D&V were a duo formed in Sheffield by Andy Leach on drums and Jef Antcliffe on vocals. The group released their first EP ‘The Nearest Door’ on Crass Records. With Penny Rimbaud as producer, their musical simplicity was combined with uncompromising avant-gardism to achieve new heights. The group would go on to release a second album in 1984 entitled ‘Inspiration Gave Them Motivation To Move On Out Of Their Isolation’ with a more refined sound and additional vocals by Crass' Eve Libertine and Joy de Vivre.

Penny Rimbaud tells us; “D&V are so named because they turned up to play at the now legendary squat gig of 1982 at the Zig Zag Club in North London. At that time, they didn’t have a moniker, so they were chalked up on the day’s order of play as D&V (drums and vocals) because that’s what they were and that’s how they remained. Simple and to the point, they were precursors to rap which later both rhythmically and vocally came to mirror their fierce rhetoric. A northern band with streetwise sentiments, they spoke loud and clear of disenfranchisement (call it slavery) and the vicious class system which created it. From street to stormy skies, D&V were on the up, and hard rains began to fall.”

Penny finally notes that “Our (Crass’) interest was never in personalities, profits or power, and neither did we have time for reformist liberals. Our position was solidly revolutionary; we took no prisoners. Ours wasn’t a show, it was a battle, not a living, but a lifestyle, a lifestyle with a difference – rather than looking only to ourselves, we sought to share our gains. I feel that this willingness added great strength to the form of anarchism that we practiced both on stage and out on the street.”

In giving a platform to an impressive array of other bands, Crass Records broadened the front of what popularly became known as anarcho-punk. Not, it must be said, a moniker that Crass themselves much favoured. In this respect, Crass’ classic line, “There is no authority but yourself”, makes its point. Crass sought to empower others, and the output of Crass Records does much to confirm this, while ‘2 By 2 And Back Again’ seems to nail it – “get out of your own way, we’re all in this together”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Jekyll And Hyde
2. Wake Up
3. High Above
4. Today’s Conclusion
5. Step Inside
6. Dignity
7. S21PN

.D. Mirage return with new single “Echoes”, a lovers meditation featuring North Carolina’s Teddy Bryant, who delivers a velvet vocal performance steeped in yearning and late night reverie. The chorus “the things you do for love echo in my mind all night” hits the melancholy sweet spot, wrapped in the rich and authentically 80s sounding production we’ve come to expect from D.D. Mirage.

The Sydney based duo, now expanded into a full four piece live band, continue to stretch their sound beyond the Balearic and Dub tinted palette of their debut Exotic Illusions released earlier this year. With production assistance from Jono Ma, they capture a lush, cinematic space where street soul sentiment meets modern dream pop psychedelia, the kind of record that slips perfectly between Sade, Tom Tom Club and a lost Compass Point B-side. Flip the record for the Introspective Dub: a drifting, dubbed out companion that strips back the vocal to its echoes and lets the rhythm bloom.

Following live appearances at Dark Mofo and SXSW Sydney in 2025, D.D. Mirage round off the year with a live performance at Victoria’s Strawberry Fields festival mid November.

artwork and sticker by Bradley Pinkerton.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Isle Of Jura see off 2025 in fine style, bringing back their all-star talent - DD Mirage for a lilting lover's rock jam on glorious 10".

TRACK LISTING

Original Mix
Introspective Dub

It was at DMZ that Soulja first heard "Ongie Bongie". Several months later the track becomes the the kick-off riddim for "D1 V3", D1's latest double-pack offering from Tempa. Sounding out the way ahead with the latest sonar technology, "Ongie Bongie" begins at a cautious speed whilst familiarising itself with this new territory and then picks up pace with a funky propulsion that saw it light-up underwater dance, DMZ. Following on from this peak-time dancefloor energy, "Joy" swells progressively, in waves of euphoric chords pieced together with steadily stuttering congas. The second plate is headed by "Cave", a deeply hollowed-out production, heavily sub-led and a current regular in Youngsta sets, whilst anchor track "BG" employs infectious, cascading bass-stabs, which envelop the accompanying trumpet to create the kind of skank out riddim which wouldn't be out of place on a Jammin' era Bingo Beats release.

Ourtime returns with 3 tracks from Dave’s archive - A stunning Ep of soulful techno, emotive melodies and lopsided club grooves.

"Moments” and “Fall” take us on melancholic deep techno journeys to the outer realms & beyond before finally closing with "IAM Pro” a minimal claustrophobic techno track to jam your box 

Ex Harmonia member, and Cluster/Eno collaborator presents his first new album in over seven years. Pure electronic current abstracted into riffs and textural sound poems - unpredictably cutting edge!

The debut by Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft was a feat of musical pioneering. Later to find global fame as a duo, DAF's 1979 line-up of Robert Gorl, Wolfgang Spelmans, Kurt Dahlke (Pyrolator) and Michael Kemner created what was quite possibly the worlds first noise-rock album. Radical, brutish, instrumental.

Originally released in 1979 on Warning Records (later Ata Tak)

Reissue in digipak with liner notes, rare photos and memorabilia.

True DAF connoisseurs will, of course, be aware of the early phase of the Dusseldorf-Wuppertal combo. But most fans of the subsequently world famous duo may well be taken aback when confronted with their debut album: forceful synth bass sounds, snappy rhythms, Gabi Delgado and leather all conspicuously absent. In their place, pure instrumental, unstructured noise-rock, played by long-haired and moustachioed types! A band can barely have undergone a more extreme metamorphosis. Gabi Delgado joined the band before the band discarded the name of YOU and christened themselves Deutsch- Amerikanische Freundschaft. A tape machine and two microphones were set up in Wolfgang Spelmans living room and ten days of unbounded improvisation ensued. And thus it was completed, Produkt der Deutsch- Amerikanischen Freundschaft ; 22 tracks, ranging from 19 seconds to three minutes in length. The influence of Can is clearly audible. Considering the fact that other prominent noise-rock bands such as Chrome, Flipper or even Sonic Youth recorded similar music at a much later date, this 'product of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaf¨ should certainly be recognized as a pioneering work. Possibly even the first noise-rock album.

Produced by the team at Machines With Magnets who have worked with Lightning Bolt, Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah, Fang Island and Battles

When Castlemaine’s Oliver Hugh Perry released his self-recorded debut EP, ‘Tropical Oceans’, D.D Dumbo was born. Led by the spooky strut of the title-track, the lo-fi four song-set of blues-laced, deconstructed pop announced Perry as an exciting newcomer fluent in a language all his own. People took notice and soon he was performing solo with a 12-string electric guitar, two drums and a bunch of effect pedals and on tour with the likes of Daughter, Iron & Wine, Jungle, St Vincent, Tame Impala, tUnE-yArDs and Warpaint.

‘Utopia Defeated’ is his debut album, an epic, sprawling opus sprung from Oliver’s imagination, written and performed almost entirely by him. Based in the 4AD Studios in London, the album was recorded, engineered and produced by Perry and 4AD’s resident engineer Fabian Prynn.

Featuring the singles ‘Satan’ and ‘Walrus’, the tentrack album hurdles effortlessly over the expectations set by his intriguing debut EP. In an early review, Uncut magazine heralded it as “a looping, globally attuned 2016 update of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’.”

TRACK LISTING

Walrus
Satan
In The Water
Cortisol
Alihukwe
King Franco Picasso
The Day I First Found God
Toxic City
Brother
Oyster

That cheeky cut-n-splice-smith, Amerigo Gazaway, master of the hip-hop mash-up, returns once again - paying tribute to one of the greatest to ever do it - D'Angelo! 

"Variations On Voodoo" is our Nashville Soulmate's tribute to, you guessed it, "Voodoo"; perfectly timed for the 25th anniversary of its release. Reworking the tracks with his unique and wide ranging instrumental palette, heavy lashings of boom-bap beats and highly scented with that old school flavour throughout!

Following iconic and sometimes controversial reworkings of classic albums by Notorious Big & the JBs, De La Soul and Felta Kuti, Nina Simon and Lauren Hill, Stranger Things and many more; Amerigo Gazaway has become synonymous with the hip-hop / soul mash-up concept and has in turn lectured on the art of the remix at the University of Southern California. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Takes some swagger to have a go at D'Angelo's iconic soul masterpiece "Voodoo". But Gazaway's done it justice - refreshing the instrumentals and adding his signature boom-bap business.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Devil's Pie(Gospel Mix)
A2 Left & Right Feat. Method Man & Redman)
A3 Spanish Joint
A4 Sugah Momma(Interlude)
B1 Brown Sugar
B2 Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine
B3 Cold World(Interlude)
B4 Be Here(feat. Raphael Saadiq)
C1 Devil's Pie(Gospel Mix) [Instrumental]
C2 Left & Right(feat. Method Man & Redman)[Instrumental]
C3 Spanish Joint[Instrumental]
C4 Sugah Momma(Interlude)
D1 Brown Sugar[Instrumental]
D2 Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine Instrumental]
D3 Cold World (Interlude)[Instrumental]
D4 Be Here (feat. Raphael Saadiq)[Instrumental]

In case you haven’t heard, D’Angelo is back. The prodigal son of soul and funk dropped his new album online in December 2014, with no fanfare, no hype and no upfront announcement. The soulternet lit up like a Christmas tree. For one so talented 15 years seems like too long a time to wait between albums (we've had to wait so long 'Black Messiah' has been described as “the black 'SMiLE'”), but D'Angelo had demons to slay, issues to resolve, yada yada yada... (for 15 years!?). Anyway, he's back now, reborn, refreshed and sounding as wonderful as ever. The album cooks up a gumbo of the greats - a dash of Marvin, a sprinkle of Minneapolis, some P-funk pepper and Sly salt, all simmered together to make 'Black Messiah' the tastiest real-soul stew around right now. Essential!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Ain't That Easy
2. 1000 Deaths
3. The Charade
4. Sugah Daddy
5. Really Love

Side B
6. Back To The Future (Part I)
7. Till It's Done (Tutu)
8. Prayer
9. Betray My Heart
10. The Door
11. Back To The Future (Part II)
12. Another Life

D'Angelo's debut album breathed new life into the mid-90s soul / R&B scene, taking inspiration from 70s soul classics, but reinvigorating the sound with hip hop swagger. Recorded using vintage instruments the album ushered in the more organic neo-soul sound, moving away from the crisp electronics of the late 80s / early 90s new jack swing era. Includes the smash hit "Brown Sugar" (has there been a better love song to Mary J?), a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'", or the bluesy "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker". A perfect after hours soul seduction album.

This is the first time 'Brown Sugar' has been reissued since 2006!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Brown Sugar 4:22
A2. Alright 5:15
A3. Jonz In My Bonz 5:56
B1. Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine 4:46
B2. Shit, Damn, Motherfucker 5:14
B3. Smooth 4:18
C1. Crusin' 6:28
C2. When We Get By 5:48
D1. Lady 5:47
D2. Higher 5:27

'Voodoo' hit store shelves on January 25th 2000, just a few weeks after the New Year celebrations to end them all. But the first great album of the new millennium was born in the 1990s, and its muggy grooves capture the sound of premillennial anxiety. The album is the product of perfectionism, obsession and paranoia. 1995’s debut 'Brown Sugar' had already strategically positioned D’Angelo - born Michael Eugene Archer and Virginia-raised to a Pentecostal preacher father - as the next Hendrix-like deity in black music, after Prince and maybe Lenny Kravitz. But since its release, D’Angelo had become distracted by weed and weightlifting, he’d been shaken by the deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious BIG and debilitated by sophomore pressure. In the interim he’d fathered two children, switched managers and jumped to a new record label.

Though inspired by the birth of his children and trips back to Virginia, 'Voodoo'’s roots are in 1960s, 70s and 80s funk and soul; a nostalgic nod to the ideas and inventions of black music trailblazers powered by avant-garde hip-hop and jazz-influenced rhythms. D’Angleo’s aim, he said, was to reclaim R&B. He wanted to be like Sly Stone, George Clinton and Al Green. And most of all, he wanted to be like Jimi Hendrix. Where does a potently focused young man go to remake 'Electric Ladyland'? New York’s Electric Lady studios, of course: in the same rooms in which Hendrix and Stevie Wonder reinvented music decades earlier, and on the same equipment too. In an era in which soul musicians were obsessing over all things synthetic, D’Angelo was looking to the warm sounds of the past. Electric Lady’s Studio C became D’Angelo’s brand new creative laboratory.

TRACK LISTING

Playa Playa
Devil's Pie
Left & Right
The Line
Send It On
Chicken Grease
One Mo' Gin
The Root
Spanish Joint
Feel Like Makin' Love
Greatdayndamornin' / Booty
Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Africa

Love Is A Flame In The Dark is the debut album by experimental songwriter Karl D’Silva. A raw labour of love, a towering spire of twisted steel, tenderness and becoming, it’s a body of songs that belies the virtuoso talents of an artist whose reputation has been built on collaborating with various avant garde underground luminaries. Self-recorded at home in Rotherham and pulsing with the conviction of a true believer, these songs burst out of their self-consciousness to meet life head on, bristling with energy, 10 glimpses of the human spirit in the darkness. Recorded throughout 2021 - 2023 and mixed in Leeds with engineer Ross Halden, D’Silva has constructed a Pop language for himself. Mutated songs that owe a small debt to the post-Industrial music of Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails and Coil, they’re nonetheless powered by a vigorous tenderness, earnestness and D’Silva’s knack for melody. Each song is meticulously sound-designed, using synthesised sounds created from scratch married with D’Silva’s virtuoso playing on saxophone and guitar.

The songs on Love Is A Flame In The Dark are unabashed, earnest love letters to living, requiems for a world fading away and small gestures of solidarity in the face of entropy. Until now, D’Silva’s fingerprints could be found on live dates with Thurston Moore, Oren Ambarchi, Hardcore pioneers Siege and Rian Treanor as well as recordings by previous groups Trumpets Of Death and Drunk In Hell. Primarily associated with the alto saxophone in his improvisation work, Love Is A Flame In The Dark features a dizzying array of instrumentation, all played by D’Silva. D’Silva’s current membership of the group Vanishing may be a good touchstone for the dense, sonically thrilling world-building on the album but the most striking instrument, perhaps, is D’Silva’s voice. With a soulful, rasping timbre resulting from prolonged intubation as a new-born, his vocal is both fearless and tender. On the soaring, electronic body mover Wild Kiss, thundering percussion is in service to Karl’s voice full of desire, arching up into a flayed falsetto. It’s a trick repeated on Flowers Start To Cry, where it’s deployed against the backdrop of layers of ripping alto and thudding drum programming that recall Nine Inch Nails’ visceral production, if they were covering a Prince hit. These songs capture the essence of 2024’s Karl D’Silva music; pure physicality breaking down to reveal a shining, compassionate vulnerability.

The full breadth of Karl D’Silva’s instrumental prowess is in evidence from the off. On The Outside imagines blooming out of personal apocalypse with a soundscape of synth, saxophone worthy of any late 60s Free Jazz blower and crushing sound design. Entropy is planet-sized synth pop, Nowhere Left To Run uses midi-string orchestration to tell a story of light emerging from the dark. It’s a theme picked up throughout the album: The Butcher is a political parable, the narrator holding power to account with grotesque, brutal imagery. It’s on a track like Real Life that the true message emerges, however. D’Silva is peering through the layers of artifice, struggle and the fog of daily living to find a life full of energy, connection and light. Each song here is a route into this light, out of the darkness.

TRACK LISTING

1. On The Outside
2. Entropy
3. Wild Kiss
4. Flowers Start To Cry
5. The Crucible
6. Nowhere Left To Run
7. Real Life
8. Shine Brightly
9. The Butcher
10. Love Is A Flame In The Dark

"D/troit are back, and if you like your funk as raw as paint stripper, this is the crew for you!" Craig Charles.

The new recordings maintain D/troit's tight grooves while leaning into something altogether more playful and eclectic. At times it sounds like the exotica-tinged soundtrack for a 70s heist movie. Elsewhere they sound equal parts twilit bar and Addams-family party, while "Hernandez" invokes a Morricone-style stand-off. The one non-instrumental features a "guest" appearance by D/troit singer Toke Bo on a Meters/James Brown-esque funky banger - raw, ready and dance-inducing.

Josh da Costa makes his solo debut with 'New Wave Graveyard', an album which pays tribute to a spectrum of underground music and carves out a new niche.

'New Wave Graveyard' might draw on the ‘70s and ‘80s genre that gives the album its name, but new wave is one of many of Josh da Costa’s musical inspirations – the album is a beautiful soup of styles and ideas, from glam to shoegaze, all informed by Josh’s eclectic taste. With witty lyrics and an abundance of catchy songs, 'New Wave Graveyard' is a thrilling statement from an exciting new artist.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: As a regular listener of Josh's NTS show 'Confusing Mix' (on which he has previously aired some of his own music) I was delighted to hear that he is finally putting out a record. Very excited about this one!

