quête:ro!

Nightcode EP finds UK deep-house craftsman Jacksonville in full control, lacing warm chords, swinging drums and basslines built for red-lit basements. Across “Nightcode”, “Ecstasy in Starlight”, “Octobers in Love” and “Blind Spot”, he fuses classic Detroit/UK house textures with his own emotional, story-telling touch—timeless deep house for DJs who play past sunrise.

Feedbacks:


Laurent Garnier : Octobers in Love <3 <3 <3
Nick Holder : dope
Gina Breeze (Classic / Get Up / Homoelectric) : Feeling the deepness! Look forward to playing.
Nightmares On Wax (Warp Records) : Ecstasy in starl;ight and Blind spot are my jams !
Josh Wink (Ovum) : Deep, old old school flavored with new school production.
Alexkid (Rawax / FUSE / NG Trax) : Lovely
Lauren Lo Sung (LOLiFE records, e1even records) : Octobers in love is nice!
Dj Hutch (Ambers / Rinse FM) : grooves
Louise Chen (NTS) : This is so so sooo good! Can't wait to play on the radio!
Rob Pearson (Evasive Records / Sine 102.6fm) : Nightcode is the standout for me, will play tonight on Evasive
Eviltron / Paul Donton (Bombis / Triangle) : Blind Spot and Ecstasy in Starlight are the ones on the
D'Julz (Bass Culture) : feeling night code and blind spot . merci!
Junior Sanchez (Strictly Rhythm / Cube Recordings) : Really Cool EP!
DJ Three : this is all very high quality house that feels very much a
nd_baumecker (Ostgut Ton) : Nightcode and Octobers In Love for me. Quality as usual.
Sasha (Last Night On Earth) : Downloading for Sasha
William Kiss (Rekids) : very nice!
Monty Luke (Rekids / Black Catalogue) : thx for this...
Mystic Bill (Classic / Trax / Relief) : Will try some of these out, thanks!
Carista : beautiful
Crackazat (Freerange / Local Talk) : Sick sick sick
Jhobei (Bizarre Trax / FUSE / Felon 5) : Nice smooth deep
Khadija (Rek'd / Rafiki Collective) : Danke
Ben Sims : Now downloading - will check asap!
DJ Bone (FURTHER) : Very nice tunes here, thanks
Bake (All Caps/Rinse FM) : thank you!
Dj Deep (Deeply Rooted) : very nice tracks!
Oliver $ (Classic Music Company / Play It Down) : nice one!
Tripmastaz (Plant 74) : Nightcode is tight
Harvey Sutherland (MCDE / PPU / Voltaire Records) : couple of nice tunes here!
Anthony Collins (Frank & Tony / Scissor & Thread) : super nice deep tunes
Marcel Dettmann : thx
Voigtmann (Subsequent) : Ecstacy in Starlight is the one!
Gerd (4Lux / Clone) : dope house trax from the phonogramme crew once again!
Groove Armada : Great EP - Love Nightcode, Ocotber is love so good too±
Harri (Sub Club) : nice, will play and support
Jorkes (Freeride Millenium) : ecstasy in starlight..yes yes yes yes
DJ Minx (Women On Wax Recordings) : Every one of these...top tier! I'm on 'em!
DJ Rocca (Nang Records, Mantra Vibes) : Great EP. Nightcode is great, super bassline indeed
Jacques Renault : Ectasy In Starlight for me here!
Geir Aspenes (G-Ha (Sunkissed)) : Thank u
Mark Farina : dig it
Âme (Innervisions) : thanks
Djebali ( ( djebali ) / INFUSE / Freak n Chic) : Love it ! thanks for sharing. Blind Spot is my fav
Jaye Ward (Dalston Super Store / Netil Radio) : wicked release!! night code is a belter!!! thx
Iron Curtis (Mule Musiq, Morris Audio) : thank you!

Tour-Maubourg returns with a new 6-track EP, Dreams, further cementing his place as a key figure in today’s electronic music scene. Known for blending soulful house with rich jazz influences, the French-Belgian producer showcases both his DJ sensibility and refined production skills on this long-awaited release for French deep house label Noire & Blanche.



Nearly four years after Floating on Silence - his acclaimed EP for the label that quickly became a staple in DJs’ sets and underground all-night club sessions - Dreams follows the same inspired path while raising the bar even higher. Joined by a carefully selected group of collaborators, including American producer Kareem Ali (praised by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Boiler Room), pop/R&B soul singer Nic Hanson, and Lithuanian producer and musician Cyan Lu, Tour-Maubourg blurs the lines between jazz and house. The result is a deeply musical, immersive EP that reinforces a sound signature now unmistakably his own, designed for both intimate listening and late-night dancefloors.
crédits

For the 6th edition of Easy Tiger, Marko Nastic welcomes Bosko Balos for the first chapter of their new project, Mooshoo Clan, presented through a 4-track EP titled A Journey To Hyperspace. The record opens with Bellissimo - a wavy bassline-driven track followed by old-school drum programming that pulls you straight onto the dancefloor. Down the grooves, we arrive at Original 59. From the very first moments, you’re drawn into a vocal and bass-led paracosm, evoking the feeling of falling into a lost world of pure joy. On the flip side, the strong energy continues with Take It From The Top - a classic pumper, fueled by vintage stabs designed to get the crowd moving. Part one closes with the signature track Mooshoo Clan - a bass-heavy roller that keeps the momentum alive, this time leaning into a darker, more hypnotic mood.

After breaking through with a gold selling debut in the late 1990’s, Harlem emcee Cam’ron quickly emerged as a leading figure in hip-hop, just as the genre was reaching mass audiences for the first time. A platinum-selling classic on Roc-A-Fella Records came a few years later, followed by the founding of the iconic collective Dipset and the release of three more seismic solo albums over the course of the 2000s. The last chapter in his historic run was 2009’s Crime Pays, which drew praise from critics while also lighting up the Billboard Charts, showcasing Cam’s sonic evolution while proving his pen game remained unmatched. More than 15 years after it’s release, this vital collection is now receiving an official vinyl pressing for the first time ever. A perpetually underrated lyricist with transcendent rhyme mechanics embedded in his leisurely flow, Cam’ron is in peak form on Crime Pays, effortlessly walking listeners through the details of his fascinating life and times. With suprisingly modern production supplied by AraabMuzik, I.N.F.O., Skitzo, and more, this memorable album is an important chapter in the story of a truly essential artist.

