Buscar:z orchestra

ANiML comprises accomplished and storied electronic artists. Their Stratasonic label has become a respected home for their freeform musical explorations, with no genre restrictions. They often call on friends and influential pioneers to collaborate on releases, and the originals they produce are defined by improvisation, creative songwriting, and intentional collisions of different moods and grooves.

'Unioness' is a tender but crisp late-night sound. Soft, jazzy melodies drift over orchestral swells with drum breaks cascading below. Abstracted vocals and serene strings further enrich this sophisticated sound, which draws on soundtracks and instrumental soul groups.

Stoned Autopilot is an alias of long-time studio magician Martin Buttrich, who is also part of Better Lost Than Stupid and has a fulsome catalogue on many of the scene's most recognisable labels. His dub rides smooth waves with aching vocals melting into the mix, and the melodies looped, smudged, and smeared in hypnotic fashion.

The second rework comes from DJ Sneak, the hugely prolific and consistent Chicago house innovator whose famously raw, tracky sound keeps him in a class of one. His fantastic Big Bawse Re-Rub brings a rolling four-four groove, a delicate sprinkling of percussion, and a loopy rhythm that locks you in and zones you out as curious melodies unfurl up top.

Electronic artist Saine graces Special Species Records with a tender release of soft, pensive ambient jazz incorporating the traditional Finnish instrument the Kantele. Six songs of delicately orchestrated movements that land like slowly falling snow. An immersive and beautiful listen.

Epicentre was an R&B/funk group formed in Seattle, Washington by keyboardist Ric Ulsky. The band developed a loyal following, playing the extensive NW club, concert and dance venues throughout the mid-to-late 1970s. Their sound was a blend of melodic R&B and powerhouse funk that dependably filled music venues throughout the Western US. Bernadette Bascom was the lead vocalist, who captivated audiences with her powerful yet velvet-smooth voice and commanding, magnetic stage presence.

In 1978, Epicentre worked with Seattle producer Don McKinney to record their music in Seattle's now legendary Kaye-Smith studios. The result was seven strong, fully -produced R&B songs, with occasional horn and string orchestrations tastefully added to the final versions.

Their music quite literally sat on a shelf for decades until McKinney decided that all the hard work and talent should no longer remain undiscovered and it needed to find its audience. He restored and digitized his copies of the master tapes and looked for an opportunity. A chance call to the former leader of the group, Kell Houston, led to a serendipitous introduction to UK boutique/funk/R&B label founder Russell Paine. The result was an agreement to release their music, starting with two songs, "When You Were In Love With Me", and "Magic Carpet."

Footnotes: Lead singer Bernadette Bascom became a protegé of Stevie Wonder, and was the first artist to be signed to his label Black Bull , starting a period of collaboration between the two. Bermadette is the daughter of Reverend Dr. Marion C. Bascomb (1925-2012), one of Baltimore's major civil rights voices and pastor emeritus of Baltimore's Douglas Memorial Community Church. Ric Ulsky eventually left the group to play keyboards and tour extensively with The Association. You can also find Epicentre's music on the compilation album "Seattle Funk, Modern Soul & Boogie: Volume II 1972-1987." In addition to Bernadette, the musicians on the 1978 sessions are Kell Houston, keyboards, Michael Cox, bass, John Carmondy, guitar, and Ricky Lynn Johnson, drums and vocals. While their recorded material is primarily original, Stacy Christensen from Seattle's Gabriel contributed two of his compositions. Label credits: Epicentre featuring Bernadette Bascom. Recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios, Seattle, Washington, August 1978"When You Were in Love With Me" and "Magic Carpet" written by Bernadette Bascom. Produced for Epicentre by Don McKinney

“The group has no niche, it doesn’t fit in anywhere,” explains Necessaries drummer Jesse Chamberlain in a 1980 Melody Maker interview. “We just state the facts about life in America, like The Clash did about England, but we’re not so heavy about it.” The Necessaries rose from the ashes of Harry Toledo & The Rockets, a little-known New York art-rock band playing gigs at Max’s Kansas City during glam’s metamorphosis into punk. —From the liner notes by Michael IQ Jones The Necessaries came together in 1978 and in the too-brief lifespan of the band counted among their members, Ed Tomney (Rage To Live, Luka Bloom), Jesse Chamberlain (Red Crayola), Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers), Arthur Russell (The Flying Hearts), Randy Gun (Love Of Life Orchestra). First championed by John Cale on the strength of Tomney’s songs, Cale produced their first single for Spy Records (under the I.R.S. umbrella) which was released in 1979. With the forward momentum brought about by the single, the band set about tracking demos intended for Warner Bros., but The Necessaries ultimately would sign to Seymour Stein’s Sire Records. These rough demo basic tracks lacked overdubs, mixes and any finishing touches that would have made them viable for commercial release, but due to tour commitments, the band had to put the sessions on hold to hit the road. While on tour, the band was shocked to discover that Sire had issued the unfinished tracks as their debut album Big Sky (issued in 1981). The band had Big Sky withdrawn and replaced with Event Horizon (issued in 1982) which included half the original tracks from Big Sky and continued to record throughout 1982 aiming for a follow-up. It was not to be and their final studio sessions remained unissued until now. Completely Necessary (Anthology 1978–1982) is the first authorized collection of recordings by The Necessaries and includes 37 tracks, 28 of which are previously unissued. Completely Necessary represents the most accurate musical history of the band laid out across three albums. Disc one is the band-approved first album Event Horizon, followed by Pilots Facing North, a disc collecting studio recordings spanning 1978–1981 and disc three finally sees the release of their final sessions, Songs From The Blue Colony. Album notes by Michael IQ Jones trace the history of the band for this compilation produced by The Necessaries’ Ed Tomney and Cheryl Pawelski (Omnivore Recordings). The audio has been restored and mastered by Michael Graves at Osiris Studio, and both the 3-LP and 2-CD sets feature previously unseen photos across the package. Finally, an essential missing piece of the late ’70s/early ’80s New York scene that was just slightly ahead of the college alt-rock soon to come, is finally available to rediscover—this time it’s authorized and absolutely necessary. BUY! HERE’S WHY! • The first authorized and comprehensive anthology by The Necessaries. • Mid-’70s/early ’80s New York rock/punk/art scene band included members: Ed Tomney, Ernier Brooks, Arthur Russell, Jesse Chamberlain, and Randy Gun. • 37 tracks, 28 previously unissued. • Liner notes by Michael IQ Jones, plus unseen photos.

2025 REPRESS ON TRANSPARENT GREEN VINYL


Compiled by Philip King “And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.” NICK KENT, NME. All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure. Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms, ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course) these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother of invention. At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records). The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased track You Will See, released April 12th 2025. There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk / underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now. Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP. Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7” and lost until now. The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the main refrain. The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive, robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner. All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?

Repress.

Fast-rising Dutch DJ/producer BELLA becomes the first new artist signing to Sally C’s Big Saldo’s Chunkers imprint, with the inspiring ‘Note to Self’ EP – her debut production.

Relationships are key for Sally C. Since the inception of Big Saldo’s Chunkers in 2020, she’s released three carefully chosen EPs, all from her own studio. When she met BELLA while playing a festival in Amsterdam during summer 2022, the click was instantaneous, with the pair going on to play an impromptu b2b that day. Vibing both musically and energetically, they kept in touch, with BELLA sending Sally her maiden productions ‘Note To Self’ and ‘Orchestra Spring’. Sally connected so deeply with the tracks that they’d form the backbone of her debut artist EP on Big Saldo’s Chunkers.

One listen to the final EP and it’s not hard to see why Sally wanted to emboss them as Chunkers. Three fresh originals taking in influence from ‘90s house, acid, electro and prog, all with a unique hard-to-pin-down energy that makes them hit with a special swing.

