life Could Start Again, is a raw and transformative eight-track journey that maps the emotional landscape of healing. Written after a period of personal upheaval, the album traverses themes of grief, hereditary trauma, and self-discovery. The record’s narrative is structured like a mountain ascent. A challenging climb through varied emotional terrain, posing the central question: “Will you join the journey?” Sonically, this journey mirrors the non-linear path to acceptance, evolving from acoustic folk and synth-pop to funk-infused rhythms and rock anthems.
As a formidable live performer, Zavala has built a robust touring profile across the UK and Europe. She will embark on an extensive tour in February and March 2026 to support the album, with dates spanning major cities from London and Glasgow to Berlin, Paris, and Barcelona.
With If This Life Could Start Again, Malena Zavala fully realizes her artistic vision as a self-taught producer to an autonomous artist commanding her career through Paraná Records whilst reflecting the vast landscapes of her heritage and affirming her place as a compelling and evolving voice in contemporary music.

Toronto-based musician and producer David Psutka’s long dormant Egyptrixx alias returns, with How Tidal. A compendium of sorts, which retells the story so far, reworks of highlights from his catalogue sit alongside brand new tracks, serving as a bridge between the past and the future, preceding more fresh music in 2026.
With the originals still sounding remarkably current, a straight best-of wouldn’t have been out of question, but ever the tinkering student of sound, Psutka thought he’d break them apart, just to see how he could put them back together again.

The music on is How Tidal is cutting-edge and futuristic, but never difficult, instead offering accessible gems where multiple strains of bass music are infused with a zingy, techno-pop bounce, whilst ambient moments gift sonic lozenges for maximum contentment. Psutka creates optimistically welcoming environments, where synthetic birds chirrup in cyan skies over babbling rainbow brooks, as 15 inch subwoofers boom by.

Egyptrixx gained renown across the 2010s with his hard hitting yet tranquil experimental dance music dubbed ‘celestial jeep music for a Saturn moon’. Colourful sound design was braided with dancefloor structures, creating an exhilarating tension between melodic and dissonant, euphoric and inward. The debut album Bible Eyes was released in March of 2011 to critical acclaim.

As Egyptrixx, Psutka has released four studio albums, collaborated, remixed, and toured with some of the biggest names in electronic music.
The widely acclaimed moniker is foundational to Psutka’s complex body of work that encompasses multiple solo projects, plus a diverse range of collaborative work. He has performed live at Sonar Festival, Roskilde, Mutek, MOMA PS1 Warm-UP and CTM Festival, and presented sound installations at Galeria Civica Commune di Modena and Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

In 2015, Psutka launched Halocline Trance as a home for his various sound projects, events and collaborations. In recent years, the label has quietly established itself as a platform that facilitates many of Canada’s most exciting creative music projects.

Very limited repress. Buy or cry!

Opening the release we have one of the most interesting, boundary-pushing artists - Bawrut, who twists Burning Up into outer space. Never one to shy away from a bit of high drama in his tracks, he squeezes every ounce of the original through his sonic mangle resulting in a bass bin wobbling slice of intergalactic house music which confidently stands out in the crowd. Next up, and in perfect contrast, we have UK producer Telfort flipping Becoming Cyclonic on its head. He has well and truly stamped his mark with a fresh sound which takes influence from golden era 90’s deep house but adds a solid, bass-heavy Detroit edge.

He delivers a moody, late-night excursion dripping with fat strings, crisp hats and chiming arps. Flipping over you have the master of deep, iconic and prolific UK producer Charles Webster, who pushes Burning Up to a new sonic level. A sublime rework which is unmistakably his sound, cerebral and dark yet also uplifting, warm and enveloping.

Andrew Weatherall never wakes up in the morning and decides to start a new album that day. Instead, recording music is a continuous process usually working with different collaborators and seeing where the muse takes him. Somewhere down the line the rewards of a collaboration will coalesce into a body of work between thirty minutes and an hour long and he will put a call into the Rotters' team to say he has a new release ready to go.

We were visiting the studio catching up on new tracks in various states of readiness when he offered up some remixes of tracks from his recent "Ruled by Passion…" he'd been sent by fellow musicians. Tim Fairplay, Andrew's partner in The Asphodells, Sean Johnston from A Love From Outer Space and Scott Fraser live and work in the area and all popped in at various points.

Andrew's black book reads like the who's who of contemporary music but rather than plunder it for remixers he'd let drop the idea of a remix with friends and neighbours. These plus a couple a swaps with musical friends who were new to the concept of remixing, gave Andrew an hour of music he thoroughly enjoyed listening to.

It goes without saying none of the tracks are duds but our ears always prick up when Justin Robertson's take on "Beglammered" ups the heart rate or Daniel Avery's own unscrewing of "… the Axis" ruffles the neck hairs. We've stopped arguing in the office about which is the best track. They all are.

