quête:tokyo 3

john Yancey' Is The Second Album Illa J Will Release On Jakarta Records, Following The Successful
Release Of Home Last Year. The Project Is The Second Collaboration With Los Angeles
Based Producer Calvin Valentine, Who Once Again Contributed All Of The Production For The Long
Player. While home' Was Largely Inspired By Illa's Native City Of Detroit, john Yancey' Now
Focuses On His Time In California.
(this Album Is) Definitely More Personal Than All Of My Projects, Nothing Specific, But I Basically
Talk About About The Ups And Downs Of All My Relationships Over The Past 10 Years, Still Grieving
About My Bro, Etc. This One Is Trippy Because The First Single Comes Out A Day Before My 32nd
Birthday And The Original Title Was 32 Because This Is A Special Year To Me Because My Brother Died
At That Age So It Had A Lot Of Meaning. But It Makes Sense That It Ended Up Being Called John
Yancey Because For So Long In My Career I Felt Like I Was Tryna Be Me And My Brother, And I'm Finally
At Peace, Like I'm Not J Dilla's Younger Brother Illa J, I'm James Younger Brother John.'
While The Story Of The Album Might Have Changed, There Are Certain Continuities As Well, Built
Around The Strong Foundation Of The Combination Of Illa's Voice And Calvin Valentine's Soulful
Sample Based Production. The Previous Album Already Saw Illa J Incorporate More Singing Into
His Raps And He Goes Down This Path Even Further: i Wanted To Emphasize The Singing But Use
More Of My Natural Singing Voice, As Well As Rap More Than On Home.' In Regards To The Music,
Calvin Wanted To Make The Project Sound a Bit More Polished Where Home Was Purposely
Rough Around The Edges.' Still, The Production Remains Soulful And Rich With Layers To Leave Things
Interesting For The Listener, The More Spins You Give The Record.
The Cover Was Created By Robert Winter, A Cologne Based Photographer Who Was Also Behind The
Visual Appearance Of Home.

Photonz returns to UTTU with an EP of 4 cosmik house cuts, namaste!

The Mighty Zaf & Phil Asher Present '80s, Their New Edit Label Specializing In Disco & Boogie, And Strictly Vinyl Only.their Second Releases Continues Their Strive For Edit Heaven With Three Scintillating Selected Cuts. Best Not To Sleep On This Because The First Sold Out Fast!

Oddball space disco/fnk tracks, composed between 1970 and 1985. Big tip!
.
A master of the mixing board, from the late 60s until the 90s Bernard Estardy was the wizard of French musical recordings. As head of CBE studios, he shaped everything from Gérard Manset's concept albums to Claude François' hit singles, Françoise Hardy's delicate tear-jerkers and Michel Sardou's soul-stirrers. This giant' had his hand in the whole range of mainstream French music by making his studio a veritable playground for experimentation. His legendary album La Formule du Baron,' released in 1969, and the eight LPs of production music he made between 1974 and 1978 for Tele Music are vivid proof. In the CBE studio, which she runs today, his daughter Julie Estardy discussed his singular career.

Dino Lenny's Fine Human Records introduces the electronic talent of Black Mami with two dark and hypnotic driving cuts. Title track 'Industria Con Vista' leads the release with its enticing and cinematic retro-meets-future mood. A theme that continues on 'Tokyo Express', which plays out like the soundtrack of an imaginary meeting between Black Mami heroes, Trevor Horn & Yello. His most recurrent of dreams.

Moodoïd is a psychedelic rock band founded in 2013 by Pablo Padovani, the project's leader and mastermind. Early nicknamed the 'new prodigy of French pop music", Pablo wrote and conceived a first very peculiar, pop and psychedelic album. They notably toured with Phoenix and played with renowned musician and producer Damon Albarn. Soaked in psychedelic pop and world music, the songs written by Pablo Padovani evoke just as much Os Mutantes tropicalism, Connan Mockasin dreamy atmospheres and Gong progressive liberties. Supported by French lyrics, Moodoïd blasts genres, times and horizons. 'Reptile' EP is a natural evolution of the project towards a more modern sound, without losing its so peculiar synthetic and funky touch. The very composition of the tracks clearly indicated the need for studio musicians, in order to develop every disco/funk aspect of the record. The recording of the album happened in two times : first, Pablo set up the band and directed their recording (with experimented sound engineer Yann Arnaud), and then this 'live' matter was reworked and integrated to Pierre Rousseau more electronic production. The track 'Reptile' is a new proof of Moodoïd's sloughing. Only passion and lust have resisted the project's solitary soul Pablo Padovani's metamorphosis. Moodoïd changes skin, but skins keep on caressing. More erotic than toxic, Moodoïd's new venom progresses through funky guitar and synthetic arpeggios, with Pierre Rousseau and Pablo's producing, and David Wrench (The XX, Hot Chip, LA Priest) mixing.

Mental Groove Records is thrilled and honored to announce the follow up to last year Water Vein EP (MG115) by Asian Psilocybe Foundation & Dj Yogurt. Entitled 'Daikaku", a Buddhist term for one who has achieved enlightenment. This second installment smiles on Geinoh Yamashirogumi Akira's Soundtrack. APF is an eccentric Japanese musician who raised attention from the Detroit. Remixed by Jon Dixon of Underground Resistance's Timeline, APF first EP was released by once legendary producer Orlando Voorn (Fix, Game One, Baruka). On the A side he achieves to capture Akira's spirit with his own organic and floating sound signature within a long, delicate and trippy techno number while on the flipside Dj Yogurt, a regular figure of Tokyo's nightlife who worked at Cisco Records, delivers two straight percussive numbers fueled with traditional Japanese flavor to take the most discerning floors to a Tetsuo state-of-mind. Mastered by Music Matters Mastering and cut at Emil Berliner Studios, Berlin.

Mesh-Key is thrilled to present this mind-bending solo album of electronics and vocals from legendary Japanese musician Phew. Phew's career began in the late 1970s as lead singer of Osaka punk group Aunt Sally (whose only full-length was released by Vanity Records in 1979). Ryuichi Sakamoto produced her debut solo release in 1980, a two-song single, and in 1981 Pass Records released her debut album, a bonafide masterpiece recorded with original Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit at Conny Plank's studio in Germany. She has forged a singular path over the past thirty-plus years, collaborating with folks like Anton Fier, Bill Laswell, and Seichi Yamamoto (Boredoms). It's borderline sacrilegious to compare an artist as unique as Phew with anyone else, but for those unfamiliar with her work, 'Light Sleep' might be described as a more animated Nico singing (in Japanese) for early Suicide. Prepare to be floored.