The title track – also the first production made for the EP - sees BELLA lay down a sonic blueprint – both for her own sound and the full body of work. “This set the vibe and guided me through the creative process. I was really trying to make something that felt my own, that was also unique and not something I’ve heard before,” she shares. ‘Note to Self’ is heavy on attitude and bounce, driven by banging old skool drums, a rapid-fire grime-style vocal and a duo of synth lines – one uplifting, the other mining a slick ‘80s sheen, and the results are memorable. An absolute tune that Sally’s delighted to add to the Chunker catalogue.

‘Orchestra Spring’ is the perky sequel, a wicked one-two punch of kaleidoscopic groovy house with lashings of attitude that loves to scribble outside the lines with lots of retro samples and trippy energy. ‘Odd Symphony’ completes the trio, a blazing late-night cut driven by a gurgling acid underbelly, gritty drums and warm chords, giving the EP a brilliant afterglow.

Emerging during the early stages of the recording industry in Japan, the ryūkōka style adopted western classical, blues & jazz elements into traditional and classical Japanese music.

This collection of 1920s & 30s ryūkōka recordings follows on from the Kouta Katsutaro tape we put out a couple of years back, and further captures the hauntingly unique sound of a cultural merging that was starting to reflect itself via popular song, ahead of the widespread influence of western pop music during post-war US occupation.

"Death Is Not The End are on a mission to expand the musical archive, with compilations of everything from Jamaican doo wop to pirate radio idents and adverts weaving new threads into the history of music. Longing For The Shadow: Ryūkōka Recordings, 1921-1939 goes back to the beginnings of the recording industry in Japan, and a style merging traditional Japanese forms with western pop and classical. Swooning orchestrations and prominent vocals capture some of the melodrama and bombast found in US and European music of the time, but beds of plucked and strummed instruments give an ordered elegance, tying it firmly to Hogaku tradition. Not much has been written about Ryūkōka, and a 2017 book by Hiromu Nagahara gives some clue as to why, arguing that although popular with the public, it was dismissed by critics both for its adoption of western sounds and its dwelling on Japanese traditional styles. Close to a century later, those are some of the qualities that make this compilation so fascinating." - The Quietus

Die Welt wird immer verrückter. Gut, dass es Musik gibt, die uns in eine positive, optimistische Welt gleiten lässt. SCHILLER präsentiert mit dem neuen Studioalbum "Euphoria" ein kraftvolles musikalisches Gegengewicht zur Unberechenbarkeit unserer Zeit: voller Energie, positiver Schwingungen und cineastischer Klangwelten. Musik zum Abschalten, Auftanken - und zum Eintauchen in eine hypnotische Atmosphäre.
Die limitierte Color Vinyl im Gatefold beinhaltet das "Euphoria"-Album auf 2 audiophilen 180g Vinyls in den Farben Neonpink und Carouso - jeweils in einer gepolsterten Innentasche verpackt
"Euphoria" ist ein mitreißendes Klangabenteuer - episch, bildgewaltig und berührend.

About SCHILLER
Hinter SCHILLER steht der deutsche Elektronik-Künstler Christopher von Deylen, der seit über zwei Jahrzehnten internationale Maßstäbe in der elektronischen Musik setzt. Seine Werke verbinden elektronische Sounds mit orchestralen Elementen, packenden Rhythmen und atmosphärischer Tiefe. SCHILLER ist weltweit bekannt für ausverkaufte Live-Tourneen, hohe Chartplatzierungen und musikalische Kooperationen mit internationalen Top-Künstlern.
Mit zahlreichen Gold- und Platinauszeichnungen sowie unzähligen Nummer-1-Erfolgen gilt SCHILLER als einer der erfolgreichsten deutschen Elektronik-Acts - und als musikalischer Grenzgänger zwischen Pop, Ambient, Klassik und Klangkunst.

Everyone knows the story of American disco.
But few are aware that, between the late 1960s and the late 1980s, Italy wrote a parallel one — spontaneous, surprising, and incredibly creative.

It is a story that spans two distinct seasons: the Italian disco of the 1970s — melodic, handmade, sometimes naïve yet always original — and the emerging Italo Disco of the 1980s, electronic, futuristic, and lightheartedly projected toward the future.
Two different languages, yet both driven by the same desire for freedom and modernity. Discoteca Sound — Italian Discoteca Underground 1975–1986 brings together 18 rare tracks — including two previously unreleased — that tell this story of transition: from the orchestral and sentimental disco of Italian dance halls to the synthetic and visionary sound of the first drum machines.
A journey through private archives, local labels, regional studios, and forgotten voices — the sonic map of a country that has always danced, but to its own rhythm. From Mediterranean disco to the first Italo Disco, from the dim lights of provincial dance halls to the early home synthesizers, each track opens a window onto an Italy that dreamed of the dance floor as a universal language of connection during the brief season of revolutionary utopias.

This compilation celebrates ten years of work by Disco Segreta — a decade dedicated to the research, recovery, and appreciation of Italian disco and electronic culture. An act of justice owed to all those artists who had their moment yet were never remembered by history — bringing back to light an essential, still too little known part of our musical heritage.
Because dancing today remains, more than ever, a living act of memory.

Limited edition 2LP, features 2 previously unreleased tracks and a new 2025 version of Coscarella & Polimeno – Station to Station.






f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased










q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased






f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased










q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased






f B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased










q D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]






[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]










[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]






[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]










[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]

Flanked by a team of collaborators - including Nick León, more eaze, Ultrafog and Kissen - Ben Bondy captures the Kwia-pop zeitgeist on 'XO Salt Lif3', sluicing down dappled emo and downtempo grooves with log drum thwacks, tempered field recordings and sandblasted shoegaze guitars.

Forget what you think you know about Ben Bondy; like Naemi's fuzzy 'Breathless Shorn', ‘XO Salt Lif3’ is a decisive shift away from the ambient world and towards contemporary underground pop. Last year's amapiano-tinted loosie 'Bend' serves as the album's opener and is the best taster, its slick DSP squelches, granulated drones and sub rumbles immediately swapped out for breezy acoustic guitar riffs, tuned log drum hits and Bondy's own Autotuned vocals. When Bondy turns down the temperature a little, letting the orchestral synth arrangements slip into fuller view on 'Halfmoon', a collaboration with Nick León and Aussie producer Lovefear, it's tempered by low slung emo riffs and mumbled sweet nothings.

By the time we hit 'Dreamseed', Bondy's in full swing, offsetting slow breaks and multi-tracked vocal harmonies with full-spectrum shoegaze power chords that cut into the mix like a chainsaw, with crunchy amp crackle foreshadowing the Bark Psychosis-like drop. Bondy hits a cruise when More Eaze helps out on 'There Is A Place'. Maurice's unmistakable pedal steel draws us in, used by Bondy to add an Americana accent to his euphoric fusion of amapiano and indie pop. It's music that'll make perfect sense if you've caught one of Bondy's notorious DJ sets, where you might hear anything from American Football and Jessica Pratt next to Gwen Stefani, Skinny Puppy or Sneaker Pimps. It’s this chaotic, open-hearted approach - which also plays a part in the Shineteac material - that makes 'XO Salt Lif3' so effortlessly enjoyable.

A1. Cars
Smoove tears this classic apart to reveal its raw, drum-heavy break and solo bass riff. Epic synth lines weave through the extended rework, seamlessly transporting us from the 1980s straight into the modern era.

A2. Midnight Rider
An unexpected choice, but irresistibly funky nonetheless. The signature 12-string guitars are replaced with lush Fender Rhodes and Hammond organ, both pushed forward in the mix. The drums hit hard, backed by crisp percussion that drives the groove home.

B1. You Belong to Me
Opening with an extended Fender Rhodes intro, this rework builds gradually with real strings, subtle guitar licks, and groovy drums. Smoove reshapes the structure, dubbing out Carly’s lead chorus vocals to spotlight the stunning harmonies underneath.

