quête:ten fé

Be The Mountain (2026) is the latest release from Detroit-based musician STS. The record explores a serene and introspective world shaped by organically morphed textures and slowly evolving soundscapes.

While largely drumless, the album maintains a subtle rhythmic backbone - not through traditional percussion, but through modulated pads, shifting synths, and carefully sculpted ambience. The music moves and breathes without overt propulsion, finding tension and momentum through tone, density, and motion rather than beats.

Much of the record was written during a period of sustained physical and mental strain. A time when daily effort fought against perceived limits. Instead of responding with heavier or more aggressive material, the music became a quiet counterweight to the intensity. These tracks function as an escape from chaos. They are built from patience, repetition, and a gradual transformation.

The title reflects a central idea behind the record: confronting something that initially feels insurmountable, only to realize that the enduring force is the one within us all.

Be The Mountain is about endurance, not as struggle, but as presence.

On Lila, his debut LP, Moroccan artist Karim presents a series of undulating electronic rhythms laser-etched into tessellated form: drumless techno from the pre-Sahara, built for communal psychic expansion.

Drumless, yes, but not percussionless. There are shakers, castanets, stabs, plonks, thuds. There are insistent basslines propelling forward, pulsing with energy, rippling in time. There are tones interlocking, rolling, fluttering, pattering. Dancing within, around, between each other. Considered in terms of sheer geometry, Lila is a techno record, unmistakably. But it sounds quite unlike any other techno record you've heard lately.

To write the album, Karim borrowed from the music of the Gnawa, a religious-spiritual musical tradition descended from West African peoples brought to Morocco as slaves hundreds of years ago. Now integrated deeply into Moroccan culture, the centerpiece of Gnawa music is the lila—or "night," in Arabic—an all-night-long ritual of rhythm designed to induce participants and musicians alike into a healing trance state. Which, if you're a dedicated raver, may sound familiar, yes?

Crafted entirely with modular synthesizers, Lila conjures a range of textures and moods. The show opens with "Bakh," a blissful exercise in beatlessness, clear and crystalline. On "Philipoussis," "Kiyex," and "Sonic," arpeggiated synths approximate Gnawa chants while interlaid percussion keeps time in multiple meters. "La" and "Kille" pulse in half-time, ideal for creative mixing. "Joul à lèvre" bristles with electricity, the sound of a charged lightning rod. "Pamil," woozy and lurching, feels like being shipwrecked on a forgotten island. Last and absolutely certainly not least, on the final track, "Miloir," Karim faces West and unleashes the album's only kick drum for a ten-minute psychedelic techno masterpiece. The mind warps; the body moves. 

Lila is released on Tikita, Karim's own record label, founded in 2014. Tikita's discography, spare but tightly curated, features artists from across the globe pushing outwards into techno's deepest reaches. Karim's album pushes even farther. Listen for yourself.

Seven years after the haunting resonance of Voids, electronic pioneer Martyn returns to the album format with Music For Existing. Arriving on 15 May 2026, the record is more than a collection of tracks; it is a profound exploration of what it means to remain devoted to a craft in an era of relentless noise.

The album’s announcement is heralded by the lead single "Heavy Sound." The track serves as the perfect bridge between Martyn’s past and present - a masterclass in tension and release that previews the album’s dialogue between the producer, the musicians, and the audience. We live inside a culture that has prioritised and monetised restlessness. The modern apparatus runs on the continuous production of "next," driven by algorithms that value novelty over depth.

Music For Existing serves as a love letter to the communal act of making music - something that is both healing and inherently defiant. For Martyn, a musician often finds solace in musical conversation with others; in the moment we press record, we simply exist together. This record is an invitation to build human infrastructure around what we love, leaning into the fluid nature of community and seeing exactly where the music takes us when we choose to listen.

The album is a sprawling, "off-the-grid" tapestry that echoes Martyn’s profound appreciation for jazz - free, instinctive, and bursting in every sonic direction. This collection features an expansive cast of collaborators, including Duval Timothy, Dan Only, Lucinda Chua, and Mark Cisneros. The record is further elevated by the contributions of jazz talents Mischa Porte and Cees Bruinsma, alongside the evocative words of writer and poet Musa Okwonga.

While the acoustic textures and improvisational spirit of this record may feel like a departure, they represent a homecoming. Jazz has always been ingrained in Martyn’s work; even in his most stripped-back club tracks, the DNA of swing, syncopation, and free-form structure was always present, if not always visible.

Music For Existing marks the beginning of an exciting journey that will continue from the studio to the stage, celebrating the radical act of existing in the moment.

"Swedish modern rock unit SELF DECEPTION is set to unleash their Napalm Records debut, One Of Us, on May 15, 2026! The band is known for their fiery fusion of anthemic modern metal and powerful melodic rock. Since their 2009 debut, they have shared stages with the likes of Electric Callboy, Danko Jones, and Adept, while racking up millions of streams and video views – including their viral 2022 hit, “Fight Fire With Gasoline”, with tens of millions of streams. Written on the road during the heaviest touring of SELF DECEPTION’s career so far, One Of Us is a cohesive album full of character, made for the stage – and the pit! Bone-crushing album-opener and title track “ONE OF US” takes no prisoners, unleashing the heavy modern metal side of the Swedish powerhouse: fusing relentless hardcore energy, in-your- face lyrics, and high-voltage attitude, the track hits with unstoppable force. Following track “TIME'S UP” features an absolute hit chorus, fresh hooks and high-energy instrumentals, while emotional “DON'T B E L O N G” addresses the difficult themes of addiction and mental health battles – the combination of hauntingly beautiful melodies, multifaceted vocal performance and heavy rhythm section carry this sentimental track.

Further highlights on SELF DECEPTION's new 10-track offering include “THE WEDDING”, an energetic modern rock anthem with a particularly dark and twisted storyline, and “BREAK!"", with its heavy-hitting drums, electronic influences and yet another irresistible sing-along chorus. Final track “ENTERTAINED” wraps up the album impactfully, featuring one of the heaviest breakdowns on the album. From massive pit churners to creative storylines and choruses full of hit potential, the energy on One Of Us is unmatched. The band has a busy festival summer following the album’s release, so fans will get the first chance to experience these new tracks live at several major European rock and metal festivals. With One Of Us, SELF DECEPTION is ready to push contemporary rock to the next level!"

They Call Us The Lucky Ones is a road-worn portrait of modern Americana — songs about movement, memory, love, and survival, exploring the space between freedom and consequence where highways replace homes and connection becomes the true measure of success. The album tells stories of outsiders and drifters, chosen family and lost friends, broken systems and restless ambition — and the ghosts we carry no matter how far we run. Yet for all its hard-earned perspective, the record carries an undeniable sense of hope: a clarity that comes from a life lived in motion, the humor found along the way, and the simple joy of playing music with people you trust. It’s a record that knows how to have a good time without losing its soul. This collection of ten songs finds Ryan Bingham at his best — where life isn’t always about perfection or redemption, but about connection. Because no matter how far you go, how fast you run, or how loud the music gets, all that matters is the people and stories you carry with you along the way.

They Call Us The Lucky Ones is a road-worn portrait of modern Americana — songs about movement, memory, love, and survival, exploring the space between freedom and consequence where highways replace homes and connection becomes the true measure of success. The album tells stories of outsiders and drifters, chosen family and lost friends, broken systems and restless ambition — and the ghosts we carry no matter how far we run. Yet for all its hard-earned perspective, the record carries an undeniable sense of hope: a clarity that comes from a life lived in motion, the humor found along the way, and the simple joy of playing music with people you trust. It’s a record that knows how to have a good time without losing its soul. This collection of ten songs finds Ryan Bingham at his best — where life isn’t always about perfection or redemption, but about connection. Because no matter how far you go, how fast you run, or how loud the music gets, all that matters is the people and stories you carry with you along the way.

Deep, deep stuff on the debut album from K Wata. Long and dubwise, dark and detailed. With bass that fills and warms a space.

All noir. Cast shadows against the wall. Weight being shifted and distributed with singularly delicate poise, like a knife being balanced on the end of a finger.

