Cerca:shot

Pratts & Payne, the South London pub that sits around the corner from the famed home studio of producer Dan Carey, has an important place in the history of Royel Otis. When making their debut album with Carey in early 2023, the Australian duo - childhood friends Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell - would decamp to the pub to finish lyrics and make decisions on the direction of their first LP. "Dan would ask us to record vocals," Royel remembers, "and we'd say, 'Just give us half an hour, we're popping to Pratts & Payne', and we'd have a pint, a few shots, and get some lyrics down." Eventually, it made such a mark that they named the record PRATTS & PAIN. Across the debut album, Royel Otis swing between melodic, pop- inspired indie and woozy psych, but it never feels tied to one lane. As soon as one style or mood has outstayed its welcome, they handbrake turn into psychedelic weirdness or dissonant noise, keeping everybody on their toes. After the table was laid on the two EPs, PRATTS & PAIN brings everything from the band's history together on a record that's reverent towards their beginnings but unafraid to push forwards into new sounds. This loose, open formula for what makes a Royel Otis song is written all over PRATTS & PAIN, an album defined by its sense of fun and adventure. On the tracks 'Velvet' and 'Big Ciggie', Carey's 11-year-old nephew Archie appears on drums, and a spontaneous energy ran through the sessions, one which can be heard across the album. On first single 'Adored', they master the perfect indie-pop hit, while 'Sonic Blue' keeps this underlying energy but sets screeching guitars over the top. 'Velvet', meanwhile, has the stomping energy of Talking Heads, while 'Molly' is an unsettling and deeply atmospheric slow jam. Whatever sonic template the music might be based on though, the crux of Royel Otis comes back to a foundational DNA of mutual trust. Royel says: "We have fun together, and it's not difficult. I trust what Otis thinks and what he does, and I back it. If you back each other, something good comes from it."

Five years on from their iconic debut album, the Red Robin posse return with another epic full length LP - this time featuring the ruffneck deejay styling of their longtime friend Tippa Lee.

With ten hardcore riddims from Naram stretching the full spectrum of 80s roots, rub-a-dub, and digi - and uncompromising street level lyrics from the LA-based Jamaican veteran Tippa Lee - Musically Bad is an absolute must-have for any discerning reggae collector.

The culmination of nearly a decade of collaboration, with multiple trips to LA where they improvised studio set ups at a range of cheap motels. Tippa takes listeners on a journey through his history in reggae, lamenting the rise of slackness and gun culture, firing shots at politicians and oligarchs, and shining a spotlight on the struggles of people of all colours and creeds suffering in the ghetto.

Despite the serious messages conveyed, and the heavyweight militant riddims, the album contains plenty of moments of humour and levity thanks to Tippa's lyrical nous.

With all riddims recorded and mixed to half inch tape in Naram's analogue Whanganui studio, and crisp mastering from Downbeat Studios, the LP is fine tuned to mash up any dancehall or living room.

Georgette Sayegh & Melhem Barakat – Belghi Kull Mawaidi & Instrumental:

Finally, hopping across from Egypt to Lebanon for this infectious number, Georgette Sayegh delivers what some consider her magnum opus in a captivating duet together with Melhem Barakat, and on the flipside a stripped-down instrumental version that’s equally catchy.

Georgette Sayegh is a legendary Lebanese singer and actress known for her tender and dulcet voice that echoed the grace and beauty of the inimitable Fairuz yet carried its own unique warmth. Her passion for collecting vinyl at an early age formed her eclectic musical palette, and she eventually caught the eyes of the Rahbani brothers and played the lead role in a monthly play written by Fairuz’s son, Ziad. Georgette’s household classic "Yay Yay Ya Nassini” shot her to stardom across the Arab world in the 1970’s, and till this day carries the exact same nostalgia of a Lebanese summertime anthem – flirtatious, jolly, and unfettered. In Belghi Kull Mawaidi (I cancel all my appointments), Sayegh’s voice entwines with compatriot and fellow household staple, Melhem Barakat in an emotional display of longing and depth - her voice delicate yet powerful, effortlessly blending with Barakat's commanding baritone.

The instrumental version on the flipside (surprisingly a stereo mix) reveals a highly catchy arrangement that is lush and emotive, driven by strings that glide smoothly through the melody, while brass instruments add a touch of drama. The rhythm section, punctuated by a steady percussion, anchors the track, allowing the interplay of instruments to build a sense of urgency and longing, accurately reflecting the struggles and emotional resilience that defined Sayegh’s own life.

This reissue, remastered with painstaking care, brings both versions of Belghi Kull Mawaidi back to life, making it an essential addition to any avid listener, DJ or collector’s shelf. It captures the timeless beauty of two of Lebanon's most cherished musical icons, their voices and instruments merging to create a track that resonates through the ages.

Muhammad Al-Najjar
London, April 2025

credits
Audio restoration and vinyl mastering: Colin Young
Lacquer cut: Timmion cutting lab
Sleeve and label artwork: Grotezk Studio
Under License of Voix de L'Orient

After years of friendship and sound fragmentation, Felipe Valenzuela and Federico Molinari have succeeded in capturing and distilling their unique musical perspective into a single frame.Throughout this process, these two minds from across the Andes have developed numerous productions with a broad, multidirectional genre range.This release features four tracks, each with its own distinct identity. The A1 track, FORCED TO THE SCALES, which lends its name to the EP, blends elements of Spanish classical music with a futuristic edge, seamlessly adapting to various moments within a set.The second track on side A, RAPS TIGHT, is an experiment born from the same session, where a subtle sensitivity is expressed through a a slow beat, enveloped in a harmonious world.On side B, 503 emerges from a different creative process, combining two divergent paths that naturally intersect, resulting in a track full of energy and dynamism.The EP closes with DEAD MAN, a one-shot recording that, through its raw spontaneity, encapsulates the conclusion of a fragmented journey within a frame full of versatility.

When I played b2b with Sonar's Ghost on my radio show on NTS last year, he played a new tune entitled "Eggs2C" and it sounded really good, so I asked him what the deal with it was. He said that he was working on it with Outrage and that it was going to be part of an EP they were working on, with Future Retro London in mind for releasing it on. It was the first I'd heard of this EP being made for me haha, but I was curious about what the rest of the release sounded like. He sent me the rest of the tunes and I was into them, so here it is!

David Bowie 6. I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002 - 2016) is the sixth in a series of box sets spanning Bowie’s career from 1969. The eighteen-piece vinyl box set is named after the closing track on ★ (BLACKSTAR), Bowie’s final studio album. The box sets include newly remastered versions (except ★ and No Plan), with input from David’s co-producer Tony Visconti.

Exclusive to each of the box sets are Montreux Jazz Festival and Re:Call 6. The former was recorded on the 18th of July 2002 at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival and among the 31 tracks features a full performance bar one song of one of Bowie’s most revered albums, Low.

Re:Call 6 features 41 non-album / alternative versions / b-sides and soundtrack songs, including tracks never previously available on vinyl.

An accompanying 84 page book features previously unseen notes, drawings and handwritten lyrics from Bowie and photos by Sukita (who took the set’s cover shot), Jimmy King, Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Markus Klinko, Mark ‘Blammo’ Adams and more as well as memorabilia, technical notes about the albums from co-producer Tony Visconti and design notes from Jonathan Barnbrook.

