Based in Canada, I Am Robot And Proud is the name Shaw-han Liem works under to create his singular brand of hypnotic, beguiling electronic pop music.

Following a well received two tracker a few months back, local four piece I Am Blackbird release their debut EP.
They kick off proceedings with the fiery "This Town", despite its nice lilting intro it soon twists into an uncompromising ode to the darker side of small town life. Track two, "Setting Sun" keeps up the firey delivery and adds some great Morricone-esque guitar twangs. Third track "One Good Reason" is a gorgeous slowey with bluesy vocals over strummed guitars and percussive drumming, and finally they up the tempo with "They Don't Speak For Me", which switches tempo between a galloping drum / vocal rhythm and a choppy chorus with subtle Mariachi-trumpets.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: There's an abundance of folk-tinged bands around at the moment but I Am Blackbird really stand out from their contemporaries. They write great songs delivered with a real passion and honesty. Superb stuff - grab one now while you can!

I Ching is Rollo Smallcombe and Kevin Emre. The pair met at art college in London and soon after started to make music together.

Although writing as a duo, the band play live as a four piece, adding Andrew Ford (keys) and Tom Jones (drums) to the line up. They currently write from a home studio in Finsbury Park.

I Ching are influenced by pop, the avant-garde, 60s psych and Turkish garage, as well as early 80s synthesiser music. With an emphasis on colour and texture in their sound, the songs are written and produced to probe the imagination and imagery inside the listeners’ head.

TRACK LISTING

A: It’s Me
B: Drive

A blazing sunset melting into the horizon, an ice-cold cocktail in hand, and the bittersweet feeling of a moment hanging in time. With Love On The Rocks, I Coccodrilli take us on an emotional journey that drifts between nostalgia and euphoria, lazy golden afternoons and bursts of unexpected joy. A '90s-inspired Italo house project produced by R. Arcella and E. Fierro for the catalog of Futuribile, an iconic record store based in Naples and a true hub for local and Italian music. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Timeless beauty from Bel Paese! Everyone knows Italians do it better, proof hammered home here by I Coccodrillli who authentically replicate the feels of the 90s with a double headed 7" that'll get more spins than Mr. Vegas. Sleep at your peril!!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Love On The Rocks (Vocal)
B1. Love On The Rocks (Paradise Mix)

Mike Popov is the musician behind the I Gemin project, which was conceived as a way of working disco style and sampling into his house tracks. And the results are brilliantly effective and charming. 'Introfall (Autumn)' makes for a low-slung downtempo start, 'Come Together' brings horn-led disco house fun and 'Black Tea Groove' sinks into a fat-bottomed and dubby rhythm alive with magical synth flourishes. The blissed out 'Summer Breeze' is an escapist charmer, and the flipside features three more exquisite genre studies that have real heart and authenticity.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
Introfall (Autumn)
Come Together
Black Tea Groove
Summer Breeze

Side 2
Do Yo Thang
No Rush
C'est La Vie

London based DJ and producer I JORDAN releases their new EP ‘Watch Out!’ on Ninja Tune.

India is tipped as one of the world’s most exciting artists, producers and DJs of the moment following last year's’ hugely successful ‘For You’ EP. They have captured the attention of the scene’s top tastemakers and have received impressive support, with stellar reviews from Pitchfork (8.0), NME (5/5), Clash (8/10) and the EP’s title track ‘For You’ voted as Resident Advisor’s #1 Best Track Of 2020, Crack Magazine’s #2 and Pitchfork’s #21.

I JORDAN had quite the year despite most shows being cancelled in 2020 and was named as Pete Tong’s Breakout Star Of 2020 on BBC Radio 1, listed as one of The Guardian’s 50 Amazing Musicians To Watch in 2021 and won Best Breakthrough Producer at the annual DJ Mag Best Of British Awards. 

‘Watch Out!’ sees I JORDAN reflect on how movement has tied into their life over the years. India describes the record as “a homage to both physical and conceptual movement” and comes as a result of their own pattern of movement being forcibly changed by lockdown.

TRACK LISTING

A
1. Only Said Enough
2. Watch Out!
3. 10:58
B
4. You Can’t Expect The Cars To Stop If You Haven’t Pressed The Button 
5. Feierabend 
6. And Groove 

This is the 20th Anniversary re-issue on CD & LTD 2LP Gatefold Set - This is the original album plus three new singles and the acoustic version of Daydream in Blue (which has featured in ads for various brands including a worldwide year-long Magnum Ice Cream and many TV shows around the globe) - all new to physical.

The re-issue follows a massive TikTok moment in 2023 resulting in 120M Spotify
streams on one song (Who Is She?). 

TRACK LISTING

1. Some Thing's Coming
2. Daydream In Blue
3. Hey Mrs (Glamour Puss Mix)
4. Everyone's A Loser
5. Heaven
6. Who Is She?
7. A Scarecrow's Tale
8. Stobart's Blues
9. The Backseat Of My Car (Sticky Black Vinyl Mix)
10. These Are Our Children
11. Sunny Delights
12. The Blue Wrath (Extended Mix)
13. The Weather
14. The Desert
15. Won't Give Your Love
16. Daydream In Blue (Acoustic)

Valentine Records' resident bedroom-studio maverick Michael O'Connor (aka I-Node). Taking its cue from early electro and acid house records (such as 808 State's "Newbuild" and Stakker's "Eurotechno") "La Souteneur Numerique" is a 38-minute introduction to the weird and wonderful world of this self confessed "Digital Pimp".

I See Stars are back with their highly anticipated new album, and first in nearly a decade, 'THE WHEEL'. Marking a pivotal new chapter in the band's career, 'THE WHEEL' is in motion - and there’s no turning back.

TRACK LISTING

1. Spin It
2. THE WHEEL
3. Eliminator
4. D4MAGE DONE
5. FLOAT
6. Drift
7. Are We 3ven?
8. Flood Light
9. Carry On For You
10. SPLIT
11. Lost It (ft. Palaye Royale)
12. Afterdark
13. Anomaly
14. Curtain Call

Mute releases I Start Counting’s Ejected on CD for the first time. Initially produced on the now sold out limited edition cassette for the 2021 Independent Label Market alongside Re-fused, these two albums contain unreleased I Start Counting tracks and demos recorded in 1985 and 1986 for their albums My Translucent Hands (1986) and Fused (1988).

The duo consisting of David Baker and Simon Leonard came together to form I Start Counting in 1982. Signing to Mute in 1984, the release of their first singles ‘Letters to a Friend’ and ‘Still Smiling’ were quick to follow, both produced by Daniel Miller. My Translucent Hands and Fused established a cult following for the duo, originating amongst American suburban teens who were discovering Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk for the first time. By the early 1990s, Baker and Leonard had evolved into Fortran 5, releasing three albums for the label before returning as Komputer in 1996. Their three incarnations finally met in 2011 through the release of Konnecting…, a record that showcased the duo's pure pop junctures.

TRACK LISTING

1 Charlie
2 Modern Sunbathing
3 Is She On Her Own
4 Cooler Than Calcutta
5 Red Car
6 My Sister's Friend
7 Million Headed Monster
8 I'm A Murderer
9 You Can't Write That Down
10 Rawhide 

Mute releases I Start Counting’s Re-fused on CD for the first time. Initially produced on the now sold out limited edition cassette for the 2021 Independent Label Market alongside Ejected, these two albums contain unreleased I Start Counting tracks and demos recorded in 1985 and 1986 for their albums My Translucent Hands (1986) and Fused (1988).

The duo consisting of David Baker and Simon Leonard came together to form I Start Counting in 1982. Signing to Mute in 1984, the release of their first singles ‘Letters to a Friend’ and ‘Still Smiling’ were quick to follow, both produced by Daniel Miller. My Translucent Hands and Fused established a cult following for the duo, originating amongst American suburban teens who were discovering Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk for the first time. By the early 1990s, Baker and Leonard had evolved into Fortran 5, releasing three albums for the label before returning as Komputer in 1996. Their three incarnations finally met in 2011 through the release of Konnecting…, a record that showcased the duo's pure pop junctures.

TRACK LISTING

1 Talk About The Weather
2 You And I
3 625
4 Grass Snake
5 Pretty Too
6 Birmingham
7 The I Can't Express
8 Lose Him
9 Say Something 

I Will Die In This Jean Jacket is a testimony of how the lines between commitment and attachments are often blurred. It is the new gloom-punk project from Jim Blaha (The Blind Shake, Green/Blue). Blaha has collaborated with luminaries including Michael Yonkers, John Reis, Shannon Selberg, Dale Flattum and Zak Sally and has released records on Goner, Castle Face, Dirtnap, Hozac, Feel It, Slovenly and Swami. On 'Hang From A Cloud' he concludes over three years of artistic solitude by heading back into the basement to create in an even deeper state of isolation. Formed in Minneapolis this past December, the late-night sessions gradually revealed a concept: capturing the feeling he had from the mixtapes a friend used to make during their teenage skateboarding years—where late ’70s post punk sat comfortably alongside the more exposed underground sounds of the ’80s and ’90s and every song seemed to come from the same hazy, imaginary city somewhere far, far away.

Recording onto a 1/4” tape machine and mixing everything down to the all important cassette, Blaha emerged with an indiffussable sound. 'Hang From A Cloud' is a long-lost pirate radio transmission from an alternate 1980s universe. The album is entirely analog by design. Guitars, vocals, drums, drum machines and bass all captured on cobbled together equipment in a cinder block bunker on a frigid midwest, winter night. There is a one dimensional resonance with a sheen of distortion and rust that is betrayed by the direct and simplistic beauty of the songwriting. 'Hang From A Cloud' is a no-fi, DIY treasure that transports the listener to a parallel dimension where The Go Betweens, The Clean, Jesus And The Mary Chain, New Order, Guided By Voices and Flip Your Wig-era Hüsker Dü are cherished and celebrated the same.

TRACK LISTING

1. Some New Day
2. D.O.A.
3. The Nothing Way
4. So Nice
5. Above Me
6. Always Home
7. Too Bright
8. Miracles
9. We Were Wild
10. Careless

Having amassed numerous accolades and achievements, the electrifying DJ and producer I. JORDAN (they/them) is set for a huge year with their debut album, I AM JORDAN, due for release on 10th May 2024. Thanks to this extraordinary forthcoming album, complemented by consistently breathtaking visuals and creative concepts, Jordan is poised to breakthrough to the mainstream in 2024. Championing trans and non-binary voices, they have enlisted Aries Moross as Creative Director (Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls), and track collaborators include rising stars such as DJ and producer TAAHLIAH, and the star of Sex Education, Felix Mufti.

TRACK LISTING

1. When Lights Flash
2. Casino High
3. Real Hot N Naughty
4. The Countdown
5. Butterlick
6. Reification And Pathetic Fallacy
7. People Want Nice Things
8. Round N Round
9. The Woodpecker
10. 7 Degrees Of Despondent
11. Close To You
12. Rapt Finis

Peach Discs celebrates peak northern-hemisphere summer with the perfectly-timed-and-titled "Soft Serve Summer" EP from I. JORDAN. We were delighted when they sent us these tunes, which represent a brighter, housier and more personal side to their sound than many have seen before. Inspired by their recent tour of Australia, the EP (named after the title track that got the ball rolling on the other side of the planet) bottles a loose, sun-kissed feeling across all five tracks that's keen to be unleashed at festivals, beaches and dancefloors worldwide.

Opener "Your Love" boots things off in style, sitting somewhere between Power House and French Touch as layers of oscillating synths, percolating drums and vocal chops take turns in the spotlight – but when all's said and done it's the bassline that gets the flowers, duh.

Things turn a little more introspective on "Little Tinker", as the titular bells sprinkled throughout summon up something…else? Whatever you think that is, the muscular bassline once again keeps us grounded, as washes of dreamy synths lap at the shore and everything is in its right place, before the urgent organ stabs and diva moans of "Soft Serve Summer" pull us straight back to the middle of the floor.

Flip the record over and "Come 2 Me" signals something new from I. JORDAN. Is that a guitar riff?! Crisp hand drums?! Yes and yes. Draped over it all with yearning call-and-response vocals, this one's special. Wrapping up the EP is a remix from label co-owner Gramrcy, who recalibrates "Little Tinker" for those late night, early morning eyes-closed moments. The drums get a hardgroove-esque makeover, the pads drawn long and low over the top, the yelped vocal snippets bolted on tight. And can you believe this is his first track released physically on the label (he couldn't).

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Immediately switching on your inner FESTIVAL MODE, don't blame us if you end up late for work Monday cos you've been on an impromptu bender this weekend after listening to this on repeat while your prescription arrives...

TRACK LISTING

your love
little tinker
soft serve summer
come 2 me
little tinker (gramrcy remix)

After a three year hiatus Swedish singer-songwriter Thomas Jonsson returns with 'Give Up Together', his sixth full-length album as I'm Kingfisher. After 2023's acclaimed 'Glue', which was mostly arranged together with jazz musicians, this time around Jonsson opted for something heavier with a brilliant set of americana songs draped in quiet drums, distinct electric guitars and rich strings, while occasionally being deconstructed into stripped folk songs.

One of Sweden's best kept secrets, I'm Kingfisher has won press accolades from the likes of NPR's All Songs Considered, Uncut, Clash, KEXP and many more while sharing the stage with ex Kevin Morby, Courtney Marie Andrews, The Weather Station and Damien Jurado. One of the finest songwriters of the Nordic folk wave, Jonsson's been quietly building a more than impressive catalogue, and is finally ready to step into the limelight alongside his more famous contemporaries.

TRACK LISTING

1. Years Of Depression
2. Birds & Beast
3. Your Dad's Bad Days
4. Give Up Together
5. Look What You Made Me Do
6. Our Inside Joke (Was Nightmare Fuel)
7. Trauma Queen
8. White Denim
9. Winter Of '85/'86 (feat. Tiny Oceans)
10. Revealing Trailer

Inspired by the infinitely numbered harmonies transmitted by Vista, a benevolent being from a distant dimension, Iasos broke ground for a new age of electronic sound manipulation. His was pioneering work - done from a bohemian boat-slip home office - on some of the first commercially available synthesizers and, on stage, into the kaleidoscopic heart of psychedelic-era concert visuals.