Cookin' On 3 Burners are Australia's foremost organ trio joining the dots between funk, soul, boogaloo & jazz. Long time partners Lance Ferguson (guitar), Ivan Khatchoyan (drums) and Jake Mason (organ) have taken their home brew of soulful Hammond get down everywhere from jazz festivals to after hours bars and clubs. Their top notch reputation led to them supporting Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings in Sydney, jamming live with Breakestra and becoming THE in demand band south of the equator. With a musical CV that includes names like Joe Bataan, Alice Russell, Mark de Clive-Lowe and The Quantic Soul Orchestra, as well as the world beating outfit The Bamboos, it's not surprising this latest CO3B album has generated huge interest even prior to its' release. Their first Freestyle album 'Baked, Broiled or Fried' featured the group in a hardcore funk groove but on 'Soul Messin' sees the sound, feel and influences widened further with some quite magical results. Versatile singer Kylie Auldist (Tru Thoughts Recordings) opens proceedings on the deep funk groove of 'Push It Up' but it is the Freestyle 45 'This Girl' (FSR7057) that provides the mellow, beautiful and incredibly catchy vocal highlight of the entire collection, shimmering horns ride over this laid back, future deep soul classic. We don't yet know what Gary Numan will make of CO3B's version of his 80's synth pop hit 'Cars' (CD only) but Jake Masons organ playing (including simultaneously supplying the super funky bass lines via his Hammond foot pedals and left hand) takes this track in a direction no one was expecting! Drummer and top notch singer Fallon Williams provides his gritty, searing voice on 'Hole In My Pocket' and 'Seen Through Your Disguise' sounding very much like US soul legend Robert Moore and the band display their versatility whilst doffing their caps in the direction of The Meters on the numbers 'Dog Wash' and 'Piranha' The down tempo, moody album closer 'The Proving Grounds' (CD only) once again shows the groups expanding musical textures and rounds off 'Soul Messin' the bands most varied and accomplished recording so far.

Recent Mark Lamar Live Session on Radio 1

"This Girl" has been Freestyle's top selling single of 09 so far !

Translated from Spanish as 'The Shade', Chip Wickham's debut album La Sombra drops after a 25-year career touring, recording and experimenting across three decades of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, Latin and electronica. La Sombra is a monumental record for Chip as it symbolises the moment he stepped out into the light as a director of his creations with freedom to explore his roots, express and tell his version of jazz and pay testament to his heroes Roland Kirk, Yuseef Lateef & Harold McNair.

Now living in Dubai after an intense and productive six years in Madrid, it was Manchester where Chip studied in the late '80s and became enmeshed in the chaotic and thrilling music scenes emanating from one of the world's most culturally prominent cities of the time. Recording and generally 'keeping things real' with Manchester's hip-hop collective Grand Central Records, Rae & Christian, The Pharcyde, Fingathing, Nightmares on Wax, Graham Massey (808 State), Chip was in a city that was undergoing a music revolution with the Haçienda as its temple. Yet it was the headlights of the M62 motorway and not the strobe lights that were lighting Chip's path during his student years ('88-'92). The lure of the jazz and funk clubs of Leeds, where The New Mastersounds were breaking out and building the blocks that would lead them to UK funk royalty status, proved too strong.

In the 1990s Chip continued to refine his craft in the rainy city and the gigs booked were growing in stature. It wasn't long before he was on the road with Roy Ayers and Badly Drawn Boy. Around that time Chip met up with trumpeter Matthew Halsall that was the beginning of a friendship that lasts to this day. Chip was a recording artist on Matthew Halsall's breakout album Sending My Love and continues to work with him, with live dates confirmed in spring 2017. This close connection with Halsall gave rise to other collaborations, such as with Nat Birchall and Go Go Penguin's Rob Turner.

Three decades after his late night excursions to Leeds, Chip found himself recording with Eddie Roberts from The New Mastersounds in Madrid, as part of their new band, The Fire Eaters, which he'd formed soon after he moved to sunny Spain in 2007 - the same year he released the Fried Samba album under his moniker Malena, his electronic Latin band that became a hit at the turn of the century for Freestyle Records. During his time in Spain he connected with the local scene and brought together many of his musicians colleagues from the UK to Spain and it was for a local and well established label, Lovemonk, that he released two 45s blending raw funk and Latin. These new roads and musical leanings led to an invitation to play for the prestigious Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band. Based on a poll from Craig Charles' top rated BBC6 radio show, Chip was chosen to play alongside the cream of the UK funk & soul scene: James Taylor (JTQ), Snowboy, The Haggis Horns (Mark Ronson), John Turrell (Smooth & Turrell), and Mick Talbot (The Style Council).

La Sombra takes an altogether more rooted direction than Chip's recent collaborative work, with the jazz of the late '60s and early '70s a dominating influence to the recordings. Comprising of seven tracks recorded in Madrid with musicians assembled by Chip from Madrid's jazz scene, it combines contemplative explorations akin to Yusef Lateef's early work on tracks like 'La Sombra' and 'Pushed Too Far'. There's a fiery cover of Camarón de la Isla's classic 'La Leyenda Del Tiempo' and tracks like 'Sling Shot' and 'Red Planet' are locked in a groove harking back to Freddie Hubbard's Blue Note era and Luv N Haight's Nathan Davis.

Run your everyday marathon with the new Rubini's creation: from the frantic streets of Tokyo to the illusory stillness of Paraná's riverside. If you can't get physical, treat yourself with a sonic race.

'Stompin N Risin' by Thee J Johanz (Ballyhoo Record) sampled by Efeel (International Feel - EFEEL004). Limited stock on this item

* Hospital Records present their latest compilation 'Fast Soul Music' - a welcomed lesson in the art of soul-inspired drum & bass of the high-speed variety. After nineteen years spent building upon it's lounge-core esthetic their extensive library of smooth-rolling sounds is at the ready, now it's time to get retrospective.

* From the work of thirty artists, a carefully selected forty-six tracks highlight the quintessential sounds of soul music in the Hospital Records back catalogue. Not only effortlessly blending classics from Hospital mainstays London Elektricity, High Contrast, Danny Byrd, Nu:Tone, S.P.Y and Logistics but also showcasing the fresh wave of talent that's reached our ears in recent years. The work of Fred V & Grafix, Hugh Hardie, Keeno, Etherwood, Anile, Tokyo Prose and Technimatic showcasing just how prominent soul music is in drum & bass today.

* Accompanying this two-CD collectors item is a perfectly polished mix by longstanding practitioner and newest member of the Hospital A+R team, Nu:Tone. With over two hours of soul-inspired sounds that effortlessly create the ideal soundtrack for any daydream-filled afternoon.

