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Following a triumphant first release, Archivio Records returns with another slab of golden era UK Techno House from a true master of the sound: Mark Ambrose

This versatile three track EP made up of 2 previously unheard and unreleased lost DAT productions, paired with a monstrous modern creation, from a man known for his uniquely trippy and boundary pushing take on the genre, presents the listener with a smorgasbord of peak time Tech House, hypnotic Techno and emotive Acid House.

The A side Mountain Storm is nothing short of an epic, instantly recognizable future classic! Punchy, percussion laden drums set the tone upfront, before a titanic, rumbling bassline blows the doors clean off! Disorienting vocals drift in and out before an eerily familiar string arrives by special delivery directly from the State of 808, building the tension required to set the stage for the main event: a haunting, poignant and highly relevant monologue for the times we find ourselves in today, delivered by a renowned, yet uncredited Jamaican poet.

B1 Get On Down takes the listener to the middle of the dancefloor, mid-set at a Techno-leaning after hours. Think Christian AB in a mischievous mood…

Obscure, industrial, fizzing drums start the show, followed by a stomping yet playful bass line, hip hop vocals urging you to get busy on the floor swirl around you, before a piercing arpeggio sends the listener to the cosmos, as the track peaks.

B2 Deep Sea couldn’t have a more appropriate name if it tried. A chugging, melancholy, submarine journey to the bottom of the Atlantic, presented at a lower BPM, making it equally perfect for the very beginning or very end of a set.

The Brooklyn-based record store proves their record label is no one hit wonder with this outstanding release from the Crayon Records head honcho. Unmissable.

With Motions, Black Flower presents a unique EP, a compact collection of musical organisms that simply insisted on coming into the world. During the creation of their latest LP Kinetic, an abundance of ideas emerged, far more than could fit on the album. Among these half-formed sketches were a few striking pieces with such a strong character that they refused to be left behind, and some even grew into band favourites.

Diagonal Walk, for instance, has long opened the Kinetic live set while on tour in Europe, despite not appearing on the record itself. The band loved playing it so much that they decided to bring it to its full potential: mixing it, mastering it, and ultimately giving it a physical release. The result is a track where energy swells and breaks in waves, offering groove, colour and deft counterpoint.

That momentum also elevated Out of One, Many, a meditation on polyrhythm and shimmering harmony, as well as Trip to the Store. Both pieces were further developed and now complete this new collection of tracks. The time between full studio albums has proved creatively rich for Black Flower. Motions stands as a vibrant statement of kinetic energy, and the band is thrilled to finally share it with the world.

A compilation of rare and unique songs that blend rock and soul grooves with pop songs sung in the traditional scales of Okinawa, a southern island of Japan. It includes 14 tropical groove tracks from notable artists such as the iconic Yara Families, the pioneer of Okinawan folk rock Shokichi Kina, and Mitsuko Sawamura, who transitioned from Okinawa to American musical films.

RIP Magic haben keine Zeit verschwendet. In ihrem ersten Jahr wurden sie von The Guardian als ,Londons angesagteste Band" bezeichnet, spielten große Konzerte mit LCD Soundsystem und Fcukers sowie kleine Auftritte in Londoner Bars und Restaurantkellern, und jetzt bringen sie endlich eine physische Single raus, produziert von James Murphy, seine erste Produktion für eine andere Band seit über einem Jahrzehnt. ,5words" baut sich langsam zu einem euphorischen urbanen Epos auf, das gleichermaßen von Velvet Underground, Orbital, Rapture aus der Echoes-Ära und dem filmischen Universum von Dean Blunt beeinflusst klingt, und, ehrlich gesagt, auch von Nirvana. Es klingt, als würden Jahrzehnte in der Gegenwart zusammenbrechen, ermöglicht durch reibungslose Entdeckungen und gelöst durch die einfachste Methode: vier Leute in einem Raum, die nach etwas Neuem, etwas Großartigem, einem guten Gefühl suchen. Auf der B-Seite ist ein Remix von niemand Geringerem als Maurice Fulton zu hören, sein erster Beitrag für DFA seit den Syclops-Platten, die 2008 sofort zu Klassikern wurden. Maurice ist einer der besten Remixer und Produzenten seiner Zeit und Schöpfer eines Sounds, der so einzigartig und unverwechselbar ist, dass selbst all seine Pseudonyme die Trainspotters nicht täuschen können. Dieser Remix ist genau so: aufregend exzentrisch und unausweichlich mitreißend.

 ‘Heart Under’, Just Mustard’s second album and first for Partisan Records
(IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Laura Marling), is an album that asks you to forget
what you know. At every turn, this remarkable record reconfigures and
stretches the ideas and ambition of a rock band and turns a year of lockdown
and personal struggles into a breath-taking artistic statement.
 Across its 10 tracks, the album presents a coherent style and ethos - those
scything guitars, Katie’s magical vocals - but still incorporates a wide and
untethered vision. There are brooding, atmospheric rock songs (‘Still’, ‘In
Shade’) and others that apply a lighter, dreamier touch (‘Sore’, ‘Mirrors’), all
tied together with impeccable instrumentation and a united vision.
 On debut ‘Wednesday’, the band played with dreamier soundscapes and
production techniques, and ‘Heart Under’ serves as the next stage of this
development, with every instrument brilliantly pushed to its limit and every
boundary of the band stretched.
 After the band had finished recording and producing the album, ‘Heart Under’
was pushed even further into singular territory when the band worked with
mixer David Wrench, whose previous collaborators include Frank Ocean,
Let’s Eat Grandma, Jamie xx, FKA twigs and beyond. “We wanted someone
who had done pop and electronic records and didn’t just work within rock
music,” Katie says.
 “Ireland’s buzziest new band” - The FADER
 “Their rapturous reception here at SXSW is a testament to their startling
evolution as well as the excitement that can only come from watching a band
just beginning to realise the full extent of their powers.” - NME
 “They have well and truly mastered the art of atmospheric rock” - Loud And
Quiet (9/10)
 Supporting Fontaines D.C. on their European and US tours this year. They
were handpicked by Robert Smith to support The Cure in Dublin in 2019.
 Eire headline tour in June, UK headline tour in September, including Village
Underground, and EU headline tour in October.
 Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish Album Of The Year for their debut
album, ‘Wednesday’.
 CD housed in a cardboard wallet with lyric and photo insert.
 LP pressed on black vinyl and housed in a single sleeve jacket with lyric and
photo insert.

