Buscar:the building

2024 Repress

Niandra LaDes And Usually Just A T-Shirt is the first solo record by John Frusciante. Between 1990 and 1992 the guitarist made a series of 4-track recordings, which at the time were not intended for commercial release. After leaving the band Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992, Frusciante was encouraged by friends to release the material that he wrote in his spare time during the Blood Sugar Sex Magik sessions.

Originally released on Rick Rubin's American Recordings label in 1994, Niandra LaDes is a mystifying work of tortured beauty. Frusciante plays various acoustic and electric guitars, experimenting with layers of vocals, piano and reverse tape effects. Channeling the ghosts of Syd Barrett and Skip Spence, his lyrics are at once utterly personal and willfully opaque.

Frusciante's rapidfire, angular playing shows how key he was in the Chili Peppers' evolution away from their funk-rock roots. His cover of "Big Takeover" perfectly deconstructs the Bad Brains original with laid-back tempo, twelve-string guitar and a fierce handle on melody.

The album's second part - thirteen untitled tracks that Frusciante defines as one complete piece, Usually Just A T-Shirt - contains several instrumentals featuring his signature guitar style. Sparse phrasing, delicate counterpoint and ethereal textures recall Neu/Harmonia's Michael Rother or The Durutti Column's Vini Reilly.

On the front cover, Frusciante appears in 1920s drag - a nod to Marcel Duchamp's alter-ego Rrose Sélavy - which comes from Toni Oswald's film Desert in the Shape.

This first-time vinyl release has been carefully remastered and approved by the artist. The double LP set is packaged with gatefold jacket and printed inner sleeves.

"Building on the success of their singles ""Six Feet Under"" and ""Heroes Are Calling,"" which topped charts on several streaming platforms, including Spotify, and dominated the largest radio charts, Smash Into Pieces has made a remarkable impact. The single ""Six Feet Under"" has been awarded double platinum. The album ""Ghost Code"" is a 12-track masterpiece.

With 7 albums released, over half a billion streams, and top chart placements on both DSP and radio, the band stands as one of the Scandinavian fastest-growing alternative rock bands. A US headline tour in April- June, followed by an extensive WW tour with over 150 shows confirmed for 2024. “Wide awake but caught in the blind. It’s like we don’t see what right in front of our eyes” – Ghost Code /Smash Into Pieces"

"Building on the success of their singles ""Six Feet Under"" and ""Heroes Are Calling,"" which topped charts on several streaming platforms, including Spotify, and dominated the largest radio charts, Smash Into Pieces has made a remarkable impact. The single ""Six Feet Under"" has been awarded double platinum. The album ""Ghost Code"" is a 12-track masterpiece.

With 7 albums released, over half a billion streams, and top chart placements on both DSP and radio, the band stands as one of the Scandinavian fastest-growing alternative rock bands. A US headline tour in April- June, followed by an extensive WW tour with over 150 shows confirmed for 2024. “Wide awake but caught in the blind. It’s like we don’t see what right in front of our eyes” – Ghost Code /Smash Into Pieces"

Philly heavy-weight OT The Real has been steadily building up his reputation in the game over the last few years, projects with Heatmakerz and DJ Green Lantern have been solidifying his name in the world of underground hip-hop, and this brand new collaboration with veteran Boston native producer Statik Selektah is yet another proof of his relentless work ethic and growth. Featuring guest appearances by Freeway, Merkules and Wallo among others, "Maxed Out" is yet another step up in OT's catalog, setting his path on the way up!

Lossapardo's new album "If I Were To Paint It" releases on May 17th. Known for blending art and music, Lossapardo has caught the eye of big names like The New York Times Magazine or Netflix and building a strong artist community around him (FKJ, Luidji, Bas, Joseph Solomon, Montell Fish, Olivia Dean…).

His music, filled with feelings of wonder and a bit of sadness, tells stories that connect with people everywhere. From painting to composing music, every piece of his work is a journey into emotions. His album invites listeners into a world where every note and color creates a vivid picture of life's ups and downs. Lossapardo crafts experiences that speak to the soul, promising an album that continues to share his unique vision with the world.

Good news! Pacific Rhythm returns with its first long player of 2024 on July 5th from ZG, a collaborative effort from Zansika Lachhani and Grant (aka Tony from Frank & Tony). The LP titled “Out Of The Unknown” is the followup to the duo’s first incredibly well-received self-titled LP that landed back on NYC-based label Scissor & Thread in 2022.
Over the course of 6 tracks, ZG takes their sound a step further, building rich, deep, and complex rhythm patterns paired with thoughtful and unexpected musical arrangements. The voice of Zansika ties it all together to create a unique and singular vision of modern deep dance music informed by the duo’s life-long musical journey.

“Out Of The Unknown” effortlessly flows through dramatic atmospheric downtempo landscapes, MPC-style beatmaking, late 90’s deep house, and beautifully builds a bridge between UK and US-inspired sounds. Enjoy the trip! It’s certainly a beautiful one.

"Androids may not yet dream of electric sheep, but maybe computers do sing sad songs."

In 2013, Tzoukmanis released ‘Hope Is The Sister Of Despair’, issued here for the first time on vinyl with 4 previously unreleased tracks.
The album was made following the end of a relationship and the happy/sad feeling is everywhere in this music. Sequences twinkle and nag, soft pads pour balm on tired ears and when drums do appear they provide an intimate framework rather than a call to the dance floor. The album taps into a rich vein of sequencer romanticism, from Tangerine Dream-obsessed-‘Berlin School’ daydreamers to the whole nebula of music inspired by Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series. It also looks forward, prefiguring the return today, in troubled times, to the comforting inner space of ‘90s-worshipping ambient techno.

The German word ‘weltschmerz’, roughly translating as ‘world sadness’, fits this music well. The melancholy it inspires feels collective, almost heartening. Sorrow might be said to infuse the technology’s basic building blocks – Leibniz’s binary ‘one’ bereft of its ‘zero’, its presence twinned with absence. But there is hope, too, in the network of actions and decisions that have been fashioned here into melody and rhythm.

Repressed for the first time in 2 years, Note price change. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy/Roc-AFella era of nihilistic excess in the late 90's, Dead Prez also signed to a major label (Loud/Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel. The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo’s music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990's.

By later that decade, the duo had started making significant waves, having their music heard on the soundtracks to “Soul In The Hole” and “Slam,” as well as appearing on albums by Big Pun and The Beatnuts. By 1998, they released their first official single, the serious, stark “Police State,” on Loud, appropriately brought to the label by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian. After building a solid rep over the next two years with fiery live performances, in 2000 they unleashed their debut album, Let’s Get Free.

