All products

First ever vinyl collection of the legendary “Kostis,” the most enigmatic of all Greek rebetika artists. 12 tracks of truly unique guitar duets and black-humor lyrics chronicling the hash dens, prison culture and pickpockets of old Athens. Recorded under a pseudonym for export to the Greeks living in America, research has uncovered the musician, journalist and cartoonist Kostas Bezos as the figure lurking behind the Kostis name, with ties to the famous singer Tetos Demetriades. Renowned for his slide guitar playing in Hawaiian-style orchestras throughout the 1930s, the Kostis recordings reveal an entirely different underworld of the macabre and illicit. The use of guitar in these now-classic rebetika songs display a virtuosity of finger-picked Near-Eastern modes and unusual tunings at the dawn of rebetika, when the bouzouki was yet to become supreme.Presented in pristine audio quality mastered from original 78 rpm discs by Michael Graves, “The Jail’s a Fine School” stands as an important document of an enduring mystery in Greek music, and a high standard for what was once a truly subversive art form.

new age album that draws as much from ethno-groove, Chicago house, and G-funk, as it does from primitive percussion and ’80s library music. Relaxing, gentle, and warm, the 10-song ambient suite was made for a multidisciplinary modern dance performance described as “Neo-Paganism, Pop Divas, YouTube, Yoga, and Death Metal side by side in a live performance that searches for transcendence in the most unlikely places.”

Here is the debut, self-titled album from a.s.o., singer/songwriter Alia Seror-O’Neill, and producer Lewie Day. ‘a.s.o.’ is a thematic consolidation of the previous three singles and an impressive artistic progression. Day and Seror-O’Neill show they’ve mastered the format of the radio-friendly pop song and found how to subvert it completely. Across eleven songs, they have built a rich and compelling body of work. We know where we are now, emotionally complex, trip-hop torch songs for club freaks. But the palette has broadened to encompass ethereal dream pop à la Cocteau Twins, slow-burning AOR-soul, and dubwise stylings. As a result, ‘a.s.o.’ is a satisfyingly coherent listen but never a musical monoculture. Variously there are nods toward Julee Cruise, Fleetwood Mac, and the uneasy listening of Portishead. It’s an album that wears its influences lightly, is never weighed down by them, and always sure of its own identity. It’s anchored by Alia’s unique voice. Her words speak of restraint and release, taking us from the elegiac to the euphoric. This elegantly crafted, perfect pop music sounds like it has had enough of your shit. And Day’s music is the perfect foil; deep, slightly menacing, restrained, and powerful. The album has a cinematic texture, as with David Lynch; the seemingly familiar becomes uncanny and strange the closer we look. a.s.o. take our emotions for a joyride before leaving us floating in space. ‘a.s.o.’ is a journey; by its end, we all are changed.

Definitely ahead of their time, A.T.R.O.X. were one of the first bands to move beyond typical new wave styles and introduce strong electronic elements, not too far from works of their contemporaries Tuxedomoon and Minimal Compact. "When we recorded Water Tales I was thinking of the sea as the only escape for mankind. I proposed this idea to the rest of the band and all of them were just thrilled". Probably it is the only new wave concept-album that was ever released. The sound, compared to the first album, is more influenced by the lessons of Eno and David Byrne, who were enriching their compositions with amazing and intriguing musical phrases and rhythms. Of course, we did not forget the lessons of NEU! and Faust. The Andreoni brothers and Marchini were both brilliantly creative and yielding, and they were responsible for all the musical themes upon which Benvisi carved the acoustics. Water Tales is a sincere album, then the season changed and suddenly we were 'every man for himself' almost without realizing it." --Francesco Paolo Paladino

Colemine Records is proud to present a brand new 45 from Aaron Frazer featuring two tracks from his debut LP. The funky and drum heavy “Bad News” has a timely message at a time when people willfully ignore the warnings about everything from climate change to systematic racism. Frazer recorded the tune in Nashville and he brought together a bevy of talented musicians, including members of The Memphis Boys, who backed Dusty Springfield on “Son of a Preacher Man” and Aretha Franklin on “Natural Woman." On the flip, "Done Lyin’" shows Aaron's vulnerability throughout the song. Heavy and tough production from Dan Auerbach paired with Frazer smoothly singing his heart out is a match made in sweet soul heaven.

