Search:real life

Uncompromising Dutch Black Metal – DOODSWENS’ sophomore album out in April via Svart Records Doodswens is a Dutch Black Metal band formed in 2017 by I. Live she performs the drums and vocals, joined by R. & P. on bass and guitar. Doodswens translates to Deathwish, but the meaning and heavy load to the word in Dutch translates better to Driven by Death. The self-titled sophomore album by Doodswens is out on April 17th 2026.

After establishing themselves in the Dutch scene, Doodswens gained an international following doing tours with Marduk & Gorgoroth. Doodswens’ performances are ceremonial and ritualistic, which have been reported to be as uplifting as they are devastating, depending on the demons you bring them to offer. Whatever you carry with you will be exposed. They like to confront instead of bringing comfort. If you've been on the verge of ending your life, or think about it more often than not, then you're living with a death wish. A heavy feeling, like a gray cloud hovering around you, gasping for breath and blurring your vision. This is incomprehensible to anyone. Except for those caught in the middle of it. But this album isn't about giving up. It's about finding strength, about someone who regains new energy after facing death.

This album isn't about wishing for death, but the death of the wish. Band’s establisher I. talks about the new single "Driven by Death": “For me, it was on the way back from a spontaneous adventure, full of music, new connections, and inspiration. A path without a plan and a journey without a goal, with only a very strong feeling that this is where I'm meant to be. With a misty horizon of endless asphalt before me. A large tree at the edge of the road, in the corner of my eye, screaming that this could just be the end. But what I felt wasn't fear, it was happiness. With the thought that if I crash into that tree now, I won't care at all. Because up until this moment, I've done everything possible, experienced every adventure, and each time, gotten up again and faced life with that gray cloud around my head. I have a death wish, so if it happens now, it's okay, and I'm at peace with it. This was the moment I realized, I'm not afraid of life. I'm driven by death.”

Uncompromising Dutch Black Metal – DOODSWENS’ sophomore album out in April via Svart Records Doodswens is a Dutch Black Metal band formed in 2017 by I. Live she performs the drums and vocals, joined by R. & P. on bass and guitar. Doodswens translates to Deathwish, but the meaning and heavy load to the word in Dutch translates better to Driven by Death. The self-titled sophomore album by Doodswens is out on April 17th 2026.

After establishing themselves in the Dutch scene, Doodswens gained an international following doing tours with Marduk & Gorgoroth. Doodswens’ performances are ceremonial and ritualistic, which have been reported to be as uplifting as they are devastating, depending on the demons you bring them to offer. Whatever you carry with you will be exposed. They like to confront instead of bringing comfort. If you've been on the verge of ending your life, or think about it more often than not, then you're living with a death wish. A heavy feeling, like a gray cloud hovering around you, gasping for breath and blurring your vision. This is incomprehensible to anyone.

Except for those caught in the middle of it. But this album isn't about giving up. It's about finding strength, about someone who regains new energy after facing death. This album isn't about wishing for death, but the death of the wish. Band’s establisher I. talks about the new single "Driven by Death": “For me, it was on the way back from a spontaneous adventure, full of music, new connections, and inspiration. A path without a plan and a journey without a goal, with only a very strong feeling that this is where I'm meant to be. With a misty horizon of endless asphalt before me. A large tree at the edge of the road, in the corner of my eye, screaming that this could just be the end. But what I felt wasn't fear, it was happiness. With the thought that if I crash into that tree now, I won't care at all. Because up until this moment, I've done everything possible, experienced every adventure, and each time, gotten up again and faced life with that gray cloud around my head. I have a death wish, so if it happens now, it's okay, and I'm at peace with it. This was the moment I realized, I'm not afraid of life. I'm driven by death.”

SIMPLETON, the third album from multi-platinum indie-rock singer/songwriter YOT CLUB, dismantles the utopian view of the American suburbs, treating finely manicured life as a mirage. Across its 13 tracks, the LP wrestles with how curated feeds and predictable routines can blur, and even erase, empathy and responsibility, creating a world where difficult questions and harsh realities are easy to ignore. In 2019, Ryan Kaiser started Y ot Club in his college dorm, crafting a lo-fi, classically cool indie rock sound grounded under a dreamlike haze. Two years later, his breakthrough single “YKWIM?” quickly reached viral status on TikTok (today, it’s been streamed more than 1 billion times) and has since taken him around the world at festivals like T reefort, Kilby Block Party and Pitchfork Paris

ORDH's debut, "Blind In Abyssal Realms", sets out to redefine what the term 'progressive death metal' truly means. But before ORDH, there was BARISHI. When their bass player threw in the towel to pursue other interests in life, guitarist and vocalist Graham Brooks, "looking for a fresh start", decided the time had come to finally dwell in his favorite genre: death metal. But not just any kind of death metal_ Having drafted BARISHI drummer Dylan Blake, with whom Graham has been playing since he was twelve years old, and Josh Smith from KIEFCATCHER on bass, the trio then spent a few gruelling years working on their debut, with Graham writing most of the music and ironing the songs out with Dylan and Josh. Having toured with COME TO GRIEF when BARISHI was still around, Graham and the latter's singer Jonathan Hébert had hit it off really well, so when the time came to find a vocalist, Jonathan was called upon, "right on time to jump straight into the recording and writing process, as most of the music was ready to go".

When you name your band Prince Daddy & The Hyena, you sort of accept that chaos isn’t a chapter in your story – it’s the entire ethos. Since forming out of Albany, NY’s DIY scene, Prince Daddy & The Hyena have built a career out of reaching their breaking point and continuing forward anyway. Their first LP, produced by Joe Reinhart, captured a very young band figuring things out in real time; their massive conceptual undertaking Cosmic Thrill Seekers followed and pushed their ambition (and patience) to new extremes. Not long after, a serious van accident nearly took their lives, directly informing the intensity of their self-titled record.

Over the last decade, the band has lost close friends and collaborators, endured relationship struggles, and faced countless moments that would have ended most bands without question. But those experiences never slowed Prince Daddy & The Hyena down. On their upcoming fourth album, Hotwire Trip Switch, they recalibrate and reconnect with their roots while sounding more focused and self-aware than ever. Reuniting with Joe Reinhart for the first time in nearly a decade, the album pulls from the punchy lineage of Green Day, the hook-driven quirk of Weezer, the snarky urgency of Joyce Manor and Jeff Rosenstock – all through the distinctly bratty lens of songwriter and vocalist Kory Gregory.

Odisea is the new album, actually the real debut from Los Retros, out in April on Stones Throw. It draws inspiration from 1980s Japanese City Pop, and marks a new creative chapter from Mauri Tapia shaped by growth, reflection, and renewed purpose. It's been a journey since Tapia first captured hearts with the lo-fi magic of "Someone To Spend Time With", recorded at the age of 17 on a humble four-track in his parents' living room. Now 25, the Oxnard native has stepped into an entirely new season of life - he married his high school sweetheart, became a father to two daughters, and embraced spiritual faith. Earlier this year, he revisited his start with Early Days (2016-2019), a compilation of unreleased music from Mauri's teen years. "Jazz fusion has become my favorite genre and greatest inspiration of all time," Mauri says. "I made this album for the version of me that first fell in love with music. It's my full-circle moment - a sonic hat tip to my beginnings - as well as a nod to the forefathers of jazz fusion and city pop for leaving us with great music." Through it all, he's kept the same DIY spirit, writing and recording every note himself, only now in a home studio of his own. On Odisea, Tapia blends neon-lit City Pop with the melodic sensibility of Latin American soft rock. Mauri's deep love for 70s and 80s jazz fusion records anchors the album, yet Tapia filters those influences through a modern lens. Odisea features two Japanese vocalists, - Hikari and HITOMITOI. Also check out Los Retros new compilation "Early Days" released simultaneously. RIYL soul, bedroom pop, indie, modern jazz, downtempo, soft rock, Mac DeMarco, Thee Sacred Souls, Skinshape, Men I Trust

BCUC – Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness – have been channeling the spirit of Soweto for over twenty years. Indigenous funk, hip-hop consciousness, and punk rock energy fused into something utterly original and deeply rooted. Their mantra: Music for the people, by the people, with the people. From humble beginnings rehearsing in a shipping container, a stone's throw from the church where Desmond Tutu organized the escape of the most wanted anti-Apartheid activists, they kept believing in their dream of self-empowerment. Today they command festival stages worldwide: Glastonbury West Holts, Roskilde, Afropunk Brooklyn, WOMAD, Fusion, Sziget, FMM Sines, Beaches Brew, Boomtown, Colours of Ostrava, Couleur Café – to name just a few. In 2023, BCUC were honoured with the prestigious WOMEX Artist Award, an accolade usually reserved for more established artists, in recognition of their fearless work and transcendent live performances.

