Suche:the still

Sneaker Social Club welcome a veritable supergroup of bass heavyweights in the form of Legion. Made up of Trends, Boylan, P Jam and D.O.K., this four strong collective first came to light with the We Are Many 12" on Artikal Music in 2021, and now they regroup for another four-strong payload of soundsystem pressure that embraces the darkness in devastating fashion.

The Sister Abigail EP leads with 'Rastaman', an ice-cold half-step drop that summons the spirit of early dubstep in its raw minimalism, eerie atmospherics and snarling low-end wobble. Without an ounce of fat, it's a lean workout of drums and bass that finds catharsis in simplicity without compromising on high definition detail. 'Souls' locks into a jerky groove to set the dance off at acute angles, nudging the textures up a notch without disturbing the spartan mood of the release. 'Sister Abigail' pushes the underlying malevolence of the Legion sound to the forefront with dissonant sheet-metal tones while packing the rhythm section into a tight, vicious formation of gnashing, chrome-plated teeth. 'Play That Vibe' seals the deal on the EP with a hard-thumping, propulsive groove that calls to mind the techy development of dubstep in the 2010s — a taut, tracky throwdown to keep the intensity on a rolling boil.

Drawing on the grounding principles of OG dubstep with a sharp line in crisp, modernist production and a ruthless economy of arrangement on display, Legion prove many cooks can still result in a potent, brutally focused broth.

For his third long-player under the Phi-Psonics banner, Ford-Young marshalled a series of live recordings at the Healing Force Of The Universe record store in Pasadena, sculpting fourteen tracks, largely composed in the moment with a fluctuating cast of players, which wonderfully transmit his ideals of community and inner peace. Called "Expanding To One", it features exquisitely calming yet searching pieces like "There"s Still Hope", where Seth"s softly undulating bassline underpins beatific explorations from core Phi-Psonics members, Sylvain Carton and Randal Fisher (both on saxophone), and Josh Collazo (drums), alongside guests Zach Tenorio (Wurlitzer piano) and Mathias Künzli (percussion). Equally sublime, "Healing Time" ripples like a mountain stream, with Ford-Young, Carton, Fisher and Tenorio joined by Minta Spencer (harp), Dylan Day (guitar) and, on drums/percussion, Jay Bellerose, a revered LA stickman most recently under the spotlight in Jeff Parker ETA IVtet.

PHASE SHIFTING INDEX is a time capsule record of Jeremy Shaw's vast original artwork that includes audio excerpts, voiceover passages and music composed by There in Spirit and Konrad Black. Shaw's seven-channel video, sound and light installation-that premiered at Centre Pompidou in 2020-uses science fiction, documentary, visual effects and synchronisation to induce an ecstatic experience in narrative temporality. Each video details the belief systems of one of seven fictional subcultural groups spread across time that aspire to induce parallel realities that could redirect the evolution of the human species through embodied forms of ritual, ideology and movement. The vinyl release serves as a gathering of the piece's key audio elements, focussing on their importance to the engineering of the artwork and their stand-alone listening qualities. Side A of the record follows the dramaturgy of the artwork in full-swing, including audio segments from four of its five distinct chapters. Written by long time collaborators Konrad Black and Jeremy Shaw together as There in Spirit, "Cross- Temporal Sync" soundtracks the strobing peak of the installation at the moment when all seven disparate videos fall into a unified choreography in which every person on every screen performs the same ecstatic series of slow-motion movements. The pulsing, hypnotic dirge aligns with the locked choreography in mood and action, caught somewhere between ecstatic trance and somatic takeover. A steady sub line, clipped stabs and a swooping choral gasp harmonise with the dancers movements onscreen while restrained filters open slowly to reveal a submerged melody that builds in intensity towards the chaotic rupture of Black's "Mosh". Here the score breaks into digital shards as heard through analog bodies colliding and pixelating into each other. The dancers eventual dissolution into "Particles" sounds like the field recording of a disembodied neural cosmos. The B-side of the record contains a narrative outline edit of the artwork comprised of music, excerpts and pieces of narration from each video. Listeners can follow along in an accompanying thirty-six page booklet of full-bleed film stills documenting each of the seven groups as they move through the five chapter dramaturgy. Composer Konrad Black's authentically backwards-glancing production and sound design is as disparate as the groups represented on screen. From the bespoke-16mm-tribal-techno of "The Cyclical Culture" and retro-cyber-funk of the "Zero-Ones," to the VHSdark- wave of "The Violet Lux" and skewed vocal/piano minimalism of the "Quantum Modern," each group exists in its own custom-made world out-of-time. The record ends where it began, with the full sequence of "Ramping" playing out as each subcultural world begins to lose control, galvanise, sync, rupture, atomise and scatter throughout the universe, only to loop back into another inevitable beginning. Phase Shifting Index premiered at Centre Pompidou, Paris, in 2020 and has since been exhibited in nine international venues including ARoS, Denmark, MONA, Tasmania, MAC, Montreal and Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin

Rock’n’roll revivalists Split Dogs are not here to make 15 second viral videos, they’re not here to sell you a lifestyle, they’re here to destroy. Born from the frustration of seeing music become commodified and soulless, vocalist Harry Atkins and guitarist Mil Martinez had the idea to form a band as far back as 2015, with the name ‘Split Dogs’ pulled from the classic zombie film ‘Return of the Living Dead’.
In South London, a young Martinez would hear Status Quo, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Dire Straits on the car radio while his father drove him to school. At home he would invade his older brothers’ record collection which leaned towards the harder sounds of punk and heavy metal. Meanwhile in the Black Country, Harry’s mother instilled a love of Northern Soul, Slade and rock’n’roll, with stories of nights out at Club Lafayette and family singalongs at home. According to Martinez, “Our sound is a culmination of all those early influences and, to be honest, it really shows.”
It wasn’t until 2022 that Split Dogs officially arrived on the scene with bass player Suez Boyle joining the band in 2023. Already a prominent figure in the queer punk scene, Suez played the first ever Rebellion Festival at the tender age of 16 with her band The Walking Abortions. Up until that point, drummer Chris Hugall, an old friend of Martinez and former member of ska punks Mouthwash (signed to Rancid’s label Hellcat back in the day), was only on hand to help design artwork. It wasn’t until 2024 Hugall joined the band full time, cementing the current line-up.
The raucous live shows and infectious lyrics saw the four-piece make a name for themselves among the punks of Bristol, a scene that has always welcomed LGBTQ+ and marginalised people. As word spread, so did the gigging, and soon enough Split Dogs were playing to sold out rooms in mainland Europe, eventually grabbing the attention of UK label Venn Records (Gallows, Bob Vylan, High Vis). ‘Here to Destroy’ was recorded over three days at Middle Farm Studios by producer Peter Miles. All tracks were laid straight to a 16 track reel-to-reel tape machine, no autotune, no effects pedals, no computers. To add to the music’s authenticity, the album was recorded live, with Harry singing along in a vocal booth. No cutting and pasting, just nailing takes. According to Martinez, “It was a blast! We fully immersed ourselves, sleeping in a small apartment below the studio, cooking meals and listening to Pete’s extensive record collection”. While the final result is a step away from Split Dogs early punk sound, the attitude is still there in droves. “We wanted the album to have a raw bones feel,” Martinez tells us, “real 1970s rock’n’roll!”. Harry channels the spirit of Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister as they tear through hook after hook, singing about the Northern Soul clubs their mother once frequented (‘Lafayette’), the Orwellian nightmare we’re heading for (“Stay Tuned”) and a touching homage to British working class culture (“And What?”). As the album title makes clear, Split Dogs are here to destroy, but they’re also here to rebuild and remind us of music’s essence. “We’re not beholden to the digital age, we don’t want to get famous on social media, we just want to show the world that rock’n’roll is alive and well”.

