Cerca:sound man

Ground-breaking afro-rock and jazz with Memphis soul roots on this lost 1972 gem. Lovingly restored and reissued by Matsuli Music


'Black Soul' from 1972 is the third and last known album by The Anchors, a soul group originally formed in Johannesburg's Alexandra township in 1968. Their first two albums, 'Soul Upstairs' from 1969 and 'Everything' from 1971, were issued on Teal's City Special label alongside other prominent South African soul groups of the era like The Beaters, The Movers and The Flaming Souls.

On 'Black Soul', The Anchors undergo a notable shift, moving away from their early Memphis soul influences towards a pioneering African-driven sound. These changes laid the foundations for an emerging afro-fusion scene in the years to come from groups like Batsumi, The Drive and Harari.

'Black Soul' features a who's who of intergenerational musicians from great South African bands over the decades. In addition to Zacks Nkosi, the renowned bandleader of the Jazz Maniacs and long-time member of the African Swingsters in the 1940s and 50s, this album includes kwela star Little Kid Lex Hendricks, known for his Columbia recordings of the late 1950s; as well as Zack's son Jabu Nkosi who would go on to play with The Drive, Roots and Sakhile; and Banza Kgasoane later a member of The Beaters, Harari and then Mango Groove.

Now remastered for its first release since the original 1972 pressing, this lost gem offers a revealing glimpse into the evolution of South African music during a transformative era.

Zacks Nkosi (Sax), Patrick Jabu Nkosi (Organ and Flute), Anderson Nkosi (Lead Guitar), Given Sabela (Bass Guitar), Kid Lex Hendrix (Sax), Banza Kgasoane (Trumpet), Peter Morake (Drums), Hamilton Nzimande (Musical Director).
Original LP issued in South Africa on GRC’s CBS label (LAB 4037) in 1972.
Produced for reissue by Chris Albertyn and Matt Temple at Matsuli Music, and Siemon Allen at Flatinternational.
Original vinyl sourced from the Flatinternational Archive.
Artwork restoration and design by Siemon Allen.
Audio restoration, mastering and lacquers by Frank Merritt at The Carvery.
Manufactured at Pallas, Germany.

Liebe existiert nicht isoliert - sie verweilt, verändert sich und taucht auf eine Weise auf, die wir nicht immer erwarten. So auch der 27-jährige Sänger, Songwriter und Multiinstrumentalist Brandon, der all das und mehr auf seinem Debütalbum „Before You Go“ erforscht, das am 9. Mai bei Secretly Canadian erscheint. „Before You Go“ ist eine grenzenlose Sammlung von Soul- und R&B-beeinflussten Alternative-Pop-Gitarrensongs. Heute stellt Brandon auch die Leadsingle „Right Back“ vor, ein gitarrengetriebener Alt-R&B-Song mit warmem Gesang und synkopierten Beats.

Brandon Joseph - einfach Brandon genannt - ist aus der reichhaltigen kreativen Landschaft Südkaliforniens mit einem Sound hervorgegangen, der eine Mischung aus unaufdringlicher Verletzlichkeit und genreübergreifendem Ehrgeiz darstellt. Brandon hat seine Stimme durch Ausprobieren, Beharrlichkeit und Visionen gefunden, und seine Songs tragen die Spuren seines Einfallsreichtums: Brandon hat sich das Gitarrenspiel selbst beigebracht, er spielt jedes Instrument auf praktisch jedem Track, und er hat sein Debüt nicht nur selbst produziert, sondern auch jeden Song selbst gemischt und die Harmonie in ihren unzähligen Schichten gefunden. Nach dem Erfolg der zwei EPs „Coming Clean“ und „Blush“ ist Brandons Debütalbum bei Secretly Canadian sowohl sehr persönlich als auch klanglich anspruchsvoll. Einige der Songs auf „Before You Go“, die er komplett in seinem Heimstudio geschrieben und aufgenommen hat, brüteten jahrelang vor sich hin, während Brandons Talent und Ressourcen den Visionen in seinem Kopf entsprachen. Eine erste Reise in die Heimat seiner Familie in Trinidad erwies sich ebenfalls als prägend. Dort wurde Brandons Weltanschauung entspannter und friedlicher, und seine Musik folgte ihm. „Ich habe gelernt, mir Zeit zu nehmen“, erklärt er, „das Leben anders zu betrachten und die Menschen nicht mehr nur aus dem Blickwinkel der Transaktion zu sehen“. Das Ergebnis ist eine Sammlung von Songs, die sich nicht davor scheuen, selbstbewusst und zurückhaltend zu sein. Die Leadsingle „Right Back“ verkörpert dies mit einer hellen, minimalen Akustikgitarre unter Brandons warmem, romantischem Gesang. Der Song beginnt als Kreuzung aus Folk und R&B (man denke an den frühen Frank Ocean oder Steve Lacy), aber er öffnet sich zu etwas Größerem - ein nach unten gerichteter, in Dur-Tonarten gehaltener Floater mit wehmütigem Text, einem federleichten, synkopierten Beat und einem unwiderstehlichen, hymnischen Gefühl. Brandon ist bekannt für seine magnetischen Auftritte an der Seite von Omar Apollo und Mac Ayres und seine gefühlvolle Stimme zementiert seinen Platz als einer der fesselndsten neuen Singer-Songwriter, die in den letzten Jahren aufgetaucht sind.

Chiminyo is a UK-based jazz/electronic artist and the founder of the new label NRG Discs (having previously released on Brownswood, Nightdreamer, Gearbox, and Astigmatic, with artists such as Gary Bartz, Shabaka Hutchings, Maisha, Nubya Garcia, Cykada, Uniri, as well as solo). Chiminyo is a versatile musician who blends the raw energy of live drums and percussion with cutting-edge electronic production.

His early solo releases showcased his knack for unique approaches to making music, using self-coded software to trigger synths and samples from every cymbal crash and drum hit, eliminating loops and click-tracks. This DIY, tech-driven methodology allowed Chiminyo complete, spontaneous control over his music—all from the stool behind his drum kit—creating a sound that is both daring and innovative.

Chiminyo's latest project, NRG, continues this trend of innovative thinking. Born from discussions around the UK jazz scene, Chiminyo concluded that this musical expression is less about "jazz" and more about the energy (NRG) that fuels it. As a result, NRG has evolved into a semi-regular event where Chiminyo brings together some of London's finest musicians for live, improvised performances that encapsulate the spirit of the scene. These live recordings are then given the magic production treatment by Chiminyo and co-producer Aviv Cohen, transforming them into the masterpieces we get to hear on wax.

The first three NRG LPs were a massive success, generating over 600,000 streams, selling over 800 copies (without distribution support), and receiving airplay on BBC Radio, Jazz FM, NTS, Soho Radio, and many more. High-profile DJs like Gilles Peterson and Jamz Supernova championed the albums, which were also covered in print by The Guardian, Jazzwise, Echoes Magazine, and various online channels. This success led to an invitation to record a live album at Ronnie Scott's, one of London's most iconic jazz venues—an incredible opportunity for any artist.

NRG 4 brings together some of the best jazz and electronic musicians in London. The album features Marisia Osu (harp), James Akers (tenor saxophone), Daniel Casimir (double bass), Lyle Barton (synthesizers), and Tilé Gichigi-Liperé (live electronics)—an all-star lineup whose members have released multiple records on Concord, Brownswood, Jazz Re:freshed, Astigmatic and more, and have collaborated with artists such as Laura Misch, Nubya Garcia, Blue Lab Beats and Emma-Jean Thackray. Three tracks are graced with features from Jorja Smith's backing vocalist BAELY and Cuban saxophone maestro Regis Molina.

Limited to 400 12" LPs (350 standard, 50 screen-printed limited edition).

