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Naibu is a well respected artist with 6 critically acclaimed solo albums and releases on prominent labels like
Creative Source, Soul:R, Hospital and Paradox Music

The album takes influences from dnb's greatests (Photek, Paradox…) blending them with flavours of electronica and experimental music. A unique combination of sounds that will please home listeners and DJs alike, with cuts like 'Martial' shaking dancefloors worldwide.

Record comes with fully printed inner sleeve featuring original artwork by Japanese artist Hitomi Ito
⁃ Only 200 copies worldwide

Following up on the success of 'Sans Soleil' on Minato Music, Naibu brings out 'Abandon', a new and intimate album that showcases his talent not only as producer but also as singer / songwriter.

Probably his most personal release to date, this is a project that brings opposites together and champions
experimentation. From classic d’n’b stylistic references in tracks like 'Concave' and 'Convex', to the soft minimal tones of 'Belong', the album steps into uncharted territory with 'Martial' and its military paced drums, a track that will leave a mark on any dancefloor.

Naibu’s music is supported by a wide range of DJs, from Fabio to Loxy, and is regularly featured on Laurent
Garnier's radio show

Viktoria Tolstoy, celebrated for her expressive voice, emotional storytelling and cross-genre artistry, seamlessly blends jazz, pop and original songs.
Her standout tracks ‘Autumn Breeze’ (4.6M streams) and ‘Calling You’ (6.5M streams) have reached millions of listeners worldwide.
Collaborations with top Scandinavian and European jazz artists, including Nils Landgren and Esbjörn Svensson, have positioned Viktoria as one of the leading female voices in European jazz.
Jacob Karlzon, renowned Swedish pianist and composer, is recognized for his virtuosic technique, cinematic soundscapes and inventive harmonic language.
Their collaboration began in the mid-1990s, forming one of the most enduring and successful partnerships in Scandinavian jazz.
Their music bridges Nordic lyricism and modern jazz sophistication, appealing to both jazz and a wider crossover audience. A trusted name on the European scene, they continue to tour internationally and attract strong streaming and media presence.
Their new duo album reflects and renews that bond - an intimate conversation shaped by time, friendship, and change. The world has shifted since their last recording and so have they. Yet their shared musical language endures - evolving, deepening, and gathering new shades of emotion. There is a rare ease between them: two Artists who no longer need to explain, only to listen and respond.
The result is music that feels unforced, sincere and alive - born of trust and the courage to explore the unknown. In the end, it’s the simple beauty of reunion: two musicians meeting again, with everything they’ve lived and everything still to discover

The journey through French-speaking pop archives continues with this fifth volume, packed with fuzz, gimmicks, and dissent. Far from the charts, the selected tracks display a great creative freedom, often backed by corrosive humor. Welcome to the surprising, kaleidoscopic, and colorful world of the late sixties and early seventies, Wizzz!
Born in Montauban, Robert Pico stumbled into music by chance when he met René Vaneste, then artistic director at Pathé-Marconi. René brought him to Paris to record his first 45 RPM EP in 1964. A year later, Pierre Perret introduced him to Vogue, where he recorded his second album with Claude Nougaro’s orchestra. Sylvie Vartan then introduced him to RCA, where he recorded four singles, including the astonishing "Chien Fidèle," a track backed by a hair-rising fuzz guitar. Alongside his solo career, he also composed for other artists like Alain Delon (the song was recorded but remains unreleased), Magali Noël, Bourvil, and Georges Guétary. In the Paris of the sixties, he mingled with Mireille Darc, Elsa Martinelli, Marie Laforêt, France Gall, Françoise Hardy, Petula Clark, Régine, Dani, Serge Gainsbourg, Joe Dassin, Franck Fernandel, Charles Level, and Roland Vincent. Despite his efforts and winning a Grand Prix Sacem for his final record, Robert Pico didn’t achieve the expected success in show business and decided to leave Paris and return to the Southwest, where he devoted himself to writing. He is the author of 23 books (including Delon et Compagnie, Jean-Marc Savary Editions 2025, a memoir about his youth and his many encounters). Today, he is relieved to never have become a celebrity and devotes himself to his work with passion.
In 1969, the Franco-Italian movie Erotissimo was released, directed by Gérard Pirès (who later directed Taxi in 1998, written and produced by Luc Besson). This pop comedy features Annie Girardot, Jean Yanne, Francis Blanche, Serge Gainsbourg, Nicole Croisille, Jacques Martin, and Patrick Topaloff. The soundtrack was written by Michel Polnareff and William Sheller, with lyrics by Jean-Lou Dabadie. "La Femme Faux-cils," performed by Annie Girardot. It recounts the feelings of a rich CEO's wife who seeks to develop her sex appeal under the influence of advertisement and magazines. Groovy, sparkling and light, this track, with ITS lush arrangements humorously critiques consumer society and feminine beauty standards.
“Je suis l’Etat” (1967) is the flagship track of the first EP by singer-songwriter Spauv Georges, aka Georges Larriaga, better known as Jim Larriaga (1941-2022). Born into a family of bakers, the young man was initially planning to become a hairdresser when he discovered English-speaking music through Elvis Presley and the Beatles. After this revelation, he decided he would become a songwriter and gave himself five years to succeed. He recorded his first two EP’s independently for RCA under the pseudonym Spauv Georges; meaning “that poor George”, a nickname given to him by the mother of her friend Jean-Pierre Prévotat (future drummer of the Players, Triangle, or Johnny Hallyday). Portraying a depressed and eccentric young man, Spauv Georges created corrosive and amusing songs that didn’t reach a wide audience, despite a TV appearance with Jean-Christophe Averty.
Supported by his loyal friend and fellow songwriter Jean-Max Rivière, Georges Larriaga met the future singer Carlos in the early '70s, then Sylvie Vartan’s assistant. He wrote songs for Carlos, including the popular "La vie est belle," "Y’a des indiens partout," and "La cantine", which went onto become a huge hit in 1972. He also composed for Claude François (“Anne-Marie”, 1971), Charlotte Julian (“Fleur de province”, 1972), helped launch child singer Roméo (who sold 4 million records), and later wrote the hit "Pas besoin d’éducation sexuelle" (1975) for the young Julie Bataille. In 1971, Jim recorded an album for Disc'Az: “L’univers étrange et fou de Jim Larriaga”, which featured pop gems like “La maison de mon père”.
The story of the song "Zoé" began when Pierre Dorsay, artistic director at Vogue Records, asked Swiss singer and musician Pierre Alain to write a song for a new female singer. The inspiration came when he realized that Zoé (the artist's name) was also the name of France's first atomic battery, created in 1948, which consisted of uranium oxide immersed in heavy water! The lyrics reflect a bubbling energy that must be handled with caution, while the instrumentation echoes this atomic theme, notably with the use of a theremin.
Zoé’s career lasted only as long as a single 45 RPM, but it seems Christine Fontane was the vocalist behind this pseudonym, who is known for several EPs, a good "popcorn" album in 1964, and a handful of children’s singles in the '70s. Regardless, the photograph on the cover is of a different girl entirely.
Later, Pierre Alain continued his career, writing songs for himself, Marie Laforêt, Danièle Licari, Alice Dona, Arlette Zola (3rd place in Eurovision 1982), and achieving multiple gold and platinum records in Canada. Also an inventor with several patents, president of the Romande Academy, and head of the French Alliance in Geneva, he now composes atonal music, books, and poetry. Moreover, he is also the host of "Les Mardis de Pierre Alain" at "Le P'tit Music'Hohl" in Geneva.
Filled with oriental choruses and fuzz guitar, "Fou" is from Jacques Da Sylva's only EP released by Vogue in 1967. Despite the quality of this recording, all traces of this singer disappear after this first effort.
Valentin is a baroque pop singer born in Belgium. He is the songwriter and composer of most of the tracks on his three singles released in the late 60s in Canada. A legend says that he reincarnated himself as Jacky Valentin during the 1970s for a rock'n'roll revival career in Belgium, but his older brother sadly debunked this story. Valentin's first two singles were arranged by Claude Rogen, a Parisian session pianist who had come to Canada to promote the song “Mister A Gogo”, a cover of David Bowie’s “Laughing Gnome”, adapted by singer Delphine, his wife at the time. Far from his usual network, Claude Rogen arranged music for Polydor, including the arrangements for “Je suis un vagabond” in 1969, a jerk tune with string arrangements and a furious optimism.
Jacques Malia wrote, composed, and recorded his only 45 EP for Festival in 1966. “Histoire de gitan” is an incredible beat track with bohemian scat that tells the story of a gypsy musician who came to Paris to make it in the Music-Hall, to no avail. The hero of the song and its author probably shared a similar fate, as Jacques Malia faded into anonymity after this remarkable attempt.
Bernard Jamet recorded two EPs for Barclay in the late sixties and co-wrote several songs with Christine Pilzer, Pascal Danel, and prolific songwriters Michel Delancray and Mya Simile. The track “Raison Légale” (1968), his masterpiece, immerses the listener in a courtroom right when a murderer is being judged, with jerk rhythm and free arrangements. A unique, paranoid, judicial, and psychedelic oddity.
Jean-Pierre Lebrot-Millers started his career in show business in 1967 as a singer and songwriter for the Philips label. After three singles, he wrote several songs of a new kind with his friend Pierre Halioche, in the midst of the sexual liberation movement and the democratization of drugs. With provocative lyrics, “Les filles du hasard” and “Barbara au Chapeau Rose” were released on a Philips singles in 1968. The character of Barbara was inspired by a queen of Parisian nightlife during the psychedelic years: model Charlotte Martin, who dated Eric Clapton from 1965 to 1968, then Jimmy Page from 1970 to 1983. Jean-Claude Petit’s arrangements, with a table-filled intro, soul brass, and Hendrixian guitar, emphasize the flamboyance of a hedonistic and sexy character, whose dog is named Junkie because “Junkie est un nom exquis”! The track was recorded live in three takes with a full orchestra.
Upon its release, the record was censored by Europe 1 and RTL due to its references to drug use. Jean-Pierre Lebrot was then banned from the airwaves and later dismissed by his record label. He changed his artist name to Jean-Pierre Millers, while his companion Pierre Halioche became D. Dolby for a new dreamy composition, “Chilla”, which Jean-Pierre produced himself with arrangements by Jean Musy. Once again, the song was immediately censored everywhere. After this setback, he decided to stop singing and started taking on odd jobs to support his Swedish wife and their son until the day he met Jean-Pierre Martin, then production manager at Decca, who had worked with Manu Dibango. Martin offered Jean-Pierre Lebrot-Millers, then employed at Rank Xerox, the position of artistic director at Decca. He accepted and became, a year later, promotion director (radio, press, TV). He worked on Julio Iglesias’s first album for Decca, which became a massive hit and allowed him to meet Claude Carrère. The latter asked him to write new songs and find their performers, much like a “talent scout.” It’s through him that Jean-Pierre discovered Julie Pietri and Corinne Hermès. He composed “Ma Pompadour” for Ringo, Sheila’s husband, and took the microphone again for the syncope hit “Rendez-Vous” in 1982.
That same year, Jean-Pierre Lebrot-Millers tried to release a track for which he had heavily gone into debt: “Si la vie est un cadeau”. Having recorded it in London, he presented it to numerous professionals, all of whom refused to get involved. The same thing happened with Antenne 2 and the Sacem when he proposed the song as France’s entry for Eurovision. He then met Haïm Saban, who was producing cartoon soundtracks and had just launched the Goldorak theme song. Saban, having listened to the song, declared it had the potential to become a hit. He sent Jean-Pierre and Corinne Hermès to meet the CEO of the Luxembourg radio and television network. The latter received them, asked to hear a verse and chorus a cappella in his office, and immediately hired them to represent Luxembourg at Eurovision 1983. They reworked the arrangements and recorded a new version with Haïm Saban as co-producer. The song ended up winning Eurovision 1983, a great comeback for our hero. He continued producing and hung out with the band Nacash in Belgium when a couple came to introduce their daughter for an impromptu audition in a hotel room. The girl sang “Les démons de minuit” while dancing to a radio cassette. Impressed, he had her take singing lessons for a year and composed a song for her (for which he had the melody and title, but no lyrics). This required him to go on the hunt for a lyricist, who ended up being Guy Carlier. They recorded the song, which was initially a ballad, at Bernard Estardy’s CBE studio, and gave the singer a new name: Melody. They showed the song around their industry network without success. Later, Estardy called Jean-Pierre to suggest changing the rhythm and making it pop-rock. Orlando, Dalida’s brother, liked the result and decided to co-produce the track. “Y’a pas que les grands qui rêvent » became a classic hit. The song has since been covered by Juliette Armanet (as a ballad, like the original) and Valentina.