Head back to the floor with this brand-new 2LP compilation featuring 42 more of the world’s most remarkable Northern Soul tunes.

Expand your collection and freshen up your dancing shoes with this must-have sequel including none other than the incredible Stevie Wonder, Dusty Springfield, Freda Payne, Robert Knight, The Supremes, Major Lance and the all-time classic duet between Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

Born in Montreal, double platinum- selling artist Sam Roberts launched a career of radio hits with The Inhuman Condition, which included "Brother Down" and the #1 single "Don't Walk Away Eileen". His eight subsequent albums have garnered multiple awards and include life-moment defining favourites "Hard Road", "Where Have All the Good People Gone?", "Them Kids", "We're All In This Together", and "All Of Us".

The band's legendary live show has seen them performing around the world including Australia, Japan, Europe, and North America. Their infectious live energy has brought them to festivals such as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and Bumbershoot, and on stages alongside giants like the Rolling Stones and AC/DC.

Frequencies is a carefully curated collection of songs that, while familiar to their North American audience, will be receiving a full-fledged release in the UK for the first time. As a special addition, the album will include a newly recorded version of 'Brother Down', the band's breakthrough single from their debut album We Were Born In A Flame. This fresh take captures the energy and evolution of the song as it has been performed night after night over the decades. The album also features a rework of 'All Of Us' by fellow Montrealer Liam O'Neil (The Stills, Kings of Leon).

2025 Record Store Day title - now available for general sale. A very special album to mark Room In The Sky’s 200th physical release. A selection of beautiful instrumental tracks, and featuring some of the best reggae musicians: Vin Gordon who basically played 90% of all the reggae hit horn lines , from Studio One to Bob Marley & the Wailers; Ernest Ranglin top jazz/reggae guitarist, now 93 yrs old and still playing, he produced the first Jamaican number 1 record “My Boy Lollipop” for Island Records; Dean Fraser, the number 1 Jamaican sax player; The Megahband - Michael Fletcher and Alborosies’ riddim section; Sly Dunbar the greatest reggae drummer; Alan Weekes - UK jazz reggae guitarist who played on most of UK reggae created in the late 70s, and 80s, and produced Carrol Thompson’s Hopelessly in Love LP; Jackie Mittoo responsible for 80% of all the biggest reggae riddims.

REPRESS of the Orchid second full length. Strong riffs, a tight rhythm section and psychedelic background guitar passages are the first things that come to mind when trying to describe how the album sounds. Theo Mindell's voice bears some resemblance to Blackie Lawless' and while W.A.S.P. isn't the first band that comes to mind when thinking of doom metal and stoner rock, his voice fits the music perfectly. The production is spot-on, guiding the listener's thoughts to the sound of Master Of Reality while still sounding modern.

Violet vinyl, limited to 200 copies. REPRESS of the Orchid second full length. Strong riffs, a tight rhythm section and psychedelic background guitar passages are the first things that come to mind when trying to describe how the album sounds. Theo Mindell's voice bears some resemblance to Blackie Lawless' and while W.A.S.P. isn't the first band that comes to mind when thinking of doom metal and stoner rock, his voice fits the music perfectly. The production is spot-on, guiding the listener's thoughts to the sound of Master Of Reality while still sounding modern.

Recorded August, 1965, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Original LP issue: OKTAV – OKLP 111



Sahib Shihab (Edmund Gregory) played with many of jazz’s finest musicians. Shortly after he became one of the first jazz players to change their names due to an Islamic conversion, he joined Thelonious Monk for his Blue Note sessions. He also played with Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiforn and Quincy Jones. A unique musician, he was at home in every musical style, from the experimentalism of Thelonious Monk to the more direct hard bop of Art Blakey. Sahib Shihab’s distinctive sound was rooted in his modernist compositions and arrangements, complemented by an intense, soulful playing style.



In 1959 he toured Europe with Quincy Jones after getting fed up with racial politics in USA and ultimately settled in Scandinavia. He worked for Copenhagen Polytechnic and wrote scores for television, cinema and theatre. He remained there until 1973. During this period, he recorded several albums as leader for European labels such as Vogue, Storyville and Futura.



In 1961 he joined The Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band and remained a key figure in the band for the 12 years it ran. He married a Danish lady and raised a family in Europe, although he remained a conscious African-American still sensitive to racial issues.



This record, on the Danish Oktav label, his second as a leader and also his rarest is a true masterpiece !!!



Personnel :

Sahib Shihab (Baritone saxophone, Flute, Cowbell)

Poul Hindberg (Alto saxophone, Clarinet)

Ib Renard (Baritone saxophone)

Bent Nielsen (Baritone saxophone, Flute, Clarinet)

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHOP) (Bass)

Alex Riel (Drums)

Allan Botschinsky (Trumpet)

Fritz von Bülow (Guitar)

Bent Axen (Piano)

Bent Jædig (Tenor saxophone, Flute)

Niels Husum (Tenor saxophone)

Svend Åge Nielsen (Trombone, Bass trombone)

Torolf Mølgaard (Trombone, Euphonium)

Palle Bolvig (Trumpet)

Palle Mikkelborg (Trumpet)

Poul Kjældgård (Tuba)

Louis Hjulmand (Vibraphone)

Limited edition double “Black & White Swirl” vinyl housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with beautiful artwork throughout.
Following 2023’s JUNO award winning album ‘when we were that what wept from the sea’, ‘The love it took to leave you’ features 11 new pieces of emotionally scorching music.
The album was recorded over a week in 2023 at The Darling Foundry, a 144-year-old former metalworks facility in Montreal with a voluminous main room that still maintains its raw architecture of brick, concrete and steel. From the album’s opening track Stetson charts a carefully sequenced ride, travelling through intense territories punctuated with tragic melodies that seek transcendence, epic and frenzied shredders, and many shades of scary beauty, betrayal, and redemption.

Pat Boone or Elvis Presley? That was the burning question on
the lips of Fifties teen America. Certainly, the two were the most
successful solo artists of rock’s breakthrough years. But while
Presley was the good-looking ‘white kid who sang black’, Boone
was married, God-fearing and covered hits by African-American
artists to chart-topping if unthreatening effect. Elvis, of course, is
no longer with us though his image and influence will never fade.
Pat Boone is still alive and there’s no doubting he was
responsible for some of the best-remembered classic pop of the
era.

Reissued vinyl of 2023 album HELLMODE.Jeff Rosenstock makes increasingly chaotic albums for an increasingly chaotic world. With each passing year, it feels like the temperature of the universe boils five degrees hotter, and with each new album, Rosenstock's music grows more unwieldy and lawless. Louder, faster, more feral. Which brings us to 2023_a planet on fire, a mere 90 seconds to midnight on the doomsday clock, and the release of Rosenstock's appropriately titled, anarchic record, HELLMODE. "To me, the album feels like the chaos of being alive right now," Rosenstock says of HELLMODE. "We're experiencing all these things at the same time that trigger our senses, and emotions that make us feel terrible. We're just feeling way too much all at once!" But for all its textured turmoil, there are also surprising glimpses of clarity and grace to be found in HELLMODE, when Rosenstock deliberately slows things down in places that are prettier and more delicate, rare moments of shelter in the storm. Which only makes it more rewarding when these moments unexpectedly unravel and spiral back into extreme, manic chaos, like abruptly being flung into a Nintendo game on level 99. Vinyl is transparent black ice coloured!