“Into The Blue is the clearest portrait of who I am as an artist. It’s me through and through,” says multi-instrumentalist Aaron Frazer. A daring blend of soul, psychedelia, spaghetti western, disco, gospel and hip-hop, Into the Blue represents the impressive range of Frazer's sonic talents. Frazer maintains the unmistakable falsetto and classic songwriting he’s known for, but plants Into the Blue firmly in the now with a hip-hop mentality at its core, weaving together genres and production techniques to form something new. Into The Blue was conceived, like so many classic records, out of heartbreak. Frazer moved cross-country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and embarked on a journey that’s reflected in the album’s themes of grief, loneliness, and searching for healing. “Into The Blue really means heading into the unknown. That has been the last year of my life and I'm still in the blue,” Frazer explains. “But there are also songs here that celebrate love and the giddiness of a new relationship and all that. That's part of a breakup to me, processing the whole thing, remembering the things that were right as much as the things that were wrong.” Frazer wrote on every track and played several live instruments on the album. The title track, “Into The Blue”, is a haunting, resolute anthem, combining cinematic strings and tough-as-nails breakbeats as Frazer heads west. “Here I go, to a place where the broken heart knows,” he sings. “It’s all I can do. Back into the blue.” “Payback” is an explosive dancefloor heater, featuring shimmering tambourines and driving bass lines. Northern soul drums meet snarling fuzz guitar, hurdling towards its epic conclusion. The album features moments of towering arrangements, recalling David Axelrod and Ennio Merricone, balanced by rawness, incorporating iPhone recordings and one-take vocals. For Into the Blue, Frazer enlisted Grammy-winner Alex Goose as co-producer, known for his crate-digging samples and collaborations with hip-hop artists like Freddie Gibbs, Madlib and Brockhampton. Frazer also experimented with samples for the first time on a record, drawing from unexpected sources like 90s R&B group Hi-Five. Though Into the Blue is born out of heartbreak, Frazer hopes it leaves listeners with a sense of optimism. “You know, you can still laugh on a day when you're grieving,” he says, “there’s no peaks without valleys,” he says, but Into The Blue sees Aaron Frazer at new heights.

This - somehow - mythological album from one of Iran’s top sitarist lurches between traditional Eastern forms and more modern Western styles, blending the two into a fascinating fusion of cultures and flavours. Similar to the work of Indian rare groove master Ananda Shankar, the record brings to life the ultimate marriage of funky drums, lush horns, wah-wah guitars and Eastern harmonies. A necessary re-discovery !

“People don’t like Abdullah Ibrahim, they adore him, bestowing on him the devotion normally reserved for Nina Simone. When he plays, melodies tumble out effortlessly, as he slides from theme to theme like a laid-back South African reincarnation of Thelonious Monk.” - The Guardian

Taken from Abdullah Ibrahim’s summer 2023 sold-out headline date at London’s Barbican Centre, the new album “3” follows suit and is spread across two performances – the first is recorded without an audience ahead of the concert straight to analogue on a 1” Scully tape machine, which had previously been used by Elvis at the famous Memphis-based Sun Studios.

The second recording is taken from the evening’s performance itself with Ibrahim performing in a unique trio which includes Cleave Guyton (flute, piccolo, saxophone) who has performed alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, and Joe Henderson, as well as lauded bassist and cellist Noah Jackson, both of which are members of EKAYA and featured on Ibrahim’s Top 3 Billboard Jazz album “The Balance”

“There are few musicians in jazz who can make you feel that essentially all is right in the world.” - The Times

On The Balance:

"Getting the balance just right has always been Ibrahim’s great strength, drawing from a source but keeping it fresh..." - Julian Cowley, The Wire

★★★★★ - The Evening Standard

"A modern master... his graceful playing leans on equal measures of force and restraint, of dense clusters and open space. Mr. Ibrahim’s music is dotted by satisfying, sometimes stunning, passages of repose." - Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal

Entitled 'The Balance', this project featured his long-time septet Ekaya, a line-up that he's been recording with since 1983. In this case, the album was recorded over the course of one day at London's RAK Studios last November. The lush horn lines, lilting melodies, and uplifting chord progressions are characteristic of Abdullah's own particular brand of Township Jazz. This is contrasted with various solo piano improvisations, which epitomise the nostalgic yet hopeful nature of Abdullah's musical spirit. Hence, The Balance.

