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A wise character once reminded her to tread the heavy ground with light feet. After a whirlwind two years since moving back to Hong Kong and starting from scratch, Xiaolin has re-emerged from the depths of her studio stronger than ever with a second EP - her first vinyl release to date.

Inspired by the Tower card from the Tarot, Tower Moment EP is a cosmic journey through four stages of healing: darkness, acceptance, transformation and freedom.

The record begins with “Dark Night” (of the Soul), followed by the gentle comfort of “Safe With Me”, a nostalgic electro ballad. On Side B: a chuggy tune layered with textures and samples, “Lemuria”, transports listeners to a surreal land of self-discovery, while Blue Hour completes the experience with his anthemic “Elevator” remix.

With her signature mix of 909 kicks and 808 breaks blended with acid bass lines, subtle percussion and ethereal melodies, Xiaolin’s organic approach to techno and electro showcases her colourful palette and sensitivity as a musician, along with a love for jazz and warm synth sounds from the early 90’s era.

What does it mean to be a traveler in a fixed place? An adventurer in
domestic space? A troubadour in a confined microcosm, or a
constellation of microcosms—that is, a microcosmos? These are the
questions Nashville musician, songwriter, and published poet Lou Turner
(aka Lauren Turner, Styrofoam Winos) was reflecting on as she wrote her
luminous third solo album, Microcosmos
She says of the cosmic country record, "Musically, these songs are mostly in the
country/folk vein of the 70s songwriter but lyrically they're challenging some of
those tropes or totally subverting them altogether, talking about commitment and
love—the small microcosmic things that make up the fabric of everything."
With her warm and welcoming voice and nylon- stringed acoustic guitar
foregrounded over sparse yet playful arrangements, Microcosmos is a meditation
on what it means to privilege cultivation over consumption and to ponder larger
realities from within the shell of the fixed reality of a home. The reward is the
adventure to be found in stillness and observation, the discovery of the
otherworldly in earthly matter, the revelations of groundedness. Turner generously
offers up these wonders to the listener, sharing hers, and inviting us to find our
own.

Born in the heartland of Melbourne suburb Fitzroy, Steady Weather (comprised of scene stalwarts Ben Grayson and Tamil Rogeon) bring to light organic dance music from Melbourne"s rich neo-soul and jazz community.

‘Astro-Darien’ is a 26-minute sonic fiction about the break-up of Britain, narrated by synthetic Scottish voices and framed as an eponymous video game.

It is the second release on Hyperdub sub-label Flatlines; a dark green 10” in triple gatefold sleeve, with artwork by Kode9’s long-time collaborators Lawrence Lek and Optigram, presented as a limited edition of 500 copies. From a Caledonian heart of darkness to a supernova Scotia? The documentary fiction spirals between the role of the catastrophic Darien Scheme in the late 17th century in the founding of the UK, when Scotland failed to colonise part of present-day Panama, and the contemporary disintegration of the Union. In a somewhat wild extrapolation of the race to become the Scotland’s first vertical satellite launch station currently playing out between Sutherland Space Port and the Shetland Space Centre, independence is speculatively framed as an exercise of escapology, a jailbreak and exodus to an orbital space habitat, with all the risks and dangers that entails.The loose plot follows a game designer from the fictional ‘Trancestar North' company who, in attempting to lift the dark spell cast by Darien, models a counter-future by ingesting cosmism, the history of racial capitalism and the demise of Empire into T-Divine, the geopolitics simulator of the game engine. She follows the Brexit algorithm as it runs to its logical conclusion.Initially conceived as an audio essay for diffusion on François Bayle’s 50-speaker Acousmonium for INA-GRM in Paris in March 2020, but subsequently postponed by the pandemic, ‘Astro-Darien’ first surfaced as a three-screen A/V installation on the dance floor of Corsica Studios in June 2021, finally reaching the Acousmonium the following October. In July 2022, an instrumental rhythmic version entitled ‘Escapology’ was released on Hyperdub. A live A/V set relating to the ‘Astro-Darien’ game universe will debut at Unsound Festival in October 2022.

Having torn up raves for well over a decade, the Detroit duo Rickers and Ted Krisko AKA Ataxia present their debut longplayer ‘Out Of Step’. Featuring guest spots from close peers DJ Minx, Andrés and Mr Joshooa, they twist house, techno, electro, breakbeat and rave into revitalized new shapes; embellished with a touch of soul, funk and hip hop. With backgrounds in hardcore and punk, Ataxia’s debut is suffused with that energy, attitude, and approach; this is raw, lean and unashamedly no-nonsense dance floor tackle that goes straight for the jugular. Heavily analogue, the album experiments with tape saturation, which harks back to the duo’s formative years in bands, recording demos to cassettes. These straight-up, in-the-red tracks give preference to overdriven drum machines, rather than generic polished sheen, but conversely, it’s all deceptively well-crafted too; ‘Out Of Step’ is a standout record that’s big in character, bringing to mind the renegade spirit of Underground Resistance, and the bombastic brilliance of The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers.

Defiantly optimistic despite the state of the world, a “life is good” vocal sample meets minor chords sliding over 808 hats on the exemplary house/techno pumper ‘Detroit Gospel’, before a lighter moment on the album, but no less impactful with its hefty low-end thump, is ‘Pine Island’ featuring Motor City hero Andrés. Together they cook up a Motown-inspired house cut awash with horn swells and backup singers, bouncing to wide swung funk bass, in classic 313 style. ‘Language’ turns the club on its head – busting out one of the most distinct basslines in recent times, and bristling with buzzy, undulating chords, whilst ‘Maxia’ features influential Detroit royalty DJ Minx. Inspired by her classic ‘A Walk In The Park’, with a fat distorted kick and stealthy bass groove, this is low-slung, stripped-back, heads-down coolness. The high-tech funk of ‘Spit In Your Percolator’, is laser-guided in its efficiency, with a strobe-like, increasingly intensifying energy, peppered with clever, tripped up vocal chops. With the next cut, conveyor belt noises and fast churning low-end gives way to a dubbed-out breakdown, on the deep breakbeat roller ‘98 Degrees’. Charged with a blistering, rave intensity, ‘Number Streets’, is a futuristic distorted techno workout that booms through the subs, whilst ‘The Formulator’ mixes filtered snippets, abstract synth noises and melodic bleeps with a bassline echoing Paperclip People’s ‘The Floor’. Closer to the UK definition of hardcore, combining 4/4 and breakbeat, ‘The Pusher’ evokes the spirit of late 80s orbital raves, adding a natty keys solo, and deadly bass used sparingly, for even deadlier effect. ‘Feels Like’ sees Rickers and Ted team up their studiomate and fellow TV Lounge resident and club booker, Mister Joshooa. Inspired by Photek but also almost UKG in style, this breakbeat session is stamped with MJ’s signature chopped vocals and intricate rhythmic interplay. The bubbling, wobbly loose swing of ‘WM’ is constructed around a classic chopped-up MTV cribs sample, with a filtered vocal creating a far out psychedelic effect – all of which is propelled apace by a huge bruising LFO. The LP concludes in fine style with ‘Dance The Bridge’, where bouncy beats and wigged-out keys meet bright, gently uplifting synth chords that bring a clear-skied mood; ending the record as it began, on an optimistic note.