There’s a silvery, loose flow state to this record that maybe reveals the way some tracks were first written to be deployed live at Sustain Release 2025. Then taken back to the lab and tightened up further into the album’s final form, with beautiful mixing work between Kenzo and Chris Botta.

With that in mind, Give U Space unfolds slowly and fluidly, giving the listener the chance to access and open up to the deepness of the sound, being led down a path. It rolls and builds momentum and groove, and ratchets tensions up toward peaks of energy "Whisper Dub" and "There Will Be Love".

The tunes feel architectural. Rooms to be in and settle into. Simultaneously stripped back and then etched with neat little details and characterful or atmospheric sound choices. The silhouette of slo mo Memphis and Houston trap is a leading influence, especially with the drums. Mixing with bits of click’n’cut sampling and psychoacoustic tricks, the penumbra of dub techno and drowsier dubstep, and SG’s soft vocals rising in the ether.

The presence and inspiration of the sound system is obvious in all of Kenzo’s work, the music can rattle when spun up louder or blended into the club. But K Wata’s uniqueness and signature comes from an often equally inward facing quality, touched by distance and longing and a sort of chiaroscuro incandescent light set up.



Written and produced by K Wata.

Mixed by K Wata and Christopher Botta at Fer Sound Studio.

Vocals on “Give You Space” and “Go” by SG.

Clarinet on “Radio Embrace” by Eugene Lai.

Mastered and cut by Mike Grinser at Manmade.

Art by S. Gong

PSY PSY SIS 'Live Your Life' The Chicago / Detroit Mixes. The remixes are VINYL ONLY and honour the sound of the Cities that started it all.

Ceri and Cici's recent debut as PSY PSY SIS, is the excellent 'Live Your Life' EP...

Hailed by DJ Mag as 'Robust House Rhythms, and with early support from the likes of; Bradley Zero, Ricardo Villalobos, Saoirse, Bashkka, Grace Sands, Panooc, NIKS, KiNK, Jeniffer Loveless and more...

They are now also dropping not one but TWO VINYL ONLY REMIXES from OG Chicago and Detroit legends; Mark Grusane and Gari Romalis Electronix.

Mark comes in with a US and UK garage inspired house rocker that builds tension and is sure to light up any dancefloor. Gari Romalis comes in with a refined house blend with that old school magic Detroit feel.

A must for any House Head.

Life and Death launches Peak Time Archives, a new vinyl and digital various artists series shining a light on rising producers and the next wave of label-affiliated talent.

This first edition moves across the full spectrum of the dancefloor. Jennifer Loveless — Guardian 'Artist To Watch', Mixmag Track of the Year recipient, and alumni of !K7, Future Classic and Butter Sessions — opens with "Satisfaction", a warm, body-moving indie dance reinterpretation that feels at home as much at Ibiza sunset as it does on a festival main stage.

UK mystery producer ROKAR follows with "Bedroom Headliner", a garage-rooted house cut that blurs the line between intimate and euphoric, already earning BBC Radio 1 plays and support from Marco Carola, Skream and Chloé Caillet.

Rudy With A Hoodie & J-Land deliver "The Rhythm", a driving, hypnotic peak-time weapon built for main stages, drawing on the analog warmth of Red Axes and DJ Tennis.

Mexico City's PAURRO closes the record with "Chik Fresa" — playful, punchy indie dance with personality to spare, from an artist who has performed at Tresor and Boiler Room and released on Cómeme and Nervous.

Four tracks. Four distinct voices. One dancefloor.---

Berlin-based duo Disguised land on Mutual Rytm with a splash of signature driving techno on ‘Nightrun’. German-born, Berlin-based pairing Alvaro and Domenik are Disguised, a duo that feels closely connected to their favourite club RSO and its Robus Floor, where most of their musical inspirations happen. They head up their own label, Inherit Records, and also host parties at Berlin's new C115 venue on the Berlin highway. Already this year, they have dropped an impressive collaborative EP with their studio partner and close friend Fabio, aka FANK, who features on this EP with his own vocals. Their sound is always defined by driving drums and hypnotic melodies that build up to intense dancefloor peaks, and here they showcase this to its fullest on their Mutual Rytm label debut via five vinyl-only cuts and three digital bonuses built and crafted to make a lasting impact. The powerful 'Where Thoughts End (ft. FANK)' rises up through the ground like an oncoming train, as drums rumble, synths peel off the groove, and moody voices have you looking over your shoulder. 'Nightrun' is glitchier and more textured, with a fractured energy that keeps you on your toes. 'Crusher Wheels' is a deep, back-lit, and trance-inducing sound made for 4am, while 'Ashes and Algorithms' layers up eerie melodic details with bulky drums for a spare but atmospheric trip. 'All You Find (ft. FANK)' is dubby, greyscale techno with a muscular rhythm and unsettling synths, taut and tensile, balancing right on a knife-edge. Three digital bonuses explore different moods - the subtle melodic touches of 'Silent Pulse', the cosmic energy of 'Sceptre Rd', and the rising optimism of 'Twinfall’.

Repress!

North Indian classical, hip hop and spiritual jazz improvisations recorded in Lahore, Pakistan

Siccar Point is the second album release from Intertoto, and is a study of the geographical extremes on the east coast of his native Scotland. The eight pieces of music on the album serve as vignettes portraying this ancient headland, while also acting as an allegorical reference to the pioneering work of Scottish geologist James Hutton, who proposed that geological features are not static but undergo continuous transformation over indefinitely long periods of time.

With this theory — and the striking landscape — in mind, Jamie Coull, aka Intertoto, imagines tectonic forces through tension, space, density, and texture. Divergent and convergent boundaries are realised in different moods throughout. Siccar Point opens with the irregular drift of Raw Lunar Concrete, a track that undulates asymmetrically, pulling you off balance before settling into the pulse of Condor Launch and Cloud Chamber — the more veiled club moments of the album.

Further into the strata, Siccar Point mines deep into the dense textures of Metallic Veins and Redox Dub, before closing with the cascading outro Foraber, shimmering with tones that imagine a view outward from the rocky promontory — beyond the vanishing point.

