quête:the stranger

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO MOXIE AND THE LOVE INTERNATIONAL X TEST PRESSING TEAM FOR WINNING THE BEST COMPILATION IN THE DJ MAG BEST OF BRITISH AWARDS 2025


“I feel really chuffed as a lot of work went into building this compilation,” beams Moxie, when we congratulate her on the award. “I also worked alongside a great team, including Dave Harvey, Ellie Stokes, Chez de Milo and everyone at Prime Distribution. I’d been manifesting working on a project like this for years, so when it all came together I was so happy with it. But to have recognition from the DJ Mag public vote is the cherry on the cake.”


Few artists have shaped their local scene quite like Alice Moxom under her celebrated Moxie alias. A born-and-bred Londoner, Moxie is a dance music powerhouse whose influence runs deep—from the grassroots to global stages. Her trajectory spans early teenage years digging for garage records, to dubstep sets at legendary club nights, to running her long-standing and beloved NTS Radio residency. For over a decade, she’s been a midweek staple on NTS, championing deep house, Detroit techno, and all things dubby, groovy, and percussive, while regularly platforming artists through guest mixes and interviews with icons like Jeff Mills, Four Tet, and Or:la.

Her latest endeavor, the Love International compilation, brings that wealth of experience to life. 'I’d secretly been manifesting this for a while,' Moxie admits. 'Love International has such a specific energy, and I wanted the compilation to reflect that—dubby, fun, euphoric, deep. It’s all the styles of music I love, pulled together in harmony. Being at Love International always feels like coming home. Whether it’s dancing in Barbarellas or sharing a smile with a stranger on the dancefloor, there’s this sense of unity that’s hard to describe. That’s why I chose ‘U Skladu’ for the sleeve—because that’s what it feels like: in harmony.'

"Polymath artist, musician and iconoclast Raed Yassin releases Eternal Ghost, two long-form pieces of modular minimalism via Fourth Sounds. Drawing on influences of Terry Riley, Suicide, no wave and synth pop, the double A-side 12” reverberates with urgent, high-octane loops, repeating patterns and distorted vocal frequencies, each track unfurling over 15 frantic Minutes of maximalist electronics.

Born in Lebanon and based in Berlin, with a musical practice that spans free improvisation, Arabic pop and sample-based cultural archaeology, Yassin is an artist who refuses to be contained, working across disciplines to interrogate ideas of personal identity, collective memory and consumer culture.

Eternal Ghost is the latest addition to a shape-shifting body of work, released to accompany Yassin’s debut London exhibition of the same name at Cedric Bardawil in June 2025."

2025 Repress!

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to create electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre. His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With "9 Is A Classic", "Slaves To The Rave", "Pitch-Hiker", "Stereo Murder" and "We Have Arrived", just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties! The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp. All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

2025 Repress

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to create electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre. His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With "9 Is A Classic", "Slaves To The Rave", "Pitch-Hiker", "Stereo Murder" and "We Have Arrived", just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties! The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp. All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

2025 Repress

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre.

His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With 9 Is A Classic, Slaves To The Rave, Pitch-Hiker, Stereo Murder and We Have Arrived, just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties!

The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp.

All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

Das Debütalbum des amerikanischen Schauspielers und Singer-Songwriters Joe Keery unter seinem Pseudonym Djo, bekannt aus der Serie Stranger Things.

Das Album des Stranger Things-Stars wurde bereits 2019 veröffentlicht und erscheint nun auch auf Vinyl.

In echter Badflower-Manier kehren die Rocker aus Nashville zurück, um schwierige Themen mit ihrem neuen Album „No Place Like Home“ – dem Nachfolger ihres 2021er-Albums – erträglich zu machen. Frontmann Josh Katz nimmt sich die Zeit, alles richtig zu machen und führt uns durch persönliche Geschichten von Paranoia, Reue und sogar dem Verlust eines Haustiers, die dennoch universell nachvollziehbar und angenehm sind. Die charakteristische Fähigkeit der Band, schwierige Themen mit selbstironischer Entwaffnung zu überziehen, findet sich auch auf diesem Album wunderbar umgesetzt.