THE ROAD IS NEVER EASY

The Road Is Never Easy is BCUC's fifth album and their debut on Outhere Records. On this new offering, BCUC take listeners on another Afro-psychedelic journey into the soul of Soweto. It feels like a gospel sermon colliding with a punk concert, "guaranteed to touch untapped corners of your soul" (OkayAfrica). BCUC's music is deeply rooted in history and echoes the voices of the ones who came before. The road was never easy for the people of Soweto who originally came to work in the mines of Egoli, the City of Gold, Johannesburg. When apartheid finally ended after a long struggle, it was hoped that life would improve. But more than 30 years later, many of those initial hopes and dreams are still waiting to be fulfilled. This album is about that struggle. The album contains 10 brand new songs – a record for BCUC, whose previous albums featured an average of 3 songs. It represents the culmination of more than two decades of performing together and building a reputation as a powerful live act. These ten songs encapsulate that same live energy, each one building gradually and drawing you into BCUC's Afro-psychedelic stream of consciousness. It's a seismic tour de force through life in Soweto today. Songs like Amakhandela (Breaking All the Chains) connect history to daily life: "How is this precious metal inflicting so much pain in us," sing BCUC, "this government has been telling us we are free, but we don't benefit from being free." The album also talks about all the hopes and dreams that remain: "I have too many wishes and dreams in my head," BCUC sing in Um duma khanda, "I think I am losing my mind". The album ends with the soothing Matla a rona ke Bophelo, "our strength is life", praising the spirits and thanking the elders for protection. The Road Is Never Easy is about the harsh reality of life in Soweto, where "people always carry heavy loads". BCUC are street poets trying to deal with that burden: sometimes revolutionary, sometimes soothing, but always hopeful and compassionate. "When you are from Soweto you can't retreat nor surrender." (Sebenzela)

RECORDING

The album was largely recorded in Munich, Germany during tour breaks over two sessions, each three days long. It took place in a small studio located in a German WW II bunker converted into rehearsal spaces. The songs were recorded in one take altogether in one room, with only a few overdubs added, mainly backing vocals, by BCUC at Fourways studio in Johannesburg. BCUC have created their own distinctive way of writing, or rather, finding and creating their songs. The recording process is like an improvised live performance. They bring their ideas into a zone where the music, the rhythm and the spirits take over until the song starts to form. In this Afro-psychedelic zone BCUC create their unique poetry that feeds on the dreams still dreamt, the hopes, the fears and the temptations lingering everywhere. BCUC's songs need to breathe and time to build. The right take was the one when the song took over, and just like their live performances, no one knew beforehand where the song would take them. During the recording, BCUC just let it all flow out: inner turmoil, cries of rebellion, but also resilience and a search for healing, love, unity and compassion. You don't have to be from Soweto to feel the deep meaning and impact of this music. In these times of so much hate and division, BCUC are like a campfire for people to gather around.

PRODUCTION & ARTWORK

"BCUC have a unique magic," says Outhere's Jay Rutledge, who produced the album. "It blew our minds. It's like punk and pure gospel at the same time. Their music can make you dance and it can make you cry, all at the same time. And when the song is over, you feel you're not alone in this world anymore. We felt compelled to do this." The album cover is based on a matchbox design, matches being a common household item in South Africa even today. "These were the matches people used to burn government buildings and cars," explain BCUC. Little messages, addresses, or phone numbers used to be scribbled on the back of these boxes; each one a reminder of the strength, resilience, and resistance that once drove the struggle for freedom in Soweto. BCUC keep this flame burning. The Road Is Never Easy is a heavy spiritual road trip, a deep dive into the subconscious of Soweto and a quest for truth, justice and sanity in this crazy world. BCUC tackle the harsh realities of the voiceless, guided by the spirit world of their ancestors. Rather than reinforcing stereotypes of poverty, BCUC's portrayal of Africa is one rich in tradition, rituals and beliefs. "We bring fun and Afro-psychedelic fire from the hood," says vocalist Kgomotso Mokone.

Generic Flipper, the debut album by Flipper, remains the most absorbing full-length LP to emerge from the early San Francisco punk scene. A constant source of imitation for so-called "noise rock" bands, it has yet to be surpassed in its nihilistic glee.

Recorded between October 1980 and August 1981 and released in 1982 on the indispensable Subterranean Records, this album functions as a chaotic, sticky mass of individual personalities: the magma-like bass eruptions and dual vocals of Will Shatter and Bruce Loose, Ted Falconi's icy guitar scraping and the relentless beat of drummer Steve DePace. At times playful and taciturn, paranoid and absurd, Generic charts a deliberate path that willfully chances destruction.

In early '80s punk, when the hardening default was "faster-shorter-louder," Generic subverts the nascent hardcore scene with a strictly applied regimen of turgid-slower-heavier. The lyrics are bleak, yet unnervingly beautiful. "Ever" sets the tone with trademark restraint – "Ever wish the human race didn't exist? And then realize you're one too?" – while closer "Sex Bomb" is a churning, 8-minute epic with looping bass, saxophone accompaniment and electronic effects of dropping bombs.

Tons of indie bands have attempted to recreate Flipper's mix of acidic guitar, metallic bass sludge and sardonically brilliant lyricism, using the seemingly effortless template they pioneered; however, the effect usually drives listeners right back to Generic. While most of their contemporaries wilt under direct comparison, No Trend, the Butthole Surfers, feedtime and Church Police are a few who can stand the frigid heat.

On 6th October, multi BRIT-nominated DJ/producer Joel Corry releases his debut album, ‘Another Friday Night’ via Asylum / Atlantic Records, with the pre-order going live on the 18th August.

To be released on both vinyl & CD, as well as via streaming/download, ‘Another Friday Night’ is a collection of Joel’s most iconic records of the last five years, including breakthrough hit ‘Sorry’, ‘Lonely’, multi-platinum UK #1 single ‘Head & Heart’ ft. MNEK, ‘BED’ w/ RAYE & David Guetta, ‘OUT OUT’ w/ Jax Jones, Charli XCX & Saweetie, plus fresh 2023 cuts like ‘Dance Around It’ with Caity Baser and the anthemic ‘0800 HEAVEN’ with Nathan Dawe & Ella Henderson, ‘Another Friday Night’ toasts a remarkable run of releases that’s seen Joel become one of the UK’s biggest and most impactful dance acts.

“My debut album ‘Another Friday Night’ is the biggest moment of my life”, says Joel Corry. “Everything I have dreamed about and worked so hard for has come together with the release of this record. It has been an incredible journey and I am so proud to have reached this moment in my career. I want the songs to make people feel good and bring happiness to their days, and the album includes everyone’s favourite bangers from over the years, as well as some really exciting new material. This is the ultimate Joel Corry playlist, perfect for Another Friday Night.”

Ahead of the release of ‘Another Friday Night’ on October 6th, Joel has also announced a special headline show at London’s Ministry Of Sound on Friday 29th September – his first London headline date since playing at former 5000-cap venue, Printworks, in autumn 2021.

Fans who pre-order ‘Another Friday Night’ will be granted early pre-sale access to tickets on August 24th, before general sale opens on August 25th

Killer Groove Records proudly presents "Keep Your Step", the explosive comeback by Italian rock steady & early reggae ambassadors The Appetizers, a soulful celebration of reggae's timeless spirit.


"Keep Your Step" marks the band's much-awaited return, landing April 10th on limited edition LP, CD digipack and digital format featuring two exclusive bonus tracks.

The Appetizers deliver a masterclass in roots reggae music with their highly anticipated second studio album, bridging Jamaica's golden age with contemporary relevance. "Keep Your Step" is a heartfelt sonic journey where the band blends rocksteady and early reggae with funk and soul influences to create a sound that's both genuine and refreshingly modern.

The fourteen tracks move fluidly between infectious dancefloor fillers and socially conscious lyrics. From the laid-back swing of "Feel Like Dancing" to the hypnotic rhythm of "Thicker Than Water", the band demonstrates their versatility while remaining true to the roots of Jamaican sound. "A Message from The Meters" pays tribute to the legendary funk pioneers, while the instrumental "Catch This" and "Make It Reggay" highlight the band's musical prowess and the deep connections between reggae and funk.

Meanwhile, tracks like "Fussy Girl" and "Behind My Shoulders" explore love's complexities with humor and soul. The album's heart lies in its social consciousness. "Cool and Deadly", "The Life", "Stormy Weather" and the album title track "Keep Your Step" tell stories of perseverance through life's struggles.

With the hopeful anthem "We Shall Overcome," The Appetizers deliver a timely message about genuine human connection in a social media-dominated era. The digital edition closes with "Get Some Rollin'" and "Swing and Sway," rounding out the journey with two additional gems.

"Keep Your Step" pays homage to Jamaican music legends, from Jackie Mittoo and Tommy McCook to Toots & the Maytals, while carving out The Appetizers' own distinctive sound. This is a groove made for both the dance floor and the soul, proving that reggae's power to inspire, unite, and uplift remains as vital as ever.

The production stays true to The Appetizers' signature sound: organic tones, deep groove, and that live-room vibe you only get when real musicians are locked in together. Luca Monza and Claudio Mambrini, the band's core members, handled the artistic production. Mastering came courtesy of the great JJ Golden (Black Pumas, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Jr. Thomas & The Volcanos, The Frightnrs) at Golden Mastering in Ventura, California. JJ is one of the most trusted engineers working in this sound, ensuring every ounce of warmth and authenticity came through.

The Appetizers are a rocksteady and early reggae band formed in Milan in 2020 by musicians deeply embedded in the Italian and international reggae scene. Musicians from different paths united by a shared vision: recreating that vintage Caribbean and American sound with authenticity, respect and a forward-thinking edge.

Drawing inspiration from Jamaica's golden era and channeling the soul of Delroy Wilson, Alton Ellis, the early Wailers, and The Upsetters, The Appetizers carry forward the essence of bass culture with a pure, fully organic approach.

Their debut album Listen Up! (2022), released via Belgian imprint Badasonic Records (home to The Slackers, The Aggrolites, David Hillyard & Victor Rice), featured ten original tracks and a dub cut by Victor Rice. Distributed across Europe, the UK, the US, and Japan, it quickly earned international recognition among reggae connoisseurs and selectors worldwide.

Following extensive touring, including shows with The Slackers, Black Uhuru, Skip Marley, and more, the band returned to the studio to record "Keep Your Step", their second album produced by Killer Groove Records. Here the band expands its musical language, weaving together the spirit of historic Jamaican labels like Studio One and Treasure Isle with '60s funk, arriving at a warm, organic, and timeless sound: soul, Jamaican roots, and modern sensibility in perfect balance. Their lyrics explore heartbreak, social issues, and reflections on life and music, performed with dedication and respect for tradition while always pushing forward.


If you're into The Skatalites, The Ethiopians, and those classic Caribbean rhythms, this one's for you.

