EM Japan Vinilo y CD

Review: A cult Brazilian band at their peak in the 1980s, Finis Africae represent the pinnacle of what post punk and its experimental offshoots reached for in South America. A lot of this compilation focuses on sprawling tracks that feature distant shapeless vocals, lightly pattering percussion and languid guitar, but cuts such as "Radio Tarifa" shimmy with the upstart angles of disco-not-disco at its finest, shot through with a salsa flair. Twisting and turning from child-sung folk to industrial-tinged instrumentals, through slow-pumping indie jangle and so much more besides, you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised at many turns discovering one of the hidden gems of the other side of the world.

Review: Despite the title, Hyu's Inaudible Works 1994-2008 album is not actually a collection of silence. It is instead a trip into the world of Osaka-born artist Hyu who recorded these 16 pieces of hard-to-classify music over a four year period. The collection showcases HYU's unparalleled talent and innovation in crafting intricate soundscapes that push the boundaries of auditory perception. From ambient textures to glitchy rhythms, each track offers a glimpse into his singular creative process and artistic vision. With its diverse range of compositions and experimental approach, this is an inquisitive record that questions everything while exploring uncharted territories of sound and the listening experience.

Review: Roland P. Young's 80th year on the planet is marked by a celebration of his EM Records label with a sixth album from the great talent. It's an album that has 113 new tunes that cover a diverse array of sounds that are joyful and celebratory odes to life. The artist grew up in Kansas City and then had time in San Francisco and New York before he started to release his self-produced solo music in 1980. Along the way, he picked up influences as diverse as soulful and spiritual multi-world avant-music and took cues from bits of ambient, jazz, soul, new age and electronic music.

Review: Osaka's Koshiro "YPY" Hino built his reputation on a series of fearlessly experimental cassette releases, before breaking cover to deliver a 12" of frazzled techno on Nous last year. Zurhyrethm marks his long-form vinyl debut, and contains eight suitably experimental tracks stretched across two slabs of wax. While there are clear tropical influences, a humid feel and nods towards the visceral pleasures of ambient, Hino's greatest strength is his eccentric drum programming. Zurhyrethm's dense - but often subtly mixed - percussive backing dominates throughout, with nods to African and South American rhythms, Sweet Exorcist's C.C.CD-era "clonk techno" (look it up), and the metallic clanking of classic industrial music.