18 LP Box Set:
84-page hardback book
Heathen (Remastered) (1LP)
Montreux Jazz Festival (4LP) (Previously unreleased)*
Reality (Remastered) (1LP)
A Reality Tour (Remastered & Re-sequenced) (3LP)
The Next Day (Remastered) (2LP)
The Next Day Extra (Remastered) (1LP)
★ (Blackstar) (1LP)
No Plan (1LP)
Re:Call 6 (Non-album singles, edits, single versions, b-sides and soundtrack music) (Remastered) (4LP)*

Star Feminine Band, hardest working women in Beninese show business, are releasing their third album on Born Bad, who went all out for their first. Some get malaria at the sight of that sticky world label : rest assured, the world is all they deserve after nine years of hard work. These eight young women, from a village that even Beninese can't quite place, started out in hard mode.

They had to convince themselves that it was worth a shot, but also their family, their village and an entire continent.

André Balaguemon, composer, manager and lyricist, does a lot, while remaining in the background. He put the group together, included his three daughters, houses everyone with his wife Edwige who also manages dances and costumes. He gave them a musical training, and created the framework for them to continue school while rehearsing hard. From local heroes to UNICEF ambassadors, the group has made it. The very existence of this new album is a testament to the perseverance of Grâce, Anne, Urrice, Bénie, Angélique, Sandrine, Julienne and Ashley. The personnel of this family affair has changed a bit : two new women have joined the group, which conquered bigger stages (Glastonbury in the summer, the X-mas BBC special).



This new album brings simple joys : watching them grow from Benin's first girl band to a band in its own right. And never forgetting why they took to the stage in the first place. Star Feminine Band makes straightforward music, taking no detours to express what's missing in the country. When Grâce advocates for kids getting a chance to get to school it's because there's nothing else more important to say that day. Teachers, don’t leave the kids alone, after all.



As they said on their first album, « music is our job », let them be that : musicians having a lot of fun on this album. It wanders through the vast territory of the countless West African styles. They even make a quick foray into reggae to talk about marriage (with a little rap thrown in), and interweave their voices in multiple languages (Waama, Ditamari, Bariba, Fon, Yoruba). And boy do they have hits. To each is own, but “L'enfant c'est un don de Dieu » (Child is god’s gift) is a mighty steamroller, methodically smoothing out the ground for dancing together to its final chorus, singing « debout-les-en-fants / get up, kids ! » along.



Smoother than the first two albums, supported by fine arrangements, ambitious keyboard parts and more complex vocal harmonies without losing any of their spontaneity, this third opus quietly adds to Benin's musical heritage. As they make clear in « Jusqu'au bout du monde », clever little number that we can already hear swelling up on stage: « oui, c’est Star Feminine Band qui a gagné - o / Star Feminine Band won».

Teresa Rotschopf, a musician and composer from Vienna, presents her second solo album, »Currents and Orders« – a radical, delicate, yet grandiose sonic journey between experimental pop, new music, and improvised composition. The album will be presented live on August 27 as part of the »Pop-Kultur« festival (silent green, Berlin) and at the »ORF RadioKulturhaus« (Vienna) on 12 September.

»Currents and Orders« was recorded in an unusual location: a stalactite cave in Styria, Austria. Together with a small group of musicians (Maria Gstättner: bassoon, contraforte; Alex Kranabetter: tuba, trumpet, French horn; Patrick Dunst: saxophone, duduk; Florian Klinger: marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, cymbals, gong, stalactite; Patrick Pulsinger: gong, stalactite; Ulrich Schleicher: gong) and in co-production with Patrick Pulsinger, Rotschopf recorded the album in June 2023 – deep underground, far from daylight, but all the closer to archaic sounds and resonances.

The cave becomes not only an acoustic stage, but also a symbolic space of memory, retreat, and transformation. The album comprises four pieces – including two large-scale tracks:
- the opening, mantra-like title track »Currents and Orders« (over 10 minutes)
- the final, free-jazz, expressive »I Open My Gates (for You)« (over 20 minutes)

With a minimalist structure, choral voices, vibraphone, percussion, and wind instruments, fragile yet powerful soundscapes emerge, whose spatial depth is also palpable through the cave reverberation.

Rotschopf first developed the desire to record in a cave in the summer of 2022. What began as a visual and sonic image became a concrete project – supported by the Austrian Cave Association. In June 2023, Rotschopf and her musicians spent three days in a cave in the Styrian forest. Almost a kilometer of cable was laid, and equipment and instruments were carried deep underground. Rotschopf describes the recording situation as a kind of return to herself: »I descended into this cave, as if I could descend into myself, into my own womb ... What we did in the cave could just as easily be called ›recording music,‹ but it could also be called ›remembering‹ – remembering the earth, the cave, and humanity.«

»Currents and Orders« is an album like a ritual: haunting, atmospheric, bold in its form, and deeply rooted in both physical and emotional space. Music that takes its time, uses space, and pushes boundaries.

The pre-release single »O Please My Soul (Rest On My Back)« (release: July 17, 2025) is accompanied by a striking music video shot by Antoinette Zwirchmayr on 16mm film: Teresa Rotschopf holds a real owl in her hand – an image that is as magical as it is enigmatic.

Label owner Martin Hossbach read a review of Rotschopf's first solo album, »Messiah,« in 2018 and contacted the artist. Joint releases followed, including a drone album on the sub-label Martin Hossbach Score and a Pet Shop Boys cover version on Martin Hossbach Cover.

Teresa Rotschopf, Musikerin und Komponistin aus Wien, präsentiert mit »Currents and Orders« ihr zweites Soloalbum – eine radikale, zarte und zugleich groß angelegte Klangreise zwischen experimentellem Pop, Neuer Musik und improvisierter Komposition. Das Album wird am 27.8. im Rahmen des Festivals »Pop-Kultur« (silent green, Berlin) und am 12.9. im »ORF RadioKulturhaus« (Wien) live vorgestellt.

»Currents and Orders« entstand an einem ungewöhnlichen Ort: in einer Tropfsteinhöhle in der Steiermark, Österreich. Gemeinsam mit einer kleinen Gruppe von Musiker:innen (Maria Gstättner: Fagott, Kontraforte; Alex Kranabetter: Tuba, Trompete, Waldhorn; Patrick Dunst: Saxophon, Duduk; Florian Klinger: Marimbaphon, Vibraphon, Glockenspiel, Becken, Gong, Stalakmit; Patrick Pulsinger: Gong, Stalakmit; Ulrich Schleicher: Gong) und in Ko-Produktion mit Patrick Pulsinger nahm Rotschopf das Album im Juni 2023 auf – tief unter der Erde, fern von Tageslicht, dafür umso näher an archaischen Klängen und Resonanzen.

Die Höhle wird nicht nur zur akustischen Bühne, sondern auch zum symbolischen Raum der Erinnerung, des Rückzugs, der Transformation. So umfasst das Album vier Stücke – darunter zwei großformatige Tracks: - das eröffnende mantraartige Titelstück »Currents and Orders« (über 10 Minuten) - das finale, free-jazzig-expressive »I Open My Gates (For You)« (über 20 Minuten)

Mit minimalistischer Struktur, Chorstimmen, Vibraphon, Schlag- und Blasinstrumenten entstehen fragile und zugleich mächtige Klangwelten, deren räumliche Tiefe auch durch den Höhlenhall spürbar wird.