TRACK LISTING

1. Skygirl
2. Proving Me Right
3. Cordelia
4. Shireen
5. Tissues
6. Hospital Clown
7. After Your Heart
8. Slip By
9. Sleepy Babe
10. 96 Year Old Girl
11. Beach In The Rain

Rambling on about the brilliance of Deb Googe and Cara Tivey is no difficult task - spot either of their names on a record’s sleeve credits and you’re guaranteed listening worthy of your time . . . and hard-earned cash!

Deb joined My Bloody Valentine during its ascent to legend, filled a temporary void in Primal Scream, aids in Thurston Moore's late-period artistic high, formed Snowpony with Stereolab’s Katharine Gifford and plays bass in ex-Fall guitarist Brix Smith’s all-female band.

Cara’s may be best known as a longtime Billy Bragg collaborator, but she’s played with an array of other outstanding artists, among them Everything But The Girl, Blur, Lilac Time, Au Pairs and the greatest living genius of the West Midlands, Robert Lloyd of Nightingales fame. Incredibly, despite decades of stellar work, neither Deb nor Cara has ever released an album under their own names until now with 'The Golden Thread', their full-length debut, made under the name Da Googie + Cara Tivey. The album was wholly recorded in Deb’s home studio and performed exclusively by the duo.

The album is preceded by a video for 'Dumb', an indictment of the sad state of the modern western world, which serves as a fine point of an entry into the album’s seemingly contradictory sonic elements: thick-yet-minimal soundscapes, the openness of dub put across in a densely claustrophobic style, a bass-driven sound melding effortlessly into moments of delicate piano, and lyrics which convey vast depths of meaning with only a mere handful of words.

'Dumb' is available on YouTube as a fantastic video (by Deb herself) from absurdities captured in animated (and public domain) footage - a rodent army, ape-like men alongside man-like apes, brainless birds . . . as well as their even sadder human equivalents, captured in film. By the time you read this, a second video, 'Bad Habits', will likely already have appeared.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bad Habits
2. The Longest Wait
3. You Take It With You When You Go
4. Rant
5. Dumb
6. Mad Mike (Mark My Words)
7. The Last Tear Falls
8. Secret Place

Da Lata's 'Edge of Blue' marks a rebirth in the North London Tropicalia sound.

Da Lata's nucleus is musician/producer Chris Franck (founder member of Smoke City, Zeep, The Quiet Ones) and legendary DJ Patrick Forge. Chris Franck has worked with artists from all over the world such as Mayra Andrade, Bernie Worrell, Tony Allen, George Clinton, Ernest Ranglin, Marisa Monte, Nona Hendryx, Vieux Farka Toure amongst many others. Patrick Forge is a British jazz, jazz-dance and soul music DJ who spent much of the late 1980s and early 1990s DJing alongside Gilles Peterson at Dingwalls club in Camden, North London.

Never before has the band woven their many strands so sweetly, blending their diverse influences with the musical personalities of their extended family into a collection of songs that speak of struggle, survival, and ultimately hope. 

Since their inception 25+ years ago, Da Lata have shared the stage, collaborated or remixed tracks for artists including Femi Kuti, Arto Lindsay, Carlinhos Brown, Morcheeba, Sly and Robbie, Bebel Gilberto, Kyoto Jazz Massive, NovaLima, Luisa Maita, showcasing their artistry around the world. This rich experience working with some of the world's finest musicians is apparent through their musicianship and 'Edge of Blue' is their most accomplished work to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. First Rays (ft. Sukirti Uikey)
2. The Lonely City
3. Tsinguipa (ft. Lenna Bahule)
4. Cabera (ft. Luizga)
5. Arena (ft. Bembe Segue)
6. Messing Again
7. Musa (ft. Adriana Vasques)
8. Rare Thirst
9. Boca Seca (ft. Bruna Lucchesi)
10. Listen (ft. Sukirti Uikey)

No hold barred old skool hardcore on the excellent Household Name label.

Springing from Manchester, drawing on musical influences from around the globe, with strains of the urban and psychedelic, Da Vida explore the spaces between recognised categories of political, social & spiritual realities. Words and rhythm combine with electronic and acoustic textures to confront the distinctions between order and disorder, male and female, the mask and the face.

'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' deals with the transforming affect of technology on music and the arts in general. Thirteen pieces span genres of Chicago blues to hip hop, industrial and avant garde and feature Manchester hip hop artist MC Crystalize and South African vocalist Joyce Moholoagae. Inspiring, provocative, challenging.

Richmond, VA-based songwriter Lucy Dacus is the latest addition to the renowned Matador Records roster.
Lucy Dacus's No Burden is full of surprises—sharp lyrical observations, playful turns of musical phrase, hooks that'll embed themselves in your frontal lobe for days. But the most surprising thing about this album might be the fact that it's a debut; it has a keen sense of self about it, and it nearly glows from the self-possession held by the woman at its core.

The 21-year-old Dacus grew up in Richmond; she was adopted at a young age, an experience that informed her curious, openhearted songwriting. "When my parents were explaining what adoption was—which was very early on in my childhood—they always said that my birthmother thought I was worthwhile even though she couldn't be my mom," she says. "And so from essentially infancy, I was taught that life was innately worthwhile because a bunch of people had worked together to set me up with one.”

Dacus started playing around Richmond while in college, opening for local acts and eventually meeting Jacob Blizard, a guitarist who invited her to make a record for a college project of his. No Burden, which originally came out in February on the Richmond label EggHunt Records, opens with the forthright, almost brutally honest "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore," the last song Dacus wrote before the album's day-long recording session at Starstruck Studios in Nashville. Dacus delivers scalpel-sharp observations about resisting pigeonholing over chunky guitars, ticking off ideals of femininity and youth until the track's not-quite-resolution.

These themes extend to the lyrics of songs like "Strange Torpedo," a whirling portrait of a friend whose "bunch of bad habits" who, Dacus sings, has "been falling for so long… [and hasn't] hit anything solid yet." "I've been that friend watching a loved one do what they know is bad for them and not understanding why," says Dacus. The song offers a simple message: "I love you, why don't you love you? You're the one in your body so you get to choose what to do with it, but if I were you I'd treat me differently.”

The rest of No Burden, which was produced by Collin Pastore, puts Dacus's voice center stage, allowing the glinting poetry of her lyrics to shine even more brightly. "Trust," which Dacus wrote in late 2013, showcases her alone with her guitar, her faint vibrato floating over strummed chords as she sings of self-redemption. And the diptych "Dream State…" and "…Familiar Place," which revolve around Dacus repeating "Without you, I am surely the last of our kind/ Without you, I am surely the last of my kind," capture disappointment and loss in a jaw-dropping way; the music trembles around her while her voice stays steady, anticipating whatever might come next.

No Burden is a forthright, disarmingly catchy statement. And while it's a sterling debut, it only hints at the potential possessed by this passionate, thoughtful young woman.

Recorded in here-and-there studio spurts over the last two years, ‘2019’ is made up of originals and cover songs tied to specific holidays, each of which has dropped/will drop around their respective date: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day (and Taurus season!), Independence Day, Springsteen’s Birthday (not an official holiday, though Chris Christie often took that day off, aaparently), Halloween, Christmas and New Year.

Lucy Dacus uses her gift as a songwriter to help understand and cope with the world around her, including making sense of national holidays, often more geared towards social media boasts and manufactured consumerism than authentic celebration. “What is going on,” she asks herself on these days, retreating from the heightened expectations of holidays to figure out what to make of them and to find her own meaning. “I’ve collected some songs from trying to answer that question,” she says, and “this EP seems like the right place to put them next to each other. These songs are self-contained, not indicative of a new direction, just a willingness to do something different and sometimes even out of character.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Lucy Dacus’ warm vocals are a welcoming bliss in this miserable November weather. Her ability to cover classics such as ‘In The Air Tonight’ and give it an entirely different tone is breath-taking, while her own song writing in ‘Fools Gold’ are stunningly original and moving.

TRACK LISTING

Fool’s Gold
La Vie En Rose
My Mother & I
Forever Half Mast
Dancing In The Dark
In The Air Tonight
Last Christmas

Widely regarded as “one of the best songwriters of her generation” (Rolling Stone), Lucy Dacus returns with Forever Is A Feeling. Following a career defining run with boygenius that earned her three GRAMMY® Awards, her fourth solo studio album explores falling in and out of love, the tumult of desire, and larger than life romance. Across 13 tracks that range from lush arrangements to simple declarations, Dacus makes a serious inquiry into what it looks like to dedicate one’s life to true love, and a valiant attempt to capture the elusive, fleeting feeling of forever.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A fittingly grand, majestic outing from Dacus of Springsteenian melodicism and slowly growing atmospheres, wonderfully orchestrated and finely balanced to result in an album that's definitely her most cinematically intense to date. A stunningly voiced, perfectly curated selection from one of the greatest songwriters of our generation.

TRACK LISTING

Calliope Prelude
Big Deal
Ankles
Limerence
Modigliani
Talk
For Keeps
Forever Is A Feeling
Come Out
Best Guess
Bullseye (with Hozier)
Most Wanted Man
Lost Time

This new gift from Dacus, her third album, was built on an interrogation of her coming-of-age years in Richmond, VA. Many songs start the way a memoir might—“In the summer of ’07 I was sure I’d go to heaven, but I was hedging my bets at VBS”—and all of them have the compassion, humour, and honesty of the best autobiographical writing. Most importantly and mysteriously, this album displays Dacus’s ability to use the personal as portal into the universal.

“I can’t hide behind generalizations or fiction anymore,” Dacus says, though talking about these songs, she admits, makes her ache. That Home Video arrives at the end of this locked down, fearful era seems as preordained as the messages within. “I don’t necessarily think that I’m supposed to understand the songs just because I made them,” Dacus says, “I feel like there’s this person who has been in me my whole life and I’m doing my best to represent them.” After more than a year of being homebound, in a time when screens and video calls were sometimes our only form of contact, looking backward was a natural habit for many.

If we haven’t learned it already, this album is a gorgeous example of the transformative power of vulnerability. Dacus’s voice, both audible and on the page, has a healer’s power to soothe and ground and reckon.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: While 'No Burden' and to a lesser extent 'Historian' dealt with undoubtedly serious events with a certain levity, 'Home Video' hits as hard as is possible while still retaining Dacus' melodicism and wit. 'Thumbs' gives me genuine shivers every time I hear it, and the rest of the LP isn't far behind. An absolutely stunning LP, again vying for high up the Barry EOY list.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hot & Heavy
2. Christine
3. First Time
4. VBS
5. Cartwheel
6. Thumbs
7. Going Going Gone
8. Partner In Crime
9. Brando
10. Please Stay
11. Triple Dog Dare

Lucy Dacus is done thinking small. Two years after her 2016 debut, No Burden, won her unanimous acclaim as one of rock's most promising new voices, Dacus returns on March 2 with Historian, a remarkably assured 10-track statement of intent. "This is the album I needed to make," says Dacus, who views Historian as her definitive statement as a songwriter and musician. "Everything after this is a bonus."

Dacus and her band recorded the album in Nashville last March, re-teaming with No Burden producer Collin Pastore, and mixed it a few months later with A-list studio wizard John Congleton. The sound they created, with substantial input from multi-instrumentalist and live guitarist Jacob Blizard, is far richer and fuller than the debut — an outward flowering of dynamic, living, breathing rock and roll. Dacus' remarkable sense of melody and composition are the driving force throughout, giving Historian the immersive feel of an album made by an artist in full command of her powers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Dacus' light Americana leanings of the superb No Burden are sidelined slightly for her grander, more expansive new outing, Historian. Though her smouldering guitar work and unmistakable voice are ever present, they are skillfully woven into an intricate and all-encompassing web of orchestration, grandeur and beauty. This is a stunner, and every bit the successful follow-up.

TRACK LISTING

Night Shift
Addictions
The Shell
Nonbeliever
Yours & Mine
Body To Flame
Timefighter
Next Of Kin
Pillar Of Truth
Historians

Contemporary folk multi-instrumentalist Rachael Dadd is set to release her new album “Flux” on Memphis Industries on the 8th November 2019. Produced with Marcus Hamblett (Villagers / Laura Marling), “Flux” is a response to external and internal tides: the flow of life uprooted; a protest against the flow of recent political history and a diary of the flow within the intimate space of home.

Collaborators include multi-instrumentalist Emma Gatrill (Willie Mason / Matthew and the Atlas), drummer Rob Pemberton (Emily Barker / Low Chimes), bassist Jim Barr (Portishead) and vocalists Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) and Rozi Plain. Flux follows Rachael’s highly acclaimed album “We Resonate” which came out on Talitres and Sweetdreams Press, and a string of international releases on Broken Sound, Lost Map, Sweetdreams Press and Angel’s Egg. Living half her time as a travelling musician in Japan, witnessing how other people create things, connecting with other cultures and landscapes; all this is a furnace for Rachael’s innovative song writing, which has seen her gain a reputation as a pioneering and thought provoking artist, unafraid to push the boundaries of folk and pop.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are moments in 'Flux' of such whimsical beauty that hark back to the early days of American psychedelic folk, with plucking guitars and Dadd's gorgous vox. It's the more soulful pieces here that really impress, soaring and weaving in equal measure, providing a fascinating but cohesive listen. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Arrows
2. Cut My Roots
3. Beacon
4. Two Islands
5. Language Of Water
6. Animal
7. Palaeontologist
8. Super Moon Machine
9. Knot
10. Two Coiled Springs
11. Connected To The Rock

Wildly creative free-form songwriter Rachael Dadd releases her brand new studio album ‘Kaleidoscope’ via Memphis Industries and follows 2019’s 'Flux', which was released to much acclaim and which she was touring when the pandemic struck.

Like so many people disconnected from their communities and struggling through the lockdowns, Rachael Dadd turned inwards, seeking escape through music and connection through song writing, and her hope is that when people listen to ‘Kaleidoscope' “they will feel held and find space to breathe, grieve and celebrate.”

“This album is a lot more honest and personal than ‘Flux'” she shares, “but I feel the songs are universal as they are largely rooted in truth and love. If I had to pick a favourite album it would be this one because of the magical rekindling of human connection when me and my band got back in a room together again. All that magic went into these songs."

Co-produced "intuitively, boldly, and playfully" by Rachael and Rob Pemberton (The Staves, Emily Barker, Maja Lena), ‘Kaleidoscope’ includes musical collaborators such as Maja Lena (Low Chimes), long-time collaborator Emma Gatrill (Willy Mason), Alex Heane (bass), Charlotte West (synths), Alex Garden (strings) and ‘Flux’ producer Marcus Hamblett (Villagers, James Holden, The Staves), giving the record "just the right colour combination, just the right pattern of shapes, plenty of space where needed and finally landing in a sound world that feels fresh and open and true” reflects Rachael.

Japanese aesthetics absorbed from her time spent living there are subconsciously woven into Rachael’s songs. "I first stepped foot in Tokyo in 2008, sparked by the adventure of such a rich and different culture and later on I lived on a small island and experienced an appealing and balanced way of life: the aesthetics, the art and the traditions,” she recalls. “There was a lot of caring for each other, a lot of gentleness, and a lot of simple living in harmony with nature. Japan left its cultural mark on me and is now part of my inner world and I’m sure this comes out with the words and music I write”.

“But overall” Rachael explains “this is an album of homecoming and reconnecting to my own truth, to my community here, to the earthy land that I love and to the sky that I know.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Children Of The Galaxy
Footsteps
Moon Sails
Ox
Ghost
Side B
River Spirit
Heads Down
For Honey And Ray
White Snow
Swift
Join The Dots

Dinked Edition Bonus CD
The Bridge (feat Kate Stables – This Is The Kit)
Fronds
Crystalizing In Time
Fences (feat Rozi Plain)

Like his mythological namesake, Daedelus – otherwise known as Alfred Darlington – is an inventor, a creator of sonic labyrinths combining sounds from an eclectic palette into an innovative genre all his own. To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Daedelus is repackaging his seminal debut Invention in a 2XLP package with the complimentary EP The Quiet Party (including appearances from Madlib, Yesterday’s New Quintet and Busdriver) in a color vinyl masterpiece. Containing the track Experience, known in part as a sample in Madvillain’s accordion, Invention is a genrespanning opus that marks the start of what has become an illustrious career. As Pitchfork writes, “Daedelus’ debut album manages to find common ground between 21st century electronics and the string arrangements of yesteryear. He never obscures one with the other, nor allows one to shine through at the other’s expense. The disparate elements are in harmony and at the command of Daedelus’ personality.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Playing Parties
2. Pursed Lips Reply
3. Astroboy
4. Adventress
5. Elegy (At Last)
6. Muggle Born
7. Aplomb
8. Experience
9. Loded
10. Quiet Now
11. Minor Detour
12. Perchance A Bit
13. Soulful Of Child
14. Thus The Whirligig
15. Quiet Now (with Busdriver)
16. Pursed Lips Reply (with Sach)
17. Playing Parties (YNQ – The Stars Remix)
18. Madlib Bonus Beats
19. Muggle Born (High Priest ESP Remix)
20. Girls (feat. Abstract Rude And Busdriver)
21. Girls (Instrumental)
22. A Touch Of Spring

Like his mythological namesake, Daedelus - otherwise known as Alfred Darlington - is an inventor, a creator of sonic labyrinths combining sounds from an eclectic palette into an innovative genre all his own. With 'The Light Brigade', Daedelus returns to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder, a fitting home for the Los Angeles electronic pioneer. The album recalls the Crimean war of 1853-56. The music was written and recorded before the recent troubles broke out in the region, a turn of events which lends an air of requiem to the album.