White vinyl. Signed Print Edition. When Jack Tatum began work on Life of Pause, his third full-length to date, he had lofty ambitions: Don't just write another album; create another world. One with enough detail and texture and dimension that a listener could step inside, explore, and inhabit it as they see fit. "I desperately wanted for this to be the kind of record that would displace me," he says. "I'm terrified by the idea of being any one thing, or being of any one genre. And whether or not I accomplish that, I know that my only hope of getting there is to constantly reinvent. That reinvention doesn't need to be drastic, but every new record has to have its own identity, and it has to have a separate set of goals from what came before." What came before: a rightfully acclaimed, much beloved display of singular pop craftsmanship. Tatum's dreamy, unexpected 2010 debut, Gemini, was written while he was still a student at Virginia Tech University. Its equally disarming follow-up, 2012's Nocturne, marked the first time he'd been able to bring his bedroom recordings into a studio, to be performed and fully realized with the help of other musicians. There has been a set of wonderfully expansive EPs in between_each hinting at new directions and punctuating previous ideas_but with Life of Pause, Tatum delivers what he describes as his most "honest" and "mature" work yet, an exquisitely arranged and beautifully recorded collection of songs that marry the immediate with the indefinable. "I allowed myself to go down every route I could imagine even if it ended up not working for me," he says. "I owe it to myself to take as many risks as possible. Songs are songs and you have to allow yourself to be open to everything." After a prolonged period of writing and experimentation, recording took place over several weeks in both Los Angeles and Stockholm, with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Beachwood Sparks) helping Tatum in his search for a more natural and organically textured sound. In Sweden, in a studio once owned by ABBA, they enlisted Peter, Bjorn and John drummer John Ericsson and fellow Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra veteran Pelle Jacobsson, to contribute drums and marimba. In California, at Monahan's home, Tatum collaborated with Medicine guitarist Brad Laner and a crew of saxophonists. From the hypnotic polyrhythms of "Reichpop" to the sugary howl of "Japanese Alice" to the hallucinogenic R&B of "A Woman's Wisdom," the result is a complete, fully immersive listening environment. "I just kept things really simple, writing as ideas came to me," he says. "There's definitely a different kind of `self' in the picture this time around. There's no real love lost, it's much more a record of coming to terms and defining what it is that you have_your place, your relationships. I view every record as an opportunity to write better songs. At the end of the day it still sounds like me, just new."

Orange Vinyl with exclusive illustrated notes/lyric insert ltd to 300 w/w.“Zimmerman conjures up a kind of Arcadian folk surrealism that is utterly his own” MOJO Never released before collection featuring Ian A Anderson & Maggie Holland recorded 72-80 is among Tucker’s finest - Free-ranging, Playful, Intimate - his Songpoet imagination unbound and in full bloom now on colour Vinyl for first time with (exclusive to this version) illustrated lyric insert with notes from Tucker.Recorded between 1972-80 this is the first ever release for ‘I Wonder If I’ll Ever Come True’ a stunningly beautiful, homegrown collection by Songpoet Tucker Zimmerman and friends. The range and depth is astonishing. From the heady surreal journey of ‘It All Depends’ Upon the Pleasure Man’, to the uplifting Gene Clark-esque 'So It Goes’, to some of his most beautiful & touching love songs in ‘Let’s Start Over Again’ & ‘Song’. Only one song has seen the the light of day before now - ‘Taoist Tale’ from his 1984 album ‘Word Games’. This recording from a decade earlier loses no power in its folkier stripped down style driven by Tucker’s strong narrative.

While living in bucolic seclusion in Belgium with Marie-Claire, Tucker invited visiting musicians (Derroll Adams, Wizz Jones, Maggie Holland, Dave Evans, Ian Anderson) into his home studio to play and live tape whatever songs he had at hand. Maggie Holland and Ian A Anderson feature, while Tucker found a freeing simplicity in just guitar, ’70s organ, bass and piano. We are so grateful to Ian A Anderson, who carefully kept and curated these recordings from 50 years ago. “Every time I would leave, Tucker would hand me another tape full of songs”. Ian worked with Tucker and ourselves to present this wonderful album. The collection is among Tucker’s finest - free-ranging, playful, intimate - his Songpoet imagination unbound and in full bloom. The ethos, the playing, the freedom, feels like Ronnie Lane’s time in the Welsh Borders. Unhurried, liberated, down-home and cosmic. Extraordinary music made among friends.
"Startling collection of intimate, home-recorded songs from the cult singer-songwriter adored by David Bowie and Big Thief alike.

When I first interviewed Tucker Zimmerman back in 2015 neither of us had any idea that, a decade later, he would be venerated by a new coterie of young fans, touring with maximal folk-rockers Big Thief and recipient of a concerted reissue campaign by the wonderful Big Potato Records. Last year I eulogised the “Arcadian folk surrealism” of his 1974 LP *Over Here In Europe but, if anything, this informal collection of intimate home-studio recordings is even better. Recorded between 1973 and 76 whilst living in Belgium and hosting such visiting folk musicians as Derroll Adams, Wizz Jones, Maggie Holland, Dave Evans, and Ian A. Anderson this is the kind of assured, organic freewheeling folk music that has the mellow, introspective rough-edged feel of some lost private-press LP, the kind rightly revered by Endless Boogie’s Paul Majors as “real people” music. A true find.” Andrew Male MOJO 4/5
“Here's a charming oddity: an unreleased album dating from the mid-Seventies by an American-born songwriter beloved of David Bowie and, more recently, Adrianne Lenker of the folk-rock band Big Thief. Zimmerman's a bohemian type who eschewed the big time for a life of gigging around Europe. He, his wife, Marie-Claire, and a handful of friends recorded these songs in seclusion in the Belgian countryside, and what songs they are. Slide On could have come from the Byrds when they discovered country music, Let's Start Over Again captures the dreamlike experience of being in love with unsettling clarity. This is a real unearthed gem.” 4/5 The Times

Melanie Baker komponiert Musik über alles, was schmerzt, und alles, was sich gut anfühlt. Sie lebt in Newcastle (Großbritannien) und schreibt mit unerschütterlicher Ehrlichkeit - Songs, die zwischen lauter Katharsis und leisen Geständnissen, zwischen absurdem Humor und tiefer Verletzlichkeit schwanken. Mit hämmernden Trommeln, verzerrten Gitarren und zarter lyrischer Präzision greift Baker den Mut und den Geist des Alternative Rock der 90er Jahre durch eine queere, moderne Linse wieder auf.

2026 Repress

Paces of Places" is an evocative exploration of the diverse rhythms that define various environments, intertwining physical, symbolic, and digital realms. This album delves into the intricate layers of pace, not just in terms of rhythm, but as a reflection of deeper societal and existential meanings. Each track on the album transports the listener to a unique locale, where the pace of life reveals profound truths about human existence, societal constructs, and the ever-evolving digital landscape.

The concept of pace is multifaceted within this album. It goes beyond mere tempo to encompass the emotional and symbolic resonance of each environment. Whether it's the languid drift of forgotten dunes or the frenetic energy of virtual hideouts, the pace embodies the essence of these places, drawing listeners into a vivid auditory experience that stimulates both thought and feeling.

"Paces of Places" is a profound auditory journey that challenges listeners to reflect on the rhythms that shape their lives. Through its masterful blend of soundscapes and symbolic depth, the album offers a contemplative experience that resonates with the complexities of contemporary existence.

10 songs from what is possibly the best anarchopunk band currently in existence. The dynamics of the tracks are refreshingly simple, a powerful yet neutral- sounding recording, with very little embellishment or stylized production to hide behind, approaching filth with distorted guitars, haunting bass lines, and steady drum beats, all elevated by the combination of the three voices perfectly balanced between melody and hatred. In a quantized world, one can perceive an endearing dose of human spirit through their tense and disturbingly melodic expressions. A modern Anarcho Punk classic that is surprising to find 40 years after the wonderful bands that spawned the genre, especially England. Includes poster and insert with lyrics.

Since reviewing Pomegranate Seeds: An International Benefit for Mutual Aid in Gaza, the compilation put out by the DISSIDENTS, I've been hunting for more VAMPIRE material, so when I saw I was assigned this LP I became very excited. VAMPIRE is an Australian band that plays apocalyptic anarcho- punk. A sense of extreme urgency pervades VAMPIRE's sound, and What Seems Forever Can Be Broken is ten songs that combine the demanding hardcore of CONFLICT, with a foundation of CRASS, and the rough-hewn delivery of raw punk. The resulting album is dark, hauntingly mesmeric, but also aggressive with a sense of communal voice. In other words, this is anarchopunk that is of the moment, and articulates exactly what contemporary punk is about without being preachy or elitist. This is that eye-to-eye, in-the-trenches vocalization of criticism that comes off as eye-opening and perspective-altering. What Seems Forever Can Be Broken is by far my favorite release thus far in 2025, but also might be the best album I've heard in a really long time. Like, this is benchmark-level material, so definitely give this a listen.

Volume 1 of 3 vinyls containing all the extended mixes on Claude VonStroke’s 5th original artist album, “Wrong Number.” This first record is deep, patient, and deliberately restrained. Claude VonStroke re-calibrates his career for real people who enjoy music. The big room house machine is out of control and Claude has stopped answering the phone.

“I’m sorry you have reached the wrong number. Claude is no longer available…

UILTY RAZORS, BONA FIDE PUNKS.



Writings on the topic that go off in all directions, mind-numbing lectures given by academics, and testimonies, most of them heavily doctored, from those who “lived through that era”: so many people today fantasize about the early days of punk in our country… This blessed moment when no one had yet thought of flaunting a ridiculous green mohawk, taking Sid Vicious as a hero, or – even worse – making the so-called alternative scene both festive and boorish. There was no such thing in 1976 or 1977, when it wasn’t easy to get hold of the first 45s by the Pistols or the Clash. Few people were aware of what was happening on the fringes of the fringes at the time. Malcolm McLaren was virtually unknown, and having short hair made you seem strange. Who knew then that rock music, which had taken a very bad turn since the early 1970s, would once again become an essential element of liberation? That, thanks to short and fast songs, it would once again rediscover that primitive, social side that was so hated by older generations? Who knew that, besides a few loners who read the music press (it was even better if they read it in English) and frequented the right record stores? Many of these formed bands, because it was impossible to do otherwise. We quickly went from listening to the Velvet Underground to trying to play the Stooges’ intros. It’s a somewhat collective story, even though there weren’t many people to start it.
The Guilty Razors were among those who took part in this initial upheaval in Paris. They were far from being the worst. They had something special and even released a single that was well above the national average. They also had enough songs to fill an album, the one you’re holding. In everyone’s opinion, they were definitely not among the punk impostors that followed in their wake. They were, at least, genuine and credible.