Der Wunsch, in einer Höhle aufzunehmen, kam Rotschopf im Sommer 2022. Was als visuelles und klangliches Bild begann, wurde zu einem konkreten Vorhaben – unterstützt vom Österreichischen Höhlenverein. Im Juni 2023 begab sich Rotschopf mit ihren Musiker:innen drei Tage lang in eine Höhle im steirischen Wald. Fast ein Kilometer Kabel wurde verlegt, Equipment und Instrumente tief unter die Erde getragen. Rotschopf beschreibt die Aufnahmesituation als eine Art Rückkehr in sich selbst: »Ich stieg in diese Höhle hinab, so als ob ich in mich selbst hinabsteigen könnte, in meinen eigenen Schoß [...] Was wir in der Höhle taten, könnte man ›Musik aufnehmen‹ nennen, genauso gut aber auch ›Erinnern‹ – Erinnern von Erde, Höhle und Menschsein.«

Currents and Orders ist ein Album wie ein Ritual: eindringlich, atmosphärisch, mutig in der Form und tief verwurzelt im physischen wie emotionalen Raum. Musik, die sich Zeit nimmt, Raum nutzt und Grenzen sprengt.

Die Vorab-Single »O Please My Soul (Rest On My Back)« (VÖ: 17.7.205) wird begleitet von einem eindrücklichen Musikvideo, das Antoinette Zwirchmayr auf 16mm-Film drehte: Teresa Rotschopf hält darin eine echte Eule auf ihrer Hand – ein Bild, das genauso magisch wie rätselhaft wirkt.

Labelbetreiber Martin Hossbach las im Jahr 2018 eine Rezension des ersten Rotschopf-Soloalbums »Messiah« und nahm Kontakt zu der Künstlerin auf. Es folgten gemeinsame Veröffentlichungen – etwa ein Drone-Album auf dem Sub-Label Martin Hossbach Score und eine Pet-Shop-Boys-Coverversion auf Martin Hossbach Cover.

Mythical soul/boogie record recorded in Louisiana by Nigerian multi instrumentalist Rick Asikpo when he was studying in Houston. Layers of synths wash over drawn out, Earth, Wind and Fire inspired grooves, moving from the uptempo “Disco Life” and “Jam” to the languid boogie and two step soul of “Love” and Donny Hathaway-esque “Let’s Get High”. The album is shot through a Texan/Nigerian filter that stands as a missing link between the dancefloor experiments of Houston and Lagos. As featured on Soundway’s seminal “Doing It In Lagos” compilation.

Neo funk rising star Buscrates aims high with Blasting Off, his first full-length album. The Pittsburgh-based keyboard cosmonaut has been grabbing ears since his days hooking up beats with the hip hop crew East Liberty Quarters, but after slinging spicy one-offs to a slew of hot labels like Omega Supreme, Voyage Funktastique and Razor N Tape (as well as contributing production to Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y's 2009 project), the time has come for a full-length featuring his growing modern funk repertoire.

"I'm a '90s hip hop dude, but I grew up on that '80s funk stuff," Buscrates acknowledges. DJ gigs provided a working knowledge of the jams that moved a contemporary crowd, and as his collection of keyboards and drum machines grew he began blending the best of both decades with his personal futuristic edge. "I was nice on the MPC but I wanted to have a little more dynamic range with what I was doing," he notes. The self-described "certified synth geek" was soon branching into sounds that recalled '80s legend Kashif crossed with the hip hop bounce of DJ Spinna, and the modern funk community took notice.

For his first full-length, Buscrates has crewed up with an ace team of collaborators, featuring vocalist Sally Green on the bouncy lead single "Lost And Found" and "Eight Nine." Kate Moe Dee takes over mic duties for the second single, "How Ya Gonna Do It," a slinky groove that slides in place alongside groups like the Sunburst Band and Rene & Angela as an exemplar of sophisticated R&B. Adding to those credentials are the sultry vocals of Anda on "Believe," but of course, it wouldn't be a Buscrates set without some stank, neck-snapping instrumentals. "Five Days" and "Sure Shot," both collabos with the drum technician DJ Epik, will rattle speakers and have already been lighting up message boards on recent Buscrates DJ sets. Round things out with some easy gliding, jazzy funk ("Turn It Out" with Brothermartino on flute and "Evergreen" featuring Tony Ozier) and you've got all the ingredients for a high-flying cosmic ride with Buscrates at the controls.

Rooléh is one of the most exciting rising artists from the Netherlands and has become a key part of the Cécille family -
with standout releases and regular appearances at international label events. Cécille, founded by Nick Curly and Marc
Scholl, has played a strong role in supporting his journey.
His debut EP on the label in early 2024 shot straight to #1 in two Beatport genre charts, adding momentum to his already
growing reputation. Releases on respected imprints like MicroHertz, South, Boogeyman, and Solid Grooves soon followed,
cementing his place in the global house music scene.
Now, Rooléh returns to Cécille with his second release, the 'Some Time EP'. The four-track package highlights his range -
from smooth, deep house grooves and Latin inspired vibes to high energy, peak time rollers.
With this release, Cécille continues to showcase top international talent while staying true to its roots of quality, groove,
and character.

Posters announce a daily action: A professional marksman shoots daily at 12 o’clock from a distance of approximately 15 meters at a paper flower. The number of shots is limited to a maximum of three per day. Upon a hit, the flower is replaced by a new one, the action ends and is continued the next day with a new flower. The bullet holes in the wall are not removed. The flowers remain lying on the floor until the end of the exhibition or event and are then given away.
Posters are produced in color variants (yellow, orange, red, violet, light blue, green) to advertise the action:
Every day at noon a professional marksman will shot at a paper flower (place of action to be filled in).
This performance was first presented at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh in November and December 1999 and subsequently repeated (Aberystwyth, London, Nottingham, 2000 – 2002 and Langenhagen, 2007).
The action will be re-staged as part of the Klang Moor Schopfe Festival in Gais, September 4 –14, 2025.

DJ 3000 Redefines the Fusion of Detroit Techno and Albanian Identity on New EP Shotë
With over two decades of pushing boundaries, DJ 3000 returns with Shotë — a striking new EP that reaffirms his place at the crossroads of Detroit techno and global rhythm. Out soon on Motech Records, Shotë is a four-track, limited-edition release pressed onto 12” vinyl with vibrant jacket artwork that reflects both his cultural heritage and sonic evolution.
Named after a traditional Albanian folk dance, the title track Shotë anchors the record in deep, ancestral roots while remaining forward-facing, raw, and emotionally resonant. Shotë balances past, present, and future in equal measure.
“I’ve been making records for over 20 years, but I still approach every release like it’s my first. With Shotë, I wanted to honor where I come from without the music sounding nostalgic or dated. The culture’s in there, but the sound is timeless and alive.” —DJ 3000
Each track on the EP tells its own story:
• Shotë – a reimagining of a traditional Albanian rhythm, layered with tough grooves and hypnotic builds.

• Laya – built on hypnotic motion and rolling percussion, its haunting vocal textures hint at deeper rhythmic traditions.

• Lumni – from the Albanian word for “blessed,” it carries a spiritual weight wrapped in rhythm and resolve.

• Qilim – inspired by handwoven Albanian rugs, its detailed arrangement plays like sonic embroidery.

This EP is a continuation of DJ 3000’s mission: to merge deep roots with futuristic form. Shotë represents raw, focused techno that respects the past while refusing to stand still.

Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller, and Jesse Dayton-three of Texas' fiercest fretmen-join forces at last as Texas Headhunters, a band born from deep roots, old friendships, and a shared reverence for the raw, swaggering spirit of Texas blues. Their self-titled debut isn't a nostalgia trip. It's a declaration.