Opening with 'Until Artillery', an elegiac voice invokes the conflict as glorified in Lord Alfred Tennyson’s infamous poem, backed by electronic swells that build into a poignant climax, contrasting the simple melodies that are the distinction of the album. 'Onward' is a haunting lament; layered, melancholy vocals provided by previous collaborator Young Dad wind their way through treated pianos and deep textures creating a mournful ballad of noise. In 'Shot And Shell', a cavalcade of fingerpicked guitars are embedded in warm synths, and closing track 'Country Of Conquest' is a heartbreaking string composition that recalls Shostakovich.

'The Light Brigade' is a musical interplay of light and dark, soft and heavy, beautiful and frightening. The ghosts of war reverberate into the present in this deeply moving meditation on mortality.

On 'Carlos Dafé JID025', Carlos Dafé reaffirms his legacy while venturing into uncharted musical territory. The album celebrates Dafe's extraordinary ability to bridge the past and present, blending soul, samba, and funk with contemporary experimentation. His story, voice, and artistry continue to inspire, making him not only a cornerstone of Brazilian Black music but a timeless figure in global music history.

TRACK LISTING

1. AMOR ENFEITIÇADO
2. BLOCO DA HARMONIA
3. JAZZ ESTÁ MORTO
4, VERDADEIRO SENTIMENTO
5. E UM POUCO DE PAZ
6. 0 BAILE FUNK VAI ROLAR
7. COMO ENTENDER O AMOR
8. É REAL.. É VERDADE...
9. ESSE SOM É VERDADEIRO

Way back when (approx 12 years ago), in those glory days of dingy basements and gaffa taped trainers, a whole new genreration of dancers were taking a journey of musical discovery at the the invitation of one Erol Alkan and his banging clubnight Trash. Electroclash, nu-disco, post-punk, punk-funk, nu rave, techno, there was a fair bit of techno, and indie cuts all rubbed shoulders, pogoed and made out in the middle of the dancefloor, getting totally fucked up as Erol threw them into the blender. This series sees the Phantasy man showcase his ear for a tune and hand for a killer rework with retrospective series of his best reinterpretations.
On the A-side, Erol rips apart the abrasive electro snarl of Daft Punk's "Brainwasher" and stitches it back together with a series of rib rattling breakbeats, gloomy keys and tremulous bass. Hard hitting, head-fucking electro tackle which predated the current breaks revival by a decade. Flip it for an Erol rework of Chilly Gonzales' "Never Stop". This dancefloor mauler works from a standard electro set up of kick+snare+hats before dropping into bleepy keys, pitched down vocal flips and a rampant electrodisco bassline. 'Ave it!

12" version of one of Daft Punk's biggest hits. A pinnacle of French Touch sophistication and decadence encapsulated into 7 minutes of vocoder led, fist-pumping, filter-house perfection. A modern day anthem in every sense of the word.

Includes the Masters At Work 'Mellow Mix' which deploys their trademark drum patterns, warm keys and dubbed out vox for a summery and breezy house jam that retains the flavour of the original whilst imparting plenty of the Brooklyn brother's own personality into proceedings. 

Back in stock for a limited time only. Every home needs one! 

TRACK LISTING

A. Around The World.
B. Around The World (Mellow Mix)

The French duo head down to the discotheque with some mixes their mates have made for them - The Neptunes, Slum Village, Boris Dlugosch, Basement Jaxx, Cosmo Vitelli, Gonzales and many more.

'Human After All', the third album from Daft Punk, was originally released in March 2005. It was produced in just six weeks, a major departure from the timeline for their previous release, 'Discovery', which took over two years to produce. A year after the release of 'Human After All', a collection of 'Human After All' remixes tracks was released on CD exclusively in Japan, including reworkings by Justice, Soulwax, and SebastiAn, among others. In June 2014, an expanded CD version was released (also exclusive to Japan) featuring additional remixes from artists such as Basement Jaxx and The Juan Maclean. The album was made available to stream internationally in August 2014. It is now available for the first time on vinyl!

TRACK LISTING

1. Robot Rock (Soulwax Remix)
2. Human After All (SebastiAn Remix)
3. Technologic (Peaches No Logic Remix)
4. Brainwasher (Erol Alkan's Horrorhouse Dub)
5. Prime Time Of Your Life (Para One Remix)
6. Human After All ("Guy-Man After All" Justice Remix)
7. Technologic (Digitalism Remix)
8. Human After All (Emperor Machine Version)
9. Technologic (Vitalic Remix)
10. Robot Rock (Daft Punk Maximum Overdrive Mix)
11. Technologic (Liquid Twins Remix)
12. Technologic (Basement Jaxx Kontrol Mixx)
13. Human After All (The Juan Maclean Remix)
14. Human After All (Alter Ego Remix)
15. Technologic (Knight Club Remix)

Lovely little repress of Daft Punk's now iconic 'Random Access Memories', time to 'Get Lucky'!

Drawing inspiration of the sounds of the 70s and 80s, "Random Access Memories" serves up bouncing disco (Worldwide summer smash "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself To Dance"), prog jazz ("Giorgio by Moroder" and "Touch") and West Coast AOR ("Instant Crush", "Beyond" and "Fragments of Time"). The influences are similar to 2001's "Discovery", but rather than samples, the album instead features an all star roster of collaborators from all over the musical world recorded live in studio sessions.

TRACK LISTING

1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself To Dance (Feat. Pharrell Williams)
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments Of Time
12. Doin' It Right
13. Contact

"Discovery" was originally released in 2001, five years after those Daft Punks blew us all away with "Homework" and the world was a very different place. "Homework" had been the shot of adrenaline that club culture needed, prompting the golden age of filter house, with a legion of imitators following their lead. But the French duo hadn't spent the interim resting on their laurels, instead they'd dug deep into their record collections, exploring the productions of Thomas' father (Daniel Vangarde, who hit the charts with Ottowan's "D.I.S.C.O.") and honing their songwriting skills. They'd also spent a fair bit of time in the workshop making two very snazzy robot costumes which have become their uniform ever since. And when they were good and ready, they unleashed "Discovery" (or Disco Very) on the world. Opening with the massive hands in the air "One More Time", the album soon heads into a sampledelic melting pot of 70s disco grooves, reinterpreting the likes of Edwin Birdsong, Cerrone, Sister Sledge, George Duke, Tavares and Barry Manilow!!! This time around though, they'd taken a step back from the dancefloor, instead creating a pop gem that'd work in a club, on the radio, in an armchair or  anywhere really, that even contained proper songs. Perfect in its conception and execution this was the album that turned them from house music's golden boys to global megastars, and rightly so.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. One More Time
2. Aerodynamic
3. Digital Love
Side B
1. Harder Better Faster Stronger
2. Crescendolls
3. Nightvision
4. Superhereos
Side C
1. High Life
2. Something About Us
3. Voyager
4. Veridis Quo
Side D
1. Short Circuit
2. Face To Face
3. Too Long

After more hype and fanfare than I can remember, Daft Punk finally deliver "Random Access Memories". On the previous trilogy of records they've changed the music world and heralded new eras and scenes. From the jacking filter house of 1997's "Homework", an album which set the blueprint for the whole French touch scene, to the pop majesty of 2001's "Discovery", a sampledelic journey through the kaleidescope of 70s disco and funk, to 2005's "Human After All", the rough and abrasive record that in hindsight heralded the new wave of French electronic producers. They are rightly regarded as the leading electronic musicians of their time and not only have they recorded a hype worthy record, they've delivered a classic.

Drawing inspiration of the sounds of the 70s and 80s, "Random Access Memories" serves up bouncing disco (Worldwide summer smash "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself To Dance"), prog jazz ("Giorgio by Moroder" and "Touch") and West Coast AOR ("Instant Crush", "Beyond" and "Fragments of Time"). The influences are similar to 2001's "Discovery", but rather than samples, the album instead features an all star roster of collaborators from all over the musical world recorded live in studio sessions.

Those expecting an album of easy dancefloor hits will be disappointed, Daft Punk have never simply retrodden uninspired paths and have instead turned out an expansive and exhaustive journey through an era before house music, where sentiment and nostalgia is preferred over beats. But don't fear, the dancefloor won't be neglected entirely, album closer "Contact" is probably a hint of what they might have in store for us on the soon-come remix disc!

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: The massive and eagerly awaited new album from Daft Punk, does not disappoint. This is their fourth album and first in over eight years. Working on a theme of 70s disco, influenced by movie soundtracks, the album is full of catchy summer sounding hits.

TRACK LISTING

1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself To Dance (Feat. Pharrell Williams)
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments Of Time
12. Doin' It Right
13. Contact

2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk multi Grammy winning hit record Random Access Memories including Get Lucky, Instant Crush, Lose Yourself To Dance and featuring Pharell Willams, Nile Rodgers, Julien Casablancas, Paul Williams, Panda Bear and Todd Edwards.

To celebrate this milestone a special expanded edition will be released including 35 minutes of unreleased music (Demo and Studio Outtakes).

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
CD 1:
1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself To Dance
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments Of Time
12. Doin’ It Right
13. Contact
Bonus CD
1. Horizon Ouverture
2. Horizon (Japan Cd)
3. Glbtm (Studio Outtakes)
4. Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)
5. Gl (Early Take)
6. Prime (2012 Unfinished)
7. Lytd (Vocoder Tests)
8. The Writing Of Fragments Of Time 8:17
9. Touch (2021 Epilogue) 3:00

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. Give Life Back To Music
2. The Game Of Love
3. Giorgio By Moroder
Side 2
1. Within
2. Instant Crush
3. Lose Yourself To Dance
Side 3
1. Touch
2. Get Lucky
3. Beyond
Side 4
1. Motherboard
2. Fragments Of Time
3. Doin’ It Right
4. Contact
Side 5
1. Horizon Ouverture
2. Horizon (Japan CD)
3. GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)
4. Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)
5. GL (Early Take)
Side 6
1. Prime (2012 Unfinished)
2. LYTD (Vocoder Tests)
3. The Writing Of Fragments Of Time
4. Touch (2021 Epilogue)

Following the release of the critically acclaimed ‘Random Access Memories 10th Anniversary Edition’ earlier this year, Daft Punk unveils a new iteration of their GRAMMY-award winning Album of the Year. This version strips away all drum and percussive elements from the album, giving listeners the ability to dive deeper into the layers of instrumentation on each track.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's Daft Punk's MASSIVE 'Random Access Memories' but without the drums, which I thought was at least 70% of their whole thing. Imagine my joy then when this actually ends up being a totally worthwhile, refocused look at one of the most meticulously crafted sounds of the past few decades.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklisting:
1. Give Life Back To Music (Drumless Edition)
2. The Game Of Love (Drumless Edition)
3. Giorgio By Moroder (Drumless Edition)
4. Within (Drumless Edition)
5. Instant Crush (Drumless Edition) (feat. Julian Casablancas)
6. Lose Yourself To Dance (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams)
7. Touch (Drumless Edition) (feat. Paul Williams)
8. Get Lucky (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
9. Beyond (Drumless Edition)
10. Motherboard (Drumless Edition)
11. Fragments Of Time (Drumless Edition) (feat. Todd Edwards)
12. Doin' It Right (Drumless Edition) (feat. Panda Bear)
13. Contact (Drumless Edition)

2LP Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Give Life Back To Music (Drumless Edition)
2. The Game Of Love (Drumless Edition)
3. Giorgio By Moroder (Drumless Edition)
Side B
1. Within (Drumless Edition)
2. Instant Crush (Drumless Edition) (feat. Julian Casablancas)
3. Lose Yourself To Dance (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Side C
1. Touch (Drumless Edition) (feat. Paul Williams)
2. Get Lucky (Drumless Edition) (feat. Pharrell Williams And Nile Rodgers)
3. Beyond (Drumless Edition)
Side D
1. Motherboard (Drumless Edition)
2. Fragments Of Time (Drumless Edition) (feat. Todd Edwards)
3. Doin' It Right (Drumless Edition) (feat. Panda Bear)
4. Contact (Drumless Edition)

Tron: Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name, released on December 3, 2010. It is the only film score by French music duo Daft Punk.

The score of Tron: Legacy features an 85-piece orchestra, recorded at AIR Lyndhurst Studios in London, Daft Punk cited Wendy Carlos, the composer of the original Tron film, as inspiration for the soundtrack as well as Max Steiner, Bernard Herrmann, John Carpenter, Vangelis and Maurice Jarre. The soundtrack debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with sales of 71,000 copies. This marked the duo’s first top 10 album/soundtrack in the United States. As of November 17, 2011, It has sold 588,000 copies in the US as of May 2013 and is certified gold in the UK. Tron: Legacy received an award for “Best Original Score” from the Austin Film Critics Association and was nominated for Score of the Year and Breakout Composer of the Year and won Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film by the International Film Music Critics Association. The soundtrack album was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Visual Media at the 54th Grammy Awards.

TRACK LISTING

LP1 - Side A
Overture
The Grid
The Son Of Flynn
Recognizer
Armory
Arena
Rinzler
The Game Has Changed
Outlands
LP1 - Side B
Adagio For TRON
Nocturne
End Of Line
Derezzed
Fall
Solar Sailer
Rectifier
Disc Wars
LP2 - Side C
C.L.U.
Arrival
Flynn Lives
TRON Legacy (End Titles)
Finale
LP2 - Side D
Sea Of Simulation
Encom Part II
Encom Part I
Round One
Castor
Reflections
Sunrise Prelude

Absolutely essential, all time classic DC hardcore / punk album, now remastered by Ian Mackaye. This was their debut album, recorded in 1986. As well as the original album tracks, this release also includes two tracks recorded at the same session as the album "Another Wrong" and "My Dog's A Cat", along with four previously unavailable live recordings. Quality!

After only three months of playing shows, Dag Nasty went into Inner Ear Studios with Ian MacKaye. "Dag With Shawn" was recorded on Halloween Day 1985 and features the original line-up of the band with Shawn Brown on vocals.

Initially songs from this session were to be released as a four-song 7" on Dischord, but shortly after the recording Shawn left Dag Nasty and the tape was shelved. In early 1986 the band re-recorded the entire album with new vocalist Dave Smalley and released it as "Can I Say".

This original session has only been previously available as partial out-takes and unauthorized bootlegs and, until now, has never been released in its complete form. This recording, taken from restored master tapes, offers a unique view into the early development of one of DC’s most influential bands.

Shawn went on to form the much loved Swiz and Dag Nasty went through several more line-up changes over the years, including another vocal switch when Dave Smalley was replaced by Peter Cortner.

Dag Nasty, the legendary Dischord band are back and as good as ever with their first release in a decade. Once again it features band members Dave Smalley, Brian Baker plus bassist Roger Marbury and drummer Colin Sears. Credited with helping to originate the 'emo' sound and influencing many of today's top selling punk bands, they remain very influential to many with their blend of aggressive hardcore and melodic punk.

Since the release of their 2023 debut LP 'Good Time', Austin TX outfit DAIISTAR have spent the last couple of years touring relentlessly and spreading their baggy noise-pop good times across North America and Europe – be that headline runs of their own or tours supporting the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Black Angels, The Dandy Warhols and LA Witch. When over in the UK in September 2024, they holed up at London's Lightship 95 studio – a floating studio on the Thames – to record this Fuzz Club Session LP, which is set to be released digitally and on limited coloured vinyl on September 26th, alongside a series of videos from the session. DAIISTAR's ten-track Fuzz Club Session LP – number 21 in the series – perfectly captures the band’s road-hardened blend of shoegaze, neo-psychedelia and Madchester-inspired grooves, featuring standout tracks from 'Good Time' such as 'Star Starter', 'Tracemaker', 'Parallel' and 'Repeater'. It also includes their euphoric single 'Clear', a 'Good Time' outtake released on a limited 7" last year, as well as their cover of Primal Scream's 'Burning Wheel' which is now available on vinyl for the very first time.

TRACK LISTING

1. LMB BB LMN - Live
2. Star Starter - Live
3. Say It To Me - Live
4. Clear - Live
5. Parallel - Live
6. Repeater - Live
7. Tracemaker - Live
8. Burning Wheel - Live
9. Heathens Gate - Live
10. Speed Jesus - Live

'Profound Non-Event', the debut album by Sydney-based three piece Daily Toll, comprises 11 songs traversing three years of forged friendships, collaborative experimentation and a shared love of growing through words and song.