B2. Searching
Luther’s vocals are utterly transcendent here. Smoove slows the pace and strips back the arrangement, leaving only Fender Rhodes and a string orchestra to accompany the soulful performance — a truly breathtaking moment.

Originally released in 1972, Toni Tornado's self-titled debut is a landmark in Brazilian soul and funk - a gritty, groovy record that helped define the sound of the Black Rio movement. Blending deep soul, psychedelic funk, and bold orchestration, this album channels the revolutionary energy of James Brown with the tropical swagger of Rio's streets. From the urgent rhythms of 'Torniente' to the undeniable strut of 'Mané Beleza' and 'Tornado,' Toni's music pulses with a fierce sense of pride and liberation. It's the sound of a new cultural identity taking shape - where African-American soul met Afro-Brazilian reality. Often compared to the legendary Tim Maia, Tornado brought his own explosive edge to Brazil's growing soul scene. By the 1970s, other Brazilian musicians, such as Banda Black Rio, Cassiano, Gerson King Combo, Jorge Ben and Gilberto Gil, began making soul records. DJs started throwing soul-only parties. Toni Tornado's voice carries grit and passion, his grooves hit hard, and his message is crystal clear - Black is beautiful, and the funk is real. Back on vinyl for a new generation, this reissue is more than a collector's gem - it's a time capsule from an era when music moved bodies and minds. Essential listening for fans of vintage soul, global funk, and revolutionary sounds. Reissue on 180g vinyl.

"The Land of the Sun, the Moon and Cosmic Melodies" is a conceptual Opera of III movements, inspired by a cosmogony that features the planets of the sun and the moon. These two characters guides us on a journey of light and shadow, rising and setting in a cycle of unexplored musical territories.
The Collective Move presents its debut album with a broad palette of sounds, ranging from jazz to opera, from southern Italian folk music to northern Indian classical music, orchestrating a 60-minute "sonic narration" that ends with the fable "What do the birds tell?".

The Collective Move is an international group of young musicians formed in the Amsterdam Conservatory in 2022. The Collective's vision is to unite diverse artistic expressions and musical genres, inviting diverse artists and musicians from diverse cultures and countries to collaborate in flexible and interdisciplinary formations.

Big Crown Records freut sich, Glera zu präsentieren, Marco Beneventos Debütalbum auf dem Label. Marco Benevento hat sich schon immer wie jemand bewegt, der das Studio als eigenes Instrument begreift - nicht bloß als Raum, in dem das Spielzeug herumsteht. Lange bevor er auf Bühnen mit Freddie Gibbs und Madlib auftauchte oder in den Liner Notes von Alben von Clairo und Leon Bridges erwähnt wurde, dachte Benevento bereits wie ein Produzent: Er hörte auf Texturen, Spannungen und Negativräume - und auf jene seltsame emotionale Alchemie, die entsteht, wenn Groove und Neugier aufeinandertreffen. Sein neues Album Glera schärft diesen Instinkt und rückt Benevento nicht nur als virtuosen Keyboarder und Bandleader ins Licht, sondern als Komponisten, der aus Rhythmus, Klang und Gefühl ganze Welten formt.Glera ist ein genreübergreifendes Jazzalbum, das Soul und das elastische Low-End des Reggae mit einem offenen Sinn für Möglichkeiten verbindet. Das Projekt begann vor drei Jahren als eine Art privates Experiment: Benevento schrieb intuitiv, inspiriert von italienischen Filmmusiken und Melodien. Mit der Zeit entwickelten sich diese Skizzen zu etwas Größerem und Kraftvollerem - und mündeten schließlich in die hier zu hörende majestätische Ausformung.Entstanden ist Musik mit filmischer Bewegung, ohne dabei kostbar oder überladen zu wirken. Die Stücke fühlen sich mal wie Verfolgungsjagden, mal wie langsame Überblendungen an - manchmal sogar innerhalb desselben Songs. Jazz-Improvisation teilt sich den Raum mit Reggae-Grooves, orchestralen Elementen und einer psychedelischen Pop-Atmosphäre. Explorativ, aber geerdet; komplex, doch stets klar groove-orientiert.Der Album-Opener ,Frizzante" ist eine reine musikalische Feier - ein energiegeladener Feel-Good-Banger, auf Band gebannt, in dem Marco über einem unnachgiebigen Groove Melodien mit sich selbst austauscht. Auf ,Turandot" wird Benevento von Italiens Marianne Mirage am Gesang begleitet; der düstere, cineastische Track bewegt sich mühelos zwischen den Welten von Portishead und Serge Gainsbourg.Mit ,Big Top" erweitert sich die klangliche Palette noch weiter: ausgestattet mit Sprachaufnahmen und Pfauengeräuschen lässt sich der Song am treffendsten als ,Zirkus-Funk" beschreiben. Ein Pfiff - und das Spiel beginnt mit ,Houdini", einem jazz-fusionhaften Dancefloor-Füller, der vom ersten Schlagzeugschlag an die Tür eintritt. Auf ,I Can't Control This Bliss" mischt Benevento Dream Pop unter und bittet Dream Crease ans Mikrofon - für eine Dosis lo-fi-getränkter Schönheit. Elizabeth Steiner steuert ihre renommierte Harfenarbeit zu ,Miss Neptune" bei, getragen von einem tief vibrierenden, reggae-inspirierten Fundament.Mit Vollgas prescht ,Sprezzatura" wie eine Hochgeschwindigkeitsverfolgung durch enge Straßen, während ,Quattro Passi" das Tempo drosselt und zum entspannten Schlendern einlädt - mit Jazzsängerin Chiara Civello als Feature.Marco Benevento agiert hier auf höchstem Niveau, formt Klang mit Zielstrebigkeit und Neugier. Dieses Album kündigt sich laut an - zugleich nach außen gerichtet und zutiefst intim. Es ist Musik in Bewegung: zwischen Genres, Tempi und Registern, stets verankert in der Freude am Entdecken. Ein Album, das Bewegung verkörpert, die Vergangenheit mitnimmt und doch niemals stehen bleibt.

Big Crown Records freut sich, Glera zu präsentieren, Marco Beneventos Debütalbum auf dem Label. Marco Benevento hat sich schon immer wie jemand bewegt, der das Studio als eigenes Instrument begreift - nicht bloß als Raum, in dem das Spielzeug herumsteht. Lange bevor er auf Bühnen mit Freddie Gibbs und Madlib auftauchte oder in den Liner Notes von Alben von Clairo und Leon Bridges erwähnt wurde, dachte Benevento bereits wie ein Produzent: Er hörte auf Texturen, Spannungen und Negativräume - und auf jene seltsame emotionale Alchemie, die entsteht, wenn Groove und Neugier aufeinandertreffen. Sein neues Album Glera schärft diesen Instinkt und rückt Benevento nicht nur als virtuosen Keyboarder und Bandleader ins Licht, sondern als Komponisten, der aus Rhythmus, Klang und Gefühl ganze Welten formt.Glera ist ein genreübergreifendes Jazzalbum, das Soul und das elastische Low-End des Reggae mit einem offenen Sinn für Möglichkeiten verbindet. Das Projekt begann vor drei Jahren als eine Art privates Experiment: Benevento schrieb intuitiv, inspiriert von italienischen Filmmusiken und Melodien. Mit der Zeit entwickelten sich diese Skizzen zu etwas Größerem und Kraftvollerem - und mündeten schließlich in die hier zu hörende majestätische Ausformung.Entstanden ist Musik mit filmischer Bewegung, ohne dabei kostbar oder überladen zu wirken. Die Stücke fühlen sich mal wie Verfolgungsjagden, mal wie langsame Überblendungen an - manchmal sogar innerhalb desselben Songs. Jazz-Improvisation teilt sich den Raum mit Reggae-Grooves, orchestralen Elementen und einer psychedelischen Pop-Atmosphäre. Explorativ, aber geerdet; komplex, doch stets klar groove-orientiert.Der Album-Opener ,Frizzante" ist eine reine musikalische Feier - ein energiegeladener Feel-Good-Banger, auf Band gebannt, in dem Marco über einem unnachgiebigen Groove Melodien mit sich selbst austauscht. Auf ,Turandot" wird Benevento von Italiens Marianne Mirage am Gesang begleitet; der düstere, cineastische Track bewegt sich mühelos zwischen den Welten von Portishead und Serge Gainsbourg.Mit ,Big Top" erweitert sich die klangliche Palette noch weiter: ausgestattet mit Sprachaufnahmen und Pfauengeräuschen lässt sich der Song am treffendsten als ,Zirkus-Funk" beschreiben. Ein Pfiff - und das Spiel beginnt mit ,Houdini", einem jazz-fusionhaften Dancefloor-Füller, der vom ersten Schlagzeugschlag an die Tür eintritt. Auf ,I Can't Control This Bliss" mischt Benevento Dream Pop unter und bittet Dream Crease ans Mikrofon - für eine Dosis lo-fi-getränkter Schönheit. Elizabeth Steiner steuert ihre renommierte Harfenarbeit zu ,Miss Neptune" bei, getragen von einem tief vibrierenden, reggae-inspirierten Fundament.Mit Vollgas prescht ,Sprezzatura" wie eine Hochgeschwindigkeitsverfolgung durch enge Straßen, während ,Quattro Passi" das Tempo drosselt und zum entspannten Schlendern einlädt - mit Jazzsängerin Chiara Civello als Feature.Marco Benevento agiert hier auf höchstem Niveau, formt Klang mit Zielstrebigkeit und Neugier. Dieses Album kündigt sich laut an - zugleich nach außen gerichtet und zutiefst intim. Es ist Musik in Bewegung: zwischen Genres, Tempi und Registern, stets verankert in der Freude am Entdecken. Ein Album, das Bewegung verkörpert, die Vergangenheit mitnimmt und doch niemals stehen bleibt.