Cut over five days at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studio, 'Texas Headhunters' deals 12 tracks of grit, groove, and gut-level truth. No smoke, no mirrors-just seasoned musicians in a room, plugged in and turned up. The chemistry is real. The result is mind blowing. Clifford Antone looms large in the story of Texas Headhunters-the spiritual godfather of the project, and the man who first recognized the fire in each of its members. All three-Johnny, Jesse, and Ian-were among the last generation of young guns taken under his wing.

Texas Headhunters isn't just a summit of three badasses with guitars. It's a reclamation. A statement. A reminder that Texas blues, in all its grit and glory, still matters. It's not retro-it's revival. And it's not a tribute-it's a shot across the bow.

Format: Standard Jacket with printed sleeve with lyrics. Pressed on Opaque Red Vinyl.

The beloved 2007 hit song by Shione Yukawa, which was also featured on NHK's "Minna no Uta," is finally being released on vinyl!

The long-awaited first 7" release of "Gingham Check no Kotori" comes with a rare, never-before-seen jacket shot taken by photographer Suilen Higashino at the time of its release!

The B-side features the 2008 hit "Kaze yo Fukanaide" recorded in London, making this a luxurious 7-inch vinyl. This must-have record for music fans showcases two exquisite tracks by the naturally gifted singer-songwriter Shione Yukawa, whose captivating voice continues to enchant audiences to this day.

Dass Hamburg eine gute Adresse für Streetpunk ist, beweisen nun auch BOLANOW BRAWL mit ihrer ersten Langrille ,First Shots!", die auf die bereits knapp neun Jahre zurückliegende Debüt-EP ,Total Escalation" folgt. Man lässt es halt ruhiger angehen im Norden - will's jetzt aber auch noch mal wissen. Der Bandname - eine Kombination aus der Billig-Wodka-Marke BOLANOW und dem englischen BRAWL für Rauferei oder Handgemenge - verweist auf ambivalente Erfahrungen, die die Bandmitglieder unter Alkoholeinfluss im jugendlichen Leichtsinn sammelten. Flotte Gitarrenriffs, treibende Drumbeats und ein rauer, oft rotziger Gesang bilden das musikalische Gerüst der Hanseaten - das im Kontrast zu den eingängigen Leadgitarren-Melodien steht. Singalongs verleihen dem Sound einen bierseligen Touch. Die Mischung aus englischen, amerikanischen und Buxtehuder Stilelementen gibt den zwölf Songs das gewisse Etwas, das den Stil von BOLANOW BRAWL ausmacht. Die alte Plattitüde von den ,Texten, die das Leben schrieb" trifft auch auf die Songs von BOLANOW BRAWL zu. Eigene Erlebnisse, Beobachtungen und Erfahrungen aus Arbeitswelt, Subkultur und Gesellschaft fließen in die Texte ein - ohne erhobenen Zeigefinger, dafür gern mit gehobener Bierflasche. Die Covergestaltung stammt von Alteau, einem frankobelgischen Skinhead und Comiczeichner, der schon mit 14 erste Arbeiten im Spirou-Comic-Magazin veröffentlichte. Seit Ende der Achtziger hat er etliche Plattencover für Punk- und Oi!-Bands gestaltet - darunter Klasse Kriminale, Rancid, Bérurier Noir und The Herberts, bei denen er auch selbst als Sänger aktiv war.

sferic land a debut album of thizzing and blown-out ambient trap x dub techno vapours from XTCLVR.

Produced under trying circumstances, Ukraine’s XTCLVR wrests an escapist sense of hazed beauty on a compelling maiden voyage for bleary-eyed specialists sferic, written and recorded during long nights under curfew and occasional shelling. Vocals are there, but mostly unintelligible, disrupted by a persistent offbeat churn and fragmentary instability, a paradoxically lush but anxious sound that reflects broader butterfly effects of war and its ripples of socio-economic fuckery on one level, and simply a trippy soundtrack to the afters on another.

Ten smudged shots unfurl across a 3D stereo space in gyring and shearing motion, cryptically shielding and scrambling a message meant to be deciphered by your sixth senses. A vocoder is diffused in aerosolised designs on the rugged lean of ‘Perspective’, setting up a chain reaction that buckles to more fraught feels on ‘Allergen’ and the ruptured raptures of a ‘Storm Shadow’ recalling Nazar’s recent sound design spheres for Hyperdub.

BSW948 lends nervous bars laced into the warped matrix of ’Night Shift Cut’, and OB3TH perfuses the iridescent dub techno of ‘The Wise Mystical Tree’, whilst Indy lends to the ambient drill of ‘Acid Flavour’, and closer ‘Dead Smoke’ perhaps best betrays, even if metaphorically, a feeling of psychic distress in its dank, submerged mire.

2025 Repress

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

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

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

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

‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the latest collection selected by Mikey Young (Total Control, EddyCurrent Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Founder and Head of A&R at AnthologyRecordings), the mangled minds behind the beloved ‘Follow the Sun’, ‘Sad About the Times’,and ‘…Still Sad’ compilations. The twenty tracks of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ make a conscious(and unconscious) detour from its predecessors, sourced entirely from private press releases,spanning new decades and production modes within homespun folk, soft rock and otherwise70s and 80s FM radio adjacent music.  The magic of ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is the untold story of the artists behind these songs; thosewho missed the big time, but whose song craft and unrequited care hit the right notes, bothhigh and low.
Where ‘Follow the Sun’ and ‘Sad About the Times’ introduced us to the fame chasing, ambitioncrashing crooners who missed their shot in the mainstream, ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ delvesdeeper into the isolated wilds - a private world where production quirks, late-night tape hiss andone-man studio dreams were not necessarily a choice but the hand that was dealt.
With the parameters set to ‘private press only’, Young and Abrahamsson follow a circuitous trailof invention and emotion, documenting a spirit that’s more homespun, sometimes lonelier andoften a little weirder. The guitars still strum, but the keyboards’ hum is more prevalent andprecious; wistful harmonies brush up against lo-fi drum machines; a bittersweet fog lingeringover even the brightest melodies.
As with their previous collaborations, Young and Abrahamsson weren’t interested inconstructing a museum or drafting a historical survey. ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ is a sentimentalmixtape, assembled late at night when the mind wanders and old memories blur with imaginedfutures, those within reach and those far too mysterious to ever encounter. Songs wereunearthed in personal collections, deep YouTube burrows, dilapidated web archives and thedim corners of Discogs, with many selections tied not only to intuition but to personalconnection.  Some tracks arrived via friends - Kelley Stoltz, a frequent guide for Young, tipped him off toboth Peter Kraemer’s lost gem ‘Let the Light Slip’ and Awakening’s revelatory closer - addingan unseen but deeply felt thread of camaraderie to the compilation.
The journey takes in a wide, strange sweep: The Watson Brothers Band’s ‘Just Whistle’ opensthe collection with a sigh and a shrug, a song that feels like it’s been waiting for decades to beheard again. Jim Huxley’s ‘Tessa on a Magazine’, rediscovered after a long and winding searchby Young, shimmers with a distinctly Australian melancholia. The heartbreak of Rick Penta’s‘My Story Changes’ and Twice As Nice’s delicate ‘Thoughts of You’ float easily alongside themore buoyant, radio-dream sheen of Barracuda’s ‘Baby I Love You’ and MAK’s sunshinedappled ‘That’s Life’.
Widening the aperture to the late 1970s and early 1980s allows for a deeper exploration intoevolving production techniques and musical technologies. The Squad’s ‘D.L.M.H.I.M.A.’ andChristoph Spendel Group’s ‘Forever’ crackle with the kind of bedroom synth warmth that couldonly come from the analogue age, while the soulful, yearning undercurrent of Awakening’s‘Gotta Do Somethin / Might As Well Cultivate’ caps the collection with a call for action - ormaybe just acceptance - in an accidental Brian Eno ‘Here Come the Warm Jets’ parroting.
While ‘Maybe I’m Dreaming’ moves away from the ‘sad man with guitar’ archetype that hoveredover its predecessors, it remains tethered to a familiar emotional gravity - a balance of longingand lightness that defines this corner of the musical universe. Each track shuffles gentlybetween resignation and hope, sadness and serenity, as if the artists themselves were chasinga dream just beyond reach, recording not for fame but for the simple act of getting it, thatprimal, creative itch, out into the world.
Available on CD and 2LP, featuring the third eye-opening artwork of Dang Wayne Olsen. Thedouble LP set arrives in an outrageous double-wide spine jacket with printed inners and adream journal entry by Pacific Northwest artifactual authority Josh Lewellen.