Bridgewater and Charlap curate a repertoire that only they can present: exploring the deep understanding of jazz tradition alongside impeccable phrasing and a once-in-ageneration dynamic range, bringing a level of sophistication that is sure to be considered a masterpiece for generations to come.

Available on 4-panel digipak CD and 180g black vinyl.

Man singt und es wird: Im Zuge eines Zusammenbruchs hat Max Gruber den Soloartist Drangsal gekillt und die Band Drangsal gegründet. Am Ende des Tunnels steht das im Juni 2025 erscheinende Album, Aus keiner meiner Brücken die in Asche liegen ist je ein Phönix emporgestiegen.

 Seit über zehn Jahren sichelt Max Gruber mittlerweile die Zick-Zack-Schneise Drangsal durch die deutsche Poplandschaft: Harieschaim aus 2016, Zores aus 2018 und zuletzt Exit Strategy – das ihm 2021 Platz 6 der Albumcharts bescherte – erdachte Gruber größtenteils im Alleingang. Und dann war da noch etwas nach seiner Exit Strategy: Ein Zusammenbruch. Max Gruber wusste nicht mehr, ob und wenn ja, wie er weiter Drangsal machen will, veröffentlichte im Ullstein-Verlag sein literarisches Debüt »Doch«, gründete Die Benjamins, holte so gemeinsam mit Charlotte Brandi, Thomas Götz und Julian Knoth Hans-A-Plast Frontfrau Annette Benjamin aus dem Ruhestand und reaktivierte unlängst das 2016 mit Stella Sommer gegründete Duo Die Mausis.

Und doch, von innen wie von außen, immer wieder die Frage nach einem neuen Drangsal-Album. Wenn es denn überhaupt nochmal eines geben soll, erkannte Gruber, musste er die Arbeitsweise, auf deren Grundlage Drangsal-Songs entstehen, fundamental verändern. Auf alles Ringen folgte, was unvermeidbar war: Der Reset. Max Gruber hat den Soloartist Drangsal gekillt und die dreiköpfige Band Drangsal gegründet – zusammen mit zwei Mitmusikern, die ihn aus seinen Gewohnheiten gelöst haben: Lukas Korn und Marvin Holley.
Erstgenannter ist Gitarrist und Produzent, spielt in der Band Lyschko, produzierte zuletzt das Album silber von Mia Morgan und hat seit 2020 als Bassist an der Drangsal-Liveband partizipiert. Zweiterer studierte Jazz- und klassische Gitarre sowie Komposition in Stuttgart und Wien, stand mit Sam Vance-Law und Fil Bo Riva auf der Bühne und arrangierte für Film und Theater. Lukas Korn und Marvin Holley haben dafür gesorgt, dass sich die zentrale Figur im Kosmos Drangsal dreiteilt.

Das Liedermachen in Bandkonstellation ließ alle Angst platzen: Getragen von Euphorie nahmen Gruber, Holley und Korn ab Ende 2022 etliche Songskizzen und damit den Unterbau eines siebzehnteiligen Albums auf. Nach Kreativurlauben an der polnischen Grenze und Ostsee stand eine von Max Rieger produzierte und von Lukas Korn Co-produzierte vierte Drangsal-LP. Sie trägt den schwergängigen Titel Aus keiner meiner Brücken die in Asche liegen ist je ein Phönix emporgestiegen und erscheint im Juni 2025. Gruber, Holley und Korn haben sich auf das Credo so wenig wie möglich, so viel wie nötig verständigt – und dadurch einen Umbruch im Klangkosmos Drangsals manifestiert, der völlig neue Dynamiken mit sich bringt. Aus keiner meiner Brücken die in Asche liegen ist je ein Phönix emporgestiegen hält Leerstellen aus, in seinem Zentrum stehen, statt Synthesizer, Akustikgitarren, die immer wieder an der Grenze zu Blues und Jazz wandeln. Wo speziell auf Exit Strategy noch überzuckerter Synth-Pop preschte, ist nun Klavier zu hören; Orgel, Klavinet und Cembalo; Xylophon, Violinen und Celli; von Ralph Heidel gespielte Querflöten und Saxophone.

Dazwischen drei Episoden, in denen sich Gospel Chöre und Technobeats breitmachen. Max Rieger hat die drei dazu motiviert, Echtheit, auch Imperfektion im Moment der Aufnahme zuzulassen – und großen Anteil daran, dass »Aus keiner meiner Brücken die in Asche liegen ist je ein Phönix emporgestiegen« ein realistisches Abbild des Trios bietet. Die Stimmung? Dagegen eher ein Wechselbad. Max Gruber singt von Selbstentfremdung, vom Für und Wider des Stillstands, vom Sichhingeben und Sichwegschmeißen – mal auf deutsch, mal auf englisch, mal zart, mal angewidert. Grubers Stimme klingt, nach einer klassischen Gesangsausbildung, die der Einunddreißigjährige angetreten hat, zielbewusster. Umarmungen Marke »Ich hab von der Musik geträumt und Inkomplett treffen auf Gewitterwolken à la Mein Eid und dem Sophia-Blenda-Feature Mein Mo(nu)ment. Entlang rigoroser Entkernung und Hexenjagd geht es Bergab – für dich, für mich, für Max Gruber sowieso. Er ist über weite Teile der Platte hinweg auf der Flucht vor sich selbst, den alten Geistern, dem leidigen Wachzustand: Wär’ ich doch bloß nimmermehr erwacht, ich schliefe in ewigem Glück. Gruber sucht und sucht: Nach innerem Frieden, nach Gnade, nach unverbranntem Boden, nach neuen Versionen seiner Selbst – und das vergeblich. Immerhin scheinen Erinnerungen mit der Zeit zu verschwimmen: Grubers Worte – zu sich und zur Welt – klingen im hinteren Teil der Platte sanfter, vergebender, resümierender. Ein Schlüsselmoment? Das von der Schauspielerin Rosa Lembeck eingesprochene, Monolog artig formulierte Klanggedicht Rosa – Es ist so: Man singt und es wird.

José James just can’t leave the ’70s alone. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The singer, songwriter, bandleader, and producer was born in 1978, after all, but over his past 17 years of fundamentally forward-looking, blessedly mercurial music, he keeps getting pulled back in. His 2013 Blue Note breakthrough No Beginning No End revisited the hooky, funky, jazz-streaked songcraft of the time through a modern crate-digger’s ears. On 2020’s No Beginning No End 2 — James’ debut on his own Rainbow Blonde Records — he went back through the portal with a small army of fellow celebrated eclecticists. Just last year, there was the album 1978, a richly layered love letter to said year that felt deep, luxe, and cool. It’s as if — vested with the restless fluidity of jazz, the tuned-in sensitivity of soul, and the revisionist grit of hip-hop — he is trying to play his way into the exact moment when, culturally speaking, everything was about to change.

“I'm still so fascinated by the tension in that era of all these seemingly clashing things happening at once,” says James. “The loft scene, the jazz scene, Elton and Billy, Bob Marley, the Isleys, Funkadelic, disco being this behemoth in a way I don't think we even understand today… And then there’s where everybody went from there — into hip-hop, into punk rock, exploding jazz. It's like a summation of the ’70s, and it's about to transform. It's the peak of the rollercoaster.”