7 track album featuring Indie Dance, Electronica, Funky Grooves and Hard House fused songs. Showcasing a new range of vocal agility and aura not yet displayed from the artist known as Seven Davis Jr. (Sev). A darker much more aggressive and concentrated soundscape than previous adventures. Inspired by an unexpectedly bad year the artist experienced following the successful release of his previous album, "Stranger Than Fiction”.

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.

Nach 25 Jahren Herman Dune und 15 Alben freut sich BB*ISLAND, Odysseús zu präsentieren, eine neue Sammlung von Songs, die den Hörer auf eine Reise durch das turbulente Leben von David Ivar mitnimmt, eine Reise voller Sehnsucht, Schmerz, Liebe, Tod, Glaube und Erlösung. Es ist das erste Mal, dass Herman Dune mit einem externen Produzenten, David Garza, zusammenarbeitet. Das Set-up besteht fast ausschließlich aus akustischen Instrumenten, die live mit der Band in einem Raum aufgenommen wurden. Es ist Folk-Musik im typischen Stil von Herman Dune mit Anklängen an Americana, Country, jüdische und hispanische Traditionen, aber mit einer ganz neuen Wendung in Sound und Arrangements, vor allem im Vergleich zu seiner letzten rein akustischen Trilogie The Portable Herman Dune. David Herman Dune über die Produktion: "...David Garza getroffen zu haben war reiner Zufall. Ich mühte mich gerade mit einem Geigenarrangement für einen der Songs ab, als er sich in einem überfüllten Café in der Innenstadt von San Pedro an meinen Tisch setzte und mich fragte, woran ich gerade arbeitete. David, ein mit einem Grammy ausgezeichneter Produzent und Musiker, hatte mit Fiona Apple, Iron & Wine, John C. Reilly und den Milk Carton Kids gearbeitet und mit einigen meiner musikalischen Helden wie Lucinda Williams und Townes Van Zandt gespielt. Wir verstanden uns auf Anhieb, und er bot mir an, meine Songs zu produzieren. Wir begannen, die Stücke jeden Abend bei mir zu Hause zu spielen, und einmal pro Woche in einem französischen Restaurant namens Le Compagnon. David kannte die besten Musiker in L.A. - Leute wie Sebastian Steinberg am Kontrabass (Fiona Apple), Richard Edson (Schlagzeuger von Sonic Youth, Schauspieler in Jim Jarmuschs Stranger Than Paradise und Spike Lees Do The Right Thing), Odessa (violin, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros) und Paul J. Cartwright (violin, Olivia Rodrigo). Als wir uns bereit fühlten, versammelten wir alle in meinem Haus für drei Tage Live-Sessions. Es war ein chaotischer, schöner Prozess, bei dem alle in einem Raum zusammen spielten, keine Kopfhörer, keine Overdubs - nur rohe, echte Musik. Aufgenommen und gemischt wurden die Sessions von Chris Sorem (ebenso Grammy-prämiert für seine Arbeit mit den mit den LA-Legenden Los Lobos). Chris brachte eine Wagenladung alter Mikrofone mit und konzentrierte sich auf "Raummikrofone" - djene, die die Atmosphäre des Raums einfangen. Er sagte, dies sei eine Technik, die auf Alben wie Buena Vista Social Club verwendet wurde, und es erzeugte eine Magie im Raum, die spürbar war. Sogar die traurigsten Lieder wurden lebendig mit so viel Freude, Energie und Elektrizität. Die Aufnahmen waren ungefiltert, organisch und hatten Seele. Als wir mit dem Abmischen begannen, waren wir alle vom Ergebnis erstaunt, wir hörten einen Moment in der Zeit, der sich gleichsam zeitlos anfühlte"