The album was a welcome return to provocative and often radically political rhetoric that hearkened back to hip-hop forebears including The Coup, Public Enemy and KRS-One (as well as poetic descendants like the Last Poets and Watts Prophets). Let’s Get Free was critically acclaimed and benefited from multiple singles, including the infectious, thick analog drive of “Hip-Hop” “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” with a remix co-produced by a young Kanye West; “Mind Sex” (with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets); and the poignant “I’m An African.”

But the singles weren’t the only worthy songs, as just about every cut here has deeper meaning than most full albums by their early 2000's peers. Highlights: the thought-provoking, anti-drug album opener “Wolves”; “We Want Freedom” “They Schools” and “Propaganda” . All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time.

An exercise in control of auditory limitations and possibilities, GAEL redefines techno production with their comprehension of cold atmospherics and meticulous world building. Exemplified in their first solo EP ‘Frozen White Horse’ released on BITE Records, fervent, hurtling drums are underpinned by hopeful euphorics and circulating, breathy cybernetics. A culmination of sophisticated sonic dialects reared from the intersections of soundscaping and electronic music, the berlin-based DJ/Producer from Dagestan (by-way-of Kyiv and Odesa) commits their practice to the inclusivity of borderless, capricious and emotive dance- floor synergy. This energy was previously captured on BITE last year with their appearances on the Shedding Skin VA and The Soft Moon’s Exister Remixed. GAEL’s harmonic and organic approach to techno production echoes the heartbeat of dancefloor resistance,captivating audiences across venues from Berlin’s Berghain to Kyiv’s ∄ as a resident at the queer event series XITb. Delivering thunderous feeling through experimental sounds and masterful pacing, the 4-track-EP blurs the margins of moody techno exploration with remarkable attitude and a foreboding sense of uphill struggle. For the opening title track, a procession of stacked chords,synths and snares are met with a cyclone of galloping percussion building to maximum intensity until dispersing into echoey chimes. As the listener is able to catch their breath, the second track ‘prpttcxsstnc’ reignites - this time with trepidatious yet ethereal vibration, as the track continues to inject GAEL’s post-punk style of galvanised energy, rich layered drums maintain the undercurrent of resolute chaos into the following track ‘there is nothing left’. Sombre track titles are off-set by triumphant vigour for the third instalment, pushing through gale force drums and the clanging zaps and bleeps of electronic debris. Concluding with the final cacophony of collaged beats and drums, bellowing siren-like cold wails meld with GAEL’s calamity crescendo of crashing cymbals, the procession of rapturous drums slipping into a distant echo of warped hollow gleams.

Like an unsent love letter to a psychedelic London where everyone is trying to find their way to a secret Television Personalities gig, Cuneiform Tabs emerge with an astounding debut of lo-fi pop and DIY experimentation. A hazy collage of joyful heartaches, twisted children's TV themes and sing-song melodies, the album echoes the sounds of '60s AM radio from a dozen narrow alleyways to the North.

Over 18 months, the Tabs' Matt Bieyle and Sterling Mackinnon traded 4-track tapes between the Bay Area and the UK. While they previously played together in indie band Violent Change, the duo's physical distance and their songwriting process of building, blurring and distorting across the Atlantic would create something no one saw coming. Grabbing any instruments at their disposal and splitting vocal duties, Bieyle and Mackinnon pushed their Tascam to its limit to make glittering, odd-shaped gems.

There is an insular feel to Cuneiform Tabs, suited for late nights after the entire city has stumbled into dreamtime or lazy afternoons when you can't quite recall where you need to be, but you know you won't make it there on time. It's like a pirate radio show where Bob Pollard alternates Swell Maps and Cleaners From Venus records while randomly unplugging various bits of gear and reading passages from a book on R.D. Laing.

Originally released in a hyper-limited artist edition, W.25TH / Superior Viaduct is thrilled to bring this kaleidoscopic LP to a wider audience.

Building on forty years years of GBV history, the majestic and triumphant Strut Of Kings is the forty-first album by indie rock royalty Guided By Voices. Largely recorded in Kings County, New York (Brooklyn), the album is perhaps a gesture towards the malevolent “kings” on the world stage. As the “Serene King” waltzes across the battlefield, Emperor Pollard evokes castles, King Kong and strutting roosters, a surreal yet regal journey.

This single comprises two stand out tracks from “Power-Fuerza” (1972), one of the best Latin funk albums ever recorded, with all the right ingredients to shake dance floors worldwide. Produced by boogaloo-don Bobby Marin, these tracks are a vibrant tapestry, weaving together the raw energy of the South Bronx streets and the soulful melodies born from the band's Puerto Rican heritage. The Bronx in the 1970s, marked by the presence of notorious gangs, presented a complex and challenging urban landscape reflected in abandoned buildings and neglected public spaces. The prevalence of street gangs, such as the Ghetto Brothers, contributed to an atmosphere of heightened tension and occasional violence. The Ghetto Brothers, originating from the Melendez family who moved from Puerto Rico to the South Bronx in the 1950s, faced challenges involving violence and crime. Despite this, Benjy Melendez, a key figure, directed the group towards community improvement. The Ghetto Brothers embraced music, crafting a potent, NYC-flavored musical fusion that caught the attention of record mogul Ismael Maisonave (Salsa Records). Their collaboration resulted in the recording of eight tracks in a single electrifying day at Manhattan's Fine Tone Studios, skillfully produced by Latin studio maestro Bobby Marin (Harvey Averne, La Lupe, Brooklyn Sounds…) This musical odyssey showcases the band's ability to seamlessly blend genres, creating a NYC-flavored stew that captivates listeners with its authenticity.

On her sophomore album "Germ in a Population of Buildings", upsammy moves through her surroundings with the curiosity of a place-bending landscape architect. The album is rooted in her interest for ambiguous environments in constant shift, and the feeling of discovering strange patterns in different ecosystems. Often, the Amsterdam-based artist finds herself zooming in and out beyond a place's most recognizable surface features to inhabit the microscopic and gigantic. Gathering field recordings and evocative environmental sounds, she shapes this source material into vibrating electro-acoustic rhythms and unstable, psychedelic textures. upsammy's debut album, 2020's critically-acclaimed "Zoom", was praised for its careful reimagining of IDM, evolving vignettes that nodded towards the dancefloor without being shackled to its rigid set of rules. On "Germ in a Population of Buildings" her process has evolved considerably; the skeletal trace of IDM is still present but it's been trapped in amber, allowing her unique sonic landscape to develop organically. 'Being is a Stone' is a proof of concept in many ways, layering upsammy's contorted voice in rickety patterns beneath a lattice of fragile rhythms and faintly melancholy synths. It's never immediately obvious where the sounds are coming from - a hiccuping beat might be glass cracking underfoot, and larger pulses could be wet concrete, rusted iron or bent plastic. As the sounds develop they morph into each other, demolishing what came before and building on top of the ornamental wreckage. On the dynamic 'Constructing', upsammy's sound design fluxes through hyperactive bass music structures, abstracting expectations at every turn. Often her sounds are whisper quiet, rattling and vibrating until heavier masonry drops and disrupts the structure. And when discernible rhythms subside into the background, like on the album's eerie title track, they become almost illusory, morphing between the real world and the electronic. upsammy's processed voice works like a bridge between these realms, snaking between stark, whimsical melodies on 'Patterning', arching from AutoTuned detachment into cooing, dreamy intimacy. By considering the harmonies between each location she's visited, upsammy has been able to build a unique topology that's an uncanny digital amalgam of her lived experience. It's a thoughtful alternative in an era more concerned with flatting the landscape than crumpling it and examining its peaks and troughs.