Emerging from a shared love of long-form storytelling and hypnotic groove, Techfui presents a stunning double album from Ada Kaleh and Wareika, a cross-continental dialogue between two singular visions of deep and micro house.
Romanian composer and sound alchemist Ada Kaleh channels his signature world of organic textures, dub-soaked spaces and slowly evolving rhythms, known from his forward-thinking work on R&S, Apollo and his own Ada Kaleh Romania imprint. His part of the productions unfolds like a ritual: subtle, detailed and endlessly spiralling, built for dancers who like to disappear inside the groove.
On the other side, trio Wareika bring their unique blend of live jazz sensibility, meditative dub and electronic body music, honed over years of improvisation and boundary-blurring club performances. Their contributions lean into fluid polyrhythms, elastic basslines and shimmering harmonies, tracks that feel alive, breathing and in constant motion.
The journey is expanded by a heavyweight remix cast: minimal house icon Thomas Melchior, Techfui founder and Bahrain mainstay Salah Sadeq, whose deep house productions are crafted to move both heart and floor, and the elusive studio force DUST. Each rework dials the hypnosis in further, stretching time and space without ever losing the warmth of the original material.
True to Techfuis ethos of bringing family, friends and fresh talent together to create honest, unconventional art, this double album is not just a collection of tracks, but a deep, carefully produced listening experience, timeless deep house and micro house for late nights, early mornings and every hazy moment in between.

purist Dub infused techno ep

If you like cold-wave music and you’re nostalgic of the 80s, “Lines & Parallels” by French Swiss trio Factice Factory clearly reveals multiple parallels with this golden decade of dark music. A delicious propulsive bass, cold synths and lots of atmosphere. A dark and at times even claustrophobic atmosphere.

On the release, two musical sides can be identified: two lines or parallels. An electronic and more hypnotic side with the Neue Deutsche Welle-like “Leuchtturm”, the minimal film noir tribute “Audran”, the eighties sounding “Sway” or the harsh industrial tainted “Extinguisher”. The other line is to be heard in tracks such as the desperate and goosebumping “Defeat”, the oriental sounding “Hatch End” or the melancholic end ballad “The Weeping Willow” These two parallel lines finally merge into one single and united sound pattern, a delight that will surely find its place in the ears of many dark music addicts.

8-page lyric / drawing booklet, glossy poster, download card (inc. mp3s), white inner paper bags, sticker on cover.

After 7 strange years of relative silence, and 13 years of being a band, Dog Chocolate have returned with ‘So Inspired, So Done In’. Their fourth album is their most focused, cohesive and song-y yet. They still sound like a bin full of wasps, but now the bin has double-cream or a Viennetta or something at the bottom. While many of the 16 songs on here barely make it past the 3-minute mark, each one is bursting with all the textures and colours of an office cupboard: full of old sweets, fluorescent markers, and multiple ways to fix paper together.

Thematically, a lot of ground is covered, with songs tackling subject matter as diverse as overheard conversations, healing fungal toenails, the Rogerian concept of the Actualising Tendency, bronze age living conditions, dreaming songs into being and human-plant relations. Work (and anti-work) is a recurring theme, as is artistic inspiration and burnout. Dog Chocolate revel in the mundane and incidental, to explore bigger, existential questions. Recorded and mixed by POZI’s Toby Burroughs and mastered by Sofia Lopes, ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ charts a long and confusing period in the band’s collective life, marked by major life changes, losses and shifts, colouring the band’s trademark frantic, daft and anxious energy with a contemplative glaze. Dog Chocolate continue to investigate their internal and external landscapes with playful curiosity, frustration, silliness and empathy.

Pre/history of the band: In the early 2000’s Andrew (vocals), Rob (guitar, vocals) and Matthew (guitar, vocals) played together as teenagers in South-East London-based maximalist, costumed surrealist punk band Yeborobo. They met drummer Jonathan playing with his instrument-swapping masked band Limn at art space Utrophia in Deptford. Later, when both bands had split, Dog Chocolate formed with a shared desire to make a band that was simpler than their theatrical past: small amps and light guitars, no more than 2 drums at any one time, a keyboard no longer than a ruler and a shared ethos… “it’s about giving a shit, but at the same time not giving a shit, but not ‘whatever’, not giving up never!”. The band floated the term “pencilcase punk” to describe their jumbled, colourful, dense and instant music.

Dog Chocolate built on this early scrappiness, bedding into their sound over several albums. Their first “Or” (2014) was a split with Ravioli Me Away, soon followed by “Snack Fans” (2016) and “Moody Balloon Baby” (2018). Along the way they played gigs with bands as wide ranging as Deerhoof, No Age, Dry Cleaning, Palm, Daniel Wakeford, Shopping and Pozi.

With a tendency to converse with each other both lyrically and musically cultivated over many years, the members of Dog Chocolate bounce off each other, respectfully disagree, try to make each other laugh and share some of their most vulnerable feelings with each other. ‘So Inspired, So Done In’ is their own unique offering during these unsteady times: a language of friendship translated into songs.