Neon Pink Vinyl. For their tenth LP in a career spanning more than two decades, Tulsa's Unwed Sailor deliver their heaviest riffs, loudest squalls, and most deeply textured arrangements yet. Cruel Entertainment is a catalogue of contrasts - dissonance and harmony, hardcore crunch and post-rock grandeur, complexity and catchiness - that adds a vibrant new dimension to the second phase of their discography, spanning thus far from 2019's landmark Heavy Age up to the "vivid, starry-eyed psychedelia" (AllMusic) of 2024's Underwater Over There. Opener and lead single, "Rock Candy", roars in with a gale of feedback, pounding drums, and nimble bass, until a latticework of howling guitars ushers us into a more goth-tinged space. It's a characteristically intricate, energetic composition that flows with remarkable ease between its parts, and wastes not a moment of its three minutes. "Monster Collecting" brings a rare combination of melancholic and driving energy, reminiscent of avowed heroes New Order, but ups the ante with a tight, fastpaced rhythm section and litany of guitar lines, until opening up into a cascade of reverberating textures and tenuous sweetness. According to Ford, the title Cruel Entertainment refers to "the hardships of being an artist and musician in the crowded, imbalanced world of social media and streaming," where the completion of a new work demands that the creator also be a promoter, content strategist, and agent, among many other intensifying challenges. Pointedly drawing inspiration from noisier, rowdier bands - including Fugazi, Quicksand, and Cherubs - here they seek a much-needed catharsis in the ongoing fight to keep the creative soul intact. Second side standout, "Monty Donahue", typifies this form of release, as massive, mid-tempo percussion leads a fluid low end theme - inspired by the dual bass assault of Dianogah - and Swatzell's chords burst into shimmering nebulas across a labyrinthine arrangement that's equally loud and beautiful. Title track, "Cruel Entertainment", is a mosaic of sound for which Ford's bass provides the mortar: taut drums list between the channels, washes of guitar stretch to the horizon, and metallic heaviness punctuates the drift. There is a confident immensity here, proving that, although Unwed Sailor have witnessed a wild amount of changes in the music industry, their knack for creating complex, vital, and masterfully produced work remains untouched.

The Bottle Rockets’ 1994 record The Brooklyn Side ranks right up there with Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne in the pantheon of alt country albums…yet it has NEVER seen a widespread release on vinyl. We hooked up with original producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel and mastering engineer Scott Hull to score the original tapes and create an all-analog release of this legendary record…but we didn’t stop there. We’ve also added six bonus tracks to flesh out this 2-LP Expanded Edition, winding up with the track that started it all, Brian Henneman’s “Indianapolis.” Reissued with the full consent and cooperation of the band!

"In a world where there are no more heroes, the Fleshtones walk the earth like Roman gods. Since their inception in 1976 in Queens, New York, and their sweaty, boozy gestation at legendary venues such as CBGB, Max’s Kansas City, and the storied Club 57— recently feted at the Museum of Modern Art, where their proto-video underground film “Soul City” was unspooled for art stars, glitterati, and a raft of punk rockers who managed to get past the front gate — they have perpetrated their proprietary brand of SUPER ROCK, a frenetic amalgam of garage punk and soul, punctuated by the big beat and unleashed with the spectacular show business majesty which has kept them on the road for over forty years, adored by audiences whose love for them borders on religious fervor.

It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves) is a smash that could have dropped at any point in their epic career — it is an outburst, and a celebration of the SUPER ROCK sound. Unlike their contemporaries, they have not dialed down the tempos to compensate for osteoporosis, they have not lost anything on their fastball, and continue to throw it for strikes. The hardest working band in garage rock has never sounded better, and now you see why they've been your favorite band's favorite band for decades."

"My Last Star" began as a dream that Greg Lee of Hepcat had the week before his death in March of 2024. Greg dreamed of a Slackers song. The Slackers have completed this song, and now the world can hear this truly one of a kind collaboration. In Greg's dream, an old neighbor picked him up in a classic car, turned on the stereo, and played a Slackers song that - at the time - did not exist on our plane of reality. It sounds like the stuff of myth, but the song was so crystal clear in the dream that when he awoke around 2 or 3 in the morning, he immediately wrote down the lyrics he had heard, still humming the tune. "I hadn't seen Greg so excited about a new song in a very long time," says Lee's longtime partner, Mandie Becker. "I found the lyrics when I was organizing his things. I knew he had a voice recording on his phone, too. I decided the best situation was to offer it to The Slackers so we could all hear the song on the stereo from Greg's dream." "I was floored when I received Greg's vocal demo with the lyrics and I vowed to finish the song and make the dream a reality," says Slackers saxophonist Dave Hillyard. "I took the vocal demo to The Slackers, Vic Ruggiero harmonized it, and we wrote music around the words. With this song we came full circle. Greg had given us a gift and we needed to give it back to his family, friends, and musical community. We are the medium for his message." The longer history behind this collaboration is a story of decades of friendship, collaboration, artistry, and mutual respect between LA's Hepcat and NYC's The Slackers, who although from opposite coasts, have both been leading lights and creative forces in the underground ska scene since the early 1990s. Both Hepcat and The Slackers concerned themselves with timeless songwriting that paid homage to the longstanding roots of the music. It is an extraordinary final work envisioned by a beloved and thoughtful musician of the highest caliber and completed by longtime friends and collaborators he knew from the moment of inspiration were the ones that would play it. It is literally a dream come true. "My Last Star" is available as a 12" UV Printed Vinyl Single from Pirates Press Records, with art by The Slackers' in-house artist Catt Gould. The 12" also includes instrumental and dub versions of the song. As a matter of fact, snippets of Greg's original vocal demo from his phone are subtly mixed in toward the end of the instrumental version, underscoring his posthumous presence on the record. Greg's songwriting royalties, as well as a portion of the proceeds from the sales of "My Last Star," will be passed on to his four daughters.

Mediocampo (1984), Jaime Roos's fifth album concludes an unintentional trilogy that began with Aquello (1981) and continued with Siempre son las cuatro (1982). It is the bright side of the series, a groundbreaking album that has become a classic, perhaps the most prestigious and well-known work of his discography. The album's sound, aligned with international trends of the 1980s, made Mediocampo the gateway to Jaime Roos's universe for a younger audience approaching music through rock. Its proposal was unique and deeply Uruguayan, yet it incorporated elements that resonated with a public accustomed to Anglo-Saxon pop. The albums Aquello and Siempre son las cuatro, despite being very different works, share a focus on the Beatles-inspired pop song structure, stylistic diversity, and a search for popular roots. Mediocampo, the conclusion of this song-driven trilogy, is as daring and experimental as its predecessors but with much more direct and accessible communication, achieving an almost perfect distillation of his artistic vision. Today, many of its songs are an essential part of Montevideo's cultural soundtrack.

The Scream, Siouxsie & the Banshees' first album, was released late enough in the punk era to bear some claim as the first post-punk album, with only a minor traces of 'punk' (one lingering early song, "Carcass" comes to mind) and enough hints of what had come even earlier, Andy MacKay-like saxophone flourishes - to feel utterly new. Not to mention the effort producer Steve Lillywhite must have put into the album, his first fully-credited major label production. Siouxsie was clearly the focus of the band, with her unique vocal style and lyrics, but the real star, we've always known, was John McKay, who wrote most of the album's music (as well as singles like "Hong Kong Garden"), creating a wholly new guitar sound - harsh and brittle, yet melodically intoxicating . . . best articulated by a somewhat confounded Steve Albini years later ". . . only now people are trying to copy it, and even now nobody understands how that guitar player got all that pointless noise to stick together as songs". McKay's influence lives on; many of the most influential guitarists of the past four decades credit him as a major influence - Geordie from Killing Joke, Jim Reid of The Jesus And Mary Chain, U2's The Edge, Thurston Moore, Johnny Marr and even the two guitarists - The Cure's Robert Smith and Magazine's John McGeoch - who followed him in The Banshees. McKay's burgeoning status as the anti-guitar hero was halted when he and Banshees drummer Kenny Morris - at odds with Siouxsie and bassist Steve Severin - fled the band just after the start of a tour supporting the group's second album, Join Hands. It was a weekly music paper scandal, later the subject of a BBC documentary, and Siouxsie's vitriol working its way into the lyrics of a later Banshees b-side, "Drop Dead / Celebration". Aside from a solitary single on Marc Riley's In Tape label nearly a decade later, no music was heard from McKay again. So it comes as a major surprise to learn of a pile of excellent recordings made in the years just after he left The Banshees, unheard by all but a very few, some of which feature drummer Kenny Morris, plus Mick Allen from Rema Rema, Matthew Seligman of the Soft Boys and longer-term collaborator Graham Dowdall and John's wife Linda . . . the latter three of whom now all sadly deceased. Sixes And Sevens is an historic lost album. Brazenly genius and bearing fair claim as the lost treasure of the post-punk era, the album collects eleven studio tracks, carefully mastered from original tapes. It's a masterpiece which best speaks for itself.