As life-affirming and attuned to spirit as Iasos' soul portraits were, prestigious psychology departments heard in them the tones humans hear at the precipice between life and death. Before ambient and New Age were so named and codified, the "Paradise Music" of Iasos (represented here by 13 selections transmitted between 1975 and 1985) brought Earth - transcriptions of a vast and galactic soundhealing to a planet much in need.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Passion You A Leap Of Love-Flame
2. Rainbow Canyon
3. The Angels Of Comfort
4. Blue Fire Realms
5. Siren Shallows
6. Crystal Petals
7. Procession On The Horizon
8. The Royal Court Of Goddess Vesta
9. The Winds Of Olympus
10. The Descent Of Spring
11. Cloud Prayer
12. Spring Temple Forest
13. Crystal*White*Fire*Light

After a decade of a break, in 2001 Iasos returned with a new, first in a new millennium, album – “Realms of Light”. Here you will hear 8 masterpieces of heavenly music that takes you to other-worldly realms just filled with Love and Light. This album continues where “Elixir” 1983 left off! Journey into heavenly celestial realms with a master of inter-dimensional music. Ecstatic planes of existence filled with love, light, color, fragrance, and sacredness. Unearthly sparkling beauty.

There are a few guest musicians who beautify the album: Joie Favier from Cybervixen, legendary violinist Steven Kindler who was one of the forerunners in playing multi-string electric violin, and another new-age music legend Sophia Roberts. To summarize, this album is intensely full of heavenly feelings that will make your heart glow.

You may be familiar with the hypnotic, entrancing tones of Ibarra's vocals through his work with the Latin Grammy award- winning, four- piece, Bala Desejo and the band Donica. He has also toured with the musical titan, Milton Nascimento, performing guitar and vocals, which is quite the honour and a testament to Ibarra's craft. As a solo artist, he has performed headline solo shows in Japan, Portugal and the US, as well as recently completing a support tour with the great, Seu Jorge.

'AFIM' is comprised of eight tracks, featuring Ze's own compositions as well as cover versions of tracks by contemporaries and friends, Sophia Chablau, Tom Veloso, and Dora Morelenbaum. It combines elements of MPB, jazz, pop and progressive rock in a bold, authoritative style. The album represents the intersection between different facets of the artist, from the stripped- down, intimate, guitar singer- songwriter, to dense arrangements with sweeping strings sections.

Writing this album allowed Ibarra "to explore sides of myself that had not yet been organized in an album: a certain darkness, a more cinematic musicality, a desire for new soundscapes". The album features the single, 'Transe', a song with an instantly comforting tone reminiscent of classic Brazilian songs of the past (think Caetano Veloso). It is built on a rhythmic guitar that supports dynamic sound layers, opening space for Ibarra's intense interpretation. Cinematic atmospheres that lend an air of mystery come courtesy of string arrangements by Jaques Morelenbaum. His unique cover version of Sophia Chablau's 'Segredo' is equally compelling, taking Sophia's punky-indie original in a different direction and making it feel like his own. 'Essa Confusao', a song celebrating the intensity of love and co- written by Dora Morelenbaum, is steered into epic, 70's AOR, singer- songwriter territory with wind arrangements by Ibarra, Jorge Continentino and strings by Jaques Morelenbaum.

The album is the result of the collaboration of experienced musicians and long-time partners of Ibarra. Fellow Bala Desejo and Donica member Lucas Nunes co-produced the album. The core band featured on the record consists of Lucas Nunes on organs, Alberto Continentino on bass, Daniel Conceicao and Thomas Harres on drums and percussion, Rodrigo Pacato on additional percussion, Chico Lira on Fender Rhodes and Guilherme Lirio on guitar. The overall feel of the record is archetypically quintessential without slipping into retro mode.

It is a stunning album from one of the fnest musicians of his generation. A true star of Brazil's blooming contemporary scene.

TRACK LISTING

1. Infnito Em Nos
2. Segredo
3. Transe
4. Retrato De Maria Lucia
5. Da Menor Importancia
6. Morena
7. Essa Confusao
8. Hexagrama 28

French-Cuban twins Ibeyi are back with their second album ‘Ash’, a record that tackles subjects as diverse as womanhood, spirituality, activism and racism, all conveyed in Ibeyi’s own unique blend of modern pop, hip-hop and electronic influenced music that incorporates the traditional sounds of Yorùbá. ‘Ash’ is the follow-up to the twin’s 2015 critically acclaimed, eponymous debut album that made Ibeyi a globally recognized name.

While Ibeyi’s first album grappled with the past—the sister’s relationship, origins, loss, and roots. It earned them fans and collaborators in some of the most iconic and crucial artists of today, Beyoncé and Alvin Ailey included. By contrast, Ash is a more visceral and potent political statement, and while firmly rooted in Afro-Cuban culture and history, finds itself entirely concerned with Ibeyi’s present: Who Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi are, what’s important to them, and how they live today, especially given that the spheres, both personally and politically, are entirely different from when Ibeyi was recorded.

‘Ash’ was recorded in November 2016 in London with producer Richard Russell at his studio The Copper House. The album features twelve new tracks, including ‘Away Away’ which was released in June, and includes appearances from Kamasi Washington, Mala Rodriguez, Chilly Gonzales, Meshell Ndegeocello.

‘Deathless,’ the second track to be debuted from ‘Ash’, features the incomparable Kamasi Washington on saxophone, and was written in the wake of an experience that Lisa-Kaindé had when she was sixteen that involved her being wrongly arrested by French police. She went home and wrote the emotive ‘Deathless,’ in which she describes her experience: “I was writing ‘Deathless’ as an anthem for everybody!” Lisa-Kaindé says. “For every minority. For everybody that feels that they are nothing, that feels small, that feels not cared about and I want them to listen to our song and for three minutes feel large, powerful, deathless. I have a huge amount of respect for people who fought for, what I think, are my rights today and if we all sing together ‘we are deathless, ’they will be living through us into a better world”.

Step out of the gloom and into Ibeyi’s world, a place of optimism, openness and acceptance. The modern world never looked so beautiful as it does through Ibeyi’s lens

Ibeyi (pronounced “ee-bey-ee”) is Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz, daughters of the late Cuban percussionist 'Anga' Diaz of Buena Vista Social fame. Naomi plays percussive instruments, the Cajon and the Batas, while Lisa plays piano. Together the twins have learned the songs of their father’s culture, Yoruba. Their love of Yorùbá choirs was inspired by their mother.

Yoruba travelled from West Africa to Cuba with slavery in the 1700s. The Yoruba people have the highest twinning rate in the World and twins occupy an important position within Yoruba culture.

Ibeyi sing in English and Yoruba and they have created a minimalist sound that merges elements of their heritage with their natural love of modern music as teenagers brought up in Paris. This self-titled debut album, produced by XL’s Richard Russell, is an inventive collision of the old and the new - stark electronic atmospherics, heartfelt soulful vocals and melodies inspired by slave chants to produce what Ibeyi themselves have dubbed “contemporary negro spirituals”.

For fans of James Blake, Bjork etc.

Praised by Pitchfork, covered by The FADER, and featured on Beyoncé's 'Lemonade', Ibeyi return with 'Offering' — their fourth and most fearless album yet. Coming four years after 'Spell 31', this 12-track project marks their first release as independent artists: a journey of rediscovery through thumping percussion, delicate harmonies, and lyrics sung in English, French and Spanish. Shot entirely on location in Havana with local artists, 'Offering' is an invitation to let go, come home, and evolve.

TRACK LISTING

1. Olokun
2. Aset
3. Focus
4. Moshpit
5. La tendresse d'un mot
6. The Process
7. Offerings
8. Baba
9. I Know You Loved Me
10. Hurry Hurry
11. Good Life
12. Lucky

The third album from Afro-Cuban French twins Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz who together are Ibeyi. Inspired by the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, this is a record celebrating their multitudes are harnessing their power to heal others. Featuring collaborations with Pa Salieu, Jorja Smith, BERWYN, Dave Okumu, Ben Reed and Owen Pallett, with production by Richard Russell.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Ibeyi fall perfectly in that magical middle ground between synth-pop disco and funk, imbued with musical sensibilities from their Afro-Cuban heritage, it's a beautifully balanced and eminently listenable triumph. The track with Jorja Smith on it is a particular delight too, probably my favourite piece of theirs to date. ace.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Sangoma
O Inle
Made Of Gold Feat. Pa Salieu
Sister 2 Sister
Creature (Perfect)

Side B
Tears Are Our Medicine
Foreign Country
Lavender & Red Roses Feat. Jorja Smith
Rise Above Feat. BERWYN
Los Muertos

Eno Williams, frontwoman of Ibibio Sound Machine, uses both English and the Nigerian language from which her band’s name is derived for the dazzling new album. Long lauded for jubilant, explosive live shows, Ibibio Sound Machine fully capture that energy on "Doko Mien", the followup to "Uyai". By pulsing the mystic shapes of Williams’ lines through further inventive, glittering collages of genre, Ibibio Sound Machine crack apart the horizon separating cultures, between nature and technology, between joy and pain, between tradition and future. That propensity for duality and paradox seems common in people whose lives span continents. Williams was born in the UK, but grew up in Nigeria, always steeped in her family heritage. She obsessed over West African electronic music, highlife, and the like, but was equally empowered by Western genres such as post-punk, disco, and funk.

The traditional Ibibio folk tale bobs over the waves of tuned percussion, chunky synth, and pinprick highlife-esque guitar, while Jose Joyette’s drums and Derrick McIntyre’s bass funk groove bring everyone to the dance floor. 'These stories won’t be forgotten. Feel the music: it speaks to everybody,' Williams says. 'We can travel back in time together, while convening on a futuristic, present tense. We hope that we can give people that reason to wake up, that one song to sing and dance and be happy.'

On their new album, Ibibio Sound Machine provide the perfect companion, ready to digest as much as possible and then further unfurl beauty and hope. They remember and honor the past and charge forward toward the future, all while intensely expanding the present.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
I Need You To Be Sweet Like Sugar (Nnge Nte Suka)
Wanna Come Down
Tell Me (Doko Mien)
I Know That You’re Thinking About Me
I Will Run

SIDE B
Just Go Forward (Ka I So)
She Work Very Hard
Nyak Mien, Kuka
Guess We Found A Way

Even in trying times, “there is no love without electricity.” Electricity is the fourth and most progressive album from Ibibio Sound Machine, and like all good Afrofuturist stories, it begins with an existential crisis. “It’s darker than anything we’ve done previously,” says Eno Williams, the group’s singer. “That’s because it grew out of the turbulence of the past year. It inhabits an edgier world.”

Electricity was produced by the Grammy Award and Mercury Prize nominated British synthpop group Hot Chip, a collaboration born out of mutual admiration watching each other on festival stages, as well as a shared love of Francis Bebey and Giorgio Moroder. The fruits of their labor reveal a gleaming, supercharged, Afrofuturist blinder. Electricity is the first album Ibibio Sound Machine have made with external producers since the group’s formation in London in 2013 by Williams and saxophonist Max Grunhard. True, 2017’s Uyai featured mixdown guests including Dan Leavers, aka Danalogue, the keyboard jedi in future-jazz trio The Comet Is Coming, but Hot Chip and Ibibio Sound Machine worked together more deeply throughout the process, collaborating fully. Along the way, the team conjured a kaleidoscope of delights that include resonances of Jonzun Crew, Grace Jones, William Onyeabor, Tom Tom Club, Kae Tempest, Keith LeBlanc, The J.B.’s, Jon Hassell’s “Fourth World,” and Bootsy Collins.

The hook of opener “Protection From Evil” has Williams wielding a massive synth line from Hot Chip’s Al Doyle like a spiritual shield against unspecified, malign forces unspecified because Williams is speaking in tongues. Her lyrics are onomatopoeic: their meaning is defined in her energetic delivery. As Electricity takes off, so do Williams’ words towards a brighter future, alternating between English and Ibibio, sometimes within verses, and propelled by Joseph Amoako’s unabating afrobeat. She digs into this sentiment further on single “All That You Want,” coolly assuring her romantic interest while also requesting reciprocity. Meanwhile, Scott Baylis’ playful Juno synth guides the listener’s feet along the dancefloor.

Electricity is a deep and seamless realization of Williams’ and Grunhard’s ambitious founding manifesto to combine the singularly rhythmic character of the Ibibio language which Williams spoke growing up in Nigeria with a range of traditional West African music and more modern electronic sounds. While the band enjoys veering further into electronic territory with the help of mutuals like Hot Chip, Grunhard emphasizes, “For us, it’s not just a matter of embracing new technology. What’s key is to keep the music grounded in African roots.” Ibibio Sound Machine best exemplify this on Electricity’s “Freedom.” That track was inspired by the water-drumming rhythms of Cameroon’s Baka women, which in turn fueled its lyrics, which in turn prompted Hot Chip and Ibibio Sound Machine to layer joyfully kinetic electronic counterparts on top in the studio. As the track culminates with the mantra of “rage, hope, cope, soul,” it’s clear that Ibibio Sound Machine have channelled, harnessed, and distilled these words as guiding principles, both for the album and for the turbulent world that awaits it.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I remember buying ISM's self titled album from this very shop around 2014 because it was recommended highly, and it couldn't have been more of a welcome punt. It turns out that they've only gone from strength to strength, and 'Electricity' absolutely shines with the raw groove and scattered influences of the earlier LP's, but with a much more honed sense of rhythm and melody. Absolutely, unsurprisingly brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Protection From Evil
2 .Electricity
3 .Casio (Yak Nda Nda)
4. Afo Ken Doko Mien
SIDE B
5. All That You Want
6. Wanna See Your Face Again
7. 17 18 19
8. Truth No Lie
9. Oyoyo

CD & LP3 Download Bonus:
10. Something We’ll Remember
11. Almost Flying
12. Freedom

'Chopping Mountain', the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine is the clearest rendering yet of the London collective’s longstanding mission to promote love, unity, and resistance through music. It is the band’s sixth full-length record, and the first to feature the band’s Max Grunhard as producer since 2019’s 'Doko Mien'. Following their Hot Chip-produced breakthrough 'Electricity' (2022) and the darker, clubbier inflection of the Ross Orton-produced 'Pull the Rope' (2024), 'Chopping Mountain' feels like it was pulled directly from the hearts and experiences of the Eno Williams and Grunhard-led band.

Williams, as always, is a siren — a once-in-a-generation frontwoman whose call, both to the dancefloor and for a better tomorrow, is impossible to resist. How she does it is a mystery. Take a song like 'Return to Sender', for instance. Inspired by a car accident in which she felt the steering wheel of her vehicle literally jump out of her hands — which she likened to “a spiritual attack by unseen forces” — the track is a sinewy, cathartic rager, a full-body workout and full-throated rejection of evil in multiple tongues, English and her native Ibibio.