Big Crown Records freut sich, Glera zu präsentieren, Marco Beneventos Debütalbum auf dem Label. Marco Benevento hat sich schon immer wie jemand bewegt, der das Studio als eigenes Instrument begreift - nicht bloß als Raum, in dem das Spielzeug herumsteht. Lange bevor er auf Bühnen mit Freddie Gibbs und Madlib auftauchte oder in den Liner Notes von Alben von Clairo und Leon Bridges erwähnt wurde, dachte Benevento bereits wie ein Produzent: Er hörte auf Texturen, Spannungen und Negativräume - und auf jene seltsame emotionale Alchemie, die entsteht, wenn Groove und Neugier aufeinandertreffen. Sein neues Album Glera schärft diesen Instinkt und rückt Benevento nicht nur als virtuosen Keyboarder und Bandleader ins Licht, sondern als Komponisten, der aus Rhythmus, Klang und Gefühl ganze Welten formt.Glera ist ein genreübergreifendes Jazzalbum, das Soul und das elastische Low-End des Reggae mit einem offenen Sinn für Möglichkeiten verbindet. Das Projekt begann vor drei Jahren als eine Art privates Experiment: Benevento schrieb intuitiv, inspiriert von italienischen Filmmusiken und Melodien. Mit der Zeit entwickelten sich diese Skizzen zu etwas Größerem und Kraftvollerem - und mündeten schließlich in die hier zu hörende majestätische Ausformung.Entstanden ist Musik mit filmischer Bewegung, ohne dabei kostbar oder überladen zu wirken. Die Stücke fühlen sich mal wie Verfolgungsjagden, mal wie langsame Überblendungen an - manchmal sogar innerhalb desselben Songs. Jazz-Improvisation teilt sich den Raum mit Reggae-Grooves, orchestralen Elementen und einer psychedelischen Pop-Atmosphäre. Explorativ, aber geerdet; komplex, doch stets klar groove-orientiert.Der Album-Opener ,Frizzante" ist eine reine musikalische Feier - ein energiegeladener Feel-Good-Banger, auf Band gebannt, in dem Marco über einem unnachgiebigen Groove Melodien mit sich selbst austauscht. Auf ,Turandot" wird Benevento von Italiens Marianne Mirage am Gesang begleitet; der düstere, cineastische Track bewegt sich mühelos zwischen den Welten von Portishead und Serge Gainsbourg.Mit ,Big Top" erweitert sich die klangliche Palette noch weiter: ausgestattet mit Sprachaufnahmen und Pfauengeräuschen lässt sich der Song am treffendsten als ,Zirkus-Funk" beschreiben. Ein Pfiff - und das Spiel beginnt mit ,Houdini", einem jazz-fusionhaften Dancefloor-Füller, der vom ersten Schlagzeugschlag an die Tür eintritt. Auf ,I Can't Control This Bliss" mischt Benevento Dream Pop unter und bittet Dream Crease ans Mikrofon - für eine Dosis lo-fi-getränkter Schönheit. Elizabeth Steiner steuert ihre renommierte Harfenarbeit zu ,Miss Neptune" bei, getragen von einem tief vibrierenden, reggae-inspirierten Fundament.Mit Vollgas prescht ,Sprezzatura" wie eine Hochgeschwindigkeitsverfolgung durch enge Straßen, während ,Quattro Passi" das Tempo drosselt und zum entspannten Schlendern einlädt - mit Jazzsängerin Chiara Civello als Feature.Marco Benevento agiert hier auf höchstem Niveau, formt Klang mit Zielstrebigkeit und Neugier. Dieses Album kündigt sich laut an - zugleich nach außen gerichtet und zutiefst intim. Es ist Musik in Bewegung: zwischen Genres, Tempi und Registern, stets verankert in der Freude am Entdecken. Ein Album, das Bewegung verkörpert, die Vergangenheit mitnimmt und doch niemals stehen bleibt.

The soundtrack for the animated film Arco (directed by Ugo Bienvenu, winner of the Annecy 2025 Crystal Award for Best Feature Film, also presented at the Cannes Film Festival) was composed by Arnaud Toulon. Between orchestral flourishes and delicate electronic touches, he composes immersive, sensitive, and luminous music that evokes the great scores of Joe Hisaishi while asserting a resolutely contemporary identity.



Conceived as a true sonic journey, the soundtrack accompanies Arco's temporal wanderings with rare cinematic intensity. Each piece oscillates between poetry and dramatic tension, making this work an experience in its own right, to be discovered far beyond the images.



Awarded the Sacem Prize for original music for feature films in Annecy, this soundtrack is already establishing itself as a landmark piece of contemporary animated cinema.

Limited Algae Sea Vinyl. CocoRosie is Bianca and Sierra Casady. Sierra sings and plays guitar and flute. Bianca sings and does percussion (rattles things, makes things squeak, shakes a gold chain belt). They write all the music together. La Maison de Mon Réve was written and recorded in a tiny apartment in the 18th district of Paris during the spring of 2003. La Maison de Mon Réve was released by Touch and Go Records in March 2004. La Maison de Mon Réve is deceptively innocent; enchanting and sweet yet eerie and twisted. An acoustic guitar paints melody through a haze of cryptic sounds and perversely angelic voices. A broken radio transmits a music box orchestra. Tiny field mice sing opera. This 20th anniversary edition of CocoRosie's debut album La Maison de Mon Réve is pressed on transparent algae sea vinyl and limited to 1500 copies worldwide. Packaged in a gatefold jacket with neverbefore-seen photos, the vinyl includes the full album along with a previously unreleased bonus track, "Hairnet Paradise."

MOb return this November with their second album on Veego Records, continuing the adventurous journey they began with their 2023 debut MOb 1. Hailed by the press as one of the boldest and freshest statements in the Greek scene, their first record moved seamlessly between jazz, punk, and electronic forms, creating a sound often described as “an entire orchestra played by just three musicians.”