Die selbstbetitelte Debüt-LP von Blushing erhält eine lang erwartete Wiederveröffentlichung und wird zum ersten Mal seit 2019 auf Vinyl erhältlich sein. Dieses spezielle Reissue enthält einen exklusiven, neuen Remix von ,So Many" von Oliver Ackermann (A Place to BuryStrangers) und ein komplettes Remaster von Kurt Feldman (The Pains of BeingPure at Heart, The Depreciation Guild, Ice Choir). Das Vinyl kommt mit transparentem blau/grünem Farbeffekt in limitierter Auflage und mit einem 12" x 24" großen Einleger mit Texten und einer Fotocollage von den Aufnahmen, der Veröffentlichung und der Tournee. ,Blushing" war die erste Zusammenarbeit der Band mit dem ihrem langjährigen Produzent/Engineer Elliott Frazier (Ringo Deathstarr). Der Gruppe gelang es, ihr Songwriting-Potenzial mit schweren Riffs, hakenreichen Refrains und hochfliegenden Gesang zu verbinden und ihre spezifische Art von "heavy" Dream Pop zu kristallisieren.

Im Sommer 2000 legten Mystic Circle mit der 5-Track-EP "Kriegsgötter II", eine Compilation mit Coverversionen von Bathory, Celtic Frost und Acheron sowie einer Neuaufnahme ihres Demo-Klassikers "Die Götter der Urväter" nach. Nun erscheint 2025 "Kriegsgötter MMXXV" als erweiterte 25th Anniversary-Neuaufl age mit 8 Tracks, darunter der neu eingespielte Iron Maiden-Klassiker "Afraid To Shoot Strangers", das Possessed-Cover "Death Metal" und der Soundtrack-Titel "Cry Little Sister" aus dem Film "The Lost Boys".

Endlich: der Steely Dan-Katalog ist wieder auf Vinyl erhältlich. Unter der Leitung von Walter Becker und
Donald Fagen veröffentlichten Steely Dan zwischen 1972 und 1980 sieben Alben. Die Vinyl-Serie endet
mit The Royal Scam, das Album von 1976 mit ”Kid Charlemagne” und ”The Fez”.

The cassette format SPCS1680 features "With Trampled by Turtles" on the A Side and last years 'White Roses, My God' SP1655 on the B Side! No one can help you build something beautiful quite like those who know you best. Alan Sparhawk knows this well. In his years in Low, he built decades of stirring music with his wife and lifelong creative partner Mimi Parker. In recent years, he has performed around Minnesota with his son Cyrus in DERECHO Rhythm Section, a funk band that also frequently features his daughter Hollis on vocals. There's an irreplaceable naturalism that comes with this kind of dynamic. Those who know you understand you. They love you. They want to help you bring your greatest passions to fruition. So it made sense that Sparhawk would turn to fellow Duluth musicians Trampled by Turtles to realize his latest record. As friends and mentees of Low's, taken under Sparhawk and Parker's wing from their earliest days as a bar band, Trampled by Turtles have performed with Sparhawk countless times over the years. The Duluth ties run deep: "There's a certain vibe that has to do with underdog syndrome, coming from a small town," Sparhawk muses. "Some of it is the weird grind and slackness that being at the mercy of Mother Nature puts in you. It humbles you." The two artists hold the kind of ironclad bond. Following Parker's passing in 2022, Trampled by Turtles invited Sparhawk to join them on tour to give him a space to be surrounded by friends. Occasionally, he would join them onstage. The outpouring of love was palpable every time they played together, a surge of warmth. When playing together is that powerful, why stop there? In winter, 2024, Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles created With Trampled by Turtles, a record exactly as its name implies: Collective. Communal. Fraternal. Empathetic. A vessel for comfort, a reminder of the harmony that can exist when surrounded by those closest to you. Where White Roses, My God, Sparhawk's last album, plunged headfirst into electronica and radical vocal modulation, With Trampled by Turtles leans into the folk and bluegrass stylings of its backing band, Sparhawk's voice now completely unvarnished. With Trampled by Turtles is far more than just Alan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles. It's an affirmation of all the people who have been vital in Sparhawk's life and music, and an opportunity to hold each of their gifts into the light. It's producer Nat Harvie, who has been collaborating and performing with him for years. It's Sparhawk's daughter Hollis, who duets with her father on "Not Broken." And it's Mimi Parker, too: "Too High," "Princess Road Surgery," and "Not Broken" were all tracks she and Sparhawk had been working on in the last few years. These songs finally found a setting that stirringly commemorates them, bolstered by a full ensemble to make every note sing. Their presence is a kind of eternal connection to Parker, a way her musical grace will keep flourishing.

