Cosmic | Balearic 180 Items

This one has been in the works for quite some time. A statement compilation showing what Full Circle is about, paying homage to the very roots of psychedelic dance music. A little town in India, which was a haven to a bunch of hippie outcasts, was throwing freeform outdoor parties since the day those freaks put their flag down. What was once a gathering around live music blew up into a rave as electronic music started to appear, paving the way to what would eventually become Goa Trance.

Full Circle, the duo project of Alexis Le-Tan and Joakim, started 10 years ago when Alexis accidentally discovered that some of his old Goa Trance records he was about to sell sounded great when played at the wrong speed : 33rpm instead of 45rpm. He called his long-time friend and collaborator Joakim to work on edits of those tracks that became the sound signature of this DJ duo : a slow, heavy and trippy sound that would eventually infiltrate the fringes of the underground club scene via like-minded DJs such as Vladimir Ivkovic, Jane Fitz, Ivan Smagghe and many more.

10 years later and a bunch of releases and remixes behind them, Full Circle decided to tell the story of how this Goa sound came to life. At a time when Trance has made a major

comeback and infiltrated pretty much all the sub-genres of club music, it felt right to look back at where it all started - going full circle, when Trance was not Trance, Goa was not Goa but the seeds of tripped out dance music were being sown.

After all, there are countless compilations about Balearism, the Italian Cosmic scene,The Loft, The Paradise Garage etc but none about the roots of this Goa sound.

This is a compilation of the best tunes played by the pioneer Goa DJs like Laurent, Goa Gil, Mike Maguire amongst others, between the late 80s and early 90s. Proto House, New Beat, early Techno, Industrial, with a distinct psychedelic tone, a few arpeggios here and there, acid lines, chopped up vocals, all elements of what would later constitute a genre of its own.

This beautifully packaged compilation includes liner notes by Tom Colebrooke and excerpts from Tom and Alexis’ interview of Mike Maguire of Juno Reactor fame, one of the pioneers of Goa Trance.

Check the liner notes for more info about the early Goa history !

The "hosono House" cover project, which began this February, has expanded with the addition of new participating artists. The cover album is set for LP release on November 6. The album, consisting of 11 tracks, includes new contributions from Towa TEI and SE SO Neon (kr), as well as a previously released cover of "Owari no Kisetsu" by rei harakami. The cover illustration is by Tomoo Gokita.

"hosono HOUSE," Haruomi Hosono's first album released in 1973, continues to be cherished and influential worldwide. For instance, Harry Styles' Grammy-winning album "Harry’s House" was inspired by "hosono HOUSE," showcasing its impact on a new generation of listeners around the globe.

This cover album, commemorating 50 years since the original release, features outstanding contributions from artists and bands who hold Hosono in high regard. It offers a fresh perspective on the timeless allure of "hosono HOUSE," which still shines brightly today.

The magic and majesty of Holger Czukay’s late career works for Claremont 56 is being celebrated on a new compilation. The former Can bassist – a musical maverick renowned for his freewheeling approach to composition, recording and promotion – released a string of inspired tracks on Paul Murphy’s label between 2009 and 2012, typically delivering hard-to-pigeonhole workouts, bona-fide epics and radical reinventions of some of his most beloved tracks.

The collection has been a labour of love – fitting given the sonic details and inventive musicality that marked out the late artist’s solo career – for Claremont 56 founder Paul Murphy AKA Mudd, who first reached out to Czukay after witnessing his now legendary live performance at the Roundhouse in 2009. As Murphy details in his introductory liner notes, it led to a productive working relationship between the pair that included collaborative recording sessions with Ben Smith in Czukay’s legendary Innerspace Studio – a former cinema in Cologne in which much of Can’s music was recorded.The impact of that Roundhouse gig on Murphy is reflected in the fact that two of the tracks on the collection are based on that celebrated performance. There’s ‘Ode To Perfume’, a languid and solo-laden version of one of Czukay’s most celebrated solo records that ratchets up the original’s inherent dreaminess, and a jaunty take on quirky kraut-pop number ‘Photosong’ featuring a spoken introduction recorded at the concert in question.

Murphy’s ability to coax Czukay into delving into his archives is evident across the compilation. Opener ‘A Perfect World (Remix)’ is an eccentric, ever-building masterpiece originally recorded in 1984 – but later re-imagined for Claremont 56 – featuring vocalist Sheldon Ancel and former Can band-mates Jaki Leibezeit and Michael Karoli, while ‘Fragrance’ is a subtly re-wired slab of picturesque Balearic kraut-dub which was initially recorded as a coda for ‘Ode To Perfume’ but lay unreleased for decades.

Then there’s ‘Let’s Get Cool’, a bright and breezy, French horn-sporting 2009 take on 1979 avant-disco classic ‘Cool In The Pool’; ‘My Persian Love (Remix)’, a 2010 re-take of one of his earliest solos recordings; and the near 18-minute brilliance of ‘Music Is A Miracle’. Originally recorded for his fans in the 1980s – but only released three decades later – this widescreen epic not only features drums by Jaki Leibezeit and a fine spoken word vocal by Czukay, but also numerous nods to some of his most revered tracks.

It's fitting, too, that two of the most potent cuts feature Czukay’s much-missed wife and musical muse Ursa Major: the dense, trippy and fittingly out-there ambient soundscape ‘In Space’, and the mesmerising ‘Music To be Murdered By’. Partially inspired by hearing painfully out of tune violin practice through his studio windows, the track was originally recorded for an unreleased album but finally found a home on Claremont 56’s 10th anniversary box set ion 2017. A genuinely spaced-out and mind-mangling slab of organic dub in Czukay’s distinctive style, it delivers a fine curtain call to the iconic artist’s endlessly inventive career.

Uniquely personal, yet gently relatable…

Istanbul-based drummer and composer Danae Palaka’s first album “Velox” is a retrospective journey into the artist’s own roots.

Born in Athens to a musical family partially hailing from Istanbul, Danae’s relocation to the city of her ancestry in 2021 became a key influence in the creation of Velox.

Produced in a collaborative effort with producer Nikos Dervisis, Velox showcases Danae’s dense and energetic drumming style, influenced by Afrobeat and Anatolian rhythms, contemporary jazz and electronic music.

Developed by Palaka’s necessity to perform solo with a drum-kit and a sampler, the album wraps you with complex rhythms, evolving textures and polyphonies that resemble some vaguely remembered childhood memories, tales told by the elders and Danae’s exploration of her family roots, as well as her own personal experiences with Istanbul’s multi-layered structure intertwining past and present throughout its 8 track course. In Danae’s own words: “This album is built on feelings and thoughts about places, memories, animas and circumstances and aspires to transmit certain feelings to the listener; a superpower I wish I had since I was little. Each song is a small universe of its own but also part of a whole. Velox is a sphere, a glowing warm star that I hold in my palms, whose energy expands when loved and supported.”

Masahiro Sugaya, his name is now known worldwide as one of the leading artists of Japanese ambient, which has been re-evaluated worldwide in recent years. The Long Living Things, the album was released in 1988 by Japanese musician/composer Masahiro Sugaya for performing arts company "Pappa Tarahumara", which he also belonged to, and has long been overlooked by all but a few enthusiastic music lovers. P-vine is honoured to have the honour of reissuing this great work on vinyl for the first time in the world. The second track ‘Umi No Sunatsubu’ was included into the Grammy-nominated album "Kankyo Ongaku" released by Light In The Attic. Minimalistic, interwoven soft sequences give his music a feeling of floating and warming, this sound is representing the very essence of the Japanese ambient. His compilation album "Horizon, Volume 1" was released on the label Empire Of Signs, which produces some Japanese ambient reissues, such as Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music From Nine Postcards and Inoyama Land's Commissions: 1977-2000.　

The LP for "Sunset Chillout Breeze," a compilation featuring a selection of relaxing and comfortable music perfect for chilling out during sunset and feeling the pleasant breeze, will be released on October 30, 2024.

Toru Hashimoto (suburbia) has been a guiding force for music listeners since the 1990s, curating over 350 compilations including "Free Soul," "Cafe Apres-midi," "Mellow Beats," "Good Mellows," "Jazz Supreme," "The Soundscape of Music," and "Incense Music" series. Celebrating 30 years as a compiler, he launched a new compilation series, "Chillout Breeze," in July 2024.

Joining him is graphic designer Jiro Fujita, known as FJD, who has created artwork for various music projects, from jazzy and mellow beats like Nujabes to works by artists like Calm, Sakura Fujiwara, and Keisuke Kuwata. His design work can be seen all over Tokyo, from architecture to hotel lobbies, and shop logos.

This new compilation series "Chillout Breeze," curated by Toru Hashimoto with artwork by Jiro Fujita and mastering by Calm, a top Japanese artist in jazz, chillout, and Balearic music, will release its second volume, "Sunset Chillout Breeze," on September 25, 2024. The vinyl LP, featuring 10 carefully selected tracks from the 17-track CD, will follow on October 30, 2024, and also showcases captivating artwork.

The compilation features a range of tracks from cool and mellow grooves, chillout Balearica, surf×bossa×folky, lovers' rock & dub, to jazzy and mellow beats, creating an ideal collection for an enjoyable lifestyle.