When unknown virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi released his debut solo album under the moniker ANIMALS AS LEADERS in 2009, few would have predicted the band's meteoric rise over the next two years. Although Abasi earned acclaim as the lead guitarist in the Washington, D.C.-based metalcore act Reflux, it was still a long-shot that an instrumental album of progressive metal with jazz, electronic and ambient flourishes would develop anything more than a cult following. With "Weightless," the group's sophomore effort, ANIMALS AS LEADERS is revered worldwide as a trailblazing pioneer of modern heavy music. The group's genre-defying compositions have earned extensive praise; Steve Vai called the band "the future of creative, heavy virtuoso guitar playing," and MetalSucks recently ranked Abasi #2 on their list of modern metal's top guitarists. Whereas the group's self-titled debut was a collaboration between Abasi and Periphery's Misha Mansoor, "Weightless" features the recording debut of ANIMALS AS LEADERS, the true band; Abasi (guitars), Javier Reyes (guitars) and Navene Koperweis (drums). After nearly two years of touring together, the trio wrote and recorded "Weightless" together in mid-2011, with Koperweis producing and Reyes mixing. The group debuted a new track, "Isolated Incidents," during their inaugural headlining tour that summer, which included sellout shows from coast-to-coast.

When unknown virtuoso guitarist Tosin Abasi released his debut solo album under the moniker ANIMALS AS LEADERS in 2009, few would have predicted the band's meteoric rise over the next two years. Although Abasi earned acclaim as the lead guitarist in the Washington, D.C.-based metalcore act Reflux, it was still a long-shot that an instrumental album of progressive metal with jazz, electronic and ambient flourishes would develop anything more than a cult following. With "Weightless," the group's sophomore effort, ANIMALS AS LEADERS is revered worldwide as a trailblazing pioneer of modern heavy music. The group's genre-defying compositions have earned extensive praise; Steve Vai called the band "the future of creative, heavy virtuoso guitar playing," and MetalSucks recently ranked Abasi #2 on their list of modern metal's top guitarists. Whereas the group's self-titled debut was a collaboration between Abasi and Periphery's Misha Mansoor, "Weightless" features the recording debut of ANIMALS AS LEADERS, the true band; Abasi (guitars), Javier Reyes (guitars) and Navene Koperweis (drums). After nearly two years of touring together, the trio wrote and recorded "Weightless" together in mid-2011, with Koperweis producing and Reyes mixing. The group debuted a new track, "Isolated Incidents," during their inaugural headlining tour that summer, which included sellout shows from coast-to-coast.

Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Plays with Authoritative Tonality, Airiness, and Clarity:
Pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl and Strictly Limited to
3,000 Numbered Copies
1/4” / 15 IPS Dolby A analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Joni Mitchell is the only artist who could’ve made Hejira. The legendary singer-songwriter said as much when discussing the album decades after its release. Yet that fact seemed obvious from the moment the gold-certified effort streeted in fall 1976. An adventurous travelogue, probing narrative, and offbeat homage to freedom, Hejira remains an inimitable entry in the catalog of recorded music — a spare, gorgeous, meditative series of sonic vignettes comprised of floating harmonic pop, cool jazz, soft rock, and sensitive vocal elements that beckon feelings of motion, discovery, and self-examination.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP set presents the record ranked the 133rd Greatest of All Time by Rolling Stone with definitive detail, richness, accuracy, and directness. Marking the first time the revered LP has received audiophile treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on vinyl and SACD.

Playing with a virtually nonexistent noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superior groove definition, this collectible reissue reproduces in enveloping fashion the tones, textures, and craftsmanship that help Hejira function as the equivalent of a liberating trip down an open road with nothing but blue sky, natural landscape, and fresh air in the immediate vicinity. Passages bloom, carry, decay as they do amid an acoustically optimized environment. Soundstages extend far, wide, and deep, with black backgrounds and pinpoint images adding to the realism.

The reference-grade immediacy, airiness, and presence put in transparent perspective Mitchell’s dense strings of words, stream-of-conscious-like phrasing, and unhurried albeit forward momentum. Likewise, the instrumental contributions of her A-list support musicians — a cast that includes L.A. Express members John Guerin, Max Bennett and Tom Scott, plus Neil Young, Victor Feldman, and Abe Most — emerges with breathtaking clarity and dimensionality.

While Mitchell, whose intimate vocals and abstract guitar parts center everything, Mobile Fidelity's restoration of Hejira further reveals the visionary breadth of guitarist Larry Carlton and bassist Jaco Pastorius. Though heard on only four tracks, Pastorius' fretless bass epitomizes the fluid, subtle, flexible, roomy, and shape-shifting characteristics of songs that often appear to transpire out of nowhere akin to the formation of a puffy cumulus cloud overhead. In sync with Mitchell’s voice, Pastorius’ fusion hovers and floats, suspended in a fog you want to deeply inhale. The "grace notes" Mitchell desired on Hejira can now be heard in full. Ditto the luxurious tapestries of alinear lines, fills, and supplements unreeled on Carlton’s six-string.

Visually, the packaging of this UD1S set complements its identity as the copy to own. Housed in a deluxe slipcase, the LPs come in foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics. This version is for listeners who desire to become immersed in everything about Hejira, including the unforgettable album cover — a pastiche of 14 different photos Mitchell used a Camera Lucida to assemble into one image that’s anchored by a portrait of her in a stoic pose — and the interior shots of Mitchell skating on a frozen Wisconsin lake wearing a pair of black skates, black shirt, and fur cape.

The notion of skating, feeling an awakening wind whipping against your face, and losing yourself to the surroundings are extremely apt for Hejira, which Mitchell wrote after a sequence of trips and relationships prompted her to reflect on the complicated conflicts between independence and marriage, success and satisfaction, duty and desire — and, more specifically, “the cost of being a woman.” The Canadian native delved into such themes before. But never as she does on Hejira, whose liberating, running-away aura doubles as another of Mitchell’s rejections of tradition as well as a suggestion of a better alternative.

At once observational and personal, expansive and insular, cheerful and poignant, Hejira spans a sea of human conditions, emotions, and circumstances. It addresses drifting, isolation, pleasure, place, time, and surroundings with strikingly poetic discourse matched with music that, save for the crooned ballad “Blue Motel Room,” forgoes conventional structures and choruses.

The jazz-based arrangements, marked by scaled-down percussion and all manner of bent, rounded, and unsettled notes, hint that Mitchell has no exact destination in mind. Excursions such as the moody “Furry Sings the Blues,” funky “Coyote” and edgy “Black Crow” throw open previously locked doors to possibility and journey. They signal it’s time for a welcome departure from norms and the past, one that leads to a heightened sense of clarity and perspective. Or, as Mitchell said upon choosing the album title, it’s time for “leaving the dream, no blame.”