Born into an aristocratic Breton family, Hervé Mettais-Cartier worked as a DJ at Queen Kiss, a nightclub in Poitiers, where he formed the band Les Concentrés with Michel (an actor) and Christian (a radio technician). Together, they created a repertoire of whimsical songs (“Ma bique est morte”, “J’suis un salaud”, “Fils de dégénéré”...) that they performed on stage dressed in white (in homage to “concentrated milk”). They performed at Bliboquet and Olympia in 1968 for the 10th edition of the “Relais de la chanson Française” organized by L’Humanité-Dimanche and Nous les Garçons et les Filles, sponsored by Pepsi Cola. Winners in the author-composer category, alongside Danish singer Dorte, their visibility allowed them to record a 45, and appear on television in Jean-Christophe Averty’s show. The A-side of the disc features Bruno le ravageur, a casatchok dedicated to Bruno Caquatrix, the director of Olympia, nicknamed in the song “Coq Atroce” or “croque-actrices”. The B-side is dedicated to “Fils de dégénéré”, a quirky tribute to Hervé's aristocratic roots, mixing absurdity with sophisticated vocal harmonies.
After Les Concentrés, Hervé Mettais-Cartier formed the duo La Paire et sa Bêtise with his friend Olivier Robert. They performed in Parisian cabarets and toured with Pierre Vassiliu. In the late 1970s, Hervé began a solo career. He recorded two albums for the Motors label in 1978 and 1979, which did not achieve their anticipated success due to lack of promotion. In 1980, he met Bernadette, with whom he started a family and created a “Chansons à voir” (songs to see) show that he performed until his death at the end of 2024.

Publicité comes from the final EP by the Missiles (Ducretet Thomson, 1966), a disc that also includes “La (nouvelle) guerre de cent ans”, featured on Volume 4 of our Wizzz! series. Please refer to the booklet for the story of the band.

“He’s 1.82 meters tall, 28 years old, weighs 135 kg, is black and Belgian”: this is the description of singer Hegesippe on the back of his sole single (Decca, 1967). He appears on the album cover wearing a Greek toga, like a hippie gag – we are at the end of the year 1967. In “Le crédo d’Hegesippe”, this former bodyguard of Antoine and the Charlots plays the delightful card of the thick brute converted to Flower-Power and non-violence, with arrangements by Jean-Daniel Mercier, aka Paul Mille.
“Ethéro-disco” was released on a promotional record for clients of the Maréchal company (Liège, Belgium) for the New Year 1979. Over a funky rhythm, celebrity impersonations (Brigitte Bardot, Jacques Dutronc, Fernandel…) deliver an enigmatic text about pharmaceutical products like ether, bismuth, and aspartate. The track was composed by Dan Sarravah (responsible for Joanna's “Hold-up inusité” featured on Wizzz! Volume 3) and Tony Talado, who was also a singer (one 45 in 1967), songwriter (with over a dozen credits between 1964 and 1985 in various styles from surf music to disco), author (Devenez Végétarien, Dricot Editions, 1985), ad designer, and psychologist.

Décollez-les is on the A-side of Mamlouk's only single, a pseudonym for Marsel Hurten, who is known for his work on several EPs in the late sixties, as well as composing music for Hervé Vilard’s “Capri, c’est fini”, Claude Channes' “La Haine”, Annie Philippe’s “On m’a toujours dit”, and Nancy Holloway’s “Panne de Cœur”.
This strange song, with Afrobeat horns and absurd dialogues between a chef and his kitchen staff, is the result of a collaboration between Marsel Hurten and one of his neighbors, a photographer from Pavillon-sous-Bois (93), where the musician settled after returning from the Algerian War. A music video was shot to promote the record.
Marsel Hurten was born in Tourcoing (59) into a musical family. At a young age, he joined the brass band founded by his grandfather, playing the piston before studying trumpet at the conservatory, as well as teaching himself how to play the guitar. As an orchestra musician, he toured in France, Belgium, Germany, and England. He released a series of solo 45’s between 1965 and 1968 for the DMF and Az labels before stopping recording to focus on working for other artists (Gilles Olivier, Noëlle Cordier…).
“L’amour nu” (Vogue, 1971) is the work of the short-lived Belgian band Mozaïque. The track, written by singer Jacques Albin, closely resembles another of his compositions, “Carré Blanc”, which he recorded in 1969 for Disc’AZ.
Represented by the Lumi Son micro-label based in Marignane (Côte d'Azur), Jean-Marc Garrigues released two 45 RPMs in the late sixties, defending the French jerk sound. The song “Je dis Non” is a short, joyful ode to youth, pop music, and rebellion.
Songwriter and performer Jacques Penuel released three singles. The first one, “Astronef 328” (Fontana, 1969), features a dizzying series of chords punctuated by sound effects, a sci-fi story, and arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier.

We would like to sincerely thank Pierre Alain, Moon Blaha, Marsel Hurten, Bastien Larriaga, Jean-Pierre Lebrot-Millers, Bernadette Mettais-Cartier, Robert Pico, Olivier Robert, Claude Rogen, Micky Segura.

Not of This Earth is the first studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani. Originally released in 1986, this all-instrumental album was making ripples in the guitar-playing community not long after it was issued. It’s easy to see why: superior compositions, a signature style, a unique tone, and playing that’s out of this world. The fiery sound of “Not of This Earth” and “Hordes of Locusts” is tempered by the cool, dark tone of “Driving at Night”. There isn’t a weak track on this disc, even though the world’s most commercially successful solo guitar performer was still maturing when he released it.

Available as a limited edition of 1500 numbered copies on transparent blue vinyl.

Focusing on their craft, staying out of the fray and
holding fast their faith to find new ways to express the
discord and delight of being alive, to turn the duality of
existence into hymns we can share, Low present ‘HEY
WHAT’.
These ten pieces - each built around their own
instantaneous, undeniable hook - are turbocharged by
the vivid textures that surround them. The ineffable,
familiar harmonies of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker
break through the chaos like a life raft.
Layers of distorted sound accrete with each new verse
- building, breaking, colossal then restrained, a solemn
vow only whispered. There will be time to unravel and
attribute meaning to the music and art of these times
but the creative moment looks forward, with teeth.
‘HEY WHAT’ is Low's thirteenth full-length release in
twenty-seven years, and their third with producer BJ
Burton.
Low’s 2018 album ‘Double Negative’ was a critical and
commercial success (including 8.7 / Best New Music
at Pitchfork), introducing new noise / experimentalbased textures and pop elements to their sound and
revitalizing their fanbase.
Founded in 1993, Low are influential pioneers of
minimalist, artful indie-rock.
Low’s track ‘Congregation’ was recently featured in an
episode of FX’s Devs.