On their new release, Marios Valinakis (saxophone, effects, synthesizers), Alexandros Delis (bass, double bass), and Panagiotis Kostopoulos (drums) construct an even more intricate and ambitious sonic universe. The compositions range from the explosive energy of “Tipping Point” and the dark atmospheres of “Utu and Sin”, to the radical reimagining of Wayne Shorter’s “Fall” and the polyphonic outburst of “The Listener”, featuring the Kos Choir.

Guest appearances further expand the palette: Phillip “Felipe MC” Manev lends his voice to “Tipping Point” and “Encounters”, while Angelos Polychronou enriches “Encounters” and “The Listener” with his percussions.

The album was produced and recorded by MOb themselves, with Bruno Ellingham handling mixing and mastering for most tracks, while “Utu and Sin” was mixed by Malcolm Catto at the Quatermass Sound Lab. The cover artwork is designed by Apostolos Mitrelis, and the back cover features a photograph by Maciej Moskwa.

If MOb 1 revealed a band capable of fusing free improvisation with rhythm-driven “bangers” that reached audiences beyond Greece, the new album confirms their evolution: more intense, more diverse, and more imaginative. With one foot rooted in tradition and the other firmly in the present, MOb deliver a work that breaks boundaries and builds bridges across genres and audiences, solidifying their reputation as one of the most exciting groups in today’s Greek music scene.

MOb return this November with their second album on Veego Records, continuing the adventurous journey they began with their 2023 debut MOb 1. Hailed by the press as one of the boldest and freshest statements in the Greek scene, their first record moved seamlessly between jazz, punk, and electronic forms, creating a sound often described as “an entire orchestra played by just three musicians.”

On their new release, Marios Valinakis (saxophone, effects, synthesizers), Alexandros Delis (bass, double bass), and Panagiotis Kostopoulos (drums) construct an even more intricate and ambitious sonic universe. The compositions range from the explosive energy of “Tipping Point” and the dark atmospheres of “Utu and Sin”, to the radical reimagining of Wayne Shorter’s “Fall” and the polyphonic outburst of “The Listener”, featuring the Kos Choir.

Guest appearances further expand the palette: Phillip “Felipe MC” Manev lends his voice to “Tipping Point” and “Encounters”, while Angelos Polychronou enriches “Encounters” and “The Listener” with his percussions.

The album was produced and recorded by MOb themselves, with Bruno Ellingham handling mixing and mastering for most tracks, while “Utu and Sin” was mixed by Malcolm Catto at the Quatermass Sound Lab. The cover artwork is designed by Apostolos Mitrelis, and the back cover features a photograph by Maciej Moskwa.

If MOb 1 revealed a band capable of fusing free improvisation with rhythm-driven “bangers” that reached audiences beyond Greece, the new album confirms their evolution: more intense, more diverse, and more imaginative. With one foot rooted in tradition and the other firmly in the present, MOb deliver a work that breaks boundaries and builds bridges across genres and audiences, solidifying their reputation as one of the most exciting groups in today’s Greek music scene.

Black Midi war von Anbeginn der Band ein illustres wie kreatives Tummelbecken für die Mitglieder der britischen Band - nun löst sich Geordie Greep mit seinem am 4. Oktober bei Rough Trade Records erscheinendem Solo-Debüt noch mehr von jeglichen Einschränkungen und Kompromissen! Eines der Hauptthemen von Anthony Powells Roman "A Dance to the Music of Time" ist der Kontrast zwischen jenen Charakteren, die nur von Macht getrieben werden, und jenen, die mehr mit den sinnlichen Freuden des Lebens in Einklang stehen. Unweigerlich holen die Zeit und das Schicksal jeden Protagonisten ein, und der Leser kann darüber nachdenken, ob ihr Schicksal gerechtfertigt ist oder nicht. "The New Sound" wirkt oft wie eine Wiederholung von Powells Thema, untermalt von einem schrägen - und völlig verkabelten - Palm Court Orchestra. Das Album ist mit Sicherheit eines, das den Hörer über die gesamten elf Tracks hinweg voll in seinen Bann zieht. Greep: "Ich war besorgt wegen der Länge, um nicht zu viel zu verraten. Aber ich bin es auch verdammt leid, Musik zu hören und im Voraus zu wissen, was sie bedeutet oder was sie zu tun versucht. Bei all meiner Lieblingsmusik geht es darum, dass der Hörer sich mit dem auseinandersetzt, was vor sich geht. Meine Lieblingssänger, wie Peter Hammill oder Nat King Cole, sind buchstäblich einmalig. Das liebe ich. Vor allem bei Texten, bei denen man nicht genau weiß, worum es geht, aber man weiß, dass es nicht nur abstrakte Gedanken sind."

From out of the dark, sparks of feedback birdsong signal a return to the singular sonic environments of Rafael Toral"s sound-world. A year after Spectral Evolution, his acclaimed album of electric guitar conceptions, comes the companion work Traveling Light. Sharpening his focus around a set of jazz standards, his move from abstract form to solid song elicits glints from beyond time and space, crafting a unique listening lens for deep listeners. In the early years of his practice, Toral used the guitar as a generator to create discreet texture and droning tones. Later, he abandoned the guitar entirely, focusing on self-made electronics to render his music with a post-free jazz perspective. For the music of Spectral Evolution and Traveling Light, Toral has combined his methodologies: radically expanding the space within their harmonies with his self-made machines, while engaging directly with his instrument and the chords of the material. In addition to Toral"s proxy orchestra of guitars, sine wave, feedback and bass guitar, Traveling Light features the sounds of clarinetist José Bruno Parrinha, tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, flügelhorn player Yaw Tembe, flautist Clara Saleiro, who each guest on one song. In every contour of Traveling Light"s path - arrangement, improvisation and production - the spring of the old pours through the new in an unstoppable flow. The result is a listening experience of these standards that remains "in the tradition", even as the elongated harmonies seem to alter time such that, as Toral notes, "the chords become events on their own."

WOODKID komponiert die Musik zum heiß erwarteten PlayStation-Spiel "Death Stranding 2: On The Beach". Mit seinem neuen Album "WOODKID FOR DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH" zum sehnlichst erwarteten Spiel von Hideo Kojima hebt WOODKID die Idee von Game-Musik auf ein neues Level. Die Songs sind inspiriert von Kojimas Erzählkunst, seinen Figuren und der Welt von Death Stranding - und entfalten sich als eigenständiges Werk voller Tiefe, Kontraste und Atmosphäre.WOODKID, bürgerlich Yoann Lemoine, ist ein französischer Sänger und Komponist. Mit seiner stilsicheren Kombination aus orchestraler Dramatik, elektronischer Präzision und emotionalem Tiefgang hat er sich international einen Namen in der Musik- und Filmwelt gemacht - sowohl als Musiker als auch als Videoproduzent für Künstler:innen wie Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, Pharrell Williams oder Harry Styles. Seine Musik wurde für zahlreiche Film-, Serien- und Videospielproduktionen eingesetzt (Arcane, Assassin's Creed, The Umbrella Academy). Für seine Arbeiten wurde er mehrfach für Grammy- und MTV-Awards nominiert, seine Single "Run Boy Run" wurde weit über fünfhundert Millionen Mal gestreamt. Auch in der Modewelt ist WOODKID präsent - etwa mit Musik für die Shows von Louis Vuitton oder Dior.Über drei Jahre hinweg arbeitete WOODKID eng mit Kojima und dem Team von Kojima Productions zusammen, um Musik zu erschaffen, die weit über klassische Soundtracks hinausgeht. "Jeder Song, jedes Thema wurde in zahllosen Varianten und Schichten komponiert", erklärt WOODKID. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das cineastische Orchesterarrangements mit elektronischen Klanglandschaften und eindringlichen Gesangslinien verbindet."Death Stranding 2: On The Beach" ist das neue Werk von Hideo Kojima, einem der visionärsten Köpfe der Gaming-Welt. Als Fortsetzung des vielfach ausgezeichneten ersten Teils, der über 20 Millionen Spieler:innen weltweit erreichte, führt das Spiel die Themen Verbindung, Isolation und Verantwortung in eine neue erzählerische Dimension. Das Spiel besticht zudem durch einen hochkarätigen Cast - darunter Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, Troy Baker, Elle Fanning und Shioli Kutsuna - und eine Geschichte, die von den globalen Erfahrungen der letzten Jahre inspiriert ist.Von zarten Melodien bis zu eruptiven Breakcore-Momenten - jeder Track erzählt eine Geschichte. Für die Aufnahmen reiste WOODKID zwischen Paris, Los Angeles und Tokio, um die kreative Vision Kojimas einzufangen. "Es ist manchmal schwer, Hideos Vision ganz zu verstehen, weil sie sich ständig verändert. Man muss dem Prozess vertrauen - und das Ergebnis ist immer überwältigend", sagt er. Was dabei entstand, ist mehr als ein Soundtrack: Es ist ein Manifest künstlerischer Freiheit, ein musikalischer Gegenentwurf zu Konventionen - und eine Hommage an das Anderssein.Die erste Single "To The Wilder" erschien im März 2025 und verzeichnet bereits über 3,7 Millionen Streams weltweit. Das Album erscheint digital, sowie als Vinyl- und CD-Edition - beide mit dem großartigen Artwork des Spiels und als liebevoll gestaltete Sammlerstücke für die internationale Fancommunity.Neben WOODKIDs Album erscheinen zwei weitere Veröffentlichungen zum Spiel: ein Score-Album sowie ein weiteres Song-Album mit noch nicht angekündigten Künstler:innen. Beide erscheinen digital, ebenfalls bei Milan Records.Das Spiel "Death Stranding 2: On The Beach" erscheint am 26. Juni 2025 exklusiv für PlayStation®5.