* With a nod back to London Elektricity's '03 classic 'Fast Soul Music' and a look forward to the fresh influx of talent passing through, Hospital Record's latest compilation provides any drum & bass fan with a chance to rediscover those once forgotten gems and dust off the cobwebs from their favourite nostalgia-fuelling drum & bass anthems.

* Digital Marketing: Youtube upload schedule for music and video content on Hospital Records YouTube channel - (260k subscribers), cross promotion exclusive mix upload with UKF Youtube channel.

* Press / Promotion: Comprehensive campaign in-house serving all UK music and dance titles as well as national, regional and student press - Mixmag, DJ, Trap, Notion, Music Week, Future Music, Time Out, Metro, London Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed + Confused, Vice, The Wire, The Fly, Vice Magazine, Clash. Kmag (interview), D&BA (interview). UKF Website and Youtube Channel. Reddit AMA, FACT Mag TV interview.

* Radio / Internet: Comprehensive in house campain from Hospital Records. BBC Radio1 & 1Xtra support from Mistajam, Friction, B Traits, Annie Mac, Andi Durrant (Kiss), Eddy Temple-Morris (X-FM), DJ Hype (Kiss), D&BA TV Takeover, Rinse FM Hospital Records Show, Hospital Podcast Hospital Records Podcast USA series, Kmag Podcast, Ministry of Sound Podcast. D&BA Podcast, Hospital records Website, Hospital Facebook (262K Likes), Twitter (64K Followers), Soundcloud (48k followers), YouTube (238k subscribers), Hospital Records Mailing List (53k Subscribers)






aG CD 1-7 | Logistics feat. Nightshade and Sarah Callander 'Crystal Skies'
















DISC 2

We just love those lil compilations here at Quintessentials, you know that. With the second part of 'Thank you freaks", we slow down the BPMs. And invite some freaks from around the globe to present their essential tracks. Like quality german duo Paskal & Urban Absolutes (again on Quintessentials!), Melbourne's finest Andy Hart (Melbourne Deepcast), the ever hot Ben Sun (with his current release on Delusions of Grandeur) and legend Toby Tobias. We say thank you freaks!

On 27 March, fabric Originals presents Shō, a five track EP of introspective, transcendent electronics from Japanese techno icon DJ Nobu. Inspired by the Buddhist Brahmavihāras - joy, compassion, loving-kindness and equanimity - Shō unfolds as a meditative, emotional journey rooted in Nobu’s experiences of Tokyo, mindfulness and inner clarity. From kinetic renewal to serene minimalism, the EP channels presence, acceptance and the simple truth that breathing itself is living.

Each track on ‘Shō’ marks a step in an emotional and spiritual journey, channelling the foundational virtues of the Brahmavihāras, which are the four ‘Sublime States’ of Buddhist practice: ‘Muditā’ (joy), ‘Karuṇā’ (compassion), ‘Mettā’ (loving-kindness), and ‘Upekkhā’ (equanimity). Together these principles form a path towards an open, boundless heart, which is mirrored in the EP’s unfolding sonic narrative.

“In recent years I became overly sensitive to my surroundings and society, finding myself strongly affected by every daily occurrence. It was during this time that I discovered meditation. And beyond that lay Buddhism. Through this, my sensibilities became able to express themselves more naturally. I decided to portray my feelings, and the scenery in Tokyo, conveying what I was experiencing in real-time, as music.

The EP title ‘Shō’ denotes views, thoughts, and actions aligned with Buddhist truth, and encapsulates my striving for presence, clarity, and acceptance. It also represents the conscious, mindful understanding that simply breathing is living.” DJ Nobu

El Pulso del Acero: Shinkansen is Esplendor Geométrico's electrifying new album, blending trance-inducing industrial rhythms with bold voice and noise collages. Featuring 16 tracks, it revisits the raw power of their 80s classics while exploring futuristic industrial sounds, with recordings from Tokyo (2025) and a rare previously limited tracks now on vinyl for the first time. After over 40 years of continuous innovation, the influential Spanish duo continues to shape industrial, techno, and experimental noise music worldwide. Available on double vinyl and CD digipack. The raw power of their early work is also present here in some brilliant reconstructions of 80s tracks turning out very different from the originals (Rotorama, Trybuna V, Shinkansen, Héroe del Trabajo 2025, or Introspectivo). Songs such as Auto Reverse will be especially appreciated by the most avid fans of EG's early sound. Other tunes of futuristic industrial music closer to their previous album, Strepitus Rhythmicus, are also included (Experiencia AV, Isla, Por un Perro_) Ten tracks were recorded in 2025 in Tokyo, where Arturo Lanz (founding member of E.G.) currently resides. The other six were released, only on CD,in an ultra-limited edition shared with the group De Fabriek in 2023, long sold out, now finally on vinyl for the first time. Born in 1980 as a trio, and currently a duo formed by Arturo Lanz (founding member) and Saverio Evangelista (member since 1991), Esplendor Geométrico is an influential and international electronic cult band and also a rare case in the Spanish music scene, as they have developed their own independent path aside from tags, fashion or trends, in spite of being often classified as industrial music. Their career for more than four decades hasn't had interruptions. They haven't stopped composing, releasing albums or playing live.Their influence has marked many later artists, usually classified in the so-called industrial music or rhythm & noise, as well as artists from current techno and certain types of experimental noise music.

180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.

Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.

Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”

After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.

This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.

Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.

Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.

2026 Repress

Deadbeat & Tikiman's occasional collaborative performances have since blown the minds of many audiences

Deadbeat. Tikiman. Infinity. Dub. A quadrangle of such obvious statement and perfect musical inference may very well never have been uttered for those of the wholly weeded out persuasion. Indeed, when the great book of Dub music is written the names Scott Monteith and Paul St Hilaire will undoubtedly figure highly in its chapters devoted to recent years. Monteith, the last great prodigal son of the doctrine handed down from the Blue Mount of Lord Scratch and King Tubby, St Hilaire the undisputed voice of a generation, those fanatical warrior monks, followers of the most Holy House of Ernestus and Von Oswald incarnate.

Having developed a fast friendship from their very first meeting in Montreal at the premier Micro Mutek event a decade ago, Deadbeat and Tikiman's occasional collaborative performances have since blown the minds of audiences from Berlin to Tokyo and many points in between. No great surprise then that their first album length venture is a Tour de Force of Dub music of the highest order.

Nearly a year in the making, the genetic code of Deadbeat's Infinity Dubs series gets shot through with a Dreader than Dread Kingstonian logic, hi hats dropping back from the three to the one, Tikiman at his most militant, poetic, fierce, and flowing. These are the recordings of two lions uncaged, and none who bare witness shall escape their fiery judgement.