Guilty Razors, Parisian punk band (1975-1978). To understand something about their somewhat linear but very energetic sound, we might need to talk about the context in which it was born and, more broadly, recall the boredom (a theme that would become capital in punk songs) coupled with the desire to blow everything off, which were the basis for the formation of bands playing a rejuvenated rock music ; about the passion for a few records by the Kinks or the early Who, by the Stooges, by the Velvet mostly, which set you apart from the crowd.
And of course, we should remember this new wave, which was promoted by a few articles in the specialized press and some cutting-edge record stores, coming from New York or London, whose small but powerful influence could be felt in Paris and in a handful of isolated places in the provinces, lulled to sleep by so many appalling things, from Tangerine Dream to President Giscard d’Estaing...
In 1975-76, French music was, as almost always, in a sorry state ; it was still dominated by Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie Vartan. Local rock music was also rather bleak, apart from Bijou and Little Bob who tried to revive this small scene with poorly sound-engineered gigs played to almost no one.
In the working class suburbs at the time, it was mainly hard rock music played to 11 that helped people forget about their gruelling shifts at the factory. Here and there, on the outskirts of major cities, you still could find a few rockers with sideburns wearing black armbands since the death of Gene Vincent, but it wasn’t a proper mass movement, just a source of real danger to anyone they came across who wasn't like them. In August 1976, a festival unlike any other took place in Mont-de-Marsan – the First European Punk Festival as the poster said – with almost as many people on stage as in the audience. Yet, on that day, a quasi historical event happened, when, under the blazing afternoon sun, a band of unknowns called The Damned made an unprecedented noise in the arena, reminiscent of the chaotic Stooges in their early adolescence. They were the first genuine punk band to perform in our country: from then on, anything was possible, almost anything seemed permissible.

It makes sense that the four+1 members of Guilty Razors, who initially amplified acoustic guitars with crappy tape recorder microphones, would adopt punk music (pronounced paink in French) naturally and instinctively, since it combines liberating noise with speed of execution and – crucially – a very healthy sense of rebellion (the protesters of May 1968 proclaimed, and it was even a slogan, that they weren’t against old people, but against what had made them grow old. In the mid-1970s, it seemed normal and obvious that old people should now ALSO be targeted!!!).
At the time, the desire to fight back, and break down authority and apathy, was either red or black, often taking the form of leafleting, tumultuous general assemblies in the schoolyard, and massive or shabby demonstrations, most of the time overflowing with an exciting vitality that sometimes turned into fights with the riot police. Indeed, soon after the end of the Vietnam War and following Pinochet’s coup in Chile, all over France, Trotskyist and anarcho-libertarian fervour was firmly entrenched among parts of the educated youth population, who were equally rebellious and troublemakers whenever they had the chance. It should also be noted that when the single "Anarchy in the UK" was first heard, even though not many of us had access to it, both the title and its explosive sound immediately resonated with some of those troublemakers crying out for ANARCHY!!! Meanwhile, the left-wing majority still equated punks with reckless young neo-Nazis. Of course, the widely circulated photos in the mainstream press of Siouxsie Sioux with her swastikas didn’t necessarily help to win over the theorists of the Great Revolution. It took Joe Strummer to introduce The Clash as an anti-racist, anti-fascist and anti-ignorance band for the rejection of old-school revolutionaries to fade a little.

The Lycée Jean-Baptiste Say at Porte d’Auteuil, despite being located in the very posh and very exclusive 16th arrondissement of Paris, didn’t escape these "committed" upheavals, which doubled as the perfect outlet for the less timid members of this generation.
“Back then, politics were fun,” says Tristam Nada, who studied there and went on to become Guilty Razors’ frontman. “Jean-Baptiste was the leftist high-school in the neighbourhood. When the far right guys from the GUD came down there, the Communist League guys from elsewhere helped us fight them off.”
Anything that could challenge authority was fair game and of course, strikes for just about any reason would lead to increasingly frequent truancy (with a definitive farewell to education that would soon follow). Tristam Nada spent his 10th and 11th unfinished grades with José Perez, who had come from Spain, where his father, a janitor, had been sentenced to death by Franco. “José steered my tastes towards solid acts such as The Who. Like most teenagers, I had previously absorbed just about everything that came my way, from Yes to Led Zeppelin to Genesis. I was exploring… And then one day, he told me that he and his brother Carlos wanted to start a rock band.” The Perez brothers already played guitar. “Of course, they were Spanish!”, jokes their singer. “Then, somewhat reluctantly, José took up the bass and we were soon joined by Jano – who called himself Jano Homicid – who took up the rhythm guitar.” Several drummers would later join this core of not easily intimidated young guys who didn’t let adversity get the better of them.

The first rehearsals of the newly named Guilty Razors took place in the bedroom of a Perez aunt. There, the three rookies tried to cover a few standards, songs that often were an integral part of their lives. During a first, short gig, in front of a bewildered audience of tough old-school rockers, they launched into a clunky version of the Velvet Underground's “Heroin”. Challenge or recklessness? A bit of both, probably… And then, step by step, their limited repertoire expanded as they decided to write their own songs, sung in a not always very accurate or academic English, but who cared about proper grammar or the right vocabulary, since what truly mattered was to make the words sound as good as possible while playing very, very fast music? And spitting out those words in a language that left no doubt as to what it conveyed mattered as well.
Trying their hand a the kind of rock music disliked by most of the neighbourhood, making noise, being fiercely provocative: they still belonged to a tiny clique who, at this very moment, had chosen to impose this difference. And there were very few places in France or elsewhere, where one could witness the first stirrings of something that wasn’t a trend yet, let alone a movement.

In the provinces, in late 1976 or early 1977, there couldn’t be more than thirty record stores that were a bit more discerning than average, where you could hear this new kind of short-haired rock music called “punk”. The old clientele, who previously had no problem coming in to buy the latest McCartney or Aerosmith LP, now felt a little less comfortable there…
In Paris, these enlightened places were quite rare and often located nex to what would become the Forum des Halles, a big shopping mall. Between three aging sex workers, a couple of second-hand clothes shops, sellers of hippie paraphernalia and small fashion designers, the good word was loudly spread in two pioneering places – propagators of what was still only a new underground movement. Historically, the first one was the Open Market, a kind of poorly, but tastefully stocked cave. Speakers blasted out the sound of sixties garage bands from the Nuggets compilation (a crucial reference for José Perez) or the badly dressed English kids of Eddie and the Hot Rods. This black-painted den was opened a few years earlier by Marc Zermati, a character who wasn’t always in a sunny disposition, but always quite radical in his (good) choices and his opinions. He founded the independent label Skydog and was one of the promoters of the Mont-de-Marsan punk festivals. Not far from there was Harry Cover, another store more in tune with the new New York scene, which was amply covered in the house fanzine, Rock News (even though it was in it that the photos of the Sex Pistols were first published in France).
It was a favorite hang-out of the Perez brothers and Tristam Nada, as the latter explained. “It’s at Harry Cover’s that we first heard the Pistols and Clash’s 45s, and after that, we decided to start writing our first songs. If they could do it, so could we!”
The sonic shocks that were “Anarchy in the UK”, “White Riot” or the Buzzcocks’s EP, “Spiral Scratch” – which Guilty Razors' sound is reminiscent of – were soon to be amplified by an unparalleled visual shock. In April 1977, right after the release of their first LP, The Clash performed at the Palais des Glaces in Paris, during a punk night organised by Marc Zermati. For many who were there, it was the gig of a lifetime…
Of course, Guilty Razors and Tristam were in the audience: “That concert was fabulous… We Parisian punks were almost all dressed in black and white, with white shirts, skinny leather ties, bikers jackets or light jackets, etc. The Clash, on the other hand, wore colourful clothes. Well, the next day, at the Gibus, you’d spot everyone who had been at this concert, but they weren’t wearing anything black, they were all wearing colours.”

It makes sense to mention the Gibus club, as Guilty Razors often played there (sometimes in front of a hostile audience). It was also the only place in Paris that regularly scheduled new Parisian or Anglo-Saxon acts, such as Generation X, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Slits, and Johnny Thunders who would become a kind of messed-up mascot for the venue. A little later, in 1978, the Rose Bonbon – formerly the Nashville – also attracted nightly owls in search of electric thrills… In 1977, the iconic but not necessarily excellent Asphalt Jungle often played at the Gibus, sometimes sharing the bill with Metal Urbain, the only band whose aura would later transcend the French borders (“I saw them as the French Sex Pistols,” said Geoff Travis, head of their British label Rough Trade). Already established in this small scene, Metal Urbain helped the young and restless Guilty Razors who had just arrived. Guitarist for Metal Urbain Hermann Schwartz remembers it: “They were younger than us, we were a bit like their mentors even if it’s too strong a word… At least they were credible. We thought they were good, and they had good songs which reminded of the Buzzcocks that I liked a lot. But at some point, they started hanging out with the Hells Angels. That’s when we stopped following them.”

The break-up was mutual, since, Guilty Razors, for their part, were shocked when they saw a fringe element of the audience at Metal Urbain concerts who repeatedly shouted “Sieg Heil” and gave Nazi salutes. These provocations, even still minor (the bulk of the skinhead crowd would later make their presence felt during concerts), weren’t really to the liking of the Perez brothers, whose anti-fascist convictions were firmly rooted. Some things are non-negotiable.
A few months earlier (in July 1978), Guilty Razors had nevertheless opened very successfully for Metal Urbain at the Bus Palladium, a more traditonally old-school rock night-club. But, as was sometimes the case back then, the night turned into a mass brawl when suburban rockers came to “beat up punks”.

Back then, Parisian nights weren’t always sweet and serene.