Hotly anticipated debut album from the fast-rising Birmingham four-piece whose heart-on-sleeve, emotional indie rock and powerful live shows have earned them a devoted young following across the UK and Europe. Produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Rachel Chinouriri) and mixed by Cenzo Townshend, the debut follows large sold-out headline shows across the UK and Europe, support slots including with Wunderhorse and Inhaler, and appearances at Reading & Leeds, Boardmasters and Isle of Wight Festival as well as BBC Radio 1 airplay and strong press support.

Hotly anticipated debut album from the fast-rising Birmingham four-piece whose heart-on-sleeve, emotional indie rock and powerful live shows have earned them a devoted young following across the UK and Europe. Produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Rachel Chinouriri) and mixed by Cenzo Townshend, the debut follows large sold-out headline shows across the UK and Europe, support slots including with Wunderhorse and Inhaler, and appearances at Reading & Leeds, Boardmasters and Isle of Wight Festival as well as BBC Radio 1 airplay and strong press support.

Produced by Manilow and longtime collaborator Michael Lloyd, What A Time brings together an eclectic and cross-generational group of collaborators, including Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, nine-time GRAMMY® winner Dave Cobb, and longtime co-writers Bruce Sussman and Adrienne Anderson. The result is a collection that pairs Manilow’s signature melodic grandeur with fresh textures and stylistic turns — from classic, string-swept torch songs to groove-driven R&B flourishes, heartland rock touches, and gospel-inspired crescendos.

Irish band Dea Matrona return with their second album, Hate That I Care. Darker and more emotionally intense, the record finds Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe coming into their own, embracing alt-rock with a sharpened edge. Written with a deeper awareness of the world around them, Hate That I Care explores desire, rebelling against expectations and the complicated process of self-discovery.

On her new album, Neon Summer Skin, Bedouine, the project of Azniv Korkejian, explores this feeling of safety long before one can fully understand the concept. Written with vivid, honest and intimate imagery after visiting her family in Saudi Arabia, it tells the story of family and upbringing, and mourns the end of her childhood. There is a singular resonance and newfound heft in this music previously unheard in Bedouine’s discography. Bedouine is known for making gentle, lilting folk songs that build fingerpicked guitar melodies into tsunamis of emotion. Her masterful songwriting and timeless melodies have earned her praise from publications like Pitchfork, who said her music “boasts a surreal calm and lived in glow,” and Rolling Stone, who lauded her “humble folk-pop brilliance,” plus an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and tours with the likes of Fleet Foxes and Father John Misty. While working on the record, Bedouine realized the pain of displacement, of searching for home, has been a throughline in her family history. Other relatives have also experienced this sense of loss as they’ve migrated between Armenia, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. “I felt so frustrated about the places that I'm from becoming war torn or difficult to return to,” she says. “My family has been split apart time and time again.” This realization prompted her to document and honor her parents’ lives and stories. On a family trip to Houston, Bedouine recorded a conversation with her mother and sampled the introduction to “Canopies.” The song tells the story of her mother’s time in an orphanage. She was put there by her own mother as a way of escaping her abusive father. Nearby, her mother would sing about feeling her daughter’s essence in the air: "The waves of Beirut's beaches flutter, and how sweetly they blow my darling's air." It’s a story of profound yearning told with the quiet profundity of a flower blossoming.

Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, Soilent Green emerged in the early 1990s as a formidable force in the extreme metal scene, blending sludge, grindcore, and death metal into a uniquely savage sound. The band quickly gained recognition for their ferocious intensity and uncompromising approach, pioneering a fusion of genres that profoundly influenced the development of extreme metal. With a history spanning over two decades, the band has faced more than its share of adversity and struggles. Yet they continue to push forward. Driven by passion, perseverance and an unrelenting will to dominate. On stage, Soilent Green is known for their electrifying performances, harnessing raw energy and aggression to create unforgettable shows. Each performance is a visceral experience, featuring blistering riffs, thunderous drums, and guttural vocals that resonate deeply with audiences. Whether headlining festivals or playing intimate gigs, Soilent Green leaves an indelible mark, forging a connection with fans that cements their legacy as one of extreme metal’s most revered bands.

After six years, Seahaven return with their long-awaited self-titled album, their first new full-length since 2020's Halo of Hurt. Formed in Torrance, CA in 2009, the band built a dedicated following with releases like Winter Forever, blending emotional songwriting with expansive alternative and indie-leaning rock. Their self-titled album marks the next chapter for the band, delivering a focused collection of songs that reflects their continued evolution.

PAUL WALKER: Paul Walker is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band, Drug Church. It features 10 tracks, including "Thinking About Joining Drug Church", "Reading Youtube Comments", and "Clifton Country". SWELL: Drug Church, monsters of alt-rock, have weathered a year of dope shows and fan adoration since the release of their seminal punk masterpiece Paul Walker. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. The band has dedicated itself fully to a true ‘sophomore slump’ EP full of indulgent missteps and overreaching stabs at pop crossover. All that being told, they’re “the sickest band ever” has yielded real results. On Swell, Drug Church push their idiosyncratic blend of punk and alt to new heights of sick. Recorded with J. Robbins (every band, ever) in a big, professional studio, Swell delivers the biggest Drug Church sound to date. It’s pretty much the life-changer you assumed it would be. This new repress of the album includes remastered tracks. HIT YOUR HEAD: Drug Church is the logical limit of heavy alt. Like the Bee Girl from the Blind Melon video pitting hard for Helmet. Hit Your Head, recorded with Jay Maas, fully embraces the futureless aesthetic the band hinted at on previous records. This is worst-body-on-the-beach music. These are fired-from-your-window-tinting-job songs. An album for people on probation for crimes that aren't even cool. Big riffs and petty concerns.

PAUL WALKER: Paul Walker is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band, Drug Church. It features 10 tracks, including "Thinking About Joining Drug Church", "Reading Youtube Comments", and "Clifton Country". SWELL: Drug Church, monsters of alt-rock, have weathered a year of dope shows and fan adoration since the release of their seminal punk masterpiece Paul Walker. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. The band has dedicated itself fully to a true ‘sophomore slump’ EP full of indulgent missteps and overreaching stabs at pop crossover. All that being told, they’re “the sickest band ever” has yielded real results. On Swell, Drug Church push their idiosyncratic blend of punk and alt to new heights of sick. Recorded with J. Robbins (every band, ever) in a big, professional studio, Swell delivers the biggest Drug Church sound to date. It’s pretty much the life-changer you assumed it would be. This new repress of the album includes remastered tracks. HIT YOUR HEAD: Drug Church is the logical limit of heavy alt. Like the Bee Girl from the Blind Melon video pitting hard for Helmet. Hit Your Head, recorded with Jay Maas, fully embraces the futureless aesthetic the band hinted at on previous records. This is worst-body-on-the-beach music. These are fired-from-your-window-tinting-job songs. An album for people on probation for crimes that aren't even cool. Big riffs and petty concerns.