Literally breaking into history is impossible, of course, but James’ new LP, 1978: Revenge of the Dragon, does feel like breaking through or bursting out. In loving contrast to its predecessor, the fresh set plays hot, like a Friday night out at the Mudd Club in its prime. Though he’s dreamt up albums with collaborator counts approaching the dozens, James gathered a tight crew for this one. Himself and Taali on vocals. BIGYUKI on keys and analog synth. Jharis Yokley on drums. Bass split between David Ginyard (Blood Orange, Terence Blanchard) and Kyle Miles (Michelle Ndgeocello, Nick Hakim). And an all-star brass lineup: Takuya Kuroda on trumpet, young lion Ebban Dorsey on alto sax, and genre-spanning ronin Ben Wendel on tenor sax. They set up in Dreamland Studios near Woodstock, a restored 19th century church, and recorded live to tape, two tracks, drums pushed to the max — “a small homage to the rise of punk,” says James.

In that place out of time, the band laid down a handful of choice covers and some wild originals, like the single “They Sleep, We Grind (for Badu),” a decades-collapsing cut powered by an ugly groove. Steeped in dub, funk, and sampledelia, James chants an artists’ mantra (“They sleep, we grind / Man, f--- your nine to five”), makes lyrical callouts to Marley and Nas, and channels everything from George Clinton to J Dilla, not to mention the earthy mysticism of Erykah Badu. In 2023, James released and toured his Badu covers LP, On & On. “Living in her musical house for a year was transformative,” he says. “This is my summary of everything I learned through her, tying it to this idea that artists move differently. We are in society but we are outside, too, looking out and in at the same time. Our hours are different, our schedules are different.”

To that point, James and co. actually began each day in the woods, filming the album’s visual companion piece, Revenge of the Dragon, an honest-to-God kung-fu short complete with bad overdubs, training montages, camera tricks, and plot twists. The film pays tribute not only to the genre’s greatest year (1978, of course), but also its cinematic exchange with Blaxploitation, plus James’ own recent Shaolin training and admiration for Bruce Lee as a culture-bridging force (the LP’s cover recreates an iconic shot of Lee). On top of that, says James, “We had this immediacy in the studio. Live, one take, no overdubbing. I feel like that's where the martial arts piece comes in, where it's about being relaxed but also aware, and there's immediacy in your movements.”

Across the project, tribute takes that refracted, multifaceted form. From his personal late-’70s playlist, James chose four covers reflecting the era’s disco-fied churn: the MJ-meets-Quincy dancefloor masterpiece “Rock With You”; Herbie Hancock’s prescient vocoder fever dream, “I Thought It Was You”; and a pair of Black-radio hits from two bands whose fans typically wouldn’t have been caught dead in the same stadium: “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones and the Bee Gees’ “Inside and Out.” All of it gets filtered through a contemporary Black (and beyond) lens, coming out loud, free, funky, and buzzing — dynamic, yes, but also of a joyous piece.

1978: Revenge of the Dragon transports you to a crowded room where all this is playing out in real time. That feeling is helped out by opener “Tokyo Daydream,” a bass-driven swan dive into a neverending night of boutique bar-hopping and neon revelry. Later, “Rise of the Tiger” finds James bringing rare braggadocio to a propulsive track with growling synth lines and a hunger for whatever comes next. And then there’s the closer, “Last Call at the Mudd Club,” which with its upbeat energy and string of Stevie-inspired pickup lines, evokes the sort of unabashedly elated track the DJ throws on at 3:56 a.m. before everyone is kicked out. “I wanted to leave the album on that note,” says James. “If this was a night out in New York, this would be the last thing you hear before you get in that taxi and go back to your apartment.” Or, perhaps, back to 2025.

When one makes mention of Deee-Lite, the 90's house-funk trio of Lady Miss Kier, and DJs Dmitry and Towa Tei, invariably their Billboard smash single “Groove Is In The Heart” will come up, and for good reason. With its Herbie Hancock-sampling bassline, some classic rhymes from Q-Tip, and guest vocals by Parliament-Funkadelic legend Bootsy Collins, the song became an indelible classic of 90s music, a massive commercial hit for Deee-lite and is widely considered one of the greatest dance songs of all time. Although a massive success for the group, “Groove Is In The Heart” led to some pigeonholing from critics and reviewers, who had specific expectations for future records. Rather than deliver more of the same free-wheeling, breezy dance music of World Clique, Deee-lite took a more politically-minded approach with their second album, spurred largely by front-woman Lady Miss Kier, who had a lengthy history of political activism prior to forming the group. 1992's Infinity Within rendered several Dance-chart hit singles, but was not as commercially or critically lauded as its forebear. Deee-lite were undaunted by their change in commercial fortune, regrouping with the addition of junglist DJ Ani, replacing the absent Towa Tei to record their third record. 1994's Dewdrops In The Garden was the result of their efforts, which struck a remarkable balance between the celebratory grooves of World Clique, and the social justice-driven Infinity Within. Lady Miss Kier had done a lot of world-traveling in the time between albums, and the material in Dewdrops was a reflection of her experiences, applying a spirit of global togetherness to their house-funk grooves. Regrettably, Dewdrops In The Garden was not a commercial success, yet it still managed to render its share of #1 Dance Chart singles; the atmospheric techno bounciness of “Bring Me Your Love”, and the spacious funk-house track “Call Me.” Though Deee-lite would disband soon after Dewdrops In The Garden's release, the record remains an unheralded favorite among dance music devotees for its coupling infectiously bright, and soulful melodies, with banging dance-floor grooves, and unshakably optimistic vibes.

E-bony joins the INDUSTRIAS MEKANIKAS family to present DIGITAL DAWN, an album that defines his identity as an artist. Twelve tracks in which electro and techno intertwine to create a unique and personal sound. A sonic manifesto composed of twelve tracks that explore the darkest textures and the most hypnotic rhythms of underground electronic.

In this work, E-bony is not alone. The talent of Noamm is woven into four of the tracks, adding an additional layer of complexity and experimentation. The collaboration between both artists creates a unique synergy, elevating the DIGITAL DAWN proposal to a new level.

DIGITAL DAWN is released in 2×12″ format, a format that is still preferred by DJs and lovers of high-quality sound, guaranteeing a quality and sound pressure that will explode on the dance floor.

Given Massive Attack's background, it was almost inevitable that they'd release a dub overhaul of one of their albums at one point. That time came in 1995, when British sound system legend Mad Professor - responsible for some of the greatest UK-made dub records of all time - put his distinctive twist on Protection. 21 years on, the set still sounds sublime: a radical translation that frequently bares only a passing resemblance to the Bristol band's original. It's packed with highlights, from the spaced-out, dub-house rework of "Spying Glass" ("I Spy"), to the ricocheting percussion hits and twinkling pianos of "Weather Storm (Cool Monsoon)", and creepy, delay-laden string surges of "Eternal Feedback (Sly)".

Unearthed in a storage facility in Jersey City, NJ these lost Joe Claussell instrumental takes of the Blaze produced classic Black Rascals ’So In Love’ are finally available. Produced during Claussell's formative years at Dancetracks, a time when he was always creating original jams under the ‘Instant House’ moniker, they still sound as fresh as they did in the early nineties. This is an EXTREMELY LIMITED pressing 7” on red vinyl. Comes in stamped white 7” cardboard sleeve.