Those attuned to the ever-vibrant Australian underground may already be well familiar with Daily Toll, their consistent live presence since their inception in 2021 embroidered by a handful of (mostly) home-recorded, (mostly) digital self-releases that have steadily accumulated an appreciative following. Initially the project of self taught musician, poet & artist Kata Szász-Komlós(they/them) and Jasper Craig-Adams(he/him), and expended to a three piece with the more recent addition of friend Tom Stephens(he/him), Daily Toll represents the union of three unique creative dispositions, of relationships blooming through the push and pull of creative practice. Mapping the band’s existence through their recorded output is to bear witness to the flux of three people learning to respond to one another and gently ossify into a collective vision that at once calls to mind folk song intimacy, post-punk dynamics and the artful poeticism of an adjacent Flying Nun legacy.

If those earlier recordings reflect a band imagining themselves into being in real time, 'A Profound Non-Event' observes a clear shift in both conviction and approach. Recorded in just three days with Alex Bennett at the purely analogue Sound Recordings studio in Castlemaine and holing up at night in the century old cottage situated beside the studio, sheltering from the late-June wind and rain within walls littered with instruments and microphones, lighting fires to stay warm. Kata describes the experience as defined by “candle light and creative camaraderie”, an idyllic account of a collection of songs that glide with an undeniably warm, easy charm, evidenced in particular in the record’s second half as the tone turns increasingly introspective, the very sound of a cold evening’s drift into night. When contrasted with the moody swirl and sing-song bounce of the opening trio of tracks, there’s clear evidence of a band not simply in the process of becoming, but committed to finding their truth in that process.

Still, if Daily Toll display a reluctance to be wholly defined, then album centerpiece ‘Killincs‘ (positioned in the middle for a reason) might just be their Rosetta Stone. A verbose rumination on unsettled feelings of isolation and longing, exploring the challenges in making peace with one's decisions amidst the uncertainty of an often harsh world and the realisation that some things remain best unresolved - “I have the keys still, but I’ve buried the path”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Another World
2. Fleeting
3. I’m Bored
4. Easy Man
5. Killincs
6. My Sister’s Loom
7. Mountain Song
8. Belljar Convenience
9. Fated To Pretend
10. Waiting Game
11. A Light

Daisies is a co-release presented by K and Perennial. From the minds that brought you CCFX, "What Are You Waiting For?", and Daisies "2" comes the 3rd release from the purveyors of the electronic paisley underground, "Cherries". Originally self released on the prolific JGAP label, now widely available on wax through Perennial and K Records. This avant pop project features Olympia, WA performance artists Chris McDonnell (CCFX, TransFX) and Valerie Warren. Along with frequent collaborator David Jaques (CCFX, CC DUST) co-producing. Recorded by the band and Cooper Rosenthal, this release continues the Olympia tradition of singular artist blazing trails for others to soon follow. Look for the video for single "Everybody's Moving to London". Also Available From Daisies: "What Are You Waiting For?". Recommended if you have a love for quirky, electronic, one-of-a-kind pop music. In particularly Lemon Jelly and Air France. Big tip!

TRACK LISTING

1. Everybody’s Moving To London
2. 2020 Perfect Vision
3. Lights Dancing On The Screen
4. Out Of The Blu

It has been 45 years since the world was first introduced to all-female 2Tone trailblazers The Bodysnatchers. Despite only releasing two official 7" singles, their influence on UK culture and music continues to inspire to this day. To celebrate 45 years of The Bodysnatchers, founding member Rhoda Dakar has revisited some of their glorious tracks and recorded them with a band including Specials mates Horace Panter and Lynval Golding, festival favourites Intensified, plus members of Pama International and the Sidewalk Doctors. This 45 year edition also arrives with three extra tracks, including a re-record of ‘Let's Do Rocksteady’ featuring The Interrupters’ very own Aimee Allen. “Firstly, it’s brilliant to see this album get a proper, all-format release! And secondly, to feature one of the genre’s star vocalists of today feels like the torch is well and truly passed!”

TRACK LISTING

1. Easy Life
2. The Ghost Of The Vox Continental
3. Happy Time Tune
4. 007
5. Private Eye
6. Too Experienced
7. Let’s Do Rocksteady
8. The Loser
9. Mixed Feelings
10. Hiawatha
11. Ruder Than You At 45
12. Let’s Do Rocksteady @ 45 Ft. Aimee Interrupter
13. What’s This? (Acoustic)

Following the success of her critically acclaimed 2023 album 'Version Girl', Rhoda Dakar returns with ‘Version Girl In Dub’ a deep, immersive journey into the heart of her signature interpretations, stripped down and reconstructed in classic dub style. Reworking the tracks from ‘Version Girl’, this album shifts the spotlight from the lead vocals to the intricate musical details that often sit just beneath the surface. In Rhoda’s words: “A dub mix affords an opportunity to highlight parts of a track integral to the overall sound, but which remain in the background, in deference to the lead vocal. Performances that are stellar, yet brief are here thrust into the limelight. Dub is where the mix is the performance.” Each track is deconstructed and rebuilt with hypnotic basslines, spacious echoes, and reverb-drenched instrumental flourishes, shining a new light on the musicianship that shaped 'Version Girl'. From classic ska and reggae foundations to adventurous sonic landscapes, 'Version Girl In Dub' is a masterclass in the art of the remix, staying true to the tradition of dub while bringing Rhoda’s unmistakable style to the forefront. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The Man Who Dubbed The World
2. Peace, Dub And Understanding
3. A Wonderful Version
4. Dub Hurts
5. As Dub Goes By
6. Dub Don’t Mind
7. Everyday Is Like Sunday Dub
8. Dubbin’ ‘Round
9. Midnight Skank
10. Siren Dub
11. Sobbin’ Dub
12. Comme Un Arbre (VD - Vérsion Dub)
13. Version Girl Dub

The Daktaris is a well-disciplined army of two hundred African Bull Elephants marching relentlessly up your business to the beat from Funky Drummer. Or so began the liner notes on the original pressing of this album.

Truth is often stranger than fiction. In 1998 Desco Records—a precursor to Daptone and Soul Fire records—released The Daktaris’ Soul Explosion, ostensibly as a reissue of an unearthed Nigerian LP from the seventies. Though it’s now common knowledge that the story was a bit of a hoax, the record’s significance as a seminal part of the Afrobeat and afro-funk renaissance of the last two decades cannot be denied. The roots of the Budos Band, Antibalas, and uncountable others can be traced back to this enigmatic afro-funk release.

Now, two decades later, Daptone has remastered the album from the original tapes, including a bonus track that had previously only been available on a 45, and featuring extensive all new liner notes by Bosco Mann telling the bizarre true story behind the Daktaris sessions.

TRACK LISTING

1  Musicawi Silt
2  Quiet Man Is Dead Man
3  Modern Technology
4  Super Afrobeat
5  In The Middle
6  Give It Up Turn It Loose
7  Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti
8  Daktari Walk
9  Voodoo Soul Stew
10 Upside Down 

Now based in the township of Castlemaine, Central Victoria, the Australian artist returns self-assured and firmly settled within the dense eucalypt bushlands. Dal Forno grapples with ideas of home, disorder and insomnia in the swift pop structures of her DIY/post-punk forebearers such as Young Marble Giants, Virginia Astley and Broadcast. Three years since the launch of her label, Kallista Records, dal Forno finds stability in Castlemaine (pop. 6,750), her third home city in as many albums. After nearly a decade of moving, recording and touring out of Berlin and London, Come Around embodies a newfound solitude born of/in elemental pop hooks and enlightened songwriting.

The title track, “Come Around,” offers the best example of this confident, fresh candor. It’s an elegant invite into dal Forno’s sharp new focus beckoning old friends, relationships and audiences into her resettled home: ‘And it’s not every day that I’ll want you beside me here and I’ll say / Come over here and be around.’ This meandering pop hit strikes between the melodic simplicity of Anna Domino and YMG and the arrangement hooks of The Cannanes and Movietone, capturing dal Forno at her most welcoming with arms wide open.

Other tracks like “Mind You’re On” recalls the bass driven heft of dal Forno’s previous work but where past albums projected the pastoral idyll from the urban jungles of Berlin and London, the lyricism and production on Come Around embody her current lived experience in the Australian regions where space, strong bonds and solitude are in high supply. As she sings on “Side By Side:” ‘It's been some years since I’ve seen this place / Kiss on my neck / Sending shivers it’s good to be back.’ Returning to rekindle relationships with people and places and joining in trysts amidst the foreboding badlands cuts through the whole record, as on “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” a cover of The United States of America’s 1968 track: ‘Luminous petals / Dissident Play / Dancing by night / Dying by day.’ There is joy if you look for it but, as dal Forno warns on “Caution”: ‘I sell caution word of you.’ Mistrust and doubt are not completely vanquished.

Having embarked on such a radical physical and creative journey since the last record, dal Forno lays bare the passing of time and the oscillating waves of energy and ennui that go with it. This is plain to see on “Stay Awake” and instrumentals like “Deep Sleep” and “Autumn,” which gives rise to anxiety and insomnia in her new sunburnt home: ‘Stay awake all the time in the endless heat / Find it hard to relate in amongst the weeds.’ Yet “Slumber” offers a glimmer of respite sitting within the chaotic circus of production that channels Kendra Smith, General Strike and The Flying Lizards. This track, a duet with English artist, Thomas Bush, searches for solace in the arms of another: ‘My Dear there’s so much to be done / I never finished what I start am / I’m losing / I should be rushing out the door, but you say slumber.’

Nothing is left unsaid on Come Around. Having finally found limitless time and space, dal Forno does well not to waste any sceric of it. Are you around? Then come around. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Carla Dal Forno brings us another meticulously crafted selection of off-piste electronic numbers, this time straying even further into slo-mo dub territory she's been known to inhabit on previous offerings. Richly produced and wonderfully evocative, and skilfully straddling a variety of genres.

TRACK LISTING

1. Side By Side
2. Come Around
3. The Garden Of Earthly Delights
4. Stay Awake
5. Autumn
6. Mind Your On
7. Slumber (ft. Thomas Bush)
8. Deep Sleep
9. Caution

'Confession' is an album of quiet upheaval. An album about closeness that arrives late and unexpectedly. About stability rubbing up against desire. About the way friendship can suddenly tilt into something charged — and how that charge unsettles everything around it. Where earlier work often observed from a distance, 'Confession' turns inward. The voice is closer, warmer, less shielded. “This wasn’t the album I intended to make,” says Carla dal Forno. “I originally wanted something veiled and abstract, but I realised I couldn’t hide behind abstraction — the songs only worked when I leaned into emotional truth.”

This is Dal Forno’s fourth LP, written and recorded over several years in a small country town, in a studio housed inside a partially abandoned hospital. Long corridors, humming lights, emptied rooms — a place built for care and waiting, now quiet enough for thoughts to echo. That stillness shapes the record: intimate, watchful, unadorned. “I live in a small country town that offers a stillness my life didn’t previously have,” she explains. “In that quiet, feelings I might’ve ignored in a busy city grew loud.” Dal Forno sings plainly and conversationally, with an emotional precision that sharpens the everyday into something quietly unsettling.

The album moves through paired states: going out and staying in, wanting and withholding, devotion and distraction. Domestic calm set against private unrest. A long-held relationship offers safety and routine, while a newer connection opens emotional fault lines — longing, jealousy, fantasy, self-exposure. “At the heart of the album is a friendship that became emotionally charged in an unexpected way,” Dal Forno says. “That shift brought daydreaming, jealousy, tenderness, confusion, self-awareness — and eventually acceptance.”

The drama here is internal, incremental, lived. Musically, 'Confession' feels lighter on its feet than its subject matter suggests. Melodic basslines anchor the songs while guitars, harmonies, and gently off-kilter rhythms move around them. There’s a looseness, even a playfulness — “like the sensation of tension lifting once you finally admit something to yourself,” as Dal Forno puts it. The album traces a subtle arc: attraction blooming where it shouldn’t; obsession quietly taking hold; fantasy overtaking reality; clarity arriving slowly, sometimes painfully. Visually and emotionally, 'Confession' returns to modest spaces: backyards, beds, night streets, overgrown paths. “The record exists in that contrast,” Dal Forno reflects. “Peaceful surroundings, unsettled interior.”

Like all of Dal Forno’s work, 'Confession' resists clean conclusions. It doesn’t moralise desire or romanticise restraint. Instead, it lingers in the in-between — where love is stable but not total, where yearning teaches as much as it hurts, where solitude becomes a form of care. Plain-spoken but emotionally complex. Rooted and restless. Held together by bass, breath, routine, weather. An album about admitting what you feel —and living with what that admission changes.

TRACK LISTING

1. Going Out
2. Confession
3. Drip Drop
4. Under The Covers
5. Nighttime
6. On The Ward
7. Blue Skies
8. I Go Back
9. Off The Beaten Track
10. Alone With You
11. Gave You Up
12. Staying In

Dal Forno beckons a bold new era in her peerless output pushing her dub-damaged DIY dispatches to the limits of flawless dream-pop. In a transformative move towards crystal clear vocals and sharpened production, "Look Up Sharp" is an evolutionary leap from the thick fog and pastoral stillness of her Blackest Ever Black missives, "You Know What It’s Like" (2016) and "The Garden EP" (2017). Three years since her plain-speaking debut album, the Melbourne-via-Berlin artist finds herself absorbed in London’s sprawling mess. The small-town dreams and inertia that preoccupied dal Forno’s first album have dissolved into the chaotic city, its shifting identities, far-flung surroundings and blank faces. "Look Up Sharp" is the story of this life in flux, longing for intimacy, falling short and embracing the unfamiliar. Dal Forno connects with kindred spirits and finds refuge in darkened alleys, secret gardens and wherever else she dares to look.

In her own territory between plaintive pop, folk and post-punk dal Forno conjures the ghosts of AC Marias, Virginia Astley and Broadcast through her brushwork of art-damaged fx and spectral atmospheres. The first half of the record is filled with dubbed-out humid bass lines, which tether stoned hazes of psychedelic synth work as on ‘Took A Long Time’ and ‘No Trace.’ These are contrasted with songs like ‘I’m Conscious and ‘So Much better’ that channel the lilting power of YMG and are clear sequels-in-waiting to dead-eyed classics like ‘Fast Moving Cars.’

The B-side begins with the feverish bass and meandering melody of ‘Don’t Follow Me,’ which takes The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ as its conceptual springboard. It’s the clearest lyrical example since ‘The Garden’ of dal Forno’s unmatched ability to unpick the masculine void of post-punk and new wave nostalgia to reflect contemporary nuance. Look Up Sharp reaches its satisfying conclusion with ‘Push On’ - dal Forno’s most explicit foray into an undiscovered trip hop universe between Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn. The album’s last gasp finds personal validation in fragility: ‘I push on / I’m the Place I’m Going,’ a self discovery lifted by reverberant broken beats and glass-blown vocals.

Adding further depth to Look Up Sharp are the instrumentals, which flow seamlessly between the vocal-led pieces. ‘Hype Sleep’ and ‘Heart of Hearts’ drink from the same stream as The Flying Lizard’s dubbed-out madness and the vivid purple sunsets of Eno’s Another Green World. While ‘Creep Out of Bed’ and ‘Leaving for Japan’ funnel the fourth-world psychedelia of Cyclobe’s industrial-folk into the vortex of Nico’s The Marble Index.

Conceived as a whole, Look Up Sharp is a singular prism in which light, sound and concept bend at all angles. A deeply personal but infinitely relatable album its many surfaces are complex but authentic, enduring but imperfect, hard-edged but delicate. A diamond. Look up sharp or you’ll miss it.