PAUL WALKER: Paul Walker is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band, Drug Church. It features 10 tracks, including "Thinking About Joining Drug Church", "Reading Youtube Comments", and "Clifton Country". SWELL: Drug Church, monsters of alt-rock, have weathered a year of dope shows and fan adoration since the release of their seminal punk masterpiece Paul Walker. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. The band has dedicated itself fully to a true ‘sophomore slump’ EP full of indulgent missteps and overreaching stabs at pop crossover. All that being told, they’re “the sickest band ever” has yielded real results. On Swell, Drug Church push their idiosyncratic blend of punk and alt to new heights of sick. Recorded with J. Robbins (every band, ever) in a big, professional studio, Swell delivers the biggest Drug Church sound to date. It’s pretty much the life-changer you assumed it would be. This new repress of the album includes remastered tracks. HIT YOUR HEAD: Drug Church is the logical limit of heavy alt. Like the Bee Girl from the Blind Melon video pitting hard for Helmet. Hit Your Head, recorded with Jay Maas, fully embraces the futureless aesthetic the band hinted at on previous records. This is worst-body-on-the-beach music. These are fired-from-your-window-tinting-job songs. An album for people on probation for crimes that aren't even cool. Big riffs and petty concerns.

On March 20, 1964, legendary American comedian and harpist Harpo Marx joined the Riverside Symphony on stage at a benefit for the Southern California organization. By then, the comic had been in semi-retirement, and after a series of heart attacks in 1961, he was told to stop working altogether. But to a lifelong performer, nothing compared to the feeling of being on stage. Benefit shows, he slyly argued, were not technically work, since he wasn’t getting paid. For the next few years, Marx’s wife and doctors grudgingly went along with the pitch. Harpo Speaks! The Riverside Symphony Concert, out June 5 from Ramseur Records, captures a considerably remarkable, one-of-a-kind performance: The silent Marx Brother, the one whose trademark persona led many audiences to believe he was actually mute, spoke. As Harpo Marx’s first, and last—recorded just six months before his death—live album, Harpo Speaks! places listeners in the room, immersed in the swell of the Riverside Orchestra as Marx performs alongside the symphony and leads them in a narration of Peter and the Wolf. In another unusual move for Marx, he allowed the recording of the show for posterity, though the tapes seemingly disappeared after his death. Harpo Speaks! is the result of heroic archival work. Recently discovered by longtime Marx Brother archivist John Tefteller, he and Marx biographer and expert Robert Bader set out to restore the long lost recording. “The fact that we have a recording is a miracle,” says Bader. “It was not the most professionally recorded thing.

It was very haphazard. The work that was done to rehabilitate it is stunning. It’s as if you’ve found something covered with layers of mold and dirt, got it all cleaned off, and now are able to see something brand new underneath it.” Across the recording’s near-43 minute runtime, Marx, alongside the Riverside Symphony, takes the cheering audience through the delightfully lighthearted “Toy Symphony” and carries them into the softly romantic “Moon Medley,” (a medley of “Fly Me to the Moon” and “How High the Moon,” arranged by his son Bill, alongside his own composition, “Moon Tune”) and a rare instrumental performance of his composition “Guardian Angels.” And then the concert’s true highlight: the near 22-minute long riveting narration of Peter and the Wolf. For the first time, Harpo reveals his voice: deep, yet soft-spoken, refined, yet still retaining the slightest hint of his New York City origin. And, in speaking, he entertained, getting laughs not just for his physical gags, but for the storytelling itself: the dramatic inflections in moments of suspense, the arch mischievousness, and tongue-in-cheek references to Goldwater, Rockefeller, and Nixon.

* From the Hydroponics’ Growing Room studio comes a dub remix of Yabby You / King Tubby’s `Beware’ / `God is Watching You’.

* While keeping faithful to the original, these cuts come with some dangerous sub-bass.

* Produced by Dougie Wardrop and originally released circa 1996, this reissue is backed with a previously unreleased dub mix.

Slacker continues to deliver the unexpected with ‘Norari Kurari’, a collaboration between St. Petersburg-based former video game soundtrack producer Cable Toy and Japanese rap innovator ONJUICY. Unusual in concept, but flawless in club execution, their link-up connects two Slackers across continents and cultures, turning in an ultra-modern interpretation of hip-house that’s guaranteed to leave dancers spinning on their heads.

‘Norari Kurari’ draws on ONJUICY’s playful, positive and fully Japanese flow, easily locking into Cable Toy’s deep basslines and skipping rhythms, where his determined bars bounce alongside timeless M1 organ sounds.

Stripping things way back, the ‘Warehouse Version’ inverts the US garage warmth found on the flip: rhythm takes control of the rhyme, as CT knocks the dust off his vintage drum machines, even finding room for some pleasurably paranoid bleeps and sweeps.

Eine der geheimnisvollsten Bands der klassischen 4AD-Ära: Swallow. Gegründet von Louise Trehy und Mike Mason, die sich Anfang der 90er im kreativen Schmelztiegel Camberwell in London begegneten. Was folgte, hatte fast etwas Mythisches: Kaum geschrieben, wurden ihre ersten Songs auf einem einfachen Tascam-4-Track aufgenommen. Ein Demo - roh, direkt, voller Atmosphäre - landete bei Ivo Watts-Russell. Ohne die Band je gesehen zu haben, unterschrieb er sie sofort bei 4AD. Für die Aufnahmen ihres Debüts borgten sie sich Instrumente, zogen von Edinburghs Palladium Studios bis zu den legendären Blackwing Studios in London und arbeiteten mit Produzent John Fryer, frisch von den Arbeiten an Pretty Hate Machine. Mit Hilfe von Eventide Harmonizern - bekannt aus dem Klangkosmos der Cocteau Twins - entstand ein schillernder, fast schwereloser Sound. Doch als Blow 1992 erschien, fühlte es sich für die Band nicht richtig an. Zu glatt, zu weit entfernt von ihrer ursprünglichen Vision. Anstatt neu aufzunehmen, entschieden sie sich für einen radikaleren Schritt: Sie zerlegten die Songs und bauten sie neu zusammen. Das Ergebnis war Blowback - düsterer, fragmentierter, näher an ihrem inneren Klangbild. Diese Version erschien nur in kleiner Auflage und verschwand schnell wieder - ein verborgenes Juwel, das nur eingefleischte 4AD-Fans kannten. Jetzt, Jahrzehnte später, wird dieses Kapitel endlich neu erzählt: Mit Blown, einer liebevoll kuratierten Veröffentlichung, die beide Versionen vereint und den ursprünglichen Aufnahmen neues Leben einhaucht.