DMV-by-way-of-the-U.K. punk duo Teen Mortgage have announced their debut album, Devil Ultrasonic Dream, out May 9th on vinyl via Roadrunner Records.
Produced by the band alongside longtime collaborator Kenny Eaton, the album’s first single, “BOX,” is a two-minute sprint of seething defiance, packed with hooks and unrelenting energy.
The album’s title, Devil Ultrasonic Dream, leans into the 1980s-era satanic panic in rock and roll. “The Devil Ultrasonic Dream,” explains frontman James Guile, “is about realizing a fantasy that Christian fascists don’t understand or want you to have. The devil—Satan—has always been a symbol of counterculture.”
Originally from England, Guile had been toying with the Teen Mortgage project under various monikers for years, crafting a sound steeped in sociopolitical commentary and built for the mosh pit, heavily influenced by classic ’80s punk. After relocating to Maryland five years ago, he connected with drummer (and former nurse) Edward Barakauskas via a Craigslist ad. Since then, the duo have spent years building Teen Mortgage’s presence in the DMV scene. In between a global pandemic and Barakauskas serving as an ER frontline worker, they managed to drop an EP and a string of singles before signing to Roadrunner Records in 2024.
Teen Mortgage has earned support slots with a stacked list of artists, from Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, OFF!, and Alkaline Trio and return to the UK in June to play Download Festival and support Weezer at their Halifax Piece Hall show.

Wild And Clear And Blue is the second full-length album from I'm with Her, featuring multi-Grammy-Award-winners Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan. Before coming together these artists co-founded seminal bands (Nickel Creek and Crooked Still) and since have collectively contributed to critically acclaimed albums from esteemed artists including Yo-Yo Ma, The Civil Wars, Kris Kristofferson, John Mayer, Alison Krauss, John Prine, and many others. Produced by Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman) at Outlier Inn in Woodridge, NY and The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, NY, Wild And Clear And Blue delivers a warmly textured sound that features a throughline of maternal wisdom which comes from artists who are first and foremost mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends

The Scream, Siouxsie & the Banshees' first album, was released late enough in the punk era to bear some claim as the first post-punk album, with only a minor traces of 'punk' (one lingering early song, "Carcass" comes to mind) and enough hints of what had come even earlier, Andy MacKay-like saxophone flourishes - to feel utterly new. Not to mention the effort producer Steve Lillywhite must have put into the album, his first fully-credited major label production.
Siouxsie was clearly the focus of the band, with her unique vocal style and lyrics, but the real star, we've always known, was John McKay, who wrote most of the album's music (as well as singles like "Hong Kong Garden"), creating a wholly new guitar sound - harsh and brittle, yet melodically intoxicating . . . best articulated by a somewhat confounded Steve Albini years later ". . . only now people are trying to copy it, and even now nobody understands how that guitar player got all that pointless noise to stick together as songs". McKay's influence lives on; many of the most influential guitarists of the past four decades credit him as a major influence - Geordie from Killing Joke, Jim Reid of The Jesus And Mary Chain, U2's The Edge, Thurston Moore, Johnny Marr and even the two guitarists - The Cure's Robert Smith and Magazine's John McGeoch - who followed him in The Banshees.
McKay's burgeoning status as the anti-guitar hero was halted when he and Banshees drummer Kenny Morris - at odds with Siouxsie and bassist Steve Severin - fled the band just after the start of a tour supporting the group's second album, Join Hands. It was a weekly music paper scandal, later the subject of a BBC documentary, and Siouxsie's vitriol working its way into the lyrics of a later Banshees b-side, "Drop Dead / Celebration". Aside from a solitary single on Marc Riley's In Tape label nearly a decade later, no music was heard from McKay again. So it comes as a major surprise to learn of a pile of excellent recordings made in the years just after he left The Banshees, unheard by all but a very few, some of which feature drummer Kenny Morris, plus Mick Allen from Rema Rema, Matthew Seligman of the Soft Boys and longer-term collaborator Graham Dowdall and John's wife Linda . . . the latter three of whom now all sadly deceased.
Sixes And Sevens is an historic lost album. Brazenly genius and bearing fair claim as the lost treasure of the post-punk era, the album collects eleven studio tracks, carefully mastered from original tapes. It's a masterpiece which best speaks for itself. John McKay will be made available for a limited number of interviews . . . and yes, there are surprises in store.

The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album ‘Birling Gap’ was released in 2021. Since then, they have been focusing on their other bands, playing around the world with Heavenly (stars of the 90s indiepop scene) and Swansea Sound.
A couple of years ago, word reached Rob and Amelia that Brian had been spotted wearing a Heavenly t-shirt at one of his shows, and was a big fan of their music. Given that they, in turn, were fans of Brian’s poetry, introductions were made, friendships were formed, and ‘Sounds Made By Humans’ took shape.
The album isn’t a set of readings with musical backdrops: it’s a collection of songs, where words and music have become completely intertwined. There are verses, and there are choruses. There is no ‘riffing’, no improvisation. In many ways, Brian’s poems are already like pop songs: brief, direct, and witty; sometimes poignant, sometimes biting and political; but always economical, and always accessible.
Rob took thirteen of Brian’s poems and created melodies and arrangements, which are then played by a full band, with Ian Button on drums and Fay Hallam on keyboard. Sometimes the words of the poems are sung by Amelia or Rob. Sometimes they are spoken by Brian. Sometimes both these things happen at once. This is a pop record where the poetry and the music are equal partners: sounds made by humans in perfect artistic alignment.
Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires will be performing at selected UK venues in November 2025.

The band signed to 6131 Records, who gave the group a budget of one thousand dollars to record their first full-length. Johnson, then 24, compiled songs he had composed over various years, including some dating to his teenage years. He viewed the debut as a greatest hits of sorts, a collection of his best work to date. The album was recorded in September 2010 at Earth Capital in Los Angeles with producer Alex Estrada. The group aimed to emulate the sound of Weezer's 1996 album Pinkerton, particularly the spacious way drums were tracked on that LP. Johnson requested Estrada distort his vocal tracks, due to personal pressure: "Maybe I was trying to cover my voice up a little bit because I was insecure," he admitted.

Conflict formed in 1981 in Eltham, Southeast London, when frontman Colin Jerwood, inspired by early encounters with the Pistols 'Spunk' bootleg and following The Clash on tour, struck up a friendship with Crass and set about crafting a whole new kind of punk that totally upped the ante in terms anger and confrontation. Crass, the renowned anarchist punk collective, having got Conflict started by releasing their debut single 'The House That Man Bult' in 1982 on Crass Records, ended in 1984 as they had always intended. Now it was up to Conflict to pick up the baton and run with it. And they did, charging into the battle lines of authority.

The years that followed saw Conflict go from strength to strength, peaking on the 18th of April in 1987 at the London Brixton Academy for the 'Gathering of the 5,000' concert. A climax and explosion of rage and rebellion that inevitably ended up in a police provoked full-scale riot with police injuries, arrests, and with the band hopelessly in debt and banned from the majority of major London and UK venues.

