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London based label Natural Selection present their forthcoming release in the form of a 4-track 12" EP, courtesy of Swarm Intelligence, entitled "Radiance". Mastered by Alain Paul and cut by Simon at The Exchange Vinyl. Record Sleeve and labels printed to premium specification, featuring artwork by Kaan Ulgener.

Born in Dublin and now firmly based in Berlin, Simon Hayes aka Swarm Intelligence has cemented his place in the Techno underground with critically acclaimed LPs and EPs on labels such as 47, Instruments of Discipline and Voitax. He returns to Natural Selection, after releasing his track "Generative" on the label's latest VA release; "Natural Selection: Selected Works Vol. 1" in 2024. Featuring amongst an extensive list of heavyweight label affiliates such as SHXCXCHCXSH, Charlton, ASEC, Nørbak, MAEDON, Annie Hall & more. After further connections with the label via live performances at their regular label nights at FOLD London, it was inevitable that Simon would be invited to release a solo EP on their imprint.

His distinctive sound comes from over a decade of releases spanning multiple genres and tempos and oscillates between rhythmic noise, tense atmospherics, uncompromising levels of distortion, and stark, astute beats. This resolutely non-conformist approach to his productions has earned him a reputation as a true trailblazer in the realm of Techno and has led him to perform at some of the world's finest institutions including Berghain, Tresor and Basement NY.

For "Radiance", Swarm intelligence delves further into the sonic unknown, presenting a bold evolution in his uncompromising vision of Techno. Deep, fragmented textures form the backdrop for thunderous, distorted rhythms and IDM-laden drums and percussion, fused with meticulously designed cinematic soundscapes and powerful low-end muscle. Fierce, unrelenting, and deeply conceptual, all rules and boundaries are smashed to pieces and all tracks are equally suitable for blasting through the world's biggest club systems and rigs as they are for home listening.

Wieder einmal zerschneiden die Lärmaggressoren aus Finland den Schleier aus dem Jenseits und betreten unsere Welt, um alles zu plündern und zu Tode zu jagen, was in der Metalmusik melodisch, vorhersehbar und lieblich ist. Ihr drittes Album ist aus zwingenden Gründen selbstbetitelt und zeigt, dass die Band weiterhin das EXTREME im extremen Metal erforscht. Das ist vertonte Tollwut! Wie nicht anders zu erwarten, setzt das Album auf brutale Geschwindigkeit, schwerste zitternde Rhythmuspassagen, abgrundtief gekrächzte Flüche, stürmische Breaks und abstoßend kreischende Leads, die einen in einem Strudel des Wahnsinns ertrinken lassen. Doch dieses Mal werden dem pandemonischen Universum auch neue Schichten hinzugefügt: Schräge Stakkato-Riffing-Abschnitte gehen in verhexende Industrial-Szenarien über und lassen CONCRETE WINDS weiter gehen als jede andere Extrem-Metal-Band der letzten Zeit. Alles, was sich in der Musik etabliert hat, wurde weggelassen; alles abgeschnitten, was im Metal bequem geworden ist, und alles weggeblasen, was sich im Extrem-Metal noch "angemessen" anfühlt. Es scheint, als ob diese einst dringende Einstellung, Grenzen auszuloten, endlich wieder einen neuen Steuermann hat!

After 6 long-awaited years, DEVOURMENT return to form, embodying brutality with their ferocious new album, Obscene Majesty. Featuring drummer Brad Fincher and Ruben Rosas back on vocal duties - a lineup previously only heard on the band's 1999 landmark album Molesting the Decapitated, the pioneers of brutal death metal sharpen their blades once again, and unleash some of the most disgustingly heavy slam ever! Clubbing blows from tracks such as "Cognitive Sedation Butchery", "Narcissistic Paraphilia", and "Dysmorphic Autophagia" see the veterans as imposing and menacing as ever. Buzzsaw guitars shred through limbs against head-caving, hammering drums. Deathly, blood-soaked vocals personify pain and torture. Obscene Majesty is the epitome of uncontrollable destruction from beginning to end, as DEVOURMENT crush through break-neck speeds, deafening ears and melting faces along the way. Honing in on the very elements of gore, death, and mutilation that have crowned the band as kings of the scene for over 24 years, DEVOURMENT force you to bare witness to the Obscene Majesty!