In his own words, "We push ourselves out of our comfort zones. So that we can present to the listener our striving for excellence. So that we can engage with our listeners without any barriers of our ego. It's not jazz. For us, it's a process of transcending barriers."

Long awaited follow up to the "True Story of Abner Jay" LP. Abner Jay was a man who had a grand sweeping vision of what folk music was. In his lifetime, his expression of what folk music could be encompassed some serious stylistic variations. Sometimes he was a one man band traveling troubadour playing an electric banjo, harmonica, & drums who tried to hoodwink audiences into believing that he was 150 years old & the standard bearer for authentic Americana. Sometimes he played in electric straight up R&B bands such as "Koko Joe & the Jobhunters". Culled from a mix of Abners' 45's & LPs spanning the period 1964 - 1973, including Abner's first LP. We hope that this release will help to further the current wave of understanding that Abner Jay is an important artist who deserves a wider audience than he ever received during his lifetime. This edition features a revised track listing for maximum pathos and depth. Licensed from Brandie Jay, Abner Jay's daughter. 160g black vinyl in heavy jacket.

This is an official release from the prestigious [Mississippi Records] of a compiled compilation of material from the 70's by Abner Jay (1921 - 1993), an American multi-instrumentalist from Georgia and a lone one-man band and outsider bluesman. This is another solo band style, with one man playing drums, banjo, vocals and harmonica. The name of the song is "Cocaine," and it's a slow, country-style performance with a heavy dose of poison. His voice is very convincing, perhaps because of his checkered, haphazard, and reckless life. This is a bluesman!

Co-released by Cairo's HIZZ imprint and Heat Crimes, Upper Egypt’s “King of Trobby Music” detonates another singular vision on Raasny—a 9-track suite of bruised street rhythms, electro-shaabi fireworks, and raw emotional voltage, beamed direct from El Minya to the world.

Abosahar has spent the last decade carving out his own micro-genre—Trobby, short for “True Being.” Here it comes into sharpest focus yet: a sound that blurs electro-shaabi, house, techno, trap and pop into dazzling, rough-edged collages, powered by cracked software, busted machines, and the immediacy of lived experience.

Raasny loops wedding-party ecstasy into journeys from Minya’s dusty streets to Cairo’s neon clubs. Tracks like “Bs Ya Baba” and “Shaabi Alarab” fold shaabi’s serrated synth stabs into mutant pulses; “Moled w Samar Haz” and “Moled Altenee” lock into hypnotic folk-ritual cadences; while the title cut “Raasny” surges with an almost devotional intensity, all cracked voices and distorted beats tumbling into the red.

What sets Sahar apart is his refusal of polish: everything is left jagged, overdriven, improvised, alive. His music is inseparable from the weddings, streets, and daily life of Upper Egypt—rooted as much in the dust and electricity of Minya as in the people who move to it.

Raised with little more than a battery-powered radio and homemade instruments fashioned from grass and cardboard, Sahar’s DIY ethos is burned into every second of Raasny. His recordings double as ethnography and autobiography—part diary, part sound-system weapon, part spiritual exorcism.

Already hailed across Cairo’s underground and carried abroad to stages in France, Switzerland and Germany, Sahar’s music still belongs first and foremost to the streets and weddings of Upper Egypt. Raasny makes that clear: this is music of and for the people, loud, ecstatic, and uncontainable.

After more than 6 years of silence, Abschaum is finally back with a new album, and it was about time because this new opus is sublime!! ‘Shamanic’ Chris (Abschaum’s mastermind), made alone this magnificent piece of Folk, Ambient, Kraut music, that he carefully recorded in the mountains of Jura, experimenting with his guitar and a little electronic set-up, composing beautiful melodies and singing French lyrics with powerful voice to bring us to another level of harmonies, the all merged with special atmospheres that are not without remembering Eno or Froese sometimes. In our opinion, this record could easily been recognise as a timeless masterpiece in the future.

