Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Thievery Corporation veteran Eric Hilton is on a roll with his Montserrat House label, operating out of DC and adding new layers to his considerable legacy in downtempo sounds. As was teased by the 'Amor Astral' single from 2023, this new album finds Hilton working closely with long time Thievery collaborator, Argentinian singer Natalia Clavier. Her coolly soulful tone hovers over the buttery funk jams Hilton lays down, where the drums are tight and crisp and the basslines wrap themselves around the groove with snake-like grip, all the better to sink into when you need a little chill-out time from a certified master of the art.

Review: Lewis and Void take themselves out of their own stylistic realms on this Full-On album in order to explore new and unique collaborative worlds. They are both known for their work on Editions Mego and for pushing noise, abstract and ambient boundaries, seeking out their own voices in the extreme ends of the spectrum. They fire ideas back and forth at one another here in order to find a dialogue with their tools - guitars, synths, euro rack modular systems, voices, samples and outboard processing. It is brutal and playful in equal measure with wild new shapes, sounds and textures coming at you thick and fast.

Review: Acclaimed South African folk singer Vusi Mahlasela joined forces with singer songwriter Norman Zulu as well as the superb Swedish jazz and soul collective Jive Connection for this album back in 2002. It was thought to be a lost recording until it recently showed up and now gets fully revived by Strut. There are strong political links between these countries which no doubt adds weight to this musical link up. It is a great exchange of cultures from parables to laments on child abuse to tunes that fuse reggae, jazz and post-punk with township styles.

Review: Originally released in 2005, 'The Weight Is A Gift' is the sound of band becoming more comfortable in its own skin - already thirteen years into their career and having originally made their mark as makers of grunge-tinged angst, this was where frontman Matthew Caws' songwriting took on a notably reflective and mature aspect, rendering this band as less the stuff of tantrums and rage than more bittersweet and restrained work one might expect from the like of Paul Westerberg or Evan Dando, were they still making records worth listening to. An unshowy charm offensive from one of the US' most rewarding and understated bands.

Review: South African bubblegum soul queen Ntombi enjoys a timely spotlight session as Afrosynth look back over her short-lived career and pick some of the highlights from each album she blessed us with. Leading from the front with the cult classic "Tomorrow" we're treated to highlights such as the proto tropical house harmonies and layers of "I've Got A Friend", the shinier house-focused workout "In My Mind" and a disco dancehall shaker "Mina Ngilijaji". Tomorrow is a day that never comes... Don't sleep.

Review: Istanbul born, Berlin and Copenhagen based artist Nene H (real name Beste Aydin) had amassed a hardcore following for her slew of early releases. She then finally came good on all her promise with a debut album that blended bass, techno and plenty of her own cultural heritage. Ali arrived in 2021 but only now lands on wax via Incienso. It's an album that processes personal grief and mourning with melancholic melodies, moody grooves and introspective soundscapes that allow for deep thought processing. At times psyched out, at others manic, and always alluring, it's a real triumph.

Review: This double LP release of Marcello Michelotti's Italian New Wave live performances of the groups 1980 double single 'Information of Death' and 2008 album 'Oscillator' come 3 years after their last EP. Whilst 'Information of Death' utilises analogue synths and live drum recordings to create its metallic, cold soundscape, 'Oscillator' - a live performance from the 1979 Banana Moon Club - is almost entirely those alien synths, with interspersed vocal passages. These two legendary New Wave projects are bundled together for the first time, the first vinyl press of 'Oscillator' and the first press of 'Information of Death' in 7 years. The abrasive, experimental production on tracks like 'Neon 0832' and 'Neon 1102' are revolutionary to a modern ear. To say Michelotti et al were ahead of their time is an understatement.

Review: Legendary kraut and prog rock duo NEU! aka Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger make the 50th anniversary of their self titled debut album with a special reissue all formats. This limited edition picture disc format is one for the collectors for sure. The music still sounds fresh with its mix of heady ambient and lazy grooves, driving motor kicks and psyched out sounds all making for perfectly immersive listening. Weird and wonderful and unbelievably avant garde for 1972, it remains one of the most impressive debut albums of the era.