Included are fantastic new covers: "Quiet Moments," a mellow breeze masterpiece by Lonnie Liston Smith, newly recorded by DJ Mitsu the Beats, and "Sunset Red," a twilight breeze gem by Lucinda Sieger, reimagined by NOA NOA.

"orange flavored cigarettes" is a three-piece band from South Korea that creates a chill sound reminiscent of bands like Men I Trust, Crumb, and The Marias. For them, this release marks their first physical format project, having primarily focused on digital platforms until now. This collection includes key tracks from their three years of activity, ranging from their debut song released in 2021 to their latest ep "table #2".

There’s no doubt that their sense of melody is heavily inspired by American indie rock, but the influence of roots music such as R&B and soul is also strongly felt. Vocalist Dani's voice blends perfectly with the band's sound, drawing listeners instantly into the world of orange flavored cigarettes.

Leo Ceccanti should be a familiar name to all followers of the Claremont 56 label. Alongside sometime studio partner Gianluca Salvadori, he was responsible for two delightfully distinctive Almunia albums released on the label, 2011’s New Moon and 2013’s Pulsar. Both sets were filled with golden, sun-kissed sounds, psychedelic grooves and immersive, life-affirming soundscapes.

Now he’s decided to go it alone as Leo Almunia, delivering a debut album for Claremont 56 that’s every bit as alluring, wide-eyed and evocative as those he made with Salvadori. In keeping with his previous work, the album blends layered acoustic and electric guitars with toasty bass, dreamy synthesizers and grooves that variously touch on hypnotic house, chugging mid-tempo disco, sunset-ready Balearic beats and, on the glistening, life-affirming album highlight ‘Wishing Star’, loose-limbed jazz breaks.

What’s most significant about Ceccanti’s personal musical style is not the blend of stylistic influences he draws on – think psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz-rock, new age ambient and slow-motion disco – but rather the way he uses it to paint vivid aural images that genuinely linger long in the memory.

After opening with the duelling guitars and chunky dub disco grooves of ‘Sinking Fields’, Ceccanti sashays between magical moments of rush-inducing positivity, heart-tugging poignance and heady nostalgia.

Along the way, you’ll find numerous sonic highlights. On the intoxicating 21st century psychedelia of ‘Panerea’, jangling chords and eyes-closed psych-rock guitar solos ride a chugging, thickset electronic bassline, while ‘Il Cormorano’ is a metronomic, flash-fried workout rich in fuzz-tone guitar motifs, bluesy riffs and echoing instrumental touches.

He cannily joins the dots between Mid-West Americana and throbbing, psychedelic disco-chug on ‘Loveblind’, while ‘Minor Circle’ sits somewhere between Santana, the Pat Metheny Band and sunrise-ready Balearic blues. Arguably even better is the saucer-eyed brilliance of ‘Brillo De Luna’, where a dubbed-out electronic beat becomes enveloped in life-affirming acoustic guitar chords, exotic slide guitar motifs and string-bending solos. If John Lennon had ingested Mdma rather than LSD before writing ‘Across The Universe’, it would probably sound like this.

Then there’s the album’s crowning moment, closer ‘Can’t Hold a Lover’. A heart-aching, largely ambient instrumental that channels the loneliness and anguish felt by many of those separated from their nearest and dearest during the pandemic, it sees Ceccanti brilliantly wrap a variety of sun-bright guitar textures and solos around some of the loveliest synthesizer chords you’re every likely to hear. On an album packed with effervescent, mood-enhancing musical highs, it’s a rare moment of bittersweet bliss.

Originally digitally released February 11, 2023 and now on vinyl for the first time, 'How To See Through Walls' by Windows 96.

More astonishing new music from Jason Boardman's BiD imprint. KlangKollektor is a solo project by Lars Fischer (the drummer with the Psychedelic Cumbia band Trak Trak from Nurnberg.) The clips here only tell half the story, these are meticulously evolving and utterly absorbing pieces. A stellar collection of seven dubwise tracks over 4 sides with a Techno and Balearic influence.

Since joining the label back in 2018, Hear & Now have quickly become one of Claremont 56’s most prolific and consistent acts. The Italian duo impressed with their debut album Aurora Baleare – a drowsy, mood enhancing masterpiece – and then went one better with 2020’s Alba Sol, a seductive and sun-kissed set that incorporated more nods to Hear & Now members Ricky L and Marcoradi’s 1990s deep house roots.

The pair have once more struck sonic gold with their third album, Milvus, a set whose colouful chords, unfurling melodies, warming instrumentation and sun-soaked vibes were mostly laid down during the various pandemic lockdowns of 2020. If it’s vivid, picturesque and immersive musical escapism you’re after, Milvus delivers and then some.

The album’s clear White Isle-friendly intent can be heard on opening track ‘Bassa Marea’, a yearning chunk of horizontal brilliance in which guest musician Marco Evengelista’s emotive flugelhorn sounds spar with slow-motion, eyes-closed electric guitar solos over billowing ambient chords and a tactile, thickset bassline. The pair’s ability to craft high-class, saucer-eyed Balearic soundscapes is a theme that’s returned to several times across the album, with ‘Abisso’– another near beat-free slab of touchy-feely dreaminess – standing out.

Ricky L and Marcoradi’s love of evocative, pitched-down excursions is another recurring theme. For proof, check out the chugging weariness of ‘Zanziblu’, where a lone whistle drifts across waves of heady chords and metronomic beats, the dub-fired Balearic reggae shuffle of ‘Coccobello’ and the bright aural colours of gentle title track ‘Milvus’, whose cascading piano motifs, echoing harmonica motifs and chunky dub disco grooves are as appealing as they are infectious.

While the prevailing mood is perhaps even more horizontal than their previous albums, Hear & Now have not completely abandoned the dancefloor. Two of the set’s standout moments are those where the pair actively explore their early ‘90s Italian dream house roots.

There’s the rolling haziness of ‘Levante’, where more emotion-rich electric guitar solos and ear-catching whistling softly spar with pulsing pads, club-ready house beats and chiming synthesizer motifs, and the breathlessly brilliant ‘Baiadriatica’, whose stirring, sustained opening chords should always be described as “rush-inducing”.

Rich in jangling piano riffs, fluid keys, squelchy bass and glistening guitars, the track is little less than a glorious 21st century update of the dream house sound first made famous by the likes of Sueno Latino and Key-Tronic Ensemble. Like the rest of Hear & Now’s absorbing and emotive third album, it’s a stunning, sunset-ready delight.

Vitesse X’s sophomore album This Infinite is about more than just escape. Vitesse X’s debut, 2022’s Us Ephemeral, was a tribute to the spiritual vibrations of the club, influenced by ‘90s rave, ambient techno, and Kraftwerk’s Tour de France. But before her time exploring the rhythms of nightlife, though, Vitesse X spent years playing in indie bands in her hometown of New York City. This Infinite weaves the slinking energy of her debut with these scrappy, livewire beginnings. The record is an exercise in anti-perfectionism, a sort of musical purging for the artist that she refers to as a “somatic release.” While writing, she pursued ideas without judging herself too harshly, leaving the songs rough around the edges and foregrounding confessional lyrics. This shift in mindset transported Vitesse X into a flow state, resulting in a powerful collection of wistful and sanguine dream-pop songs—always openhearted and forever unraveling. For Vitesse X, the album encourages the listener to free themselves from ego, as she aims to do. “It’s about trusting my gut,” says Vitesse X. “It feels like a weight was lifted. It says what it needs to say.” Pushing past injustice, the oppressiveness of a capitalist society, rage, and heartbreak, the record captures Vitesse X in the midst of release. Through the act of creation, she argues on This Infinite, we can make a change, both in ourselves and in the world.

Vitesse X’s sophomore album This Infinite is about more than just escape. Vitesse X’s debut, 2022’s Us Ephemeral, was a tribute to the spiritual vibrations of the club, influenced by ‘90s rave, ambient techno, and Kraftwerk’s Tour de France. But before her time exploring the rhythms of nightlife, though, Vitesse X spent years playing in indie bands in her hometown of New York City. This Infinite weaves the slinking energy of her debut with these scrappy, livewire beginnings. The record is an exercise in anti-perfectionism, a sort of musical purging for the artist that she refers to as a “somatic release.” While writing, she pursued ideas without judging herself too harshly, leaving the songs rough around the edges and foregrounding confessional lyrics. This shift in mindset transported Vitesse X into a flow state, resulting in a powerful collection of wistful and sanguine dream-pop songs—always openhearted and forever unraveling. For Vitesse X, the album encourages the listener to free themselves from ego, as she aims to do. “It’s about trusting my gut,” says Vitesse X. “It feels like a weight was lifted. It says what it needs to say.” Pushing past injustice, the oppressiveness of a capitalist society, rage, and heartbreak, the record captures Vitesse X in the midst of release. Through the act of creation, she argues on This Infinite, we can make a change, both in ourselves and in the world.