So, after opening as best as they could for The Jam (their sound having been ruined by the PA system), our local heroes were – once again – met outside by a horde of greasers out to get them. “Thankfully,” says Tristam, “we were with our roadies, motorless bikers who acted as a protective barrier. We were chased in the neighbouring streets and the whole thing ended in front of a bar, with the owner coming out with a rifle…”
Although Tristam and the Perez brothers narrowly escaped various, potentially bloody, incidents, they weren’t completely innocent of wrongdoing either. They still find amusing their mugging of two strangers in the street for example (“We were broke and we simply wanted to buy tickets for the Heartbreakers concert that night,” says Tristam). It so happened that their victims were two key figures in the rock business at the time: radio presenter Alain Manneval and music publisher Philippe Constantin. They filed a complaint and sought monetary compensation, but somehow the band’s manager, the skilful but very controversial Alexis, managed to get the complaint withdrawn and Guilty Razors ended up signing with Constantin with a substantial advance.

They also signed with Polydor and the label released in 1978 their only three-track 45, featuring “I Don't Wanna be A Rich”, “Hurts and Noises” and “Provocate” (songs that exuded perpetual rebellion and an unquenchable desire for “class” confrontation). It was a very good record, but due to a lack of promotion (radio stations didn’t play French artists singing in English), it didn’t sell very well. Only 800 copies were allegedly sold and the rest of the stock was pulped… Initially, the three tracks were to be included on a LP that never came to be, since they were dropped by Polydor (“Let’s say we sometimes caused a ruckus in their offices!” laughs Tristam.) In order to perfect the long-awaited LP, the band recorded demos of other tracks. There was a cover of Pink Floyd's “Lucifer Sam” from the Syd Barrett era – proof of an enduring love for the sixties’ greats –, “Wake Up” a hangover tale and “Bad Heart” about the Baader-Meinhof gang, whose actions had a profound impact on the era and on a generation seeking extreme dissent... On the album you’re now discovering, you can also hear five previously unreleased tracks recorded a bit later during an extended and freezing stay in Madrid, in a makeshift studio with the invaluable help of a drummer also acting as sound engineer. He was both an enthusiastic old hippie and a proper whizz at sound engineering. Here too, certain influences from the fifties and sixties (Link Wray, the Troggs) are more than obvious in the band’s music.

Shortly after a final stormy and rather barbaric (on the audience’s side) “Punk night” at the Olympia in June 1978, Tristam left the band ; his bandmates continued without him for a short while.

But like most pioneering punk bands of the era, Guilty Razors eventually split up for good after three years (besides once in Spain, they’d only played in Paris). The reason for ceasing business activities were more or less the same for everyone: there were no venues outside one’s small circuit to play this kind of rock music, which was still frightening, unknown, or of little interest to most people. The chances of recording an LP were virtually null, since major labels were only signing unoriginal but reassuring sub-Téléphone clones, and the smaller ones were only interested in progressive rock or French chanson for youth clubs. And what about self-production? No one in our small safety-pinned world had thought about it yet. There wasn’t enough money to embark on that sort of venture anyway.

So yes, the early days of punk in France were truly No Future!

Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart) und Oberland (Oiseaux-Tempête) festigen mit diesem Debüt-Studioalbum als Duo ihre langjährige Zusammenarbeit: eine überzeugende Synthese ihrer jeweiligen und gemeinsamen Sensibilität. Durch die Verschmelzung von elektronischen Klängen mit akustischen Instrumenten wie Bouzouki, Rababa, Clarineau und Saxophon, ergänzt durch Moumnehs arabischen Gesang, entsteht ein Album, das von Empörung und Klage über unsere suprematistische und rassistische Gesellschaft geprägt ist. Das Album verbindet vibrierende Elektronik mit akustischen Instrumenten wie Bouzouki, Rababa, Clarineau und Saxophon, gewürzt mit Moumnehs arabischem Gesang, und ist geprägt von Empörung und Klage über unsere supremacistische und genozidale politische Gegenwart. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh und Frédéric D. Oberland wechseln zwischen Sinnlichem und Unterdrücktem und schaffen mit ihrem Debütalbum eine poetische musikalische Verkündigung der verwandelten Realität und sozialen Amnesie. Diese sieben Titel entstanden in zweijähriger Zusammenarbeit und begannen als eine Reihe von Duetten, die Moumneh im Sommer 2023 im Studio Hotel2Tango in Montréal initiierte. Der arabische Titel von Eternal Life No End lässt sich wörtlich mit ,Eine dunkle, verfluchte Nacht, wie die Suchenden selbst" übersetzen. Das Album ist ein Aufschrei inmitten der Ozeane der Ungerechtigkeit, die die SWANA-Region überschwemmen und das Leben und die Visionen der Suchenden selbst heimsuchen. Der arabische Titel von Eternal Life No End lässt sich wörtlich übersetzen mit ,Eine dunkle, verfluchte Nacht, wie die Suchenden selbst" und das Album ist ein Aufschrei inmitten der Ozeane der Ungerechtigkeit, die die SWANA-Region überschwemmen und das Leben und die Visionen großer Bevölkerungsgruppen verfolgen. Wie Dante und Vergil in Dantes ,Inferno" zeichnen die Kompositionen von Oberland und Moumneh einen emotionalen Strudel nach, während Traumzeit in tranceartige Percussion und hypnotische Melodien einfließt und kollektive Dringlichkeiten kanalisiert, die sich durch Radwans Stimme und arabische Texte ziehen. Oberlands Passagen auf dem Saxophon und der Klarinette beschwören schamanische Beschwörungen des Bösen herauf, während Moumnehs Buzuk oft durch elektronische Bearbeitung und Schwärme mit stürmischer Trauer über sich entfaltende Tragödien untermalt wird. Eine Reihe von Instrumenten vervollständigt die Klanglandschaften: Daf (eine Rahmentrommel aus dem Nahen Osten) und Bongos, eine modifizierte elektrische Rababa, bebender Bass und andere synthetische Filigranarbeiten von Oberland. Eine Reihe von Instrumenten vervollständigt die breiteren Klanglandschaften: Daf (eine nahöstliche Rahmentrommel) und Bongos, eine modifizierte elektrische Rababa, bebender Bass und andere synthetische Filigranarbeiten von Oberlands Buchla- und Deckard's Dream-Synthesizern. ,Es ist in gewisser Weise ein Heilungsprozess", sagt Oberland über das Werk. ,Seit Beginn des Völkermords hatte ich eine komplette künstlerische Blockade und war unfähig, das auszudrücken, was die Menschen durchleben", erklärt Moumneh, der schließlich ,die Worte der Opfer" in seine Texte einfließen ließ. ,Es ist in gewisser Weise ein Heilungsprozess", sagt Oberland über das Werk. ,Seit Beginn des Völkermords hatte ich eine völlige künstlerische Blockade und war unfähig, das auszudrücken, was die Menschen durchleben", erklärt Moumneh, der schließlich seine Instrumente und seine Ausrüstung zusammenpackte und im Sommer 2024 nach Paris flog , um mit seinem langjährigen Freund ernsthaft an dem Album zu arbeiten. Die beiden hatten bereits mehrfach zusammengearbeitet, mit Oberlands Hauptband Oiseaux-Tempête und durch Moumnehs Arbeit als Jerusalem In My Heart und als Produzent/Toningenieur bei verschiedenen anderen Projekten. Eternal Life No End baut auf ihrer langjährigen Freundschaft auf, während Oberland und Moumneh auf neue Weise mit Energien und emotionalen Veränderungen umgehen, ihre Sensibilitäten verschmelzen und tiefere Resonanzen entdecken. , Wir haben Tag und Nacht zusammengearbeitet und gemeinsam klare Entscheidungen getroffen", erklärt Oberland. Dennoch übernahm er auch die Führung, um Moumnehs Stimme in diesen Kompositionen zur Geltung zu bringen - vier der sieben Titel des Albums enthalten Gesang. Das Duo tauschte gewissermaßen die Rollen und wagte sich an neue kreative Prozesse, wobei Moumneh offen Anweisungen von Oberland annahm und seine übliche Rolle als Hauptproduzent von Jerusalem In My Heart beiseite ließ. ,Squeal of Swine" und ,Dagger Eyes" eröffnen das Album mit einem doppelten Schlag in die Magengrube, während Handpercussion, tiefe Synth-Klänge und abprallende Buzuq- und Rababa-Klänge die Bühne für Moumnehs klagenden arabischen Gesang bereiten, der ein Meer von Krankheit widerspiegelt, das derzeit den Zustand der Menschheit überschwemmt. Auf dem Instrumentalstück ,A Dream That Never Arrived" verankert ein Lo-Fi-Beat mit Dancehall-Einflüssen überirdische Melodielinien vor dem Hintergrund eines elektroakustischen Sounddesigns in räumlich-zeitlicher Verschiebung. Eternal Life No End wird von einem audiovisuellen Essay zum elektronischen (und vokalen) Song ,The Serpent" begleitet, der von Oberland zusammengestellt und mit einer Super-8-Kamera in Montréal, Paris und Beirut gedreht wurde, einschließlich Aufnahmen von Gaza-Protesten in Paris und von Oberlands Auftritt beim 25-jährigen Jubiläum des Irtijal Festivals in Beirut. Die libanesische Grafikdesignerin, Druckgrafikerin und Kalligraphin Farah Fayyad steuert ein talismanartiges Kunstwerk mit ineinander verschlungenen Schlangen bei, das ebenfalls von diesem zentralen Albumtrack inspiriert ist.

Chris Liebing's first full solo techno LP, 'Evolver' is released on 27th March 2026, via his own CLR imprint. The German techno don's LP features a host of collaborators across music, images, and artwork. Luke Slater, Charlotte De Witte, Speedy J, The Advent, Terence Fixmer, Pascal Gabriel, Daniel Miller contribute to the music, while long-time collaborators Studio Bergfors deliver design, and legendary photographer Anton Corbijn shot Liebing for the project.

The Evolver LP is the sum total of Chris Liebing's three decades at the beating heart of techno. It's the record only someone whose first break as a techno DJ was playing five hours at Sven Väth's infamous Omen in Frankfurt - and who has ridden out every twist and turn of life and subcultures since, while remaining rooted in the true school, dark, sweaty techno sweat pits of the world - could have made. It's the result of deep introspection, but it's about utter immediacy. It's the sound of someone previously driven along by compulsion and happenstance at last finding the confidence to be utterly intentional about their practice, allowing them to take the most classic, familiar, proven elements from the past and render them completely new.