Analogue Productions' UHQR, the pinnacle of high-quality vinyl! 45 RPM Ultra High Quality Record release limited to 5,000 copies Mastered from the original tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound Pressed at Quality Record Pressings using Clarity Vinyl® Purest possible pressing and most visually stunning presentation and packaging!

By the time Bob Marley died, he was one of the world's first global superstars, famous and lauded from Europe through Africa and the Americas. Some even saw him as not just a reggae singer but as a folk hero, a sort of freedom fighter, and to this day his enduring image feels greater than the music he made, writes Pitchfork. In the 21st century, Bob Marley is a global cultural icon and the first Jamaican inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 1977's Exodus — recorded in London exile after a failed attempt on his life — turned out to be Marley's biggest-selling studio album.

Time magazine named it the greatest LP of the 20th century. Other Marley discs had bigger hits and still others had better album tracks, but the balance Marley strikes between politics, religion, and romance on Exodus — compare and contrast the urgent title track and the laid-back "Jamming" — shows a pop star at the peak of his powers.

Now, Analogue Productions presents perfection — Exodus in UHQR 45 RPM format on Clarity Vinyl. This Ultra High Quality Record release will be limited to 4,500 copies, with gold foil individually numbered jackets. After the success of 1974's Natty Dread and 1976's Rastaman Vibration, Bob Marley was not only the most successful reggae musician in the world, he was one of the most powerful men in Jamaica. Powerful enough, in fact, that he was shot by gunmen who broke into his home in December 1976, days before he was to play a massive free concert intended to ease tensions days before a contentious election for Jamaican Prime Minister.

In the wake of the assassination attempt, Marley and his band left Jamaica and settled in London for two years, where he recorded Exodus. Exodus represented a subtle but significant shift for Marley; while he continued to speak out against political corruption and for freedom and equality for Third World people, his skill as a songwriter was as strong as ever, and Exodus boasted more than a few classics, "including the title song, 'Three Little Birds,' 'Waiting in Vain,' and 'Turn Your Lights Down Low,' tunes that defined Marley's gift for sounding laid-back and incisive at once," writes AllMusic. This UHQR is remastered at 45 RPM by Sterling Sound's Ryan K. Smith from the original analog master tapes. Each UHQR will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Acoustic Sounds' industry-leading pressing plant Quality Record Pressings (QRP) using hand-selected Clarity Vinyl® with attention paid to every single detail. These records will feature the same flat profile that helped to make the original UHQR so desirable. From the lead-in groove to the run-out groove, there is no pitch to the profile, allowing the customer's stylus to play truly perpendicular to the grooves from edge to center. Clarity Vinyl allows for the purest possible pressing and the most visually stunning presentation. Every UHQR will be hand inspected upon pressing completion, and only the truly flawless will be allowed to go to market. Each UHQR will be packaged in a custom clamshell box and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection. This will be a truly deluxe, collectible product.

Award-winning producer and composer Giorgi Koberidze offers up a head-spinning debut of Georgian modern classical music shot through with 360° electroacoustic textures.

Giorgi Koberidze is an electronic and classical music composer from Georgia. He currently serves as a professor of music at Tbilisi State Conservatoire, as well as at Ilia State University, and the private music school "303 Herz". Giorgi's work is rooted in the Georgian musical tradition, cross-pollinating indigenous instrumentation with electronic and western classical timbres. He recently won first prize in the Tbilisi Conservatoire Composers Awards, and received Georgia's most prestigious cultural gong, the Tsinandali Award.
The Album was premiered in Georgia at the Kutaisi Film Festival, and later showcased at the Tbilisi Film Festival. Working from graphic scores, Giorgi's ensemble includes strings, woodwind and traditional instruments from the Caucasus (doli, chuniri). Fleeting voices, field recordings and skittering percussion converge to paint a storied map of Tbilisi, and its surrounding terrain of forested polyphony and microtonal peaks and crags.

Each listen of the album is projectively rich, like a dizzying series of sonic inkblot images. The piece is designed to be absorbed in the surround sound of darkened movie theatres, conjuring a multiverse of narratives in the half-light of sensory acuity. At home, Giorgi invites listeners to set aside time to experience the record in a dark, comfortable space absent of external stimuli.

This album was made with the support of the Tbilisi State Conservatoire. The recordings were funded by Nicolas Jaar. Thank you. We are beyond proud to present this incredible project.

Recommended for fans of Pierre Bastien, Roméo Poirier, Jan Jelinek.

Enjoy The Ride Records in conjunction with Paramount Pictures proudly presents the score to Top Gun (Music From The Motion Picture), Composed by Harold Faltermeyer. After decades of being locked in the vault, the iconic full score wa finally released to the public last year on a limited edition CD by La-La Land Records, and we are excited to bring it to our favorite format for the first time! This 2xLP 140g vinyl set has the full score, along with 4 bonus tracks including the original May 1985 demo of the Top Gun Theme, two unused tracks, plus an extended album mix of the iconic Top Gun Theme. Top Gun (Music From The Motion Picture) is housed in a gatefold jacket featuring the iconic film poster, as well as stills from the film.

Balmat 17 marks both a return and a new frontier. It is the second album on the label from Patricia Wolf, whose 2022 album See-Through is one of the most beloved in Balmat’s catalog; it also marks the first time that Wolf has turned her hand to a film soundtrack. The results are every bit as magical as fans of the Portland, Oregon, composer’s music might expect.

Hrafnamynd—Icelandic for “raven film”—is a new feature-length documentary by experimental filmmaker Edward Pack Davee. Shot on a mix of film and digital formats, and incorporating his father’s Ektachrome slides from the 1970s, the autobiographical film works on multiple levels at once: a reminiscence of his childhood in Iceland, an exploration of landscape and folklore, and a documentary study of the island nation’s ravens—including a talking raven named Krummi.

Wolf is the perfect artist to score such an unusual film. Mixing ambient music and field recording—including extensive experience documenting bird song—Wolf brings an unusually empathic perspective to her music. In the context of Hrafnamynd, her airy melodies, pensive atmospheres, and vivid textures intuitively complement the film’s grainy film stock and blown-out colors. Friends for years, the two artists further bonded when Wolf asked Pack to film music videos for her songs “Woodland Encounter” (from See-Through) and “The Culmination Of” (from I'll Look For You In Others). Pack used Wolf’s previously recorded music as placeholders as he began assembling a rough cut of the film, which made her a natural choice to help him complete his idiosyncratic vision with an all-new, bespoke score.

But Wolf’s soundtrack also indisputably stands alone as a full-length album. Largely created using the UDO Super 6 synthesizer, it features a carefully distilled palette of warm, string-like pads and darkly glistening mallets, rounded out with the very occasional introduction of nylon string guitar. Musically and stylistically, the album’s 11 tracks represent both a continuation of the ruminative sound of See-Through and also an extension into new expressive modes. Few musicians, ambient or otherwise, are as skilled at balancing melody with atmosphere, or at finding ways to eke fresh at finding ways to eke fresh, surprising sounds out of an intentionally reduced toolkit. Meditative, immersive, and emotionally generous Wolf’s Hrafnamynd soundtrack evokes a range of ambient classics from decades past while confidently marking out its own verdant patch of ground.