Ein aufmerksamer Zuhörer der Welt zu sein, bedeutet, von Sprache umgeben zu sein. Sprache hallt durch fast jeden Raum, in dem sich Menschen aufhalten, ob unerwünscht oder erwünscht, banal oder tiefgründig. Worte stehen auf der Seite und klingen im Ohr nach, vermehren sich endlos. Diese Überfülle fasziniert den Komponisten und Musiker Ben Vida schon lange, aber in den letzten Jahren hat sie zu einer neuen Art des Musikmachens geführt, die die Vorrangstellung der Sprache in unserer Klang- und Kulturwelt gleichzeitig hervorhebt und hinterfragt. Sanft und spielerisch bricht Vida die Hierarchie von Bedeutung und Klang der Sprache auf, bis sie in egalitärer Harmonie existieren. Oblivion Seekers ist Vidas neuestes Album in diesem Kompositionsstil, nach der Zusammenarbeit mit dem New-Music-Ensemble Yarn/Wire The Beat My Head Hit aus dem Jahr 2023. Wie bei seinem Vorgänger liegt der Fokus der Musik auf koordinierten Duetten aus gesprochenem Wort in neutralem Ton, wobei die variablen Rhythmen der bewegten Worte komplexe interne rhythmische Strukturen schaffen. Er wird von den Stimmen von Nina Dante, Christina Vantzou, John Also Bennett und Félicia Atkinson, die einen einzigartigen Klang erzeugen, der weder ihrer noch seiner ist und in seiner Geschlechtsdarstellung, seinem Akzent und seiner Aussprache fließend ist. Die instrumentalen Kompositionen, die den Hintergrund des Albums bilden, haben den ungezwungenen Fluss eines Dialogs, gesprächig, aber zurückhaltend, selten als Motor der Veränderung. Es herrscht eine ruhige, konzentrierte Stimmung, die durch den zurückhaltenden Rhythmus der Stimmen noch verstärkt wird, sodass man das Gefühl hat, die Musik sei ein langes Mantra, das nie ganz zu seinem Ausgangspunkt zurückkehrt. Der Effekt ist bezaubernd, gleichermaßen einschläfernd und fesselnd, und suggeriert Wiederholung, ohne sich jemals genau gleich zu bewegen. Die Instrumentierung der vier Stücke des Albums variiert; ,Be Yr Own Abyss" wird durch den wellenartigen Kontrapunkt der Saxophone geprägt, während der mehrdeutige Klang des Vibraphons über ,Oblivion Seekers" schwebt und Frasers anschwellender Bass den einzigen dramatischen Auftritt des Albums liefert. Die Musik verändert sich im Ohr, während der Text die Form und Bewegung der Komposition ständig neu definiert und in einen neuen Kontext stellt, auch wenn sie in ihrem jenseitigen Glanz konsistent bleibt. Der Text besteht oft aus Sprachfetzen, denen Vida während seines Lebens beim Komponieren begegnet ist: zufällig mitgehörtes Gemurmel in der Schlange im Supermarkt, eindrucksvolle Sätze aus einem Roman, den er gerade las, Eindrücke von Musik, die er immer wieder auf seinem Plattenspieler hörte. Kleine, ansonsten unbedeutende Details sammeln sich an, nicht um eine Erzählung zu bilden, sondern um einen Eindruck vom komplexen Prozess der Bedeutungsfindung zu vermitteln, der im täglichen Leben stattfindet. Charaktere und Szenen tauchen im Bild auf und verschwinden wieder, und Sätze, die nach einer Erklärung verlangen, dürfen einfach vorbeiziehen. Vidas Liebe zu Robert Ashley ist gut dokumentiert, aber vielleicht noch bedeutender sind Mark E. Smith und The Fall, Neil Tennant und die gesprochenen Verse der Pet Shop Boys, die gesamte Geschichte des Hip-Hop und Meredith Monk. Die Art und Weise, wie die Worte dargeboten werden, ist genauso wichtig wie die Worte selbst und offenbart eine Intentionalität und Direktheit, die Vida mit den abstrakten Konstruktionsmustern des Textes hervorhebt und untergräbt. Auf Oblivion Seekers ist der omnidirektionale Lärm der Marmor, den Vida abträgt, um zu beleuchten, wie wir die unermessliche Fremdheit der Welt verarbeiten. Der Triumph des Albums besteht darin, dass wir nichts von dem schönen Geheimnis verlieren, wie diese Zeichen unsere äußere und innere Welt miteinander verbinden.

'Tense from the first note and decisively uncompromising ‘GHSTING’ is the debut collaboration by Polish artists Alex Freiheit and Aleksandra Słyż, an incredibly unique piece of work that mixes fiction, spoken word poetry, theatrical antics, dense synthesis, acoustic ensemble and dark landscapes all set within the backdrop of a sinister Eastern Europe hotel. The resulting sound is menacing, humorous, harmonious, tumultuous, and at times quietly erotic.

Alex Freiheit, a poet and vocalist, is widely recognized for her captivating work with the SIKSA duo. Over the past decade, she has delved into the realms of personal feminist storytelling, postmodern fairy tales, and queer legends, crafting unique and thought-provoking narratives. In this groundbreaking collaboration with talented composer Aleksandra Słyż, they are now delving into the herstory of lies and exaggerations, extracting the raw essence of these tales filled with stench, stains, secretions, and torn organs. Eyeless Freiheit haunts the hotel guests while dressed in a binder and holding a bottle filled with a corrosive substance. She shares compelling stories about the hidden activities and other secrets that unfold within the walls of hotels when no one is watching. Her gripping narrative is complemented by equally haunting and eerie music. Słyż divides the text into four chapters, skillfully intertwining synthetic and acoustic elements. She combines the sounds of synthesizers, woodwind and percussive instruments with vocals, creating a tense, dynamic soundscape. Freiheit’s voice possesses an earnest quality, where a frightening cadence suspiciously flips into a meditative cycle.

Together, Freiheit and Słyż have crafted a bold and suggestive story that feels like the mesmerizing soundtrack to a contemporary Eastern European horror film, captivating an essence that is hard to pinpoint but instantly recognizable. This is abstractly powerful music that pushes listeners into a kaleidoscopic spiral that channels ecstatic over loss.

The second installment of The Tape Masters series by German film music maestro Peter Thomas. Audiophile pressing in deluxe 2x10" vinyl set, limited to 500 copies.
While volume one of the series compiled Thomas' dopest library music cuts, this album dives deep into the soulful side of the Peter Thomas Sound Orchester, featuring the mystique house band of Afro-American Munich GI club Tabarin Bar, Donna Summer's first solo recordings, stunning cinematic funk instrumentals and a healthy amount of breaks and beats.

Out of the 20 scorching tunes on this compilation, only three were released at the time of their recording and are nearly impossible to find on the 2ndhand market, ten have never been released anywhere before, others celebrate their first outing on vinyl or in stereo.

Peter Thomas is widely acknowledged as Germany's most inventive film music composer of the 1960s and 1970s, best known for his iconic soundtracks. Today, his work is cherished not least for its incredible groove factor. The story of this compilation traces the origins of the Peter Thomas Sound Orchester's rhythm section and its soul music background, shines a light on unsung heroes like singer Joe Quick and unearthes nuggets that have been lying dormant on tape for decades.

All music was carefully transferred from Peter Thomas' private master tapes and cut in full dynamics, housed in a beautiful fold-out cover with liner notes and private pictures. The compilation is released in cooperation with Peter Thomas' son Philip who represents the Peter Thomas Sound Orchester catalogue since his father's passing in 2020.

Back in stock !

First three releases in Ministry Of Sound's new 'Origins Of' series of vinyl releases. Taking it right back to where it all began, Ministry of Sound’s Origins series charts a selection of pioneering records responsible for shaping the sound of modern day dance music. It’s hard to imagine a world without House; this 2x LP release explores the origins of the genre from its early beginnings in 1980s Chicago presenting some of the key building blocks of a sound that went on to change the world. Featuring, Frankie Knuckles&Jamie Principle, “Steve” Silk Hurley, Marshall Jefferson, Farley “Jackmaster” Funk, Ron Hardy, RalphiRosardo, Joe Smooth and many more.

“One foot out the door, another in the otherworld…”
So begins Hannah Lew’s debut, self-titled solo record, soaked in imperious, wide-eyed pop songwriting and a girl-group/post punk aesthetic that belies the artist’s history in the U.S. underground. A towering, hook-laden album, it’s infused with an optimism and surrealism that conversely deals with the times we find ourselves in.

Recorded at home in Richmond, CA and in The Best House studio with Maryam Qudus in Oakland CA, with the assistance of a crack team of West Coast musicians, this album sees Hannah Lew stepping out from behind the legacy of her two groups Grass Widow and Cold Beat. While musically bearing similarities with her previous work, “Hannah Lew” is a bold leap into direct pop territory, making ample use of a vocal style that teases out the inherent melancholy in her melodies. Mastered by Sarah Register, each song is a perfectly honed nugget that frequently pulls the heart in two directions at once.

Themes of change, breaking up, shattering old ways of being are shot through the record. For the front cover, a photograph of the artist’s face was printed, ripped up and re-assembled, resembling the creative process embarked upon by Lew for her first “solo” material. The album feels instinctual, almost dream-like in its assemblage of sweeping synths and pulsating, propulsive drum machine beat patterns with Lew’s vocal performances sensitive and caressing over the top. Increasingly relying on the subconscious and dreams to guide her creative process, Hannah Lew frequently abandons literal interpretations or linear narratives, the songs seeming to exist in a swooning, effortless flow-state while remaining emotionally hard hitting.

On an album where every song could be a single, there are kaleidoscopic shades and varying emotional tones in abundance. First single Another Twilight is carried along a pumping, Italo-disco-style 4/4 beat and mono-synth bass line, the low end pulling at the heart and body. Lew’s vocal melody teases the track before swan-diving into a gorgeous chorus as she sings “it’s all over baby and I don’t mind… in decline, I take my time…” The album is suffused with moments like this. On slow builder Damaged Melody, an arpeggiated synth elongates the verse before a cascading synth showers down melodic glitter. The stunning Replica uses dual swirling synth patterns before a driving, synthpop chorus for the ages carries Hannah Lew’s vocal into the stereo field, sailing in on a high register singed with the embers of a break up.