Led by Saxophonist Rob Mitchell, Abstract Orchestra have been a consistent presence on the u.k. music scene, touring constantly in promotion of their debut LP “Dilla” and follow up 45 “New Day feat. Illa J”, steadily building a loyal and supportive fanbase. Inspired by the legendary live performances of The Roots with Jay-Z and the 40 piece orchestral arrangements by Miguel-Atwood Ferguson of the work of J Dilla, classic arranging techniques underpin modern loop-based structures, breathing new life into familiar material.
The band itself is based on the classic jazz big band instrumentation of saxes, trumpets and trombones and features the cream of the north of England’s jazz scene who collectively have played with Jamiroquai, Corinne Bailey Rae, Mark Ronson, Martha Reeves, John Legend & the Roots, Roots Manuva and Amy Winehouse.

“Madvillain Vol. 1” takes the template of their debut LP “Dilla” and applies the same approach to the collaboration of MF Doom and Madlib, aka MADVILLAIN and their albums MADVILLAINY and MADVILLAIN 2. Sampling the likes of Sun Ra, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder gave the albums a jazz oriented feel and ethos which in turn lend themselves perfectly to the deconstruction and re-imagining of Abstract Orchestra. As with their debut, all the tracks were recorded live in the studio with very few overdubs.

Abstract Orchestra’s MADVILLAIN Vol 1. explores the jazz, TV soundtrack and film score aspect of the original work, combining it with classic big band writing and a focus on improvisation. There is a strong influence of Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin and David Shire (Composer of the soundtrack to The Taking of Pelham 123) on the album, and the arranger Rob Mitchell crafts his own sound that inhabits the space between Madlib’s production and Quincy Jones’ writing. Bandleader and arranger Rob Mitchell says of the record: “‘MADVILLAINY’ is a jazz album as much as it is a hip-hop album and I wanted to explore this reciprocal territory there has always been between jazz and hip-hop. 70’s cop show soundtracks have always captured my interest and imagination, and I discovered so much amazing music through TV themes, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin in particular. They explored sounds that were menacing, angular, dissonant, frantic and yet captivating. They were also able to write music that was the flip side of all that dark chaos, and write lush and beautiful music. Arranging and scoring up MADVILLAIN Vol 1. Has allowed me to explore these sounds that I’ve always loved, yet keeping a strong hip-hop identity as the core of its sound.” 

Originally released in 1998, South Central Thynk Taynk by Abstract Tribe Unique (Abstract Rude, Fat Jack, Zulu Butterfly Priest, Irie Lion King, and DJ Drez.) captured a pivotal moment in Los Angeles’ underground scene—when young Black artists were reimagining hip-hop from the ground up. Blending jazz-inflected beats, spiritual insight, and fiercely independent production, the album became an anthem for self-reliance and creative rebellion. Now reissued by Rhymesayers Entertainment as a deluxe 2xLP set with a lyric booklet and bonus track, this long-unavailable classic returns for a new generation.At the cultural core of the record is Project Blowed, a legendary L.A. crew founded by Abstract Rude and Aceyalone, which birthed a lineage of rap innovators whose fingerprints are still felt in global hip-hop. While mainstream rap embraced the West Coast’s G-funk boom, the Blowed crew forged an alternate path—steeped in jazz, radical politics, and Afrocentric futurism. Thynk Taynk stands as a richly layered time capsule from this revolutionary moment, pairing Ab Rude’s deep lyricism with Fat Jack’s genre-melding approach to production, creating a poetic reflection on family, struggle, and artistic purpose.This new edition includes the “L.A. Styles Back (Project Blowed Remix)” featuring a cross-generational lineup of heavyweights— Aceyalone, Myka 9, Medusa, Pigeon John, Blu, 2Mex, Ellay Khule, Riddlore, and NGAFSH—underscoring how L.A.’s underground has remained a creative epicenter for decades. South Central Thynk Taynk is more than a cult artifact; it’s a living document of transformation, community, and artistic power.

Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri’s partnership unfolded serendipitously at the sold-out opening of the SoundSet Series at Madrid's Condeduque cultural center in 2023 - a program that featured performances by legends such as Autechre and younger artists like Caterina Barbieri and KMRU. The duo's encore that evening, recorded for Spain's Radio 3, resonated deeply with the audience, igniting a creative spark that propelled them to work remotely in their respective studios. At the heart of their effort lies a delicate balance of restraint and innovation, evident in the live concert track "Waking Up Dizzy on a Bastion." This piece, inspired by their musical sensibilities, serves as a testament to their shared vision and mutual respect. Utilizing a familiar parallel chord progression, the track builds from a simple melodic motif played live on synths that transforms into a call-and-response interplay between Mogard's synth lines and Irisarri's bowed guitar loops, creating a dialogue-like interaction between the musicians. As the piece moves forward, we are greeted by melting guitar patterns (recalling Kevin Shields most lysergic moments on Loveless), followed by an intense subsonic full body massage - the visceral physicality of the Ampeg bass amps and cabinets stacks on full display. Building upon the energy of that live performance, Mogard and Irisarri crafted "Place of Forever," a companion piece that combines Mogard's Farfisa organ and modular synthesizers with Irisarri's signature guitar tones and looping techniques at his Black Knoll studio in New York. Starting with a somber and minimal tone, the track gradually evolves, unfurling layers of deep bass tonalities draped in blissful gauze as it progresses during its 17-plus minute duration. The resulting album exudes a profound sense of alchemy, effortlessly weaving intricate soundscapes that feel simultaneously faraway and intimate. The cover artwork, by Marja de Sanctis, depicts a vase sculpture made of unfired clay. Created and photographed by herself, it reflects lights and shadows of fragility. The rawness of the material mirrors the purity and the delicate nature of the improvised duet’s performance. Daniel Castrejón’s design responds to the image transforming the shape of the vase into lines and empty spaces. His typography on the vinyl jacket features a spot varnish, creating a tactile reflection. Through these joint pieces, Mogard and Irisarri have created a work that encapsulates the dichotomy inherent in its title: impossibly distant, impossibly close.

'Quiet Pieces' initiates Abul Mogard’s personal imprint Soft Echoes with a definitive self-portrait of calm, contemplative, and discreet inner landscapes made audible.

While sifting through archived material left idle from earlier projects, a chance encounter with a late uncle’s trove of beloved 78rpm classical and opera records prompted the reworking and completion of what would eventually become the album. Spinning dusty records at 33 and 45rpm, Abul Mogard recombined their enduring spectres with unfinished sketches from his archive. The resulting soundscape blurs distinctions between his memories and those of another, exquisitely short-circuiting the senses with its waking, dream-like lucidity.

“This was a process I hadn’t explored in my earlier works. I began sampling brief moments from these records, altering them with studio effects and playing them at slower speeds. In many cases, I wasn’t entirely sure how the original music sounded. These fragments, once further processed, became a source of inspiration for my new compositions. Over time, I realised that the old pieces from the archive and the new material derived from the samples naturally complemented each other.”

The resulting pieces hover over a threshold, a liminal space that harmonises the old and older material. Voluminous waves of quiet and loud undulate between consonance and dissonance, conjuring imagery of a decaying grandeur that humanity’s decadence has surrendered to the elements. Abul Mogard’s seemingly abandoned yet vast landscapes are nevertheless intimate with timbral frissons of red-lined distortion. Elusive, yet as tangible as sea spray or smog, they affect the olfactory senses with a rarified, synesthetic quality that modestly engages one’s emotional register – a hypnotic, distinguishing feature long hailed as one of the hallmarks of his work. A fidelity to memory and dream recall is sensitively probed in the journey from the stately symphonic stasis of 'Following a dream' to the almost industrial, untethered brutality evoked by a looming silhouette that’s never fully visible in 'Constantly slipping away', culminating in the foreboding coda of 'Like a bird'. Those pieces appear to shield the album’s sentimental core, where the tempestuous play of light and shadow of 'In a studded procession' escalates to breathtaking, panoramic climax, while 'Through whispers' evokes an out-of-body-like experience encountered with visceral poignancy.

Looking back, Mogard notes an unexpected influence: “I realise being inspired by Phill Niblock, whose work I had barely known at the time but explored after his passing in 2024. His album 'Boston Tenor Index' changed the way I approached dissonance. It encouraged me to push my sound further, to the edge of a space where I began to feel uncomfortable.”

The album artwork, created by longtime collaborator Marja de Sanctis, features a photograph taken at the Temple of Jupiter Anxur, an archaeological site overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Captured with an iPhone, the image traces the residual presence of construction techniques and architectural forms of the Romans, where material history is transcribed through contemporary tools. The convergence of ancient and modern technology aims to reverberate the site’s lasting spiritual presence – an echo persisting in what is now perceived as a quiet, emptied space. The spiral gestures towards infinity and light. Past and present dissolve into one another, reflecting 'Quiet Pieces' meditation on sound, memory, and time.