»Ka ora te awa. Ka ora te iwi. The river is well, so the people are well«, says artist and writer Hana Pera Aoake. »In a Māori worldview, everything is connected and contains mauri, the life spark or essence inherent in all things, as they contain the residue of ancestors through whakapapa, or genealogy. Within Western environmental histories, there is a gap in knowledge around what we can learn through an act of listening.«

Hana Pera Aoake’s words resonated with Hinako Omori when they were invited by the Serpentine Gallery to write a piece of music for their »Serpentine Reader« publication on the theme of circulation. Aoake’s essay about listening to the river and other bodies of water parallels Omori’s own Japanese cultural view of water as a sacred source.

»studies on a river« places these two notions side by side, with Omori’s recordings of water sources and elegant 3/4 synth compositions matched to extracts from Aoake’s writing. The first side presents the music alone, while the second is where the project really clicks, with Aoake’s themes and Omori’s gentle, washing sounds completely in sync.

This one already has created a nice little stir with the soul crowd, and rightly so.

The A side "Is It Still Good For You" is a wonderful Modern soul chugger that oozes that late night club feel. Simple in its melody and production but bounces along so soulfully. Great vocals but the late Johnny Kemp with the group on some killer backing harmonies.

Kinky Foxx could be described as an ever changing funk machine with nuts and bolts that remained strong over time. This band planted its roots in the Bahamas where the name "Kinky" was given to Joseph Foxx and teaming up with his Brother Donny Foxx formed the musical group named, "DER KINKY FOXX"!!! The two Foxx Brothers added members Kevin Bassett-Guitar, Johnny Kemp-Vocals, and Burnis Stubbs-percussion performing clubs and concerts in the Bahamas. Moving to New York City Kinky Foxx changed members to compete with the major funk venue during the early 80s. Acquiring Dan Atherton Sr. AKA "The Slammin 'Drummer", Larry Robinson-Keyboardist, Timmy Allen-Bass, Kevin Robinson-Guitar these musicians combined forces with Johnny Kemp, Kevin Bassett, and Burnis Stubbs to form the New York City based "Original" Kinky Foxx from '79 to '81, burning up the famous Cellar Club in NYC, the mecca for Black Funk entertainment. With a front line of top musical talent some members moved on to follow solo recording and production careers and contracts. To fill lead gutiarist and Bass guitarist vacancies Jerry Powell was added on guitar,and Leslie Booker was added on bass. In 1982 Kinky Foxx added Vincent Lilly on lead vocals and Curtis Styles on Keyboards.The Foxx released the hit song "So Different" on Sound of New York records in '83 and embarked on a Canadian experiment leaving the US to play briefly in Montreal, Quebec at Club Checkers. The rest is history as the band became so popular in Quebec and Ontario they could have been called Canadian residents, usually working 6 nights a week and 11 months out of the year from '83-'91 . Dan Atherton moved on in '83 to pursue a career as The "Slammin Drummer" for hire, and was sought after by a barrage of major artists,touring with Bobby Brown,New Edition,Levert,Teddy Riley and Guy,Cameo,and Atlantic Starr. Tyrone Govan aka "King" moved in as the Foxx Drummer in '83 and remained with the group until the band went their separate ways in the mid 90's. The Foxx's last performance in the States was in North Carolina on tour and backing Prince's sister Tyka Nelson in the 90's. Currently the band has sparked interest once again writing and recording new material and is forming a reunion show which will eventually lead to additional performances with other recording acts and headline shows.

repressed !

Francois Kevorkian is a name that should need no introduction. With over 40 years in the game FK has occupied numerous roles in his long and storied career - drummer, DJ, A&R man, remixer and producer - his skills know no boundaries. Having DJ-ed during the nascent days of club culture in NYC alongside Walter Gibbons, Larry Levan and more, Kevorkian has been there from day one. Years spent in the seminal clubs of the day sharpened his ears and his prowess behind the mixing desk saw him become the A&R man at the legendary Prelude records in the early 80's, this in turn led to him working with everyone from The Eurythmics, Depeche Mode, Erasure, D-Train, Yazoo, The Smiths, Kraftwerk and many many more. A true NYC original and legend, Kevorkian is still active today and the respect he commands amongst his peers has never waned, his adventurous extended DJ sets, seminal mixes and remixes and his open ears and open mind have ensured that he will go down in history as a musical pioneer.

Rewind to 1995. Kevorkian's 'Wave Music' imprint has come into existence with a handful of releases. No-one could imagine that his self-produced 'FK EP' - the next release on the label - would be a stone cold classic. Easily one of the most consistent, exciting and solid EP's to come out of NYC during this golden era of dance music. Across 4 tracks we are taken on a sound journey through a world that is undoubtedly informed by FK's time as an engineer, DJ and most importantly, a music lover.

EP opener 'Hypnodelic' brings us into this world, a deep, driving cut that fuses the dubbed out vocals of Freddie Turner against FK's keyboards and immaculate drum programming, oozing cosmic electronic soul, this track was destined to be a future classic. 'Mindspeak' also boasts some tough drums and with a respectful nod to Chicago is an incredibly mixed and arranged peak-time cut that will drive your dancefloor into deep space again and again. 'Edge Of Time' welcomes us to the flipside of the EP, wild Latin percussions, tablas and old school horn stabs drive this monstrous cut, not to mention cavernous dub FX and that huge bassline that just doesn't let up. Essential. 'Moov' rounds things out on a more subdued, stripped back vibe. Reversed percussions and spaced-out synth chords lace this beautifully understated and warm track, one that builds into a crescendo of melodies and hypnotic rhythms and the perfect way to close what has been a truly special musical journey.