Naya Beat Records reveals Volume 2 of its critically acclaimed series dedicated to South Asian dance and electronic music. Label founders Turbotito and Ragz have curated an exceptional 13-track compilation with a focus on an overlooked era of house and electronic music released between '88 and '94. While Volume 1 explored early 80s Balearic, synth pop, and disco, Volume 2 uncovers lost or forgotten future classics from later in the decade. The release spotlights a unique era in the late 80s and early 90s when fertile cross-cultural collaboration abounded in diasporic communities in cities like London and New York and when South Asian music was infused with acid house, New Beat, and dub. There is a true wealth of sounds here, from The Jets Orkhestra’s organ-fuelled house workout ‘x-290’ to the downtempo splendour of the Asha Bhosle fronted West India Company. Lady M lends the Hindi house track and arpeggiated wonder of ‘Kali Raat’ and Mantra’s eponymously titled cut is a hypnotic gem. Featuring other scintillating Balearic house, dub, and street soul from the likes of Asha Puthli, Bappi Lahiri, Johnny Zee, and Kuljit Bhamra, this double album is a treasure of never-before-reissued and previously impossible-to-find holy grails. Often "too Asian for mainstream success in the West, and too Western for success in Asia," the pioneering music from this time was frequently released to short-lived success or relative anonymity. Naya Beat founders Filip Nikolic (aka Turbotito) and Raghav Mani (aka Ragz) have spent the last four years endlessly hunting through dusty records, obscure cassettes, and unreleased studio tapes to deliver a reference release for contemporary collectors, tastemakers, and bold selectors looking for fresh sounds. Featuring an incredible gatefold package with Naya Beat’s trademark stunning artwork and exhaustive liner notes, the 2LP release has been cut to vinyl for the discerning DJ and listener by Grammy-nominated Frank Merritt from The Carvery, London. Naya Beat Records is focused on uncovering foundational dance and electronic music from the subcontinent and South Asian diaspora through reissues, remixes and compilations. Success came immediately with ‘Naya Beat Volume 1’, which was named Vinyl Factory’s number 1 reissue of 2021, and has been followed up with more fascinating releases such as a two-part remix project with disco-jazz legend Asha Puthli, a scintillating bhangra acid house EP with Mr. Scruff, a reissue of Pinky Ann Rihal’s 1985 Hindi new wave album, and the superb Bollywood compilation ‘Awaaz Series 1’.

Who is Harvey Couture? Some say he’s a survivor of French pop music’s sun-soaked synth-pop era of the early 1980s, others that he’s a more suave and stylish Serge Gainsbourg for the nu-Balearic era. There were even rumours circulating that he’s a musical mobster from the Cote D’Azure: a shadowy member of the mafia who deals in synths, drum machines and fretless bass guitars rather than guns, money and drugs.

In truth, not even Leng Records knows much about the man behind the moniker, though his vividly kaleidoscopic, retro-futurist debut album, Scellé En Cristal, does offer a number of crafty clues. Whether listeners will make the necessary deductions to solve the mystery remains to be seen; regardless, it’s the music that matters, and on that score Scellé En Cristal simply cannot be faulted.

Rich in humid, afternoon-bright musical delights, the set sees our publicity-shy hero mix and mangle a multitude of musical influences – think proto-Balearic European synth-pop, Prince style purple funk, immersive ambient, early INXS style synth-rock, the electronic end of zouk and much more besides – with constantly colourful and imaginative results.

Couture is most at home adding his variously seductive, sexy and sleazy vocals to bubbly, upbeat and mid-tempo numbers that combine delay-laden drum machine beats with surging synths, fluid bass, stylish guitars, lashings of leftfield pop nouse and plenty of tongue-in-cheek Gallic flair.

For proof, check the throbbing, off-kilter alien-funk throb of ‘Les Portes De La Perception’, the bustling, percussion-laden cheeriness of ‘Crème Solaire’ and the loose-limbed, toe-tapping brilliance of ‘Je Ne Peux Pas’, where chiming, steel pan style melodies and pots-and-pans percussion hits jostle for position with sliding fretless bass notes and flash-fried guitars. Check to ‘Passion’, a swaggering slab of bustling electrofunk/synth-rock fusion rich in ‘Rockit’-style scratches and restless synth-bass.

The influence of languid, sunset-ready European pop records of the 1980s – those cuts that would later become sought-after amongst dusty-fingered collectors of Mediterranean music – is another recurring feature of Couture’s cultured but joyous debut album. It can be heard amongst the drowsy guitars, yawning bass and tumbling lead lines of ‘Look Within’, the pleasingly laidback ‘Invincible Line’, the elastic bass, fluorescent synth sounds and stuttering machine drums of ‘Marche’.

Yet Couture is no one-trick pony. Horizontal and loved-up moments of a more downtempo hue can be found scattered across the album, with the enveloping ambient awe of ‘Les Portes’ – all swelling chords, gentle melodies and atmospheric field recordings – and slowly unfurling ‘Whale Song’ both lingering long in the memory.

Harvey Couture may not be ready to step out of the shadows just yet, but his music most certainly is. We have a feeling that Scellé En Cristal is just the start of the mystery monsieur’s musical journey.

The Other Sound of Music is Edition Hawara’s first compilation of forgotten Austrian treasures from the 1980s. Plucked from dusty basements, flea markets and bespoke stores across the small Alpine country, it features eight quirky and charming pieces that afford a glimpse into largely unknown but surprisingly rich musical subcultures. The lovingly curated selection brings to light early soul, boogie and proto-house productions, as well as some of the most balearic tracks that have ever been made in a landlocked country. Finally giving this music the stage it deserves, The Other Sound of Music is the definitive guide to the outer limits of the Austrian underground.

Scott Gilmore’s Volume 01, an Analog Synth Gem, Makes Its Vinyl Debut - Pressed at 45rpm for maximum fidelity.

Recorded on a vintage Tascam 388, the LP version of Gilmore’s alluring, easy-going instrumental electronic record arrives in the physical world via In Sheep’s Clothing Hi-Fi Records.

Los Angeles, CA — When the Los Angeles electronic musician and multi-instrumentalist Scott Gilmore recalls the creation of the songs on Volume 01, he describes specific moments of spontaneous inspiration. “I remember sitting at the tape deck, watching the leaves outside the window as they flittered in the sunlight—a moment of stillness that became intertwined with the melody I was recording,” Gilmore recalls, speaking of the track “Song For Cate.”

This sense of simplicity and presence is at the heart of Volume 01, which was recorded entirely on a Tascam 388 using a carefully curated selection of instruments.

Volume 01, an intimate, instinctual album that mixes lo-fi digital rhythms, strummed guitar, and melodic synth layers, is a collection of songs that captures Gilmore’s magnetic fluidity and the spontaneity of his process. Initially released digitally and as a limited edition cassette, Volume 01 is set to be issued on vinyl for the first time by In Sheep’s Clothing Hi-Fi.

The Tascam 388 is a classic mid-1980s analog machine that combines an 8-track reel-to-reel tape recorder with a built-in mixing console. Volume 01 exudes the kind of hazy, nostalgic warmth that only such recorders can provide. For the nine-song album, Gilmore harnessed analog synths including the Arp Odyssey, Yamaha Cs-01, Korg Dw-8000, Hohner Pianet T, Roland TR 606, and Roland SH 101, as well as bamboo alto saxophone, clarinet, electric guitar, and electric bass.

The album is awash in brief, propellant pieces. At just over four minutes, the relatively epic “Horizon Line” is driven by a three-note snare pattern, a two-note cymbal tap, with a humble bass-line serving as the rudder; Gilmore’s improvised keyboard runs move with an intuitive, conversational glee. The pensive "Shade" sounds like it could be a Penguin Cafe Orchestra demo. Closing track “D. Hareem” runs on a wobbly time signature but with an insistent, determined rhythm that belies genre descriptives. “I prefer to not know what I’m making as I compose,” Gilmore says. “It’s when I can’t clearly define what the music is that it’s then something that I want to put out into the world.”

In hindsight, Volume 01 was a portent. After its 2016 cassette release, Gilmore connected with International Feel, the Balearic imprint run by Marc Barrot, to release the sublime Subtle Vertigo. In 2019, Gilmore’s music caught the attention of Marc Hollander, the experimental composer and founding member of Aksak Maboul, which led to a signing with the Belgian label Crammed Discs. That deal enabled the creation of Gilmore’s solo album Two Roomed Motel and Doctor Fluorescent, a retro-futuristic, Vocoder-heavy 2020 collaboration with Eddie Ruscha V, a.k.a. Secret Circuit). Across these projects, Gilmore’s work has been mentioned in the same sentences as Stereolab, Arthur Russell, Woo, Air, R. Stevie Moore, and others, all of whom have combined synths and non-synths to memorable effect.

With the upcoming vinyl release, Volume 01 will set into wax an enduring set of works, offering listeners the chance to experience analog artistry in its most authentic, tangible form. In Sheep’s Clothing Records is honored to bring Gilmore’s work to vinyl.

NO OBI VERSION

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; Mfm053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history. The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan. Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres. Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs. The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world. This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment. Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

We are proud to announce that electronic music veterans Nick Höppner and Alex Kassian will launch their collaborative project H.A.N.K. on Second Circle, debuting with an album entitled 'The Big Melt'.

Born out of the unprecedented circumstances of the global pandemic, 'The Big Melt' represents a departure from the duo's typical club-oriented productions, instead exploring their shared passion for Krautrock, ambient, and guitar-driven music. The album showcases a more introspective and experimental side of both artists, blending elements of Fourth World, New Age, and leftfield electronic music.