Evolver is also Liebing's first completely solo album. There are collaborations, yes: with old friends from the OG techno generation, Luke Slater, Speedy J, and The Advent, all on uncompromising form, and with new generation figurehead Charlotte De Witte, who provides a thrilling narration of total surrender to the moment on acid clarion call "Symphonie des Seins". But unlike all Liebing's albums to date, there's no co-pilot. Every structure, every mixdown, every choice serves his singular vision of how his untold immersion in the surging currents of the world's greatest clubs should sound. The elements are all those forged in the white heat of Omen and Tresor in the mid 90s - brutal repetition, titanium kick drums, industrial atmospherics, but also dark rave euphoria, ever present surging acid lines just on the cusp of trance, and just enough human voices to remind you of bodies on the dance floor - but rendered with all the extraordinary accumulated skill and technological developments since then.

It's Chris's vision entirely, his musings on sound, technology, and life birthing tracks like "Roy Batty." Inspired by thoughts of AI becoming sentient and hungering for more life like Rutger Hauer's titular Blade Runner character, it was one of the first tracks to emerge and a foundation stone for the album. And in pursuit of that vision, it's built like a "proper album". The anticipation and menace of intro "Unfold" tip over into the glowing hot high drama psychedelia of "Symphonie…" then the breathless headlong rush of The Advent collab and on through an unfolding narrative that goes deep, goes dark, opens out into grand vistas, takes strange turns before finally landing on the alien landscape of… well… "Endtrack".

Not everything is pummelling on Evolver - the dazzling title track feels like you've been welcomed into the courtly dance of a higher dimension civilisation, and the audacious Speedy J collab "Shaping Frequencies" is a beatless flow that tests the boundaries between signal and noise. But for all its complexity, conceptualism, and stylistic branching out, every last part unmistakably powered by that dark techno-cavern energy above all else. All of it positively radiates the qualities of Liebing's greatest work and sets to date - but somehow even more so than before. Whether you're listening for aesthetic inspiration, cerebral stimulation or just that raw physical power, this album will sweep you up into its momentum and won't let go of you until it's done.

The new album by L.Y.R., their third commercial release, begins with the idea that the furthest points of light - stars - can only be seen in the dark. It’s a kind of contradiction that finds musical expression in these new tracks, the band always navigating towards sightings of hopefulness and constancy in an increasingly bewildering and storm-battered world.

The term dark sky reservation has its origins in environmentalism, and several tracks on the album deal with the messed-up weather of our contemporary planet, both meteorological and psychological, from descriptions of an earth deluged by thunderstorms to the soggy back-gardens of suburbia, a climate crisis brought on by rampant urbanism. In that context, dark sky reservations are those regions of the landscape where light pollution is discouraged and even outlawed, to allow scientists and casual stargazers to peer into the cosmos and see the glory of the constellations, patterns of light that have entranced and mystified us for hundreds of thousands of years.

It’s from those designated zones that human beings get a sense of their place in the universe, and experience the wonder of the here and now against a context of eternity and infinity. An alternative to the hectic craziness of everyday life, so often virtual and synthetic, the dark sky reservation is a place of refuge and dreaming, and like L.Y.R.’s music, such spaces are earmarked for contemplation and thoughtfulness.

L.Y.R. is author and current British poet laureate Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Richard Walters and multi-instrumentalist & producer Patrick Pearson.

DOODSESKADER clearly haven’t had enough of redefining boundaries – they’ve only just gotten started. Tim De Gieter and Sigfried Burroughs return on April 3rd, 2026 with their third full-length album, The Change Is Me, a rollercoaster that can only be described as the unstable lovechild between witch house, hip-hop, industrial dream pop, and stadium rock that can’t decide if it wants to watch the world burn or shout from the rooftops that we need to save it. Their combination of grungy 90s melodies with distorted synths, sludgy bass, hard tuned vocals, rapping, singing, and explosions of undiluted rage at the current state of the world leave you wondering just exactly what it was you smoked last night, and if it was too much or not enough. The Change Is Me is an album that grabs you by the arm and asks if you’re ready to go on a grand adventure, then pulls you into its chaos before you can say “yes” or “no.”

Tim and Sigfried aren’t just breaking the boundaries between genres; they’re breaking out of their own Year cycle, a path they had laid out for themselves at the band’s inception in 2020. Up until now, the duo had set out to document their “journey to getting better” through writing one album each year: Year Zero (2020), Year One (2022), and most recently Year Two (2024). After spending eight months throughout 2024 and 2025 writing, recording, producing and mixing Year Three, the band scrapped the finished record entirely. Playing shows while simultaneously navigating the process of mixing Year Three created a sort of disconnect – the people that they were when they wrote that record and the people that playing shows made them become were no longer one and the same. “We’re people with faults and strengths, and we realized we needed to accept it. That’s equal parts bleak and liberating. If you’re so focused on self-improvement, you can’t even applaud yourself for how far you’ve come,” the band explains. “This project is meant to be a document of us and of the human condition, not a self-improvement handbook designed to keep us all stuck on what may or may not have happened to us or because of us in the past.”

DOODSESKADER chose instead to embark anew on a week-long creative journey in Tim’s own Much Luv Studio with one goal in mind: to make an album that captures who they are right now. Finally writing everything together in the same room for the first time in years, the process of bringing "The Change Is Me" to life was captured by Diana Lungu in their latest documentary, "Now I Know You See Me", out December 2nd, 2025.

"The Change Is Me" marks the beginning of DOODSESKADER’s shift into a more positive era, both musically and conceptually. Over the course of the 40-minute record we hear the two friends unite in a fight against a world that grows more and more disappointing, a concept made crystal clear in tracks like “Celebrity Culture Simp Farm,” “It Keeps On Stinging,” and of course the album’s epic closer “Suffering In Technicolor.” While their previous albums saw them trying to outrun their pasts and arrive at a better version of themselves, here the search for some external or internal revelation that will “make them better” is no more. It’s been replaced by the realization that change isn’t something we force: it’s gradual, and more importantly, it’s something that’s already there – we just need to reach out and accept it.

The band’s live appearances over the last several years have been instrumental in shaping their ideology. On stage is where the duo find connection; not only with the audience, but also with each other. Their sold-out release shows at Ancienne Belgique (2022) and VierNulVier (2024) have proven that they are one of Belgium’s must-see acts. Abroad, their energy has translated into a month-long EU/UK tour with French band Alcest in 2024, as well as appearances at festivals such as Roadburn Festival (NL), Eurosonic (NL), Hellfest (FR), Mystic Fest (PL), Jera On Air (NL), ArcTanGent (UK), Fluff Fest (CZ) and more.

"The Change Is Me" is out April 3rd, 2026 on DOODSESKADER’s own label, 45 Records.

British punk trio GRADE 2 return swinging with Talk About It, their third and most blisteringly realized album, out on Tim Armstrong"s storied Hellcat Records. It"s an 11-track surge that fuses classic punk"s bare-knuckle conviction with the disillusionment, identity crises, and quiet rage of Gen-Z-delivered by three Isle of Wight lifers who"ve been sharpening their edge since they fifirst bashed out covers at 14. Jack Chatfifield, Jacob Hull, and Sid Ryan have spent thirteen years turning raw instinct into a signature roar, and Talk About It captures them at full velocity. Their blistering track, "Cut Throat," distills their ethos: fifierce guitars, punishing rhythm, and a narra-tive of clawing forward while the world seems hellbent on pulling you under. "It"s about a world that takes more than it gives," the band says-and that tension becomes fuel, a rallying cry for anyone navigating a landscape that feels colder by the day. With Talk About It, GRADE 2 don"t just revive punk"s urgency-they embody it.

British punk trio GRADE 2 return swinging with Talk About It, their third and most blisteringly realized album, out on Tim Armstrong"s storied Hellcat Records. It"s an 11-track surge that fuses classic punk"s bare-knuckle conviction with the disillusionment, identity crises, and quiet rage of Gen-Z-delivered by three Isle of Wight lifers who"ve been sharpening their edge since they fifirst bashed out covers at 14. Jack Chatfifield, Jacob Hull, and Sid Ryan have spent thirteen years turning raw instinct into a signature roar, and Talk About It captures them at full velocity. Their blistering track, "Cut Throat," distills their ethos: fifierce guitars, punishing rhythm, and a narra-tive of clawing forward while the world seems hellbent on pulling you under. "It"s about a world that takes more than it gives," the band says-and that tension becomes fuel, a rallying cry for anyone navigating a landscape that feels colder by the day. With Talk About It, GRADE 2 don"t just revive punk"s urgency-they embody it.

Das mehrfach preisgekrönte Action-Adventure »God of War« wurde erstmals 2005 veröffentlicht, entwickelte sich aber so schnell zu einem Hit, dass Santa Monica Studio sieben weitere Versionen des Spiels entwickelte. Die jüngste Version, die 2018 für die PlayStation 4 veröffentlicht wurde, konzentriert sich auf die Reise des Hauptcharakters Kratos in der griechischen Welt zusammen mit seinem Sohn Atreus, der sich auf einen Rachefeldzug begibt, weil er von den olympischen Göttern dazu verleitet wurde, seine Familie zu töten.

Der offizielle Soundtrack wurde mit einem BAFTA Award ausgezeichnet und wurde von Bear McCreary komponiert. Er basiert auf Themen, die er rund um die Hauptfiguren des Spiels geschaffen hat. Inspiriert von der Volksmusik der Wikinger, verwendete McCreary exotische Instrumente und Sprachen aus verschiedenen nordeuropäischen Volkstraditionen.

»God of War« ist in einer limitierten Auflage von 1500 einzeln nummerierten Exemplaren auf türkisem Vinyl erhältlich. Dieses Paket enthält eine Beilage mit Liner Notes von Bear McCreary.