This essential reissue of the 'FK EP' has been fully licensed, sanctioned and remastered in conjunction with FK from the original master sources by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK, repressed onto high quality vinyl and packaged as the 1995 release was. A truly classic record indeed, available again for 2018. Welcome back Wave Music!

Max In The World & Kroba is a collaboration between producer Max In The World and saxophonist Kroba.

The project began with the release of 2023’s Excursions on Bliss Point, a record that explored the space between club and home listening and became a favorite at many an early morning afters.

On Structures Of Feeling 1, the duo have conjured three cuts of dubby and expansive downtempo: dance music for dreaming, deep house for liminal states, body music awash in the feeling of living now, in these times, in these bodies.

There is a breaking point where the mind yields and the body takes command. This is precisely the territory of Frenetic Habits EP.

Asymetric80 lands at INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS with an unapologetic statement: a direct immersion into the aesthetics of collapse and extreme habits. The work places you in the center of a post-apocalyptic scenario, where survival no longer relies on calm, but on your ability to endure mechanical tension.

The sound is built upon solidity and saturation. You won’t find fragility here, but rather an architecture of EBM, New Beat, and Industrial Techno designed to dominate any sound system that dares to play it.

Side A establishes the hierarchy with Frenetic Habits. Far from linear, the track unfolds a broken, demolishing rhythm, generating a devastating sonic pressure that completely envelops you. It is a piece of constant drive, an armored machine advancing over the very ground you stand on. It is followed by Exile and Unmasked, which shifts the strategy towards depth: a hypnotic immersion where industrial textures densify, creating a dark atmosphere that traps you with no escape.

On Side B, Bleak materializes the heaviness of the environment. A slow-burning, corrosive track with deep bass, which you can feel advancing with the force of concrete. To close, Dementia releases the accumulated tension with overflowing kinetic energy; a final outburst of controlled aggression that closes the cycle with maximum intensity.

Frenetic Habits EP is a record of ironclad textures and terminal atmosphere. A work that documents not defeat, but the brute force needed to remain standing when everything around has come crashing down.

cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful 3xLP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release.

Only the three members of cLOUDDEAD – Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam – can speak to the group's origins, but in the context of underground hip-hop towards the end of the 20th century, their arrival makes perfect sense. Cincinnati had a vital scene; home to Scribble Jam, an annual confluence of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graffiti artists. While the trio soon relocated to the Bay Area where they co-founded the Anticon collective, their Midwestern roots – in ramshackle basements of off-campus hovels, as the "cerberus of Southern Ohio" – would remain the atomic heart of their early recordings.

As Chris Martins writes in the liner notes, "The only reason we know their names today is because of how loudly and curiously they aired their insularity. They rewrote the entire world as they knew it through their own fucked perspective, and when those mysterious 10-inches started popping up in record shops, it wasn't just a puzzle to investigate: there seemed to be a whole cosmology hidden in those grooves."

Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo "Apt. A" and "And All You Can Do Is Laugh" are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Dose create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples.

Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow – a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's Disintegration Loops and MF DOOM's Operation: Doomsday. All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it.

This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. European exclusive version comes on clear vinyl, incl. fold-out poster and liner notes insert.

Allowing yourself to find meaning or beauty in the mundane is an act of generosity, Whether it’s seeing a smiling face in an electrical outlet socket, or discerning cosmic design amidst the forest floor detritus, it comes from a place of kindness to yourself and senses – and openness to hidden spirit of the world. These tracks came together during a period of intense personal change for adaa, rooted in a fruitful reflection on the connections between spirit and body, “feeling my flesh so I can feel and understand my spirit,” as adaa puts it. The sense of a crossover and clash of multiple connected realities – on-screens, on-line, on-earth, off-world, after-life – unites adaa’s multifaceted productions.

Ostensibly an assemblage of found sounds. scribbled thoughts and poems from diaries, and musial snippets, the album's scattered production reflects adaa’s own many mirror worlds. Field recording sit behind most tracks, alongside VST synths, guitars, and a variety of voices, from adaa’s own mangled vox to EVP samples taken from YouTube (recorded sounds believed to be spirits or paranormal activity), all processed to varying degrees.

While the music was mostly produced either in adaa’s studio in Providence, Rhode Island, or in bed, the field recordings bring the outside world in. The result of walks in the woods, hum of roads and highways, hiss of beaches, warmth of walks with friends and past lovers “around the East Coast”. It sits behind tracks like ‘sight’ where a lilting piano lin bobs atop a pond of rustling and distant whistles. Is that birdsong? Or ghosts? Saccharine hyperpop arpeggiation crossfades sharply into noise guitar squall. Angelic demon voices yawn into a hefty crescendo. Pure drones duet with gales of undefinable field sounds.

“Sometimes I feel like a seed in frosted soil,” says adaa. “If i choose to be optimistic.”