Noctourniquet And then everything went black, at least for a while, at least for The Mars Volta. In the months and years following their fifth full-length, Octahedron, Omar kept on at his usual fearsome creative pace. In fact, he ramped up his output considerably, starting up his own Rodriguez Lopez Productions label and releasing a slew of solo albums. It was a practice he’d begun shortly after De-Loused’s release, with his solo debut A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume One, but as the decade reached its close, Omar grew to rely upon his solo recordings as an outlet for his prolific creativity, these albums often exploring musical pastures far beyond even The Mars Volta’s wide-ranging parameters. Before choosing to release music under his own name, Omar would always play it to Cedric first, to see if the frontman thought it had potential to become Mars Volta music. Shortly after Octahedron’s completion, Cedric flagged one batch of tracks Omar had cut with Deantoni Parks, a brilliant drummer and composer who’d briefly occupied the Mars Volta drumstool in-between Jon Theodore and Thomas Pridgen’s tenures, and whose volcanic creativity and unique, unpredictable approach to rhythm and composition had quickly made him one of Omar’s favourite artistic foils.

As with the music that made up Octahedron, the new tracks Cedric had optioned for The Mars Volta often veered far from the riotous, Grand Guignol visions of their earlier releases. It possessed the punchy, song-based focus of Octahedron, though this was a considerably darker, more menacing strain of pop, with synthesisers figuring heavily in the productions. Cedric took the tracks in 2009 and set about writing songs to the music. But no more new Mars Volta music would be heard until 2012. The years that passed in-between were nonetheless momentous, and busy, witnessing an unexpected reunion of the members of At The Drive-In, and Cedric joining his own side-project, Anywhere. But there wasn’t any sign of life within the Mars Volta until Omar, Cedric and their bandmates took to the road for a series of live shows in the spring of 2011, billed as The Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Group, debuting the songs that would become Noctourniquet. The album followed the next year, and it remains one of The Mars Volta’s finest, its electronic textures staking out unfamiliar but fertile new ground.

An unsettling, subtly turbulent listen, Noctourniquet found Cedric sketching out a story about “some sort of device that stops the darkness from bleeding”, drawing influence variously from the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy, the Greek myth of Hyacinthus and the song Birth, School, Work, Death by British underground rockers The Godfathers. It was an album of dystopian futurism, signalled by the paranoid cyber-rock of opener The Whip Hand and its unnerving chorus, “That’s when I disconnect from you”. But it was also an album of inspired, unexpected moves and uncanny invention, like how Dyslexicon seemed to eerily evoke Blondie’s Rapture, before rushing headlong into its bruising chorus, tempos shifting restlessly throughout like quaking earth beneath the listener’s feet, or how Aegis put a brave new spin on The Mars Volta’s trademark rewiring of salsa’s overdriven passions, or how Cedric had never sounded as scary as he did on The Malkin Jewel’s mutant burlesque shuffle. Tracks like Molochwalker were sleek and concise in a way The Mars Volta had never really attempted before – which was all part of Omar’s plan.

“It had all been guitar, guitar, guitar, overdubs, everything fighting for space in the same frequency,” he explains. “So for Noctourniquet, it was all about subtracting elements, of sticking to how I made demos.” Deantoni’s presence helped revivify the group, playing against cliché and expectation, and taking each song in unexpected directions. “I’d beatbox a rhythm for him to play, to go with my guitar part, and he’d come back with three or four alternate options. It was so great.” Similarly, Cedric had never sung better than on Noctourniquet, staking out a fearsome spectrum from the chilling Tom Waitsian growl of The Malkin Jewel to the keening, beautiful vocalisation on Vedamalady, rising to match some of Omar’s most deft, most immediately effective and melodic songs yet. Indeed, Noctourniquet is the sound of a band discovering new ways to do familiar things, renewing their commitment to their mission, finding fresh inspiration a decade in, and shaking off any complacency that might have come with ten years of acclaim and success.

Following their successful comeback, they dropped another album featuring a variety of country and pop songs, as well as covers of artists such as Jimmy Cliff and Randy Newman. The album is a stylistic follow- up to No Regrets , where the group blends their pop songs with romantic orchestral arrangements. The singles "Lines" and "We're All Alone" became firm favourites with fans, and the album is widely regarded as a hidden gem among fans of country pop and yacht rock

Although they emerged from Melbourne bayside outer suburbs onto the local live scene with their fresh and spirited indie-rock update of the garage-beat sounds of The Easybeats, Kinks and early Beatles only a year or so ago, Gnome actually started out as a bedroom solo project for teenaged singer/songwriter/ guitarist Jay Millar a few years back. Jay, playing everything himself, started recording and releasing a steady succession of material - quite a few albums' worth - on his own Goblin Records label via Bandcamp. Realizing he needed a band to start playing out, Jay approached some like minded players from Frankston's rehearsal hub Singing Bird, and with Jay on lead vocals and lead guitar, Ned Capp on guitar, Olly Katsianis on bass, and Ethan Robins on drums, Gnome became a band.

Early in 2025, the last solo Jay recordings released under the Gnome name caused something of an international underground sensation when the Bandcamp only I Like It EP - four songs of kranked up Kinks-style mono riffage - was posted by a Spanish garage-punk YouTube page and quickly clocked up over 50,000 views.



At the same time, the band quickly began gaining attention on the thriving Frankston scene and around Melbourne. They started breaking out, sharing bills with the likes of Drunk Mums, Skegss, Split System, The Prize, The Unknowns, Cosmic Psychos, Hockey Dad, Guitar Wolf, The 5.6.7.8's, The Breadmakers, Loose Lips, fellow Frankstoners/Singing Bird alumni The Belair Lip Bombs, and, on a quick trip to Sydney, Cammy Cautious & The Wrestlers.

And now, finally, we have The Gnomes' debut album. Twelve killer tracks that combine the best of the '60s with the best of today. Twelve killer tracks that show off assertive and accomplished songwriting, singing and playing and an explosive and authentic swinging group sound. Twelve killers slices of raw rock'n'roll running the gamut from the savage Rhythm & Blues of "Play With You" and “Better With You” to the vibrant beat pop of "I'll Be There" and "I'm Not The One", with forays into the heavy reverb psych of "Stung", the Cavern/Star Club stylings of "Flippin' Stomp" and the first flyte jangle of "Time Will Tell" along the way. There’s more of course, including a new version of that Kinks-style kranker “I Like It” for good measure.

Frankston’s Fab Four are taking their sound to the world. Join them for the ride!

Back in 2002 British producers Fingaz and Skillz teamed up to create a project showcasing the current state of London’s R&B and hip-hop artists. In collaboration with different artists, they produced the compilation Big Brovaz Watching You, which led to the eventual formation of the group Big Brovaz. The group was referred to as a softer version of the So Solid Crew. The group enjoyed huge success, particularly with their debut album, which made big waves in the UK charts, with four singles reaching the Top 10. “Nu Flow”, the debut single, even reached the top 3 in Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey. Similar successes were also achieved by the “Favourite Things” and “Baby Boy”. Big Brovaz became one of the most notable UK R&B / Hip-Hop acts of the early 2000s and are still loved by fans of the genres to this day. Their debut album is now available on vinyl for the first time and features the bonus track "OK (Rock Remix)" and the hidden track "My Favourite Things (Original Version)".Nu Flow is available as a limited edition on translucent green coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Terror Squad is the second album by Danish thrash metal band Artillery. It was originally released in 1987 via Neat Records. It's the successor of Fear of Tomorrow (MOVLP3190) and was later followed by their most succesfull album By Inheritance (MOVLP3935).Terror Squad; the opening track "The Challenge" immediatly kicks your door down and from there on their thrash metal is aggressive, relentless, and executed with deadly precision. At the time it lacked commercial success, but it made up for it with sheer musical intensity. The album's combination of blistering riffs, thunderous drumming, and commanding vocals still leaves its mark decades later. When Artillery hits, it leaves a crater Fun fact: Metal Hammer included the album cover on their list of "50 most hilariously ugly rock and metal album covers ever" Terror Squad is now available as a limited numbered edition of 1000 copies on red translucent coloured vinyl and contains an insert.

Will Butler, known for his work with Arcade Fire, has composed the original score for the Broadway play Stereophonic. The play, set in the 1970s, explores the dynamics of a rock band on the brink of success or collapse. Butler’s score authentically captures the era, using period-specific instruments and recording techniques to evoke the raw energy of 1970s rock.. He recorded the parts with the original cast from Stereophonic, including Will Brill, Andrew R. Butler, Juliana Canfield, Eli Gelb, Tom Pecinka, Sarah Pidgeon, and Chris Stack. The production received acclaim from critics and no less than 13 nominations at the 77th Tony Awards, taking home five, including Best New Play. Stereophonic now holds the record for the most Tony nominations by a play. Stereophonic is available as a limited edition on translucent yellow coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

There are techno classics, and there are techno classics! It’s without doubt that Joey Beltram has played a pivotal role in the growth of the techno sound that gestated in Detroit and was lapped up in Europe during those early years. Beltram spearheaded a darker sound that became a staple in the UK and European rave scene in the early 90s, and a sound that continues to come back around for revival and a new twist on the genre from the producers and DJs of the day.