"The multiple award-winning action-adventure game God of War was first released in 2005, but became such an instant hit, that Santa Monica Studio created seven more versions of the game. The most recent one, released in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, focusses on main character Kratos' journey in the Greek world together with his son Atreus, following a path of vengeance as a result of being tricked into killing his family by Olympian gods. God of War received universal acclaim for its story, design, graphics, combat system, characters, and music. It was awarded 'Game of the Year' by numerous media outlets and award shows. God of War (2018) performed well commercially, selling over five million copies within a month of its release. It became one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games. The official soundtrack won a BAFTA Award and is composed by Bear McCreary. It is set up around themes he created around primary characters in the game. Inspired by Viking folk music, McCreary used exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. It resulted in a score featuring deep choirs, pounding drums, shrieking brass and features Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør (Pálsdóttir). The American composer Bear McCreary is best known for his work on TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, The Walking Dead and won an Emmy Award for the main title of Da Vinci's Demons. God of War is available on black vinyl. This package contains a 4-page booklet with liner notes by Bear McCreary."

God Of War by Bear Mccreary, released 15 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "Witch of The Woods", "Ashes", "A Giant's Prayer", "Mimir" and more.

This version of God Of War comes as a 2xLP in a(n) Gatefold Sleeve packaging. This release comes with (a) Booklet.

Welcome to the world of Edward Blankman, a retired dentist who wrote elegant, minimalist jazz in obscurity circa 1970. At least that’s the story.

In truth, Edward Blankman’s Cape Cod Cottage is the 2021 concept album from Echo Park composer Brendan Eder.

A tender, wistful follow up to 2020’s To Mix With Time, the Cape Cod Cottage sound evokes the spirit of Erik Satie, Miles Davis with Gil Evans, and Stevie Wonder, balanced with the accessibility of 1960s lounge-exotica. Eder’s characteristic arrangements are crafted to reflect the past, without losing the innovative quality of his modern ear.

Eder created Blankman’s story to channel his own grief, with bittersweet tenderness. Read the liner notes, and you’ll be transported to the quiet shores of Cape Cod, where a lonely retiree mourns his late wife, Natalie, with walks in nature and evenings at his Wurlitzer.

The story is brought to life with a meticulously crafted package sporting classic liner notes, faux 1970s photographs documenting Edward with the musicians (taken during the actual session), a make-believe jazz label, and a commissioned oil painting of Edward’s cottage. Eder spent over a year rendering the compositions and charts according to his vision.

Eder brought together a dream line up with a ton of chemistry for the project; drummer Christian Euman (Jacob Collier), saxophonist Josh Johnson (Jeff Parker, Leon Bridges), and bassist Alex Boneham (Billy Childs), who all studied together at the Hancock Institute of Jazz. Rounding out the group is flutist Sarah Robinson, a recurring player in Eder’s ensemble, and Edward Blankman (Brendan) on the Wurlitzer.

The cast was booked for a single date with coveted engineer Michael Harris (Kamasi Washington, Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes) at famed Electro-Vox Recording Studios. To create realism for Edward’s story, the charts were purposefully withheld from the musicians until they arrived at the studio. The result is an authentic and natural performance delivered by players at the top of their game, captured on pristine vintage equipment including the legendary Neve-8028 console.

In his 1954 book The Doors of Perception, Aldous Huxley theorized that every person lives and experiences life on their own island universe. We can try to explain our experience to others using language, symbols, and art, but we'll never be sure that we're feeling something precisely the same as anyone else. This line of thinking has become a source of inspiration for many prolific artists. Now, Cincinnati-based producer Jason Grimez is inviting us to hear what it sounds like on an island of his own creation. The Island of Dr. Bionic is the third installment in Dr. Bionic's Terrestrial Radio series. Due out 5/2/2025 on Chiefdom Records, it's a collection of instrumental fusion for fans of hip-hop, jazz, funk, and beyond. Grimez is the producer, mixer, and mastermind behind Dr. Bionic. He's a Cincinnati-based creator with a deep understanding of 90s hip-hop and DJ culture, and he draws inspiration from music of all kinds. Grimez' ever-growing catalog is best described as organic groove. He calls on a rotating cast of veteran musicians to join him at his home studio to write, record, and try out new ideas. Long-time listeners will find some familiar names in the liner notes, for good reason. 'Life Span' (track 14) features a head-bobbing beat from Marvin Hawkins. Nick Brown is responsible for the dreamy Rhodes performance on 'Shell Of The Soul' (track 11). If Charlie Suit's unforgettable sax performance on 'The Path Of Stars' (track 16) is stuck in your head for more than 3 days, please consult Dr. Bionic. Once the recording sessions are complete, the real production work begins. "We get together and record a ton of stuff, and then I'll go back and cut it and mix it together," Grimez explained. "It all finds a home over time."

New and long awaited releases in the Jah Life reissue program. Al Campbell's "Collie Herb" was originally issued on Jah Life 12" in US & UK, and on Kaya 7" in JA. "World Crisis" was originally issued on 12" on the Reggae Sound label in NY. Killer ganja tune and reality tune, back to back. "Collie Herb" comes equipped with dub, while "World Crisis" is a deadly discomix.

On her new album, Two Whole Summers, Half A Life, Lisa Bassenge is once again accompanied by her trusted fellow musicians, pianist Jacob Karlzon and bassist Andreas Lang, with whom she has already realised numerous projects. Typical of Bassenge, the repertoire comprises a seemingly wild yet harmoniously connected mix of pop, singer-songwriter and jazz elements. The spectrum ranges from Elliott Smith to Duran Duran, from Billie Holiday to Björk. ‘It's always about the expressiveness of the songs – that's the common thread for us,’ emphasises the Berlin-based artist. The album features a track by Hank Williams as well as Madonna's ‘Frozen’ and “Catch” by The Cure. Two original compositions are also part of the recording: the title track ‘Two Whole Summers, Half a Life,’ a tribute to the power of friendship and youth, and the neo-folk ballad ‘I'm Getting Old.’ Both works impressively underline Lisa Bassenge's own artistic signature. For over two decades, Lisa Bassenge has stood for stylistic openness and a characteristic voice that lends new nuances to every song. Despite all the diversity, jazz remains the tonal basis. The Scandinavian-style relaxed sound of Karlzon and Lang lends the interpretations a soft, atmospheric depth.

“France absolutely engage the body... but the spectacle is one for your mind, especially as you start to wonder how much of what you’re hearing is really there.” The Quietus

Legendary hurdy-gurdy-powered kraut/psych/folk/drone band France have announced a new album ‘Good Thoughts. Bad Thoughts’ on The state51 Conspiracy label; capturing a wild performance at The state51 Factory in East London - part of their very first tour of England. They played Liverpool Psych Fest as a one off some years back.

Forming 20 years ago as a trio in Valence, France, for this performance, were Jeremie Sauvage on bass, Yann Gourdon on electrified hurdy-gurdy, and Cyril Bondi (of La Tene and Cyril Cyril on drums (stalwart Mathieu Tilly was taking some much needed time off).

This album sees the band plunge into the depths of the human psyche, backed up by Hugo Hyart’s deep, all-over cosmic doodles and an unhidden homage to the Parliafunkadelicment state of mind : Uniting, dancing, staying creative and open minded despite the tribulations of life. Dedicated to the feeling of good (and baby they’re good... at being good).

On the night France were recorded by Hot Chip’s in-house engineer James Crump who subsequently mixed the record at Hot Chip’s studio in East London. The album was mastered by Richy Hughes at Binary Feedback.

Youth (original Italian title La Giovinezza) is a 2015 comedy-drama film written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. Set in a luxurious Swiss Alps hotel, the story follows two lifelong friends: Fred Ballinger, a retired composer who has turned his back on performance, and Mick Boyle, an aging film director determined to finish what he hopes will be his final screenplay. While navigating the quirks of hotel life and revisiting the milestones of their own pasts, the film explores themes of nostalgia, personal legacy, affection, and mortality.

The soundtrack of Youth is a blend of original score by David Lang, and a selection of other carefully chosen pieces, ranging from classical works to contemporary songs. The centerpiece, “Simple Song #3,” performed by soprano Sumi Jo, captures the film’s themes of beauty, loss, and reflection. Alongside Lang’s compositions, the music features “Can’t Rely on You” by Paloma Faith, the classical piece Debussy’s “Préludes: Des pas sur la neige”, and “Third and Seneca” by Sun Kil Moon, amongst others, creating a rich, genre-spanning soundtrack that blends contemporary, classical, and indie influences.

The soundtrack of Youth is available as a limited edition on transparent vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet with liner notes.

Yellow Vinyl

Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds its visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world.

The solo project (Blue Lake), now on its fifth album, found its name and inspiration via Don Cherry's 1974 live album, sparking a creative epiphany in Dungan, who set off on a path into his own untapped sonic world, guided by what he cited as the emotional potential found within non-lyrical composition. With a newly inspired ethos aimed toward creating direct and simple instrumental music imbued with a deep sense of feeling, Jason began combining an array of musical elements that gave rise to his highly revered album 'Sun Arcs' (2023), with its "ornate, zither-led lattices" (Pitchfork, Best New Music). Conceived in the blissful isolation of a Swedish cabin set in the woods, this was music that soundtracked spring in full bloom. Then, in contrast to the solitary approach of 'Sun Arcs', the highly lauded mini-album 'Weft' (2025) began to set the tone for a more band-oriented approach to delivering the Blue Lake sound. Jason had by this time experienced a special collective energy with his band during a swathe of live performances, which he then sought to harness and distill on 'The Animal', leading him to take the project into a traditional recording studio (The Village) and its limitless potential along with his gifted cohorts.

'The Animal' at its core vividly celebrates human collaboration and is deeply rooted in a sense of community and non-hierarchical connectivity. The group's creative alchemy transcends outwards and beyond the musicians performing together, to summon an inclusive, existential and ecological connection to the wider world and its inhabited spaces. The album contemplates the idea of the human as an animal as Dungan explains: "I'm quite fascinated in thinking about humans more as part of the animal environment and not as something that's so separated into a "human" realm, or sitting on top of a hierarchical pyramid. So the Animal is also me, or us - that we are just living, existing, in the same way as a piece of moss or a sparrow or a cow.

'The Animal' is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity, resulting in his most ambitious album to date. A harmonious rejoicing that cements his reputation as a transformative presence in contemporary music.