In a departure from previous groups, her solo songs are guided by dreams and free association inspired by Dada and the Surrealist movement and sculpted afterwards. As such, the songs reveal themselves on repeated listens, revealing traces of heartbreak inspired by both personal and global elements - Hannah Lew regards the album “a wartime album.” On Move In Silence, Lew intones “there’s a war outside, just out of view,” revealing the dichotomy at play throughout. With the songs evolving naturally and in a flow state, the pressures and sadnesses of the modern age bleed through, mixed in with Lew’s inherent love, sensitivity and fractured-but-intact optimism. On the swooning, sublime Sunday layers of Numanoid synths open up for the commanding vocal performance pontificating on grief, love, pain as she “feels the ache on Sunday…” As the chorus builds and Lew’s call-and-response vocal adds to the emotional tension, it almost feels like too much to take.

Elsewhere, there are echoes of Hannah Lew’s previous work. On Time Wasted a bass guitar comes in with a heavy, punk attack before the synths and vocal harmonies reminiscent of later Cold Beat elevate everything. The glassy, sweetly resigned closer The Clock sounds like so classic it could be cover, a sweetened Jesus & Mary Chain tune perhaps, before it erupts into volcanic chorus that could only come from Hannah Lew in 2026.

The tenth anniversary edition of Venetian Snares' Traditional Synthesizer Music adds ten more tracks and alternative versions previously available only on a limited edition compact disc from the artist's Bandcamp.Traditional Synthesizer Music is a collection of songs created and performed live exclusively on the modular synthesizer by Aaron Funk. Each sound contained within was created purely with the modular synthesizer. No overdubbing or editing techniques were utilized in the recordings on Traditional Synthesizer Music. Each song was approached from the ground up and dismantled upon the completion of its recording. The goal was to develop songs with interchangeable structures and substructures, yet musically pleasing motifs.

Many techniques were incorporated to "humanize" or vary the rhythmic results within these sub structures. An exercise in constructing surprises, patches interrupting each other to create unforeseen progressions. Multiple takes were recorded for each song resulting in vastly different versions of each piece, a number of which are released for the first time on vinyl and digital for this updated version of the album. BIO Aaron Funk, mainly known artistically as Venetian Snares, is a Canadian electronic musician based in Winnipeg, Manitoba who’s been working since the mid nineties. He is widely known for innovating and popularising the breakcore genre being something of its breakout star. His signature style features complex drums and unusual time signatures and a knack for making ultra-vivid music that takes listeners into unusual places, from the aggressive and extreme, to the surreal, comic and sometimes plain beautiful. His musical explorations extend out in many different ways, from the complex Hungarian, classical-inspired Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, to acid explorations as Last Step, to innovations with modular synths on Traditional Synthesiser Music.

As a collaborator, he’s made music using intimate recordings as musical elements with the artist Hecate as Nymphomatriarch, as Poemss with Joanne Pollock, where they both sing over strange delicate pop. He’s recorded an album of rich, edited improvisations with producer and guitarist Daniel Lanois and he’s also part of the sometime duo Speed Dealer Moms with John Frusciante. Most recently he features on Rosalia’s album Lux on the song Reliquia, providing drum programming and production input.

The concept for this one is as wonderfully odd as we have ever heard: Argentinian Federico Durand draws on his collection of Cinderella stamps and looks to translate their modest scale into sparse arrangements and carefully spaced notes. Small motifs drift across analogue synth tones, all shaped with tape hiss and soft saturation. Pieces move slowly, often built from repeating figures that shift in pitch and melody, feel tentative, sometimes dissolving into low drones or faint harmonic clouds. There is little percussion, with rhythm implied through looping patterns and subtle timing changes. Tracks favour brevity and minimalism and the result leans into a darker mood than his earlier work, with a muted, slightly worn character that makes it all the more real.

Death Is Not The End present the first volume in a survey of a form of Brazilian country music known as música caipira ("hillbilly music") - a stripped-back forerunner to música sertaneja, the Brazilian equivalent to US country & western which in it's contemporary form has come to dominate the domestic music industry in recent decades. This collection covers some of the earliest recordings made by the pioneering folklorist Cornélio Pires at the end of the 1920s, through to records from the 30s, 40s & 50s and the beginning of the 60s.

Somewhat rooted in Portuguese troubadour folk traditions, música caipira is typically performed by a duo singing in parallel thirds and sixths, drawing upon a Portuguese-Brazilian style known as moda de viola - with the viola being the viola caipira, a Brazilian-style ten-string guitar that is the core instrument of the music. Born out of the "outback"-style region in north-eastern Brazil, these songs tell stories of pain, love, loss & betrayal - often backed by homemade guitars using invented tunings. Away from the polished pop country & western-stylings of the sertaneja, these recordings could be viewed as the Brazilian equivalent to the roots music of the American dustbowl or Appalachia.

Cello player and electronic artist Martina Bertoni returns with her 2nd album for Karl: Hypnagogia delivers six new, masterfully crafted tracks between experimental ambient, drone and modern composition.

Cellist and composer Martina Bertoni started playing the cello at a very young age. Classically trained, her career further developed around experimental and film music, for which her cello has been featured in numerous records, works and soundtracks for films and series. After two EPs and her debut full length All The Ghosts Are Gone (2020), Bertoni joined the Karl roster where she released Music For Empty Flats in January 2021 to critical acclaim (a.o. one of the Top Ten drone albums of 2021).

On her new album Hypnagogia she continues to explore the sonic possibilities of her cello which she uses as primary source for composition and sound processing through reverbs, feedbacks and sub-bass frequencies, thus crafting sonic sculptures, rich of atmospheres and frictions, fed by ambient as much as drone and modern composition.

In the words of Martina Bertoni:
"The six tracks that constitute Hypnagogia have been written during 2021 and partially inspired by the reading of Stanislaw Lem's book Solaris. The title refers to a transitional state of consciousness from wakefulness to sleep, during which one might experience sensorial hallucinations and lucid dreaming, and can tap into the pristine structures of the subconscious. Hypnagogia portraits an imaginary cosmic journey of the Self that crash ends into a blinding sun."

Constructive is pleased to announce, 'Utopia or Oblivion', a new compilation featuring ten artists inspired by the pioneering work of R. Buckminster Fuller, with each track inspired and in response to Fuller's work specifically Utopia or Oblivion', first published in 1963.

From the irregular glitch pop scintillation of 'How Would I Be? What Would I Do' by German artist & founding member of To Rococo Rot, Robert Lippok, to the heartfelt ambient and seraphic voices of 'Afterimage' by Japanese artist Tujiko Noriko (Editions Mego, PAN, Room40), through to the tensile, eruptive, dub-contoured emittances of 'Tensegrity Rhythms' by Peruvian experimental composer Ale Hop (Karlrecords).

Elsewhere, there are appearances from the Bafta-nominated composer Adam Janota Bjowski (Saint Maud OST), musician & Constructive co-founder Adrian Corker, London-based experimentalist No Home, Italian artist & NTS Radio resident Silvia Kastel (Blackest Ever Black, Palto Flats, Youth), British sound artist David Prior, and a unique collaboration between the British DIY experimental musician Richard Skelton & Corey Fuller, a descendant of R. Buckminster Fuller.