A modern funk / downbeat sanctuary recommended by fans around , , and , and also known as popular acts such as Space Ghost and Nelson Of The East , The second album "Chrysalis" of multi-instrumentalist ABUNAI based in Oakland, California appears. Slow tempo, dreamy texture, shadowy mellow vocals, and superb dream pop with rich synthesizers, it's a must-listen for fans of Tame Impala, Khruangbin, Shintaro Sakamoto, and James Blake! Limited to 500 copies.

Invisible City continues to celebrate its 10th anniversary as a record label by reissuing the overlooked 1994 UK LP Accura - Five x Five! The best records make you want to grab the steering wheel and feel the sunny coastal drive. Frank Ed’s unique blend of genres on his LP “Five x Five” does exactly this by melting G-funk, smoothie Rnb and NYC Disco a la Larry Levan, a genre he coined “Street Jazz”. A Ghana expat inspired by the endearing levity of the sounds of Hilife along the Gold Coast, Frank Ed fuses downtempo keys and throbbing basslines on the opener “The Vibe”. Taking turn on the sunny coast, “Groove Control” is a euphoric minimal disco gem teasing the padlocked grooves of Gwen Guthrie and the West End setting sun into a fiery Loleatta sample that sparks into a fiery vocal “You got me burning up”. Dervish vibraphones, inspired by the Jazz-Funk renaissance, mesmerize the interlude “Ghetto Strings”. The punchy sampledelic psychedelia of conscious hip hop continue with the car sounds of “Jazz Maiden” opening with a screeching car halt, alongside MCs Cap D and Darkstorm rapping about a girl on the town, before being snapped and interjected by a female vocal chiming in“Excuse Me!” “Freestylin’” is a top down portamento G-funk glider, a nod to everything from the West Coast hip hop highway. “The Good Times'' - a CD-hidden only cut - is the real jewel here, emblematic of Frank Eds distinctive style. Expect low slung, nasal rapping and sine wave G funk grooves paired with lyrics about baggy jeans and Kangol kits that land with the chorus: “ I walk the walk I pay the price of this hip hop rhyme.” The pacific highway drive continues with “Summer Jazz” a breezy cruiser with the line, “Just move your body and slow…Summer Jazz.” You can feel the sun and wind in your hair as the keys trill along the reverb vocals of “I Feeeel It.” This pressing Includes two other CD-only releases featuring the NHB remixes of “Feelin Jazzy” and “Summer Jazz.” An essential LP, lovingly remastered and adjacent to the African diaspora genre UK Street Soul and the fervent UK RnB explosion of the early 90s. Glimmering with the disco ball of The Paradise Garage and the simmering smoothness of bumpin’ West Coast hip hop. Official Limited Pressing made in collaboration with Frank Ed and Toronto local selector Matt Stein. Not to be missed!

Between 1993 and 2001 the trio released two LPs and an EP on Vernon Yard—a Virgin subsidiary—and two LPs on Vapor, the L.A.-based label founded by Neil Young and manager Elliott Roberts. In that span, they were selected to tour with Oasis, Mazzy Star, The Verve, and Spiritualized. Against a rising tide of post-Nirvana grunge and slipshod indie rock, Acetone tapped into a timeless Southern California groove by fusing elements of psychedelia, surf, and country.

"Here, the chicken sings better than anyone" Miguel Tomasin We are extremely happy to present to you the second volume of the explosive collaboration between two legendary collectives of the ecstatic music underground. In 2017 Kawabata Makoto and his Acid Mothers Temple embarked on an extensive tour of South America. During the tour they carved out time to record and play shows with Argentine 'disembodied' music provocateurs Reynols and the results of these improvised sessions are a unique and exhilarating leap into the infinite...ecstatic, shamanic, truly free psychedelic music, beyond language and beyond all rational thought.

We are pleased to reissue the masterpiece cassette of the early Acid Mothers Temple, which is an exquisite mix of psychedelic and noise that creates an unidentifiable sound. The reason for the mysteriousness of the sound is the editing that forms the composition and development of the sound in a way that would normally be unthinkable, and will reaffirm the uniqueness of Acid Mothers Temple.