“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” 

On 9th December Modern Obscure Music presents Cascades, the new album from Pedro Vian & Mana, which premiered during their immersive live set at the most recent Sonar Festival in Barcelona.
Cascades was recorded over a three-day studio session in Turin during the winter months, which is reflected in the musical narrative, as the eleven tracks flow gently like an icy river, filled with a mixture
of hazy melancholy, uncanny dream-states and euphoria.
Various recording techniques and instrumentation was utilised, including the Lyra-8 organismic analogue synthesiser, which takes principles from living organisms to produce sounds resembling a
conversation between nature and technology. The result is a spellbinding ambient odyssey that features a luminous synthesis of neo-classical strings and orchestral drones, together with strange
voices, and abstract passages designed to evoke Dante’s Inferno, which represent the soul’s journey.
Pedro Vian is a renowned Catalan artist who has released three solo albums (Beautiful Things You Left Us For Memories, Pedro Vian and Ibillorca) and a collection of singles on his Modern Obscure
Music imprint – a multi-disciplinary platform based on deep listening and music research. The ‘PRSNT’ compilation, which Pedro curated in 2021 and featured Laurie Spiegel, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Visible Cloaks, received support from Pitchfork, Crack, Brooklyn Vegan, The Quietus, The Wire and Metal. Pedro has been remixed by Inga Copeland and Pye Corner Audio, and has recorded mixes for of Bleep, Self-Titled and Juno Daily.
As part of a new generation of Italian electronic music artists, Piedmont born composer and producer Mana has released two full length albums (Seven Steps Behind and Asa Nisi Masa) on Kode 9's
Hyperdub imprint, plus an EP on Nicolas Jaar's Other People label under his Vaghe Stelle alias.
Earlier in his musical journey, Mana supported Laurent Garnier, James Holden and Skream across the Torino club scene, and in 2011 teamed up with Italian friends Lorenzo Senni and A:RA to form
the experimental group One Circle.
Pedro Vian & Mana’s previous work as solo producers has pushed the limits of electronic music, and together they’ve garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, The Quietus, The Vinyl
Factory, Resident Advisor and more. They now join forces to traverse new sonic territories between electronica, ambient, drone, and trance-inducing soundscapes.

Vibe Ride is the sixth release of Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational project and marks his 60th release as a leader or co-leader. Comes with insert and download code.

“With every record, the goal is to explore new creative territory,” explains Rudolph. Vibe Ride continues a deeper exploration of a trance-like groove and a conceptual framework known as Sonic Mandala. This album marks the most complete realization of that idea, partly due to the group's experience touring beforehand. That time on the road helped to refine ideas and strengthen musical chemistry. The recording process unfolded organically—likely due to the long-standing collaboration within ensembles like Go: Organic Orchestra and Moving Pictures, where the musicians have developed a deep familiarity with the shared musical language.

Sonic Mandala refers to a musical approach distinct from traditional linear structures of theme and development. Found in cultures across the globe, it may represent one of the oldest forms of musical expression—predating written history by tens of thousands of years. Today, it is most vividly preserved in the music of the Ituri Forest peoples (Aka, Baka, Ba Benzele, Mbuti), whose sound traditions revolve in cyclical, orbit-like patterns. Vibe Ride seeks to bring that ancient sense of circularity into a contemporary—and perhaps even futuristic—context.

The ensemble of Vibe Ride—Alexis Marcelo, Jerome Harris, Harris Eisenstadt, Neel Murgai, Tim Kieper, and Tripp Dudley—brings exceptional creativity and skill to the project. While grounded in the sonic languages of today, their performance channels an ancient vibrational lineage, connecting with ancestral sound makers who were attuned to the rhythms of the sun, moon, stars, and seasons. Human beings have always been deeply responsive to natural cycles.

Like a mandala, where the circle reveals itself as a spiral—always returning, but never to the exact same point—the Sonic Mandala musical experience spirals through motion. Refined signal patterns emerge through overtone-rich instrumentation. The groove becomes a threshold, shifting the listener from passive observation into active, even transcendent, participation. With open ears and an open mind, the sound spirals inward—toward a primal center—and outward into the cosmos. When this elevated state is shared among participants, it creates what mystics describe as resonance.

Vibe Ride thrives on the distinctive sonic voices of its players, interwoven with care and nuance into the compositions. Hu Vibrational merges elements of world music, electronica, and improvised jazz into something both funky and spiritual, intense and soothing.

Using signature techniques of organic orchestration, layered arrangement, and electronic processing, the compositions are sculpted from percussion, electronics, and ethereal textures. Rhythmic foundations drawn from diverse traditions serve not as endpoints, but as building blocks. As the saying goes, “Orchestration is the key.” In shaping the sound, the aim was to discover fresh ways of balancing structure and sonic color. As Don Cherry once said: “The swing is in the sound.”

The audiophile LP was carefully recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Dellatacoma—longtime engineer for both Bill Laswell and Rudolph—at Laswell’s Orange Studio.

“This crew artfully blends together to create a seamless tapestry of rhythm… the end results are mesmerizing. Hu Vibrational is all about communing with the groove spirits and creating worlds where earthy rhythms and other-worldly sounds are one.”
— Dan Bilawsky, All Music Guide

“You can be sure that when Adam Rudolph and an ensemble of breathtaking drummers get together mystical and wonderful things will happen.”
— Raul da Gama,

“A stunning effort, enjoyable and grows with repeated listening.”
— Stefan Wood, Freejazzcollective

An album like a film, a childhood like a journey.



With Rêves, Senbeï unveils the most intimate and ambitious work of his career. Known for his unique blend of electronic music, hip-hop, and Asian sounds, the beatmaker reinvents himself here in an orchestral and cinematic universe, a far cry from his previous albums.


Inspired by the great soundtracks of children's adventure films—The Goonies, The Neverending Story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—Rêves is a sonic immersion where childhood nostalgia meets the emotional power of an orchestra.



A unique symphonic production.



For the first time, Senbeï has called upon a 15-piece orchestra, recorded in conditions close to those of film music. Strings, wind instruments, and electronic textures echo each other to create a rich, evocative universe, filled with luminous melodies and magical tension. This album is not just a collection of tracks: it is an adventure to be listened to like reading a story or watching a film.