Höppner and Kassian's creative partnership began in 2018 when Höppner released music from Kassian's project Opal Sunn on his label, Touch From A Distance. Their friendship quickly evolved into musical collaboration, initially focusing on dance music. However, as the pandemic unfolded, their studio sessions took an organic, freeform approach, embracing spontaneity and intuition.

'The Big Melt' features contributions from a diverse array of guest musicians, adding depth and texture to the album with instruments including guitar, clarinet, and the tar, an ancient Persian string instrument. Höppner's newly acquired drumming skills, developed during lockdown, also play a significant role in shaping the album's sound.

The creation of 'The Big Melt' spans several years, with initial jam sessions evolving into carefully crafted compositions through remote collaboration. This extended gestation period has allowed the music to mature, resulting in what Höppner describes as his proudest release to date.

'The Big Melt' stands as a testament to artistic resilience and creativity in the face of global challenges, offering listeners a rich, immersive journey into new sonic territories crafted by two of electronic music's most respected talents.

Sc021 will be released on LP as well as digitally on November 8th 2024. Sleeve art and design by Michael Willis.

In 2018, Sean Worsey, a successful lawyer in California, began to receive some rather surprising emails. These were not from prospective clients, or about current cases he was working on, but rather queries from record collectors. They wanted more details about a pair of obscure, largely forgotten records he’d made in the mid 1980s as part of a virtually unknown band called Passion Theatre.

To say he was surprised is an understatement. “People from around the world were emailing, calling and messaging us about the music, particularly a track called ‘Vacation Day’,” he says. “Our records were rare and gaining in value, mainly because there were not many manufactured at the time. By 2019, several individuals in the music industry had emailed me about licensing tracks.”

We eventually agreed with Sean to include ‘Vacation Day’, on Charles Bals’ second compilation, Retour Au Club Meduse. Impressed with the quality of the compilation Sean approached us again to discuss whether we would be interested in reissuing both of his old EP’s in full, an idea he’d been considering for a few months already.

We jumped at the idea of course and have spent the last few months putting the reissue project together. The original studio tapes were long gone but a friend of Sean’s had some mint vinyl copies which we had shipped over from California to use as the master source, restored and mastered superbly by Technology Works in London. The striking original artwork from the two EP’s has been faithfully reworked into a gatefold double vinyl LP by designer Asger Behncke Jacobsen and features extensive interview/sleeve notes by Matt Anniss.

In the words of Sean Worsey - “One of the nicest things about the renewed interest in our music is that we can now enjoy it for what it is – back then we were a bit too worried about succeeding.”

First release in 5years by Snaker, and the catalog counts 10th. The first full length album by Odopt, the duo being releasing their signature hypnotic, freaky feeling sound from labels like [Emotional] Especial、Hivern Discs、Born Free and so on. And they prepared a “contemporary library sound” for Snaker. Not quite for dance floor or not exactly for home listening, but definitely a unique cinematic sound scape is compiled for a new special experience. Artwork by Masato Mori.

Back in 2016, Lars Bartkuhn was on a quest to expand his musical horizons. Inspired by the idea of the desert as a transformative place – an alien environment whose combination of vastness and beauty challenges those lost within it to first find themselves before they can find a way out – he loaded up his sampler with sub-Saharan samples and set about making two 12” singles, ‘Nomad’ and ‘Massai’, which subsequently appeared on Utopia Records.

Following completion of work on his 2023 album Dystopia, a conceptual ambient meditation built around electronic and acoustic improvisations, the German musician and producer decided to return to the core ideas that inspired those two 12” singles. Once again, he wanted to challenge himself, explore the more exotic side of his musical influences, and discover a course through the musical desert to ultimately become a better musician, producer, and composer.

The result is Nomad, an album that not only brings together two sides of his work – the immersive ambient explorations at the heart of Dystopia, and the club-focused rhythms that marked out his early career deep house explorations – but also draws on a familiar palette of influences, from Latin jazz-fusion and the deep jazz brilliance of ECM Records releases, to the ‘fourth world’ works of Jon Hassell and the African music that had initially inspired the ‘Nomad’ and ‘Massai’ singles.

Searching from the start for a more ‘analogue’ sound – hand percussion, kalimba, piano, voice, bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, alongside the modular synth sounds that were such a part of Dystopia – Bartkuhn combined improvisational and traditional composition techniques, painstaking editing, tweaking and reworking tracks over an extended period.

Added to impeccable sound design – even the more dancefloor-focussed excursions are optimised for headphone listening – the results are startling, even by Bartkuhn’s impressively high standards.

There are, of course, radically reworked versions of previous singles – a sun-kissed, Brazilian jazz-fusion informed re-invention of ‘Transcend’ (where Bartkuhn offers nods to another musical hero, Pat Metheny), an expansive, solo-laden take on ‘Nomad’ and a ambient inspired re-recording of ‘Massai’ – plus the kaleidoscopic brilliance of 2021’s ‘Every Morning I Meditate’, but far more never-before-heard highlights.

There’s the 6/8 time, Latin-tinged sunshine of ‘Back To My Innerself’, a track built on organic performances that were improvised straight into the sequencer; the meandering, densely layered sound world that is ‘Flame’ (a tribute to ECM recordings of the 1970s); the lightly techno-influenced fourth world futurism of ‘Ghibliman’; the organic deep house bliss of ‘African Skies’, where Bartkuhn’s vocalisations come to the fore; and the slow-motion ambient house of ‘First Kalimba’.

Nomad, then, is an album that effortlessly showcases Bartkuhn’s unique musical personality and ability to craft warm, colourful sound worlds – some rhythmic, others not so much – while neatly sidestepping categorization. It could well be his strongest and most personal musical statement yet.

Utter presents 'The Ritual EP' by Frank Rodas.

Frank Rodas is the elusive creator of 2019's 'The Sellout EP' (Optimo Music) and one of the brains behind the excellent 'Out The Flat' label. While his previous release deftly dipped into Electro, Industrial and EBM sonics, 'The Ritual EP' sees the versatile producer travel in another direction, taking the listener on an ethereal, acid-tinged Tribal voyage.

The visuals also complement the EP's cohesive deeper sound. Decadence comics co-founder Lando's immersive artwork draws us further into this imagined far-future world, with a vast flooded landscape dominating the front cover, any remnant of civilisation succumbing to nature. A large 50x70cm panoramic poster is included with every copy of the record.

'The Ritual EP' is available on recycled vinyl and digital formats.

Mastered & cut by Anne Taegert at D&M.

The 21 track selection curated by Trujillo, a Venezuelan producer, DJ and record collector based in Berlin, explores the forgotten corners of the 1980s and early 90s Spanish music scene. Veering through early bleep and hip house, electro, boogie, Iberian pop and much more, it has broad appeal to both Balearic heads and diggers alike. Serendipitously, the cover art for the compilation is an original work by Yves Uro, a figurehead of Ibiza’s party scene from the 70s and 80s and whose visionary poster artwork became representative of the white isle. While some of the artists or producers on the compilation went on to have notable careers, many of the tracks selected here represent “one-offs” for the artists, and on occasion the labels as well. These sometimes self-released, privatelypressed productions, on short-lived imprints with names like Cantos and Prismatic, document the nascent clubland communities - from the capital, to major cities to the north, and east, and also smaller locales, coastal towns such as Marbella, Gijón, and Cádiz. Ritmo Fantasía is the result of over a decade’s worth of record collecting by DJ Trujillo, searching out bespoke stores, markets, and dealers. For the first time ever, it brings to light and groups together some hidden gems from an era that without it, would likely remain hidden from view.

The idea of the project was to reconstruct a different perspective of Tribal Italia, an imprint set in 1995 in Riccione. The label recollected the attitude of the Afro/Cosmic djs of the region like Meo, Fary, Fattori and Brahms that created a distinctive "world-sound trademark" in whole Italy and Europe (as seen lately in the Austrian experiments of Stefan Egger). There was a side of the label that was clearly influenced by the "heavy-sample" culture of Hip-Hop and, especially, by what was going on in the UK where groups like Transglobal Underground and Loop Guru were creating a new identitarian imagination. These influences gave birth to a suggestive selection of the best breaks of the Tribal Italia catalogue.

A bit more than half a decade on from his widely acclaimed debut Vanishing Points from 2018, Swiss guitarist, composer, and improv musician Manuel Troller releases his new record Halcyon Future. A rhythmically dense and ambiguous, yet joyful ride for unstable times, a plea for warmth and hopeful resistance.

Troller’s mode of incorporating, zooming in, and expanding on small elements from improvised sessions creates a multilayered work of driving rhythms and abstract, vibrating textures. Opening with Halcyon Future I’s distinctive open pulse, this first piece guides us through subtle harmonic shifts that are almost unrecognizable as they take place over extended time, overlapping and creating a sense of ambiguity until the piece reaches an almost optimistic level with Mario Hänni’s unexpected introduction of driving acoustic drums. Relentlessly and with increasing excitement, heavy electronic 80s bass drums and an armada of layered hi-hats push them on, leading to the all-incorporating melodic finale.