2025 Repress

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to create electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre. His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With "9 Is A Classic", "Slaves To The Rave", "Pitch-Hiker", "Stereo Murder" and "We Have Arrived", just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties! The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp. All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

Der 1999 veröffentlichte Soundtrack zu Eyes Wide Shut enthält eine einzigartige Trackliste mit Hits wie „Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing“ von Chris Isaak sowie Originalkompositionen von Jocelyn Pook, die den unheimlichen und spannungsgeladenen Ton des Films perfekt ergänzen. Ein herausragendes Stück, „Masked Ball“, wurde wegen seiner eindringlichen, atmosphärischen Qualitäten zur Ikone. Das Album wurde für einen Grammy Award in der Kategorie „Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media“ nominiert, was die Anerkennung der Kritiker unterstreicht.

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Escape Music has the pleasure to announce the re-release of much-loved vocalist Bob Catley (Magnum/Avantasia) “Middle Earth” album. After the great success of ‘The Tower’, Bob and Gary got together again for the follow-up – ‘Legends’. It was during this period that Bob and Gary first discussed their mutual love for the work of JRR Tolkein, which planted a seed in Gary’s mind, which finally led to this full-blown concept album based around Tolkein’s work on ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’.‘Middle Earth’ is, of course, the mythical world where all these events take place, and once again Gary’s wonderfully evocative lyrics fully immerse us into this wonderful and colourful universe. As with the previous album ‘Legends’, the band again mostly consisting of members of Ten, such as Vinny Burns and Steve McKenna, with the drum stool being occupied by Dante Fox’s Jon Cookesy. Artwork has once again been provided my world-renowned artist Rodney Matthews, whose career is inextricably linked with Magnum/Bob Catley. This ‘fellowship’ was once more prepared to take Gary’s evocative work and Bob Catley’s mercurial vocals out into the world once more.

Stripping away all expectations, constraints, pressures, and limitations, there’s a certain purity and allure to art crafted simply for the sake of genuine expression. The desire to unleash one’s unencumbered ingenuity and unique vision into the world is an attitude embraced by those often celebrated for pushing boundaries, and it’s under this same premise that German newcomers SENNA were formed.
Drawing their name from the Arabic word for brightness, shine, or glow, bandmates Simon Masdjedi (vocals), Tobias Stulz (guitar/ vocals), Marcel Dürr (guitar), Fabian Cattarius (bass), and Leon Dorn(drums), never intended for SENNA–a musical outlet originally established as a studio side project–to come into its own as a fully-fledged unit. Yet, tackling a luminous blend of playful but technical instrumentation and edgy hard rock meets progressive post-hardcore styling, it’s only fitting that both the innovative outfit and their introductory work have entered the limelight for all to enjoy.
“It was really liberating,” guitarist Marcel Dürr recalls the group’s mindset leading up to their SharpTone debut. “Because we weren’t pursuing SENNA as a proper band at first, we had a lot of time to experiment with our sound. Our goal was to simply write the music that we enjoyed, without being boxed into any one genre.

Stripping away all expectations, constraints, pressures, and limitations, there’s a certain purity and allure to art crafted simply for the sake of genuine expression. The desire to unleash one’s unencumbered ingenuity and unique vision into the world is an attitude embraced by those often celebrated for pushing boundaries, and it’s under this same premise that German newcomers SENNA were formed.
Drawing their name from the Arabic word for brightness, shine, or glow, bandmates Simon Masdjedi (vocals), Tobias Stulz (guitar/ vocals), Marcel Dürr (guitar), Fabian Cattarius (bass), and Leon Dorn(drums), never intended for SENNA–a musical outlet originally established as a studio side project–to come into its own as a fully-fledged unit. Yet, tackling a luminous blend of playful but technical instrumentation and edgy hard rock meets progressive post-hardcore styling, it’s only fitting that both the innovative outfit and their introductory work have entered the limelight for all to enjoy.
“It was really liberating,” guitarist Marcel Dürr recalls the group’s mindset leading up to their SharpTone debut. “Because we weren’t pursuing SENNA as a proper band at first, we had a lot of time to experiment with our sound. Our goal was to simply write the music that we enjoyed, without being boxed into any one genre.