If music is truly eternal, here be two voices which shall echo in infinity with all the weight, reverence, and dire power unleashed with every tectonic bass hit, and every whimsical turn of phrase. And if these eight burnt offerings are any indication of what happens when these two sit down for a session of smoke and reasoning, here's hoping they choose to do it frequently. Dub without end. Ad Infinitum.

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the passing of James Darroch, singer/songwriter/guitarist for Sydney's incredible The Eastern Dark, Grown Up Wrong! is thrilled to announce a long-awaited reissue of the band's classic single "Julie Is A Junkie/Johnny and Dee Dee".

Heavily influenced by the Ramones - the band opened their first live show with 'Blitzkrieg Bop' and from then on opened with a new Ramones song every time they played, working through the band's complete catalogue in chronological order - as all manner of hyper-melodic and high energy rock. The Eastern Dark were a classic trio powered by former Celibate Rifles bassplayer James Darroch's blazing guitar and anchored by former Lime Spiders backing vocalist Bill Gibson's hard driving and melodic bass playing (and supreme backing vocals) and Geoff Milne's untouchable beat keeping. They set Sydney's Radio Birdman influenced scene alight in 1984 and quickly built an international following on the back of their classic single. Sadly, just hours after completing what would become their next release - the mini-LP "Long Live the New Flesh" - the band's life, and that of 26-year old James Darroch, was brutally ended in a road accident whilst the band was on its way to Melbourne.

On the back of the tragedy, the band's music lived on and it's global impact was reflected in the influence it bore on numerous bands, from Boston's the Lemoneads to Tokyo's Teengenenete, and obviously a succession of Australian bands from the Hard-Ons through to God and the Meanies and beyond.

After years of searching, surviving members Bill Gibson and Geoff Milne recently found the single's original multi-track tapes, and for the new release, the original recordings have been both remixed and remastered for maximum impact under their supervision.

Following Parnell March’s Back Bar Grooves EP in February and November’s release of the Dust Tears (lead song from Sarah/Shaun’s debut) remixes, Edinburgh’s Hobbes Music label returns with a second EP of dream pop from husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun (pronounced simply Sarah Shaun), alias Sarah and Shaun McLachlan (pronounced McLochlun), who wooed hearts and wowed critics with debut EP ‘It’s True What They Say?’ last year.

‘It’s True What They Say?’ attracted fans across the board: Artist Of The Week in The Scotsman, rapturous reviews from The Skinny and Tokyo's Ban Ban Ton Ton blog, BBC 6Music airplay courtesy of Nemone (Mary Anne Hobbs' Morning Show), more radio play from Radio Scotland's Roddy Hart & Vic Galloway, plus Simone Butler (Primal Scream) and Jim Sclavunos (Bad Seeds) via their respective Soho Radio shows, not forgetting ringing endorsements from the likes of David Holmes, Youth, Kevin Bales (Spiritualized), Brent Rademaker (Beachwood Sparks) and Julian Corrie (Franz Ferdinand).

They played gigs supporting Glasgow's huge Glasvegas, at festivals (Kendall Calling, Dunbar Music, Hidden Door), plus a slew of venues across the Scottish capital, ending the year with a trio of shows supporting Glaswegian 80s pop legends The Bluebells at Aberdeen’s Tunnels, Dunfermline’s PJ Molloys and Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, while The List magazine tipped them among their Ones To Watch For 2025, with journalist Fiona Shepherd suggesting they were “blending the starry-eyed pop of Sonny & Cher with the electronic experimentation of Chris & Cosey.”

Very much the companion piece to the debut EP but arriving a full twelve months later, Someone’s Ghost is emblematic of the duo’s desire not to rush things or release anything half-baked.

“I’ve always wanted to create the perfect pop record and I do really feel that we’ve achieved that with this one,” says Shaun. And he’s clearly not the only person who thinks so.

REVIEWS, FEEDBACK ETC:

"I LOVE that! Dreamy dreamy pop." ROY MOLLOY (Marvellous Crane/Alex Cameron) on BLAST RADIO, Sydney
“the Scottish music scene’s cream of the cool... buzzy drum beats, high, distant chimes, and heavenly electronics…. very ethereal.” THE SKINNY

"Listening to Sarah/Shaun is like eavesdropping on a noir dreampop, long-distance phone call between them both, across two separate sonic locations. On this stunning 4-song EP, Sarah’s voice, effortlessly mesmerising, draws you into these big beautiful and haunting passages of perfect dream-pop. All beautifully produced in a multi-layered-scape of low-fi analogue textures, epic cinematic crescendos, intense electro-pulse grooves and warped psycho-pop guitar riffs. Within the songs lurk a sense of unresolved emotions, longing and pathos. There are shades of classic Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra but also Post-Punk Electronica and Beach House. But what a unique sound they’ve created of their own. I love it" DAVID MCCLUSKEY (The Bluebells)
"Absolutely beautiful" SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
"Lovely stuff here! Total quality." MARTYN 'MASH' HENDERSON
"Ooooh. Everything the last record promised is here. Well done" GEORGE T aka George Demure (Accident Machine)
"Vince clark Era Depeche Mode in places" KEVIN BALES (Spiritualized)
"Sounds cool. Well done" PETE KEMBER (Sonic Boom, Spacemen 3)
"Glorious, it (Debbie Harry) grabs hold of you and doesn't let go." IAIN DAWSON aka RAVECHILD (Everyone Wants To Play The Hits Podcast)

SOMEONE’S GHOST

Born out of an incredibly anxious, stressful time, the songwriting process for these recordings has been something of a personal tonic for Shaun…

“There was a period when I was having nightmares,” he reveals. “Apparently I was saying there was someone in the room, I was talking to that person and Sarah was seeing all this while I was still asleep.

So, I was thinking that this was my ghost. I started writing songs because I was going through something and I was dealing with something and writing songs was a comfort. My ghost was a comfort, whether it was real or not. The idea of it was a comfort.”

“I firmly believe that everyone has someone who watches over them but all of the songs are essentially about being there for someone,” he says. “Everybody needs someone but also everyone needs to stay real and keep what you have, keep it close, never let it go. If you don’t have it, continue to tell people you’re there for them. It’s about loving and hoping people will be good to you in return.”

While Shaun took the songwriting lead on Filter Of Love and EP closer The Sound Which Stresses The Sound Of My Ears, Debbie Harry was originally instrumentally conceived by producer Jaguar Eyes, alias Ali Chisholm, later lyrically completed by Shaun, and the EP’s lead track, Anhedonia, and one of its stand-outs (much like Starbed on the debut) was conceived by Sarah, as a result of experiencing a bit of a spiritual epiphany of her own.