Debut by a new string trio of Pelt and Elkhorn veterans with the wild card contributions of Kaily Schenker, creating a new variant of supremely pleasing acoustic-psychedelic-drone-Americana etc. “Lullaby>Summer Field” is an aptly named gentle rise, with Sheppard’s fingerpicked 12 string snaking through waves of elongated fiddle and cello. “Triode>Freedom” follows a darker minor-key ostinato with Gangloff’s keening melody over the top. “Freedom>Universal Blues” starts as a dirge and builds to a transition into the traditional “The Squirrel is a Pretty Thing,” with Kaily Schenker’s droning harmonium and vocal delivering a riveting, epic version of what’s usually cast as a short “kids”/folk-tale song (e.g. Peggy Seeger’s version). Originally this album was released by the band in an instantly sold-out edition of 100 for sale at their shows. This updated version includes a new insert by Kaily, a new cut by John Golden and a thick pressing from Smashed in Chicago.

Carpenter Brut draws its influences from 80s TV shows and B-movies loaded with synthesizers.
The mysterious and discreet man evokes an encounter between Justice beats and the universe of John Carpenter.

Across ten tracks, Leather Temple, the third and final chapter of the Leather trilogychannels a raw and nervous energy, somewhere between saturated electro, industrialfever, and 90s synthetic pulse. Yet behind this intensityalso lies a cinematic andorchestral dimension, with arrangements that expand the horizon and add dramaticscope. A tight format, a constant intensity: Leather Temple goes all in on impact,balancing raw immediacy with the feel of a post-apocalyptic moviesoundtrack.

There’s an alternate reality where everyone makes a living wage and the cleanest buses you’ve ever seen arrive every other minute. Where the most intense songs are about confessing your love to a crush at the apple orchard, and where gentle feelings and chaotic energy are inseparable best friends. This is the timeline where Cootie Catcher is right at home. This Toronto based four-piece exudes both vulnerability and unbridled excitement, creating a sound that hypercharges the open-hearted tenderness of twee pop with spiraling synths and giddy electronics. New album Something We All Got is the clearest and most vibrant reading of Cootie Catcher’s vision yet, with songs of sweetness, nervousness, and expectancy that beam out unguarded.
After releasing music made primarily in basement recording environments, Something We All Got is the band’s first flirtation with studio recording. The edges are still sharp, however, with some parts assembled from time-honored lo-fi methods and fun, personally-sourced samples seeping into the production. The sound is explosive and upbeat, with euphoric guitars, bubbly synth lines, speedy drums both played and programmed, and all other manner of sound constantly colliding. Cootie Catcher has three songwriters, Sophia Chavez, Anita Fowl, and Nolan Jakupovski, all of whom have distinctive voices but still manage to overlap in their writing on shared concerns like navigating the lines of romantic and platonic relationships, their city’s social scenes, and struggles in both the microcosmic experience of playing in a band and the zoomed-out challenges of living through late-stage capitalism.
Joy still touches every surface of Something We All Got. “Quarter Note Rock” bounces around the room in a fit of jangling guitar chords, scratched samples, and interplay between breakbeat loops and somersaulting live drums. It’s a blast of positivity even with lyrics about how disappointing it can be to meet your heroes. A smiling electro pop instrumental supports lyrics about having to step painfully away from an almost realized love on “Gingham Dress,” a song that subverts themes of domesticity as a backdrop for the dashed wilt of hopeless devotion.
Cootie Catcher rolls down hills and jumps through flaming hoops throughout Something We All Got without ever dumbing down the visceral emotions that drive these songs. There’s a palpable tension between the band’s exhilarating sonics and the raw, often uneasy sentiments expressed, but it’s an integral part of what makes them unique. Rather than hide behind the kind of calculated vagueness that plagues so much of the indie rock landscape in the time of cursed algorithms, Cootie Catcher runs full-speed toward every confusion and excitement, fearlessly direct and embracing the reality they’re in.

MariMari’s debut album “Mimitomesoshiteecho”, originally released in 1997, is finally getting its long awaited analog reissue.

Known for being fully backed by members of Fishmans, this work centers on MariMari’s vocals, which combine transparency and fragility, layered with
the floating, organic ensemble reminiscent of the Fishmans sound a truly unique album that deserves recognition across generations.
For this reissue, UK cutting engineer Dave Turner, who also handled the latest Fishmans reissues, took charge of the cutting process.
The original master’s charm has been maximized while optimizing the sound for today’s listening environments, bringing the album back to life with a
fresh sonic image.

Adi Oasis returns with Silver Lining, her boldest EP yet, exploring strength through surrender and vocal freedom. Blending neo-soul, funk and retro-future R&B with producer Carrtoons, this new EP showcases Adi’s soaring vocals and stage ready energy, a modern diva moment designed for movement, empowerment and joy.

It’s a unique universe with a distinct mood. Boy Deco’s SAP LP cements his offbeat artistic vision in a laid-back retro pop style. With distorted guitar riffs, wildly original arrangements and toplines that amplify the project’s intentional sense of ease, SAP is one of those rare gems you don’t forget and keep coming back to whenever you need to unwind.

Carpenter Brut draws its influences from 80s TV shows and B-movies loaded with synthesizers.
The mysterious and discreet man evokes an encounter between Justice beats and the universe of John Carpenter.

Across ten tracks, Leather Temple, the third and final chapter of the Leather trilogychannels a raw and nervous energy, somewhere between saturated electro, industrialfever, and 90s synthetic pulse. Yet behind this intensityalso lies a cinematic andorchestral dimension, with arrangements that expand the horizon and add dramaticscope. A tight format, a constant intensity: Leather Temple goes all in on impact,balancing raw immediacy with the feel of a post-apocalyptic moviesoundtrack.

Iñigo Medina aka M4 explores the profound convergence of two disciplines that share a common foundation: the manipulation of vibration and resonance to transform consciousness and space: Yoga and Electronic Music.
While Yoga balances the body's energetic vibrations through breath, posture, and meditation, electronic music employs sustained tones, slowly shifting sequences, and atmospheric textures that induce trance states and align with meditative brainwave patterns.
"Reset Series" is characterized by atmospheric, non-danceable soundscapes built on repetitive sequences and arpeggios that slowly evolve, often processed through delay and reverb. Both yoga sequences and M4 compositions (the full track is almost an hourlong, divided into two parts) unfold gradually over extended durations . Each practice invites a journey inward, guiding the practitioner or listener through layers of repeating motifs that subtly transform, revealing deeper states of awareness with patient attention.
Time becomes elastic; space becomes internal; vibration becomes the universal language connecting body, environment, and sound.