In Marking A Boundary With The Turning Point, Ard Bit and Radboud Mens explore the tension between stasis and movement. Operating within the realm of drone and electroacoustic music, they construct a sonic landscape where sustained tones and microscopic events constantly shape and reshape each other. What initially appears static reveals itself to be rich with detail: tiny acoustic shifts breathe life into apparent stillness, inviting focused and attentive listening. The album emerged from a process where sound research, improvisation, and sound design merge. Self-built instruments, the search for timbre and texture, and recordings of the learning process itself form the foundation of these compositions. Rather than following a traditional musical structure, the result is a sonic field in which the minimal continually transforms, depending on the listener's perspective. Ard Bit (Ard Janssen) is a composer, sound artist, and field recordist based in Rotterdam, trained at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague. His work moves between improvisation and system-based composition, exploring the space between ambient, drone, and sound art. Radboud Mens is a sound artist with a decades-long practice grounded in minimalism, acoustic subtlety, and physical resonance. His work focuses on the perception of sound, the materiality of audio, and the creation of spatial listening experiences. Together, they present a layered and handcrafted album that doesn't narrate but questions. Marking A Boundary With The Turning Point is not a boundary, it's an invitation to listen beyond expectation.

’Still’ is a compilation album first released in 1981 after the death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Their two previous albums had already cemented the Manchester’s band’s iconic status in music history and ‘Still’ filled in gaps.

It featured previously unreleased studio material, two non-album tracks ‘Dead Souls’ and ‘Glass’ and a live recording of Joy Division’s last ever concert, at Birmingham University. The show included the only live performance of ‘Ceremony’ by the band, who later morphed into New Order and released it as a single.

Viktor Ori's debut solo album LEPSIE NEBOLO NIKDY DOBRE NEBUDE is an album all over the place. in the most complimentary of senses.

Coming from one of the deepest and most uncompromising projects on the Slovak contemporary music scene, it is an album of profound weltschmerzen.

The music and themes are acute, harrowing, and deeply radical. LEPSIE NEBOLO NIKDY DOBRE NEBUDE paints a bleak picture. exactly as the time we're living in.

It is a statement at times subjective and personal, at other times universal, general, generational. at all times deeply honest and political.

It is not hopeful but at least, it feels sincere.

LEPSIE NEBOLO NIKDY DOBRE NEBUDE is Viktor Ori's debut solo album. thematically and compositionally, it marks a departure from Viktor's band Shallov, but still features his closest collaborators - brother Dusan Ori on bass and Antonin Kropacek on drums. additionally, the album is heavy on collaborations with various, yet likeminded artists.

The songs are simpler and shorter and perhaps more straigh-forward, but as intense and heavy as ever. layered, surprising, full of odd time signatures, sublime harmonies and sudden sonic changes. you can still feel the grandeur, monumentality, and mayhem of Shallov. many moments are cathedral, cathartic and the music leaves you in awe.

Viktor has somehow // unfathomably managed to compress Shallov's eposes into almost-radio-friendly almost-popsongs (had the "common" radio-listener been slightly more openminded and keen on social awareness) and for the first time, his songs feature Slovak lyrics. these are not only hopeless and unsettling, but also astute, sardonic,almostcynical. yet, it is perhaps thisdetachedand more realistic way of experiencing the world that allows for some relief and reconciliation. and at the same time, encourages action.

Dieses Album bringt wieder mehr Schwärze in den Sound der Australier, die damit eine leichte Kursänderung härter am Wind vornehmen; ohne sich der Nostalgie "alter Tage" hinzugeben. AUSTERE bleiben im selbstgesteckten Rahmen der reiferen und definierten Version ihres besonderen depressiven Black Metal Stils, der ihre Erfahrung und künstlerische Entwicklung widerspiegelt. AUSTERE entstanden aus einem Soloprojekt des Multi-Instrumentalisten und Sängers Desolate alias Mitchell Keepin, der sich im Jahr 2005 mit dem Schlagzeuger, Keyboarder und Sänger Sorrow aka Tim Yatras zusammenschloss. Mit frostigen Gitarren, spitzen Schreien und Wehklagen als Markenzeichen offenbarte AUSTEREs Debütalbum "Withering Illusions and Desolation" (2007) noch einen starken nordischen Einfluss. Das Zweitwerk "To Lay like Old Ashes" folgte im Jahr 2009 ebenfalls mit einem rohen Sound, überzeugte aber auch durch eine verfeinerte Produktion. Danach konzentrierten sich beide Musiker auf andere Projekte und AUSTERE ging in den Winterschlaf. Erst im Jahr 2021 fand das Duo erneut zusammen. Die Zahl der Anhänger war in den Jahren ihrer Abwesenheit dennoch rein durch Mundpropaganda stark angewachsen. AUSTERE sind zurück und tragen auf "The Stillness of Dissolution" schwarze Trauer. Doch darunter kleiden sich die Australier auch in all die subtilen Grautöne, die aus der kontinuierlichen Entwicklung ihrer Musik gewebt wurden, und aus dunkler Materie spannende neue Klangräume erschaffen.

Dieses Album bringt wieder mehr Schwärze in den Sound der Australier, die damit eine leichte Kursänderung härter am Wind vornehmen; ohne sich der Nostalgie "alter Tage" hinzugeben. AUSTERE bleiben im selbstgesteckten Rahmen der reiferen und definierten Version ihres besonderen depressiven Black Metal Stils, der ihre Erfahrung und künstlerische Entwicklung widerspiegelt. AUSTERE entstanden aus einem Soloprojekt des Multi-Instrumentalisten und Sängers Desolate alias Mitchell Keepin, der sich im Jahr 2005 mit dem Schlagzeuger, Keyboarder und Sänger Sorrow aka Tim Yatras zusammenschloss. Mit frostigen Gitarren, spitzen Schreien und Wehklagen als Markenzeichen offenbarte AUSTEREs Debütalbum "Withering Illusions and Desolation" (2007) noch einen starken nordischen Einfluss. Das Zweitwerk "To Lay like Old Ashes" folgte im Jahr 2009 ebenfalls mit einem rohen Sound, überzeugte aber auch durch eine verfeinerte Produktion. Danach konzentrierten sich beide Musiker auf andere Projekte und AUSTERE ging in den Winterschlaf. Erst im Jahr 2021 fand das Duo erneut zusammen. Die Zahl der Anhänger war in den Jahren ihrer Abwesenheit dennoch rein durch Mundpropaganda stark angewachsen. AUSTERE sind zurück und tragen auf "The Stillness of Dissolution" schwarze Trauer. Doch darunter kleiden sich die Australier auch in all die subtilen Grautöne, die aus der kontinuierlichen Entwicklung ihrer Musik gewebt wurden, und aus dunkler Materie spannende neue Klangräume erschaffen.

Howdy punkè rocke fans, welcome to FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE - the wonderful and frightening world of ALIEN NOSEJOB’s EP’s & singles. Anti Fade and Agitated Records are teaming together to bring you a paint stripping, mind altering, rare collection of EP and compilation tracks recorded in various Australian bedrooms and garages between 2017 and 2022. The sound of goofy obnoxiousness will soon be permeating your bedroom airwaves and perforating your eardrums. Kicking off this long player is an EP that was recorded by Billy from Anti Fade in his childhood bedroom in July 2017. The songs came to fruition while AUSMUTEANTS were on tour in Japan 2016.

There was a lot of ‘WALLABY BEAT’ / ‘MURDER PUNK’ being played in the background while seeing the sites of Mount Fuji and ‘Bar Fuck Yeah’. In between shows Jake was organising the release of DANNY GRAHAM and PLASTIC AND THE EP’S records on the label he co-ran XEROX MUSIC. Both artists played parts in the sound and ethos of the PANEL BEAT EP. The goal was to make the songs sound unapologetically Australian without pretending to be something they’re not. There’s no fake accents or songs about VB and mullets. Instead, there’s songs about every day struggles, like dealing with fickle fashion followers, having too many fucking records, playing PlayStation, resentment and manipulation.