Das Debütalbum ,Good To Go" von Occrasy wurde auf analogem 8-Spur-Tonband aufgenommen - eine bewusste Entscheidung, um alles Überflüssige wegzulassen und sich auf das Wesentliche zu konzentrieren: rohe Energie, live und hautnah. Gemeinsam mit Produzent Niklas Berglöf, bekannt unter anderem durch seine Arbeit mit Hurula und Linn Koch-Emmery, nahm die Band elf Songs auf, die schrill aufschreien, unkontrolliert verzerren und der schwedischen Rockszene neue Energie verleihen. Das Ergebnis ist ein Hexengebräu musikalischer Einflüsse - von Boogie-Grooves und Rock im Stil von Primal Scream bis hin zu liebevollen Verbeugungen vor dem Debütalbum von The Strokes.Musikjournalist Fredrik Strage beschreibt Occrasy als ,den besten Garage-Krach aus Borlänge seit Mando Diao - oder vielleicht sogar seit Sator."

Mit "Eyes Full" legt Zoh Amba ein eindringliches Songwriter-Debüt vor - und zugleich die erste Veröffentlichung bei Matador. Bekannt geworden als Saxophonist:in der New Yorker Freejazz-Szene und gefeiert auf internationalen Festivals, kehrt Amba nun zu den eigenen Wurzeln zurück: zur Gitarre und zur Heimatstadt Kingsport in Tennessee. Die Songs auf "Eyes Full" tragen den rauen Geist dieser Landschaft in sich - zwischen schlingerndem Blues und Appalachian Folk. Im Zentrum steht das Sehen und Gesehenwerden. Amba richtet den Blick auf Menschen aus amerikanischen Kleinstädten: Arbeiter, Suchende, jene, die kämpfen und oft übersehen werden. Aufgewachsen in den Bergen Tennessees, zog Amba mit 17 nach San Francisco und später nach New York. Doch die Vergangenheit lässt sich nicht abschütteln - sie fordert ihre eigene Stimme. Lange glaubte Amba, dass instrumentale Musik allein zur Transzendenz führen könne. Doch irgendwann drängten sich Worte nach vorn. Die Gitarre wurde zum Werkzeug, um Erinnerungen und Erfahrungen direkt zu begegnen. So entstanden Songs voller Empathie für Menschen am Rand der Gesellschaft - Figuren zwischen Schmerz, Einsamkeit und Hoffnung. Aufgenommen wurde "Eyes Full" live und ohne Overdubs in den Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville. Kevin Hyland an der E-Gitarre und Jim White am Schlagzeug verleihen den Songs eine rohe, unmittelbare Kraft. Ambas Stimme knurrt, flüstert und brennt sich durch die Stücke. Zärtlichkeit und eruptive Energie liegen hier oft nur einen Herzschlag auseinander. "Eyes Full" ist ein Album, das hinschaut - und lange nachhallt.

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their bestselling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limitededition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics. Studio One Roots set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series and features many of the classic artists from Clement 'Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae. This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Devon Russell alongside some of the defining in-house groups of Jamaican reggae history - The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. The album is filled with a mixture of seminal cuts and super-rarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road.

Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’s ‘Blackish White’, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie’s Rastafarian drummers’ genre-defying interpretation of Booker T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams aweinspiring versioning of the Skatalites' seminal Rastafari anthem ‘Addis Ababa’ and many, many more. Original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King), compiled by Mark Ainley (Honest Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, wicked images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover, and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner sleeves. “There isn't a weak number across these 16 tracks, from the Gaylads’ ode to ‘Africa’ and Devon Russell's version of the heavyweight ‘Drum Song’ rhythm, to stunning instrumentals such as Jackie Mittoo and the Cyclones with nyahbinghi drummer Count Ossie on ‘Meditation’, Lenny Hibbert’s sparkling vibe work over Mittoo's ‘Ghetto Organ’ and The Sound Dimension’s ‘Congo Rock.” Pitchfork “The music of this compilation is of a rare, rare beauty and is essential to anyone's reggae collection.” All Music

Soul Jazz Records celebrate 25 years of working in partnership with Studio One with brand new editions of FIVE of their best-selling CLASSIC Studio One collections all released on limited-edition one-off pressing coloured double vinyl. Also available in new limited-edition card wallet CD editions. The new edition featured albums are Studio One Funk, Studio One Dub, Studio One Ska, Studio One Roots and Studio One Classics.

Studio One Classics features a non-stop selection of stone-cold classic Studio One killers! Spanning 40 years of the legendary label, this album is a celebration of the music of Studio One Records and features a who’s who of Jamaican Reggae: Bob Marley, The Heptones, Horace Andy, Sugar Minott, Don Drummond, Prince Jazzbo & more. This collection contains numerous legendary tracks, including Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Simmer Down”," "Love Me Forever" by Carlton & His Shoes, Slim Smith's "Rougher Yet," Horace Andy's "Fever,", Alton Ellis’s “I’m Just A Guy’, The Skatalites’ blazing ‘Confucious’ and loads more. Timeless stuff - every track here is indeed a classic, no-one can argue about that! Studio One produced literally hundreds of hits and this selection includes some of the label’s most enduring songs.