The two long pieces Halcyon Future I and Halcyon Future II focus on forward momentum. In between them stands DNA, a purposely directionless contemplation on emotion as such. It is raw, naked, and confrontational, with a tender and subtly changing chord progression creating intimacy and proximity, abstraction and warmth, like a beautifully vibrant hologram for the listener to walk around in.

The B-side with its 20-minute Halcyon Future II features playful futuristic guitars, enhancing and challenging the stereo image that Troller is already well-known for. As it’s given time to develop and take root, the ever-varying guitar interactions densify and the staccato patterns jump out of the speakers with joy, creating excitement and building momentum. Compared to Side A, things turn to a slightly more complex rhythmical, melodic, and harmonic feel here. There are easy references, such as Manuel Göttsching’s E2-e4 or Pat Metheny performing Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, but Troller goes a different and very much more concrete way. Although the piece has been recorded in various places and through a long process of overdubbing, there is an astonishingly strong live feel to it, from beginning to the end, from the slow rise to the full spectrum and the almost krautrock-like finale. Improvisers Hans Koch on soprano saxophone and Michael Flury on heavily fuzzed trombone join in, while Troller and Mario Hänni on many guitars, bass, drum machines, and acoustic drums provide a joyous driving entity, not giving up until it all breaks down again. There is overkill and brute force, though never without depth and a vision of future.

In the musical scope of Halcyon Future, there is no need for an absolute definition of things. A continuously changing interpretation of repetitive and variable elements fading in and out of focus tells a story of an excited sense of acceptance. Feelings of transcendence stem from Troller’s layering of constantly shifting rhythmic structures with unforeseen improvised harmonic changes. Drum machine parts overlayed with acoustic drums shift between musical modes, anchoring the album on the verge of a jazz-influenced, motorik, post-ECM balearic plateau. Abstract textural elements gently swirl around and behind all that is rhythm, providing a submissive counterpoint. As with much of Troller’s work, Halcyon Future is an album that unfolds slowly, revealing more of its richness, detail, and subtle beauty at each listen.

Halcyon Future is a joint release by three:four records and meakusma.

Limited edition double vinyl release of Jezebell’s debut new-Balearic epic, which stylishly weaves the history of eclectic club classics through 16 tracks of downtempo, dub, and acid chug.

The Cosmic Disco Machine series volume three is finally out. This release compared to previous volumes is even more electronic and sinth pop and confirms its "alternativity", with masterpieces by Klaus Schulze , Asmus Tietchens ,Conrad Schnitzler, Klaus Kruger , Axxess and many more. The careful and never banal selection of rare lost and professionally remastered gems will certainly not disappoint you. Exclusive red vinyl printed in very limited edition. So don’t miss the third chapter and be ready for the coming fourth

Open Space is proud to present our first ever full-length LP by LA’s newest 3-man band, Puli. Some words from our dear friend Matt McDermott below: In recent years, a cadre of musicians from the east side of Los Angeles have reestablished the city of angels as the first city of Balearica. Alex Ho’s “Move Through It” followed in the lumbering footsteps of Project Sandro’s “Blazer.” Now, there’s a new landmark for the floating west coast sound. Swirling, the first album from LA supergroup Puli. If you’ve got your ear to the ground you know the names involved here. Drummer and producer Damon Palermo’s pedigree stretches back a good 15 years or so, starting off with dub punks Mi Ami. Phil Cho is one of the busiest DJs, musicians and advocates for the deep stuff in LA, throwing legendary hillside parties under the Third Place banner. John Jones, the preternaturally talented guitarist and electronic tinkerer, records as AV Moves, is a key member of the Suzanne Kraft and Baba Stiltz live configurations and plays in The Trilogy Tapes-affiliated act Geo Rip. But this listing of personnel and credentials puts too fine a point on it. Puli are three close friends who go to parties, DJ and get tacos together, repairing to their Chinatown studio a few times a week and coming out with remarkably textured, idiosyncratic downtempo jams. Building off the solid foundation of their 7-inch of heavyweight dubs for Melbourne’s Constant Delay, Swirling is an exploration of new horizons in chill out. “Ramona” acts a statement of purpose—with halftime/double-time dub-tinged rhythms, hazy yet bright synth motifs and atmospheric guitar from Jones, not terribly far from the expansive approach of Japanese dub aesthetes Pecker. “Cloudy,” meanwhile, is a sort of deconstructed and bittersweet Balearic pop featuring Cho’s ethereal vocals. “Bongo Springs” is steppers’ house not far from close LA peer Benedek or the Mood Hut crew up north. But what truly sets this record apart is the space and layers in the production—while it’s nominally an electronic record, Puli is a band that has slowly crafted these songs in the rehearsal space. “Havana Jam” cruises along a sliding roundwound bass guitar take with dubby chords and textural guitars. Palermo’s hand drums and live percussion enmesh perfectly with icy pads on “Leech Seed Dub.” Cho is back on the mic for the gorgeous closer, “C.S.B.”, underpinned by breakbeat and trunk-rattling sub bass. Puli doesn’t sound like anyone else, and is ultimately reflective of the city itself. Listening to Swirling feels like navigating a warren of side streets in the eternal sunshine. Take the drive and dive.

Secrets Of Sound sold out their first release in quick fashion and now they return with a second instalment in the Exotic Origins series, designed to take you a million light years away from your current reality and deep into the far depths of space with eight superbly cosmic explorations of ambient and downtempo magic. Italians Do It Better man Johnny Jewel kicks off with some sultry sax-laced sounds, David Lynch's musical partner Dean Hurley crushes on shimmering pads and Pye Corner Audio bring a little intergalactic tension. Elsewhere there are sugary synths from Legowelt, suspensory pads from TM Solver and plenty more to help you escape to another dimension. Add to that the fact it arrives on a random variety of different vinyl colours and comes with a download code, and you've got rather a nice package.

For their 35th release Left Ear returns to the archives of Spanish Musician Jesús Mª Catalán and his project Respuesta Alternativa, or the Alternative Response. Unlike his previous release, the tracks from this compilation were not released at the time and the tapes only found recently, which had been lying dormant in a shoebox since their creation from the period 1987-1990. When not on the road working as a sound technician,

Jesús continued to craft atmospheric tracks in the quiet of his bedroom and later finished productions with the assistance of long-time collaborator Julián C. Pérez. Together, they captured simple themes, with the sound evolving over time. Transitioning from guitars, they incorporated vocal samples to weave enduring musical tapestries. Given Jesus’ geographic location (Spain) and the atmospheric down-tempo nature of the music, we wondered if the ‘balearic’ sounds had played a part in his productions. Jesus explains that “the distinction in the Balearic and Asturias Islands is marked by the different character of its people and the incidence of the weather, where the sea influences the Mediterranean Sea of the Balearic Islands is a calm sea. The Cantabrico de Asturias Sea is stormier”.

As a proud Asturian, Jesús was influenced by and payed homage to his surroundings, with lush breezy passages echoing calm ocean days and others reflecting sudden turns in conditions, weaving a stormier, more confronting layer into his already distinct sounds.

Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico is the collaborative project between italo-swiss DJ, producer and singer Pascal Viscardi, Yavor Lilov and Alain Sandri, respectively drummer and percussionist of the swiss cult band L’Éclair. The three musicians joined forces in Geneva and worked in the studio for the past two years with Viscardi as the main vocalist, Lilov producing the tracks and playing drums, bass and keys, and Sandri on guitar, percussions, and backing vocals. The result is a unique and contemporary version of italian pop, peppered with new-wave, boogie, disco and world music references.

After the release of the first two singles, Sale Sole & Jamba Club in June 2023, Cosmic Romance is proud to present their first full-length effort: Elka Mare.

Like a mystical portal that opens on a digital journey through sunny Boogie and Mellow Reggae, Art Pop and Ambient New Age, the eight songs that make up the album draw on a vocabulary composed of fragmentary images, unusual verses and original assonances, where maritime themes mix with the gray of the city and the Neapolitan dialect sparsely appears; witness to a paternal emigration. The journey sounds like dreaming of Campania beaches in the midst of Geneva traffic, or fantasizing about speeding motorboats and Balearic bonfires while listening to Enzo Carella on the sixth floor of a council building. And then dance until the sun rises on the last slow song of the night.

Y’know returns to Spiritual World on October 4th with Why Now, an 8 track 12” that is so stacked with groove that you can physically feel the claps when you run your hand over the record.

Why Now lifts the fog established on the duo’s digital 2023 two-song debut, pushing their signature beat forward minimalism into digital dancefloor soundscapes. Following in the tradition of dub records, Why Now features four vocal cuts on the a-side backed with four reimagined and stripped back dub versions on the b side.

Lyrically, Bally takes on the narrative of a detective in search of the perfect groove, even if it ultimately leads to their own fictional demise. Y’know is clearly in pursuit of the perfect vibe, and while doing so exceeds the imagination of most traditional guitar-based bands with a mesmerizing mix of dub, post-punk and synth pop.

Mori Ra with the fastest diggers trigger in all the land completes a set of dancefloor ready edits of Japanese electronic & city-pop songs culled from his well-known Japanese Breeze mix series that he does with the Rotating Souls record label. Some of the tunes are familiar and some rare and unknown but Mori puts his own touch that can only come from years of experience and an extreme relationship to the originals. This record is a joint release between both Rotating Souls & Forest Jams.