500 copies were pressed and self released, with a photo slipped inside each copy at random. Next is THE DEATH OF THE VINYL BOOM which was self recorded in a shed in November 2017. This is the only Alien Nosejob release (besides this comp, smartarse) to feature a cover - Flyblown by Adelaidean arty weirdo band JACKSON ZUMDISH. The idea behind this EP was to incorporate the simplicity and scrappiness of the late 70’s DIY Australian sound, but give them the complicated structures of prog songs. Scum stats - 500 copies, self released. Several copies were smeared with Jake’s blood and had smashed pieces of vinyl glued to the front cover.

Now we have a cover of the DEAD KENNEDYS. The conspiracy theorist wet dream Government Flu. Recorded September 2020 during lockdown in one-man-band with a tape recorder fashion for a 20 minute unedited ‘live set’ video where all instruments were played one by one, sung and mixed in the space of a couple of hours. The HC45 7” was recorded at the same time as a disco 12” maxi, which I hear were originally meant to come out on the same day. Shit happens I guess? This EP came out in Feb 2020 and sounds somewhere between early GANG GREEN, DIE KREUZEN and the BEASTIE BOYS old bullshit. Self recorded on a 4 track with a broken pinch roller. Lyrically this thing is cynical and choc-a-bloc full of satire and hate. A year later a sequel was recorded the same way, on the same machine.

No fucking disco this time though. Cold Bare Facts is the most recent recording on this comp. Self recorded in Jake‘s bedroom 2022 It has the same mid paced tempo as DYS or SSD when they’re at their slowest (pre-Boston Curse, of course!). Both songs take a stinky shit on the Australian state police. 300 copies. Finishing the record is a cover by THE AINTS. Originally written by ED KUEPPER for THE SAINTS Eternally Yours album, but it sounded too similar to Lost and Found. Originally released on ‘ALTA’ cassette compilation during the lockdown. FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE binds this mouthful of releases into one neat package from June 6th, 2025. Catch the ALIEN NOSEJOB band on tour in Europe & UK from June 13 - July 2nd, 2025.

Howdy punkè rocke fans, welcome to FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE - the wonderful and frightening world of ALIEN NOSEJOB’s EP’s & singles. Anti Fade and Agitated Records are teaming together to bring you a paint stripping, mind altering, rare collection of EP and compilation tracks recorded in various Australian bedrooms and garages between 2017 and 2022. The sound of goofy obnoxiousness will soon be permeating your bedroom airwaves and perforating your eardrums. Kicking off this long player is an EP that was recorded by Billy from Anti Fade in his childhood bedroom in July 2017. The songs came to fruition while AUSMUTEANTS were on tour in Japan 2016.

There was a lot of ‘WALLABY BEAT’ / ‘MURDER PUNK’ being played in the background while seeing the sites of Mount Fuji and ‘Bar Fuck Yeah’. In between shows Jake was organising the release of DANNY GRAHAM and PLASTIC AND THE EP’S records on the label he co-ran XEROX MUSIC. Both artists played parts in the sound and ethos of the PANEL BEAT EP. The goal was to make the songs sound unapologetically Australian without pretending to be something they’re not. There’s no fake accents or songs about VB and mullets. Instead, there’s songs about every day struggles, like dealing with fickle fashion followers, having too many fucking records, playing PlayStation, resentment and manipulation.

500 copies were pressed and self released, with a photo slipped inside each copy at random. Next is THE DEATH OF THE VINYL BOOM which was self recorded in a shed in November 2017. This is the only Alien Nosejob release (besides this comp, smartarse) to feature a cover - Flyblown by Adelaidean arty weirdo band JACKSON ZUMDISH. The idea behind this EP was to incorporate the simplicity and scrappiness of the late 70’s DIY Australian sound, but give them the complicated structures of prog songs. Scum stats - 500 copies, self released. Several copies were smeared with Jake’s blood and had smashed pieces of vinyl glued to the front cover.

Now we have a cover of the DEAD KENNEDYS. The conspiracy theorist wet dream Government Flu. Recorded September 2020 during lockdown in one-man-band with a tape recorder fashion for a 20 minute unedited ‘live set’ video where all instruments were played one by one, sung and mixed in the space of a couple of hours. The HC45 7” was recorded at the same time as a disco 12” maxi, which I hear were originally meant to come out on the same day. Shit happens I guess? This EP came out in Feb 2020 and sounds somewhere between early GANG GREEN, DIE KREUZEN and the BEASTIE BOYS old bullshit. Self recorded on a 4 track with a broken pinch roller. Lyrically this thing is cynical and choc-a-bloc full of satire and hate. A year later a sequel was recorded the same way, on the same machine.

No fucking disco this time though. Cold Bare Facts is the most recent recording on this comp. Self recorded in Jake‘s bedroom 2022 It has the same mid paced tempo as DYS or SSD when they’re at their slowest (pre-Boston Curse, of course!). Both songs take a stinky shit on the Australian state police. 300 copies. Finishing the record is a cover by THE AINTS. Originally written by ED KUEPPER for THE SAINTS Eternally Yours album, but it sounded too similar to Lost and Found. Originally released on ‘ALTA’ cassette compilation during the lockdown. FORCED COMMUNAL EXISTENCE binds this mouthful of releases into one neat package from June 6th, 2025. Catch the ALIEN NOSEJOB band on tour in Europe & UK from June 13 - July 2nd, 2025.

