Flamenco Sketches (DJ Mitsu The beats remix) (4:25)
Flamenco Sketches (4:44)
Review: The third volume of the Incense Music compilation series, Incense Music For Dining Room, curated by Toru Hashimoto (Suburbia), comes new iterated on a split 7". Carrying over its themes of fragrance and music, 'Flamenco Sketches', named and remixed after Miles Davis' classic jazz bit, brings an exquisite reed diffusion of live-feel beats and scooped-out bliss-sound. With cover art by Jiro Fujita (FJD) and mastering by Calm, a key figure in the Japanese jazz, chill-out, and Balearic scenes, the record promises serenity: DJ Mitsu the Beats ensures a quietly contented DJ's touch. Side B offers another lo-fi cover of 'Flamenco Sketches' by Nobuyuki Nakajima, lowering the pace to an unassuming, dozy, guitar-blessed tread.
Review: This is a second new and standalone 7" that is taken from Incense Music for Bed Room, a new compilation series from Incense Music that was curated by Toru Hashimoto and legendary Japanese downtempo and Balearic master Calm. On the A-side, we delve into Haruka Nakamura's beautiful tribute to Bill Evans' timeless piece 'Soiree'. On the flip, 'Valsa de Euridice' is a rendition of Vinicius de Moraes' classic from Etepalma, the inaugural 2006 album by Nobuyuki Nakajima. Renowned as a composer and pianist, Nakajima presents a captivating interpretation that captures the essence of the original piece. Together, these tracks offer a harmonious blend of homage and reinterpretation.
Review: NT is Nail aka Neil Holliday, one half of Bent and a master of UK tech house. But here he shows a different side across six majestically Balearic groovers. That draw on everything he has done before to send you out to sea on gentle waves of shining synth goodness, downtempo bliss and dreamy, chubby, soft focus drums. 'Beside Boa Linn' is a soothing summer sound to kick off then 'Going Out To Feel It' is a spiritual house cut for sundown, and 'Don't Hide Away' is slow motion disco brilliance. The trip continues with the star-gazing 'Evening Fixture', Eddie C style guitar licks of 'Walk In Romance' and romantic lullaby 'Dreams On Hold.'
Review: Back in 2011, Nicolas Jaar joined forces with fellow Clown & Sunset contributor Dave Harrington for the Darkside EP, an impressive trio of untitled tracks that pitted the formers scratchy, near-paranoid production style against the latter's penchant for lo-fi indie-rock inspired fuzziness. Here, the duo dusts down the Darkside alias once more for a first collaborative album. Predictably, it's an impressive set, offering a collection of downtempo tracks that shuffle between crackly, out-there atmospherics ("Sitra", reminiscent of much of Jaar's Space is Only Noise album), echo-laden alt-rock experimentalism ("Heart") and heart-aching fragility (the James Blake-ish "Greek Light").
Review: For sensitivity and naturalism in experimental music, Gosha Martynov & Natasha Sinyakova seize the crown with their new album Imena Rek. 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. The record is an ever-evolving, life-giving slough; we wade through many restorative swamps, each bearing its own sonic, ecosystemic character. The fen's mouth stretches open wide on 'Pozhaluysta', tempting the listener with an open-skied siren song set to skittish drum pats, while things grow hazier from 'Osvobodi Menia' and thereafter; the trip-hop influence is almost entirely naturalised, shedding the genre's usual rough-edged clicks and pops for a preferential sawn-off, willowy sound, that retains its smoothness even in moments of irresolution and tension, as on 'Rany'. And the slow mangrove whirl 'Iskra' really flaunts the pair's talents, with beautifully played pan flutes, and resonant silicate rustles, convoking a new hallowed ground; we wind up mentally clutching at damp mosses, imagining ourselves laid arrest in a sodden but warm bayou, as we're serenaded by two Armenian-American master musicians.
Review: Haruka Nakamura's Light Years: The North Face Sphere Spring & Autumn is a soundtrack that the Japanese composer created in response to a request from outdoor clothing brand The North Face to create an album for each of the four seasons. Two of his works feature here with changing acoustics, different melodies and gentle grooves conveying the evolving weather. The sounds have been made with various materials and instruments such as acoustic guitar, bass, sampling and chorus. It's a widescreen and immersive album where harmony and nostalgia happily coexist.
Review: Anthony Naples is a revered album specialist by now. Orbs is his fifth full-length and one he describes as "a moody portal of shoegazed and slo-mo songs suspended in thin air." The New York City native really taps into new territory here, expanding the sound you might expect from him with all new samples, instruments and liquid synths. Drum beats are scant and rhythms move slowly, unfolding with great depth and narrative as you are left to do plenty of thinking while suspended amongst the details. It is another immersive listen, high in texture and beautiful in execution.