Undun is the story of a man, Redford Stevens, dying in reverse, rewinding from the moment he became a statistic and hitting the points in his life where he's at his most self-aware. That he's a criminal who got caught up in the familiar street-hustle trappings that the modern media's documented countless times is a pivotal detail-- it's hit at an angle that seems to emphasize the futile inevitability of it all. His life could be any number of misdirected narratives that ends with a toe tag, and what details listeners learn about him are hazy, buried under archetypal turns of fate and decisive struggles. That this protagonist is a fictionalized composite of a handful of real people, filtered through a matter-of-fact narrative that splits character ambivalence with journalistic impartiality, only makes his lack of direction and the failure of any real closure stand out even more. "Lotta niggas go to prison," Dice Raw states on "Tip the Scale", "how many come out Malcolm X?"

So the Roots' latest album isn't a sprawling, rise-and-fall crime story, not a condemnation or a veneration of a man living outside the law, not a bullet-riddled grand guignol heavy on explicit details of soldiers getting cut down. It's a character study of a man whose existential crisis ends only with his death-- a death gone largely unspecified, the glamor and tragedy washed over with a doomed resignation. That's a hard thing to pull off, even for a band as given to deep-thinking concepts as the Roots are. And when your main lyrical catalyst is Black Thought-- a man more given to allusions than direct statements-- it's likely that it'll take a while for the full scope of Undun to really sink in.

If and when it does, it might strike listeners as a bit skeletal: omit the mood-setting instrumental bookends, including a brief, four-part orchestral suite that builds off Sufjan Stevens' "Redford (For Yia-Yia and Pappou)", and you've got maybe a half hour's worth of material. By ?uestlove's accounts, writing Redford's story introduced the headaches and challenges that come with scriptwriting into their songwriting, and what's left on Undun is the end result of frequent revisions and rewrites that attempt to reconcile character, theme, and continuity. If it comes at the expense of nuance, it's not always obvious: There's an easy-to-trace narrative line from Redford's acceptance of his fate ("Sleep") to his acknowledgement of how close it's approaching ("Make My"), back through declarations of aggravated toughness ("One Time"), and celebratory fatalism ("Kool On"), along ups and downs that juxtapose motivation ("Stomp") and helplessness ("Lighthouse"). When the vocal portion of the album ends with two of the bleakest sets of verses in the Roots discography, peaking with the estrangement of "I Remember" and the desperation of "Tip the Scale", Undun reveals itself as a story where a man's actual death isn't quite as tragic as the circumstances that pushed him to it.

The ‘Haris – Fourtrack EP’ marks the debut release from Shimmy, a new reissue label with a sharp ear for overlooked gems. Originally released 25 years ago and long coveted on Discogs, this sought-after EP finally returns to the shelves, breathing new life into a classic of the tech house underground.

Haris made his mark in the late ’90s and early 2000s with releases on iconic labels like Oblong and his own imprint, Laus Records, collaborating with scene heavyweight, Terry Francis. Renowned for his mastery of rolling, groove-led tech house, Haris crafted a sound that remains timeless and endlessly playable.

Each of the four tracks delivers a distinct flavour for different dancefloor moments, offering real depth and versatility across the EP. Expect snappy tribal percussion, eerie synths, haunting vocals and deep, driving basslines - all the essential ingredients for a late-night shimmy.

The latest release from Jazz Room is a tribute to the legendary pianist Tenorio Jr. by Cult J-Jazzers 45 Trio, and is their tribute to the Mystery Man who spearheaded Brazilian samba jazz.

Side-A features a cover of 'Nebulosa', released in 1964 and still regarded as a pinnacle of piano jazz, approached in a manner unique to 45 Trio. With delicate touch, profound performance and arrangement, they breathe new life into this classic. It get's really Funky halfway through too, watch the Jazz Dancers take the lead on this one!

Side-A '#Tenorio' was crafted as an homage to his work. Light rhythms intertwine with sophisticated chord progressions, creating a groove that fuses jazz and samba with a contemporary Dance Floor feel.

As Nathan Fake rises from the nocturnal subterranea and rave catharsis of his previous records, on Evaporator, he resurfaces into the domain of daylight, bringing a tangible sense of air rushing against your face, of big skies, and endless landscapes. The idea of pop accessibility that trickled into 2023’s Crystal Vision is refracted here through the prism of sweeping ambient, deep electronica, and trance uplift. Evaporator is Fake’s idea of “airy daytime music”, with each track a different barometer reading across the album’s varying atmospheres, which range from vibrant sunbursts, bracing rainscapes, and fine mists of clement melodics. “It’s not overtly confrontational electronic club music,” states Fake. “It’s quite pleasant, it’s accessible. As I was progressing through making the tracklist, I called it a daytime album. It doesn’t feel like an afterparty album.” For the past decade Fake has been gingerly introducing collaborations with heroes and friends alike into his lone, idiosyncratic working process. Border Community alumni Dextro AKA Ewan Mackenzie transmutes his ferocious drumming for Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs into the blurred choral thump of ‘Baltasound’. ‘Orbiting Meadows’, meanwhile, is his second collaboration with Clark, an eerily idyllic duet where microtonal 18EDO piano clangs slowly twirl around wailing pads. Evaporator marks the junction point of old technology and ever fresh creativity for Nathan. The trusty “dinosaur” age software, particularly Cubase VST5, that has powered two decades of music is rarely updated. “I used to sort of feel a bit ashamed of using such old software, and then I kind of had an epiphany – that’s just how I work”, comments Fake. “That’s just how I play. I’m very fond of these old tools, and I get the most joy out of them, but now I’ve incorporated new technology too.” When an artist accumulates so much synergy with their instrument, music making becomes instinctual. By Fake’s account, much of Evaporator just fell into place. The album title arrived randomly in his head (“it felt completely perfect. Airy.”), ideas looped and developed until things locked into place and just felt right. ‘The Ice House’ is a fleeting glimpse of the sonic world he taps into in this creative state, its glassy FM synths built around a counterpoint between rough-hewn crystalline arpeggios and sparse yet gravitas-bearing bass. “That riff I just wrote out on the keyboard, I just played it forever and ever and ever. The original track ended up being really short. Here you go, and it’s gone!” These unplanned channellings of sound call forth records from Fake’s past while he looks ahead, perhaps getting at the very essence of his musicianship. The opener ‘Aiwa’ (“the breeziest,” he muses) reminds of the introspection that characterised Providence, excited by the fire and grit of Steam Days’ textural experiments, its chunky slams and clatters surging into a flood of harmonic buzzing as they reach out for old wisdom. ‘Hypercube’ stampedes in a similar chronological confluence, infusing an incessant synth line reminiscent of the golden age of rave with the crackling, ecstatic energy of modern festival anthems. Like the vaporisation of liquid to particles, everything that Evaporator presents has a mutant desire to be amorphous. Sounds rarely settle; the irradiated garage beat of ‘Bialystok’ is pitched downwards to driving, rebounding effect, while ‘You’ll Find a Way’ warps static into shivering energy, cinematic synth strings building anticipation into a gradual gush of chords. This translates into a more expansive stereo field than Fake has explored before. ‘Slow Yamaha’ saves the wildest, most kinetic transformations for last with a cornucopia of crispy melodies and fried drums; a sibilance of cymbals on the left, a susurrus of shakers on the right, and kaleidoscopic lasers pulsing and fizzing all around. Evaporation culminating in pure excited atoms. In a world where music has increasingly become background content, making albums remains lifeblood for Fake: “It makes me realise how long; twenty years is ages! It’s weird to see how much the world has changed. Release day back then you did fuck all, now you spend all day on socials. When I grew up the people who made the electronic music I was into were quite mysterious, and the artwork was very abstract. There was a massive distance between you and that music, and that was a key part of it, really. Now it helps to be an extrovert, and I'm just not, but the album marks the first time my face has graced the cover art. I’ve never wanted to do this before, I'm very shy, and generally I don’t like being seen,” he professes. “But, twenty years in, I supposed I could try something new. I'm very lucky that I'm somehow surviving in this world, where the media world favours extroverts and interesting looking people. It’s not my world but somehow I’m still in it.” Evaporator continues to prove Nathan’s necessary presence, with some of his most engaging, varied, and magical music yet.

Lush Life is the Sonar Kollektiv debut EP by German singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Flo Naegeli.

Originally hailing from the Bavarian forests of southeastern Germany, Naegeli began his musical journey at the age of seven as a folk accordionist, later switching to electric guitar and developing a disciplined approach to songwriting and musicianship that led to formal music studies and a professional career. After moving to eastern Germany, he gradually stepped away from band projects to focus on solo work, embracing self-production tools to realise a sound that blends soulful songwriting with warm, organic instrumentation.

Written and largely recorded by Naegeli himself, Lush Life is a deeply personal yet accessible collection of songs reflecting on fatherhood, family relationships and friendship.

FUMU christens the promising new label Return To Zero (RTZ) with »Funeral Rites on Planet Saturn«, the surrendering sophomore album from Nigerian artist, self-described »negro-producer«, hedonist, and iconoclast LINTD. With production collaboration from Porter Brook and features from Samrai (Swing Ting), Porter Brook, Sam Scott Francis (GOMID), Rizmi, and Imani Jendai.

LINTD’s work emerges as a call and response between the tender, dynamic sounds of Black music across history and the surreal reality of contemporary, vulnerable Black life – a haunting dialogue. These themes are catalysed in the Black Impossible LP Trilogy, reclaiming Black utopia through sound technologies via »Smooch Soundsystem Live at The White Hotel« for Second Born (Kop-Z, Porter Brook), and »DOGTOOTH. And Other Such Tales of the Macabre« on The White Hotel’s HEAD II outlet.

While earlier works engaged with the mania, joy, and paranoia of this impossible experience, »Funeral Rites on Planet Saturn« arrives at a soulful conclusion, allowing grief to tell a truer story. In the vein of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane, and Octavia Butler, LINTD introduces the speculative planet Saturn as a site where impossible Black being across the world can come and rest: a site for liberation and emancipation.

»This one is an act of care towards myself, and hopefully others like me. I have proven everything I want to prove this year; this one is my elixir from all the lonely grief, a place of rest.«

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