The Ottawa composer/performer and head of Black Bough Records plays every instrument on his CST debut: an accessibly avant-garde work of dark/ambient modern chamber music. Mark Molnar has been a linchpin of the Ottawa experimental music scene for over two decades, spanning contemporary classical, electroacoustic, industrial/noise, and improv. As a string player in a wide range of projects, an organizer and curator of innumerable shows, and via his own avantgarde label Black Bough Records, Molnar's unflagging contributions to independent music culture in Canada's capital city have been significant. EXO is his Constellation debut: a remarkable and bracing suite of post-classical composition on which Molnar plays every instrument. Meticulously self-recorded, primarily with strings, harp, and piano, EXO balances thematic melodicism, polytonality, and dissonance across three elegiac pieces of exquisitely expressive dynamism. This is exacting modern chamber music that blends formal and harmonic complexity with a solemn emotive sensibility accessible to a broad audience. Listeners that yearn for some edge and disquietude in a landscape of often all-too-approachable post-classical music should find EXO eminently worth their time and attention. While Molnar is a highly trained string player, and studied music under Aubrey Wolfe, microtonality with James Tenney, and composition with R. Murray Schafer, his trajectory has been entirely and intentionally outside the academy, signalling a socio-artistic commitment to DIY culture, forged from an early passion for the sonic worlds of post-hardcore, post-punk, no-wave, free improv, power electronics, and other independent/underground musics. His classically-informed works have been described as "tense currents of musical modernism invigorated with punk's raw vitality." EXO carries an undercurrent influenced by dark industrial and ambient metal in particular, with microphones purposely placed to pick up the low-end frequencies of the piano body, and of a bass drum positioned as a resonant skin in the acoustic space; an electroacoustic strategy organically meshed to the crisply defined and pristinely recorded pointillisms and polychords of strings, harp, and piano, which feed into this noisefloor of crepuscular sub-bass disquietude and decay. It's a production aesthetic that lends EXO a distinct undertow of tension and feeling, a sort of roiling maximalism where the chamber instrumentation traces arcs and waves of form and flow as if drawn from a dark, impervious ocean below. It also reinforces the profound hermeticism of Molnar's process, as a forbiddingly solitary creative act of immersion and navigation. The album artwork, featuring semiabstract stills of the sea by British photographer Ed Allen, further reifies this metaphor. The album's opening piece 'Sub Luna' (and its shortest at 8 minutes) showcases Molnar's adeptness at naturalistic and flowing complexity: tight cascades of climbing and descending chordal clusters hold their polytonal densities for various durations, yielding to more clarified harmonic suspensions and motifs, as melodic themes led primarily by violins in the higher registers provide a fractured lyricism. Molnar says: "the opening and closing figures of this piece act as opposing shorelines; the shorelines provide a reliable expression of range and key signature, and the tides come in and swallow them up, the motion of a body that addresses the relationship between states of lucidity and melodic figures." On 'Terre Sacer' everything happens in soupier waters, as a slow and doleful theme, anchored by grinding bass notes, circles in a gyre of dark resonances, until glistening strings gradually ascend to enrobe a plaintive and gently harrowing single-voiced ostinato over the composition's final third. Molnar's drone, ambient, minimalist, and goth-industrial influences are on display here. Side Two of EXO features the 18-minute multi-movement 'pallida Mors' (pale death): a waterfall of heterophony introduces dense chordal movements where strings are recorded and mixed to evoke pipe organ, in the album's most overtly dissonant and (anti)liturgical sequence. This gives way to ever more open and fragile spaces, before a resurgence of dark clusters and noise treatments introduces a final repeating piano coda, shrouded in devastated bass resonance, settling into what Molnar calls "a meditative hollow." Constellation is honoured to release this work by Mark Molnar, a longtime fellow-traveler whose selfless and boundlessly generous activities as an independent arts enabler sometimes obscure his own accomplished and uncompromising artistry. We trust EXO can help shed some much deserved light on this fine composer. Thanks for listening.

OVERVIEW: DUB TREES is one of Youth’s most revered dub projects, it helped define the Liquid Sound Design sound that fans around the world hold dear. This project is the third in a triptych of albums Youth has made with a specific Celtic / Hindu fusion. Starting out with the classic Celtic Cross ‘Hicksville’ 20 years ago, featuring the mythical Simon Posford (Shpongle) through to ‘East of the River Ganges’ (ft Klaus Shultz / Tangerine Dream amongst many others) in 2004 followed by the last piece of this mystical puzzle ‘Celtic Vedic’ ,released on compact disc only in 2016 , which charts the journey of the Celt from Northern India to Snowdonia. The idea stems from Youth’s firm belief that there is a strong correlation between Celtic and Vedic cultures and their Northern Indian roots. Youth has assembled a host of collaborators to weave their labrynthine magic on ‘Celtic Vedic’: Jah Wobble (PiL) on bass, Matt Black/Coldcut (Ninja Tunes) on warped soundscaping duties, Galician Celtic pipe and flute player Daniel Romar, Bollywood contemporary Indian singer Shridevi Keshavan and Elfic Circle. It features many field recordings made by Youth on his various Indian odysseys and is all harnessed together with cutting-edge electronica that the Liquid Sound Design team pioneered 20 years ago. The team today are still pioneering new directions within ‘Downtempo Electronica Music’ and beats that create 3 dimensional landscapes for the helioscopic imagination to explore and psychoactive maps for the inner astronaut in all of us. ‘Celtic Vedic’ promises unchartered bass annihilation and heliotropic soundscapes, pounding basslines overlayed on 3D holographic beats and wrestles with serpentine melodies and psychedelic textures.

"In less than a ten-year span, Subsonic Eye have established a deep catalog across jangle- and indie-pop spectra. On their 2023 album All Around You, the Singaporean five-piece refined their signature snappy hooks with a renewed appreciation for the natural world’s entanglement with their urban milieu. Ever enraptured by nature and their surroundings, Subsonic Eye have dedicated much of their music to celebrations of their environment.

Their fifth album, Singapore Dreaming, centers their hometown through a more focused lens. Where All Around You comprised a space to sit with the complex feelings inspired by the intense world we inhabit, Singapore Dreaming is that intense world itself — Subsonic Eye’s interpretation of their high energy urban context refracted through straight-to-the-point, poppy, ergonomic songs tinged with tension that could explode at a moment’s notice.

Despite the newly honed vision, Singapore Dreaming still has all of Subsonic Eye’s signature elements: spellbinding walls of tone, hooky riffs, zippy rhythms, and punches in the perfect place — all led by singer Nur Wahidah’s dreamlike voice, whose vaporous and velvety character always makes the layers whole."

UK Salford band The Ting Tings released their first catalogue of hits in 2008, with global success taking them on an immediate 6-year world tour. That’s Not My Name, Shut Up & Let Me Go, Great Dj & Hands, still regular fixtures on playlists and syncs worldwide.

They vowed never to make the same record twice, 5 albums in, they are sticking to their word.

Their new album ‘Home’ was recorded in a wooden decked analogue studio is an easy breezy yacht rock album committed to traditional songwriting inspired by their all-time favourites, Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, The Eagles, The Carpenters, Cosby Stills & Nash, Supertramp, Christopher Cross, best heard in a car, preferably with the sea in view and the windows down.

"Layers of Afternoon" soll eine bestimmte Zeiterfahrung widerspiegeln - etwas Greifbares und zugleich Unbestimmtes, das gefühlt, aber nicht leicht beschrieben werden kann. Diese Momente tauchen oft in Mustern auf, manchmal mal kurz, mal lang anhaltend, aber immer prägend. Wir erkennen ihre Einzigartigkeit, und doch sehnt sich etwas Unbewusstes in uns danach, diese Muster zu erkennen und ihnen zu frönen. Vielleicht vermeiden wir es, über sie zu sprechen, weil wir befürchten, dass sie banal oder belanglos klingen, doch sie kehren oft in unsere Erinnerungen zurück und bieten uns kollektiven Trost. Für Keith Kenniff alias Goldmund kann die Sprache diese Erfahrungen kaum vermitteln; nur Kunst und Musik scheinen das, was sie besonders macht, am ehesten einzufangen. Kenniff erklärt: ,Mein Ziel für die Musik in Layers of Afternoon war es, diesen Zwischenraum zu finden und von dort aus zu schreiben, in der Hoffnung, meine Erfahrung der Welt als ideal zu vermitteln - frei von Zielen, musikalischer Ausbildung oder emotionaler Komplexität. Ich wollte diesen Raum aufsuchen und die Momente im Akt der Schöpfung frei schweben lassen." In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Geiger Scott Moore erschafft Kenniff eine Klanglandschaft die sich zwischen Nostalgie und flüchtiger Gegenwart bewegt und es dem Hörer ermöglicht, sich durch die verschwommenen Ränder der Erinnerung treiben zu lassen.

"Throughout all my time as a musician and producer, ever since Jack the Tab, I've been focused on developing a single idea: Blending psychedelic sounds and effects with rhythm." Richard Norris, Strange Things Are Happening White Rabbit 2024

Over the past few years Eskimo Recordings have invited some of the best crate diggers around to curate compilations that don't just reveal the hidden contents of their record bags but something about themselves too. Now, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Brewster and Psychemagik, producer, musician, DJ, writer and more, Richard Norris, takes us on a globetrotting psychedelic journey with the epic 42 track collection, Mr Norris Changes Brains.