The Nu’rons were a family group consisting of two sets of brothers and cousins, the four young men in question being brothers Daryl Howard and Raymond Gibson (Daryl’s mother registered him under his father’s surname of Howard and Raymond under her maiden name of Gibson) together with Otho Bateman and Charles Bateman. They were all born and raised in Salem, New Jersey and from the age of ten and eleven began singing with a fifth member and Gibson brother Rudolph as a group called The Gospel 5. They eventually decided to crossover to secular music and as a group known for their energetic dance routines they came up with the new performing name of ‘The Nu’rons’ (taken from the word ‘Neuron’ which is a cell that transmits nerve impulses). However Rudolph was soon to leave the group due to physical illness. Also Daryl Howard and Charles Bateman had also been part of a working group known as The Devotions prior to becoming The Nu-Ron’s.Following hours of practice The Nu’rons eventually felt confident enough to put their own shows together and began to perform at local dances and parties around New Jersey and Philadelphia, often being used as a non-paid warm up act for bigger named artists. They moved between several different managers including Jimmy Bishop (Duo Dynamic Productions) until they came under the tutelage of WDAS radio DJ Georgie Woods (his wife Gilda, being the owner of the Philadelphia Gil, Dion and Top & Bottom record Labels). It was Georgie who introduced them to Manny Campbell who in turn invited them to an audition at his and partner Charles Bowen’s Emandolynn Music studio in Chester P.A. The song The Nu’rons chose to audition with was the self penned “I’m A Loner”, the audition went well, as during late January/early February of 1970 Manny and Charles took The Nu’rons into the Sigma Sound Studio’s with Tom Bell and the TSOP musicians to record “I’m A Loner” and “All My Life” which was released on the Nu-Ron label in April of the same year. The two studio takes presente don this release came short after the band moved on from the collaboration with producer Emanuel Campbell to take music matters in their own hands. Beside recording "Disco Hustle" to be part of the disco boom in Philly of the times, they recorded also “You Came Thru”, a rough yet beautiful heavy bassline driven soul funk recording, and the just amazing “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, here presented in one of the original Studio takes.

Relapse presents a remastered reissue from the undisputed king of Japanese noise-MERZBOW. "Pulse Demon" is one of the most celebrated releases of Masami Akita's storied 4 decade long career. Composed entirely by live noise concrete and the use of a fuzz box, "Pulse Demon" eschews all overdubs and studio trickery, laying MERZBOW bare. What follows in these recordings is the pure essence of unfettered noise. The rawness in "Pulse Demon" is palpable; praised as "genuinely extreme, downright torturous sounds that are strangely compelling in their shredding intensity." (A.V. Club) upon its original release in 1996. Remastered by James Plotkin (ISIS, ELECTRIC WIZARD, FULL OF HELL, and more,) the "Pulse Demon" reissues features "Extract 1", a never-before released track that was recorded as part of the original "Pulse Demon" sessions.

A few words for the album
Moment’s Aeternity:
a 12/8 composition celebrating the raw power of the “moment”, marked by whirling improvised moments between drums, bass clarinet and Harris P’s Armenian duduk.

Pajko, fire in the forest on the mountain:
in Sokratis own words: “I have a really vivid memory as a child. I was staring at the Djena mountain from my window in Archangellos which sits on the Pajko mountain. A little beam of light shone far in the horizon; it was a fire that in my little eyes looked as if the giants of Almopia were trying to communicate with each other using phryktoria (a way of contacting through fire in Ancient Greece).”

Footprints of some Giant Steps:
While the classic compositions of two true Jazz Giants- Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane- are certainly different, they do both connect in a mystical way. Rearranged in 5/8 combining half of each melody and half of each one’s chord progression, keeping the form of the piece for improvisation, still in 5.

Oson Zeis Fainou (Seikilo’s Epitaph):
found in a tomb stone in the Northeast of Greece, this is the only melody saved from the ancient times. It is accompanied by lyrics contemplating the meaning of life:
Ὅσον ζῇς φαίνου
μηδὲν ὅλως σὺ λυποῦ πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶ τὸ ζῆν τὸ τέλος ὁ xρόνος ἀπαιτεῖ.
‘’While you live, shine
don’t feel blue for anything because our life is short and time demands an end.’’

Here is to Oghene K:
’’Hey man, where is the groove?’’, he would say, just to trigger another wave of inspiration for Sokratis. Oghene was a true force of nature, a well of kindness, a masterful artist that left this world too early. This one is for him.

Balkan Riff (for Milcho Leviev):
Milcho Leviev (1936-2019), was a long-time friend and collaborator and a true inspiration for expression, creativity and colorfulness. Expressing the deep sentiments evoked by the Balkan sound and history, this is a sorrowful dialogue between bass clarinet and contrabass.

Spirits of Djena:
one of the most esoteric and personal moments of the album. Composed and recorded during the challenging times of the COVID-era, you can hear the baritone and tenor saxophone firmly grounded on a crispy, hypnotizing contrabass groove.

Sokratis Votskos Quartet
Kostas Anastasiadis / Giorgos Klountzos - Chrysidis: Drums
Leandros Pasias: Piano
Vaggelis Vrachnos: Contrabass
Sokratis Votskos: Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet and Compositions


Sokratis Votskos is a jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, educator, and bandleader from Greece. Deeply invested in unearthing the folk sounds and heritage music of Greece and Eastern Europe, he weaves these into modern jazz compositions though the use of melodies, polyrhythms, and his reedy, timeless tone. He leads the Sokratis Votskos Quartet, he is one half of Kolida Babo and member of the Reggetiko Project. A highly regarded sideman and ensemble player, he has worked extensively with renowned jazz musicians with several highly acclaimed releases (MiC, Jazzman, Walt Disney and now Fair Weather Friends Records).

He has performed his music in numerous venues and festivals worldwide from Vinterjazz in Copenhagen, to the EFG London Jazz Festival where he performed at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s alongside Greg Foat.

He is also an archaeoacoustics researcher and enthusiast, having completed his Master studies on the field of ancient ritualistic caves of Greece research.

Leandros Pasias was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. At age 10 was introduced to piano, continuing his studies at the Modern Conservatory of Thessaloniki and later at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the department of jazz piano.Ηe holds a classical harmony diploma and a BA at the Department of Music Studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 2020 he received jazz improvisation lessons from Aaron Parks.

With a series of appearances in multiple international jazz festivals, Leandros has collaborated with a wide range of musicians from Nicolas Masson and James Wylie to Marina Osk, Ivo Papasov and Haris Lambrakis, among others.

A member of the Yako Trio, he released “OdesSea” on Fair Weather Friends Records (2021).

Vangelis Vrachnos was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1989. While he started playing the bass at the age of 12, alongside his brother, his studies would commence a few years later. Introduced to double bass at the age of 23, he undertook jazz double bass studies at the Codarts Αcademy of Rotterdam. He has participated in several festivals such as the Technopolis and Odessa international jazz festivals. Since returning to his hometown, in 2015, he has been a founding member of Mordana and Yako Trio and has collaborated with a series of musicians like James Wyllie, Sokrates Votskos and Dimitis Agelakis, among others.

Kostas Anastasiadis is a tireless researcher, that has been diligently studying Tradition and its evolution, creating a fresh amalgam of sound moods. His mature improvisational virtuosity highlights a uniquely individual artistic expression and was recognized with the ̈Unique Individual Stylist" award by the PIT (Percussion Institute of Technology) in Los Angeles, California. He has been associated with various ensembles that have garnered significant interest in the global music scene. As an educator, he is the founder of "The Harmony of Rhythm" musical method, which aims to explore and establish the elements that constitute the concept of rhythm.

Giorgos Klountzos-Chrysidis was born in Thessaloniki in 1991. Following studies at the Modern Conservatory of Thessaloniki, he moved to France and the Conservatoire de Nice. With performances at well-known festivals like Nice Jazz Festival, Nuits du Sud and Jazz à Vienne, he had the opportunity to meet the American drummer Leon Parker, who encouraged him to move to Paris, where he spent the next two years under his tutoring and guidance.

In 2016, came a defining moment in his career as he traveled to New York for the first time. He participated in the quartet of saxophonist Diego Rivera for a series of performances and attended lessons by Rodney Whitaker and Randy "Uncle G" Gelispie at Michigan's State University.

Collaborations include Xavier Davis, Ricky Ford, Nicolas Masson, Diego Rivera, Craig Bailey, Baptiste Herbin, Marc Abrams, Pantelis Stoikos, Antonis Anissegos, David Lynch, Ziad Rajab and Ivo Papasov, among others.

Unlock the allure of The Hot Spot through its unforgettable soundtrack, a captivating collection that brings the film's sultry ambiance to life.