She is, of course, hardly alone at the foot of 'Chopping Mountain'. Ibibio Sound Machine — Grunhard (saxophone, keyboards), Alfred Bannerman (guitar), PK Ambrose (bass, keyboards),Joseph Amoako (drums), Afla Sackey (percussion), Scott Baylis (trumpet, keyboards), and Tony Hayden (trombone, synth) — are supernaturally tight, drawing on their roots and inspirations in highlife, disco, afrobeat, funk, post-punk, and electropop to build towering cathedrals of sound around her voice.

Continuing on the path they first charted on 'Pull the Rope', many of 'Chopping Mountain's songs started out in jam sessions, locking in on a groove or an instrument or a lyric. This is, at its core, the spirit of 'Chopping Mountain'. Against the backdrop of a dispiriting world, Ibibio Sound Machine remain hopeful, seekers of consciousness and connection. On tracks like 'Concept of Love', they are direct and earnest, sculpting an Afro-disco song around Williams’ repeated question of “What is your concept of love?” They have their theory (“When you love someone / Let them love you back”) but the song passes the idea from member to member — a thrilling guitar solo from Bannerman, Baylis’ horn stings, vocoders, and precision drumfills — in a way that creates, almost paradoxically, a space in which one can meditate on the answer or move through it. Exploring the concept further on 'Love', they deliver an ethereal slice of highlife.

This heady brew of disparate styles and points of origin melds and pulls itself apart across the whole of 'Chopping Mountain', its songs united in that they are the sharpest tools Ibibio Sound Machine can bring to bear in the present moment. They present the struggle for freedom as a communal one, in which even the smallest movement contributes to the end game. As Williams sings in the title track, “When pebble disturbs the water / Ripples over yonder / Force of a sling shot hits you / Chopping mountain rock asunder.” The work of liberation is long and difficult, but it is not without joy — here is an album bursting with it.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Endlessly funky dancefloor afrobeat and highlife grooves from the tour-de-force that is Ibibio Sound Machine, returning for their most groove-led record yet. Motifs grow and spread outwards, with motifs seamlessly entering the mix, resulting in a funky but entirely coherent maelstrom. A proper party of a record.

TRACK LISTING

1. Burning in Lagos
2. Chopping Mountain
3. When You Want to Dance
4. Concept of Love
5. Return to Sender
6. Menso
7. Love
8. Kukuru
9. River Don’t Rush

Pull the Rope, the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine, casts the Eno Williams and Max Grunhard–led outfit in a new light. The hope, joy, and sexiness of their music remain, but, further honing the edge of their acclaimed 2022 album Electricity, the connection they aim to foster has shifted venues from the sunny buoyancy of a sunlit festival to a sweat-soaked, all-night dance club.

Williams and Grunhard attribute this shift to a matter of collaborators, recording Pull the Rope with Sheffield-based producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A.) over the course of two weeks. The way the pair wrote songs changed significantly rather than Eno penning lyrics to music generated by Max and company’s jamming, Orton started with Eno and Max writing together before adding the band. With less time in the studio

and a new way of considering how they built songs, the duo found making decisions about Pull the Rope’s sound quicker and more instinctual than before.

“Ross is from Sheffield, which has an edgier, more industrial vibe than London,” Grunhard explains. “He hears things differently than us, is more grounded in rave and grungier sounds, and knew when to add drums or push the instrumentation more. It was very different for us, but it lends itself to where Ibibio Sound Machine is going.”

In melding their songwriting process, Grunhard and Williams have, impossibly, pulled the trick of making Ibibio Sound Machine a tighter band than ever before, building out from their core in a way that highlights the electrifying group of musicians they play with. Rather than recording with the full band in the room, Pull the

Rope was sculpted, elements added and shaped by Grunhard, Williams, and Orton along the way. As a result, Pull the Rope is a nimble, sleek machine that’s thrilling from the first note of the opening title track, Eno’s otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose’s throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads, making an argument for unity that begins on the dancefloor. “We are the places we grew up, the places we’ve been, and the people we’ve met along

the way,” Williams says. “Hopping around the globe, we’ve found that people are fundamentally the same they’re people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering.”

Lead single “Got to Be Who U Are” literally globetrots, name checking locales across the world that would feel disparate were it not for how well-traveled they are. Eno growing up in the musical melting pot of the Ibibio region of Nigeria and Max being a conservatory-trained musician from Australia, one could call their meeting in London and formation of Ibibio Sound Machine predestined.

“Mama Say” and “Let My Yes Be Yes” touch themes of female empowerment. They’re indicative of the band’s depth as they push further into the electronic; “Mama Say” hits notes of electropop while “Let My Yes Be Yes” fuses electro to Afrobeat. Ibibio Sound Machine have always imbued their music with political consciousness, and the light that shines through in Williams’ vocals and voice has never felt more necessary. The sound of Pull the Rope, then, is hope in darkness, bliss in spite of bleakness. Once again, Ibibio Sound Machine are here to provide the soundtrack to the best night of your life, and the better world to come.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pull The Rope
2. Got To Be Who U Are
3. Fire
4. Them Say
5. Political Incorrect
6. Mama Say
7. Let My Yes Be Yes
8. Touch The Ceiling
9. Far Away
10. Dance In The Rain

Recently hailed by The Guardian as "British techno's great survivor," Nigeria-born, UK-based Ibrahim Alfa Jnr continues with the fine form shown on his recent Infinite Black Inside LP with this first EP on his newly minted label Infinite Black. The music was made after the end of a time of bad health, which means there is a feeling of both relief and reflection here. The nameless tracks are all overtly technological in their DNA - spanned synths warp around mechanical kicks on the opener as detuned jazz keys tumble through the mix. ''Track 2' floats on skittish breakbeats, there's moody downtempo on 'Track 4' melodically-inspired hope on 'Track 6.' An adventurous and rewarding EP.

TRACK LISTING

Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6

Lempuyang is a label you will know and respect for its high quality stream of immersive dub techno. Now the man behind it, Alastair Kelly, debuts a new label with none other than revered UK techno mainstay Ibrahim Alfa Jnr. He opens up with 'Component A' which is a moody melange of slow, broken dub beats and fizzing synths. There is further experimentation on 'Untitled B2 1' which pairs a churning dub rhythm with naive and innocent melodies and lots of lo-fi static. 'Entangled' ups the ante with the suggestion of a fast paced rhythm through a skeletal groove and the flip brings broken beat dub weight, meaning and percussive bass with a 2-step swagger then deep introspection on the closer. A classy EP that suggests this label will be well worth watching.

TRACK LISTING

Component A
Untitled B2 1
Entangled
Are You?
648
Carrier

Hey, this aint no “follow up” number, this is a the other arm getting a shot; this is the Slave Vows era of the Icarus Line getting its I’s dotted. A sort of finality at play here, “Avowed Slavery” is the companion release to 2013’s well received SLAVE VOWS album, this completes the circle of fury.

With the video release of “City Job” at the end of 2013, and the Slave Vows album still making people talk, it was time to put these songs to wax, prepare the world for The Icarus Line's next move. Five tracks spread over the two sides, this mini album serves as aSlave Vows booster jab, the feral verocity of the last album is in spades here, maybe even more so, the fire in the band’s belly is roaring, and its only when the last track closes down do you realise quite fully, the impact.

Reference points take in a whole gamut of genres, styles, sounds, stances…… Cardamone leads the gang once more into the rough, the desecrated warzone that is the music industry, american culture and love , they (Cardamone, Hallet, De Guzman, Arnao) create their brand of “hellfire and brimstone” rock and roll…

Leeches and Seeds is a frenetic blast of noise with Hallets drums threatening to collapse your ears, driving you into live favourite Junkadelic. The bastard offspring of Clinton and Bargeld this grooves and slithers, winding its earworm abilities into your whole shuddering psyche…..

Raise Yer Crown closes off side one, with their LA swagger back in full effect, thump and grind from the Icarus Line, this is Los Angeles NOW…

Side two opens with the long awaited studio version of other live fave “Salem Slims”, first aired on the Killing Joke support tour in 2012, this fearless headrush is so adamantly an Icarus Line song, that theres no other comparison, howling stoogian vocal, building-destroying rhythms, shards of guitar gloss stunning all within range, this headrush of almost-insanity then moves into the last track, “The Father,. The Priest” , is this the calm after the storm, is this the comedown, is this the penance for the passion? Or is this the Vows era Icarus Line laying down tools to prepare for the next go?

Listen at full blast
- Joe Cardamone

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

The Icarus Line, a proper rock and roll gang, led by the fearsome Joe Cardamone, toured the UK in October 2011 in support of their Wildlife album. With stand in drummer Sammy as their drummer quit just before boarding the plane!! they slammed it, this was feral rock and roll grime, even original bass player Lance Arnao was back in the fold, someone recorded the London show.. and here it is, pressed on some limited edition vinyl..raw, bleeding, and a good indication of how the Icarus Line are...oh yes.. 100 copies only for the UK.

Brand new album from LA hellions, the Icarus Line, is quite possibly their best album yet. Harking back to the fury of Mono, the fire of Pennance Soiree and dragging the swagger out of the Black Lives / Wild Life albums, "Slave Vows" is quite simply a fearsome vitriolic rock and roll outpouring that starts, and never lets up for every 45 minutes of Stoogian styled glory.

Evoking Funhouse, Everything Went Black, Goats Head Soup and Maggotbrain in one fell swoop, it could be said that the Icarus Line have finally made the album they set out on making in 2001... this is not for the fainthearted! Some of these songs were blooded on their support slot with Killing Joke on their European tour in 2012, this album also features the best rhythm section the band have had (new drummer Ben Hallett and original bassist Lance Arnao completely NAIL IT!), underpinning the white hot guitar flow from singer/leader Joe Cardamone, the songs..ebb, and flow, slash and burn...cauterizing any that stand in their way.

This is pure rock and roll hellfire distilled onto vinyl and CD.

BRAND NEW album from legendary LA firestarters, The Icarus Line. Their third full length release for Agitated (their eigth album in total), following on from their imperious return to the fray in 2013 with the much lauded release of 'Slave Vows', followed up by its companion "album release" 'Avowed Slavery' in 2014.

Recorded and arranged live as a group in Cardamone's studio, Valley Recording Company in Burbank, the sessions "were very private and conducive to conjuring," the frontman describes. "If you are lucky, you can capture something before it dies. I feel like all great music is a fleeting inspiration. You only have so much time to capture it before it either turns into routine or it turns its back on you."

The album features a guest appearance from legendary outsider artist Joe Coleman who helped coin the album title. Also appearing is Bad Seed / Grinderman/ Dirty Three band leader Warren Ellis who helped pen the track "Bedlam Blue" with Cardamone.

Art work for All Things Under Heaven was found during the making of the record. Veteran news photographer Randy Taylor was receiving attention for some works of his that were created out of destruction. During the Sandy hurricane his archive was flooded and many of his photos were "destroyed". The pictures that would make up the record's sleeve were simply a document of a 4th of July cookout but after the waters of Sandy they became the american dream in a car crash with mother nature. The perfect visual to compliment a document about a melted american dream.

All Things Under Heaven packs the kind of swagger, raunch & ascent that would make Iggy Stooge and Sun Ra proud parents. It is a record that expands the vocabulary of what rock music can be without sacrificing the critical spirit that makes it Rock N Roll. The Icarus Line have summoned up the demons from the past, paid their homage and taken the sound in an entirely new direction; because this band are never ones to be caught on their knees. The album is a sprawling sonic landscape that has a timeless quality about it as it traverses between low valleys, towering skyscrapers and all the dirty alleyways that connect them. It's a record that's as sprawling as the city of Los Angeles to which The Icarus Line have always called home. It's a fuck you to the bite size society that has become music consumption. Life is bigger than that. And just like LA, this is a record that from the opening hollow echo swallowed pounding drums of "Ride Or Die" to the final free jazz funeral lullaby of "Sleep Now" is all its own world.

The Icarus Line have been deep in the rock 'n' roll trenches since their debut album Mono in the late 90s, yet sound more significant now than ever. Over the years The Icarus Line have proved to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable live bands around, again and again. Their performances are explosive, dangerous and sexy all at the same time.

"Joe Cardamone slanks in a room like some sick fuck who actually knows how to live on the street, instead of pretending that he still does," writes Permanent Midnight author Jerry Stahl. "Walking down Vulnerable Hardass Ave " the one where OG rock'n'rollers, the early eat-their-arms screamers and bar walkers that paved the way for posers and haircuts to come, first started screaming out the truth that was eating them alive."

For fans of all music styles American Primitive: Ayler, Patton, Howlin Wolf, Gira, Velvet Underground, Funkadelic, Sun Ra, The Psychedelic Stooges, Black Flag, Charlie Feathers, Tony Conrad.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As brash as ever, The Icarus Line return to the fore with this, their latest outing since 2013. All Things Under Heaven sees the band in a more grungy, punk-influenced mood. Snarling vocals, and screaming call-to-arms refrains atop driving distortion and thumbing kick drums. Never likely to be accused of being boring, this is a new direction from a band that can do no wrong. A Political noise-punk statement, and a righteous performance from one of the greatest post-hardcore bands of all time.

TRACK LISTING

RIDE OR DIE
TOTAL PANDEMONIUM
EL SERENO
ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN (featuring Joe Coleman)
LITTLE HORN
MILLENIAL PRAYER
INCINERATOR BLUE
MIRROR
BEDLAM BLUE (featuring Warren Ellis)
SOLAR PLEXUS
I DON'T WANNA STAY
SLEEP NOW

Global hip-hop icon Ice Cube makes a powerful return with 'Man Up' — a brand-new album from a cultural trailblazer whose influence spans music, film, and activism. With over 10 million albums sold and six Platinum plaques, Cube’s legacy is undisputed, from his revolutionary work with N.W.A. to timeless solo anthems like “It Was a Good Day.” Now, sharper and more unapologetic than ever, he’s back to deliver a project that fuses his raw lyrical power with a message rooted in resilience and authenticity.

TRACK LISTING

1. Man Power
2. What You Gonna Do About It?
3. Freedumb
4. Guess What?
5. Forget Me If You Ain’t Wit Me
6. Before Hip Hop
7. Act My Age (feat. Scarface)
8. Ratchet Ass Mouth
9. Respect My Space
10. California Dreamin'
11. That Salt And Pepper
12. Bring Everybody
13. It’s My Ego (feat. Scarface & Quake Matthews)
14. All Work No Play

35th Anniversary of the Platinum-selling Sophomore Album, co-produced by Ice-T and Afrika Islam. Releasing as a Limited Edition 'Ice Cold Gold' Colour Vinyl, this record includes legendary singles like "I'm Your Pusher" and "High Rollers" from one of rap's Original Gangsters.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1. Intro
2. Power
3. Drama
4. Heartbeat
5. The Syndicate
6. Radio Suckers
Side B:
1. I’m Your Pusher
2. Personal
3. Girls L.G.B.N.A.F.
4. High Rollers
5. Grand Larceny
6. Soul On Ice
7. Outro

Beyondless radiates joy. It’s an album that shows Iceage finally catching up with their ambition, all the while retaining the rich character of the band’s brash beginnings. It’s important to pay attention to the journey, from New Brigade (2011), a juvenile delinquent take on post-punk, full of cold, distant condemnation, and onto the ecstasy of You're Nothing (2013), shedding the more aggressive hardcore influence and dragging in more light, a tendency followed on Plowing Into The Field Of Love (2014). Throughout their career, the band’s charm has rested in their running ahead of themselves with blind confidence; on Beyondless, they are treading with a disarming assurance, but no loss of charm.