The qualities of that object may be summarized as follows: 1, Formal legibility of plan; 2, clear exhibition of structure, and 3, valuation of materials for their inherent qualities „as found“ “ Reyner Banham „The new Brutalism“ Architectural Review (1966)

Following on from our audio visual experiences in St. Gertruds church in cologne, this album contains eight excerpts from live sets, specially produced for the unique space of the building designed by Gottfried Böhm, in an attempt to capture its architecture and sound. Since 2015, our goal has been to establish a format at the interface between pop and club culture, as well as "academic" electronic music, in which media art, visuals, sound installations and dance performances play a central role in an immersive and architecturally memorable environment alongside the sophisticated musical program.

Info: The soulful power of Asabi Goodman's vocals is finally on vinyl! Blunted Stylus ft. Asabi Goodman s' "Rhythm's Got Soul" has "groove and style" reminiscent of the back-to-back, wall-to-wall packed dancefloors of the fever-pitched disco era, steady spinning in at 115 BPM. The highly anticipated collaboration between the renowned singer/ songwriter Asabi Goodman, and producer/arranger Geoff Boardman A.K.A. Blunted Stylus brings authority and intrigue to the dance floor, with soul.... "Free your mind and the mirror ball will follow".



Side A "Rhythm's Got Soul bursts through the stratosphere 'all frequencies blazing!"

Treating the listener to pitched horns, filtered drums, those sultry Asabi vocals, reinforced by the everlasting bass from Andrew 'Bigfoot' Leslie.

Momentum steps up with the rhythm guitar of Dave VHS, accompanied with vamp keys and hectic percussion.

The SOULICITORS are the band on this release 'sitting in the groove', syncopated and loose after the MPC4000 sample treatment, a sort of new paradigm of band-samples soul-fusion exploration!



Side B "Rhythm's Hot" (Afro Instrumental) is a monster cut on the flip, a relentlessly persuasive percussion groove, well timed transitions spread smooth like butter, akin to Midnight Marauders chords, styled across 'A Taste Of Honey' bassline for example, on an Afrocentric trip building up to the disco-fever instrumental strut.



Asabi Goodman is an American born (Oklahoma), entertainer now calling Australia home, consistently performing in stage and screen productions, and touring with bands and Broadway musicals (Hairspray! The Musical, CHICAGO). Asabi's vocal ability effortlessly elevates from 'sweet and soulful' to 'commanding and powerful', all the while showing unmistakably that her passion for the audience, and respect for the song is at the heart of every performance.

Geoff Blunted is an Australian producer, avid record collector, and co-founder of the ground breaking sample-funk group the 'RESIN DOGS' (1996-2005) extensively touring and producing. From the early days in the 80's of cutting his teeth in mixtapes, and volunteering at community radio at 4ZZZ in 1988 (arguably the golden era of hip hop) hosting Australia's first dedicated Hip Hop show "Just2Def" that aired for 1 year. Four Jazz-funk sample albums under his belt, 'Rhythm's Got Soul' arrives cued-up ready! The track highlights Geoff's ability to blend his time proven sample ethic into a resonating dynamic disco experience.

Club music culture necessarily shifted gears in many ways during and after the course of the pandemic. Older participants found their way into other interests and younger participants took new reigns to orient spaces they felt good inside of. The agenda for the music, and the cultural industry surrounding it at large, took a more frivolous and “fun” turn. Clubs needed to recoup lost money, people needed more refreshing catharsis for their nightlife escape, and in some pockets scattered around the globe a newer and younger cadre of producers/promoters/DJ’s pulled optical cues from a scattering of “darker” influences to give an alternate aesthetic to the aforementioned “vibes” culture. In the midst of this, a large polarization of conceptual energy shifted within the compositional and utilitarian machinations of the club music culture leaving behind the brooding and cerebral placeholders for different kind of enjoyable hedonism. Terrestrial Paradise’ “Artificial Hell” harkens to another prescient time before that shift occurred. “Artificial Hell’ might just be an illustration of what all of this fun escapism encapsulates.

Terrestrial Paradise is the latest moniker from Montreal come Los Angeles based producer Jaclyn Kendal. Having developed and cemented her sonic positionality with releases on North American labels like Ascetic House and Summer isle over the years, as well as a series of monolithic live sets, Bank is pleased to announce Kendal’s Terrestrial Paradise first full length album “Artificial Hell”. Over the course of nine recordings, “Artificial Hell” gives a master class in pressurized industrial techno of the slower variety. Fitting with the legacy of Bank’s output since it’s inception, Terrestrial Paradise’s aesthetic sensibilities sit within the canon of a certain tinge of club music imbued with a sense of natural grit, sans pretense.

“Artificial Hell” nods to artists like Scorn, Regis, and 400 PPM while maintaining it’s own territory in the landscape of cerebral and brooding rhythmic techno. Ominous, mechanistic drones sit above succinctly exacted percussion composition and sound design. Throughout “Artificial Hell”, Kendal shows her proficiency with the push and pull of building and releasing tension. On tracks like “Salvation” and “Relativity” she melds her synth wash wallscapes with driving percussion, serving as both a hint and counterpoint to the the entirety of the latter part of the album taking on spartan ambient compositions as a way to keep the listener in a subdued stasis. This album is a statement piece from a long time participant in the North American underground music sectors. It reminds the listener through perilous, considered rhythms and darker drone impositions to cement themselves back into a place where not
everything is always a good time.

2024 repress

WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone's essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band's formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.

Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein...Written by Martin Eicher after a nightmare in which he saw talking polar bears on the walls, and with music by the Grauzone crew consisting of Martin and his brother Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Christian "GT" Trüssel, and Claudine Chirac (on saxophone), "Eisbär" is the most recognizable title from the band, a sublime mix of ingredients reflecting the transitional era it comes from - the raw energy of punk music still palpable, combined with the audacity of early electronics, the warm groove of a disco gem, beautifully fragile lyrics, and one of the best basslines ever. It became a mega hit, totally unplanned, but how could you resist such a track

"FILM 2" is the ultimate b-side monster, a menacing all-instrumental pre-techno masterpiece, slowly building to a magnetizing frenzy. An instant underground favorite, it was famously heard played at both speeds depending on the scenes and DJs you were frequenting, 45rpm as it was first intended, and 33rpm for the cosmic experience (search Daniele Baldelli's Cosmic C75 1982 mixtape online for a great example of this).

The maxi single ends with "Ich Lieb Sie", a synth-pop meets doo-wop ballad, a true love song oozing with innocence. Simple, stylish, and just right.

At the crossroads of post-punk, new wave, pop, and electronic experimentation, the Eisbär maxi offers three songs that are technically different but hold the same spirit, the perfect embodiment of Grauzone's music - wild, unpredictable, and youthful, yet sophisticated, catchy, and ingenious. The magic recipe for the good stuff.

Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and John Armleder, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.

Grauzone and WRWTFWW will continue to collaborate on the band's 40th anniversary reissue campaign, with numerous projects planned for the year, including a vast selection of music, visuals, and literature never available before.

"On “We Are Where We Are,” a glimmering mid-tempo highlight from Annabel’s new album, Ben Hendricks sings of “a modern way to fill the empty space.” Worldviews, the band’s fourth LP and first in nine years finds the band reconciling with the ways the world has changed in the decade since they’ve been away. His protagonists are trying to determine the boundaries between what’s real and imagined, navigating their worldviews and the dominant ones around them, fighting for an escape or at least a distraction, wondering where the time goes, “going through the motions, running in a circle.” That could’ve been Annabel’s fate, too. But the core of the Ohio band is brothers Ben and Andy Hendricks, and as long as they’ve got each other, we’ve still got Annabel. In a world that feels so uncertain and so disconnected, where else is there to turn but back to Annabel? Think of Worldviews less like a comeback and more as the product of years spent gestating.

Hendricks spends the chorus of “All Time” promising to “make up for all the lost time,” and Annabel makes good on that promise for the next half hour. Worldviews is the most locked in the band has ever sounded, perfecting and building on their indie-emo sound. The title track and “Dog” are classic Annabel, sprightly and jangly midwestern rock songs, while “Defense Mechanism” is a rougher-edged update; when they go in the opposite direction, it results in some of their best work: “Every Home Needs a Ghost” is spartan and spectral, worthy of its title, and the beautiful “Small Victories” dabbles in downtempo electronics. They don’t sound like a band returning after nearly a decade; they sound at the same time hungry and lively like scrappy upstarts and wizened and seasoned like they never left."

Originally released in 1990, Royal Trux's 'Twin Infinitives' is being re-issued in all its (yet to be translated) alien glory, by Fire Records. A dismantled overture that sprawls out over two records, an avant-garde masterpiece that was the spark for Drag City Records and generations of new sound seeking musicians. Hailed in the same immortal breath as Beefheart's 'Trout Mask Replica', the Velvets' at their frenzied peak and Ornette Coleman at his most avant-garde, the duo of Pussy Galore's Neil "Michael" Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema recorded 'Twin Infinitives' while imbibing all kinds of mind-altering substances to create an inadvertent blueprint for what the duo was building with moog's, guitars and melodicas to name a few ingredients. It is the legendary second album from the masters of the genre mashup - long before "genre mashups" even existed. Arguably, the term "mashup" was coined to describe what Trux, as they subconsciously scrolled through the radio stations of their lives. The album's chaotic sound and offbeat construction laid the foundations for a string of Royal Trux albums that spiralled between genres, tunings, and noise. Through the 90s they would re-invent the rock 'n' roll ethic, straddle alien surf music, re-align boogie rock, not to mention 80s hair metal, and confound critics by their wildly meandering and courageous rites of passage. Remastered as part of a career spanning catalogue deal with Fire Records. The infamous and influential duo of Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty will be delving into the archive with a comprehensive reissue series, unearthing the vaults and revisiting what made them such a compelling benchmark for their contemporaries and imitators. Reawakening their prolific output within a new monochrome vinyl series covering 1988-1993, they begin with their seminal deconstructed rock masterpiece Twin Infinitives. "Sounding like a subway ride inside a television inside an earthquake inside the end of the world and a pounding death rhythm of apocalyptic now." Pitchfork Ltd Double Silver Vinyl, Monochrome edition artwork, DL card.

The next release in the Mr Bongo Cuban Classics series, is one of Juan Pablo Torres' most-known and loved albums, the iconic Super Son from 1977. A wonderful record of tripped-out rumbas, psych-Afro-Latin funk and quirky orchestrated tracks with a big band horn section courtesy of Torres’ band, Algo Nuevo.

As well as being the director of Algo Nuevo and Cuban all-star ensemble Estrellas De Areito, the trombonist, bandleader, arranger and producer also released a wealth of albums under his own name predominately on the state-owned imprint Areito/EGREM.

Post-revolution, there was a contrast in Cuba’s musical world. State censorship was at play, but professional musicians were on the government payroll which gave them an artistic freedom. Experimentation emanated in the ‘70s and ‘80s and Super Son is a prime example of that. ‘Y Que Bien' kicks off the album taking you down a tripped-out, cosmic rabbithole, psych guitars and skat vocals opening up into a joyful funk groove laced with jazzy Afro-Cuban horns stabs. Tracks such as 'Pastel En Descarga' seem to come out of nowhere and are completely unique. Fuzzed-up guitar lines and percussion lay the groundwork, with those jubilant horns adding to the energy of this forever building track.

Elsewhere, there’s the ‘70s TV theme-tune feeling of 'Con Aji Guaguao', a playful funk number that boils and bubbles with blistering trombone playing by Torres. Or ‘Son A Propulsión' and ‘Son Riendo’, two more brilliant examples of psychedelic funk, wrapped up in a blanket of Afro-Cuban rhythms. The former sweeping you up in rushes of wind as trumpets, trombones and distorted guitars trade off, the latter, an intergalactic fiesta of tradition and exploration.

Super Son is up there as one of the funkiest Cuban records around, a playful fusion of ideas from a producer, player and group on fine form and, for us, one of our favourite gems to come out of Cuba in this period. A sheer masterpiece.