"Godspeed" ist das vierte Album des sechsköpfigen Indie-Ensembles aus der Londoner Grassroots-Szene, The Golden Dregs um Frotmann/Sänger Ben Woods. Nach dem Vorgänger "On Grace & Dignity" 2023 auf 4AD, nach der Einrichtung von Kate Bush' altem Studio als neue Produktionsstätte, nach Auftritten mit Future Islands und Ezra Furmann, fährt die neue LP zwar bisherige Soundsignaturen fort, ist aber deutlich direkter. Die zwar konstanten Hooks greifen selten auf bekannte Tropen zurück und lassen so Raum für unvorhersehbare Wendungen. "Godspeed" markiert eine neue Souveränität, Unabhängigkeit und kreative Absicht der Golden Dregs.

"1980 was a huge year in pop music with every genre competing for hits. We have already included many tracks on the records of the 1980 Yearbook, the 80-84 Final Chapter, and their extras so far in our appreciation of the year…

Those tracks were generally the bigger hits of the year, with their chart achievement a factor in their inclusion – however – that’s not the whole singles story of the year, and our celebration of 1980 wouldn’t be complete without shining a light on some of the years’ singles that have been compiled much less frequently over the years.

Welcome to THE VAULT for 1980… Some of the tracks included were Top 40 hits, some missed the chart completely. Some were representative of massive selling albums, and some were big hits in the U.S. and not in the U.K… but all are part of the wonderful pop story of 1980. "

An album for sleeping and waking, walking and driving, hunting and fishing, for loitering outside a roadhouse on the haunted tundra. Okay in elevators, not great for dinner. On Caveman Wakes Up, Friendship’s new album and second for Merge Records, the band’s historically capacious definition of country music grows wider still. Shambolic guitars are offset by flute pads, bleary poetry is set against a Motown rhythm section, a song about Jerry Garcia and First Lady Betty Ford fades out with a drum solo, like if Talk Talk came from a dingy Philadelphia basement and was fronted by James Tate. Songwriter Dan Wriggins’ ragged baritone cuts through eleven murky, swirling country-rock songs with profound lyrical substance and sincerity. Like an alarm clock incorporated into the edge of a dream, Caveman Wakes Up belongs equally to the conscious and subconscious mind, fraught with background, steeped in reference and experimentation, delivered casually and as a dire warning, dedicated, above all, to music’s creative soul. Over the years, dedication has paid off. Friendship has become a kind of reverse supergroup,
wherein the band itself and each individual member are located centrally in an increasingly prominent scene of young folk and country musicians and songwriters. Drummer Michael Cormier O’Leary leads the instrumental collective Hour and, along with bassist Jon Samuels, runs Dear Life Records, home to friends and peers who count Friendship as a major influence including MJ Lenderman, Florry, and Fust. (Samuels also plays lead guitar in MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Guitarist Peter Gill’s band 2nd Grade records prolifically. Wriggins began writing the songs of Caveman Wakes Up on a downtuned classical guitar of Lenderman’s and finished on a barely tuned piano in an apartment he shared with Sadurn’s G DeGroot.
In the summer of 2023, Wriggins had just left the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where his love for poetry and mistrust for the academic poetry world grew in tandem. A relationship fell apart, and Wriggins crashed for several weeks at Lenderman and Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman’s home in North Carolina, where he recorded the first demos of “Resident Evil,” “All Over the World,” and “Love Vape.” Wriggins returned to Philadelphia, and the band got to work on new ideas, finally tracking the album in five days with engineer Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War on Drugs). Wriggins recorded vocals with Love the Stranger engineer Bradford Kreiger, and organ, violin (Jason Calhoun), and flute (Adelyn Strei) were recorded by Lucas Knapp in a West Philadelphia church.