Originally released in 1996 via Big Beat/Atlantic Records, From Where??? is the debut album by Richmond, VA-based emcee Mad Skillz, which features countless classic cuts by some of the best producers in the game (roll call: J Dilla, Shawn J. Period, Buckwild, DJ Clark Kent, Nick Wiz, The Beatnuts & Large Professor). The

album was also praised for its strong lyrical content. Skillz, as we know him, was never short on captivating listeners with his punchlines and wordplay. In 2002, he began his annual “Rap Up” series, incorporating a year’s worth of headlines from the prior year. On From Where??? The singles “The Nod Factor and “Move Ya Body” received steady radio and video airplay while album cuts like “VA. In The House, “Doin Time In

The Cypha,” “The Jam,” and the showstopper “Extra Abstract Skillz” (Featuring Q-Tip & Large Professor) all round out the album with bangers from start to finish. Out of print on vinyl in the United States since its original release, Get On Down is proud to present another underrated Golden Era classic on vinyl. From Where??? is pressed on half-and-half with black splatter-colored vinyl, limited to 1000 copies.

Blue Vinyl Repress

The special one! Mr. G’s productions are distinctive, deep, driving and, above all, a listen to behold. Like the man–machine interface between hypno house and roots techno, he manages to unite dance floors either through his High Mass–like live sets full of swing, grit and soul, or simply through other DJs playing his records.
Blessing Running Back for the second time, Mr. G’s Reconnection EP is the result of a serious dive into his vaults.
City Heat (G’s Underground Dub) is a picture-perfect example of his skill to groove without a doubt: raw, funky and fabulous. Serendipity and Work on the flip side complete this picture. Decades of record buying, music making and a love supreme for this culture rolled into one. Made yesterday, released today, and it will still sound great tomorrow. A personal gift from Mr. G’s archive to Running Back.

“Feel So Good Around U” , LB aka Labat ‘s debut album. French dance music producer & DJ, LB aka Labat’s nights are filled with live show and DJ Sets in iconic venues and major festivals. Insatiable, the artist churned out releases for over a decade. For his first long format, he stopped lonely home-studio and teamed up in Berlin, London, Paris & Melbourne with famous producers such as Baugruppe90, Heartstring, Sam Alfred, Crush3d, Memphis LK, Skin On Skin, Lucas V, Amne ou Notinbed.

The result is both a solo work and a collective manifesto, with a unique touch mixing drum & bass, house, reggaeton, electroclash enhanced with vocals used as samples.

Der Pianist Vince Guaraldi und der brasilianische Gitarrist Bola Sete begegneten sich zum ersten Mal
während eines Aufenthalts im Club Trois Couleurs in San Francisco – eine schicksalhafte Begegnung, die
eine fruchtbare kreative Partnerschaft begründete, die schließlich West Coast Jazz mit Bossa Nova und
afro-brasilianischen Rhythmen verbindet.
Das 1964 aufgenommene Album „From All Sides“ war die zweite Zusammenarbeit des Duos (insgesamt
gab es drei) und gilt als eines ihrer entspanntesten und fröhlichsten Werke. Das Album ist mühelos und
eskapistisch und gleitet von einer federleichten Interpretation von „The Girl from Ipanema“ zum temperamentvollen Galopp von „Ballad of Poncho Villa“.
Während Guaraldi vor allem für seine zeitlosen Peanuts-Soundtracks gefeiert wird, werden langjährige Hörer
hier melodische Fäden erkennen, die später in diesem beliebten Universum wieder auftauchten. Adaptionen
des wehmütigen „Menino Pequeno da Bateria“ (später überarbeitet als „Little Drummer Boy“) und des
unbeschwerten „Choro“ erschienen später jeweils auf „A Charlie Brown Christmas“ (1965) und „He’s Your
Dog, Charlie Brown“ (1968).
Diese Neuauflage des Albums erscheint als Teil der Original Jazz Classics Series auf 180-Gramm-Vinyl,
gepresst bei RTI, mit vollständig analogem Mastering von den Originalbändern bei Cohearent Audio und
einer Tip-On-Hülle, die das Original-Artwork originalgetreu nachbildet.

For its first release of 2026, Bytes revisits the impeccable 2024 collaboration between Andy Bell (RIDE/Oasis), recording under his electronic alter ego GLOK, and the producer and Insult to Injury label boss Timothy Clerkin. Along for the ride are an impressive cohort of musical talent - bdrmm, Richard Sen, Tom Sharkett (WH Lung), Legowelt, Xylitol and FROID Dub - who all deliver exceptional and unique interpretations of the tracks.

“From Birmingham and centred around the extraordinary songwriting talent of James and Patrick Roberts – initially as The Sea Urchins and since 1993 as Delta – they’ve only just got round to releasing their debut album, Slippin’ Out. It is a work of some beauty”. 9/10 NME ALBUM OF THE MONTH, 2000

“It’s classicist for sure, shot through with the influence of The Beatles, Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. In James’ downright beautiful closing ballad ‘I Want You’ one can also discern the school of ambitious English balladry that peaked in about 1968: The Casuals, Love Affair, Barry Ryan. The impression of accomplished old-schoolery is only furthered by the dizzying string arrangements penned by Louis Clark Jnr, son and namesake of the one-time orchestral chief of Electric Light Orchestra” – Mojo lead review, 2000


Having ended the 90s with the spirited ‘Laughing Mostly’ compilation of singles and demos (Guardian Album Of The Week) Delta finally released their debut studio album of twelve songs in the summer of 2000 on the Dishy Recordings label. Accepting that this might be their sole studio album the band threw everything at these recordings allowing it to exist in its own sphere, unbothered by their contemporary generation and disregarding the idea of even releasing a single.