‘Out Of Step’ marks another chapter in the ongoing relationship between Life and Death co-founder DJ Tennis and Ataxia. Their connection goes back to the earliest days of the label, where they played gigs together on some of Tennis’ initial visits to Detroit. It’s a friendship that’s blossomed organically over the last decade through their shared love of punk and hardcore, and led to the fruition of one of Ataxia’s most compelling projects to date. Labels to release Ataxia’s output include legendary Detroit techno imprints Planet E and KMS, plus the seminal American house label Nervous Records. Their catalogue also includes music for Visionquest, Leftroom, 20/20 Vision and Seth Troxler’s Play It Say It.

After his latest ‘Youth EP’ that experimented with spacious vocal chops and whimsical soundscapes, Nocow returns with a relentless flurry of blows on the heavily computerized ‘Magnit EP’ released on npm. Featuring gloriously broken melodies and hard-hitting rhythm, Nocow explores the darker, more formulaic side to his sound. Brooding acid-infused synths shimmer across the four tracks, morphing between moods as the EP progresses. ‘Magnit S’ kicks off the EP with scattered bass hits, driving dark techno arpeggios, and a hint of footwork-esque percussion. The intense atmosphere is a relatively new direction for Nocow, straying from his more meticulous, introverted beats prior. ‘Kali’ incorporates warbled synth with a more subdued rhythm, playing with a modular sound and distant echoes of robotic vocals. This fragmented track is more akin to his 2018 sound of the Voda/Vozduh/Zemlya trilogy as the kinetics of sound play a strongly defined role in the overall sonics. ‘Sputnik’ commences with a blistering arpeggio of bit-crushed synth and chimes. The rocket-propelled pacing creates a frantic, yet ultimately controlled piece, worthy of a place in a club 300 years from now. Yet, after the frenzy comes the calm. The closing track ‘Extasy’ grinds the EP to a kaleidoscopic halt. Vocoder passages drift across the dense soundscape as Nocow transports you to an other-world, filled with spacey percussion. This closer is a well-deserved return to solid ground, following the perpetual trio of dark, yet utterly compelling techno pieces. Once again, Nocow exhibits his multi-faceted approach to electronic music that truly sets him apart.

The 6th release in the 'Foundations' series of classic House curated by DJ Spinna and Kai Alce, Sandee's 1988 masterpiece Notice Me joins seminal tunes from Ralph Rosario, Dreamer G, Cajmere, Chip E & K-Joy and Tyree Cooper to complement this amazing selection of hugely significant and killer heritage tracks. Written by Robert Clivilles and co-produced with David Cole (C+C Music Factory), the pedigree of Notice Me is seriously enhanced by the vocals of Latina singer and original member of the vocal group Exposè, Sandeé (Sandra Casañas) and the sound editing of long time Clivilles & Coles collaborator, the producer and percussionist Luis Rivera. Bass heavy and featuring a drum break that inspired so many great House cuts Notice Me was picked up by DJs of the calibre of Frankie Knuckles and Roman Ricardo on release in 1988. Notice Me became a dancefloor favourite at legendary clubs such as Tunnel and Palladium in New York City and the Riviera in Chicago , subsequently reaching number 9 in the Billboard Dance Charts in 1989. Tragically both Sandeé and David Cole died at far too early ages (46 and 32 respectively) but their places in the pantheon of House music history are assured as the vocalist and the co-producer of Notice Me. Indeed it is an era defining track and definitely a must have in your vinyl collection. A word about the Foundation Series from its curators: Kai:“Well my interest in 7”s is new. I have been a collector of 12”s all my life, House & Disco. Being inspired by JRocc after playing one of Discogs’ Crate Diggers events, my initial focus was on finding House 7”s which proved to be harder than I thought… Most were not available in 7” format & the popular ones that existed were quite rare. So now me and Spinna are trying to fill some of those empty spaces.” Spinna:“45 DJing has become a new excitement among vinyl DJs, but although endlessly repressed on other formats, a few classic house titles have simply never been pressed on 7” vinyl. We ran our ’45 wish list past BBE and the rest is history. When creating the edits we tried to imagine we worked for the original record label and were cutting the ‘radio edit’. The aim: to keep the heart of the track intact while reducing the length to fit the format.”

A muffled cry into the technological darkness, Contemporary Movement slid into the world right as the MP3 was seeping out of college dorms. A 39-minute drift into the void, drenched in Cold War-era reverb and then submerged in four track hiss for good measure. Duster constructed a Brutalist masterpiece on the outskirts of a suburban mall, as if to say, “We were here.”

“Music for dark spaces and closed eyelids, deeply psychedelic but without sprawl, ambient music with a serrated edge of punk.”—The Ringer

“Warm, fuzzed-out sounds that hit home like a tight, melancholic embrace from your favorite person.”—Vice

A muffled cry into the technological darkness, Contemporary Movement slid into the world right as the MP3 was seeping out of college dorms. A 39-minute drift into the void, drenched in Cold War-era reverb and then submerged in four track hiss for good measure. Duster constructed a Brutalist masterpiece on the outskirts of a suburban mall, as if to say, “We were here.”

“Music for dark spaces and closed eyelids, deeply psychedelic but without sprawl, ambient music with a serrated edge of punk.”—The Ringer

“Warm, fuzzed-out sounds that hit home like a tight, melancholic embrace from your favorite person.”—Vice

Best listened to from inside the womb, Duster’s 1998’s debut Stratosphere simultaneously capped off and reinvented the slow core’s first wave. A four track dreamscape that will wake the neighbors and then lull them back to sleep. Hazy, arpeggiated guitars layer over a deliberate drummer with no real place to be, as semi-inaudible vocals warn of millennial malaise and subtly encourage the listener to “rock out, rock out, rock out, rock out.

“Music for dark spaces and closed eyelids, deeply psychedelic but without sprawl, ambient music with a serrated edge of punk.”—The Ringer

“Warm, fuzzed-out sounds that hit home like a tight, melancholic embrace from your favorite person.”—Vice

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods. A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind.

Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet, before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood’s value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application.

Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood’s music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods, self-issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975.

Where Neighborhoods, a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood’s love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of “musical cinematography,” imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood’s extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world.

Since its formation in 2010, the Melt Trio has become one of the world's most innovative guitar trios in contemporary jazz. And way beyond. Stylistically speaking: If you like Tortoise, Khruangbin, but also Philip Catherine, Bad Plus or Marc Ribot, you can already look forward to one of the outstanding albums in November of this crisis-ridden year.

On their countless concerts and tours all over the world, the three Berliners have refined their special style more and more and show an even stronger will to create in details. Their combination of acoustic and electronic sounds seems more subtle and at the same time more powerful than ever, specific influences from jazz and classical modernism to post- and prog rock can at best be made out dimly, because the music simply sounds like Melt Trio. It is and remains a guitar trio that does without any comparison. "Melt is neither Nirvana on jazz, nor Bill Frisell Trio in rock, nor Massacre in ambient. Melt is Melt, unique, individual, gripping and moving," it was once said elsewhere.

In 1968, the future composer of "The Things of Life" (Les Choses de la Vie) seriously considered becoming a director. He wrote and shot "Florence", a short film influenced by the New Wave and composed its soundtrack, under the benevolent eye of Vladimir Cosma. The first spectators of the film are unanimous: failing to have seen a visionary cinematographic opus, they have discovered a real movie musician. From this first attempt, Philippe Sarde imposes his melodic talent on the picture and initiates his sense of counterpoint. This founding soundtrack, however, remained in the boxes for more than 50 years, before finding a place of choice on the B side of our album.