Artist’s Statement:
Edward and I have been friends for years, but we really started to get to know one another better after I hired him to make music videos for my songs “Woodland Encounter” and “The Culmination Of.” For those projects we got to spend a lot of time hiking in various locations around the Pacific Northwest with his camera, very nice lenses, and tripod. Keeping quiet, hidden, and vigilant we searched for wildlife, good light on the trees, meadows, lakes, rivers, and skies. Edward was already an appreciator of my music and I was already in awe of his filmmaking talents so it felt like a great fit. Although we work in different areas of art our styles compliment one another. We both tend toward slow and careful pacing, with a focus on emotion and introspective reflections on life and the landscapes around us. For this reason, Iknew that I could trust Edward to create videos for my music. We saw so many beautiful and unexpected things on our filming days, but I was moved to tears once I saw how magnificent and poetic it all was. His video work from the cinematography, to the editing, and color correction helped bring my inner vision to life.

A few months after that, Edward surprised me with an invitation to work on the soundtrack for his new film, Hrafnamynd. I enthusiastically said yes. I had always wanted to work on a film, and I knew that his filmmaking style would be inspiring to write music for. I had recently acquired an UDO Super 6 synthesizer but hadn't used it much. I decided that this would be the synth that I'd use for the film. It has the ability to sound very modern, but can also sound so warm and fuzzy, like a synth from the 1970s. It turned out to be the perfect instrument for this project as the film itself straddles time from the ’70s to today.

When Edward sent me the rough cut of the film, he used placeholder music to help give me an idea of the emotion and energy that he was hoping to achieve for each scene. For many of the scenes, Edward used music from my albums as temporary tracks. This told me that he trusted my work and style and therefore I should just trust my intuition with how to proceed. I wanted to make sure that everything that I made was a direct reflection of what was happening on screen, a mirror of its emotion and energy so people could really lock into the film psychologically. This process took my composing to unexpected places—like being led by a strange cat or a raven that seemed to have something to show me. I found that the approach made the music so much more dynamic than my usual style. I really enjoyed being influenced by the action and dialog on the screen. Thankfully, Edward was very happy with the work. I made sure to handle this project with the utmost care because this is about his life and his family, and an exploration of the experiences that made him an artist and filmmaker. While watching the film many times over, I found myself thinking about my own family and my early memories with them and how the place where I grew up has influenced who I have become. I found that his film invites the viewer to reflect on their own lives in a similar way. I hope that this music and film can guide others to contemplate on the history of their beingness and the people and places that shaped them.

Another aspect to this project is the splendor and wonder of Iceland itself. I had the opportunity to visit Iceland for the first time in 2023. I got to play a show there for the Extreme Chill Festival and met many friendly and brilliant Icelanders. I also got to collect field recordings that I used in the film. It's a fascinating place and culture that easily captures the hearts and imaginations of anyone who visits. Whether you spend your time in the city immersed in its impressive arts scene, or venture out into the wilderness to behold its wondrous landscape, it will leave a lasting impression. The soundtrack is also a love letter to Iceland itself.

HOLLY JOLLY A good shot of swing, a splash of Las Vegas, served on a silver platter by world stars Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. create a very special Christmas mood. With all the important Christmas songs and some extraordinary treats, the Rat Pack transforms Christmas into an ent- ertaining party with ‚Holly Jolly Christmas‘. The genius of Sinatra, the charm of Dean Martin and the non- chalance of Sammy Davis set standards as the Rat Pack to this day for an extraordinary entertainment cul- ture and the realization of the „American Dream“. Oh, By Gosh, By Golly It‘s Time For Mistletoe And Holly...

BIOGRAPHY BY IRVINE WELSH
I discovered the Beta Band, like I discovered a lot of great music, basically through eventually surrendering to the enthused urgings of a mate who was cooler than me. He continually evangelized about the EP's. I was lost to the concert hall and firmly ensconced on the dancefloor by then and highly resistant, but quite taken by the idea that a band would bring out extended plays rather than singles. When I did check them out, I was instantly smitten by their originality and power.

The band, therefore, were pivotal for me in terms of my own musical journey, in that they represented a gateway back into indie guitar music, which I'd basically given up since becoming obsessed with rave and acid house.

The Beta Band were definitely a band for the cool cognoscenti- like my buddy- the ones you make a bit of a tit of yourself trying to convert quite straight boring people to.

The emotions they induced were a kind of throwback to school days when you were very pompous and prescriptive about what you liked, and derisive towards non believers. It's a testimony to the power of the music that they could take me to the raw state of the younger man.

I took it personally that they didn't hit the mainstream commercial base. At least two of the three albums they made deserved quadruple platinum status. Hot Shots II and Heroes to Zeros are permanently lodged very high in my top one hundred albums of all time.

So, the return of the Beta Band has me moving into the same mode of immature, adolescent anticipation. Everyone should have the Beta Band albums and EP's in their collection. It still kind of annoys me - in fact it bugs the shit out of me - that most of them don't.

And that really is something.

Sublime private-press piano improvisations channeled from another world by Willem Nyland. Remastered from the original tapes and reissued for the first time, with in-depth liner notes by Matt Marble of the American Museum of Paramusicology. A Columbia-educated chemist by profession and a self-taught pianist by affinity, Willem Nyland (1890-1975) is known as a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Greek-Armenian mystic George Gurdjieff. In the mid/late 1960s, a split with Gurdjieff led Nyland to start his own group in upstate New York. There, after a Friday night lecture on 'The Work' and a shot of brandy, Nyland would launch into remarkable piano improvisations on a specially tuned baby grand, sometimes playing for over an hour. Each improvisation was meticulously recorded and cataloged, a major part of Nyland's teachings. 16 of these recordings were released as standalone LPs on Nyland's own Gauge Hill Press, with artwork by Hungarian American decorative artist Ilonka Karasz, Nyland's wife of over 50 years. These records, with their cascading, deeply emotional playing and beautiful cover art, have become highly coveted by collectors and "paramusicologists." Each contains depths of spiritual information and lyrical, almost visual instrumental storytelling. Nyland deftly and subtly shifts moods and tones throughout these truly inspired extended improvisations.

A sequel to the 2001 series Blue Planet, it took 4 years to complete this seven part new exploration of the underwater worlds, with 125 expeditions across

39 countries and 6000 hours of underwater filming. The series was broadcast on BBC One on 29 October 2017 with viewing figures exceeding 10m and

its exposure of plastic pollution in our oceans has started a global conversation about reducing plastic waste, now more relevant than ever.

With over 120 soundtracks to his credit which have grossed 24 billion dollars at the box office, Hans Zimmer has been honoured with many accolades:

an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, three Grammys, an American Music Award, a Tony Award and The Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement.

His Academy Award nomination for Interstellar marked his 10th Oscar nomination.

The composition is completed by Jacob Shea and David Fleming from Emmy and BAFTA nominated Bleeding Fingers Music. Bleeding Fingers has created

original music for productions including the Fox’s The Simpsons, BBC’s Planet Earth II, National Geographic’s Princess Diana In Her Own Words, NBC’s hit

Little Big Shots, Sony’s Snatch (TV), Amazon’s American Playboy, AMC’s The Making Of The Mob, Netflix original Roman Empire and History Channel’s Mountain Men.

Lifelong friends Richard Lowe and Rob Bendelow formed their first band “Lammergier” during the mid 1970’s together with bassist Barry Yates. Following their first love performance in 1977 the band gigged extensively across the British midlands. The standard of these performances combined with their unique brand of symphonic rock saw “Lammergier” amass a large and loyal following. Then a new decade arrived changes were made, the music remained the same, but they called themselves “Saracen”.