Recorded at DEP International there was a notable difference to the scruffier, looser charm of their 1990s recordings, a tighter focus developed by having the experienced Lenny Franchi mixing the LP with them. Lenny had been working with a number of Island artists including My Bloody Valentine and Tricky so knew his way around a desk. There was also the question of budget (a few months passed between recording and mixing whilst funds were raised) so every day counted. Ultimately though you can hear the joy in the recordings, even amongst the melancholy and angst. As James recently recalled in an interview in Shindig! Magazine: “It was such a big deal for us. It’s one of my fondest memories doing that record. Everyone was happy. If there’s anything that I’d stand by, I think it would be that”

Louis Clark Jr joined the band towards the end of the ‘90s and brought a classically-trained element to the recordings particularly with his string arrangements. For ‘Cuckoo’, ‘I Want You’ and the prophetic ‘We Come Back’ Louis brought in eight players from the Birmingham Conservatoire; the baroque style is partly why the record often receives comparisons to Love’s ‘Forever Changes’.

On release ‘Slippin’ Out’ was a big favourite with writers at the NME, Mojo and The Guardian again and before long the band were signed to Mercury/Universal for their second studio album ‘Hard Light’, a far more expensive and expansive love affair. It was a temporary palatial home where things quietly fell apart again, but that’s another chapter.

“If long-term memory is nothing more than selective editing and only pop’s most weighty visceral works are built to last then it’s quite possible that in 50 years the Britpop era will be best recollected for the two bands it ostracised. Earlier this year we met Shack and thought their story of mercurial brilliance indicated the biggest music biz oversight of the 90s. We were wrong because we hadn’t met Delta yet. This is richer and more engrossing than anything by Shack” 

Death Is Not The End reissue Mark Vernon's sought-after 2013 collection Sounds of a Modern Hospital on vinyl & cassette formats.

Whilst every effort has been made to record the subject in as great a degree of isolation as possible, the sound recordings you will hear on this record were made in a real working hospital and not under controlled conditions. Therefore, on occasion, you may hear some unavoidable background noise, conversations and other extraneous sounds.

All recordings were made by Mark Vernon at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert, Stirling Community Hospital and Falkirk Community Hospital between 2011 and 2013.

Bettye Swann possessed one of the most emotive voices in soul music’s cannon but her recording career was that of a shooting-star; it blazed at the start, then illumined brightly before abruptly dissipating, all in just eleven years. In 1975 she ceased recording, moved to Las Vegas and retired her Bettye Swann persona.
The Louisianan Betty Jean Champion had relocated to Los Angeles as a young woman where in around 1964 she was introduced to Al Scott, owner of Money Records. It was her fourth Money 45 “Make Me Yours” that propelled Swann into the stratosphere. One of the defining songs of the era, it was her pathway to Capitol Records with whom she signed in 1968.
By 1972 Bettye was at Atlantic Records. The initial Atlantic 45 “Victim Of A Foolish Heart” b/w “Cold Day In Hell” recorded at Fame with Mickey Buckins and Rick Hall, made for a promising debut reaching #16 on the Billboard chart. It was followed by Bettye’s version of Merle Haggard’s “Today I Started Loving You Again” and “Til I Get It Right”, a gentle country-soul labour. “I’m Not That Easy To Lose” also dates from those sessions.
In an attempt to broaden her appeal Atlantic sent Swann to Sigma Sound in Philadelphia where she cut Phil Hurtt’s’ and Tony Bell’s “Kiss My Love Goodbye”, “Time To Say Goodbye” and “When The Game is Played On You”. Her fortunes continued to wane so Swann was next placed with Nashville producer Brad Shapiro. The results were artistically stellar and included three unissued gemstones in The Isley’s “This Old Heart of Mine”, a definitive version of Maxine Weldon’s “I Want Sunday Back Again”, and “Either You Love Me Or Leave Me”.

The Song “Hard, Hard Promises” showcased on this latest Soul Direction release, showcases Bobby Hebb’s song writing talents and brings together the album only release performed by
Alice Clark and the Unreleased demo version sung by Bobby Hebb himself. Incidentally the studio dub was entitled “Hard Heart Promises”. We don’t know if he ever intended to release the song himself, but it showcases his talent as a songwriter and a singer. After a few conversations with Universal Licensing, they graciously allowed Soul Direction to release this version and with the consent of Bobby Hebb’s Publishing Company. To both these, we are extremely grateful. Thank you for your continued support.

With `The devil's door' And Also The Trees, one true original Post-Punk/New Wave band, presents a quiet storm of an album. At times filmic, poetic and intense with an undercurrent of dark psychedelia. It completes a trilogy of works `The Bone Carver', `Mother-of-pearl Moon' and now `The devil's door' created by the current line-up. Here there are signature `And also the trees' poetic lyrics, orchestral guitar and soundtrack influenced songs inspired by newsreel, oil paintings and folklore. But with this work we have the addition of some surprising instruments that skew the album towards a world where John Barry meets Bela Bartok. And also the trees (AATT) formed during the original post-punk era in rural Worcestershire, an environment that has provided a constant inspiration to a group whose music has often explored the dark underbelly as well as the beauty of the British countryside. They are renowned for their captivating live performances, a unique style of mandolin-like electric guitar, evocative lyrics and dark jazz rhythms - not to mention a creative independence fiercely preserved for over four decades. Back then AATT immediately caught the attention of Robert Smith of The Cure, who invited them to tour with his group on several occasions. Smith was also involved with their early recordings alongside his bandmate Lol Tolhurst, who produced their first records. This longterm friendship and mutual respect was further solidified when AATT were invited to perform at the Robert Smith curated 2018 Meltdown festival in London. This July AATT appear as The Cure's special guests at the Nimes festival. Founded by singer Simon Jones and his guitarist brother Justin, AATT have maintained a continuous presence on the post-punk, and alternative rock scenes worldwide, with a solid fanbase e.g. in Germany.