TRACK LISTING

1 No Trace
2 Hype Sleep
3 So Much Better
4 Leaving For Japan
5 I'm Conscious
6 Don't Follow Me
7 Heart Of Hearts
8 Took A Long Time
9 Creep Out Of Bed
10 Push On

Pearl blue cassette comes wrapped in colour printed J-cards and with colour sticker inlays. Artwork designed by Carla dal Forno. Photo taken in Yorkshire Grove, Hackney. “Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place, look...” Carla dal Forno presents ‘Top Of The Pops,’ a self-released cassette disclosing six songs of sultry pop devotion. This late-Spring cassette of cover songs gets the wider autumnal release it deserves, showcasing the full range of dal Forno’s virtuous taste, style and production in her distinct post-punk, pop (but) minimalist sensibility. Not without cheek, the wink-and-a-nod blue film bawdiness of ‘Lay Me Down’ (Renee) and ‘Give Me Back My Man’ (B52s) are complemented by the earnest ballads of ‘A Silver Key Can Open A Lock Somewhere’ (Liliput) and The Fates’ ‘No Romance.’ Kiwi Animal’s ‘Blue Morning,’ which over the last year has grown with every live performance, finally gets a recorded release. This cosmic inner dialogue of love lost is matched only by the penultimate track, ‘Summertime Sadness’ which is the best example of how devastatingly personal a pop song truly can be. It’s all emphasised by dal Forno’s sparse production which, as with each of these six songs, brings her au fait vocal interpretations to the fore. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Lay Me Down
2. Blue Morning
3. A Silver Key Can Open A Lock Somewhere
4. Give Me Back My Man 
5. Summertime Sadness

"You Know What It’s Like" is an album for inbetween days, and occupies inbetween states: plain-speaking pop, disorientated by dub. Psychedelic folk delivered with (post-)punk economy. Drifting in space while still tethered to the ground. Astral tones blurred with earth sounds: wood, bone, breath, skin, dirt. Ending and beginning, dying and becoming. Longing for adventure and an unquiet life. Struggling to get out of bed. This is Carla dal Forno’s debut solo album, following time in cult Melbourne group Mole House and an earlier association with Blackest Ever Black as a member of F ingers and Tarcar. Her voice is an extraordinary instrument: both disarmingly conversational and glacially detached. It has something of the bedsit urbanity of Anna Domino, Marine Girls, Antena, or Helen Johnstone - stoned and deadpan - but it can also summon a gothic intensity that Nico or Kendra Smith would approve of. This voice is the perfect embodiment of dal Forno's emotionally ambiguous songs: their lyrics rooted in the everyday, observing and exposing a series of uncomfortable truths. This voice asks difficult questions of singer, subject, and sung-to. And of course there are no simple answers. Singles "Fast Moving Cars" and "What You Gonna Do Now?" weigh up claustrophobia against loneliness, inertia against acceleration, doubling down versus taking off; the title track acknowledges the provisional nature of love and 'real' intimacy, then decides to brave it anyway. By the time we arrive at the startlingly sparse "The Same Reply", the impermanence of all things is something that can no longer be tolerated, and the sense of dejection is absolute. The vocal-led pieces are interspersed with richly evocative instrumentals, like Eno’s "Another Green World" reimagined in shades of brown and blue. Smothered in tape-hiss and reverb, the seasick synthesizer miniatures "Italian Cinema" and "Dragon Breath" channel the twilit DIY whimsy of Flaming Tunes and Call Back The Giants. "DB Rip"'s drum machine and bassline are pure Chicago house, but then its dark choral drones nod to Dalis Car's dreams of blood-spattered Cornwall stone. "Dry The Rain" drinks from a stream of eldritch, home-brewed moon musick that runs through Coil, In Gowan Ring, Third Ear Band, even the Raincoats’ Odyshape, and into the woods.

TRACK LISTING

1:Italian Cinema
2:Fast Moving Cars
3:DB Rip
4:What You Gonna Do Now?
5:Dry In The Rain
6:You Know What It's Like
7:Dragon Breath
8:The Same Reply 

A surf guitar landmark! Dick Dale’s 1962 debut LP Surfers’ Choice introduced the world to the thunderous sound of surf guitar, as pioneered by the man who invented the style. Largely recorded at Dale’s legendary Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Beach and featuring such tunes as “Let’s Go Trippin’,” “Surf Beat,” and “Misirlou Twist,” this groundbreaking album forever changed the face of rock guitar. Now, this seminal release has been cut by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI on colored vinyl!

TRACK LISTING

Surf Beat
Sloop John B.
Take It Off
Night Owl
Fanny Mae
Misirlou Twist
Peppermint Man
Surfing Drums
Shake N' Stomp
Lovey Dovey
Death Of A Gremmie
Let's Go Trippin'

Experimental Hip-Hop legends dälek return with their latest full-length album, 'Brilliance of a Falling Moon'. Taking its name from a section of Erik Larson’s 2011 novel In the Garden of Beasts, the album paints a fiery portrait of life and resistance in fascist America.

Conceived, composed, and produced by Will Brooks (aka MC dälek) and Mike Mare, 'Brilliance of a Falling Moon' is a sprawling, uncompromising record that speaks to the political timbre of the day. Recorded in the group’s Deadverse Studios over the course of 2024 and 2025, 'Brilliance of a Falling Moon’s beats are propelled by brutal, dust-caked drum breaks and cloaked in an ominous, otherworldly atmosphere. Taking aim at everything from the State’s suppression of information to colonialism and Trump’s demonization of immigrants, Brooks’ rhymes are practically burning with outrage at the current state of the world.

dälek debuted in 1998 with 'Negro Necro Nekros', a sonic tour de force built upon thunderous drums, blissful ambient sections, and gritty, insightful lyrics. On watershed albums like 'From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots' (2002), 'Absence' (2005), 'Abandoned Language' (2007), and 'Gutter Tactics' (2009), dälek laid a template that added completely new textural and structural dimensions to rap music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Better Than
2. Knowledge | Understanding | Wisdom
3. Normalized Tragedy
4. Expressions Of Love
5. Substance
6. I AM A MAN
7. For The People
8. By The Time We Arrive In El Salvador

Tyler Daley is the acclaimed and highly renowned Manchester artist now surging into his autonomy with his debut solo EP 'Son of Zeus'.

With humble beginnings in Manchester's scene, Daley's influence merges a nostalgic love for pirate radio with a mix of musical inspirations journeying through roots reggae, street soul and R&B whilst modernising his sound through his love for hip hop and UK rave music.

With an impressive roster of collaborations including notable features like Ghetts, Goldie, Shy FX and Bugzy Malone to name a few, his unique artistry plays on his pioneering stature and longevity in the game. Leaning on this wisdom to create a fresh, uncompromising sound, Daley has combined his knowledge with his cutting-edge aptitude for music in his new EP.

Paying homage to the multitude of success he's seen through his eclectic journey as one half of the universally loved Children of Zeus, Tyler Daley's new EP fuses his signature sound with a clear personalisation that offers a raw and transparent depiction of his artistry and musical prowess.

Having travelled the world touring and selling out shows everywhere from KOKO London to South Africa and Dubai, the EP is a self professed tale of balancing a crazy life and equally crazy career. Daley describes the EP as "that soulful Zeus sound, a blend of dusty low-fi soul, hip hop and R&B for the sophisticated blunt heads and vibe seekers".

TRACK LISTING

1. These Cards
2. Been Trying
3. All I Need
4. Small Circles
5. Never Look Down
6. 4SoLong
7. When You're Lonely

As humankind strives to create artificial intelligence what will faith, love, or morality look like to a nascent consciousness? Will it be capable of understanding its creators who often hold logic and superstition within themselves? In return how will humans comprehend its hallucinations? And the Sun, a ball of hot plasma oblivious to our existence continually burns hydrogen until it runs out and swallows its three closest neighbours.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Rare modern braindance music that's hugely innovative, non-derivative and genuinely wonderfully put together. Rippling synths and machinated drum machine glitches break into widescreen bliss and retro-futuristic momentum.

TRACK LISTING

1. Vorei
2. Air
3. Jawns
4. Redd
5. Kristall
6. XOR
7. Chalk
8. Tare

On a remote gravel-covered spit of land on the east coast lie the abandoned buildings of a government facility for weapons testing and experiments with radar.

In the mid 1960s this site witnessed the construction of an over-the-horizon radar, a technological marvel bouncing signals off the ionosphere, built to covertly monitor the activities of other nations.

The reflectivity of the ionosphere is a function of frequency, time of day, time of year and of the solar cycle. In essence, a sympathy for the celestial was required to fully exploit this man made construction.

Plagued by noise that created false returns on the monitors, the intended performance was never achieved, and despite several investigations the system was shut down and eventually dismantled in the early 1970s.

The long dormant Cobra is now a nature reserve.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A more gloomy but impeccably brilliant affair here from Dalham, with all of their meticulously written melodies and finely wrought developments coated in a sheen of shadowy unease and crunchy analogue haze. It's all good, never a dull sound.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pulse Repetition
2. Absolute Elsewhere
3. The Proxy
4. Progress Report
5. Buran
6. Tesseract
7. Backscatter
8. Frequency Shift

For the first time, Jon Michaelides allows his Dalham project more space to breathe in two new long tracks of sky-scraping, world building ambient (or is it) techno.

Dalham is the long term of project of Suffolk born Londoner, Jon Michaelides.
Here he discusses “Fünf” (his fifth release, natch), which is subtitled “The Past Is a Foreign Country”: “There have always been “ambient” tracks on previous albums but they have in some ways served as a bit of peace and respite from the more busy percussive tracks. The purchase of some effects units triggered the decision to use delays and reverbs during the composition process much more and an entirely ambient record seemed the best vehicle for this. I was simultaneously attempting, and not for the first time, to fully grasp the concept of special relativity and so a record about time and space, focussed on the manipulation of time (delay) and space (reverb) was born.

“Some of the phenomena associated with this theory, for example the relativity of simultaneity, lead to the questioning of the nature of reality and at times a sense of disconnect with much of what was happening in the concrete world. Coupled with the desire to revisit the past, where certain friends and family are still alive and well, this set the emotional tone for these two extended tracks. Fünf is a journey to acceptance. Not only is the past a foreign country, but our passports have been revoked and we won’t be returning.”

It’s interesting that Jon uses the term “ambient”: ”I guess I call it ambient because it doesn’t have any ‘beats’ but yes, it is still very rhythmic.”

For many, these compositions will sound too intricate and complex to be termed “ambient”, but as ever, we find it difficult to find the words to describe the unique music that Jon makes. A true individual, there is literally nobody else that sounds like Dalham.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Dalham's 'Funf' is a wonderfully realised selection of crystalline synth walls and cavernous reverbed spaces, bringing to mind a juxtaposition of the evocative soundtrack work of Drokk or Survive mixed with the ambient swells and catatonic heft a-la Jon Power / Blanck Mass. Another amazing CiS release.

'An Ambassador For Laing' is the debut album by Dalhous. Arriving in the wake of their recent 10", Mitchell Heisman, it's due to be released by Blackest Ever Black in May 2013. The Edinburgh-based duo of Marc Dall and Alex Ander work with intricately stacked percussion, dubwise bass and a rich harmonic tapestry of processed voices, keys, harp, vibraphone, guitar, woodwind, strings and synthesiser - every sound re-sampled to the nth degree then subjected to subtle automation and rigorously fine-tuned over a period of many months. From the mesmerised pastoral drift of 'Anger Sees Red' and 'Dwelling By The Meadow' to agitated arabesques like 'The Physical Body' and the self-titled 'Dalhous', the resulting pieces explore dreamlike but treacherous terrain. Eleven questions in a world of blue

TRACK LISTING

CD:
1. He Was Human And Belonged With Humans
2. The Physical Body
3. Anger Sees Red
4. Bolder And Lighter Than The Beat From A Wing
5. Who's Here, You're Here, I'm Here…
6. Dalhous
7. The Cruel Practice Of Art
8. Dwelling By The Meadow
9. Eros, Love And Lies
10. A White, White Day
11. Dreamers Of Decadence

LP:
A1. He Was Human And Belonged With Humans
A2. The Physical Body
A3. Anger Sees Red
A4. Who's Here, You're Here, I'm Here…
A5. Dalhous
B1. The Cruel Practice Of Art
B2. Eros, Love And Lies
B3. A White, White Day
B4. Dreamers Of Decadence

Following the massive buzz a round the label's last release, Hobbes Music kicks off 2018 with a heavy slice of warehouse techno backed with deeper electro flavours, a second double-A-side 12" outing by the anonymous DALI.
You may remember DALI (NB all caps in the spelling) released a debut 12" around this time last year. Support came from Ben UFO, Laurent Garnier, Domenic Cappello (Sub Club), John Heckle, Chris Duckenfield, The Revenge, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Sean Johnston and XDB (among others) and a repress happened swiftly, with Laurent Garnier and Avalon Emersonalso supporting most recently (on WWFM and at Berghain, respectively). DALI has a passion for analogue synths, abstract, hypnotic dance music and all things psychedelic. Don't bother looking her up on the net, social media etc. DALI is eschewing all that, to let the music do the talking for now.

TRACK LISTING

A. Leviathan
AA. ElectricSheep

West Germany, 1968. Like everywhere else in the Western world, the young generation is pushing for radical change, still suffering the after-effects of the Second World War. Many stream out of the lecture halls and onto the streets.

Some into the underground. And some into the practice basements, in search of the soundtrack of the movement. The unique and adventurous sounds that German bands like Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, Popul Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Cluster or Kraftwerk produced back then, now known as Krautrock, are considered a blueprint for modern rock music.

And the stream of their creative admirers and continuators has been constantly widening since the first fans like David Bowie and Iggy Pop: whether Blur, Aphex Twin, Sonic Youth, Radiohead or the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. In Neu Klang, Christoph Dallach interviewed its pioneers, including Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay of CAN; Neu!'s Michael Rother; Dieter Moebius of Cluster; Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream; Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, Brian Eno and many others. Their answers combine to form an oral history that points far beyond the individual band histories: on the one hand, into the past, to Nazi teachers, post-war parental homes, free jazz, terrorism, LSD and extremely long hair; but just as much into the future, to global recognition, myth-making, techno or post-rock.

Dallas Acid are a synth-heavy dreampop trio from Austin, Texas and the first new signing to All Saints Records in a number of years. Having previously collaborated with Laraaji on the acclaimed ‘Arrive Without Leaving’ album from 2018, their unique mix of minimalist electronic music with a big ballad sensibility creates gorgeous, utterly compelling soundworlds.

“Majestically immersive sound spaces in which to float, wonder, move and trance” - Laraaji

The sky-gazing wonder of Linda Beecroft’s vocals on the title track recall the breathy intimacy of Mazzy Star, yet draped with almost symphonic banks of synthesizers blinking into infinity, expertly operated by Christian Havins and Michael Gerner, redolent of the deepest end of classic kosmische music.

Other tracks such as the instrumental ‘Circuit Jungle’ touch upon the Fourth World experiments of Jon Hassell with a mixture of Moog abstractions and FX-drenched acoustic percussion. At other points they touch upon the rain-drenched soundtracks of Vangelis and other more mysterious, electronic arthouse film scores.

For fans of Peaking Lights, Mercury Rev, Cocteau Twins, Laraaji, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Spiritualized, Moon Duo, Laurel Halo, Panda Bear.

TRACK LISTING

The Spiral Arm
Vacker
Circuit Jungle
Zavana
I Fågelns Sång
Silk Rain
Emaljets Hav

Lucrecia Dalt’s 'A Danger to Ourselves' is a daring yet intimate reflection on the unfiltered complexities of human connection. Stripping away fictional narratives present on the artist’s last several album endeavours, 'A Danger to Ourselves' arrives from a place of emotional sincerity. Sonically unravelling like a deeply personal conversation, Dalt’s voice is focal , supported by a lush array of acoustic orchestration and percussive instrumentation, and an esteemed cast of collaborators.

Dalt, born in Pereira, Colombia, was raised in a family of music enthusiasts who encouraged her to pick up a guitar when she was nine. Dalt followed this creative impulse, becoming fascinated with computer-based production and leaving a burgeoning career as a civil engineer, moving from Medellín to Barcelona and ultimately Berlin, where she developed her distinctive, adventurous sound. Her work has spun into increasingly accomplished terrains with 'Anticlines' (2018) and 'No era sólida' (2020), and notably,'¡Ay!', Dalt’s 2022 breakthrough sci-fi bolero album. Along the way, Dalt expanded her practice into scoring for films like 'On Becoming a Guinea Fowl' (2024), HBO series 'The Baby' (2022), and the forthcoming psychological horror 'Rabbit Trap', while creating sound installations and performances that showcase her luminous modulations and distinctive, evolving vocal approach. 'A Danger to Ourselves' emerged from fragmentary declarations Dalt scribbled while navigating life on tour for '¡ Ay!', and the formative moments of a new relationship. She began crystallising these intimate fragments into musical compositions in January 2024, giving gradual form to a purposeful constellation of songs. The album’s sonic architecture builds upon dynamic drum loops provided by collaborator Alex Lázaro, whose percussive backbone, as on '¡Ay!', became a canvas for Dalt’s layered vocals. Rather than following conventional melodic structures, the album generates musicality through the interplay of basslines, rhythms, and compositional design. 'A Danger to Ourselves' reveals Dalt’s uncompromising quest for sonic clarity, where bold production choices and meticulous recording techniques encourage both voice and instrument to harmonise with newfound depth and radiance.

Distinctly anti-conceptual, 'A Danger to Ourselves' is a poetic instinct by which Dalt ushers in an unobstructed focus on the music itself, using vocals that vibrate past the songs’ parameters, and observing the beaded echoes of primal, romantic thrill. lucid attention to detail is palpable in every measure ,a dedication that spins in concentric circles, forming a field that unifies the personal and ethereal. Drawn from intuitive experiments, the album uses simple gestures and intricate compositions to weave wandering lines, as in “divina,” which moves between Spanish and English through elastic soundscapes and mesmerising auditory collage.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cosa Rara (ft. David Sylvian)
2. Amorcito Caradura
3. No Death No Danger
4. Caes (ft. Camille Mandoki)
5. Agüita Con Sal
6. Hasta El Final
7. Divina
8. Acéphale
9. Mala Sangre
10. The Common Reader (ft. Juana Molina)
11. Stelliformia
12. El Exceso Según Cs
13. Covenstead Blues

Another chapter in the ever evolving story of Karen Dalton. These are home recordings, taped by Joe Loop, as was the double live album, "Cotton Eyed Joe", released last year. The "Green Rocky Road" consists of recordings made by Karen herself at her Boulder home on reel-to-reel. It sounds like the album Dalton would have made in 1963 had she been given the opportunity then. Here are the first takes of "Ribbon Bow", "Katie Cruel" and "In The Evening".. and a more complete testimony of Karen's repertoire on banjo.