To open the ball, we offer you another forgotten score: the almost unused score of Loulou, Maurice Pialat’s cult classic. In 1980, the naturalist director planned to use original music to accompany the wanderings of his sublime love duo, played by Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert. He commissioned a bare, impressionistic score from Philippe Sarde, then changed his mind and kept only a


timid end credits. The meeting between the two giants of French cinema did however take place, as evidenced by the first side of this beautiful lp.

Jozef Van Wissem- Lute, Electronics, Beats, Electric Guitar, Found Bird Sounds. In 2013 van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive “. In December 2017 Jozef van Wissem was invited to perform the madrigal depicted in Caravaggio’s painting The Lute Player (1596) at the Hermitage museum of Saint Petersburg. In 2022 three of his works were used for in the soundtrack and trailer of Irma Vep (HBO). His completely unique musical world can be easily verified by his collaborations, especially that these relationships are also strengthening his own musical character. He worked together with Zola Jesus, Tilda Swinton, Jarboe as well as with his long-time collaborative partner, also his friend, Jim Jarmusch. “La Cinémathèque Française in Paris commissioned me to write and perform the score at the presentation of the restored version of Nosferatu. I was a bit overwhelmed by its success. It was sold out. I wasn’t going to repeat it. But people kept asking. In the beginning the soundtrack was more improvised and reactive to the images but after a few times the audience kind of showed me the way. To start with a few notes and building the score slowly to a dense slow metal ending. I found an old 7-inch single with recordings of extinct birds on a market, I electronically processed and added them to the score . “ Manipulating the sounds of electric guitar in alternate tuning he manages to create the feeling of fear, equal to the experience of the victims of Count Orlok. “To me Nosferatu personifies this Death Bird of the Plague. The Black Death depicted in the film offers a timeless parallel with contemporary society. The vampire Count Orlok infests the city with rats and people are infected with the plague. They must quarantaine. This provokes hysteria. Much like nowadays”. With a melodic almost medieval magic and mystery Jozef van Wissem has reignited the light through the filters of dark energy post punk and even black metal into a wondrous new melodramatic cinematic space…- John Robb (Louder Than War) Beginning with a solo played on the lute, his performance will incorporate electric guitar and distorted recordings of extinct birds, graduating from subtlety to gothic horror. – New York Times Delightfully macabre, intense and electrifying – MXDWN

Yellow and black splatter

While frontman Tom Greenhouse’s off-kilter observations and bizarro anecdotes remain front and centre, this time round the band up their game with a more vigorous sound that keeps pace with Greenhouse’s wholly distinctive lyrical style. Greenhouse continues to revel in telling increasingly surreal short stories, rejoicing in the power of the deadpan one-liner and bedecking his songs with far-flung cultural references. But now the band employ a variety of techniques with improved pro- duction, from the impulsively bashed keyboards and jubilantly repetitive guitar stabs that have be- come their trademark, to flirtations with–heaven forbid!–melody, chord progressions and arrangements which elevate their tried-and-tested blueprint into a more exciting and cohesive whole.

Opener Musicians is the perfect embodiment of this conscious development. Here, Greenhouse re- counts a sarcastic tale of half-truths that see him galavanting around town trying to put a band to- gether. Sonically, it begins with a caustic callback to the group’s first EP Crap Cardboard Pet and its über-minimalist aesthetic. But by the end of the song a joyous festival of afrobeat-inspired in- struments including samba whistles, bongos and saxophones are added to the mix as the front- man, ironically, fails in his mission to recruit more players.

With Get Unjaded, the band have somehow conjured something close to pop, without abandoning the repetition and wit that’s relished by their early fans. I Lost My Head also adopts a jangle-pop sheen with a luscious synth melody, as the frontman ditches the spoken-word for a surly croon (his first known attempt at actual singing!) that provides a welcome breather from the onslaught of dense recantations that are the band’s bread-and-butter.

While the lyrics here are still often humorous and political, Greenhouse has also notably expanded his interests on this album to include a new host of topics. The influence of extraterrestrials, for ex- ample, infiltrates the subject matter frequently. On The UFOs, the mysterious protagonist Blinkus Booth’s isolationist lifestyle is apparently interrupted by the spectres of otherworldly visitors, while closer The Neoprene Ravine feels like an extract from a deep space rock opera. Here, jaunty and angular instruments pile-on as we are fed images of an interstellar Spinal Tap, the titular fictional band “The Neoprene Ravine” who are “the alien equivalent of the Velvet Underground” and include an alien Lou Reed yelping “too busy sucking on my little green ding dong!”.

Meanwhile, Hard Rock Potato is propelled by a vortex of keys and synths, a real noise-pop gem comprised of real guitar chords (!) and rock-orientated riffs. Here the stream-of-consciousness lyrics take shots at the sinister financial industry, and include one of the many top-tier one-liners on the album: “It’s not gambling if you’re wearing a tie (even if you’ve got no trousers on)”.

On Sod’s Toastie, The Cool Greenhouse have pushed their distinctive flavour of post-punk to the point of perfection – their incongruous riffs, alchemical instrumental chemistry, and irreverent spo- ken-word vocals are a delight throughout. Sod’s Toastie is hilarious at times, and at others just hilariously good – a not-so-difficult second album.

What It Means To be Human is the second in a series of four albums from Jasper Høiby’s Planet B, featuring saxophonist Josh Arcoleo and drummer Marc Michel, that focus on global topics of vital importance - Humanity, Climate Change, Artificial intelligence and Monetary Reform. This album seeks connection. A connection between humanity and the planet, between the problems we all face and about an opportunistic optimism to fix them. The mastermind is Jasper Høiby, the esteemed and revered Danish bassist and the deeply reflective, expressive and visionary artist. Whilst there are many moments that display the virtuosity and hard-hitting grooves of Phronesis, the long-standing band that shot Jasper to the limelight, Planet B offers additional rewards of subtle expression. The music is captivating and highly absorbing, enhanced by soundscapes of electronics and interspersed with powerful, emotive speech by some unique and forward-thinking female minds including Grace Lee Boggs, Ruby Sales and Jane Goddall. They all share a profound understanding of the world, only achievable through practical wisdom, each offering their individual take on where we are as a species and what we can do to improve. At the heart of the album is the trio. A group of like-minded and creative souls where the focus is all about the collective sound. As a whole, the music is a powerful, mesmerising and poignant display of musicianship, integrity and storytelling. What it Means To Be Human is an album at the forefront of the creative European scene.

16)- return with their heaviest and most devastating record to date, Into Dust. The new album, a collection of cautionary tales of survival and redemption, is set to an amalgamation of sludge, punk, metal, hardcore, and stoner riffs, that could only be built through 30 years of commitment to their dark sonic craft, which -(16)- continues to improve upon. From the frantic opening of "Misfortune Teller" to the undeniable pounding and swagger of "Scrape the Rocks", Into Dust lives up to its name, as -(16)- beat the listener into submission through the lowest of ends and the sour, palpable malaise prevalent throughout the album's dozen tracks. "There's a story arc in the lyrics that start with an eviction notice served amid the ruins of Hurricane Irma in the Florida Keys, to running aground metaphorically and drowning in midlife, bearing witness to the modern suffering of hunger and poverty on the Mexico California border," guitarist and vocalist Bobby Ferry says. The negativity persists on tracks aptly titled "Null and Eternal Void", and the dizzying, pill-induced "The Floor Wins". Elsewhere, "Born on a Bar Stool" sends the listener off with a sobering album closer; ending on a foggy and rainy jazz-tinged San Francisco night, with an anti-drinking drinking song, proclaiming "Raise your glass all things pass".