The mercurial talent that is SW. back in the building with a new album, and if it weren’t already apparent, OYSTER45 goes some way to assert his place in the pantheon of pioneering producers. In fact, nobody can question his position right at the vanguard of forward-facing dancefloor dynamics.

myDEFINITION part II catches the SUED co-founder as vital as ever. Keeping it on that dusty, low-key flex that has long been his trademark, it harnesses ingenuity to conjure some of the most intriguing gear you’re likely to hear from a limited studio setup. Gone are the hi-tek jazz and ambient flourishes of the near-mythical ‘Untiled’ album, opting, instead, for pure dancefloor headiness. Precision-tooled breakbeats, opulent IDM cybernetics, tuff bleep n’ bass and late nite electro across 10 distinct trax.

Side quests into more abstract realms are fleeting. Dappled melodies evoke warmth in hues of pink and orange but any ambient-dub ephemera quickly dissipates into the peripheries in favour of club-ready pressure. The spectre of mid-‘90s dance music looms large but the SW. blueprint, with its captivating free-form approach, spins those vintage tropes into a distinct sound unto itself. Masterful, cinematic and hallucinatory.

Often drawing comparisons with B12’s seminal brand of ambient techno, SW. will surely be a stylistic reference point in his own right for years to come. Such is the indelible influence he has cast on contemporary electronic music.

After making waves with her critically acclaimed debut EP Sometimes I Forget You're Human Too, Bored at My Grandmas House, AKA Leeds-based Amber Strawbridge, is releasing her debut album “Show & Tell” on 7th June via CLUE Records/EMI North. The title track is out now with the reveal of the record - ‘Show & Tell’ is a breezy track which meets at the intersection between dream-pop, bedroom-pop and shoegaze, the sprightly guitar work echoing the droll lyrics and themes. It’s a hooky song which lays bare difficulties with trust, and building walls for self-protection. As Amber explains: “Show & Tell is quite a tongue-in-cheek song about me being the opposite of an open book and all the little specific things about me that I sometimes wish were different. Overall it’s about me being a guarded person and fearing the possibility of having to be vulnerable and realising that vulnerability is actually a beautiful thing and something I shouldn’t be so scared of.”

12" EP. Since forming in Lansing, Michigan in 2014, Hot Mulligan have ascended from basements to the buzziest pop-punk band in the scene on the back of three beloved albums; 2018’s Pilot and 2020’s you’ll be ne, and 2023’s Why Would I Watch. Fenton + Honest & Cunning is a double EP with Hot Mulligan's rst two releases, both Fenton and Honest & Cunning releasing in 2015. These two EPs launches Hot Mulligan's career and started building thier buzz in the pop punk world. The band has since played many sold out tours in the US, Europe, and Australia and New Zealand, opened arenas for Fall Out Boy, and are set to continue their ascent in 2024.

Seven fretboard fantasias from California's mysterious mail order mystic. 1973's Guitar Grimoire is a collection of reverberant and original charms establishing Burchette as the white wizard of tremolo theurgy. Warning: Psychic energy shift probable!

Seven fretboard fantasias from California's mysterious mail order mystic. 1973's Guitar Grimoire is a collection of reverberant and original charms establishing Burchette as the white wizard of tremolo theurgy. Warning: Psychic energy shift probable!

Barcelona's Oscar Escapa returns to DCLTD to collaborate with Linear Phase on a 3-tracker ‘Recoded’. ‘Recoded’ is a steaming cut made for the peak-time, propelled by crunchy drums, a head scrambling vocal and plenty of eerie effects to ensure impact. ‘Irrupción Beligerante’ is a rugged, barrelling dancefloor weapon that hits with terrific energy. ‘Controlled Damage’ takes on a different shade, metallic, bass-driven, a headier roller made for building atmosphere and shifting moods.

Airrica makes her Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Hi Speed Lover’, featuring Nick Morgan and KinAhau remixes.

Balancing experimental musical curiosity with her playful take on house and techno, Los Angeles’ Airrica may only be two releases into her blossoming journey as a producer, but she has already showcased her growing sound and vision while aligning with her own powerful DJ sets. Following her collaborative release alongside Ashee on Diplo’s Higher Ground and building on her debut via Crosstown’s sister label Rebellion, Damian Lazarus now welcomes her to Crosstown Rebels for the first time ahead of her appearance alongside the label boss at Hï Ibiza as she unveils her ‘Hi Speed Lover’ EP - accompanied by remixes from Canadian-born DJ/producer Nick Morgan and hotly-tipped talent KinAhau, as both also make their label debuts.

Bumping and trippy, ‘Hi Speed Lover’ is a snaking, bass-heavy cut loaded with energy as warped vocals are accompanied by slinking drums, icy hats and resonant chords and strings, while Nick Morgan’s take brings a stylish, hazy glow to the track as dubby low-ends and delicate keys work amongst the mix. Second original ‘Cherries’ is another impactful production merging metallic drums with further vocal murmurs and an infectious acid-dipped bassline, while KinAhau’s remix strips things back to deliver a classy journey through rich textures with an ethereal trip to close the package.

Hello! Tim here. My band is called Strand of Oaks. This is my eighth record and it's called Miracle Focus. I spent over three years building Miracle Focus. In the midst of writing, I became a painter and spent two seasons acting on a television show (Mayans MC). The dichotomy of painting for days in my garage and then flying out to LA to play a villainous biker on TV was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. The idea of Miracle Focus was born out of one simple concept: to make people feel good. Throw in a healthy mix of Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and Beastie Boys, plus over a year of writing and building the extremely dense architecture of the songs, and Miracle Focus was born. The result is FUN, wild, rhythmic music filled with synth layering and mantra-like lyrics intended to uplifting and hopefully bring some light to whoever listens. In many ways, this record is a love letter to bliss. Through meditation, I found a way to connect with something greater, a positive force that allowed me to write music as a manual towards a more love-focused life. And the miracles I refer to aren't asking the universe for anything; it's just acknowledging and celebrating this complex beautiful moment that we all get to share. It will be gone, it will re-emerge as something new, that will be gone, repeat....repeat... repeat - this eternal cycle. My most sincere hope is that whoever listens might through sonic osmosis experience a similar joy. Sending peace and love. Thank you for your time. - Tim