To decay is also to transform. Rusting metal is the visible traces of passing time, as the oxidation process accumulates dampness in our atmosphere and imprints it as unpredictable patterns onto hard iron and steel. Working in construction for a year now, Kensho Nakamura sees rust all the time, clambering up ageing chunks of material. Normally discarded as waste, Nakamura began discerning beauty in the phenomenon, organically spiralling around and consuming some of the very hardest of manufacturing stuffs into unique new forms.

‘Electric Rust’ continues the conceptual electronic composition mode of Nakamura’s previous works with a series of fractured musical dioramas. These scurrying notes, sparse hums, and quivering bleeps explore the topics of rust and the accumulation of time. The music ticks like a clock, drips like a tap, and manifests unknowable inorganic shapes. Recognisable musical snippets of bells, pianos, or murmured voices are buried inside counterintuitive synthetic rhythms and tension.

On ‘wet air’ piano notes tinkle and pipes gargle, digital detritus tap dances and arpeggios stumble. On ‘unique faces’, idle marimbas and malfunctioning animalistic squeaks flounder. This is music from the promethean space between being forgotten and being conceived. ‘Electric Rust’ is a topography of a world of rust, where corroding structures evolve into new — and beautiful — patterns of life.

Introducing Self Portrait, the latest chapter from the endlessly inventive one-man force Ryan Adams — a brand‐new, 24-track album that brings together fresh, unheard originals alongside spellbinding reinterpretations of classics by R.E.M., New Order and more.Capturing restless creativity and emotional depth across the two dozen songs, this bold collection once again proves why Ryan Adams is one of the most distinctive voices in modern music. Self Portrait shows Adams at his finest – poignant, unpredictable and sonically rich. For long-time fans, it’s another essential chapter in a prolific career, for newcomers, it is the perfect entry point into the world of Ryan Adams. This project isn’t just another album from Ryan Adams—it’s a dual‐mission: hear where he’s been, and where he’s going.

When you listen to birds, they usually talk about food, sex/family, or anxiety. If they knew about the true nature of humanity's cruel and exploitative relationship with birds, they would be discussing rebellion. Humanity's current trajectory about birds is to cause the extinction of one-third of all bird species by the end of this century.

This record crystallises the borders between memory, beauty, and anxiety. At the core is an amalgam of all the birds we have met and heard, their sounds synthesised from a blend of memories. Esthetically it simulates the qualities of bird sounds, hitting similar frequential sweet spots. There is a great variety of birds captured here, from high to low frequencies, from solo voices to groups, from birds standing on their own to complex world-building, where the bird voices are part of an ecosystem, becoming one of the instruments.

You could stop there, enjoying this record on a musical level, but it invites us to do one step further, to consider reconfiguring our relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants. To question our impact, and to ask why we need synthetic bird music. Is it just a visionary endeavour or is it because we are failing at fostering a world in which organic birds and other creatures can thrive?

32 artists from the whole world, including our favourite artists from Eastern Europe, have contributed to this compilation both with new and previously released music. Their music is ordered from dawn to dusk and into the night. For many of the artists it's their first time on mappa, but some have previously released an album with us.

After following Luke Blair's work for approaching two decades from his 2007 debut as Lukid on Actress' Werk Discs, we're humbled to present a new album on Death Is Not The End. Following relatively hot on the heels of 2023's Tilt (his first in 11 years, not counting his work with Jackson Bailey under the Rezzett guise) Underloop brings Blair's innate knack for building loops and sound structures further to the surface, while allowing his ear for emotional expression to be dialled up a notch. Those fortunate enough to be familiar with Lukid's work as a DJ will be aware of how distinct his ability is to seamlessly disappear into loop-based abstraction and back again seemingly without blinking, and often Underloop feels much like a collection of the sludgey interludes and foggy sketches that underpin his sets. Blending apparently ramshackle melodies and textures and pulling them together into an undeniable whole, Blair's tendency for pairing the simple and the indescribable with an understated vigour is fully on show here.

Written and produced by Luke Blair. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.

Quite out-of-the-blue, a stunning debut album from Movement And Soul's Nonna Fab...
An exceptional musicality permeates the cuts here, from Claussell / Trent style Deep House meditations, to tripped-out Jazz influenced electronica akin to Mills' recent Spiral Deluxe output.
We're also immersed in Minimal Vision type early 90's dream-House vibes, a dash of Broken Beat and a beautiful beatless piece to wrap it all up.
Incredibly accomplished work from this young new talent !!

Jackie Mittoo, organ and piano maestro, was also one of the founding members of Jamaica's top session band The Skatalites. Musical arranger for Studio One he provided the backbone to so many of Jamaica's finest tunes. The invention of Ska music and the sounds that rode through the Rocksteady and Reggae period all carry his stamp. Whether it be in his various incarnations, the aforementioned Skatalites, The Soul Brothers, Soul Vendors and the Sound Dimension or under his own name, his distinctive organ and piano sound and musical arrangements have all played a major part in Jamaica's musical history.