"Most of this record was created in the shadow of COVID and deep in the maw of Melbourne’s 2020 long winter lockdown. It is a meditation on the nature of connection.

Restricted to a 5km zone, one of the only people I saw outside my family during this time was my old friend and teacher, Ania Walwicz. We met in the overlap between our zones on the waterfront near Docklands to walk and talk on bright, cool winter afternoons. Those conversations became large in my thoughts when Ania suddenly passed away in September. Her voice was in my head as I worked on this music, trawling through threads of ideas, recordings made on my phone, and thoughts jotted down in notebooks.

Ania’s practice as a writer relied on ‘automatic’ processes. Her work was informed by everything she had read (a lot) but it was created in the manner of dreams. In a state where the subconscious might bubble up and the words arrange themselves into meaning bearing forms that resonate more than represent. I thought a lot about that as I made this music. I recorded everyday using the trumpet, my old Revox reel-to-reel, a couple of synths, a harmonium I lent from a friend, and whatever else was around. I worked mostly on just diving a little deeper each time I sat down to it.

Through the simple process of exhalation, I explored my relationship with the trumpet, which has been through so many twists and turns. I let the tones produced by my breath unfurl on long tape loops and degrade beyond recognition through pedal and plugin chains, until the only imprint of the initial gesture remained.

My process also involved long bike rides during which I’d listen to the work of previous days on ear buds, gliding through familiar streets made slightly strange by the absence of people and movement. Often my rides took me along Footscray Rd next to the port, and as I washed down towards Docklands past the old boat moorings I stopped pedalling to coast. The sounds from my darkened studio mingled with the low rush of air past my helmet, the click and whirr of my bike gears, a squalling bird, a whooshing car. And I remembered my last conversation with Ania. Sitting in the late afternoon sun, squinting against the light that raked across the water, she was telling me about all the different words for they have for blue in Polish and Russian, and how words don’t just change our perception of things, but also actually change the thing being perceived.

As I rode home that afternoon, I felt like anything was possible. "

Peter Knight

Issued by Leo Fegin's visionary record label in 1993, this refreshed and revised reissue collection of Hungarian composer Tibor Szemző's chamber pieces with spoken text – composed at 1980s for the legendary GROUP 180 – is unlike anything else of its kind.

No one has survived life. Everyone has died from it so far. Man must realize that He is responsible for His own life and fate and must insist upon this responsibility beyond all limits. And since Man has dissociated Himself from the sphere of irrationality, He has no way of getting in touch with death, or of establishing control over it. How we achieve the final result is merely of secondary importance. If the vision is clear to everyone, there is no need at all to look back. In a time of complete mental disturbance, only one chance remains to us: crystal-clear thinking. This leads us back to total mental disturbance, which everyone has died from so far. (Pavel Havliček – Miklós Erdély – Tibor Hajas)

Text and Music | Language and Speech | Sound and Music

The common basis of the three works by Tibor Szemző heard on this album is the inalienable relationship to text – as an a priori principle. Text and music: the formal attributes of significance, intentions, and levels of meaning inherent in verbal communication as it is transformed into audible code. Language and speech: the structural level of communication, where it becomes purposeful expression, acoustic statements of variable modality. Vocalization as sublimation. Sound and music: By becoming an auditory signal, communication is deprived of its sense and reduced to musical articulation and abstraction.

Skullbase Fracture: Shards of reality – senseless, disconnected fragments of recorded “living speech” – simultaneously disintegrate and merge to create meaning through the musical process, while it is degraded and stylized to represent a single layer of the ambient noise one would hear in a hospitality setting.

Optimistic Lecture: The theses – like a practical, everyday user’s manual to cognitive tendencies and aims as they apply to the entirety of existence – convey their meaning through simplified rhythmic speech, galvanized into commands. As a counterpoint to recited prayers, they comprise a uniform soundscape.

The Sex Appeal of Death: The head-on simplicity of communication creates such extremely reductive musical interrelations that they cannibalize themselves in a necessary and inevitable fashion. And, in this manner, the text as well

Over the last ten years, The Lone Bellow have cast an indelible spell with their finespun songs of hard truth and redemptive beauty, faithfully delivered in hypnotic three-part harmony In a departure from their past work with elite producers like Aaron Dessner of The
National and eight- time Grammy- winner Dave Cobb, the Nashville- based trio
struck out on their own for their new album 'Love Songs for Losers', dreaming up
a singular sound encompassing everything from arena-ready rock anthems to the
gorgeously sprawling Americana tunes the band refers to as “little redneck
symphonies.” Recorded at the possibly haunted former home of the legendary
Roy Orbison, the result is an intimate meditation on the pain and joy and ineffable
wonder of being human, at turns profoundly heartbreaking and sublimely
transcendent.

Ron Carter and Richard Galliano decided to risk intercontinental
collaboration for the second time after 1990, when they recorded their
acclaimed album "Panamanhattan" in Paris
Here the French accordion master, whose fingers fly over the keyboard with
acrobatic ease and can make the instrument weep in melancholy or rejoice with
joy. There the American bass wonder, whose deeply tuned strings enhance more
than 2,500 (!) recordings and are among the cornerstones of the complete artistic
works of Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin,
Roberta Flack and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Two who have already gained hero
status in their own worlds and can actually only lose when they transgress into
each other's terrain. "Believe me, there is nothing more real than to go on stage
with a gambler," Carter raved about the refreshed liaison with his Gallic buddy.
The two rediscovered the once lost central thread in March 2016 at Jazz Week in
Burghausen as a short intermezzo during a joint appearance with the WDR Big
Band. The provisional climax was then the recording made in Theaterstu?bchen
in Kassel on October 29. Galliano recalled: "Before we got going, I said to him:
"Can you believe it? Twenty- seven years have passed, we are still the same and
I'm still playing the same accordion. To which Ron just responded: "And we have
still same fingers!" With these 20 nimble tools, the two protagonists of the
musical joint venture interact without fear of contact. Neither remains in his
accustomed position. Like two intrepid mountaineers, they balance over a
yawning abyss, perform daring maneuvers and clear the way for each other time
and again. The longer the intimate wanderings of subtle nuances and sensitive,
dancing elegance last, the greater the familiarity seems to be. "Richard really
seizes every rhythmic and harmonic chance," the American marveled about his
French partner. And he replies gallantly: "Ron still looks so young, fresh and
elegant like three decades ago. And he is still enthusiastic, straightforward and
comes straight to the point." An often thoughtlessly used image rarely fits better
than on this very special evening: Ron Carter and Richard Galliano create a
universal musical language, whose vocabulary consists of notes. Risk- free
enjoyment