For over forty years Richard has played a part in many of the UK's most important music subcultures. Whether sharing stages with the likes of Tracey Thorn as a pubescent punk in St. Albans, or running freakbeat nights in Liverpool and working at the pioneering psychedelic label Bam Caruso, co-producing the UK's first acid house inspired LP with Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P. Orridge or riding the wave of creativity that the second summer of love unleashed all the way to the Top of the Pop studios as The Grid, Richard's career has continually seen him work to expand both his own and the public's musical horizons.

With Mr Norris Changes Brains it's the most recent part of his mercurial career that he's focused on. Drawing inspiration from his post 2006 adventures as one half of Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve, alongside Trash's Erol Alkan, this compilation shows how a more connected world has blown the dust off a paradoxically sometimes straightjacketed scene. The result is a dizzyingly wide-ranging collection that explores the further out there reaches of worldwide psychedelia and dancefloor mayhem.

"A lot of these tracks are fairly recent discoveries, things that I've discovered from around the time I started working with Erol and going right up to today," Richard explains. "Whether that's from going out to play and finding new records in places like Istanbul or just connecting with people online from all around the world. Psych can sometimes be a sort of narrow-minded field, with everything having to sit in its specific niche, but more and more people are open to new sounds and that's allowed for a much broader selection."

Despite their disparate origins what does unite these tracks is that they aren't just there to zone out to on a bean bag as projections of swirling coloured oils and psychedelic patterns wash over you. Mr Norris may change brains but his DJ sets also move feet, and whether it's their killer guitar riffs, oscillating synths floor shaking drums or soulful Hammond organs these are all cuts that from festival tents to underground clubs have proven time and time again to get people dancing.

"With a lot of these tracks there's a kind of fun element in them," says Richard. "It's still psychedelia, but they've also got these solid, funky grooves. They sound phenomenal on the dancefloor and as much as these records might excite old psych heads, this compilation is also for a new generation out there who might have never heard anything like this before and, just like when I was 18 and heard The 13th Floor Elevators for the first time, think 'Oh, my God, what on earth is this and more importantly what else is out there?'"

Oh yes, we love it when Theo represses some of his most sought after tracks and this one is particularly well-timed. Leron Carson is still an unknown figure, a kid who used to make viciously raw and futuristic techno tracks in the late 1980's! "China Trax", alongside the rest of his tracks on a different Sound Signature double 12", is totally ahead of its time and if it was truly made in 1987 then it is nothing short of amazing. Of course, it's not just the year it was made in that's interesting but also the fact that it's music without an age, able to be appreciated by any generation of techno freaks. Theo's own "Insane Asylum" on the flipside is also pretty monumental; rigged beats, off-kilter grooves and that familiar spontaneity so heavily associated to the label. RECOMMENDED.

"Nilam" folgt auf das letztjährige Album "Daughter Of A Temple", das von Gilles Peterson zum BBC 6 Music "Album of the Year" gekürt wurde. The Guardian erklärte es ebenfalls zu einem der 10 besten Alben des Jahres 2024 und lobte GANAVYAs Fähigkeit, "die Kraft der gemeinschaftlichen Harmonie zu nutzen, um etwas Tieferes als den Gesang zu berühren". Wenn man sich das bemerkenswerte "Nilam" anhört, scheint es unwahrscheinlich, dass jemals Zweifel an seiner Entstehung bestanden haben könnten. Die Stille ist so erstaunlich, die Vermittlung von Gefühlen so tiefgreifend, dass man das Gefühl hat, dass es schon immer so gedacht war. Es ist eine Feier der Bande, die uns verbinden, und möglicherweise die zärtlichste Musik, die wir dieses Jahr hören werden. Sie ist intim und ehrlich, ein ergreifender Ausdruck der Dankbarkeit für die Segnungen, die uns auf dem Boden halten, wenn wir sie nur erkennen und willkommen heißen. In der Tat könnte es direkt von der Seele auf die Stereoanlage übertragen worden sein, von der Art und Weise, wie "Not A Burden" eine Last von den Schultern der Welt nimmt, bis hin zum friedlichen "Sees Fire", mit dem sanften Groove von "Land" voller Raum, dem heiteren "Nine Jeweled Prayer" und durchweg GANAVYAs Gesang wie Wellen in einer Lagune. New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised singer and transdisciplinarian GANAVYA - "among modern music"s most compelling vocalists," according to the Wall Street Journal - has announced details of a new album, Nilam, due May 23, 2025. It follows last year"s Daughter Of A Temple, Gilles Peterson"s BBC 6 Music Album of the Year, similarly declared one of 2024"s Top 10 Best Global Albums by The Guardian, who applauded GANAVYA"s ability to harness "the power of communal harmony to touch something deeper than song." Co-produced by Nils Frahm at LEITER Studio in Berlin"s Funkhaus complex, the new album by "the singer whose work," says the New York Times, "feels like prayer...with listeners hanging onto her every word" will be released by LEITER on vinyl and via all digital platforms. Listening to the remarkable Nilam, it seems implausible now that its inception might ever have been in doubt. So astonishing is its stillness, so profound its communication of sentiment, it feels as if it was always meant to be. A celebration of the ties that bind, and possibly the most tender-hearted music we"ll hear this year, it"s intimate and honest, a poignant expression of gratitude for the blessings which keep us grounded, if only we"ll recognise and welcome them. Indeed, it could have been transmitted directly from soul to stereo, from the way "Not A Burden" lifts a weight off the world"s shoulders to the peaceful "Sees Fire", with "Land""s gentle groove full of space, "Nine Jeweled Prayer" serenely precious, and, throughout, GANAVYA"s vocals like ripples on a lagoon.

On his second EP for Altered Circuits, "Signal Drift", Jacopo Latini further distills his sound. Taking a more minimalist approach, he unreservedly treats the groove as the focal point. Still relying on his staple talent for weaving melodies and hooks, he delivers four trippy club tracks that show more can be done with less. Opener "Sharp" delivers immediate proof. After starting with a sequence of eerie sci-fi atmospherics and recondite vocoded vocals, the adding and subtracting happens so ingeniously, the track switches to club velocity 303 squelches and enhanced drum programming seamlessly. Similar techniques in building and layering are deployed on "Impulse", but this time, the shifts seem a tad more dramatic. The track revolves around an FM bass melody that's equally effective as it is simple, and its return to this stripped theme, surrounded by characteristic jittery hats, squashed claps, and a little more frills, keeps the listener on his toes. A bass patch, its sustain knob turned wide open, somewhat buried in the mix, drives "Bright Sound" together with a heavily modulated formant mid lead. Deadpan vocals add icing, and slightly euphoric, phased chords bring in a touch of subtle contrast. Closer "Rave Harvey" is a rare diversion as it starts in medias res with chords that reconfigure nineties trance and a distinct bassline immediately going for the limelight. It also shows Latini switching up his palette, trading restraint for vigor, with a slab of direct, unfiltered hi-energy as a result.

Repress now on 140 gram black vinyl comes with download code. SLOW AIR is the fourth album by Still Corners. Evoking the atmospheric sounds Still Corners are known for, SLOW AIR continues the band's journey with an album full of tension and brooding all the while wrapped in a reverb laden dream. Written in the hill country in Austin, Texas, Slow Air nods towards a classic sound with emphasis on the guitar, both acoustic and electric, combined with the alluring and ghostly voice of Tessa Murray.