Repress 2026

Born in Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain, Rosalia has spent the last decade reshaping the language of pop by folding flamenco's emotional gravity into experimental production. Her fourth studio record pushes that ambition further. Recorded at London's Studio 13 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Bjarnason, Lux is conceived as a four-part suite exploring "feminine mysticism, transformation and transcendence". Across its eighteen tracks, she blends classical orchestration with industrial textures and devotional themes. The lead single 'Berghain' - featuring Bjork and Yves Tumor - fuses cathedral-scale electronics with liturgical chant while 'La Rumba Del Perdon' pairs Estrella Morente and Silvia Perez Cruz in a near-sacred lament. Sung in English, German and Spanish, it's Rosalia's boldest statement yet.

Oslo based house pushers ́badabing diskos ́ follow up their hyped first release with a four tracker covering a fine specter of modern house vibes. A solo jacking house trip from label honcho Vinny Villbass, followed up by mexican/norwegian percussive collaboration of Picotropico and Vinny give you a full summer club journey The secret alias Smalltownboy ejaculates an eminent homage to sweaty dance floor flirts, while house orchestra LAFT shows off club muscles with a minimal studio escapade.

Promises is an extraordinary, collaborative album by the electronic giant Floating Points and saxophone titan Pharoah Sanders. The album features the London Symphony Orchestra and cover art by the acclaimed American artist, Julie Mehretu. Five years in the making, it will be released on Luaka Bop, March 26, 2021. The album is composed and engineered by Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points, who's second album Crush earned Best New Music from Pitchfork and a major feature in the New York Times, and placed him on several 2019 critics lists. His debut album Elaenia, released by Luaka Bop, was another Best New Music pick and hailed as one of the best debuts of the decade. It is also the release that made Pharoah Sanders want to work with him in the first place. A restless, ever- evolving producer and composer, Shepherd has toured with the xx, and also holds a doctorate in neuroscience. For Pharoah Sanders, who recently turned 80, this is a rare outing and his first album in fifteen years. One of the last icons of his generation, Pharoah performed with John Coltrane on his late-career free jazz masterpieces, and released a string of expansive recordings under his own name for the Impulse! label which have been cited as a pivotal influence by everyone from The Stooges to Marvin Gaye. Most recently, he was featured in a 2020 Supreme campaign. The music unfurls, patiently, over nine movements, and 46 ever-undulating minutes. It's a work of pure feeling, like no other record you'll hear this or any other year.

Frenzy ventures deeper into the night with Tarkno's After Hours EP (FRNZYREC011), a six-track journey of tension, drive, and subtle reflection. From the start, the EP pulls the listener into a nocturnal world where momentum and mood shift effortlessly, guiding the night forward with precision.



Deadline begins the journey with a commanding push, sharp percussion and rising intensity setting a restless pace. Anxious builds on that tension, darker and more introspective, its patterns fractured yet deliberate. Jacobworld's remix then takes the track in a different direction, stripping it down to relentless techno energy, where pressure and precision become the story.



As the night evolves, Morning Drive introduces a reflective pause, textures softening and momentum balancing between calm and urgency. Tarkno's After Hours (Original) follows, gradually unfurling into a layered, immersive exploration of the late-night atmosphere, translating the feeling of ultimate momentum. Finally, After Hours (Remco Beekwilder Remix) ignites the closing chapter, hard-hitting and floor-ready, amplifying the energy of the original into a commanding finale.



FRNZYREC011 is a cohesive statement of intent. Tarkno orchestrates tension, release, and pacing with skill, while Frenzy delivers a release that moves seamlessly between introspection and intensity. From start to finish, After Hours EP is a journey through the night itself. Precise, immersive, and unforgettable.

Mit Selenites, Selenites! präsentiert Jimi Tenor das erste Album seiner neuen Band - ein Meilenstein in der Karriere des finnischen Multiinstrumentalisten, der 2025 seinen 60. Geburtstag feierte. Tenor, bekannt für seine genreübergreifenden Visionen, vereint hier Afrobeat, Electronica, Spiritual Jazz und experimentelle Klangwelten zu einem kraftvollen, organischen Sound. Seit den 1990er Jahren prägt Tenor die internationale Musikszene mit Veröffentlichungen auf Labels wie Sähko und Warp Records. Seine Zusammenarbeit mit Künstlern wie Tony Allen, dem UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra und Florence Adooni zeigt seine Offenheit für musikalische Kulturen und seine Fähigkeit, scheinbar Gegensätzliches zu verbinden. Die JIMI TENOR BAND entstand in Helsinki und besteht aus fünf virtuosen Musiker:innen, die ihre Stücke live erprobt und verinnerlicht haben. Die Aufnahmen spiegeln diese Energie wider: Direkt, roh und voller Spielfreude. Die Songs wirken wie Live-Mitschnitte - spontan, intensiv und nahbar. Mit Selenites, Selenites! gelingt Tenor ein Album, das nicht nur musikalisch überzeugt, sondern auch seine Rolle als stilprägender Künstler unterstreicht.

Side A takes us across the pond for a British funk-rock classic: “Give It To You” from UPP’s 1975 self-titled LP. Already sacred in sample lore, its breakbeat (written by drummer Jimmy Copley) has fueled Eric B. & Rakim, Gang Starr, Jeru, Del, DJ Shadow & more. This edit amplifies the raw pocket — drums, fills, transitions — pushing them forward w/o losing grit. Produced by Jeff Beck, UPP’s LP fused funk, fusion & rock, giving the break shimmer & weight beyond pure drum programming. For DJs, this is precision-built: roomy enough to drop hats, scratches, or vocals, yet solid enough to ride raw.

On the flip, the S.S.O. Orchestra’s 1977 gem “Faded Lady.” Lush, cinematic textures — strings, vocals, bass, pads — laced in funk/soul arrangements. Sample lineage runs deep: Diamond D (“I Went for Mine”), Busta Rhymes’ “New York Shit,” Nas’ “Something Foul.” This edit doesn’t destroy or over-chop — it finds the sweet spots, letting the horns, pads & mood breathe. Not a break tune but a vibe: atmosphere & weight for DJs to lean into.

Together, these 2 sides deliver a powerful juxtaposition:

Reintroducing Soar - the alias of Christian Aebi, serial DIY taper and one-man orchestra from Langenthal, a fog-shrouded town in the Swiss provinces. Krautophobia, ambient lo-fi agriculture, analogue soul balm and slowspeed psych gelati-blitz cardboard pop only gesture towards the sound world he coaxed from his broken Tascam four-track recorder, in attics, churches, junkyards and at the kitchen table.

The spark for Soar was likely time and space, somewhere in the autumn of 1994. Armed with a cable salad of Sixties guitar/bass, fairground drums, mould-speckled organs and toy instruments, Aebi coaxed five albums, an unverified run of 25 cassettes, and a handful of gigs. Mostly issued through Zurich label Corazoo, the records arrived in hand-pasted sleeves, rough-cut reproductions of his teddy bear-fixated artwork that carried the same imperfect immediacy as the music. With Rudi Steiner, performances in galleries, clubs and halls bent into live sound-image happenings - part installation, part film, part flea-market-instrument theatre - invariably leaving the house engineers bewildered.

At the time of his untimely death in 2021, Aebi remained a village secret, his music passed quietly between friends and local ears. Now, Swiss graphic designer and Ghost Riders compiler Ivan Liechti has pieced together a portrait from the afterglow, gathering tangled audio formats, paintings, illustrations, photographs and notebooks with his family, former label and peers. What emerges is a first glimpse of Soar's intimate cosmos - brushing against Füxa, Spectrum, Dump, Stereolab and King Crimson, but orbiting a dimension entirely his own.