Undeterred, Conflict continued into the 90s with their acclaimed 'Conclusion' album and remained a mainstay of the live punk circuit throughout. However, after more than two decades since the release of their (2003) 'There's No Power Without Control' album, the band are back with 'This Much Remains'. Featuring sixteen brand new Conflict creations, the album sees the band keeping one eye on their eventful past, and the other firmly on moving forward, both musically and politically. Animal Rights are still at the forefront of Conflict’s collective minds, giving a voice to the voiceless on songs such as 'A Mother's Milk' and 'Shut The Fuck Up', whilst their anger at world governments will never dissipate.

Also featuring an appearance by the late Benjamin Zephaniah on the track 'Cut The Crap', 'This Much Remains' is the sound of a band that continues to surprise and progress, decades after it first began. Conflict are Colin Jerwood - vocals; Fiona Friel - vocals; Gav King - guitars, melodica & Hammond; Fran Fearon - bass; Stoo Meadows - drums. With Benjamin Zephaniah - vocals on 'Cut The Crap'; Mitsuko Sonoda - voice on 'The Impossible Soul'.

Die irische Musikerin Maria Somerville kündigt ihr zweites Album "Luster" für den 25. April an. Es ist zugleich ihr Debüt bei 4AD. Mit dem Announcement erscheint die Single "Garden". Der Track taucht ihre sirenenhaften Vocals in einen Sound aus schwirrendem Feedback, luftiger Percussion und nostalgischen Gitarren, der Erinnerungen an die klassische 4AD-Phase heraufbeschwört. Bereits im letzten Jahr war der hypnotische Shoegaze-Track "Projections" erschienen, mit dem Somerville eine erste Spur in Richtung des Sounds ihres kommenden Albums gelegt hatte. Somerville wuchs im ländlichen County Galway an der bergigen und rauen irischen Westküste auf. Sie zog später nach Dublin, wo sie an ihrem Signature-Sound arbeitete: atmosphärischem Dreampop, der von der Landschaft ihrer Jugend geprägt bleibt. Die ätherischen Gitarrenklänge, spärlichen Rhythmen und elektronischen Ambient-Sounds hielt sie erstmals auf dem 2019 selbst veröffentlichten Album "All My People" fest, einem Werk, das knietief in Nostalgie und Sehnsucht watet. Erst als sie nach Connemara zurückkehrte, in ein Haus nicht weit von dem, in dem sie aufwuchs - und von wo aus man einen der größten Seen des Landes, den Lough Corrib, überblicken konnte - begann Somerville mit der Arbeit an Musik, die schließlich zum neuen Album "Luster" werden sollte. Während ihr DIY-Debüt Erinnerungen und Melancholie in nebligen Slowcore hüllte, zeigen die zwölf neuen Tracks eine Künstlerin, die sich des Weges, den sie eingeschlagen hat, viel sicherer ist. "I can see more clearly than I could before. I know now what"s true for me", singt sie passend in "Trip". Gestärkt durch die neue, alte Umgebung und ermutigt durch ihre Community, entwickelte Somerville wieder kreative Energien. Der Boden erwies sich im wahrsten Sinne als fruchtbar, als sie in lockeren Wohnzimmer-Sessions erste Demos aufnahm, die später u. a. mit J. Colleran und Ian Lynch (Lankum) ausgearbeitet und schließlich vom New Yorker Engineer Gabriel Schuman (Oneohtrix Point Never, Princess Nokia, David Byrne) gemixt wurden. Eine gewisse Popularität erreichte Somerville auch durch ihre "Early Bird Show" auf NTS Radio, wo sie seit 2021 zwei Mal die Woche ein Morgenprogramm hostet, in dem sie Musik zwischen Shoegaze und traditionellem irischen Folk vorstellt. Im selben Jahr unterschrieb sie ihren Vertrag bei 4AD, wo sie bislang zwei Compilation-Beiträge veröffentlichte und mit ihren Labelmates Dry Cleaning auf Tour ging. 2025 wird sie mit Band Shows auf der ganzen Welt spielen, darunter auch Konzerte in Deutschland.

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib release their new album, Bandana, via Keep Cool/RCA Records and MadlibInvazion/ESGN. The album includes previous releases "Flat Tummy Tea," "Crime Pays," and "Giannis" featuring Anderson. Paak. The album is the pair's follow up to their 2014 critically-acclaimed debut Piñata, and includes additional features from Pusha T, Killer Mike, YasiinBey, and Black Thought.

The duo's seamless collaboration juxtaposes two giant talents: Madlib,the prolific producer with a record collection spanning all genres and eras, an adept sampler, peer to the late J Dilla (his collaborator on Champion Sound and his musical soulmate), foil for DOOM, hip hop's Charlie Parker, with whom he created the landmark album Madvillainy. Freddie Gibbs, the gravel-voiced braggadocios rapper, a vocal athlete, a star-on-the-rise knocked off course who refused to give up and has since offered some of the most compelling rap music in the past ten years.



On Piñata, Madlib offered Gibbs, then a gritty street rapper from Gary, Indiana, a chance to expand his captivating storytelling, giving him the dramatic backgrounds for his brutally-honest, soul-scraping lyrics. As a pair, Freddie and Madlib exude a natural chemistry and craft an alchemical music, appealing to everyone on the hip-hop spectrum.



Freddie Gibbs and Madlib are also set to play a string of shows in the U.S. and Europe this summer, which kicked off earlier this week with a sold-out, two-night residency at The Roxy in Los Angeles. They're set to play at MoMa PS1's Warm Up series in New York, Paredes De Coura Festival in Portugal, and Made in America in Philadelphia later this summer before heading off to Europe again in the Fall. Additional dates to follow soon.

A Chaos Of Flowers is an album that builds on their ferocious 2023 album nature morte. BIG|BRAVE"s music has been described as massive minimalism. Their fusillades of textural distortion and feedback emphasize their music"s frayed edges as much as its all-encompassing weight. The potency of the trio"s work is their singular artistry combining elements of traditional folk techniques and a modern deconstruction of guitar music. Gain, feedback, and amplitude are essential. For A Chaos Of Flowers guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie drew heavily on the poems of artists whom Wattie found kinship in, their words resonant with experiences of those often sidelined by cultural norms. "I discovered that most poems from folk traditions or in the public domain seem to be by men - to which I could not quite relate. In my search, I rediscovered some of my favorite works and poets," says Wattie. Guitarist Mathieu Ball and drummer Tasy Hudson help Wattie shape poetry into pieces as dense and impenetrable as they are vulnerable. BIG|BRAVE achieve their colossal sound through minimalist approaches, a deft understanding of dynamics and an inventive employment of percussion and distortion. The trio reconceptualize what it is to be heavy or minimal, challenging perceptions with their illumination of painfully overlooked perspectives. Guest guitarist Marisa Anderson lends earthen, blues-inflected atmospheres to the album, where guitarist Tashi Dorji and saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi amplify the squall. Working closely with frequent collaborator and producer/engineer Seth Manchester, the internal tumult of Wattie"s voice rings out in warbles, haunting echoes, and unearthly harmonies across bold immense walls of distortion. BIG|BRAVE have collaborated with metal monsters The Body on a previous Thrill Jockey release, Leaving None But Small Birds, and have toured internationally with bands like SUMAC, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, SUNN O))), and Lingua Ignota. As they continue to ascend in their journey as pioneers in the contemporary metal scene, it"s safe to say that BIG|BRAVE are here to stay.

Since 2021, FLUPKE counts nine releases, seven self-made music videos, a video game, many stages set on fire, collaborations and remixes with Vonfelt, Émile Londonien, Ouai Stéphane, DJ Earl, amongst others. Time has come for FLUPKE to compile the best of his colorful and pixelated universe on solid wax. LE BEST OF is a manifesto of the French producer’s duality between high and low resolutions, crunchy and textured sounds, that has been fueling his spaceship to explore cosmic and electronic soundscapes.

Contemporary Belgian techno powerhouses Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens come together on a groundbreaking new “One Mind” EP.

Between them, this pair have very much refined the sound of techno over the last few years. Both hail from Belgium, and both came up through the clubbing scene with their own unique interpretations of techno and its many different nuances.