Review: New Orleans music legend Ivan Neville shows why with a first new album Touch My Soul in some two decades. This fresh solo outing on the Mascot label and The Funk Garage is tender and filled with joy from the man who has been known for ferocious funk in the past and gigs with the likes of Keith Richards. It has plenty of distinctive New Orleans sounds and is both a love letter to the Crescent City as well as being a big celebration of the artist's own spiritual and musical journey. "This project is very special to me," says Ivan, and he's not the only one who will think so.

Review: It's hard to miss the forward motion running through New Pagans' work. The Belfast group have this way of crafting sometimes jagged, sometimes rolling, but always direct and propellant riffs that cut a fine line between a kind of Neo-punk and classic indie rock. Their tracks can simultaneously sound DIY and soaring, big room but intimate, which is no mean feat at all.

Making A Circle of Our Own is a fantastic case in point - packed with energy and ideas, it hits hard. But movement runs through much more than instrumentation and arrangements. As an outfit, they're as concerned with starting conversations about some pretty big issues, for example equality and the perversion or distortion of history, alongside smaller, more personal themes. Relationships, self-identity, and belief. Quite the package, then.

Review: Who needs commercial success, anyway? At least not in the Big Apple during the early-1970s - long before Manhattan became a millionaire's enclave and most of Brooklyn out-priced normal people. The New York Dolls certainly didn't seem to mind that their rowdy and raucous take on rock 'n' roll, somewhere between The Who in full meltdown mode and Jimmy Hendrix and the seedlings of punk, didn't capture mainstream imaginations when they first started out.

Through countless lineup iterations things would slowly and slightly change, with the band's first two LPs considered two of the most sought after releases in cult guitar-dom (The New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon). Actress predates all that, taking its name from the outfit the Dolls grew out of, but the blueprint for critical recognition is clear already - part psychedelic, party sweat and blood and tears, part lager and fighting, all befitting one of modern history's most hedonistic eras.

Review: First released in 1997 as his sixth and final LP project, Colin Newman's Bastard came to the innovative "post-everything" label Swim a good while after the Wire member and electronic experimentalist had already made several splashes in the mitts of the infamous Cartel, the arch-distributor and de facto trade guild giving rise to labels like 4AD and Beggars. Keeping in close knit to such sonic romanticists helped propel Newman's sound into dreamier realms over the years, and this seven-tracker functions as the pinnacle of this tendency. First coming across as a more convincing analogue to contemporaries like Lush, Newman's sound here is less polished and thus more "authentic"-seeming, basking in militant breaks and techstep entrainments and which come blent with incredible pad and amped-up guitar washes. In the in-betweeny moments, we're also met with trip-hop delights resting on the lower-ends of the spectrum; the alien middle finger on the cover says it all, a veritable "fuck you" gestured by an early subject of dance music, a genre that Newman recalls was a misunderstood, much-maligned genre at the time.

Review: Malcom MacDonald Charlton is Nick The Nightfly, a DJ and producer who has been serving up nicely swinging jazz records with smooth crooning vocals since the 90s. This new one was recorded live at The Blue Note jazz club and is set full of covers of Sting's best material. 'Roxanne' is a soothing lullaby with gentle pianos and delicate flutes, 'Fields Of Gold' is as stirring as the original compete with warming applause from the audience and 'Every Breath You Take' is a big band highlight in the middle of the set that is all the better for the sound of the audience clapping along. This is a fun set with a tender heart.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record sleeve damaged, product in working order***


Broken Techno / Electronica label Theoretical Rhythms is taking it to the next level with their first vinyl release. Label boss Nickel Eye is honoured with the production duties and come up with a beautiful album which can be described as an audio Sci-Fi poem. Rich textures and pads are present in all tracks giving the album trippiness bringing the listener on a cosmic excursion. Steady broken beats keep the things on a dancier side and the listener can have a dance while watching the stars listening to the album.
Space Child is an album that would work equally well at home on an individual journey as well as on the dance floor where each party goer can take their personal trip.