Hello! Tim here. My band is called Strand of Oaks. This is my eighth record and it's called Miracle Focus. I spent over three years building Miracle Focus. In the midst of writing, I became a painter and spent two seasons acting on a television show (Mayans MC). The dichotomy of painting for days in my garage and then flying out to LA to play a villainous biker on TV was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. The idea of Miracle Focus was born out of one simple concept: to make people feel good. Throw in a healthy mix of Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and Beastie Boys, plus over a year of writing and building the extremely dense architecture of the songs, and Miracle Focus was born. The result is FUN, wild, rhythmic music filled with synth layering and mantra-like lyrics intended to uplifting and hopefully bring some light to whoever listens. In many ways, this record is a love letter to bliss. Through meditation, I found a way to connect with something greater, a positive force that allowed me to write music as a manual towards a more love-focused life. And the miracles I refer to aren't asking the universe for anything; it's just acknowledging and celebrating this complex beautiful moment that we all get to share. It will be gone, it will re-emerge as something new, that will be gone, repeat....repeat... repeat - this eternal cycle. My most sincere hope is that whoever listens might through sonic osmosis experience a similar joy. Sending peace and love. Thank you for your time. - Tim

"Remembering is not the opposite of forgetting," Casey MQ sings at the start of Later that day, the day before, or the day before that, his new LP and Ghostly International debut. It's a phrase fittingly misremembered from something the LA-based, Canadian-born composer came upon as he spiraled into unconscious and subconscious-led writing sessions at the piano. Casey's known for his 2020 breakthrough release babycasey, which gave voice to songs seen through the lens of childhood, various film score work and collaborations with artists such as Oklou (who returns here), Eartheater, and Vagabon. His gifts as a producer and songwriter are rooted in textural world-building and the excavation of personal truth. With Later that day... he questions what is true entirely, understanding our mind's tendency to bend and project onto pictures of the past. Across vivid, baroque pop balladry, Casey MQ reorients his recording project and point of view under the notion that memories are malleable. All the joy, pain, love, and loss housed within remembrance is open to interpretation and deconstruction, which he does deftly, with curiosity and complete artistic freedom. "It's a memory album," Casey puts it simply, winding up for the deeper unpacking, "and it might be a breakup album, too_there are more questions than answers." Engaging his dreams and sitting with sheet music at his newly acquired piano, he looked to new and old inspirations including the works of Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, and Joe Hisaishi's beloved Studio Ghibli film scores. "Since I was young, I always wanted to write a piano album." babycasey's studied electronic sound isn't wholly abandoned on Later that day... instead, it comes through like an atmosphere, giving Casey's more spacious, minimal arrangements a distinct luster and sheen. The textures and tones shift from song to song as if mirroring the way our minds constantly recontextualize, remember, and forget. Cathartic opener "Grey Gardens" _ its title derived from a dream abstractly related to the Toronto restaurant, but not the 1975 film, which he cites as another coincidental false memory _ presents the record's plaintive, haunted feeling. "Even if not reading into lyrics, sonically I wanted it to feel like you're being pulled into a universe. Not fantasy or otherworldly per se, something more tangible, of the body and mind," Casey says. "Hearing it back, I realized this track was the key to unlocking it." His tender falsetto hovers above ambient washes and echoed keys, each word falling carefully in the crevices. "Asleep At The Wheel" unfolds on arpeggiated synth before a burst of symphonic color; the synth returns inverted to harmonize with the outro, "I love a car crash, I love a story, I love a memory, I swear it's real..." Casey leans into digital imagination on the warm, introspective "Me I Think I Found It." Subdued, stuttered percussion underscores the singer as he cycles through pixelated imagery _ screenshots, smiles, streetlights _ searching for higher meaning through love. Built on ascendent chord distortions, "Dying Til I'm Born" gives the record one of its boldest pulses of emotion. The back half stretches out; "Is This Only Water" is sparse and foggy, "Baby Voice" is intimate and desperate for something to remain. "Words For Love" grooves on guitar, and "Tennisman9" aches in heartbreak. French musician Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, appears as the collection's only guest for the closing duet, "The Make Believe," a bright and buoyant send-off that gives Later that day... both a sense of resolve and cyclical-motion. "We are young, under the sun," they sing together, a parting image brimming with lightness.

"Remembering is not the opposite of forgetting," Casey MQ sings at the start of Later that day, the day before, or the day before that, his new LP and Ghostly International debut. It's a phrase fittingly misremembered from something the LA-based, Canadian-born composer came upon as he spiraled into unconscious and subconscious-led writing sessions at the piano. Casey's known for his 2020 breakthrough release babycasey, which gave voice to songs seen through the lens of childhood, various film score work and collaborations with artists such as Oklou (who returns here), Eartheater, and Vagabon. His gifts as a producer and songwriter are rooted in textural world-building and the excavation of personal truth. With Later that day... he questions what is true entirely, understanding our mind's tendency to bend and project onto pictures of the past. Across vivid, baroque pop balladry, Casey MQ reorients his recording project and point of view under the notion that memories are malleable. All the joy, pain, love, and loss housed within remembrance is open to interpretation and deconstruction, which he does deftly, with curiosity and complete artistic freedom. "It's a memory album," Casey puts it simply, winding up for the deeper unpacking, "and it might be a breakup album, too_there are more questions than answers." Engaging his dreams and sitting with sheet music at his newly acquired piano, he looked to new and old inspirations including the works of Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, and Joe Hisaishi's beloved Studio Ghibli film scores. "Since I was young, I always wanted to write a piano album." babycasey's studied electronic sound isn't wholly abandoned on Later that day... instead, it comes through like an atmosphere, giving Casey's more spacious, minimal arrangements a distinct luster and sheen. The textures and tones shift from song to song as if mirroring the way our minds constantly recontextualize, remember, and forget. Cathartic opener "Grey Gardens" _ its title derived from a dream abstractly related to the Toronto restaurant, but not the 1975 film, which he cites as another coincidental false memory _ presents the record's plaintive, haunted feeling. "Even if not reading into lyrics, sonically I wanted it to feel like you're being pulled into a universe. Not fantasy or otherworldly per se, something more tangible, of the body and mind," Casey says. "Hearing it back, I realized this track was the key to unlocking it." His tender falsetto hovers above ambient washes and echoed keys, each word falling carefully in the crevices. "Asleep At The Wheel" unfolds on arpeggiated synth before a burst of symphonic color; the synth returns inverted to harmonize with the outro, "I love a car crash, I love a story, I love a memory, I swear it's real..." Casey leans into digital imagination on the warm, introspective "Me I Think I Found It." Subdued, stuttered percussion underscores the singer as he cycles through pixelated imagery _ screenshots, smiles, streetlights _ searching for higher meaning through love. Built on ascendent chord distortions, "Dying Til I'm Born" gives the record one of its boldest pulses of emotion. The back half stretches out; "Is This Only Water" is sparse and foggy, "Baby Voice" is intimate and desperate for something to remain. "Words For Love" grooves on guitar, and "Tennisman9" aches in heartbreak. French musician Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, appears as the collection's only guest for the closing duet, "The Make Believe," a bright and buoyant send-off that gives Later that day... both a sense of resolve and cyclical-motion. "We are young, under the sun," they sing together, a parting image brimming with lightness.