This was Don Thigpen's first recording as an artist, but he was no stranger to the studio. In fact he was the individual behind many heavy tunes that came out of the Jackson area. He and good friend Sam Anderson also cut a record on his CJR labelb (Capitol Jackson Records) called "Shirley Baby", also a highly coveted record if you got a copy to sell or record let us know). The name "LEO" became Dons preforming pseudonym. Leo was also his zodiac sign, which he deemed edgy enough to marquee this electro heavy track "Fee Fi Fo Fum". The inspiration for the song came from the computer craze of the 80s. Much like Zapp & Roger's track "Computer Love" an inanimate object is worshipped and then romanticized by a love affair. The song literally depicts a computer falling in love with a woman and attempts to communicate with her by seductively flashing the words "Fee Fi Fo Fum" on the screen.

Ein Album zum Schlafen und Wachen, zum Gehen und Fahren, zum Jagen und Fischen, zum Herumlungern vor einer Raststätte in der verwunschenen Tundra. In Fahrstühlen okay, zum Abendessen nicht so toll. Auf Caveman Wakes Up, dem neuen Album von Friendship und ihrem zweiten für Merge Records, wird die historisch weit gefasste Definition von Country-Musik noch weiter gefasst. Shambolische Gitarren werden durch Flötenpads ausgeglichen, trübe Poesie trifft auf eine Motown-Rhythmusgruppe, ein Song über Jerry Garcia und die First Lady Betty Ford wird mit einem Schlagzeugsolo ausgeblendet, als käme Talk Talk aus einem schmuddeligen Keller in Philadelphia und würde von James Tate gespielt. Der zerklüftete Bariton des Songwriters Dan Wriggins schneidet durch elf düstere, wirbelnde Country-Rock-Songs mit tiefgründiger lyrischer Substanz und Aufrichtigkeit. Wie ein Wecker, der am Rande eines Traums eingebaut ist, gehört "Caveman Wakes Up" gleichermaßen zum bewussten und zum unterbewussten Verstand, voller Hintergründe, durchdrungen von Referenzen und Experimenten, beiläufig und als düstere Warnung vorgetragen und vor allem der kreativen Seele der Musik gewidmet. Im Laufe der Jahre hat sich diese Hingabe ausgezahlt. Friendship ist zu einer Art umgekehrter Supergroup geworden, in der die Band selbst und jedes einzelne Mitglied im Zentrum einer zunehmend prominenten Szene junger Folk- und Country-Musiker und Songwriter steht. Der Schlagzeuger Michael Cormier O'Leary leitet das Instrumentalkollektiv Hour und betreibt zusammen mit dem Bassisten Jon Samuels das Label Dear Life Records, das Freunde und Kollegen beherbergt, die Friendship zu einem wichtigen Einfluss zählen, darunter MJ Lenderman, Florry, und Fust. (Samuels spielt auch die Leadgitarre bei MJ Lenderman and the Wind). Die Band 2nd Grade des Gitarristen Peter Gill ist ebenfalls aktiv und macht zahlreiche Aufnahmen. Wriggins begann mit dem Schreiben der Songs von "Caveman Wakes Up" auf einer verstimmten klassischen Gitarre von Lenderman und beendete es auf einem kaum gestimmten Klavier in einer Wohnung, die er mit G DeGroot von Sadurn teilte. Im Sommer 2023 hatte Wriggins gerade den Iowa Writers' Workshop verlassen, wo seine Liebe zur Poesie und sein Misstrauen gegenüber der akademischen Poesiewelt gleichzeitig wuchsen. Eine Beziehung ging in die Brüche, und Wriggins übernachtete mehrere Wochen in North Carolina im Haus von Lenderman und Karly Hartzman (von Wednesday ), wo er die ersten Demos von "Resident Evil", "All Over the World" und "Love Vape" aufnahm. Wriggins kehrte nach Philadelphia zurück, und die Band machte sich an die Arbeit, um neue Ideen zu entwickeln. Schließlich nahmen sie das Album in fünf Tagen mit Tontechniker Jeff Ziegler (Mary Lattimore, War On Drugs) auf, den Gesang mit Bradford Kreiger, dem Techniker von Love the Stranger. Orgel, Geige (Jason Calhoun) und Flöte (Adelyn Strei) wurden von Lucas Knapp in einer Kirche in West Philadelphia aufgenommen. Textlich bewegt sich "Caveman Wakes Up" auf vertrautem Friendship Terrain - das Heilige wird profaniert und das Profane geheiligt. "Caveman Wakes Up" zeigt Friendships besonderes Genie für visionäre Arrangements, die über Generationen hinweg dem Folk-Rock-Kanon von Neil Young, Joni Mitchell und Emmylou Harris ebenso verpflichtet sind wie Indie-Größen wie Yo La Tengo und den Merge-Labelkollegen Lambchop oder Zeitgenossen wie Lomelda und ML Buch. Mehrere der Songs verwenden Fade-Outs, die im Text von "Love Vape" scherzhaft erwähnt werden, und es gibt andere Elemente, die von Motown und 70er-Jahre-Balladen übernommen wurden: festgefahrene Schlagzeugmuster, Bassintervalle, gefühlvolle Streicherarrangements. Jede Referenz wird über das Genre hinausgeschoben, verwirbelt und wiederholt, zu etwas Neuem, das eindeutig zum Friendship-Sound gehört. Bei "Free Association", "Artex" und "Wildwood in January" ist der Groove so festgelegt, dass andere Klänge nahtlos kommen und gehen können: Mellotron-Flächen, Klavierwirbel und -stiche und klare Gitarrenmelodien, wimmelnde Texturen, die sich als Einheit tarnen. "Caveman Wakes Up" das bisher am weitesten fortgeschrittene Werk von Friendship, ein weiterer Beweis für die Hingabe und Sorgfalt der Band.