Melting Steine are multi-instrumentalists and producers Martin Schenker and Luzius Schuler as well as keyboard player and bassist Dshamilja Kalt. Their nostalgic, warm instrumental music combines elements of jazz, bossa and psychedelic synthesizer music and sounds like the soundtrack to your dream island in the Mediterranean Sea. Their incomparable sound is created in a garage in the middle of Switzerland, where they record their compositions on an old Tascam tape machine with guitar, drum machines, flute and analog synthesizer. Lots of chorus, tape delay, vibrato, spring reverb and the warmth of analog recording technology give the music a psychedelic touch and you can hear the musical influences of the 60s and 70s. This is carefully crafted mood music that is sophisticated but has catchy melodies and unique sounds that have earworm potential.

The mighty Becker & Mukai return with a tidal wave of sonic highways with new album Spirit Only, this time travelling outside of their East London studio bunker to Japanese mountains, with pit stops in Mali and Trinidad & Tobago.

Experimenting between balearic, indie dance, psychedelic, folk and electronica, Spirit Only is a complete body of work, confident and unashamed.

Banabila returns with a second LP release on Knekelhuis. The renowned Dutch producer is up there among the stars when it comes to ambient music and the so-called ‘fourth world’ legacy. On this eleven-track album, we witness soul-wrenching, kraut-tinted, and early-yet-modernist electronics.

Coming from his heart, these imaginative recordings center around otherworldly voices – fictional characters chanting in a made-up language, imbued with a captivating spirit, transcending linguistic barriers. Through remarkable complexity and technique, 'Unspeakable Visions' is full of sonic textures, together evoking a layered, emotional arc.

While the track 'Rattles' still references the artist's first album on Knekelhuis, 'Echo Transformations', the style of most other tracks departs towards an intriguing new mix of both pop-infused songs and gloomy abstraction, balancing between a sense of anticipation and desolation.

12" compilation with new tracks by Eoism, Voertuig, Colkin and a lost gem by Peter Seiler featuring Sheryl Hackett. Picture sleeve with a bold artwork based on a sculpture by Hede Bühl. Limited to 500 copies.

Label text:

"Colkin (Raw Soul, Mauke Club) kicks off the a-side with a spheric acid house meditation. Next is a track by Peter Seiler which could be found on the extended reissue of his 'Flying Frames' debut LP on Innovative Communication in 1989. It features the soulful voice of Sheryl Hackett. An extraordinary groover that is meandering between song and jazz improvisation. Eoism (Pulse Drift, Undersound, Inch By Inch) complete the a-side with some low-swung electro flavors, driving you straight into sunset.

On the b-side Voertuig (Tonal Oceans, Cobra Club) hit us with a serious and raw acid jam - dark and dirty. On the following track they show us their experimental jazzy side and cool things down again. A track the 1990s downbeat era was missing. Eoism close the first volume of Futur with a floating, futuristic banger from their lab.

Benedikt Meger's aspiration for funkscapes was always to feature funk grooves, old and new, fresh and relevant for today. Whether some rare, not so rare or just under the radar recordings from the past or new productions from today's artists across different electronic genres. This idea now culminates into the selection for the compilation Futur.

Enjoy the ride."

Just a little over two years since the release of his debut album Opening the Door, Jack re-emgerges with a new full length album. On Blue Desert, the Australian-born Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer wades deeper into the stylistically prismatic pool of his own creation: melancholy dub-funk, jangling psychedelia, moon-burnt sophisti-pop and stained glass folk mutations float freely together.

Entirely self-produced at Mood Hut Studios in Chinatown, Vancouver between 2022 and 2024, the album picks up where Opening the Door left off; the songwriting concise and refined, the voice front and centre on almost every song, the pensive mood irresistible and dense.

The apparently effortless melodic interplay of voice, guitar, synthesizers and bass that Jack is well known for is ever present but despite the clear-eyed harmonies and energetic rhythms there is a shadow that quietly haunts the album. The lyrical buoyancy of his early EPs and even some of the more explicitly sunburnt instrumental moments of his last record have continued to fade and peel like paint. Regret, remorse and melancholy are woven into almost every turn of phrase; the self-deprecating longing of Tracey Thorn and Sade Adu can be heard alongside the plaintive echos of Mark Hollis and Arthur Russell. The Mood Hut Records founder and NTS host digs deeper in all the directions that he only brushed upon on Opening the Door, creating a kaleidoscopic index of his omnivorous listening habits: from Underworld to Kate Bush, Disco Inferno to Bryan Ferry, Julian Cope to Arthur Verocai.

The LP will be released on Jack’s own Mood Hut Records on November 1st and will be followed by a live tour in the UK and Europe in November and December, featuring a string of dates opening for revered Los Angeles artist Jessica Pratt. - Mood Hut Records, Vancouver

Produced by Jack Jutson at Mood Hut Studios, Chinatown Vancouver Mixed by Jack Jutson and CZ Wang Saxophone by Linda Fox Strings on Falling Down a Well by Aiden Ayers Bass on Down the Line by Diego Herrera Additional synth on Red Cloud by Liam Butler Artwork by Mela Melania + Jack Jutson

80g Limited Edition (2×12″lp)

“Sueño Mediterráneo” meets our primary goals of then and now: expanding our sonic horizon and telling a story in music that focuses on the human being, the soul, and the essential things to appreciate in life. “Sueño Mediterráneo” is a two-hand effort by the Italian DJ and producer Luca Averna (elsewhere also known as Jay Green) and the UK House veteran DJ and producer Chris Coco.

Luca moved to Ibiza permanently a few years back, firmly wanting to live the isle differently, appreciating the rustical life of the western hills with his beloved wife, dog, turntables, vinyl records, and drum machines. Chris is an Ibiza regular since the 90s, and during the last two decades, he has become one of the most respected figures within the island’s Balearic scene.

After meeting a couple of years ago, they decided right away to produce music together, giving birth to this “Sueño Mediterráneo” project, with the desire to pay tribute to the 90s Italo Dream House, celebrate a newborn friendship, and their shared love for the White Island.

All tracks written & produced in 2018 by Chris Mellor and Luca Averna, between Ibiza and London and using the following gear: Roland® TR 606,626,707,909; Yamaha RX5, Yamaha DX7, Korg M1.

Additional Credits: Guitar in ‘Mare’ By Micko Roche. Bass Guitar in “Walearic Dub” By Yusuke. Vocals in “Underwater” By Louis Van Johnson. Vocals in “Il Tempio Dell’Amore” By Luca Averna.

Mastered by Rune Lindbaek.

Graphic design by Dextro.org.

Buy Digital Album Streaming + Download Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, Flac and more.

Following a fallow 2023, a rejuvenated Growing Bin return to your turntable with this sublime collaborative LP from Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova. On their first foray into the physical, the duo expand the spectral ambience and medicated breaks of their earlier work with lithe touches of organic jazz and Cafe Del Mar cool, creating a complex assemblage of dreamy downbeat and emotive electronica that's entirely easy on the ears.

Opener "Pozhaluysta" seduces with smart syncopation and beguiling melody, its flute and fretwork finding ample space to slip around Natasha's voice, equal parts Cocteau operatics and jazz-club coquette, in an expression of a want beyond words. The mood shifting "Osvobodi Menia" sees the solemn, snaking sound of a sampled duduk drift into an optimism of airy pads and escapist mantra, suspended in reverb until the end of time. "Ya Tebia Zhdala" began life as a break-led experiment, gradually evolving into a romantic and naive sketch rich with splashes of piano and dynamic chorus pads. Naturalist hymn "O Dereve" weaves a dark and intimate tale from the point of view of a veteran tree as its buzzsaw guitar loops blossom into multilayered vocals full of emotion.

Awash with sonar sweeps, sumptuous pads and rolling subs, the titular "Imena Rek" channels post-rave bliss into the hypnagogic anthem the contemporary IDM-ographic have been searching for. Infectious hooks and spaced out pads ride the breakbeat rhythm for a dreamy experimental pop banger from another planet. The sombre sway of "Rany", filtered through the fog of a broken cassette recorder, trance djembe and unpredictable bass tones rivals the finest Motion Ward or In:dex releases for crepuscular charm, while "Smeshno" sees serrated drones sink into a slinking rhythm, playing counterpoint to the tender chords and yearning vocals.

"Iskra" closes out the chiasmus with a return to the organic experience of the opener, the flute and acoustic guitar augmented with nuanced hand percussion and a music box refrain. Listening to this album is like a midnight walk through an ancient forest - an experience which both scares and tempts you at the same time. From touching damp moss to feeling the thick fog with your body and watching mushrooms glow in the dark, 'Imena Rek' guides you through the terrain.

Flawlessly arranged and executed, this LP alludes to a long lineage of innovative downbeat, feels absolutely essential in the present and pushes the trip hop revivalists towards a fascinating future - Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova have created a timeless piece of music,
but what else do you expect from the Bin?