Charlotte de Witte, a global techno icon and founder of the KNTXT label, has released numerous EPs with a focus on acid and techno, blending in trance and ambient into compelling club cuts. With millions of fans, she also has a history making presence in underground clubs, at electronic music festival main stages like Tomorrowland and Ultra, and crossover festivals with her recently completed production tour "Overdrive". She’s also been crowned DJ Magazine’s World’s Number 1 Techno DJ five years in a row. Through KNTXT, she innovates with ventures like the archival Époque label, immersive pop-ups and spontaneous street parties. Poised for a groundbreaking 2025, she remains at the forefront of revolutionizing the electronic music landscape.

Amelie Lens, the leading figure in modern techno, is known for her exceptional productions and performances. Beyond music, she is a proud mother, record label owner, and activist. She founded Exhale and LENSKE, two globally recognized labels and event platforms celebrated for their inclusivity and unique on-site experiences. Exhale focuses on nurturing fresh talent, signing its youngest artist at just 16 years old. Amelie made history as the first woman with a residency in Ibiza and is now collaborating with Vogue Collective, becoming the first techno artist to do so. Her strong relationships with top designers like Chanel further highlight her creative vision beyond music. From festival appearances at the biggest festivals in the world to performances at iconic venues like The Sphere in Las Vegas, Amelie consistently pushes boundaries, shaping the future of electronic music.

To enhance the unified concept of the EP, both Amelie and Charlotte’s voices are subtly layered into the tracks, together, as one.

The brilliant 'One Mind' kicks off with rock solid, earth rattling kicks and intimate vocal whispers that draw you in close. Flashy, strobe lit synths soon electrify the groove and ensure hands will go skywards as acid lines bring extra drama. 'Where Do We Go' is another fantastic, turbocharged and acid-laced trance-techno gem with high-speed drums and synths racing along under icy spoken words that bring spine tingling sensuality.

This is a super coming together of two of modern techno's most potent creative forces.

In the depths of the underground, where the beat pulses through the concrete veins of the city and the soundscape echoes the soul of a movement, Infinity Plus One delivers the Reflexion EP – a raw and unapologetic nod to the gritty, underground roots of ‘90s techno and electro. Drawing inspiration from late-night warehouse parties, the machine-driven rhythms, and the futuristic sounds that emerged from the Motor City’s pioneers, Reflexion carries the essence of that golden era while pushing forward into new realms of sonic exploration. These four tracks, composed with deep grooves and dark, hypnotic sequences, offer a hard-hitting blend of electro-funk and house that will resonate with fans of both vintage and contemporary styles.

On Innocent Beginnings we find a bass-heavy, bouncy house rhythm mesh with haunting synth melodies, setting the tone for a journey through forward-looking machine soul. Next we have Dusk And Darkness which layers a breakbeat on an 808 electro groove to form a darker, ravey feel where all the emphasis is placed on the rolling beats and bassline. Flipping over we have Stand For Love which takes us on a deep house journey, showing a more sensitive and heartfelt side of the Infinity Plus One sound. Closing out this heavyweight four tracker you’ll find Ubiquity with its deep, atmospheric mood built around a snaking bassline whilst big synth stabs add an intensity to this club-ready groove.

Each track here is a manifesto, a declaration of sonic freedom, engineered for the DJs who understand the pulse of the underground. This is the music you feel in your chest, not just hear in your ears.

Opening DNO Records’ 2025, Clearlight returns to the label alongside new signee Sentient, bringing four creepy cuts of insectoid minimalism that reanimate the drum & bass exoskeleton.

On the A-side, ‘Mandibles’ aims to stun. Hurtling forth with hulking drums, this tunnelling rhythm is beset by swarms of glitchy percussion and synth zaps that’ll frazzle minds with their sheer chaotic energy.
‘Suboptimal’ reveals what’s lurking in the deep, as heavyweight bass and incessant kicks burrow through a murky soundscape of croaks and rattles, only to be sprayed by a chirping acid line that cuts through the mix with deadly precision.

Flip over and the Belgian-British pairing delivers two extended jams. The seven-minute ‘Psychodrifter’ is packed with an overdriven low-end that crackles and heaves like it's trying to talk with a mouthful of bees, while globular whoops and twinkling pads squirm and beckon like bioluminescent lures.
‘Kukulu’ is longer still, building and building and building in intensity. Waves of warning bells and skittering background noise, bongo flourishes and spurts of grinding bass come together with hive-mind-like cooperation to form an enrapturing epic.

Another example of visionary world-building from the DNO camp, the ‘Mandibles’ EP will wriggle down your earhole and have you itching for a dark basement full of bass bins.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.

Psycho Bummer is thrilled to present our latest release from QUAAD, a leading figure in Seattle’s emerging jungle scene and, in our opinion, one of the finest tracker enthusiasts out there.

Made on an Amiga 1200 with Octamed, QUAAD's “PAULA EP” is a nod to the Amiga's revolutionary sound chip of the same name, as well as a love letter to the primitive sampling techniques and demoscene aesthetics that the Amiga is famous for.

PAULA’s characteristic grime and grit is evident on tracks like EP opener “King Russ”, which cuts up a gorgeously degraded smooth-jazz sample across lethal amen chops and brutal subs. Likewise, the absurdly heavy drop of “Gone Postal” is offset by QUAAD’s particular sense of humor, striking a balance between caricature and dancefloor devastation. “Erb Man Dub” and “Van Nuys Crew” round out the EP, the later switching up the intensity for a more laid back R&B vibe, hinting at QUAAD’s versatility.

Function Records has been blessed by the bassline talents of IP, John and Fiona Cunningham, showcasing their impressive skills. I had the pleasure of meeting IP at an education and bass feedback session at Planet Wax.
Choosing the first four tracks for their debut EP was challenging because they have so many bangers!
1) Nowadays, many track names suggest a connection to Jungle or reggae/dub sound systems, but they often deliver squeaky noises when the track drops. That's not the case with "Foundation Ting"; it hits you with all the elements you'd expect from Jungle music and continues to evolve impressively throughout the arrangement.
2) "Look Around" has garnered significant attention because it's one of those warm tracks that always gets a rewind. The bassline tells a story, and the breakdown and second drop are genuinely next-level.
3) "One Step" is the first track I received from IP. It's a heavy, dubbed-out jungle tune that builds into a midsection reminiscent of Spirit.
4 "Can't' Know That" is 8 minutes 37 of dirt. What a journey!

It's been a long time between drinks for German band Bambi Davidson. "Brunswick", their first outing on Claremont 56, is their first recorded output for 15 years.
It's something of a triumphant return, too. Last time we heard
from them, back in 2000, they were a 'post minimal rock'
duo comprising of guitarist/vocalist Robin van Velzen and
drummer Hans Christian Fuss. A decade and a half of live
improvisation and a multitude of collaborations later, they
return as a Balearic rock four-piece. The band's newest
members, former Mountaineer man Frank Mollena and Sofia
Fuss, were asked to join following a particularly successful
series of live collaborations and improvisational jams.
"Brunswick", the first track from their soon-to-be-released sophomore set, is particularly special. It´s a 13-minute shuffle
through Balearic post-rock territory, with Van Velzen's weary,
emotional vocals riding a wave of vibrant colours, backwards
Hazy, intoxicating and evocative, it sounds like a horizontal
anthem in the making.
One sided, hand numbered, limited to 500

In case you didn't know, Reliance is yet another label from man like Burnksi, the UK powerhouse who is almost single-handedly spearheading a sound that fuses garage, house and tech into something irresistible for the club. He invites Job de Jong to step up for the label's second outing and 'Dub House' is a great opener with just the right amount of bounce, melody and heart. Kepler remixes it into a percussive stomper with siren stabs and dusty perc. 'Emergency' is a trippy melodic workout that bends space and time and 'Don't Wanna Stop, Dub Stop' chucks a killer vocal into the mix over sleazy drums and garage drums that are always going to get big reactions.