“When I first heard the word Anhedonia, I didn't know what it meant but when I found out I thought about it quite a bit. How sad it would be to have no enjoyment in anything,” she explains. “This song is really about my own personal beliefs. When I have been down, that's one of the things that helps me the most. It talks about trying to make amends but realising, for some things, you can't. But I think with any kind of faith comes hope… which is always a good thing.”

A record about hope, truth, honesty, a belief in something bigger than oneself… and all set to a soundtrack that wouldn’t feel out of place in a David Lynch or Eighties feature film. What more could anyone ask for, really?

There’s equally a desire to offer something universal and positive to anyone who tunes in. The labels for the 12” edition reveal the dual mantras “Who just wants to survive?” and “It’s about time to live a little”, with both messages also engraved in each record’s run-out grooves. T-shirts accompanying debut EP It’s True What They Say? bore the slogan “Kill Them With Kindness” - leading caps intentional. Shaun carries the acronym KTWK everywhere he plays, as a reminder: it’s stitched into his guitar strap. And this particular wee pebble has already caused a few ripples: people have been approaching him at gigs to acknowledge their appreciation and respect for it.

"We feel we have made an honest, open, colourful, body of work,” say the duo. “We hope to go out and play the songs with the guys (our band) and then potentially make more records. We are taking things as they come. Everything has been organic so far, after all. We are looking forward to whatever this brings."

DJ DIE SOON is the apocalyptic alter-ego Daisuke Imamura, whose performances of masked malice have been a fixture in the Berlin underground for the past decade. His latest record My Brothel The Wind takes inspiration from Sun Ra at his most grotesque, conjuring a distorted phantasmagoria with an eclectic crew of compatriots like Rully Shabara, Sara Persico, and longtime collaborator Kiki Hitomi. Film director Hiroo Tanaka’s visual contributions in the album art, poster, and music video complete the album’s narrative, telling a story not of villainy but of phantom caprice in a dying world.
My Brothel The Wind shows DJ DIE SOON as an alchemist of distortion, transmuting the club-forward beats of his 2020 debut Kappa Slap and the seething horrorscapes of DIEMAJIN, his 2022 collaboration with Tokyo vocalist MA. Imamura’s obsession with noise stems from his upbringing in Tokyo, where he grew up hearing the deafening roar of trains every day. “The buildings were really tall, so the sounds reflected so much and it was so loud that you couldn’t even have a conversation on the phone. Hearing this noise every minute when living in this flat, it became a normal thing,” he says. While most would content themselves with avoiding loudness, DJ DIE SOON seeks to unpack its visceral potential.
DJ DIE SOON’s subterranean productions form a monstrous gestalt with the eclectic contributions of his network of co-conspirators. “Unfinished” and “Directions” are pulsating chimeras that highlight animalistic vocalizations from Hitomi and Shabara; Italian MC Franco Franco’s verses snake underneath the noisy onslaught. The tectonic textures of “Dandelion Crackers” are courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Laure Boer’s handmade stone synth. Sara Persico’s mangled vocables hang as fleshy reminders of human fragility on “SAQ4IME”; in the Hiroo Tanaka-directed music video, the track’s sonic uncanniness is made cinematic, with an ambient dread that references Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1964 psychological thriller Woman in the Dunes.
While Sun Ra’s intergalactic Moog reached for the stars, DJ DIE SOON plunges into the depths of hell. “Everybody, Shake Your Body, We Chill At Party” feels like the sonic equivalent of a wax museum burning to the ground, rigid smiles melting into the fire. Rather than a vision of the future, My Brothel The Wind is a laugh-cry of despair in the face of a Hadean present. DJ DIE SOON confronts the world with a new hand-made mask, reborn in the ashes.

DJ Himitsu is a Tokyo-born, London-based producer and DJ, known for his understated approach and deep knowledge of Japanese vinyl and book culture. Following a debut EP of acid house on Australian imprint Lunatic Music in 2023, 'Exotic Animals' marks a new waypoint in Himitsu's artistic evolution.

On this debut full length, driving 303 basslines and kickdrums are traded in for obscure recordings and convoluted samples, which spiral and fuse to form shuffling, heady new compositions. Like shattered pottery reassembled into top-heavy sculptures with golden glue, 'Exotic Animals' shapes and juxtaposes opposing forms and fragments, with lolloping aplomb.

When not producing, DJ Himistu runs Caravan - a vintage Japanese record, ceramics and bookshop in London. It's with the same warmth, care and curiosity that he arranges his findings in the plunderous grotto of 'Exotic Animals'. In this way, stepping inside this work is like entering a remote trading post of instruments, memoirs and other sonic curios - as Himitsu stands patiently at the counter.

Recommended for fans of Jon Hassell, Giovanni Venosta, Discrepant.

Trajectories collide in a wormhole as Tokyo-based Igaxx and Amsterdam-based Gropina converge on a crepuscular four-track 12-inch and digital release for Paesaggi Records. Igaxx drifts through near-beatless, spiralling psychedelia: “The Perception” is a slow-burn ascent, suspended in a state of perpetual anticipation, forever circling a climax that never arrives. “Someday in Time” settles into a steady pulse that glides outward, dissolving into the distance as if lost in quiet contemplation.

On the flip, Gropina reshapes the two pieces through his own sonic lens, like stepping through the looking glass. “The Perception (Version)” brings a supernatural, Kraut-inspired vibe, opening with a deceptive 2:35 intro before unfolding into Mother Sky-esque drums, primitive flutes, and reversed guitars. “Some Day In Time (Version)” is a dubby reinterpretation driven by a ’70s Ace Tone drum machine, a funky bassline, dub-soaked guitars, noir alto saxophone, and subtle details swirling through the mix.

2026 Repress

Akusmi is the project moniker of French-born, London based composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Pascal Bideau, who signs to the new Tonal Union imprint for the release of his album 'Fleeting Future.' With its hallucinatory, genre-defying blend of minimalism, cosmic jazz and Fourth World influences, and in its quest for optimism in the face of unknown and limitless possibility. 'Fleeting Future' stands apart as an inventive and inspirational debut.

The creation of the album's richly colourful and multi-layered sound world was originally inspired by Bideau's journey to Indonesia, where he immersed himself in traditional Gamelan and gong music. Many of the themes, motifs and melodies on 'Fleeting Future' seed from the 'Slendro' scale, one of the essential tuning systems used in Gamelan. However it is not musical scales, but scales as in the size or extent of things that most fascinates Bideau, specifically he explains; "the compelling way things dramatically change when you shift from any given scale to another."