A1 Pozhaluysta B1 Imena Rek
A2 Osvobodi Menia B2 Rany
A3 Ya Tebia Zhdala B3 Smeshno
A4 O Dereve B4 Iskra

Music by Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova
Mastered by Sergey Luginin @ Luginin Studio in Moscow
Distributed by wordandsound from Hamburg
Sales notes by Patrick Ryder

After a string of ambient and experimental releases across labels such as Bedroom Suck, Best Effort, Ken Oath and Analogue Attic, Matthew Hayes - veteran bassist of Z*F*E*X, welcomes his latest project Xpress Point, designed to keep your hips moving rather than kicked back on your couch. Born out of jam sessions and collaborations with artists such as Dreamcastmoe, Jitwam, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Finn Rees and Allysha Joy and an obsession with reclaiming the nostalgic sound sounds of the Korg M1 and Yamaha DX7, Xpress Point, which takes Its name from a local surf break off the coast of Phillip Island, draws heavily from the boogie tradition with a nod to vapourware, downtempo, balearic and funk breaks.
Assembled in 2023 across Melbourne/Naarm, London and Berlin, from surf breaks to crusty drum breaks, Xpress Point is a vehicle for Hayes to search for the perfect bass line, explore funk minimalism, continue nurturing longtime musical relationships with close friends and offer his own take on music to make you move.

Dancing On Waves Working his mellow magic on the Growing Bin, Sorcerer entertains your inner child with eight tracks of instrumental west coast pop suitable for dancing, dreaming and surfing a wave or two. While Basso sat in a Teutonic treehouse, feeding his head with the sounds of the woodland, Dan Judd danced on the sands of San Francisco’s Baker Beach. Stretching between them, like the world’s longest tin can radio, was the Dream Chimney. This legendary forum, run by Ryan Bishop, better known as The Beat Broker, helped to launch a thousand labels, and the Growing Bin is one of them - all hail the Chim! Here, Dan, naturally mystic in his Sorcerer guise, satisfies all our sensory needs with a Kinder Surprise of sweet melodies, coastal cool and playful rhythms inspired by his children’s earliest responses to music. Following his feelings and avoiding overthinking, he creates open, enticing and accessible cuts; each living and breathing that mellow magic you only get on the West Coast.

Music From Memory are excited to introduce another new group for 2021, this time presenting the self-titled debut album from Loveshadow. Currently based in San Francisco, the duo of Anya and Izaak initially met whilst working in an Oakland cafe in 2016. The two Californians quickly bonded over a track by the ’80s disco band Aurra which was playing over the radio and almost immediately their separate journeys in music became interwoven. They soon began to write music and creating their own work would become a way for the pair to get closer to the sound they were searching for, as well as enabling them to discover the healing power of making and listening to music. ‘Loveshadow’ was recorded predominantly in the Bay Area between 2017-2020 as well as whilst traveling to NYC, Chicago and around Portland. Having released previously as the outfit ‘S Transporter’ alongside Detroit friend Ryan Spencer, Loveshadow is formed of Anya as singer and song writer alongside Izaak on synthesizers, bass and percussion. This eight track album is the duo’s first release; exploring emotive Pop and DIY Funk leanings it stands as a joyful homage to the music they bond over, as well as an ode to their own love and friendship.

An electronic homage to celebrated B-Movies and Cult films. Limited Edition of 100, includes download card

Welcome to Nicolini’s wonderful world of surprise - Penni’s Palace. Here you will find zebra-chairs and matchbox countachs, colourful tv-screens and Penni the cat presiding over proceedings. You will also find Nicolini, hunched over his MPC or Casio keyboards, sweeping the EQs to make the sounds move, jamming out his songs in heavy microdoses. They are the sounds of machines and the city - Amsterdam centre to be precise - brought to life with volts of electricity.

These songs started out as a live show on the terrace of Garage Noord nightclub, and over the following months Nicolini tweaked and re-recorded them into the collection of tracks you have before you. Bristling with energy, these live jams have a loose, almost mystical feeling - you never know quite what’s around the corner. Sounds jump out of the speakers at you, from car engines to reverb crashes. Opposites face off against each other - the mechanical meets the organic, and the cold emptiness of the city contrasts with the warm timbres of tropical climes.

Nicolini is quite used to combining disparate elements, particularly as a member of the re-configured Zamrock band Witch. As pioneers of some of the heaviest space fuzz back in the ‘70s, Witch combined garage-psych guitars with Zambian dialects and culture to create a wildly unique sound. Nicolini joined the band during their resurgence over the last few years, as they toured far-flung corners of the world. It’s an experience that undoubtedly helped Nicolini hone one skill set in particular - combining unexpected sounds together in unusual ways - and it’s on full display across these nine tracks.

Digging deep through old and new, Basso captures arcane woodland fusion, serene electronic suites and wide eyed Balearic bliss on this first Growing Bin compilation. This collection celebrates those precious records which land in your life on their own terms. Even the most advanced digger will admit that chance is the secret ingredient in any successful haul.

Ruutu Poiss with his second album “ii” after his 2021’s debut full length “Palav Aed“, a welcome return to Wake Dream. Recorded in a concentrated period of time during the dark winter days of late 2022 and early 2023, “ii” now finds it’s way to the public’s ears in the brighter days of the year.

An album as conceptual as it is emotional, with feelings of transformation and dreaming, hope and arrival, and an aesthetic that is both cinematic and hypnagogic, nostalgic and futuristic, it turns contradictions into harmonies, brings together the dark and the light, spinning and whirling freely around a steady core.

Recorded mainly with one synth and a collection of old drumcomputers, Ruutu Poiss once again shows his futuristic sonic virtuosity within the boundaries of a compact studio setup.

12th Isle revisit the various artist compilation format first explored with 2019’s ‘Inkosi’ and assemble a veritable mixtape of sorts unfolding across six tracks aimed with the club in mind. Echo Party get things started with a dub heavy, studio alchemy excercise in discipline that appears in an extended mix to the original form on Murray Collier (Dip Friso) & Hannan Jones’s self-released Cd-r. Italian newcomer Guizzi features with a thunderous downtempo excursion with tight conga percussion in a DK/RAMZi vein that feels very at home on the label. Der Opium Queen pulls off a propulsive, video game OST style dancefloor hit that brings to mind that Les Aeroplanes project on Jamal Moss’s Mathematics label from way back when whilst on the Side B a freak-folk skit from Memotone sits next to heads-down motorik from Lo Kindre and a bleep-infused dub techno piece by Toronto via Bangladesh real one Raf Reza. More V/A's to come.

One of life's most difficult arts is learning to let go. You can try to cling to control in the face of a turbulent world, but the only constant we can count on is change—the tendrils of cleansing fire wiping away the old, new life springing forth from the dust and ash. So what's the point? Give yourself over to the depths. Surrender to the flow. G.S. Schray's new solo album The Changing Account is an appropriate soundtrack for learning to cope with a world we can't count on. Each piece is full of elliptical melodies that swirl with the unstable logic of dreams. Flurries of piano, guitar lines, and other more alien instrumentation shimmer delicately, but before they coalesce into familiar shapes or rhythms they change, then change, then change again. Listening is a bit like falling asleep on a long road—with each passing song you're waking up somewhere new, trying to get your bearings in another strange world. How did I get here? Where are we going? It doesn't matter. Close your eyes, drift away again.

Following on from Los Rayos Del Sol (2021) & the follow up Los Rayos In Dub (2022) NuNorthern Soul presents ‘Moonbeams’ by Ibiza based producer, per-cussionist and sunset selector, George Solar.

Inspired by nocturnal moods and illuminated by the moon in all its phases, this collection follows the vibrations of 'Los Rayos Del Sol.' It's a journey into night-time peace and harmony, embracing the moonlit atmosphere.

Back yard - Back yard is the first single from the new Teen Daze album, Elegant rhythms, and features singer-songwriter Andy Shauf on drums, and LA jazz staple, Sam Wilkes, on bass. This is a stark change in sound for Teen Daze, who’s last album Interior was an exploration of neon-lit House music. Back yard is a mellow groover, conjuring up images of Laurel Canyon in the 70s, yet still with its flourishes of contemporary sounds.

We’re out of phase again - We’re out of phase again is another vulnerable glimpse into the inner world of Teen Daze, and marks the release of his most personal album to date, Elegant rhythms. In contrast to the synthesized, digital world of his prior album, Interior, here we’ve been brought into a lush, organic arrangement, brought to you in large part to the stunning bass playing by Sam Wilkes. While the verses pulse forward, the chorus slows things down, and evokes the sophisti-pop sounds of The Blue Nile. This track is a stunning showcase of the world of Elegant rhythms.

Nothing’s gonna change my love - Teen Daze returns with his second single of the year, Nothing’s gonna change my love. The stark change in sound, as heard on previous single Back yard, is on display here again: a smouldering, 2 and a half minutes of slow jazz-pop, indebted to the great Sade, or perhaps the feeling of leaving downtown LA at 2 AM. Lyrically, we hear a story of a love, challenged by the unpredictable nature of our lives. This may be Teen Daze’s smoothest song to date.