“Home” is not always a literal place. Sometimes, “home” represents inner peace and simply learning to hold space for yourself. This is where Vacations lead singer and guitarist Campbell Burns has arrived as he and bandmates Jake Johnson, Nate Delizzotti, and Joseph Van Lier release their third LP, No Place Like Home. “I had this loose concept of No Place Like Home being an Americana-influenced album,” Campbell says of the album’s sonic inspirations. “I wanted to incorporate more pianos, acoustic guitars, Nashville tuning, and country-inspired lap steel, but then also bringing in drum machines and synths and finding a mix between the two.” Produced by Campbell and John Velasquez (Zella Day, Broods), No Place Like Home comprises 10 shimmering tracks brimming with indie-pop hooks and just a touch of bittersweet sensitivity. The new project follows an intense period of transformation for Campbell, who was forced to cancel all touring commitments due to COVID restrictions and subsequently came down with a severe bout of writer’s block. After seeking therapy, he was eventually diagnosed with Pure OCD, a subtype of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. “Pure OCD is more mental compulsions rather than physical compulsions,” Campbell explains. “If I have an intrusive thought, I'm giving that thought belief and power over myself.” As the world began to open up, so did Campbell’s vibrant creative spirit. Vacations hit the road for the first time in two years, selling out The Fonda in LA and playing Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, experiences that partially inform No Place Like Home. First single and album opener “Next Exit” sparkles with danceable synth riffs and Campbell’s aching falsetto, all while setting the overall tone for what’s to come. “‘Next Exit’ is about living in this monotonous cycle,” Campbell reveals. “You realize that you need an out. You need to — metaphorically and literally — take the next exit out in order to break out of that cycle.” The singer mines his Pure OCD diagnosis on the pondering “Over You,” which thematically picks up where “Next Exit” drops off. Campbell remarks on how “it almost has this ownership over my thoughts and actions to the point where I'm stuck in these loops and rituals that are a direct result of having OCD.” On the Americana-inspired “Midwest,” which seamlessly blends pop electronics, drum machine, and ‘80s synth with poignant lap steel tones, the song remarks on the comedic nature of repeatedly entering into romantic relationships prior to going on tour — only to have them fizzle out upon returning. As the band releases No Place Like Home, Campbell is ironically just fine with not putting down physical roots just yet having recently made the move to LA for exploration, expanding “I needed to get overseas if I wanted to keep progressing — from a career standpoint, but also on a personal level.” The greater priority lies within building that sense of comfort within himself. In the meantime, millions of fans around the world are making a permanent home with Vacations.

Multi-talented US punk, Jeff Rosenstock releases fourth album on Specialist Subject Records (UK /EU) & Polyvinyl (Worldwide)! NO DREAM comes at a time of unparalleled chaos and confusion, division and despair, the depths of which would have been impossible to predict when much of it was being written over the course of the last few years. And yet the record feels prescient, unexpectedly and uniquely suited for this moment. Newly settled in Los Angeles after a lifetime on the East Coast (namely Brooklyn by way of Long Island), Rosenstock recorded NO DREAM with Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Hard Girls, Joyce Manor) at Oakland's Atomic Garden, and even took on mixing duties alongside Shirley for the first time. Opting to stay off the computer "even more than usual" and record to tape with outboard gear, the result is a lived-in sound that gives each song its own individual voice and organic energy. After building a cult following with the acerbic ska-punk of the Arrogant Sons of Bitches and DIY heroics of Bomb the Music Industry!, Rosenstock's first proper solo record, 2015's We Cool?, was a step into uncharted territory, fully untethered from genre and expectation. Followed by 2016's WORRY. and the surprise New Year's Day launch of POST- in the early hours of 2018, Rosenstock was facing down that least punk of opportunities: a career playing music. Having taken some time away from his work as a solo artist to recalibrate and reset over the last year, Rosenstock stayed busy playing alongside Mikey Erg, recording and touring with the Bruce Lee Band, releasing a Neil Young covers record with frequent collaborator Laura Stevenson, reissuing two of his own out-of-print early albums, compiling a live album which was recorded during a run of four sold-out shows at Bowery Ballroom, making a 76 page photo book, and scoring over 80 episodes of the Cartoon Network series Craig of the Creek. In fully returning to his own voice, it's no surprise that Rosenstock's output has never been more eclectic, reflected across NO DREAM's 13 songs.

About 10 years ago I tried to contact Dutch artist and scientist Felix Hess, when he was still alive, but never got a reply. Years later, in 2022, I was talking to Frans de Waard, who told me he was administering the sound archive of the late Hess together with Mark Poysden. Together we started working on an album to celebrate his life and many accomplishments. It includes selections from all the highly collectible Frogs releases from the 80's and 90's, while the artwork is sourced from his Zenga collection, unifying his two greatest passions.

While in Australia conducting research for his PhD thesis on the aerodynamics and motion of returning boomerangs in 1975, Felix Hess heard frog choruses for the first time. The hills, close to Adelaide, generating amazing natural rhythms and waves of spatial sounds. He started traveling to the outback to record similar frog choruses, camping in quit places to enjoy these wonderful nightly concerts.

Mystified by how the waves and rhythms of frog choruses could emerge without a conductor or a score and by the physics of this method of communication, he started to research the phenomenon in 1982 by designing and building small electronic sound creatures that could respond to each other in a similar way. These creatures and his various other installations earned him international acclaim.

During the 1990s, Hess was invited to Japan many times to present his work and he became interested in Zen Buddhism. One summer evening in 2001 he visited a museum in Berlin and saw actual Zen art for the first time. Overwhelmed by the extraordinary power radiating from this and similar artworks he became addicted to Zenga and gradually built up one of the world's most representative collections of hanging Zen scrolls. A collection he named Kaeru-An (Frog Hut) to honor his original teachers, the frogs

"The debut longplayer from Washington, DC-based Ekko Astral is a complex mesh of bubblegum noise punk and no-wave art rock that holds an elastic space for the knotty, tangled horrors of living in the imperial core. Their songs thrash with intense, necessary defiance against codified gender-based violence, their distortion and sibilance a direct response to the dangers outside our front doors.

pink balloons opener “head empty blues” specifically bites back against the terrors of the normative male gaze that dominates so much of American culture. Over a post-punk passage that plays call and response with a wall of harsh noise, frontwoman Jael Holzman belts playfully morbid details of the head-exploding anxieties that haunt her daily: “is it bon eye-ver or bon iver? / i don’t care / i’ve got stalkers outside / not going out tonight / gonna sit and take pics / in my underwear.”