Jackie Mittoo (born 1948, Kingston, Jamaica) began playing musical instruments at a very early age. Taught piano by his grandmother he was performing live by the age of 10 and recording by the age of 15. Two Kingston bands that he played with the Rivals and the Sheiks brought him to the attention of Studio One's founder Coxsone Dodd. Who at the time was putting a group of musicians together to be his studio band. Impressed by his skills on both the organ and the piano, Jackie was asked to join in what would become Jamaica's foremost band The Skatalites. The fellow band members were Lloyd Brevett (bass), Lloyd Knibbs (drums), Don Drummond (trombone), Tommy McCook, Roland Alphonso and Lester Sterling (Sax), Johnny Moore (trumpet), Jah Jerry (guitar) and Mr Mittoo (piano). This line up ruled the Jamaican scene between 1964 - 1965 as well as inventing the Ska sound, they also performed the backing duties for the other top labels of the time including Duke Reid's Treasure Isle and Justin Yap's Top Deck label.

1965 saw The Skatalites disband and Jackie Mittoo move on to his next musical project The Soul Brothers. Formed with fellow Skatalite Roland Alphonso, this band would back all the hits coming out of Studio One for the next three years with Jackie Mittoo working as band leader and musical arranger. Around this time Jackie also had his own single released, a Ska underground classic called 'Got My Bugaloo'. Rare, as it also features Jackie in the unusual role for him, as lead singer!!!!.

1966 saw the Ska sound evolve into Rocksteady, again with Jackie's band at the helm, and his first hit single the Rocksteady cut 'Ram Jam'. The success of which would lead to a solo career and album releases under his own name such as 'Now', 'Macka Fat', 'Evening Time', 'In London' and 'Keep on Dancing', to name but a few. In1967 the hits at Studio One were still flowing when The Soul Brothers morphed into The Soul Venders and began backing such luminaries as Ken Boothe, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, The Heptones, The Cables, The Wailers and many other of the labels solo artists.

By 1968 Jamaican music was ready for another change and Rocksteady rolled into a slower groove soon to be called Reggae. Jackie Mittoo would be at the forefront with his latest band The Sound Dimension. A line up that included Leroy Sibbles (bass), Roland Alphonso and Cedric Brooks (saxophone), Eric Frater and Ernest Ranglin (guitar) and Bunny Williams (drums). Being the house band at Studio One they backed all the leading names of the time, John Holt, Horace Andy and Alton Ellis, all of Studio One's output carried his sound.

Jackie Mittoo emigrated in the late 60's to Canada, but travelled to Jamaica and London to record with many of the big new names, who were trying to redress Studio One's supremacy and needed his magic touch. Such Producers as Bunny Lee used Jackie Mittoo on many of his sessions, Sugar Minott among others were always glad of his services.

We have captured some fine 1970's cuts that feature Jackies numerous talents, showing his ability to embellish tracks with a feel that few could better, Musical arranger, band leader all round studio ace. We hope you enjoy the set and I'm sure you'll agree with us Jackie Mittoo does indeed Ride On.........

B' ROOTS SOUND SYSTEM presents the first release of its record label -NORTH&SOUTH Reggae Label-. A 12inch worked with Sergio López aka Japu, from Lana Studio in Linares (Jaén-Andalusia-Spain).

A version of the original riddim by N. Bailey with the voice and lyrics of Natty Nature. 'Keep up the vibe', a song full of powerful melodies, where the lyrics refer to creating a harmony between the music and the listener through the vibration of the instruments, the voice and each sound element. That is, keeping the energy and creativity awake in perfect balance.

On the other side, Jorge Dopico contributes his art in 'Trombone vibe', to keep the energy at its highest until the end of the album. A trombone line that delights anyone who loves the most melodic and instrumental reggae.

All this, supported by the respective Dub Versions, by Sergio López aka Japu, from Lana Studio. Providing the riddim, production, mixing and mastering of this sensational first work.

“The blueprint was simple: Hot Chocolate rhythms, George Murray bass lines, classical music instruments with pop sensibilities. We, the architects, however, were complicated.” Paul Simpson, 2025 Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, is thrilled to announce the release of the much-mythologised ‘lost’ album by CARE – the group made up of IAN BROUDIE and PAUL SIMPSON Prior to forming Care, Ian and Paul had been very active in the Liverpool post-punk scene. Ian played alongside Holly Johnson, Jayne Casey, Budgie and Bill Drummond in Big In Japan, before joining the Original Mirrors. He also produced several early records by Echo and the Bunnymen, most notably the albums Crocodiles and Porcupine. Paul had played with school friend and future Bunnyman Will Sergeant in Industrial Domestic and the founding line-up of The Teardrop Explodes, before going on to form The Wild Swans. CARE were brought together late in 1982 by mutual friend Will Sergeant, when Paul was looking for someone to play a guitar part for a new song he had written. Ian obliged and asked him to return the favour by singing on one of his songs Tall Ships. When Bunnymen manager Bill Drummond heard the result, now retitled My Boyish Days (Drink To Me), he secured the pair a deal with Arista on the back of it. Care would go on to release three acclaimed singles over the course of a twelve-month period between 1983 and 1984 – My Boyish Days (Drink To Me), Flaming Sword and Whatever Possessed You – before Simpson, still struggling to come to terms with the break-up of his previous band decided not to continue. Although top 40 success eluded Care in the UK, the group quickly found an adoring fanbase in the Philippines, where all three singles became huge hits. Love Crowns and Crucifies marks the first vinyl release of the previously unheard songs gathered together on 1997’s Diamonds and Emeralds CD. Working closely with Paul Simpson and with the approval of Ian Broudie, Needle Mythology has been given access to the original quarter-inch tapes which housed everything that Broudie and Simpson recorded together.