The album connects directly to nature and the wider world in its evocation of perceptive shifts and transitions from microscopic to macro scale, as evidenced by the opening title track 'Fleeting Future', on which a simple dotted saxophone line morphs and billows into synths, brass and strings, indicating the musical voyage that lies ahead. Like the start of a journey or adventure it is full of anticipation, its arborescent growth conveying the optimism of the unknown and of limitless possibility. The album centrepiece 'Neo Tokyo' is a vibrating, ebullient mass of colliding elements which feels like zooming in to the electron level, as it teeters on the edge of chaos. The title is a reference to Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, a dizzying work of art set in a sprawling futuristic metropolis.

'Yurikamome', meanwhile, is an imaginary soundtrack inspired by Bideau's yearning to visit Japan which he fuels by watching Youtube videos of drives and rides through Japanese landscapes and cities. "It's amazing" he adds, "that we have the ability to access almost anywhere in the world and see what it's like, that people document it and upload it. It's never going to be any replacement for the real thing, but with places that really touch you, it works." The track is named after a Japanese monorail train line which rides from Shinbashi to Toyosu, a last journey that feels like a new beginning.


'Fleeting Future' was composed and recorded by Bideau between 2017 and 2019 in his North London studio and features additional contributions recorded in Berlin by Florian Juncker (trombone), Ruth Velten (saxophone) and regular collaborator Daniel Brandt of Brandt Brauer Frick (drums / electronic percussion). Having been living through uncertain times, one thing that keeps spiralling into the unknown is the future, about which Bideau leaves us with a final thought:

"The future is fascinating: It is constantly readjusting to new events. I feel we left a linear approach to the future to enter an arborescent one where all the data and information we have about what could happen is exponentially ever-growing. Following a branch might allow you to glimpse into what it may become, but the evolution of the whole picture might very well render the prediction totally obsolete, and even meaningless. In that sense, there is not one future but innumerable ones all cancelling each other. That's what makes it fleeting."

Repress 2026

We’re very happy to announce the vinyl release of kuniyuki’s masterpiece “all these things”.

Originally it’s released on only cd in 2007. it was his 2nd album but it’s substantially his first album because the first album was a col-lection of kuniyuki’s early productions.

The first track “the guitar song” is one of our most favorite song of kuniyuki,it’s like a real good mixture of jazz, fusion, world music and electronic music.

The second track featuring african vocalist and percussionist “omar guaindefall”,we still love amazing henrik schwarz remix.

The third track “you get me” featuring our favorite singer “josee hurlock”,we’ve knew about her from the fantastic album “residue” by hefner in 2000. she is featured to the fourth track “all these things” too. we’re hoping to repress an amazing joe claussell remix.

The fifth track “flying music” featuring our good friend “alex from tokyo” as poetry reading and shuichiro sakaguchi( a popular trumpeter in tokyo) as a trumpeter. this long version was put to single cut release on 12inch.

The sixth track “the session” is a collaboration of song with henrik schwarz. they have met at mule musiq’s party in tokyo and clicked immediately.

The seventh track “touch” sounds very nostalgic african jazz or spanish fusion which is popular these days as balearic music.

The last track “rain of ocean” is a primitive african minimal deep house.this song is put to the single cut from this album(not put to the album) and we almost forgot this song but when we’re compiling the vinyl edition of album, we noticed how this song is beautiful.

Here are the collection of eight timeless and genreless music.

2026 Repress

Gaudi’s Jazz Gone Dub is a masterclass in genre fusion, seamlessly blending the improvisational essence of jazz with the heavy atmospheric grooves of dub. Known for his eclectic approach to music production, Gaudi pushes the boundaries yet again, creating a sonic landscape that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly innovative.

Four years in the making, from the opening track it’s clear that Jazz Gone Dub is more than just a mashup of styles—it's a thoughtful exploration of the intersections between two rich musical traditions.

Gaudi’s multi-instrumental talents are on full display, and the presence of reggae royalty is palpable, courtesy of rootsy melodies from David Hinds (Steel Pulse), Jah Wobble’s iconic bass grooves, Ernest Ranglin’s intricate guitar lines and Sly & Robbie’s rhythmic genius. Add Sardinia’s Train to Roots band, Manu Chao collaborator Roy Paci, veteran guitarist Marcus Upbeat, Mr Woodnote and Tim Hutton’s brass work, Gavin Tate-Lovery’s sultry sax and flute, Horseman’s percussive flair plus Colin Edwin and Vlastur’s serious basslines, and the
result is a rhythmic foundation that’s both solid and fluid, allowing the jazz elements to float freely above the dub undercurrents.

Despite this star-studded line-up, Gaudi remains the glue that holds this gem together: his production is meticulous yet organic, allowing each track to breathe and evolve naturally. The use of space, delays and reverb—a hallmark of dub music—is expertly handled, giving the album a dreamy, immersive quality. Tracks like Susceptible and Alabaster Moon showcase Gaudi’s ability to create mood and atmosphere without sacrificing melodic and rhythmic complexity.

In Jazz Gone Dub Gaudi has crafted an album that feels both timeless and forward-thinking, a celebration of musical synergy where the free-spirit of jazz meets the deep resonance of dub. Whether you’re a fan of either genre or simply appreciate masterful musicianship and innovative production, this album is a must-listen.

妖精の通る道 (The Path Where Fairies Pass) is the debut vinyl release by Reimaki, the duo of Rei Yokoyama (Triggers Flowers, Stakaidan, Lapiz Trio, 新井薬師自警団, and Fujio, Chiko Hige and Rei), and Maki Miura (Tsubamegami, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Shizuka, Fushitsusha, Ohkami No Jikan and Katsurei). The duo has been an understated presence in Tokyo, playing occasional under-the-radar shows and self- releasing a few CD-Rs, but they’ve recently started to break cover, with a recent cassette on UFO Creations, released in support of a late 2024 tour of China. It’s also a welcome reappearance on the scene for both musicians; Miura’s musical history, in particular, is being reevaluated thanks to a recent string of welcome Shizuka reissues.

But the music Reimaki make together is a different thing entirely, much as it shares some psychological and aesthetic interests with both Miura’s and Nokoyama’s other projects. Their sound is split between two main interests – an extension of glacial, deoxygenating psychedelic improvisations, and a deep interest in medieval European music. They’ve also been known to cover compositions by English prog/improv musician Fred Frith. These various elements of the Reimaki aesthetic are all present through 妖精の通る道, from the fragility of the opening “Novel Amor” through to the smeared, hazy textures of the three extended pieces that comprise the album’s flipside.

There’s a beautiful sympathy in these performances, and a generous simplicity, too; you can sense that this music is informed by decades of finding just the right way to say the right thing in the clearest manner possible. Yokoyama and Miura never overstate things; make the statement, play the song, let it hang in the air for a while, and then move on to the next essential expression. The music is unburdened by self- consciousness. Their take on medieval music cuts to the core of melody and melancholy; their psych- improv side is blurred and drifting without ever lapsing into rote generic gestures.