Surging brass and organ-laden funk wonderment! Formed in 1967, Crow
combines gritty blues with nasty, hard-charging garage rock
Inspired by the likes of The Ventures and The Trashmen, Minnesota natives Harry
Nehls, Dick Wiegand, and Larry Wiegand combined forces with ex- Jokers Wild
members David Wagner and Dave Kink Middlemist. Originally known as South 40,
the band released two singles and one album, Live at Someplace Else, on
Metrobeat Records.
After winning a recording session with Columbia from a battle of the bands
contest in Des Moines, Iowa, the band recorded five demos: Evil Woman, Time to
Make a Turn, Busy Day, and White Eyes. Columbia didn't offer the band a contract,
but Dunwich signed the band.
To give their sound a more commercial appeal, Dunwich added horns to Evil
Woman without the band's knowledge- and it worked! Crow signed with Capitol
subsidiary Amaret Records after turning down Atlantic, hoping to be a big fish in a
small pond. Recording their first electrifying album, Crow Music, in 1969, Crow
delivered their very best. Before it was covered by Black Sabbath and Ike & Tina
Turner, their acclaimed single, Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me), hit
the Top 20 that Fall. Reminiscent of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Deep Purple, and
James Gang, Crow blends an alluring mix of soul, funk, blues, psychedelia, and
garage rock into one package. I'm sure you'll agree Crow Music is a holy grail of
heart-poundin', grease grindin' rock!

Surging brass and organ-laden funk wonderment! Formed in 1967, Crow
combines gritty blues with nasty, hard-charging garage rock
Inspired by the likes of The Ventures and The Trashmen, Minnesota natives Harry
Nehls, Dick Wiegand, and Larry Wiegand combined forces with ex- Jokers Wild
members David Wagner and Dave Kink Middlemist. Originally known as South 40,
the band released two singles and one album, Live at Someplace Else, on
Metrobeat Records.
After winning a recording session with Columbia from a battle of the bands
contest in Des Moines, Iowa, the band recorded five demos: Evil Woman, Time to
Make a Turn, Busy Day, and White Eyes. Columbia didn't offer the band a contract,
but Dunwich signed the band.
To give their sound a more commercial appeal, Dunwich added horns to Evil
Woman without the band's knowledge- and it worked! Crow signed with Capitol
subsidiary Amaret Records after turning down Atlantic, hoping to be a big fish in a
small pond. Recording their first electrifying album, Crow Music, in 1969, Crow
delivered their very best. Before it was covered by Black Sabbath and Ike & Tina
Turner, their acclaimed single, Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me), hit
the Top 20 that Fall. Reminiscent of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Deep Purple, and
James Gang, Crow blends an alluring mix of soul, funk, blues, psychedelia, and
garage rock into one package. I'm sure you'll agree Crow Music is a holy grail of
heart-poundin', grease grindin' rock!

Rare & unreleased 80's bangers from Sao Tome e Principe's most iconic singer !

Bongo Joe pursues their work with friend DJ Tom B and are sharing the fourth effort in their São Tomé & Principe series : “Recordar é viver”, the first volume of an anthology dedicated to the one and only Pedro Lima, , "A voz do povo de São Tomé" (the people's voice of Sao Tomé).

“Recordar é viver: Antologia Vol. 1” features some previously unreleased tracks and gives a comprehensive look into the discography of one of the islands’ biggest stars, known for his political outspokenness as much as for his soft voice, delicate rumbas, and high-energy puxas.

With his band Os Leonenses he built a brand new genre around the strong rhythms and infectious energy of Sao-Toméan Samba Socopé ("only with the feet” in Portuguese), but with the influence of Congolese soukous, Cape Verdean Coladeira, elements from French West-Indies Cadence/Compas, and Brazilian Afoxé, it soon developed into the infectiously danceable style known as “puxa”. The band kept playing together up until Pedro’s death in 2019, performing at large events around the islands and on the continent.

But Pedro shined also on his own. Alone, he demonstrated his compositional skills and ability to balance the band’s powerful rhythm section with São Tomé & Principe’s harmonic backing vocal traditions, creating strong, dance floor ready puxas or melodic, delicate rumbas.

Pedro Lima died in 2019, leaving behind the 23 children he fathered, with thousands of mourners accompanying him to his final resting place. The public funeral, paid for by ex-president Pinto da Costa, was one of the biggest the islands have ever seen. Lima, "O cantor do povo” (“The people’s singer”), was buried with his wireless microphone, so his powerful voice would always be heard.

cheerbleederz are so excited to share their debut album this year and
Alcopop! Records are too!
As the band explains: "It feels like a long time coming, as we started working on it
in lockdown in 2020, writing, rehearsing, and recording in the pockets of time
when we could. It further bonded us at a time where being creative and having a
collective output became more important than ever. These are our favourite batch
of songs yet - full of character, hope, energy, misery, introspection and rage, we
wanted to write complex songs that reflected our complex selves!"
"Tender, fastidiously-crafted indie...feels like Phoebe Bridgers, but a little more
hoppy" - Get Alternative
"Earnest and deeply full of integral substance...will leave you yearning for more" -
Noizze 8/10
"cheerbleederz are a vision of mutual respect, support and friendship" - Girl Gang
Leeds
"A perfect amalgam of punkier and poppier moments" - For The Rabbits
"Our new favourite band" - LOUD WOMEN
"Splendid" - God Is In The TV Zine
"Superb" - CLASH

HEAVENLY ALBUMS TO BE RE-ISSUED ON VINYL - STARTING WITH ‘HEAVENLY vs SATAN’. Heavenly released four albums in the early 1990s. Skep Wax Records are going to re-issue all four of them over a two year period. Classic black vinyl. The albums will include a 7” booklet with lyrics and new sleeve notes by the members of the band. Heavenly were one of the pioneers of indiepop. Formed from the smouldering ashes of Talulah Gosh, they took all that energy and attitude and used it to fuel catchy, infectious pop melodies. The influence of 60s girl groups was never far from the surface. This was girl-pop, but with the girls in control. Loved by many but derided as ‘twee’ by some, Heavenly ignored the increasingly macho environment of the contemporary UK scene and forged a separate path, along with other bands on the Sarah Records label. Later, having co-released their albums on K Records in Olympia, Heavenly toured the US, hooking up with bands in the embryonic riot grrrl scene. Heavenly’s quiet feminism became louder and more articulate, and the hostility of the UK music press became irrelevant. Heavenly came to an abrupt and tragic end when drummer Mathew Fletcher took his own life in 1996. After a year’s hiatus, the group reformed as the short-lived Marine Research, before going their separate ways musically. Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey currently play in The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound. Peter Momtchiloff plays in Would-Be-Goods and Tufthunter. HEAVENLY vs SATAN – THE FIRST LP. Recorded in the Oxfordshire countryside, the first Heavenly album was a bid to make a pure pop record. The punk noise of Talulah Gosh had exploded and expired. Amelia had had a go at making a disco hit (‘Can You Keep A Secret’, subsequently released on Fierce Recordings), which was fun, but wasn’t going to trouble the charts. Unbothered by critical or popular reactions, the new band decided to immerse themselves in the creation of a sweet, tuneful pop record. It’s true that the punk influences aren’t hard to discern (Mathew’s favourite band was The Ramones), but it’s Pete’s elegant guitar and Amelia’s melodies and multi-layered harmonies that win out on these recordings. The eight-track album was released as CD, LP and cassette by Sarah Records. Subsequent versions included a Danceteria LP and cassette (France), a Quattro CD (Japan) and a CD by K Records (US). These versions included various additional tracks from early 7” releases. The Skep Wax re-issue of ‘Heavenly vs Satan’ includes Heavenly’s first two Sarah Records singles – ‘I Fell In Love Last Night/Over And Over’ and ‘Our Love Is Heavenly/Wrap My Arms Around Him’. The vinyl reissue of second album ‘Le Jardin de Heavenly’ will follow in early summer 2023. ‘The Decline and Fall of Heavenly’ and ‘Operation Heavenly’ will arrive in 2024. Tracklisting 1 Cool Guitar Boy 2 Boyfriend Stays The Same 3 Lemonhead Boy 4 Shallow 5 Wish Me Gone 6 Don’t Be Fooled 7 It’s You 8 Stop Before You Say It 9 I Fell In Love Last Night 10 Over And Over 11 Our Love Is Heavenly 12 Wrap My Arms Around Him