Set against the backdrop of a small Texas town, The Hot Spot follows Harry Madox, a charming drifter with a dark past. As he arrives in town, he becomes embroiled in a web of seduction and deceit, navigating his way through a love triangle involving the sultry waitress, Gloria, and the alluring femme fatale, Dolly. Tensions rise and passions ignite, leading to a thrilling climax where desire and danger intertwine. Directed by the visionary Dennis Hopper, the film is a masterclass in mood and atmosphere, capturing the essence of 1990s neo-noir.

The Hot Spot has garnered acclaim for its stylish cinematography and gripping narrative, but it's the music that truly sets it apart. It's an amalgamation of swampy blues, jazz and rock — all mixed and recorded in a sparse, bloomy and eerie sort of way.

Critics hailed the soundtrack as "an electrifying fusion of jazz and blues that perfectly complements the film's seductive undertones." The blend of sultry melodies and haunting instrumentals creates an immersive experience that resonates long after the credits roll.

This recording is just so damn fine, so airy and warm. And the musicians aboard on this Dennis Hopper film are a who's who, including Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, Roy Rodgers, Earl Palmer and Tim Drummond. This has long been a highly sought-after and collectible record among audiophiles. This soundtrack is essential for any music lover or film buff, capturing the very essence of the film's seductive spirit.

As a tribute to Vladimir sivc aka FUNKY DESTINATION who sadly passed away in march last year, SOOPASOUL is releasing this limited edition special updated version of the now classic '' The Inside Man- REMIX '' pt.1 has been completely rebuilt from the ground up , on the flip is pt.3 .. which is previously unreleased and features Paul 'Dewey' haywood on Tenor sax and Tony wright on Congas as well as toasting and additional guitars by Soopasoul.

Stank In Here
Have no fear, the stank is here! Temu & Mofak are bringing it with their new single “Stank In Here”. Serving as a long-awaited follow-up to their first collaboration back in 2015, “On the Come Up”, the duo returns with an even smoother, soulful yet futuristic dance smash meticulously composed by Mofak for people of all ages to enjoy. Meanwhile, Temu addresses the listeners directly with a message of love and togetherness while echoing back to the era of EWF, Kool & The Gang, Zapp & Roger, and The Gap Band.

Heralds of the Stank
Temu is back on the scene with his new solo single “Heralds Of The Stank”. Temu recalls the first moments when the stank hit him personally and credits the ones who introduced him as its heralds — his parents — in an infectious funky tribute song. (Ever heard something so good it made you frown and pucker your lips while nodding your head? That’s the stank face!) Standing ten toes firm on his Funk roots, Temu both lyrically and musically draws inspiration from George Clinton, Sly & the Family Stone, Jackson 5, Prince, and James Brown. Be on the lookout for his upcoming album titled “HERALDS”.

Emotional Response presents the first of 2 EPs by Laura Sparrow aka LNS, the Calgary raised, Berlin based producer and DJ with 8 acid-tinged cuts that are equally expansive and inspiring, personal and inventive.

After her debut Malinge Range (cassette) on fellow native Canadian 1080p label in 2016, LNS moved to Berlin and has released a steady stream of 12”s, exploring ambient, dub, electro and techno. Initially appearing on Vancouver émigré’s Jayda G’s (alongside Fett Burger) Freakout Cult label before settling at DJ Sotofett’s cult WANIA label and more recently on the legendary and ‘original’ German techno label, Tresor.

A love of the Roland TR-303, alongside deep diving into breakbeat creation, manipulation, mutation and production, plus some intrepid mixing and post-production assistance, development and support with DJ Sofofett, have led to a collection of some of her favourite music to date.

LNS-ID 1 and LNS ID 2 are the result. Recorded during a burst of creativity through dedication, new studio equipment and learning techniques, as well the necessity of artistic expression in the moment.

Two sets of four tracks based on the acid tradition in the more restless corners of 90s and early 00s Braindance. Acid lines drive the melodies, while drums move between sliced break fragments and the familiar sounds of the Rolant TR-606 and TR-808.

Pads drift in with a warm glow or at times, quiet ghostly tension. The results are music that leans towards atmosphere and memory, something almost nostalgic that was built for those of us who still chase the more expressive edges of acid.

PRESIDENT are an anonymous UK-based collective operating at the intersection of heavy music, electronic experimentation, and cinematic atmosphere. Refusing to conform to the traditional structures of genre or identity, PRESIDENT prioritise intent over image—shifting the spotlight away from individuals and firmly onto the work itself.





Musically, they create a hybrid sound rooted in alternative and post-rock, layered with industrial textures, programmed beats, and dynamic arrangements that lean into tension, release, and emotional weight. Their material moves with precision—considered, deliberate, and always atmospheric. Every element serves the wider vision. Having launched without fanfare and operating without personal profiles or commentary, PRESIDENT has cultivated intrigue through minimalism and control. Their visual and sonic identity is cohesive and considered—every release, image, and post feeds into a tightly held narrative. There is no chaos here. There is no guesswork. Built to exist outside the noise, PRESIDENT are not here to chase attention. They are building something that invites deeper investment—designed to be discovered, not sold. After 3 months of cryptic teasing, anonymous UK-based band PRESIDENT are taking the Rock scene by storm. Post one of the most talked about performances of Download, PRESIDENT unveiled their debut EP, King Of Terrors.

Fiat Lux return with Desire & Belief, their third album of new material this millennium, following their acclaimed comeback LPs Saved Symmetry and Twisted Culture. The trio—Steve Wright, Will Howard, and David P Crickmore—combine modern production with vintage synths and instruments rooted in their Polydor-era beginnings to craft ten tracks that span cinematic atmospheres, synth-pop anthems, and moody electronica. Tracks like "Clear Sky " and "Turn Me Around" offer hook-laden synth-pop, while "Summer Solstice " and "Am I Dreaming " delve into ambient and darker tones. Desire & Belief is a natural progression for Fiat Lux—retaining the spirit of their 1980s Northern roots in synth, goth, and indie, yet confidently stepping into new sonic territory for long-time fans and new listeners alike. RIYL: Blancmange, OMD, Scary Thieves, Tears For Fears

Ushering in a new era, Berlin based, New Zealand heavy psych duo Earth Tongue lower the castle gates on their third album Dungeon Vision, a trove of fuzz-drenched anthems produced by garage rock luminary Ty Segall in Los Angeles. Guitarist Gussie Larkin and drummer Ezra Simons spent the Berlin winter of 2025 refining the album’s twelve tracks in their self-described “windowless cave” rehearsal space, crafting a record that channels both isolation and the duo’s live intensity. With the songs finally taking shape and a studio deadline looming, they flew to Los Angeles to turn their hard-won ideas into the real thing. Once there, the band and Ty captured lightning in a bottle, recording and mixing Dungeon Vision in just ten days at Altamira Sound. Tracked live to tape, Dungeon Vision pulses with human energy, fuzz guitars, bone-battering drums, and hauntingly tuneful vocals. Ty Segall’s influence is all over the record with Ty choosing the best takes based on feel rather than technical perfection. The “king of fuzzy guitar tones” pushed the duo to find new sonic textures while championing their raw chemistry. “Ty’s been a big driving force,” says Ezra. “We supported him in New Zealand back in 2023, and he’s backed us ever since even bringing us on tour through Europe and the UK in 2024.” Since their emergence in 2016, Earth Tongue’s world-building, visuals, and relentless touring have earned them global attention and a cult-like following. Their 2024 album Great Haunting, also released on In The Red Records, received a Taite Music Prize nomination and saw them win Best Group at the 2025 Aotearoa Music Awards. They’ve toured extensively, sharing stages with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, IDLES, Acid King, Brant Bjork and Kikagaku Moyo. With Dungeon Vision, Earth Tongue deliver their most immersive work yet, a richly human, fuzz-soaked journey that bottles the magic of their live show and cements their reputation as one of the most exciting psych rock acts on the planet.

‘Confession' is an album of quiet upheaval. An album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire. About the way friendship can suddenly tilt into something charged — and how that charge unsettles everything around it. Where earlier work often observed from a distance, Confession turns inward. The voice is closer, warmer, less shielded. “This wasn’t the album I intended to make,” says Carla dal Forno. “I originally wanted something veiled and abstract, but I realised I couldn’t hide behind abstraction — the songs only worked when I leaned into emotional truth.”