‘Beltram Volume 2’ was first released on R&S Records in 1991, and despite the huge success of the ‘Energy Flash’ single, released a year prior, ‘Volume 2’, some say, is ‘Beltram’s definitive release on R&S’. Deep, dark and deliciously hypnotic, all four cuts on this EP still sound as raw and devastating 30 years later. Big tunes at seminal clubs like Rage (Fabio & Grooverider) and the network of UK raves soundtracked by the likes of Carl Cox, Colin Faver, Eddie Richards et al, Beltram’s unique sound help spawn the bass heavy drum & bass genre that was also burgeoning at the time.

‘Beltram Volume 2’ has been remastered by Beau Thomas at Ten Eight Seven Mastering, and the release comes in an updated sleeve, faithfully recreating the 1991 packaging featuring Christel Brodahl’s now legendary oil painting.

‘Beltram Volume 2’ by Joey Beltram is available on R&S Records from 9th December 2022.

Childish Gambino is (and isn't) Donald Glover, a recording artist, writer, actor, director, producer and comic who was gifted his alias by an online Wu Tang-Clan name-generator. Originally hailing from Stone Mountain, Georgia - his Mum was a daycare provider and his Dad a postal worker, where TV was banned in the house - Glover first entered the spotlight as a member of sketch-troupe Derrick Comedy, via a stint working on The Daily Show and the invitation to join the '30 Rock' writing staff by Tina Fey before he'd even graduated from NYU. A succession of mini-albums and mixtapes surrounded all of this, parallel to acting roles ranging from The Muppets to NBC's cult hit comedy 'Community'. It was 2011's debut album 'Camp' - his first since signing to Glassnote Records - which marked a breakthrough for Childish Gambino, whose music explores everything from identity, race, and technology to hip-hop culture, class, and family. Follow-up 'because the internet' went top 10 on the Billboard chart, was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards and further assimilated Gambino's multiple disciplines (it was accompanied, for instance, by two films and a standalone 72-page screenplay). Around this time - and between roles in HBO's 'Girls' and movies like 'The Martian' - Glover also announced that he was working on his own TV show: a comedy-drama which he would star in, write and direct, 'Atlanta' premiered on FX this autumn to significant critical acclaim (it's already been described as "Twin Peaks with rappers"). The show was launched alongside the third Childish Gambino, 'Awaken, My Love!', this summer at 'Pharos', a series of secretive, audio-visual live performances which took place in a custom-designed dome in the middle of the desert in Joshua Tree. A second series of 'Atlanta' has already been commissioned, whilst Glover has recently been cast in the forthcoming Spider Man movie and has also been confirmed to play the iconic role of Lando Calrissian in the next Star Wars film (a Han Solo spin-off). His most vital artistic statement to date, Childish Gambino is expected to unveil further music from 'Awaken, My Love!' in the coming weeks. 

Repress!

Undoubtedly one of the most addictive records of 2017, CamelPhat & Elderbrook's 'Cola' has been a defining musical moment of the year. Growing exponentially since its release, the track has captivated tastemakers, DJs and clubbers alike, topping charts and blowing up worldwide to become a true modern anthem. Leading on from the success of the original and some heavyweight remixes, three of which hit the Beatport top ten - for the first time on vinyl, comes a remix package set to continue 'Cola's' dance floor domination.
Rising superstar Franky Rizardo's suitably heavyweight remix comes correct with a club-friendly update that elevates the unmissable vocal hook and bottoms out the breakdown. Dario D'Attis' vinyl exclusive mix continues the club feel with rolling grooves, teasing breakdowns and shuffling hi-hats in a remix which packs a punch, guaranteed to get people moving from the get-go. Mousse T. flips the track completely, bringing those Glitterbox vibes to Defected, taking 'Cola' to the next level and going straight to Traxsource #1 in the process.

In March 2025, "On the Love Beach" performed solo shows in Shanghai and Beijing with Toushi Naoki to great success.

2025 marks the 30th anniversary of their memorable debut album, "On the Love Beach," and the band's first three albums are being reissued on CD and vinyl!

All three albums use the original master tapes, and each has been thoroughly remastered under the supervision of Shinji Shibayama for high-quality sound!

"On the Love Beach"'s third album, released in 1999, is a two-disc masterpiece that holds a unique position in the band's history, and many fans secretly cherish
the original LP version.

Shibayama's motivation for recording this album was to explore whether the concept he experimented with with Hallelujahs—"pursuing the uniqueness and
improvisation of the performance itself within the format of a pre-written song"—would work in a fixed band format rather than a session, and what the results would be.
It was a bold (and reckless) production approach: all basic tracks, including the lead vocals, were recorded live in the studio in one take, with no re-recordings allowed,
and overdubs like the chorus were kept to a minimum.

Although there are discrepancies between the punk-inspired performances and vocals due to the unedited concept, this is a rare example of the wild energy of a
band captured so authentically with such high sound quality in Jap-rock, and, regardless of its merits or demerits, it is undeniably compelling.

The raw sound quality, capturing the irreversible, fleeting interplay, demonstrates the outstanding engineering sense of Peace Music's Nakamura Soichiro,
and the pride of the rock band "Nagisa Nite" is evident throughout.

It's also noteworthy that this "Nagisa Nite" album contains the most solo works by Masako Takeda. Naturally, it's meticulously remastered from the original
master tapes for exceptional sound quality!

One of the leading Japanese alternative rock band, GEZAN’s leader, MahitoThePeople’s director debut film, i ai was released in March 2024, and it is an atypical coming-of-age film decorated with tinge of red.

　The film takes place in Akashi and Kobe, Hyogo prefecture. This film’s main characters are Ko (Kentaro Tomita), a rookie member of a band and a brother-like figure of his, Hee (Mirai Moriyama) who Ko idolizes and the story of this movie is based on their struggles with life and death. The story is also based on Mahito's real-life experiences and while reality and fiction are duplicated, the boundary between them slowly melts away. The film co-stars Honami Satoh, Kazuki Horike, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Eita Nagayama, Kyoko Koizumi, K-BOMB, Ichi Omiya and many other unique personalities. It should also be noted that the transparent images filmed by photographer, Masafumi Sanai gives the film, a special emotional quality.

　The film is not bound by any film theory but it poses a theme common to GEZAN's recent works and Mahito's writing activities: How can we live in a crumbling society while interacting with others? We can never live alone but living with others is also never easy. How can we overcome this time of extreme division of the world?

What left quite a strong impression in this film that not only Mahito personally directed but also wrote the script and composed the soundtrack as well was the main theme song, entitled “i ai”. This new piece of GEZAN is an extension of the work that this band has continued doing over the last few years. This 12" single, contains the song, “i ai” and it will be the first time released on vinyl.

Led by soft guitar arpeggios, the song gradually builds to a fever pitch, condensing the mood of the film which encompasses both tranquillity and intensity. The chorus of ineffable, multiple voices united together sounds like a lament that has spilled out of society or a cry of joy. GEZAN's collaboration with the 15-member chorus group, Million Wish Collective has been in development of late and the cultivated sensibilities through their activities are put to use in this song.

The song can also be considered a slow, relaxed dance track that lasts 9 minutes and 8 seconds. It has something in common with organic dance tracks from South America and other regions, and it is significant that GLOCAL RECORDS which represents glocal music from around the world in Japan are releasing it as a DJ-friendly 12-inch single.

The B-side features a remix by COMPUMA who is also closely associated with GEZAN. The song starts with an African styled percussion, with a thumb piano in the middle of the song and then returns to that memorable chorus. This song feels like a 18 minutes and 18 seconds long short movie like suite, with some dizzying changes from the beginning to the end. It is remix filled with enormous drama!

The cutting and mastering of this 12” was done by TOREI who is also active as a DJ and the artwork was created by jvnpey, a visual artist and graphic designer based in Tokyo. Their loving work also makes this 12" very special.

When I asked AI to find a synonym for the word, “division,” it displayed in succession, a series of words: “integration,” “consolidation,” “unification,” “unity”, and “reconciliation". All of these phrases are somewhat whitewashed and embarrassing but the mirage-like chorus echoing in the song, “i ai” seems to be trying to find a new word, that is a synonym for the word, "division. In this film, “i ai”, the message, “Let's live together after the end roll” was thrown out but included in this 12-inch, the message, “Let's live together after the music stops”, emerges.

Already fifteen years that Cléa Vincent has been stepping on stage with that childlike fervor, that passion for pop and its elasticity, from her early days in Parisian bars to last year’s show at the Bataclan for the release of her third album Advitam Æternamour. You could say she needs no introduction, her name being inseparable from some of the most exciting work to emerge in contemporary French independent music. From the very beginning, she asserted her taste for spontaneous, candid, sunlit music, turning her songs not only into spaces of introspection but also into small capsules for dialogue. She collaborates constantly, with Kim Giani, Jeanne Balibar, Alison Wheeler, Jacques, NUSKY & VAATI, João Selva, Les Clopes…driven by a desire for sharing, for visions that meet and collide across genres. Alongside her work as a composer, she dedicates herself to giving a voice to the artists around her, notably through her show Sooo Pop, broadcast on YouTube in 2018 and 2019, where she welcomed guests as varied as Christophe, Moodoïd, Mathilde Fernandez, Katerine, and The Pirouettes. Like others of her generation, she claims the influence of francophone pop from the 1980s, but rather than being a successor to Jacno, Cléa draws from everything that shapes her era, fully plugged into the present, its faces, its energies, its collisions. She travels too, a way of reshuffling the cards of her inspiration, and her discovery of South America, of bossa nova and samba during her tour dates, became the catalyst for her series of EPs Tropi-Cléa.