“The blueprint was simple: Hot Chocolate rhythms, George Murray bass lines, classical music instruments with pop sensibilities. We, the architects, however, were complicated.” Paul Simpson, 2025 Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, is thrilled to announce the release of the much-mythologised ‘lost’ album by CARE – the group made up of IAN BROUDIE and PAUL SIMPSON Prior to forming Care, Ian and Paul had been very active in the Liverpool post-punk scene. Ian played alongside Holly Johnson, Jayne Casey, Budgie and Bill Drummond in Big In Japan, before joining the Original Mirrors. He also produced several early records by Echo and the Bunnymen, most notably the albums Crocodiles and Porcupine. Paul had played with school friend and future Bunnyman Will Sergeant in Industrial Domestic and the founding line-up of The Teardrop Explodes, before going on to form The Wild Swans. CARE were brought together late in 1982 by mutual friend Will Sergeant, when Paul was looking for someone to play a guitar part for a new song he had written. Ian obliged and asked him to return the favour by singing on one of his songs Tall Ships. When Bunnymen manager Bill Drummond heard the result, now retitled My Boyish Days (Drink To Me), he secured the pair a deal with Arista on the back of it. Care would go on to release three acclaimed singles over the course of a twelve-month period between 1983 and 1984 – My Boyish Days (Drink To Me), Flaming Sword and Whatever Possessed You – before Simpson, still struggling to come to terms with the break-up of his previous band decided not to continue. Although top 40 success eluded Care in the UK, the group quickly found an adoring fanbase in the Philippines, where all three singles became huge hits. Love Crowns and Crucifies marks the first vinyl release of the previously unheard songs gathered together on 1997’s Diamonds and Emeralds CD. Working closely with Paul Simpson and with the approval of Ian Broudie, Needle Mythology has been given access to the original quarter-inch tapes which housed everything that Broudie and Simpson recorded together.

In his own time, in his own tone and in his own company.

‘Win and lose without losing oneself’’ This line from French rapper Oxmo Puccino greatly accompanied David Walters while composing his fourth studio album. Over the eleven tracks on ‘Ti Love’, David took his time to find the right tone and in turn, tell his truth.

‘Ti Love’, is a French-Creole abbreviation for “petite love”, meaning ‘little love’, evoking that sweet fondness found in those small gestures and little acts of kindness.

Think of things like young kids' brotherly love or a stranger lending you a helping hand, while expecting nothing in return. It’s these motions that allow this album to feel full of real life, carried by beating drums that also pull at our heart strings.

Basing himself in a small village in Martinique, where David had not long since scattered the ashes of his late mother, the multi-instrumentalist decided to remain there and let the writing of Ti Love pour out from deep inside him. Taking influence from around the island, the energy from his makeshift studio set up in Fort de France, allowing a resilient yet grieving man to recount, let go and come to terms with his recent loss.

So embracing these new circumstances, on the rugged coastal Caribbean island of Martinique, David took up an artist’s residency in the island’s capital Fort de France, located near the town’s port is the ‘Manoir des Artistes’, a bustling recording studio space. A place where the walls shake as the latest sounds being created are blasted by locals and visitors alike. Most studio doors are wide open; as music here is a huge part of everyday life, feedback from encouraging neighbouring musicians is on hand and welcomed. A contrast to the isolation often assumed with working in more traditional music studios.

It was here in this stimulating environment that David recorded Ti Love’s initial demos.

With his first collaborator onboard, Neeweed, a 25-year-old producer and gospel expert who David met at the Martinique Jazz Festival.

Of the album’s initial versions of the record David recollects: ‘It took me three years to write it, then I rewrote it, reworked it. In the end I'm really glad I stepped back and listened to myself.’ I found a great ally in GUTS, who ended up being the artistic director of the record”

David surrounded himself with the right people who helped him express himself in the best possible way. He called on other friends and musical comrades; album opener and title track, ‘Ti Love’ features the incomparable Fatoumata Diawara (World Circuit Records / Africa Express) and further along additional production came in from; Izem, Art Of Tones, and GUTS himself, who all added just the right amount of ‘little love’ to this

project. Further helping hands came from Californian producer and DJ Captain Planet, who David was introduced to a few years ago. Closer to home, here in Europe, the German producer Bluestaeb appears on two tracks: the very catchy disco funk ‘Mr Maraboo’ and ‘Kite Koule’, the latter being the first single lifted from the album, where David invited Nigerian guitarist Keziah Jones.

Elsewhere on the album, fellow Heavenly Sweetness recording artist Blundetto contributed two tracks; the reggae ‘Voodoo Love’, which is David's tribute to Studio One, and the very sweet and resilient ‘Bon Voyage’, which closes the album... "It's gold, it doesn't need anything changing.” remarked David - ‘Bon Voyage’ is a goodbye to his mother, whose voice called him from the bottom of the sea one night while he was surfing during the full Moon.