It is simply impossible to imagine modern Jamaican music without Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, founder of the iconic Studio One where virtually every singer and musician of note in Reggae cut their teeth. Studio One's output spans over four decades, all represented here. Coxsone Dodd pioneered nearly every new form of Jamaican music as it developed over time and this album includes Ska, Dancehall, Roots, Rocksteady, DJ, Lovers and more. This is probably the best entry of the many Soul Jazz Studio One releases if you're after a primer in the Studio One sound. Like it says on the wrapper 'Classics' pretty much sums it up

Dudu Tassa, einer der führenden Rockstars Israels, ist der Enkel des kuwaitischen Musikers Daoud Al
Kuwaiti. Dessen musikalische Zusammenarbeit mit seinem Bruder Saleh als Al Kuwaiti Brothers erlangte
zwischen den 1930er und 1950er Jahren in der arabischen Welt Berühmtheit. Dudu Tassa und die Kuwaitis
eröffneten vor einigen Jahren das Coachella-Festival und wurden von Radiohead als Vorband für eine ihrer
US-Tourneen ausgewählt. Die Al Kuwaiti Brothers zählten in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts zu
den bedeutendsten Komponisten und Musikern Bagdads. Dudu Tassa hat einige der Aufnahmen der Al
Kuwaitis aufgegriffen, weiterentwickelt und zu seinem eigenen Sound modernisiert. „El Hajar“ erschien
ursprünglich 2019. Diese Version ist eine Wiederveröffentlichung im Stil ihres selbstbetitelten Albums und
von „Ala Shawati“ und enthält eine komplett neu interpretierte Version von „El Hajar“.

In den frühen 1970er Jahren galten Pinchas Zukerman und Daniel Barenboim als zwei der spannendsten
jungen Musiker ihrer Generation. Ihre gemeinsame Aufnahme von Sibelius’ Violinkonzert op. 47 und
Beethovens Romanzen für Violine und Orchester Nr. 1 und 2 mit dem London Philharmonic Orchestra
fängt die außergewöhnliche künstlerische Energie dieser Zeit auf eindrucksvolle Weise ein.
Die beiden Werke wurden für diese Veröffentlichung erstmals neu gemastert und von den originalen ½-
Zoll-Vierspurbändern geschnitten.
Die audiophile Vinyl-Serie The Original Source präsentiert herausragende Aufnahmen der 1970er Jahre
in ganz neuer Klangqualität. Dafür haben die renommierten Emil Berliner Studios die originalen Vier- und
Achtspur-Bänder mit eigens für die Produktion der Serie entwickelten Technologien in 100% analoger Qualität (AAA) neu gemastert und geschnitten. Die klanglichen Unterschiede zu den Originalveröffentlichungen sind beträchtlich: Größere Klarheit, mehr Feinheiten und Verbesserungen im Frequenzgang, zugleich
weniger Nebengeräusche, Verzerrungen und Komprimierungen ermöglichen ein audiophiles Hörerlebnis wie
nie zuvor.
Auf 180g Vinylplatten und in einer Deluxe-Gatefold Edition mit Originalcovers und -texten werden die
Exemplare dieser Serie limitiert und nummeriert veröffentlicht, begleitet von zusätzlichen Fotos und Faksimiles der Aufnahmeprotokolle und Bandkartons

Am 29. Juli 1962 wehte ein kräftiger Wind durch das Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, Kalifornien, als
Tenorsaxofonist Curtis Amy mit einem Sextett aus West-Coast-Musikern in dem legendären Jazzclub auftrat, um dort das Live-Album “Tippin’ On Through“ für Pacific Jazz aufzunehmen. Stilistisch bewegt sich
Curtis Amy hier in drei Eigenkompositionen durch funkigen Hard Bop und Soul-Jazz, interpretiert aber
auch einen Jazzklassiker der Gershwin-Brüder sowie Stücke von Benny Golson und Dave Brubeck. Neben
dem Tenorsaxofonisten glänzte bei dem Konzert vor allem der junge Vibrafonist Roy Ayers, für den dies
eine seiner ersten Aufnahmen war

2026 Repress

In the beginning of the 1970’s, Guinea-Bissau was a country broken up into many ethnic groups and at the heart of a war for independence. By reviving traditional musical genres as Gumbé and singing in guinean Kriol, José Carlos Schwarz & Cobiana Djazz established an immediate affective bond with their audiences. Through its music and politically engaged spirit of the lyrics, the band played a significant role in shaping the social and political consciousness of the masses. As well as influencing local bands like Super Mama Djombo and giving back a deep sense of cultural identity to bissau-guineans.

The explosive birth of Cobiana Djazz brought about other kinds of detonation. Schwarz became involved in urban guerilla activities which resulted in several bombings in the centre of Bissau, leading to his imprisonment and torture. He remained in lockup for a total period of about 2 years, between 1972 and 1974.

The process of decolonisation, in the wake of the Portuguese revolution of 25 April 1974, led to the recognition, during the same year, of the sovereign nation of Guinea-Bissau.

Schwarz, a key figure in the fight for independence, played an important part in the transition to the democratic regime, profiting from his popularity as an artist. Soon, his criticism (underscoring opportunism and irresponsibility in high places) became a thorn in the side of the political elite. Uneasy with the disquieting effects of his work, government officials effectively separated the author from the masses by assigning him to the embassy in Havana.

José Carlos Schwarz met a tragic and untimely death at the age of 27, when his plane crashed on arrival at Cuba's José Martí International Airport, on May 271th 1977.

Hailed by african giants like Orchestra Baobab, Letta Mbulu or Miriam Makeba (with whom he recorded his first and only solo album), “Zé Carlos” and his poetry won a lasting position in the annals of Guinea-Bissau. However, this collection of songs remains relatively unknown outside the country and its diasporas.

We are proud to offer, in close collaboration with the Schwarz family, this first official reissue on vinyl. Remastered and pressed on heavyweight vinyl.

House favourites Kai Alce, JKriv, Sean McCabe and Medlar debut on Universo Positivo with their masterful reworks from Universo Positivo’s catalog. After two years of agenda-setting sounds, the label is set to drop this classy remix EP, and in that time, founder Joseph Salvador has established the label with a mix of his own music and fresh grooves from carefully A&R’d pioneers and new school names. He has been doing much the same since the 90s with various projects from his cult TINK Records and the Tomorrow Is Now Kid! nights in Amsterdam, in collaborative production outfits like Black Tulip & Wendell Morrison, and releasing records by DJ Steaw, Malin Genie, Fabio Monesi and more. This latest release brings together some of the most respected names in the scene for four standout reworks.