This is dal Forno’s fourth LP, written and recorded over several years in a small country town, in a studio housed inside a partially abandoned hospital. Long corridors, humming lights, emptied rooms — a place built for care and waiting, now quiet enough for thoughts to echo. That stillness shapes the record: intimate, watchful, unadorned. “I live in a small country town that offers a stillness my life didn’t previously have,” she explains. “In that quiet, feelings I might’ve ignored in a busy city grew loud.” Dal Forno sings plainly and conversationally, with an emotional precision that sharpens the everyday into something quietly unsettling.

The album moves through paired states: going out and staying in, wanting and withholding, devotion and distraction. Domestic calm set against private unrest. A long-held relationship offers safety and routine, while a newer connection opens emotional fault lines — longing, jealousy, fantasy, self-exposure. “At the heart of the album is a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way,” dal Forno says. “That shift brought daydreaming, jealousy, tenderness, confusion, self-awareness — and eventually acceptance.”

The drama here is internal, incremental, lived. Musically, Confession feels lighter on its feet than its subject matter suggests. Melodic basslines anchor the songs while guitars, harmonies, and gently off-kilter rhythms move around them. There’s a looseness, even a playfulness — “like the sensation of tension lifting once you finally admit something to yourself,” as dal Forno puts it. The album traces a subtle arc: attraction blooming where it shouldn’t; obsession quietly taking hold; fantasy overtaking reality; clarity arriving slowly, sometimes painfully. Visually and emotionally, Confession returns to modest spaces: backyards, beds, night streets, overgrown paths. “The record exists in that contrast,” dal Forno reflects. “Peaceful surroundings, unsettled interior.”

Like all of dal Forno’s work, Confession resists clean conclusions. It doesn’t moralise desire or romanticise restraint. Instead, it lingers in the in-between — where love is stable but not total, where yearning teaches as much as it hurts, where solitude becomes a form of care. Plain-spoken but emotionally complex. Rooted and restless. Held together by bass, breath, routine, weather. An album about admitting what you feel —and living with what that admission changes.

There's a tendency in metal to mistake aggression for honesty, volume for depth. To confuse the performance of darkness with its actual weight. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest, the new album from San Francisco-based post-black metal band Bosse-de-Nage, sidesteps this entirely. It’s the group’s most fully realized work yet, precisely because it refuses to be pinned down.

Bosse-de-Nage have been working with The Flenser for over fifteen years. They were one of the first bands the label ever partnered with and have the longest active relationship in the label's history. But unlike most bands who build momentum through constant touring and visibility, Bosse-de-Nage has largely existed apart from the music world's usual machinery. They've evolved on their own terms, in relative isolation, allowing the work to develop without outside pressure or influence. What began rooted in black metal anonymity has mutated into something that actively defies categorization. The aggression is still there, but it's no longer the point. Hidden Fires Burn Hottest finds the band treating emotions like physical objects, feelings with spatial properties. “No Such Place"" describes a space that can't exist but does anyway, somewhere between thought and location. ""Immortality Project"" examines infinite possibility not as promise but as problem, endless options collapsing under their own weight. These songs don't use metaphor to describe emotion. They make emotion into something you could theoretically touch.
Tracked by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker) at Atomic Garden East and mixed and mastered by Richard Chowenhill of Agriculture, Hidden Fires Burn Hottest was years in development, with some tracks beginning in 2018.

The long writing process offered time that most records don't get. Time to live with ideas, revise endlessly, to let structures settle. For the first time, lyricist Bryan Manning wrote everything in advance, creating a surplus to pull from rather than working under deadline pressure. The difference shows.
Coming off Further Still, an album built on constraint and economy, Bosse-de-Nage sought the opposite: sprawl, strangeness, fewer rules. Space for ideas to develop without rushing them. Dynamics that move through quiet as much as noise. Presence earned through atmosphere instead of volume. The record even includes ""Mementos,"" which might be considered the first love song the band has ever written.

Nothing here coheres into a theme. These are pieces pulled from low moments and private feelings made public through sound. The band has never been interested in positivity, in music that resolves cleanly or offers comfort. But bleakness doesn't mean humorlessness. There's something darkly funny running through much of it, even when it shouldn't be.
Hidden Fires Burn Hottest doesn't explain itself. It just insists: what you feel is as real as what you can see."

Some records feel like they should have existed. This is one of them.Originally buried as an album cut in the catalog of C. C. Catch, ‘Stop – Draggin’ My Heart Around’ never received the maxi single treatment it always deserved. For decades, fans of Dieter Bohlen’s signature sound have been left wondering what could have been… no extended mix, no dub, no proper club version… Until now.

Julie Chrome steps in with a strikingly faithful reinterpretation, capturing the emotional tone and melodic essence of the original, while Ryan Benson carefully reconstructs the sonic blueprint, staying true to that unmistakable mid-80s German disco aesthetic of Luis Rodriguez. Think shimmering synths, tight Linn-style drums and that bittersweet, dramatic tension Bohlen/Rodriguez and Co. perfected. But this release goes further than nostalgia. On this maxi, the track finally unfolds the way it always should have. Fully extended, club-ready, and built for the dancefloor. The Long Version delivers that essential 80s arc: slow build, emotional lift, and extended instrumental passages made for mixing. The Dub Version strips it back into a hypnotic tool, pure drums, synth stabs and atmosphere, tailored for late-night transitions and deeper sets. The Radio Version and Alternative Radio Version complete the package, offering two concise takes that still retain all the charm, drama and melodic punch of the original composition. This is more than a tribute, it’s a carefully crafted time capsule. From the production to the artwork and label aesthetics, everything here is designed to transport you straight back to 1986. For fans of classic German disco, collectors of lost Italo-adjacent gems, and DJs who know the power of a well-placed nostalgic moment – this one hits deep. A record that finally corrects history.

Y-3, the pioneering sports-fashion collaboration between adidas and Yohji Yamamoto, has for three decades dwelled calmly within the ''tensions of existence''. In conceiving the brand's long-awaited return to runway format at Paris Fashion Week, these codes laid the groundwork leading up to the Spring/Summer 2025 season. Whilst the focus for runway is traditionally placed on garments, models, styling, environment, and the pageantry in between, it was crucial that music play an integral role in the conversation. Three seasons later, sound has informed creative direction from the very earliest phases of ideation. Commissioning all-original compositions has become a natural part of this ideology. The return to runway has invited the opportunity to define a new sonic palette for the brand, and beyond that, to usher in a new era of sound for Y-3 that echoes across music & culture. Following this ethos, and with a mandate to support obscure talent, Montreal duo Solitary Dancer have emerged as the first collaborators in shaping the intimate brand architecture of noise & feeling. With a body of work now spanning over a trilogy of seasons, the genre-defying Y-3000 imprint provides an outlet to disseminate & recontexualize the original compositions beyond the traditional runway. The label embodies Y-3's enduring commitment to explore innovation within opposing cultural forces. The works, originally released on Y-3000 as a series of white labels, are now being featured as a 6x 12'' vinyl compilation. Designed by Trevor Jackson and limited to just 99 examples, the recordings will also be made available both digitally and on streaming services for the very first time.

The fifth release on Objekt’s Kapsela imprint is (re)weave, an EP of crystalline club tracks from Detroit-born, London-based producer Tristan Arp.

(re)weave was written during a prolonged period of flux for the artist. “When I started making this record, my life and the world felt like a maze,” he recounts. As he routed and re-routed through past and future homes – Mexico to New York to Detroit to Mexico and finally to London – his output bore the marks of this repeated uprooting. “I was thinking about making music that reflected these twists and turns, and the knotty pathways through them. I was also re-reading Borges around this time, which must have influenced my interest in labyrinths.”

Accordingly, the EP is a mycelial puzzle, a tangle of spidery, undulating ostinatos and earthy percussion, stitched through with syncopated kicks. Employing the sounds of multitudinous critters and kin – whales, insects, thunder, water, forests – the arrangements sum to a sentient mesh of organic matter, the compositions living and breathing like earthly beings. Kaleidoscopic tendrils explore in every direction but are always underpinned by a driving, percussive backbone. It’s not easily classifiable: it’s bass-driven, but to simply call it “bass music” would sell it short.