Neighbourhood - Neighbourhood is the third single from the recently announced LP from Teen Daze, Elegant Rhythms. Along with Andy Shauf on the drums, and Sam Wilkes on the bass, Teen Daze gives us a languid tour of his quiet neighbourhood. The sun has set on the pleasant, tree-lined streets, and a stranger, more surreal environment presents itself. The song plods forward at an extremely comfortable pace, held down by the paradoxically loose-yet-tight rhythm section. Lyrically, we walk around the Neighbourhood at night, and while the chorus reveals a type of sobriety, the vibe of the song makes it easy to feel a little…effected.

Fade away - Fade away sets the tone for Elegant Rhythm’s side B: a deeply personal, though somewhat veiled, confession of loss. How does it feel to grieve something that was never really here? A smouldering, slowly progressing first half erupts in synthetic noise, and then fades into the ether with it’s repeating refrain, “I can feel you / feel you fade away / when there’s nothing / nothing left to say”.

Fall ahead - A sweet piano tune which serves as a quiet break in the record, intended to help the listener reflect and take a moment of pause before we reach the final two songs on the album.

HST underwater - The penultimate track on the record tells a story where the narrator finds themself in an alien, yet oddly familiar place. Arpeggios soaked in crystal blue water flow through the stereo field, while the narrator, vocoded and drenched in autotune, searches for meaning and purpose in a confusing world. This is one of Teen Daze’s most cinematic, emotional songs yet.

In the rain - It’s never really made explicitly clear on this record, but a lot of these songs find Teen Daze wrestling with life as a new father, and this song, the final on the album, expresses the fears of generational trauma. A touching, tender ode to his children, we hear Teen Daze at his most personal and vulnerable. The falling rain surrounds some absolutely breathtaking bass playing from Sam Wilkes, and Teen Daze’s signature ambient keyboard sounds.

MAT is proud to announce the forthcoming release of ‘The Side I Never See’, by Hugh Small & Brian Allen Simon. Hugh forms half of Scottish post-punk duo Vazz, whose work was the subject of a recent retrospective by Belgian label Stroom. Brian is known best for his solo project Anenon, under which name he has released four full length albums and multiple remixes for artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto. An improvised recording of Brian playing over the Vazz piece ‘Kazimierz’ catalysed this long-distance collaboration; 2000 feet up a mountain in Andalucia, Hugh heard the recording on a broadcast of Brian’s dublab LA radio show. Immediately taken in by Brian’s playing, the pair soon established contact and began discussing the possibility of working to create something new together. The rest, as they say, is history: the results are fully realised in ‘The Side I Never See’, a shimmering suite of ten compositions for piano, soprano saxophone, synthesizer and guitar. In Hughs words… ‘so, what is it? It’s Ambient-Punk, Abstract-Jazz, Disaffected-Classical, it’s whatever the fuck you want it to be!’ :-) ‘The Side I Never See’ will be released on Melody As Truth in early August 2021, as always on vinyl and digital. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu, Artwork by Michael Willis.

I Love It When A Band Comes Together…The one thing that has kept most artists sane during the pandemic is writing and creating. In an attempt to apply this logic Red Ant Records maestro Pete Bones decided to recruit the talents of a bunch of cool cats he had met whilst traveling the globe and put a band together. Having often wondered after 30 odd years as a DJ/Producer how the band would sound had he not been swept up by Acid House in the late 80s, six months later, plenty of file bouncing and numerous edits, and The Stones Of Convention are ready to wreak havoc; with Jeff Ward on electric guitar, Jeff Richey on saxophone, Pierre Davis on drums, Scott Anderson on slide guitar, Duncan Gray on bass and electric guitar, Sean Q6 on acoustic guitar, and featuring the effervescent vocals of Laura Clarke. Hailing from Galway, Orlando, Pittsburg, St Petersburg, Slough, San Francisco and Glastonbury respectively, band practice might be problematic. The album features 7 original tracks, 2 full vocal cuts, and a cover of the Talking Heads classic Pull Up The Roots

The Kempe Stone Portal is the long awaited debut album from long time musical adventurer The Vendetta Suite. It arrives on Hell Yeah Recordings on June 18th, and spans over 20 years of diverse musical experiments. In the words of label boss Marco, 'it's a nice ride.' Gary Irwin started dancing in 1990, when he was drawn to the dubbed out and psychedelic sounds of Andrew Weatherall and The Orb, at the same time falling for the forward looking house and techno played by David Holmes and Iain McCready at their regular nights at Belfast's Art College. After studying music technology and performing arts, Irwin gave Holmes a cassette of bedroom produced techno and it started a long and fruitful relationship that has continued to this day. In the intervening years, Irwin has been the in-house engineer at Holmes' Exploding Plastic Inevitable studio and label, has engineered and remixed with him, released on his labels and written music for his Holy Pictures album, all while picking up credits on labels like NovaMute, Sabrettes, 13Amp and many more. As time passed, Irwin explored non-dance sounds such as krautrock, library music, synth and 80s b-sides before more recently circling back to acid house, downtempo and Balearic. All of this and more informs this panoramic 12 track album, which is a testament to a life spent submerged in many different sound worlds. The Kempe Stone Portal opens on the ‘Neon Secrets’, which along with tracks like ‘Morning Star’ and ‘I Am The Ghost In My House’ betray Irwin’s love of wonky, shimmering experimental synth-pop musik. They are glistening tracks with heavenly harmonies that are truly life-affirming in their richness. Elsewhere, ‘Purple Haze, Yellow Sunrise’ is an homage to his early experiences of Balearic acid house music from the late eighties and early nineties with a not too subtle reference to the narcotics of the time. ‘Who Do You Love’ was Irwin’s first non-dance music production in 1998, a cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain's version of the Bo Diddly classic, with guitar feedback and distortion drawing you into a murky world of fuzzy sonics. 'Della Notte’ came 10 years after, with rumbling toms, bubbling synths and phased Rhodes making for a psyched-out post punk dub. Seasonal sleigh bells and obvious krautrock influences abound on ‘Christmas in Cologne’ while ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ is Air meets Phil Spector on a beach at sunset. ‘Warehouse Rock’ is a dubby acid track that follows on from where 2017 track ‘Shut Up Ya Dub!’ left off, but with a more experimental approach that found the artist limiting himself to a 303, drum machine, dub effects and samples. If King Tubby were to release on Acid Trax, this is how it would sound. Shorter tracks ‘Spring Blues’ and ‘The Adult Section’ were originally made for a modern library music side project and are brilliantly suspensory pieces of lush electronics, yawning chords and gentle rhythms that empty your mind of any tension. This is a storied album that traverses different musical worlds with style and skill. Some are old, some are new, but they add up to a long player that is both fascinating and timeless.

avigating vibrant influences of Latin-jazz, Tropicália and joyful grooves; multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer and producer Inês Loubet presents her utterly gorgeous debut album ‘Senga’. The album covers Inês’ experiences over the past five years, originating in Portugal, travelling through Brazil, before finding home in London.

Previously, Inês co-wrote and performed on Caravela’s album 'Orla' on None More Records, which was praised by the likes of Gilles Peterson and The Line of Best Fit. Her music has been played on Jazz FM, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 3, NTS and Soho Radio. A relentless live performer, she’s played alongside Brazilian legends Gilberto Gil & João Bosco, graced the stage of The Royal Albert Hall, Union Chapel, and O2 Shepherds Bush, around UK and international tours.

The album explores a range of profound themes including nature, travel, grief, unconditional love, separation, family dynamics, and the nuanced experience of womanhood in contemporary society. Dedications to the music, philosophy and revolutionary history of samba (‘Sambo Mesmo Sem’), everyday observations of joy (‘Guri’), and motivating generational change for the better (‘Sab Sabim’); glide across romantic harmonies and the Brazilian rhythms at the melodic heart of the album.

“I started writing whilst living in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, in February 2020”, says Inês. “I was shy and hadn't written fully composed tracks before then. During lockdown I received support from The Arts Council’s Dycp, started making demos, gained confidence and started playing them live”. In October 2022 Inês was presented with the Drake YoLanda award and went to Giant Wafer studio in Wales for three days, before recording the final vocals at her home studio and mixing and mastering in Porto, Portugal.

Inês is joined on the album by a band of close friends. Percussionist and long-time collaborator Jansen Santana from Salvador da Bahia brings the soul of the drums, the tambor. “I always have the Bahia drums present in my mind when I write a new composition. I studied Latin percussion at University and then lived in Salvador absorbing all that heritage and knowledge”. Playing four different stringed instruments on the album, Greg Sanders is a long-time friend and collaborator from London “I met him in a samba band in 2015 and he was the first person I ever showed my songs to and played with”. The band is completed by Ruta Sipola on flute, Jake Burgess on tenor sax, Peu Meurray who recorded a lot of the percussion and lead vocals, and bassist Julio de Castro from Sao Paulo. “I was blown away by his bass playing, his swing and creativity, his ton of experience and professionalism but also his voice - he's an amazing singer and I believe that adds a lot to the magic”.

Inês concludes, “Last year, I had a show in London and I asked everyone in the audience to write down what they felt when they listened to the music. These are some of the things they wrote: wholesome, refreshing, lifted, moving, joyful, happy, nostalgic, warmth, force, goosebumps, emotional, togetherness, transported, rooted”. ‘Senga’ captures all of these feelings and more in a memorable first impression from a highly talented musician.