First up, Atlanta-based NDATL label head Kai Alce, who has long been one of deep house's most influential architects. He flips 'Sonido Latino' into a smooth groove with jazzy, Roy Ayers-style melodies that bring a soft-focus glow and late-night intimacy. Then comes Bristol-based don Sean McCabe, a master of vintage synths with a 20-year back catalogue on seminal labels like Local Talk, Strictly Rhythm and Z Records. His take on 'Ipanema Jazz' maintains the original's samba shuffle but reframes it in a deep house groove with extra expressive jazz keys, dainty chords and playful trumpet motifs.

Brooklyn-based groove architect and Razor-N-Tape co-founder JKriv brings his many years of experience as a guitarist, producer and songwriter to his take on 'Caparica Sunset'. It's a deep, driving sound that's playful and romantic with flirtatious horns and soft acid, dusty breakbeats and luscious grooves for loved-up good time sessions. Last but never least, is Medlar, the South London underground maverick with a wide-ranging sound and album credits on the likes of the hallowed Delusions Of Grandeur. He remixes 'U R The Revolution' into a warm, euphoric rush of throwback house that's warm, melodic and sure to get the floor going right off.

Mit "Eyes Full" legt Zoh Amba ein eindringliches Songwriter-Debüt vor - und zugleich die erste Veröffentlichung bei Matador. Bekannt geworden als Saxophonist:in der New Yorker Freejazz-Szene und gefeiert auf internationalen Festivals, kehrt Amba nun zu den eigenen Wurzeln zurück: zur Gitarre und zur Heimatstadt Kingsport in Tennessee. Die Songs auf "Eyes Full" tragen den rauen Geist dieser Landschaft in sich - zwischen schlingerndem Blues und Appalachian Folk. Im Zentrum steht das Sehen und Gesehenwerden. Amba richtet den Blick auf Menschen aus amerikanischen Kleinstädten: Arbeiter, Suchende, jene, die kämpfen und oft übersehen werden. Aufgewachsen in den Bergen Tennessees, zog Amba mit 17 nach San Francisco und später nach New York. Doch die Vergangenheit lässt sich nicht abschütteln - sie fordert ihre eigene Stimme. Lange glaubte Amba, dass instrumentale Musik allein zur Transzendenz führen könne. Doch irgendwann drängten sich Worte nach vorn. Die Gitarre wurde zum Werkzeug, um Erinnerungen und Erfahrungen direkt zu begegnen. So entstanden Songs voller Empathie für Menschen am Rand der Gesellschaft - Figuren zwischen Schmerz, Einsamkeit und Hoffnung. Aufgenommen wurde "Eyes Full" live und ohne Overdubs in den Drop of Sun Studios in Asheville. Kevin Hyland an der E-Gitarre und Jim White am Schlagzeug verleihen den Songs eine rohe, unmittelbare Kraft. Ambas Stimme knurrt, flüstert und brennt sich durch die Stücke. Zärtlichkeit und eruptive Energie liegen hier oft nur einen Herzschlag auseinander. "Eyes Full" ist ein Album, das hinschaut - und lange nachhallt.

Big boi edit biz! Leading on from the huge selling volume 1, the second edition sees RNT predictably enlists an all-star roster of heavyweight editors for a heavy 4 tracker representing artists from their 2026 Movement Detroit event. On the A side Glenn Underground delivers obscure soul heat and Detroit’s own Dez Andrés cooks up a deep and jazzy groover. Representing NYC on the flip GE-OLOGY edits some low-slung funk, and JKriv retweaks a cheeky uptempo Italo stomper. From NYC, to the D, to the galaxy!!!

''Incorregible" is an album where sound becomes a symbolic form of expression and a tool for introspection.

With a sonic language that crosses borders and draws from diverse cultural influences, the album seeks to reframe electronic music as a bridge between the ancestral and the contemporary.

After years of exploring and experimenting with different musical genres such as punk, noise, witch house, reggaeton, Mexican tribal etc., I have arrived at a moment in my life where I seek a deeper, more intimate form of expression, one connected to my personal world.

Although I do not believe in God, I believe in the power of invisible worlds, in the strength of being, and in music as a bridge toward expanded states of consciousness.

This work is born from that conviction: the possibility of turning dance and sound into tools for connecting with the spiritual.

A sonic journey that seeks to connect with the universal rhythms of life through powerful percussions, chants that are poems, Andean instruments, and the hypnotic force of electronic music. Each piece is designed to induce a collective trance, where the body finds its natural place: movement.

Among its most significant moments are the poems in Nahuatl written and recited by Maribel Galicia, a native of Teotihuacán and a member of the Nahua people. Her words resonate like ancestral memories that dialogue with electronic instrumentals, reminding us that tradition and innovation are not opposites, but can dance together.

Tribal Sound System – Incorregible is a sonic ritual that seeks to: Create altered states of consciousness through repetitive musical patterns. Celebrate sonic diversity by fusing sounds from indigenous folklore, Andean instruments, elements of regional Mexican music, and contemporary electronic music. Honor cultural roots by re-signifying electronic music as a bridge between the ancestral and the contemporary.

This project is my way of affirming that music, dance, and shared energy can transform into a healing and transcendent experience. - Rosa Pistola

Following his previous appearances on Figure, French producer Arkan returns with Mad Race, a four-track EP that further sharpens his distinct vision of mental techno. Balancing hypnotic restraint with driving intensity, the release finds the artist navigating deeper into textured, immersive territory while maintaining a strong sense of propulsion throughout.

The title track Mad Race opens the record in forceful fashion, locking into a tightly wound groove as restless synth movements and looming atmospheres continuously build pressure around the rhythm section. Revival follows with a more spacious approach, letting emotive chords and swelling layers unfold gradually over a firm, rolling foundation, capturing a feeling of momentum suspended somewhere between tension and release.

On the flipside, Sawlim pushes further into trippy terrain. Dense percussion and spiralling effects interact with pulsing low-end pressure to create a heads-down club tool filled with subtle movement and detail. Closing track Interlude shifts the focus once more, exploring a more restrained and introspective mood through cavernous textures and hypnotic repetition while still holding onto the EP's underlying drive.

Digital bonus track Make You Horny rounds out the package with a rawer and more playful energy, bringing punchy drums and jagged synth work together into a functional late-night workout.

With Mad Race, Arkan continues refining his own blend of deep, atmospheric and cerebral techno, further cementing his place within the evolving sound of Figure.