Deruta Records opens its catalog with “Dela Secu” ,a two- track EP from acclaimed Romanian producer Cezar Lazar. The EP stands out as a musical manifesto, challenging the techno-house scene’s drift into mainstream quicksand.

“Solo 2305” introduces the EP with orchestral strings and a polymetric woodwind theme anchored by a steady groove, crafting a soundscape where tension and release unfold with precision. The woodwinds’ evolving motif lends a lyrical contour that completes the arrangement. “Yaka Yaka” turns toward intricate syncopations, its rhythmic complexity enriched by subtle orchestral inflections. A central polyrhythm drives the track, heightening its tension while adding depth to the groove.

Mastered by Vlad Caia and cut to lacquer by Mike Grinser, the tracks are crafted for the dancefloor, shaped by Cezar’s signature lyrical motifs that define his standing in minimal and experimental techno.

This debut sets the tone for Deruta Records: boundary- blurring and unapologetically underground.

Evelyne/Masao bring TESTPATTERN to Dark Entries for the label’s first foray into vintage Japanese electronics. Masao Hiruma and Fumio Ichimura’s project Testpattern is known for their release Apres-Midi, a cult slab of synthpop perfection released by Yukihiro Takahashi and Haruomi Hosono’s legendary Yen Records in 1982. While Hiruma and Ichimura parted ways following Apres-Midi, Hiruma’s musical endeavors would continue after meeting French/American model and vocalist Evelyne Bennu in 1984 at a café bar where she would sit and write poetry. Their collaborative efforts as Evelyne/Masao were fruitful, and the duo first performed together in June 1984 on a television program called TOKYO ROCK TV. The album TESTPATTERN comprises seventeen songs recorded in Hiruma’s home studio, which have never been released previously. The Evelyne/Masao duo continues building on the soundworld of Apres-Midi: lush, sophisticated electronics with intricate yet minimalist production. Tracks like “Sakuramochi” and “Bird Island” bear influence from Hosono most clearly, their soaring melodies revealing a subtly ironic redeployment of East Asian musical tropes. But TESTPATTERN is more than homage to Yellow Magic Orchestra. “Tabac” and “Le Soleil Se Leve” display oddball sensibilities closer to Sky Records icons Asmus Tietchens or Cluster. Elsewhere, the project shows affinity for the punkier ethos of continental DIY electronics, like on the quirky “Alien Go Home” and a positively skewed cover of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Bennu’s vocals provide a common thread through these explorations, as she alternates deftly between New Wave deadpan and unhinged chanson singer—check her waxing maximally Francophone on “Au Clair de Lune,” based on an 18th century French song. TESTPATTERN will be available on both double LP as well as CD, and includes a fold-out poster with liner notes with lyrics. This album is dedicated to Masao Hiruma, who passed away in 2011.

Lepidoptera - the scientific name for butterflies, meaning "scale-winged" - is also the title of the seventh studio album by renowned music producer, bestselling author, ecologist, and knowledge mediator Dominik Eulberg. More than just an album, Lepidoptera is an artistic manifesto: a celebration of butterfly diversity and a profound ecological statement. Set for release via !K7 Records, Lepidoptera blends his signature sound with an urgent ecological message. It marks the pinnacle of a music career spanning over three decades. Eulberg"s fascination with butterflies began in early childhood and has since become a lifelong passion. Drawing from years of experience as a producer and DJ, Eulberg presents his most technically ambitious work yet. At the heart of Lepidoptera are twelve native butterfly species, handpicked by Eulberg from the 3,700 known species in his homeland. Each track is inspired by one species, shaping the album"s structure and grounding its creative focus. The result is a richly textured and immersive journey that moves fluidly between pulsating, danceable rhythms, ambient soundscapes, and orchestral flourishes.

AXNER aka Chris Davies from Acid Jazz Records and singer Julia Axner drop a 12" that perfectly closes their disco trilogy. Original cut 'Gyaml' is the sort of cool, musical disco groove that's laden with Chicp-style basslines and airy, soulful vocals perfect for outdoor summer fun. First up then is Al Kent's remix of 'GYAML', which elevates the track with lush orchestral strings and a soulful, emotive disco vibe. Complementing this are two fresh house remixes from London's rising talents HVN SENT and H.O.P. HVN SENT delivers an uplifting, piano-driven remix, while H.O.P offers a smooth, deep house interpretation filled with vocal chops and subtle textures. This package has something for all discerning disco dancers.

Arriving two years after the first chapter, Absurd Matter 2 isn’t just a sequel, it’s an evolution, redrawing the boundaries established by its acclaimed predecessor. The Berlin-based Italian producer tempers his confrontational sonics with rare moments of introspection, shifting seamlessly between blown-out noise, warped hip-hop, mutant club experimentation, and weightless ambience. Textures disintegrate and reassemble, rhythms flex and crumble, and every detail balances on the edge of fantasy. It’s a poetic, layered response to Nino Pedone’s changing physical reality: the gradual hearing loss and perceptual renegotiation triggered by Ménière’s disease, which struck him in 2022. At first, the experience felt like betrayal, a brutal disconnection from the very sense that had shaped his life. But over time, the disorientation turned into a strange kind of focus. The silence between sounds became as expressive as the sounds themselves.
The first Absurd Matter was a visceral reaction to trauma; the second is more reflective – an ambiguous chronicle of sensory recalibration. Pedone doesn’t represent his altered inner reality through extremes, but through depth, zooming in on illusory distortions, tense rhythmic fluctuations, and fragmented sonics. Dense, immersive, and mystical, the album mirrors Pedone’s evolving relationship with perception itself.
Tinnitus-like feedback wails and noir-ish strings introduce “Repeater”, making it immediately clear that Pedone is painting a more delicately finessed image this time around. Fleshed out by raps from cult MCs billy woods and E L U C I D, the track is marked by subtle, sophisticated contrasts: the blurred, inverted rhythms that couch Armand Hammer’s haunted back-and-forth, and the glitchy interference that offsets the lavish orchestral phrases. Backwoodz associate Fatboi Sharif lends his Lynchian drawl to “Bandage Chipped Wings”, grounding Pedone’s lysergic rhythmic distortions with syrupy, horror-inspired couplets. Pedone also invites discomfort into “Crash Landing”, with droning, metallic tones that contradict South Central rapper ICECOLDBISHOP’s elastic flow. “Bitch, I don't give a fuck about anybody,” he squawks over Pedone’s incongruous rasping textures and time-warped beats, “cash out at any party.” Working alongside London’s Loraine James on production, Pedone reunites with Moor Mother on “I Saw The Light”, blending James’ soft-focus atmospherics with soundsystem-damaging, overdriven bass hits and rusted percussive snips. Moor Mother’s assertive words hover over the wreckage, tightening Pedone’s themes of overstimulation and altered awareness as they stutter and veer off course, vanishing into the backdrop.
Contrasting his more pensive experiments, Pedone’s dancefloor deviations are more concentrated on Absurd Matter 2 than ever before. He torches a stuttering dembow structure on “X”, obfuscating the rhythm’s familiar energy with disturbing audio hallucinations. On “Splintered”, he reunites with Kenyan prodigy Slikback, mangling neon-lit trance arpeggios with dissociated trap rhythms. He sharpens his skills to a fine point on “Oblivion Step”, observing 2- step through a lens of distortion and personal abstraction, shaking blipping synth leads over neck-snapping drums and counteracting the momentum with airless sci-fi soundscapes.
Perhaps the album’s most surprising moment arrives with “Viel”, which features vocals from Los Angeles-based composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Together, Pedone and Smith chance upon their notion of dub techno, fogging synth stabs and ghostly vocal traces into eerie harmonic distortions. On some level, it’s almost pop music, a far cry from the bleak dissonance of Absurd Matter and a hopeful way to reframe turbulence as transformation. Absurd Matter 2 doesn’t simply document a process; it enacts one. It doesn’t offer clarity; it invites disorientation. It’s not a map of the labyrinth, but a foghorn piercing the darkness.