Review: Broken Techno / Electronica label Theoretical Rhythms is taking it to the next level with their first vinyl release. Label boss Nickel Eye is honoured with the production duties and come up with a beautiful album which can be described as an audio Sci-Fi poem. Rich textures and pads are present in all tracks giving the album trippiness bringing the listener on a cosmic excursion. Steady broken beats keep the things on a dancier side and the listener can have a dance while watching the stars listening to the album.
Space Child is an album that would work equally well at home on an individual journey as well as on the dance floor where each party goer can take their personal trip.

Review: Spanish label Saft has a fantastic catalogue of richly musical deep house and now one of its legals adds this fantastic jazz-funk-house effort. It is a cosmic soup of Rhodes chords, gorgeous percussion and glowing melodies that are as warm as toast and beautiful by design. Each track feels live, with some funky numbers like 'Find A Way' next to more overtly jazzy ones and perfect broken beat such as 'Escape On A Sunny Day.' It is a talented group of musicians who have put this one together and it's a timeless affair from front to back,

Review: Nkono Teles was one of the standouts of the Doing It In Lagos compilation by Soundway, which proved a best seller. He is someone who worked on, arranged and or produced music for more than 100 other artists in Nigeria across the 80s, including playing keys with Tony Allen's band. Now he gets the spotlight firmly on himself with a retrospective mini-comp fun of his unique boogie and funky rhythms, cutting edge drum machine sounds and mix of synths and guitars. It's a collection fans of the likes of William Onyeabor and Steve Monite will love.

Review: In a stroke of ingenuity Noori found a neck of a guitar whilst rummaging through a Port Sudan scrapyard along the Red Sea Coast in the 90s. Using their welding talents they fixed it onto a traditional four stringed tambour, creating what may be the only tambo-guitar hybrid in the world. Beja Power! Is a love letter to the Beja culture, inherently political and almost erased by the former Sudanese leader. This historically rich niche of Afro-Jazz is both nostalgic and mystical. Elements of surf rock, electric blues and psychedelia can be heard in these instrumental tracks, a 6-track capsule of a powerful identity nearly lost to the sands of time. Noori & His Dorpa Band's style is authentic and evocative and is a joyful proclamation and demonstration of the magic that is Beja sound and aesthetic.

Review: Of Filipino descent, the expressive keyboardist, vocalist, and composer Flip Nuñez enjoyed a varied career in jazz. After backing Bev Kelly, Jon Hendricks, and others in the 1960s, Nuñez impacted in the Latin jazz-rock act Azteca. The marvellous My Own Time And Space, his only solo album, showcases his versatility; the Latin cadences of Willie Colon and former Santana bassist Tom Rutley, the keen jazz phrasings of guitarist Michael Howell, and drummer Vince Lateano, all make for a superb backing for Nuñez’s piano and synth flourishes, bolstered by his emotive voice. A lost classic, and one that sounds better with every spin, now reissued via Trading Places.

Review: During the early-to-mid 1990s, Nurmad Jusat released a string of now sought-after singles on Likemind that showcased an emotive, far-sighted take on techno that still sounds timeless all these years on. This fine collection features various recordings he made - but never released - as Nuron and Fuge back in 1993 and '94. As inspired by the techno sounds of his native UK as the far-sighted brilliance of purist Detroit techno and the dreamy soundscapes of Larry Heard, it's a genuinely brilliant collection of long-lost gems. Our picks include the subtly clonk-influenced opener 'The Coded Message', the skewed deep electro shuffle of 'Another Way', the sci-fi techno brilliance of 'Contrapoin (First Version)' and the out-there ambient soundscape that is 'Dialectic Confusion'.

Review: This broadcast was first aired on French TV having been recorded at the Bataclan club in Paris, on January 29, 1972. It got a first official release in 2004 having been bootlegged for many years before that from a recording taken from the sound board at the gig. Fans of The Velvet Underground will know that this was the first time the group members Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico had all been up on stage together.