Released almost 20 years after his debut album ‘AWA’ released on French imprint Ya Basta, home to Gotan Project and many others, David boasts a long list of radio supporters including; Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews and Don Letts at the BBC, while further field Cosmo Radio in Germany, and KCRW in Los Angeles.

On this new record, David has shown sincerity and vulnerability, while still honouring the infectious groove that he is known for the world over. Despite the upsets, a little love can indeed go a long way.

CREDITS:
Produced by Bluestaeb / Blundetto / Captain Planet / Izem / Art of Tones
A&R : Guts
Mixed by Mr Gib @ Onetwopassit
Except "Bon Voyage” and "Voodoo Love" mixed by Jerome “Blackjoy” Carron
Mastered by Benjamin Joubert @ Biduloscope
Art by Elliott Walters

'Flowers', the new EP from Elizabeth Davis, finds itself at the cross-section of many factors. In part, it’s the result of Davis’ obsession with a seminal folk song. But it also coincides with her rediscovery of the voice and language as an instrument. It was recorded during an autumn residency at Sternhagen Gut, the cultural refuge run by Gudrun Gut and Thomas Fehlmann, located deep in the Uckermark countryside halfway between Berlin and the Baltic coast.

The six tracks on 'Flowers' all take Pete Seeger’s ‘60s protest-folk song 'Where Have All The Flowers Gone' as their starting point. However, they veer off in different directions, from vocal loops and deconstructed lyrics, to instrumental drones and glitchy, manipulated rhythm tracks. Like many musicians, Davis has learnt composition by a process of disassembly, analyzing musical works piece by piece, and 'Flowers' began as one such forensic exercise. “But sometimes,” says Davis, “a source is so loaded up on meaning that the studies and experiments can become worthwhile and meaningful works in their own right.” 'Flowers' began to take on a life of its own, raising renewed questions about age-old themes such as war, authorship, translation and historical structures.

Davis is no stranger to cover versions. From studying violin to playing in free jazz and punk bands, interpreting other artists’ works has long been a key part of her musical approach. And since her radio show 'Deep Puddle' recently drew to a close after seven years, her experiments with narration and sound collage have found their way into her musical work once again. For 'Flowers', she cut up the source material (with a nod to Gysin and Burroughs), and reassembled the lyrics, the musical notes, and recordings by different performers, to create uncanny new forms.

But perhaps the biggest influence on 'Flowers' was conversations about music, art and pop subcultures with Gut. These dialogues helped Davis find a balance between far-out sound design experiments and catchy melodies, combining a certain avant-garde element and modern day songcraft. And it’s this sense of conversation, this revisiting of topics and renewal of ideas, that will keep us coming back to 'Flowers' long into the future.

2026 Repress

Nick Bike hops aboard his groove machine again for another tidy two tracker that does disco differently., The A-side is 'Yabba Dabba', which is an edit of a classic Scandi-pop gem with plenty of the original melodies reworked into a fatter groove with disco claps. It's full of fun but also nice chunky drums and subtle effects that draw out the magic and up the funk. On the flip side is a dub that is a little more airy and light, with a dreamier edge for the zoned-out moments, but also a reverb-drenched vocal. Two effective and charming cuts for grown-up floors and magic moments.

BBE Music’s acclaimed J Jazz Masterclass returns with its 20th release, a super rare private press from one of the more laudable female jazz figures of Japan, saxophonist and composer Sachi Hayasaka, together with her band, Stir Up! Released in 1988 on the private label Mobys, Free Fight was Hayasaka’s debut album and announced the arrival of an essential and primal force onto the Japanese jazz scene. Part free jazz, part post-bop, and part heavy groove, Free Fight is one of the most varied yet engaging albums BBE Music has reissued in the J Jazz Masterclass Series, showcasing Hayasaka’s inventive and muscular playing as well as her highly original and surprising compositional powers. Given the album’s eclectic yet cohesive sound, it’s no surprise that it originally found a home at Mobys, the label established by esteemed jazz critic and promoter Teruto Soejima. Mobys only issued a handful of albums from some of the leading free and open players including J Jazz Masterclass alumnus, pianist Aki Takase, as well as free jazz guitar icon Masayuki Takayanagi, and free jazz figureheads Itaru Oki and the great Masahiko Satoh. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Hayasaka took lessons from saxophonist and recording artist Toki Hidefumi and fully immersed herself in the jazz life, working part-time at various jazz kissas including Peter-Cat, a kissa managed by novelist Haruki Murakami. She has performed regularly across Japan at venues like the famous Pit Inn and formed a strong alliance with the classic Tokyo jazz kissa Paper Moon, which continues to this day. Heavily influenced by players such as Roland Kirk, David Murray and Ornette Coleman, Hayasaka has played with free jazz legend Yosuke Yamashita and performed around the world (as well as up Mount Fuji!). In the late 1980s she moved to New York for several years and worked with notable musicians including drummer Pheeroan akLaff and pianist Cliff Korman. She has recorded a number of albums to her name for Japanese jazz labels such as Three Blind Mice and Kitty as well as leading European imprints such as Enja.