After last year's widely acclaimed third full- length album "Bloem" found its way into the hearts and minds of many listeners, it did not take long for the duo of M. Koops and B. Mollema to return to the studio and record an immediate follow up. But do not be fooled by this quick succession of releases; "Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking" is in many ways a polar opposite of what "Bloem" had to offer. Guided by a spirit of self- transcendence, Fluisteraars sought to indulge in a deep current of animalistic urge. From murky depths to the high towers of the soul, "Gegrepen..." is an exaltation of a new language, a breaking down of barriers and revaluation of underlying routine. Utilizing a minimalist and spontaneous recording style proved fruitful in this endeavor: only doing one take of every instrument, only recording the natural acoustics of the room instead of the close- up registration of sound so ingrained in modern production. The duo recorded exactly one song each studioday. No overdubs, no synths - they started every day by setting up a new sound palette for each song.

Joaquin Joe Claussell Presents the Second Installment of His Acclaimed Alias: BlackSalsoul

Brooklyn, New York City — Renowned producer, DJ, and spiritual music visionary Joaquin Joe Claussell returns with the second chapter of his celebrated alias, BlackSalsoul. Continuing his lifelong exploration of deep, soulful soundscapes, this latest release focuses on edits and reinterpretations across Spiritual Jazz, Soulful Disco, and African Dance traditions.

Following the success of the debut 7” (Cat# UEDNEXT.1), which sold out within weeks and remains a one-time pressing despite overwhelming demand, the BlackSalsoul series reaffirms its commitment to exclusivity. Each edition will be available strictly on limited 7” and 12” vinyl—a tribute to the physicality and ritual of true record culture.

Blending the warmth of analog production with Claussell’s signature spiritual energy, this release bridges eras and continents, honoring the roots of soulful expression while speaking directly to today’s dance floors.

For fans of Fusion Jazz, Soulful Disco, and Afro-inspired Edits, the new BlackSalsoul record offers another essential journey through rhythm, emotion, and transcendence.

Rochelle Jordan is proudly stepping into her diva era. To those in the know, the Los Angeles-based British-Canadian singer and songwriter has long been an underground force coaxing together the mutually flirtatious scenes of daring alt-R&B and heart-pumping electronic music. With her longtime creative director/producer KLSH, she’s cultivated a singular marriage of sound — mixing soulful sensuality, house bump, DnB wildness, hip-hop swagger, and pure experimentalism — that’s spread not only through certain circles, but also to the mainstream. At the same time that her gauzy 2014 single “Lowkey” was going viral in 2023 — racking up 21 million streams on Spotify alone — she was in the studio cooking with tastemaking beatsmiths like KAYTRANADA and Sango, quietly preparing to melt dance floors and headphones alike.

Now, as the timelines merge, Jordan is approaching success with the sparkle of a brand new star and the stance of someone who’s earned everything she has. Her new musical chapter aims to carry forward the magic that fans feel in her coquettish vocals and bold soundscapes even as she reaches deeper into her pop bag. The fact that her first single of 2025, the darkly dazzling “Crave,” was produced by Chicago house legend Terry Hunter (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé) speaks volumes to this exact moment in Jordan’s ascendent trajectory.

“My goal when I first started making music was to bring back something that I felt had started to fade away for me,” says Jordan. “That certain essence or sound that would give me butterflies in my stomach when I’d listen to music — it would unleash some kind of chemical that would make me feel happy and excitable and curious, something that would make my soul shine. My number one goal is always: How do I give people that feeling when they listen to my music?”

Jordan grew up in Toronto raised by British-Jamaican parents. She remembers hearing one of her older brothers cycling through a variety of music at maximum volume in the room next to hers. “Reggae to soul to drum and bass to garage music to gospel,” Jordan recalls. “It was all intertwining for me at such a young age.” She developed her own sound quietly, and soon met KLSH through MySpace. They traded multiple songs back and forth daily until he flew her out to L.A. to record what would become her debut project, 2011’s R O J O. That collaboration hasn’t faltered since, resulting in sonically surprising, subtly infectious sets like Jordan’s breakthrough 2014 album 1021 (with “Lowkey”) and 2021’s dance-steeped revelation, Play with the Changes.

“If you’re talking about Rochelle Jordan, you’re talking about KLSH,” she says. “It’s one and the same. We come from the same inspiration source.” With him at her side to this day, Jordan is crafting new listening experiences as radiant as refracted light glimmering through a prism — an incredible space from within which to explore love in all its iterations — from romantic infatuation to self-affirmation, and strength in womanhood to pride for what she’s accomplished thus far.

More than a decade into her career, Jordan has arrived at a new stage of life and creativity — she’s a seasoned professional, a fully realized woman, and she’s excited to continue growing. “I know my story isn’t necessarily a new one,” she says. “I look at 2 Chainz, who became 2 Chainz way later on in his life. I look at Tina Turner, who became Tina Turner at 40. I want to be another story of resilience for people.” As she prepares to unveil more of her vision, and fans clamber for a long-awaited fourth album, Rochelle Jordan is casting aside self-doubt, and appreciating and underlining her status as a verifiably influential reigning diva in her one-of-one sonic space.

Eddie Kendricks was the falsetto voice of The Temptations during the group’s heyday years at Motown Records. Signed as a solo artist with the Tamla label he achieved further success with an array of hits (including the No.1 single “Keep On Truckin’”) and popular album tracks that remain in demand today. “Date With The Rain” was originally released in 1972 (from the album “People…Hold On”), “Intimate Friends” later in 1977 (from the album “Slick”), a song written by Garry Glen who would go on to write for Al Hudson (“Spread Love”), Phyllis Hyman (“Be Careful How You Treat My Love”) and Anita Baker (“Caught Up In The Rapture”) among many. More. “Intimate Friends” has also been sampled over 80 times by artists including Alicia Keys (in “Unbreakable”), Erykah Badu and a significant number or r&b/hip hop artists. “Date With The Rain” has also been much sampled and covered most notably by Jamie Principle in 1990.

Known for their exhilarating live-to-record albums such as last year's critically acclaimed Wood Blues and Giant Beauty, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the first of two releases that will surface after أحمدAhmed’s first studio recording sessions at North London’s The Fish Factory in early 2025.

Since 2014, Ahmed أحمد have excavated and re-imagined the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, in an ever ongoing search for future music. Over a decade on, the group were given the opportunity to set up in the studio for the first time and, with the aid of meticulous engineer Benedic Lamdin, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the quartet's most detailed work to date.

Fastidious fans may recognise the album's tracklisting as that of Ahmed Abdul-Malik’s Jazz Sahara. After his success collaborating with the pianists Thelonious Monk and Randy Weston, Jazz Sahara was the first record Abdul-Malik made as a leader and was released in 1958. It used the flame of late Fifties jazz to light the wick of North African folk music and acted as a reminder of the Arabic origins of jazz, creating a distinct, unique sound that was far beyond its time. In Malik’s Jazz Sahara, there is no piano. The ongoing work of each member of [Ahmed] then is to think differently, to wonder how the music will work and to take a risk on trying it out - an extraordinarily compelling feat of imagination. Using group improvisation strategies and recording in single takes, سماع [Sama'a] (Audition) tackled the full suite of Jazz Sahara in just one session, with ‘Ya Annas [Oh, People’] and ‘Isma'a [Listen’] being previously unrecorded. 'Farah 'Alaiyna’, also released on 2019’s Super Majnoon, sounds unrecognisable - the slow, heady stomp and repeated phrasing of 2019’s embryonic [Ahmed] having been blast furnaced and sped up four-fold. The result is four kaleidoscopic, relative miniatures that move, unfold and re-imagine at a very different scale and proportion than [Ahmed]’s previous records. It’s a dizzying, euphoric music and an extraordinary record of a group moving through space-time like no other.




[b] Isma'a [Listen]
[c] El Haris [Anxious]
[d] Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 | Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 | El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 | Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]

With WHERE IS MY HEAD?, his first full-length album since 2019, Indonesian-born artist Rich Brian redefines success on his own terms. No longer chasing hits, he turns inward — creating the most vulnerable and honest music of his career. The result is a cohesive, deeply personal body of work that strengthens his bond with an ever-growing fanbase. Brian handled most of the production himself, shaping an analog-forward sound rooted in his self-taught mastery of synthesizers and keyboards. He sings more than ever before, with a newfound confidence and maturity that signals real artistic growth. WHERE IS MY HEAD? isn’t just a return — it’s a revelation. Each track answers one central question: how can I make art that truly makes me happy? To visually explore this feeling of self-reflection, the album introduces two versions of Brian — a MAESTRO who scores music for the dreams of MOVIE BRIAN, who exists unaware inside the world the Maestro has created. This surreal, introspective concept is brought to life through a series of cinematic music videos and visualizers, all directed by Jared Hogan, expanding the depth of the album into a fully realized narrative world.