The album was produced by the band with Nis Bysted, and recorded all-analog by Mattias Glavå at Kungsten Studios in Göteborg, Sweden, and mixed by Randall Dunn at Avast Studios in Seattle. The album was played entirely by Iceage with additional performances by Nils Gröndhal (violin), horns by Kasper Tranberg (trumpet), Lars Greve (saxophones) and Morten Jessen (trombone).

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Switching from nodded-out psychedelic shambling melodies to driven garage-rock interludes, Iceage are brimming with spirit and equally matching their loosely laid melodic foundations with a relaxed but effective approach to songwriting.

TRACK LISTING

Hurrah
2. Pain Killer
3. Under The Sun
4. The Day The Music Dies
5. Plead The Fifth
6. Catch It
7. Thieves Like Us
8. Take It All
9. Showtime
10. Beyondless

'For Love of Grace & the Hereafter' is the sixth studio album from beloved Danish quintet Iceage. Across the sprawling, twelve song arc of the album, a universe of love variously expands and contracts in an eternal tango, Elias Rønnenfelt’s lyrics burn with apocalyptic intimacy while the band masterfully maneuvers within their shape-shifting scenery of feral post-punk.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Jagged, incisive guitar lines and cavernous clattering percussion work away underneath the snarling vocals of Elias Ronnenfelt. Lurching between Refused-adjacent punk heft and staggered 12-bar blues, Inceage's sound is theirs alone. A chameleonic, raucous masterstroke.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ember
2. Match Head Girl
3. The Weak
4. No Fear
5. Salve for Every Sore
6. mother-of-pearl
7. Tender Blades
8. 1835
9. Star
10. Lifetime
11. Holy Water
12. True Blue

Shake The Feeling: Outtakes & Rarities 2015-2021, Iceage's second full length for Mexican Summer, is a collection of non-LP cuts (or “misfit children,” as lead singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt describes them) from the seven years during which Iceage made Plowing Into the Field of Love (2014), Beyondless (2018), and Seek Shelter (2021). As with all of Iceage’s albums, whether it be the sensual daring-do of their dark-hardcore masterpiece debut, the Flying Nun-dappled “Oi!!!!” of You’re Nothing, the shift to cowpunk gothic romanticism on Plowing Into the Field of Love, or the space truckin’ gospel-rock of their most recent albums, Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, Johan Suurballe Wieth, Jakob Tvilling Pless and Dan Kjær Nielsen make the impossible seem effortless.

This collaboration between Spanish producer Nueen and Manc vocalist / rapper Iceboy Violet - who has previously sprinkled their magic dust across Hyperdub releases from aya and Loraine James - traces the arc of a four year relationship, memorialising its highs and documenting its lows, processing, reflecting, and then ending with the ecstatic spark of new love. It’s a magical, intimate and heartfelt album, sometimes anguished but often enchanting. Nueen's music responds with foggy, but richly detailed, production. Smudgy drill-laced beats contrast with curdled, spiralling chords, at times drawing out a malevolent ambience. ‘You Said You'd Hold My Hand Through The Fire’ is an immensely affecting and lucid album, powerfully wrought, ultimately hopeful.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Heartbreak Of A Broken Stitch (ft Harriet Morley)
A2. SM_FID
A3. Everything Ends With An Inhale
A4. Cement Skin
A5. Pixel Petals
A6. Slammd (Interlude)
A7. Closer
B1. Terrence’s Time Bomb
B2. Fragmentary (Eraser)
B3. Inside My Head (Interlude)
B4. Still (ft Dawuna)
B5. Fawning (Interlude)
B6. Kiss Me Again (6am In Helsinki) (ft Bennettiscoming)

Rare as a bass eunuch this is 1978 Icelandic prog, vinyl copies are selling for £400 and musically it's good too. A trio with Axel Einarsson proving to be a dab hand on the old fretboard.

"Ices" is a celebration of flight, levity, and the conviction that you can leave earth. You take wing in an airplane, you go to real places when you dream, you have out-of-body experiences, you get high, you lose yourself in someone else.

When we started work on these songs, I was beginning a gradual move to California, constantly traveling back and forth from New York. I was experimenting. I was falling in love. Our studio in the Hudson Valley was full of electronics and computers and the sounds of future ships sailing through the vastness of space, and I sometimes forgot where I was. The first songs we wrote were called "flying 1", then "flying 2", and so on, which eventually evolved into songs on the album. Flight became a metaphor for the ignition of the imagination. The process created a lightness in me, a freedom and positive energy that I¹d never before felt or explored.

This recording session became a two year music and spiritual retreat with my psychic twin brother, Eliot. A private journey during which we abandoned old habits and familiar sounds. We got really geeky and experimented in our studio. We obsessed over sympathetic magic, "Ancient Aliens", and the NBA. We allowed everything we loved to find its way in: Persian percussion, hip-hop beats, lo-fi, hi-fi, Pakistani pop, Link Wray, Jason Pierce, gospel, dub. We developed new systems; we worked with synthesis, software, and samples; we became producers. The Hudson Valley was home base, but I wanted to keep flying. I wrote songs in California, recorded vocals in Atlanta, and worked with Clams Casino in Brooklyn.

For the first time, Lia Ices felt like an inclusive project with its own identity, not just a name.

"Ices" as a whole is devoted to these certainties. While we have evolved, we are still animals. We respond to planets, patterns, and cycles. We require the sounds of our origins. We live in the future but stay bound to the primitive and primordial. We will always want tribe, we will always want rhythm, we will always need music to guide us into our deepest sense of what it means to be human. So we hear sounds from all over the planet in this album. We devour so much music, and with this album we allowed ourselves to claim bits from all of it.

TRACK LISTING

1. Tell Me
2. Thousand Eyes
3. Higher
4. Love Ices Over
5. Magick
6. Electric Arc
7. Sweet As Ice
8. Creature
9. How We Are
10. Waves

For almost two decades, Igor Škafar has honed a own unique sound. Warm and nostalgic, the Slovenian artist melts unctuous analogue tones with subtle percussive patterns. This palette is at the heart of Ichisan’s fifth appearance on Bordello A Parigi. An undulating and understated introduction ushers in “Erotika,” the cosmic gazing sounds of the 1970s and the turquoise waters of Balearic flowing as one. Swirling space synthlines are countered by punchy beats, fudgy basslines balanced by the gently rippling melody. The break offers new directions, drum patterns scatter before regrouping around those sunkissed scaling chords care of Škafar’s impeccable craftsmanship. The beats take on a disco snap for “Midnight House,” a smouldering snaking synthline unfurling itself to glorious heights. Bongos and toms support the sci-fi dipped keys of this seven-minute journey into the musical mind of Ichisan. Two tracks that offer a deep dive into the sounds of a truly singular artist. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Reach for the lasers (and varios body parts) through the smoke machine and poppers fug, as Bordello A Parigi present two brand new contemporary Italo numbers for our delectation this week. Maximum feel good feels on this one, perfect for end-of-session love-ins, or dancing eyes-wide-shut at some Berlin after party come 7am Monday morning.

TRACK LISTING

1 Erotika
2 Midnight House

A truly enigmatic character from the golden era of Jamaican roots music, Icho Candy is an artist that has, to me, always been shrouded in mystery. A devout rastafarian born with a gift for prophetic songwriting, Candy always writes in a way that is true to himself and his deep seated beliefs, regardless of the external pressures he endures as a veteran artist, an incredible feet for an independent artist with a career that spans fifty years.

First recording for the great Joe Gibbs and Jack Ruby in the late seventies, Icho's big break in the industry came with the hit record "Captain Selassie", a track that is widely considered to be one of the greatest rastafari anthems in dancehall. During this time Icho also recorded for labels such as Jah Life, Rockers International, Tesfa, Jah Shaka and many more. Like so many of the great artists in the eighties Icho recorded and toured in America for an extended period alongside Sugar Minott, Nicodemus, Nitty Gritty, King Kong before returning to Jamaica to record two amazing albums for the late Jah Shaka.

The A side of this latest seven inch gives us the classic writing style of Icho Candy. Pairing his lyrical depth with an early 70's Phil Pratt style production. An eerie horns line meets the clean sharp, older school backing vocals provided by The Mighty Viceroys to create something magical, the type of record we thought we may have already heard on some scratchy 45 deep in a soundmans crate.

Yakka once again returns to the label on B side duties, providing another Tubby inspired voyage into dusty fx units and quick draw fades. The bassline increases, the vocal decreases but the vibe never ceases.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pave The Way (feat. Yakka)
2. Pave The Dub (feat. Yakka)

“You like anchovies? Morning breath? Dried blood? The sun-up residue after a night of hard drugs? Well, you’re gonna love Icky Boyfriends.

“I painted houses for a couple years with an old-school San Francisco artist / musician dude who would let me run the boombox while we worked. This was right around the time I became obsessed with Icky Boyfriends. I would play the shit all day and wax about how I much I loved them. He piped up one day and asked what they were called again. ‘Icky Boyfriends,’ I said. ‘Oh yeah, I remember those guys…man, they could clear a room.’ “That’s the Ickys—an acquired taste for people who maybe have eyes that feel natural when trolling the gutter for nutrition. These are stories of strung-out super heroes singing the praises of the old school San Francisco freak scene. Hilarious at times, genius always and as scuzzy as anything you could ever hear. “Live in San Francisco was recorded masterfully by the Castle Face engineers team at the grand SF Eagle. There are many classic favorites here, as well as a couple new jams (I challenge anyone to tell the difference). We’ve kept it primal and simple as the Ickys always have. What a treat, now let’s eat!” - John Dwyer

TRACK LISTING

1. 22 Fillmore
2. Miss Nevada
3. Cuckoo
4. Ecophobia
5. My Disciples
6. I'm Not Fascinating
7. Frank's Mom
8. Don't Read The Bay Guardian
9. I Was?
10. Toenails
11. Even Richard Nixon's Got Soul
12. Bay Colony Baby
13. Rock And Roll Asshole
14. Resurrection Ale
15. Pigs 1
16. Pigs 2
17. No Duh
18. Drug Wars (Original)

Blank inside for your own message.

The Icons Fatalities Series features some of our late great heroes.

Blank inside for your own message.

The Icons Fatalities Series features some of our late great heroes.

Blank inside for your own message.

The Icons Fatalities Series features some of our late great heroes.

Blank inside for your own message.

The Sugar & Spice series celebrates some of the lovely ladies of the music world.

Blank inside for your own message.

One of the greatest anarcho-punk bands of all time has returned with a brand new album that stands up to their brilliant early releases. Simply put, Icons of Filth have grown in stature to underground punks all over the world. "Nostradamndedus" features their trademark brash guitars and in your face vocals. Their confrontational lyrics take to task capitalism, corporate greed and a gamut of social issues that are more timely and important today than ever before.

The Icypoles grew out of a soundtrack to an experimental film. During the recording Isobel Knowles discovered a love for 60s girl group garage bands and film music that creates a particular dark ambience. She started the band with her best friends Tara Shackell and Kim White and together they became The Icypoles.

Tara and Isobel were invited to join Architecture In Helsinki soon after The Icypoles started playing to audiences and there was a long pause in the development of the band while AIH toured the globe. However, the idea stayed strong and more songs showed their faces over the years.

The time came to take The Icypoles more seriously. The band found a new drummer, Lani Sommer, and together went into the recording studio (a kitchen in a temporary house). The recordings were interspersed with shows around Melbourne and small tours (Sydney, Stockholm and New York City!). A cassette came out in London with Sexbeat zine in 2010. UK label Kooky Discs invited the Icypoles to release a limited edition 7” in 2011.

Then came a more serious stint in the recording studio with producer Haima Marriott (Architecture In Helsinki, Still Flyin’) and the mixing process began. Isobel and Haima had worked together on those first soundtrack recordings and revisited their recording experiments.

‘The Icypoles’ Story…The Icypoles grew out of a soundtrack to an experimental film. Here is the scene: a girl writes into a magazine with a problem about her teenage love life. She doesn’t know if she’s too young for love. The magazine is from a by-gone era, the music sounds something like Sixteen Candles with backing vocals to a ‘Dear Editor’ soliloquy. During the recording Isobel Knowles discovered a love for 60s girl group garage bands and film music that creates a particular dark ambience. She work-shopped some band names with her best friends Tara Shackell and Kim White and together with them created the idea of The Icypoles. Suddenly there was a new reason to write music and a small repertoire emerged. The songs featured on debut release, 'Promise To Stay' represent this first collection. Tara and Isobel were invited to join Architecture in Helsinki soon after The Icypoles started playing to audiences and there was a long pause in the development of the band while AIH toured the globe. But the idea stayed strong and more songs showed their faces over the years. The time came to take The Icypoles more seriously. The girls found a new drummer, Lani Sommer, and together went into the recording studio (a kitchen in a temporary house). The recordings were interspersed with shows around Melbourne and small tours (Sydney, Stockholm and New York City!). A cassette came out in London with Sexbeat ‘zine. Eventually some more recordings were made with producer, Haima Marriott and the mixing process began. Isobel and Haima had worked together on those first soundtrack recordings and revisited their recording experiments to come up with a sound for The Icypoles.

The only break-up record you’ll ever need to own. With its lofted harmonies, pick-pocket rhythms, and wailing-in-the- 2AM-distance ambulance guitar solos, Ida’s 1996 sophomore album leaked out of Brooklyn via detachable car stereo CD players and mixtapes from long distance lovers. Originally issued on the stalwart Simple Machines label, this 30th anniversary deluxe Numero edition of 'I Know About You' adds half a dozen extras, a wealth of photographic evidence, and fresh context from Jenny Toomey and Sara Marcus. Tissues not included.