Repress!

The Self Split EP features Kouhei Matsunaga at his chimeric best for Diagonal, delivering two jazzy, freehand concrète collabs with Japanese sound artist and Eartaker noise maker, Masayuki Imianishi, plus two dance-offs with himself as NHK yx koyxen and Speedy K.Gelling Kouhei's many sonic handles for a full spectrum showcase of style and pattern, the set is riddled with a singular mischievous genius at every fold and warp. The Texture Foggy pieces render a more reflective, cosmic aspect of Kouhei's character. Working with Masayuki Imianishi, he terraforms paper, radio, field recordings and synths into vivid alien ecologies of shimmering electronics and spheric melody with a highly visual quality that perhaps betrays Kouhei's talents as an illustrator. For virulent examples of Kouhei at the rave, NHK yx koyxen and Speedy K's Step Move #01 is quite possibly the wonkiest peaktime juggernaut of the year, and the acid wormhole of Early Mellow Darkness sounds like the bald - as in bad - acid offspring of Luke Slater and Ed Rush. Once again Kouhei makes us go mad at the rave, but this time with something to come home and melt into as well.

Last album recorded by Colombian rock pioneers Los Speakers in 1968 after leaving behind its affinity with yéyé and go-go music. One of the most brilliantly whacked-out psych LPs to emerge from South America. Originally self-released on their own Producciones Kris label, this is an almost impossible to find cult record. Officially reissued for the first time. By 1968, Colombian rock had left behind its affinity with yéyé and go-go music. In Medellín, Discos Fuentes had terminated its contract with Los Yetis, whose farewell record "Olvídate" set a strong anti-establishment tone. While the fire of protest that had spread rapidly among students in Paris was dying out, young people in Bogotá voiced their discontent. Aware of the effervescent political climate across the world, Los Speakers wrote their last record between June and September of the convulsive year of 1968. In order to give shape to these new songs they needed a space where they could experiment freely with sound. The music historian and critic and sound engineer, Manuel Drezner, made a providential appearance and offered the innovative Ingeson studios to the trio under one condition: that his company's name was included in the title of the record. For four months, Rodrigo, Manuel and Roberto created a record that was completely different to anything on the Colombian rock scene at that time. Los Speakers used cutting-edge equipment to record and mix "El maravilloso mundo de Ingeson", It was the first time local musicians had access to a multichannel mixing desk where they could experiment with all kinds of bold sound effects. The silences between songs were replaced with brief intervals of sound including the noise of a train running over a passer-by, a bomb exploding_ Although it's often labelled a conceptual record, the four compositions that each of the band members contribute reveal different aesthetic personalities. From the strong influence of Renaissance and Baroque poetry and music to the virulent social critique and pacifist statements, suffused with religiosity and mysticism. Armed with the demo tape, Los Speakers presented the project to CBS, Philips, Sonolux and Bambuco. The labels' verdict was unanimous: not very commercial and very costly. The group reacted to this negative response by pooling their personal savings, inventing a fictious record label called Kris and released the record just as they had imagined it. This led to the creation of a graphic concept unheard of in Colombia: the record included a booklet containing photos, texts and illustrations. Although there was a big media roll out, which included TV appearances and features in newspapers and magazines, as predicted the album was a commercial failure_ "El maravilloso mundo de Ingesón" is one of the most brilliantly whacked-out psych LPs to emerge from South America.

The complete aural presence that is Oshkosh, Wisonsin's Cavernlight
returns with "As I Cast Ruin Upon the Lens That Reveals My Every Flaw ",
an all-encompassing journey that could very well be one of the best postmetal / sludge releases of the last 5 years
Recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago and mixed Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled
City, Yautja, East of the Wall) and features the artwork of vocalist / guitarist Scott
Burns.