Brandy Dalton's legacy gets the respect it deserves here from Dark Entries with the first-ever vinyl release of Fallen Angel, a vital artefact from the queer underground's most shadowed corners. Remastered from the 1999 CD and expanded with six bonus tracks, this edition brings Dalton's sweat-slicked, leather-soaked electronica into sharper, deeper focus. From the snarling cyber-rave pulse of 'Swelled' to the humid, trance-infused swirl of 'FA2', the record captures the raw intensity Dalton honed with Drance and in LA's Club Fuck scene. Paired with Eloise Shir-Juen Leigh's artwork and archival stills, this reissue preserves a fierce, defiant soundworld forged before AIDS claimed Dalton in 2006.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. "Fallacy"
2. "Interlude One"
3. "Swelled"
4. "Interlude Two"
5. "Spooks In The Well"
6. "Interlude Three"
7. "Fa2"
8. "Speaking In Tongues"

Side 2
1. "Interlude Four"
2. "U Like Me 2 Ulysses"
3. "Dante's Swell"
4. "Interlude Five"
5. "Feel Fall"
6. "Tall Tales Two"
7. "Dungeon Master"
8. "Interlude Six"

● Definitive edition of Karen Dalton’s 1971 Masterpiece. Non-Returnable.
● Two 180-gram, 45 RPM LPs cut from new 2021 transfers and pressed at RTI, featuring bonus tracks from the original album sessions
● 12” 180-gram, 45 RPM EP: Live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival (May 1971), newly remastered (2021) and previously unreleased in any format. B-side includes a beautiful etching of Karen, illustrated by renowned artist Jess Rotter.
● Previously unreleased 7” single: Live at Beat Club, Germany (April 1971)
● Repro of 1971 French edition 7” single: Something On Your Mind b/w One Night Of Love
● Both 7” singles pressed at Third Man Pressing and housed in old-style tip-on jackets
● 20-page booklet featuring unseen photos and liner notes by Lenny Kaye, plus contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart
● Replica Playbill for Montreux performance
● CD of all tracks
● Housed in a special, expanded trifold jacket
● Limited to 2,000 sequentially foil numbered copies worldwide
● Includes a 18”x24” fold-out movie poster of the acclaimed documentary film Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, illustrated by artist Matt McCormick

Karen Dalton’s 1971 album, In My Own Time, stands as a true masterpiece by one of music’s most mysterious, enigmatic, and enduringly influential artists. Light in the Attic is honored to celebrate the 50th anniversary of In My Own Time with the definitive edition of this monumental classic.
Featuring Dalton’s interpretations of songs like “Are You Leaving for the Country,” “When a Man Loves a Woman,” “Katie Cruel,” and her posthumously recognized signature performance, “Something On Your Mind,” will be available in a variety of formats, including a bonus-filled, 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, which expands exponentially upon Light in the Attic’s 2006 reissue of the album, co-produced by Nicholas Hill.

The 50th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Edition features the newly remastered (2021) In My Own Time album, presented on three sides of 45-RPM, 180-gram vinyl pressed at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), with the fourth side showcasing alternate takes from the album sessions. The Super Deluxe package also includes the previously unreleased audio from her rare, captivating performance, Live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1st, 1971. This is the first time this audio has been made available in any physical format — presented on 180-gram 12-inch vinyl, pressed at Third Man Record Pressing, and featuring a stunning etching of Dalton by acclaimed artist Jess Rotter on the B-Side. Accompanying the bonus record is a replica playbill from The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, 1971, meticulously arranged and compiled from vintage source material by Darryl Norsen. In addition to the bonus 12”, the set contains a CD of all tracks included in the package and two 7-inch singles, featuring previously-unreleased live recordings captured at Germany’s Beat Club in 1971, both pressed at Third Man Record Pressing and housed in tip-on jackets. All audio has been newly remastered by Dave Cooley, while lacquers were cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters. A 20-page booklet—featuring rarely seen photos, liner notes from musician and writer Lenny Kaye, and contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart—rounds out the package, which comes housed in a special trifold jacket, individually foil-stamped and numbered in a strictly limited worldwide edition of 2,000 copies.

The 50th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Edition also includes an 18”x24” fold-out movie poster of the acclaimed documentary film Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, illustrated by artist Matt McCormick. Directed by Robert Yapkowitz and Richard Peete and executive produced by Light in the Attic, Wim Wenders and Delmore Recording Society, the film chronicles the life, music, and legacy of Dalton and features interviews with family, friends, collaborators, and a variety of artists, including Peter Walker, Nick Cave, and country singer Lacy J. Dalton. Angel Olsen lends her voice to the film as the principle narrator, reading aloud from Dalton’s personal journal.

The Oklahoma-raised Karen Dalton (1937-1993) brought a range of influences to her work. As Lenny Kaye writes in the liner notes, one can hear “the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, the immersion of Nina Simone, the Appalachian keen of Jean Ritchie, [and] the R&B and country that had to seep in as she made her way to New York."

Armed with a long-necked banjo and a 12-stringed guitar, Dalton set herself apart from her peers with her distinctive, world-weary vocals. In the early ‘60s, she became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, interpreting traditional material, blues standards, and the songs of her contemporaries, including Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, and Richard Tucker, whom she later married. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, was instantly taken with her artistry. “My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton,” he recalled in Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004). “Karen had a voice like Billie Holiday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.”

Those who knew Dalton understood that she was not interested in bowing to the whims of the record industry. On stage, she rarely interacted with audience members. In the studio, she was equally as uncomfortable with the recording process. Her 1969 debut, It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best, reissued by Light in the Attic in 2009, was captured on the sly when Dalton assumed that she was rehearsing songs. When Woodstock co-promoter Michael Lang approached Dalton about recording a follow-up for his new imprint, Just Sunshine, she was dubious, to say the least. The album would have to be made on her own terms, in her own time. That turned out to be a six-month period at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, NY.

Producing the album was bassist Harvey Brooks, who played alongside Dalton on It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best. Brooks, who prided himself on being “simple, solid and supportive,” understood Dalton’s process, but was also willing to offer gentle encouragement, and challenge the artist to push her creative bounds. “I tried to present her with a flexible situation,” he told Kaye. “I left the decisions to her, to determine the tempo, feel. She was very quiet, and I brought all of it to her; if she needed more, I’d present options. Everyone was sensitive to her. She was the leader.”

Dalton, who rarely performed her own compositions, selected a range of material to interpret—from traditionals like “Katie Cruel” and “Same Old Man” to Paul Butterfield’s “In My Own Dream” and Richard Tucker’s “Are You Leaving For The Country.” She also expanded upon her typical repertoire, peppering in such R&B hits as “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “How Sweet It Is.” In a departure from her previous LP, Dalton’s new recording offered fuller, more pop-forward arrangements, featuring a slew of talented studio musicians.

While ‘70s audiences may not have been ready for Dalton’s music, a new generation was about to discover her work. In the decades following her death, a slew of artists would name Karen Dalton as an influence, including Lucinda Williams, Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, Angel Olsen, Devendra Banhart, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Adele. In the recent acclaimed film documentary Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, Cave muses on Dalton’s unique appeal: “There’s a sort of demand made upon the listener,” he explains. “Whether you like it or not, you have to enter her world. And it’s a despairing world.” Peter Walker, who also appears in the film, elaborates on this idea: “If she can feel a certain way in her music and play it in such a way that you feel that way, then that’s really the most magical thing [one] can do.” He adds, “She had a deep and profound and loving soul…you can hear it in her music.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Something On Your Mind
2. When A Man Loves A Woman
3. In My Own Dream
4. Katie Cruel
5. How Sweet It Is
6. In A Station
7. Take Me
8. Same Old Man
9. One Night Of Love
10. Are You Leaving For The Country
11. Something On Your Mind (alternate Take)
12. In My Own Dream (alternate Take)
13. Katie Cruel (alternate Take)
14. One Night Of Love - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
15. Take Me - Live At Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
16. Something On Your Mind - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
17. Blues On The Ceiling - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
18. Are You Leaving For The Country - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
19. One Night Of Love - Live At The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971

A short while removed from his acclaimed Brothers Fowl album, released in late 2012, Dam Mantle returns as part of the Free Association collective with a new three-track 12” on NOTOWN Recordings.

A loose collective of musicians from his Glasgow home, this EP showcases, according to Tom Marshallsay AKA Dam Mantle, ‘a small glimpse of what's been getting made in the studio recently. There's quite a few other folks who feature on some of these tracks, so it's a demonstration of the collective attitude behind all this’.

The EP is a glimpse of the moods being explored in his live sets, where his diverse productions converge in a fervent sonic assemblage. The A side gives two heads-down hip shakers which explore a diverse sound palette, while the flip-side adds urgency and steady syncopation with a streak of dark intent and an anticipatory glimmer.

Since the release of his Brothers Fowl album, Dam Mantle has been busy ‘mainly playing records and putting on parties, living life, working’. In addition, he’s spent a bit of time working on collaborative projects, mainly as General Ludd, releasing via the Mister Saturday Night banner, the NYC promoter and label.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Free Association - Heavy Velvet Affair
A2. Dam Mantle Feat. Baker - Simultaneous Fall
B1. Dam Mantle - The Underlying Issue

Dam Swindle's new "Backyard Galaxy" EP is an ode to house music and the classic Swindle sound.

It's only been a few months since Dam Swindle released their highly acclaimed album "Open" and already the boys are back on Heist with a new release that takes you right back to the dancefloor. Where they've spent the better part of the last 3 years writing their album with all its sonic explorations and collabs, this new EP sees the duo return to their roots of club-ready house music. The "Backyard Galaxy" EP comes with 4 high-energy house tracks made in their Amsterdam studio that have been road-tested all summer.

EP opener "Feel it much?" has all the ingredients of a classic Swindle heater, with warm pads, rich organic percussion and tons of soul. There's a simple and effective vocal running throughout the track that blends nicely with the classic house elements and electronic textures that are layered throughout the track. There's an effortless flow to this track and it comes as no surprise that it has been a highlight in their sets this summer.

The EP title track "Backyard Galaxy" is an up-tempo Latin-themed jam with a hint of old school techno. The synth stabs hit you just right and the modulated vocal chops are a lovely boost for the build ups and add a touch of swing to a track that already has a tight groove. Add to that a huge breakdown and drum roll and you've got yourself a track that'll light up any dancefloor.

On the flip, we're moving into garage territory with the shuffling vibes of "Rhythm Baby". The current popularity of the genre is not missed on Dam Swindle, but when you look closely, you'll see this track is full of elements that the duo have built their legacy on. The vocal chops, transposed key samples and swing are all on point and work just as well below, as above 130 bpm if speed is your thing.

The EP closes with the NY-style house cut "What You Give", which reminds us of Dam Swindle's remix of Cinthie's Heist hit "Won't U take me" with its lush organs and moody keys. It's perhaps the most classic house track they've made in a long time and you can hear they had a great time recording this. It's playful, vibey and catchy. Just the way we like it.

Dam Swindle might have delivered one of the standout cross-over albums of 2025, but on this EP the message is clear: once a househead, always a househead.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: It's Dam Swindle on their own label? You know what that means? Bona fide fist pumpers, tops off energy and fun by the bucket load. But don't let that detract from the production chops on show here - the pair have still got studio style in abundance; rolling out the terrace ticklers till your mid-paced canter builds into full grand national mode! Giddyeup!

TRACK LISTING

A1 Feel It Much?
A2 Backyard Galaxy
B1 Rhythm Baby
B2 What You Give

Amsterdam natives Maarten Smeets and Lars Dales, aka Dam Swindle, unveil their third long-player, a multi-genre trip exploring lower tempos, synthwave, hip-house, and downbeat across fourteen tracks. With a gestation period that traces back several years, ‘Open’ is their most intimate and personal body of work thus far, birthed during a time of self-reflection away from touring and during a time of individual growth for the pair.

While the trademark Dam Swindle four-to-the-floor beats are still ever-present on tracks like ‘The Present Is Always Perfect’, ‘I Need You’, and ‘Is This Love?’, it’s the gentle waves of synths on opener ‘Home’, the contemplative piano chords of ‘Bloom’ featuring Joep Beving, and the lo-fi ambience of ‘It’s Okay, I Can Wait’ that showcase a melancholic, ethereal sensibility previously uncharted by the duo. Collaborations with vocalists such as NYC’s Haile Supreme on ‘Not Enough’ and Neo-soul singer Faye Meana on ‘Girl’ expertly find room in between the dancefloor and home listening sessions, and a clear standout on the LP is the title cut where message-heavy rapped vocals from UK artist Samson ebb and flow amongst iridescent grooves.

Under the helm of Maarten and Lars’ adept A&R, their Heist imprint has become a beloved home for house heads of both schools old and new, platforming some of dance music’s biggest names from Cinthie to DJ Sneak as well as the musical dawning’s of artists such as Kassian and Makèz. The Dam Swindle alias has achieved house music royalty-like status across a storied 15-year career that includes two critically lauded full-lengths, collaborations with the likes of Tom Misch and Kerri Chandler, and a globetrotting touring schedule. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Not content with crafting certified club bangers for their Heist label, Dam Swindle turn their attention to a varied and expansive long player featuring a wealth of guest vocalists and exploring myriad styles.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Home
A2. Not Enough Feat. Haile Supreme
A3. The Present Is Always Perfect
A4. Girl Feat. Faye Meana
B1. Run, Run, Run
B2. Only Ever Now
B3. Open Feat. Samson
C1. I Need You
C2. Bloom Feat. Joep Beving
C3. Some Day Feat. Ric Wilson
C4. Kiki Feat. LYMA
D1. Is This Love?
D2. It's Okay, I Can Wait
D3. Closer

John Dwyer has a surprise… While everyone eagerly anticipates the next Oh Sees record, he’s been working tirelessly in his synth laboratory, hand-crafting a followup to last year’s neon-noir Damaged Bug debut - one that shakes up the snow globe considerably.

If 'Hubba Bubba' was a brush with a robotic exoskeleton on deep-space patrol, 'Cold Hot Plumbs' visits the alien world that sent it into the cosmos. Lush, textural and psychedelic, the songs breathe with a otherworldly sadness and heart. Barbed, sophisticated arrangements flower in every direction. The vintage-perfect sound palette would be window dressing if not for the songs themselves: fresh, vital, and above all catchier than the flu. 'Cold Hot Plumbs' is a strange, beautiful, and oddly infectious addition to Dwyer’s oeuvre, and not one to be missed.

TRACK LISTING

1. Exactly What You Think
2. What Cheer
3. The Mirror
4. Jet In Jungle
5. Der Mond
6. The Frog
7. Cough Pills
8. Structure Image Exterior (Edit)
9. Grape Basement
10. Very
11. Cone
12. Deep Bore Drill Worker
13. Mega Structure
14. Transmute

"40 or so Damaged Bug tunes from the past seven years were orphaned / unfinished, which is pretty rare for me. I just kept having other things going on & life kept getting in the way. And frankly, the songs were all over the place so I didn’t see a thread in there, but in light of current events in the world, I feel like It’s every artist’s calling to construct personal messages cloaked in moments of escapism. That’s what this record is for me–something to clear the decks a little bit in my studio, relax my mind, and keep the wolf from the door. It’s a bit of a joyous/sad record dealing with hope and forgiveness, two things which I hope end up more in my life.

It’s abstract and poppy, fried and sugary.

It's exactly how I feel at the moment fried and skewed.

Good luck out there and I hope this turns off the torrent for you, for a moment."

- John Dwyer

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: John bloody Dwyer eh? Not content with smashing out the greatest psychedelic rock in the ol' OSEES, his Damaged Bug project sees the more off-piste electronic excursions come to light, and this one features a host of banging unfinished b-sides oddities we've never heard before.

TRACK LISTING

1. END OF THE WAR
2. DOUBLE YOLKS
3. MOSSY ROOVES & MORE
4. HOAK
5. SIKE WITCH
6. JUNK FOOD
7. RARE LIGHTS
8. OVER-EXPOSED
9. FRIED HANDS
10. MAN WITHOUT A PLANET
11. TENTED LIGHTS

Recorded at home in the fall of 2013 with a variety of synthesizers, drum machines and assorted handmade electronics, 'Damaged Bug' is Oh Sees mastermind John Dwyer’s latest bit of cracked pop alchemy. The project is the cure to the ailment of too much guitar for too long. Fizzing and sputtering like a glowing, temperamental cockpit control panel, Dwyer bunkered deep in a blinking laboratory, penning songs about the long arc of our travels across space and time. Propulsive beats and synthetic veneers coat laser-guided melodies reflecting off shiny metal surfaces while instrumental interludes pop in and out like breaks in the asteroid belt.

A far-out side of our main man—nocturnal, hard-wired, and chrome-plated. Hubba Bubba features original artwork by Deirdre White.