TRACK LISTING

1. Little Things
2. Back Burner
3. Tellings
4. Thank You
5. Downtown
6. Treasure Chest
7. Requator
8. When I Was Now
9. August Again
10. Plans
11. 95 North
12. Goodnight
13. Its Not Alright
14. Trash
15. Dreamdate
16. Tales Of Brave Ida Part III
17. Equator Dub
18. Truxtun Park

Funded by Capitol, tracked in 14 studios, issued by Tiger Style, and lost in the Y2K shuffle, Ida’s fourth album captures a band caught between Brooklyn and Woodstock, temping and adulting, burying a parent and birthing a child. A tireless compendium and ode to sleep, sex, all-night talking, and other bed-ridden activities, 'Will You Find Me‘s 14-songs are pillowed with 34 outtakes, alternate mixes, 4-track demos, and covers from the band’s extensive vault, unfolding thematically across four LPs. The accompanying 24-page booklet documents Ida’s major label album that never was in both stunning photographs and Douglas Wolk’s blow-by-blow essay. Who were you then?

TRACK LISTING

Will You Find Me Tracklist:
1. Down On Your Back
2. Maybelle
3. This Water
4. Shrug
5. The Radiator
6. Shotgun
7. Turn Me On
8. Man In Mind
9. Past The Past
10. Georgia
11. Triptych
12. Firefly
13. Encantada
14. Don’t Get Sad
15. Shrug (Brown Rice In A Magic Shop Dub)
16. Time To Listen To The Mystery Sound Of Your Own Heart
17. AZ U R
18. What Holds The World Together
19. The Great South River
20. Black Thumb
21. Better Days

Could Be The Door Tracklist:
1. Down On Your Back (Live On WFMU)
2. Maybelle (Strings And Piano Mix)
3. This Water (Capitol Demos Reel)
4. Shrug (The Woo Mix)
5. The Radiator (Pink Moon Mix)
6. Shotgun (Minimal Mix)
7. Turn Me On (Instrumental Mix)
8. Man In Mind (Vocal Only Mix)
9. Past The Past (Capitol Demos Reel)
10. Georgia Strings
11. Triptych Coda
12. Firefly (Rehearsal Excerpt)
13. Encantada
14. Don’t Get Sad (Dreamland)

The Reservoir Tracklist:
1. Never Goes Away
2. Shrug (4-track Demo)
3. Tales Of Brave Ida (4-track Demo)
4. Nothing But Sound (4-track Demo)
5. Love Streams (4-track Demo)
6. Mestizo Blues

"The Lone Gunman" is Idaho's most keyboard intensive work featuring a collection of pianos, a Wurlitzer and an old Prophet 5. "The Lone Gunman" is already drawing praise as Idaho's most experimental album, 'a richly realized throwback to Eno's early work with Bowie.' Once dubbed 'the ultimate underground band', Idaho has garnered critical acclaim for 12 years, everywhere from the New Yorker to Paris's Liberation newspaper.

Mariko Ide, whose emotional and transparent voice has captivated the world, sings a Lovers & Bossa cover of DeBarge's signature song, cut as a single from the Cafe Music compilation album!

TRACK LISTING

1. I Like It (Lovers Reggae Mix)
2. I Like It

Lately, it feels like the world is one endless bad news cycle. Joshua Idehen isn’t here to pretend otherwise – but on the spoken word artist’s new album, I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try, he provides a phenomenal sonic, poetic space. Made with his creative partner, musician Ludvig Parment, the album is an urgent but transcendent collection that holds you through it all, filled with grief, euphoria and hope.

I Know You’re Hurting… comes after the virality of Idehen’s track Mum Does The Washing, a wry and whipsmart poem examining how the world works (which started life as a Twitter thread), set to Parment’s spacious beats. The song has seen the pair propelled beyond Idehen’s wildest dreams this past year, with support from the likes of Jamz Supernova and Huw Stephens leading to sold-out shows and packed out festival performances including rammed crowds at Glastonbury and Green Man, an appearance on Later with Jools, and a support slot on Baxter Dury’s European tour this winter. For Idehen, this is all so special because it marked a new era of his career after around two decades of writing poetry. “In a nutshell, the song has changed my life,” he says.

Across the album, that means uplifting choirs, cozy samples and exuberant, sometimes house-tinged beats. “I am personally drawn to music that transports you to a place, or scene or mindset,” says Parment. This is topped with ruminative musings on morality and human connection; about the longer loves in life – like friendships, family – that sustain us. These come from Idehen and Parment, along with a host of friends and collaborators, including writers Leone Ross and Charlotte Manning, and vocalist Amanda Bergman, to help expand on the topics of the record without sounding preachy. Similarly, there are musical guests including saxophonist Pete Fraser and Shabaka Hutchings on flute, each helping to imbue the album with a rich warmth.

From the opening track You Wanna Dance Or What?, there are poignant stories about the possibilities of human connection – here, a memory of a stranger approaching Joshua when he was feeling low at a club in Leicester Square – set against Parment’s freeing beats. There are memories of sunrises on Hampstead Heath (It Always Was), celebrations of the liturgic power of the club (This Is The Place), affirmations that kept Idehen afloat in a particularly dark time (Brother), all dotted with his observations and notes from past conversations with people from all walks of life. On Choose Yourself, Idehen is not so interested in the hokey bath bomb self-care that has dominated discourse the past few years, but in reinforcing self-belief and self-worth – all while never getting too mawkish (see: lines like “Choose a balanced diet/Eat the rich!”). Everything Everywhere All At Once is a stunning exploration of the sliding doors moments of our lives, contemplating all the universes that exist within his daughter, followed by a choral reprise, singing a melody composed by Idehen. “I’m not confident with singing or songwriting, so when the choir sang something I had made and brought it back to me, I had proper tears.”

After years of honing his craft, I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try finds Joshua Idehen’s pen reaching the next level. This is work that is truly arresting – but simultaneously, thanks to Parment’s soundscapes, it often makes you want to wave your arms in the air and dance. In these bleak times that try to push us all further apart, it’s a beautiful, powerful manifesto for hope and collectivism. As Joshua puts it: “There's a likelihood that we might be planting seeds that we won't get to see harvested…but the planting is good. The planting is just as important as the watering and the tending and the harvesting. We all have to play a part so that we can have some redemption.”

TRACK LISTING

1 A You Wanna Dance Or What?
2 A Interlude – It Won’t Always Be Like This
3 A It Always Was
4 A This Is The Place
5 A Interlude – What You Need To Hear
6 A Could Be Forever
7 A Mum Does The Washing
8 A Don’t Let It Get You Down
9 A My Love
10 B Interlude – How I Found Forgiveness
11 B Brother
12 B Whatever Comes
13 B Choose Yourself
14 B Everything Everywhere All At Once
15 B Everything Everywhere All At Once Reprise
16 B Tourn It Around
17 B What Is Redemption 

'Learn To Swim' takes shape around 10 individually characterised tracks, from the whirring beat and gospel undertones of 'Don’t You Give Up On Me', to the playful, percussion-layered offering of 'Best Kind Of Lost', the project displays the innate musicality and natural versatility of Joshua Idehen. Remaining consistent throughout, is Idehen’s distinct spoken-word delivery, affirmative, yet reassuring, his vocality invoking sincerity and trust in his narrative.

Speaking on the mixtape, Idehen explains: “Learn to Swim' is collection of songs written and recorded in the middle months of 2021, around the same time, I started learning to swim. I’d convinced myself my bones were too dense to float, and actually, they are, so I'd given up for decades, until an old Swedish teacher told me, “So you’re not a jellyfish, you're a shark, keep moving or die". Still can't float, but I'm still learning.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Don’t You Give Up On Me
2. This World’s A Madness
3. Best King Of Lost
4. What We’re Doing Tonight
5. Learn To Swim, Pt. 2
6. Last Time
7. Unfold
8. End Of The Line
9. I Got You Every Step Of The Way (For Leone Ross)
10. All The Same

Identified Patient returns to Dekmantel for a third time with his 'Reset EP'. The future-facing four tracker is another mutant fusion of bass and techno with low-end power with cerebral sound designs.

Job Veerman debuted on the Dekmantel UFO Series in 2019, returned in 2020 and has lit up the festival several times with transportative sets that balance power with precision. Like his productions on the Nerve Collect label, he co-runs with Gamma Intel, they are leftfield explorations of genre and tempo that find strange sensuality in often abstract ideas. Once again here, the Dutchman draws on eclectic influences to craft music that sounds like no one else but remains anchored by magnetic rhythms.

Opener 'Light' kicks off with a fuzzy synth line that slithers between syncopated drums. Whispered vocals drift through the mix as lurching basslines swell and collapse beneath them. The groove disassembles and reassembles in waves, propelled forward by bursts of glitchy, off-kilter percussion that's unsteady yet seductive. 'Scales' is a slow, menacing descent into rhythmic darkness. It sounds both ancient and futuristic with ghoulish vocalisations and filtered synths flickering like a badly wired circuit. There's a rave tension lurking throughout, but always in the shadows.

'Internal Pace' drives on but rides fluid, wobbly bass while tightly looped hits build the pressure. Layers of static and subtle distortion add grit to this unrelenting heads-down roller. Finally, 'Return' is a kinetic, razor-edged ride where jungle breaks collide serpentine melodies. Ethereal female coos drift in and out, brushing against spat-out vocal fragments so that tension crackles throughout this hallucinogenic trip.

With ‘Reset’, Identified Patient reaffirms his status as a singular voice who twists sound into evocative new worlds.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: More bass-techno hybrids from the Dekmantel camp. More futureproof than a Swiss army knife...

TRACK LISTING

Light
Scales
Internal Pace
Return

"Further Adventures Of The WTF Band", because three letters are cheaper than
therapy. The Idjuts and Minjung Kate Kim continue their campaign to replace BPM with LOL, deploying two wigged-out, psychedelic drug chuggers littered with incomprehensible vocal murmurings, flange-attacked & echo-drenched perc hits, and wild free improv stylings. Perfect for soundtracking your next ketamine fueled art launch or a psychedelic tea party on Mars. Bonkers /// brilliant - it's the Idjut Boys alright! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: WTF indeed! Idjuts stick to their remit - delivering an audio injoke which only the most seasoned acid house casualty will be able to decipher. Jokes aside, if you enjoy playing wigged out music to freaks in dark rave caves, this disjoined and discombobulated number should sit nicely next your records by Toulouse Low Trax, Madteo, Don't DJ and other drugged-out warehouse mutations.

TRACK LISTING

A1. WTF - Word Salad Version
B1. WTF - Conical Squares Version

The Idle Suite are a six piece improv-rock group from Wellington, New Zealand. The band members come together from a variety of NZ underground acts including: King Loser, Sandoz Lab Technicians, Sferic Experiment, and Marineville. Driven by two drummers, the Idle Suite's music is open ended improv rock.

Since their inception, Seattle's eminently unique noise-benders, Idle Times have enshrouded their unhinged pop dexterity in an entire soiled spectrum of illustrious cloaks, assuring every angle they pursue is leveled with deranged precision. From the instant the lead off track kicks in on their debut LP, it's impossible to ignore the band's brainchild, Brian Standeford, utilizing an unreal and other-worldly scorching guitar tone, which very well might be what locks you in at first. But on closer listens, it's the scraps of distant-yet-familiar sound swatches, seamlessly patched together behind that inimitable guitar and vocal combination that make up the intensely diverse array of songs on their first full-length. It's never been more prominent than on their anxiously-awaited debut LP, where Idle Times are clearly pioneering a sound that's meshing so many degrees of varying styles from track to track, that it becomes easy to get lost in the staggering creativity of each intricate alcove.

With such an intense collection of tracks that crush and crackle with deranged delight, Idle Times wield both noisy pop hooks with subdued melodic mastery, and prove that following up Sic Alps/Guided By Voices-style grungy, yet fully jangled scratchy pop hits, with the twang and clang of a fried-out later-era Byrds studio outtake, is truly something fresh and exciting in this never-ending world of recycled ideas and ripped-off innovation. It just doesn't sound like anything else, and as shocking as that may seem, that's most likely why it's just so compelling. After a smashing debut single on Woodsist Records in 2009 and their elusive HoZac Hookup Klub single that followed it a few months later, Idle Times have been hard at work mastering these delicately agonizing tracks into a complete whole, reinstating the value of the full-length with its ability to showcase the broad variety of irresistibly catchy sonic sophistication included within. Dispositions and delusions aside, don't miss out on the Pacific Northwest's most enchanting underground pop ensemble of the moment, and hitch onto Idle Times while you still can breathe in the all-encompassing atmosphere of their wondrous world.

RIYL: Sonic Youth, Sic Alps, The Intelligence, Times New Viking, The Byrds, Guided By Voices

Bristol’s finest post-punk polemics IDLES have been promising to do great things for some time now, and with their debut album “Brutalism” they absolutely fulfil that promise, and a furious promise at that. Politically charged, refreshingly confrontational and infectiously volatile, IDLES are a band like no other. Bringing the unsettling reality of the world we live in into their frantic assault on the senses, they are a band that until now could only be truly understood by witnessing in a live environment - but with “Brutalism” it surely feels like they have captured the intensity of that live sound.

Bottled up here are the abrasive, memorable lyrics of Joseph Talbot delivered with all of the spite and wry humour he puts across on the stage .Dedicated in part to the loss of his mother, who adorns the record’s cover, and partly to a perceived decimation of society, from the NHS to public services across Britain, “Brutalism” is a deadly serious indictment on popular culture. 

“Idles are one of the most exciting British bands right now and Brutalism is the proof”-The Line Of Best Fit

”Visceral anthems that’s timed weirdly well for this year’s madness“ NME

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Snarling, pretence-free modern post-punk perfection from Bristol's very own Idles. From the slamming power-chord mayhem of “Well Done”, laying into Tarquin and his love of reggae and football, to the throbbing hook-laden 'Rachel Khoo', this is an unrelenting but perfectly formed juxtaposition of melodic sensibility and brazen, all-out aural warfare. Killer.

TRACK LISTING

1.Heel / Heal.
2.Well Done.
3. Mother.
4. Date Night.
5. Faith In The City.
6.1049 Gotho.
7.Divide & Conquer.
8. Rachel Khoo.
9. Stendhal Syndrome.
10. Exeter.
11.Benzocaine
12.White Privilege
13.Slow Savage

Idles return with their new album “Crawler” – an album of reflection and healing amid a worldwide pandemic that stretched the planet’s collective mental and physical health to the breaking point.

Frontman Joe Talbot says, “We want people who’ve gone through trauma, heartbreak, and loss to feel like they’re not alone, and also how it is possible to reclaim joy from those experiences.” IDLES albums have always been anchored by these overarching themes, but the ability of the band to juxtapose beauty and rage with humor and drama has never felt more satisfying than on “CRAWLER.”