Visitor Kane, a band always in search of new ground, has gone through some changes over the last 5 years. Releasing their first album “Easy Concern” as a two piece, an album that dove into new wave sounds, with synths, drum machines and a crooning voice, soon became a fully electrified band, transforming into a classic rock and roll outfit. Their second full length “Change of Heart” showcased a sonic turn. Drum machines and synths were replaced by acoustic guitars, old Casio organs and drums, making the album sound substantially different from its predecessor. Now after 4 years, they are ready for new adventures, and it comes in the form of a new album titled “At Issue” out on November 11th, 2022. The album is a humble look into different aspects of interaction within the boundaries of society. Patrick from Visitor Kane elaborates; “At issue is me trying to describe the world and its affairs through abstraction. It’s tough to understand so it seemed fitting to do so. It being hard to fathom means that it can come across as a bit pessimistic, although it’s something I try hard not to be, because there’s a bright side to almost anything. The title for me represents it very well with its dualistic nature. On one side it’s analogue as hell, but on the the other, it’s all about ones and zeroes...” ‘At Issue’ will be available on vinyl and digitally on November 11th via Part Time Records.

We, the label, asked Ben Wallers (ex-Country Teasers) to write a press release for his new album. "Press Release And Give Me The Disc as Peter said to Murphy said to Daniel said to Ash said to J said to the drummer subs please check name was it Martyn Atkins? No... scratch that please Roger, there's nothing funny about not knowing all the members of Bauhaus. Announcing the new album by The Rebel, yay! Wow! Fucking hell, great! How long is it this time? Oh it's getting on for the optimal 45 mins. Fit on side of a D90 but go bit wobbly near end of SA90. I am listening to my copy on vinyl record, it's much better than tape. That's the intro. Once upon a time there was a man/boy a sort of immature Peter's Pan type pan-pipe type who COULDNT WOULDNT grow up a bit like Keith Richards and who er where was i? The Vagina Museum is very near Maureen Paley's art gallery where if you hurry you can see some INCREDIBLY GOOD paintings/art. Anyway once upon a time it was february 2021 if that's last year or 2020 if it was the one before that, i've lost count, honestly this Covid thing is SO confusing isn't it? Anyway. Ducking fomestic crisis as usual reached boiling point again and i fucked off didn't i, did a runner, off to Turkey wiv a lih-ooh bih-uh ragarahn me ed, first of all 2 weeks on George's spare mattress, then 2 weeks in Merlin's magical tower, then a week in a fucking EasyJet Hotel with no windows, then at last my new exile retreat, Congreve Ho. Meanwhile Dad got me a new recording device the size of a VHS tape, the Tascam D-POO 8 S-E-X multitrack. Quality, oscar mike golf!! Urine for a surprise Listener/s! Ural b sayin "Y could ont he ov get 1 of these B4?" Well! Paid off the fuckin mortgage, didden Eye listenerz. Paid the fucking mortgage of. Dad said "Lets get you a reward Son! Anything name it!" Well i said ... can you fix it for me to touch Britney's hat? The one she wore for the Milkshake video. Great album. Recorded it in exile, from where i write this press release and give me the tape Kevin Haskins." And he did. Tracklist: 1. Nemo To Self 2. I’m Wok Inner Gdn.C 3. A Cretian Build-Up 4. Lays A Seamless Transition 5. A Bottle Of Timotei Hair-Shampoo 6. Long Way Off 7. Teulleodd Hapys (Dave 1) 8. I Aint Gonna Lie To Ya 1 9. Bisgeden Am Swper Eto (Dave 4) 10. Put Your Fucking Glasses On So You Can Fucking See 11. Happy Families (Dave 3) 12. Pyfgosycfs 2/Aquafauna 13. Dave Two Ukraine Nil 14. Nemo Self 2

The fifth release of the CiM re-issues is his debut EP for the deFocus-label dating back from 2000. With 'Service Pack' Simon Walley subtly moved away from the dancefloor, creating a pack full with ear tickling and mind twisting electronica. Pure bliss. Now re-mastered and re-cut on Delsin Records.

Stretch and enjoy a.k.a. The Last Ronin returns to AKO150 Arcade with two beautifully crafted jungle tracks.

Changeling VIP starts off with a rare groove rift with sound system samples that build up before the drop comes that will get you going on the dance floor.
Roll the dice is another track that rolls and keeps getting better as it goes along with pads, subs, brakes, and deep baseline with the iconic sample ‘roll a dice’ do you know what movie this is from?

After the Doble-Edged Album in 2019, Sublunar owner Sciahri is back on his own imprint with a brand new EP. Following the recent releases on Semantica, Non Series and Trauma, the Italian- Iranian artist continues his exploration into the multi-faceted sound of techno with highly refined and well-sculpted textures. The record fluctuates from the Birmingham Techno sounds of “Paralyzed” to the atmospheric tension of “The void”, to be subsequently transported to the more hypnotic and acidic “Pressure”, and closing with the paranoid and futuristic voices of “Lake of Snakes”. Design By – Margherita Baldi Mastered By – Neel w & p by Sciahri

Ever since he remixed Abimaro & The Free’s ‘Mark’ back in 2014, NuNorthern Soul boss Phil Cooper has kept in touch with Daniel Stenger, the producer and self-taught multi-instrumentalist behind the Flashbaxx project. Cooper was always convinced that Sanger would be capable of crafting a very special release for the label but was willing to give him time to come up with something special.

With Take Care My Friend, a mini-album inspired by the German producer’s deeply rooted love of jazz-funk, Stenger has repaid the faith shown in him. He’s deliv-ered a collection of quality cuts marked out by audible warmth, effortless musicality and memorable, sun-soaked songs.

As he makes clear in the liner notes included with the vinyl version of the mini album, the project began with the recording of luscious, Rhodes-laden opener ‘Al-right’. After staying up all night recording the track, Stenger not only decided to continue recording with the same relatively limited set of instruments (think bass and electric guitars, drums, piano, electric piano, organ, hand percussion and a handful of synthesizers), but also stick to a hybrid sound that added a subtle Lat-in shuffle to his Balearic-minded take on jazz, funk and soul fusion.

We’re biased of course, but there’s no denying that Stenger’s creative choices have resulted in a superb set of tracks. While the restricted kit list provided focus during the music-making process, there’s still plenty of musical variety across the six tracks that make up the set.