"Sebastian Mullaert has always favoured the long arc: of tracks, of creative cycles, of artistic trust. His next chapter unfolds in the form of a new vinyl only label, born in close collaboration with Ulf Eriksson - his longtime friend, ally and the steady pulse behind Kontra Musik, a label that's been both home and launchpad for many of Mullaert's most vital releases. K-Files is built on two foundations: singularity and multiplicity. Every release will present a single track refracted through three or four different versions - each one approaching the core idea from a distinct creative angle. These are tools not just for DJs, but for listeners who hear dance music as more than just rhythm - as mood, as exploration, as transformation. The first release, K-FILES 01, sets the tone: deep, dubby, and spacious, it invites patience and immersion. But like all good rituals, the process will shift. Future releases are already poised to explore other territories: sharper energies, stranger grooves, unexpected colours. In a world increasingly defined by instant access and digital saturation, K-Files stands intentionally apart - a slower offering. A return to physicality, to process, to the tactile rituals of listening, selecting, and playing music with care. K-Files is a sublabel for those who play records not just to move bodies, but to open space. A platform for sonic evolution, variation, and perspective. A place where dance music is not pinned down - but opened up. Each record will be released exclusively on vinyl."

Get ready for a sonic onslaught as A Place to Bury Strangers and The Serfs collide on a blistering new split 7” from Dedstrange, out May 9. APTBS delivers "Let It All Go", a searing blast of fuzzed-out guitars, pounding rhythms, and raw catharsis. On the flip side, The Serfs reimagine their darkwave pulse with "Time Leaks Away (Dub)", a hypnotic, reverb-drenched descent into dub-infused post-punk. Pressed on classic black vinyl—this is pure underground dungeon metal.

Get ready for a sonic onslaught as A Place to Bury Strangers and The Serfs collide on a blistering new split 7” from Dedstrange, out May 9. APTBS delivers "Let It All Go", a searing blast of fuzzed-out guitars, pounding rhythms, and raw catharsis. On the flip side, The Serfs reimagine their darkwave pulse with "Time Leaks Away (Dub)", a hypnotic, reverb-drenched descent into dub-infused post-punk. Pressed on classic black vinyl—this is pure underground dungeon metal.