These stories are vividly brought to life through IDLES’ most soul-stirring music to date, recorded with co-producers Kenny Beats (Vince Staples, Freddie Gibbs) and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen. There are, of course, numerous moments that will inspire absolute mayhem in a packed concert venue, but there are also fresh textures and experiments that push IDLES into thrilling new territory. “I don't really see us as a ‘rock band’ and working with Kenny [Beats] freed us of the idea of genre,” Talbot enthuses. “On this album, our dissolution of ego was helped by Kenny’s humble nature and willingness to learn. He has boundless passion for making the best song possible. Not the best ‘rock’ song — the best song possible.” He continues, “It was writing selfishly that helped make it possible. Reflecting. Telling my own story. Not trying to tell everyone else's story. Not trying to fix the world — just talking about how I am fixing mine.”

TRACK LISTING

MTT 420 RR
The Wheel
When The Lights Come On
Car Crash
The New Sensation
Stockholm Syndrome
The Beachland Ballroom
Crawl!
Meds
Kelechi
Progress
Wizz
King Snake
The End

IDLES and acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan) quickly formed a creative kinship, united by a deep mutual respect for each other’s work. When Aronofsky began developing his latest film, Caught Stealing (starring Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz) he turned to IDLES, his favorite band, to shape the film’s sonic identity. Drawing inspiration from the gritty energy of the 1990s New York punk scene that permeates the film, IDLES contributed four original tracks, a striking cover of 'Police & Thieves', and recorded the full film score, composed by Rob Simonsen (Deadpool & Wolverine, The Whale, Foxcatcher).

TRACK LISTING

1. 6th And A
2. Doom
3. Kim's Video
4. Tompkins Square Park
5. 5th Floor Walk Up
6. Walk/Don't Walk
7. Loisaida
8. Cheerleader
9. Coper
10. Flushing, Queens
11. Police & Thieves
12. Bay 15
13. Blessings And Successes
14. Alphabet City
15. Under The EL
16. Rabbit Run

Bristol, UK 5-piece Idles (aka “the UK's best punk band" - The Guardian) release their sophomore LP - ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance.’ 

Produced by Space and mixed by Adam Greenspan & Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kate Bush), ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance.’ takes aim at everything from toxic masculinity, nationalism, immigration, and class inequality - all while maintaining a visceral, infectious positivity. Singer Joe Talbot summarizes: “This album is an attempt to be vulnerable to our audience and to encourage vulnerability; a brave naked smile in this shitty new world. We have stripped back the songs and lyrics to our bare flesh to allow each other to breathe, to celebrate our differences, and act as an ode to communities and the individuals that forge them. Because without our community, we’d be nothing.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Colossus
2. Never Fight A Man With A Perm
3. I’m Scum
4. Danny Nedelko
5. Love Song
6. June
7. Samaritans
8. Television
9. Great
10. Gram Rock
11. Cry To Me
12. Rottweiler

TANGK is the righteous and vibrant fifth album from madcap truth-seekers, IDLES. Pronounced “tank” with a whiff of the “g” - an onomatopoeic reference to the lashing way the band imagined their guitars sounding that has since grown into a sigil for living in love - the record is the band’s most ambitious and striking work yet. Where IDLES were once set on taking the world’s piss, squaring off with strong jaws against the perennially entitled, and exercising personal trauma in real time, they have arrived in this new act to offer the fruits of such perseverance: love, joy, and indeed gratitude for the mere opportunity of existence.

A radical sense of defiant empowerment radiates from TANGK, co-produced by Nigel Godrich, Kenny Beats, and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen. Despite his reputation as an incendiary post-punk sparkplug, frontman Joe Talbot sings almost all the feelings inside these 10 songs with hard-earned soul, offering each lusty vow or solidarity plea as a bona fide pop song—that is, a thing for everyone to pass around and share, communal anthems intended for overcoming our grievance.

TANGK is a love album—open to anyone who requires something to shout out loud in order to fend off any encroaching sense of the void, now or forever.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Love them or hate them, the incendiary post-punk indebted offerings from Idles have rarely been less than wildly bombastic and this latest offering sees the Brighton pentet broaden their reach from the aforementioned fiery mayhem into gothic rock, minimal wave and electronic drone.

TRACK LISTING

1. IDEA 01
2. Gift Horse
3. POP POP POP
4. Roy
5. A Gospel
6. Dancer
7. Grace
8. Hall & Oates
9. Jungle
10. Gratitude
11. Monolith

Following Brutalism (2017) and Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), two releases that garnered global critical acclaim, IDLES return with their highly anticipated third album – Ultra Mono. Sonically constructed to capture the feeling of a hip-hop record (including production contribution from Kenny Beats), the album doubles down on the vitriolic sneer and blunt social commentary of their past work. Not far beneath the surface of their self-admitted sloganeering lies a deeply complex and brutally relevant album that chews up clichés and spits them out as high art for the masses. This is momentary acceptance of the self. This is Ultra Mono.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Including guest performances from David Yow, Jenny Beth, and Warren Ellis, their third album is an exhilarating punk tour-de-force. Bludgeoning drums, pummelling bass and searing guitars combine with wry social commentary for their most assured album to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. War
2. Grounds
3. Mr. Motivator
4. Anxiety
5. Kill Them With Kindness
6. Model Village
7. Ne Touche Pas Moi
8. Carcinogenic
9. Reigns
10. The Lover
11. A Hymn
12. Danke

The six-track release is the band in their early raw form. Their sound developed over their illustrious 25-year career, but ‘Captain’ is a reflection of a band who, at the time, were disrupting a thriving indie scene with a unique edgier, more angular sound. Their live reputation preceded them, never failing to impress the fast-expanding fanbase. 'Captain' was recorded in October 1997 and was initially released on Deceptive Records in January 1998. The band signed to EMI shortly before the release of 'Captain'.

TRACK LISTING

Side One
1. Self Healer
2. Annihilate Now!
3. Captain
Side Two
1. Last Night I Missed All The Fireworks
2. Satan Polaroid
3. You Just Have To Be Who You Are

Immediately, there is the sense of a band in motion, their storied past not an anchor but a spur. Idlewild's songs offer a string of compelling answers: "Everything adds up to the present moment, doesn't it?" Woomble asks.

Idlewild have been a lot of different things. They were a teenage punk band, slinging buzzsaw riffs and barbed refrains, before becoming one of the most compelling mainstream rock groups of their generation. With 2019's 'Interview Music', they made sprawling art-pop. On 'Idlewild', they welcome each of these past selves into the room.

Work on a follow- up to 'Interview Music' was initially planned to begin immediately after the band wrapped up touring, but the pandemic put things into a skid. Touring the 20th anniversary of 'The Remote Part' in 2022 was a visceral reminder of where they'd been and a prompt for what might come next.

They assembled songs that celebrated pop hooks and livewire distortion, as well as expressive interplay. Writing continued at Post Electric Studio in Edinburgh and the Isle of Iona Library, before a short, sharp burst of recording in early 2025.

The result is a lean, focused document -- 10 tracks that get in and out in 30 minutes and change. With Jones engineering and mixing, the production refects a collaborative, in-house approach. "We were referencing ourselves... realising that we had a 'sound'," Woomble says. Facing forward, not back, Idlewild captures beauty, nuance, and clarity from three decades of sound and feeling -- spontaneous, purposeful, and unmistakably them.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've always been a big fan of Idlewild's brand of grungy, melodic indie music and particularly enjoyed their most recent output. It's a source of some joy that 'Idlewild' is indeed representative enough of both their early, punky days and their more recent matured sound to be a self-titled album. Brilliant as ever.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stay Out Of Place
2. Like I Had Before
3. It's Not The First Time
4. (I Can't Help) Back Then You Found Me
5. The Mirror Still
6. Make It Happen
7. I Wish I Wrote It Down
8. Permanent Colours
9. Writers Of The Present Time
10. End With Sunrise

'Live at Leith Theatre' features four tracks taken from Idlewild's acclaimed 2025 self-titled album at the Leith Theartre in Edinburgh.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stay Out Of Place (Live)
2. It's Not The First Time (Live)
3. Like I Had Before (Live)
4. I Wish I Wrote It Down (Live)

Certified Silver by the BPI, Warnings/Promises was the band’s fourth album and their second to break into the Top 10 following the success of their previous album, The Remote Part. After the release of The Remote Part, the band had a change in personnel with Gavin Fox replacing bassist Bob Fairfoull and touring guitarist Allan Stewart became a permanent member.

Warnings/Promises saw them take a different approach to the writing process, involving the whole band for the first time with a sound that marked a shift towards melodic rock as well as contemporary folk. A more stripped back sound than their previous albums, it featured the singles I Understand It, El Capitan and lead single, Love Steals Us From Loneliness.

TRACK LISTING

1. Love Steals Us From Loneliness
2. Welcome Home
3. I Want A Warning
4. I Understand It
5. As If I Hadn't Slept
6. Too Long Awake
7. Not Just Sometimes But Always
8. The Space Between All Things
9. El Capitan
10. Blame It On Obvious Ways
11. Disconnected
12. Goodnight [with Too Long Awake (Reprise)]

The 40th Anniversary expanded edition of Billy Idol’s iconic Rebel Yell album. Includes the smash hits “Eyes Without a Face,” Flesh for Fantasy” and “Rebel Yell.”

Deluxe reissue features 13 bonus tracks, including the previously unreleased “Best Way Out of Here” and cover of “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” from the original sessions, plus original demos and the Poolside remix of “Eyes Without a Face.”

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side A
Rebel Yell
Daytime Drama
Eyes Without A Face
Blue Highway
Side B
Flesh For Fantasy
Catch My Fall
Crank Call
(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows
The Dead Next Door
Side C
Best Way Out Of Here
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Daytime Drama (Demo)
Flesh For Fantasy (Demo)
Side D
Catch My Fall (Early Version)
Crank Call (Demo)
(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows (Demo)
Eyes Without A Face (Poolside Remix)

2CD
Disc 1
Rebel Yell
Daytime Drama
Eyes Without A Face
Blue Highway
Flesh For Fantasy
Catch My Fall
Crank Call
(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows
The Dead Next Door
Disc 2
Best Way Out Of Here
Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Daytime Drama (Demo)
Flesh For Fantasy (Demo)
Catch My Fall (Early Version)
Crank Call (Demo)
(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows (Demo)
Rebel Yell (Session Take)
Blue Highway (Original Demo)
Flesh For Fantasy (Session Take)
Catch My Fall (Original Demo)
Motorbikin' (Session Take)
Eyes Without A Face (Poolside Remix)

It's fair to say that the inclusion of Iganda's sole 7" single "Mark Of Slavery" / "Slow Down" spread across the first two volumes of the "Midlands roots explosion" series, has not only greatly raised the profile of the band, but also sent the price of the original release through the roof.

TRACK LISTING

Mark Of Slavery
Slow Down

*comes with a download code

Wata Igarashi's first album on Dekmantel is a lightning bolt of immediate, immersive and impactful techno energy that maximises his trademark tunnelling rhythms and psychoactive arpeggios with stunning results. Compared to some of his dreamier releases on labels like Midgar, The Bunker New York and Delsin, here we're treated to a more intense, hi-octane dimension to Igarashi's sound perfectly demonstrated in the wide-eyed, invigorating rush of 'Shockwave', 'Meltzone's nagging acid frenzy and 'Unleashed's delirious, pitch-bent peaks.

Precision honed and revelling in the hypnotic abandon of the loop, My Supernova is a techno album through and through, but it's also overflowing with the kind of head-melting creativity and nuanced production that Igarashi has made his own. Just lose yourself in the giddy arps of 'Supernova' — a joyous whirlpool of synths upon synths upon synths reaching fever pitch without even a hint of brute force.

TRACK LISTING

One Way In
Shockwave
Meltzone
Unleashed
One For EM
Supernova
Skin
Terra Incognita
Echoes Beyond

Legacy Vinyl release this classic album from Iggy Pop.

A double, gatefold, 180gm, black LP Vinyl.

This was the bands third album release & includes both the original 8 track David Bowie mix & the latter 8 track Iggy Pop mix. 

The infamous ‘Metallic KO’ ‘Stooges last live show’ issued in ‘76, plus the two full source shows.

Rare studio and live collections ‘We Are Not Talking About Commercial Sh!t’ & ‘Wake Up, Suckers!’

DVD of unique Iggy ‘Acoustics KO’ performances together with a studio ‘Acoustics KO’ CD.

The 2003 Stooges reunion live album ‘Telluric Chaos’ recorded in Japan. + Bonus EP tracks.

Comes with a 48-page booklet and detailed notes by Iggy Pop biographer, Paul Trynka.

When the riotous, confrontational 'last ever' Iggy & the Stooges gig Metallic KO was issued in 1976 on the French indie Skydog label, it heralded the punk movement and cemented Iggy's position in it.

Iggy’s career then took off, and a 40+ year relationship between Skydog and Iggy Pop commenced.

Here are all the Skydog label's Iggy releases, remastered, in one clam-shell box set in seven CDs and a DVD; a fitting tribute to the label’s punk pioneer boss Marc Zermati, who passed away in June. It includes the two Metallic KO source tapes pitch-corrected, collections of rare songs, acoustic shows on DVD and studio CD and the Stooges 2003 reunion. Plus a 48-page booklet with notes by Iggy Pop biographer Paul Trynka.

TRACK LISTING

1. Metallic KO (original album); 2. Metallic KO (1973 Michigan tape); 3. Metallic KO (1974 Michigan tape); 4. We Are Not Talking About Commercial Sh*t; 5. Wake Up Suckers; 6. Acoustics KO live NTSC DVD; 7. Acoustics KO studio CD; 8. Telluric Chaos - reformed Stooges live in Tokyo in 2003. EP tracks are added as bonus tracks.

50th Anniversary Edition of the notorious, riotous “Last ever Iggy & The Stooges show”!

"...as a piece of rock mythology, an account of screw-you defiance in the face of disaster, it’s utterly gripping." - Alexis Petridis, The Guardian

The original 1976 Skydog album, remastered – it outsold the first Stooges albums.

Iggy & The Stooges didn’t play again for nearly 30 years; still confronting audiences!

First released in 1976, ‘Metallic K.O.’ was the fourth album from IGGY & THE STOOGES, a classic, memorable recording of the Stooges confrontational last gig. The Stooges had not been heard since ’73’s ‘Raw Power’, and the sound of kamikaze Iggy in between new songs dodging eggs and glasses thrown by Hell’s Angels gave him a new audience in the embryonic punk crowd. It defined Iggy as a punk originator, sold 100k+ and became the Stooges best-selling album.