The Red Clay Strays have officially announced their highly anticipated third studio album, Grateful, via HBYCO Records and RCA Records. Alongside the announcement, the band has released the powerful new single “Demons In Your Choir”. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb, Grateful reunites the band with a trusted collaborator following their work on Made by These Moments. The album brings together x11 deeply personal songs shaped by themes of faith, redemption, and gratitude. he Red Clay Strays have seen a meteoric rise in recent years. Following major award wins, platinum certifications, and a breakthrough performance at the CMA Awards, the Alabama band continues to solidify its place as one of the most compelling acts in modern Americana and Southern rock. Standard Black LP Vinyl & CD formats. Marketing.

Harry Romero, Brothers Macklovitch, and Austin Ato team up on Rekids.

Harry Romero and Austin Ato return to Rekids alongside the debuting Brothers Macklovitch, aka A-Trak and Dave 1, with the ‘The Corner’ EP, arriving 5th June 2026. Romero has more than two decades of house pedigree behind him, continuing to refi ne a signature sound rooted in expert drum work and undeniable attitude. With a catalogue spanning seminal imprints from Nu Groove to Classic Recordings and Defected, the Bambossa Records boss builds on his 2025 debut with ‘Nice To Meet You’, once again showcasing his knack for balancing functional, floor-ready grooves with rich musical character.

Joining Harry Romero are Brothers Maklovitch, consisting of legendary turntablist A-Trak alongside his brother, David “Dave 1” Maklovitch of Chromeo, bringing decades of experience across the electronic spectrum, alongside versatile Scottish producer Austin Ato, who previously contributed to Oliver Dollar’s 2025 album on Radio Slave’s Rekids imprint.

Harry Romero, Brothers Macklovitch, and Austin Ato’s ‘The Corner’ (Piano Mix) opens the release, a warm and energetic house cut driven by bold, bouncy drums and jazzy melodic touches, as lively guitar licks and rolling piano lines inject an uplifting, expressive feel primed for the dancefloor. The ‘Deep In Jersey Dub’ follows, maintaining the heat with a more stripped-back approach, where filters and breakdowns build tension before a punchy drop, with teased-out guitars adding to its dynamic impact.

Fuse leans further into its proposed aesthetic of biting club tracks with a brand new release by Cirkle. ‘Infinity Drift’ balances powerful sound system sound design with lush ambiance, creating standout moments on a dancefloor with a taste of nostalgia. These tracks explore the richness in themes that techno can have when made by someone who’s spent years meticulously crafting it. ‘Skyland’ asserts itself first with impressive pace. Swift chord stabs open and close to create waves of excitement and craze in the track while percussion shuffles along to add impact; Cirkle is an artist of all rooms and dimensions. Shrill sound design cuts through the stereo field creating a wormhole in the middle of rhythmic determination. Tension balance and anticipation are his specialty and every transition whips his dispersed elements into singularity in the EP, specifically the title track. A truly musical piece that embraces the crowd with vintage warmth, ‘Infinity Drift’ tones down the dissonance in exchange for something closer to astral exploration. These larger than life themes are never lost on dancers and serve to unify the dancefloor into an organism instead of pushing sound system violence. This is a theme that is omnipresent in Cirkle’s music and carried through into ‘Stimulus’. Here, the Greek producer dips into the hypnotic bordering on psychotic, stretching arpeggios and delays across drum transitions and time. The dimension of ‘Stimulus’ matches the preceding tracks with ease, but stands out in its effect, rolling a powerful synth through reliably tuned percussion. For the final track, ‘Impulse’ sees Cirkle prioritizing the importance of drums. Pressing hard on the drive of the kick, rides and filtered claps squeeze their way out of the low end to create an infectious groove. Stabs of ethereal pads envelope the rest of the EP, leaving space for the rest to breathe. Bumping along the way, Cirkle lands the EP with class, cementing himself further as an artist whose knowledge of the dancefloor creates a singular experience.

Bonafique return to Crosstown Rebels with ‘Terapia’, featuring Yuvèe and a standout remix from Josh Baker.

Out on 5th June 2026, the duo delivers a hypnotic release remixed by one of the most in-demand names in modern house music. Following their debut appearance on the label’s ‘SPIRITS VII’ compilation in 2025, Bonafique return to Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels imprint with a fully realised statement in the form of their ‘Terapia’ EP. With an instinct-driven studio process and emotionally charged sound, the duo continues to refine a style rooted in hypnotic groove, stripped-back club energy, and warped, psychedelic textures - perfectly exemplified across both solo and collaborative offerings here.

Lead cut ‘Profill’, crafted alongside previous collaborator and close friend Yuvèe, travels through tightly coiled rhythmic tension and driving low-end pressure, balancing intensity with restraint in a way that feels raw yet deliberate. Yuvèe’s background informs the track’s direction, bringing a sense of musical discipline that bridges composition and club functionality, adding an understated yet vital layer to Bonafi que’s vision.

On remix duties, You&Me boss Josh Baker makes a notable Crosstown Rebels debut, stepping in as one of the most in-demand figures in contemporary house music. His reinterpretation reshapes the original into a sharp peak-time weapon, injecting spiralling melodies and controlled pressure while retaining its hypnotic core. Closing the release, title track ‘Terapia’ offers Bonafique’s solo excursion of the EP and strips things back into deeper territory, unfolding through atmospheric layers and evolving rhythmic detail to off er a more introspective counterpart to the energy of ‘Profill’.

180gm marble vinyl.
Baratro was born when Fede (Council of Rats) and Dave (Unsane) met at a show in legendary Milan squat Cox18 and started to trade riffs and song ideas. After a while they decided to shape these experiments into a proper band and got Luca (Marnero) behind the drumkit to complete the line up.
After a few months of practice and a couple of shows in Italy, the band recorded their very first six songs in the empty concert hall of Cox18, which were later released as the “Terms and conditions” EP via Sangue Dischi records (July 2021).
Given the worldwide shutdown of live performances through 2020/2021 the band focused on writing new music, and in August 2021 they started tracking down their first full length effort, “The Sweet Smell of Unrest”, which was released February 2024 via Improved Sequence.
In 2024 Baratro joined forces with cellist Matteo Bennici to experiment as a quartet, both for composition and live. With this new formation and new found chemistry, the band simply let the dynamics and trust in each other shape the outcome of the music.This new creative process led, about a year later, to the recording sessions of their second full-length “No comply”, to be released by Supernatural Cat.