(advaita records)

‘BMB x OBI II’ sees the continuation of the much sought after collaboration between Minnesota’s afro-psych powerhouse, Black Market Brass, and the young, visionary talent that is Obi Original. Black Market Brass follows the initial release of this partnership, ‘Battle Ready,’ as hard-hitting as they’ve started it. Both sides highlight and deliver the raw, tenacious attitudes that the two artists are known for individually with a song selection that spans a wider spectrum than the first installment. Drawing a direct line between the godfather of soul and the father of afrobeat, Obi Original wields the raucous 10-piece ensemble in a way that evokes the stage of Zaire ‘74. These tracks hit hard, stay heavy, and make no apologies.

The A-side, ‘If I Do My Own,’ is funk. Heavy on the one, this track showcases Obi’s band leadership, à la James Brown; if only you could see him dancing in the vocal booth. Stacked horns, a leader barking orders, and a rhythm section that won’t quit leads listeners to the land of the get-down. The energy stays high as Obi calls forward soloists, even picking up the guitar himself to show us how “he does his own.” ‘If I Do My Own’ is a track slated to make the dance hall shake, with horn and vocal hooks that will live rent free in your head well after last-call.

The B-side, ‘I No Be (Colonizer)’, in no way lets its foot off the gas as dance music is concerned. This song, however, sees BMB returning to their polyrhythmic roots, creating a multi-varied weave of time feels, meter construction, and rhythmic emphasis. That challenge is met and answered by Obi’s Ebo infused lyrics and horn melodies that wind around the vocal rather than merely serving as background. Halfway through the song, BMB’s three-member percussion section rips into a soli. Powerful, unembellished, and raw, the trio doesn’t pull any punches when delivering this rhythm break which propels the song into an unrelenting four-on-the-floor vamp featuring a guitar solo turned up to 11 that will dance you right out of your shoes.

Welcome to ‘LXXXVIII’ – the ninth Actress album to be created by Actress (Darren Cunningham) and the very first presentation of Actress’ voyage into luxury sonics.
A lifetime in the making, ‘LXXXVIII’ is the culmination of 25 years’ honing mind-shorting, soul-igniting audio infusions for dance floors, rave dens, festivals, and concert halls. 
‘LXXXVIII’ pays dividends to meditate on an instrumental facet of its creation: game theory. Indeed, deep strategic thinking – more readily associated with economics and chess than artistic practice – was fundamental to Actress’ process as ‘LXXXVIII’ was channelled into existence. 
‘LXXXVIII’ includes the recent avant-garde-influenced single “Push Power ( a 1 )”, a track which laid the groundwork for the coming album, acting as the first move in an intricate chess game. With each thoughtful move the game grows and develops over time - something we can hear reflected in the textured and delicate layers of the track. "( a 1 ) - The first move" comments Cunningham. Today he shares “Game Over ( e 1 )”, a new single from the album which signals the final, closing move. 


For not only does chess reflect the precise physicality of the artist’s material interactions in his studio, it also illustrates the intricate and tactical, internal and aesthetic battles which brokered ‘LXXXVIII'’’s creation. Recently Darren challenged people to play a bullet round of chess against him online, which then led the opponent to a site that hosted a trailer of the forthcoming album. 

The release follows 2022’s mesmerising 'Dummy Corporation', which placed Actress firmly back in the centre of underground club culture. Prior to that his 2020 album ‘Karma & Desire’ — which saw guest collaborations from Mercury Prize winner Sampha, Zsela and Aura T-09 — was received to widespread acclaim, with The Guardian commenting the album “cements his place as one of the great poets of club culture”. 

Having first premiered ‘LXXXVIII’s lead single “Push Power ( a 1 )” on the iconic IICON stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival, where he played straight after Four Tet, the album release also arrives off the back of a recent live performance at Field Day in London, one of his largest live shows this year in which he showcased ‘Grey Interiors’ - an A/V project in collaboration with experimental creative studio Actual Objects who’ve worked with the likes of ShyGirl, Kali Uchis, LSDXOXO and have presented work at Coachella and 180 The Strand’s Futureshock exhibition. 

Additionally, Actress was just announced as the official support for James Blake’s upcoming UK/EU tour, which includes Alexandra Palace in London (on 28th Sept), L’Olympia in Paris, Fabrique in Milan, UFO Im Velodrom in Berlin, and Forest National Club in Brussels, and is playing alongside Autechre in Australia across selected dates later this year.