This London-based crew follows up their recent and acclaimed Akyio project with a 12" that dives deep into the vibrant rhythms of Brazil. The original is by the unique Samba De Matuto Leao Do Norte De Maragogi and was recorded by DJ Tudo. Kolago Kult offers a mix that is packed with Latin swagger, organic percussion and jumble of hand drums while the late Master Tiao adds his vocals to this samba-inspired street sound. Kolago Kult then steps up with two psychedelic remixes that are packed with heavy and dubby rhythms and many layers of percussion. A truly global journey, this one.

Sa Pa's trademark fantastical and thickly textured sound twisted in four new directions, closely treasured and finally released: some of his most delicate and hypnotic work, and fathoms deep. Switch on your sub or find one to borrow!

The first release on Short Span, a new label from Matthew Kent, co-runner of the label Mana before this, and who ran mix music platform Blowing Up The Workshop before that.

A series of longer, dubbed out, ambient and flowing tracks. techno, minimal, bass and groove. Chosen and cut to drop the needle on and just let play for a while. For warming up, coming down, never leaving the house.

Mastered by Miles.

Photography by Will Bankhead, layout by Bene Pooley.

Grammy-nominated Canadian ensemble BADBADNOTGOOD present the latest edition of Mr Bongo’s iconic Brazil 45 boxset series.
Hailing from Toronto, the band, which now consists of Alexander Sowinski, Chester Hansen and Leland Whitty, made its name by crossing genres and developing a distinctive amalgamation of jazz, hip hop and psychedelic grooves. Their rise to the forefront of their scene has led to collaborations with icons such as Tyler, The Creator, Kendrick Lamar, MF Doom, Samuel T. Herring (Future Islands) and Ghostface Killah. With a penchant for an earworm hook, their sound takes cues from across the globe, both past and present, not least from the wealth of music that has emanated out of Brazil over the last 70 years.

Beatmakers, musicians and record collectors at their core, the influence of Brazilian music on BADBADNOTGOOD’s productions is clear to see, with previous collaborators including Arthur Verocai and Tim Bernardes. It seemed only right then, to hand them the reins for the next edition of our signature boxset series. As ever, the brief was simple, compile a selection of your favourite Brazilian cuts from the country’s rich musical makeup. A captivating collection of sought-after tracks crossing genres, decades and tempos, offering a glimpse into BADBADNOTGOOD’s eclectic tastes, whilst exploring ever further the richness of Brazil’s musical history.

The compositions of Miłosz Kędra (b. 2001) explore synthetic sound, electroacoustic music, and self-built acoustic instruments, seeking diverse timbres, tunings, and textures. His main field of work is the pipe organ. Through minimalist motifs, he has transported the instrument’s sound beyond the church space by synthetically processing its tones. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in New Media Music at the Academy of Music in Poznań and recently completed a Bachelor’s degree in Electroacoustic Composition, during which he built his own pipe organ from scavenged pipes.

~ Liner notes ~

Miłosz Kędra - "their internal diapasons"

The pipes that Miłosz Kędra used to craft his own organ emulator have lived many lives. They come from churches scattered across Greater Poland—some trimmed for a more presentable façade, others left to gather dust in parish houses until, stripped of purpose, they were cast away. Their first voices have faded, their inner resonance unsettled, yet with patience, one can teach them to sound again—to sing in their altered state, to be gently coaxed out of silence.

Audiomancy—the conjuring of lost sounds—is the word that lingers when I try to grasp the lore crystallizing with Kędra’s second album.

The resolve with which the musician and composer has inhabited his self-built instrument recalls Witold Szalonek and his search for “unexploited properties of wind instruments in classical music.” Szalonek sought to map these hidden voices into a system of multiphonics, revealing over 160 on the oboe alone by 1968. Some sound eerily alike, yet emerge through distinct gestures—“a particular breath, a precise choreography of levers and apertures, the seamless fusion of the two.”

The splitting of a single note into its spectral fragments—allowing a melodic instrument to speak in two, three, even four voices at once—enabled Szalonek to bend the rigid structures of Western music. "their internal diapasons" follows a similar path: an aesthetic bypass through which Kędra taps into the sacred gravity of the church organ, only to reveal it as a domesticated echo of something far older—the primal theater of transformation. To listen closely to an instrument is to learn its flaws, to turn its imperfections into a new way of speaking.

Each of the nine compositions on "their Internal diapasons" is an invitation—to approach the material world with the intent of letting it speak beyond expectation. An instrument that is at once a sculpture, a performance, and a manifesto of voicing the discarded suggests that its creator—following the path of Didier Eribon (Returning to Reims)—might take as his motto, a principle of asceticism, Sartre’s words: “What matters is not what is made of us, but what we ourselves make of what is made of us.”

Filip Szałasek

Reissued here for the first time, "Cartão Postal" is one of the best and most sought-after Brazilian funk-soul albums from the early ’70s. It includes some outstanding uptempo gems like Marcos and Paulo Sergio Valle’s ‘Que bandeira’, and the stellar ‘Esperar Prá Ver’, co-written by Evinha’s brother Renato Corrêa who also happened to be a member of the Golden Boys. This is a classic Brazilian soul-funk title, right up there with all the greatest albums of the genre. Remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180g vinyl. This release is part of a new reissue series that will include many other outstanding Brazilian classics. "Cartão Postal" was originally released on Odeon Brazil in 1971, a few years after Evinha started her solo career. From 1961 to 1968 she was a member of Trio Esperança, alongside her brothers Mário and Regina. In 1969 Evinha won first prize at the Festival Internacional da Cançao Popular and her discography for Odeon took off. "Cartão Postal", her third solo album, comprises some outstanding gems. Songs like ‘Que bandeira’, by Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle and Mariozinho Rocha, that moves between funk/soul and bossa/MPB grooves; the stellar ‘Esperar Prá Ver’, co-written by Evinha’s brother Renato Corrêa who also happened to be a member of the Golden Boys, is a mid-tempo funk soul number that features stunning arrangements and an epic bassline that is hard to be forgotten… ‘Só Quero’ emanates samba soul sounds while songs like ‘Por Mera Coincidência’ or ‘Rico Sem Dinheiro’ resemble what Trio Esperança was doing at the time: vocal-driven groovy jams spiced with celestial strings arrangements and heavy-duty drums and basslines, which is not surprising since they both worked with the same producers and arrangers, as they were all Odeon artists. Ridiculously rare and expensive now, and at the top of many collectors’ wants lists for decades, it’s finally reissued here after years unavailable.

Listeners will drift through soundscapes with even greater expanses than before as Geir Sundstøl releases his new album, Sakte Film,. This marks Sundstøl’s sixth solo album on Hubro and his tenth anniversary as a solo artist. Geir Sundstøl has had a rich and varied career, to say the least. Within the HUBRO universe, his music has remained a pillar for years, and Sakte Film is no exception. However, this release embraces a broader scope, with multiple layers of strings that create even more room for resonance and exploration. Sundstøl explains: - What sets this album apart from my previous ones is, first and foremost, the string arrangements. Erik Sollid, Sunniva Shaw, Håkon Brunborg, and Mari Persen have contributed with violin, viola, and cello, adding a new dimension.
Geir Sundstøl(born in 1969) is a Norwegian musician who plays a wide range of string instruments, including the marxophone, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, bouzouki, lap steel, banjo, and dobro, as well as harmonica and various keyboards. He is a highly sought-after and respected session musician and was awarded the Gammleng Prize in the studio category in 1994. In 2015, he released his first album under his own name, Furulund, which was nominated for the Spellemann Prize in the open category. He later won the Spellemann Prize in 2018 for his third album, Brødløs

Sextile, das in Los Angeles beheimatete Duo, das für seinen unbeugsamen, elektronischen Punk-Sound gefeiert wird, hat Details zu ihrem kommenden, starken Album „Yes, please.“ bekannt gegeben, das am 2. Mai 2025 auf Sacred Bones erscheint, sowie Pläne für eine umfangreiche Europatournee in diesem Sommer geteilt. Sextile, die sich derzeit mit ihren Labelkollegen Molchat Doma auf einer großen US-Tournee befinden, kündigen ihr neues Album mit der Single „Freak Eyes“ an, die ihren dunklen, pulsierenden Sound in neue Höhen treibt. Der Song beginnt mit einem fiesen Bass-Growl, das abrupt in einen Techno-Beat übergeht, der mit klirrender Kuhglocke und scharfer Hi-Hat gespickt ist. „I feel the pressure / Man the pressure I feel when we're together“, singt Sänger Brady Keehn kühl, aber bestimmt, in den ersten Zeilen. Inspiriert von der Art und Weise, wie Druck sowohl Herausforderungen als auch Verbesserungen hervorrufen kann, beschwört „Freak Eyes“ elektrisierende Bilder von schäbigen Hinterzimmern auf dem Sunset Strip und von in Leder gekleideten Tanzflächen in Lagerhäusern herauf.