There’s some shared space with other artists who suspend the timeless within the kaleidoscopic possibilities of the psychedelic – Kendra Smith & The Guild of Temporal Adventurers; Emmanuelle Parrenin; Rosina de Peira – and a tangled folksiness that might put listeners in mind of Jan Dukes De Grey, Comus, Current 93, and Tower Recordings. Accompanied by beautiful photography from street photographer Takehiko Nakafuji, who was also personally chosen by Mizutani to document Les Rallizes Dénudés, 妖精の通る道 is a most unique and necessary trip.

From the depths of the most independent and revolutionary underground, a handful of tracks from the repertoires (often limited even to a single flexi disc) of some of the heroes who rode the wave, extracting from it—more for themselves and expressive necessity than for us—its most mystical and expressionist essence. New and No Wave, minimal and minimalist electronics, Avant Wave from the land where the sun still rises for now.

East London producer and DJ IZCO announces his debut solo studio album ‘POWERSCROFT’, set for release on 1st May via Brownswood Recordings. The album’s first single, ‘Strike a Pose’ featuring the vocals of Camille Munn offers an early glimpse into the project. To celebrate the release, he will go on a run of UK dates from March to May, culminating at London’s Jazz Cafe.
Named after the road where he grew up, ‘POWERSCROFT’ marks a defining new chapter for an artist who has spent the past decade shaping the sound of UK dance music. Drawing from jungle, broken beat, grime, garage, soul and dub, the album channels the energy of the dancefloor while remaining deeply rooted in memory, instinct and identity. It captures what it feels like to be inside IZCO’s world, where thoughts, memories and influences collide.

Hailing from East London, IZCO is a producer and DJ spearheading a new generation that is bringing soul back to the dancefloor. Shaped by the rich musical heritage of his hometown, he has developed a sound that feels familiar yet forward-looking, diverse yet distinctly his own. That sound has taken him across the globe, from New York to Tokyo, alongside standout sets at We Out Here, Outlook and Glastonbury.

IZCO began his journey making grime beats for local rappers including Capo Lee, Novelist and Reek0, before becoming a key figure in the UK’s evolving garage and dance music landscape. In 2018, he launched his long-running Rinse FM show and released his debut EP Tek 5, earning early underground acclaim. His production credits include PinkPantheress’ breakout track ‘Passion’, created alongside Jkarri, as well as collaborations and remixes for artists such as Katy B and Greentea Peng.
Beyond his solo work, IZCO is a label head, promoter and co-founder of the Brighter Days Family, a collective built on community, craft and cooperation. With ‘POWERSCROFT’, he steps fully into the spotlight, presenting his most personal and fully realised body of work to date. “This album is about channeling my true musical personality and character,” he says. “I’m marking a new chapter by paying tribute to my foundations.”

Katz Mulk's ''All the mess'' is a collection of songs about playing and play-work, recorded between 2023-25 in Glasgow and Tokyo. Developed from performances across the UK and during a residency at Xevarion Institute in Hong Kong, with dancers, costume design by Mary Hurrell, and mobile speaker design by Chris Ball. Slithering breath, crackling synths, dented gongs, and dub loops pull songs into unexpected, unsettling patterns, like being a kid again but with more electronics.

MOVE TRAX is thrilled to unveil "Grab My Love," the eagerly awaited second release from the Tokyo-based label, curated by its founder Al Jones. This enchanting EP synthesizes the sun-soaked essence of early 90s balearic vibes with the alluring melodies of classic Italo house piano, all interwoven with the evocative sounds of traditional Japanese instruments, notably the koto. At the forefront are the irresistible vocals of Aiko Inoue, whose whimsical lyrics recount a lasagna recipe in a manner that feels like a sumptuous love letter—a blend of playful humor and sensual mystery.
Complementing the original vocal mix is the "Scarpetta Dub Mix," where delightful silence speaks volumes, symbolizing the final, indulgent moments of a culinary feast. Further enriching this sonic tapestry are two distinguished remixes from renowned Italian artists: Massimiliano Pagliara lends his ethereal touch with the "Hanami Mix," a delicately layered composition that transports listeners, while Mr. Ties delivers the vibrant "House of Matsuri Mix," infused with a raw, Chicago-inspired acid baseline that guarantees peak-time excitement.
"Grab My Love" transcends conventional dance music, showcasing the innovative spirit of its creators and promising to captivate audiences on dance floors everywhere.

2026 Repress

- Linen Paper, Foil Printed Box Set
- Includes 6 Double LPs + 1 Single LP, 13 Discs In Total
- All LPs Pressed on Coloured Vinyl
-Each Disc is Housed in a Printed Inner with PMS Print, Finished with Spot Gloss Printing. Each Sleeve Features an Abstract of the Original Album’s Artwork
- Also included are a 4 page Insert + Poster

Skintone Edition commemorates the singular talent of this music pioneer with the re-release of all of his albums released via his own Skintone label.
Over a 20 year period Yokota released 30 albums and countless 12s under a variety of aliases, across more than a dozen pre-eminent labels. Yokota received domestic and international acclaim as a house and techno DJ and producer throughout the nineties. Part of the vanguard of the Tokyo scene, his influential release Acid Mt. Fuji inspires techno artists to this day.

In 1998 though, at the height of his success, he established his Skintone imprint, which came to eclipse all of his previous achievements. Skintone shone a light on the diverse new directions in which his creativity had blown, from delicate, cyclical tape-loop meditations to neo-classical compositions. It also gave him the autonomy to combine his visual and music-making practices and, importantly, to create at his own pace. The label was a great success and his experiments proved foundational in the global 00s ambient canon.

Skintone Edition will be available as 2 box sets - the first volume coincides with the 10th anniversary of Yokota’s untimely death and the 30th year of Lo Recordings. All music has been fully re-mastered. This edition is presented with the generous assistance of the Yokota family.
Albums Included:

Magic Thread 1998
Image 1983-1998 [1998]
Sakura [1999]
Grinning Cat [2001]
Will [2001]
The Boy and the Tree [2002]
Laputa [2003]

Tokyo deep house master Soshi Takeda returns with a long-awaited six-song sequel to 2021’s landmark Floating Mountains, surfing deeper into mystery, motion, and liquid dreams: Secret Communication. Recorded across 2022 and 2023 at his home studio with a unique assemblage of 80’s and 90’s hardware, the tracks cruise through a latticework of skyways on lush pads, bubbling bass, and blissed BPMs, dusted in sunrise acid and cosmic piano. His is a dance music of idyllic emotions and inner worlds, yearning for new horizons.