Review: Futreu cult classic alert: Wilurarrakutu is the captivating debut album from Papunya-based young Aboriginal Australian artist Keanu Nelson in which he blends intimate storytelling with minimalist, DIY electronic soundscapes. Sung in both Papunya Luritja and English, the eight tracks draw from Nelson's personal notebooks and feature Casio keyboards, drum machines, and subtle synths all with a made--on-the-kitchen-table vine. Created in collaboration with Sydney producer Yuta Matsumura, who Nelson met during a chance visit, the album reflects influences from Papunya's gospel traditions and reggae beats shared in the remote community. Nelson's lyrics touch on family, heritage, and culture, balancing joy and melancholy meaning that Wilurarrakutu offers a tender sonic reflection of home and identity.
Review: Keanu Nelson is a young Aboriginal Australian artist from the remote community of Papunya, northwest of Alice Springs. He paints in the Western Desert movement style and, on this album, sings poems from his notebook over minimalist Casio beats programmed by Yuta Matsumura. His debut album, which came on the Altered States label, now gets re-issued on a larger scale. Inspired by local gospel and reggae beats, Keanu's songs explore family, home, and loss and he sings in a blend of both Papunya Luritja and English. The result is a haunting, original sound that is part Francis Bebey, part Suicide, and one that feels both familiar and groundbreaking.
The Sei - "Let It All Go" (Glitch Garden's Stella Polaris remix) (5:24)
R Missing - "Heavens Lower" (TOM & His Computer remix) (4:08)
Tina Dickow - "Moon To Let" (Sekuoia's Stella Polaris remix) (3:56)
Tom Adams - "Seven Birds" (BSB's Stella Polaris remix) (5:17)
Mads Bjorn - "I Have Nothing To Say" (feat Rick Astley - Cemetary's Stella Polaris remix) (7:37)
Grand National - "Talk Amongst Yourselves" (Leo Ryan's Stella Polaris remix) (5:34)
Funkatarium - "Jump" (Black Hawks Of Panama & Massey Chill Out At Stella version) (5:57)
Beg Steal Or Borrow - "Do Androids Dream Of Modular Synths" (7:25)
Glitch Garden - "Sprout" (6:57)
Review: Stella Polaris has long been focused on showcasing quality Scandinavian electronica, chill-out, downtempo, leftfield indie music with 18 years of festival offerings and associated label outings. This new compilation is another bumper mix on double gatefold and coloured wax with a specific focus on female producers. There are chugging cosmic delights like Lucca's Pitch Down Stella remix of Groove Armada's 'Time & Space,' while Cemetary's Stella Polaris remix of Mads Bjorn's 'I Have Nothing To Say' feat Rick Astley is a cinematic and atmospheric sound with celestial melodies and an airy synth groove. Furterh cuts from Sekuoia, Beg Steal Or Borrow and Glitch Garden make this a brilliantly interplanetary listen.
The Love Feeling (feat Brian J Of The Pimps Of Joytime) (6:11)
2 Sips & Magic (4:02)
Just Move (feat MC Kwasi - Zeb edit) (4:37)
Brookarest (feat Costel & Robert Of The Taraf De Haidouks) (4:28)
Didibina (feat Falu) (3:28)
Gira Do Sol (feat Liliana) (3:52)
Calle Sol (feat Tempo & The Candela Allstars) (2:37)
N'Dini (feat Ismael Kouyate) (4:16)
Review: This is the first pressing of Nickodemus' classic Sun People on translucent yellow vinyl and it comes from Wonderwheel. Originally released in 2009 by Thievery Corporation's Eighteenth Street Lounge label, the album features tracks inspired by Nickodemus' global travels and the people he met on the way. Known for his NYC summer soundtrack with Turntables On The Hudson and 20 years of worldwide tours, Nickodemus crafted songs for sun lovers and optimists here and as such listening toit leaves ou with a warming glow. Collaborators from Guinea, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Romania, India, Turkey, the UK and NYC contribute to this vibrant album and make it a truly cultural affair with hits like 'N'dini,' 'Sun Children,' and 'The Love Feeling' all sounding great.
Review: This collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Valentina Magaletti and Afro-Portuguese beat-maker Nidia follows artists like Moritz von Oswald and Laurel Halo on the label. The album bridges cultures and environments from Sicilian heat to English rain through infectious rhythms and intricate melodies. Meaning "roads" in Portuguese, Estradas reflects the duo's dynamic exchange while adapting their sound to the urgency and spirit of diverse spaces. Produced by Tom Halstead, it masterfully weaves syncopated drums, marimba and melodic interludes into an electrifying release that celebrates rhythm's universal power.