Wretched, bleak, hopeless and incredibly dark. Canadian dark hardcore crust bruisers Dark Circles and American black sludge destroyers Abstracter bring forth waves upon waves of utter misery and horror on this crushing 12" split. Dark Circles' stark, rabid and virulently embittered dark hardcore is a firestorm of crust punk, grindcore and black metal that marvelously brings together the best and most confrontational elements of bands like Catharsis, Gehenna, Cursed, The Secret, etc. On the other hand Abstracter's bleak and hallucinatory side fuses doom, crust, drone and black metal to incarnate a staggering twenty minutes of total and horrific devastation, yielding a similar sonic hell as seen in dark and miserable slower bands like Triptykon, Primitive Man, Coffinworm, Indian, etc

A new ship of fools sails on Bolombia lands! These strange people seem to celebrate the whole jazz universe and african idioms, but they've never been in Africa. The great continent, more than physical, is a mental place of encounter and psychedelic skids. Neurotic and schizoid sorcerers, a furious wind drags them towards the total effervescence of the groove: an unprecedented cauldron of dangerous substances, hybrid styles and influences mixed with secret recipe. Their music is an explosive bubble of expressions, a feverish, impulsive and unstoppable ritual. A cosmic attitude, such as Heliocentrics or Embryo, marries the majestic and floating sounds of synths and psych organs, acidified by toxic dub sparks and deadly funk forays. A crazy horn section travels without maps from Sun-Ra and Ethiopian echoes, hard-bop reminiscenses, to sudden and virulent Balkanisms, making this soup an indecipherable combination of flavors.

FULL OF HELL make their Relapse debut with their most explosive album to date, Weeping Choir. Dynamic, pissed, and wholly urgent, the highly-anticipated Weeping Choir is a definitive statement of intent by one of the underground’s most dynamic and virulent entities. FULL OF HELL have once again culled the extreme elements from hardcore, metal, and power electronics to redefine darkness and sheer brutality. Distorted guitars and ominous, disparate electronics grind and gnash against rapid-fire drumming as FULL OF HELL take themes of religion, loss, hatred, and set them ablaze. Recorded by the critically acclaimed Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio, Weeping Choir sees FULL OF HELL fully unleashed. Abrasive, confrontational, none equal!

Steel City Dance Discs Volume 13 emits four club-ready contaminants courtesy of Jasper James. On the A-side, Jasper breaks protocol with an unregulated meld of house and techno; deep freqs, virulent chords and a toxic vocal cut are detected. And on the flip side, object blue and Mall Grab give ‘Still Trippin’ an appropriate treatment of high-energy euro-rave. Dispose of this release properly – volume up.

Body Music (Bosq and The Rapture's Vito Roccoforte) return with another dose of 21st century mutant-disco and nocturnal New York swagger. Following up on their lauded Just One EP (Razor 'n Tape), the new two-track 12" delivers on the epic stomp and punch of that debut with two instant classics.

A-side 'Don't Think Twice' is a tightly modern and muscular re-imagining of some long-lost Paradise Garage-era gem, replete with head-snapping claps, an expansive sonic palette and full strut groove.

While, low-slung flip-side 'Give My Love a Try' rolls on a flirtatious arpeggiated bass-line and gasps of steamy synths that make it the perfect vibe to open or close a party. Lending soulful and sultry vocals across both cuts is Christian Holiday.

Holiday darts in an off the slick synth stabs and bouncy live-drums of Don't Think Twice and reaches a yearning falsetto that draws out the romantic swoon of Give My Love a Try, helping elevate the scope and craft of both tracks.

Hooky and virulent, it's a venerated sound that fits seamlessly into sets of Arthur Russell, ESG and Liquid Liquid classics with a crisp and deep production that remains infectiously of the moment.

At parties from Brooklyn to Ibiza, this 12" will no doubt be a go-to slice of wax coaxing dancers to move a little closer all summer long.