Dramatic events overlapped with the album’s creation: “Wars broke out. On the other hand, my child was born. There were sad and beautiful moments in my life.” Secret Communication contains vistas, valleys, glimpses of lives unled, swirling above the grey noise of the city. From the jazzy daydream of “Can Imagination Transcend Distance?” to the sleek starlight house of “Rainstorm” to the farewell ecstasy of the title track, Takeda’s music touches and transports, a portal to places beyond. Fantasy and feeling, intention and inspiration, all become one: “When I listen to beautiful deep house, I feel a mysterious atmosphere. Dreamy scenes come to mind. I aim to create that sound.”

DEMO DISC 1 unlocks Pizza Hotline’s all new Demo Disc Series. A new series of EPs inspired by the PS1-era demo discs.

Side A features two original tracks from Pizza Hotline—VR Missions and TOKYO MEGAPLEX.

On Side B jungle heavyweight Tim Reaper brings the pressure, while Arcologies delivers a streamlined, intelligent minimal rework. Boot up your system, insert disc, and select your demo.

Fresh off the back of the successes of Work Money Death, The Flying Hats and The Library Archives: Volume 4, ATA Records is proud to present The Karman Line by Outer Worlds Jazz Ensemble.

When musicians are on tour conversations naturally turn to music. Two years ago, whilst exploring the jazz kissas and record stores of Tokyo, woodwind maestro Chip Whickham and ATA mastermind and bassist Neil Innes discussed their shared influences of Yusef Lateef, David Axelrod and Alice Coltrane. The seeds for a new project were sown and soon seven tracks of deep, spiritual, groove driven jazz were laid down and on tape.

The moods of the album are varied yet share a sense of reverence and exploration. On Karmen Cantala and All Is Chip’s flute floats and soars, propelled by dreamlike harp and waves of impressionistic piano. Low Orbit takes things in a funkier direction, arrangements with Steve Parry’s horn (including the unusual instrumentation of bassoon, French horn and tuba) channelling 1970s Quincy Jones and the loping swagger of Archie Shepp’s Mama Too Tight. The Celestial Matari and Molecules recall the flowing, cosmic sounds of Joe Henderson and Alice Coltrane’s masterpiece The Elements, and Earthly Elements gets earthy indeed. Driven by a heavy, dance-floor bass line and an array of percussion, Chips flute gets huskier, dirtier and more insistent, drawing deep from Yusef Lateef’s Psychicemotus and Roland Kirk’s Blacknuss.

Japan's Takuya Matsumoto returns to Inhale Exhale with a new six-track EP entitled 'Song Of The Ocean'.
Japanese DJ and producer Takuya Matsumoto has quietly established himself as one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from Japan's contemporary house scene. Known for his warm, deeply musical approach to production, Matsumoto blends classic house
sensibilities with jazz, funk and soulful influences, crafting records that balance dancefloor functionality with rich musicality. Through releases on respected international labels like Clone's Jack For Daze and Royal Oak, Vibes and Pepper, and Fina he's built a
reputation for refined grooves, elegant arrangements and a timeless approach to house music.
Across the six tracks Matsumoto once again radiantly showcases the depth of his production skills as the project sonically traverses Balearic-tinged House, bouncy acid- laced electro, cosmic nu-disco, breaks driven jungle and dub infused deep house.

Peach’s Soak Vol. 1 is a cross-Canadian link-up with Mood Hut that moves through slower, deeper waters.

The mini-LP was written after a tour through Asia that opened up something new in how Peach approaches making music. The turning point, as she tells it, came during a visit to a neighbourhood sento in Tokyo, while surrounded by steam rising in suspended time, something clicked about the relationship between the body and the sounds she wanted to make.

She’d been learning about cycle synching and working out with the phases of her hormonal cycle, respecting energy fluctuations throughout the course of a month, and decided to apply the approach to writing music. She allowed shifts in energy to guide tempo, density, and emotional tone rather than strictly answering to the floor.

Soak came out of this exploration, sketched and layered with field recordings from her trips to Vietnam and the Philippines during a challenging time in her life. Fragments of heat, air, and shoreline are absorbed into the music itself. Vapourous pads, low-end weight, fractured percussion, and melodies hover at the edge of dissolution. Water runs structurally through the record in surges, in tidal pacing, in the slow accumulation of texture.

Wherever this music finds you, please enjoy the Soak.

Dreamweavers II sees Mark de Clive-Lowe reunited with Italian rhythm masters Andrea Lombardini and Tommaso Cappellato for the next chapter in their electro-acoustic trio journey.
Recorded at Sotto il Mare Recording Studios in Verona, Italy in summer 2024, the album builds on the cosmic, hypnotic language established on Dreamweavers (2020) while pushing deeper into groove-driven terrain, dancefloor jazz and textural improvisation. Across eight tracks, the trio explore the elastic space between jazz tradition, beat culture, and club-influenced momentum – without samples or looping – relying purely on live interaction, feel and shared intuition.Opening with the Azymuth-inspired “Terra de Luz,” the album immediately signals its global outlook. “Kaze no Michi” follows with late-night Tokyo energy – dancefloor jazz that feels equally at home in jazz clubs or after-hours rooms. Two intentional reinterpretations bridge jazz and beat culture: J Dilla’s “Raise It Up” (from Slum Village – Fantastic Vol. 2) is reimagined with its original groove and bass line as the launch pad, while “The Bass That Don’t Stop” becomes a lush house-jazz tribute to the late Phil Asher, originally co-created by Asher and de Clive-Lowe in 2002 under the moniker musiclovelife.Bassist Andrea Lombardini’s “Pam” brings the album inward – introspective, spacious, and deeply melodic; while “Lucid Dreams” draws on the trio’s shared love of jungle, drum’n’bass and the exploratory spirit of greats like Chick Corea, amplifying the journey with forward motion and harmonic curiosity.Dreamweavers II is a concisely intentional sound narrative: a trio record rooted in jazz lineage, shaped by beat culture and guided by a collective curiosity for texture, rhythm, and movement.

Wewantsounds is delighted to continue its extensive reissue program of Meiko Kaji"s early discography, originally released by Teichiku Records in Japan between 1972 and 1974. The Quentin Tarantino muse-famous for her starring roles in Lady Snowblood and Stray Cat Rock-was also a gifted singer. Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika is another collection of superb cinematic songs featuring Kaji"s signature mix of Japanese Pop and Groove, backed by lush, atmospheric orchestrations. This includes her rendition of "Tokyo Nagare Mono," the theme song for Seijun Suzuki"s cult 1966 film Tokyo Drifter. This reissue features the original artwork, an OBI strip, and a four-page insert with new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha, who interviewed Meiko Kaji for the occasion.