Sunburst vinyl version of “Make Metal Royal Again” (previously released August 15th, 2025 via Reaper Entertainment), HAMMER KING once again raise their banners high: the throne of power metal is theirs to claim. Following the chart-breaking success of their last two records – “Kingdemonium” (#17 DE) and “König und Kaiser” (#16 DE) – the German quartet returns in 2025 with even more grandeur, might, and majestic songwriting. Produced by Charles Greywolf (Powerwolf) and Titan Fox V, and mixed & mastered by Jacob Hansen (Amaranthe, Volbeat), the album delivers ten powerful new tracks and a surprise bonus cover. With “Danger Zone”, the band pays a thunderous, metallic tribute to pop culture for the very first time. From anthemic epics like “For Crown And Kingdom” to the cinematic grandeur of “Hoheitsgebiet” and the touching ballad “Schlaf Kaiser schlaf”, HAMMER KING offer a full royal banquet of sound and spirit. Introducing new drummer Count Shandorian, whose precision and creative drive elevate the band’s sound even further, Make Metal Royal Again marks a new peak in the group’s journey. The magnificent artwork by Péter Sallai (Powerwolf, Sabaton), inspired by The Last Supper, captures the album’s core themes: power, identity, and loyalty. This is not just an album – it’s HAMMER KING’s metal manifesto for a new golden age.

Limited edition (numbered 100 copies) 180g black vinyl with insert.

"BEN BEKELE does not exist. At least not the one I'm thinking of.


It's a mix of memories and fantasies from the mid-80s when it was my father who visited Ethiopia, returning with two small drums, a couple of pictures and tons of tales.
One of them was a story of a boy named Bekele, who taught him a traditional Ethiopian song.

Father passed this song on to us, as best as he could - now I'm having doubts as to what the message is actually about - but back then I was fascinated. Many years later, when I was preparing a song for a compilation "Portrety" at U Know Me Records, I realized that the bass line that I created resembled a fragment of that exact song. Apparently the melody buried itself somewhere deep in my subconscious and unexpectedly revealed itself at that moment. Therefore I decided to honor the memory of my deceased of 30 years dad (whose friends called him Ben) naming the composition: "The Life and Death of Ben Bekele". The song turned out to be very happy to me - its success definitely exceeded expectations, while in my head an idea to go further after Ben Bekele began to form.

This time I didn't want to work alone. I invited Kamil Piotrowicz and Igor Wiśniewski to cooperate with me. Incredibly creative, sensitive artists and wonderful companions on stage as well as off it. The music on this album is similar to a small extent to the "founding" piece.
It has however a couple of common features, with focus on the rhythm as the form-forming factor at the forefront. It's also organic, emotional, at times trance-like and illustrative.

I sincerely hope that when listening to this record, for these tens of minutes you'll escape from the surrounding us not-so-pleasant everyday life."

Opeth’s fifth album is widely considered to be not only the Swedish group’s best work but also simultaneously one of the greatest metal albums and one of the best progressive rock albums ever made. Issued in March 2001, it was the first of several collaborations with co-producer Steven Wilson and something of a commercial breakthrough for the band as well as a critical success. This vinyl pressing is based on the definitive 20th anniversary version, which was issued on seven different vinyl colours, but not on ‘classic’ black.

Swan Song

The vinyl LP at the heart of this éthiopiques 31 tracks 2 to 11 was one of the very last vinyl records ever released in Ethiopia. But above all it represents, we felt, the absolute masterpiece of the Ethiopian Groove – the Swan Song of Swinging Addis. The album leaves a clear idea for posterity of the level of sophistication and mastery that modern Ethiopian music had achieved, before being crushed under the Stalino-military heel of the Derg – as the bloody revolution that was unfolding came to be called.

Ethiopia1976.

The Revolution that broke out in February 1974 rolled on in a ruthless march. The whole of Ethiopian society was utterly stunned. The bouquets of flowers handed joyfully to the first tanks of the coup d'état were to wilt very rapidly. From September 1976 to February 1978, 18 months of Red Terror (the name given by the junta itself) spilled blood throughout the country. This fratricidal conflict took its heaviest toll among students and youth. The shift from feudalism to a cruel and primitive Stalinism left the country's citizens deeply traumatised, and snuffed out any pretence of activism, whatever the sector of society. This ice age was to last for seventeen long years.

ሙሉቀን፡መለሰ Mulukèn Mellèssè Muluqän Mälläsä

It was three tracks by Muluken that served as the opener for éthiopiques-1 more than 25 years ago. Seven more tracks appeared on éthiopiques-3 and 13, all accompanied by The Equators, which was soon to become the Dahlak Band.

The first track, Hédètch alu, also the very first piece that Muluken ever recorded, left audiences both unsettled and amazed. Reflecting the singer's extremely young age (he was just 17 at the time), this angelic voice mystified many, who thought they were in fact listening to a feminine voice. He was not yet 22 when he released his last vinyl record in 1976 with Kaifa Records (KF 39LP), one of the very last to be issued in Ethiopia, before the cassette tape became the dominant medium for music distribution – and before the new revolutionary regime put a stop to all independent musical life, via an unspeakable barrage of prohibitions and other persecutions.

Mulu qèn, literally, “A well filled day”. This tender maternal intention wasn't enough to ward off the cruelty of fate. His mother's premature death drove Muluken to leave his native Godjam, in northeast Ethiopia, to live with an uncle in Addis Ababa. Born Muluken Tamer, he took his uncle's last name – Mèllèssè.

The spelling Muluken appeared in his administrative records. Transcription of Amharic to the Latin alphabet, both in Ethiopia and for scholars, gives rise to controversies and quibbles that can never be neatly settled. French allows for a closer approximation of the original pronunciation, thanks to its battery of accent marks, confusing as they may be to anglophones.

Between rather accommodating administrative record-keepers and the various versions that pop up in interviews given by the artist, Muluken's year of birth oscillates between 1953 and 1955…

1954? One thing is certain: the artist's talent made itself known very early indeed, because he got his start in 1966-67, at the age of 13 or 14. Photos from the period attest to his extreme youth. It's a strange sort of initiation for a very young teenager to become a sensation in the heart of Addis's nightlife at the time, Woubé Bèrèha – the Wilds of Woubé. And what's more, in the club of the Queen of the Night, the Godjamé Assègèdètch Alamrèw herself, the very same that was portrayed by Sebhat Guèbrè-Egziabhér in his novel-memoir Les Nuits d’Addis Abeba2… The legendary female club owner who is remembered to this day by the capital's ageing boomers.

Muluken first tried his hand at the drums, before he grabbed the microphone. He emigrated briefly to the Zula Club, across the street from the old Addis Post Office, one of the ground-breaking bars of the burgeoning musical scene, before joining the Second Police Band in 1968, for around three years. He spent a few months with the short-lived Blue Nile Band founded by saxophonist Besrat Tammènè. As the musical scene grew increasingly successful, and pulled slowly but decisively away from its institutional ties, Muluken released his first 45rpm single in February 1972 (Amha Records AE 440). It was included in two LP Ethiopian Hit Parade compilation albums in September of the same year. All in all, Muluken released eight two-track 45s and the same number of original cassette tapes between February 1972 and 1984, the year that he departed for permanent exile in the USA. After converting to Pentecostalism in 1980, Muluken gradually abandoned all secular musical activity. In 1985, at the end of a concert in Philadelphia, he decided to quit concerts and recording for good. Mèlakè Gèbré, the historic bass player from the Walias band who was playing with him that night, recalls that everything appeared so irredeemably diabolical in Muluken's eyes, that it was to be the end of his contribution to Ethiopian Groove.

The end of the story, the beginning of a legend.

Dahlak Band, forgotten by History

Aside from his personal history and vocal talents, it must be remembered that Muluken Mèllèssè was one of the biggest names in the musical innovations that marked the end of the imperial period. These éthiopiques aim to convince those who are just discovering this hidden gem... As for Ethiopians themselves, they are to this day captivated by this singular and atypical figure in the Abyssinian pop landscape – even though he withdrew from public life some 40 years ago. Incorrigible devotees of poetic twists, of more or less hidden meanings, Ethiopians appreciate above all the care Muluken took in choosing his lyrics and the writers who penned them, such as Feqerte Haylou, Alemtsehay Wodajo and, here, Shewalul Mengistu (1944-1977). Love songs, written by women, a far cry from the conventional drivel that pleases sappy sentimentalists.

Muluken is equally acclaimed for his perfectionism when it came to music, the opposite of the overly casual approach that is all too common. He remained a faithful partner of musicians who came from a lineage that borrowed from several inventive and pioneering bands (Venus, Equators, Dahlak). Amongst them were certain artists who began their musical lives with Nersès Nalbandian at the Haile Sellassie Theatre and who come of age in around 1973 – at just the wrong time, you might say. Among them were the pillars Shimèlis Bèyènè (trumpet), Dawit Yifru (keyboards) and Tilayé Gèbrè (sax & flute). Most notably Tilayé Gèbrè, certainly one of the most important musicians, composers and arrangers of his generation, of the end of the imperial era, and of the early years of the Derg.

It was only in 1981 that a miraculous opportunity arose for Tilayé to escape the Stalinist paradise of the dictator Menguistou Haylè-Maryam. Once again it was Amha Eshèté (1946-2021) who provided a solution. The spirited and courageous producer, who had been in exile in Washington since 1975, succeeded, thanks to his incredible perseverence, in bringing the Walias Band to the USA. It was, in fact an extended Walias Band comprising ten musicians3, six of whom chose to slip away after a few concerts and the recording of an LP (The Best of Walias, WRS 100). Tilayé Gèbrè was one of these. He has been living in the USA ever since. There he joined the then-nascent Ethiopian diaspora, which lived largely unto itself, and was making only very modest headway in the American musical market. It seems unfair that Tilayé Gèbrè and the Dahlak Band were not able to benefit earlier from the public recognition that they do deserve.