This double LP of instrumental Hindustani, Carnatic and folk 78rpm shellac records from India comes with a full color 12-page insert of gramophone record ephemera, shops, labels, manufacturing details and graphics. The LPs feature over 25 artists recorded between 1904 and 1959 playing a panoply of instruments: jalatarang, dilruba, sarod, clarionet, pakhawaj, violin, been, kazoo, shehnai, tabla, sarangi, sitar, vina and more.
Artists include Imdad Khan (the first sitarist ever recorded), Ahmedjan Thirkhawa, Bundu Khan, Amir Hussain, Allauddin Khan (who taught Ravi Shankar), and others both forgotten and revered.
The Indian classical instrumental tradition is one of incredible proficiency and expressiveness using instruments and techniques created over generations that seem to perfectly and uniquely compliment Indian culture, landscape and tradition. Sympathetic strings resonate inside sitars and sarangis to manifest shimmering reverberant spiritual spaces; horns, reeds and flutes extend the range, volume and melodic inventiveness of the voice; a mind-boggling array of elaborately turned percussion instruments allow for rhythms as complex or as simple as the flowing Ganges river. Classical music in India was perhaps at its height during the 78rpm period as the Raj era was ending and the world was globalizing.
2-LP gatefold with 12 page full-color booklet insert - features never reissued recordings and is the long-anticipated follow up to the Indian Talking Machine book/CD (Sublime Frequencies 099), which was also produced by Robert Millis from his collection of 78rpm records and ephemera.

Pink Must is the duo project by Brooklyn based sound artists and musicians Mari 'More Eaze' Rubio and Lynn Avery. This self titled album is the debut release under the Pink Must umbrella.

Based on a long-standing artistic chemistry and shared love of genre-defying sounds, Pink Must started off as a remote grunge collaboration, with demos shared long-distance between New York and Texas. Over time, and especially since uniting in Brooklyn in 2023, the project evolved into its own animated soundspace, connecting raw imperfect textures with classic songwriting and a playful approach to both track instrumentation and lyrics.

The duo's production blends richness, glitches, and dissonant layers with drum and string arrangements in ways that subtly hint at influences like Stina Nordenstam and PJ Harvey. The record is tangled yet direct: fictional sketches of various situations, songs about love, change, decay, and even Mari's dog, Keith—all wrapped in signature guitar dreams and deadpan vocal lines.

Carpenter Brut draws its influences from 80s TV shows and B-movies loaded with synthesizers.
The mysterious and discreet man evokes an encounter between Justice beats and the universe of John Carpenter.

Across ten tracks, Leather Temple, the third and final chapter of the Leather trilogychannels a raw and nervous energy, somewhere between saturated electro, industrialfever, and 90s synthetic pulse. Yet behind this intensityalso lies a cinematic andorchestral dimension, with arrangements that expand the horizon and add dramaticscope. A tight format, a constant intensity: Leather Temple goes all in on impact,balancing raw immediacy with the feel of a post-apocalyptic moviesoundtrack.

Impatience is thrilled to present Leaving Memory, the latest album-length work by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova. Leaving Memory is a searing distillation of the duo’s ouevre - it’s eleven prismatic electronic seances combining for a mind warping wormhole with it’s own internal (il)llogic, where pop, ambient, and industrial music convene beneath a rugged HD of digital processing and brain fog. Equally rosy with nostalgia as it is ominously forward looking, Leaving Memory defies easy categorization and makes for an astounding, confounding listen.

By turns violently abrasive and disarmingly touching, Piper and Lena deploy sounds that fracture and disintegrate, burn up and explode, synthetic supernovas that give the record an unmistakable, inimitable texture. Song structures often abide by their own blueprint - heading in one direction before making an abrupt dive elsewhere. Bursts of vibrant colour lurk below layers of grayscale noise. Unidentifiable voices deliver secret messages from the murk. When rhythm’s emerge they ground the tracks to some unknown terrain and invigorate.

Lame Line veers towards the sweeter end of their spectrum, a hazy plaintive repetition increasingly lashed with friction, before Exit erupts with clanging rhythm and shards of distortion. Diagnosis is an almost sweet alt-pop song, Lena’s vocals yearning beneath a dubby shuffle, while Keeper Of The Void’s possessed incantations open up to a ripping, fried climax. Beryl Grey releases the pressure gauge, a gently lilting drift arpeggiating as the sun sets, and Lost Cars sweats through claustrophobic drones and bird song before the clouds part on a serene scene. Leaving Memory closes with Shin, offering a genuinely sweet resolution and a gentle landing back down to earth of either footsteps or fireworks, swelling synthesized horns and woodwinds, a kiss on the cheek for making it out the other side.

On Leaving Memory, Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova share their uniquely discordant take on freaky music for unsettled minds, an intensely energized set that offers a deeply evocative, unimaginable otherworld for adventurous ears.

Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova have been producing music together since 2020. Leaving Memory is the first to be presented in the LP format. Piper has previously released music via Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain and Gost Zvuk, as well as his own Singapore Sling Tapes label. Lena works predominantly as a photographer, and together Piper and Lena have released music via radio.syg.ma and Kartaskvazhin. Both make music as part of Air Krew, who have released music on the Echotourist and Motion Ward labels. They’re both currently based nowhere.

Leaving Memory was written, produced and mixed by Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, and mastered by Sergey Podluzhniy. Cover photo by Lena Tsibizova, design and layout by Justin Sloane.

Don’t believe your ears - Pepper’s Ghost is the latest offering from NYC project Nuke Watch.

Whatever you think it is - it is not. By the same token it really can be whatever you want - electronica, jazz, improv, noise, new age, ambient - it’s none and all of these. Like the primitive visual illusion it’s named for - Pepper’s Ghost is a projection of a thing, it’s not the thing.

The Nuke Watch method - like that of Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos’ other primary project Beat Detectives - leans almost entirely on live improvisation, with some advanced studio alchemy in post. Where the Beat Detectives palette draws from club music tropes, Nuke Watch blends recognizable tones (hand drums, woodwinds, keys, fretless bass) with sounds of providence unknown, the line between organic and synthesized instrumentation unintelligibly smudged. What is real and what is projection? It’s hard to say. What do our ears tell us? This is where we arrive at Pepper’s Ghost.