After several months on the road Saracen decided it was time to record an album, and in October 1981 they released “Heroes, Saints and Fools” to critical acclaim. Saracen tracks received regular airplay on Tommy Vance’s Friday night rock show and the single “We have arrived” was recorded. In 1983 line-up changes occurred and the band eventually stopped touring in 1985.

Two decades later and the band re-appear with a vengeance and the release of “Red Sky” in March 2003 put the band firmly back on the map, and it was a rework of some of the old classics with new tracks added. The band regained its popularity, and a further three albums have emerged to critical acclaim, namely “Vox in Excelso”, “Marilyn” and “Redemption”.

With renewed interest in the vinyl format of recorded music “Vox In Excelso” has been re-released in 2025 as a numbered limited edition with new artwork and now “Red Sky” is to follow, again with new artwork. These are beautiful works of art and the recordings sound fresh and vibrant, its classic progressive rock brought into the present day and it doesn’t get better than this..

Proper Monday Number is an electronic duo from Brighton, UK featuring Suzi Horn of cult DFA act Prinzhorn Dance School and producer Christoph Boseley. Their Deep clean your house EP is a sure shot of cynicism-defying DIY dance-pop spanning five tracks in 15 minutes, not a second or minute wasted. The ingredients may be familiar - mid-2000s electro and bassline, 90s house, those shitty, overused speakers in your teenage bedroom - but the attitude is ever forward. Fun with a purpose.

Syz launches his new label Vitalizm with VTLZM001, a 4 track sure-shot from its founder of wily club rhythms mutated anew through adventurous construction and intuitive dancefloor nous.

Club rhythms for the soul; a nourishing manifesto for the rave, and for Syz a vital spark through which energy and groove emanate. A prolific producer with a beloved back catalogue, he is no stranger to the sounds that embody the propulsive nature of UK club rhythms. Vitzalizm though is a new venture, his inaugural label founded on the promise of showcasing new and varied developments along the Syz sonic journey. It’s a wide-ranging ethos informed via a complex web of influences that continue to make afresh of club music, while also paying homage to the culture of yesteryears with small vinyl runs and limited lathe-cut dubplate specials.

On VTLZM001, the label’s inaugural release, its founder gets right to it. Down & Twist steps first with an all-round sexy affair, a 2 step mover that swivels deftly on its latin inclinations while updating the early 00’s garage template with fwd> attitude. Next, Bakayadaskunka writhes as a complex beast, busy through the broken beat while its tactile low end purrs and throbs within. Fidget goes faster, a tribal wonderland that pumps giddy yet nimble across its myriad of basslines. The Lizm sees us off, a supple percussive playground which swings playful and loose amongst a livewire of subs, weightless pads and a faint dub echo.

A succinct dancefloor statement of intent from Syz, and an exhilarating beginning for Vitalizm.

Gilles Peterson presents International Anthem is a compilation chronicling the legendary London-based radio host, DJ, label head, curator and cultural impresario"s long-standing affinity for and interaction with artists and music from the Chicago-born record label International Anthem. The tracks on this compilation were chosen by Peterson via an extensive review of track lists from his broadcasts on BBC Radio 6 Music, Worldwide FM, and various syndicated radio programs. The compilation also includes a previously unreleased track recorded live on the Peterson-founded online radio station Worldwide FM. This album is released via International Anthem as part of their "IA11" series of releases and events - where the label celebrates their eleventh year of existence by looking back on their first ten years while establishing new standards for the next ten years.

Repress!

In the mid-1970s, a force of nature swept across the continental United States, cutting across all strata of race and class, rooting in our minds, our homes, our culture. It wasn’t The Exorcist, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or even bell-bottoms, but instead a book called The Secret Life of Plants. The work of occultist/former OSS agent Peter Tompkins and former CIA agent/dowsing enthusiast Christopher Bird, the books shot up the bestseller charts and spread like kudzu across the landscape, becoming a phenomenon. Seemingly overnight, the indoor plant business was in full bloom and photosynthetic eukaryotes of every genus were hanging off walls, lording over bookshelves, and basking on sunny window ledges. The science behind Secret Life was specious: plants can hear our prayers, they’re lie detectors, they’re telepathic, able to predict natural disasters and receive signals from distant galaxies. But that didn’t stop millions from buying and nurturing their new plants.



Perhaps the craziest claim of the book was that plants also dug music. And whether you purchased a snake plant, asparagus fern, peace lily, or what have you from Mother Earth on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles (or bought a Simmons mattress from Sears), you also took home Plantasia, an album recorded especially for them. Subtitled “warm earth music for plants…and the people that love them,” it was full of bucolic, charming, stoner-friendly, decidedly unscientific tunes enacted on the new-fangled device called the Moog. Plants date back from the dawn of time, but apparently they loved the Moog, never mind that the synthesizer had been on the market for just a few years. Most of all, the plants loved the ditties made by composer Mort Garson.



Few characters in early electronic music can be both fearless pioneers and cheesy trend-chasers, but Garson embraced both extremes, and has been unheralded as a result. When one writer rhetorically asked: “How was Garson’s music so ubiquitous while the man remained so under the radar?” the answer was simple. Well before Brian Eno did it, Garson was making discreet music, both the man and his music as inconspicuous as a Chlorophytumcomosum. Julliard-educated and active as a session player in the post-war era, Garson wrote lounge hits, scored plush arrangements for Doris Day, and garlanded weeping countrypolitan strings around Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” He could render the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel alike into easy listening and also dreamed up his own ditties. “An idear” as Garson himself would drawl it out. “I live with it, I walk it, I sing it.”



But as his daughter Day Darmet recalls: “When my dad found the synthesizer, he realized he didn’t want to do pop music anymore.” Garson encountered Robert Moog and his new device at the Audio Engineering Society’s West Coast convention in 1967 and immediately began tinkering with the device. With the Moog, those idears could be transformed. “He constantly had a song he was humming,” Darmet says. “At the table he was constantly tapping.” Which is to say that Mort pulled his melodies out of thin air, just like any household plant would.



The Plantae kingdom grew to its height by 1976, from DC Comics’ mossy superhero Swamp Thing to Stevie Wonder’s own herbal meditation, Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. Nefarious manifestations of human-plant interaction also abounded, be it the grotesque pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers or the pothead paranoia of the US Government spraying Mexican marijuana fields with the herbicide paraquat (which led to the rise in homegrown pot by the 1980s). And then there’s the warm, leafy embrace of Plantasia itself.



“My mom had a lot of plants,” Darmet says. “She didn’t believe in organized religion, she believed the earth was the best thing in the whole world. Whatever created us was incredible.” And she also knew when her husband had a good song, shouting from another room when she heard him humming a good idear. Novel as it might seem, Plantasia is simply full of good tunes.



Garson may have given the album away to new plant and bed owners, but a decade later a new generation could hear his music in another surreptitious way. Millions of kids bought The Legend of Zelda for their Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1986 and one distinct 8-bit tune bears more than a passing resemblance to album highlight “Concerto for Philodendron and Pothos.” Garson was never properly credited for it, but he nevertheless subliminally slipped into a new generations’ head, helping kids and plants alike grow.



Hearing Plantasia in the 21st century, it seems less an ode to our photosynthesizing friends by Garson and more an homage to his wife, the one with the green thumb that made everything flower around him. “My dad would be totally pleased to know that people are really interested in this music that had no popularity at the time,” Darmet says of Plantasia’snew renaissance. “He would be fascinated by the fact that people are finally understanding and appreciating this part of his musical career that he got no admiration for back then.” Garson seems to be everywhere again, even if he’s not really noticed, just like a houseplant.