For proof, compare and contrast the jazzy, loose-limbed headiness of ‘It Just Happens’, where simmer-ing synth-strings, twinkling melodic motifs and glis-tening guitar licks rise above smooth jazz-funk bass and a gentle broken beat rhythm, and the slow-motion soul brilliance of ‘Strangers’, where Kathryn Kempf’s evocative and poignant lead vocals rise above a sump-tuous downtempo groove and heart-aching piano lines.

This subtly varied but musically coherent vibe contin-ues across the mini album. Stenger indulges in a bit of New York daydreaming on ‘Brooklyn Love Boat’, a wonderfully musically detailed chunk of 1970s style jazz-funk heat that offers knowing nods to Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock and the jazz-fusion stylings of Azymuth, before opting for a deeper, slower and even more seductive sound on the Hammond-sporting bliss of ‘Take Care My Friend’.

Closing cut ‘City Lights’, a gorgeous, soft-focus affair smothered in echoing Rhodes riffs and immersive chords, has the feel of an underground classic in wait-ing: a stirring, string-drenched future sing-along whose emotion-packed lyrics are delivered brilliantly by Glasgow-born singer/songwriter Chris Pookah.

Despite the song’s subject matter – the painful final breakdown of a relationship – there’s something strangely uplifting about the combination of Pookah’s pitch-perfect vocal delivery and the absorbing warmth of Stenger’s comforting and sonically detailed music. It provides a fittingly impressive finish to a mightily immersive mini album.

“24” is Minuit Machine’s 4th LP. Electronic masterpiece, subtle mix of dark wave, techno and electropop, “24” is both surprising and seductive. Authentic, emotional and powerful, “24” is a real immersion into Minuit machine’s dark, dystopian and futuristic world. Through this LP, Hélène and Amandine are facing all obstacles and disappointments life brings on their way. Each track is a self-affirmation, a rallying cry and an urge to live. The instrumental part is clearly marked and contributes to create the band’s unique sound. The strong beats are a call to dance while the synths, stabbing and emotional, will definitely move you. Finally, the deep basses give the tracks an “EBM” touch. Vocal lines are more pop, with less reverb. They are meant to obsess and stay in your head all day long. They were thought of as a 90's dance music chorus, but with feelings. As usual, the lyrics are very personal and describe several states of mind. Since their creation, Hélène and Amandine kept on reinventing themselves in order to translate their inner questioning and emotions into music. From this point of view, “24” could be Minuit Machine’s most accomplished work since each track sounds like a confession.

Introducing Jaisiel; The Canary Islands’ answer to Bacalao. After years modestly honing his craft in Madrid and Tenerife and re-appropriating forgotten dollar bin gems for his label Ears On Earth, Jaisiel has found a home on Antinote with his shimmering ‘On the Universe’ EP. Tinged with a late 80s sound are 3 tracks of convertible top down, shirts unbuttoned, neon glow dance music.

Opening the Maxi 12” is the ecstatic ‘Talk To Nature’ replete with chirps, coos and woofs. Its catchy melody a subtle nod to ATB’s seminal anthem 9PM (Till I Come) which was once quoted as sublimating sexuality with its “purring titillation”. There is an equally evocative fluidity to ‘Talk To Nature’ found in Jaisiel’s use of pitch bent guitar, climaxing snare rolls and pounding kick drum. However it’s all very lighthearted when compared to ‘Embrace The Unknown’ a driving and mystical track filled with vocoder commands, tinny drones and synth stabs whose accompanying pointed bass line makes this the perfect song for peak time transitions. Raving into the sunrise on the Carretera El Saler is ‘On The Universe’ a contemplative and melancholic closer. Still vibrating with residual dance NRG, the central vocoder breakdown beckons you to reach for trance, to consider The Universe, as it were.

What ties together this On The Universe EP is Jaisiel’s penchant to upcycle 80s and 90s trance dance sounds in a clear and fresh flavour, distinctly Spanish, while simultaneously using just-enough-cheese catch phrases without being too cliché or pastiche. Talk To Nature, Embrace The Unknown, On The Universe…

Begging the Moon is a collection focused upon an early-to-mid 20th century style of Thai popular song, commonly named Phleng Thai sakon (meaning "song which is both Thai and universal"). With recordings taken from the end of WWII until the start of the 1960s, many of these tracks may also be referred to as Luk krung (meaning "child of the city") a more urbanised style of popular song that is in contrast to the Thai country music known as Luk thung ("child of the field").

Following the Thai cultural revolution of the 1930s and the following reign of west-leaning premier Plaek Phibunsongkhram, Thai culture began to adopt more and more western influences - with Thai traditional and classical music starting to incorporate western notation and particularly Jazz-orientated themes. Thai folk melodies were also adapted to create "ramwong" - a merging of popular western dance music styles such as the tango or rumba, spear-headed at the time by the pioneering Suntaraporn band.

In the years following the end of WWII, the Phleng Thai sakon began to gradually develop sub-genres such as phleng talad (market songs) or phleng chiwit (life songs) focused on rural topics, and sung with rural accents. A little while later this would lead to a formal demarcation in the music - with the polished and western ballad-orientated music known as Luk krung, and the more traditional/country style now dubbed Luk thung. The gap between the two would then widen, both musically and culturally, right up to the present day.

The recordings compiled here can broadly be categorised as being in the former Luk krung style, though some tracks may touch on rural subjects and motifs. However that is not to say they are overpowered by western musical influence - many of these tracks display potent aspects of traditional Thai music within their beguiling and romantic arrangements.

Thanks to Peter Doolan/Monrakplengthai.

Beatservice Records are thrilled to present the hotly-anticipated third album from Oslo-based production maestro, Third Attempt. 'The Novel Sound' follows on from the widely acclaimed 'Beats From The Quarantine' album released in April 2021, and further compliments the young artist's deserved reputation as one of the dance underground's most exciting talents to emerge in recent years.

Third Attempt (aka Torje Fagertun Spilde) has been dazzling us with his far-reaching music since arriving in the Beatservice fold with 'Shoreline' back in 2018, and since then his ever-evolving repertoire has continued to serve up immaculate sonic surprises. The fast-rising 23-year old artist has wasted no time making his indelible mark, displaying a frenetic work rate alongside an impeccable ear for constructing compelling leftfield grooves.

'The Novel Sound' opens with the rolling deviance of 'Freak Out', where a dusty string sample makes way for vocal samples, scratches, and searing sirens permeating a bass-heavy groove, setting the tone magnificently for the music that's primed to unfold. Next, we arrive in the mid-tempo chug of 'Age Of Steam'. Evolving over a crisp, club-ready rhythm, heavy funk guitars, dancing keys and distant vocal stabs cascade over driving bass before soaring strings herald the arrival of a slick breakdown section. The icing on the cake arrives as bubbling acid joins sensational horn motifs, breaking down once again for a starry-eyed beatless passage that leaves us yearning for a reprise.

'My Girl' features amorous vocal samples hovering over an irresistible disco beat, with alluring rhythm guitars and dreamy e-piano chords setting the scene for rousing horns to blast off into blissful summer skies. Before we've found time to catch our breath, 'Nu Funk' arrives with snappy hip hop samples scratched over tight beats and a delectable bass guitar hook. The groove pauses for dubbed-out space delays to echo into the night before a singing lead guitar joins the rhythm elements to burst back into life, with flute motifs, elegant strings, and otherworldly sweeps elegantly meandering across the panorama.