In keeping with the winding geographical paths traced over the EP’s creation, (re)weave saw Tristan Arp revisiting and reinterpreting unfinished sessions and incorporating them into newer ideas. Rhythms and sounds have been transplanted and self-recycled from previous projects and woven into the fabric of the record. In this way, (re)weave also describes a looping back over time, a recalibration of the self from past to present through interlocking rhythms, channeling and communing with versions of oneself from times gone by.

The closing track, Wish Server, slows the EP to walking pace and hints at tentatively emerging from the deepest jungle into a delicate, innocent light. Tristan Arp imagines it as a dialog with a baby-self. “Some of my earliest memories are of sitting at my mother’s loom,” he offers. “The sequence of these tracks traces these feelings and follows the thread back to the primordial soup… through mazes… to a feeling of levitation.”

Silvana Rossi emerges from the new wave of Italo revivalists with a sound that feels both timeless and sharply contemporary, where vintage drum machines, analog synth lines and nocturnal romance collide with a modern club sensibility. Rooted in classic Italo disco but filtered through today’s underground circuitry, her music speaks directly to selectors navigating the space between wave, electro and slow-burning techno. The tracks carry a distinctly personal edge—melancholy, desire, and late-night introspection wrapped in icy melodies and hypnotic grooves. This is music made for dimly lit booths, smoke-filled basements, and DJs who still believe in storytelling through vinyl.

A seductive opener “Elixir Of Love” built on cascading arps and a steady pulse, romantic but restrained, like a whispered confession over a rolling bassline. Perfect for setting the tone early set. Tension-driven and emotionally charged, italo anthem “Breakdown” balances crisp electro rhythms with a sense of inner collapse. A cold wave-leaning cut that hits hardest when the lights stay low and the energy turns inward. Shades Of The Night – a cinematic slow-burner drenched in shadow and atmosphere. This one is all about texture and space. Walk In The Night, another italo classic on the EP, stripped-back and hypnotic, with a confident groove that nods to classic Italo while staying firmly rooted in modern club aesthetics. “Bad Girl” brings a sharper, more playful edge, driving, stylish, and slightly dangerous. A weapon with crossover appeal for electro and wave crowds alike. A versatile tool for both warm-ups and deeper moments. Emotionally direct yet sonically controlled lush pads and restrained vocals create a sense of distance that pulls you in “Don’t Leave Me”. A melancholic highlight for DJs who know how to play with tension.

In discotheques and dark rooms across Europe, Boys’ Shorts have earned the trust of the queer and wider clubbing communities as generous stewards of a timeless sound that, like themselves, never stops moving forward. The duo of Vangelis and Tareq initially met at an underground club in their native Greece. Sensing a rare sonic connection, the pair became friends, forming Boys’ Shorts to meet again and again, travelling from their adopted cities of Thessaloniki and London to appear as far afield as Berlin’s Panorama Bar and New York’s Le Bain, as well as supporting Goldfrapp and Hot Chip on tour. Their motivation? In their own words, “we make people dance!”

Following years of gradual, thoughtful studio sessions, and EP releases on tastemaking electronic labels including Phantasy Sound and Live At Robert Johnson, Boys’ Shorts establish their own imprint, ALL SORTS, in order to deliver a fantastically ambitious debut album, ‘What Does It Take To Make These Men Happy?’

The LP opens with the grandiose, cosmic vista of ‘The Space Between Us’, a classic passage of strings and synthesis, before the shared Boys’ Shorts vision falls back to earthier territory with deep groove of ‘Let’s Fall In Love’, mixing universal sentiment with a patient vision of human potential and the voice of Greek electronic pioneer, K.BHTA. ‘Come’ aligns with NYC’s Michael Cignarale, offering an excitable invitation to the mind and body sculpted by the way of a throbbing, warehouse-sized statement of nineties house sensuality. Channeling heroes Lowe and Tennant at their most introspective, ‘Short Life’ maintains the dance, yet dares to ask, “what if the parties aren’t enough anymore… Can you ask for something more?”

Out of the pet shop and straight into the strobe lights, ‘Disco Romantica’ makes true on the promise of its title, a lovelorn monologue giving way and slipping into rave stabs and whirring synthesis that looks forward to a memorable, emotionally-charged night ahead. Underpinning this feeling of anticipation, ‘Going Out Hoping To See You’ introduces the voice of Justin Strauss to Boys’ Shorts' musical world. A certified icon of club culture, spinning from The Mudd Club to modern day DJ booths, Strauss’s generation spanning experience of nightlife leans into the fundamentals of human connection and the pleasure of musical discovery, wrapped in irresistible chug.

Another transformative figure in club music, Fischerspooner’s own Casey Spooner dips into French for the Motorik cyber sleaze of ‘MECANIMAUX’, their own vocals pitching up and down with playful EBM abandon. ‘Montage’ offers a different kind of composition, conjuring an ecstatic club banger that finds inspiration in nineties indie rock motifs alongside the rave scene, while ‘Run’ promises to blow out sound systems before its weighty electro bassline succumbs to waves of glistening synths.

Such bombast into beauty perfectly sets up the record’s blissful conclusion; ‘The Stars Are Out For You’ is electro-pop so delicate as to heal aching feet (and mend broken hearts), while offering the final tender moments of the album as a form of tribute on ‘Untitled (For Mitsi)’. It’s a thoughtful ending to a thrilling trip through a shared passion for electronic and pop music in all its glorious potential. What does it take to make these men happy? It’s a pleasure to find out.

From Wisdom Teeth’s recent compilation nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 (quiet wind)—which cast a spotlight on the Japanese city of Nagoya—emerges “2++”, a new label launched by abentis, who curated the compilation alongside Facta and K-LONE as a central figure in the scene. Conceived as a series introducing facets of Nagoya’s underground electronic music to the world on vinyl, its inaugural release is abentis’ debut album, Dim Grow.

Across the album, intricately designed electronic mallet sounds—created using Ableton Live’s physical-modeling synthesizer—take center stage. Fresh and percussive like marimba or kalimba, yet simultaneously carrying an otherworldly, unreal quality, these tones form the core of the record’s sonic identity. In moments of near-silence, a crystalline resonance poised between glass and metal shimmers with subtle shifts in temperature, giving the album its distinctive texture.

While resonating with the sonic sensibilities of fellow Wisdom Teeth affiliates such as K-LONE, Tristan Arp, and Salamanda, abentis’ uniquely strange palette can be traced back to one of his strongest influences: Haruomi Hosono. In particular, Hosono’s mid-’70s tropical-infused solo albums — Tropical Dandy (1975), Bon Voyage Co. (1976), and Paraiso (1978) — serve as a key reference point. Symbolically reflected in Hosono’s marimba and vocal performance at a 1976 live show in Yokohama Chinatown, the marimba functioned as a central instrument for constructing imagined exotic landscapes inspired by Martin Denny and Hawaiian music.

For abentis—who worked at a local jazz bar before becoming active as a hip-hop beatmaker—the language of “tension chords,” a harmonic vocabulary rooted in jazz and R&B that hovers ambiguously between brightness and darkness, forms a consistent grammar throughout Dim Grow.

Behind the album’s core theme of “mallets + tension chords” lies a broad musical lineage: the harmonic sensibility of Claude Debussy, who anticipated the tensions of jazz; the proto-minimalist spirit of Erik Satie; the marimba-centered structures of Steve Reich; their continuation in Japan through Mkwaju Ensemble (with Midori Takada and production by Joe Hisaishi); and the subsequent branches into post-rock, electronica, and ambient music.

Growing up in Nagoya—an industrial city where creative independence is deeply valued—and being rooted in punk and hip-hop counterculture scenes naturally fostered abentis’ affinity with these predecessors. His practice between genres, combined with an encounter with the highly cross-pollinated musical perspective cultivated around Wisdom Teeth, provided the framework through which his own musical language crystallized. Dim Grow stands as the natural culmination of that journey.