Manche Bands finden ihren Groove und bleiben dabei, andere erfinden sich ständig neu. Sextile gehört zu den letzteren, die den Nervenkitzel einer sich ständig verändernden Landkarte genießen. Das Duo Melissa Scaduto und Brady Keehn aus Los Angeles macht Musik mit Lebenslust und lässt sich dabei von No Wave bis Hardstyle inspirieren. Ihr neuestes Album „yes, please.“ stößt in kühnes Neuland vor, indem es anarchisches Elektro-Feuer mit rohen persönlichen Erinnerungen verbindet - und mit genug aufgemotzten Bässen, um ein oder zwei Boxen zum Platzen zu bringen. „yes, please.“ ist ein Album der Kontraste: eine verletzliche Platte, die ihre Seele ebenso entblößt wie sie im Exzess schwelgt und zeigt, wie weit man seinen Sound treiben kann, wenn man seine Hemmungen abschüttelt. Zusammen verraten die beiden ein Selbstvertrauen, das niemals schwankt, und machen einen kühnen Spritzer auf dem schnellen Intro mit einer Rave-Sirene, die aus einer New Yorker Hausparty der `00er oder einem verschwitzten Brooklyn-Lagerhaus stammt. Auch der Geist des Electroclash pirscht sich an das Gebäude heran, zeigt seine Identität bei den mit Kuhglocken gespickten Donnerschlägen von „Freak Eyes“ und „Rearrange“ und sorgt mit „Women Respond to Bass“ für eine schmutzige Dancefloor-Bombe. „Push Ups“ - mit dem Gesang von Jehnny Beth - ist pure Muskelmusik, gestärkt durch einen wummernden Bass und ergänzt durch Synthies, die so hart hämmern wie Hagelkörner auf einem Glasdach. Aber hinter den Slogans, der Frechheit und der monstermäßigen Tanzenergie verbirgt sich eine Intimität, die man nur finden kann, wenn man sich über schmerzhafte, lebensverändernde Ereignisse öffnet. „Hospital“ und ‚Soggy Newports‘ reflektieren Scadutos erschütternde Erfahrungen in einer staatlichen Einrichtung in New York nach einem beinahe tödlichen Unfall. „Resist“ befasst sich mit Abtreibungsrechten, während ‚Penny Rose‘ das amerikanische Bildungswesen, künstliche Intelligenz und zukünftige Generationen thematisiert. Scadutos elastischer Gesang glänzt überall, von den messerscharfen Synthesizern von „S is For“ bis zu den Trance-Pop-Höhen von „Kids“ mit Izzy Glaudini von Automatic. „yes, please.“ ist eine actiongeladene Dance-Platte, vollgestopft mit wilden, berauschenden Gassenhauern, aber im gleichen Atemzug auch ein Zeugnis dafür, zu leben und niemals zurückzuschauen. Indem sie sich für eine neue, „befreiende“ Art des Musikmachens öffnen, haben Sextile ihr bisher kreativstes Werk geschaffen. Bisher, denn man spürt einfach, dass sie noch so viel mehr zu geben haben.

Sextile, das in Los Angeles beheimatete Duo, das für seinen unbeugsamen, elektronischen Punk-Sound gefeiert wird, hat Details zu ihrem kommenden, starken Album „Yes, please.“ bekannt gegeben, das am 2. Mai 2025 auf Sacred Bones erscheint, sowie Pläne für eine umfangreiche Europatournee in diesem Sommer geteilt. Sextile, die sich derzeit mit ihren Labelkollegen Molchat Doma auf einer großen US-Tournee befinden, kündigen ihr neues Album mit der Single „Freak Eyes“ an, die ihren dunklen, pulsierenden Sound in neue Höhen treibt. Der Song beginnt mit einem fiesen Bass-Growl, das abrupt in einen Techno-Beat übergeht, der mit klirrender Kuhglocke und scharfer Hi-Hat gespickt ist. „I feel the pressure / Man the pressure I feel when we're together“, singt Sänger Brady Keehn kühl, aber bestimmt, in den ersten Zeilen. Inspiriert von der Art und Weise, wie Druck sowohl Herausforderungen als auch Verbesserungen hervorrufen kann, beschwört „Freak Eyes“ elektrisierende Bilder von schäbigen Hinterzimmern auf dem Sunset Strip und von in Leder gekleideten Tanzflächen in Lagerhäusern herauf.

Manche Bands finden ihren Groove und bleiben dabei, andere erfinden sich ständig neu. Sextile gehört zu den letzteren, die den Nervenkitzel einer sich ständig verändernden Landkarte genießen. Das Duo Melissa Scaduto und Brady Keehn aus Los Angeles macht Musik mit Lebenslust und lässt sich dabei von No Wave bis Hardstyle inspirieren. Ihr neuestes Album „yes, please.“ stößt in kühnes Neuland vor, indem es anarchisches Elektro-Feuer mit rohen persönlichen Erinnerungen verbindet - und mit genug aufgemotzten Bässen, um ein oder zwei Boxen zum Platzen zu bringen. „yes, please.“ ist ein Album der Kontraste: eine verletzliche Platte, die ihre Seele ebenso entblößt wie sie im Exzess schwelgt und zeigt, wie weit man seinen Sound treiben kann, wenn man seine Hemmungen abschüttelt. Zusammen verraten die beiden ein Selbstvertrauen, das niemals schwankt, und machen einen kühnen Spritzer auf dem schnellen Intro mit einer Rave-Sirene, die aus einer New Yorker Hausparty der `00er oder einem verschwitzten Brooklyn-Lagerhaus stammt. Auch der Geist des Electroclash pirscht sich an das Gebäude heran, zeigt seine Identität bei den mit Kuhglocken gespickten Donnerschlägen von „Freak Eyes“ und „Rearrange“ und sorgt mit „Women Respond to Bass“ für eine schmutzige Dancefloor-Bombe. „Push Ups“ - mit dem Gesang von Jehnny Beth - ist pure Muskelmusik, gestärkt durch einen wummernden Bass und ergänzt durch Synthies, die so hart hämmern wie Hagelkörner auf einem Glasdach. Aber hinter den Slogans, der Frechheit und der monstermäßigen Tanzenergie verbirgt sich eine Intimität, die man nur finden kann, wenn man sich über schmerzhafte, lebensverändernde Ereignisse öffnet. „Hospital“ und ‚Soggy Newports‘ reflektieren Scadutos erschütternde Erfahrungen in einer staatlichen Einrichtung in New York nach einem beinahe tödlichen Unfall. „Resist“ befasst sich mit Abtreibungsrechten, während ‚Penny Rose‘ das amerikanische Bildungswesen, künstliche Intelligenz und zukünftige Generationen thematisiert. Scadutos elastischer Gesang glänzt überall, von den messerscharfen Synthesizern von „S is For“ bis zu den Trance-Pop-Höhen von „Kids“ mit Izzy Glaudini von Automatic. „yes, please.“ ist eine actiongeladene Dance-Platte, vollgestopft mit wilden, berauschenden Gassenhauern, aber im gleichen Atemzug auch ein Zeugnis dafür, zu leben und niemals zurückzuschauen. Indem sie sich für eine neue, „befreiende“ Art des Musikmachens öffnen, haben Sextile ihr bisher kreativstes Werk geschaffen. Bisher, denn man spürt einfach, dass sie noch so viel mehr zu geben haben.