Previously re-issued as an extended, two-CD set with two complete shows (FREUDCD070) , it’s now been condensed down to the exact original album edit that shocked and inspired so many. In the 2007 remastering from the original tapes an original tape-speed fault was found – now for the first time the album can be heard in the correct pitch!

As Lester Bangs said: “IT’S THE ONLY ROCK ALBUM I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR HURLED BEER BOTTLES BREAKING AGAINST GUITAR STRINGS”.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1:
Raw Power
Head On
Gimme Danger
Side 2:
Rich Bitch
Cock In My Pocket
Louie Louie

Lei Line Eon - written and produced entirely by Iglooghost is the creative polymath's follow up to his breakthrough debut album Neō Wax Bloom. The sophomore album is a product of Iglooghost integrating a lost tradition he has spent his time researching called Lei Music with the laptop music he is known for. The performance of Lei Music has extraordinary effects and whilst there is no clear explanation of why - some believe it could be related to a variety of properties unique to Dorset. Lei Line Eon features collaborations with LOLA and BABii, the latter who he has worked with alongside Kai Whiston collectively as 'Gloo' - creating clothing, club nights and strange online artefacts.

Speaking on the album Iglooghost says “I wrote Lei Line Eon after studying my hometown’s secretive tradition of Lei Music - a mysterious subgenre that summons floating lifeforms. I wanted to make a slow-motion squelching giga-detailed opus that smells like granite & perfume.”

Slyph Fossil marks the second single from Iglooghost’s upcoming album. The track features glitch-heavy production as the foundation behind Iglooghost's distorted vocals as he puts his own mark on Lei Music. Slyph Fossil follows on from Eœ (Disk•Initiate) released last year alongside Iglooghost's short film around Lei Music. The short film was directed and designed by Iglooghost who enlisted the help of Christopher Casey Denton for the 3D animation which brings the visual together.

Iglooghost is a UK based artist who creates music, artwork and puzzles that all gravitate around a fictional ecosystem of strange entities and tiny gods. Each of Iglooghost’s releases expand on this universe through multimedia content and Lei Line Eon is sure to excite and intrigue listeners. To learn more about Lei Music; including an introduction to the genre and to Daosing, the M⚮rlands, Pebble Networks, & Celles please head over to https://www.leimusic.xyz/ to read research papers by Glyph Institute².

TRACK LISTING

1. Eœ (Disk•Initiate)
2. Pure Grey Circle
3. Slyph Fossil
4. Light Gutter (feat. LOLA)
5. Big Protector
6. UI Birth (feat. BABii)
7. Zones U Can't See
8. Amu (Disk•Mod)
9. Soil Bolt
10. Yellow Umbra 

Orange County's Ignite return in 2027 with 'Still Wide Awake', their most urgent and uncompromising album to date. Formed in 1993 and built on the foundations of melodic hardcore, raw intensity and lyrics that carry real weight, Ignite have spent more than three decades proving that punk and hardcore still have something vital to say.

'Still Wide Awake' marks a pivotal moment for the band. Returning to a focused four piece with vocalist Eli Santana, bassist Brett Rasmussen, guitarist Nik Hill and drummer Craig Anderson, the record strips things back to the raw energy of their 90s formation while pushing into darker, heavier territory. The result is some of the fastest, angriest music of their career, woven through with metal, thrash and dark gothic undertones, that are entirely their own.

Lyrically the album refuses to look away at hard topics. Tracks confront the personal, social and political battles American immigration enforcement, reproductive rights and the unspoken weight of men's mental health. The title track opens the record with a call to stop sleepwalking and take responsibility for ourselves and each other. Expect the usual uncompromising conviction and energy that Ignite give on record and on stage. Their incendiary shows have lead them to share stages with Bad Religion, Rise Against, Suicidal Tendencies and Avenged Sevenfold, and tear up festival stages across the globe for over thirty years.

'Still Wide Awake' is a statement of independence and community that is in keeping with everything they stand for.

TRACK LISTING

1. Still Wide Awake
2. Guilty Wounds
3. Dissonate
4. Shut Your Mouth
5. Collapse In Common
6. Done Digging The Grave (feat. Andrew Neufeld)
7. Radiate
8. Worst Is Yet To Come
9. Cold Comfort
10. Year Of the Flood

7":
1. Still Wide Awake
2. Guilty Wounds

Iguana Death Cult’s latest evolution finds the Rotterdam band reflecting on hardship and doubt while facing a burning world. The result channels their early punk and garage roots, powered by Tobias Opschoor’s razor sharp riffs, Uri Rennert’s relentless drumming, Jimmy de Kok’s groovy rhythms and Jeroen Reek’s raw, emotive vocals.

Formed in 2014, the band has grown from a group of friends into a renowned international act, touring with bands such as OSEES and Frankie and the Witch Fingers, supporting Jack White and performing at SXSW, Levitation, and Desert Daze. Their new album 'Guns Out' (RAS/ Greenway Records) marks a return to punchy garage rock and features honest self-reflection, addressing escapism, mental strain, and creative renewal. Tough yet introspective, 'Guns Out' captures a band coming to terms with its own evolution and the turbulent world around it.

TRACK LISTING

1. Guns Out
2. I Like It, It's Nice
3. Swinging At Ghosts
4. Lazarus
5. Low
6. Heavyweight
7. Reckless Running
8. Supreme Leader
9. Need A Friend
10. Deflated 

Perhaps the best Soul / Funk LP Athens of the North has ever released and you know we have high standards, not one filler and mostly unreleased tracks – Essential LP

The Up Tights were formed by Henry Bradley in Forrest City, Arkansas in March of 1967 while most of the band members were attending Lincoln High School.They took their name from the Stevie Wonder song "Uptight - Everything's Alright." Playing at school functions, they quickly branched out to playing bigger shows and headlined the 1968 St. Francis County Fair in Forrest City.

The Up Tights first recorded for Action Records in Memphis as Noble and the Up Tights. The 45 featured an original song by singer, Izear "Ike" Noble Jr. titled "Don't Worry About It."

Henry Bradley was drafted into Vietnam in 1968. He served in the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. While he was away, the Up Tights continued with Henry's brother, Arthur, taking over all the guitar duties. The band also hired a manager named John Mitchell. In 1968, the band met Joe Lee, who owned Variety recording studio in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

For the band's first recordings at Variety, Lee chose two originals by Noble titled "Look a Little Higher" and an updated version of "Just a Dream" which Lee released on his Alley Records label in 1968. Lee continued to record the band over the next several months. He liked to experiment in the studio and produced many versions of the group's original songs, adjusting the mix and adding elements to each unique take.

For the group's second Alley release, they appeared simply as Ike Noble on the record label. Lee brought in a local songwriter named Charles "Jamie" Holmes, who had previously written for Alley records and Joe Keene's studio in Kennett, Missouri

The resulting 45 from this collaboration was "It's Bad" backed with "That's What I Get," two Holmes originals. Another Holmes original was unreleased at the time, but available here titled "There's Gonna Be a Better Day Coming." Stax Records was interested in signing the group and wanted to re-cut "It's Bad" at their studio, but ultimately the label passed since they generally had a policy of working with Memphis based groups.

As the band grew in popularity, they began appearing with and competing with Memphis legends, the Bar-Kays. The group's biggest show in Arkansas was an opening slot at Barton Coliseum, one of the largest venues in the state, in Little Rock in mid-1969. As a result, the band was offered a spot on George Klein's "Talent Party" television show on WHBQ in Memphis in July of 1969..... Further Sleeve notes on back of the LP

TRACK LISTING

1. Money Won't Change You
2. It's Bad
3. Good Thing
4. Best Of Luck To You
5. That's What I Get
6. That's The Sound Of My Heart
7. How Long Must I Wait For You
8. Foxy Mama
9. Look A Little Higher
10. I Take What I Want
11. She's Got To Be Loved
12. Just A Dream
13. To Love Me Like You Do
14. There's Gonna Be A Better Day Coming

This month we have three beautifully pressed mostly unreleased Ike Noble 45s with o.g style silver Ink overprinted labels, they look just

On side-A we have the only previously released (but very rare) track on these three 45s. A brilliant, mid-tempo soul chugger that falls between Syl Johnson and James Brown, undeniable, how this did not blow up at the time is beyond comprehension.

On the flip, HUGE deepsoul anthem 'Look a Little Higher' was release at the time but is mad rare, again a hit that never made it. Solid Gold!

TRACK LISTING

1. Good Thing
2. Look A Little Higher

This month we have three beautifully pressed mostly unreleased Ike Noble 45s with o.g style silver Ink overprinted labels, they look just

On side A we have the only previously released (but very rare) track on these three 45s. A brilliant, mid-tempo soul chugger that falls between Syl Johnson and James Brown, undeniable, how this did not blow up at the time is beyond comprehension.

On the flip, it is Deep Soul time again with a version of 'Best of Luck to You', also recorded by Sam baker and Earl Gaines, but easily toping both.

TRACK LISTING

1. It's Bad
2. Best Of Luck To You

This month we have three beautifully pressed mostly unreleased Ike Noble 45s with o.g style silver Ink overprinted labels, they look just

Side A on this 45 is a killer previously unreleased cover of James Brown's classic "Money Wont Change You" stepping up the pressure with The Uptight's on backing smashing it out the part, it probably outdoes the JB version.

On the flip, it's Big Boy/Girl ballad time. Stunning unreleased deep soul. Sweet Deep soul heads will hoover this up so be quick.

TRACK LISTING

1. Money Won't Change You
2. She's Got To Be Loved

Wah Wah 45s are very proud to present the debut LP from an exciting, brand new signing for 2025. The music of Isaac de Martin, otherwise known as IKE, blends jazz and electronic influences into warm, smooth, and often cinematic soundscapes. A certain eclecticism is not surprising considering that the composer, producer and guitarist was born in Italy into a musical family with British roots, studied classical guitar, graduated in jazz and went on to develop his personal style through creative experimentation, live touring and collaborative work with artists from a variety of disciplines and countries.

Under the shadow of the pandemic, IKE headed to Egypt, a country that has always held a deep fascination for him. Finding sanctuary between teaching at Cairo's Heliopolis University and observing the progress of an ecological development community, the creative foundation of IKE's forthcoming LP, entitled On Higher Dreams began to take form.

Music holds a revered position in Egyptian culture; it has done so for countless generations. With a western eye, some can be guilty of seeing music solely through the lens of entertainment. In Egypt, music holds its more natural position, as an essential and supportive accompaniment to the human experience. In Egyptian universities, faculty meetings often commence with live concerts, setting the correct tone and environment for the discussions to follow. IKE was invited to perform in this setting, and this approach to music, as well as the philosophy that underpins it, was keenly absorbed.

In western culture, all too often we bear the contrast of living with a physical and social connection, freedom and expression against one with isolation, restriction and fear. For IKE, Egypt displayed another stark contrast; one which formed the thematic centre of On Higher Dreams.

It is water that dictates the pulse of life in Egypt, with the Nile Delta standing as a lush, nourishing testament to the transformative power of the element, when set against the backdrop of the arid landscape it carves its ways through. There is a deep connection between the people of Egypt and this life-giving force. This album is an ode to this fundamental relationship.

Upon returning to Europe, IKE spent a year digesting, interpreting, understanding and refining the spirit of the work, before setting about recording in 2022 at Big Snuff Studios, Berlin. The all-analog setup that was available allowed IKE to integrate the warmth of '60s and '70s recordings, creating an atmospheric bed on which contemporary synths could lie. A live studio environment was consciously selected to preserve the raw, honest emotion of the performances.

Tracks like Nilo capture the lifeblood of Egypt—the Nile—while Sidda navigates the journey down the Blue Nile to its source at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, paying tribute to Ethiopian traditional music. Risorgini is a homage to Italian film composer Giuliano Sorgini, blending experimental and Afro elements into a resuscitation of his musical approach.

The album's overall vintage yet dynamic atmosphere, reinforces the themes of nature and existential flow. It is this that perhaps most prominently shines through on the record. It invites listeners to open themselves to the ebb and flow of life, encouraging a spontaneous, heartfelt engagement with the world in the spirit of acceptance and serenity. IKE's journey through Egypt serves as both a narrative and a metaphor for this liberating approach to life—where, like the water of the Nile, we find our own paths naturally, beautifully, inevitably to reach Higher Dreams.

TRACK LISTING

1. SIDDA
2. Nilo
3. Clay
4. Risorgini
5. Eventide
6. Interlude
7. Rapids (feat. Danny Kuttner)
8. Crepusculo
9. L'Accendino

For fans of: Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, Antibalas, El Michels Affair. Several members of Ikebe Shakedown were members of Charles Bradley’s touring band, The Extraordinaires. Ten years ago, Ikebe Shakedown began pushing the boundaries of instrumental music. Each new track and live set has sent them deeper into combining the primal elements of '70s soul, raw psychedelic style, and cinematic Western soundtracks with powerful grooves and soaring melodies. Now, with their new release, "Kings Left Behind" on Colemine Records, the band is giving listeners more mystery and majesty than ever before. The album features the entire group collaborating to produce tracks that deliver punches right to the gut, even as dreamy guitars and lush horn melodies and string arrangements capture the imagination. The album was recorded by Ikebe's bassist, Vince Chiarito, at Hive Mind Recording. Opened with Ikebe's saxophonist, Mike Buckley, and another collaborator in 2017, Hive Mind has become a home base for the band, leading to more experimentation with the textures and sounds of a genre they define as Instrumental Soul

TRACK LISTING

1. Not Another Drop
2. Unqualified
3. The Witness
4. Mary’s Corner
5. Horses
6. Hammer Into Anvil
7. Over My Head
8. No Going Back
9. Kings Left Behind
10. Not Another Drop (Reprise)

Ikebe Shakedown's powerful instrumental soul takes "big unison horns, slinky bass lines, tight little guitar licks-and blends them with tasty grooves culled from '70s-style horn-driven funk (WNYC Soundcheck)." The Brooklyn-based collective is set to follow up their well-received self-titled debut album with the heavier, more mature sound of their second full-length Stone By Stone.

The self-produced album was recorded at the famed "House of Soul" Daptone Studios in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Notes bassist Vince Chiarito, "Thinking of all the great music that has come out of the Daptone Studio really pushed us to refine our songs and grow as a band. It was really inspiring to record there." The band adds that, "Stone By Stone is a much more layered and arranged album. The self-titled debut captured the raw energy of us playing live and the new record is much more of a studio effort. Psychedelic textures weave in and out of the grooves while the horn section offers an explosive response. The songs are heavy and danceable and show our moodier, more melodic side."