Set over a groove that arrives like a cool summer breeze, 'Sunbeam Symphony' drifts over soul-soothing chords, weighted bass and slick, rolling beats. Hypnotic keys guide us into position as the drums build energy and the bass notes power us forward. Third Attempt's dextrous keyboard solo dazzles momentarily before subsiding for a dub-infused break, with spaced-out vocal chops and rising sweeps building tension before the groove resumes and the virtuoso solo once again majestically soars. Maintaining the sun-kissed meditations, 'Definite' effortlessly floats through waves of thick bass, funk guitar chops and elegantly fused samples, with seductive chords, hypnotic horns and laser-tight drums combining to create a near overpowering dream state.

The heavy trip-hop rhythms of 'Nightfall' enrapture the listener as rich chords discreetly beckon, with cascading congas, mysterious melodies and exotic refrains building before the glorious lead vocal appears like a hyper-luminous flash of light. The chords disappear into the nothingness, before the carefully selected sample of 'Working Man' drifts in to fill the empty space. Smokey drums soon arrive, joined by weighted bass, foggy chords and an enigmatic whistle lead, fusing to conjure a half-lit world lifted from the pages of an evocative film noir novel.

The enlivening tablas, glitchy effects and saucer-eyed sweeps of 'Greed' hide subliminal messages casting a knowing eye over the consumer-driven society and self-help culture that pervade our society, before we arrive at the album's charmed finale. 'Last Winter Of My Childhood' yet again manages to transport the listener into a gently hallucinatory realm, with drowsy bass notes, tripped out pads and emotive strings building to a profound and rush-inducing crescendo.

'The Novel Sound' once again sees Third Attempt dextrously merging expansive musical aesthetics that fuse trip-hop, funk, soul and disco to deliver a sound that – although endowed with vintage sensibilities – feels proudly up to date. Continuing his breathtaking development in dazzling style, the album feels destined to echo over blissed-out sunsets, back-room excursions and twilight skies for many years to come.

Available again. Note price increase. The contributions of the late Detroit producer James DeWitt Yancey –better known to the world as J Dilla to the world of hip-hop can't be overstated, and nowhere is his legacy more apparent than his work as a member of Slum Village. A founding member of the trio, (Alongside rappers T3 and Baatin) Dilla provided the group's distinctly esoteric, free-wheeling sound, built around winding basslines, quirky drumbeats, subtle low-end frequencies, and classic jazz & soul samples. Against the backdrop of Dilla's rich production, T3 and Baatin's free-flowing style of rhyming would also earn wide critical praise, leading to comparisons as the successors to A Tribe Called Quest. (A label they themselves have rejected.) It's on Slum Village's 1997 studio debut, Fan-Tas-Tic Vol. 1, that all these elements come together in the most proficient manner. An instant hit among Detroit's underground hip-hop scene, the album seemed to combine all the best elements of the reigning alternative and gangsta styles of hip-hop into one cohesive style that was a hit among critics. Fan-Tas-Tic's influence extended far beyond Detroit, as its sound heavily influenced the sounds of D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and The Roots just to name a few. (Roots drummer ?uestlove has even declared that: "Hands down this album birthed the neo-soul movement.") Ne'Astra Media Group now presents the album reissued on vinyl, for the first time in several years. Every wobbling bass note of J Dilla's production has been preserved and every freestyle line of T3 and Baatin has been re-created, to maintain the legacy of a late-90s rap classic, and the legend of one of hip-hop's greatest beatsmiths.

Repress !

Heavy 180g black vinyl. Expanded Edition w/ liner notes, obi tag & photographs. Sirio Ultra Black debossed sleeve. Half Speed Mastering) 25th anniversary audiophile edition. Sublime and perfectly produced cutting-edge ambient techno masterpiece made in 1996, an album as underrated as it is essential. A true timeless and unique classic that exists within its own genre and which still pushes the envelope of electronic music that transcends the club experience.

6 face-melting gurners for the 21st Century’s, wilted and jilted generation.

Glasgow’s Lady Neptune follows her New Gorbals Gabber cassette E.P. with her debut vinyl release NOZ. Over the course of 23 bloody fisted minutes, Lady Neptune’s – aka Moema Meade - hyper destructed take on Gabber and Happy Hardcore breaks down the genre tropes before rebuilding them as a new pop music. If 2020’s New Gorbals Gabber showed an artist building their own language from fragments of different genres, 2022’s NOZ goes harder into the cyberpunk-ass future and takes no prisoners. Recorded and mixed at Glasgow’s legendary Green Door Studios and mastered by Rashad Becker, here Lady Neptune evolves into a monster.

With the classic weapons of Dutch Gabber – distorted 909 kick drums, bursts of noise and world-eating Rave-O- Matic hoovering synth riffs, Lady Neptune’s 6 tracks constantly threaten to careen off the speaker into the sweatiest, most gibbering, messy corners of the club. The two years since her debut has seen Meade destroying festival dancefloors, training for the full assault that is NOZ. Live performances have seen foam guns, tequila-pistols, neon stage dancers and a full, maxed-out orgy of fast-as-hell BPM, rave music burning up the cones. The experience reaps rewards from the outset on recorded form here. APOCOLYPS begins with monstrous vocals and the all-consuming kick, pulled back and taut for launch. The arsenal builds; warbling synths and high-pitched synth-strings before dropping into Bald Terror-sized hoovers and stuttering 4/4s. It quickly bleeds into MASTERER, with a looped, pitched up vocal intersecting with the synth riff. The aesthetics might be Happy Hardcore but the dynamic feels like a synthetic, evil Nu Metal-influenced Industrial music. Constantly evolving and twisting with its own natural drama, the drop at 2:15 is pure ecstatic release. fusing Meade’s inclination for pop hooks with the first out-and-out 180BPM (ish, who’s counting?) anthemic melter of the E.P., TELL ME has THE big catchy chorus, used sparingly and sung by Meade with angelic devilishness, coming at you in waves of XTC. It’s a repeater.

It’s then massive fists in the air for the ruthless Side B opener WIT. In the Welsh-Brazilian artist’s adopted home of Glasgow it translates directly as WHAT!? Itt makes sense. g. Sharp, weaponised, rhythmic punishment abounds before OH responds. Pitched up vocals and another mid-frequency synth hook wipes the slate clean. Like the best Gabber, the tension and release dynamic is used to full effect by Meade, with the thunderous low end kick -expertly tweaked in the mastering by Rashad Becker – slipping into the ghostly cavern. Industrialized 4/4 and noise-snares propel onwards to be utterly squashed by that bloody synth, stinging and horribly brilliant. Proving her genius for a ridiculous A-N-T-H-E-M, TIME 2 MAKE U FEEL GOOD closes the 23 minutes of ragged, drugged glory with a festival-slamming chorus built from the wreckage. It’s a song that does that thing we all know and love but can’t put our finger on. Sad, happy, tragedy, ecstasy, joy, horror...There’s big, minor chord changes (yes there’s some CHORDS on this slammer), the kick is submerged in layers of pads and Meade’s actual secret weapon: her vocal and knack for writing a chorus line. In the listener’s mind it’s over before it’s begun, a track destined for the big rewind.

NOZ is a breathless, E-number riddled eternal ecstasy.