Mutant, in partnership with Back Lot Music, are proud to present the premiere physical release of Benjamin Wallfisch's incredible score to the 2025 Wolf Man. Leigh Whannell (Invisible Man, Upload) continues exploring the classic Universal monster series, and with Wolf Man hw again teams up with composer Benjamin Wallfisch for the score. Ben's score evokes the lush classic sounds of the original 1940s movie. It's a beautifully light score featuring incredible orchestration, evoking the mystery within the woods. The score is scary and brutal but also delicate and human when necessary. It's evocative and rich and helps add grounding to this very contemporary telling of this tale.

Sediment is an assemblage of field recordings made in the Swiss canton of Jura on a single day in August 2022. Jura's rock and limestone formations create a complex topology which hosts a diversity of sound spaces; human, more-than-human, geophonic, subterranean and extra-terrestrial. By walking and driving through this landscape curious pockets of activity are revealed to the listener. The layers of strata that make up Jura; earth, rock, forest, cables, pipes, factories, planes and radio towers inform the sound strata. These recordings incorporate and embrace these many layerings; the acoustic, radio, magnetic, vibrational, tectonic, resonant.

Over the course of a day Tim Shaw and Laurent Güdel followed their ears, they visited forests, mountains, rivers, hydroelectric plants, caves, radio broadcast towers, wind turbines, train tracks, sacred wells, man made tunnels and abandoned factories, harvesting sounds from this tangled and ever-changing soundscape. Using various listening devices they attempted to listen into the full spectrum of activity, hydrophonic, geophonic, air-pressure, electromagnetic and radio.

Sounds harvested include pieces of limestone being submerged into water, electromagnetic fall out from cell towers, the resonance of a limestone processing factory, VLF radio, the mechanisms of infrastructure, radio controlled airplanes and acoustic signals. These files are mixed and blended together to create a new stratification.

The final compositions were separately pieced together in each of the artist's studios using the collective corpus of recordings. The result is two different sonic interpretations of this layered, ancient and complex landscape.

Tim Shaw works with sound, light, and communication media to create performances, installations, and site-responsive interventions. His practice spans environmental sound art, digital media, media archaeology and walking. He frequently presents his work at festivals, in forests, caves, warehouses, up mountains, and in museums and art galleries all over the world.

Laurent Güdel explores analogue synthesis, phonography, and sound archives through multi-channel electroacoustic compositions, live performances, installations, and audio publications. His work explores the politics of sound, the means of production of early electronic music, and the archaeology of audio technologies, their infrastructures and institutions. He is also co-curator of Kopfhörer, a series dedicated to live experimental music.

2005's Naturally was a pivotal moment in the history of soul music. It was the first Daptone album tracked at the renowned "House of Soul", a recording studio handbuilt by Sharon and the rest of the Daptone family in a two story rental in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The album has gone on to sell over 200,000 records, with hit singles "How Long Do I Have To Wait?" and "This Land is Your Land" streaming in the hundreds of millions- staggering figures for a wholly independent release.

Up to this point Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings had yet to reach an audience outside of dingy, hole-in-the-wall clubs, dive bars, and underground DJ parties, attended by only the most in-the-know. This was the scene where the band began to flourish, developing the sound that would forever alter the musical landscape and set a lofty new bar for what could be considered real-deal soul music. It made Daptone a household name and opened doors for countless musicians and record labels to come. Naturally sparked a renaissance that is still vibrating today- a testament to Sharon Jones' legacy as the undisputed, reigning Queen of Heavyweight Soul.

East of Asteroid is the highly anticipated debut album from Norwegian progressive rock band Moonsoon. Helge Nyheim, an accomplished drummer, vocalist, and artist from Bergen, is the driving force behind Moonsoon. With decades of experience, Helge has worked with countless musicians across various genres, and his distinctive drumming and vocals lay the foundation for the band's sound. Daniel Hauge, co-songwriter, producer, and arranger, has also been instrumental in shaping the album's direction. Daniel has produced other artists in the Apollon Records roster, such as Dobbelgjenger. Known for his work as a producer, Daniel has contributed greatly to the overall sonic texture and dynamics of the album. He also mixed and mastered the album. Helge and Daniel, together with the talented guest musicians, have shaped the sonic identity of the album, blending atmospheric textures, dynamic compositions, and captivating storytelling.

Immersed in the encounters of Afro-Brazilian cultures and in the influences of yoga philosophy, Brazilian singer-songwriter Alvaro Lancellotti drew inspiration to create his new album: “Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné”. The songs merge the spiritual and musical realms as fundamental elements of its conception, yet remaining free from any fixed aesthetic. With a percussive strength connected to its sound, “Arruda, Alfazema e Guiné” was released by the American label Amor in Sound, led by Mario Caldato Jr. (Beastie Boys) and Samantha De Lucena-Caldato.

Alvaro Lancellotti is a multifaceted artist whose songs have been recorded by renowned artists such as Marcos Valle and Maria Rita. Among his collaborators are Rogê, Wado, Davi Moraes, his brother Domenico Lancellotti, and legendary artists spanning generations, such as Mateus Aleluia and his father, Ivor Lancellotti.

The Crippled Flower was a post-punk band from Düsseldorf - and they arrived late. However, unlike many young, unsuspecting, hairsprayed hopefuls from that time, in 1985 they could sense that the end of their era was approaching. They knew too much to want to take the world by storm. They were four individualists searching their own way. Each of the band members only found their calling after the time that they had spent together – but that's exactly what makes The Crippled Flower still seem really interesting today, this static energy that does not discharge, but is simply there.

Searching dreamers should sound like that and that's what they were. Singer Phil Elston, for example, had brought his love of Kraftwerk from England to Düsseldorf. Even his bandmates found this strange, but they were also entangled in their own longings. This is because the times were still so crazy and these searchers were "on fire". A fire that glows in the band's recordings.

Listening to the songs today, The Crippled Flower sound like they are hugely at the height of their game; think of Wire, Felt, Scritti Politti or Minimal Compact. The variety of musical themes, as well as different soundscapes, which the band created can only be listened to in amazement. Often, it is only Phil Elston's Sprechgesang that confirms that this is really the same band. However, it was back in 1985 when, importantly, the catalyst that brought the musicians together - the short lived eclectic record store "Heartbeat" in Düsseldorf Bilk - occured. It was there where post-industrial and pop, melodic minimal music and sound attacks awaited those who wanted to discover music by artists and bands they did not yet know.

Cassette releases. All recorded on 4-Track. The Crippled Flower succeeded in this medium. Firstly, with a cassette just entited The Crippled Flower, working from project-like studio recorded sketches. Four more tracks from the short-lived band appeared in 1986 on "A Heartbeat Rendezvous“. A demo tape submitted to Les Disques du Crépuscule, however, did not lead to a worldwide career and so, unfortunately, it was soon over.

Stefan Krausen moved on to the follow-up project Deux Baleines Blanches with Stefan Schneider, which, in 1994, gave rise to the band Kreidler. Krausen was already drumming with the I-Burnettes on AtaTak and much later he studied painting in Munich. Nina Ahlers moved from Düsseldorf to Paris to study art, because in the 80s it was still the case that Paris was the destination of choice for those really wanting to become an artist – and that's what she did. Her work is characterized by a non-academic minimalism focusing on everyday objects. Stefan Schneider remained connected to music. Only Phil Elston, who helped sabotage fox hunts in England and wrote these observant lyrics about environmental destruction and time travel, seems to have escaped the social-media world. Whether he found Kraftwerk-fulfilment in Düsseldorf or moved on disillusioned remains a mystery to us. And somehow this also fits in with that peculiar, special band. - Oliver Tepel, Köln 2025 (Translation by Philipp Elston)