Detroit powerhouse vocal trio Dames Brown make their long-awaited debut with ‘Take Me As I Am’, a bold, soulful celebration of the Motor City’s sound and a heartfelt tribute to their late mentor, Amp Fiddler.

Crafted at Amp’s legendary home studio, the album captures the essence of Detroit through rich instrumentation, gospel-infused harmonies, and unfiltered soul. Blending house, funk, techno, and 70s groove, Take Me As I Am embodies the city’s spirit; timeless, raw, and full of life.

Featuring collaborations with Detroit icons Andrés, Eddie Fowlkes, and Waajeed, standout tracks like ‘You’re The One For Me’, ‘Glory’, and ‘What Would You Do’ showcase the trio’s unmatched energy and vocal chemistry.

Across fourteen tracks, Athena Johnson, Teresa Marbury, and LaRae Starr channel the soul of Motown, the groove of Parliament Funkadelic, and the power of Aretha Franklin, uniting their influences into one authentic, uplifting sound.

With nearly a decade of releases on Defected and its sub-labels, including collaborations with Sophie Lloyd, The Vision, Floorplan, and Horse Meat Disco, Dames Brown continue to shine as one of Detroit’s most dynamic vocal collectives.

‘Take Me As I Am’ is more than an album… it’s a declaration of love, legacy, and Detroit soul.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: After teasing us with a few singles its FINALLY time for the full length album from Detroit's mesmerizing Dames Brown. Rightly championed (and produced) by Detroit demigod Amp Fiddler the album, released on Defected, doesn't wallow in the past. But instead presents a new perspective on the female vocal trio - propelled with new house beats and expert production. This isn't some vintage soul pastiche, this is NOW, this is GREAT.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Introducing Dames Brown (with Amp Fiddler) 
A2. What Would You Do? (ft. Andrés & Amp Fiddler) 
A3. You're The One For Me 
B1. Glory (ft. Waajeed)
B2. Take Me As I Am (with Amp Fiddler)
B3. What Up Doe (with Amp Fiddler)
B4. Do It (with Eddie Fowlkes)
C1. Who Do You (Think You Are)? (with Amp Fiddler)
C2. Provider (with Amp Fiddler)
C3. Introducing Pt. II (Dirty Hips) (with Amp Fiddler)
C4. Sweat
D1. This Time (with Amp Fiddler)
D2. Why You Got Me Crazy (Walk Away) (with Amp Fiddler)
D3. Ova (with Amp Fiddler) 

This next 7" from southern Italy's Giovanni Damico cements his reputation as a honorary Chicago native. "The Power" b/w "Analog Session" is a perfect blend of tracky, acidic proto-house that used to get rinsed by those early legends like Steve Poindextor, Marcus Mixx, Adonis and Ron Hardy. Bang tha box! 

TRACK LISTING

A. The Power 
B. Analog Session 

After decades spent shaping the sound of southern Madagascar and becoming one of the defining voices of tsapiky, Damily returns with Fanjiry, his most intimate and focused record to date. Known for electrifying village ceremonies and carrying the fever of Toliara across continents, he takes a sharp turn — not away from trance, but deeper into its core.

Recorded in just three days at Studio Black Box with analog wizard Peter Deimel, Fanjiry strips the tsapiky band down to a single guitar and a single heartbeat. Damily plays alone, yet fills the space completely — bass, rhythm, melody, pulse, and breath merging into a dense and vibrating sound. Every riff is architecture, every harmonic a door opening onto memory, childhood landscapes, and nights where music heals, binds, and exhausts the dark.

There is no nostalgia here, no museum of tradition. Fanjiry is a new frontier for tsapiky: raw, precise, suspended between earth and sky, born from craft and necessity. The title — the last star before dawn — captures its essence: a quiet moment before the world awakens, where a single guitar can hold an entire history and still point forward.

TRACK LISTING

Fanjiry
Alohotsy
Sikilony
Kalavabitiky
Zongoya
Zipo Tralala
Tsapatsapao
Roro Soa
Alakarabo

"June 2017, France. It’s 40° both inside and outside. At Studio Black Box, in the Haut Anjou, it is as if you were there, in Madagascar. And when the tape recorders start rotating, the musicians’ imagination feeds off the guts of their music : Malagasy bush, tropical heat, red dirt, sand, drought, corn, cassava, cockcrow, mooing zebus, lambahoany (fabric), leaf hut, fotaky house (mud), dust, portable generator, music, rhum, bodies frantically dancing whether in the dark or under the blazing sun…Tsapiky.

The album shall be named "Valimbilo". Bilo is a disease which strikes one’s mental health, depression is what western societies call it. When one is diagnosed with « voany bilo », a precise medical treatment is engaged and performed without doctors, nor medicine. To vanquish bilo, one has to use music. The sorcerer solely decides upon the “good” day (the day which gathers the most positive aspects of the astrological conjuncture) to operate: the extended family hosts a ceremony ruled by many taboos, which can last up to a few days, and in which only one remedy is applied in high dosage : some Tsapiky.
They are “doctor” musicians whom talent is source of the cure.
They play for the patient, who has to be facing the orchestra : all of their attention is focused on the bilo, dancing in the sick person’s body : It has to be awaken, seduced, surprised and attacked from every angle before it is pressured, pressured until KO, until it can’t take the it anymore, stuffed with music. Then the patient is relieved, discharged, and the ceremony is over.

During the entirety of the ceremony, the patient picks a person who helps him/her get the bilo out of his/her system, this is what we call “valimbilo”, literally “husband/wife of the bilo.” "

TRACK LISTING

01. Malay Nama
02. Aomby Mazava Ioha
03. Kalitaky
04. Bekapamaky
05. Fiaina Sarotsy
06. Tsy Miroro
07. Relela
08. Mivaliky Tany Toy

The A-side puts the fun in a funky psychedelic disco stomper complete with sing-along chants and breakbeats. Imagine an overlooked Kid Creole garage dub cut. The B-side is a fresh take on classic Italo disco with analog percussion, vintage synths and his own guitar and bass.

At this point, Southern Italy’s Giovanni Damico is basically an honorary Windy City Native. I don’t think he’s ever been to Chicago but he certainly has status on all sides of the City. Damico's collaborations with Chicago's Star Creature kicked have spanned the better part of the last decade with just as many vinyl releases during that time spanning 2 LPs, 2 EPs, a handful of 7”s and an appearance on the 2020’s Star Creature Vibes label compilation not to mention the over 20+ 12”s and a dozen appearances on labels ranging from MCDE, Lumberjacks in Hell to Kalakuta Soul, Bordelllo A Parigi, his own White Rabbit Recordings and more.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Giovanni Damico has us dancing on the tables and tearing the roof of the gaff with this tropical disco double header.

TRACK LISTING

A. LAx5
B. Loud And Clear

Southern Italy's disco jack-of-all-trades and Star Creature regular Giovanni Damico returns with "The Payback EP". Damico's ever-evolving sound swerves through bright moments of gospel house, afro-boogie and punky funk, each track having its own fresh flair. Bursting with lavish instrumentation throughout, there's a vibrant and funky flavour in keeping with the currenty Neopolitan scene such as Mystic Jungle, Nu Genea and the folks at Periodica. Recommended!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: We're in the midst of another Star Creature salvo at the moment, with not a week going by without a solid gold disco-boogie blast emanating from the long serving stable. Italian stallion Giovanni Damico takes the reigns for the 56th instalment of the Chicago-based label with five OG tracks of sizzling hot boogie HEAT.

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Payback 
A2. Riding Into The Storm
A3. Loud And Clear

B1. LAx5
B2. Like A Boss

46 years after releasing the ground-breaking debut, “Damned Damned Damned”, The Damned return with “DARKADELIC”, their twelfth studio album. The album, from the band that launched punk and invented goth, once again innovating and expanding upon their unique universe. The “The Invisible Man” track is a showcase for Captain Sensible’s riffadelic guitarwork and David Vanian’s snarling baritone vocals. “DARKADELIC” barrels along from there and features some of The Damned’s sharpest song writing and genre-bending performances reaching peaks with other tracks such as “You’re Gonna Realise” and “Beware of the Clowns”, drenched in classic horror movie references, nods to swinging 60’s London, and a refined palette of musical influences. The Damned will indeed paint the world DARKADELIC in 2023.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Invisible Man
2. Bad Weather Girl
3. You’re Gonna Realise
4. Beware Of The Clown
5. Western Promise
6. Wake The Dead
7. Follow Me
8. Motorcycle Man
9. Girl I’ll Stop At Nothing
10. Leader Of The Gang
11. From Your Lips
12. Roderick

The Damned return with a personal and celebratory record, “Not Like Everybody Else”, a tribute to the band’s late guitarist Brian James, who passed away on March 6th, 2025. Recorded in an astonishingly swift five days at Revolver Studio in Los Angeles with producer Mikal Blue (OneRepublic, Jason Mraz), the album includes renditions of 10 well-known songs by some of the artists that influenced Brian on his musical journey and inspired the rest of the band.

Kicking off with R. Dean Taylor’s “Ghost In My House” and moving through classics like Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” and The Animals’ “When I Was Young”, the album closes with The Rolling Stones’ “The Last Time”, a moving track featuring Brian James himself, culled from original live performances and carefully remixed for this release, cementing the record as both a tribute and a farewell. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Ghost In My House
2. Summer In The City
3. Making Time
4. Gimme Danger
5. See Emily Play
6. I’m Not Like Everybody Else
7. Heart Full Of Soul
8. You Must Be A Witch
9. When I Was Young
10. The Last Time

• Iconic indie folk pop duo from Galaxie 500 return with a dreamy collaboration with atmospheric Japanese guitarist Kurihara.

“With its meditative tempos and enveloping guitar work by Michio Kurihara—‘it’s like this golden net,’ Naomi said of his gorgeous, versatile playing—A Sky Record offers shelter from the squall. If it has the glow of a long-delayed reunion between friends, that’s not accidental: Kurihara hasn’t traveled outside of Japan in some time, so Damon and Naomi hadn’t recorded with him in nearly ten years. When they finally made it back to Japan in November 2019 for a brief tour, they were elated to book some time with Kurihara at the aptly named studio Peace Music.

“In those long stretches of quarantime, the tracks they returned from Japan with had distinct moods but not yet any lyrics. (Kurihara works best when trying to conjure a specific feeling or natural image—after all, he did once make a solo record, Sunset Notes, on which every song was based on a different sunset he’d witnessed...) How to write about the pandemic? How to not write about the pandemic? Naomi first struck upon the appropriate tone when re-reading the journals of one of her favorite abstract painters, Charles Burchfield. She arranged this found language into the lyrics of the iridescent ‘Season Without Time,’ which also became a tribute to a friend that she and Damon had lost in the last year.

“From there, the floodgates opened. The wistful and watery ‘Midnight’ (electrified, towards the end, by the slow screams of a Kurihara solo) conjures Naomi’s nostalgia for youthful summers spent at Jones Beach, while the gentle current of ‘Sailing By’ pays homage to those ritualistic BBC Shipping Forecasts and the waltzing, quintessentially British theme song from which it takes its name.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Oceans In Between
2. Between The Wars
3. The Gift
4. Sailing By
5. Split Screen
6. Season Without Time
7. Midnight
8. Invincible
9. How I Came To Photograph Clouds
10. The Aftertime

“Grey day celebration music for meshed afternoons; eleven strums and songs to savor as you wander till spring. Did Damon & Naomi dream them? Did I? Will you?” - Andy Zax

People talk about Damon & Naomi as if they’re the raw infrastructure that remained after Galaxie 500 fell apart, a steel skeleton stubbornly standing after an earthquake. But when the pair began a new project, they weren’t adjusting so much as starting from scratch. By the time they released More Sad Hits, they had grown enough as musicians and songwriters that they didn’t need to lean on stark sincerity and reverb-drenched emoting. Instead, they reigned in their sound, favoring acoustic over electric, building more complex and specific textures, and exploring smaller sonic spaces. If Galaxie 500 was ahead of its time, Damon & Naomi are prescient in their own way, firmly rooted in the early ’90s but hinting at things to come. The project provided a necessary platform for the pair to focus, hone and build on the groundwork that they laid for themselves, peeling away layers to reveal a shy closeness that Galaxie 500 never could.

The pair’s latest project, Fortune, is an LP released in tandem with Naomi Yang’s video piece of the same name. She refers to the work as “a silent movie,” though the visuals are so bound up in the music (and vice versa) that it’s more of a long-form music video, a visual poem set to the metronome of a textural score. She conceived of the piece to explore conflicting feelings surrounding her father’s recent passing; Yang was suddenly burdened with a massive archive of his artistic work (her father was a photographer), as well as the ongoing aftermath of flawed parenting. Her use of the term “fortune,” then, is tinged with sardonicism but also with nostalgia-portraits from the 1940s and ’50s painted by protagonist Norman von Holtzendorff’s father (also recently deceased, and who also left his archive in Norman’s hands) feature prominently. An ongoing tarot card motif ties in another facet of the suddenly slippery term “fortune,” using Damon & Naomi’s now familiar brand of close, acoustic warmth to explore the past’s bearing on the future: “I want to be over / To touch and be gone / Forget this amnesia.”

Fortune-as a film or an album-is itself an expressive portrait, but doesn’t adhere to any obvious narrative; rather, it’s a comfortable space that the viewer can move in and out of, dreamlike and immersive. The eleven new songs don’t require visual accompaniment-Damon & Naomi have constructed the sequence to communicate through sound alone-but at upcoming performances the duo will be presenting them live as a soundtrack to Yang’s “silent” film.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Seeker
2. Amnesia
3. It's Over
4. Reflections
5. A Shining Dream
6. Shadows
7. Towards Tomorrow
8. Sky Memories
9. Hurt House
10. The North Light
11. Time Won't Own Me

Signed to Danger Mouse's '30th Century Records' and released via Columbia in the UK, this is the debut solo album from Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson. A 10 track album, produced by Pat Carney (Black Keys), including the singles "Death Wish" & "Tell The Truth". 

'This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea of unexplainable genius' - QUESTLOVEEqual parts biography, musicology, and cultural history, Dilla Time chronicles the life and legacy of J Dilla, a musical genius who transformed the sound of popular music for the twenty-first century. He wasn't known to mainstream audiences, and when he died at age thirty-two, he had never had a pop hit. Yet since his death, J Dilla has become a demigod, revered as one of the most important musical figures of the past hundred years.

At the core of this adulation is innovation: as the producer behind some of the most influential rap and R&B acts of his day, Dilla created a new kind of musical time-feel, an accomplishment on a par with the revolutions wrought by Louis Armstrong and James Brown. Dilla and his drum machine reinvented the way musicians play. In Dilla Time, Dan Charnas chronicles the life of James DeWitt Yancey, from his gifted Detroit childhood to his rise as a sought-after hip-hop producer to the rare blood disease that caused his premature death.

He follows the people who kept Dilla and his ideas alive. And he rewinds the histories of American rhythms: from the birth of Motown soul to funk, techno, and disco. Here, music is a story of what happens when human and machine times are synthesized into something new.

This is the story of a complicated man and his machines; his family, friends, partners, and celebrity collaborators; and his undeniable legacy. Based on nearly two hundred original interviews, and filled with graphics that teach us to feel and "see" the rhythm of Dilla's beats, Dilla Time is a book as defining and unique as J Dilla's music itself. Financial Times Music Book of the Year 2022

Best known for his work with MU330 Dan Potthast has made quite a name for himself with these oddball, quirky stripped down songs. Strong melodies, intelligent lyrics, and great musicianship. Fans of Weezer, MU330, and anything inbetween will go crazy over this.

Golden Pallet Golden Eagle Golden Vinyl Golden Feather

Wonky modular techno jams from secret new artist DAN*EDS

Yr Elen (Elen’s Hill) - 356ft (962m)

OS grid SH6737 6507

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Coley takes us back to the high peaks of Wales for another nIptUcK from this legendary series! 15 years or so since he started the label, he introduced new artist DAN*EDS who instantly gets the remit - sumptuous, stripped back electronic music with a penchant for intriguing sound design and tasty textures. Head in the clouds, feet on the dancefloor.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Golden Pallet
A2. Golden Eagle
AA1. Bilbos Bob Bo
AA2. Pon2Fron 

Following an illustrious stint as founding member of Mercury Music Prize nominated The Comet Is Coming, and also Soccer96, the producer and synthesist Danalogue heralds a new chapter, with his debut solo album Teleportations. His music has been supported by Mike D from The Beastie Boys and Thom Yorke, has been A-listed on BBC6 Music, where he has performed sessions for Mary Anne Hobbs, Tom Ravenscroft, Gilles Peterson and Steve Lamacq. His tracks have featured on numerous TV shows such as I May Destroy You, Black Ops and Utopia. He recently wrote his first video game soundtrack for C Smash VRS on Playstation, his work featuring alongside UNKLE and Ken Ishii. As an integral part of the legendary East London studio/venue/community Total Refreshment Centre, Danalogue has produced/mixed records for Snapped Ankles, Joshua Idehen and Rozi Plain, and collaborated on albums with Alabaster DePlume, and Sarathy Korwar.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Awakening On The Planet
Mother Of Mars
Far Beyond The Sun
Moebius Triptych
You Are On The Right Track 

Side B
Theta Wave Convergence
Arrival At Rho Ophiuchi
Fallen Out Of Phase
Onto The Next Dimension
Earth Remembrance Day

High Voltage Rock N Roll, Fresh of the US run with Uncle Acid available for the first time on Double LP. Supercharged psychedelic space rock that could have been made in the 70s available for the first time on Double LP. When this first came out Pitchfork hailed Danava as true leaders, calling them “the sole working owners of this sound, an almost glam-rock, Hawkwind thing” and Guitar World lauded their “chaotic psych-metal brew.”