Holzman formed the band in 2021 with best friend Liam Hughes (guitar), and eventually rounded out the band’s lineup with Miri Tyler (drums), Guinevere Tully (bass), and Sam Elmore (guitar). Ekko Astral’s local scene quickly welcomed the band for their wildly fierce live presence, emboldened by the community-building message behind the band’s mascara mosh pit brand.

Ultimately, Ekko Astral are here to uplift, a mission exemplified by the frenetic and bewitching pre-release singles “baethoven” and “devorah,” cornerstones of pink balloons in both style and theme. The former serves as a reminder to keep your larger than life personality in a world that wants to downsize you, where the latter proclaims urgent solidarity with missing and murdered people. Such crucial messages of upliftment are the foundation of pink balloons, and, by extension Ekko Astral, whose thrashing debut leaves no stone of solidarity unturned."

Instant appeal for fans of quirky downtempo soul. Instrumental version on the B-side. Fresh collaboration between singular vocalist/musician and the Cold Diamond & Mink band. The musical Oroza bloodline just seems to keep pumping soul music from Finland for the world to hear. Now it's time for Franka to step to the stage and she comes out from the gate swinging with a sublime beat ballad "Indecision". Backed by the faithful Timmion Records house band Cold Diamond & Mink, Franka's folk jazzy vocal stylings seep into fertile ground. Building from the intro drum roll to the rootsy organ-led groove Franka jumps on the beat with a Joni Mitchell twist and it's immediately apparent that we're in for a treat. The vocal glides effortlessly between firm and delicate tones, perfectly underlining the lyrical content. Franka takes her time in setting the scene, holding a veil before the fact that we're actually listening to a love song. If all you're looking for is good songwriting with a soulful backbeat, with Franka Oroza you'll get a unique voice to boot. This is another sure shot for all fans of independent downtempo soul from the Timmion stable.

Instant appeal for fans of quirky downtempo soul. Instrumental version on the B-side. Fresh collaboration between singular vocalist/musician and the Cold Diamond & Mink band. The musical Oroza bloodline just seems to keep pumping soul music from Finland for the world to hear. Now it's time for Franka to step to the stage and she comes out from the gate swinging with a sublime beat ballad "Indecision". Backed by the faithful Timmion Records house band Cold Diamond & Mink, Franka's folk jazzy vocal stylings seep into fertile ground. Building from the intro drum roll to the rootsy organ-led groove Franka jumps on the beat with a Joni Mitchell twist and it's immediately apparent that we're in for a treat. The vocal glides effortlessly between firm and delicate tones, perfectly underlining the lyrical content. Franka takes her time in setting the scene, holding a veil before the fact that we're actually listening to a love song. If all you're looking for is good songwriting with a soulful backbeat, with Franka Oroza you'll get a unique voice to boot. This is another sure shot for all fans of independent downtempo soul from the Timmion stable.

On Pedro The Lion’s new album Santa Cruz, critically acclaimed musician David Bazan returns with a new chapter in his ambitious and ongoing recording project - 5 albums devoted to places he lived in throughout his life. Santa Cruz is Bazan’s third album in the series and follows up where 2022’s Havasu and 2019’s Phoenix left off. Tracks like "Modesto" and "Little Help" foreshadow Bazan's exposure and ultimate love of classic rock n' roll records, while songs like "It'll All Work Out" showcase his unique approach to synthesizers, something he introduced with the 2005 self-titled Headphones album. The stories on Santa Cruz highlight Bazan’s teenage years and solidifies what he sees as an exposition in a traditional three-act structure. After 25 years refining and building what he calls his “garden of songs,” David Bazan has sold hundreds of thousands of albums, performed in sold-out venues and living rooms around the globe, and played high-profile live sessions with the likes of NPR’s Tiny Desk, KEXP, WNYC’s Soundcheck, WXPN’s World Cafe and many others. His music has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Vox, Paste, Aquarium Drunkard and others.

The bleak and foreboding landscape surrounding Keeley's North Yorkshire home seems to inhabit her third LP, 'The Hollow'. The moors, visible from her studio window, impact upon a music that feels made of these places: windswept, rain-soaked and blinking through the low-lit landscape. The album's title derives from discovering a long-abandoned mining shaft whilst out walking - the past lurking within and haunting the present we now occupy. A connection to time that places us within it, facing what is gone and what may come. But also, perhaps that time has no concern as to whether we're here or not.

Keeley's unique elemental voice again sits centrally within this world-building. Her cathartic reflections are exorcisms in song. We hear an artist making sense of her life, willing to expose vulnerability without ever appearing weak. Working again with producer Ross Downes, the LP features Matthew Bourne and Colin Stetson, Forsyth sought to expand both her voice and music. Taking aspects of sacred music, minimalist post-classical, dark ambient, film and theatre soundtracks, she layers her vocals into chamber choirs, applies pitch shifts and other digital processing, moves from clear articulate intention to mumbled numb utterances.

Composer Mihály Vig's score to Bela Tarr’s film 'The Turin Horse' is reimagined as a pressurised outpouring, recasting the everyday within a mythical light of survival and hope. On ‘A Shift’, Mal Finch's protest song ‘We Are Women, We Are Strong ‘, originally sung by wives and daughters in support of the '80s miner’s strikes, is recontextualised in solidarity for an experience of creative labour.

2024 repress.

French saxophonist Laurent Bardainne summons the spirit of astral jazz on heavy-grooving album, 'Hymne au Soleil'

A dreamlike, cinematic excursion to the outer reaches of the solar system and the inner workings of the soul, Laurent Bardainne returns to Heavenly Sweetness with his Tigre d'Eau Douce group for a second album of genre- agnostic jazzfunk.Building on critically acclaimed 2020 album 'Love Is Everywhere', 'Hymne au Soleil' sizzles with Arnaud Roulin's Hammond organ licks, in-the-pocket bass work from Sylvain Daniel, and shuffling drum and percussion interplay from Philippe Gleizes and Roger Raspail, pinning Bardainne's soaring saxophone lines to the mast like a flag in the wind.

The 11- track album represents a consolidation of Bardainne's vision as a consummate jazz saxophonist, having made his name collaborating with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Cassius, afrobeat legend Tony Allen and co- founding Tigersushi electro outfit Poni Hoax.
That eclectic experience comes to the fore on 'Hymne au Soleil', which is named after a piece by trailblazing French composer Lili Boulanger. Beginning with the lilting, late-night smoker "Oh Yeah", which recalls the mellow funk of Khruangbin, the album rolls through a rich musical landscape, whether in the Motown-era soul breakdowns of "Adieu My Lord" or the roaring, dance floor- ready "Hymne au Soleil", that draw parallels with the high-octane sound of UK jazz outfit The Comet Is Coming..