Review: South Carolina singer and producer Niecy Blues describes her songwriting process like an undertow: "I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves/whole days roll by, forgetting about the body." Their full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted r&b, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations - often within the same track. The title is taken from a science fiction novel she read during the purgatory of the pandemic, alluding to a dimensional ideation of departure - "the permission to imagine leaving." Recorded in her current home of Charleston, she characterizes the album's mood in terms both reflective and raw: an exploration of things suppressed, foundations beginning to crack, "talking myself off a ledge." The music of Niecy Blues transposes reverie and reckoning into emotive devotionals of keys, guitar, bass, synth, and bewitched voice, steeped in sacred atmospheres gleaned from a youth spent in a religious Oklahoma household: "My first experience with ambient music was church - slow songs of worship, with delay on the guitar - even if you don't believe, you feel something."
Review: Having delivered a seventh studio album of a long and productive career as Nightmares On Wax last year, George Evelyn has been treated to the full retrospective programme by Warp in 2014. Earlier this year the label issued a best of, artfully punned NOW Is The Time, this week has seen Warp reissue in deluxe format all of Evelyn's six previous and widely loved long players. All of them are in stock at Juno and worthy of your time, though Carboot Soul is a particular favourite amongst the review team here. The Quincy Jones sample on opener "La Nuit" never sounded so good!
Joe Dukie & DJ Fitchie - "Midnight Marauders" (7:12)
Ian Brown - "The Gravy Train" (NOW mix) (4:57)
Tony Allen - "Every Season" (feat Damon Albarn) (4:07)
The Rootsman - "Show Some Love" (5:34)
King Kooba - "California Suite" (Vagabond mix) (6:04)
Quincy Jones - "Listen (What It Is)" (4:13)
Cortex - "La Rue" (4:22)
Tom Scott & The LA Express - "Sneakin' In The Back" (4:22)
Search - "Action Tape 1" (Madscope mix) (5:15)
Large Professor - "'Bout That Time" (4:01)
Tranquility Bass - "Cantamilla" (4:31)
Mad Doctor X - "Intergalactic Throwdown" (6:07)
Dusty Springfield - "Spooky" (2:40)
Focus - "Having Your Fun" (3:40)
Nightmares On Wax - "Brothers On The Slide Dub" (dub) (4:57)
Brian Blessed - "The White City" (part 1 - Exclusive Spoken Word) (10:17)
Review: A welcome reissue of Nightmares On Wax's now classic Late Night Tales curators' mix comp. First released in 2003, this new LP edition is naturally the unmixed version and demonstrates the timeless bleep-era dance selector's funkiest and hippest influences, all of which demonstrate that this is an artist whose love for music extends far beyond the popular; the likes of Cortex, Quincy Jones, Search, Dusty Springfield, Large Professor, and even Brian Blessed prove this to be a diggers' delight that goes well beyond your average postie's job-lot. Ending on two original numbers, too - 'Brothers On The Slide (Dub)' and 'The White City (Part 1)' - you can be sure that George Evelyn's talents don't extend just to the decks either, bringing an original organic hip-hop and electronic funk source to an otherwise madly layered set of sonic flavours.
Review: Japanese jazzist Kenichiro Nishihara drew much acclaim for his second LP Humming Jazz in 2008, which came a full five years after his debut in 2003, and heralded a stabler career thereafter. With its harmonious, benignant piano melodies and oblique drum palette - which hears the artist secure both live bossa nova performances and original hip house beats - Nishihara knew the inherent entertainment value in tender modal jazz, and sought to enmesh sophistication with pop breeziness. 'Rain Falls' is an especially round-bodied track, with glycemic vocal flavours from Kissey Asplund and richly EQ-ed drums, setting a soulful precedent for two key hip-hop gems to come: 'From Time To Time' and 'Consider My Love', featuring rappers Gregg Green and Pismo. 'Step Out' signals the record's close with bopping triplet gaiety.
Review: Japanese digital dub legend Takafumi Noda and Dutch synth wizard Danny Wolfers (best known as Legowelt) reunite for a great second album under the Noda & Wolfers project on Nightwind Records. This album blends digital dub, raw lo-fi electro and acid influences into a captivating, deviant sound that is rich in wild, untamed synths which collide with rough rhythm boxes as seductive spring reverbs dissolve into space echoes. Intense bass crumbles over decaying fuzzy tapes and Noda's haunting melodica melodies elevate the album to new, mesmerising heights. A fascinating fusion of creative worlds.
