Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Various Shades is right! Zagreb label Forbidden Dance bring together the talents of Patrice Scott, Aleqs Total, XDB and Gary Superfly for a fine gradient of hex-perimental dance music, fully exciting our many aural rods and cones. An earful of minimal moods are conveyed on Scott's 'Be Yourself', with its fidgeting stereo bass sound design especially impressing, while Aleqs Total's 'People Round Town' lets a seedier sonic underbelly of aspic acid spill out onto main street. 'Odican' by XDB is the most unsettling number, with a repetitive vocal hallucination resounding in and out of a tenebrous centre mix, while Superfly's 'Free Fall' marks a recovery from the A1's relative panic attack, through intravenous hi-hats and concordant chords.

Review: Sweet Harmony is back with a compilation bursting with colourful shapes, textures and fresh techno rhythms. Anatole Serre's 'Hyperdulia' is a fast-paced fusion of drums, breakbeats and subtle allure that is followed by Xiaolin's 'Breath of Water,' a more ethereal yet still-driving percussive trip. On the B-side, Feenicks' 'All Fairies Tell Tall Tales' delivers an uplifting blend of trance and new wave that has a dreamlike energy and the closer from Alfred Czital is a fast, progressive wonder.

Review: Fresh off the back of X-Ray Ted's debut album Moving On comes this instrumental/scratch tool version of 'Get Loose', one of the record's best-loved non single tracks. Prior to the full album's making and eventual completion, The Bristol-based DJ and producer had spent years honing his craft and refining his signature sound, which drew heavily on soul, funk, hip-hop and breaks; all of which were styles heavily indebted to the street battle breaks culture found in 90s New York and other major cities. 'Get Loose', the seventh track on the record, features British rappers Dr. Syntax and Elemental and is a fiery exploration of what it means to loosen oneself; the track features here in full original form, alongside its locked groove and acapella versions, the former of which samples an oldskool comedy set characteristic of the kinds of sources battle DJs would sift theirs from.

Review: Xmal Deutschland commemorate their influential 4AD years (1983-1984) with a brand new release, literally presenting us with Gift. The collection celebrates the band's profound impact on British audiences in the early 80s, marked by a unique and half-devised lyrical language, as well as a magnetic feminine mystique commandeered by the women in the group. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins accompanied the first two albums to come out via 4AD, which grabbed audiences by the collective ear with a painter's stroke of hard-graded darkwave and goth. Gift brims with a penumbral presence, while the titular "gift" is intended as pharmakon, both a present and a poison; Xmal's music is appropriately contradictory and complex, skating thin ices of beauty and elusivity. This limited-edition 3xLP boxset includes Abbey Road remasters of their albums Fetisch and Tocsin, along with tracks from related releases like Incubus Succubus II and Qual, packaged with striking artwork and a photo booklet. The magic of Xmal Deutschland lingers like radiation and has an indelible half-life.

Review: The influential German band Xmal Deutschland are overhead rafters in the great mead hall of goth. Their propulsive successes throughout the 1980s meant the genre likely couldn't've done without them. A large band come music collective, made up of at least eight members at any given time, Xmal's formation in Hamburg and would presell audiences on a stalwart performance rep, thanks to an early tour and gig residency in support of dream pop preeminents Cocteau Twins. Rallied to fame by their goth classics 'Incubus Succubus' and 'Qual', this 2xCD review conjoins two of the earliest and most pivotal albums on which both of said singles were housed - Fetisch and Tocsin - along with tracks from other key releases, such as Incubus Succubus II. Helping blacken an otherwise dreamy time, these LPs highlight the gloomier soils of a superficially bright 1980s soundfield, which otherwise roseated by shoegaze. Photography by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery, Sheila Rock and more all capture the spirit.

Review: X.Y.R.'s latest offering delves into the depths of human experience, exploring themes of escapism, introspection and the search for meaning in a world that often feels chaotic and unfair. The album opens with the expansive 'Lost Horizon', setting the tone for a journey into introspective soundscapes and contemplative melodies. 'Melting Shapes' continues the exploration of inner worlds, with its shifting textures and ethereal sounds evoking a sense of fluidity and transformation. 'Despair' confronts the darker side of the human psyche, its melancholic melodies and haunting sounds reflecting the struggles of those who feel lost and disconnected. The B-side features the epic 'Invisible Lifeforms', a twenty-minute odyssey that delves into the hidden realms of consciousness. With its blend of ambient textures, tribal rhythms and meditative sounds, it creates a truly immersive experience that invites deep listening and introspection. X.Y.R.'s music is both calming and unsettling, offering a sonic reflection on the complexities of human existence.