Warped as the sounds may be, the playing belies a crew of deeply expressive, learned improvisers who have their craft honed. Their friendship and psychic connection enhances the ritualistic rhythms, mutant modular synthesis, nimble keyboard runs, absurdist sampling and unidentified skronk. They’re wonderfully complemented across several tracks on this set by Cole Pulice’s levitational, sublime saxophone.

As unhinged as this might all appear, once the mind and music meet on the same wavelength this is profoundly moving, energizing and uplifting Alive Music that recalibrates the sense of what music can be.

Nuke Watch is Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos, with an array of friendly guests. They’ve released records as Nuke Watch on The Trilogy Tapes, Commend and Moon Glyph. As Beat Detectives they’ve released records on Not Not Fun, 100% Silk and their own studio imprint NYPD Records.

Pepper's Ghost was written and produced by Aaron Anderson and Chris Hontos. Additional instrumentation on these recordings by Cole Police, Leonard King, Eric Timothy Carlson, Chris Farstad and William Statler. It was mixed by Chris Hontos and mastered by Jack Callahan. Painting on the cover is “The Unity Of Being” (2020), by Ry Fyan. Design and layout by Aaron Anderson.

RIYL - Musical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks, downtempo, music of the spheres, good journey, Eddie Harris, Ketron, "world building", orange sunshine, suspension of disbelief.

From out of nowhere comes a unique collaborative album from Edvard Graham Lewis (WIRE) & Mark Spybey (ZOVIET FRANCE). Mixing lush electronic rhythms, sonic collage, ambient soundscapes and manipulated field recordings, these six compositions form an album with a strong identity. That this is such a vital and fertile partnership should come as no surprise. After all, both men have made careers out of creating confidently questing musics. Lewis with Wire, He Said, Hox, Dome etc. and Spybey with Dead Voices on Air, Beehatch, Altered Statesmen, Zoviet France and so on. This new album however, is something different again: experimental, yet tightly focused, and not averse to the groove or the sly hook. The pair met via an appearance on a podcast in November 2022, hosted by cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy. They hit it off immediately. “We did a live chat with Graham - which I think, went on for about three days” jokes Spybey. It was Spybey who first broached the idea of collaboration. “It was a bit like shy bairns get nowt: I just said ‘maybe we should make something together.’” And so, with no plan other than to see what might develop, the duo began to assemble the compositions at long distance. Indeed, Lewis and Spybey only met in the real world after the album had been completed. “Mark sent half a dozen tracks in a stereo mix,” says Lewis. “And I looked at the ’topography’, to see where the spaces might be. So then I’d add to those areas. But then, when do you take it away? Sometimes you let it drop off a cliff, land in the shingle, and it gets washed out to sea again.” The process moved at a pace. “Almost everything each of us brought, ending up being incorporated in some way.” Says Spybey. “We didn’t really go down any cul-de-sacs.” As Lewis observes “We have such a sympathetic tone.” Full of inventive sonics that draw on both men’s previous work, ‘Lewis/Spybey’ offers up a richly detailed soundworld

French artist Trypheme debuts on Impatience with “Odd Balade”, a darkly-hued collection of songs drawn from human delicacy and dreamworld mythology.

“Odd Balade” is Trypheme’s most ambitious and boldest record to date - both lyrically and musically. The album’s thirteen tracks resist rigid genre boundaries and flutter from medieval folk realms, sprawling synths, gothic 80s wave, leftfield pop, haunted vocals, mutant electronica to reverbed guitars - all reflected through her own shadowy prism. Especially album closer “A Walk In The Vercors” evokes a soothing serenity that echoes the sonic balm of Julee Cruise.

Trypheme’s musical repertoire trends heavily electronic and somewhat abstracted, but on “Odd Balade”, the artist slips into the role of the modern troubadour with a shift to a more poetically and personal songwriting that is infused with symbolism and dreamlike fantasies. The connective tissue of the album is the audacity to love and the vulnerability that ensues. As intimate and introspective as the lyrics are, the themes remain universal and human to the core: the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and t“the fear of losing a loved one, the melancholia of leaving places and the cycles of life. The record was largely composed in Chars, stirred by the French village’s eerie atmosphere and frequent trips to the seaside in Brittany, where Trypheme resides. Drawing inspiration from the rugged terrain of the seaside landscapes, the writings of Allen Ginsberg and Mark Fisher and the hyperrealist art of Scott Prior, Trypheme uses her songs to depict life with broad strokes of rhythm.

On “Odd Balade” Trypheme consolidates herself as a gifted, nimble songwriter, masterly producer and subtly powerful vocalist. The record combines her skill for crafting lush, alien sound worlds and efficient, alluring arrangements with stealthily devastating songs. Belin’s voice becomes a key ingredient, appearing on eleven of Odd Balade’s thirteen tracks, by turns heavily manipulated, sampled and replayed as a form of percussion, or basically bare.

“Odd Balade” is the manifestation of Trypheme’s roving artistic practice, a ceremonial-grade sacrament cast in a rich nocturnal glow. Pairing the mundane with the mythic, the album stays true to its core: odd and strangely familiar.

RIYL - Riding off into the sunset to an unknown destination, hauntology, present, tales told by the fireside, hot summer rain, adventures, to feel a warm presence when you are walking in the forest or in the mountain, coastal landscapes, sailor’s stories, slow motion, vitesse, heavy blossoms, colors, the warmth of the sun, the tenderness of the moon, getting lost in unfamiliar streets, city’s lights, motorway rest area by night, magic numbers, rendez-vous, picnic, serendipity, poetry, the smell of old records and old books.

Tiphaine Belin has been releasing music as Trypheme since 2016. Odd Balade was written and produced by Belin, and mixed by Belin and Abel Roux. It was mastered by Amir Shoat. Cover art photography is by Ariane Kiks, with art direction by Ariane Kiks in collaboration with Mathilde Chaize.