Review: Johnstown, Pennsylvania isn't the first town on everyone's lips when it comes to deep dive electronics. But then, sadly, most people still don't seem to have encountered Nondi. Better known to some of those who have as Tatiana Triplin, the US producer and head of the 'net label HRR has developed a cult following for her experimental takes on some already quite leftfield electronic genres: breakcore and footwork, alongside Detroit-hued techno. What's remarkable about all this is the fact she confesses to only really having direct experiences of these genres online, as oppose to amid the sweat and frenzy of the situations they were first intended for. While this might lead some to assuming her work lacks authenticity, nothing could be further from the truth - it's all so authentic because the interpretations are entirely hers.
Review: Stina Nordenstam's 2001 album This Is Stina Nordenstam offers an intimate and dreamy escape into her musical world. Layering her delicate voice over minimal, ambient soundscapes, Nordenstam creates a stream of consciousness experience for listeners. This vinyl release, long desired by fans, features a clear pressing with a color inner sleeve containing lyrics. Produced by Mitchell Froom, the album showcases Nordenstam at her poppiest, with a modern sound that contrasts with her previous darker and experimental works. The inclusion of duets with Suede's Brett Anderson adds to the album's pop sensibility. This album stands out in her discography, offering a brilliant fusion of experimental elements and pop melodies.
Review: Noreen is a cult name for those who know - a producer who had his own unique take on minimal and dropped some real low-key classics. Nearly two decades after its initial release, his album Our Memories of Winter now gets reissued so you can relive its blend f early 2000s electronica with Norken's unique mix of minimal techno, house and British IDM. Featuring all 12 original tracks, plus the inclusion of 'Df23' and 'Flirt', this is the first complete vinyl version of the album. Lee Norris's sound evokes nostalgia and warmth with atmospheric emotional techno. Influenced by luminaries like John Beltran and Autechre, this one remains a real gem.
Grasp (feat Coby Sey, Slauson Malone & Sam Gendel) (2:31)
We Are (feat HYUKOH) (3:45)
Condition (feat Toro Y Moi) (3:39)
Look Both Ways (feat Pink Siifu) (2:53)
All Over (feat Panda Bear) (3:00)
Skyline (3:10)
Different Life (feat Eyedress) (3:15)
Review: Los Angeles-born and raised Jason W. Chung aka Nosaj Thing is back on Lucky Me with a new album, more than 15 years into his career. Continua is his fifth album overall and this one finds him working with a top crew of collaborators including Toro y Moi, Sam Gendel, Pink Siifu, Panda Bear and Eyedress. Renowned for his ability to craft soundscapes that draw on his life in music from early punk and DIY shows to his sets at the famed Low End Theory, here he again cooks up an all-pervading mood of absorbing synth goodness. As well as this black wax version, there is also a limited edition clear vinyl drop available.
Review: There are few borders to NTHNG's sounds. His debut album 'It Never Ends' made a big impression back in 2017 as it mixed up dub, deepness and techno and he has since impressed with plenty of lo-fi sounds and ambient bliss-outs on labels like Lobster Theremin and Lobster Sleep Sequence as well as dropping his more raw techno Delsin. Here he is in soundscaping mode again but also drops some slick electro, downbeat and Balearic sound on There Is A Place For Me on Transatlantic. It is a cosmic work of widescreen design and immersive effect.
Review: On their debut album, 2016's the Tony Allen Experiments, Naples twosome Nu Guinea re-invented tracks by the legendary Afro-beat drummer as synth-heavy chunks of deep jazz-funk and nu-Balearica. For this follow-up - their first full length entirely made up of their own compositions - the duo serves up a set of jazz-funk, disco and boogie cuts rich in both their trademark colourful analogue synthesizer sounds and live instrumentation. It's a formula that guarantees a string of memorable highlights, from the sun-kissed peak-time brilliance of "Disco Sole" and rubbery, funk-fuelled "Je Vulesse" (a killer vocal number), to the wobbly downtempo trip of "A Voce E Napule" and Mizell Brothers fizz of closer "Parev Ajare", the album's most synthesizer-heavy cut.
Title Theme (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (3:05)
Yoshi's Story (from Yoshi's Story) (3:20)
Ground Theme (from Super Mario World) (2:28)
Obstacle Course (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (2:29)
Middle Boss (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (2:47)
Title Theme (From New Super Mario Bros Wii) (2:07)
Flower Garden (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (2:51)
Story Music Box (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (2:48)
Yoshis On The Beach (from Yoshi's Story) (3:32)
Underground (from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) (2:25)
Delfino Plaza (from Super Mario Sunshine) (3:05)
Review: Nokbient and Save Point's Video Game LoFi: Yoshi is a playful and charming electronic covers tribute to the classic video game character. A mix of chiptune-inspired synths and lo-fi beats, crafted delicately and softly for the modern listener, combine to create this lovely ode to everybody's favourite green, giant-nosed reptile. Yoshi's greatest character themes - including those from Mario Kart, Super Mario World, and Yoshi's Story - all combine in an unequivocally cute mood here.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.