A similar draining away of the top-rate talents would lead to the reorganization of the major groups of the “Derg Time”. The remaining artists spread themselves around between Ibex Band (renamed Roha Band), Ethio Star Band and a remodeled Walias Band. That spelled the end of the Dahlak Band.

With this record, produced by the essential Ali Abdella Kaifa a.k.a. Ali Tango, we can appreciate everything that the Derg not only destroyed, but also prevented from flourishing. This gem of Ethiopian-style afrobeat came out in 1976 (and, by way of a parenthesis, before the FESTAC 1977 in Lagos, which was attended by an impressive delegation of Ethiopian musicians — although Fela was already personna non grata in his own country). Despite everything that might distinguish this ethio-groove from Fela’s music – no colonial axe to grind, no question of political confrontation with the authorities, no claims to negritude or Africanism for the Ethiopian musicians, and less extrovertion! –, this LP fits beautifully into the saga of intense and electrified soul of the new “African” groove that Fela and Manu Dibango embodied so well from that point onwards.

In restoring this record to its place in the afrobeat epic, it can be seen that, if nothing else, the timeline bestows a legitimate pedigree and a historical primacy to works that had no international impact when they were originally released.

Warning! Masterpiece!

KEG announce new EP Girders set for release September 2nd on Alcopop! Records/BMG. The band also share the frenzied and whip-smart new single Kids. The band, who have been hotly tipped across the board for 2022, will also play their debut UK headline tour plus festivals which include Green Man, End Of The Road, Latitude and more. Kids strides into the deep lineage of British art-punk songwriting that is both self-referencing and outward-facing - while being consistently innovative. Few singles manage to take aim at both the restaurant chain Itsu and the comedian Michael McIntyre, but KEG somehow pull it off.

Following a widely successful debut single release Heyshaw in the summer of 2021, KEG saw major support from publications such as NME, DIY, Dork, So Young, Clash etc. Leading into their debut EP Assembly, released October 2021, KEG toured with contemporaries such as Squid and Talk Show.

KEG are a seven piece. Albert (vocals), Joel (bass) & Will (synth) grew up together around the seaside Yorkshire town of Bridlington; and like many artists growing up in removed quarters of the country, they shared a yearning to leave. Spreading to different parts of the country after leaving school, they found their bandmates in their respective cities and found one another once again on the southern shores of Brighton.
Frank (guitar), whose background resides mostly in hip-hop, afforded a unique pulse with a guitar sound which is manic, discordant but firm. Jules (guitar) whose songwriting sensibilities come from a love of cadence and craft of beautiful soul ballads, imbued the band with his structured sense of composition. Both Charlie (trombone & shell) and Johnny (drums) come from classically trained Jazz backgrounds.
The announcement will receive digital marketing support and will launch with new tour dates announced (below) with pre-order for presale access available.

With Ylh Bye Bye, Swiss-Moroccan producer Sami Galbi delivers a raw and electrifying debut album after the success of his first single Dakchi Hani / Rruina. Merging North African folk, chaâbi, and trap with forward-thinking electronic club music, his punk energy and DIY ethos stem from years immersed in Lausanne"s underground squat scene, shaping a sound that"s both deeply personal and politically charged.

Stephen Murray, for fans of CAAMP, Mt. Joy, and Houndmouth. Stephen Murray is back with another 7" after the success of his first two singles with Soul Step Records. Expanding on those Americana and Folk flavored tracks, Stephen explores R&B and Hazy Indie Rock on these new tunes. ODAAT is where the haze sets in with an introspective indie jam while Darkest Night is a torch ballad that has one of the biggest musical crescendos to wrap up the B-side. Stephen is backed by some of Nashville's best musicians to gather these sounds. Drop the needle on this 45 and soak up this genre-bending artist.

Released in 1971, 'A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...to a Blind Horse' is Faces' most commercially successful album, now available on standard black vinyl. When the record originally released it reached the Top 10 in both the UK and US charts. 'A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...to a Blind Horse' features the Faces' signature rock and roll sound, including the enduring hit "Stay with Me." With a perfect balance of raucous party anthems and heartfelt ballads, the album showcases the band's formidable songwriting and is a testament to their powerful, collaborative chemistry.

Rancid is without question one of the most successful and influential punk bands ever, not to mention being among the most prolific. Their nonstop songwriting and marathon studio sessions often result in far too many songs to fit onto their albums. True Rancid fans know that in addition to their classic long players, many of their finest tracks have been released as single B-sides, bonus tracks, on compilations, or in some cases have remained in the band's vault. That is why B sides and C sides is no mere throwaway record, but an essential part of this classic band's catalog. The songs collected here represent a cross section of everything that has made this band so beloved worldwide, including their creative genre hopping from blazing punk rock to danceable ska, to reggae, rockabilly, and more, all executed with some of the most impressive playing in the history of underground music. The songs range from fan-favorites like "I Wanna Riot" to obscure hidden gems from rare or hard-to-find compilations, and a handful of studio recordings that were completely unreleased before this album, several coming from the fertile recording sessions for the band's sprawling 1998 masterpiece Life Won't Wait. Originally released on CD in 2007, most of the tracks range from the band's early days through their sixth album, Indestructible, although the 2012 track "Fuck You," from the Pirates Press Records compilation Oi! This is Streetpunk! Volume 2 was added to place a definitive final word on the collection when it was pressed on vinyl. With the album being out of print and hard to find in its own right for the past ten years, Pirates Press Records is thrilled to partner with our friends in Rancid to remedy that situation and make this essential piece of punk rock history available to their many fans across the globe - this time as an incredible double 12" with super deluxe coloured vinyl and matching sleeve art!

Throughout a professional career defined by early pop successes, every single one of Andy Fairweather Low's performances has been shaped by his blues, gospel and soul influences, and although the many hits he has enjoyed have to some extent overshadowed his undeniable credentials as a great bluesman - his talent for the blues hasn't escaped the notice of some of the world's finest artists who have drawn on his skills as a guitarist and singer Eric Clapton of course leads this impressive list of Andy's discerning employers and collaborators which includes, BB King, Benmont Tench, Bill Wyman, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Charlie Dore, Charlie Watts, Chris Barber, Chris Rea, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Dave Edmunds, David Crosby, David Gilmour, David Sanborn, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Edie Brickell, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, Garth Hudson, George Harrison, Georgie Fame, Gerry Rafferty, Helen Watson, Jackson Browne, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Joe Cocker, Joe Satriani, John Mayall, Kate Bush, Levon Helm, Linda Ronstadt, Lonnie Donegan, Mary J. Blige, Mick Hucknall, Otis Rush, Paul Weller, Paul Young, Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, Richard and Linda Thompson, Rick Danko, Ringo Starr, Roger Waters, Ronnie Lane, Sheryl Crow, Steve Gadd, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks, The Impressions, The Who, Van Morrison, Warren Zevon, and hundreds more. But, despite the blues having become such a hugely popular genre internationally these days, and Andy having been in the thick of it for most of his professional life, he has largely missed the recognition he deserves in that field because up until now, he has never released a blues album. That's why I wanted to make a record that reveals the identity of the Invisible Bluesman to the world beyond his existing loyal fans. Meet Andy Fairweather Lowdown!

The complete album - limited edition pressing on 180g crystal clear vinyl

Although both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had met and performed and recorded a number of singles together during 1940s for Decca, they wouldn't be heard on LP together until 1956 when producer Norman Granz paired the two for this first album session, Ella & Louis, which became an immediate hit. Two further sessions under Granz, followed, Ella & Louis Again, and Porgy & Bess. All three albumswere both critically acclaimed and commercial successes - appealing to audiences in and beyond the confines of jazz per se. Ella & Louis features the incredible Oscar Peterson Trio plus legendary drummer Buddy Rich. As one of the most iconic and fascinating jazz albums ever produced, its appeal and commercial sales haven't waned during the sixty-nine years since its first release. "Ella & Louis is one of the very, very few albums to have been issued in this era of the LP flood that is sure to endure for decades." - ***** Nat Hentoff, DownBeat

Supergroups existed before Emerson, Lake & Palmer formed in 1970. And, as we all know well, many came after. But few, if any, matched the English trio’s chemistry and its elevated combination of virtuosity, vision, and verve. Having influenced a multitude of followers, ELP’s prowess was obvious from the start. The band’s self-titled debut stands as a towering statement of creative imagination, execution, and discipline more than five decades after its original release.

Mastered at MoFi’s California studio, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 33RPM LP of Emerson, Lake & Palmer presents the benchmark album in audiophile sound. Clear, dynamic, and balanced, this collectible edition honors the perfectionist approaches that both informed the playing and recording of the record.

Distinguished with black backgrounds, this reissue brings to light the epic scope, tonal depth, and mind-bending degrees of musicianship on display. Aspects — textures, nuances, effects, melodies, tempo changes — that go hand-in-hand with the trio’s compositions and interplay are rendered amid broad soundstages and delivered with pinpoint detail. Whether you’ve owned multiple copies of this touchstone or seeking out your first version, you’ll relish the presence, separation, imaging, and crispness that help make every song come across as if the group has set up shop in your listening space.

Opening the door to the seemingly infinite possibilities of progressive rock while steering clear of excess, Emerson, Lake & Palmer achieved a rare feat in that its complex, cerebral music didn’t prevent it from attaining mainstream success. The gold-certified effort launched the career of a band that would sell tens of millions of records. It also landed a Top 50 single in the form of the ballad “Lucky Man,” whose vocal harmonies, folksy strumming, multi-tracked instrumentation, and breakthrough Moog solo almost feel quaint in the face of the other fare on the album.