WILDSTYLE HOUSE is a new compilation series where Toy Tonics invites producers and DJs that have a very special, funky, unique sound to make one new track. The compilation should show the variability and diversity of house and disco TODAY. Like the wild music mix you can hear at the Toy Tonics events and the way Toy Tonics DJs combine many different styles of "4 to the floor" music into one new soulful, multi-style, and warm-sounding blended "genre." It's about the groove, about a new soul sound, the human feel, the organic and Y2K-inspired dance music that is growing and appeals to a new generation of dance music lovers.

This first part of the compilation includes unreleased music by:

Afro-funk and salsa-house producer talents ELADO, MUSTA, and ALMA NEGRA.

Garage house maestros MELON BOMB and Italian musician DANIEL MONACO (known for his New Wave disco and proto-house releases on Rush Hour and his work for Antal).

MARLA KETHER, the London bass player and DJ, who is known for her work with Little Simz, Oscar Jerome, and Loyle Carner, and has now started to release her own tracks.

Argentinian singer, musician, and DJ ALOT, combining proto-house vibes with Spanish rap.

Funk house producer and edit maestro PAUL OLDER, who is starting to become one of the key names of the new soul house scene (supported by DJs like Folamour, David Penn, Seth Troxler, Kirollus, Breakbot...).

And also Toy Tonics' own GEE LANE, KAPOTE, and ARPY BROWN contributed new tracks.

Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic - fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can't precisely define the band, that's the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band's fourth album - the spectral, spacious Dance Called Memory - in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar. Nation of Language's first two albums, Introduction, Presence (2020), and A Way Forward (2021), came as pandemic godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums. But it was their last LP, Strange Disciple (2023), that catapulted the group from cultural standouts to critical darlings, with the album being named Rough Trade's Album of the Year. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band "are learning what it means to get bigger and better." This is Devaney's calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. The single "Now That You're Gone," which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness, was inspired by witnessing his godfather's tragic death from ALS, and his parents' role as caretakers for this ailing friend. At its heart, the song is a reflection of how friends can be there for each other, and also highlights a theme throughout the record: the pain and lost promise of friendships that fall apart. On Dance Called Memory, the band once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). "What's so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don't need to do what might be expected of us," says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bassist Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. They imbued Dance Called Memory with a shifted palette - sampling chopped-up drum breaks on "I'm Not Ready for the Change" for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or smashing all of the percussion of "In Another Life" through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music. Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. "There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I've been drawn to at different points. I've read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human," Devaney says. "As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I'm focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that_ Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy."

Nachdem Ásgeir jahrelang mit Übersetzern wie John Grant zusammengearbeitet und die Poesie seines Vaters, Einar Georg Einarsson, vertont hat, betritt er nun neues Terrain: Zum ersten Mal in seiner langen und gefeierten Karriere hat er die Texte komplett selbst verfasst.

Ásgeir wird seit Langem für seinen detailreichen Folk-Pop, die opulente Produktion und sein sehnsüchtiges, gefühlvolles Falsett gefeiert. „Julia“ markiert eine Wende – nicht nur hin zu lyrischer Eigenständigkeit, sondern auch zu kathartischer Direktheit, mit Songs, die nicht nur meisterhaft vorgetragen, sondern auch durchlebt wirken. „Das war irgendwie das erste Mal, dass ich die Texte völlig allein geschrieben habe“, erzählt er. „Es war beängstigend. Ich versuche immer noch, mich darin zu finden. Aber ich habe versucht, mich zu öffnen, und habe in diesem Prozess viel gelernt. Es war auf jeden Fall therapeutisch für mich.“

Dieses neue Gefühl der Verletzlichkeit zieht sich durch die zehn Stücke des Albums, die über einen Zeitraum von fast zwei Jahren geschrieben und aufgenommen wurden. Viele der Songs entstanden zunächst auf der Gitarre, wobei Ásgeir auf Schlichtheit setzte und Melodie, Klarheit und Bedeutung in den Vordergrund stellte. Die Produktion, gemeinsam mit seinem langjährigen Weggefährten Guðm. „Kiddi“ Kristinn Jónsson entwickelt, bleibt organisch und zurückhaltend – und gibt so Ásgeirs Stimme, und vor allem seiner Stimme als Songwriter, den nötigen Raum.

Der aus Nashville stammende Cellist Nathaniel Smith, den Ásgeir als „Zauberer“ beschreibt, steuert hier und im gesamten Album atmosphärische Klangteppiche bei. Mit improvisierten Melodien verleiht er den Stücken Leben und Tiefe – auf eine Weise, die Ásgeir sich zuvor nicht vorgestellt hatte.

"Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively-clean minimalist punk. Singer Dan Shaw started Landowner in 2016, writing and recording the project's debut Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Shaw's initial concept was a made-up genre called “weak d-beat”, meant to sound intentionally absurd “as if Antelope were reading the sheet music of Discharge”. When Shaw joined with his current bandmates in 2017, they translated these early experiments in restraint, minimalism, and caricatured hardcore as a live band. This provided Landowner with its own unique set of blueprints: the guitars “slap hard” without using any distortion or effects, the rhythm section is tight, fast, and repetitious, and the song structures make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems and dark absurdities our lives are tangled in. Comparisons could be made to The Fall, Lungfish, or Uranium Club, but across their five albums, they make it clear: Landowner just sound like Landowner.

Assumption is the band's fifth album. Sonically, it captures the vibrancy and intensity of their live performances. The album title “Assumption” encapsulates the album's multi-layered themes. We make assumptions, taking in information online through an overload of decontextualized snippets and headlines, and then quickly form conclusions, or we allow artificial intelligence to do the thinking for us. Assumption is the sound of a band that established its own musical identity and has reached a place of tightness with an ease gained from years of playing together, sounding mechanically precise and at the same time fully human. It may be the band's most cohesive and fully realized work to date."