This is rock n roll to the core and definitely not your parents kind of party.

RIYL: Earthless, Ted Nugent, Yes, Kyuss, Red Fang, Nebula, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats

To Complete the holy trinity of DANAVA LPs, Danava Hemisphere of Shadows… Limited coloured vinyl first (re)pressing on Riding Easy. Housed in a thick 24 pt Reverse Board jacket and pressed by RTI. This has been recut and is a brand new much louder pressing than the previous.

One of the early signings that helped put Kemado Records, this is their third LP released in 2011. From their initial appearance on Kemado's famed Invaders comp, Danava turned heads with a bombastic 70's sound that melded blazing psych-metal with glam-rock flair. Upon the release of the band's self-titled debut EP in 2006, Pitchfork hailed Danava as true leaders, calling them "the sole working owners of this sound, an almost glam-rock, Hawkwind thing" and Guitar World lauded their "chaotic psych-metal brew."

" …. the latest album from Danava, the sound evokes the days of Deep Purple's Fireball and Machine Head, but who has been paying attention to their most recent albums? Not including Deep Purple fanatics, there isn't much to speak of in terms a fan base beyond their classic albums…. Hemisphere of Shadows evokes the early days of heavy metal and prog rock, with the creativity of new musicians and the songs often push the boundaries of "craziness" in terms of what is produced. Songs like "The Last Goodbye" with its epic mind-shattering organ solo near the end of the song, as well as the synth sounds of "Dying Into Light" don't remind me of anything else that happened in 1970's heavy metal/rock. ….." 8/10 Metal Archive.

TRACK LISTING

1 Shoot Straight With A Crooked Gun
2 White Nights Of Murder
3 The Last Goodbye
4 I Am The Skull
5 Riding Hood
6 The Illusion Crawls
7 Hemisphere Of Shadows
8 Dying Into Light

DDM deal in a heady brew of post punk, futuristic funk and electronic minimalism. DDM are a frenetic two piece comprising Kevin Disco (of Radar) and Matt Howze (ex-Treadwell). This is their debut eight song full-length, a blend of minimalist dance, early electronica and 60s soul. The chaotic dancey drumming is much like a fusion of Clikitat Ikatowi and ESG, while the multilayered loops of pulsating synth sounds similar to Suicide and noise guitar creates the backdrop.

Released for the first time ever, here is the Dandelion Adventure session that they recorded for the John Peel show in 1990. These tracks have never been released before on any album and were recorded exclusively for Peelie. Featuring a double drum attack (Geoff and Jason), bass (Ajay), guitar (Stan), and vocals (Mark). Recorded on 13 May 1990 at Maida Vale Studios, and broadcast on 18 June 1990. Engineered by Mark Farrar and produced by Dale Griffin….it’s a monster sounding session.

The flip side of the album showcases the group’s very first release….a demo tape they recorded in Blackpool in 1988 on a 4-track recorder (including fan favourite “Speed Trials”). Plus a couple of songs that were recorded in their Oyston Mill rehearsal space in Preston. The whole album is a perfect capsule of the first and last thing the group ever recorded, and a brilliant reminder of the genius that this band exuded.

All on 180g blue vinyl with an insert full of photos, posters, reviews, gigography.

Dandelion Adventure were one of the greatest underground bands to emerge from Lancashire in the late 80s. At a time when the UK was fizzing with great groups like My Bloody Valentine, Bog-Shed, The Pastels, A Witness, bIG fLAME, and whilst more “established” underground giants like The Fall, The Nightingales, and Spacemen 3 were all going strong and steady, Dandelion Adventure certainly held their own. A band tendering the kind of leviathan rhythms that only early ‘80s Fall could have competed with, time changes that would make Captain Beefheart proud, and an experimental streak to get the pulse racing of any On-U-Sound fan.

Starting with their first show in 1988 in Blackpool (they had played 2 loose shows in 1986 and 1987 respectively but 1988 was the launchpad), they fizzed and crackled for 2 years, finishing with their final show, again in Blackpool, in September 1990. In that period they released two albums (both on Action Records from Preston), and recorded a John Peel session…Peel loved the group and supported them with much airplay. In the short period they existed, the likes of My Bloody Valentine and The Pastels specifically asked for DA to open for them. Such was mbv’s love for the band, that they appeared at one show with all 4 members (Kevin, Bilinda, Debbie and Colm) of the group wearing Dandelion Adventure t-shirts onstage. Dinosaur Jr. were big fans of DA and J Mascis can be seen wearing a Dandelion Adventure t-shirt in the “Freak Scene” video. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth stated in 1989 in Melody Maker : “How’s the British music scene? Is it dead? The only bands I hear there are The Vaselines and Dandelion Adventure. They’re awesome”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Exit Frenzy Revisited 04:08
2. Bing Crosby's Cathedral 04:38
3. Don't Look Now 03:36
4. All The World's A Lounge 04:58
5. Speed Trials (The Weedkiller Tapes) 02:20
6. Death Is A Beautiful Carpark (The Weedkiller Tapes) 03:28
7. Chickenfeed (The Weedkiller Tapes) 02:35
8. King Burger Autopsy (The Weedkiller Tapes) 04:13
9. Disneytime (rehearsal 2 August 1988) 02:11
10. There Goes The Neighbourhood (Rehearsal 19 July 1988) 05:18

From the clubs, the drugs, and the ringing ears, to the fun, the fame, and the fall, Rumours of My Demise is a heady, candid trip into the grunge-filled 90s from the Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando.

“Did you hear Evan Dando died last night?”

After Kurt Cobain’s passing in 1994, everyone expected Evan Dando to be
next. Rising to fame in the 90s as frontman of the Lemonheads, he was infamous for his decadent lifestyle, from his extensive drug-taking and partying with Keith Richards and Kate Moss to sleeping on floors in his punk days and crashing at Johnny Depp’s house in Hollywood. But despite the rumours that are constantly circulating about him, he has lived to tell the tales.

Following decades of the press wanting to label him and fit him in a box, Rumours of My Demise sees Dando tell his own story. Reclaiming the innocence and exuberance of his early days and encapsulating the spirit of the era, this candid autobiography presents a portrait of an artist who lives wholly for his music, and one that makes no apologies for doing so 

Immerse yourself in the eclectic charm of The Dandy Warhols' debut album, 'Dandy's Rule OK', now reissued on vibrant red vinyl for 2024. Courtney Taylor-Taylor's distinctive vocals and the band's infectious melodies blend garage rock
with psychedelic flair, crafting an irresistible auditory adventure.

TRACK LISTING

1. Introduction By Young Tom
2. The Dandy Warhols’ T.V. Theme Song
3. Ride
4. Best Friend
5. Not Your Bottle
6. (Tony, This Song Is Called) Lou Weed
7. Nothin’ To Do
8. The Coffee And Tea Wrecks
9. Genius
10. Dick
11. Just Try
12. Nothing (Lifestyle Of A Tortured Artist For Sale)
13. Grunge Betty
14. Prelude: It’s A Fast-Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes
15. It’s A Fast-Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes
16. Finale: It’s A Fast-Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes

People always be like hey dandy warhols you keep it so real, when you sexy bitches putting out a record of some of those groovy covers we all love so much?? wellll ok, uh, now? were putting it out now? PINUPS! featuring a selection of covers from the beatles and the byrds to the cure and the cult seventeen big tunes we took a stab at over the years, many available now for the first time!

The Dandy Warhols is Courtney Taylor- Taylor (vocals, guitar), Peter G. Holmström (guitar, keyboards), Zia McCabe (keyboard, bass, percussion), and Brent DeBoer (drums, backing vocals).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've always been a fan of the Dandy Warhols' loose slacker rock, and I have to say their good natured tomfoolery and all-round silliness works very well with this brilliant, if not completely serious selection of covers.

TRACK LISTING

Cherry Bomb – The Runaways
What We All Want – Gang Of Four
Primary – The Cure
Kiss Off – Violent Femmes
Goo Goo Muck – The Cramps
Rain – The Cult
Straight To Hell – The Clash
Sister Golden Hair – America
Lay Lady Lay – Bob Dylan
Ripple – The Grateful Dead
Easy Chair – The Byrds
Blackbird – The Beatles
The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson
Love Song – The Damned
Jet Boy – New York Dolls
She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult
Inside The Outside – Love And Rockets

Unbelievable to think that this is Danger Mouse’s first hip-hop album proper since the 2005 collaboration with MF Doom (“DangerDOOM”). Not only that, it’s the first and only time The Roots’ Black Thought has worked with anyone else!

Brian Joseph Burton has, of course, been keeping busy. 2011 and 2019 saw acclaimed collabs with Daniele Lupi and Karen O respectively, whilst production duties with Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz have seen him achieve platinum success and global adoration.

With Tariq Trotter (Black Thought) we find the producer’s freewheeling and uplifting yet gritty production paired beautifully with the rapper’s relentless, chorus-free lyrical deluge. Visceral boom-bap with myriad samples moulded into an anthemic, underground and intoxicating concoction that fans of old school hip-hop are gonna go nuts for. Black Thought’s razor sharp flow and insightful observations keep you hooked, multiple listens revealing their lyrical genius whilst the plethora of other celebrity guest vocalists also turn out award winning, stellar performances. Danger Mouse’s beat tapestries rival Madlib and Apollo Brown’s – the two comparable beatsmiths that jump to mind when I first heard the record. Yet don’t be thinking that Brian’s ripping anyone’s style – these unforced yet rugged instrumentals seem to burst out of the MPC with their own vivacity. As soon we heard it we knew it’d be one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The long awaited return of Danger Mouse and with The Roots' Black Thought plus a host of other rap celebrities he's only gone and turned out what might possibly be hip-hop album of 2022. Authentic boom-bap, conscious lyrics, well dug samples - this one's got it all for that old skool hip-hop fanatic. Check!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Sometimes
2. Cheat Codes (Explicit)
3. The Darkest Part (feat. Raekwon And Kid Sister)
4. No Gold Teeth (Explicit)
5. Because (feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ, And Dylan Cartlidge) (Explicit)
6. Belize (feat. MF DOOM) (Explicit)
Side 2
1. Aquamarine (feat. Michael Kiwanuka)
2. Identical Deaths
3. Strangers (feat. A$AP Rocky And Run The Jewels) (Explicit)
4. Close To Famous Explicit
5. Saltwater (feat. Conway The Machine) (Explicit)
6. Violas And Lupitas (Explicit)

Ghetto Pop Life was Danger Mouse’s first full length album on Lex and a hip hop classic, harking back to the sound of the early 90s East Coast and resurrecting Brooklyn’s most soulful thug MC, Jemini The Gifted One.Incorporating a full church choir on the title track, Danger Mouse also brings in heavy hitting guest rappers J-Zone, Tha Alkaholiks, The Pharcyde and Prince Po. In the words of the NME "Ghetto Pop Life is a funk-fuelled hip hop record that virtually orders you to get down’.LEX010LPRT was originally an exclusive variant but now available to all.

TRACK LISTING

1. Born-A-MC
2. Ghetto Pop Life (Intro)
3. Ghetto Pop Life
4. Omega Supreme (Who?!)
5. What U Sittin On? Feat. Tha Alkaholiks
6. The Only One
7. Take Care Of Business Feat. J-Zone
8. That Brooklyn Shit
9. Yoo-Hoo!
10. Copy Cats Feat. Prince Po
11. Don't Do Drugs
12. Medieval Feat. The Pharcyde
13. Bush Boys
14. Here We Go Again
15. I'ma Doomee
16. Knuckle Sandwich
17. What U Sittin' On? DM's 26" Remix Feat. CeeLo & Tha Alkaholiks
18. The Sh!t
19. Ghetto Pop Life II

Repress of the hugely successful collaborative album between super producer Danger Mouse and Underground rap legend DOOM. The album features notable guest spots from Talib Kweli, Ghostface Killah and pre Gnarls Barkley, CeeLo Green. The album also features skits and contributions from Cartoon Networks’ Adult Swim characters Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sea Lab 2010, Space Ghost and more. The album was a critical and commecial success and the iconic UK version of the vinyl designed by longterm Lex collaborator EHQuestionmark has been long sought after. The reissue is presented in the exact same spec as the original double vinyl including the custom made frosted plastic outersleeve, spot flouro and metallic pantone printed printed inner sleeves. The album also originally debuted at #2 on the Billboard independant albums chart. Subsequent releases from Danger Mouse include Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz & Broken Bells as well as production work for Beck, A$AP Rocky and Black Keys. Subsequent releases from DOOM include 2009’s BORN LIKE THIS and collaborations with Jneiro Jarel and Bishop Nehru and Madlib as MADVILLAIN “It’s like a match made in heaven” Hip Hop DX “Insanely inspired...this stellar collaboration threatens to give underground synergy a good name” AV Club

TRACK LISTING

1. El Chupa Nibre
2. Sofa King
3. The Mask Ft. Ghostface Killah
4. Perfect Hair
5. Benzie Box Ft. Cee Lo Green
6. Old School Ft. Talib Kweli
7. A.T.H.F
8. Basket Case
9. No Names
10. Crosshairs
11. MInce Meat
12. Vats Of Urine
13. Space Ho’s
14. Bada Bing

Everyone wanted Madonna’s 1992 album Erotica to be a scandal. In the midst of a culture war, conservatives wanted it to be proof of the decline of family values. The target of conservative loathing, gay men reeling from the AIDS epidemic wanted it to be a celebration of a sexual culture that had rapidly slipped away.

And Madonna herself wanted to sell scandal, which is why she released Erotica in the same season as her erotic thriller Body of Evidence and her pornographic coffee-table book simply titled Sex. But Erotica is more sentimental than pornographic. This ambivalence over sex is what makes the album crucial both for understanding its time and for navigating culture a generation later.

As queer politics were transitioning from sexual liberation to civil rights like same-sex marriage, Madonna tried to do both. Her songs proved formative for works of queer theory, which emerged in the academy at the same time as the album. And Erotica was—and is—central to a developing consciousness about cultural appropriation.

In this book, Michael Dango considers Erotica and its legacy by drawing both on the intellectual traditions at the center of today’s hysteria over critical race theory and “don’t say gay” and on his own experiences as a gay man too young to know the original carnage of AIDS and too old to grow up assuming he could get married. Madonna offered up Erotica as a key entry in the 1990s culture wars. Her album speaks all the more urgently to the culture wars of today

When The Devil Drives is inspired by the sounds of lo-fi, trip-hop and downtempo alternative music. The album soundtracks the topics of mental health, hangover/hangxiety, bad decisions and hazy memories, contrasted with moments of serenity, calm and chill.

TRACK LISTING

01 In Medias Res
02 Thisiswhyidon’tknowwhy
03 KTM
04 In This Moment For Days
05 Sertraline Daydream
06 Down By Piccadilly East
07 November
08 DAMN
09 Needs Must When The Devil Drives
10 Same Skit Different Day
11 RAGS
12 Makeshift Raves By The Side Of Railway Arches
13 The Sadness Won’t Last Forever

Daniel Monaco Band is an international group led by Italian bassist Daniele Labbate. Blending jazz, funk, house and disco with live energy, their debut EP ‘Get Naked and Fly’ captures years of collaboration and experimentation. The result is a warm, analog-driven sound crafted by seasoned session musicians who’ve toured the world and are now channeling their creativity into original music as a group.

Lead track ‘Love Ago’ delivers modern disco with the authenticity of the golden era, ‘Mimouna’ has a psychedelic edge, with the WHODAMMANY remix taking the original into a more electronic direction. ‘The Devil Left Dancing’ takes a subtly off centre path, nodding to Brazilian influences, while the title track ‘Get Naked and Fly’ is raw and instinctive blending live instrumentation with electronic sensibilities.

The project is a testament to what happens when musicians trust each other enough to explore freely without chasing perfection. A live band speaking house, funk and jazz with one voice — analogue, soulful, and free.

Personnel : Percussion by Yannick Van Ter Beek, Drums by Robin van Rijn, Sax by Alessandro Russo, Guitar by Simone Cesarini and Bass by Daniele Labbate.

Designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: More heat from Naples (see: Bassolino, also out this week). They just don't stop! Catchier than a bout of the clap during fresher's week, with some impressive musicianship to boot.

TRACK LISTING

Love Ago
Mimouna
Minouna (WHODAMANNY Remix)
The Devil Left Dancing
Get Naked And Fly