BARATRO are:
Dave Curran – bass, vocals Federico Hartridge – guitar, vocals Luca Antonozzi – drums Matteo Bennici – cello

Some tracks don’t need fixing. They just need a bit more room. South African composer and keyboard wizard Don Laka has been quietly sitting in DJ bags for years, especially with people who like their synth music warm, slightly
mysterious, and impossible to date properly. Somewhere between jazz funk, township pulse and studio electronics, but really just its own thing.
Stages was an obvious candidate for extension. Prins Thomas what he does best here: opens the arrangement, lets the synth lines breathe, stretches the groove until it starts floating a little higher off the ground. Nothing forced, nothing added for
the sake of it. Just more of a very good thing. I Wanna Be Myself gets a gentle nudge from Gerd Janson. The idea was simple: keep the personality, and give DJs a version that lands naturally in a modern set without losing the original charm. It’s still the same track, just standing a bit straighter.
And because the source matters, the original version of “Stages” is here as well. Always good to remember where the magic started. Three versions, no drama. Just strong music that already knew what it was doing.

For Record Store Day 2026, Brownswood Recordings mark two decades of boundary-pushing independent music with Twenty Years Deep, a limited-edition 3xLP vinyl compilation celebrating the label’s rich, global catalogue and enduring influence.

Founded in 2006 by broadcaster, DJ, and cultural tastemaker Gilles Peterson, Brownswood has spent the last 20 years championing forward-thinking artists who sit just left of centre: rooted in Afro-diasporic music, but never confined by genre. Twenty Years Deep is a snapshot of that journey: a carefully curated collection spanning the label’s early breakthroughs, cult classics, and defining moments.

Pressed exclusively for Record Store Day on 3 piece coloured vinyl Twenty Years Deep brings together tracks that reflect Brownswood’s long-standing commitment to artistic freedom, musical lineage, and future-facing sounds. From deep jazz explorations and dancefloor mutations to global collaborations and genre-defying hybrids, the compilation captures the connective thread that has defined the label since day one: trust in artists and belief in music that lasts.
Rather than a greatest-hits exercise, Twenty Years Deep functions as an archive and a statement documenting how Brownswood has maintained its own point of view. By following a highly instinctive approach to A&R the label has shaped music culture, introduced new voices, and built a catalogue that continues to resonate well beyond release cycles.

Twenty Years Deep will be available exclusively at participating independent record stores on Record Store Day 2026, pressed as a limited-edition 3 piece vinyl release.

If – in some parallel universe (or perhaps a not-so-distant-future version of the one we’re already sentenced to living in) – the evil overloads of artificial intelligence were actually successful in their attempts to create convincingly enjoyable “original music,” more specifically tasked with wholly encapsulating my own personal tastes by data-chugging some cocktail of – oh, I don’t know – the posters on my wall, the records in my “most listened to” pile, the mixtapes I made for others, intensive physical scans of my auditory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, heart strings, whatever else they have splayed out on their autopsy table with the intention of generating one all-encompassing “perfect band” based on the fruitful sum of their findings – that band, for me, would be (or would at least sound exactly like) the Tara Clerkin Trio. It is, quite simply, without exception, the music I wish to hear.

Formed in Bristol UK (where none of them are from yet all of whom are deeply engrained) in 2020, the Tara Clerkin Trio – as it somewhat democratically exists today, despite the singular authority implied by its name – consists of the titular Tara Clerkin, her partner Sunny Joe Paradisos, and Sunny’s brother, Patrick Benjamin. I’ll confess, I don’t know what their respective roles are within the operation and there’s only a very small part of me that cares to learn, as one of my favorite qualities in an objective listening experience is the mystery of who is playing what, which sounds are “authentic” versus synthesized, which chunks are performed “live” in a room together versus meticulously Frankenstein’ed from measure to measure, or how exactly the overall sound is so (seemingly) effortlessly achieved. Though, I suspect, if and when I do witness a live performance by this band at any point, my enjoyment of the music will not be lost in my better understanding of it.

With two extraordinary mini-albums – In Spring (2021) and On The Turning Ground (2023) – making a splash on London’s formidable World of Echo label in wake of their self-titled 2020 debut, this upcoming Somewhere Good LP is, in many ways, the band’s most realised work. In running their usual gauntlet of idiosyncratic (*an overused adjective for which here there is regrettably no sufficient alternative) approaches, Clerkin & co. colour in and outside of compositional lines over the course of 40+ celebratory minutes - never wallowing, despite inherently somber subject matters of self-defeat, disease, displacement, restlessness, gentrification - allowing their arrangements and improvisations ample space and time to situate, stretch out, breathe, cross-pollinate, and ultimately take deeper hold on the listener’s imagination – all while somehow sounding more like themselves than ever before.

Of course, there are traceable influences herein, if one felt that such comparisons were necessary to properly examine and enjoy this music (they aren’t)… Being the big dumb American from the small boring town that I am, cornfed on ‘90s alternative radio with the enchantingly exotic sounds of Maxinquaye and Mezzanine emanating from my chunky tube television, I can’t help but to make a blatantly obvious reference to a “Bristol sound”, ie the whole trip-hop trip, the pastoral crooning over the suggestive urban grime of cracked electro/piano treatments, the digitally-yet-primitively reconstructed James Bond soundtrack string-beats, etc.. But the Tara Clerkin Trio is so infinitely much more than that. There are elements of avant-pop, modern classical, kraut-folk, audio verité, dare I say indie rock (and not of the beer guzzling, masturbatory fuzz-flex variety but perhaps more like a Trish Keenan-fronted Faust, Adrian Sherwood at the mixing desk of If You’re Feeling Sinister, or – in expanding on our alternate reality – a world in which High Llamas cut a full-length for Warp Records with Andrew Weatherall on coffee duty).

The hazy, unmappable skyline-mirage of droning harmonium, upright bass, peculiarly accentuated wind instruments, acoustic guitar, hushed yet literally mighty keys combine to hypnotizing effect. The band may make underlying nods to jazz, sure, but it’s not appropriation, it’s that they have the actual chops to build it out. Beneath the janky samples and oddball percussive embellishment lies actually great drumming. Beyond the manipulated vocal witchery and woefully reflective plain-spoke moments are Tara’s subtly inspired melodies, sung with what might honestly be the glue to the whole crazy equation. A calming consistency throughout the otherwise unpredictably dynamic, boldly intuitive, uniquely British exploration of this (their own) universe in song. – Ryan Davis (Chicago, February 2026)