The late pedal-steel guitarist Susan Alcorn leaves a final surprise hinting at new directions left underexplored on her collaboration with Nomad War Machine, the improvising metal duo of drummer Julius Masri and guitarist James Reichard. Their death-metal-influenced pummel adds new fire to her molten flow across a suite of improvised tracks that show off the vast range and simpatico of the trio. Julius Masri and James Reichard of Nomad War Machine: “An unexpected opportunity arose out of a catching-up conversation where Susan had revealed a recent fascination with death metal, confessing, ‘I’m 70 years old—I think about death!’ She had learned a couple of Arch Enemy songs on her pedal steel, particularly compelled by their frontwoman’s intensity and vigor as a performer. Voicing an appreciation for the hook-oriented sound of Swedish death metal made sense for a melodic thinker whose roots as veteran pedal steel player reached into the Texan Western swing circuit in the ’60s and ’70s. For her, ever the explorer, metal was a new, appealing point of departure into fresh musical territory. When she expressed an interest in playing with Nomad War Machine, it felt like there was a whole world of shared or complementary interests to explore.” Though known for her fluency in jazz, country, and free improvisation, Alcorn had also studied Arabic, the oud, and maqam, with all holding a deep curiosity for her. Pre-’70s country & western music had also been a lifelong presence for both members Nomad War Machine. Masri, a Lebanese free-jazz and metal drummer, and devoted fan of Texas swing legends like Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant, Leon Rhodes, and Joe Maphis, was also steeped in Arabic music traditions. James Reichard, before coming to “freely” improvised metal, xenharmonic music, and non-Western tuning systems, had grown up being subjected to countless singalongs to numerous pre-’70s country records, entranced by the pedal steel.

Sabine McCalla creates her own version of multi-cultural American roots music. It's a sound that crosses borderlines, pulling everything from Brazilian samba to southern soul to British rock & roll into its orbit. On Don't Call Me Baby, Sabine filters those influences through the lens of her Haitian heritage and her music community of New Orleans, creating a debut album that's every bit as multi-faceted as the woman who wrote its songs.

The daughter of first-generation Haitian immigrants, Sabine was raised in the suburbs of New York City, where she grew up alongside her sister Leyla McCalla (Sons of Our Native Daughters, Carolina Chocolate Drops). Introduced to chamber music at an early age, Sabine began playing classical violin in orchestras, music camps, and conservatory classes as an 8 year old. Back at home, she filled her head with Motown classics, girl group hits, Bob Marley albums, Beatles standards, and Haitian folk music. It was a wide constellation of sound that spanned more than a half century, and Sabine made it all her own, drawn to the connections binding everything together.

Don't Call Me Baby shines a light on those connections. The follow-up to her critically-acclaimed Folk EP, whose pre-war sound earned her a slot at the Newport Folk Festival in 2019, the album transcends genre and generation, creating a raw, rich mix of country, R&B, folk, and soul that exists on its own timeline. Co-produced by Sam Doores of the Deslondes and featuring a cast of New Orleans’ most spirited and gifted (including guest vocals from Riley Downing, Leyla McCalla, and The Lostines), Sabine McCalla reaches beyond her beloved New Orleans Americana scene with Don't Call Me Baby, building a bridge between the world-spanning sounds that have captured her attention.

In celebration of Arrow Films' new 4K restoration of the seminal hip hop film Wild Style, Azorean-Canadian producer and DJ Jorun Bombay steps up with a specially commissioned megamix cut across two sides of a 7”. Featuring recently discovered unreleased material, cut up with sections of the remastered soundtrack, expert turntablism, and added live instrumentation, Jorun shines a new light on this pioneering piece of hip hop history.

Having released music since the mid-‘80s on labels such as Soundweight, Diggers With Gratitude, and JBOR Records, Jorun also produces and scores music for film and television in the USA. He’s been hosting his influential DJ podcast ‘Funkbox Reload’ for over a decade, regularly showcasing his DJ and remixing skills, which have landed him several key production jobs, including for the documentary ‘Mixtape’ directed by Omar Acosta on Paramount Plus.

2026 Repress

Following on from the super-fast stock sell-outs of the 2LP of joyous Alfredo selections, Rebirth follow up with the second of the sample EPs of rare, cherished and formerly unreleased gems.

Kicking off with Dubtribe (Sound System) - Sunshine’s Theme which goes for big money on discogs if you can find a copy, next up Max Berlin – Elle Et Moi Really simple, minimal disco à la Giorgio Moroder or Cerrone, actually Max Berlin (Jean-Pierre Cerrone) IS Cerrone’s brother!

On the Flip we have The Woodleigh Research Facility – Borderland (Andrew Weatherall Mix) Borderland is a beautiful collaboration between Woodleigh Research Facility’s Nina Walsh and viola virtuoso, Sarah Sarhandi. Andrew Weatherall set Sarah’s strings to an energetic electro glam stomp. A cracking kosmische, motorik “Pomp & Circumstance” march, with something of the Depeche Modes / New Orders about it. Finishing off the EP with some 90s UK deep house bliss from Acupressure – We Are the Future (Instrumental Mix) again this goes for big money on the Cogs.

Rebirth deliver another fantastic selection.
Limited Press, act fast.