Comprised of genre-defying originals and hybrid arrangements of two classical pieces, the album Rolling Stone originally and rightly said is “best heard as a whole” matches outrageous ambition with the otherworldly skills of three musicians who remain among the finest to ever pick up their respective instruments. While Emerson soon drew the lion’s share of headlines for his ability on keys — clavinet, Moog, piano, Hammond organ, and pipe organ included — Greg Lake’s aptitude on guitar and bass, along with well as Carl Palmer’s monster talents behind the kit, created a three-headed hydra that devoured everything in front of it.

That extends to the radical reinterpretation of Bela Bartok’s “The Barbarian” that begins the LP, a performance that in less than four-and-a-half minutes runs the gamut from distorted to churchy to angular and blustery. More classical flourishes, keyboard wizardry, hard-rock heaviness, and gothic signatures emerge throughout “Knife-Edge,” which reimagines music by Leos Janacek and J.S. Bach — and ultimately invites you to explore a cathedral of sound teeming with separate bursts of keys and percussion.

And did someone say “drumming”? Check out Palmer’s monster salvo on “Tank,” a rhythmic showcase that marches out with knee-bent notes and mirror-reflected passages. Or dive into the mythological suite “The Three Fates.” Replete with three parts and Emerson playing the pipe organ at Royal Festival Hall, it shoots off sonic fireworks via sophisticated arpeggios, jazz improvisations, dancing counter-meters, sizzling chords, and a few explosions. Please don’t hold anyone at MoFi responsible if your system cannot handle it; this is heady stuff.

Indeed, everything on Emerson, Lake & Palmer is there for a purpose. Whether you aim to attempt to dissect all of the notes, shifts, and polyrhythmic bluster or just want to absorb this album as one living, breathing organism, this version invites you to do both as many times as you desire.

Yes's 1972 3-track recording masterpiece, Close to the Edge, presents a snapshot of an adventurous rock band at the peak of its powers, daring to push itself musically, both as individuals and as a unit.

The first half of the 1970s was an especially fertile period for British progressive rock, laying claim to classics such as Tarkus, Selling England by the Pound, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, The Dark Side of the Moon, and Thick as a Brick. Collectively these and other works represent the best British progressive rock had to offer. Yet, many reviewers cite Close to the Edge as the ultimate prog rock album.

Author and music journalist Will Romano writes: "Yes had previously penned epic tracks for The Yes Album and Fragile, but nothing on the magnitude of the musical gems appearing on Close to the Edge. It's something of a small miracle — perhaps even magic — that the virtuoso quintet crafted such a cohesive and compelling album during an often-hectic recording process that very nearly relegated this monumental work to the dustbin of history."

The album's centrepiece is the 18-minute title track, with themes and lyrics inspired by the Herman Hesse novel Siddhartha. Side two contains two non-conceptual tracks, the folk-inspired "And You and I" and the comparatively straightforward rocker "Siberian Khatru." Original drummer Bill Bruford found the album particularly laborious to make, which culminated in his decision to quit the band after it was recorded, to join King Crimson.

Close to the Edge became the band's greatest commercial success at the time of release. It peaked at No. 4 on the U.K. Albums Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, the highest position Yes has reached on the latter chart.

In 2020, Close to the Edge was ranked at No. 445 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in a tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jacket with textured stock by Stoughton Printing.

James Brown wants to know one thing before he and his band begin Sex Machine. “Can I get into the thing, really?,” he asks. His cohorts enthusiastically respond in the affirmative. And for the next hour and change, Mr. Dynamite gets into it and more, turning in a sweat-soaked, feet-moving, hip-swiveling, emotion-purging, in-the-red, drop-everything-you’re-doing-and-dance performance for the ages. Ranked by Rolling Stone among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the sweeping 1970 effort towers as a testament to Brown’s inimitable legacy as well as the peak powers of his voice, vibrancy, and bands.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 33RPM 2LP set presents Sex Machine in audiophile sound for the first time. It explodes with the energy the lightning-strike music demands. Dynamic, immediate, present, airy: Everything from the brassiness and fluidity of the horns to the snap and decay of the snare to the swell and carry of the organ comes across in full-range perspective.

Then there’s Brown’s superhuman singing, which here emerges with a purity, naturalism, and transparency that ensure you feel everything. Screeching, shouting, pleading, moaning, preaching, stinging, commanding, testifying, crooning, humming: The Godfather of Soul contributes one of the finest vocal performances known to man. This definitive 55th anniversary reissue of Brown’s monster funk statement further exhibits a combination of clarity, solidity, separation, and imaging that helps bring to light what he and his crack ensembles committed to tape. Both in the studio and on the stage.

Just how lifelike does this reissue sound? Senior Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab engineer Krieg Wunderlich, who handled the remaster, notes: “There were some artifacts that sounded a bit like mistracking. But they turned out to be breath blasts on the vocal microphone. That is part of history. JB was workin' hard, and breathin' hard. And there was an edit the timing of that was truly strange. Again, a part of history.”

Originally marketed as a live album, Sex Machine contains six songs recorded in the studio and later overdubbed with canned crowd noise and reverberation. Save for “Low Down Popcorn,” the tracks on the latter half stem from a phenomenal performance captured in October 1969 at Bell Auditorium in Brown’s adopted hometown of Augusta, GA. The special relationship between the singer, the audience, and the location is palpable.

As the 1960s gave way to a new decade, Brown experienced immense success and dealt with unexpected change. Soul Brother Number One soon expanded his idea for an official live album captured in Augusta when the ensemble that backed him on that date morphed into the original version of the world-famous J.B.’s just months after the show. The virtuosic abilities, sticky chemistry, and rhythm-forward nature of the J.B.’s prompted him to book a one-off session in Cincinnati, OH, on a late July night.

Anchored by brothers William “Bootsy” Collins and Phelps “Catfish” Collins, the group — as well as two different drummers — laid down a nearly 11-minute rendition of “Get Up I Feel Like Being Like a Sex Machine” and a thrilling medley of “Bewildered,” “I Got the Feeling,” and “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose.” A pair of then-recent studio singles cut in separate locations in 1969, “Brother Rapp” and “Low Down Popcorn,” each featuring his prior group, took care of the second LP worth of material that complements the originally planned live set.

Complicated? Somewhat. Unusual? Definitely. But just as he elevated the expectations for all present and future R&B artists, Brown not only makes it all work. He makes it positively electrifying.

“Get Up I Feel Like Being Like a Sex Machine” is alone deserving of a dissertation on the art of funk music, seeing it moves up and down akin to an oil derrick, witnesses Brown unleashing a trademark series of grunts, squeaks, and “good god” asides, and glides to a hypnotic groove that won’t quit. Or look to the syncopated rhythms of “Brother Rapp (Part I and Part II),” one of multiple pieces here that signify the point where Brown began viewing every instrument as a percussive tool. Brown closes the three-song medley with his new band with a skedaddling “Give It Up or Turnit a Loose,” which provides jolts on the order of sticking your finger into a socket.

Not that the actual live material falls short in any way. Setting an insistent tempo for the vitality that follows, “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing” positions Brown as a role model, leader, and self-sufficient entrepreneur. All simmer and boil, the short and sweet “Licking Stick” dares you to keep pace. The floating, almost comforting “Spinning Wheel” spotlights the instrumental prowess of Maceo Parker and company, and functions as a seamless segue into the tender, horn-saluted “If I Ruled the World.”

And Brown and his mates still aren’t done. Just try to resist the one-two closing punch of “I Can’t Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)” and “Mother Popcorn.” Mercy.

Ain’t it funky? Sure ‘nuff.

Classic Latin Tunes Became Sals Hits! Pablo Yglesias -aka DJ Bongohead- compiles Grosso Recordings an amazing serie with classics tunes from Caribbean music that became great successes of "Salsa". Some tracks have been remastered and restored, others are presented on vinyl again after many many years. "This is the four volume in our series on the Roots of Salsa...The main criterion was to pick tracks that sounded adequate for today's DJs to play at a gig or were sufficiently interesting (or enough of a surprise to fans of the later version) to merit inclusion. The other measuring stick was that they needed to come from the old-school, before the more modern era (from 1962 on) and all of its recording innovations and marketing strategies...for now, listen to these dozen gems and then go back to their more familiar cousins from recent times and compare and contrast, and we're sure you'll be enlightened and entertained." Liner notes by Pablo "Bongohead" Yglesias. Format and selection designed for DJs, collectors and general public.

Following on from a very successful remix for the label in 2024, Dilby delivers his second EP of deep hypnotic house grooves on Sublease. Dilby's Without You EP features three fresh cuts, all infused with his signature dance floor flavour. The title track is a bouncy slab of house goodness, balancing driving stabs with atmospheric pads. Stay True is in a similar vein, tough drums and spacy washes with some classic house groove and dubby percussive synths. The final track, Elevate, keeps the
vibe alight with more of the New Zealander’s trademark deep and slinky house and including a massive breakdown.

Following on from a very successful remix for the label in 2024, Dilby delivers his second EP of deep hypnotic house grooves on Sublease. Dilby's Without You EP features three fresh cuts, all infused with his signature dance floor flavour. The title track is a bouncy slab of house goodness, balancing driving stabs with atmospheric pads. Stay True is in a similar vein, tough drums and spacy washes with some classic house groove and dubby percussive synths. The final track, Elevate, keeps the
vibe alight with more of the New Zealander’s trademark deep and slinky house and including a massive breakdown.