The seven-piece band-named after a favorite Nigerian boogie record and pronounced "ee-KAY-bay" formed in 2008 and has developed a mighty horn section anchored by tight, deep-pocketed grooves. Following 2009's debut EP Hard Steppin', the band released their self-titled debut full-length LP on Ubiquity Records in 2011 that Okayplayer called "an adventurous trip through time" and "one of the best releases of the year." Their music has also been featured on a number of television shows and commercials including HBO's Eastbound and Down, Mini Cooper and Vans.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Offering
2. Stone By Stone
3. The Beast
4. By Hook Or By Crook
5. Rio Grande
6. Last Stand
7. Cover Your Tracks
8. Chosen Path
9. The Illusion
10. Dram

Soft Centre is the new album by Iko Chérie, the solo project of French-born, London-based multiinstrumentalist Marie Merlet. She blends dub-inflected textures, pop tinged vocals, reverb drenched guitars, Casio drones, and warm experimental noises – creating her own intimate, fragile sound.

Self-produced and largely performed by Merlet, the album grew from an introspective process, with many sketches recorded in transit between tours. The result is a deeply personal work, balancing light and dark in a Lynchian dream-pop haze. Songs such as We Smoke That Peace Pipe and Bilbao shimmer between vulnerability and resilience, while the single Ghosted Ghosters of the Holy G captures the immediacy of a one-take dub bass. Some pieces retain the quality of improvised snapshots (Intelligent Women, Half a Metaphor) while others reveal her meticulous production process and songwriting craft (Tears in the Sea, Luciférine). Merlet defines Soft Centre as alive in radical tenderness, unguarded, open, and vivid.

Influenced by Clarice Lispector’s prose, Diane di Prima’s poetry and Rachel Carson’s environmentalist writing, as well as Marie’s fascination with a vintage Roland Space Echo, the album is an invitation to connection that she describes as “... hopefully a meditation into healing.”

A versatile musician trained in classical piano, jazz, and electroacoustic composition, Merlet has long moved between different worlds of sound. She has worked with Laetitia Sadier in Monade, performs with Gina Birch (The Raincoats), Malphino, Yama Warashi, and several other groups. She recently appeared as guest singer on the latest Stereolab album. Her debut solo LP, Dreaming On (Elefant Records, 2015), revealed her singular melodic instincts; with Soft Centre she ventures further inward, shaping her own distinctive voice in experimental pop.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Soft Centre
A2 Luciférine
A3 California Rosemary
A4 Ghosted Ghosters Of The Holy G
A5 We Smoke That Peace Pipe
B1 Bilbao
B2 La Luna
B3 Tears In The Sea
B4 Intelligent Women
B5 Half A Metaphor

Before we pack away the poppers for another year, let Red Laser take you for one last spin on the waltzers. Tried and tested at our recent road block parties in Manchester, these edits shine a light on four primo-grade Italo face melters. Fervently excavated by Bosco over countless visits to Bel Paese and streamlined for the hydrofoil, with some extra added calories for the club.

Opener 'Destiny' tweaks and shudders under analogue arpeggios, dazzling Strat chops and cosmic bass interplay before dropping into a simply glorious female vocal that, thankfully, gets plenty of airtime before Bosco calls close. A track so close to perfection we had to make it longer. 'Flavio', up next - and half sung in Italian so we only know a bit of what she's on about - is another supreme slice of Italo disco from the upper echelons that Bosco snaffled between glugs of Barolo and a face full of worm cheese. Sure to instigate group hugs, 4AM declarations of love, tears of happiness and huge pelvic thrusts dependant on environment and inebriation.

The tingles continue on side B with another supernova burning bright across the stars. 'Newsin' introduces itself with a joyous marriage of marimba and synth before yet another vocal proves Italians really do, do it better when it comes to writing some of the catchiest hooks and choruses in the universe.
'Lace', featuring the record's only male vocal appearance, has a romantic, proto-goth-new-wave vibe; like if Robert Smith and Richard Butler had a chem-sex love child after a wild night in Baia Degli Angeli.

Not sure who the woman in lace is, but we'd defo like to see her down The White Hotel one night...

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Red Laser complete what may well be their most prolific year to date with a clutch of edits straight from Il Bosco's studio. Source material gathered through countless trips to Italy before being trimmed and polished for our discerning Mancunian ears. Worth the entrance fee for that "Destiny" cut alone... Bellisimo!

TRACK LISTING

A. Destiny (il Bosco Edit)
A. Flavia (il Bosco Edit)
B. Newsin (il Bosco Edit)
B. Lace (il Bosco Edit)

Having exploded onto the scene with 9 self-released albums between 2017 and 2019, UK-based outfit Ill Considered are breaking new ground with their first fully produced studio album and an interactive audio/visual performance residency at Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room, this autumn. Capturing a moment of transformation for the group, Liminal Space not only features a new core line-up of Idris Rahman (saxophone), Liran Donin (bass) and Emre Ramazanoglu (drums), but also sees Ill Considered bounce their live-wire style off a range of collaborators such as Collocutor’s Tamar Osborn, Steam Down saxophonist Ahnanse, tuba player Theon Cross and percussionist Sarathy Korwar.

TRACK LISTING

1. First Light
2. Sandstorm
3. Loosed
4. Dust
5. Dervish
6. Pearls
7. Light Trailed
8. Knuckles
9. The Lurch
10. Prayer

The Illiterati is indie-pop music, music made with microchips and melodicas, sweet singing and six-string-strumming, tapped-out, taped-up drum machines and joy-drunk-heart-machinations. They hail from Gainesville, Florida in the big old US of A, and their sweet brand of indie-pop could well earn them a legion of fans over here. For comparisons and influences think, The Decemberists, Badly Drawn Boy, The New Pornographers, Grandaddy, and Air amongst many others.

Tenderpunk pioneer, Illuminati Hotties is the musical project founded by producer/writer, Sarah Tudzin. The new self produced album 'Power', with co-production by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Death Cab For Cutie), features the Hotties trademark wit, vibrancy, and is undeniably fun. Tuzdin says about lead single Let Me In, “I find that something I have in common with most people that I talk to lately is the immense fear of and inability to be alone with ourselves. Constant motion, avoidance, restlessness – anything to keep myself from stagnating have always been my coping mechanisms when my inner monologue starts to get loud.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Can't Be Still
2. I Would Like, Still Love You
3. Throw (Life Raft)
4. Rot
5. Falling In Love With Somebody Better
6. The L
7. Sleeping In
8. Didn't (feat. Cavetown)
9. You Are Not Who You Were
10. What's The Fuzz
11. YSL
12. Power
13. Everything Changes

Ilmiliekki Quartet from Helsinki return with their new self-titled album on We Jazz Records on 11 February 2022. The group, including Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Tuomo Prättälä (piano), Antti Lötjönen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums) is a mainstay in the Finnish scene and the band has been steadily developing their sound for nearly two decades now. It could be said that the group's musicians, each also a solo artist of note these days, has grown with and through performing together with this regularly working quartet. Ilmiliekki Quartet's music has a song-like melodic quality, which pairs naturally with their often freeform search for new musical landscapes.

As testament of Ilmiliekki Quartet being a Band with a capital B, the songs on the new album come from each of the four members. As before, the band also takes a borrowed tune in for a loving rendition, this time tackling "Aila" by the Finnish dream pop group Karina. All in all, there's a deep, moody element to the music, yet at the same time, their sound flows with remarkable ease and lightness of touch. This brings out a wide range of color in their music, which is easy to fall in love with.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: One for all the Jazz heads out there, this is lovely ambient track after track of gorgeous music, they've been around for a long time now but continue to find new musical heights. A must if you like Matthew Halsall and Mammal Hands

TRACK LISTING

1. Three Queens (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)
2. Sgr A* (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)
3. Aila (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)
4. Follow The Damn Breadcrumbs (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)
5. Night Song (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)
6. Kaleidoscopesque (feat. Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen & Olavi Louhivuori)

Jazzy, downtempo tracks with twists of dub, ambient, techno and blues from this Icelandic fella, who has previously remixed the likes of Sigur Ros and Mum.

Another fantastic track from Ilya! Imagine a fusion of David Axelrod and Norman Connors epic production sounds mixed with a lush downbeat feel and a torch song / 60s style easy listening vocal. Mmmm! Their own remix on the flip is more cinematic and mostly instrumental, with a more leftfield feel.

Since 2018, BBE Music has been leading the field in reissuing rare modern jazz from Japan’s golden period spanning the late 60s to the early 80s. The J Jazz Masterclass Series continues to present the finest in Japanese jazz with Planets by Masaru Imada Trio + 1. Originally released in 1977 as a private press album, Planets showcases the refined playing and sophisticated compositions of one of Japan’s leading pianists, Masaru Imada. In a fifty-plus year career he has released over 40 albums, including several that have won awards from some of Japan’s leading music publications and has recorded with leading US jazz artists such as David Sanborn, Brecker Brothers, Steve Gadd, and Grover Washington Jr. Imada’s Bosendorfer piano is joined by the drums of Tetsujiro Obara and the bass of Kunimitsu Inaba, augmented by Yuji Imamura on percussion. The opening title track on Planets (featured on J Jazz vol 3) is a wafer-thin modal waltz, beginning with gentle bells and shells, followed by Obara’s deft brush work and Inaba’s hypnotically pliant bass that gives a discrete yet steady support to the gossamer melody from Imada-san’s piano. The other standout track is the suite, Sea's Pasture, an epic piece that undulates and heaves, like the dark endless ocean, rich with mystery and each side of the album ends with a solo piece on the haunting Bosendorfer. Planets comes with full reproduction of the original artwork with obi strip, extra photos, a translation of the original sleeve note and a 3000 word new sleeve note by Tony Higgins including an interview with Masaru Imada himself. The J Jazz Masterclass Series is curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden for BBE Music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Planets
2. Blue Road
3. A Marionette
4. Sea's Pasture
5. Epilogue

Killer wonky modern soul / disco out NYC written by Producer Alan Jones. Rathen than put the instrumental on the flip same as the og, we opted to put a mix with a lower vocal on the B-side, mostly because we wanted a mix to play out ourselves, killer modern 45, do it!

TRACK LISTING

1. You're My Only Desire (Original Mix)
2. Lower Vocal Mix

WRWTFWW Records unleashes the first ever release of legendary post-disco, funk, soul and electronic UK trio Imagination's cult album "Night Dubbing" in (well deserved) double LP format. The limited edition full-length comes with pristine audiophile treatment and luxurious packaging : a 45rpm and half speed mastered double LP housed in heavyweight silver cardboard sleeve.

Imagination's singular 1983 album "Night Dubbing" is a refined deconstruction of black British soul and club pop, filtered through the deep studio and mixing techniques of dub music. Elegant, restrained, and, in its very own subtle way, radical, the record reshapes choice selections from the group's stellar catalogue into an immersive and out-of-this-world listening experience.

The special mixes on "Night Dubbing" are built on time and space. Basslines elongate and dissolve. Vocals appear, vanish, and reappear like ghosts. Drums fall away into vast silences, while echoes, tape edits, and precise engineering manoeuvres smoothly slide across the stereo field, revealing themselves like magic over repeated listens. Far from simple extensions or 12" versions, "Night Dubbing" treats the studio itself as an instrument, opening new dimensions of sound.

Often cited as a foundational record in the genesis of the house genre, the album also features the historic Larry Levan remix of "Changes", a Paradise Garage anthem that helped shape the direction of club music for decades to come.

More than 40 years on, "Night Dubbing" remains a seminal work. Its influence continues to echo through contemporary dance music, offering a blueprint for how pop could be transformed into something darker, stranger, more physical - a timeless sound that drifts effortlessly from the dancefloor into space.

Daniele Baldelli heads - it sounds amazing played on 33rpm too! ;)

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: This one truly did deserve the deluxe, double-LP treatment. For me, one of the most influential moments of boogie - namely 'cos they worked the dub work ethic into proceedings and in doing so laid the foundations for proto-house. It ticks all my boxes! And it sounds stupendously crips on this double vinyl master. The superior format for one of the most inventive boogie albums ever made.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Flashback
A2. Just An Illusion
B1. Music And Lights
B2. So Good, So Right
C1. Body Talk
C2. Heart 'n' Soul
D1. Changes (Larry Levan Dub)
D2. Burnin' Up

In the early 1980s, Britain had a vibrant cassette culture that now gets spotlighted through a limited edition 12" featuring multi-instrumentalist Kez Stone's project, Imago. He was a notable name in Cornwall and the West Country's music scenes with previous projects, Artistic Control and Aaah! which have come back via reissues many times in the last ten years. Imago was a new one-off project that first emerged with one track on the Perfect Motion compilation curated by NTS Radio's Bruno and Flo Dill and now the full LP, originally released in 1985 on the local label A Real Kavoom, has been remastered and added to with three additional gems. Stone's teenage punk influences sit next to Imago's eclectic approach to sound that blends new wave and psychedelic elements into something irresistible.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: You can always rely on Emotional Rescue to unearth the most interesting and forgotten about musical projects and this one is a prime example. Never heard any of these tracks before and I'm already well into them!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Tomorrow Never Knows
2. Hot Sun

Side 2
1. All Come Together
2. Always In You

'ESSAM' is the band’s fourth album, recorded with the same core lineup, but marks a significant shift in their sound and approach. Musically, it marks a departure from the rocky, bluesy, psychedelic Tuareg guitar-driven sound influenced by Tinariwen’s heritage—moving toward something more open, modern, and exploratory.

For the first time, their long-time sound engineer Maxime Kosinetz stepped in as producer. He travelled to Tamanrasset with Emile Papandreou (of the French duo UTO), a multi-instrumentalist who introduced electronic elements by sampling live instruments andreprocessing them in real time with a modular synthesizer—subtly reshaping the band's sonic identity. The album was recorded mostly live, in one big room at Aboogi Studio—the band’s own rehearsal and recording space in Tamanrasset. The studio, a converted concert hall, has become a kind of cultural hub for the local youth. Friends dropped by during the sessions to contribute handclaps, vocals, and just be part of the energy. It’s a space where people gather, hang out, play dominoes, smoke chicha—a rare communal spot in a city that doesn’t offer many for young people, somewhat like a youth and community center.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful mix of traditional Algerian influenced desert rock, acoustic folk and with wisps of perfectly measured electronics that work to enhance the droning vocals and timbres of their instruments. A perfectly measured balance of voices, working together to create something grand.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ahitmanin
2. Derhan N’oulhine (extended Version)
3. Télallalt
4. Tamiditin
5. Okcheur - CD Only
6. Azaman Amoutay (extended Version)
7. Tin Arayth
8. Tinfoussen
9. Adounia Tochal (extended Version)
10. Assagasswar